History Mysteries

Wow! Thanks Bob and Beedle. Great info.

beedle, I suspect your friends capitalized on the hype that was generated by the public's interest of strange phenomena. You have really met a lot of neat people, beedle.

Bob, I wonder if the leader of the squadron was suffering from some malady. Thanks for that very detailed transcript. Yes, it probably was pilot error. Isn't that always the conclusion when the unexplainable cannot be explained?

It's actually compounded more by a PBY with experience in search missions followed and was lost with the searcher requesting do not follow me.

The Bermuda Triangle has been a source of mystery, myth, and, legend for a hundred years. Strange phenomena and disappearances take place there that baffle and confuse scientists and researchers. These events range from lights in the sky to the disappearances of entire ships, including their crew, without leaving a trace. In the last hundred and fifty years forty ships and twenty planes have disappeared carrying over a thousand people into an oblivion that is yet to be explained (Kusche 10). It is these unexplained disappearances and phenomena that have taken place in the Bermuda Triangle that prove the existence of an unknown power or entity within it. The region known as the Bermuda Triangle is often defined as a triangle formed by drawing a line on a map from Bermuda to Puerto Rico to the Florida keys and back to Bermuda (Kusche 3). The unknown phenomena that takes place in this area was originally documented by the first European to visit the new world. Christopher Columbus and his men observed strange phenomena as they traveled through the triangle in 1492 when their compass acted unusually. One night a bolt of fire was observed falling into the sea, and strange lights appeared in the distance another night (Kusche 6). The first four historically documented disappearances took place between 1782 and 1812 (Kusche 6). The effects of the Bermuda Triangle are not only limited to planes and ships. The navy has also had two nuclear subs, the Thresher and the Scorpion sink near the Bermuda Triangle (Kusche 8). Not all disappearances take place without leaving a trace. One example of this is the ship Carrel A Derring which was discovered fit for sailing, adrift without a crew (Kusche 5). These discoveries do not help answer the question of the disappearances but only add another dimension to the already confusing mystery. Perhaps out of all the disappearances within the triangle, the disappearance of Flight 19 is the most well known and the most baffling. Flight 19 was a squadron of 5 Navy torpedo bombers with a total of 14 men on board that took off from Fort Lauderdale Naval Air Station in Florida on Dec. 6, 1945 (Time 42). When the planes took off the weather was calm but as the day passed the weather got worse and within a few hours the weather had changed to conditions that a captain of a ship in the area later described as "high winds and tremendous seas" (Bermuda 10). The pilots became lost and could not determine their location. After many frantic communications the last official transmission was received at 4:25 PM when one of the pilots tried to describe his location and the transmission was suddenly cut of (Kusche 98). The Tower also received one other faint transmission later that evening at 7:04 PM that consisted of the letters "FT...FT..." which were the call leaders for flight 19 (Great 38). After loosing contact with Flight 19 at 4:25 PM a Martin Mariner flying boat was dispatched to search for the missing planes, but contact was also lost with it as it approached the last know coordinates of Flight 19 (Kusche 99). One of the largest searches for missing planes in navel history was begun the next day. The search force consisted of 252 planes and a small number of ships, but no trace of Flight 19 or the Martin Mariner sent to search for it the evening before was found (Air 4). A merchant ship that was in the area the night of the disappearance, the SS Gaines mills, reported seeing an explosion in the air at 7:30 (Great 38). This report lead to a proposed theory that the bombers collided with each other in the air because they were flying in a formation know as the dead man formation in which the pilots fly wing tip to wing tip (Great 38). This theory proved unlikely because of the lack of evidence in the form of wreckage or debris . This lack of evidence is what confuses searchers most of all because when a plane crashes it almost always leaves some kind of evidence on the surface of the water such as an oil slick or some debris that marks the spot (Kusche 10). Even the Navy officials were baffled by the disappearance because even if the planes crashed, the crews had a lot of experience and should of been able to abandon the planes and launch the life rafts, "without even getting their feet wet" (Great 1). So the disappearance of Flight 19 remained a mystery until 1991. During the May of 1991 a salvage company searching for Spanish galleons found the remains of five navy bombers believed to be Flight 19 off the coast of Florida (Lost 72). One of the five planes discovered carried the number 28 on its side, which was the number of Flight 19's flight leader's plane. The salvagers later changed their story and announced that the wreckage was not Flight 19, but in fact appeared to be the wreckage of 5 training plains that had crashed in the same area at different times (It's 32). The question still exists as to whether the salvagers had actually miss identified the planes or had they actually discovered