The Press., 1898-02-10
THE RAINBOW'S LUCK
BY C. B. LEWIS.

| was referred to as often as the bark
Rainbow. Her history from beginning
to end was a curious one, and it would
be hard to find an old whaleman who
hadn't heard it half dozen times over.
The ship Wanderer went whaling
from the port of Bristol, commanded by
Captain Joseph Watkins. She was out
l18 months and never took a whale.
Four of her crew died of fever, three
were killed by accident, and the ship
returned SO wrecked that she was sold
for collier. The owners lost heavily,
Of course, and Captain Watkins was
called Jonah and could not get anoth-
er craft. One day when he was digging
In his garden he unearthed three jars
which were filled to the brim with gold
pieces, and which had been buried for
perhaps a century. His find footed up
about 800, 900, and with the greater
portion of the money he built and fitted
out the bark Rainbow. Instead of ship
ping a crew on shares he paid by the
month, and thus set out on his first voy-
age with the best seamen of Bristol.
On.the second day after leaving port
the bark came across a dead whale float
ing about which yielded 80 barrels Of
pill On the fifth day, just as the decks
had been cleared up, she came upon the
scene Of a fight between five whales
and seven or eight of that species of
fish known as the killer, which is the
mortal enemy of the leviathan and the
only known one he has in any sea. The
bark hove to and let the fight go on,
and when it was over she had two dead
whales to tow alongside and added $50
barrels of oil to her cargo. In four
months from the day she left Bristol
she entered port again, having cargo
Of bone and oil which sold for more
than $50, 900 In addition to that she
brought home the complete skeleton of
whale 85 feet long, for which the
British museum paid So. 900 in cash
The lucky voyage of the Rainbow
created much talk. and when Captain
Watkins was ready to set sail again he
had to turn sailors away by the hun
dred This time the crew was shipped
on shares, and no man had reason to re-
greet it. In $50 days the bark was back
in Bristol with 2,87O barrels of common
oil, 800 barrels of ease or fine oil,
and the largest cargo of baleen, or whale
bone, ever brought to port by whaler
She had not lost man, boat or a sail
Everybody was astounded over the luck
Of man who had been out year and a
half in another ship to meet with moth
ing but disaster. and the name of Cap
tain Watkins was heard whenever two
sailors met. He had money enough to
h RI live Govt Lo
of his days, but he was persuaded to
make one more voyage. On this third
cruise the leviathans of the deep seemed
to hunt for the ship. In 1866 days she
made the port of Bristol with cargo
worth $4,000 more than either of the
preceding ones.
; When the Rainbow had completed
her third voyage, Captain Watkins de-
termined to remain ashore. There were
80 many men who wanted to buy the
lucky ship that she was put up at auc-
ton. Men came from every seaport in
! England and Scotland to bid on her,
and the price was run up until she sold
e for SIS, 900 more than she had cost to
!, build. She was bid i'll by Bristol firm,
? and the command of her given to a Cap
. EClAA AAotCAS 4ACA Gull "a AHOA
when ready for sea was 80, but so wide
= spread was her fame as lucky ship that
there were over 700 applicants for the
50 places
Three months after she arrived home
on her third cruise the Rainbow went
to sea again. Up to this time | had
never seen the bark but had heard all
about her dozen times over from men
aboard Of our whaling ship, the Nancy
Lee of Marblehead One day as we were
cutting i'll whale to the north of st
Helena the Rainbow came up from the
east, and the two craft remained Ill com
, pany for three or four hours. The lucky
ship had then been out of port 40 days
without a capture and all were disgust
: ed. More than that, she had been through
severe gale and had three men hurt
md lost sails and topmasts Her Iucl
mad changed Captain Travers was 6
tine seaman, All old whaler and haC
never brought an empty ship INTO port
but the fact renamed that the RAINBOW
had not yet even lowered for whale
Just as she was ready to leave us
however. two large whales spouted wa
ter within a half mile OF the ships
They were a quarter of a mile apart
and while we lowered for one the bark
took the other We had but little trou
BILE i'll killing our prey, which was 6
4 female and good for 20 barrels of oil
The other was a bull whale and evi
IDENTIFY i'll bad temper He first led the
boats a chase of three miles to the south
4 and then slowed around and waited fol
Thorn fn AZ no %o1,
I boat was within 500 feet of him, hC
rushed forward and ran it down, anC
as it floated astern OF him he smashed
it with blow of his fulzes. Two me1
were killed by this blow.
Two weeks later, just as we haS
scrubbed our decks, and while we wert
under easy sail to the south of st. Hell
ena, we lowered for school of whale
and got two. There were IL in tn,
school, and 10 went off to the south
west. We were making our capture
fast to the ship when the Rainbow cam
down on us from the south She wa
now % days out, aud i'll luck still pur
sued her. After parting from us sh
= lowered for whale and lost TWO har
;" poems and lines and had half !; day
work for nothing. Two men had fall
- en- from aloft, had lroktn arms or legs
! and her captain had TO come aboard O
| us to buy oil to keep his lamps alight
| AS l was third mate of the Name,
| Lee, I had an opportunity to hear of tn
| feeling which prevailed aboard tn
9 bark. Her crew were OH the verge O
mutiny, and Captain Travers had be
come alarmed for his own safety Tn
men had come to regard him as a Jonah
and on the day he ran down to us ha,
come to the decision that if the run O
i'll luck was not broken they woul,
compel him to return to Bristol wit
an empty ship. Captain Travers wa
still aboard of as when monster whal