New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-03-26
THE SUpERSTI7I0NS OF FISHERuEN.

From The leisure Hour.
OF the numerous other practices in use among
the fishing fraternity for securing good luck we are
told that on the highest mound of the hill above
WestOn-super-Mare is heap of stones TO which
every fisherman in his daily walk to Sand Bay, Kew
stoke contributed one toward his days good fish
ing curl Us custom was In years gone by, OBJ
served at Fley in connection with the herring
fishery During the time the fishing boats were ut
sea the iunOr portion of the nha btanIs seized all
the unemployed wagons and carts they conld ind
and dragged them down the streets 10 the elm top,
leaving them to be owned and taken away by their
respective owners on the follow ing morning. lms
was done about the third Saturday night alter the
boals had sailed from FLY, under snperstltlous
notion that il drove the herringS INTO the nets. In
Cornwall il is considered unlucky by fishermen for
anyone 10 eat pilchar!s-Or, indeed, any KIND OF
fsll-from the head downward, as such an act Is
said 20 be sure to turn the heads of the fish away
from the coasts" The proper way Is rather to eat
the fish from the tail toward the head, this serving
as kind of charm TO insure good luck to the fisher
man and bring him large quantities OF hsh 10 shore.
Again. when there Is large catch of pilchardS,
they are preserved by being rubbed with salt and
are placed in regular order, one on the Other heads
and tails alternately. When so placed, the fish of
ten make a squeak ing noise, which Is locally called
crying for more" and is regarded as most favor
able omen, being supposed to ,nGlcate that more
fish NAV soon be expected TO hc thought to the Same
cellar The noise, however, which is heard is really
produced says Mr.. Hunt, by the bursting of the air
hladders and when many break tOgethcT-which is
not unusual when hundreds Of thousands arc piled
in a mass--the sound is Il loud one
Among some of the suuerstitious no ions re-
Iatlng to success III SNillE WHICH pltNaHeu
in Ireland, and have not yet quite died out, we
NAV mention the following current in Ulster To
meet certain persons III the morning, and especially
barcfoOted women, was deemed IN omen OF Ill
fortune for that day TO name dog cat, rat
pig while batting the hooks, also OrebOded lll-luck
The fishermen always spat on he first and last
hook baited and also III the mouth of the first
fish taken. Before casting their nets or lines they
dipped them in the water three times and each
time gave kind of chrp with the lips, resembling
that OF "a Young bird. he fishermen, too, were ac-
custOmed to light a small fire of chips IN their
boats 10 drive away, as they Supposed any witches
that might have harbOred there during the night TO
Illustrate their success. The customs practiced by
the Scotch fishermen for obtaining good luck are
1855 it is related that, i'll consequence of the her
ing fishing being very backward, some OF the fish
Of Buckle dressed cooper IN flannel shirt,
with burrs stuck all ,and in this condition he
was carried in procession through the town III a
handbaTrow. This was done TO bring better
luck" to the fishing aud happened IN district,
says the writer, 3" containing no less than nine
and thirteen schools" Certain family names are
considered unlucky, and in some of the villages on
the east coast of Aberdeenshire 1t Is still considered
a bad omen 20 meet person OF the name OF Nhyte
when going to sea- ii is thought that either the
liues will be lost the catch of fish poor. In
Buckle there family names which the
fishermen will not pronounce, such for instance,
names mentioned III their hearing they spit, or,
TO use the vernacular expression, chif.' Men,
too, who have been hired before their names were
known have actually been refused their wages at
the close of the fishing season, partly because the
fishing was unsuccessful with the boats IN which
they sailed and owing to the want of being
ascrbed TO their presence IN tho boat.