Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-09-07

weather. just at shutdown every evening
the crew swarm a1oft and every block and
rope is examined before they come down
on deck agalR and the good American
sailor will tell you that they are chasing
the rats anfthe devil out Of the sheive
holes Of the blocks in the rigging, and
that it is a Spanish superstition. But in
quiring deeper into this strange custom we
find that once mutineers on one Of the
finest Spanish ships wedged the ropes In
the blocks before a gale. and that when
the gale broke the sails could not be taken
in and the saip was lost. The king of
Spain decide& bat never again would
ship be lost &Sust that way, so an edict
was publishe9 ordering. that every day at
throughout, zhd the order still remains in
force, wh ct failing ship or steamship
In another navy of the Latin people.
where the church long held sway over the
people by preaching the fear of the devil.
an order was published that every night
at shutdown a man should go over each
mast head, up one side of the rigging and
down the other, thus Chasing the devil
over the masthead'-(p making
him too tired to be active during the night
and ridiculous as it may seem this Gus
tom is still in vogue in that navy.
Two English Customs.
From the great mutiny in the English
navy's early years, which established the
rights of common sailors and stopped many
abuses. so that in the end it was good
thing for their navy, we have two customs
established that may seem more or less
superstitious to US. The signal for that
great mutiny was five BELLS of the even
ing watch 6:3O p.m), and for many long
years after that terrible night there was
no five bells of the evening watch" for it
was only reminder of the great mutiny,
and then this emitting to strike the five
bells grew into custom afterwards ad-
hered to.
On that occasion the officers who resisted
or who had been cruel and unjust toward
their men were forced to walk the plank"
d. e.. walk overheard blindfolded and with
their arms pinioned) over the gangway
used only by officers: and after that the
other gangway was used by officers. and
the one made memorable by the mutiny
was always Stunned by them. This habit
likewise grew into custom, which Is even
now rigidly observed.
Religious observance has given, other Gus
toms aboard ship which seem almost like
superstitions; thus in countries where the
Catholic religion is allied to the state the
custom of "cockbilling the yards Ia sign
of the deepest mourning) is adhered to on
Good Friday in memory of the crucifiXion,
and a sign of rejoicing the ship is
| dressed" with flags and bunting on Eas-
| ter morning.
| times has given rise to the custom of pay
| ing tribute to Neptune when ship crosses
| the equator, which is conceded to be the
| throne of that ruler of the seas.
! There are many more uncanny beliefs
among the old sea dogs, and even the ship
! itself is invested with a personality by
J them. for they say that ship is born
| lucky or ''unlucky" and nothing can
| change it after that. The "lucky'' ship
| escapes storms or rides them out safely;
| her crew is happy and her life long: while
the "unlucky" ship is open to all the dis
| asters known to the, sea; her crew are
I IN ~ tod a mr. cIa &c ocxJ
| prey to disaster and disease and is at best
short lived.
1t is unlucky, so says the sailor. to give
| ship a name that a wrecked or burned
vessel has borne and it is unlucky to put
! back into port again after voyage is
| begun; and when the rats leave a ship be-
| fore she sails her fate is sealed, for once
J let her leave port she will never return.
| To" the unbehever in signs and tokens
these omens seem ridiculous, but Jack is
| hardheaded in his belief, and no amount of
| argument will change his mind, though
''unucky" ships by the hundreds may sail
| ON for years in safety and health.