Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1872-09-27
A Noble Sailor.


The London Daily Telegraph in its is
sue of Sept. 9th, says:
Noble 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 day of July, this vessel, which had
three days before cast off the Calcutta
tug and steamed safely out of the horri-
BILE jungles and swamps of the Sunder-
bunds, was caught by cyclone. On
the 30th she lay wreck, all hope of saw
ing her long past. Then the pilot, Paul
Elson, the only 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 mex
tricably lashed to the sinking vessel. El-
son was the last to leave the ship. Leap
ing overheard he swarm to the raft, cut
the hawser that held her, and constitut-
ed himself by inherent right her sole
officer. Within an hour the doomed ves-
sci 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, i" for she fioated now. All that
night, nevertheless, Elson, who was
powerful swimmer, swan round and
round the raft, lashing her together and
strengthening her as best he could. Ever
and anon the furious breakers would
wash man off. And then would the
brave pilot, who had not only the heart
but the strength of giant, strike out to-
ward him ana carry the drowning wretch
back. But it soon became apparent that
the raft must be broken up, 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 hoated away into the
night. Elson and three other men took
to the smaller, while on the other drifted
away a native boy, Paul Elson's SER
want, of whom, hitherto, in the midst of
all the 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 yes
sci had sunk ON the 29th 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 frail sup
port itself began to break up, and,
swimming about in heavy surf, Paul
Elson became 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
we're the sole survivors. Pilot said |
so the narrative runs-'We must fight
it through. Fraser 7 answered he, |
can't hold out any longer = =
Then 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 the pilot Elson, worn out by his in
cessant labors, floats away into the great
deep, there to lie till the sea shall give ur
its dead. For hour after hour he had
labored and toiled, wasting himself and
his strength in the effort to succor those
whom he had under his charge A hun
dred times over he forgot to think oi
himself; he broke his great heart in an
obstinate effort to save, not himself but
the Others All night he swan round
the raft, lightning rope here, wedgine
in spar there when the native boy
was delirious, he handed him the last
+ drop of water when the hope grew des
perate, his CHEEKY voice brought back
fresh life and strength to the desolate
F and at last when all his strength is gone
when those stout limbs were cold and
numbed and we'll nigh dead, and faint
ness, brought on by the deluging salt
spray and the dreadful blinding sun, has
set Uneven then the brave man dies as
he ought to have died-ending nobly
/ told him. says Fraser, that if be
couldn't hold hold on would lash him
He then made some exclamation about
his poor wife, and said, Il will try to
stand it, 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 God"
1, want to tell you a secret. The way
to make yourself pleasant to Others, is to
show them attention. The whole world