Cannibalism on the High Seas

Feilding Star, Volume XIV, Issue 109, 4 March 1893, Page 4

Cannibalism on the High Seas

For sixteen days, says a Hamburg despatch of January 31st, the three sailors rescued from the Norwegian ship Thekla subsisted on human flesh. The three strangled a fourth, their companion, and lived on raw strips of meat cut from his corpse. From the time of their rescue until the 31st January the three unfortunates bave been insane from their sufferings in tbe rigging of Ihe foundered ship. Two of them recovered sufficiently on the 31st to tell the story of tho Ihekla's voyage. The ship was tn heavy weather from December 2nd, when she lett Philadelphia. Her decks were flooded almost constantly, the deck** houses and rails were swept away, and the steering apparatus broken. When it was found there was no hope of bringing the ship into port, the master, mate, and eight seaman got away in a boat. The other boats were smashed by tbe waves before they could be lowered, and nine seamen were obliged to remain in the rigging. They were unable to get food from below, and five of them made insane by exposure and starvation, jumped overboard. Tbe other four remained on board from December 22 until January 7, the day of their rescue. On tbe thirteenth day lots were drawn to determine which one should be killefi and eaten. The lot fell twice in succession to a Dutch sailor. He was strangled Bnd devoured raw by the others. The only drinking water the seamen got was the dew they licked from the ropes.