The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1880-10-07
FATE.
Narrative Of Schwatka's Search in
the Polar Regions.

81 the StdFcn Iof rcllcS OF the FTankll0cx-
pendition. He gives the following account
OF an interview with an old woman.
THE WIDOW OF r~ooYEATH,
spoken Of BY Sir John Ross and Capt. Hall
She appeared 10 he about 20 years old, and
was an object OF high esteem by her people,
as was evinced 10y the care bestowed upon
her comfort. She said she had never seen
any Of Franklin's men alive. but saw six
skeletons On the mali land and an adjacent
island, four in the mainland and two on the
island. There were no graves on either
place. Her husbands was with her at the
time and seven other Inuils. In nswer t.
a question which we asked his mother. he
said ne saw books at the boat place.
N A TIN CASE.
about two feet long and a foot square.
winch wa. fastened, and they broke ii opcn.
The case was full. Written and printed
books were shown him, and he said they
were like the printed ones. Among the
books he found what aas probably the nee
die Of a compass or other Magnetic iIsttu-
ment, because he said when il touched any
iron it stood fast. The boat vas right side
up and the tin case in the boat. Outside
the boat he saw a number Of skulls be for
got how many, but said there were more
than four. He also saw Zones from LEGS
and arms, that appeared 10 have been saw
ed off. Inside the boat was a tox filled
with bones that led the Iuuits to the
opinion that the
WHITE MEN HAD BEEN EATING EACH OTHER.
What little flesh was still on the bones was
very fresh. One body had all the flesh ON.
the hair was light. 1t looked like a long
body. He saw i number Of wire snow o
giles, and alongside the body Will flesh on
it was Il pair of gold spectacles. Gle pick
ed out the kind of metal from several that
were shown him. He saw more than one
or two Of such spec,aclcs, but forgot how
many. When asked how long the bodies
had appeared to be dead when he saw them,
he said they had probably died during the
winter previous to the summer be saw them.
In the boat he saw canvas and four sticks
a tent or sail saw a number Of watches,
open faced. A few gold but most were
silver. They are all lost now. They were
gwen to the children to play with, and
have been broken up and lost. One body
the one with flesh on-had
go CHAIN
on, fastened 10 gold earrings. and IA gold
bunting case watch attached to the chain
and banging down about the waist. He
SAID when be pulled the chain it pulled the
bead up by the ears. The body also had a
gold ring on the right hand. 1t was taken
off and has since been lost by the children
in the same way that the other things were
lost. His reason for thinking they had
been eating each other was because the
bones were cut with a knife or saw. They
found one big saw and one small one In the
boat also a large sack of smoking tobacco
and some pipes. The bones are now cover
ed up with sand and seaweed, as they were
living at high water mark. Some of the
books were taken home for the children to
play with, and finally torn and lost, and
Others left around among the rocks and car
ried away by the wind, and lost and buried
beneath the sand. His statement in refer
ence to one of the deceased wearing a
watch by a chain attached to his ears, ap-
pears strange, but ! give the statement as
he made it. The chain may in some way
have became attached TO the ears, or, ridi
culous as the story sounds, there may have
been some eccentric person in the party who
wore his watch in that way, and if such
should prove to be the case this weuld Ger
tainly identify him beyond doubt.
X X X
There were several cooking stoves, with
their accompanying copper kettles, besides
clothing, blankets, canvas, iron and brass
implements, and an opened grave, where was
found a quantity of blue cloth, part of which
seemed to have been a heavy overcoat, and
a part probably wrapped around the body.
There was aslo a large quantity OF canvas IN
aud around the grave, with coarse stitching
through it and the cleth, as if the body had
been encased as if for burial at sea. Several
gilt buttons were found among the rottlng
cloth and IA mould in the bottom of the
grave, and a lens. apparently the object
glass of a marine telescope. Upon one of
4 ~ f-~I - - y. ,-
found a medal, which was thickly covered
with CRIME, and was SO much the color of
the clay stone on which it rested as to near
y escape detection. 1t proved to be a sill
yer medal, two and a half inches in diane
ter. with a bas-relief portrait of George ".
This at once identified the grave as that
of
/. LIEUT.. JOHN IRVING,
third officer of the Terror. Under the
head was found a figured silk pocket hand
kerchief neatly folded. the colOrs and pat
tern in a remarkable state of preservation.
The skull and a few other bones only were
in and pear by the grave. They were care
fully gathered together. with a few pieces
of the cloth and the other articles, to be
brought away for interment where they may
hereafter rest undisturbed. A reburial on
King William land would be only until the
grave was again found by the D~atives,
when it would certainly be aga in torn open
and despoiled.
We also found a stocking rudely made of
a piece of blanket, showing that they were
in nee6 of good stockings. which ars SO es-
sential to the comfort of the Arctic traveller.
For this purpose nothing is so good as the
fur of the reindeer, but next to that we'll
made wooden stockings are the best. 1t was
heart-rending TO see this mute testimony to
their destitutlon. Vt our second visit Tool
ooah,s wife found In a pile of stones where