Speaker 1: Hello, This is Richard mcclinsmith here unexplained. Season seven has
Speaker 1: now finished, but we'll be back on Friday, September sixth
Speaker 1: to begin season eight. In the meantime, I'm replaying some
Speaker 1: of my favorite episodes from the archives. On December fourth,
Speaker 1: eighteen seventy two, the crew of the cargo ship Dei
Speaker 1: Gratia came across a ghost ship set a drift in
Speaker 1: the Atlantic Ocean about four hundred miles to the east
Speaker 1: of the Azores. The fate of the vessel and its
Speaker 1: crew has since become known as perhaps the greatest maritime
Speaker 1: mystery of all time. The ship's name Mary Celeste. This
Speaker 1: is unexplained, Season four, episode six, The Silence of the Sea.
Speaker 1: It was some time in the eighteen fifties when Joshua Jewis,
Speaker 1: a young aspiring shipbuilder, made his way from the small
Speaker 1: coastal village of Economy on Nova Scotia down to the
Speaker 1: shores of West Advocate, searching for a small tract of
Speaker 1: land to begin a shipbuilding business. He came across the sheltered,
Speaker 1: pine covered cove of Spencer's Island and knew immediately he
Speaker 1: had found the right place. Having succeeded in convincing a
Speaker 1: few relatives as well as two local merchants to join
Speaker 1: him in his venture. He purchased a thousand acres close
Speaker 1: to the shoreline and promptly got to work. Over the
Speaker 1: next year, trees were felled and land cleared away, and
Speaker 1: before long a boat yard had sprung up, pulling down
Speaker 1: the surrounding Birch Beach and the maple. Jewis's team worked
Speaker 1: day and night, chopping, hammering, and planing as piece by peace,
Speaker 1: the hull of a vessel began to take shape. By
Speaker 1: the fall of eighteen sixty, the hull was complete, turning
Speaker 1: then to the local spruce and pine. They continued crafting
Speaker 1: away with chisel and lathe, making masts and cabins, until
Speaker 1: finally the ship was finished. By spring the following year,
Speaker 1: the vessel, a brigantine formed of two masts and measuring
Speaker 1: one hundred foot long by twenty five feet wide, was
Speaker 1: ready to launch. The company's very first ship, and its
Speaker 1: name was Amazon. The purpose of vessels like Amazon was
Speaker 1: to generate money for their owners. As cargo ships transporting
Speaker 1: goods from one place to another. Generally, the further the
Speaker 1: trip and the more precious the cargo, the more money
Speaker 1: could be made. Amazon's maiden trip was to be a
Speaker 1: relatively simple one, carrying a load of plaster down the
Speaker 1: coast to New York. On May eighteenth, eighteen sixty one,
Speaker 1: the ship took to the seas for the first time,
Speaker 1: captained by Robert McClellan, a young but well regarded captain
Speaker 1: who had just recently married. After making a short hop
Speaker 1: to Windsor on an opposite coast of Nova Scotia, Amazon
Speaker 1: was successfully loaded before returning to the seas and continuing
Speaker 1: on its way toward the United States. However, after barely
Speaker 1: one hundred miles, captain McClellan became suddenly unwell, suffering from
Speaker 1: a suspected bout of pneumonia. The captain was forced to
Speaker 1: order the ship back to Spencer's Island, where he promptly disembarked.
Speaker 1: A few days later, he died. The maiden voyage was
Speaker 1: eventually completed a few weeks after, but on returning Amazon
Speaker 1: inexplicably collided with another vessel, which was instantly sunk. As
Speaker 1: a result, For one of the most superstitious industries of
Speaker 1: the time, the omens could not have been much worse.
Speaker 1: For the next six years, However, Amazon made a number
Speaker 1: of successful trips, delivering cargo to as far away as
Speaker 1: the West Indies and even France. In eighteen sixty seven,
Speaker 1: the vessel's owners grew concerned about the capabilities of its
Speaker 1: then captain, William Thompson, and made the decision to have
Speaker 1: him replaced. On hearing of their plan, Thompson stole the
Speaker 1: ship and deliberately ran it aground in Nova Scotia's Cowbay,
Speaker 1: destroying it for any immediate use, and so there the
Speaker 1: ship was abandoned and left for dead by its owners.
