The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1913-09-13
SAVED LIVES BY
EATING PET DOC
Hardships Of Danish Arctic
Expedition Many.
WITHOUT FOOD FOR DAYS!

Explorers Suffer Agonies In Trip Over
Greenland's Frozen Seas - Ponies .
Trained to CannibaIism - Captain
Koch, the Leader, Lay All Winter In .
Hut With Broken Leg.
The story just told in Copenhagen by
Captain Koch, the Danish explorer, of \
the crossing of Greenland in company
with three hardy companions shows |
that the dangers and hardships to be
encountered on the great Inland ice
field have not decreased since Rear
Admiral Robert S. Peary and DR.
Fridtjof hansen made their journeys
over a portion of the same deserted
wastes.
The Danish leader and his three com
panions-Dr. WAGNER, a German; Lar
sen, a sailor, and Sigurdson, native
of Iceland-were reduced during their
journey to eating a pet dog, the only
animal left
After landing from their ship on July
"a, 1912, the first mishap encountered
by the expedition was the loss of
number of ponies. Shortly afterward
their ihotorboat disappeared through
the thin ice, and the explorers were
obliged to wait until nearly the end of
September before the ice was suffi-
GENTLY thick to carry their sledges and
horses. When they were ready to
start Dr. Wagner fell, with the result
that one of his ribs was broken.
The expedition reached place about
ten miles to the east of Queen Louise
Land on Oct 10 and went into winter
quarters there.
Ponies Become CannibaIs.
The shortness of fodder necessitated
the slaughter of all the ponies with the
exception of five, which were gradual
ly trained to cannibalism by being fed
on the flesh of their bepthers.
During a sledging trip Captain Koch
fell forty feet into crevasse, breaking
his right leg, which accident kept him
helpless in the hut throughout the win
ter In a temperature generally 80 de-
grees below zero.
On April 20 this year the four men
broke camp and with five sleighs, each
drawn by a pony, started on their 750
mile march to the west coast.
During the first forty days violent
billiards. ragged practically without ces-
sation. The ponies became snow blind
and so exhausted that the men were
obliged to kill three of them Later
the suns rays tormented the travellers.
The skin was burned from their faces,
which soon had the appearance of raw
beef, while the temperature at night
was 80 below zero.
Snowshoes were fitted to the feet of
the two remaining ponies and proved
of wonderful assistance to them in the
loose snow. But for the ponies the
expedition would have been in worse
plight.
Unfortunately for the explorers, II
was found necessary to kill another
pony on July IL, this year, because
the fodder had given out Next day
the last pony was Killed, much to the
distress of the members Of the expe
dition, as few miles farther on splen
did pasturage was found.
Rations Give Out.
The rations of Captain Koch and bis
companions had been meanwhile grad
ually reduced and on July 13 their pro
visions were finished.
A bowling blizzard came on top o
this misfortune. and for thirty-fvt
hours the four men were compelled t
take shelter under a projecting rock
where they remained without a NOR
sci of food
On July 10 they tried to push on t.
the coast, which was now visible, bu
they were so exhausted with hunger
cold and wet that they were scarcel,
able to move. Their only chance 70
life was to kill the pet dog which hat
tramped with them for about 800 miles
This was done, and its flesh was cook
ed and eaten. The meal was hardl,
finished when the explorers sighted
sailing boat in a ford to the east 0
Proven, on the west coast Of Green
land.
By means of shots and signals tn
explorers succeeded in attracting th
attention of those on board the vesse
and Pastor Chemnitz, who was on tn
ship, soon, with the assistance of tn
crew, had the furnished and wornou
explorers In safety.