178 OLD WHALING DAYS. 



our yards to a northerly wind for Shetland, and were not 

 long before we anchored in Lerwick harbour. The captain 

 had been ill several days before we made the land, and we 

 were glad to get medical advice, as we had no doctor on 

 board. Five men belonging to Hull wished to leave us, 

 and several others belonging to Shetland. The Hull men 

 were at once discharged. 



We were soon ready for sea, and one morning, when all 

 hands were called, two men were absent. I went on shore 

 and reported them to the sheriff, who was our agent. He 

 despatched a constable on horseback to their homes, which 

 was eighteen miles away, and brought them back to the 

 ship. The difficulty was how to keep them. The authori- 

 ties would not detain them on shore until we sailed, so they 

 supplied us with handcuffs, and we kept them in custody on 

 board until we got under weigh. This was very unpleasant, 

 yet it deterred others from deserting. Three men were 

 shipped in the place of those who had been discharged. The 

 two who had deserted, feigned sickness, and a doctor was sent 

 for, who examined them, and found them in perfect health. 

 One of them afterwards told me he had a dream that he 

 would never return. The Shetlanders, I may state, are 

 very superstitious. In fact, the whole crew of those ships 

 were more or less so ; for instance, when a vessel has been 

 unlucky for some time, a horse shoe will be taken down and 

 put into the fire, then replaced. Old horse shoes are 

 nailed principally on the masts in the lower deck as a protec- 

 tion against evil spirits, and a producer of good luck. It 

 was also considered an ill omen for that day, if a seal 

 appeared with its head out of the water ahead of the boat 

 when on the look-out for whales, but the reverse if it 

 appeared astern. Or if a fox was shot, and brought on 

 board, it was an ill omen, and many more foolish ideas. 



A fine, fair wind springing up, we got under weigh. All 

 was restored to order, the watch was set, and thus ended our 



