News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1884-09-11
HORRORS OF THE ARCTIC.
THE Acts of Cannibalism by the Greedy Sur
yiyOrs Talked of Freely.
from the New York World

| The Acts of CannibaIism by the Greedy Sur
yiyors Talked of Freely.
From the New York World
Tt was late in the afternoon when the
news from Rochester reached the Arctic
fleet. Commander Schley, with Lieuts.
Emory and Colville, were enjoying
themselves at reception given by Com
modore Fillebrowne; and the Thetis,
the Bear and Alert were left in charge
of Junior officers. The decks were alive
with gayly dressed young ladies gossip
ing and flirting with the handsome Off.
GERS. The shrill treble of their laughter
echoed from the quarter deck. and from
the comfortable cabin below came the
ioyous sounds of conyivial merry max
ing. The forecastle was equally given
over to jollifcation, and the bronzed sail
4f7rs yie9 tneaalft iout " making their
oting We understand lie mas s&
m aeDOlJ lCohee nIofhis fathers e-boats
than heavy Arctic shipss
In moment all this was changed.
The awful story of the eaten body
spread through the crowd like flash.
The laughter grew silent, the sounds of
merriment in the cabin died away. The
officers turned from their fair compan-
ions to listen to the tale and the sailors
jaw dropped over the half-told story.
There was no need for further conceal
ment. The worst was known and the
officers felt at greater liberty to talk.
The visitors spoke i'll whispers, and
touched with reverent awe the relics of
the Arctic heroes. They felt instinct
lively that it would be n PROCLAMATION to
remain longer, SO one by one they
stepped silently over the vessels side.
Under the awning on the quarterback
the junior officer told in low tones the
story of the eating of the bodies as it
had been told him. He was indignant
that the facts had not been permitted to
moulder into forgetfulness locked up in
the archives of the War Department,
but now that all was known, he held
that the survivors were to be honored
and not blamed for the lengths they had
gone to keep alive.
"Do you think that it was from choice
these wretched men brought themselves
to feed upon such flesh? ?" he asked.
"Can you imagine anything more loath-
some to the men themselves than their
first descent upon these corpses which
had but few hours before been their
living, loving brothers? Do you believe
for moment that they loved this habby,
nauseating food? 1t was easier to die
than to live upon their brothers flesh,
but their duty to their country forbade
their dying and, like noble men, they
kept the feeble spark of life alive at the
cost of everything but life itself. I
honor them for it. 1t is the very acme
of heroism. When all the stories of
Arctic suffering have been written and
the songs of Arctic heroism sung, above
them all shall stand the record of these
men who ate their comrades that they
might live to give to the world the fruits
of their three years toll And if you
could but hear the survivors tell of their
mad hunger, of the awful suffering that
crazed their minds, you would not blame
them for this last sad step.
Here, on this spot, one of the sur
vivors held us through all one night
telling, if words can tell, of his first
taste of human flesh. He would give
years from his life to forget it, but, he
said, that first taste, the sensation of
having between his teeth the flesh OF
one who had been once his friend, was
with him always. Waking or sleeping,
he seemed to feel his lips pressing the
smooth, fiabby meat that must be
choked down somehow if he would live.
And then the inhuman, savage way of
getting it Each feeder upon such food
must cut off his own shreds of flesh. No
friend could be found to perform this
horrible Office. Every man, if he would
eat, must of necessity be his own
butcher. And these cannibalistic orgies.
these midnight feasts, were secret. The
little beaten path, worn smooth between
the graveyard and the wretches' tent,
told its own tale. But every dweller in
that tent shut his eyes and refused to
see. Body after body was stripped OF
flesh, but none of those that trod that
little path dared speak of this. No man
asked question at the too common
sight of starving wretch, creeping up
to the only fire at midnight, carrying in
his hand a strip of flesh. AS he thrusts
this into the flame on the end of point
ed stick, no one of his companions says
word. And when tearing the smoking
flesh with his teeth, he lies down and
another of the wouid-be sleepers rises up
and goes silently down that mysterious
path, knife in hand, it is easy to guess
his horrid purpose.
"And the after-effects of these ghastly
feasts were as awful as the descent upon
the mangled corpses. The mere thought
of what they had eaten brought on
nausea, and in their weak state the
stomach refused to retain this human
flesh. Is it wonderful that these men
will carry that sensation of chewing hu-
man flesh forever? Il hope and pray l
may forget it when die, was the only
prayer the wretched cannibal could
truly pray. 1t was his heaven of
heavens-to forget that awful, sickening
taste"
A WOman's Presence of Mind.
The st. Louis Dispatch says: Few