A Pocketful of Passage

6. Rescue

34 Great Lakes lights, fog signals, and radio beacons have guided thousands of boats through murky nights and raging storms. Although these navigation aids saved lives over the years, many ships have still been lost. Daddy told us how once the Passage Island keepers helped rescue shipwrecked people. In December 1906, a wooden steamship called the Monarch tried to get to the locks at Sault Ste. Marie during a bad storm. But the ship got lost in the blinding snow Rescue 01฀Campbell฀text.indd฀฀฀34 12/8/06฀฀฀1:53:42฀PM Rescue 35 and smashed into the rocks just south of Blake Point on Isle Royale. Brave crewmen managed to fasten a lifeline between the sinking ship and the rocks, and the forty-four people on the Monarch climbed to shore using the rope. They made a fire on the rocks to keep warm and signal for help. A Passage Island keeper saw the fire and responded. He rowed alone nearly four miles across the open passage. It took all his strength to keep his small boat from being overturned by the enormous waves. The keeper’s face and hands were numb by the time he reached the Monarch. But when he saw the people on the rocks he knew that they were nearly frozen. He promised he would get them help. Then the keeper and one of the ship’s crew rowed back to Passage Island in the tiny rowboat and relayed news of the stranded survivors to a passing freighter. Finally, two days later, the passengers and crew were rescued. A dramatic wreck like this one did not occur while my daddy was stationed at Passage Island. However, I do remember how our station helped lost fishermen one very dark, foggy night. For three days the north shore was shrouded in fog. Daddy and Mr. Lane worked around the clock. They took turns tending the fog signal, winding the clockwork in the tower, and monitoring the radio. Mama made them hot coffee and hearty stew, but there was little time to eat. On the third day, after Sonny, Jo, and I had finished 01฀Campbell฀text.indd฀฀฀35 12/8/06฀฀฀1:53:42฀PM A Pocketful of Passage 36 our supper, Daddy rushed into the kitchen wearing his rain slicker and boots. “Billie, there’s a fishing boat out there. She’s been lost in all this fog and drizzle. We’re bringing ’em in. They’re probably pretty wet and hungry.” The door slammed and Daddy disappeared into the night. Within a half hour our little kitchen was full of soaking -wet men. Mama showed them a room where they could take off their wet things and put on Daddy’s clothes. Soon there were soggy shirts and dripping trousers hanging everywhere. Mama fed everyone bowls of hot stew, homemade biscuits, hot coffee, and cake. Mr. Lane, Daddy, and the men talked quietly, but no one talked to us, and we did not say a word. When I was young, good children were seen but not heard. One man with a stubbly beard, however, spoke in a loud voice. He was upset about the fog and because he had lost his pipe. Daddy saw how shaken he was and gave him one of his pipes and a tin of tobacco. “Thank you kindly,” the man said gratefully. His fingers trembled as he filled the bowl and struck a match. As he puffed on the pipe, he relaxed and talked more quietly. A second man looked very cold and frightened. He had pulled a blanket around his shoulders but still shivered. He didn’t say anything, but stared into his mug of coffee. Then I noticed tears on his cheeks. I had never seen a man cry before, so this surprised me. I wanted to ask him all about the fog and his boat. I wondered if he had children 01฀Campbell฀text.indd฀฀฀36 12/8/06฀฀฀1:53:42฀PM Rescue 37 and was worried about them, or if he thought his boat was going to sink. I wanted to tell him that he was safe at our lighthouse. But I just sat with Jo and Sonny and said nothing . After the table was cleared, Mama took us around the house and up to bed. “Were those men scared?” I asked, still thinking about the shivering man. “Yes, some were frightened...