Speaker 1: As Joshua Jwis's son would lay note, it was as
Speaker 1: if the craft seemed possessed of the devil to begin with.
Speaker 1: The following year, having heard about the abandoned vessel, a
Speaker 1: small consortium of American shipowners, realizing it still had potential,
Speaker 1: decided to take it on. In order to do so,
Speaker 1: they were required to have its registration changed from Canada
Speaker 1: to the United States, which also necessitated a change of name,
Speaker 1: and so on December thirty one, eighteen sixty eight, the
Speaker 1: ship was formally registered again and duly renamed, to be
Speaker 1: known from then on as Mary Celeste. You're listening to
Speaker 1: unexplained and I'm Richard McLean Smith. By October eighteen seventy two,
Speaker 1: Mary Celeste was owned by four individuals, with the largest
Speaker 1: stake belonging to James Winchester, second to which was that
Speaker 1: belonging to its new captain, Benjamin Spooner Briggs. Briggs was
Speaker 1: fairly young for the role at thirty seven, but was
Speaker 1: a highly respected and skilled sailor, said by some to
Speaker 1: be of the highest character for seamanship and correctness. Briggs
Speaker 1: was an archetypal sea captain of the time, engineered from
Speaker 1: an early age for a life on the waves. Benjamin
Speaker 1: was born in Wareham, Massachusetts, in eighteen thirty five to
Speaker 1: Sophia Cobb and her husband, Captain Nathan Briggs. Together they
Speaker 1: had seven children in total, including five sons, only one
Speaker 1: of which didn't enter into the life of a mariner.
Speaker 1: Life of the Briggs family could be difficult at times,
Speaker 1: especially for Sophia, who would regularly be left alone with
Speaker 1: the children as her husband went off to see, unsure
Speaker 1: when or if he would ever return. When Benjamin was four,
Speaker 1: a series of failed investments by his father left the
Speaker 1: family homeless, forcing them to move in temporarily with Benjamin's grandfather.
Speaker 1: It was in these formative years that the young boy
Speaker 1: grew especially close to his mother, as they bonded in
Speaker 1: the periodic absences of his father. Nathan. Briggs's love for
Speaker 1: his family, however, was never in doubt, and when he
Speaker 1: did return, evenings would often be spent in a fantasy
Speaker 1: world of tales of distant lands and adventures on the
Speaker 1: high seas. As he talked, Benjamin and the others would
Speaker 1: sit wide eyed in awe at this burly, enigmatic man
Speaker 1: before them. With the family's fortunes restored, a few years later,
Speaker 1: the Briggs moved to Sippican Village, just outside the coastal
Speaker 1: town of Marion in Massachusetts. Twas here that Benjamin's love
Speaker 1: for the open water truly began to manifest. Marian was
Speaker 1: very much a sailing town, with most of the local
Speaker 1: industry revolving around the sea, and where from day and
Speaker 1: night the local homes and watering holes would ring with
Speaker 1: tales of exotic places, shipwrecks, and daring do As a
Speaker 1: young teenager, Benjamin would watch with jealousy as his father
Speaker 1: occasion to take his oldest child, Nathan, out on journeys
Speaker 1: with him in the meantime, he could only dream, staring
Speaker 1: out from the shoreline in wonder at what grand worlds
Speaker 1: and adventures might lie beyond. But soon Benjamin too was
Speaker 1: joining his father on short trips, being treated like any
Speaker 1: other mate on board, as he was taught to work
Speaker 1: hard and respect all those in the crew, no matter
Speaker 1: what their rank, but most of all to respect the
Speaker 1: often unforgiving ocean upon which they sailed. If Benjamin needed
Speaker 1: any reminding of just how dangerous the life of a
Speaker 1: mariner could be in those days, evidence was not in
Speaker 1: short supply. By eighteen seventy, two brothers and his sister, Maria,
Speaker 1: who was married to a sailor, had been lost at sea.
