The Isles of Scilly : $b Their story, their folk & their flowersMothersole, Jessie
History
The Isles of Scilly : $b Their story, their folk & their flowers
Mothersole, Jessie
Isles of Scilly (England) -- Description and travel
“They are now landing the passengers’ luggage, and a cheer went down
the quay on the arrival of a large teddy-bear. The purser of the
vessel says they have been in fog three days. They struck just where
the cocoanut vessel struck before.
“All the boats rushed across to the wreck this morning, but the
captain stood with a pistol in his hand and dared the men to come on
board. When the vessel is proclaimed hopeless there _will_ be a
rush--thousands of tons of cargo on board, and they are throwing heaps
overboard to try and get her off, but the universal prayer is that
they won’t, as it will be a harvest for Scilly. All the same, there is
much sympathy with the captain.
* * * * *
(_Later still._)
“The passengers have just arrived from Bryher, and considering they
were wrecked whilst in their beds, they look intensely respectable.
They were chaffing and joking as they came up from the quay. The crew
also are here, and sleeping, I think, in the Town Hall. Everybody is
half crazy with excitement. Tons of stuff are being thrown overboard,
and grand pianos and motor-cars are floating in Hell Bay. (Nice for
your sketch!)
* * * * *
“_April 20th._
“Between one hundred and two hundred men have come over from the
mainland to help with the salvage, and they are sleeping in the Town
Hall, Church Hall, Rechabite Hall, etc. Most of the crew leave
to-morrow; the passengers got off yesterday, and will have reached
London last night.
“What with the custom-house officers, salvage men, and police it is
very difficult to smuggle anything, and so far I have only managed a
pencil, not from lack of zeal but from lack of opportunity. Motor-cars
and grand pianos are towed in--in cases. I believe a grand piano loose
is of a sulky nature when in the sea, and instead of allowing itself
to be towed it does its best to settle down comfortably at the bottom,
and takes the boat with it if the rope is not quickly cut--at least,
that is one experience of which I was told. The boats arrive laden
with everything under the sun--clocks, and food, and anti-pain
tablets, squirts, dress-lengths, wheels, typewriters, sewing-machines,
phonographs, boxes of jewellery, boxes of oranges, barrels of apples,
pencils, meat-skewers, and lots of tobacco and cigarettes. The
policeman is kept quite busy trying to puzzle out the contents of the
different boxes. One lady has lost a £1,500 motor-car. They say the
value of the cargo is greater than that of all Scilly and Penzance put
together. It is all insured, but unfortunately the vessel is not.
“The cattle are on Samson. The poor dears had to leap off the wreck
into the water--a height as great as from the top of the church tower.
To-day one could see the vessel quite well from here; it was not so
foggy. I am hoping to get out to her soon, but it would mean paying
pounds at present, as the men are all so busy.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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