Flight 19 and the government forced them to mislead the public so that they could make their own investigation into the cause of the disappearance without the public finding out what happened. Whether Flight 19 was found or not, the mystery still remains, what is the cause of the unusual phenomena and disappearances within the Bermuda Triangle. The question of what has caused the disappearances to take place in this area known as the Bermuda triangle has made many people search out their own answers because of the inadequate ones given by our government. The Coast Guard claims that the many incidents in the Bermuda triangle are merely coincidence and that "There is nothing mysterious about disappearances in this particular section of the ocean" (Kusche 16). Officially the Navy agrees with the Coast Guard, but unofficially the Navy admits that they are baffled by the disappearances and have no reasonable explanation for them (Kusche 10). Now that aviation and marine experts strongly believe that some kind of phenomena in the region may be responsible for the strange occurrences and disappearances. A number of explanations have been proposed for both ship and plane disappearances. One of the most likely answers is seiche waves. Seiche waves are caused by under water land slides and may carry enormous amounts of energy even thought the wave is not very tall (Berlitz 83). A seiche wave is capable of ripping a ship into small fragments. Another wave that could also be responsible disappearances might be those created by under water earth quakes (Kusche 12). These waves can reach heights up to 200 ft and could easily swallow a ship before it had a chance to send a distress signal ( Kusche 12). Other Mammoth waves with no known cause have been reported in the Bermuda triangle. One documented case of this took place on Nov. 12, 1984 when waves reaching a height of up to a hundred feet were observed on the coast of Bermuda (Smith 162). The waves baffled the observers and their origin remains a mystery. There are other natural features of the Bermuda triangle area that could also be responsible for the ship disappearances. Blue Holes are another feature of the Bermuda triangle area that could be a cause of the disappearances of smaller ships. Through out the Bahamas there are limestone cliffs along the bottom of the ocean and in these cliffs are caves that are called blue holes (Berlitz 80). These caves are connected to pools on land and when the tide goes in or out it causes water to flow rapidly through the caves. This flow of water causes whirlpools on the surface as the water is sucked to the inland pools and could easily pull a small boat under water and into the cave (Berlitz 80). The whirl pools would not, however, be responsible for the disappearances of larger ships due to the fact the they would not be strong enough to pull large ships under the ocean. There are other natural features of the area that could also be a cause of the disappearances such as quick sands that exist along were the gulf stream runs past Florida (Berlitz 79). Any ship that sank to the bottom in these areas would instantly disappears because it would be swallowed by the quick sands that make up the ocean floor. These theories my provide possible answers to the disappearances of ships but they don't approach the question of the disappearances of planes. One of the more widely supported suggestions as to the disappearances of planes has to do with the type of weather that is experienced in the Bermuda triangle region. This area often experiences strong storms without much warning. One natural phenomena caused by storms in this area is the water spouts which look like sea going tornadoes (Berlitz 82). The water spouts are easily seen during the day but may go unnoticed in the dark and any ship or plane that encounters one could be easily ripped to pieces (Berlitz 82). Even though these could be a possible answer for the disappearances, most people involved with the triangle believe that storms are not the cause due to the fact that most of them have taken place on clear calm days, but that they must be caused by some more invisible phenomena. Clear air turbulence, also known as CAT, which can not be detected with any type of present day technology is another possibility (Berlitz 84). CATs are areas of vacuum in the atmosphere caused by the jet stream which moves at speeds up to 200 knots per hour (Berlitz 85). These powerful vacuums that can rip a plane to pieces, form along the edges of the gulf stream and can not be detected. Another explanation for plane disappearances, although they are difficult to prove scientifically, are atmospheric aberrations or "holes in the sky" (Kusche 11). There are two proposed theories about these atmospheric aberrations, one states the they are literally holes in the sky that a plane can enter but not leave were the other states that they are actually holes in time and that those who have disappeared into them will appear in the future (Kusche 11). Although some research has been done into the existence of these "holes in the sky," no hard evidence of their existence has ever been found. Although some form of air disturbance may be responsible, other more simple earth related phenomena may also be responsible. One such earth related phenomena might be magnetic anomalies. These electromagnetic disturbances are what many accident investigators believe may be responsible for the disappearances (Kusche 13). These anomalies may cause compasses and other gauges to act improperly which may cause a pilot to crash