Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1862-08-08
The Sailor and the Convict.

One morning, the throng which was gaz.
ing al the ship, Witnessed an incident. The
crew were engaged in furling sail. The top
! man. whose duty ii was to take in the STAR
hoard upper corner of the main topsail, lost
his balance, he was seen lettering; the
dense ihrong assembled on the wharf Of the
arsenal uttered cry, the mans head over
balanced his body. and he whiried over the
yard, his arms oufstrefched towards the
deep; as he went over, he erasped the man
ropes, first with one hand and then with the
other, and hung suspended in that manner
The sea lay far below him at a gilly depth.
The shock cf bis fall had Civ to The main
ropes a violent swinging motion, and the
poor fellow hung dangling to and fro at the
end Of this line like stone in sling.
To go to his aid was 10 run a frightfnl
! risk. None, Of the crew, who were all fish
| ermen Of the coast recently taken into SER
vice. dared attempt it. IN the meantime the
/ poor topgian was becoming exhausted, his
agony could not he seen in his eountenance.
but his increasing weakness could be de-
/ teeted in the movements of all his limbs.
/ His arms twisted about in horrible contor-
! tions. Every attempt he made to reascend
1 only increased the oscillations of the man
ropes. He did not cry out for fear of los
/ ing his strength. All were now looking for
/ ward 10 the moment when he should let 90
/ Of the rope, and, at instants, all turned their
| heads away that they might not see him
! fall There are moments when ropes
end. pole. the branch Of tree, is life itself,
and it is a frightiiiI thing to see living be-
/ ing lose his hold upon it, and fall like ripe
| fruit
Suddenly man was discovered Chamber
ing up the rigging with the agility Of a wild
cat, This man was clad in rcd--it was a
convict; he wore a green capt was a
convict for life. As he reachel the round
top, gust of wind blew off his cap. and re-
vealed head entirely whites it was not a
young man.
I In fact, one Of the conyie.s employed on
hoard in some prison task, had at the first
alarm, run to the officer of The watch, and.
amid the confusion and h. ssiiation Of the
crew, while all the sailors trembied and
shrank back. had asked permission TO save
the topman's life at the risk Of his own. a
sign of assent being given, with one blow Of
a hammer he broke the chain rigited 10 the
iron ring at his ankle, then took rope in
his hand, and flung himself into the shrou1s.
Nobody, at the moment noticed with what
ease Tie chain was broken. 1t was only
some time afterward that anybody remem-
bered it.
In a twinkling, he was upon the yard
He paused 2 few seconds, and seemed 10
measure it with his glance. Those seconds
during which the wind swayed the sailor to
and fro at the end of the rope, seemed ages
TO the lookers-on. At length the convict
raised his eyes TO heaven, and took step
forward. The crowd drew long breath
He was seen 10 run along the yard. On
reaching its extreme tip, he fastened one
end of the rope he had with him, and
let the other hang at full length. There
upon, he began TO let himself down by his
hands along the rope, and then there was an
inexpressible sensation of terror; instead OF
one man, two were seen dangling at that
eiday hight.
You would have said it was spider seig-
ing Gy; only, in this case, the spider was
bringing life. and not death. Ten thousand
eyes were fixed upon the group. Not a
cry; not word was uttered; the same
! emotion contracted every brow. Every
man held his breath, as if afraid to add the
least whisper to the wind which was sway
ing the two unfortunate men.
However, the convict had, at length, man
/ aged TO make his way down to the seaman.
1t was time; one minnie more, and the man,
4 exhausted and despaiiing. would have fall
tt
cured him to the rope, TO which he elung
with ore hand while he worked with the
other. Finally, be was seen reascending
the yard, and hauling the sailor after him.
He supported him there for an instant, 10
let him recover his strength, and then, lift
! ing him in his arms, carried him, as he walk
ed along the yard, to the cross-trees, and
from there to the roundtop, where he left
+ him in the hands of his meSsmates.
Then the throng applauded; old galley
sergeant wept, women hueged each other
on the wharyes, and On all sides voices were
heard exclaiming, with a sort of tepderly
subdued enthusiasm: This man must be
pardoncdt'
He however had made IT point of duty
TO descend again Immediately, and 60 back
| 10 his work. In order to arrive more quick
y. be slid down the rigging. and started to
run along lower yard. All eyes were fol-
/ lowing him. There was certain moment
when every one felt alarmed; whether-it
was that he felt fatigued, or because his
head swaa, people thought they saw him
hesitate ard stagger. Suddenly the thfeng
uttered thrilling oatccy; the convict had
! fallen into the sea.
Tie fall was perileus. The frigate Al
gesiras was moored close 10 she Orion, and
the poor convict had plunged between the
two ships. IL was feared that he would be
drawn under one or the other. -Four men
sprang at once into boat. The people
eheered them on, and anxiety again took
possession Of all mi-ads- The ran had not
again risen 10 the surface. He had dfsap-
peared in the sea, without making even
ripple, as though he had fallen into eask
of Gil. They sosnded and dragged the
place. 1t was in vain. The search ~as
continued until night, but no; even the body
was found.
The next morning the Toulon Jenrnai
published the following lines - November
~, 1928. Yesterday a convict at work on
board Of the Orion, on bis return From res
cuing sailor, fell into the sea and was
drowne,k His body was not recovered