| Notes |
- The third son of the secluded Goshen valley to become a hero was Joe Wade.The Wades actually were the first of the three farming families to settle at Goshen.But by the time Joe was a young man, his family had moved to the Walton Woods Road, which then was connected to Goshen by a narrow rutted trail.Joe Wade was shipwrecked on the Sandwich Islands as a young man.By bad luck the shipwrecked crew fell into the hands of a cannibal band, who killed and ate every member of the crew but Joe.Joe they saved because they were fascinated by his blond hair and blue eyes, never having seen the like before.In honour of his fair complexion, the savages made him their king.For seven years Joe lived on the cannibal island, accepting the homage of the savage tribe because he had no choice.For, king or not, they watched him sharply always, fearing he might escape.This, of course, he was longing to do.And somehow he managed to build a rough boat, which he concealed near the beach until one evening when he saw a sail in the distance.The natives were sleeping, but Joe had to wait impatiently until darkest night before he dared push his little craft into the water and row swiftly toward the ship.Even with all his stealth, the cannibals heard him and pursued him in their war canoes.He barely reached the ship ahead of the natives, and the captain told him the ship was becalmed and he must not come aboard, for if he did the savages would follow and kill all hands.Kneeling in his little boat, Joe prayed for a breeze to fill the sails.Miraculously the breeze came, and Joe was saved.Later he returned home and married Martha Smith of Goshen.Taken from the book "North Along the Shore, written by Edith Mosher" Page 74
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