Morning journal and courier., 1886-07-31
News by Telegraph
FROM ALL QUARTERS.
HUNDREDS PERISHINC
In The Frozen Towns of
Labrador.
"A FEARFUL TALE OF MISERY,
Havoc Wrought By Wind
And Lightning.
The TRADE OF The COUNTRY.
Congress Will Hang On A
Few Days.
The TRADE OF THE COUNTRY.
Congress will Hang On A
Few Days.
MOVED DOWN BY HUNGER,

l
Hundreds of People Dying In Labra.
dor-ThOse Who Escape Starvation
| Become Food For HoWIing Wolves
| and Bears-A Tale of Woe Almost
| Beyond Belief.
| ST. JOHNS, N. F., July 30.-Fresh reports
| of starvation horrors in Labrador arrive. The
| terrible tales which are being slowly brought
| in relative to the depredations of bears are
appalling. It is said that in one settlement
of twenty eight families the inhabitants had
been rendered SO weak by the forced short
rations to which they had been compelled to
submit in order to exc out life that there was
hardly a man strong enough to raise spear
in self-defense against the brutes. The re-
suit was that the bears numbering about one
hundred and fifty made clean sweep of the
place, devouring every man, woman and
child excepting four young men who sue
ceeded in Laundering to some neighboring
rocks. Here they remained forty eight hours
watching the bears at their horrible repast.
After these latter had moved away pack of
wolves which had been hanging around fin
ished what the larger animals had left. By
the time forty-eight hours had elapsed two
while third died shortly afterward. The
fourth, who was an Esquimaux named Jo-
ham Anderson, being little better
clothed than the others, succeeded in reach
ing the deserted houses and terrible
sepulcher which had once been his home. He
found some other articles of clothing and a
few scraps of food. Armed with these he
n ont .,r lot tba inbb
settlement, twenty three miles away, and
which almost by miracle ne reached He
there related his horrible story and was
cared for as we'll as the limited resources OF
the poor people would admit. The very low
est estimate of those who have persisted from
starvation places the number at three thou
sand five hundred. All these have died since
June and the rate of mortality is increas-
ing. The winter stores have long since been
exhausted and the inhabitants have been
compelled to drag out slow existence by
deveuring their few ponies and dogs, while
every piece of leather and sealskin has been
carefully utilized to deaden the pangs of hun
ger. The average temperature along the
coast last month was zero and
the sea has been covered over with
ice for some three hundred or four hundred |
miles from the shore; hence fishing was i'm
possible. The fishermen and families had
nothing else to depend on beyond what re-
manned of their winter stores and at an
early stage starvation stared them in the |
face. Frequent appeals were made for help, |
but with incredible inhumanity they were
Already the mortality has |
been enormous and what with the fresh dan |
ger caused by the advent of hordes of wild |
animals there may not be a single soul left. |
Assistance in every possible form is most |
needed. Cape Chidsey, Cape Mug
ford and White Bay are said to be the cen |
ters of greatest restitution at present |
known. Now that the horrible state of af |
fairs IN Labrador has been placed so wildly /
before the government it is probable that |
steps will be taken for the relief of the des- |
if1fa