Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1897-04-28
FISHING VESSEL WITH SEVENTY
FOUR ON BOARD GOES DOWN.
ALL BUT FOUR PROBABLY DEAD
SURVIVORS DRIVEN TO CANNIBAL-
ISM BY HUNGER.
Were Rescued in n state of Rnving
Lunncy-Win Lose Their Arms
and Legs md May Die
others Undoubtedly
Perishcd.

-
French Fishing vessel Valiant, Captain
Pierre. from st. Malo, for Miquelon, struck
an iceberg on the grand banks on the
10Th inst. and almost Immediately found
ereu. She had seventy-four fishermen on
board. and all took to the boats Oniy one
of these boats has thus far been heard
from. When 1t left the vessel its com
piement was seven men. Three of them
perished from exposure and hunger The
bodles or the first two were thrown over
board. but the survivors, in their despera-
uon, were driven TO cannibalism, and ate
the third. The boat was picked up yester-
day by the schooner Eugene, which arriv-
ed at st. Pierre to-day. The survivors are
Ill Il shocking condition and are so badly
frostbitten that their arms must be am
putated.
q The valiant was one of the great French
fishing fleet of $50 vessels that crosses the
Atlantic every spring for the cod fishing
on the Newfoundland banks.
She carried crew of twenty men and
@ hai also on board tifty-four fishermen who
were to engage in the colony during the
season and return to their families in
France in the fall. The brigantine was
heavily laden with food supplies and fish
ing gear and was a stanch little craft.
She made good weather until April A.
when an immense ice foe was sighted near
fleT1sh Cap, "a giant rock in the ocean off
81. Johns. and a heavy fog came up. With
the fear of striking the Ice flee in the thick
i0s, 1t was with misgivings that many of
me seventy,four men turnel into their
(, The fate. the fear of which had troubled
them, came to them at about midnight, iii
and Iceberg crashed together the impact
crushing In the vessel from her bow to the
foremast, and opening the hold to a rush
OF water that awakened the sleeping crew
and sent them scampering to the deck.
The vessel must sink in a few minutes
and the men turned at once to the life
c.an of
ry1ng not more than dozen men each.
These had been firmly lashed down and it
was only by most strenuous efforts that
they were loosened and put into the water.
Men forgot their brotherhood in the mad
struggle to secure place. in one of the
poor little boats, and no heed even was
paid to a dozen or more of the company
who lay dead and dying in the debris re-
sulting from the collision.
1t was the survival of the strongest and
the contest was not for long. In less time
than it takes to tell 1t. the four boats had
cast off. not second too soon, for the
boats had scarcely been manned when the
valiant sank.
II is certain that only one boat escaped
the whirlpool caused by the sinking of
have gone down, or they may now be
the dead.
With such haste did the sailors escape
frcm the sinking brigantine that not only
had they no clothing with them. but they
We're unable to secure water and food, and
In the morning the seven men in one of
the boats found themselves afloat with
nothing aboard with which to sustain life.
The other boats are believed to have con-
tanned about twenty men. and such as were
left aboard the Valiant periShed quickly.
The fog did not lift until late the next
day, and the weather was biting cold, while
icy spray fell over the men unremittingly.
Worn with cold and hunger. suffering
from thirst, the seven men looked out all
day for sail but could see no further than
weather cleared
nothing came in sight. On the second
night. two of the men died from exposure
and their bodies We're thrown overheard.
Next morning young man named Felix
died and he would have been given to the
fishes If his companions had had strength
10 lift his body. but they had not. and SO
the corpse lay in the bottom of the dory,
while the four remaining sat and waited
for that which had come to young Felix.
four men did not give way to the longing
that possessed them to satisfy their hun
ger; On the fifth day. ,crazed, beyond all
doubt. they adopted the last frightful resort
of men in their condition and ate their
friend. They were delrious after that
1t was on the twelfth day of their ship
schooner Victor Eugene, bound for Pierre.
saw afar off a speck upon the ocean. which
later proved to be the dory of the Valiant,
with the four miserable men still aboard
raving idiots.
They were rescued and tenderly cared
for. and as soon as the Victor arrived in
port to-day they were removed to hos
pital.
Fof day after they had been hoisted on
board the ship, swathed in blankets, their
lives had been despaired of. and now the
physicians say it is doubtful if they will
survive the surgeons knife. The doctors
say that their frozen limbs must be ampu-
tated, and that If they live it will be minus
both arms and legs.
With one exception. the survivors have
only mumbled like wild men since rescued
Greenville. an under officer and a singularly
hardy man, recovered sufficiently to-day
to give an outline of their shipwreck and
suffering, but he relapsed Immediately aft
er telling his thrilling story.