Elsie Morgan's heroism by Rev. F.J. Bomford, typrewritten in Utila in 1905

When Reverend F.J. Bomford sat down to type the account of what happened aboard the schooner Olympia in 1905, he wasn’t just recording a tragedy, he was preserving the testimony of a survivor, and with it, a profound act of faith. His writing, titled Elsie Morgan’s Heroism, documents one of the most horrifying events in the history of the Bay Islands. But more than that, it reveals the unseen emotional and spiritual labor of a man who had to bear witness to a story few could believe, let alone carry.

Elsie Morgan was 23 years old when she boarded the Olympia alongside her sister, niece, and others... 12 people in total. One of them, hiding in the shadows, was Robert McField, a man consumed by rage, intoxicated, and armed. Over the course of one night, he murdered nearly everyone on board. Elsie alone survived.

Reverend Bomford was not present for the massacre, but his role became important after the fact. It was he who heard Elsie’s account. He who listened, documented, typed.

It’s easy to overlook the weight of that responsibility. Bomford was a spiritual guide and that day he became more than that. He omits graphic detail, not to obscure the truth, but to preserve dignity, for the victims and for Elsie. “What immediately followed cannot be told here,” he writes after describing the moment McField brought his weapons on deck. It’s a line that reflects how Bomford understood this was not just a story of crime, but of unimaginable personal loss.

As Elsie recounted her six days alone in the wilderness, wounded, barefoot, starving, and pursued, Bomford captured more than facts. He preserved the spiritual undercurrent that sustained her. In her own words, she survived not through luck or physical strength alone, but because of her faith. And when her uncle, Reverend Jimmy Cooper, finally found her alive in the bush and asked how she was even standing, her reply was simple and unforgettable:

“I am here, Uncle Jimmy, because I am a Christian.”

Bomford doesn’t overshadow that moment. He doesn’t interpret it for us. He lets it stand, raw and unfiltered, because it says everything. It speaks to the kind of faith that doesn’t guarantee safety, but gives meaning to survival. It affirms that Elsie’s endurance wasn’t just physical, it was spiritual, emotional, and rooted in her belief that God had kept her alive for a purpose.

In recording both her testimony and McField’s confession, Bomford navigated the tension between horror and holiness. He offered no easy explanations. He acknowledged the evil without trying to soften it. What can be intuited from Reverend Bomford’s experience is that this story marked him. It wasn't just another sermon illustration or tale of perseverance. It was a lived event within his own circuit, among people he knew.

He did more than write Elsie’s story. He made sure the world could hear it, on her terms and in her voice.

Thanks to Tom Brown you can now read the original typewritten account of Elsie Morgan's Heroism and the confession of Robert McField written by Rev FJ. Bomford in this link:

https://www.jericcawarren.com/publications 

(Folder "Books, Stories, Newspapers" then "Stories")