The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1880-09-30
HORRIBLE.
Famine Prevailing In the Polar Region
lstnrY OF the Cruis- of the Corwin.l

story of the Cruis- of the Corwin.l
On the second day out from ST. Mi
chaels we reached St Lawrence Island,
where it was reported famine had
swept away nearly the whole population
during the previous year. The island is
ninety miles long from east to west. We
steamed along close in by the shore,
working our way through the ice. At
last the settlements were reached, and
each one that was visited presented the
same dreary scene of death and desola-
ton. Not sign of life was to be seen
anywhere. Not solitary dog or rat was
to be found about any of the rude huts;
but in front of the houses, in a CHASTITY
row, lay the dead bodies of those who
had succumbed to the terrible hunger.
They had lain there for fifteen months,
and we were probably the first to look
upon them. Their clothes had rotted off
the bodies, but the forms were preserved
by the cold SO that they looked like
mummies. The skin was drawn tightly
over their emaciated faces and forms,
and looked like ancient parchment. So
perfectly had the dry air preserved them
that we could distinguish the bodies of
the women from the men by the deep
tattoo marks on the chin, which is one of
the peculiar styles of feminine ornament.
In few houses bodies were found in va
rious postures, just as they fell in the
last agony of solitary death. As long as
there were any survivors to perform the
service, the corpses were placed in the
regular rows in front of the huts At
one place We found fifty bodies side by
side, some being the remains of little
children, while others were the corpses
of old people.
The usual litter and refuse which sur
round the Esquimaux huts were lacking,
and there was not a scrap left of any kind
of food. The cleanly- gnawed bones
showed that they had eaten their dogs;
they had even devoured the rats which
infest the village; they had chewed up
the old bits of walrus-hide everything
which could satisfy the cravings Of hun
ger. At last they had persisted miser-
ably, dying by inches, with no hope Of
srccor and no chance of escape. At least
500 of the poor wretches suffered this
hideous death. To explain this terrible
famine, which was as unusual as it was
fatal, it must be added that the season
was one of unparalleled severity. The
natives of this island were large, robust
men, and expert hunters and fishermen.
But, like most of their race, they were
improvident and made no provision for
such winter. The cold setin early and
continued without interruption. The
mercury was forty degrees below zero
for weeks at time The cold and vio-
lent storms prevented them from going
out on the ice to catch walrus and seals
their main dependence for food in the
winter. Their scant stock Of meat was
soon exhausted; they were many miles
from Siberia, and could not have reached
it alive in the face of the bitter winter.
At the northwest end of the island we
found settlement of about $50 people.
These had suffered severely from the
famine, only about one-half the original
colony having survived. They had a
larger stock of provisions than their un-
fortunate neighbors, and thus escaped
complete humiliation.
The customs of the natives are savage
and brutal. It is usual for the old peo-
pie, when they feel that they can work
no longer, to announce the fact to their
children. Then the poor creatures are
taken out of the hut, and either knocked
on the head or stabbed by their sons. If
they fail to give warning of their help
lessness, the children are quick to detect
the signs of age and promptly dispatch
their parents, generally by beating them
over the head. The bodies are seldom
buried; they are cast to the dogs, who
devour them. At this place also we had
new evidence of some native peculiarities
the ease with which they could see at
great distance with the naked eye, and
the marvellous way in which news was
transmitted from the most distant points.
A native will describe the dress and ap-
pearance of man who is approaching
at great distance. A white man, even
sharp-eyed sailor, can just make out
that it is human figure. So, if any
thing occurs on the coast-if a piece of
wreck comes ashore-the full particulars
will be known thousand miles from the
spot where it occurred. It is wonder
full piece of telegraphy one native
rushing off to pass the news to another,
and thus speeding intelligence over hun
dreds of miles of territory in a single
6ov