Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1893-03-29
Strange Story Of q Shir.

the missing steamship Naronic recalls
among other countless strange stories
of the sea the mystery of the Marie
Celeste, sailing vessel that one day,
sixteen years ago, left the port of New
York. The Marie Celeste came back
as sound as dollar. but her people,
thirteen in all, including the wife and
! little child of the MASTER were never
! seen afterwards.
The Marie Celeste, which sailed from
New York in 1877 for Nillefranche, on
the Mediterranean, had Il valuable
/, cargo on board.
Before sufficient time had elapsed
! for the vessel to complete her voyage a
| British bark sighted the Marie Celeste
| about three hundred miles west of Glib
ratar. No answer was received by the
signalling bark, and the astonished
Britisher bore down upon the vessel
and with glasses made a close e1amina
tion of her deck. Not a sign of life was
there.
A feeling ofuneasiness came over the
sailors. With q crew of courageous
men the Captain ordered boat lower
ed, and pulled for the deserted ship.
When alongside they called for those
on board, but received no response.
All was as silent as the tomb from bow
TO stern of the phantom craft, which,
with some of her sail set, was drifting
slowly before the wind.
The boarded the vessel but there
was an unnatural silence. 4 thorough
search revealed everything about the
Marie Celeste to be in its proper place
and in its proper order. Only one thing
belonging to Il ship at sea was lacking,
and that was the most important thing
of all-life
Ga the deck hung the weekly wash
of the sailors From the davits hung
all the boats III their appropriate places.
Every rope and every spar was in its
place. Not 4 marling-spike was gone.
Binnacle and compass were intact.
Descending the fore hatchway, the
captain of the bark found a half-eaten
meal upon the seamen's table. In the
masters cabin aft the remains of an in
terrupted dinner were also discovered.
In one corner Of the cabin was sew
ing-machine, with child's garment
still under the needle. A woman's
thimble lay on ono corner of the ma
chine.
The money chest was untouched. In
its accustomed place hung the masters
chronometer. The mates watches
were in their ctotaroomS
Everything was in perfect order
aboard this phantom ship that was sail
ing on and on, with no man at the
wheel, no sailor to haul rope.
All the thirteen people had disap-
peared as completely and mysteriously
as if removed by some supernatural
agency.
The logbook, dated forty-two hours
before the British bark had signalled,
showed that the voyage had been q
prosperous one. There had been no
storm. There were no traces ofpiracy
or murder. Neither were such suppo-
itious tenable. There were no signs of
4 struggle. No yaluables were miss
ing.
The Marie Celeste was towed to
Eillefranche. After her cargo had been
safely transferred she was taken back
to her owners in this city.
Through the State Department, all
United States representatives abroad
were requested to inform foreign gov
ernments of the facts. In this way, in
every custom house in the world, every
thing was done to have the mystery of
the Marie Celeste cleared, but it re-
manned unsolved
The Mariei Celeste at last came to an
untimely end, representatives of the
state Department say, as ST she were
an uncanny craft, too mysterious and
too much feared to be allowed longer
to plough the waves. Only crews with
more than the usual stock of courage
aud less than the usual stock of sailors
superstition could, after her strange
adventure, be induced to ship on her.
She was employed in the trading SER
vice between New York and Cuba In
March, 1856, her owner, it is said in
Washington, insured her heavily. load.
ed her with barrels of water and few
hogsheads of molasses, of which COM
modify her cargo was supposed to be
composed, and sailed her down the
Cuban coast. There he ran her ashore
and she was wrecked.
In the trial of the owner for barratry,
which followed the next year, the facts
in the story of the unaccountable de-
sertion of the Marie Celeste 1T sea were
developed.-N 7. JForLd.