, 1898-09-03
OMENS ON WARSHIPS.
sUpERsTlTloNs WHICH GOVERN OLD
SALTS OF THE NAVY.

doodoos aud Spells Which May Work All
Sorts Of Evils on Board and which
Most BE Carefully Guarded Against.
The TastooinE Habit.
The most picturesque superstitions Of
the seas arc those which govern a mod.
ern man-o'-war. Every old salt in the
navy believes in hoodoos and spells
which may work all sorts of evils on
his ship and must be carefully guarded
against.
The powers of a ships hoodoos COM
mence before the ship has entered the
water. 1t is q generally accepted super
stition that If the first blow which is
struck the keel bringss Sparks the ship is
destined to suffer from a raking fire
from the enemy.
The old time practice of stealing a
piece Of wood and unfolding it in the
PROV for good luck is, of course. impos-
sible in the case of steel ships, though
1t is considered lucky to have a piece of
stolen wood on board.
Another old superstition is satisfied
by placing a silver coin in some ~crevice
OF the fighting top of the mainmast or
some place below decks where it touches
the steel mast. Originally it was a very
common custom to iInbed a silver coin,
and preferably a Spanish coin, in the
wooden steps neal the mast.
Figureheads nave been in high favor
with sailors from remote antiquity.
Originally they were carved to repre-
sent some god or saint. Even today a
sailor would hesitate to sail OIL an iron
clad without such protection.
The ceremony Of launching a ship is
merely q concession to an old supersti-
tion. The various formalities of ship
christening have been followed with
little variation for centuries.
In the early days of shipbuilding it
was the custom for the captain and the
crew to eat their first meal slowed away
In the mold loft. Their meal invariably
consisted Of eggs and sulphur. From
this custom has come the present day
practice Of providing cakes and wine
for the crew. And the old libation
which the priests used to pour over the
Prov of the ship as she slipped into the
water has been replaced by the break
ing Of a bottle of champagne.
The modern man-of-war dashes into
the water with flags waving from every
masthead. In order to crafty this old
superstition it has been necessary to ex-
pend hundreds Of dollars for the chris
tening Of a single ship. But no one be-
grudges this extravaganza. In a way it
Ii necessary.
The good or i'll luck of certain days
il still q belief among the sailors. Fri
day is a day of i'll omen, and Sunday is
usually a lucky day.
A superstition about women is q relic
Of the old belief in witchcraft. 1t is
thought hat u woman by throwing sand
in the air on shipboard can produce
violent storms. Not many years ago
rome women who travelled OH English
warships were tortured during q storm
70 make then quiet tho
These barbaric beliefs, however, are
partially compensated by the supersti-
ton which sailors have held for centu-
ries that beautiful children bring a
blessing to a ship. The Neck was a
handsome boy with golden curls. 1t is
said that he is always accompanied by
q black lamb and carries with him a
golden harp. Our old salts have especial
confidence in n ship which is christened
by q child.
The average sailor is superstitious
about the ringing Of the ships bells.
In olden times the bells were blessed
before they were used. At present. if a
mistake is made in striking the hour,
the sailors insist that the bells ut nee
be struck backwards to break the spell.
and II by any chance the wind should
catch the bells and swing them all the
way around, or if they strike nine bells,
it is believed that it will be the last Of
that ship.
All good warships go to the ''shores
Of Fiddler's Green" as a final resting
place. Just where this mythical harbor
Is situated no geographer has yet decid-
ed. 1t is in every way thu antithesis Of
"Davy Jones' locker" A warship
which goes down in battle with her
flags flying, as occurred several times
during the civil war, goes to "Fiddler's
Green"
The tattooing habit is, Of course, very
common in the navy. 1t is believed that
an arm or a leg decorated with the de-
Sign Of a gun or a sword or some such
design will never be lost in battle
San Francisco Call.