AT SEA: ON PASSAGE 139 



lime-juice J but fresh provisions were also essential, especially 

 potatoes and onions. When land was within reach, an earth 

 poultice was sometimes applied by depositing the patient in a 

 shallow grave, with only his head and shoulders exposed, for 

 several successive days/^ 



When illness or accident resulted fatally, the unwritten law 

 of the sea prescribed an auction sale of the effects of the de- 

 ceased foremast hand. After the body, with a weight at- 

 tached to the feet, had been allowed to slide overboard to the 

 accompaniment of the simplest of burial services, the master or 

 mate unsentimentally auctioned off the few belongings, con- 

 sisting mainly of articles of clothing, to the highest bidder. 

 The sums realized from the sale were held in trust by the cap- 

 tain, to be given later to the relatives or friends of the dead 

 man. If these could not be found, the Seamen's Friend So- 

 ciety or some other charitable organization might become the 

 beneficiary J or perhaps it would be necessary to turn the 

 amount over to consuls or courts. Partly as a mark of respect 

 to a dead shipmate, and partly because of a desire to assist his 

 family, the etiquette of the sea demanded that the bids to the 

 auctioneer be not only fair, but generous. 



Facts fully justified the popular conception of the sailor as a 

 person who entertained profound respect for customs, tradi- 

 tions, and superstitions. Many objects and actions were com- 

 pletely taboo J others were certain omens of approaching death 

 or disaster J and many more were classed as "Jonahs," certain 

 to bring bad luck on a smaller scale. One of the most-feared 

 omens was a phenomenon variously known as St. Elmo's fires, 

 ampizants, or composants. These were pale globular lights, 

 sometimes as large as a man^s head, which played about the 

 tops of the masts and the tips of the spars when the atmosphere 

 was heavily charged with electricity. It was widely believed 

 that they represented the ghosts of men who had died aboard 

 the vessel, and that they were warnings of the approaching 

 death of one or more members of the crew.^^ 



1^ For further descriptions of scurvy, see Wilkes, C, "Narrative of the U. S. 

 Exploring Expedition," V, Chap. 12; Bennett, F. D., "Narrative of a Whaling 

 Voyage Round the World," p. 193 ; Jarman, R., "Journal of a Voyage to the 

 South Seas," p. 229; and Nordhoff, C, "Life on the Ocean," p. 214. 



1^ For a discussion of superstitions of the sea, see "Fisheries and Fishery 



