River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1872-10-11
The Story Of a HerO's Death.

Davis.
The Story Of HerO's Death.
The London Daily Telegraph in it's
issues of Sept. 9Th, says:
+" Noble as is the tale of the Birken-
head, it fi-ds it's parallel in the account
of the death of Paul Elson, English
pilot, in charge of the ship Rothesay.
On the Goth of July, this vessel, which
had three days before cast off the Cal
cutta tug and steamed safely out of the
horrible jungles and swamps of the
Sunderlands, was caught by cyclone.
On the 30th she lay wreck, all hope
of saving her long past. Then the pilot,
Paul Elson, the one man who seems to
have had his wits about him collected
few volunteers, and rugged raft
Thirteen only of the crew got on her:
the rest were frantic with terror-some
praying, others drunk, others raving,
others dashed inextricably to the sink
ing vessel. Elson was the last to leave
the ship: leaping overheard, he swan
to the raft, cut the hawser that held
her, and constituted himself by inher-
ent right her sole officer. Within an
hour the doomed vessel heeled, lurch-
ed heavily, and went down head first
All that day and that night the raft
drifted, heavy seas breaking over her.
I" We were up to our necks in water"
says the man who tells the tale, :. for
she foated low" ALI that night, new
ertheless, Elson, who was a powerful
swimmer, swan round and round the
raft, lashing her together and strength
ening her as best he could. Ever and
anon the furious breakers washed a
man off. And then would the brave
pilot who had not only the heart but
the strength of giant, rike out to-
ward him and carry the drowning
wretch back. But at last it became
apparent that the raft must be broken
Up, and that a second and smaller raft
must be constructed to relieve the 9TH
er. This, too, the pilot effected almost
single handed. The large raft foated
away into the night Elson and three
other men took to the smaller while
on the other drifted away a native boy,
Paul ElsoH's servant of whom, hith-
erto, in the midst of all his terrible toll,
the brave pilot had never once lost
sight. :" He kept near him he tend
ed him as mother would tend her
child he gave him our last supply of
drinkable water" The vessel had sunk
on the Goth of July +; it was now the I'd
of August. The raft was drifting I'M
der burning tropical sun for three
days there had been no food, no water;
worse than this, the frail support itself
began to break up, and, swimming
about in heavy surf, Paul Elson be-
came much exhausted. The end Of
course could not now be far off. First
one OF the men was washed away, and
then another, until Elson himself and
the Scotchman who tells the story were
the sole survivors. "Pilot," said L
so the narrative runs "we must fight
it through !" ooh, Fraser !" answered
he, 81 can't hold out any longer. X
= Then a heavy sea broke upon Us
and knocked him off L found it impos-
sible to hang on, and was forced to let
him CO." And so the story ends. The
body of Pilot Elson, worn out by his
incessant labors, floats away into the
great deep, there to lie till the sea
shall give up its dead. For hour after
hour he had labored and toiled, vast.
ing himself and his strength in the
effort to succor those whom he had I'M
der his charge. A hundred times over
he forgot to think of himself; ne broke
his great heart in an obstinate effort
to save, not himself, but the others
All night he swan round the raft, tight
ening rope here, wedging in spar
there /; when the native boy was delir-
ious, he handed him the last drop of
water when hope grew desperate, his
CHEEKY voice brought back fresh life
and strength to the desolate and at
last, when all his strength is gone,
when those stout limbs were cold and
numb and well-nigh dead, and faint
ness, brought on by the deluging salt
spray and the dreadful binding sun,
has set Uneven then the brave man
dies as he ought to have defending
nobly. ~ told him." says Fraser,
/" that if he couldn't hold on l would
lash him." He then made some ex-
clamation about his poor wife, and sand,
-" l will try to stand it," but a huge
wave, rearing its hundred foaming
crests against the skies, washes Paul
Elson off-his body to the deep, and
his soul to his God"
lT is said that the soil of Ireland is