Speaker 1: Then in June of that year, the family were left
Speaker 1: further devastated when Benjamin's father was struck by lightning while
Speaker 1: standing in a doorway. He was killed instantly. The litany
Speaker 1: of loss was hardest of all for Benjamin's mother, Sophia,
Speaker 1: who had little option but to endure it. And yet,
Speaker 1: despite the many tragedies that had already befallen her, she
Speaker 1: determined to remain optimistic whenever her two remaining sons of
Speaker 1: the sea left on another voyage. Praying would only be
Speaker 1: a matter of time before they came back. By then,
Speaker 1: Benjamin had married, having met and fallen in love with
Speaker 1: Sarah Elizabeth Cobb, a skilled musician and seamstress. Having married
Speaker 1: in eighteen sixty two, Sarah gave birth to their first child, Arthur,
Speaker 1: three years later, and in October of eighteen seventy they
Speaker 1: welcomed their second Sophia, named after Benjamin's mother, of whom
Speaker 1: he was so fond. Perhaps it was all those anxious
Speaker 1: nights spent as a child waiting for his father to
Speaker 1: return and watching his mother going through the same that
Speaker 1: convinced Benjamin not to travel alone either way. From early
Speaker 1: on in his career he often made the effort to
Speaker 1: take his family with him on his voyages. He and
Speaker 1: Sarah had even sailed together to the Mediterranean for their honeymoon,
Speaker 1: and so it was to be with his upcoming journey
Speaker 1: on Mary Celeste. Having been appointed captain in eighteen seventy two,
Speaker 1: Briggs wasted no time in having the ship refitted with
Speaker 1: a larger cabin to accommodate his wife and daughter, Sophia.
Speaker 1: On this occasion. With their son Arthur, now seven and
Speaker 1: attending school, they elected to leave him behind with his
Speaker 1: grandmother to continue his studies. On October nineteen, Benjamin Briggs
Speaker 1: left home and set sail for New York, arriving soon
Speaker 1: after at Peer fifty on the East River, where Mary
Speaker 1: Celeste was now moored. Over the next few days, he
Speaker 1: studiously supervised the loading of the vessel and took time
Speaker 1: to reacquaint himself with the seven man crew he had
Speaker 1: selected to join him on the journey. This would be
Speaker 1: one of the longest trips Mary's Celeste had made, delivering
Speaker 1: a cargo of one thousand, seven hundred one barrels of
Speaker 1: denatured alcohol to Genoa, where it would then take on
Speaker 1: a load of fruit to be delivered back to the
Speaker 1: United States. Of the men accompanying him. First mate, twenty
Speaker 1: eight year old Albert Richardson, was well known and respected
Speaker 1: by the captain, having sailed with him before. Second mate
Speaker 1: Andrew Gilling, at only twenty five, was young but also
Speaker 1: considered a safe pair of hands. Stewart and cook Edward Head,
Speaker 1: who hailed from nearby Green Point in Brooklyn, was at
Speaker 1: twenty three, one of the youngest members of the team
Speaker 1: and had only recently been married. The other four were
Speaker 1: a small team from Germany who had often sailed together,
Speaker 1: including two brothers, Volkirt and boz Lawrenson. On Saturday October
Speaker 1: twenty sixth Sarah and Sophia took a ship bound for
Speaker 1: New York and arrived the following morning. That day, Captain
Speaker 1: Briggs took a horse and cab through the sprawling kleindutsch
Speaker 1: Land of Manhattan Island's lower east side across to the
Speaker 1: North River pier, and there he stood watch with a
Speaker 1: warm smile at the sight of Sarah and Sophia waving
Speaker 1: to him from the deck of their approaching ship. After
Speaker 1: helping them unload, he led them to the ship that
Speaker 1: would become their home for the next few months. A
Speaker 1: few days later, Sarah took receipt of her much beloved Melodeon,
Speaker 1: with which she hoped to entertain her husband and daughter
Speaker 1: on their trip, installing it in the captain's quarters. Unfortunately,
Speaker 1: due to an outbreak of horse disease, the family were
Speaker 1: confined to the immediate vicinity of Peer fifty. On the
Speaker 1: thirty first, however, Benjamin and Sarah were met by his
Speaker 1: aunt and uncle, and together they were able to afford
