Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1869-06-23
The Heroine of Lake Erie.

The Heroine of Lake Erie.
BY JOHN @. wHTTEG
The dark. stormy close Of November, 1854,
found many vessels on Lake Erie, but the
fortunes of one alone have special interest
for us. About that time the schooner Con-
ductor. owned by John Mcleod Of the Pro-
yiucial Parliament, resident Of Amherstburg,
at the mouth of the Detroit river, entered
the lake from that river bound for Port Dal-
housie, al the mouth of the Weland canal
She was heavily loaded with grain. Her
crew consisted Of Capt Hackett. Highland
or by birth, and skilllul and experienced
navigator and six sailors At nightial,
shortly after leaving the head Of the lake,
one Of those terrific storms, with which the .
late antumna navigators of that Sea off
the Woods" are all too familiar, overlook .
them. The weather was intensely cold for .
the season the air was filled with snow and
sIeet the chilled water made ice rapidly.
encumbering the schooner, aud loading down
her decks and rigging As the gale increased,
the tops Of the waves were shorn off by the
fierce blasts cloudiug the whole atmosphere
with frozen spray, or what the sailors call
" poon-drit,n rendering 1t impossible TO see
any object few rods distant Driving help
essly before the wind, yet in the direction Of
It's place of destination, the schooner sped
through the darkness. At last, near midnight,
running closer than her crew supposed to the
Canadian shore, she struck on the outer bar
of Long Point Island, but heavily across it,
and sunk in the deeper water between it and
the inner bar. The hull was entirely sub
merged, the waves rolling in, heavily, aud
dashing over the rigging, to which the crew
betook themselves. dashed there, numbed
with cold, drenched by the pitiless waves and
scoureed by the showers of sleet driven be-
fore the wind, they waited for morning. The
slow dreadful hours wore away, and at length
the dubious and doubtful gray Of morning
of tempest succeeded to the utter darkness
Of night
Abigail Becker chanced at that time to be
in her hut with none but her young children.
Her husband was absent on the Canada shore,
and she left the sole adult occupant Of the
island. save the light-kooper at its lower end
some fifteen miles off Looking out at day
light on the beach in front of her door, she
saw the shattered boat of the Conductor cast
fup by the waves Her experience of storm
, and disaster on that dangerous coast needed
nothing more to convince her that somewhere
, in the neighborhood human life had been, or
still was in peril She followed the south
q westernly bend Of the island for little dis
tance, and peering through the gloom Of the
, stormy morning, discerned the spars Of the
I sunkon schooner, with what seemed to be hui
G man forms elinging to the rigging. The hear
/ Of the strong woman sunk within her, as she
gazed upon those helpless fellow creatures
so near, and yet so unapproachable. She haC
G no boat, and none could have lived ON tina
r wild water After a moments reflection she
e went back to her dwelling, put the smalle
children in charge of the eldest, took Will
e her an iron kettle, tin teapot and matches
g and returned to the beach, at the neares
: point to the vessel and gathered up th'
e logs and drift-wood, always abundant on tn
d coast kinded great fire, aud, constantl
a walking back and forth between it and tn
water, strove to intimate TO the sufferers tina
10 they were not beyond human sympathy. A
the wrecked sailors looked shoreward, AM
IA saw. through the thick haze Of snow an
"A sleet, the red light of the fire, and the tal
I figure of the woman passing 20 and fro be
n fore it. faint hope took the place Of III
rs utter despair which had prompted them t.
:, let 90 their hold, and drop into the seethin
N wators. that opened and closed about thel
n. Ike the jaws OF death. But the day wof
N on, bringing no abatement Of the storm thu
tore through the lrail spars, aud clutchod an
,k tossed them as it passed, and drenched thel
of with ice-cod spray-a pitiless unrelentin
, horror of sight, sound and touch At la
h. the deepening gloom told them that night WI
approaching, aud nigh: under such clrcun
stances was death.
All day long Abigail Becker had fed h
he fire, and sought to induce the sailors by s
70. nals-for even her strong voice could N
reach them,-to throw themselves into Il
surf, and trust to Providence and her for su
'se cor. In anticipation Of this she had her ke
"a tie boiling over the drltt-wood, and her Il
,iy ready made for restoring warmth and life
he the half dozen survivors. But either thu
cts did not understand her or the chance OF r(
lr- cue seemed too small TO induce them to aba
ke don the temporary safety Of the wreck. Th
ay olunp to it with the desperate instinct of il
brought face to face with death. Just
de uiphtfall there was slight break in the Yves
TO- red light glared across the thick air, as
SOS for one instant the eye Of the storm look
M out upon the ruin it had wrought, and clos
'r- again under lids Of cloud. Taking adyanta
&c, of this the solitary watcher ashore made o
ad more effort. She waded out into the wat
'ut every drop of which, as it struck the beaC
5es became particle Of ice, and stretching o
and drawing in her erms, invited by her g
an ure the sailors to throw themselves into
eli waves and strive to reach her. Capta
sc, Hackett understood her He called to !
raj mate in the rigging Of the other mast "
ont is our last chance will try If | lily
he follow me; if drown, stay where you are
'ae With a great effort he got of his stiii iroz
to oyercoat paused for one moment in sllc
eommendation of his soul to God and thro
lps inc himself into the waves struck out for
ad- shore. Abigail Becker, breast deep IN
surf awaited him. He was almost within
reach when the undertow swept him ba'
eat By mighty exertion she caught hold Of hi
sst. bore him IN her strong arms out Oh inc "a'
ow and laying him down by her fire, warm
ds. his chilled blood with copous draughts
hat hot tea. The mate, who had watched
be rescue. now followed, aud the Captain, p
tally restored, insisted upon aiding him.
ind the former neared the shore, the recoi
ak water bahled him. Captain llaekett caul
md hold of him, but the undertow swept IN
1nc both away, locked in each others arms. ]
Iost brave woman plunged after them and, "
the strength of a giantess, bore them, cling