J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement

Today is the anniversary of the death in 1930 of Arthur Conan Doyle. He is best known as the creator of Sherlock Holmes, who has had quite the modern resurgence. You can read Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories online. There are numerous film and TV adaptations as well as series involving characters inspired by the author's creations.

He wrote other stories, but they are not nearly so well known. In fact, truth be told, they're hardly known at all. In his memory on this the anniversary of his death I'd like to suggest the 1884 short story J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement. It is told as a first-person testimony by a survivor of the Marie Celeste, a fictionalised version of the Mary Celeste. The story popularized the real-life story of that ship, which was found mysteriously abandoned and adrift in the Atlantic Ocean in 1872.

You can read the story online here or here or listen to it read to you at the bottom of this post. It begins,

In the month of December in the year 1873 the British ship ‘Dei Gratia’ steered into Gibraltar, having in tow the derelict brigantine, ‘Marie Celeste,’ which had been picked up in latitude 38° 40', longitude 17° 15' West. There were several circumstances in connection with the condition and appearance of this abandoned vessel which excited considerable comment at the time, and aroused a curiosity which has never been satisfied. What these circumstances were was summed up in an able article which appeared in the ‘Gibraltar Gazette.’ The curious can find it in the issue for January 4, 1874, unless my memory deceives me. For the benefit of those, however, who may be unable to refer to the paper in question, I shall subjoin a few extracts which touch upon the leading features of the case.

‘We have ourselves,’ says the anonymous writer in the ‘Gazette,’ ‘been over the derelict “Marie Celeste,” and have closely questioned the officers of the “Dei Gratia” on every point which might throw light on the affair. They are of opinion that she had been abandoned several days, or perhaps weeks, before being picked up. The official log, which was found in the cabin, states that the vessel sailed from Boston to Lisbon, starting upon October 16. It is, however, most imperfectly kept, and affords little information. There is no reference to rough weather, and, indeed, the state of the vessel’s paint and rigging excludes the idea that she was abandoned for any such reason. She is perfectly water-tight. No signs of a struggle or of violence are to be detected, and there is absolutely nothing to account for the disappearance of the crew. There are several indications that a lady was present on board, a sewing-machine being found in the cabin and some articles of female attire. These probably belonged to the captain’s wife, who is mentioned in the log as having accompanied her husband. As an instance of the mildness of the weather, it may be remarked that a bobbin of silk was found standing upon the sewing-machine, though the least roll of the vessel would have precipitated it to the floor. The boats were intact, and slung upon the davits, and the cargo, consisting of tallow and American clocks, was untouched.1 An old-fashioned sword of curious workmanship was discovered among some lumber in the forecastle, and this weapon is said to exhibit a longitudinal striation on the steel, as if it had been recently wiped. It has been placed in the hands of the police, and submitted to Dr. Monaghan, the analyst, for inspection. The result of his examination has not yet been published. We may remark, in conclusion, that Captain Dalton, of the “Dei Gratia,” an able and intelligent seaman, is of opinion that the “Marie Celeste” may have been abandoned a considerable distance from the spot at which she was picked up, since a powerful current runs up in that latitude from the African coast. He confesses his inability, however, to advance any hypothesis which can reconcile all the facts of the case. In the utter absence of a clue or grain of evidence, it is to be feared that the fate of the crew of the “Marie Celeste” will be added to those numerous mysteries of the deep which will never be solved until the great day when the sea shall give up its dead. If crime has been committed, as is much to be suspected, there is little hope of bringing the perpetrators to justice.’

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