THE MARIE CELESTE.

Taranaki Daily News, 3 December 1919, Page 9

THE MARIE CELESTE.

— i SEA, MYSTERY RECALLED. \ I A SOLUTION SOUGHT, In telling of the mysteries of the Seven Seas in the Sunday Express, the opinion is advanced by Morley Roberts that no mystery or either sea or land/ exceeds in difficulty of solution the Marie Celeste. * j 'Such a dictum can hardly be gain-! said, for it is indeed doubtful if a Sherlock Holmes," with a crew of salty-argo-nauts to aid him in his deductions, could make anything of the mystery alluded to. Morley Roberts says he refrains from even thinking of it, because he gets enraged at being unable to offer the maddest guess as to what happened. Therefore, he does not seem to be running a very grave risk when he offers £SO to ! anyone who can produce such a solution of this tantalising puzzle as shellbacks would accept as credible. . It is probably the fact that the great majority of English-speaking people of the present generation have heard some sort of an account of a mystery which had its origin in days when many sons of Neptune were still honestly thinking, with John Ruskin, that the "floating kettles" then trailing their prophetic signs across the waters were a direct contravention of ithe laws of God. But, usually, a sea story that has been told and retold, afloat and ashore, during a period 'of half a century, has picked lip a number of fictitious embellishments in the course of its travels, and this story of the Marie Celeste is no exception:— ABANDONED AT SEA. On December 13, 1572, there limped into the harbor of Gibraltar, the American brigantine Marie Celeste under convoy of the British brig Dei Gratia, the master of the' latter vessel making report that, eight days previously, he had picked up the former abandoned by her crew in lat. .38.20 N., long- 17.15 W.— about midway between the Azores ana the port of LFslion. He further stated that, so far as he could ascertain, there was no good reason for abandonment, and on this report the Gibraltar shipping authorities at one? instituted a searching investigation, with the view of arriving at some definite conclusion as to what had really happened. According to a copy of the official report in the present writer's possession, the facts elicited at that inquiry may be summarised ns follows: The Marie Celeste had sailed from Boston, U.S.A., bound for Genoa, in command of Captain B. S. Bviggs, who was well known at Gibraltar to he a thorough seaman, and a man of unblemished reputation- ' The cargo was found on inspection to consist wholly of barrels marked as containing alcohol, all of which were properly stowed, and in good order and condition, excepting that one barrel showed signs of having been broached. The exterior of the hull helow the waterline was closely examined by a diver, and gave no indication of any attempt having been made to scuttle the vessel; nor was there anything _ to show that she had been "involved in a collision, or struck a rock, or been aground, or had met with any misadventure whatsover. The hull, the copper sheathing, the stem, the sternpost and rudder were all in seaworthy condition, and a rigid overhaul of the interior of the ship and her upper works emphasised the belief that she had enronntered none of the wonted perils of the sea. EVERYTHING LEFT IN ORDER. The bulwarks, masts, sails, and' rigging were ail in excellent order, as Was the deck house in which the crew had apparently been quartered. The seamen's chests were quite dry, the many articles of wearing apparel lying about were in a similar condition, and .an inspection of the cook's galley revealed nothing of an abnormal character. In the cabin the various articles of furniture were all in their proner places, and undamaged by water. The effects found there were of ,considerable value, and included a harmonium, a quantity of sheet music, a number of books, a sewing machine, and a variety of articles suggesting that a woman and child had been on board—afterwards ascertained to be the master's wife anil daughter. A small vial containing oil stood upright on the sewing machine, together with a thimble and reel of cotton, and the fact that these had not been upset was deemed a proof that the vessel had not been subjected to any stress of Weather. There was an ample supply of provisions and water on board, and, in short, nothing was found fore or aft, above deck or below deck, sufficient to explain why the vessel had been abandoned, either with premeditation, or in a sudden emergency. SIGNIFICANT BLOOD SMEARS. No firearms were found, but a. rather sinister significance was attached to the discovery of a sword in the cabin which, on_ being drawn from "its scabbard, gave evidence of some blood smears having been recently wiped off it. What looked like bloodstains were also visible on the topgallant rail, and near the bows their were certain marks that might have have been made with a sword or some other sharp weapon. The manifest, bills of lading, and other ship's papers were missing excepting the log book, which was found in the cabin, and showed that the last entry had been made therein at noon on November 24. the vessel being then in latitude 36.5' d N., longitude 27.20 W. The entries on the log state were continued, however, until the morning following at 8 a.m. The Marie Celeste was at that hour on an easterly course, and six miles due north of tlie island of St. Mary, in the Azores, but it is curious to note that the master of the Dei Gratia stated that between the date oi the last entry in the Marie Celeste's log and the date he had picked her up (De'cember sth.), the wind had been blowing steadily from the north. He also said the vessel was on the starboard 'tack, with only her jib and foremast staysail set when he found her. Therefore, if the Marie Celeste had been oeserted bv all her crew on the day the last entry was made on her iog slate, she could not have drifted on the star-'. board tack, with northerly winrfs blowing all the time, to the iiosition where she was found by the Dei Gratia on December s—latitude 38.20 N„ longitude 17.15 W. The "obvious inference is that .at least a section of the crew did not desert the*' vessel until some days after the final entry had been made in the log. EXTRAORDINARY SERIES OF FACTS Various theories were set up to ac*iount for this extraordinary series of ■

foots. Jt was contended by some that the vessel must liave been cast away intentionally; others declared that the finding of the sword and the bloodstains pointed to mutiny, culminating in tragedy, rather than to barratry. But no member of the crow ever turned up afterwards to tell his story, so the enigma which baffled solution half a century ago remains an enigma till this day. The theory has been broached In an English periodical that a gigantic octopus may have attacked the vessel and used its tentacles with such effect as to carry every soul on board over the side. Many other theories of an equally bizarre character have been set up, and in most of these efforts it is averred that the boats were still hanging intact from the davits of the derelict when the Dei Gratia found her. They would seem to be only a bubble blown from the brain of somebody trying to make the mystery more bewilderipg still. At the Gibraltar inquiry nothing was mentioned about the boats, and had they still been on the vessel after her crew had vanished such a peculiar circumstance would surely have been alluded to by the official investigators. It is therefore a fair presumption that when the crew disappeared the boats disappeared likewise. But that does not explain the mystery of the vessel's desertion or the fate of her people, and so far all the speculations regarding these aspects of the case have completely failed to dispel the Cimmerian darkness. Nevertheless, it is just possible that some reader may prove so successful i: grappling with the problem as to become entitled to the liberal reward Morley Roberts offers for a satisfactory solution.