into the ocean. There are other areas in the world that also show unusual magnetic patterns and were disappearances like those that take place in the Bermuda triangle also take place. One of these places is the Devils Triangle of the coast of Japan (Kusche 12). Some scientists believe that these places might have once been location of one of earth's magnetic poles which changed in prehistoric times (Kusche 267). Other people and scientists believe that the phenomena of the triangle are not earthly in origin, but are caused by beings from another planet. Their are many people who believe the strange lights, phenomena, and disappearances that take place in the Bermuda triangle are caused by extra terrestrial sources. Many of this number believe that the strange lights are alien ships taking off from and landing at a base at the bottom of the ocean and that the people that have disappeared were taken as specimens by these aliens (Berlitz 101). Other people believe that the geographical aspects of the area might have made it an ideal site for alien space ships and vehicles to take off and land (Kusche 14) A device left here to aid in the take off of the alien space ships could be periodically turning on and causing the phenomena and disappearances (Kusche 14). Even though these concepts of extraterrestrial involvement are interesting probably the most intriguing, possibility is that these disappearances are somehow related to our distant ancestors. There is extensive proof that an advanced race existed on our planet long before archeologists previously thought. This ancient culture is known by many people as Atlantis, an ancient culture described by Plato who said he learned about it from the Egyptians (Time 42). Although Plato's account caught many peoples imaginations he gave no certain location for Atlantis therefore many people believe his story was a fake, but many recent scientific discoveries suggest his story may have been true. Scientists have found evidence that the south African jungle may have been deforested thousands of years ago and that over the centuries it has grown back. There are roads made of massive stone blocks, that would have been very difficult if not impossible to move without today's technology. They lead into the ocean and continue out along the sea bed into areas far off of the coast that are so deep that they are virtually impossible to reach with conventional equipment (Berlitz 129). One of the most startling pieces of evidence is an ancient India text that describes "a single projectile charged with all the power or the Universe" (Berlitz 180), the text that follows distinctly describes an atomic explosion thousands of years before the atom was discovered. But it is not only the existence of this civilization that intrigues scientists, it is also its obviously violent and sudden down fall. In many ancient religions and manuscripts their is a description of a massive destructive force taking place 10,000 years ago and destroying almost all of man, leaving only a few survivors (Berlitz 124). This destruction is described as a massive flood in the Christian Bible and in the Jewish Torah (Berlitz 124). In other religious legends and texts from around the world the catastrophe is described as everything from a great earth quake to an angry god clearing the world to start again (Berlitz 125). There is also scientific evidence of massive destruction thousands of years ago. One form of this evidence is contained in the fossil records of that time period which show a massive dying out of animals throughout the world (Berlitz 126). Another convincing item of proof can be found within the Bermuda Triangle it's self were there is evidence of a massive shifting of land from above the sea to below it. Some very obvious facts that prove this are things like beach sand at the bottom of the ocean and river valleys thousands of feet below the ocean (Berlitz 128). It is possible that the remnants of this early civilization are the cause of the mysteries that surround the Bermuda Triangle. There are two approaches two how these ancient Atlantians can be the cause of the Bermuda triangle's mysteries. The first and most likely of these has to do with the science of this civilization. If the people possessed the powers to manipulate the forces of nature like gravity, then they may have left those machines on and they could still be operating today, causing planes to crash and maybe even dragging planes and ships to the bottom of the ocean. Another possibility is that they still live today on their lost continent below the ocean. This could explain the lights leaving and entering the ocean because if this civilization was living under the ocean they could be occasionally leaving to exam and collect samples of those that live above them on the land (Berlitz130). These are just a few of the possible ways that this ancient culture's relics could be affecting the Bermuda triangle and those who pass through it. Over the last few thousand years the Bermuda triangle has existed as a source of myth and mystery to many people. The disappearances with out leaving a trace have left searchers baffled and the ships found adrift without their crews in perfect order has left searchers even more confused. Even thought today's science can find no answer to these mysteries, perhaps the future may bring better scientific equipment and procedures so that we can more closely analyze the ocean and ocean floor in this area. Only then may we finally find the answer to the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle.


