By: Ellen PokorneyThe story is that the Dei Gratia, which was following nearly the same course as the Mary Celeste but about a week behind, spotted the mysterious ship jerking and spinning uncontrollably from five miles away. They sailed in for a closer look and eventually sent a small boat, headed by Oliver Deveau, to investigate (articlebase, par. 7). Findingthe crew to be missing, Deveau and two others went on toguide the ship safely ashoreor so the story goes. Here is what this reporter believes to be true:

The two boats left the very same port on Staten Island only days apart from each other. The two captains were friends, or at least had become acquaintances throughout their time in the ship business. This being true, it would besuspected that the Dei Gratia captain/crew knew the cargo of the Mary Celeste. Seventeen hundred barrels of pure alcohol sells for a lot of money (about a half a million dollars by future standards in the year 2010 in case anyone in the future reads this) (Helium, par. 4). Briggs had his cargo insuredvery well in fact. Now, most readers know that it isnt uncommon for a captain to purposely sink his ship or lose his cargo in order to collectthe insurance money, but Briggs was an honest man and this is not likely to be the case this time.

A more likely conjecture is that the crew of the Dei Gratia realized their luck to be following a ship with such valuablecargo, and decided to hasten their journey in order to make a profit. Most likely, the Mary Celeste was attacked at night, while most of the passengers would be asleep. Quietly, one of the Dei Gratia crew could have infiltrated the Mary Celeste, making his way to the cargo hold of alcohol. Now, while investigator Flood suspects the Mary Celeste crew of drinking the missing barrels of alcohol, what he must not realize is that pure alcohol is poisonous. Even the fumes themselves are noxious, whichis why I suspect the Dei Gratia crewmembers isolated the9 passengers of the Mary Celeste within the cargo hold, opened several barells and allowed the fumes to overpower the poor Mary Celeste inhabitants. When the poisonous fumes had affected the hostages enough, the Dei Gratia crew would have easily been able to bind their hands and feet, soak them in alcohol from the open barrels,light them on fire, and send them overboard and adrift in the lifeboat. CONTINUE ON PAGE 5

forgive the debt and that was to make Richardson believe that Briggs could make his lifelong fantasy of being a famous singer come true. Briggs went through his desk looking over all his folders and old notes from back when he was casting director for opening acts for Shakespeares plays and found the one folder he was looking for with writing on the surface that said Ahead of its time.

Five days ago, a so called cursed ship was docked in the Bay of Genoa, generating a lot of fuss amongst the local townspeople. New rumors surrounding the mysterious disappearance of the crew and passengers aboard the Mary Celeste are heard every day. So far, nothing has been solved, but what readers can be sure of is that this case is a peculiar one indeed.

Departing from Staten Island, New York nearly a month ago, the Mary Celeste was captained by Benjamin Briggs, an experienced seaman at the age of 37 (articlebase, par.1). Aboard the ship was Briggs crew of 7 along with his wife, Sarah and two-year old daughter, Sophia (Harris, par. 1).

According to lead investigator, Frederick Solly Flood, the shipwas carrying 1700 barrels of pure alcohol for delivery to Italian vineyards (Harris, par. 2). We counted 9 empty barells,which leads me to believe that the crew gone and drank their cargo. Nine barrels is more than enough to get a crew of 8 drunk; even drunk enough to abandon a perfectly sea-worthy ship.

What Flood is referring to is the fact that the vessel was foundcompletely abandoned, in what appeared to be a sudden manner. No supplies were taken, no cargo damaged, no log of inclement weather in the captains log bookit appears the crew vanished into thin air.

Crewmembers of the Dei Gratia are the rescuers of the abandoned ship, and its first mate Oliver Deveau captained the Mary Celeste to safety. They were the first ones aboard the deserted ship deck and it is their account alone that we are trusting. What is known about the crew of the Dei Gratia? While they are being praised for their heroic act, am I the onlyone suspecting foul play?

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