The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1859-04-30

RACINE, WIS, Apill 10Th, lS09.
! To tie Editor of tie Chicago Herald:
| The usual quiet and dullness of this CITY
was to-day most agreeably dissipated by
/ the arrival here of the schooner Ozelle.
Marvin master, having on board a youn q
lady, Miss SOPHIA RICHARDsoS, formerly OF
Cleveland, Ohio, who, for the last three
years, has been living in solitude and un-
| willing seclusion upon n desolate and I'M
inhabited Island in Lake Superior, near
| the British coast and in a nOrthWesterlv
direction from Isle ROYAL.
| Captain Marvin, who is an old and val
| ued friend of your correspondent, was kind
| enough to introduce me to this Young la
dy, whose adventures have been so re-
| markaEle; and from her own lips l learn
| ed the facts which follow:
! Miss Richardson is apparently about
twenty-five years old. Her countenance
without being positively handsome, is
! pleasing III its expression, and she has the
ar and manner Of a well-bred person
Her conversation is that of an educated
lady, and although when I saw her She
was arrayed in garments that were any
thing but fashionable or elegant, it was
impossible not to see that she was an in
telligent and respectable young lady
1t VIII be remembered that IN the month
of May, lsj6, the bargue Mary. Captain
! Edwards, sailed from Cleveland Ohio.
bound for Green Bay, with cargo of pro
visions and dry-coOds Thecrew consisted
( OF eight men, including the Captain and
Mate. The latter Mr. George Richardson
was the cousin of the young lady whose
adventures form the subject of this letter
and it vas under his charge that She en-
barkcd, with the intention of going 10
Gtoen Bay, where she expected 10 meet
her attinanccd husband, Mr.. Daniel Ash
nell, who had been living NJ the Bay for
year before that time, and 10 whom she
was TO be married upon hcr arrival Miss
Richardson WAS Of reputable and tolera-
bly, wealthy family, and she sailed well
provided with stock of clothing &c. am
Ply sufficient for her requirements for
year or more. which step was q prudent
and economical measure. when the search
t. and dearncss of all such articles at her
. destined future home are considered
Among the cargo wore several bundles Of
blankets. heavy clothing. and buffalo robes
and the remainder Of the ladiuI wa, made
up Of -four, pork, groceries and mining
tools
The commencement Of the voyage was
pleasant and prosperous. and nothing oc-
CURED 10 destroy the authorizations Of hap
III the vessel had passed the Mantouline
Islands. and was about 10 enter the Straits
OF Mackilaac- They passed the Great Man
itouIes ju-t AZ dark, and immediately az
terward were attacked by a trarnenduous
gale Of wind. surprising i'll violence, Miss
Richardson says, anything which She had
before witnessed During the morning Of
that day the captain had tapped a barrel
of whIsA,y, which was in his cabin and Of
which he and the mate had copicuslv drank
Contrary To their usual custom they had
both rctirclto sleep before dark, leaving
the vessel in charge of a sailor named
Dan, who was at the wheel Miss Rich
ardsOn Is now Ctthe opinion that the S.his-
key had circulated among the crew as well
rs the officers. and that they Were al more
or less under is influence At all events,
the barquc was driven from her course
,rd the storm increasiu. violence. the
captain and mate with great difficulty
awak keucd and brought OH deck. The ear
t-n appeared - .TOW sober very sudden
IL. and announced that they had been
driven through the middle channel and
were now opposite Sault Ste Marie. He
took the helm. and said that he would
endeayor to keep the Earque beating about
Ternamenon Bay until morning. Either
he was mistaken in his calculations, or
was unable 10 manage his vessel ~ he ex
pect,d for after n night Of terrific tempest,
the morning broke and they discovered
that they were III the neigh borhoOd of a
large island, the name of which Miss Rich
ardson has forgotten but which the captain
said was 100 miles from the Sauit. This
| island was probably Michipicetcn. The
storm appeared 10 increase instead OF to
diminish IN violence. and the vessel be
{ Rinl, ap,,-
was in great alarm and dismay, which
were not at all lessened when her cousin
informed her that the barque was leaking
badly, and that they We're in imminent
danger of death. She does not recollect
all which transpircd after this, and she
was III much distress both of mind and
bodv but about ten clock snc was sum
moned on deck and saw that the vessel
must soon strike upon the shore oil what
she was told was an island. The rudder
of the b,rque had become unshipped or
broken, her rigging was torn to tatters, ana
the captain said their only hope of life
was to wait until tho ship struck, then TO
! leap into the water and trust TO the waves
| TO throw them upon the shore. The YES
| sci was then some half a mile from the
! island. between which and her arose long
line of broken and jagged rocks. Miss
| Richardson had life-preserver, the only
one on board The barque struck with
| immense force upon the rocks, and then
! appeared to stick fast, either upon the
! sand or between the breakers The cap
tain and the crew leaped overheard as she
struck, and Miss Richardson and her cou-
sin were about to follow, when spar from
the broken and shattered mast fell to the
deck striking the mate upon the head
and instantly killing him. Miss Richard
! sons courage forsook her at this awful
sight, and She sank upon the deck in a
| sWoon.
From this point give her narrative in
her own words, copied from the notes
which | took during our interview:
| GLOW long | remained unconscious
cannot say, but when ] regained my SEN
ses. found that the storm was dying away,
| and that the vessel was sticking fast where
she had first struck At my side laid
George, his face covered with blood and
his eyes staring wide in death, | almost
tainted again at the sight, but with q
strong effort l rcpressed my feelings, and
got upon my feet. The waves were yet
rolling heavily, but could see that the
storm was over, and as | looked upward
the clouds broke away; and the sun beam
ed down upon me This cheered me, and
I sat down upon the companion way to re-
fleet upon what / should do. | knew that
the waves would become more tranquil as
night approached, and thought that il
the captain or the crew had reached the
land they would endeavor to come off to
the vessel and rescue me. ! descended to
the hold, and observed that the leak did
not increase The seams Of the vessel
were open, and her tinbers strained and
broken but she appeared to be .jammed in
so tightly between the rocks that she co d
not sink. / returned on deck, and saw
that the waves were hourly becoming calm
er, and that the wind had set in steadily
towards the shore. / saw a number o.