A MESSAGE FROM THE SEA.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXV, Issue 1065, 18 February 1913, Page 3

A MESSAGE FROM THE SEA.

FOUND AFTER MANY DAYS. A strange case of the finding of a message from the sea is reported to the Palmerston Standard by Mr W. Gattsche, of Palmerston. Recently Mr Gattsche purchased a line of a hundred dozen bottles from a Fdxton client. Some of the consignment were in the process of being washed at the brewery yesterday morning, when it was noticed that one of the bottles bore a water-worn appearance, while the cork was quite bard and could not be removed. As a piece of paper could be seen inside, the bottle was broken, and on it was found the following message, written in pencil:— “Duco drifting vyestward. Tail shaft broken. Require help at once. Captain ham.’The paper was much worn in places, and was damp, but the words, in most cases, were easily decipherable. About three years ago the steamer Duco was lost with all on board, while on a voyage to the Chatham?, where she was intended to carry on fishing operations for a Wellington company. There is no means of testing the authenticity of the message, which will be forwarded to the Collector of Customs in Wellington, where no doubt a comparison of the handwriting will be instituted. There are errors of spelling in the original which throw some doubts upon its bona fides, and there have been quite a number of cases recently where similar “messages” have proved to be the senseless joke of some ill-balanced individual who evidently takes a delight in trifling with the feelings of those who have suffered an irreparable loss. At present whatever interest attaches to the paper lies in the curious manner of its recovery.