Speaker 1: a cab ride up to Central Park. Where they were
Speaker 1: spend the day joyfully celebrating Sophia's second birthday. With the
Speaker 1: day of disembarkation approaching, Benjamin took the opportunity to write
Speaker 1: a letter to his mother. In it, he expressed his
Speaker 1: joy at Sarah and Sophia's arrival and how homely they
Speaker 1: had made the ship feel, but also his regret at
Speaker 1: having decided not to bring their son Arthur with them
Speaker 1: after all. He also made note of how Sophia was
Speaker 1: disappointed that they hadn't yet included a picture of Arthur
Speaker 1: in the family photo album which they had taken with
Speaker 1: them for their journey, since it was the young girl's
Speaker 1: favorite book. Briggs had been hoping to say a final
Speaker 1: farewell to his brother Oliver, who was due to arrive
Speaker 1: in New York imminently, but having waited as long as
Speaker 1: he could. On Tuesday, November fifth, the Brigantine married Celeste
Speaker 1: pulled away from Pier fifty and meandered its way down
Speaker 1: the East River, moving on past the growing towers of
Speaker 1: the New York and Brooklyn Bridge, which was under construction
Speaker 1: at the time. It continued on beyond Governor's Island and
Speaker 1: out into the Upper Bay. They were not long out
Speaker 1: of the East River when a thick and nasty storm
Speaker 1: drew in and was soon beating and banging at the ship.
Speaker 1: Concerned by its increasing ferocity, Briggs was forced to take
Speaker 1: emergency action and ordered the crew to find shelter close
Speaker 1: to Staten Island, where they promptly dropped anchor. Over the
Speaker 1: next few days, the ship's passengers had no choice but
Speaker 1: to sit and wait it out. Sarah did her best
Speaker 1: to keep Sofia occupied as Captain Briggs and the crew
Speaker 1: went over their various charts again in preparation. At one point,
Speaker 1: Sarah wrote another the letter to Benjamin's mother, as Sofia
Speaker 1: played on the floor with her alphabet bricks. It was hard,
Speaker 1: she wrote, being so close to the shore, knowing that
Speaker 1: they probably had letters there from their loved ones waiting
Speaker 1: to be read that they were unable to receive. She
Speaker 1: signed off, sending her love to Arthur and the rest
Speaker 1: of the family, before having the letter delivered to shore
Speaker 1: by one of the crew. By the morning of November seven,
Speaker 1: the storm had finally settled and Briggs gave the order
Speaker 1: to haul up the anchor. A short time later, Mary
Speaker 1: Celeste and her crew were edging out between the tip
Speaker 1: of Sandy Hook and the Rockaway Peninsula and onwards toward
Speaker 1: the deep Atlantic Ocean. Eight days after Mary Celeste left
Speaker 1: New York, the ship named De Gracier, captained by David
Speaker 1: Moorhouse and laden with a cargo of petroleum, bound for Gibraltar,
Speaker 1: also set sail from the city. Three weeks later, on
Speaker 1: December the fourth, the ship was roughly two thirds of
Speaker 1: the way into its journey as it continued on in
Speaker 1: a southeasterly direction, four hundred miles east of the Azores.
Speaker 1: After days of sailing through torrential storms and vast crashing waves,
Speaker 1: the sea and the air had grown calm again. It
Speaker 1: was sometime just after midday when the ship's pilot, John Johnson,
Speaker 1: spotted a vessel about six miles off to their port side.
Speaker 1: Concerned by the manner of its movement, Johnson alerted the captain,
Speaker 1: who in turn grabbed his telescope to take a closer look.
Speaker 1: Though they were still some way off, he could see
Speaker 1: clearly that the ship was completely adrift, with no sign
Speaker 1: of the crew anywhere. Morehouse ordered Johnson to head toward
Speaker 1: the aimless vessel and shouted out to his first mate
Speaker 1: Oliver de Vaux, who was resting below, to join him
Speaker 1: on deck, handing the telescope to Devo, the first mate
Speaker 1: took a look for himself. He noticed first that some
Speaker 1: of the ship's sails were damaged or missing entirely, and then,
Speaker 1: having by now drawn close enough to see it, he
Speaker 1: registered the vessel's name Marry Celeste. The crew of Day
Speaker 1: Gracia attempted to signal it, but they received no reply.
