Smyrna times., 1884-08-27
For the Smyrna Times
The Alleged Cannibalism at Cape
Sabine.

In the absence Of any official inquiry
into the conduct Of the late Arctic ex-
pedition, as yet, or of Lieut.. Greely's
full report bearing on all the facts, the
desire to exhume the bodies of those
who died at Camp Clay for evidences
of mutilatiOn are not only i'll timed,
but hardly crafty a morbid curiosity.
What steps have already been taken
in that direction have been productive
of no other good than to show to what
desperate straits the party had been re-
duced to before being rescued. If in
deed it was not one Of the Survival of
the fittest it had become that of the
strongest, irrespective of rank or posi-
ton. 1t would be asking entirely too
much for sentiment or discipline to be
the guides in judging what these men
should do under the circumstances
they were placed in, or did do, it is
hard to conceive Of crime being COM
mitted in these regions when the con-
flict with the elements make cOmpan-
ionship more than desirable while a
spark of life remains; had this not
been the case the uncomfortable desire
to satisfy the cravings of hunger in
tensitied by the intense cold would not
have carried Ellison through the Win
ter with his frozen hands and feet, a
helpless cripple on their hands, when
he could have been gotten rid of by
even neglect. Points like these are
the redeeming features when crime is
charged, where, if it was a crime, it
was unavoidable while chance for
life remained. The fact that Private
| Henry up to the time he was shot was
the strongest man of the party indi-
Gated that he was maintaining that
strength from sources other than theil
scant supply of food or what he haC
stolen, also it indicated that he was moi
/ alone in the practice, but that they
were alone in the absence of any Ordel
OF permission being given by the com
mander Of the expedition or else Henry
would not have been shot for his thefts
And while the order that carried thi
execution into effect reverses the as
sumption OF all responsibility beinl
lost, it still further shows that if tn
bodies had been mutilated for food. i
was being done in secret and surrepti
tiously. At any rate this order will b
the turning point for the moral justif
cation of the means used to maintai
life from the time game failed them i
February until rescued. Before hast
conclusions are reached it is we
enough to look at the facts as or
known that by sacrificing Henry
strength while they were still encun
bered with the helpless Ellison the
were depending on their scant suppl
of stores and had not resorted to cam
balism rs their sole reliance, and if
was done in secret these facts do NJ
bear it out, and the sooner the veil
oblivion is drawn over this part of the
, terrible experience the better it will |
f for the faith that elevates the huma
above the animal race. And not on
, this but the personal denial of Lieu
| Greely to this being practised shou'
= reserve public opinion and restrai
private solicitude into too eager il
p quiry for evidences when the china
: itself is one of mutilation, and unfo
tunately so uppermost has this becon
that the brilliant scientific al
geographical researches of their tv
$ years stay within nine degrees CT Il
Q Pole has been lost sight of. j.