Daily camera., 1898-11-29
DESERTED BY RATS.
When the Rodents Leave q Ship
She Is Doomed.
A superstition of Sailors Which Has
Many COnfirmatOry Instances
of Disaster for FOun-
datfOn.

| lakes That is the one which has come
down from the earliest navigators,
that if rats leave a ship the ship Is
certain to sink. Lakemen's absolute
and general credence in this makes up
for their lncredulity regarding other
marine prognostics. 1t is hard to tlnd
d lake sailor, from. captain down to
a deck hand. who does not place full
faith in the old rat sign. Not all OF
| them will admit it to an outsider, but
they admit it to one another.
There is no reason why these fresh
wGt sailors should not be credulous
Tie superstition has been handed
down from the time boats first be-
gan to ply on the lakes. and the sto-
rics told of the sinking of various
craft on the lakes have served to con-
virce the present generation of navl-
| GATORS that there must be something
su.ernatural in the eXoduses of ship
rals. Take the story of the Vernon,
| for instance.
The Vernon was a three-master
| which did tramp business. Built in
Buffalo in 1850, she was for many
years regarded as one of the best craft
| on the lakes. Late in the fall about
Is years ago she unloaded a cargo Of
gain in Buffalo and reloaded with
package freig ht for Chicago. Her cap
tain had hired what extra sailors he
needed. and a bout seven o'clock on the
night of November > he was ready to
heave TO and start west. There was
| cOrsidera Bile Of sea outside and the
indications were that the weather
wculd be heavy for several days. Still,
the Vernon was considered Il stanch
vessel, and no one thought it risky to
take her out Just before the lines
were let off one of the seamen saw
a rat run over the hawserS to the
wharf. In a moment another was
seen. The seamen called others of the
crew to see the unusual sight. Be
tween so and IS rats poured out of the
ship and took refuge along the wharf.
Five sailors accordingly Informed the
captain that they would not go out
with the vessel.
Not havir" seen the exodus the cap
tain believed jhat his crew. frightened
at the possibility Of big blows. had cold
the rat story as an excuse for quitting
the ship. He swore at them and or
dercd them to go ashore and stay
there. The superstitious sailors tried
TO convince the captain that they were
not deceiying him, and they asked him
not to make the trip. He was skepti-
cal and obstinate. He got a new crew
and that night started out of port.
The story spread, and the trip of
the Vernon was watched. In Lake
Michigan she pounded severa! hours in
terrific sea; her seams opened. and
she went down. Not soul was saved.
There was probably not sailor on
the lakes who did not hear this story,
and those who had been disbelievers
before now had full confidence in the
rat sign.
Seven or eight years ago schooner
which had no name was deserted by
rats while she lay in Milwaukee. Two
Of her crew quit Immediately. The re-
naming two stayed on the craft. This
schooner was blown ashore at Silver
Cree. Lake Erie. The two men were
taken off by a life-saving crew.
A more recent case of this kind was
that of the steamer Idaho. which went
down off Long Point, Lake Erie, last
November This boat put out of Buf-
falo Just ahead of the hardest blow
of last season. Once she was regarded
as the finest passenger boat on the
lakes. On this, her last trip. she was
buffeted about for several hours. She
pounded by Long Point, so miles
northwest of Buffalo, and then her
captain ordered her brought about
that she might run under Long Point
for shelter The rush of waves was
too much for her. She was caught
in the roll of the sea and she gradually
filled and sank. OF her crew of p
men 10 were drowned. The first mate
and a seaman named Gill climbed into
the rigging, where they remained 36
hours. They were finally taken off by
the steamer MariDosa.
It was learned shortly after the
wreck that just before the vessel left
her moorings, swarm of rats crawled
over the hawsers to the wharf. This
was known to part of the crew and
four men deserted al tie last moment.
Their places were filled by two vag-
abonds who were lounging along the
docks. When the old shin was we'll out
of port and was beating hard, the
old steward, who was the oldest of
his class on the lakes, learned that the
rats had left the ship the hour of de-
parture. He cursed because the fact
had been kept from him. When the
boat began to roll and plunge and the
great waves broke over her old LAZY,
the steward, got down on his knees
and prayed. He was the first to be
washed overheard.
The captain of a sailing vessel was
asked recently why he and other lake
men placed so much confidence in the
movement of rats.
Because it has been shown that rats
are an unfailing sign" he said at
has been proved a hundred times.
There are a whole lot of things in this