The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1869-06-24
From Harper's Magazine.
Ida Lewis.

At the close of stormy March day of
this year two sailors were crossing from
Newport to Fort Adams in a sail boat
managed by an inexperienced lad. When
they were partly across, blast suddenly
struck the craft; the boy was COMPOUNDED,
the boat capsized, and for half an hour,
cllnging to the keel, the hapless men and
boy struggled with the waves. Then the
hold OF the boy relaxed, and he sank; but
a boat had put off from the Lime Rock
Lighthouse, about half mile away, and
| before the men were exhausted it had
reached them, and they were saved. The
| persons who saved them were Ida Lewis
and her brother Hosea, ichi ldren of the
keeper Of the light.
Ten years ago in the same harbor four
young fellows were upset in boat, and
the same girl fastened in her skiff to res
cue them. A little later three drunken
soldiers stove hole in their boat not far
from the light Two swan ashore and
the third was saved by Ida Lewis when
nearly exhausted. Two years ago some
men were driving sheep upon the wharf
IN Newport. The sheep plunged intothe
water, and three men running along the
shore in pursuit at length found a skifl
and put out into the harbor A heavy
Southwestern was blowing, and the kiff was
swamped. Once more Ida Lewis pushed |
off for them, and bringing them safe to
shore, returned and landed the sheep. In
the next winter asoape-grace stole sail
boat from the wharf and made off But
the gale drove it upon the Little Lime
Rock, mile from the light; and the thief
elung to the mast from midnight until |
morning, when Ida Lewis saw him, anu
rowing to his relief, found him as shesaid,
shaking and God-Dlesslng me, and pray
ing to be set on shore" as "'7
This is girl in her twenty eighth year,
slender, blue-eyed, with light brown hair.
frank and hearty, and likely to be more
famous next summer than any Newport
belle .sut
But the heroic story of which these
are incidents suggests some very improva
ing reflections upon the sphere of woman.
No one can read the report in the news
paper, no one can read the brief telegra-
phic notice upon the following morning, /
without a thrill of admiration and sym
pathy. But do we understand that such [
emotion was natural and proper? Are T
we to believe that it is feminine" for
young women to row boats in storms? Is
it 'womanly" to tug and strain through
tempest, and then pull half drowned men
into skiff? F2ttA4 - r Daaih&.
Now, speaking soberly no. man will be
such an-let us say donkey - as to insist
that it was unfeminine in Ida Lewis to-
pull off in her boat to save men from
drowning 1t was no more unfeminine.
than to sing babe to sleep. And if this
be so, then it was perfently womanly to
learn the use of oars to acquire the
means of doing SO great service to her
fellow creatures, a service which touches
the heart and the Imagination, and, as in
the instance of Grace darling, will be
come poetic tradition.
When we have come as far as this there
is certainly no need of asking whether
such actions fall within the sphere of wo-
man, or whether they are competent to
row boats Ida Lewis has shown that she |
can row to some purpose, can row,indeed,
to such purpose that every generous heart
applauds. This seems to settle the whole
vexatious question about woman. Indeed
there isno more qiestionabout women than
about men And unless the whole debate
upon the subject of the rights of men,
which has shaken society for SO many
years, and often to such tremendous rel
suits, is folly, that upon the rights of wo-
men can hardly be smiled away.
The Western Grasshopper.