Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1888-01-07

" Of the REPUBLIC, 10 city and news sdi-
tor OF ths Observer Journal. and We have
no doubt hb gssd work has something 70
do with the measure Of success which 1t Is
attaining.
some EXPLODED SUGGESTIONS.
How Msriners Catch the AIbatroas snd
Make Pillows with the F~sthers-
IL was much interested. said an old
sailor to reporter. .'by an article on tho
superstitions of sailors. But must con-
fess that was no less amused than in
terested. All the old time sulerstitiors
and beliefs which have chiefly owed their
existence to the exaggeration Of the poets
were resurrected. So to speak. and laid to
the charge Of the sailor of the present
day. Nothing could be more absurd.
The sailor of today is no more supersti-
tiois than the average landsnlan, and az
. rule great deal more practical and
matter of-fact. Go OH board ship and
study the rigging and fitting. There is
not rope rove in block or plank laid
without the most precise calculation and
forethought. A sailor never sits down to
do job, from making beckett for a
bucket to splicing an eight stranded wire
rope. without first having worked the
whole thing Out in his mind. There's
but one way Of doing things you'll hear
the old o'sun say. and that is the right
way
..The fellow that said in that article
that sailor won't allow an alhatross to
BE- kihed for fear Of i'll luck, had evidently
never rounded the Horn. Why, when I
went to sea first was full Of that .Rime
of the Ancient Mariner When we
neared Staten Island looked with all my
eyes for the bird. When one did appear
sailing ma jestically albng without Tapping
its large wings once in half an hour,
felt chill Of reverential awe and stood
with my mouth wide open, . whole PAN
Drama Of Gustave Dore's illustrations Of
the poem fitting through my mind.
".What are ye doin' ther, suddenly
yelled the mate. Is that maxim sennit?
II I've to speak to ye agen I'll make ye
stradGe that spanker boom for week.
Here. jump down into my room an get
my fishin' lines; dye hear? Skip And
the mate 3 heavy sea boot emphasized his
words. When I returned to the deck
with the lines, Here says he, git aft
there, you lazy lubber. and catch an
alhatros. promised that wife Of mine
that I'd bring her an cider down piller
this v'y'ge.'
"'Catch an albatross!' I echoed, para.
lived with terror at the thought.
" II ye don't skip an hold yer jaw
IL" Here, give me that, you BOBBY.
And the mate took the line from me and
led me aft to show me how to catch al
batruss. This ID . very simple operation.
An ordinary strung fishing line is pro-
cured and . strong hook attached to tho
end imbellded in piece Of tempting fat
pork. II b paid out. astern, piece Of
cork keeping the line aHoat. No sooner
does the alhatros perceive the delicious
morsa than he makes . downward
swoop. Why, you never saw . prettier
sight than the elhptical sweep the huge
birds make, their wings stretched out as
stif N . board. Never Gap. sir. Ono
wing just dashes up the wafer near the
bobbing pork and then the bird wheels
around again and drops in the water. In
. moment the bait 10 swallowed and then
the fight begins. have ssen four men
find h . hard job to haul in an albatross.
for it extends it, wings and catches the
wind; and sometimes they won't rise,
but stretch out their wings and hold
water, and then something goes, the hook
Or the line, maybe.
..But they generally get the big birds
aboard. They kill them there and skin
them. The wings they use Tor orna-
ments, and the beads are hung over tho
Stern and allowed to drag In she water.
which soon leaves the skull a. clean as .
whistle. Tho softer feathers are used to
make pillows or beds, but the skins make
beautiful fur clGaks. You see, after
plucking the feathers out . lovely down
remains on the skin which looks, for all
the world, like white fur. Why, sir, I
have at home two Of the prettiest curly
headed little rogues Of girls You ever saw,
and they each have q c0et of albatross
fur. They're the envy II every one in
that quiet little country town in the east.
There isn't much superstition about
that, is there? Why. I've caught a.
many as twenty albatrosses on a voyage.
OF course. there are many captains who
will not allow them to be caught for hu-
manity's sake. Others, again, like to
catch them, and attach n piece Of tin or
wood. with the name Of the vessel and
the latitude and longitude on it. to the
leg, then lerthem go.
Then, again. in tie article referred
to, the sea gull is spoken of as a weather
prophet. Now, ! don't see why what is
really true should be caAed sailors So
perstition.' There never was anything
truer than the English notion that these
oirds take to the land before southeast
or southwest wind sets in. These winds
Always bring rain to those coasts. and
ing before they break the skg is overcast
md the air moist. 1t is just such weather
hat draws the earthwOrms from their
loles. and what more delicious dish is
there for sea gull than the dainty earth
worm! Why, the fields are covered with
sea gulls at such times, and yet purely
natural occurrence is called a sailor su-
perstition.
Another superstition that on my first
voyage l found was exploded among
sailors was the belief that the stormy
petrol never rests, and that its appearance
indicates q coming storm. There is no
doubt they are remarkably restless little
creatures, but they rest on the water and
plume their feathers the same as any
other birds. As to their appearance in
dicating q storm I've never given the
thing much notice; hut this know. and
that is, that I have seen them flying
around the ship in the calmest as well as
in the stormiest weather.
''No. sir, the old superstitions don't
affect modern sailors very much. Steam