Daily Iowa State Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1856-1859, 1857-02-12


The ssa1sss Of Kass's sassasivs Of bic
rsssse Areeio sxpedisioes eoaid hardly
have esilsd 70 resd shs following pass
s9e With alooss bseathless interest, 90
eoopIssely vsse The lives Of Kane and
bic men dspsodsne upon the sequel. We
copy Il Tor the beoe6t Of those OF our
ree1sss wAe Aese sos rcd ~ work, With
the remark that il describes . sceus
wbade ssanspived after The explorers bad
abandoned their vessel, and we're mskiog
desperate, end, - il most have ap-
psarsd to them Il the time, almost hope
lees sstsmps to reach . civilized spot,
where they could obtain thst aid, 10 The
shape OF food. rest and sleep which vas
% necessary to their existence. They
we're upon short allowance OF food,
and we're almost fsnishing, with still
long Quincy before them.
"Thlnee grew worse and worse with
us; the old di&culty Of breathing came
back again. aud our iset swellsd to suoh
sn extent that We we're obliged to cut
open our canvass boots. But the symp.
tom which gave ne most uueaeiaess was
our inability to sleep. A form Of low
fever which hung BY - whom ct work
had been kept known BY the thorough
ness Of our daily rest; oil y homes ofnt
escape were 10 the refreshg iD6uencem
OF halt.
cit must de rememb ersd that We were
now 10 the open bay, 10 tho foil limo Of
tho great ice- drift Of tho Atlantic, and
IN boats % trail and unseswortby - to
require constant bsiling to keep these
aHoat.
''ls was ct THE csisis Of our fortunm
that ws cav large sssl fossiog-as ii
the custom Of those animsls-o on . smas
patch OF loo, sad seemingly ssleep. II
vse IN dssuk, (sss, and 90 large that
ct 6rst mistook il for walrus. Signal
wss made for the hope to follow astern,
and, trembling With snxiety, 10 prepa-
red to crawl down upon him.
"Psterson, With the large Engligh rife,
was stationed 10 the bow, and stockings
wer. drawn over tho oars ~ muf{lers. AZ
No neared the animal, our excitement
became 30 intense that our men could
hardly keep stroke. had . set Of Gig
usls for such occasions, which spared ~
the noise OF the voice; and, when about
three hundred yards OF, the oars were
taken in, and We moved on 10 deep Of.
lsnce With single scull astern.
''lle wss not asleep, for be reared his
head when we we're almost 10 rife shot;
and to this day can remember the hard,
care worn, almost departing expression
Of the mems thin faces % they saw him
move; their lives depended 90 bic cap
ture.
IL depressed my hand ncrvously, % .
signal for Peterson to fire McGary hung
upon bic oar, and the boat slowly but
noiselessly ssegiog ahead, seemed to me
within certain range. Looking ct Peter.
son, | saw that the poor fellow was OAR.
alyzed by bis anxiety-trying vainly to
obtain rest for his gun sgaist tho cut
water Of the boat. The seal rose on bic
fore-aippers, and gszed at 10 for . mo !.
nent with . frightened CURIOSITY, and
coiled himself for plunge. At that in
slant, simultaneously With the crack Of
our rife, be relaxed bis long length upon
the ice, and at the ~ brink Of the va
ter, his head fell helpless to one side.
9" would have ordered another shot
but no discipline could have controlled
the men With wild yell, each vocif-
Grating according to his own impulse,
they urged the boats upon the foes. a
crowd Of hands seized the seal and bore
him up to safer ice. The men seemed
half Grassy; bad not realized how much
We were reduced by abs lute famine.
They ran over the foe, crying and laugh
ing and brandishing bis knives. 1t was
not five minutes before every man was
sucking his bloody fingers or mounting
long stripe Of b!ubber.
"Not an ounce Of the senl was lost.
The intestises found their way into the
soap kettles without any observation of
the preliminary home proc esses. The
csrtilsginous parts OF the fore hippers
we're cut of in the melee, and passed
around TO be chewed upon, and even the
liver, warm and raw o. is Was, bado fair
to be eaten before it had seen the Dot.
That night, on the large hating doe, to
which, 10 contempt Of the danger Of
drift, We happy men had hauled our
boats, two entire planks Of the Red Erie
were devoted to . grand cooking fire.
and we enjoyed raw and savage feast"
I