Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1882-07-20
The Last Days of De Long.

IL - long time since the history o
travel has given the world anything a
full of pathos and distress as the note!
left by De Long. The time covered by
these records is from the Sd to the 30tl
of last October, n triile less than foul
weeks; and yet an eternity in the
amount of suffering. The opening ol
the narration shows the party reduced
to single dog for food; and, although
nothing is said Of it, it can be easily
surmised that there was no small inllic.
ton in being obliged to kill the pool
brute, which had been so long compan.
ion of their wanderings and which had
shared all their trials with the mute and
yet almost human sympathy character.
istic of the canine friend of man. II
was their last substantial dinner; and
that they reserved the animal until all
other resources were exhausted is
evidence that ii was an unwilling sac
riiice. From their dog the decrease
was rapid, until it terminated in nothing
and-dcath.
On Oct. G, the 1l7th day of their
wandcrings from the ship. the last
remnant of the dog-mcat was divided
and with it the last grain of tea. A
heavy gale had Subsidcd and they re-
sumcd their march, their total supplies
being some old tea-leaves and two quarts
Of alcohol. From that date to the 10th
they wandered blindly about in futile
cndcavOr to issue from the mcshes of
the streams which everywhere impcdcd
their forward course. They lived on
the tca-eavcS and the alcohol: but
early on the morning of the 10th they
divided the remnants of the alcohol.
At night for suppcrthey had a spoonful
of glyccrinc, nothing else. The next
day the last of the glyccrinc was swal.
lowed in hot water; for dinner an
infusion Of arctic willow, while all about
them ragged terrific gale with binding
clouds Of snow. On the 18th, only
willow tea with the same horrible gale,
with night spent in hole found in
the bank of the river. On the lith. will
low tea with Il little sweet oil; but to-
wards night bird was killed and some
soup made and distributed, On the 18th,
willow tea and two old boots for food:
and the next day AleNy, the hunter of
the party, succumbcd. and the next dav
died from exhaustion. On the 10Th,
two Others died, and from this date till
the record ends it is to be presumed
that starvation took complete possession
of the unfortunatcs mo fOOt-gcar,"
says the entry of the 23d. which is to be
that they had cstcn their
boots. TOO weary 10 carry the bodies
OF Lee and Roach out on the icc,' is
the record of the same day, From this
date to the close the entries are few but
horrible tcrsc and expressive. They
were unable to leave the place into
which they had crawlcd. Friday, the
2Sth, lverson died; Drosslcr died the
next day; Saturday, Boyd and Gartz
died, and the last entry is that of
Sunday, Oct. 80, "Nlr. Collins dying"
These notes give Us the faintcst
outlines Of the occurrences of the twen-
.y-seyen days, but they are all the more
expressive ON that account. No amount
If elaboration could have intensified or
more fully expressed the situation than
he entry of The 18Th. when tbe Marty
,ad crawled into n hole in thc bank
md Lee had lain down to die; "AiI
lnited in saving the Lords PRAYER
md cried Too weak to bury |
he dead ON thc 22d "Thc doctor
Collins and myself carried them around |
he corner ont of sirht. and then nv
ives closed up." Read part of the |
liyinc service" is the entry of the 23d |