SCOTTISH FISHERMEN'S FANCIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2840, 19 August 1908, Page 83

SCOTTISH FISHERMEN'S FANCIES.

Under this heading an account of some strange survivals amongst fishermen recently appeared in the Scotsman, signed by A. Poison, who says : — "When a fisherman is to have a nevr boat, the carpenter chosen to build it should be a 'lucky' man, and if the owners of one or two of the first boats launched from this builder's yard prove fortunate he may reckon on having a busy time of it for several years. Inside the stern of the new boat there should be nailed a horseshoe, but that, being easily seen, would lay the crew open to the jests of youthful scoffers, to that in more recent years the horseshoe has had, ia deference to public opinion, to give place to a smalj piece of mountain ash, which is bel.ievec] to be equally efficacious in thwarting the power of adverse wj tehee. When the men are preparing to g6 to eea they are on the outlqok |or

6igns. Thus when their nets they keep a watchful eye on the person who 'first foots' at the job, and if it be a flat-footed, red-haired woman they conclude that they may as well stop ashore, but if it be some good-natured man who wishes them well they may expect these very nets to be so full of herring that it is well if they do not break away from the boat. Others, again, believe that a small silver coin fixed somewhere among the nets acts like & charm, but, stranger still, some believe that is co extremely happy an augury to have mice nibble at their nets while stored up for the winter that they actually scatter some oats among them to tempt the little nibblers, even though mending them after this gives so much trouble. Most general of beliefs, however, is that it is unlucky to meet a minister on their way to sea, and' quite recently a fisherman was seen to jump a wall and get to his boat in a very roundabout way to avoid a clergyman he saw on the harbour road. Fi&hermen have also the strongest aversion to take ministers aboard or to give them a passage from one port to another. On inquiry as to this belief the writer was told that long ago some northern sailors took a number of ministers to Leith to attend a general assembly, and that the paeeage was exceedingly" stormy, but when Leith was reached and the ministers landed the wind ceased. The sailors from this circumstance formed the belief that the prince of the power of the air thought that while they were oft the waters he might, by exercising his power, get theee men who were the enemies of hifa kingdom out of his way. The belief is r&ally likely to be as ancient as the prophet .Jonah. It is for this reason that many fiVhermen think that if they are not to have the prince of the air as their enemy they had better be without their minister's blessing. For all this, fish-ermen are not irreligious, and not long ago many crews after setting their nets 'took the books.' But the epirit of modernism is creeping in, and an old man in referring to this recently remarked, 'The generation of vipers that we have now go off to sea with a curse and a swear instead of the words of grace agd reverence of -their fathergt

"Next to having ministers aboard, there ' is nothing fishermen abhor more than to have a head' body -aboard/ they-^an-" scarcely bear that one.sb.ould^be carried in their boats to^Y r fTonF'-the' ; "4iarbdur,-* i aßa'' > will not even lift into,, their boats any deadr fish or sea bird t£eym»y^see ? \floatj i ngj_ past. When at sea there are sev|Jal* r four^ footed animals it were_ the^ should not mention, among- the number b&ing hares, rabbits, and pigegf Banff--shire fishermen think^ifi" u'nlflck^^ sgelik of salmon, - and Ca'i febnesSj jne^ " iwho attribute no superstitious'impbrtance' to the naming of this fish, delight to tease the jßanffshire men by shouting 'to them, sucUs expressions as 'There's a. salmon in your.; pump.' The antidote for such bad ' luck /as the mention of any of these ani^ mals'toight bring ie, to shout 'cold ironY or j ,to handle "some - iron instrument' at once. Luckfmav^aleo easily be given away at sea. ' Thus' to win luck, for his own boat a fisherman may ask for some water from a lucky boat lying alongside; and. will pro-" hably" be supplied jjeadilv enough with just, as much as he can' drink;"- but not a drop" to carry away. -If ; sie aska_\ for *a* match it is also given, ,but-^he%giver' store'ptiti--ously breaks off 'a*nialla>w:t^M. $i^inng' the -whole he "may '%art- with^the luck." '"" *»•-^ '< ' "-