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TAKE THEIR WORDS FOR IT!
"You continually expand present frontiers in entertainment. Keep going!"
Edward, 18,
Salt Lake City, Utah
"Infocom's amazing reputation seems to be deserved."
Mikael, 29, Journalist,
Hämeenkatu, Finland
"Infocom adventures are particularly well-written,
with detailed descriptions, clever plot twists, surprising characters and a strong dose of zany humor."
THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE
"I did not think games were worth what they cost, until I tried Infocom's."
Joanne, 18,
Rolla, Missouri
"I like this new style of game -- who needs graphics?"
Rachel, 13,
Arlington, Texas
"Another publisher we recommend without any hesitation is Infocom. Each game is exciting, innovative, and
addictive."
CREATIVE COMPUTING magazine
"If it's like your others, it'll be wonderful beyond words!"
Bill, 35, Film Projectionist,
Daytona Beach, Florida
"A feast for the mind."
Peter, 34, Production Control Analyst,
Buford, Georgia
RAMBLING WITH JACK: A LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
In the brotherhood of true adventurers, no name was more revered than that of Moose “Moose” Llasko. I say “was” because it saddens
me to report that “Moose” has passed into the Great Beyond, a victim in a hopeless wrestling match with a giant octopus who attacked
his underwater bagpipes quartet.
I always admired “Moose” because in many ways he reminded me of myself. Like him, I wasn't exactly born with a silver spoon in my
mouth. Oh, no. A kid growing up in Hell's Kitchen learns pretty early about survival of the fittest. Or he doesn't survive. I remember,
for instance, the time in kindergarten when I dropped my crayon and little Danny Esterhazy kicked me in the teeth. And then there was
the time when I was holding the ball for a field goal in the Thanksgiving Day dame, and Danny Esterhazy deliberately missed the
ball… and kicked me in the teeth. But most of all, I recall my senior prom. And how my date and I snuck outside the rec hall for a little
necking. There was light, cool breeze in the air, and the fragrance of the river was in our nostrils, and I could feel the wet grass through
the holes in soles of my two-tones. It was a magic moment indeed – and then and there, gazing into my girl's eyes, I made the most
important decision of my life. I knelt down on one knee, and began stammering my proposal. And she kicked me in the teeth. I later
found out Danny Esterhazy paid her to do it.
I learned a lot from those childhood experiences in Hell's Kitchen. I learned that life is a jungle. I learned that after a certain point, all
the reconstructive dental surgery and expensive braces in the world won't make a bit difference. And I learned the real survivors are the
ones who end up in the NICE UPTOWN OFFICE BUILDINGS with GORGEUS SECRETARIES and jobs which let them SEE THE
WORLD and WRITE WIDELY READ EDITORIAL OBITUARIES about their FAMOUS FRIENDS! Think about that while you're
peddling papers at your corner newsstand, Danny Esterhazy, you bum.
Anyway, this issue is dedicated to Moose “Moose” Llasko, a real nice guy.
'Til next month, Jack “Jack” Zumwalt, Managing Editor
OUR READERS'S OWN TRUE TALES OF ADVENTURE
Steaming in the Tropics
The Mogga Beast is dead. None of the natives dared brave its poisonous tentacles and lashing spiked tail, so they hired me to do the
dirty work for a cool million clams. After chumming the water near the Great Reef to stir the creature's bloodlust, I dove in and
watched from beneath a coral arch. Not one minute after I'd reached my hiding place, I saw Mogga slithering through the murk, all fifty
horrifying feet of the brute. And he saw me – my bubbles had given me away.
It was do or die. The beast was almost upon me before I'd uncapped the dart. He took a swipe at me with his anterior tentacle, but in
his frenzy, he missed by a hairbreadth. And that gave me the split second I needed to pump 20 cc's of strychnine into his gaping maw.
That night, I delivered Mogga's head to the chieftain.
My problem is this: Does anybody have any suggestions on where I can unload 1673 bushels of cherrystones? Fishmarkets, rush your
orders now! These things are starting to stink up the joint.
(Name withheld by request), P.O. Box 3, Lesser Wug-Iukka Atoll, Near Mindanao
Dune Buggies
The name has been bandied about in the press to such an extent that I need not identify the subject of this letter. Suffice to say that this
explorer boldly threw caution to the wind and championed my effort to locate the phantom pyramid whose existence my father had
postulated. That the quest ended in indescribable horror is the world's tragedy. In the words of The Bard: “Sleep well, heroic soul, O!
let/ Not dread Isis' sandfleas in thy khakis get.”
Ms. Rose Ellingsworth, (Address withheld by request)
Requiem for a Lightweight
The rat had it coming! Commandeered MY expedition, and cut me completely out of the action. Don't believe one word of that sob
story the Ellingsworth dame is leaking to the media. And if anyone's interested in an assistant's job for an exploration outfit, you can
shove your resumes! From now on, I go it alone.
Craige, (Address withheld by force)
THE RETURN OF THE NATIVES
Ray Lilly and Bill Burroughs knew there was a fabulous treasure lying somewhere below the dark waters off
Pagu Reef.
All they had to do was find the right natives to lead them to it.
Bill and Ray had plenty to smile about on their arrival back in the States. After their press
conference, they were hustled off to a nasal surgeon for reconstructive surgery.]
“IT'S TRUE!” say the intrepid adventurers in unison. “We won fame and fortune in the South
Seas!” Today, Ray and Bill live a life of opulence in their Florida Keys compound. And, as Bill
says, “We earned every bit of it!”
For 10 years prior to their Pagu adventure, the two had run a marginally successful salvage
business in the Florida Keys. Then one day, Ray decided they should return to the South Sea
island of Pagu where he had been stationed as a Merchant Marine just before the Korean War.
Thirty years ago, Ray had heard Pagu's Pug Pap tribesmen talk of rare gems that were trapped in ancient sunken wrecks off Pagu.
“Luckily, I believed every word of it,” Ray said, “and I knew that the only way to get a crack at that treasure would be to 'go native.'“
Lilly recalls: “After life in America, it was tough becoming a native again. But we learned to adjust to the Pug Pap ways – the
hammocks, the Yik Fish Stew, the roast grubs and the 'dress.' Of course, Bill and I weren't trying to be Margaret Mead-type
anthropologists; we were strictly in it for the money.
“After about eight months of acculturation, we were able to recruit two Pug Pap guides who would take us out on the reefs to some of
their sacred fishing grounds. 'Magic Lim' and 'B.C.,' as we called our two companions, proved to be able, if somewhat superstitious,
partners. They refused to dive. But they did show us where some of the wrecks 'might' be found.
“We worked some of the world's most treacherous waters in those two years. Deep cuts between islands where the current came
through like a freight train. Underwater cliffs. And shark-infested reefs where no man had ever dived before.
“Finally, in out twenty-first month, we started finding some giant rock outcroppings that looked like the hulls of ships. After eight dives
to one particularly promising site, we hit pay dirt. Bill went down about nine fathoms, and I was up top on shark watch with B.C.
Suddenly, Bill burst to the surface holding a fiery red rock about the size of a golf ball in his hand. When the sun hit it and it sparkled,
my heart nearly came out of my throat. It was the biggest ruby I had ever seen.
