Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1884-10-17
ADREADFUL ALTERNATIVE
sAII o rs RESORT I'd cArNIRAL S 4
TO AVOID sTAKvATIoN.
A Sharp Knife i'm ROy's JuguIar
Vein, a PiteOus Appeal anl All L.


Vein, a PiteOus Appsni ana Al1 IL
Over.
The London papers say that a terrible
story of cannibalism and suffering at sea
has been told by three sailors who formed
part of the crew of the yacht Migno.
nette, and were landed at Falmouth on
Saturday. The three men-Thomas
Dudley, Edward Brooks and Edwin
Stephens-together with lad named
Richard Parker, aged nineteen, were en-
gagged to take out the yacht Mignonette
10 Sydney for Mr.. Henry ]. Want. A
storm arose, and the captain, seeing that
the yacht was rapidly foundofing, ordered
the boat to be got ont. .!i1is was done,
but with the exception or Two small
tins of preserved turnips they were with
out either food or water. The turnips
lasted but four or five days, and their
sufferings from thirst during that time
were frightful. They killed a turtle and
drank its blood, and then for more than
fortnight they were absolutely without
food. So terrible did their position be-
come that at the end of the eighteenth
day they deliberated as to the advisable
ity of casting lots as TO who should be
killed to supply food for the others,
This pan was proposed by the cap
tain, but one Of the men OBJ
jected, saying it was better they should
all die together, and the proposal was
not pressed Eut after two days more
of horrible suffering both the captain and
the mate suggested that the boy Parker
should be killed, especially as his suffer
ings were so intense that he had become
delirous. They also reasoned that he
was only lad, with no responsibilities,
while they were married men, with wives
and families depending on them.
Brooks declined to be a party in the
matter Eventually the captain and the
mate decided jointly to kill Parker, who
was lying IN the bottom of the boat in
state of exhaustion Dudley having Of
fcred up prayer for forgiveness for the
act, went to the boy and said: "Now,
Dick, your time has come!" Parker
family cried: "What? me, sir" Dudley
replied: "Yes, my boy;" and thereupon
ran a small pcnknife into Parker's jugu-
lar vein. The lad offered no resistance,
dying almost instantly. The survivors
caught the gushing bloodi in their tins and
drank it between them, then stripped the
body of its Clothes, cut out the liver
and heart while yet hot from the body,
and devoured them voraciously. For the
next four days they continued to live
on the flesh which they tore from Par
ker's dead body, and they were still eat
ing their horrible food when, on the
twenty fourth day from the time they
left their yacht, they were sighted and
rescued by the German bark, Montezuma.
On arriving at Falmouth'the men were
tnten ns DAY o rhsy R3 S@t9Fp %d3 hSmgh under
warrant. At the Falmouth police court
the three men were charged with the
murder of the lad Richard Parker. The
only witness called was Police Constable
Laverty. Harbor police, who stated that
he heard the prisoners relate the above
story. The prisoners were released on
| bail.
THE CAPTAINS CONFESSION.
Captain Dudley, in an interview, con
versed freely about the terrible occur
renee After detailing the earlier part
of the voyage of the Mignonette from
Southampton to Madeira, and theil
afterward signaling an italian bark
and speaking the Bride of Lorne, hi
said:
Day after day passed, and on thu
eleventh day we had finished the turtle
end had nothing left except the two
fms; but we ate every portion, even the
bones. The foot of the turtle proved yer,
nutritious, and we got water o few
times when there were showers by catch
ing the rain in our oilskins, thougl
sometimes when we had little drop
sea broke into it and spoiled it, so tha
we had to throw it away.
We went on from the fifteenth to tn
twentieth day without any food at all o
drink, and by that time we had begu
to look each other in the face yer
black. The boy, who had drank som
sea water at night, had sad: "W
shall all de-" and l remarked: "W
shall have to draw lots, boys"
This was ignored by all, and the
said: "Wc had better die together"
which I replied: $50 let it be, but
is hard for four to die when perhaps on
might save the rest"
| A day or two before suggested W
should try and make some kind of sal
which we did with our shirts rugged o
, an oar for mast and a strand of th
Q painter for scuds and stays. Things no
looked as bad as they could.
On either the nineteenth or twentlet
! day the boy was lying in the bottoi
1 of the boat, where he had been for tw
. days gasping for breath and nearly deat
I At about O'clock in the morning sal
v 10 the mate: "What is to be done4
:. believe that boy is dying. You have
:. wife and five children and l have wi
8 and three children" | said that huma
8 flesh had been eaten before.
V Stephens replied: 'See what daylig
a brings forth"
Il Brooks took his watch at 6 o'cloc
o and we made motions to each otheI
: Brooks said he could not do it al
. Stephens said he could not do it.
told Brooks to go forward, which
|. did. Then | took hold of the shlouds al
|, had a last look around to see if anythil
was in sight, but there was nothing.
s fered up a prayer most fervently th
., God above might forgive us for such
,r act, and then | knelt down by the b
W and said: "Now, Dick, my boy, yo'
is time has come"
le He murmured: "What, me, sirS"
put the penknife in his throat and
" was dead instantly.
ID The captain, who was much upset
10 the recital, further stated how tn
drank the blood of the poor boy, a
i, lived upon his flesh for the next fo
days. On the twenty-fourth day. VIII
81 they had almost given upall hope, Broo
called out, at about s o'clock in t
81 morning, "sail, how In an hour and