Daily Republican. [volume] ([Wilmington, Del.]) 1874-1890, 1886-07-31
THE LABRADOR HORROR,
THE NATIVES RESORT TO CANNI-
BALIsM To srAvE OFF
starvati0n-Bears Clean out Village,
the Men Being too Weak to right
Them-Death's Carnival.

ST. JOINS, N. f., July 30.-The ac-
count Of the sufferings among the desti-
tute fishermen along the coast Of Lab.
rador is very terrible. The very low
est estimate Of those who have perished
from starvation and exposure is $500.
Ill these have died since June / and
the rate Of mortality is increasing.
The inhabitants Of many of the settle
ments have been compelled to devour
their few ponies and dogs, while every
piece Of leather or sealskin has been
carefully utilized to deaden the pangs
|of hunger. Wolves and polar bears
driven to the coast In search of food
and rendered desperate by starvation
fearlessly attack any small village they
may come ACROSS. In one settlement Of
about twenty eight families. compris-
ing about 200 souls, the inhabitants had
been rendered 30 weak by the forced
short rations to which they had been
compelled to submit In order to exc out
life that there was hardly man who
was strong enough to raise spear in
self defence against the brutes.
| THE BANQUET CT WILD ANIMALS.
The result was that the bears, num-
bering about 100, made o clean sweep
OF the place, devouring every man,
woman and child, excepting four young
men who succeeded in clambering to
some neigh boring rocks. Here they re-
m aimed 4S hours, watching the bears at
their horrible repast After the latter
had finished and moved away q pack OF
wolves, came in and finished what the
larger animals had left. By the time
the 48 hours had elapsed two of the
lyoung men had perished from cold,
while q third died shortly afterwards,
The fourth, who was an Esquiman
named Johann Andersen, being little
better clothed than his companions sue
ceeded in reaching the deserted house.
and terrible sepulchre which had on o.
been his home.
He found some other articles of cloth
ing and few scraps of food, whicl
had been stored away. Armed witt
these he started out for White Bear, tn
neighboring settlement, 23 or "a mile
4 away, and which, almost by a miracle
he succeeded In reaching. He relate
his horrible story and was cared for O
0 we'll as the limited resources OF th
b Ipoor people would admit. Assistanc
9 IN every possible form is most urgentl
9 needed. Cape Chidley, Cape Mugfor
: and White Bay are said to be th
}. icentres of the greatest destitution {
a tpresent known, although other distric
tare believed to be worse.
TWENTY-FIVE BODIES EATEN.
III Hergenatis Ter, one of the Esqu
- maux who arrived here on Name
y Barrett from Okkak, Lab ior, say
. that the population of that settlemer
q . was nearly 130, yet when he left wit
2 2 his wife not soul remained. Early
. March food gave ont. Every drop
a oil and bit of sealskin was utilized an
!. OF rare intervals bear was killed, b,
n finally the supplies were quite e:
- hausted.
III On June they had eaten nothing f
n six days and, goaded by hunger. feast'
~ upon the corpses of several whites al
u few Indians that had been killed
70 the cold. When one of their own par
, >, died the body was cut open, the Q
G trails were taken out, and the remain
\. der was frozen up for use. From th
4 food terrible dyseEtery set In among t
a. survivors and on July there were b
. sixteen persons left alive, the bodies
r lover twenty -aye having been eaten.