“The rest, as you know, is history. We spent the next three months hauling gems out of the belly of the old boat and ferrying them back
to the island. Eight million dollars worth. We unloaded most of the take in Hong Kong, then flew back to Pagu with a team from the
Natural Graphic Society. They had hoped to bring the old stone boat up. It was too heavy. But Bill and I had what he wanted. We were
millionaires!”
Editor's note: Burroughs and Lilly have established a Trust Fund for the native tribes of Pagu and neighboring islands as thanks for their
unflagging assistance throughout the operation.
DANGER AT FIFTY FATHOMS!
by Hoble Brinston
“IT'S TRUE!” THE NATIVE SHRIEKED. “BIG PEARL – BIG LIKE A MONSTER!” Sure, I'm a deep-sea diver.
Who isn't? Have been most of my life. But that doesn't mean I've ever run into a 2,000-pound oyster wrapped around
400-pound pearl. I mean, gimme a break!
I stared at the pitiful native and narrowed my eyes. I tried to imagine a pearl that large and how I could get a
photograph of it for this issue of TRUE TALES OF ADVENTURE.
“Yeah, sure,” I quipped in true adventurer's fashion. “And where did you see this pearl?”
The wretched native shuffled his feet and stared at the sand, digging his big toes into gleaming white silica. “You pay and I take you
out there,” he said.
Sounded fair to me. I had the underwater camera, some unused film and some dough from a risky but profitable raft trip up the Congo,
so I was halfway there already. I figured I'd better outfit myself for the dive, though, since cameras don't help you breathe underwater.
And the first thing I needed to know was what kind of equipment I would need.
“A diver without Equipment is like a Fish without Gills”
“It's true,” I thought as I wandered over to the marina and checked out what they had. The standard stuff, scuba equipment, was
something I was very familiar with. I knew what kind of tanks I'd need, and I also knew that I'd need fins and a wet suit.
Scuba gear, as all you divers know, has its limits. You wouldn't want to go mucking about in the deep blue sea deeper than 250 feet or
so in scuba gear. You'd use up your air so fast, you wouldn't even have time to blink!
The marina had a complete line of deep-sea diving gear, too, which included diving suits, air compressors and those cute metal
helmets.
Anyway, I figured since the native diver had spotted the pearl in the oyster and he'd done it without deep-sea diving equipment, all I'd
needed for a successful dive was the scuba outfit.
I made sure my tanks were fully charged (no sense running off half-cocked) and loaded the stuff onto the boat. The native arrived at
just the right time for us to catch the tide, and we took off onto the ocean blue, whitecaps just starting to form.
If he'd been much later, we would have had to put off the whole expedition, but he seemed to have an intuition about when the tide
would be in. At low tide, it would have been treacherous and downright suicidal to depart from the tiny harbor, possibly puncturing out
bottom on the coral reefs, in the attempt.
“Cocktails for Two”
“It's true,” the person in the marina warned. “Dive too deep in scuba gear and you can end up in more water than you can shake a stick
at.” Well, I sure found myself over my head on this fateful day, and if it wasn't for… well, if it wasn't for my quick thinking and
decisiveness, I wouldn't be relating this true story right now.
Anyway, it seems I stayed down a little too long. Or maybe I dived a little too deep? But there I was with my camera on the ocean
floor, with this huge mother-of-pearl staring me right in the kisser. I quickly unfolded the camera and set it up, getting just the right
angle.
I had been fiddling with the focus and the exposure setting quite a while when I suddenly got this creepy feeling that I was being
watched – that I was not alone! I looked around, but all was still. Suddenly, something moved about 20 feet in front of me! It was big –
too big for me to ignore. Could have been a barracuda, or a shark, or any one of a hundred horrible things. I dared not move, but the
bubbles from my air tank continued to rise and made my location a dead giveaway.
A few more minutes passed, and nothing happened. Nothing in front of me moved. I shook my head, figuring my imagination was
playing tricks on me. I realized that the huge oyster was there before me, mouth staring to open wide, and the time for taking the
picture I'd carefully planned for was now.
As I looked through the viewfinder, something strange happened. From behind me I heard a voice, a woman's voice, humming! I
turned around as quick as a dart fish, but only in time to see the colorful caudal fin of some large fish swimming away.
By now I was sure that I was hallucinating; nitrogen narcosis, perhaps, was setting in. I figured I had only five more minutes
underwater before I ran out of air completely. Once again, I looked through the viewfinder and saw the incredible pearl in perfect
focus. I reached for the shutter release. “Now,” I coached myself. “Take the picture and go up.”
“Focus in and find the finest,” a voice said behind me.
I whipped around and there, smiling at me, head titled coyly, was a beautiful mermaid! I stepped back in wonder and awe; I vaguely
recall bumping into my tripod and watching my camera fall onto the pearl. The oyster closed up, and my camera was gone!
The mermaid laughed. “Specially focused with a narrow, even beam,” she said.
My initial shock turned to curiosity – and fear. Was this magnificent underworld creature trying to tell me something, or warn me of
some danger? If so, I could not decipher her cryptic messages. But before I could think of something to say, she sang, “Contact,
efficient and rechargeable.” Then, with a wave of her hand and a flip of her tail, she was gone!
Oh, how I wish I could have followed! But as Fate would have it, I had barely enough oxygen to get to the surface. Sadly, I looked one
last time at the closed oyster, which contained my expensive equipment and a much more valuable gem. Longingly, I looked toward
the shadows into which the mermaid had disappeared; but there was, of course, nothing to see, and I started up. I began my ascent not a
second too soon, for my tanks were empty when I reached the surface.
“The pearl!” the native shrieked. “Did you see it?”
I nodded my head. I had seen it all, and it's all true.
'I. C. Weadeter (left) won our recent STRANGE UNDERWATER
ENCOUNTERS contest with this entry, entitled, “Fish Say the
Darnedest Things!” Claims Weadeter, “It asked me for an 8-by10 glossy. Honest!']
REFURBISHED REGULATORS
Better Than New!
Whether you're diving in the icy waters of the North Atlantic or the sandy depths of the South Pacific, you want a regulator you can
trust. That's why so many divers use Imperial refurbished regulators; a thermoplastic valve system prevents ice-up in even coldest
waters, and all Imperial products are 100 percent corrosion-free. Most other regulators require adjustments in the first or second stages
of diving, but Imperial refurbished regulators adjust automatically, maintaining a steady flow for easy breathing.
“Inhalation effort and capacity of oxygen regulated remains approximately unchanged continually regardless of depth, tank pressure or
diver position.”
Stan Newberry, Professional Diver
DID YOU KNOW…?
There are 598 cherrystone clams in a bushel.
SEND US YOUR TRUE TALES OF ADVENTURE – AND WIN!
IT'S TRUE! You too can be a TRUE TALES OF ADVENTURE contest winner. Just tell us in 200 words or less about your own
amazing TRUE TALE OF ADVENTURE, no matter how wildly imaginative it may be. We'll believe almost anything. And if yours is
one of the top 10 entries selected, you'll receive as your prize the Infocom interactive story of your choice! So, true adventurers, start
writing now. Mail you tale along with your name and address and the name of the Infocom interactive story you want to win to: TRUE
TALES OF ADVENTURE CONTEST, c/o Infocom, Inc., 55 Wheeler Street, Cambridge, MA 02138.
Enclose a self addressed, stamped envelope if you wish to receive a list of the winners. All entries become the sole property of
Infocom, Inc. Employees of Infocom, Inc., and its advertising agency not eligible. Contest ends December 31, 1985.
