Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1898-11-14

Il
Must BE Carefully Guarded Against.
The Tsttooing Habit.
| The most picturesque superstitions of
the seas are those which govern mod
| ern nan-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 hocdoos COM
| mence before the ship has entered the
water. 1t Is generally accepted super
| stltiOn that If the first blow which is
struck the keel brings sparks the ship is
destined to suffer from d raking fire
from the enemy.
The old time practice of stealing a
piece Of wood and Embedding it in the
( Prov for good luck is, of course, impos-
| sible IN the case of steel ships, though
it is considered lucky to have piece of
stolen wood on board.
Another old superstition is satisfied
by placing a silver coin III some creyice
of the fighting top Of the mainmast or
soTAe place below decks where it touches
the steel mast. Originally it was q very
common custom to iInbed a silver coin,
and preferably Spanish coin, in the
wooden steps near the mast
Figurcheads have been in high favor
with sailDrs from remote antiquity.
Originally they were carved to repre-
sent SINE god or saint. Even today a
sailc'r would hesitate to sail on an iron
clad without such protection.
The ceremony Of launching a ship is
I merely a concession to an old supersti-
ton The various formalities of ship
Lilo - 4-.11 a
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
/ III 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water has been replaced by the break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 bottle of champagne.
The modern man war dashes into
the water with flags waving from every
masthead. IL order to crafty this old
superstition 1t has been necessary to eX-
pend hundreds of dollars for the chris
teniug of a single ship. But no one be-
grudgcs this extravaganza. In Il way it
Is necessary.
The good or Ill luclI Of certain days
is still belief among the sailors. Fri
day Is Il day Of Ill omen, and Sunday Is
usually n lucky day.
\ superstition about women is a relic
Of the old belief III witchcraft. 1t Is
thought that woman by throwing sand
III the air on shipboard can produce
violent storms. Not many years ago
some women who Travelled On English
warshipS Were tortured during "a storm
to make them quiet the waves.
These barbaric beliefs. however, are
partially compensated by the supGrsti-
tiun which sailors have held for centu-
rics that beautiful children bring a
blessing to ship. The Neck was Il
handsome boy with golden curls. 1t Is
said that he Is always accompanied by
n black lamb and carries with him =
golden harp. Our old salts have especial
confidence III a ship which Is chrlstened
by child.
The average sailor is superstitious
about the ringing Of the ships bells.
In oldcn times the bells were blessed
before they were used. At present, If u
mistake is made in striking the hour,
the sailors insist that the bells at once
be struck backwards TO break the spell.
and If by any chance the wind should
catch the bells and swing them all the
way around, CT if they strike nine bells.
it Is believed that IL Will be the last Of
that ship.
All good warships so 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 i'll every way the antithesls of
"Davy Jones locker" y warship
which goes down III battle with her
flags flying. as occurred several times
during the civil war, goes to ''Flddler's
Green. -
The tattooing habit is, of course, very
common III the navy. 1t Is believed that
an arm or leg decorated with the de-
sign of n gun or a sword or some such
design VIII never be lost III battle
San Francisco Call.