Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1898-01-21
THE PASS


Sailors RCcCntlrG - o.
Dead Body Hbo-r. lily.
One Of the most lCI uial g. pCrstitiUs
of sailclmcn used to bee against having
dead body atCc'd ship, but il no
longer holds gocd-cn passenger ships
81 least-for most Of them are now pro
vidcd with the means Of prescrving the
body Of person who dies on the voyage
until port is reached This is generally
done by incasiug the body in an alright
metallic coffin. one or more beng car
ried by every first class passenger vessel,
and there Is seldom murmur from
Jack. Steam and other modern i'm.
provements have worked as many
changes in sailormcn as they have III
the vessels they man, ana in consequence
the old time salt, with his supcrstitiCns,
his foibles and his notions, is fast dis
appearing before the advance Of his less
romantic and no more efficient brother.
Going TO sea amt what it used to
he, - said an old sea captain, with a
Ugh, to the writer, 70 whom he had
been bemoaning the dccadcnce Of sailing
vessels, which he aScrlhcd 20 the rapidly
growing habit of huildirg enormous
steam freight carriers 'lhe fuc old
ships, barks ANA other sailing craft are
going, and IL place of real saiCrmen
you see IL lot Of paint scrubb,rS and
iron Founders hat hardly knows how
TO splice q rope and hasn't as much su.
polstitiOn as goat. They cont care
much whether the cargo Is dead bodicl
or pig iron. "
In the cid days the presence Of g
corpse aboard was considered bound to
bring storms and other bad luck and
even now on sailing vessels an immedi.
ate burial over the side is the proper
thing when a death occurs if the skipper
cares TO keep the forecastle in good hui
NOR. On the big steamships, carrying
hundreds of passengers each trip,
death is no uncommon thing, and If
there are friends of the dead person
aboard they are likely to have the body
brought to port. 1t has become "a COM
mon custom, too, To ship the bodies of
persons who have died abroad home by
steamships, and on several occasions
small mortuary chapels have been con.
structed aboard Otherwise the collins
arc carried as if they were an ordinary
part of the ships cargo.
The skipper already quoted told Of
one of the many examples Of the sailors
superstition on the subject that had
come under his observation. A friend
of his was few years ago commanding
q big clipper ship engaged i'll the South
American trade. He was O kindly man,
n1 IL l.,
with him, not only because Of his nc4
being hard taskmaster, but also be-
cause his ship was known AS "a good
feeder, which is the highest encomium
Jack can pronounce upon skipper or YES
sci. On his last voyage the captain was
bound from Callao for Antwerp with
cargo Of fertiliser. He fell siok and died
soon after passing the Horn. His body
was prepared and boxed and placed be-
low in the depths Of the cargo.
The first mate, who succeeded 10 the
command. wss not the best Of sailors or
popular with tho crew. Head winds and
gales were encountered In rapid success
sion, aud the gyumbling Of the men
soon broke out into almost open mutiny.
II was tho presence Il that body In the
hold Of the ship that was causing all
the trouble, and IL must be got rid Of
The men wont an and 90 informed tho
mate and then without ceremony heaved
the body Of their late captain over the
side. Whether tho weather improved
then the skipper couldn't say. But he
was certain Of one thing. and that was
that Feamansh y and superstition. which
always so togo, her. would be things of
the past when the paint scrubbers and
iron Founders have crowded the real sail.
ormen off the eas.-New York Tribune