Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-09-20
The storv Of a Hero,s Death.


The London Daily Telegraph, in its issue of
Sept. 5, says:
"Nobe as is the tale of the Birkenhead, it
finds its parallel in the account of the death of
Paul Elson, English pilot, in charge Of the ship
Rothesay. On the 29th of July, this vessel,
which had three days before cast off the Cal
cutta tug and steamed safely out of the horrible
iungles and swamps Of the Sunderbunds, was
caught by a cyclone. On the Both 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 a raft Thirteen only of
the crew got on her; the rest were frantic with
terror-some praying, Others drunk, Others raw
ing, others dashed ineXtrcably to the sinking
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 inherent right her sole officer. Within an
hour the doomed vessel heeled, lurched heavily,
and went down head first. All that day and all
that night the raft drifted heavy seas breaking
over her. we were up to our necks in water
says the man who tells the tale; "for she floated
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 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 a
giant, strike out toward him and carry the
uiONHluS NIttCu DdCh. DuI at last IL DeCduG
apparent that the raft must be broken mp, and
that second and smaller raft must be con-
Structed to relieve the other. 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 anatiye boy, Paul ElsonS
servant; of whom, hitherto, in the midst of all
his terrible toll the brave pilot had never once
lost sight He kept near him. he tended him
as mother would tend her child; he gave him
our last supply of drinkable water. The vessel
had sunk on the Doth of July; it was now the
I'd of August. The raft was drifting under
raging tropical sun; for three days there had
been no food, no water; worse than this, the
lrail support itself began to break up, and,
swimming about in a heavy surf, Paul Elson
became much exhausted The end of the 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 +
so the narrative runs-'we must fight it
through oh, FraserP answered he, 4
can't hold out any longer. Then a
heavy sea broke upon us and knocked him off,
| found it impossible 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 until 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 under his charge. A
hundred times over he forgot to think of him
self; he broke his great heart in an obstinate
effort to save, not only himself, but the others.
All night he swan round the raft, tightening a
rope here, wcdging in spar there; when the
native boy was delirious, 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 numbed and well nigh dead and
fan xfI 1oI oil
and the dreadful binding sun, has set Uneven
then the brave man dies as he ought to have
died-ending nobly. 4 told him. says Foster,
that if he couldn't hold on | would lash him.
He then made some exclamation about his poor
wife, and said, 4 will try to stand II, but huge
wave, rearing its hundred foaming crests
against the skies, washed Paul Elson off-his
body to the deep, and his soul to his Cod"