NEPTUNE'S BRITE-2000: Focus In and Find the Finest
Don't go diving without Neptune's Brite-2000, the best underwater
light source money can buy! Who knows what treasures await you
in the rich dark deep – IF you can see them! Our super-deluxe
underwater flashlights are specially focused with a narrow, even
beam. Compact, efficient and rechargeable, Neptune's Brite-2000 is
ideal for day or night diving!
Available in all fine underwater light source stores.
UPDATE
In our last issue, we reported that Stan Newberry was offering Photo Safaris in and around Whaler's Cove.
TRUE TALES OF ADVENTURE has learned that Stan drowned last month; apparently a defective regulator is
to blame. Stan's son Skip will now lead the underwater safaris.
FEAR NO FISH!
SPEARFISHING IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD!
- The sport that's taking America's swimming pools by storm!
- Learn in your spare time!
- In the privacy of your own backyard!
- Only 20 minutes a day!
- Rid your swimming pool of unwanted fish!
If you can answer YES to ANY of the following questions, you
should enroll in the MATCHBOOK ACADEMY OF HOME
SPEARFISHING right now!
- Do you like seafood?
- Do you own a swimming pool?
- Do you love the great outdoors?
- Do you ever feel the urge to shoot a sharp pointed object
through someone's body?
- Do you care about your friends and loved ones enough to
protect them from dangerous marine life that may at this very
moment be lurking in YOUR home outdoor recreational
facility?
- Do you have $9.95?
RUSH $9.95 TO MATCHBOOK UNIVERSITY c/o “TURGID
EDDY” TODAY AND RECEIVE YOUR FIRST LESSON IN
HOME SPEARFISHING IMMEDIATELY!
Allow six to eight months for delivery. Offer subject to cancellation without
refund. If you are not completely satisfied, we're real sorry.
“TURGID EDDY” P.O. Box 753,
New Hackensack, Florida 10059
OKAY, I'LL TAKE THE BAIT!
Send me _____ copies of Lesson #1 in HOME SPEARFISHING MADE EASY! @ 9.95 plus $2.00 postage and
handing for each copy. I am over 21 years of age and have been certified clinically sane within the past six
months. Total $_____ . Please send cash; checks and money orders not accepted.
Name: _________________
Address: _______________
City ___________ State _________ Zip ___________
Instruction
Manual for
CUTTHROATS
Instruction Manual 9
10 Instruction Manual
Instruction Manual for CUTTHROATS
In CUTTHROATS, you are a skilled diver living on Hardscrabble Island, a small seaport past its prime. You will
try to salvage a sunken treasure from one of four shipwrecks; if you are successful, you will be fabulously
wealthy and enormously respected among old salts. Some characters in the story will help you; others will try
to stop you any way they can. If you can think logically and keep your throat intact, the treasure can be yours.
There is more than one shipwreck in CUTTHROATS, but in each story you will be trying to recover only one
particular treasure. When you restart the story, you may find yourself diving for a different treasure.
As in all Infocom interactive fiction, CUTTHROATS understands a very large vocabulary. Appendix B (page
18) lists several commands that will be useful in your adventure. Some of the commands listed are found in all
Infocom interactive fiction; others are included especially for CUTTHROATS. All adventurers will want to
familiarize themselves with this list.
Table of Contents
An Overview
- What is interactive fiction?
- Moving around
- Turns and scoring
Page 12
Tips for Novices
Eight useful pointers about interactive fiction
13
Communicating with CUTTHROATS
- Basic sentences
- Complex sentences
- Talking to characters in the story
- Vocabulary limitations
14
Starting and Stopping
- Starting CUTTHROATS ("Booting Up")
- Saving and restoring
• Quitting and restarting
16
Appendix A: Quick Reference Guide
17
This section describes the most important things to know about interactive fiction. It is vital that you know all
these things before you begin your adventure.
Appendix B: Important Commands
18
Appendix C: CUTTHROATS Complaints
19
Appendix D: Sample Transcript and Map
20
Appendix E: We're Never Satisfied
23
Appendix F: Author Biographies
24
Appendix G: Warranty and Copyright Information
24
Instruction Manual 11
An Overview
Interactive fiction is a story in which you are the main character. Your own thinking and imagination determine
the actions of that character and guide the story from start to finish.
Each work of Infocom's interactive fiction, such as CUTTHROATS, presents you with a series of locations,
items, characters and events. You can interact with these in a variety of ways.
You will have to interact with several characters and solve many problems as you move through
CUTTHROATS. Frequently you will need to bring a certain item to a particular place and then use it in the
proper way to solve a problem. Remember that other characters may be better equipped than you are to solve
a given problem.
In CUTTHROATS, time passes only in response to your input. The game's clock will advance (generally one
minute) for each sentence you type. Nothing happens in the story until you type a sentence and press the
RETURN (or ENTER) key, so you can plan your turns as slowly and carefully as you want.
To measure your progress, CUTTHROATS keeps track of your score. You may get points for acquiring certain
objects, performing certain actions and visiting certain locations. However, a perfect score isn't what really
matters. Recovering the treasure and enjoying your adventure is far more important.
12 Instruction Manual
Tips for Novices
1. When you begin CUTTHROATS, you should first become familiar with your surroundings. Explore every
location carefully. Note any interesting objects and all exits from the location. As you explore the island, a
boat, or a shipwreck, it is a very good idea to make a map of the geography. Even the most experienced and
capable adventurers find it wise to make a map showing each location, the directions connecting it to adjoining
locations and any interesting objects there.
2. Read the story carefully. There are clues in many of the descriptions of locations and objects. Also check
labels, books and other items. Many objects in the story can be picked up and are needed to solve puzzles.
3. Unlike ordinary "adventure games" you may have played, there are many possible routes to the completion
of CUTTHROATS: there is no one "correct" order for solving problems. Some problems have many solutions;
others don't need solutions at all. However, sometimes you will have to solve one problem in order to obtain
the tools or information you need to solve another.
4. You may find it helpful to go through CUTTHROATS with another person. Different people may find
different problems easy, and can often complement each other.
5. Don't be afraid to try something bold or strange – you can always save your position first if you want. (See
"Starting and Stopping" on page 16.) Trying the bizarre can be fun and will often give you a clue. Here's a fun
example:
>GIVE THE TICKET STUB TO THE MERMAID
The mermaid examines the ticket stub, then frowns and drops it. She looks at you with curiosity.
You have just learned that there probably is something which would be of interest to the mermaid. Maybe the
ivory bracelet?
6. As a professional diver, you know how important it is to dive with proper equipment. Abandon all thoughts of
using scuba gear when diving deeper than 200 feet. Remember, too, that the deeper you dive, the greater
your air consumption.
7. If you really have difficulty, you can order a hint booklet and a complete map from Infocom using the order
form that came in your package. You don't need the hint booklet to enjoy the story, but it will make solving
CUTTHROATS easier.
8. Read the sample transcript on page 20 to get a feel for how interactive fiction works.
Instruction Manual 13
Communicating with CUTTHROATS
In CUTTHROATS, you type your commands in plain English each time you see the prompt (>).
CUTTHROATS usually acts as though your sentence begins with "I want to...," although you should not type
those words. CUTTHROATS then displays a response telling you whether what you want to do is possible in
the current situation and, if it is, whether anything happened as a result.
