Of Bulls' Hides 



By Carla B. Burgess 



A sundog never fetched anything but a 

 heap of bad weather. 



So say Lucille and Billy Tmitt of 

 Oriental. 



"We came from a long line of fisher- 

 men back in the 1700s, and they went by 

 what the old Indians used to see," says 

 Lucille. "A sundog, seeing two suns, means 

 there's gonna be a sudden change — and 

 we've seen a many of 'em." 



Double suns and moons have long 

 been seen as portents of bad weather. 

 Even more feared are the lights of St. 

 Elmo's fire dancing in a ship's rigging. 

 Bloody sunrises don't sit well with sailors 

 either, apparent in the saying, "Red sky at 

 morning, sailors take warning. Red sky at 

 night, sailors delight." 



Throughout histoiy, folks have set their 

 beliefs and observations to rhyme, if not 

 for poetic intent, then to make them easier 

 to remember. Signs and sayings are woven 

 tightly into the weather lore of fishermen 

 and sailors. 



And for people like the Truitts. who 

 have fished the waters of the Neuse River 



When the glass falls low. 

 Prepare for a blow; 

 When it rises high, 

 Let your kites fly. 



and Pamlico Sound most of their lives, 

 they demand as much respect and 

 attention as the local weather forecaster. 

 Maybe more. 



"A backing wind is no man's friend," 

 says Arvin Midgett, who captains the 

 charter boat Miss Boo out of Oregon Inlet. 

 "I've known that saying all my life, and 

 I've come to see the wisdom of it." 



Counterclockwise winds almost always 

 mean trouble — from colder air approach- 

 ing to menacing hurricane winds. "If it 

 (wind) comes from the northeast, back to 

 the north, then from the northwest, why 

 you look for another cold front coming 

 through," says Midgett. 



12 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1991 



