SAILOR FISHERMEN OF NEW ENGLAND. 63 



Beliefs regarding natural phenomena. — Among fishermen we find the ordinary 

 beliefs regarding the influence of changes of the moon upon the weather. The fisherman, like 

 any other sailor, will often whistle for a wind or will stick his knife into the aft side of the mast to 

 insure a fair wind. The fishermen observe carefully the direction of shooting-stars, thinking that 

 the wind will come from the direction toward which the stars shoot. There is a common belief in 

 Maine that the flood-tide brings in a wind, that the wind is likely to die out with its ebb, also that, 

 it is more likely to rain on the ebb than on the flood ; and this belief is more or less common all 

 along the New England coast. In Maine the fishermeu believe that children are always born when 

 the tide is at the full and die when it is ebbing, and that only at this latter stage of the tide do 

 deaths occur. 



When the sun " sets up its backstays." or "draws water" in the morning, it is a sign of foul 

 weather; at night, of fair weather ; "sun-dogs," or parhelia, indicate foul weather. 



When the wind backs, or veers from right to left or against the sun, it is believed that it will 



not continue steady. This belief is so common among seamen that an old distich tells us that : 



When the wind backens against the sun 

 Trust it not, for back it'll run. 



If the wind moderates with the setting of the sun, it will rise again when the sun rises. 



The peculiar appearance in the water which the fishermen describe as " a crack in the water," 

 seen in calm weather, is the sign of an easterly wind. 



The fire of St. Elmo, the " coinposants " (corpo santof), as the fishermen call it, is regarded as 

 a natural phenomenon. It is believed to rise higher upon the mast as the storm increases, and at 

 the culmination of the storm to reach the highest point on a vessel's spars or rigging. 



Backing winds are generally followed by unsettled weather; hauling winds are thought to 

 indicate settled weather. 



The following are old saws of general prevalence : 



Mackerel sky and mares' tails, 

 Make lofty ships carry low sails. 

 Rainbow in the morning, 



Sailors' take warning ; 

 Rainbow at night, 



Sailors' delight. 



Evening red, and morning gray, 

 Is a sure sign ol'a pleasant day; 

 But evening gray and morning red, 

 Will bring down rain upon your bead. 



If the morning is marked by an easterly gliu, 

 The evening will bring rain to wet your skin. 



If in the southwest you see a srnurry sky, 

 Douse jour flying kites, for a storm is nigh.* 



Some of these beliefs concerning the weather doubtless have more or less foundation in fact, 

 and are based on a close observation of results growing out of natural causes, though the " weather- 



*On the east coast of the United States and British North American Provinces storms generally follow more or 

 less closely the direction of the Gulf Stream, which, north of Cape Hatteras, closely approximates to a northeast 

 course. Therefore, an easterly or northeasterly storm '• begins to leeward," as the fishermen say ; that is, it gradually 

 moves to the northeastward, notwithstanding the wind may be blowing heavily from that direction. As a result, the 

 first indication of a storm, particularly in winter, is generally noticed in the changes that appear in the sky to the 

 south and westward. If the sky assumes a hazy, greasy look — called "smurry " by the fishermen — with small patches 

 of leaden or inky clouds, a storm is imminent ; hen- lies the force of this distich. The same rule applies to the first 

 dist ieh in regard to the " easterly glin :" since, if the morning sky is specially clear in the east, so as to form a glin, it 

 is generally thick with an approaching storm in the opposite direction. — J. W. C. 



