The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-08-24
CANNIBALISM
IN ALASKA
Terrible Tale Related by a
Fortune Hunter.
STARVING MINERS
ATE DEAD COMRADES
Survivor of Expedition Now in
Salt Lake.

A tale Of cannibalism in the K16hdilze
is brought to Salt Lake by A J.
Schmidt OF Denver. Mr.. Schmidt is one
of the survivors Of the Inflated Clarke
expedition. which left Seattle for the
Klondike last year. The original party
consisted Of six persons. Only two sur
yived. One Of these was the head Of
the expedition, @. w Clarke of Chi
cago. and the other was Schmidt.
II is lurid tale Schmidt told at the
Cullen last night.
we left Seattle in July of last
year, he said. There were six of US
IN the party. We get to the KlOndike
all right and spent some time in DaW-
son and north Of there. Things weren't
what we expected. We found all the
best claims taken up, and we didn {
make grub money. 1t was March
when we decided to come home.
me entire party was sick and
tired or the country, and we wanted to
get back to the states as soon as pos
slbie We haG spent most of our money
ara we were in a rathe- bad way 10
start We lett Dawson March 10 to hit
the trail TO Juneau. We got along
Ialfty Wen Tor "A couple of weeks, when
we struck q blizzard. We lost our way.
one OF the party had been SICK and
had stayed behind in Dawson. so that
leIt five of us on the road. We wan
dered about in the snow for several
days and couldn't get back on the trail
again Ono fellow, named Jack John
son from Kansas City, took sick We
tried to do what we could for him. but
he got worse, and in a couple Of days
he died. That left four of US.
Lost in the Snow.
we went on for several days. and
we couldn't find any sign of the trail.
The snow was deep, and we were get
ting along slowly. Our provisions got
Ia DE low and then Ben George, a big.
Strdpping fellow from Butte, took sick.
We couldn't leave him behind and We
couldn't take him along as fast as a
man could travel without being him
dered, and so we decided that 1 should
&c ahead as fast as 1 could and try to
get some help. while the other two
should come along behind with the sick
man.
We'll. sir such time 1 never had
IN my life, and 1 hope to God I'll never
have another. I took my share of the
provisions and went on There were
snowstarms half the time, and when
there wasn't snow falling the wind
blew the snow in drifts and blinded a
man. / was half starved then and had
only little provisions. I went on for
eight days in that way. 1 was so weak
and tired many a time that 1 thought
j never would get any furSher, and /
was so hungry I could have eaten
snakes. I kept ahead, though, and fin
ally by a piece of good luck / struck
the trail I finally got to civilization
and sent a party out after Clarke, Nc
DOugall and George.
Ate Their Companion,
1T was weeks before they found
them. George had died. and Clarke and
McDOugall had been so starved that
they had eaten him. They took some
OF the flesh along with them and went
on for several miles. Then McDOugall
gave out. Nobody viii ever know just
what occurred-Whether AIcDougaIl
died a natural death or whether
he died of some other cause.
At any rate he died and
Clarke admitted to US afterward
that he had eaten a piece of the body.
When he was found he was three
quarters starved and nearly crazy. An
other day and he would have been a
raving lunatic. AS il was. it was a long
time before he was thoroughly right.
After we had both got rested and fed
we came on and took the steamer to
the states. Nothing was ever done
against Clarke for cannib3Iism, and I
don't know why there should be, for he
couldn't help himself"