GHASTLY TALK OF THE SEA.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XIV, Issue 2909, 27 February 1893, Page 2

GHASTLY TALK OF THE SEA.

For sixteen days (says a Hamburg despatch of January 31) three sailors rescued from the Norwegian shipThreckla subsisted on human flesh. The three sti angled a fourth companion and lived on rciw stiips of meat cut from his corpse. From the time of their rescue until January 31, these unfortunate were insane from theii sufferings in the rigging of the foundering ship, but two of them had recovered sufficiently on the latter date to tell the story. The ship was in heavy weather from December 2, when she left Philadelphia. Her decks <vere flooded constantly, the deck houses and rails swept away, and the steering apparatus broken. When it was found there was no hope of bringing the ship into port the master, male, and eight seamen got away in a boat. The other boats *vere smashed by ihe wavea before they could be lowered, and nine men were obliged to remain in the rigging They were unable to get food from below, and five of them were made insane by exposure and starvation and jumped overboard. The other lour remained aboard from December 22 until January 7, the diy of their rescue. On the thirteenth day lets were drawn to determine which should be killed and eaten. The lot fell twice in succession to a L utch sailor, and he was strangled and devoured raw by the others. The only drinking watei the seamen got w»s the dew they licked from the ropes.