Ellen and Ned Dower were real, historical figures; that much is true.

The Dowers lived in Conche, on Newfoundland’s great northern peninsula, in the latter half of the 19th century.

Though they were prominent citizens and successful business people, that’s not why they are remembered today. They are much better recalled for the tale of an impossible trip Ellen made to her husband’s ice-locked ship in 1872.

It was winter in Conche.

Ned Dower was looking through the window at the schooner, Elsie. He owned the ship with his brother John. She wasn’t a big boat but the Elsie was profitable and, between the cod fishery and seal hunt, the men could feed their families and even manage to hire a crew of locals from Conche, too.

Winter was a slow season for the Dowers. The Elsie had been tied to the wharf since late fall and, by the end of February, Ned was itching to set sail again.

Thankfully, it would soon be time for seals.

Ned Dower’s Mistake

Ned wanted to be able to head to the ice floes the minute the conditions were right. To that end, he hauled out his old sea chest and began filling it with the things he might want for the voyage. If he hadn’t been in such a rush, he might have noticed a small box in the bottom corner of the chest.

The box held an assortment of important papers. Among them were the deeds he and his wife Ellen needed to guarantee their financial well-being.

The box didn’t really belong in his sea chest. He had quickly stashed it there for safe keeping after were reviewing the papers and forgotten about it. He had no intention of taking it to sea with him; the papers would be safer on dry land. If he’d seen it there, he’d have given it to Ellen to stow away but, in his rush, he missed it and soon, it was tucked away under his blankets and clothes.

By March 1st the conditions were perfect for seals. The Elsie left Conche with Ned at the helm… and a misplaced box of important papers in the chest under his bunk.

By March 17th, the Elsie was ‘in the fat.’

The seals were plentiful, and for the next week the men worked hard, pausing long enough only to sleep.

Things couldn’t be going better. Back at home it was a different story.

The Missing Papers

Everyone knew Ellen Dower as a capable woman. If Ned was skipper of the Elsie, Ellen was captain at home. She took care of the business affairs on land while Ned was at sea.

She’d grown used to Ned’s voyages but she didn’t like them. His life was a dangerous one, and she was never quite at ease when he was gone. She was always half-afraid something bad would happen to him. When she was worried about Ned, she found herself worrying about other things; things that wouldn’t normally bother her.

Shortly after Ned left, she found herself thinking about their financial affairs. She wanted to review the papers to set her mind at ease but she couldn’t find their little document box anywhere.

She knew if it wasn’t in the house it must be aboard the Elsie, but wasn’t like Ned to take it, especially without telling her. She tried to put it out of her mind, but it worried her.

What if Ned didn’t have the papers? What if they were lost?

Ellen’s Worry

By March 25th the worry had taken it’s toll. She was exhausted.

Early in the evening she retired to her favourite chair. Over the last week her daughter had been reading a story aloud, she was looking forward to hearing more of it but, despite her interest, it wasn’t long before Ellen’s head nodded.

Noticing her mother was asleep and missing the story, Ellen’s daughter put the book down and spoke. There was no response.

She walked over to her mother and spoke again. Still nothing.

Whatever she tried, she couldn’t rouse her mother. Frightened, she ran to the neighbour’s house for help.

They applied every remedy they could think of, but still Ellen was frozen in place. Worse yet, she seemed to be deteriorating. With each passing minute her arms and legs felt colder and the colour drained from her skin. They wrapped her with blankets but it was no good.

Soon her breathing slowed, then no one could find a heartbeat.

Ellen Dower was dead.

Aboard The Elsie

By March 25th, Ned knew the crew need a break. The hunt had been going well and everyone was exhausted. He instructed them to take the evening off, and to get some rest.

The sun had barely set when most of the men were asleep.

Ned retired to his quarters, too. As he lay on his bunk he thought, if the sealing continued at this pace, he’d be back in Conche in a matter of days.

Just as he began to doze, he heard something. It sounded like a rustling on the stairs. If he didn’t know better he’d think it was Ellen. It sounded, for all the world, like the noise Ellen’s dress made as she hurried about the house. He could almost smell her perfume.

What could be making that sound?

He sat up and, before his feet hit the floor, he felt like his heart stopped.

It was Ellen. She was in his room aboard the Elsie.

It wasn’t possible. It couldn’t be possible; Ellen was in Conche, some 70 miles of sea ice and ocean away.

He couldn’t speak, and even if he could, what would he say?

In all their years of marriage, he’d never seen her look so miserable, so tortured. She seemed determined, as if consumed by a single purpose. It was as if Ned weren’t even there.

