A Mysterious Shipwreck

M’Lass was an early steel-hulled fishing barque constructed in the late 1880’s. Her captain, Hubert Juniper, was uncharacteristically well-educated and well-spoken among the ranks of New England fishing captains. His popularity with the young ladies of Boston certainly contributed to the public attention surrounding the barque’s launch from Providence, Rhode Island in 1889. A young, handsome captain of a technologically-advanced ship in a profitable industry—it was a perfectly American story.

That optimism turned, however, when the barque failed to put into port after several months at sea. A search ensued, but came up without any leads. The dark New England sea had blunted hubris by claiming yet another ship.

All had forgotten about Juniper and M’Lass until October 25, 1890, when the residents of Jamesport, Rhode Island woke to find the barque beached just north of the wharf. All hands were gone, but the ship showed curious signs of habitation—plates set with now-spoiled food in the galley, clothes spilling from chests, and ropes dropped to the deck as if in mid-pull.