The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1934-01-25
GODDESS

Vera Cruz.
BY his side was a sheaf of news
papers, most OF which contained
press dispatches of transcripts from
the Topographic Bmlletin, pub
lished at Washington, D. c. The
transcript was what later became
known to the world as the famous
Langton Bottle Paper.
Bottles containing data to aid in
the determination OF and to add to
the knowledge of current drifts
were thrown overheard and recOV-
cred as follows:
First position not given. Recov-
cred on January 2. 49, at center
OF sand bank East Triangle, off the
coast of Yucatan. Mexico, in Zap
proximately) lat. 20 So ~. long.
92s 10 West. Paper in bad condi-
tfon from sea water. Fragments
believed to be in the handwriting
of William Langton.
The writing (said the papers) had
been definitely established as Lang
toms. Upon further examination OF
the document the belief was ex-
pressed that the pigment used in the
writing was human blood. This fact
was to be confirmed by laboratory
analysis.
The bottle itself-an ordinary
pop" bottle-seemed to indicate to
some that the paper was a hoax--a
tragic hoax, If true.
However it was pointed out that
the bottle and the beverage 1t con-
tanned was largely exported, particu-
larry into South American countries.
and that 1t would not have been un.
usual for Langton to have taken a
supply with him when he began that
Inflated fight. Further, handwrit-
ing experts denied any possibility of
a hoax.
The paper itself was a torn-open
cablegram envelope. No address ap-
peared on the reverse side. Langton
may have carried a supply with him
on the plane.
The message-what could be de-
ciphered-was meager. The first por.
ton was fairly legible; it told that
bearings had been lost about hun.
dred miles south OF Belize in British
Honduras. 1t referred to the hur-
ricane, and Of his attempt to make
Belize for a landing.
& The legibility faded swiftly here.
The word native" was made out.
And startlingly vivid, almost as il
the emotion Of the writer had been
concentrated in those four words
was the fragment, II die tomorrow
morning"
ONCE the general theory appeared
~ to be that Langton had gone
down at sea; since 1t was concluded
that the message had been written
with a splinter and blood from a
wound, this was interpreted to mean
that Langton had hoped that some
native craft would pick him up, and
that by estimating the rate at which
his wreckage was sinking he would
die by "tomorrow morning"
Frank Grahame put down the
paper he was reading and gazed out
at the countryside flashing by. To
him that Interpretation made nom
sense. No one In the middle Of a
storm dashed ocean. hanging on to
what was left of an aeroplane could
possibly figure with any accuracy a
rate of sinking. even had that per-
son-assumed TO be wounded and
desperate--thought OF II in the first
place.
He recalled his own theory: that
Langton had gone down in the jun
gle back Of the coast. II was puz.
sling. he admitted to himself. that
the drift bottle had been picked out
Of the sea beyond the north coast OF
Yueatan: yet supposiEg that II had
floated around from the east coast.
Langton could not possibly have set
the bottle adrift down some interior
point since that coast had no rivers!
stu. maps Of that coast were
known TO be inaccurate. The conn-
try was little explored. Perhaps
there was Z river or two that topog-
raphers had missed a topog.
pher bad ever been there. Frank
thought not.
Once In the smoking room OF a
banana boat" enroute 20 Havana,
Frank had talked with an, nnnatu-
rally tanned young man with q nerv-
Gus manner, Later. when remember.
Ing the incident. he suspected that
the young man travelled in an ofEieial
capacity OF some sort.-prohably a
Navy gum.shoe. or. to be more exact.
. Department Of Justice operative.
This gentleman whose eyes looked
tired behind their bleached eyelash-
e. had said something about ouin-
tana RoO-about natives who
perched In tree-forks above the
trails. with their throwing sticks
ready. and whose only agreeable
trait was patience.
He said that he knew or only one
white man who had been through
that particular strip. that lies be-
tween Merida the capital Of Yuca.
tan, and Puerto Morelos on the coast
opposite the island Of CozumeL.
TcstysssAt. 1854. - RssSst Is.sssl