CUTTHROATS distinguishes words by their first six letters, and all subsequent letters are ignored. Therefore,
DRESSEr, DRESSEd and DRESSEs would all be treated as the same word by CUTTHROATS.
To move from place to place, type the direction you want to go. You can use the eight compass directions:
NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, WEST, NORTHEAST, NORTHWEST, SOUTHEAST and SOUTHWEST. You can
abbreviate these to N, S, E, W, N E, NW, SE and SW, respectively. You can also use UP (or U) and DOWN
(or D). ENTER and EXIT (also known as IN and OUT) will work in certain places. You may use these same
movements while aboard ships, or you may also use FORE, AFT, PORT and STARBOARD.
CUTTHROATS understands many different kinds of sentences. Here are a few examples. (Note that some of
these objects do not actually appear in CUTTHROATS.)
WALK NORTH
DOWN
NE
GO SOUTH
U
OPEN THE WOODEN DOOR
EXAMINE THE SCUBA GEAR
LOOK BEHIND THE STATUE
LOOK UNDER THE ROCK
LOOK INSIDE THE VAT
TAKE BOX
TAKE THE BOOKS
PICK UP THE WOODEN BOX
LOCK THE DOOR WITH THE KEY
PUSH THE BUTTON
PUT TOOTHBRUSH UNDER BED
You can use multiple objects with certain verbs if you separate them by the word AND or by a comma. Some
examples:
TAKE KNIFE, BOOK, COMPASS
DROP THE BOX, THE GUN, AND THE JAR
PUT THE GOLD BAR AND THE PEARL IN THE OAK CHEST
The words IT and ALL can be very useful. For example:
TAKE THE ELECTROMAGNET. TURN IT ON
OPEN THE BOX. LOOK IN IT. CLOSE IT. LOCK IT
TAKE ALL FROM CHEST
DROP ALL BUT THE SHARK REPELLENT
You can include several sentences on one input line if you separate them by the word THEN or by a period.
You don't need to type a period at the end of an input line. For example, you could input all of the following at
once, before pressing the RETURN (or ENTER) key:
OPEN THE CHEST THEN LOOK IN IT. CLOSE THE CHEST THEN TAKE IT THEN CLIMB UP THEN GO
EAST. HIDE THE CHEST IN THE CLOSET THEN WALK WEST THEN CLIMB DOWN
If CUTTHROATS doesn't understand one of the sentences in your input line, or if something unusual happens,
it will ignore the rest of your input line (see "CUTTHROATS Complaints" on page 19).
14 Instruction Manual
CUTTHROATS understands only two types of questions: WHAT and WHERE. Here are two examples that
you can try in CUTTHROATS:
WHAT IS A DRILL?
WHERE IS THE SHARK REPELLENT?
You will meet other characters in CUTTHROATS. You can talk to them using the format: CHARACTER, DO
THIS. Here are some examples:
PETE, GIVE ME THE KEY
WALTER, TURN OFF THE RADIO
MAXWELL, DROP THE SILVER HAMMER. LOOK AT THE BODY. GO NORTH
Notice that in the last example, you are giving one character more than one command on the same input line.
Once you've engaged someone in conversation, you can often skip the formalities and just state your requests
as long as that person remains in the same room with you.
To disclose a location to someone, try this format:
JOEL, THE LATITUDE IS 20
On occasion, a character may ask your opinion on something. A simple YES, NO or MAYBE will suffice.
CUTTHROATS tries to guess what you really mean when you don't give enough information. For example, if
you say that you want to do something, but not what you want to do it to or with, CUTTHROATS will
sometimes decide that there is only one possible object that you could mean. When it does so, it will tell you.
For example:
>UNLOCK THE DOOR
(with the key)
The door is now unlocked.
or
>GIVE THE BOOK
(to the salesman)
The salesman appears uninterested in the book.
If your sentence is ambiguous, CUTTHROATS will ask what you really mean. You can answer most of these
questions briefly by supplying the missing information, rather than retyping the entire input. This can only be
done at the very next prompt. Some examples:
>TIE THE ROPE
What do you want to tie the rope to?
>THE MAST
The rope is now tied to the mast.
Or
>HIT THE NAIL WITH THE HAMMER
Which nail do you mean, the shiny nail or the rusty nail?
>SHINY
The shiny nail is driven halfway into the piece of wood.
CUTTHROATS uses many words in its descriptions which it will not recognize in your sentences. For example,
you might read, "Sediment and seaweed wave slowly with the current." However, if CUTTHROATS doesn't
recognize the words SEDIMENT or SEAWEED in your input, you can assume that they are not important to
your completion of the story, but are included only to enhance your mental imagery of the scene.
CUTTHROATS recognizes over 800 words, nearly all you are likely to use in your commands. If
CUTTHROATS doesn't know a word you used, or any of its common synonyms, you are almost certainly
trying something that is not important to your adventure.
Instruction Manual 15
Starting and Stopping
Starting the Story: Now that you know what to expect in CUTTHROATS, it's time for you to load your disk. To
do so, follow the instructions on your Reference Card.
Following the copyright notice and the release number of the story, you will see a description of the starting
location.
Here are a couple of quick exercises to help you get accustomed to interacting with CUTTHROATS. Type the
following next to the prompt (>):
GET OUT OF BED
Then press the RETURN (or ENTER) key. CUTTHROATS will respond with:
You get out of bed.
Now try typing:
TAKE THE NOTE THEN READ IT
After you press the RETURN (or ENTER) key, CUTTHROATS will respond:
Taken.
The note is hastily scrawled: "If you're interested in a big deal, meet us at The Shanty at 8:30 this morning.
-Johnny"
Saving and Restoring: It will take you a good deal of time to complete CUTTHROATS. You probably won't find
and salvage the sunken treasure in one sitting. CUTTHROATS allows you to continue at a later time without
having to start over from the beginning, just as you can place a bookmark in a book you are reading. There is
a command, called SAVE, that makes a "snapshot" of your position in the story. If you are a prudent
adventurer, you may want to SAVE your position before you embark upon (or after you complete) any
particularly tricky or dangerous part of your journey. Having taken this snapshot, you can go back to that
position whenever you want, even though you may have gotten "killed" afterward.
In order to save your position, type SAVE at the prompt (>), and then press the RETURN (or ENTER) key.
Then follow the instructions for saving and restoring on your Reference Card. Note that many systems require
a blank disk, initialized and formatted, to use as a save disk. Using a disk with data on it (not counting other
CUTTHROATS saves) may result in the loss of that data, depending on your system.
You can RESTORE a saved position any time you want. To do so, type RESTORE at a prompt (>), and press
the RETURN (or ENTER) key. Then follow the instructions for saving and restoring on your Reference Card.
CUTTHROATS will now let you continue from your saved position. You can type LOOK for a description of
where you are.
Quitting and Restarting: If you want to start over from the beginning of the story, you can use the RESTART
command. (This is usually faster than rebooting.) CUTTHROATS will mention your current score and then ask
if you really want to start over from the beginning of the story. If you do, type Y and press the RETURN (or
ENTER) key.
If you want to stop, type QUIT. Once again, CUTTHROATS will ask if this is really what you want to do. If you
do, type Y and press the RETURN key.
Remember, when you RESTART or QUIT, that if you ever want to return to your current position, you must
first do a SAVE.
