The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1889-11-28

| coffee"
| Even before this date he tells how he allow
| cd the men while on sedge Journey to eat the
| moldy bread out of one of the bags at the old
cache. We ate ravenOusly. Dog biscuit ex-
amined to-day; found mostly mOldy; great
disappointment to u.s. Occupied some time
this morning [Oct. 90 in scratching like a dog
in the place where the mOldy dog biscuit were
emptied. Found few crumbs and small pieces,
and ate mold and ALL"
On that same Oct 30, when the reduced ra-
ton allowance was adopted, and he first writes
of looking forward to the anticipated Thanks
giving feast he says:
whether we can live on such n driblet Of
food remains to be seen. We are now contnu-
ally hungry, and the constant thought and
talk runs on food; dishes of all kinds and
what we hope 20 eat when we reach civiliza-
ton. | have a constant longing for food.
Anything to fill me up.
God what life few crumbs of hard
bread taste delicious. l spend much time in
thinking of bills of fare.
:" How often my thoughts wander home, and
| recall my dear father, mother and the family
generally; then comes the family dishes of
all kinds. Numb fingers and the want Of light
Il can write no more"
After the first breakfast Of the reduced ra-
ton he writes that he was "abOut as hungry
after as before eating y; and in the same days
journal says sadly:
found moldy and unfit for use. / filed my
stomach with these, bad as they are, and take
the risk of their making me sick. Feel a con-
slant longing sensation for food.
God What miserable life. Ones hands
and feet are constantly cold, and we live in
darkness and dampness. A white fox was shot
this morning. We ate the entraiIs as we'll as
everything else OF the animal"
NOV. 3.-Breakfastc consisted of few mouth
fuls Of hard bread and little piece Of butter
about as large as the end of ones finger. had
some mody potatoes which I had with my
breakfast. They are spoiled and modify all the
way through, but anything that fills the stom-
ach Is very grateful"
On Nov. 4, which was Sunday, they had
stew of fox meat, which we all pronounced
delicious" and then they fell to discussing food
and future dinner in Washington for all when
they got back. Committee of Three was
named at once to prepare the bill of fare. and
French restaurant on Pennsylvania avenue
selected for the place. Then they began en-
joying in anticipation their coming Thanksgiv-
ing dinner, more than three weeks away vet,
and he concludes his days history with little
wall of "Oh, for all the turkey and bread we
could cat"
Nov 6 he tells that little seal blubber was
put in the stew for supper, and comments that
We could all eat blubber now ad libitum; en-
trails of any kind, or anything else"
Nov. Is no wrote in geeful mood that
Biederbick shot fox to-day-fve and half
pounds dressed. These foxes are extra meat,
and this one gives US fox for Thanksgiving
Day"
That night he saved his hard bread allow
anee-about three ounces-toward an extra ac-
cumulation for the coming feast, though with
great efert," he admits; but all look forward
eagerly to Thanksgiving"
He kept Oh saving what he could of his hard
bread for the same purpose. With difficulty 1
saved little Of my mornings bread" he says
another day. But his mutinOus stomach refused
to be so denied. and thereafter he ate all that
was issued him.
The little he had saved-Only pitiful few
ounces-tortured him, and it was constant
battle of the will against the demands of ma
ture TO keep il. while his thoughts ran to the
subject of food in his waking hours. and dis
turbed the Gtful sleep he could get before the
bitter cold in his poor body walked him to
fresh contemplation of his deep misery.
Finally he could stand it no longer with the
hoarded crumbs in his possession. aud going TO
Henry Biederbick, the Hospital Steward of the
expedition. gave his precious savings 10 him to
keep in trust for him.
What a splendid example of the faith and
trust of an American soldier in the honor and
truth of comrade. Poor brave and good Bic
derrick, with his giant frame. was every whit
as hungry as his ComTade, but the trust was rs
sacred as a mothers love aud rs safe with him
as though 10 were locked behind the massive
doors OF the Treasury vaults.
The coming holiday aud its feast the plans
for epicurean revealing on returning to Gods
country. the remembrance of particularly ex-
ceilent dishes the mother of this, that or the
other one of the doomed men used to set
before them in days of youth formed the
constant topic of conversation, and in these
sorrowlul pages where read this story, are fire.
quent memOrandums OF dishes that came to
his mind as he wrote, ami these notes of physi-
cal, and. perhaps at times. mental misery, are
interspersed with peHcilled Tecoliections of his
Washington homo and the loved ones there
One of these is as follows:
"Memorandum.-Thing to be kept in my
room at Washington for midnight lunches:
Sardines, potted ham, smoked beef, smoked
goose, smoked eel. shrimpS. anchOvy paste,
spiced oysters stuffed olives, Boston pilot bread
butter crackers, Albert and Arundel crackers
soda and water ditto. ginger nuts cakes, can of
butter condensed milk, preserved peaches
strawberries, etc, and black berry jam, frontage
dc brie and schweitZerkRse, sugar, beer. ale and
porter. and cider, and liqueurs, and Virginia
Seeding wine, mustard, vinegar, pepper, salt,
etc, aud Maryland biscuit black cake"
Another day he records: Talk tonight of
home and our families. How often | think of
home aud my dear father, mother and sisters.
Oh. God! how wish l were with them. /
pray God they are all well How
4
at homo. How long to know that all are
we'll, and that their anxiety for me is not too
| great. / picture TO myself where my sisters
are living. and the family scenes and CONVEX
! sation at the old roof-tree in the evening""
Then, after that loving cry Of despairing
heart, comes
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS is to visit at the
house when We get home, aud get some Of our
Maryland dishes. preserved peaches, etc. aud
see my folks. Sugar house molaSSes, maple mo-
lasses, pumpkin butter"
Each succeeding day something is recorded of
anticipation of the coming feast. aud he joy
ously tells one day of Another fox shot-blue
one; weight four pounds dressed. We now
have fox for Thanksgiving Day aud another
| for Christmas" just imagine what a b0unti-
full Christmas feast four pounds of fox could
| furnish for % men that were almost in the
| throes of death from starvation.
! At last, the lOug-looked-for THANKSGIVING
| Day comes, and this message from the dead SOL
der tells the story of the observance of the day,
| as follows:
Nov 29.-Cooks called at a. m. Tempera-
| ture, 150 Fahrenheit; at noon So Breakfast
| consisted of the usual ration of bread and a
double quantity OF ox-tRil soup with some rice
in IT, IL was really large meal, comparatively