The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1911-05-24
DEATH IN SHOWS
Cruel Ha;dships Undergone by Four Ca
madam Mounted Police.
DIARY TELLS OF DEATH

The Record of the Terrible and Cruel
Hardsfips That Was Undergone
Before Death Came to Their Re
lief Brought to Ottawa by Canad-
ian Mounted Police.
All the details that will ever be
known Of what is probably the great
est tragedy in the annals Of the Roy
al Northwest Mounted Police. the
starving and freezing to death last
February of Inspector Fitzgerald and
the three constables, kinney, Taylor
and Carter, who accompanied him on
the patrol from Fort Mcpherson to
Dawson, were brought to Ottawa and
delivered to Col. Fred White, C. N
c., controlled Of the mounted police,
by a special messenger.
The messenger brought the diary
kept by Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald's will
scrawled during his last hours with
a burnt twig on a piece of battred
and torn paper, and the report OF
Corporal Dempster, who commanded
the relief and searching party that
found the bodies One Of, the men
had become crazed by his suferings
and blew his head off with his shot
gun.
The story told by Fitzgerald's dia-
ry, which he kept with steady hand
last entry; the feebly scrawled will
written by the dying man, and the
story told by Corporal Demptster,
up to February 5, when he made his
together with the account of the expe-
dition and the suferings, constitute
thrilling tale.
Insector Fitzgecald's will was
drawn as he lay beside the dead
body Of Constable Carter, whom he
blamed for the party's misfortune.
It concluded with the words, God
bless ALL and bequeathed his money
and papers to 'my dearly beloved
mother" who lives in Halifax.
.'This diary was found on the 22nd
Of March last by Corporal Dempster,
who was in charge of the searching
party sent out from Dawson. II was
under the robe on which the bodies
Of Constables Kinney and Taylor
were found. The first entry in the
diary is on December q, 1910, and
the last is on February 5. 1911
'.The entry on Jcnuary II reads
as follows:
t12. below. one in a. M. with
strong S. w. wind which turned to
gale in the evening. Did not break
camp; sent Carter and Kinney off at
Z a. m. to follow a river going south.
They returned at $50 p. NJ, and
reported that it ran right up in the
mountains, and Carter said that it
was not the right river. I left at s
a m. and followed river running
south, hut could not see any cuttings
on it. Carter is completely lost and
does not know one river from anoth-
er
"EWe have now only ten pounds OF
-four and eight pounds of bacon and
some dried fish. Ny last hope is
gone, and the only thing I can do is
to return and collect some of the
dogs to feed the others and ourselves
unless we can meet some Indians.
"We have now been week look
ing for river to take US ever the
divide, but there are dozens Of rlv-
ers, and am Mt ! loss. should not
have taken Carter's word that he
knew the way from the Little Wind
river.
This is the true explanation Of
the catastrophe. 1t is evident that
Inspector Fitzgrald had relied upon
ex-Constable Carter as a guide to
Dawson. At the time that the party
turned back they were about 2S4
miles from Mcpherson and p miles
from Dawson. They had Travelled
from Decent Der 21st, 1910. to jan
uary 18th. 1911, continuously, with
only one day off, distance of $40
miles.
From January Is to / February 5,
on whic.l date the last entry is made,
they travelled 230 miles The entries
in the diary are not extensive. but
some are terribly suggestive of the
hardships they were undergoing; the
trail was exceptionally heavy, and
they were breaking through ice, get
ting wet. and the cold was intense
On January "a the diary says:
"a Killed another dog. and all
hands made a good meal OF dog
meat
"on January 26, The going was
very heavy in deep snow and the
hands and dogs getting weak.
January 30-'All hands feeling
sick. supposed to be from eating
dogs liver
January 31-:Skin peeling off our
faces and bodies and lips all swollen
and split. think this is caused from
feeding on dog meat: everybody feel
ing the cold very much for want Of
proper food
February KILLED another dog
tonight: this makes eight dogs w
have killed and we have eaten most
of them and fed dried fish to the
dogs
FEBRUARY 3-'Men and dogs very
weak and cannot travel far We have
travelled about 20 miles on dog meat
and still 10 miles to go, but l think
we will make it al right, out will
have only three or four dogs left.
s.Feb. ) (the last ertry)-Just at