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Carthew, Paul

Pearl fisherman living in San Francisco, California,[1] in 1871. (November 11, 1825 – December 23, 1909)[2]

Also known as James Dickson and Matthew Higgins.[1]

An unambitious man in his youth, born to wealthy English parents. A great disappointment to his father, Carthew was finally sent away from the family estate[3] in his forties to become a remittance man in New Zealand.[1] Finally cut off from his father's subsidies[3] in 1870,[2] Carthew joined a crew of pearl fishers[1] aboard the Currency Lass[3] in the Dutch East Indies[1] in November.[2] While making a very profitable haul[1] two months later,[2] a Dutch cutter gave them chase. They lost their pursuers in a fog but shipwrecked on a reef. Carthew and his shipmates were able to make it forty miles to Midway Island in a small boat and light a signal fire.[1] In February,[2] the Flying Scud spotted their signal and took them aboard, but their rescuers learned about their haul of pearls and wanted the entire treasure for themselves. A fight ensued and Carthew was knocked over the head. When he regained consciousness, he found his shipmates had killed the entire crew of the Flying Scud to protect their valuable pearl shipment. Carthew and his shipmates ran the Flying Scud onto a reef back at Midway where a British man-of-war found and rescued them. To conceal the killing aboard, Carthew and his shipmates pretended to be the crew of the Flying Scud. Carthew took the captain's logue from the Flying Scud to remove evidence of the slaughter of her crew. reading the logue on the voyage to San Franciso, he realized Elias Goddedall, the Flying Scud's mate, had kept another log still on the ship at Midway that held damning evidence of the killings.[1]

In San Francisco, Carthew and his shipmates continued their ruse posing as the crew of the Flying Scud and dropped out of sight. Carthew believed he had more than enough money from the sale of his share of the pearls to buy the wreck of the Flying Scud at auction and return to Midway to retrieve Goddedall's logue, burn the ship and destroy the remaining evidence of the killings.[1]

In December of 1871,[2] Carthew hired Thomas Bellairs to represent him at the auction of the Flying Scud. But Bret Maverick, a new member of the Ring, got into a bidding war with Bellairs and finally won the auction, buying the Flying Scud for $21,000. When Bart paid Bellairs to tell him the name of his employer, Bellairs gave him Carthew's alias, James Dickson, and his address. Bart called on Carthew at his hotel room, but Carthew refused to open the door and sent Bart away. Later that night, Bart had bribed Jamie Craven for the name of Jerome Braus, another of Carthew's shipmates posing as a crewman of the Flying Scud. Bart investigated the man's' room but was knocked out by Carthew from behind. The man wanted to kill Bart to protect the secret of the Flying Scud but Carthew told him Bart was only interested in salvaging the shipwreck and to leave him be.[1]

Under the name of Matthew Higgins, Carthew — still planning to somehow return to the Flying Scud and retrieve Goddedaals' logue — paid Captain Nares $2,000 to convince Bart to charter the Norah Creina to Midway and take Carthew on as a crewman. Once at sea, Carthew brought Bart his breakfast and introduced himself as Higgins. Bart, suffering from seasickness, sent him away, but began to realize he had heard his voice before.[1]

Once on the Flying Scud at Midway, Bart discovered Carthew finding Goddedaal's logue and confronted him at gunpoint. Carthew told Bart he would have to kill him to get the book. Bart realized he wasn't bluffing and let Carthew keep the logue. Later, Nares and his crew discovered opium hidden in the Flying Scud's rice shipment and intended to smuggle it into San Francisco. Not wanting to be party to dope smugglers, Bart ordered Nares to throw the opium overboard. Nares pulled a gun on Bart and Carthew told him Bart had a gun. Carthew reached into Bart's coat to retrieve it, gaining Nares' confidence. He then grabbed a belaying pin, knocked the gun out of Nares' hand and held Bart's gun on Nares. Carthew decided Bart could be trusted since Bart did not kill him over the logue book, and helped Bart tie up Nares and his crew. Together, the two rigged the Flying Scud's jolly boat with a sail and took to the open sea, hoping to be picked up in the shipping lanes.[1]

While adrift at sea for four days, Carthew told Bart the whole story of the Flying Scud and expressed remorse at getting Bart and Brother Bret in so much trouble over the matter. He agreed to write a bank draft to the Maverick Brothers for $20,000, even though it was unlikely Bart would live to cash it. Before accepting Carthew's draft, Bart told him to look over his shoulder, where a British man-of-war was swiftly approaching their boat. Realizing they were about to be rescued after all, Carthew handed the draft to Bart. Bart, taking Goddedaal's logue from Carthew threw the book overboard, destroying the final evidence of the killings aboard the Flying Scud. The man-of-war, sailing under the direction of Brother Bret, brought Bart and Carthew aboard and returned to San Francisco.[1]

With the threat of any damning evidence against him and his shipmates removed, Carthew was able to reclaim his true identity and, with the remaining money from his sale of the pearls, live out his life in relative comfort.[1]

See: The Wrecker