Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1884-08-16

anu othcfc Oi IN
Expedition.
PHiLADELPHIA, Aug. 10.
Major John A. Gardiner, father of Sergt.
Gardiner who was the last but one of the
Greedy party TO die 10 the Arctic expedition.
received letter yesterday from the COM
mander of the expedition. Lieut.. Greedy, ex-
pr, sing tie hope that Major Gardiner will
not believe the horrible story OF cannibalism
which has been sent out, declaring that there
is not a particle of truth in it. He said that
Sergt. Gardiner died of inflammation of the
bowels and water on the heart. He was
buried IN the ice at the foot OF the hill be-
cause the survivors were too weak 10 dig a
grave in the sand. He died on June 18th,
/ just ten days before the rescue and four days
before the death Of Private Bender, who was
/ the last of the party to die at Cape Sabine.
Lieut., Greedy says that the young sergeant
never gave up hope till the last moment. He
was always cheerful and strong. He died
with the photographs of his wife and mother
/ in his hands and the last words that he muir
INJURED were the names of those two persons
dearest to him OF all others.
NEW YORK, Aug. 10.
Coroner Robinson of Long leland City,
called at the sanitary headquarters, today
and consulted DIR. .Nagle with regard to the
/ proper steps TO take in the case of Private
Henry of the Greedy expedition. After a
] long conference he expressed himself salts
/ fed with the official government report OF
| Henry's edecuJiOn which, when transmitted
/ by proper authorities, he says, will be taken
as a sufficient basis on which to make tho
necessary correction of the record to tie
cause OF death in the bureau of vital statis-
/ tics.
| A Mail and Express reporter. today. ac-
costed Third Officer Kelly OF the Greedy re-
/ lief steamer Bear and asked him if he read
/ the reports about eating OF the flesh of Lieut.
/ kislingbury and Private Henry.
! Yes | read the reports and they are
true -
"Did you hear the survivors tell of eating
the flesh OF their dead comrade?'
"Wheu they came on board they were all
but delirous and they told everything"
''What did they say?'
"They admitted they had to eat dead
bodies in order to preserve their own lives
but cannot go into particulars as such fact,
must go through the regular channels.
The reporter next saw one Of the cooks of
the bear and asked him if he had heard any
of the survivors tell about eating their dead
comrades flesh.
''Yes, they told everything and said they
had to eat the flesh of the dead as their food
/ all but little leather or sealskin had given
out"
.'Who told you tbis?"
They all told it,
! "Will you give particuars?'
''No cannot. All the men on board
knew that the bodies had been eaten, but
were told not 20 speak much about it when
we came into port, but they all knew it.
/ Tonights Brooklyn Union printa an inter
/ view with Chief Engineer Melville of the
/ rhetis in which the latter expresses regret
/ that the body of kislingbury was disinterred
and SAYS ''Hls relatives might have known
after what mad been said and written of late
/ that they would find mulitated body.
Greedy and companions could not have lived
as long a, they aid Uult $ they ate the flesh
of the men that died 1t was only natural
that they should. They did not kill their
/ companions in ordertto eat them, they only
ate them after they were dead. 1t has been
sadi, by some people who do not know what
/ they we're talking about, that because De
/ Long and companions preferred death rather
than eat each other that Greedy and men
should have done the same. But the two
cases are entirely different De
Long and his men froze and
starved to death in few DAYS while these
] poor NEGlCues nhl 10 ulG VI clbN sldINh hllpu'
/ Think of it and realize it if you can. After
time they lost their heads and became for
the time being mad There have been all
i sorts of stories written about this thing, but
when the official investigation comes only
about one tenth will be found to be true. MIR.
Norman was the first man to reach the Greely
party and he cut the tent in which they
were hidden. The sailors knew nothing about
this for we took care that they should not.
All their talk about their finding piles of
flesh is bosh No such thing happened. Then
again it has been said that the dead do not
decay in the arctics All this is a mistake,
they do. The flesh on the bodies of the dead
men was so soft when we found them that it
dropped of by simply touching it. We no.
tced that the nose and hands had rotted and
dropped off some of the dead and saw worms
at their fell work of destruction just as in a
warmer crimate."
''Why was it that the officers of the relief
fleet refused all along to make any statement
regarding the eating of the dead?'
Because it was none of the publics busi-
ness. 1t is said that we were ordered to
/ keep our mouth shut. We received no such
orders We did not talk because we tn ought
/ it best to keep still. These things should al
ways go through a regular official channel.
/ The public have no business to want to know
things before they come out in this way"
/ The other officers of the fleet refused to
make any statements regarding the eating Of
! the dead by Greely and his companions.
/ The Brooklyn Eagle has a statement
alleged to have been made by one of the crew
of the Bear, which is substantially as follows :
DR.. Bray did not starve to death, he was
court martialed three times and at last, COM
mitted suicide. There were marks of knife
on his bones, where the flesh had been cut off
Two Of the bodies found by the relief party
showed marks of bullets. The statement
concludes "I obtained sufficient proof to
convince me beyond doubt, that all the repor-
ted missing, except the native served as food
for the survivors who were crazed by starva-
tion. At present, dc not care to give my
name to you, but as soon as | am discharged,
which will be in short time. shall be
ready to appear as a witness in any investiga-
ton which may come up"
SHOOTING MATCH.