THE MARIE CELESTE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 209, 3 September 1932, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE MARIE CELESTE.

Aii interested adult sends in the following letter, which touches on a recent article published in these pages, concerning the Marie Celeste. Wc thank the writer for his interest, but still contend that no really authentic account of the disaster lias come to the light of day. Great North Road. Point Chevalier, August 22, 1932. Dear Peter Pan, On two occasions recently you have published articles in relation to "A Famous Sea Mystery—the Marie Celeste." On each occasion you have stated that the mystery had never bean solved. I have in my possession a "Strand Magazine," published in December, 1913, in which is stated what was looked upon at that time as the trua solution of the mystery. This is the story of a member of the crew—his name was Abel Posdyk:—He tells how they all came to leave the ship. The captain liatt made a wager to swim around the ship with his clothes on. Some of the crew went into the water to swim with him. He tells of how all that were left on board got on to a platform that Had been built across the bow of the vessel for the captain's child to play on; how a shark appeared between the swimmers and the ship, and how the platform slid, them all into the water when they were watching the progress of the swimmers and the shark; how he eventually found himself to be alone on the floating platform, and was afterwards saved by three .blacks on the north-west i«at of Africa. After weeks of suffering he went on board a small sailing boat to Algiers. From here he worked to and from Marseilles for several months. Finally he was taken very ill at Marseilles, and went into hospital, where an operation was performed, from which he recovered and quickly regained his former health. Four mouths later, in the summer of 1874, jie went, to England, and met ill the SniTey Commercial Dock the man who introduced him to his late employer, in whose service he remained until he died, and in the service of whose son lie still was at the time he wrote his strange story. Yours truly, F. FIELDING.