THE ARCTIC TRAGADY. A FEARFUL CHARGE AGAINST GREELY'S MEN. HORRIBLE STORY OF CANNIBALISM.

Te Aroha News, Volume II, Issue 69, 27 September 1884, Page 6

THE ARCTIC TRAGADY. A FEARFUL CHARGE AGAINST GREELY'S MEN. HORRIBLE STORY OF CANNIBALISM.

New Yobk, August 12.— The "Times" prints the following in double leaded type: — Written documents now in possession of the Navy Department at Washington add to the story of the miserable human sufferings already published in connection with the C4reoly Arctic relief expedition. The facts have been in the possession of Secretary Chandler for nearly three weeks, but so closely have they been guarded, and so strictly have the naval officers and sailois maintained the silence imposed upon them, that not even an inkling of the true ami horrible condition of affairs has yet reached the public ear. For the sake of humanity and the American peoplo the army authorities are endeavouring to keep the matter hushed, but in an eflicicnt investigation, which in almost sure to come, the facts will all undoubtedly come out. It will be romembered that in Commander Schley's tirst despatch to Secretary Chandler announcing the finding of the Greely party he, said :—"I: — "I would urgently suggest that the bodies now on board be placed in metallic cases here for safer and better transportation in a sea way. This appears to mo to be imperative. " Secretary Chandleitolegiaphed :—": — " Prepare them according to your judgment and bring them home." It took some days to prepare the iron caskets, which, all bolted and riveted, were remarked at this time by experienced officers would hardly have been necessary for their preservation, as they could safely have been brought on without delay in wooden coffins.

GUARDING TICK DREADFUL SECRET. The design was obviously to prevent the friends of tho dead sailors being given an opportunity to look at their remains for the purpose of identification or otherwise. Even the sailors on the relief ship, with the exception of tho few men who assisted in moving the bodies, u ere not allowed to see them, and the lips of the officers were sealed. The sufferings and privations of the men in their canvas hut during the long and bitter winter of ISS4 have not half been told. It luib been published that after the game ran out early in February, they lived principally on sealskins, lichens, and shrimps. As a matter of fact, they were kept alive on human ile&h. When the rescuing party discovered the half-starved survivors their fii-tot duty was to look to the two men who were insensible from cold and piivation, even to the point of death. One of them, a (jennan, was uild, and in his delirium, "Oh '" he shrieked, as the sailors took hold ot him to lift him tenderly, "Don't let them shoot me as they did poor Henry ! Must 1 be killed and eaten as poor Henry was ? Don't let them do it— don't, don't !"

AN INVESTIGATION. The sailors were horrified, but at once reported the man's words to Commander Schley. After a brief investigation he felt satisfied that the poor fellow was speaking the truth, and that some of the men who had perished had been stripped of their flesh to keep their surviving comrades alive. Schley proposed to make a thorough investigation of it, and when the horrible reality was brought out before tho investigating committee, it struck him he did not intend to have it rest upon oral testimony. Be instructed two or three gentlemen, among whom were Dr. Ames and the surgeon of the Bear, to make a careful observation and put their conclusions in writing. This \\ as done, and the reports are now in the hands of the Navy Department. Lieutenant C4reely was decidedly adverse to having the bodies of the buried dead disturbed. He thought it wise, as they had been buried so long, to let them remain in their Arctic graves. Commander Schley did not agree with him, and the bodies were dug up from a little Mil just back of the permament camp made in ISS3. Most of the blankets contained only little white heaps of bones, and most of them were picked clean. The remains could only be identified by the marks on the blankets. By inquiry, Commander Schley discovered that many of the seventeen men said to have perished from starvation had been eaten by their famishing comrades. It was the one last resort. Supplies had not arrived, and death stared the hungry and crazed men in the face, but there was hope if life would hold out even for a few weeks. It is reported that the only men who escaped the knife were three or four who died of scurvy. The amputated limbs of men who afterwards perished were eagerly devoured as food.

A TRAGIC DEATH. Charles B. Henry's death was particularly tragic. He was a young German without any relatives in the country, and joined Company E, Fifth Cavalry, in Cincinnati. His friends tried, to dissuade him from going with the expedition, but his spirit of adventure was aroused by tales of Arctic exploits, and he determined to go. Driven to despair by his frightful hunger, Henry saw an opportunity to steal more than his share of rations, and made the attempt. He was found out, and shot for his crime. In the published official report the death of this man is set down as having occurred on June 6th. When the body was found the hands and face, though shrunken, wore intact and recognisable, but nearly everywhere else the skin had been stripped from him and flesh picked from the bones. Even his heart and lungs were eaten by his comrades. One rib was found shattered by a rifle ball, and other small fragments of lead were attached. A bullet-hole was found in the skin.