Works Cited

"Air Armada of 252 Hunts Navy Planes." New York Times 8 Dec. 1945, 4.

Berlitz, Charles. The Bermuda Triangle. Garden City: Doubleday and Co., 1974.

Berlitz, Charles. Without A Trace. Garden City: Doubleday and Co., 1977.

"The Bermuda Triangle." National Geographic World Dec. 1989: 9-11.

"Great Hunt Is On For Navy Fliers." New York Time 7 Dec. 1945, 1, 38.

"It's Still The Lost Squadron." Time 17 June, 1991: 32.

Kusche, Lawrence David. The Bermuda Triangle Mystery- Solved. New York:

Harber and Row, 1975. "Lost Squadron." Time 27 may, 1991: 72. Time Life. Mysteries Of The Unknown. Morristown: Time Life, 1987. 42-45.

Re: History Mysteries


I don't know what nonsense King came up with, but i do know this: After the colony was established, the commander of this original expedition remained in the area until the following spring. Through his agency, contact was made with the local tribes on the coast. One of them was known as Croaton, being the name of the tribe and the chief--a habit of the aboriginal tribes of the Carolina and Virginia coastal region. The Captain advised the colonists to apply to Croaton at need. Finally, with summer drawing on, he headed back to England. By the time the original backers ready to send out another small fleet to check on the colony, the Spanish were already known to be preparing their Armada for an intervention in the Low Countries, and it was strongly suspected that they would attack England as well. Phillip II had demanded marriage to Elizabeth, as he had been married by proxy to her sister Mary, who had died before they had even met. He was catholic and ol' Bess a protestant, so it just wasn't gonna happen--war loomed. The colony went on the back burner. It was not until late in 1592 or early in 1593 (forgot which), that a ship was finally dispatched to the colony. They found no one there, but they also found no signs of violence, and all that they indeed did find was a single word carved into the flesh of a tree from which the bark had been stripped: "Croaton." And so began the great "Lost Colony" legend. The log book of the original expedition commander was left to gather dust, and only "rediscovered" in the late 1970's, at which time the researcher who had found it knew nothing of the "Lost Colony" legend. Eventually someone who did know put together this information with the report of the relief expedition, and came to the conclusion that nature or other tribes threatened the colonists, and they removed to the mainland and the protection of Croaton. As they would have believed that a relief ship or ships were coming within the year, and that the original commander would likely be involved, carving the name "Croaton" on the tree was likely a message from them about where they would be found.

Much later, when settlers began to move inland in North Carolina, the upper reaches of the Neuse River were known as the Lumber River, because that commodity was floated down-stream to the new settlements. The aboriginal tribe in the area was known as the Lumber Indians, and many commentators noticed the curious circumstance that these Indians had a great many members of their tribe with brown hair, and some with almost blond hair, and that most members of the tribe had blue, gray or green eyes. Hmmmmmm . . .

Oh, and Bobsmyth, i've read many times that statistically, there is no more safe a region for air travel and sea travel of a comparable size than the region of the east coast of Florida, and the islands of the Bahamas and of Bermuda. But i don't have a dog in the fight, so i'm not going to waste any time getting citations for refutations of the "Bermuda triangle" contention--but i will say that i personally consider the entire story to be nonsense.

The tribe you're talking about according to what I read also spoke English.

Although i hadn't read that, it wouldn't surprise me. I would think that the English they spoke would have been much altered over a period of a couple of generations--but maybe not.

THE LOST COLONY OF 1590




THE LOST COLONY
Pioneers pushing inland along the Lumber River in 18th-century North Carolina were surprised when they found a tribe of Englishspeaking Indians who dressed like white frontiersmen and lived in remarkably comfortable houses.

Even more astounding was the way many of the tribe looked. Although most had dark skins, a few exhibited fair complexions, blond hair and blue eyes.

Some could also read, claiming white gods had long ago taught their ancestors how to ``talk in books,'' which, the explorers understood, meant to read and write.

Who were these blue-eyed Indians?

One theory holds that the 40,000 modern Lumbees are descendants of Sir Walter Raleigh's lost colony of Roanoke, a group of more than 100 men, women and children who disappeared in 1589.

Raleigh received a charter in 1584 to set up a buffer colony in the path of advancing Spanish settlers. One year later he outfitted an expedition to settle Roanoke Island, a wooded isle near the boundary between Virginia and North Carolina.

The settlement failed, mainly because of the colonists' preoccupation with finding gold rather than tending to fields. Unfriendly natives also influenced their decision to abandon the colony that summer and return to England by hitching a ride with Sir Francis Drake, who was fresh from raids in the West Indies.

In spite of tremendous personal financial losses from the first expedition, Raleigh sent 110 more colonists under the command of John White, who in time would become famous for his early drawings of colonial life in North America.

White spent about a month getting the settlement started, then returned to England for supplies. Among the settlers he left behind were his daughter, her husband, and their newborn daughter, Virginia Dare - believed to be the first child of European parents born in the New World.

