The Hickman courier., 1877-08-10
The Heroine of Long Point.


The Heroine of Long Point.
Looking upon the map or chart of
lake Erie you see Long Point island, on
the Canada side, near and between Port
Rowan and Port Dover, the ports above
and below the island. 1t is about seven
ty-hve miles from Buffalo, running
parallel with the main shore of Canada,
its western point terminating upon Port
Rowan bay, where is found what is called
a." the cut" named so as it is formed of
quicksands-the violent gales and great
waves, with the rapid current formed bv
them, cutting through the main shore
into Port Rowan bay, making for awhile
passage that vessels may sail through.
and forming also an island of Long Point
when otherwise it is only peninsula, the
entrance being almost or quite choked
up with the drifting quicksand. The
whole island is made from the upheaving
sands OF the lake. 1t is covered here and
there with dwarf sparse trees and trail
ing shrubbery; the land made up OF
broken hilloeks, with intervening ponds,
where the wild fowl in great numbers
resort in their season and the rnuskrat
and occasionally otter are found.
At the tins of which 1 write, 1854,
Long Point island was owned as wild |
land by the British or Canadian govern
ment. Upon its eastern end, stretched |
out to long point of sand, stands a |
lighthouse, built by the Canadian
government, to guide the mariner by its
clear. strong light up and down the lake.
and 1t is a point of departure to assure
seamen cf their true position. The light
house and point OF land on which it
stood were in direct line several miles
from the main shore OF Canada, and its
keepers and families being the only
inhabitants proper upon the island. To-
ward the upper end, near the cut,
some eight or nine miles from the. light
house the whole island, probably, isabout
twelve miles long,. there were squatted
and lived, temporarily, Johnny Becker.
with his wife Abigail and some half.a-
dozen children. Johnny was a trapper;
ne led a I1onlaeiic lie, trapping uluskratz,
beaver, and other game, shooting ducks ,
and fishing, eking out poor existence 7
from these precarious modes of life. ,
lie had built a sort OF shanty home from ,
the slabs and driftwood that had been q
accumulated on the beach. I;
On cold, stormy November night in =
1884, Johnny Becker was away on the
main land at Port Rowan to trade his :
skins for supplies, and to return when he r
could Housed in this shanty was Abb
gail, his wife, the heroine of our stery.
Let us leave her there with her children :,
while we turn to another scene and fact ;,
IN our story. The Canadian three-mast-
ed schooner Conductor, of Amherstburg. =.
Canada; owned by John Mcleod, a Scotch ?
gentleman and member of the Canadian :,
parliament; her commander, Capt Rob =,
ert Haekett, now of Detroit, and manned !
by crew of seven men in all. This :,
vessel was in the vicinity of Long Point II
island and near Abigail Becker's rude :
home. 1t was blowing i terrible gale Of :;
wind, the weather was bitter cold. the =
tops of the waves freezing in the air as =
they broke, illingit with frozen SPRAY -
so that nothing could be seen twenty feet =
from the vessel ~
The ConductorTwas scuddine before b.
the wind under close-reefed sails: thew e.
judged they were safe and proper dis d,
tanee from the land and running parallel III
with 1t, on toward their port of destina- III
ton, in which they were deceived. They to
were nearer the Canada shore than thew Of
supposed, and, at midnight, struck the
outer bar OF Long Point, but went over it, to
ana sunk between the two bars, little tb
above the place where Abigail Becker d
ana her children were sheltered on that ~
fearful night. The vessels hull was II
entirely submerged; the crew took to the 81,
rigging of the three masts, their. only to
refuge 1t was about mihnight eff fear 70
fui stormy November night, the sky in as
murky darkness all around them. the -,
storm OF waters lashing and roaring with | h
Jury, calling for their apparent victims o,
to engulf them; no possible succor near; y
clinging to their frail supports in the rig in
glng just above the certain death that h,
seemed to await them. Who could m
imagine their terrible forebodings of an q,
imminent, hOrrid death-no relief appa- 8
rent, no help to look up to but the Great 4,
Father whe cares for all? How thev =,
prayed to him that awful night to save h,
their precious lives. had it from their /.
own lips at the time, more than twenty q,
years ago, and it is as fresh to me new as :,
then. Here they clung, waiting for
daylight which would never seem to =
come. Bat come it did at last that =
awful November morning, with no abate- p
ment to the terrible, raging storm. 1t h,
brought no comfort with it, no greater :,
hopes of succor? All they could -
see was the wild, icy waves =,
around them. making it really more ter ~
rible than when hidden by the pail of q,
night. Abigail rose after daylight and ..
looked out. She took her pail as was A
her custom, and went down to point to il
get some water to fill the tea-kettle. At NJ
her feet, on the beach, she saw the Con- h,
ductors yawl-boat, wrecked and breaking a
to pieces. She looked around toward ~
the lake, peering through the gloom and p
storm, and, walking up the beach, finally at
discovered the masts and the people
clinging to them. She went up opposite III
on the beach and saw their terribly help ar
less condition. She waved to them and A
they saw her. She returned to her shan w
ty, and, leaving the children in i,
charge of her oldest girl of ten or twelve tn
years of age, took her iron pot, some tea to
md matches, went up again opposite the to