Speaker 1: It is hard to comprehend the sheer eeriness of approaching
Speaker 1: a ghost ship listing gently on the open water with
Speaker 1: no sign of land anywhere, and there were doubtless a
Speaker 1: few nervous glances shared by the crew of the De
Speaker 1: Gracier as they approached the seemingly vacant vessel. After getting
Speaker 1: close enough to board it, Moorhouse ordered de Vaux to
Speaker 1: take two men across to investigate. Minutes later, Devaux, along
Speaker 1: with Johnson and second mate John Wright, took to the
Speaker 1: ship's lifeboat before being lowered into the water. As the
Speaker 1: men rode their way across, only the sound of the
Speaker 1: oars splashing in the water and the creaking of the
Speaker 1: two ships could be heard as they contemplated what they
Speaker 1: might find. On board. Having made it to marry Celeste,
Speaker 1: de Vaux called out a final time to no reply,
Speaker 1: before taking a deep breath and pulling himself onto the deck.
Speaker 1: He was followed soon after by Right, and together the
Speaker 1: two of them began their search. Devo Zh noted first
Speaker 1: that two of the foresails had blown away completely, while
Speaker 1: another was left hanging by its corners. The mainsail had
Speaker 1: fallen or been pulled down onto the deck. Also left
Speaker 1: on deck was the ship's sounding rot, which was used
Speaker 1: to test for flooding below, perhaps a clue as to
Speaker 1: why the vessel had been abandoned. De Vaux picked it
Speaker 1: up and dropped it down one of the pumps, bringing
Speaker 1: it up a moment later. He was surprised to find
Speaker 1: that although there was some flood water, at only three
Speaker 1: and a half feet deep, it wouldn't have been any
Speaker 1: cause for concern. The pumps, too, were in perfect working order.
Speaker 1: Second mate Right, meanwhile had established that the ship had
Speaker 1: only been equipped with one lifeboat, which was now missing,
Speaker 1: so two was the leading sail rope, perhaps having been
Speaker 1: used to tie the lifeboat to the main ship at
Speaker 1: some point. Looking up, de Vaux noticed also that the
Speaker 1: ship's binnacle, a wooden pillar that housed navigational equipment had
Speaker 1: been knocked over and its compass smashed. In silence, the
Speaker 1: men proceeded together into the main cabin, finding no sign
Speaker 1: of a chronometer or a sextant, presumably having been taken
Speaker 1: by the crew or whoever else had been there. The
Speaker 1: captain's navigation book had also gone. In the kitchen area
Speaker 1: and pantry, they found no sign of anything having been
Speaker 1: eaten recently. But in the storeroom they were amazed to
Speaker 1: discover at least six months worth of provisions left untouched,
Speaker 1: and more than enough drinking water for a crew on
Speaker 1: They continued now into the captain's quarters. Here they found
Speaker 1: the skylight had been left open, which may have accounted
Speaker 1: for why almost everything in the room was soaking wet. Strangely,
Speaker 1: all of it had been seemingly left as if its
Speaker 1: previous inhabitants had just completely vanished. On the spot. There
Speaker 1: were boxes full of clothing presumably belonging to the captain
Speaker 1: and what they assumed to be his family. Various pieces
Speaker 1: of furniture were all left in place, including a melodion
Speaker 1: and a sewing machine. De Vaux also noticed a small
Speaker 1: impression in the bed, as if a young child had
Speaker 1: only very recently been lying there. Then he noticed the
Speaker 1: baby's toys scattered about the room, strewn over the bed.
