ON SABLE ISLAND. 33 



111 her intercourse with him she could not but have learned somewhat of the sad events of 

 which it had been the theatre, and of the institution established by the î^ova Scotia govern- 

 ment. She could scarcely have missed hearing also of the additional tales of horror, of 

 maniacs sent there by their friends to linger out a miserable existence, and to suffer treat- 

 ment which, though common everywhere at that time, never failed to move her sympathy. 

 Her experience perhaps led her to suspect that there might be something of the kind still 

 going on there. At all events she proceeded to Sable island in the government vessel, 

 where she arrived on the 26th July. The weather was moderate, and there was no difficulty 

 in landing. She spent the two following days on the island. In that short period she had 

 the opportunity of seeing a wreck. The last of these days set in with fresh southwest 

 winds, thick fog and a heavy sea on the south side. About 7 a. m. the schooner " Guide " 

 of London, 132 tons, Henry Millichamp master, from New York, with a cargo of flour, pork, 

 beef, molasses, pitch and tobacco, bound for Labrador, while running E.N.E. under full 

 sail, struck on the inner bar on the south side. At 9 a. m. she was discovered ashore abreast 

 of the main station, and all hands proceeded thither. The sea being too heavy to run out 

 an anchor or to do anything toward getting the vessel off, it was deemed advisable to make 

 sail on her and run a cable and anchor ahead on the beach to assist her onward, in the hope 

 of saving the ship's material and cargo. This being done, the crew were landed in the surf- 

 boats, and at 7 p. m. came to headquarters, bringing most of their clothes with them. But 

 here an incident occurred manifesting the spirit of her old mission. It is thus given in part 

 of a letter published in her life : 



" The ship was abandoned by all but the captain. He had liecome a raving maniac, and 

 would not leave. Miss Dix rode to the beach on liorseback, as the last boat landed from 

 the ill-fated vessel, and learned the sad fate of the commander, who, the sailors said, was a 

 kindhearted man. She pled with them to return to the wreck and bring him on shore, and 

 to bind him if it was necessary for his safety. They obeyed her summons, and soon were 

 again on the beach, with their captain bouml hand and foot. She loosened the cords, took 

 him by the arm and led him to a boathouse built for the shipwrecked, and there by kind 

 words calmed his mind and persuaded him to thank the sailors for saving his life. She 

 trusted that rest and nourisliing food would restore him to reason." 



She left the island, and from the manner in which he is spoken of afterward we conclude 

 that her expectation was realized. 



During this short visit Miss Dix had carefully observed the state of things on the 

 island. While admiring much that she saw of the arrangements, and gratified at the 

 results, she yet saw that the life-saving apparatus was far behind the age. The legislature 

 of Nova Scotia had manifested no deficiency of liberality, and the British government had 

 been ready to respond to any appeals made for its help. But she found, and the fact is not 

 creditable to the authorities of î>rova Scotia, that the establishment had no lifeboats of 

 modern pattern, but heavy, clumsy surf-boats, utterly unfitted for heavy seas. Besides 

 thei-e was no mortar for throwing a line across a wrecked vessel, and no provision of cars or 

 bretches-buoys for landing crews. As soon, therefore, as she arrived home she appealed to 

 friends in Boston, New York and Philadelphia to supply means to provide three lifeboats, 

 one for each of these cities, with other necessary apparatus. Her appeal met with a ready 

 response, and, under the direction of Capt. E. B. Forbes, then chairman of the Humane 

 Society of Boston, four first-class metallic lifeboats were built in New York, and were 