16 Instruction Manual
Appendix A: Quick Reference Guide
1. The object of CUTTHROATS is to find and salvage a sunken treasure.
2. To start CUTTHROATS ("Boot Up"), see the separate Reference Card that's inside your CUTTHROATS
package.
3. When you see the prompt (>) on your screen, CUTTHROATS is waiting for your command. There are four
kinds of commands that CUTTHROATS understands:
A. Direction commands: To move from location to location, just type the direction you want to go: N (or
NORTH), E, S, W, NE, SE, NW, SW, U (or UP), D, IN, OUT, P (or PORT), SB, FORE, AFT.
B. Actions: Just type whatever it is you want to do. For example: READ THE BOOK or OPEN THE DOOR or
LOOK THROUGH THE WINDOW. Once you are familiar with simple commands, you'll want to try some
complex ones. Some examples of these can be found in the section called "Communicating with
CUTTHROATS" on page 14.
C. Commands given to people: To talk to characters in the story, type their name, then a comma, then what
you want to say to them. For example: JOHNNY, GIVE ME THE AXE or OLD MAN, PRESS THE BUTTON.
D. Special one-word commands: Some one-word commands, such as INVENTORY or DIAGNOSE, give you
specific information or affect your output. A list of these commands can be found in the section called
"Important Commands" on page 18
4. Important! After you finish typing your command, you must press the RETURN (or ENTER) key. This will
make CUTTHROATS respond to your command.
5. On most computers, we have included a special line on your screen called the status line. It tells you two
things: the name of your current location and the time displayed on your watch in the story.
6. You can pick up and carry many of the items you will find in the story. For example, if you type TAKE THE
COMPASS, you will be carrying it. You can type INVENTORY to see a list of everything you are carrying.
7. If you have any trouble, refer to the rest of the manual for more detailed instructions and sample
commands.
8. When you want to stop, save your place for later, or start over, see the instructions in the "Starting and
Stopping" section on page 16.
Instruction Manual 17
Appendix B: Important Commands
Listed below are just some of the commands that you will find useful in your adventure. Some of these commands order
CUTTHROATS to give you specific information. You can use these over and over as needed. Some of them constitute a turn;
others do not. Note that prepositions can turn a verb into many different commands: LOOK can become LOOK INTO, LOOK
UNDER, LOOK BEHIND, LOOK THROUGH, etc. Type the command after the prompt (>) and press the RETURN (or ENTER)
key.
AGAIN - CUTTHROATS will usually respond as if you had repeated your previous sentence. You cannot use AGAIN to repeat
"movement" commands like GO WEST. You can abbreviate AGAIN to G.
BRIEF - This tells CUTTHROATS to give you the full description of a location only the first time you enter it. CUTTHROATS will
describe a location already visited by displaying only its name and the objects present. This is how CUTTHROATS will normally
act, unless you tell it otherwise using the VERBOSE or SUPERBRIEF commands.
DIAGNOSE - CUTTHROATS will describe your physical condition and tell you whether you need food, drink, or sleep.
INVENTORY - CUTTHROATS will list what you are carrying. You can abbreviate INVENTORY to I.
LOOK - This command will cause CUTTHROATS to describe your surroundings in full detail. You can abbreviate LOOK to L.
PUSH (something) TO THE (direction) – Pushing something to the NORTH, the SOUTH, or some other direction may prove
useful under certain circumstances.
QUIT - This lets you stop. If you want to SAVE your position first, follow the instructions in the "Starting and Stopping" section,
on page 16. You can abbreviate QUIT to Q.
RESTART - This ends the story and starts it over from the beginning.
RESTORE - This restores a story position made using the SAVE command. See "Starting and Stopping" for more details.
SAVE - This makes a "snapshot" of your current story position onto your storage disk. You can return to a saved position in the
future using the RESTORE command. See "Starting and Stopping" for more details.
SCORE - This will show your current score and the number of turns you have taken, and tell you your rating as a CUTTHROATS
adventurer based on your score.
SCRIPT - This command tells your printer to begin making a transcript of the story as you carry on your adventure. A transcript
may aid your memory but is not necessary. It will work only on certain computers; consult your Reference Card for details.
SUPERBRIEF - This commands CUTTHROATS to display only the name of a location you have entered, even if you have never
been there before. In SUPERBRIEF mode, CUTTHROATS will not even mention which objects are present. Of course, you can
always get a description of your location and its objects by typing LOOK. In SUPERBRIEF mode, the blank lines between turns
will be eliminated. This mode is meant for adventurers who are already very familiar with the geography.
UNSCRIPT - This commands your printer to stop printing.
VERBOSE - This tells CUTTHROATS that you want a complete description of each location and the objects in it every time you
enter a location, even if you've been there before. (Compare BRIEF and SUPERBRIEF.)
VERSION - CUTTHROATS responds by showing you the release number and serial number of your copy of the story. Please
include this information if you ever report a "bug" in CUTTHROATS.
WAIT - This will cause time in the story to pass. Normally, between turns, nothing happens in the story. You could leave your
computer, take a nap and return to the story to find that nothing has changed. You can use WAIT to make time pass in the story
without doing anything. For example, if you encounter an alien being, you could WAIT to see what it will do. Or, if you are in a
moving vehicle, you could WAIT to see where it will go. You can abbreviate WAIT to Z.
WITHDRAW (some amount of money) - Enter the amount of money as a number preceded by a dollar sign ($). Don't use the
decimal point; you can withdraw only in increments of dollars. They're your life savings. Use them as you see fit.
There are many other words and phrases, including:
ATTACK, BREAK, BUY, CLIMB, CLOSE, CUT, DIVE, DRINK, DROP, EAT, EXAMINE, GIVE, INSERT, JUMP, LOCK, PULL,
READ, RENT, SLEEP, TAKE, TURN OFF, TURN ON, WEDGE, WIND, YELL ...
18 Instruction Manual
Appendix C: CUTTHROATS Complaints
Completely mystifying sentences will cause CUTTHROATS to complain in one way or another. After making
the complaint, CUTTHROATS will ignore the rest of the input line. (Unusual events, such as your air supply
becoming dangerously low, may also cause CUTTHROATS to ignore the rest of the sentences you typed,
since the event may have changed your situation drastically.) Some of CUTTHROATS' complaints:
I DON'T KNOW THE WORD "[your word]." The word you typed is not in the story's vocabulary. Sometimes a
synonym or rephrasing will be understood. If not, CUTTHROATS probably doesn't know the idea you were
trying to get across.
SORRY, BUT YOU CAN'T USE THE WORD "[your word]" IN THAT SENSE. CUTTHROATS knows your word
but cannot understand it the way it appears in your input. It may be that CUTTHROATS uses the word as a
different part of speech. For instance, you may be using LOWER as an adjective (as in PRESS THE LOWER
BUTTON), but CUTTHROATS knows LOWER only as a verb (as in LOWER THE ROPE). It is also possible
that your sentence made no sense at all: OPEN THE TAKE, for example.
I COULDN'T FIND ENOUGH NOUNS IN THAT SENTENCE! This usually indicates an incomplete sentence,
such as PUT THE LAMP IN THE, where CUTTHROATS expected a noun and couldn't find one.
I FOUND MORE THAN TWO NOUNS IN THAT SENTENCE! An example is PUT THE SOUP IN THE BOWL
WITH THE LADLE.
I DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT SENTENCE. The sentence you typed may have been gibberish. Or, you may
have used a syntax that CUTTHROATS does not understand, such as LOOK THE BOOK OVER. Try
rephrasing the sentence.
WHAT? You did not type anything after the prompt (>) and before pressing the RETURN (or ENTER) key.
YOU CAN'T SEE ANY "(object)" HERE. The object you referred to was not present, or was not accessible to
you (for example, it was present but inside a closed container).
YOU CAN'T USE MULTIPLE DIRECT [or INDIRECT] OBJECTS WITH "[your verb]." You can use multiple
objects (that is, nouns or noun phrases separated by AND or a comma) or the word ALL only with certain
verbs. Among the more useful of these verbs are TAKE, DROP and PUT. An example of a verb that will not
work with multiple objects is ATTACK; you couldn't say ATTACK ALL or ATTACK PETE AND JOHNNY.
Instruction Manual 19
Appendix D: Sample Transcript and Map
This transcript is not from CUTTHROATS, but it does show many of the common interactions you will use in the course of
the story. It contains several simple problems and their solutions and will give you a good idea of how Infocom's interactive
fiction works. The adventurer's sentences appear in capital letters after each prompt (>). The map represents the terrain in
the sample transcript, as you might have drawn it.
Yukon Cafe
This is Boomtown's most popular bar. In fact, it is Boomtown's only
bar, and as such it is usually packed with the cream of local
society: cutthroats, claim-jumpers and confidence men. The
appeal is clearly not the decor -- the bar consists of a long plank
placed over two barrels. A few barrels, surrounded by wooden
stools, are what the management calls tables.
The bartender stands behind the bar, polishing a glass.
Old Pete is sitting at a table, nursing a drink. Sitting on the table is:
A grimy note
>SIT
(on the chair)
You are now sitting on the chair.
>ORDER A DRINK
You have purchased a drink for $1.
The bartender slaps down a thick glass filled with a brown, fulminating liquid that you take to be the local aperitif. A drop of
the drink spatters on the table, and you could swear that smoke rises from the spot where it hit.
A rat scurries across the floor and up onto your table, and begins to gnaw at the note.
>TAKE THE NOTE
The rat stops chomping on the note long enough to chomp on your finger.
You hastily pull your hand away, and Old Pete begins to laugh so hard you're afraid he's going to have a stroke. "You
ought to be on the TV," he howls.
>PETE, GO AWAY
"I don't wanna."
>EXAMINE FINGER
There is a small cut on the tip of your index finger but, hey, real miners don't care about pain.
"Well, ain't you gonna read me that thar note?" Old Pete asks.
>POUR DRINK ON RAT
With a piercing shriek, the rat drops the note, scurries down the table, and, after weaving drunkenly around the floor for a
few minutes, ducks into a tiny hole in the wall.
"That rat ain't never been able to hold his liquor," says Pete.
>SHWO PETE THE NOTE
I don't know the word "shwo".
>SHOW PETE THE NOTE
(taking the grimy note first) "Heck, I ain't never learned to read," he says. "You best read it to me."
20 Instruction Manual
>READ IT TO PETE
The note was written with a blunt pencil and is so badly smudged and gnawed that you can barely read it. "There's GOLD
in the abandoned shaft of the Blue Ridge mine, down past the...." After much squinting, you manage to make out one
more word. Could it be -- danger! The rest of the message is totally illegible.
Pete's rheumy eyes glisten with a light you have no trouble identifying as greed. "Doggone! I knewed thar was gold in that
thar mine! I know 'zactly where the Blue Ridge is, too! Wha' say we buy us some supplies and head out thar?"
>NORTH
"Hey! Jes' war you goin? We in this together? Yes or no."
>YES
"Tha's what I like to hear!" Pete shouts. Pete jumps to his feet with surprising agility and heads out of the bar.
>E
You'd better get off the chair first.
>STAND
You are now standing.
>N
Prospector's Row
This is the middle of Prospector's Row, which continues to the east and west. To the north is Bud's Burros and Mining
Supplies.
There is a stick here.
Old Pete is here, heading north.
>N
Bud's Burros and Mining Supplies
This is the town's general store, a dirty room divided by a long wooden counter, run by Bud Aku, a short nonentity who
likes to wear Hawaiian shirts. Picks, axes, lanterns and other mining paraphernalia lie strewn about. The room has a
strong smell that you can't quite identify. Could be mules. Could be Bud.
On the counter are:
A price list
A scale
Bud Aku himself stands behind the counter.
Old Pete is here.
>BUD, GIVE ME THE SCALE
"If I did that, I'd be outa business," Bud says.
>I
You are holding:
A grimy note
In your pocket there is:
$12 in cash money
A small chunk of rock
"Well, le's get them supplies for our gold mi...uh, for our vacation," Pete says, winking ostentatiously in your direction.
>READ LIST
BUD'S BURROS PRICE LIST
lantern - $8
jar of kerosene - $4
axe - $10
length of string - $5
burro (rental) - $25
carrot - $1
Instruction Manual 21
>BUY LANTERN AND KEROSENE AND AXE
lantern: You have purchased a lantern for $8.
jar of kerosene: You have purchased a jar of kerosene for $4.
axe: "You know we don't give credit," Bud says.
>LOOK IN POCKET
In your pocket you find a small chunk of rock.
>TAKE ROCK
Taken.
>EXAMINE IT
It is a nugget of gold-colored rock.
>GIVE BUD THE ROCK
"Hmm... let's just see," Bud says. He hefts the small chunk of rock, bites on it, sniffs it, tests it with acid, then finally puts it
on the scale.
"Fifty bucks," he says. "Deal?"
>BUD, YES
Bud hands you $50.
>GIVE LANTERN TO BUD
"Hmm...let's just see, "Bud says. He hefts the lantern, bites on it, sniffs it, tests it with acid, then finally puts it on the scale.
"Nope," he says, "no gold content." He hands you back the lantern.
>BUY AXE AND STRING AND CARROT. RENT BURRO. S
axe: You have purchased an axe for $10.
length of string: You have purchased a length of string for $5.
carrot: You have purchased a carrot for $1.
You have rented a burro for $25. Bud yells to someone to get the burrow out front.
Prospector's Row
There is a large, sleepy burrow here, his head facing east.
There is a stick here.
>I
You are carrying:
An axe
A length of string
A carrot
A lantern
A jar of kerosene
In your pocket is:
$9 in cash money
>TAKE STICK
Taken.
>GET ON BURRO
You are now on the burro.
22 Instruction Manual
>E
The burrow swats idly at a fly with his tail.
>KICK BURRO
You should be ashamed of yourself!
>HIT BURRO
What do you want to hit the burro with?
>THE STICK
The burro snorts once or twice, but is otherwise unmoved by your unwarranted act of cruelty.
>SHOW BURRO CARROT
The burro shakes of his lethargy and moves toward the carrot, but you manage to pull it out of reach. After a few seconds,
the burro seems to have forgotten entirely about the carrot and once more seems to be asleep on his feet.
>TIE STRING TO CARROT. TIE STRING TO STICK. DANGLE CARROT IN FRONT OF BURRO.
The string is tied to the carrot.
The string is tied to the stick.
The burro, smelling the carrot, seems to wake. He takes a step toward the carrot, but is surprised to see that the carrot
moves forward. He takes another step, then another... You're moving!