Speaker 1: They also found a series of loose charts and books,
Speaker 1: as well as the log book and slate lock, a
Speaker 1: record of the ship's most recent location. It was dated
Speaker 1: November twenty fifth, from almost two weeks before, stating the
Speaker 1: ship's position as having been just to the north of
Speaker 1: the island of Saint Maria in the Azores, roughly four
Speaker 1: hundred miles away. Below deck, having found no sign of
Speaker 1: any other crew, they also discovered the hundreds of barrels
Speaker 1: full of alcohol that had been left completely untouched. Making
Speaker 1: their way back onto the deck, Right and Devout stood
Speaker 1: for a moment in quiet contemplation, neither able to quite
Speaker 1: shake the feeling that whatever had happened, something very peculiar
Speaker 1: had taken place, or so, at least that was the
Speaker 1: story they gave to the Vice Admiralty Court in Gibraltar
Speaker 1: two weeks later. Having discovered the ghost ship Marries Celeste,
Speaker 1: the crew of the des Gracier claimed to have debated
Speaker 1: what to do next, before finally deciding that they would
Speaker 1: bring it with them to Gibraltar. Though Captain more House
Speaker 1: had been reluctant, it was first Mate de Vaux who
Speaker 1: convinced him to bring the abandoned ship with them in
Speaker 1: the hope of securing some salvage compensation. Though the ship
Speaker 1: was still owned and the cargo would not be handed
Speaker 1: to them, the crew of the Day Gracier would be
Speaker 1: entitled to claim significant compensation for having rescued it. Such
Speaker 1: a fee would often be well worth the effort. Over
Speaker 1: the next few weeks, the two vessels made their way together,
Speaker 1: only losing sight of each other on the final approach
Speaker 1: to Gibraltar, when a heavy storm momentarily separated them, in
Speaker 1: a twist of fate that seems fitting for the moment.
Speaker 1: This separation saw Marry Celeste arriving into port a day
Speaker 1: later than Day Gracier on the morning of Friday the thirteenth.
Speaker 1: The following day, a telegram was sent to the major shareholder,
Speaker 1: Thomas Winchester, to inform him of the abandoned vessel's discovery
Speaker 1: and that it had been taken into custody by the
Speaker 1: Marshal of the Vice Admiralty. Incredibly, there seems to have
Speaker 1: been little interest in discovering the whereabouts of Mary Celeste's passengers. Instead,
Speaker 1: all official interest turned immediately to business concerns. The following week,
Speaker 1: on December eighteenth, a case was opened to decide what
Speaker 1: selvash compensation should be granted to Captain Moorhouse and his crew.
Speaker 1: Over the next few days, Gibraltar's Vice Admiralty Court, presided
Speaker 1: over by Judge Sir James Cochrane, with Frederick Solifluod acting
Speaker 1: as the advocate on behalf of the crown, grilled the
Speaker 1: crew of the De Gracier about the circumstances under which
Speaker 1: they found Mary Celeste. Clearly, pirates were not to blow
Speaker 1: since the ship and all its cargo, not to mention
Speaker 1: the possessions of its passengers, had been found intact, which
Speaker 1: left only the frankly incomprehensible explanation that Captain Briggs, a
Speaker 1: highly skilled, experienced and trustworthy sea captain, had abandoned his
Speaker 1: ship when there was absolutely no evident reason to do so.
Speaker 1: And there was one other thing that bothered Judge Cochrane
Speaker 1: and Soliflood. How was it exactly that, if, as the
Speaker 1: De Gracier's crew maintained, they were sailing with the wind
Speaker 1: behind them that the deserted Mary Celeste was able to
Speaker 1: approach them coming the other way. After hearing Captain Morehouse
Speaker 1: and Oliver de Voe's unlikely testimony, Soliflood became convinced that
Speaker 1: some form of foul play had taken place and ordered
Speaker 1: a further inspection of the vessel in question. The investigation
Speaker 1: was carried out on December twenty third. Later that day,
Speaker 1: adding to solid Flood's suspicions and much to the disdain
Speaker 1: of the judge, Oliver de Vaux unexpectedly removed himself from
Speaker 1: the investigation in order to complete the day Grassier's original mission.
Speaker 1: And then the results of the latest inspection came in.
Speaker 1: After making a detailed study of both the outside and
Speaker 1: inside of the vessel, the investigators found two deep gashes
Speaker 1: cut out of each side of the ship's bow. It
Speaker 1: was suggested the marks had been created artificially to make
Speaker 1: it look like the ship had accidentally run aground, which
Speaker 1: could then be used as a reason for claiming it
Speaker 1: had been abandoned. But that wasn't all. The investigators also
Speaker 1: found what appeared to be blood spatters on one of
Speaker 1: the sails and a deep cut in one of them
Speaker 1: the rails that ran down the side of the ship,
Speaker 1: which they presumed to have been made by an axe,
Speaker 1: and in the captain's quarters a sword was discovered that
Speaker 1: appeared to be covered in spots of blood. When solid
Speaker 1: Flood examines the item, he suspects the blade may have
Speaker 1: been wiped clean before being placed back into its scabbard.
