Fascinating. He was so hungry he thought his wife was a sheep and he grabbed a knife. This is a very short interview story of dramatic Survival and death on Lake Superior, Isle Royale - Mott island (on right).
NOTE - Mott Island is actually about 1.4 miles long, (not 3/4).
I’ve been to Mott Island several times in my boat, very isolated rugged and rocky and open to the great lake.
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The Story, by wflem:
In the winter of 1843, together Charlie and Angelique Mott suffered
an ordeal that only Angelique lived to tell. In July of that year, Charlie and Angelique were hired to protect a copper claim by camping on tiny Mott Island, Lake Superior, off the shore of Isle Royale. Dropped off on the lonely shore, they were promised supplies in a few weeks. And to be picked up in October when their job was done.
In the meantime, provisions were sparse, a barrel of flour, six pounds of rancid butter and a few beans. They fished with a net and a canoe.
September came, with no sign of a supply boat, Their net broke and a storm swept away their canoe. October and then November passed and still not a soul appeared. Not a scrap of food was left. December brought the snow. The lake froze. They lost hope of rescue.
In a newspaper interview she gave in 1845, Angelique conveyed the anguish that they left,
"Nothing seemed left to us but sickness, starvation and death itself. All we could do is eat bark and roots and bitter berries that only seemed to make the hunger worse. Hunger is an awful thing. It eats you up so inside, and you feel so all gone, as if you must go crazy". Charlie grew weaker and lost heart. Around Christmas crazed with fever, he seized a knife, and wheeled on his wife. He growled that he must kill a sheep, that he must have something to eat. For hours Angelique watched him like a hawk, finally wrestling the knife from him. Then the fever passed. "I saw him sink away and dry up until there was nothing left of him but skin and bones. At last he died so easily that I couldn't tell just when the breath did leave his body".
Angelique now struggled to survive alone, her husbands body beside
her in the hut. "How could I bury him when the ground was frozen as hard as a rock. I could not bear to throw him out in the snow. For three days I remained with him in the hut, and it seemed almost like company, but I was afraid if I kept up the fire he would spoil", she decided to build a second lodge and leave him in the hut.
Occasionally Angelique visited her husbands frozen body. It was then
she met her greatest fear. "The hunger raged so in my veins that I was tempted, to take Charlie and make soup of him". At that point in her fight she saw rabbit tracks outside the hut. Tearing out a lock of her hair, she made a snare. The first rabbit trapped, Angelique was so hungry that she ripped off its skin and ate it raw.
Rabbits, faith, and an astonishing will to survive brought her through
the endless winter. One morning in May she heard the firing of a gun. She
almost fainted. On shaky legs, she ran to the shore. There was the man who had abandoned them tens months before. She led him to the hut where Charlie's body lay. "He saw that Charlie was dead, that I had not killed him but that he had died of starvation. He began to cry and to try to explain things, I thought his own conscience ought to punish him more than I could do"............. http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/QUEBEC-RESEARCH/2003-12/1070504500
From: WFlem72706@aol.com
Subject: [Q-R] Excerpt of History
Date: Wed, 3 Dec 2003 21:21:40 EST
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Bert says - Note: the original account and interview was much longer and so much more dramatic, her thoughts and feelings and other crisis she had to endure. An amazing story to never forget. If I can find the full story I’ll post it
What an incredible story. Wow.
ReplyDeleteThe moral of the story is that women are a lot stronger than they are given credit for. LOL! There is a reason they named that movie "Steel Magnolias". Magnolias are so delicate that if you touch a petal it will bruise. We gals often give the impression that we are that delicate, but underneath, we have backbones of steel.
ReplyDeleteGoodness me! Of course I have never heard that story before, but imagine being left like that with no food etc. What was that man thinking and why did he not return with their supplies for so long?
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks too for those really good maps which made the whole story much more clear to an ignorant Kiwi.
Swaggie BamBam Iriani - (hey that would make a neat name).....
ReplyDeleteBamBam - he probably gave his wife his portion of the food ??
Iriani - It has happened numerous times on Lake Superior that the trecherous weather has prevented ships from making supply runs, often with disasterous consequences.
Swaggie BamBam Iriani - (hey that would make a neat name).....
ReplyDeleteBamBam - he probably gave his wife his portion of the food ??
Iriani - It has happened numerous times on Lake Superior that the treacherous weather has prevented ships from making supply runs, often with disastrous consequences.
Oh ok, I keep forgetting those lakes are so big, more like seas really. I just don't get my head around it. Thanks Bert.
ReplyDeleteIriani - Lake Superior can get just as dangerous as oceans, in some ways it's worse. 20-30' waves are not unusual and on Isle Royale have been reported over 50'.
ReplyDeletehttp://bertthemensachicken.multiply.com/journal/item/52/Lucky_rescue_-_16_waves_85mph_winds.
Interesting Story...I've never seen the great lakes, can't imagine waves that big on a lake. We don't even see them that high on the ocean out here very often if at all..
ReplyDeletePlanet - What makes Lake Superior somewhat dangerous is that it is fresh water, not salt water and wind will cause bigger waves a lot faster... salt tends to moderate the effect of wind. And it's 100 x 400 miles and very deep. Serious storms can develop in just minutes, not hours. From calm to 4' waves in ten minutes during sunny and no clouds. Very challenging. Did you see the link in my comment below?
ReplyDeletehttp://bertthemensachicken.multiply.com/journal/item/52/Lucky_rescue_-_16_waves_85mph_winds.
Wow, that's amazing. i don't think I'd have lasted long.
ReplyDeleteVery sad....Yes, I know it's about faith, endurance and the will for survival...Yet, so very sad.
ReplyDeleteCarolenablue - I am amazed that anybody can survive there even WITH a proper shelter and lots of supplies, it is unbelievable hostile there in Winter. She BUILT a hut herself with trees, etc. Wow.
ReplyDeleteJgigi - Not everyone would have been able to survive that... everything was against her. Wadda Woman, I'm impressed.
Great Story Bert, thanks!
ReplyDelete