STORY OF A GERMAN SAILOR. A German was pointed out as a sailor who accompanied the "Thetis." His name was Ruggessen. Pie told the story of the finding of the bodies in a simple, straightforward way that carried conviction with it. The sailor said : " It was Second-Lieutenant Colville who stood over me as I dug up the bodies." " I had my shovel with me, but the first thing I saw was a naked corpse lying right out on the ground. On the calf of the leg and on the thigh there were deep cuts, as though a sailor's sheath-knife had carved away the flesh. The skin was tightly drawn over the rest of the body, and even in the places where the cuts were, not much flesh had been taken away. The man was too much wasted to yield more than half an inch cf flesh on any part of his body. The cuts looked as though some person had made a hasty slash with a knife in what was once the fleshy part of the leg. The slashes were about eight inches long and three inches wide. They were on both legs and thighs — four cuts in all. Altogether there could not have been more than two or three pounds of meat taken from the corpse. The places where the flesh was torn away had turned a yellowish black, but did not differ very much from the colour of the skin. The man's face was drawn and haggard. The cheek-bones stood out like an Indian's, and the abdomen had fallen in. It was the awfulest corpse I ever saw, or want to see, I can tell you. We three stood there, looking at it for some time. Of course it wasn't my place to say anything, and I kept my mouth shut, Lieutenant Colville was the first to

say a word. He sent me back for some blankets, so I dropped my shovel and hurried away. When I got back with the blankets there were two other naked bodies lying side by side with the mutilated body. I began to think that my shovel would not be needed. "

UNUURIED CORPSES. " Had the three corpses never been buried ?" "Buried? No. They had been stripped of their clothes as soon as they died, and left naked on the ground. Some of the flesh had been torn away from the arms and shoulders. The cuts were rough and jagged, as if made at night, and at a time when tho cannibal had to trust to his sense of feeling. Long shreds were stripped from the legs in irregular strips, suggesting the thought that the knife had been plunged in, and then the fingers had torn away what remained of the llesh. It was awful. We wrapped what remained of the corpses in a blanket, and went on a few steps, where avo found the graves. With the shovel I shaped off a thin layer of sand, and brought to light the remains of the other nine men. These had been buried in their clothes, just as they died. A bag covered each one, and by the names written on these we learned who they were. They were taken to the ships, wrapped in other blanket?, and finally preserved in alcohol." These bodies had been mutilated, and four had drifted out to sea.

CONFIRMATION Of THK STORY. The story having been officially denied, some of the Mends of the unfortunate men had their bodies exhumed, the result being the fullest confirmation of the dreadful narrative. It is supposed by some, from the appearance of the bodies, that up to the time of the surgeon's death he removed the fle^h, the appearance of the corpses supporting the opinion that they had been cut by one skilled in dissection. After the surgeon died, the men seemed to have satisfied their hunger as they pleased. llocincsTKß, August 14.— The most heartrending disclosures w ere made in this city this morning in regard to the remains of Lieutenant Ki&lingbury, of the Arctic ex pedition, who died among the Arctic snow last winter. It was established beyond all doubt that cannibalism was resorted to by the starvingjjmen of the Greely expedition, and shews that the lives of those saved were preserved only by eating the dead bodies of their companions. Lieutenant Kislingbury's relatives here were filled with horrible doubts as soon a? they learned of the disclosures made in New York regarding cannibalism among the members of the expedition, and they detei mined to learn the truth by exhuming the remains and having them examined by competent physicians. The services of L A. Jeffry, an undertaker, were secured, and this morning, with the assistance of five men, he accomplished the work of taking up the casket of iron from its resting-place. The casket was opened in the presence of Frank Kislingbury and John P. Kislingbury, brothers of the deceased ; Drs Charles B. Ackley and F. A. Mandeville, Superintendent Stillson, Assistant Superintendent Mandevillo, and two reporters of the " Post and Express."

OPENJNt! THE CASKET. The work of opening the heavy iron receptacle was found comparatively easy. All there was to do was to unscrew fifty two iron bolts which held down the lid, The noiseless ease with -which the latter was pried from its bed showed that there was an absence of gas in the casket, and it was feared that there might be nobody in the casket afc all Feeling his way into a mass of cotton waste which filled the coffin to the top, the undertaker soon exclaimed : "He is there." A strong odor of alcohol, , but no very pronounced suggestions of decay, was emitted from the casket. Dr. Buckley, wko had put on a pair of black leather gloves, uncovered the lower part of the body, and then it appeared as if one of the legs — the right one — was missing ; but when the waste was all removed it became apparent that the limb was hidden under the left one. The casket was next placed upon the floor, and the body taken from it and placed upon a table. The undertaker and physicians now began to cut the stitches and unwind the white sheeting which formed the first covering. The sheet was taken away, the tarred rope entwining the blanket cut, and the \vork of takir q off the last covering began. Slowly the blanket was removed. The blackened fleshless face, showing marks of Arctic soil, bore no semblance to the dead man. The skin was dried to the skull, the sightless sockets and half-opened mouth gave the dead man a look of mute agony. The remains Avere completely identified as those of Lieutenant Kislingbury. The physician made a thorough examination, and the remains were then placed back in the casket and again lowered to the grave.

