The San Francisco call., 1899-10-01

that for his part he was in q partial
stupor, and that he did not fully realize
what was taking place He remembers
10 have wondered in a vague way why
Kervendal acted so, and what had be
come Of him after he had drowned hlm-
self. For two days more the remaining
five members OF the party clun6 to the
raft.
Up to this point the story told by the
men is connected and clear. but from the
fifth day on they give separate accounts
OF what took place. The first Of these is
to the effect that on the fifth day the
five remaining men of the party deter
mined TO draw stTaws TO see Wnicn OF
them should die to supply food 10 the
others, while, according TO the second ac-
sseveral days later that this fateful lot
terry occurred not until two or their
companions had died from exhaustion.
This latter story is the one which was
first told by Andersen and Thomas to the
crew OF the steamer Woodruff, and II IS
that which they nave most frequently re-
peated since. They told me to-day that
about the. hfth or sixth day after their
ShipWFeCk one Of their comrades, Nlkat-
son, died from exhaustion. They sad
that. as they saw the end approaching
they hung over ms body, waiting for the
breath TO leave 1t in order that they
might eat the flesh They protested that
the statement thai they had taken THIS
mans life was inaccurate, but they ad-
mitted that the blood flowed from the
body when they cut into the hesn and
was still warm. y day later second
lQelnDeT OF llt parry, soJICt49''IIr ire q
similar fate. They drank his blood and
ate p&ruclees OF mis- flesh, as they had
done the other man.
Andersen declares that they talked of
casting lots to determine who should die
Tor al least twenJy-1our hours before they
finally agreed to do 50. When at last
they had made up their minds that no
other course was open TO them they
picked three spHnters from the pianks OF
their raft and agreed tnat the one draw
ing the longest silver should be killed by
A,r-- .fy4 Ita
bits OF wood, and Max Hoffman, Ger
man drew first.
For several minutes, according to An
dersen they stood gazing steadfastly
each into the others face, and afraid 10
open the hands in which the spiinters
were tightly Clasped. one bit OF wood
had purposely been made much !onger
than the other 50 that there could be
no possible dispute as TO the outcome OF
the drawing. When at last the German
was known to have lost in the lottery
of life and death he made no protest, but
accepted his fate either with heroic for
titude or with stold indifference.
Tears course down Anderson.s : lace as
he tells the story and as he adds that he
and Thomas fought each otner desperate
~ TO determine which Of the two should
drink first of the warm blood OF their
Victjn. They finally settled the matter
by one gulng mis- lips 10 the cash over
tie dead mans heart and the other TO one
in his neck.
In his batting. broken way the seaman
draws I horrible picture OF the hours OF
torture that succeeded the death Of his
coTnrade. He says he was too weak and eX-
hausted to fully realize what he had done,
but his mind was continually racked with
Wild fancies, in which the dead man con-
tinued to play his part. IL mis- moments
OF deIirium he imagined that he was de-
Tending himself from him, and he says
that he can even row remember how he
shouted and raved and called aloud to be
protected from his imaginary attacks.
e The distress OF mind displayed by the
man as Ire tells these things is too evil
aat.x, r1sNr-r rr,f II nc 70 f1n
accuracy Of his statements. = Having
quenched their thirst in the German 5
blood, the two seamen fell upon his body
. and devoured it's flesh most ravenously
For a few hours they were revived by this
. hOrrld feast, but they must quickly nave
lapsed again into a half-crazed condition.
Wher their raft was finally sighted by
the oodrufI and approached by small
boats Thomas was discovered seated by
the side Of the horribly mutilated corpse
p OF the German, stripping bits OF hesh
from It. which he cast out to school Of
sharks which followed and fought about
the raft Andersen spraWled upon the
planks. unable almost to move. The men
were so daZed by their sufferings and
priVations that they made no effort to at
tract the attention of the people on the
steamship, and even when the boats came
to their rescue they displayed signs of
neither joy nor interest
The men of the Woodruff declare that
the spectacle presented by the raft "rl
its occupants was more horrible than any
. lamentations are still haunted by it, Tn,
raft was smeared with the blood OF tht
German and his dead comrades; IT,
planks we're strewn with putrefying biz
Of human flesh; the the ggfastiy remains q
smell and sight, and beside It sat the half
crazed Norwegian boy, feeding the sharks
and jabbering necessarily 70 himself
There has been n great deal of talk
here in regard TO the taking Of legal cog
nizance of the killing of the German. but
investigation seems to have established
the fact that there arc no grounds for
such a procedure. 1t is said that the Ger
man Consul at this port was inclined to
institute an Investigation, but that he
has subsequently abandoned the idea of
doing; so. in the first place, TIE trial. if
one should ever be held, would nave to
the bark Drot; and in the second place
it seems to be well-est tabiished principle
in the law Of homicide that wherever
men agree together to cast lots, as did
Andersen, Thomas and the German, the
taking of a human life is not reckoned
M fraud iS nraCticed.