Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1884-08-20

sense pointing out that it was necessary
TO our preservation, He promised entire re-
iormaton, ut dstrustipg him [ issued writ
zen order that he should be shot if detected in
stealing. On june he not only stole part Of
the shrlmps for orr breakfast, but visiting I'M
sutborlzed our winter camp stole certain seal
skin reserved for food. [ then ordered him
shot On his person was found silver chono-
graph abandoned by me at Fort Conger
and stolen by him. In his bag was
found a large quantity of seal-skin ard a pair
of seal-skin boot stolen few days before from
the hunter. Suspecting completely on the part
of several, ! ordered his execution by three OF
the most reliable rlen. After his death the or
der was read to the entire party, and concurred
IA by every member as being not only just but
essential to our safety. To avoid public scan
dial, L ordered that no mau should speak of
rhis matter until official report was made of the
facts
l have the honor to request that court of
lnqu4ry be ordered, or court martial convened,
,huuld the honorable secretary of war deem
either advisable. In this case | have thought
II best not to ask the written statements of
surviving Members of the party for append
les TO this report, lest | might seem
TO be tampering with them. l have not asked
since our rescue, June %, whether their opin-
lons concurring in my actions have changed or
nnf, leaving such questions to your
action if deemed requisite. l naturally regret
has circumstances imposed such terrible re-
spOuslOlllty upon me, but l an conscious that
should have failed III my duty to the rest of my
party had not acted promptly and summarily.
A. w. GREELY,
First Lieut.. Fifth Cavalry.
CANIBALIsM PROVED.
ROCHESTER,, N. Y, Aug. 10 The
remains of Lieut.. Kislingbury, of the
Greedy party were exhumed yesterday
to satisfy his friends in regard to the
stories of cannibalism. The casket
was opened by Mr.. Jeffreys and Samuel
r. Carter in the presence of Frank W.
Kislingbury and John P. Kislingbury,
brothers of the deceased, DIR. Charles
Buckley, DR.. F. A. Vaudeville, Super
intendent Stillson, Assistant Superin-
tendent Vaudeville and two reporters.
The work was found comparatively
easy: All there was to do being to I'M
screw the fifty-tvo iron bolts which
held down the lid. The noiseless ease
with which the latter was pried from
its bed showed that there was an alb
sence of gas in the casket, aud it
was feared that there might be no
body n the casket at all. Feeling his
way into the mass of snowy cotton waste
which filed the coffin to the top, Mr.
Jeffreys soon exclaimed, "He is there"
A strong odor of alcohol but no very
pronounced suggestions of decay came
from the casket. DR.. Buckley, who had
put on pair of black leather gloves,
uncovered the lower portion of the cot
fms tenant and then it appeared as If
one Of the legs-the right one-was
missing, but when the waste was all re-
moved it became apparent that the limb
was tied under the left one. The casket
was next placed upon the floor, and the
enshrouded form taken from it and
placed upon a table. The sheet was
taken away, the tarred rope entwining
the blanket cut, and the work of taking
off the last covering began. Slowly
tie blanket was removed. The
bhckened, feshless face, showing
marks of the Arctic soil, bore no
senblance to the dead man. The skin
was dried to the skull. The nose and
ears were intact; the eyes were sunken
and wasted; the hair was thick and from
five to six inches long. The face was
covered with heavy reddish beard and
m1stache. The remains were complete
ly identified as those of Lieut.. Kislin-
bury. The flesh and muscles had been
cut from the greater portion of the
body, and what was left, in the opinion
Of the physicians, weighed only about
fifty pounds. All the extremities were
attached to the body by ligaments only.
After the examination the remains were
replaced in the casket and lowered
into the grave. The fecal matter
taken from the large intestine when
placed under powerful magnifying
glass was found to be composed of sew
eral substances, hair, woody and yege-
table fibre, minute shells-not scales,
and muscle and flesh. Of this there can
be no mistake. Hair and shells pre-
dominate in the mass. What appears
to be the stems of moss were seen. The
muscle has the appearance on the end
of a severed tendon. The fact is
thought to be quite suggestive and
points very conclusively to the fact that
Kislingbury himself was forced to par
take of the flesh of his dead comrades,
as he later on became food for the sur
vivors.
THE SAD TRUTH.
NEW YORK, Aug. 15.-Third Officer
Kelly, of the steamer Bear, this morn
ing said the reports of the eating of the
flesh of Lieut.. Kislingbury and Private
Henry were true, as the survivors, when
brought on board. were all but delirious,
and admitted that they had to eat
the dead bodies to preserve their own
lives. The cook of the Bear said all
the survivors stated they had to eat the
flesh of the dead, as all their food ex-
cept little leather or seal skin had
given out. All the men on board the
Bear knew the bodies had been eaten,
but were told not to speak about it
when they got into port,
INTERVIEW WITH GREELY.
PLYMOUTH, N. H., Aug. I'm an
interview yesterday, Lieut.. Greedy gave
the following account of the doings of
his exploring party during their ab-
sence in the frozen north:
The expedition was fitted out under
the authority of Congress, and was com
posed of three officers f the army, one
acting surgeon, and nineteen enlisted
men from the army. Stores for twenty