The San Francisco call., 1898-05-22
SUPERSTITIONS
 ON WAR VESSELS

{" HE most picturesque superstltlons
 of the seas are those which gov
 ern a modern man-of-War. EVery
 | old salt in the navy believes in
 hoodoos and spells which may work all sorts of evils on his snip anu must be carefully guarded against.
 The powers of a ships hoodoos com mence before the ship has entereu lhe water It is generally accepted super stition that if the first blow WHICH is struck the keel brings sparks the sIip is destined to suffer from rakllls Hie from the enemy.
 The old-time practice of steanng niece of wood and imbedding 1t i'll the nrow for good luck is, of course, lm- possible in the case of steel shlps' though it is considered lucky to h"'e |" piece of stolen wood on board'
 Another old superstition IS satisiieu by placing a silver coin in some creVioe of the fighting-top of the maiiiiiao' VI some place below decks where It touches the steel mast. Orlglhahy u was 2 very common custom to 1mped silver coin. and preferably a spanish coin in the wooden steps near the mast. ,.,rh eovor
 Figureheads have been 1n hlgn Ianoi with sailors from remote ali'iqul.o .I-lro Originally they were carFeu to do, en,t soroa pod pr saint Even to-day q sailor would hesitate to sali oii '' ironclad without such protection. .
 The ceremony of launching snip ls ,,,areIv 2 concession to an old super stition. The various formalltles ot 9itp I.9 christening have been followed Wlth Hl- tie variation for centurles' ,,s,u +
 In the early days ot shlppuiiuiHe ,S was the custom for the captain t1-ad ell,G the crew to eat their first meal sto"eu oI,,oI, in +ha mold loft. Their meal ln- 1Jariably consisted of eggs and sulpnur' From this custom has come the pIee5 ant-dsv nractice of providing cakes anu wine for the crew. Ana the oIu ,o',, ,l ton which the priests used to pour over the brow of the ship as she sllPpsu into the water has been repldceu DS the breaking of a bottle or chaiilp"s ne
 The modern mar1-of-"ar oaal 4rnro the water with flags WaVlhS 1Iofii .:tli o,,e,,,, masthead. In order to gratlIy tbte old superstition it has been neces sarv 10 expend hundreds or ooilars 5ot tba christening of a single snip. put no one begrudges this eXtraVasdlioe' In a way it is necessary. as
 T,be good or i'll luck of certain oays ;s s4iIl . belief among sailors. Friday Is a day of i'll omen and Suhuay IS "0u ally a lucky day. l.,
 The superstition about women Is a relic of the old belief in wltchcraIt' IL is thought that a woman py throWlhS sand in the air on shipboard can pro duce violent storms, Nol nlaiy ago some women who traVeleu oL English warships were tortured ourlns a storm to make them quiet the waves.
 These barbaric beliefs, however, are partially compensated by the supersu- tion which sailors have held TOT cen turies that beautiful children bring bIessing of a ship. The Neck was a bandsoTne boy with golden curls. It is said that he is always accompanled py q black lamb and carries with him golden harp Our old salts have es- pecial confidence in a ship which IS christened by a child.
 The average sailor is superstitious about the ringing Of the snip pens; In olden time the bells were blessed before they were used. At present IT a mistake is made in striking the hour the sailors insist that the bells at once be struck backward to break the spell And if 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 1t will be the last of that ship.
 All good warships go to the shores of Fiddlers Green" as final resting place. Just where this mythical har- bor is situated no geographer has yet decided It is in every way the anti thesis of "Davy Jones' lockerl" A warship which goes down to battle with her flags flying, as occurred sev- eral times during the Civil War, goes to "Fiddlers' Green.'
 The tattooing habit Is of course very common in the navy. It Is believed that an arm or leg decorated with the design of a gun or sword or some such a design will never be lost in battle.
 JNCTTP ANCC ACAJNST EIOT