Speaker 1: Writing in a letter to the Board of Trade on
Speaker 1: the twenty second of January, Flood requests that immediate action
Speaker 1: be taken to discover the fate of the ship's crew
Speaker 1: and instructs a doctor to test the sail and sword
Speaker 1: for blood. Meanwhile, as the ghost ship's discovery hits the
Speaker 1: news in homes and imports across the world, speculation mounts
Speaker 1: as to what could possibly account for the mystery, and
Speaker 1: soon the letters are mounting up on the desk of
Speaker 1: the US Consul in Gibraltar, messages from the parents, siblings,
Speaker 1: and wives of the missing crew demanding to know of
Speaker 1: any word from their loved ones. The following week, the
Speaker 1: examination into the potential blood spatterings is carried out by
Speaker 1: a doctor patron. After taking scrapings from both the sword
Speaker 1: and the sail, as well as some other areas of interest.
Speaker 1: The doctor concludes, much to solid Flood's surprise, that the
Speaker 1: material is not blood after all, but rust. In early
Speaker 1: March first May, to the De Gracier, Oliver de Vaux
Speaker 1: is called back for further interrogation. However, after finding his
Speaker 1: original story unchanged and with no other evidence to the contrary,
Speaker 1: the Vice Admiralty of no choice but to accept his
Speaker 1: version of events, and thus concluded their case. In the
Speaker 1: weeks that followed, Frederick Soliflood remained convinced that some form
Speaker 1: of foul play had occurred, if not by the hands
Speaker 1: of De Gracia's crew, then by that of some aboard
Speaker 1: Mary Celeste. When it is discovered that one of the
Speaker 1: ship's barrels of alcohol had been tampered with, deposits the
Speaker 1: theory that some of the crew had got into it and,
Speaker 1: in a drunken fury, murdered Captain Briggs, along with his
Speaker 1: wife and child, and his chief mate before making their escape.
Speaker 1: This theory, however, has been roundly dismissed by many subsequent investigators,
Speaker 1: since not only were the crew all considered decent, hard
Speaker 1: working individuals, their evident respect for their captain and his
Speaker 1: family has also been well accounted for. In the end,
Speaker 1: the crew of Day Gracia, perhaps as a result of
Speaker 1: still being held under some considerable suspicion, were a war
Speaker 1: awarded the unusually low sum of eight thousand, three hundred
Speaker 1: dollars around one hundred and fifty thousand in today's money
Speaker 1: for their troubles. In early March, a new captain was
Speaker 1: instated on Mary Celeste, and on March tenth the vessel
Speaker 1: set sail from Gibraltar, before soon after completing its original
Speaker 1: journey to Genoa in Italy. Whatever fate befell, Captain Briggs,
Speaker 1: his wife Sarah and daughter Sophia, and the rest of
Speaker 1: his crew Albert Richardson, Andrew Gilling, Edward head Volkert and
Speaker 1: Boss Lawrenson, Arion Martin's and Gottlieb Gondieschal remains to this
Speaker 1: day unexplained. I'd like to thank Gordon in Glasgow for
Speaker 1: suggesting this week's episode Unexplained as an av Club Productions
Speaker 1: podcast created by Richard McLain smith. All other elements of
Speaker 1: the podcast, including the music, are also produced by me
Speaker 1: Richard mcclinsmith. Unexplained. The book and audiobook with stories never
Speaker 1: before featured on the show, is now available to buy worldwide.
Speaker 1: You can purchase from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Waterstones, and
Speaker 1: other bookstores. Please subscribe to and rate the show wherever
Speaker 1: you get your podcasts, and feel free to get in
Speaker 1: touch with any thoughts or ideas regarding the stories you've
Speaker 1: heard on the show. Perhaps you have an explanation of
Speaker 1: your own you'd like to share. You can find out
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