She pulled the wooden chest from under Ned’s bunk and began searching though it. One-by-one all the articles came out. She stacked them neatly beside her on the floor. Then she found the document box.

She opened it and unfolded the papers inside. She quickly glanced through the documents, and returned them to the box. She put the box back in its place and re-packed the chest.

She pushed the chest back under the bunk, left Ned’s room and disappeared from the Elsie.

Ned was heartbroken.

Even through his shock, he knew this could only mean one thing. He’d heard talk of ‘tokens’ — apparitions of loved ones appearing to their families as they were dying — but he hadn’t believed in them; not til now.

But what else could it have been? A dream?

He pulled out the chest from under the bed and riffled through it. There, just where Ellen had found it, was the document box. He had no idea he’d brought it with him. He couldn’t have dreamed it, Ellen had been there.

Miles from home, Ned began to come to terms with the news fast spreading through Conche — his wife was dead.

Ned told the crew what he had seen. They tried to convince him that everything might be okay but they quietly agreed there was little hope for Ellen Dower.

They small crew join their hands in a prayer and decided to make for Conche as quickly as the ice and wind would allow.

If they could do one last thing for Mrs. Dower, they vowed, it would be to deliver her husband in time for the funeral.

Ellen’s Wake

Back at the Dower house, people were stunned; how could Ellen Dower have died? Mere hours ago she had seemed healthy enough. It didn’t make sense.

Sense or not, there were plans to be made and in the kitchen there was talk of a wake.

In the inside room, Ellen’s daughter crouched next to her mother, whose body was still reclined in her favourite chair. She held her mother’s cold, motionless hand.

Then, suddenly there was a noise. It was like a gentle cough.

Hopefully, she scanned her mother’s face. It didn’t seem as pale.

Could it be? Yes, Ellen was breathing again!!

As if waking from a deep sleep, Ellen slowly opened her eyes. Her lips trembled, “I’ve been so far… so far from here,” she whispered.

“I walked through the ice and climbed over rocks. I passed Grey Islands and I found her. The Elsie was so far away, but I found her. Ned has the papers. Everything’s fine,” she sighed.

With that, Ellen drifted into a heavy sleep.

The Elsie’s Return

As if their prayers were answered, the Elsie cleared the ice the next morning and the crew set a course for Conche, where they were sure they’d find Mrs. Ellen Dower dead.

It was going to be a sad homecoming.

Usually when the Elsie returned from the front it was with full colours. They’d hoist their with flags in celebration of a prosperous hunt and joyful homecoming.

But there was no joy aboard the Elsie, so no flags were raised.

As Conche came into view, they looked for some sign; something to re-assure them that the skipper’s encounter had been wrong and Mrs. Dower was still well.

They saw nothing; nothing to confirm nor deny their fears.

As they were scanning the shoreline, the people of Conche were looking toward the Elsie. There were no flags and that meant one thing — it was a ship in mourning. Someone on board must be dead, they thought.

When the Elsie tied to the wharf, the grieving crew was met with a sea of worried faces; each group afraid to have their fears confirmed.

Much to their relief, they soon sorted out the confusion. It was the best possible news, everyone was well! Ellen Dower was alive and there’d been no death on the Elsie.

They were happy, of course, but as the story came into focus, there was a sense of unease.

What strange event had unfolded around them? Talk of tokens was one thing, but this was something beyond understanding.

Had Ellen Dower left her body behind? Had she travelled miles across the frozen ocean to her husband’s schooner, to ease her troubled mind?

The two halves of the story — one told on shore, and the other recounted far out at sea — fit together perfectly.

It didn’t make sense, but there was little choice but to believe it.

Strange Truth or Tall Tale?

Are tokens real? Can a person astral project or bilocate, or whatever it is Ellen Dower supposedly did?

I’m not a big believer in the supernatural, but I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.

The suernatural aside, Ned and Ellen Dower were real citizens of Conche in the 1800s. Their names appear in multiple historical records. That doesn’t, of course, mean they did any of the things attributed to them.

This legend took hold in the early 1900s when it was set down on paper by writer J. W. Kinsella.

Kinsella wrote, “This story came to me from the lips of Captain Edward Dower himself, under his own roof … Many of their children are still living in Conche, who can corroborate the story.”

Take from that, what you will.

In the years since Kinsella’s publication, the story has been told and retold many times, with varying details (See ‘Conflicting Accounts’).

One of the best known versions comes from novelist Earl Pilgrim, who provided more context for the tale in his book, The Ghost of Ellen Dower.

It was published in 2002 by Flanker Press.

Your Turn

Do you think there’s any truth in the tale of Ellen Dower?

Do you have any stories of tokens?

I’d love to hear your thoughts; the comments are always open.