Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1884-05-22
sUPERSrITIONs OF THE SEA.
Omens of Coed aud Evil That sailors
Relieve I'm.


belief as the average sailors, unless,
indeed, it be the negroes of the south.
This belief in omens of the sea is not
not confined alone to forecaStlemen,
but is to a greater or lesser extent
shared by captains and mates. In
conversation a few days ago with
grizzly bearded and proAzed old
mariner, who has trod the quarter
decks of ships as master for upward
of a quarter of century, a San
Francisco Chronicle reporter preached
the subject of the superstition of
sailors. DO sailors believe in oneni'
said the captain, repeating
the reporters question, well
you can bet your starry toplights they
do. They are the craRkiest lot of men
in the world, and you would be aston
ished to know what triAing matters
sometimes cause them to give up
going on a voyage. / have known
sailors to predict the dlreSt calamities
to ship because they happened to
sneeze while going On board Then
again, If vessel Is delayed at the
port and does not sail at the appointed
time, it is a bad omen, according to
Jacks IDEAS They have good omens
too. A fair day when they ship is q
good sign, and if the sun is shining
brightly on the day they sail, it is
sign that the vessel will have a speedy
and prosperous voyage. a battling
head winds leads sailors to believe
that there is Jonah on board, and
they do all sorts of things, such as
burning piece of an old sail or rope
yarn snd the throwing over board of
sea biscuit to exercise the evil eff
fects OF his presence, and when the
wind does shift and become fair they
attribute it to their sorcerism, their
good spirits return, and all goes mer-
ry until something else happens to
disturb their fears.
II remember an old fellow / once
shipped at Liverpool for the voyage
home to New York" continued the
captain He was veritable old sea-
dog, and the crew at once set him
down as Jonah. He was called Liv-
erpool Jack, and was the queerest
chap [ ever saw. He wanted the voy-
age prolonged as much as possible,
and one day the men caught him in
the foretoP wllistling for a head wind,
and, sure enough, the following morn
ing the wind shifted and came dead
from the head. This, of course, necsS-
STATED 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 | verify
believe they would have carried the
threat into execution had the wind
not changed. Sailors also have an
aversion to clergymens sons and if
they know that one is on board yes
sci they will not ship under any con-
sideration. Why they dislike a YES
sci with a minister's son on board |
have never found out but it is consid
cred as one of the worst 'hCodoos' by
sailors. Out at sea if, as frequently is
the case, a 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
seabirds what are known as a Mother
Cary's chicken, dark bird somewhat
resembling a gull, but about the size
of chicken, is held most sacred by
the forecastle men. Its presence fore
tells an approaching storm, and this
sign hardly ever fails. A seaman
would as soon think of swimming
across the Pacific ocean as to modest
one of the chickens. Then, again, 1t
is bad lack, so sailors say, to kill the
seagulls that follow ships out at sea,
as they are considered the harbingers
of good luck If dolphins accompany
the vessel, it is also considered good
omen"
A singular incident happened some
years ago ON board an American ship
en route to this city. A few days out
from New York BOBBY, a bird some
what like gull, but much smaller,
alighted in the foretop, and one OF
the sailors went up and caught it, The
BOBBY was brought on deck, where It
was attacked by the ships dog. The
animal flew at the bird, which drove
its bill down tile dogs throat and
thus the two remained until separated.
The BOBBY was thrown overheard, and
was not seen for some time, when sud
denly il re-appeared 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
execuhoner was the carpenter, and
the unfortunate BOBBY was beheaded.
The dog disappeared after the encoun-
ter, but Immediately after the bird had
been killed it came on deck and began
running around in circle. This was
continued for some time, when sud
denly it made dash for the stern of
the ship and jumped overheard Even
the captain, Boston man, was affect
ed by the incident and for several days
the deepest sort of gloom prevailed
among those on board, and a majority
of the crew predicted some disaster
before the end of the voyage, and
Lone felt entirely easy until port was
reached
in addition to being superstitious
sailors have queer names for things
on shipboard. His bunk in the fore