Postal Mystery
p. 44 · Read in the full issue
Unclaimed Letter for Amelia Earhart
From a Special Correspondent.
Jaluit, Mar. 17.
HERE is a curious thing.
On November 27, 1937, in the Jaluit post-office, in the Marshall Islands (Japanese), among the unclaimed mail a certain letter attracted my atten tion. In its upper left-hand corner was printed “Hollywood-Roosevelt Hotel, Hollywood, California”. A little lower down appeared the postal date stamp, ■with “Los Angeles, California, October 7, 10 p.m.” within the circle. Lower down, in the usual place appeared the following stating address:— “Miss Amelia Earhart (Putnam) Marshall Islands (Japanese) Ratak Group, Maloelab -Is. (10) South Pacific Ocean”.
Written diagonally across one comer was this, “Deliver promptly”. On the back of the envelope “Incognito” was pencilled in very small, fine handwrit ing. The letter was unopened, and con sequently I have no idea of the contents.
Now, it seems to me that anyone in U.S.A. writing as late as October, ought to be well aware that Amelia Earhart had been given up as lost long before.
Hence, it would appear that the letter may have been written by some one de sirous of hoaxing the public. Still, it
is just possible that such may not be the case at all.
Certainly, the writer of the address on the envelope, while making some errors such as anyone at a distance might fnake, displays a little more geo graphical knowledge of these parts than one would expect of the average indi vidual, but which one would certainly expect of anyone about to traverse the Pacific, and who would be passing this group at a distance of a few hundred miles.
It is conceivable that Amelia Earhart may have told some trusted friend in America, before setting out on her ill fated journey, that she intended to take a look-see in at the Marshalls en route, or that she might possibly do so if in danger as she passed by. And it is pos sible that this hypothetical friend in Hollywood might think that Amelia had reached this group, and might be lying low for some reason or other at Maloe lab. It seems curious that anyone with out specific interests in the group should know the name of that particular atoll, which is of no great importance. What the number “10” might mean in con nection with that island, I have no idea.
By a decision of the Governor of French Oceania, dated February 15, 1938, a committee, headed by the Mayor of Papeete, has been constituted for the purpose of erecting at Papeete a monu ment in memory of the last king of Tahiti (Pomare V).