Appendix E: We're Never Satisfied
Here at Infocom, we take great pride in the quality of our stories. Even after they're "out the door," we're
constantly improving, honing and perfecting.
Your input is important. No matter how much testing we do, it seems that some "bugs" never crawl into view
until thousands of you begin doing all those wild and crazy things to the story. If you find a bug, or if you have
some other suggestion, or if you found a certain problem too hard or too easy, or if you'd just like to tell us
your opinion of CUTTHROATS, drop us a note! We love every excuse to stop working, and a letter from you is
just such an excuse! Write to:
INFOCOM, INC.
55 Wheeler Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Attn: PETE THE RAT
You can call the Infocom Technical Support Team to report bugs and technical problems, but not for hints to
solve puzzles, at (617) 576-3190. If you develop a problem with your disk within ninety (90) days after
purchase, we will replace your disk at no charge. Otherwise, there is a replacement fee of $5.00 (U.S.
currency). Please return your registration card if you'd like to be on our mailing list and receive our customer
newsletter, THE NEW ZORK TIMES.
Instruction Manual 23
Appendix F: Author Biographies
Michael Berlyn. Michael Berlyn is a writer whose books include The Integrated Man and Crystal Phoenix from
Bantam Books. He is the author of SUSPENDED and INFIDEL, both from Infocom. He lives in the Cambridge
area and is married to M. M. McClung, a writer and artist.
Jerry Wolper. Jerry Wolper majored in computer science at MIT before coming to Infocom in 1982. He is
often considered Pittsburgh's greatest contribution to interactive fiction.
Appendix G: Warranty and Copyright Information
Limited Warranty
This software product and the attached instructional materials are sold "AS IS," without warranty as to their performance. The entire risk as to the
quality and performance of the computer software program is assumed by the user.
However, to the original purchaser of a disk prepared by Infocom and carrying the Infocom label on the disk jacket, Infocom, Inc. warrants the medium
on which the program is recorded to be free from defects in materials and faulty workmanship under normal use and service for a period of ninety (90)
days from the date of purchase. If during this period a defect on the medium should occur, the medium may be returned to Infocom, Inc. or to an
authorized Infocom, Inc. dealer, and Infocom, Inc. will replace the medium without charge to you. Your sole and exclusive remedy in the event of a
defect is expressly limited to replacement of the medium as provided above.
THE ABOVE WARRANTIES FOR GOODS ARE IN LIEU OF ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING, BUT NOT
LIMITED TO, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND OF ANY OTHER
WARRANTY OBLIGATION ON THE PART OF INFOCOM, INC. IN NO EVENT SHALL INFOCOM, INC. OR ANYONE ELSE WHO HAS BEEN
INVOLVED IN THE CREATION AND PRODUCTION OF THIS COMPUTER SOFTWARE PROGRAM BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, SPECIAL, OR
CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SUCH AS, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOSS OF ANTICIPATED PROFITS OR BENEFITS RESULTING FROM THE USE
OF THIS PROGRAM, OR ARISING OUT OF ANY BREACH OF THIS WARRANTY. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR
LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
N.B. After the warranty period, a defective Infocom disk may be returned to Infocom, Inc. with a check or money order for $5.00 (U.S. currency) for
replacement.
Copyright
The enclosed software product is copyrighted and all rights are reserved by Infocom, Inc. It is published exclusively by Infocom, Inc. The distribution
and sale of this product are intended for the use of the original purchaser only and for use only on the computer system specified. Lawful users of this
program are hereby licensed only to read the program from its medium into memory of a computer solely for the purpose of executing the program.
Copying (except for one backup copy on those systems which provide for it - see Reference Card), duplicating, selling, or otherwise distributing this
product is a violation of the law.
This manual and all other documentation contained herein are copyrighted and all rights are reserved by Infocom, Inc. These documents may not, in
whole or in part, be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated, or reduced to any electronic medium or machine-readable form without prior consent,
in writing, from Infocom, Inc.
Willful violations of the Copyright Law of the United States can result in civil damages of up to $50,000 in addition to actual damages, plus criminal
penalties of up to one year imprisonment and/or $10,000 fine.
CUTTHROATS, INFIDEL, and SUSPENDED are trademarks of Infocom, Inc.
© 1984 Infocom, Inc.
Printed in U.S.A.
24 Instruction Manual
You are a daring deep-sea driver held up on Hardscrabble Island, a dying little seaport all but
forgotten. The tiny island offers little entertainment or diversions, and diving off the
treacherous reefs has long since lost its charm. So when a note is slipped under your bedroom
door offering you the opportunity of a lifetime, you're ready to take the plunge.
True, your cohorts are untrustworthy. Granted, keeping the sunken treasure a secret is
practically impossible on such a small island. Naturally, diving alone in new areas is
dangerous, But if you can keep your head and get the treasure, the riches will more than
offset the risks you have to take.
Fortunately, this package contains some of the most important information you'll need to
succeed on you adventure: a book entitled Four Shipwrecks off Hardscrabble Island; a map
showing where the shipwrecks went down; a price list from Outfitter's International, where
you may purchase the necessary diving equipment, and a table listing high and low tides.
None of these will help you, though, unless you're able to join in league with some of the
shadiest characters this side of Davy Jones' locker, brave the seas and use you resources to
cheat death.
Good luck, matey. You'll need it.
The Table of Contents for the manual is on page 11. Take a look at it to determine what you
should read before you start the story.
Four Shipwrecks off Hardscrabble Island
HARDSCRABBLE HARBOR HISTORICAL SOCIETY
INTRODUCTION
FROM THE TIME IT WAS FOUNDED by Reverend Gladstone and his followers in 1692 until the decline of the fishing
industry in the 1920s, Hardscrabble Harbor was an important port for the sailing ships of the world. Its deep channel
offered sufficient draught for everything from sloops to the giant five-masters of the late nineteenth century. (Islanders
who remember the Harbor’s boom years say that at times there were more foreign sailors roaming the Wharf Road than
there were Hardscrabble natives.)
However, like any other seaport, Hardscrabble has its treacherous shoals and narrow straits. Consequently, a side effect
of the great sea trade was a number of shipwrecks. This volume concerns four of the most famous vessels to go down in
our waters: The Săo Vera, the H.M.S. Intransigent, The Fianna and the S. S. Leviathan.
Many stories have sprung up over the years in regard to the fates of these ships. Some of these tales are based on fact;
others are little more than strands in the fabric of local legend. By searching through the town archives (and in the case
of the Leviathan, conducting interviews with survivors), we have endeavored to separate truth from fiction.
While the subject of this book is one of tragedy and great loss of human life, we hope it will prove enlightening to the
readers, as well as valuable to anyone who might wish to explore these old and historic wrecks.
THE HARDSCRABBLE HARBOR HISTORICAL SOCIETY
August 1937
SÃO VERA
THE SĂO VERA WAS ONE OF THE FIRST transatlantic cargo ships,
carrying gold coins and jewels to Portugal from its colonies in
the New World. The ship was built to carry a crew of 110, and
had a wide stern to allow for a great cabin aft in the style of
the large merchantmen of the day. One of her most striking
characteristics was a figurehead in the shape of a lion.
Dame Fortune seems to have smiled on the Săo Vera at first.
