The Washington times., 1910-04-07
Belief in Signs and Omens
Held by Nearly All Sailors

n 7 o one believes in luck or omens,
good or sad, more whoIehearted-
y than the sailor. a hatch
cover upside down, OF the loss
% a swsb o. butkst overheard 6lIs hitn
WITH to-sbo5I.g re IS aghast a. the
accidental tearing % 2 Gag, says -
cent writer, and knows that y sails be
sewn or -aecd7d on the quarterback IL
luck win result Events are invariably
viewed by him in the light Of what has
gone before Everything that IS incon-
venient he aScribes to some mslign in
f1uence-
He is profound believer IN his own
prejudices. ard has been known to re-
fuse 70 90 to sea without salt in his
pocket, or 10 put his left foot first in
boat or on shore. In his eating he
may not be dainty; hut his inevitable
demon occasionally whispers IN his ear
word Of warning. Rice. for instance,
Is known by the unsttractive name Of
strlke-me-bIind, as its continual use IS
thought to result IN loss Of sight.
he Is a firm believer IN odd numbers.
Is naval saiUtes viii testify. minute
guns excepted He looks upon women
at sea with disfavor. Some Of his Of
fcers bear with him an evil reputation,
both for luck and tbs weather they
bring Commodore By-c- was always
EouI-Weathsr Jack. because storm and
tempest s=e-e5 % follow ht-- wherever
he went Spinning wheels and pigs he
would rather be without. and certain
days he knows TO be unlucLy.
An old chronicler puts the number Of
days upon which it Is undesirable TO
put to sea at fifty-three: but since he
wrote the number has been consider
10 81
repute we're Gains birthday and the
anniversaries Of the destruction Of Sod
ON and Gomorrah and the suicide Of
Judas The fact that Columbus both
sailed and discovered land on a Friday
has no weight with him, the day re-
mains unluclZ--
Sailors Whistle
To E-tice Eeir s-se.eS
Every czs 8 acquainted --..A re olc
superstition tha@ sailors w--sI-s during
calm n order 70 bring down upon
them q favorable breeze. Basil Hall
says that during one Of his voyages
when the wind died away, one might
have thought that the ship was planted
in a grove Of trees. IN the height Of
sprinEtime, so numerous were the
~histIers- But whistIing must be done
Win ll5GLEAtDllu 1DL y llE5AAES eSlA bAe
tempests roar and in consequence sea
men have been known TO forbid any,
one 10 whistle upon their boats. and
sometimes even to threaten a Eay-heaTt-
ed passenger unconscious Of his error
A fisherman once forbade q young
girl 20 enter his boat because she was
known 70 be able TO whistle The art
would appear to be esoteric. to be prac-
tised by none but the initiated
Their appear 20 have been a belief
prevail ng among AL nations that li02-
ton or sacrifice would pIacate the storm
spirits and persuade them 20 permit the
vessel to proceed unmolested upon its
way. Russian sailors have been known
even To pour oatmeal and water over :,
rocky 2rOmontOry in order TO obtain
wind favorable to their designs
French sailors hold that certain Of
their shipuates are able 70 control the
winds BY virtue Of q. ring worn upon the
fourth finger Of the right hand This
power, however, carries with Il distinct
disadvantages; for Il the -pOssessor re-
mains ashore more than three days, OF
II any single voyage extends beyond q
period Of three months. then his life IS
forfeit
A broom IS said 10 have a considerable
influence upon the wind There is an
Old Dutch tradition that II windbound