The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1896-08-15
MYSTERY OF THE WHARF.

Co., shipping merchants, at the Dutch |
settlement of Batavia, was at the end of |
a long wharf projecting into the harbor.
On one side of the wharf the water
was 25 feet deep, and there was room |
for two ships to unload or discharge |
cargo. On the other side there was a
rocky roof eight feet below the surface, J
which could not be blasted out without
great expense, and no craft ever came
in on that side unless it was coaster.
The wharf was feet wide. but the long
warehouse, which stood in the center
of it, was only 80 feet wide, thus leav-
ing an open space about it. The office
was at the sea end of the warehouse.
Below the warehouse and reached by
rude stairway was platform about ten
feet square, which was placed there for
the convenience of employees who
wanted to take bath. When the tide
was in this platform was foot under
water; when the tide was out it was
three or four feet above the surface.
For year and a half, beginning with
1867, large number of the 30 men en-
ployed in Office and warehouse had
made use of this platform, and there
had not been an accident of any sort.
In the summer of 1869, at four o'clock
in the afternoon, two clerks in the
Office descended for q swim. They
dived from the platform together when
ready, but one of them never came to
the surface. When the alarm was given
his body was dragged for, but could not
be found. 1t was generally believed
that shark had entered the open slip
and seized him while he was under wa
ter, and for several weeks there was no
more bathing.
The second victim was the captain of
a brig consigned to the firm. One day
while she was discharging cargo the
captain heard the story of the mys-
terious disappearance. He laughed at
the idea of man-eating shark coming
into the slip and contended that the
clerk had struck his head against n
rock in diving and been so badly hurt
that he died by drowning. To prove
that the spot was safe ne leaped from
the platform and swan about for a
quarter Of an hour. This was Saturday
evening. On Sunday afternoon he tried
it again, having one of the clerks rs
companion.
For the first five minutes all went
well. Then, as the captain climbed
upon the platform and dived by himself
he remained so long under water that
his companions raised an alarm. When
several minutes had passed and he did
not reappear hope was abandoned and
drags were at once procured and the
body searched for. Close in by the
mouth of the slip, where there was n
deep hole in the rock, the grapnels
brought up fragments of the bathing
trunk worn by the unfortunate captain,
but the body could not be raised. Native
divers were offered as high as 500 to go
down and investigate, but not man
would undertake it. Sentinels were
posted to secure the body when Il
should rise, but nothing was ever seen
of it.
For long time Batavia enjoyed
what was termed "The Wharf Mys-
terry" There were various theories
as to what had occurred to disable the
two victims. and as to why their bodies
could not be recovered, but the whole
matter was finally forgotten except
by the people on the wharf, and for
several months there was no more bath
ing from the platform. There was
from the slip on the other side, how
ever, whenever it was free of craft.
The water was deep and clear and of
an evening there were dozen men and
boys swimming about and enjoying
themselves. Not one of them met with
any sort of adventure. and in time the
employees of the Office and warehouse
began to make use of the platform
again.
For a time nothing happened. One
morning the chief clerk, whose name
was Henry Littlefield, arrived few
minutes earlier than usual and an
nounced to the porter that he was go
ing down on the platform for a bath.
The porter saw him descend with soap
and towels, and heard him splashing
about for time. Haii an hour passed
away, and as Littlefield did not return
the porter went down to look for him
and failed to find him. It was high tide
and his clothing was hanging on a
hook out of reach of the water, but as
for the man himself he had disappeared
as mysteriously as the other two. The
alarm was given and the drags brought
out, but nothing was grappled.
A diver was found to go down in his
armor, and he made an exhaustive
search of the slip and the deep hole.
He made just one find and nothing
could be proved by that. From the
bottom of the hole he brought out a
human skull which was as clean as a
billiard ball and had evidently been IN
the water for long time. It was
| finally identified by the teeth as the