MYSTERIES OF THE SEA.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 924, 17 September 1910, Page 10

MYSTERIES OF THE SEA.

THE DERELICT. ; . Sir, —I have read with much interest ill your issue of September 10 an account of a hitherto unsolved "mystery of tho sea," and your assumption that "tho only parallel recalled is that of an Italian barque which was fqund off the east coast of Africa several years ago." But I can, with your permission, present another and perhaps more interesting incident, in \some respects analogous to the cases of the two mysterious barques mentioned in your columns.

With the object of cheating an Atlantic wintoi' of a couple- of months, my sailor chum and I shipped on the Malta, of the famous Cunard Line, for a trip up ' the ever-fascinating Mediterranean Sea. When running down tho coast somewhere between Lisbon and Cadiz, my churn, a smart lad from Newfoundland, was-handed a telescope by one of the passengers, aad lie brought the glass to bear upon a small sailing vessel at a considerable distance to the - westward ■of the position- which we occupied at the time. After regarding her attentively, he handed the glass to liie, saying, "Here, have a look at her;,'l can't .make her out the, way she's tacking and filling. 1 don't think there's anyfpne at the wheel," adding, "she's-either a Nova Scotian or a downeaster. Maybe they're having a free fight aboard her." Alter , attentively regarding her for some time I could detect from her movements that she was apparently "going upon her own," and although we were making use of an extremely powerful glass, wo could see no sign of life on board. As the matter had 110 further attraction for us, wo ceased to takei any notice of the littlo, vessel that had aroused for the moment a certain amount of interest.

Our Mediterranean trip occupied a much longer time than we had anticipated, and at one of the ports .which wo visited a newspaper came oil board —published, if I recollect rightly, at Gibraltar—containing an account of what I have always regarded as the most mysterious incident known to those "who go down to the sea in ships.''-' This incident took place in the early' 'seventies, and I am writing' wholly from memory, but I feel quite confident as to tho nccurucy ol furnished' detail. In the paper to which I have alluded, wo read that away to the westward .'of: :'■ Cadiz , an. American brigantino cas, found With all her sails set, with everything outboard'.in perfect order, and it was further alleged that a sowing machine .-and some. ladies'. apparel in the cabin testified te the existence of 4 wonia-n. :'on N the . ship.. But no -person, either dead or alive, remained to tell the tale. , And," as if t®; add to the mystery of the :caso, it was found thai in the forecastle; and also in tho cabin, the mid-day meal had only been ■' halfconsumed, suggesting a most hurried departure from tho ship. Only qim suspicious circumstance was noticed and-that was. a cut upon tlio ship's, rail, which appeared to havo' been recently made with the axe. Conan Doyle has made this mystery the basis of one of his storios, and 1 can recollect some few years apo reading a really .well-written-contribution to one of the English magazines, in which the writer sought to make it appear \ that tlio occupants of. tlio ship; were driven .off by -tho apparition of a-huge sailor, Who had the, preceding trip in some way lost his-life'.: The,out on tho ship's rail is'ithought by. some;to'lndicate that one of the crew had gone mad, and' that lie had chased all tho others ovfcr the side axo. It has been-al-leged that Frank' Bullen belioves, that a huge/octopus.,may.'havo been.'responsible for a hideous tragedy. Some of tho more recent accounts which . I have lately, read-contain //to thß seafaring reader intrinsic evidence of inaccuracy. - The vessel's- name was', if I remember, rightly, tho Celeste, -/of Boston, ;and-sho<.was into-Cadiz. :My-! chum-' ; alWays' believed ' that ' •.the (Yankee . 'brigantine ; upon . which ,/the turned the glass was the. derelict whoso experiences are . still shrouded . in, mystery. ."! have discussed With many thoughtfid seafaring meh the details-of this • incident,. and hive found that thoy ■ all regard it as,, a subject presenting a singularly weird and fascinating interest, beyond that of any maritime romance of our time; a "mystery of the sea" which ,will- in all human probability only receive /its final solution "when the sea gives /.'up its dead."—l am, etc., -■- ' ,i . R, C.. BRUCE. Ngaruru, September 12, 1910.