St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-07-19
Recounted by the Fortunate Sur
vivors of the Greedy Elk
petition.
Sealskin Boots Boiled into q Stew,
Their only Food for Number
of Days.
For Gods Sake Let Me Die in Peace" the
Cry of the Discouraged Maurice
Cornell.
Leave st, Johns for New York and
Home.

ST. JOHNS, n. F.. July 1s.-Sergeant Long, of
the Greedy party, who was the first to respond to
the welcome tone of the steam whistle, says he
and Sergeant Blanchard were first to hear the
sound, and they helped each other TO crawl out
of the tent. When Long got clear of entangle-
ment of the tent, which had been swept to the
ground, he rose to his feet with great difficulty
and succeeded in clambering up to a rock that
gave the most extensive view in that neighbor-
hood. Brainard went to the tent, but Long re-
manned looking out searchingly in every drec-
ton for some strange object At length he saw
the unwonted sight of a large black object about
mile distant, which at first looked like Il rock,
but he knew there was no rock in that line.
Suddenly the approaching steam launch
changed its course and Long recog-
nized the approach Of the rescuers.
He came from the rock, went toward the
camp, raised the flag pole and flag which had
been blown down during the gale, and held it for
abont two minutes until his strength gave out,
and it was blown once more to the ground. He
then advanced totteringly in the direction OF the
little steamer, and in few minutes the warm
hand of Captain Ash had grasped his in greeting
Maurice Connel, who is still excessively weak,
stated in interview, that for some days after
his rescue he had no recollection of anything
that TRANSFERRED He did not hear the awakening
scream of the whistle When his comrades
shook him up from his PROSTATE position in
camp, and told him of the succor at hand he
wildly exclaimed, 'for Gods sake let me die in
peace. A teaspoonful of brandy applied to his
lips called back the fleeting life spark, for Con
nell could not have survived more than few
hours. He was by far the weakest of the
vivors, and the strongest must have succumbed
within forty-eight hours.
The story told by Cornell from his reccol-
lection of their starving experience is simply
heart-rendng. How they burned hair off their
sealskin boots and coats, cut them into strips,
boiled them into a stew and ate voraciously of
them till their stomachs rebelled and nausea
and weakness ensued. In several cases nature
gave call for twelve, fifteen and eighteen days,
and then bloody hemorrhage, and consequent
| weakness ensued, prostrating the victims for
several days The difficulty in keeping heat in
the body was very great. The rule of the camp
was to permit to sleep longer than two
| hours-he awakened roughly and called
upon to shake himself, heat his hands and pound
| his feet and restore circulation. This was found
| absolutely necessary to prevent torpor and pos
| sible death, the usual Accomplishments of intense
| cold.
! Commander SchleY has received instructioHg
| from the secretary of navy to remain at st. Johns
until there are twelve iron caskets constructed
to receive the bodies OF the deceased explorers.
The survivors are all doing well, but still weak
| and suffering from nervous prostratiol. Lieut..
| Greedy has improved from 1870 pounds weight
| 22nd of June, to 1863 pounds to-day. Sergeant
| Branerd and others are pulling up proportion
ately
The weather here is delightful, and all that
could be desired for the sufferers, the mercury
ranging between sixty-tive and seventy-fye de-
grees.
Great sympathy is evinced by both classes
| bar o1ilya for no md tba md
every token of respect is manifested for them
The Thetis and Bear, as they ride quietly at
anchor in the harbor of st. Johns, Hear Il sombre
and mournful appearance with the flag of the
nited States at half mast. ~
United States war ship Alert arrived here at
p. IN. Her detention was caused by fog and
search Of other ships of the squadron. All on
board are well. Sergeant Julius r. Frederick
relates a wonderfully tragic story of the sad
death, the ice covered ground, of George
| Rice, the artist of the expedition. On April
Rice and Frederick volunteered to leave camp to
proceed distance of twenty five miles for some
meat that was cached near Cape Isabella. They
had a sled, rifle and Ratchet and provisions for
five days. They travelled for three days but
failed to find the cache. On the way toward
their camp Rice became weak and finally gave up.
! He was attacked by bloody 1uX, that
| gradually wore him down. He succumbed,
and was inferred in an ice grave
| by his companion. Frederick camped out
| that night under fragment of boat and the
! next day revisited his companion to pay the last
! tribute TO his remains, Frederick retained sufli-
cient strength to drag back the sled with the
Ratchet, rifle and cooking utensils to camp, where
he encountered more woe in the form of the
death Of Lieutenant Lockwood and another of
the party.
The cached meat that Frederick and Rice
| in search of was brought by them April 9Th from
| Cape Isabella and abandoned the next day in
der to drag Ellison, one of their party who had
been frozen, into camp. Rice the life of the
Greedy party full of hope, buoyancy and energy,
and hfs death was terrible blow to them. He
died in a brave struggle to prolong their exist
ence.
WASHINGTON, July 18.-The following tele-
gram from Commander Schey received at
the navy department this afternoon:
ST. JOINS, July 1S.-Hon. VIM. e, Chandler,
Secretary Of the Navy:-The iron baskets for the
dead will be delivered July 18th. As soon az the
remains are transferred to them, ] will sail for
New York, advising you when ready. week OF
rest for the officers and men after the incessant
labor and peril of the past sixty days is most
grateful to them, Your teIegram, and that Of
acting secretary, Admiral Nichols gave US great
satisfaction. Please accept our thanks for them.
In respect to the memory Of the dead on board
the ships flag will fly at half-mast during my
stay here (Sgned,) w. S. ScHLEY,
Commander