John Tiwald, age 12, from Omaha, Nebraska, for his question:

What was a clipper ship?

The clipper was the queen of the old time sailing ships. She was a large ship and shy; carried a maximum amount of canvas. In most respects there was no way of distinguishing the clipper from other large sailing ships. One feature, however, set the true clipper apart from her sisters. She was built with a long, overhanging bow.

It was this feature, plus the large amount of sail, which gave the clipper her speed. In her day she was the fastest ship afloat. The record speed for any sailing ship was achieved by the American clipper Lightning. In 1854 she sailed 436 miles in one day. Some, but not all, of our modern ships are faster, but none is so beautiful as a clipper ship skimming over the waves under full sail.