selwyns ancestors?

On November 26, 1895, a Russian brigantine called The Pallas was wrecked near our village, and kegs of brandy and barrels of beer were dragged ashore on to Little Perhaver beach. To forestall the authorities, the barrels were broached immediately, and by the time the chief coastguard arrived, the beach was littered with drunken men ? and one unconscious small boy. By the time the other officers of the law turned up only two empty barrels remained. At which point, one of the officers remembered a local farmer who was famous for his skill at concealing contraband, and led the way there. Seeing them approaching, the farmer chose the desperate expedient of pouring a barrel of brandy into the pigs' trough. The smell in the pigsty gave him away, and he spent some months in the infamously inhospitable Bodmin jail.

Posted By: Tomblander, Jan 23, 10:44:14