Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1888-12-01

their ideas n lota, and hence 1t is that
the several trifing mlshsps and other cir
incidental to q voyage are in
terpreted by the sailors into realities
which would fill . volume In themselves.
In justice TO them, however, be it said,
that such fatuitions conceptions are not
without foundation, as the loss of the
steamship Friday many years ago will
to.
FATE OF THE FRIDAY.
This vessel was a huge ironclad, built
In Scotland regardless Of expense, and
named after the unlucky day. She was
manned and commanded by capable and
experienced officers, selected for their
capabilities, and altogether thoroughly
adapted for such q task as the trial voy-
Of an ocean steamer. She set sail on
Friday, and whennearing the Cape of Good
Hope q few weeks afterward on that very
same day, sank; drowning all her crew..
Il is believed that owing to this disaster
seamen have considerable fear of putting
to sea on Friday, and some 20 so far as to;
say that their fears date from this sad
catastrophe. Captains Of small vessels
have always dreaded the prospect of sail
ing on Friday, while those Of larger ones
look upon that day with the greatest nom
chalance and unconcern.
The sailor on land and on sea are two
distinct characters, each possessing his
own singular attributes. On land no
other being has q more utter disregard Of
premature danger or mishaps, as his daily
actions and nocturnal orgies demonstrate,
80 when once N sea he blossoms out
again: into smiles of excessive obsequious.
ness. There when danger dogs his foot.
steps ut every track superstition is. his
idol; to 1t he sacrifices every selfish senti-
ment, and In 1t he trusts for those happy
Pr~esentiments which may afterward saw
him from destruction.
Even while partaking of their meals
sailors rarely lose an opportunity Of dis
cussing and rehearsing stories which the
average man would regard as the product
Of a maniac's brain. The days happen.
tngs are interpreted by each and notes ex-
changed. The most gifted romancer is
then looked upon with feelings of rever-
ence and respect. A visit to their sleeping
quarters will reveal q miscellaneous col
lection Of horseshoes, nails, palmlike
leaves and numerous other articles, each
Of which has o history of its own. When
birds ore swept aboard in q storm they a1o
invariably left untouched, as sailors eve
them with delight and satisfaction as the
spirits of some dear departed friend met.
.amorphosed. The birds of the sea,
notably the petrol, Unparalleled by Proc.
tor, and the seq gull, are held sacred in
consequence Of the latter apparently rest.
ing on the surface Of the sea after the
manner of the Saviour on the Lake of
Genesareth.
Whenever this occurs in the immediate
vicinity of a ship q CALM is predicted, and
the Jolly tars lose little or no time in
notifying the captain Of their glorious
vision. In sailors eyes the porpoises are
never pleasant objects to- contemplate.
When they suddenly1ppear during a calm
the sailors look for another wind from the
same quarter as that which was blown
out, and If they skip about 1t means that
. gale is coming.
IN AWE OF THE SHARK. @
The common barnacle which adkeres.to.
Q ships side becomes, according to their
belief, later onRin'1ife q goose. But among
Ill those signs nothing Is so we'll calcu-
lated to fill them with owe as the appear.
ance Of q shark. When this monster of
the deep is seen to follow q ship for
several days : death.is to occur on board,
aud while clambering up the rigging
extra pains are adopted in making their
journey . safe and successful one. Tho
ship is,then evidently haunted, and the
faces of her crew, but recently smiling,
are now decorated with expressions at
once thoughtful and lugubrious.
The common mirage fills sailors with
dread, and betokens an early death to
some Of its observers. Carrying q corpse
on board appears to them to be inviting
disaster, and cases are on record where
tho crew have become mutinous and re.
frsctory until the distasteful freight was
lowered into the sea.
Norwegian sailors are inveterate slaves
to : form of superstition exclusively their
own. They believe in the existence Of q
heck or. norman, q sea animAltepresented
as having q fish body with the head Of Q
man and the flowing ringlets of q boy.
The norman sits upon the waves, plays
the harp, and, following the example Of
many Of tho Morse fishermen, wears q red
cap. It is eve seen more than once in
seven years, and no matter how many
vessels appear in its sight they all must
inevitably perish.
The crew, according to their belief, are
gions, where, after q brief stay, they 20
" Dwell SI0 oAVo4 Va AON0oS AAh uAO Uuc0
in themselves as disastrous as tho origi.
nalc. Tho kraken, o sea monster whose
existence has been so often attested by
the evidences Of alleged eye witnesses
that one is at o loss to know whether it is
real or hos q being only in the minds Of
superstitious sailors, is q constant source
Of alarm to them.
Many assertions which have been made
nk times rapardinr the exiatanca NJ <his
levlathsn, which occasions so much dread
in tho minds Of the Morse fishermen, have
been rejected as mere superstition. Still
come authentic grounds for q belief in its
existence are on record. The Norwegian
differs from his English brother only in
this particular belief, but in all other es.
sential respects sailors Of all ages and
n~ationalities worship the same supersti.
| tious creed.-James w. Gavan In New
| York Press.
Tho Grass Cloth Plant.
The French Academy Of Sciences and