The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1883-09-29


the custom of seamen:'' Hot Their
visitors were from two Hull steamers
just arrived at Bell Sound, and much
astonished they We're at the SIGHT of the
eight men g in rags and blackened wlth
smoke. On the other hand, they were
we'll entertained with venison, roasted
four months ago, and a cup of water,
which on account of the novelty they
accepted" The Greenland fleet az
rived two days afterward, with Captain
Goodler himself, who spared nothingto
promote the comfort of the castawavs.
What strikes us here is the good fort
une these men enjoyed in losing none
OF their number; but it must be remem-
bered that they had roof over their
heads, and tire-wood, and above all
could provide themselves with provis-
ions. The general experience of those
who have been in like condition has
been very different
Only four years afterward the Dutch
Government offered inducements to anv
party of Greenland whale-fishers who
would winter on the island of St. Maur-
ice, commonly called Mayors Island,
from John Mayer, its discoverer. It
lies between seventy-one and seventy
two degrees of north latitude (whereas
that of the little English settlement
above described was sixtv-seven de-
grees), but is barren, mountainous and
inhospitable enough.
Seven Dutch sailors volunteered for
this adventure, and were left behind by
the fleet, accordingly, on the Goth of
August. At that time ''the heat of the
sun was so powerful that they pulled off
their shirts, and sported on hili near -
their abode There was an abundance
of sea-gulls, and few vegetables-or
at least something that served for salad
grew in the vicinity. They did not
resort to fires until the 9th of October.
AS winter advanced, however, their pri-
Vations set in With unaccustomed sever
ity. At the end of the old year they
event to prayers, wishing each other a
happy new year and good success in
their enterprise" This is the last
glimpse of cheerfulness we get among
them. January was dark and stormy;
bears were scarce. and the poor fellows
had little skill in killing them. In
March many of them were attacked by
that arctic scourge, scurvy, caused by
the absence of fresh provisions. On the
Sd of April only two were in health, and
the rest extremely i'll. On that day the
last two of the pullets that had
been left them were killed. The
clerk" ii. e., | suppose, the
purser) died on the 10th, whereupon the
rest implored Heaven to have mercy
upon his soul and on themselves. They
were, indeed, in sad straits by that time.
On the 23d one writes in his journal
and the journal is all the record we
have of their doings, for they all per-
ished: eve are by this time reduced to
a deplorable state, none of my comrades
being able to help himself, much less
another; the whole burden, therefore,
lies on my shoulders, and I shall per-
form my duty as well as l am able so
long as it pleases God to give me
strength, | am just now about to assist
our commander out of his cabin; he
thinks it will relieve his pain, for he is
struggling with death. The night is
dark, and the wind blowing from the
south" What miserable utterance of
human misery is this! How difficult it
is, as one reads it, to reflect that all this
happened two centuries and half ago!
One seems to hear the means of those
solitary, sick men even naw.-0n- the.
9th of April, we read, they killed their
dog. AS there is no further note of
what took place, it is supposed they
must have all died in the beginning of
May.
On the 4th of June the Dutch landed
to seek for their comrades, and "pre-
saged i'll from their not having come
down to the shore to welcome them"
They found them all dead men. "Near
one of the bodies stood some bread and
cheese; box of ointment, with which
he was wont to rub his teeth and joints,
beside another, whose arm was extended
toward his mouth; prayer-book was
near third. Each of the men was
found in his own cabin" The COM
mander of the feet caused the bodies to
be put in collins, "and inferred, on st.
Johns Day, under a general discharge
of cannon. flames Payne, IN Harper'S
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