The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-08-16

them Mt length realized that he ought to go
home So he spoke to his brother-in-law,
ct whose house he was living, told him he was
going, and said he had better come with
him. But his hrother-in-law shook him off =,
said he knew when ostop, and so the young
man set out by himself, went home andt)
bed He slept but a short time when he
heard his brother-in-law call him twice in a
sharp tone. He sprang from his bed and
ran down to open the front door for him,
thinking he was two fuddled to use his
latch-key. What was his surprise to find
no one there So sure was he that he had
heard his relative call him that he was
troubled about it, and on returning to MS
room he struck match and looked at his
watch-it was quarter to two: his
brother-in-law did not come that night or
the next day or the next. Search was made
| for him everywhere He was known to
have left the hotel at certain hour His
| wifeswas frantic and the police were baf-
| fled. Ten days after his disappearance he
was found at the bottom of the canal
| near the city. He had wandered there
in the dead of night and fallen in. When
his watch was taken from his pocket and
opened-the hands pointed to quarter OF
two.
These are not fictions CLEANED from
ghost stories-they are positive facts with
in my knowledge. l give them for their
value,
Sailors are proverbially superstitious.
Every one has heard of the superstition con-
corning sharks following ship-that is,
that there will soon be death on board
but an old sailors assures me that this is
more of O superstition on land than with
those ON the sea. Not SO, though with the
killing of the stormy petrol (Mother Carey
chicken, the cape hen and pigeon, and aloa-
tross. Old sailors believe that the alba
tross contains spirit of departed sea cap
tains and the petrol the soul of old salts,
therefore these birds are held sacred by
sailors the world over. The same sailor
friend tells me of three very funny examples
of superstition that occurred on voy-
age he made from Colombo, Ceylon, to Lon
don.
eve had fine slant of wind which took
us from Colombo to the Mauritius, and
were bowling along toward the cape with
stunsails allow and aloft. / was at the
wheel in the first watch when we were
struck by white squall. All hands were
called to shorten sail, but we were thrown
on our beam ends, and lay there ten hours
with our yard-arms in the water, the ceckS
being swept and the front of the cabin be-
ing Knocked in by the sea. The ship finally
righted. and TIE skipper going his rounds,
discovered, nailed up over the bunk OF the
second mate, pair of cape pigeon wings.
He Immediately made the air blue, and
ordered those wings thrown overheard, say
ing they were the canse of our trouble. We
had black cat on board, of which the old
man was very fond One night as | was
again on watch, in dead calm, l heard two
of the most unearthly yells coming from
over the stern of the vessel. The man at
the wheel called out that the cat had jumped
overheard in fit. 1t had evidently caught
on to the rudder, but was soon downed by
the swells.
THE next morning, to tease the steward,
| told him that the cat had gone away on a
broomstick the night before and that we
should never get to London. The poor fell
low was almost paralyzed with terror, and
went straightway to the captain. The lat
| ter came on deck and raked me over for not
backing the yards and picking up the cat,
saving the loss of the animal was more
against the luck of the ship than the loss
Of man would be, and, what with my
spewing dolphin and the second mate kill
ing cape pigeon and the loss of the cat he
knew very well we should never reach Lon
DON"
Sailors are also very 'superstitious about
going to sea on Friday. A yarn is told of
one old salt who feared nothing, who said
he would show the world how foolish this
idea was. He made a contract for the build
ing of a ship on Friday, the keel was laid
on Friday, it was launched on Friday,
named Friday, put to sea on Friday and was
never heard OF again.