130 FISHERMEN'S OWN BOOK. 



he is in them, meet with excellent success at other times. All old fishermen 

 can tell such incidents. I knew a circumstance of this kind that occurred a 

 few years ago : 



A young man, engaged in the haddock fishery, secured a berth with one of 

 the smartest skippers who sails from Gloucester. But, notwithstanding the 

 fact that every possible effort was put forth, poor results followed, and the 

 months of November and December wore away, the crew in the meantime 

 not sharing more than $25 to a man. Everybody felt discouraged. At this 

 time, however, the young man of whom I am speaking, and who, it was said, 

 was one of the unlucky ones, left the vessel and shipped in another. On 

 the next trip the vessel he had left shared $20 from only two days' fishing, 

 and on succeeding trips did even better than that, making an excellent 

 Winter's work. But the second vessel in which the man shipped (though 

 commanded by one of the most expert skippers) failed to get a share of fish 

 after he joined her, and the same result was met with by this unfortunate 

 individual in a third vessel which he joined during the Winter. The myste- 

 rious part of it was that in each of the three cases the vessels which met 

 with poor success while he was in them did much better than an average 

 during the rest of the season. What wonder is there that, in the light of 

 such experiences, fishermen are inclined to be somewhat superstitious ? 



Some fishermen believe that a valise, when carried on board a vessel, is 

 a Jonah. Probably this belief is largely due to the prejudice felt against 

 carrying such an-unseamanlike article on a fishing trip. 



Opinions differ as to whether certain other things are Jonahs or not. 

 Among those believed to be such by a few persons may be mentioned vio- 

 lins, checker-boards, toy-boats, a bucket sitting on deck partly full of water, 

 soaking mackerel in a bucket, etc., etc. 



The accidents and actions of members of the crew that are supposed to 

 bring ill success, or to be forerunners of such, are, dropping a hatch in the 

 hold, turning a hatch bottom up, breaking a looking-glass, driving nails on 

 Sunday,* and letting the splices of a cable stop in the hawse-pipe when the 

 vessel is anchoring on the fishing ground. 



As to other beliefs, it may be said that all fishermen whistle for a breeze 

 when it is calm, and some occasionally stick ajcnife in the after side of the 

 mainmast to bring a fair wind. A bee, or a small land bird coming on board, 

 it is supposed, will bring good luck, while ill fortune will follow the lighting 

 of a hawk, owl, or crow on the rigging of a vessel. It is believed that a 

 smart blow on the head of a fish that has just been separated from the body, 

 will kill the latter which still retains muscular motion. A hook, which has 



*Some of the skippers make a practice of driving nails on Sunday if tliey have need to do 

 so. This is, perhaps, done as much to antagonize the belief in its being unluqliy as for any- 

 thing el^e. 



