Connecticut western news., 1884-05-28
ABOUT SEAMEN.
SOME STORIES ABOUT THEIR DIFFER-
 ENT SUPERSTITIONs.
Omens of Good and Evil That Sailors nre
 Supposed to Believe In.

| There IS probably no class Of people | in the world so full of superstitious be- lief as the average sailor, unless, indeed, it be the negroes of the South. This belief in omens of the sea is not confined alone to forecastle men, but is to a greater or lesser extent shared by cap tains and mates. In conversation o few days ago with a grizzly bearded and bronzed old mariner, who has trod the quarter-decks of ships as master for up. ward of a quarter of a century, a re. porter preached the subject of the super stition of sailors. "Do sailors beiisve in omens ?" said the Captain, repeating the reporters question, "well you can bet your starry toplights they do. They are the crankiest lot of men in the world, and you would be astonished to know what trihing matters sometimes causes them to give up going on a voyage. I have known sailors to predict the direct calamity of a ship because they happened to sneeze while going on board. Then again, if vessel is delayed in port and does not sail at the appointed time it is 0 bad omen, according to Jacks ideas. They have good omens too. A fair day when they ship is good sign, and if the sun is shining brightly on the day they sail it is a sign that the vessel will have a speedy and prosperous voyage. A bafling hea@ wind leads sailors to the belief that there is O Jonah on board and they do all sorts of things, such as burning piece of an old sail or rope yarn and the throwing overheard of a sea biscuit to exercise the evil effects of his presence, and when the wind does shift and becomes fair they attribute it to their sorcerism, their good spirits return and all goes merry until something else happens to disturb their fears.
 "I remember an old fellow I once shipped at Liverpool for the voyage home to New York, continued the cap- tain. "He was veritable old sea dog and the crew at once set him down as a Jonah. He was called Liverpool Jack, and was the queerest chap ever saw. He wanted the voyage prolonged as much as possible, and one day the men caught him in the foretop whistling for a head wind, and, sure enough, the fol lowing morning the wind shifted and came dead from the head. This, of course, necessitated the frequent lacking of the ship, and the curses of the crew were loud and long. That wind stuck to us for three days, and the crew decided to chuck Jack overheard, and believe they would have carried the threat into execution had not the wind changed. Sailors also have an aversion to clergy mems sons, and if they know that one is on board O vessel they will not ship un. der any consideration. Why they dis like vessel with a minister's son on board I have never found out, but it is considered as one of the worst 'hoodoos' by the sailors. Out at sea if, as is fre- quently the case, shark follows in the wake of vessel, it is a sign that some one on board will soon die, but it is one of the worst omens to kill it. Of all the sea birds what are known as Mother Cary's chicken, dark bird somewhat resembling a gull, but about the size of a chicken, is held most sacred by the forecastle men. Its presence foretells an approaching storm, and this sign hard ly ever fails. A seaman would as soon think of swimming across the Pacific Ocean as to molest one of the chickens. Then, again, it is bad luck, as sailors say, to kill these gulls that follow ships out at sea, as they are considered the harbingers of good luck. If dolphins accompany the vessel, it is also consid- cred good omen"
 A singular incident happened some years ago on board an American ship. A few days out from New York, booby, a bird somewhat like gull, but much smaller, alighted in the foretop, and one of the sailors went up and caught it. The booby was brought on deck, where it was attacked by the ships dog. The animal flew at the bird, which drove it's bill down the dogs throat, and thus the two remained until separated. The booby was thrown overheard and was not seen for some time, when suddenly it reappeared, perched in the foretop again. A sailor went aloft and captured it, and it was brought down and taken into the forecastle where the sailors held trial and the bird was sentenced to death. The executioner was the car penter, and the unfortunate booby was beheaded. The dog disappeared after the encounter, but immediately after the bird was killed it came on deck and began running around in a circle. This was continued for some time, when suddenly it made dash for the stern of the ship and jumped overheard. Even the cap- tain, Boston man, was affected by the incident, and for several days the deepest sort of gloom prevailed among those on board, and majority of the crew pre- dicted some disaster before the end of the voyage, and none felt entirely easy until the port was reached.
 In addition 10 being superstitious, sailors have queer names for things on shipboard. His bunk in the forcastle he terms his pew; he says "aft" for "abat and ''fornst' for forward" The cap tain is known as the "old man," the carpenter as ''chips" and the cook is the only man abaft the foremast that has the distinction of having his office men toned in connection with his name, and he is referred to as Ben or Joe the cook An old sailor is called ga whale" 4 drunken man is referred to as being ''three sheets in the wind," no doub because he staggers like a ship in { storm under shortened sail. As to th,