An Italian Sailor's Missing Papers
A small bag of personal letters and navy discharge papers belonging to an Italian man washes ashore between Port Blakely and Eagle Harbor.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Chief of Police Jackson received yesterday from A. J. Stewart, of Port Blakely, a letter accompanied by a package of letters belonging to Sig. Fernicola Guiseppo di Petro, which were picked up on the shore between Port Blakely and Eagle Harbor by 'Charlie the Swede' three weeks ago. The letters, fourteen packages of tobacco, and two bunches of matches were in a small bag, which had evidently been cast on the shore by the waves. Chief Jackson had the letters, which are all in Italian, translated, but they contained nothing but social gossip from Petro's relatives. The principal paper, which established the owner's identity, was a discharge from the Italian navy, giving his name and the place of residence as S. Gregorio Magno. The Seattle police have never been informed of the disappearance of Sig. Fernicola Guiseppo di Petro and have no idea who he is, where he came from, or his business. Chief Jackson believes that the owner either committed suicide or lost the package overboard from a boat.
“The Seattle police have never been informed of the disappearance of Sig. Fernicola Guiseppo di Petro and have no idea who he is, where he came from or his business.”
This haunting mystery highlights the transient nature of maritime workers in the Pacific Northwest at the turn of the century, leaving behind few traces beyond their correspondence when lost at sea.
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