During her maiden voyage, she struck a reef near the island of
Santo, but against all odds limped to the Brazilian mainland
with no loss of life or cargo. A year later, the Spanish set fireships laden with explosives adrift in Recife Harbor, destroying
much of the Portuguese merchant fleet moored there; the Săo
Vera, however, was in dry-dock for repairs and escaped
unscathed.
Tragically, her luck failed to hold out through the succession of
violent gales that pummeled her in the fall of 1698. The first of
these blew the ship off her course for Rio de Janeiro in midOctober, causing severe damage to the hull. Before this could
be repaired, a second gale swept down on the Săo Vera,
carrying her into the waters near Hardscrabble Island, where
she foundered for days. The fatal blow was struck when a third vicious storm broke upon the disabled vessel.
The captain, Juan Estaban del Cano, went down with his ship, and all hands save two were lost. The
survivors managed to make their way to Chocteague Neck by clinging to a broken spar. They were pulled
from the icy waters, frostbitten and near the point of hysteria, by passing fishermen two days later.
H. M. S. INTRANSIGENT
THE INTRANSIGENT WAS A BRITISH WARSHIP of the frigate
variety. She was used by the Royal Navy primarily for
patrolling the sea lanes between Africa and North
America in the eighteenth century, although it was
rumored that one of her skippers, “Icy Will” Bose, secretly
employed the ship for smuggling slaves and ivory to the
colonies.
This man-o’-war was armed with 40 guns and led a
colorful history. In 1845, for example, she was attacked
by corsairs while anchored off the Ivory Coast, but
managed to escape by cutting her cable. Three years
later, she was engaged in an action against a French
convoy near Gibraltar. Disaster was turned to victory,
however, when the captain of the Intransigent, Sir Harle
Perkins, skillfully lured the enemy into the Straits, where a
detachment of British warships waylaid and routed the
French forces. Pirates commandeered her for a brief
time in 1759 by attacking at night and overpowering the
sleeping crew, but they were caught and hung on what
was then known as Hipaniola (an island which has since
been divided into the Caribbean nations of Haiti and the
Dominican Republic) shortly thereafter.
Captain Bose took command of the Intransigent in 1761. It sank under extremely mysterious circumstances
five years later, in 1766. Bose, who was said to have survived, was never heard from again. A number of
unreliable sources reported him living in luxury somewhere in the West Indies, and one story claimed that he
eventually died in a dual over a certain lady of British nobility. None of these tales has ever been
substantiated.
THE FIANNA
THE FIANNA WAS ORIGINALLY KNOWN as the Gloria Dieu, a
British tea clipper built for speed to race across the great
distances of the China Trade routes. She was designed by
Phineas Hayes, then commissioner of Chatham Yard, and
was laid down in Woolrich in 1869. The vessel was
composite-built; that is, while she was an ironclad, her keel,
stem, and sternpost were of wood.
The Gloria Dieu did very well at the tea trade, and later, when
the Suez Canal put it at a disadvantage to the newer steamships in that line, she was converted over to the Australian
wool trade. It was while she was sailing from Melbourne to
Liverpool in late 1878 that she was attacked, boarded and
hijacked by “Iron Mike” Quinn, the last of the great pirates.
Iron Mike’s men ruthlessly murdered the entire crew of the
Gloria Dieu, and the pirate king himself rechristened the
clipper “The Fianna” after a legendary band of Gaelic warrior
heroes. The next nine years were bloody pages in the story
of the vessel. Under Iron Mike’s iron hand, the cold-bloodedly
efficient buccaneers pillaged and plundered the high seas,
raiding more than 150 merchant ships.
There are several widely disparate versions of how The Fianna finally went down. The most believable of
these stories is that after Iron Mike and his crew relieved the Scottish mercantile vessel Donalwald of its cargo
of rare whiskey in 1887, they failed to notice a partially submerged ledge located to the northwest of
Hardscrabble Island. It is believed that currents caused her to drift form the point where she was lost.
S. S. LEVIATHAN
IN 1903, HOLLYWOOD CRUISE LINES announced its intention of
constructing a new 30,000-ton express steamer. The Leviathan
was to be the last word in all that constituted luxury, from the
extremely rare materials used in the decoration and paneling of
the ship’s many saloons and lounges to the extraordinary
plushness of the private suites and cabins. The Leviathan was
also designed to be faster than any competing cruiseship of her
time—without sacrificing passenger comfort.
The vessel’s speed might have saved her had it not been for a
last-minute compromise by the directors. A decision was
reached to increase the amount of space allotted to first-class
passengers. However, because of the extravagant size of each
first-class compartment, it was necessary to “borrow” space
from other parts of the ship.
This ultimately resulted in a modification of the hull, which
compromised the Leviathan’s ability to achieve her originally
specified top speed. Otherwise, she might have been able to
outdistance the German warship that sent her to the bottom
near Hardscrabble Island in 1916—at least long enough for help
to have arrived. As it was, all passengers escaped in lifeboats,
but Mr. Alexander Moorehead’s famed stamp collection,
encased in glass, was lost, along with many other items of value. The Germans later excused the sinking by
claiming that the U.S. was using the Leviathan to ship weapons to Europe, but this accusation was never
substantiated.
YOU'LL "KNOT" FIND
BETTER PRICES ELSEWHERE!
Diving book ................................................................. $20
Nautical charts ............................................................. $150
Flashlight ..................................................................... $24
Dry cell ....................................................................... $5
Small air compressor (rental) ........................................ $100
Tube of putty ............................................................... $15
C battery ..................................................................... $1
Net ............................................................................. $50
Spear gun ................................................................... $45
Compass .................................................................... $50
Location box ................................................................ $1000
Portable electromagnet ................................................ $250
Diving cage(rental) ....................................................... $650
Shark repellent canister ................................................ $20
Winch ......................................................................... $300
Anchor ........................................................................ $50
"The tourist folks come here in June with a
clean shirt and a ten-dollar bill ... and they
don't change either one the whole summer."
(From Captain Haskell's Logbook)
"U-TRAWL-IT"
RENTAL VESSELS
THE NIGHT WIND
44' trawler, sturdy,
steady. Capable of
handling heavy fishing
and
dirty
weather.
Maine built 1970. Wheelhouse, split Deme
winches and rigging new 1981. Loran, radar,
recorder. Rigged for snapper/grouper fishing.
1000 gals. fuel, 500 gals. water capacity.
10,000 lbs. fish hold. 453 Detroit Diesel. Pot
hauler, hydraulic steering. 2" shaft, Quad nickel
propeller, deck hatch, bilge pump, fuel-water
strainers, 8" fiberglass muffler. Can be
transported on existing triple axle trailer. Now in
water and completely seaworthy.
THE MARY
MARGARET
55' salvager, ideal for
deep-water
reclamation
jobs. Oak construction.
Overhauled
V8-71
Detroit
Diesel,
Allison
gear.
Electronics, rigging, ground tackle. Well outfitted,
fast, dependable. Finished fo'c'sle, 20' tower, 16'
pulpit. Cuttyhunk built 1975. Sonar 1/2 mile color,
color sounder, radar, Ioran, VHF, CB, hydraulic
steering, s/s hydraulic and fuel system, s/s prop
and rudder basket. 1400 gals. fuel, 600 gals.
water capacity. Comes complete with deep-sea
diving gear, including compressor.
HIGH & LOW WATER AT HARDSCRABBLE HARBOR