STOWAWAY PLAYING PICCOLO SHOCKS SEAMAN TO DEATH
Hoboken, New Jersey (JFK+50) On December 10, 1922, the Evening Star reports that a transatlantic liner from Bremen* arriving here at Hoboken yesterday was carrying the dead body of coal passer Otto Schmidt who, according to the ship's doctor, died as a result of heart disease.
Mr. Schmidt's fellow coal passers, however, claim that the poor fellow was "shocked...to death" when he heard "a weird noise coming from a coal bunker."
The "tweet, tweet" coming from the bunker frightened all the other coal passers so that they appealed to the Captain to investigate.
They discovered a stowaway playing a piccolo. His aspiration is to play in the orchestra at the opera. Unfortunately, that is not to be as the Star reports, "He's going back."
*Bremen is a major cultural & economic hub in northern Germany. It is known for its role in the maritime trade.
SOURCE
"Tweet of 'Ghost' Scares Seaman, One Falling Dead," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., December 10, 1922, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
