Lamoille newsdealer. [volume] (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1860-1877, 1872-09-25
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Ths Loaion Dsilv Tti.grlp4 ssys
- Noble IS i the tale q the nirksnhs.i.
Il fnds "a. parallel in the account q the
death q Paul Els1n. English plot. IN
charge % the ship Rcthesay. On the
s9ih a July. this vessel. shich hzd three
DAYS before cast Of the CalcIiia tug and
steamed safely ont q the h0rrihle iungles
and sHamps - the Sunderbuuas. Vas
eauEht by q cyclone. On the alth she
lay 4 wreck. al hope q saving her long
past Then the pilot. Paul Elson. the
one man Who SEEMS b. have bad his wits
about him-collcctei = few volunteers,
and nrged a raft Thirteen only o. the
crew got on her the resf we're frantic
with tsrror-some Praying. Others drunk.
Others mving. others lashed inextricahlv
20 the sinking vessel Elson uas the
last % leave the ship leaping overheard.
be swan 30 the raft, cut the haEser that
held her. and constituted himself by in
herent night her sole officer. Within an
hour the doomed vessel heeled. lurched
. heavily, and went down head first. All
that day and night the raft drifted, heavy
seas breaking over her. We were up
10 our necks in water, saws the man who
tells the tale, for she hoaied low All
that night, nevertheless, Elson, who was
a powerful swimmer. swan round and
round the raft, lashing her together and
strengthening her as best he could.
Ever aud anon the furious breakers
washed a man of. And then would the
brave pilot, who had not Only the heart
but the strength Of a giant, strike out
toward him and carry the drowning
wretch back. But az last il became ap-
parent that the raft must be broken up.
and that a second and smaller raft must
be constructed TO relieve the other. This,
too, the pilot effected almost single hand
ed. The large raft fioated away into the
night; ElSon and three other men took
to the smaller while oD the other drifted
away a native boy, Paul Elson's servant
Of whom, hitherto, in the midst of all his I
terrible toll the brave pilot never once
lost sight. He kept near him he |
tended him as a mother would tend her /
child he gave him our last supply of /
drinkable water The vessel had sunk /
on the 29th of July il was now the % /
Of August. The raft was drifting under /
a raging tropical sun for three DAYS there
bad been no food, no water worse than
this, the frail support itself began to
break up, and, swimming about in a
heavy surf. Paul ElSon became much ex-
hausted The end Of course could not
be far OF. 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. I
Pilot, said $50 the narrative runs
we must fight it through e 'Oh, Fraserr /
answered he, can't hold out any longer.
Then heavy sea broke upon |
Us and knocked him of. | found it i'm ,
possible TO hang on, and was forced to I
ct him go. And so the story ends. I
The body of Pilot Elson, worn out bv :
lis incessAnt labors, floats away into the !
yreat deep, there TO lie till the sea shall !
ave mp its dead. For hour after hour |
lie had laboIed and toiled, wasting him \
elf and his strength IN the effort to sue $
or those whom he bad under his charge. ;
hundred times over he forgot to think $
4 himself F; he broke his great heart in r
n obstinate effort to save. not himself, 4
'nt the others. All night he swan :
ound the raft, tightening rope here. c
Tedglng IN spar there f; when the native 4
10Y was delirious he handed him the
asst drop OF water when hope grew des-
'erate his CHEEKY voice brought back q
resi- life and strength to the desolate 7
nd at last, when all his strength is 4
zone, when those stsut limbs were cold a
nd numbed and well-nigh dead and /
aIntness, brought on by the deluging +
alt spray and the dreadful binding sun, a
las set Uneven then the brave man :
lies as he ought to have died-endipg n
obly. i told him, says Fraser. that II
he couldn't hold on / would lash him. P
lie then made some exclamation about II
is poor wife, and said, / will try TO a,
tand it, bat huge wave, rearing its I
undred toaming crests against the skies, h
'ashed Paul Elson off-his body to the n
eep, and his soul to his God" v