Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1885-08-06
sUPERSTITlONs OF THE SEA.
Hugaboos that APPEAL Hardy Naviga-
tors of the Deep.
Sunday Star.

she'll craft, aud braved the dangers of
the deep, mankind has regarded the
ocean with supersSitious awe and
dread. Long centuries OF familiarity
have net etfaced these traits. Super
stitious connected with the sea have
been fertile source of mystery to the
oredulous from the earliest times
The monks OF the middle ages were
the chroniclers of sanity interposi~
ton at sea, and took care TO reap a
poodly harvest from the credulity of
the ignorant. Ignorance is the par.
ent Of superstition, as it often is of q
disaster for the want of nautical
knowledge is to often the cause of
shipwrecks Landsmen, however
as we'll as sailors, have their strange
beliefs and their vulgar pejudices.
The favorite doctrine Of luck, good
and bad auguries, iuauspicious DAYS,
fortune telling and host of similar
absurdities are still current through
out the length and breadth of many a
land. One of the most ancient and
deeply-rooted superstitions of sea
men is that Friday is q most unlucky
day for leaving port on voyage. No
reason is assigned for this. except
that ship sailing on Friday filings
down the gauntlet of defiance to
storms and evil influences, and will
be almost sure to meet with serious if
not fatal accidents. Another old and
wide spread superstition, yet believed
in by thousands of the most ignorant
seame1, is the very romantic legend
of Vanderdecken, the Flying Dutch>
man. 1t is asserted that some three
centuries ago large Dutch Indiaman
commanded by Mynheer Wander,
decken, attempted 10 double the Cape
of Storms NOW Good Hoppe in
the teeth of head wind. The obstin~
acy of Dutchmen is proverbial, and
although the adverse wind long cons
tinued, Vanderdecken doggedly cons
tended against il, and at length he
impiously declared that ne would
double the cape even if he sailed till
the day of Judgement The appropri>
ate punishment of this daring impiety
is according to the nautical legend,
that to this day the doomed ship,
manned by her wicked skipper and
crew, is continually sailing in the
latitude of the cape, but never can
double it, Sailors are still found to
affirm that, at midnight, ia a gale of
wind, the phantom ship often is seen,
with her antique build and rig, and
the figure of Vanderdecken on the
poop giving orders to his CHASTITY
crew This legend, however absurd
as an object of belief, IS most pictur~
esque in point of conception, Wheth
er 1t originally was mere fiction of
the brain or in some measure founded
on fact it is ditticult to say.
In other times prudent mariners
seldom set sail without consulting
some notorious witch as to the prog
nostics of lucky voyage, and they
also paid her to procure them a favor
able wind. 1t was also thought, es~
pecially among British sailors, that if
a child'S caul hung in the cabin the
ship would not sink, whatever else
befel ner, and consequently these
curious membranes found ready pur-
chasers Even to this day, mariners
of the old school will buy a child's
caul, 1t was, moreover, believed that
the presence OF any one born with a
caul would save a ship from sinking,
A piece of shark skin suspended in the
cabin is thought to afford indications
of an approaching tempest, and one
may not be quite skeptical on this
point for 1T IS very possible that the
skin may be so susceptible of atmos-
pheric influences that it softens ana
becomes moist even before there is
any sign OF coming storm In the as
pect of sky and sea.
l. I, -. =, e.
woman or child on sbipboard is de
cldedly lucky, but they have a mortal
hatred Of the presence of q lawyer (or
"landshark," as they call HIM, and,
what is remarkable, they also have IN
some cases a great objection for q
clergyman TO be on board, unless he
IS a regular ships chaplain, In which
case they think HIM one of them
selves. Neither can they bear to have
a "Johan"-that is, a man who has
committed some fearful crime and
who hitherto has eluded human JUS
tice-on board, for they believe that
an angry Providence will raise up
tempests to engulf the ship that shel>
ters him, and, consequently, that they
will be made to suffer on his account
1t is singular that some seamen have
dread of sailing in a ship when
Fin native of Finland is one of the
crew. They say the Fms are leagued
with the evil one, and thati any body
offend them they revenge themselves
by causing adverse Winds or accidents
TO happen Dogs are hot liked on
board, and there are maAy captains
who absolutely refuse TO permit pas
sengers to take their dogs with them
tor either love or money. Cats, how
ever, are general favorites, and are
half sacred The man who dares to
toss poor pussy overheard must look
out for squalls from his incensed
messmates. 1t is held exceedingly
wrong and uulucky to shoot either
the albatross or Mother Carey's chick
IN (tbe Storm Petrol, and when the
familiar creature takes refuge on
board in a storm it is never injured by
the men. They also very rarely kill
or cantl,re any other bird that settles