Perth Amboy evening news., 1906-12-07
SUPERSTITIONS ABOUT
"HOODOO BATTLE SHIPS

DO you believe in lucky ships? ?"
asked the paymaster as the officers of
the ward room prepared for their af-
ter dinner talk, says writer in the
New Orleans Picayune.
We'll, do not know but | do, !"
answered the first lieutenant. There
are some ships in the navy now-one
especially, as you all know-that do
seem to be hoodooed. But as it would
be treason to mention them by name,
we don't. But no harm in speaking
about old time unlcky ships.
There was the Chesapeake. She
was such an unlucky frigate that 1t
was hard work to get crew for her
and she was a good ship, too.
''She began her career with that
disgracefulf affair with the British
frigate Leopard. Although England
and the United States were at peace,
the Leopard held her up off the coast,
poured broadside after broadside into
her and finally took from her some
American sailors, claiming that they
were British subjects. And the Chesa-
peake was in such condition, her
preparation for battle was so bad,
that she offered scarcely any resist
ance.
after that everything went wrong
with her, and Lawrence, when no
was ordered to go to Boston to take
command of her, just before her
fight with the Shannon, was so i'm
pressed with the fact that the ship
was hoodooed that he tried his best
to get his orders changed. When he
sailed out to fight the Shannon so
short was he of men that he had to
impress men on the dock just before
sailing, and the disastrous outcome
of that battle off Boston is matter
of history.
Becomes Windmill.
Although the Chesapeake was in
such good condition when the British
captured her that they easily took her
into port and although when they
had fixed her up she was one of the
finest frigates afioat, she was all the
time getting into trouble, until the
British admiralty finally declined to
send her to sea any more, and sold
her to a Hampshire miller, who broke
her up and made windmill OF her.
Whether he prospered after that do
not know, but | would not be at all
surprised If investigation should show
that he failed the next year.
"Then there was the Wasp.
"The first Wasp was an eight gun
schooner, purchased at the outbreak
of the Revolution-a merchant
schooner made over into a man-of-
war. She was not practically suited
for the work, and, after short ca
reer of no especial brilliancy, was
dropped from the navy list. Some
how things had never seemed to go
right with her, while she was playing
man-of-war. But the name was too
good one--too suggestive a one
to be lost, and when the War of 1872
broke out, we find that the United
States had another Wasp, this time
an eighteen gun sloop of war. And ]
will explain to my civilian friend over
there that sloop of war, paradoxical
as it may seem, is by no means a
sloop. A sloop of war is, in general
terms, under the old classification OF
the navy, man-of-war carrying all
her guns on one deck, and not only
could be but frequently was full
rigged ship. The old sloops of war
of the beginning of last century used
TO carry anywhere from eighteen to
thirty guns, and were to the old navy
what the second class cruiser is to the
navy of today.
Jewell, the sloop of war Wasp,
when the second war with England
broke out, was in European waters.
She at once returned to the United
States, srefitted and started on acruise
after the enemy's merchant fleets
coming up from the West Indies. Soon
after leaving port she ran into nur-
ricane and lost her jibboom and two
men on it. But her bad luck let up
bit, and she captured thet etBritish
corvette Frolic after brilliant ac-
ton.
-Bnt the luck Of the Wasp was Oh
ly lifting her up d little to east her
down harder., s'carce.y had she AIKEN