Minnie Paterson (died 1911) was a Canadian

heroine A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''hero' ...

noted for her rescue of men from the

barkentine A barquentine or schooner barque (alternatively "barkentine" or "schooner bark") is a sailing vessel with three or more masts; with a square rigged foremast and fore-and-aft rigged main, mizzen and any other masts. Modern barquentine sailing r ...

(barque) '' Coloma'' during a severe storm in 1906. Paterson was the wife of Tom Paterson, keeper of the

Cape Beale Light Cape Beale Lightstation is an active manned lighthouse on Vancouver Island in British Columbia., Canada. History The lighthouse was built in 1874 and its focal plane is 51 meters above sea level. The present tower was built in 1958 and marks t ...

near

Bamfield, British Columbia Bamfield is a community that is surrounded by Crown Land, First Nation Lands belonging to the Huu-ay-aht Nations, and portions of the Pacific Rim National Park, located on Barkley Sound, Vancouver Island in British Columbia. The community, with ...

. On December 6, 1906, Keeper Paterson spotted the crippled ''Coloma'' being battered by waves and 80 knot winds near shore. The

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

line was broken, and the nearest hope was the

lighthouse tender A lighthouse tender is a ship specifically designed to maintain, support, or tend to lighthouses or lightvessels, providing supplies, fuel, mail, and transportation. In the United States, these ships originally served as part of the Lighthous ...

''Quadra'', six miles away on Bamfield Inlet. While Tom kept watch over the ''Coloma'', Minnie went to seek help. To reach the ''Quadra'', Mrs. Paterson had to wade through icy, waist-deep seawater and mud, over toppled trees, through rain and hail; four hours later she finally reached Bamfield, and with the aid of another keeper's wife, they rowed a skiff out to alert the crew of the ''Quadra''. Minnie insisted on immediately returning on foot to the lighthouse so that the mother of five could nurse her youngest unweaned baby. The ''Quadra'' eventually came to aid the ''Coloma'', putting out a

longboat A longboat is a type of ship's boat that was in use from ''circa'' 1500 or before. Though the Royal Navy replaced longboats with launches from 1780, examples can be found in merchant ships after that date. The longboat was usually the largest boat ...

just as the barque was breaking up. All on board were saved. For her actions,

Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...

presented Minnie with a gold watch and a silver plate along with a silver tea service from the Seattle Maritime Union. Five years after the wreck she developed

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

and died, her health permanently weakened by her heroic efforts.

References

1911 deaths Lighthouse keepers Women lighthouse keepers Year of birth missing {{pharology-stub