The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1877-05-19
A BRAVE CANADIAN WON AN.
Mrs Abigail Hecksr the Heroine OF
Long Point

Long Point
Deeds of heroism hsve always command
ed the highest admiration, particularly
female heroism. We are apt u look upon
women as the weaker portion of our race
and as dependent upon man, the sternei
and tirmer part, to sustain them in hours
of trial aud places Of peril, when the strong
arm Of man Is put forth t. succor and u
save human lives. There are cases, and
they are not lew IN number al the world 8
history, where tins action reversed
where woman stands tSrLh to save men.
Ii is often the case where the plant. deli.
cate form of woman has int,rlosod Ia save
human life, when the eEurts ot siai Sart
men have proved ImDOtent and futile. IL
is OF such | VIII speak. IN "a few words. on
this OCCASION The shores Of our great
lakes have been the SCENES uf terrible dis
asters they have also furnished many
deeds of heroism and bravery unsurpassed
In any country. | Will tell You one of
them, that | think stands forth the grand
est and greatest ever known on these lakes
1 will tell you OF Abigail Beckol, the hero
inc Of Long Point. The scene that | will
attempt u describe to yuu occurred some
] twenty years ago. Mention Was made
VI A. AIti. anu ihAtI- utfN many years ago.
the writer sent a. the poet Whittier a cou-
densed statement OF the facts, aDd asked
him To weave INTO poem the noble and
brave deed of Abigail Becker tie pub
lIshed NY story Ia the itpHtic Monthly,
IN prose, as written to hun. ! had thought,
as the scene was not unnke the beach of
Ot New England (shert BIS old home and
mine was), where he wrote has poem, The
Tent Oh the Beach, It might inspire him
to weave from the facts and deeds of hero
ism such poetic story as might equal his
former efforts. When asked by me why
he failed TO do 50 ne replied Friend
Duer, thee knows tut httle II making
poems they are made of cobw chs, some;
thing floating III the ar anu men $ brains
why, one fragment of Abigail great deed
would drive all poetry from a mans miud.
| could not 40 II | tired 10, over AMI over
again.
This story will be ueN To most y. you
venture to relate 1t. Looking upon the
map or chart oi Lake Erie, you ~ill sce
Long Point island on the Canada side
near and between Port Rowan and Port
| Dover, the ports above and below the is
land. Ii IS about seventy -hye miles from
Buffalo, running parallel ~iJh the main
shore OF Canada, It's western point ttrmI-
mating apon Port Rowan BAY. where Is
formed v hat u called The tut, named
SO as II IS formed ot qu.casands, the violent
gales and great waves, NiJh The rapid cur
rent formed by them. "a tiu- through the
main shore INTO Port Rowan bay. making
for awhile passage that vessels may sail
through, and turult. also an island Of
I I..rt,f B. "a t.f 4,
peninsula. the entrance beng almost or
quite checked up With the drifting quick
sand. The whole Island l. made from the
upheaying sands ~ the iaNe. II Is covered
here and there wt,A G~a-i. sparse tr,ts aDd
trailing shrubbyry, the iaIt mad, up Of
broken hillocks, With intervening ponds,
where the Wild fowl ia great numbers re-
sort IN their season, aud tnr mushrat and
occasionally otter art found. The island
aud its Port Rowan bay approaches are
nov owned and Kept ss a private preserve
by an association q scuii,men, who have
stocked the waters with nsh, and let them
improve and breed f,I he past three years,
until last tall. Vas told recently by one
Of the pruprletnrs that last Al they
took several wLItrtsh from their
waters, weighing tel, twelve aid IT.
teen pounds. the result of rest auC allow
ing tie tIsh To breed and multiply thout
molestatiun and destruction. The ap-
proaches on the INLAND side Of Port Rowan
bay are fuil Of via nee, the food Of ~Id
ducks and geese, where myIIads OF them
resort, and the best shooting exists for the
privileged fe" Who own 1t.
At the time Of which | write, in 1894,
Long Point island was owned as Wild land
Oy the British OF Canadian Government.
UpOn ITS eastern end, stretched out t. a
long point Of the sand, stands light house,
built by tie Canadian Government, to
guide the mariner by IJs clear, strong light,
up and down the lake, and IL Is point OF
departure to assure seallen of theIr posi-
tiun. The lighthouse and point Of land
on which Ii stood we're N direct line
several miles from the nam shore Of Cana
da, It's keepers and their tamllles being the
only inhabitants proper upon tine island.
! Toward the upper end, near the cut, some
eight OF nine miles from the lighthouse
(the whole island probably Is about twenty
miles long, there were squatted and lived
Temporarily johnny Becker, with hls wife
Abigail and some halt dozen children.
johnny was a trapper T; he led nOmadlG
lite, trapping muskrats, beaver and other
game, shooting ducks and nsnIug, eklng
out a poor existence from these precaTIOus
modes Of hTe. lie had Quilt sort ot
shanty home from the slabs and drltt-wOOd
that had accumulated ON the beach. Here
let us turn 70 1t.
On cold, stormy November night III
1894. johnny Becker Was away ON the
nam land at Port Rowan to swap hIs skins
/ k..p 49,. "A
Housed IN the shanty was Abigail, has
wife, the heroine OF our story. Let US
leave her there with the children, whIle
We turn to another scene ana tact IN ouI
story, the Canadian Jnree-masted schooner
Conductor, OF AmhertsUurg, Canada, own
ed by John Mcleod. a Scotch gentleman
and member Uf the CaLauian Parliament
her conInani Ter, Capt Robert Hackett,
( now Of Detroit (wh SC father kept light
! house on Bobo island, opposite Amherst
burg, many years., and manned ~ a crew
Of seven men III aii Ih,s vessel, loaded
with wheat, bound -uu. Detroit u lower
lake through the " eiiand canal, on the
night III question was IN the vIeIE 81
Long Point island, aud near Abigail Beck
ers rude home. IL Was blowing teTrIbl,
gale Of wind, the weather bitter cold, the
tops Of the waves iretzIng III the air al
they broke, filling It with frozen spray, 81
that nothing could be seen twenty fee
away from the vessel.
The Conductor was scudding before tn,
wind under close reefed sails they judged
they were safe and proper distance from
the land and running parallel with it OF
towards their port OF destination, III which
they we're deceived. They we're nearer th'
Canadian shore than they supposed, anC
at midnight struck the outer bar Of Lonl
, Point, beat over 1t, and sunk between tn
two bars, a little above the place wher'
Abigail Becker and her children were shel
tered On that fearful night. The vessel