# 47 Oil and the Elizabeth Watts
The Elizabeth Watts was a cargo ship. And the word cargo meant that a ship carried dry goods. Dry goods were things like grain, steel, cloth, and shoes. These goods were always bundled and packaged. They could be stacked and secured. In stormy seas such a cargo would not shift. Shifting is a great danger at sea.
Not much is known about the Elizabeth Watts. But there is one thing she was noted for. She carried the world's first really big shipment of oil. She was not designed to carry oil, yet she did. She left the United States and arrived safely in England 45 days later. Some say she was lucky. There were no storms. The seas were calm.
She tried another oil shipment. She sailed. Beyond that the records are blank. It was noted that the captain had great trouble in getting a crew. Sailors balked at signing on with an oil ship.
To get a crew, the captain used an age-old method. He went from bar to bar. When he found a sailor, he plied him with free drinks of whiskey. Then he guided the staggering sailor up the gangway. By the time he woke, the ship was scudding on the high seas under full sail.
But what happened on the second voyage? No one knows for sure. Here is one explanation. The barrels of oil were tied in place by rope. During a storm, some ropes broke. The heavy barrels banged into each other. Some barrels burst, spilling oil. The metal barrels, crashing into each other, created sparks. Then the horror happened. The barrels caught fire and exploded. Nothing was left. Only the prayers of the sailors, flying upward like a flock of white doves.
# 47 石油與伊莉莎白·瓦茨號
伊莉莎白·瓦茨號是一艘貨船。而「貨物」這個詞意味著船隻運載乾貨。乾貨是指像穀物、鋼鐵、布料和鞋子之類的東西。這些貨物總是被捆綁和包裝好。它們可以被堆疊和固定。在暴風雨的海上，這樣的貨物不會移位。貨物移位在海上是非常危險的。
關於伊莉莎白·瓦茨號，人們所知不多。但她有一件事是出名的。她運載了世界上第一批真正大型的石油貨運。她的設計初衷並非運載石油，但她確實運了。她離開美國，45天後安全抵達英國。有人說她很幸運。沒有遇到風暴。海面很平靜。
她嘗試了另一次石油運輸。她啟航了。除此之外，記錄是一片空白。據記載，船長在招募船員方面遇到了很大困難。水手們不願意簽約上石油船。
為了招募船員，船長使用了一個古老的方法。他挨家酒吧尋找。當他找到一個水手時，就不斷請他喝免費的威士忌。然後他引導搖搖晃晃的水手走上舷梯。等到水手醒來時，船已經張滿帆在公海上疾馳了。
但第二次航行發生了什麼事？沒有人確切知道。這裡有一種解釋。油桶用繩子固定在原位。在暴風雨中，一些繩子斷了。沉重的油桶互相碰撞。一些油桶破裂，石油外洩。金屬桶相互撞擊，產生了火花。然後恐怖的事情發生了。油桶著火並爆炸。什麼都沒有留下。只有水手們的祈禱，像一群白鴿般向上飛翔。