The Wichita daily eagle., 1895-07-12

Philadelphia, July 1.-THE skeletons
OF eighteen men, apparently members
of an Inflated exploring party. were
discovered in "a small cave in wild and
desolate part Of the southwest OF
Greenland by Captain Hans Anderson
of the bark Serene, which arrived here
yesterday from Ivigtut. Who the men
were and from whence they came, are
questions that the future may or may
not determined. The superficial exam
ination made by Captain Anderson Of
the grewsome skeletons, and Of the
cave in which they were found, devel-
oped no clue to their identity. The Dan
ish government. however, which was at
once notified Of the discovery, has dis
patched a war ship to the scene for the
purpose of making a thorough investi-
cation.
Captain Anderson, who plies his ves-
sci between this port and Ivigtut in
the kryloite trade, arrived here yester-
day and told his TRANCE story.
CAPTAIN ANDERSON'S STORY.
"On my arrival at Ivigtut with the
Serent on this last trip" said he, Il
was requested by the Danish govern
ment at Julianeshaab to take COM
mand of the small steamer Fox, which
had been equipped as a relief ship to
search for the crew of the Danish
auxiliary steamer White Bear. The
White Bear had been missing for some
time, and grave fears were entertained
for the safety of the crew. She was
thought to have been lost off the south
west coast of Greenland, and in that
direction 1 was instructed to prosecute
my search. The command of the Fox
was intrusted to me because Of my
knowledge of the coast.
I'VE sailed away from Julianeshaab
on April Is, and making our way SLOW
ly along the coast, we came, few days
later, upon a wild and desolate stretch
OF shore near Cape DeSolation. Our
close inspection of the shore line here
revealed what appeared to be likely
rfuge for a shipwrecked crew, and we
believed at that time that such fate
had befallen the men of the White
Bear. 1t was a small cave. lying under
the perpendicular front of a low cliff.
The ice was very thick there, but we
reached the cave with but little diff
ficulty.
GREWSOME FIND IN A CAVE.
"On the stone surface of the cliff, d.
rectly above the low entrance TO the
cave, there appeared few Danish
words hastily SCRATCHED with a blunt
instrument. The inscription, when
translated into English, read: Here
eighteen men are dying
I'VE entered the cave. and saw a
sight such as I hope it shall never be
my fate to see again. The skeletons of
men covered with but a few rags of
clothes, and lying in a litter Of cooking
utensils, weapons and other articles
such as an exploring party usually car
ries, were stretched throughout the
cave in various grotesQue postures. We
made no effort to disturb the skeletons,
except to count them. and to make a
search for something that might estab-
lish their identity. We found nothing,
although we spared no pains in the ef-
fort. We left the cave practically as
we found ii, and continued our search
for the White Bear.
1.-The latter we eventually found en-
camped upon the coast only a few
miles from Julianeshaab. Their vessel
had been crushed in the ice on April s,
and the men had escaped to the shore.
They were unable to proceed further be-
cause of the high mountains and ice.
which surrounded them on the one side
and the ocean on the other. Arriving
at Julianeshaab. we gave information
of our discovery, and the Danish gov
ernment has sent a war ship to the
scene"