Before departing, he left instructions that should the remaining colonist be forced to leave the settlement in his absence, they were to inscribe their destinations in a ``conspicuous place.''

War broke out with Spain later that year, and White was unable to return to the colony until two years later.

A grim sight awaited the governor upon his arrival at Roanoke: The settlement had been ransacked and destroyed and the entire population had vanished.

Researchers suggest that they were either captured by pirates or killed by Spanish soldiers. Others, however, contend that their tragic fate is more likely linked to a single enigmatic word Gov. White found carved into a wooden post at the site of the settlement.

That word was ``Croatan.''

Historians aren't sure what the word meant, but some believe it was the name of local Indians who may have attacked the settlement and killed the colonists. It has been suggested that after the massacre the settlers' bodies may have been hauled away and cannibalized.

Others say the settlers, approaching starvation, abandoned the island and went onto the mainland to find food. There hostile Indians might have done away with any survivors, or simply carried off women and children into slavery.

Anthropologist Charles Hudson of the University of Georgia believes Roanoke's settlers simply joined up with a local tribe in order to survive. They eventually intermarried and produced the fairskinned, blue-eyed descendants who greeted American explorers later.

Reseachers say the 18th-century Lumbees wore Europeanstyle clothes, lived in multi-room dwellings and were familiar with whiskey and the English language.}When asked to identify themselves, these Indians said they were ``Croatans'' - the same name White had found carved on the wooden palisade.

THE MISSING

Fascinating, Boss, I'd never read any source in which someone put all the pieces together.

I agree, Setanta and Bob. The most logical resolution would be that the colony and the Croatians intermarried and maintained cultural and ethnic aspects through their progeny. The same situation may have occured on Pitcarin Island.

The Outer Banks of North Carolina is rife with intriguing mysteries. The real natives there speak with an accent that is somewhere between Bostonian and British. You both probably know the legends of Nags Head and the fact that Aaron Burr's daughter may have been the victim of land pirates. How delightful this exchange has been. Thanks.

I'm gonna get pre-emptive here before someone brings this topic up. Those so-called 'Incan/Aztec' crystal skulls are NOT the work of Pre-colombian civilisation - they are modern forgeries passed off as such. And the damned 'Marie Celeste' is just plain sailor's tales.


However, I got great stuff on the Nazis.......

Actually, Letty, there is a fascinating work by Pat Conroy on the subject of the island people of our southeast coast--Conrack, based upon his experience teaching islanders off the coast at Beaufort, South Carolina.

As for Burr's daughter, that was actually land sharks:

"Ya got fins to right,
Fins to the left
And yer the only bait in town . . ."

They were FINNS! Miggod, there was Pre-Colombian contact by Europeans! Huh - in your face, Heyerdahl!!

Good grief, yawl. Aaron Burr's daughter was spotted on a balsa wood raft and is really Virginia Dare

Seriously, if I recall correctly, there was a miniature of her found among the possessions of the inhabitants of the islands, but I would have to research to pinpoint and support my information.

Do want to clear up one item about Pitcarin Island. I'm surprised someone didn't catch it. The mutineers went elsewhere. (forgotten) T'was the good Captain and his mates that were set ashore on Pitcarin.

Thanks, Bob, for clearing that up. Believe it or not I dreamed about that item last night. I certainly hate to post misinformation. Hmmmm. One would think that I'm writing a dissertation and letting someone else do the research. I think that has been done before.

No problem at all. You're not alone on that boat. I've done it too. But don't tell anyone. The thing that counts is we're on the same side. Enough said.

and a big thanks to Setanta for the reference to "The Prince of Tides"

I actually had a rather sharp discussion with a man about how Beaufort is pronounced. People get all out of sorts over the strangest things.

Bligh was cast off with 18 of his crew on a ship's boat. He (and the sailors obviously) then sailed 5800 kms in the open boat to Timor. There was only one life lost, natives on Tofua killed one sailor on shore. This is a remarkable feat of seamanship, I have seen the log of the journey in Bligh's hand - many of the pages are stained by rain and salt spray.

The mutineers then sailed to Tahiti (who wouldn't), Christian and 8 of his crew and 22 natives then sailed off. The fate of the Bounty itself was not known for another 20 years when the last living survivor of the mutiny and their descendents were found on Pitcairn Island.

Ah, Mr. Stillwater runs deep.

Well, Marlon Brando resides somewhere in Tahiti. Eerie that his son should be named Christian.

Oh, my. You can take a poet out of the islands, but you can't take the islands out of the poet...