REPORT OP THE PHYSICIANS. On returning to the city, the physicians made an affidavit, in Avhich they say : The body in weight approximated, in our opinion, about 50 pounds. On examination of the head, no signs of wounds or injuries were visible. The skin was not broken. The ears and nose were intact, The skin and muscles of the interior portion of the face and neck were intact. From the upper portion of the sternum and clavicle to the lower portion of the fifth rib on the left side the skin and muscles had all been removed down to the ribs. On the right side the skin and muscles down to the lower border of the last rib were gone, and their were two openings between the fourth and fifth intercostal spaces into the thoracic cavity. The skin and muscles on the anterior portion of the abdomen were intact to the crest of the iltium, or the pelvic bones. The muscles and skin of the left leg were removed to within three inches of the ankle joint. On the right leg the skin and muscles were removed to within five inches of the ankle joint. Both feet were intact, and the toes were all present. There was no vestige of integument or muscles on either arm, including the muscles of the shoulder-blades, to the wrist joints, except on the right forearm. The flesh and muscles of both hands were intact. The examination of the posterior portion of the body showed that the skin and muscles of the back from the seventh cervical vertebra had been dissected or cut completely away down to the bones, with the exception of pieces of skin from two to three inches square on each side of the upper portion of the sacrum. The pelvic bones were completely denuded. All the extremities were attached to the body by ligaments only. No fracture of the bones was discovered. We found all the organs of the thorax and abdomen. There wa^ evidence of recent inflammation of the stomach and bowels. In our opinion the flesh removed was cut away with some sharp instrument. That remaining on the feet and hands and face showed no signs of decomposition.

STATEMENT OF KISLINGBURY's BROTHER. In an interview with the " Times " representative this evening, W. H. Kislingbury, elder brother of the deceased, outlined the conditon of things which would lead to the belief that the Greely expedition was divided into parties or factions, and that one perished because the others had gained possession, by force, of the food supply. In this ostracised party were Lieutenant Kis-

lingbury and Dr. Pavy. The condition of Lieutenant Kislingbury'sbody shows that he died of starvation at a time when others had some food supply. W F Kislingbury opposed the exhuming of the remains of his brother up to Wednesday night, believing his brother could not have been preyed upon by the survivors, because it was reported he had helped to kill a polar bear three days before he died. The party was rescued three weeks after he died, and Kislingbury held that the bear would have lasted the remaining survivors that length of time, fairly distributed and husbanded, but Kislingbury shows no evidence of having partaken of the bear, and the fact that the fleshy parts of its body were cut off in a careful and scientific manner shows that the bear story might have been invented by some one to conceal the fact of cannibalism. Instead of eating bear, the survivors subsisted on the bodies of their dead companions. In the opinion of Kislingbury, Dr. Pavy died in advance of the outcome ot the desperate struggle for subsistence, and ended his life or fell a victim to the deeperation of the immediate adherents of Greely. In other woids, it was a case in which those not in favour with the commander were compelled to die that the others might live. Kislingbury takes the gloomy view that there was a struggle among the starving and desperate men, and that the strongest, by virtue of authority and possession of the little food on hand, survived. Lieut. Kislingbury, it seems, was under Greely's displeasure from the beginning.

WHAT LIEUTENANT GKEELY SAYS. Boston, August 13.— A special from Portsmouth, N. H., says : Early this morning Colonel Kent obtained an interview with Lieutenant Greely, who admitted that he had Henry shot. The military execution was on the 6th of June. As early as march he suspected Henry of stealing the limited food which was apportioned out to the survivors, and this fact being finally and positively ascertained, Lieutenant Greely had thereafter hard work to protect tho man's life. It became necessary, in order to keep up discipline, to inform Henry that he would be shot if the practice continued, and that a similar fate would be meted out to any other member of the party detected in a like crime. If Henry had been permitted to continue his stealings unmolested, the balance of the party would surely have starved to death, and Henry alone survived. After and in spite of these warnings, Henry was again detected stealing provisions, among the food taken being two pounds of bacon, he eating off so much of it that it made him sick. A search was then instituted, when it was found that Henry had, among other articles, stolen and secreted a pair of sealskin boots which had belonged to a hunter of the party. Lieutenant Greely was therefore forced, in order to maintain military discipline and protect the lives of his other comrades, to issue a written order that Henry be shot, which order was carried into effect on June 6th. As to the alleged cannibalism, Greely says :—"lt: — "It is news and horrible news to me. All these later disclosures and terrible charges come upon me with awful suddenness. I can truthfully say 1 have suffered more mental anguish the last few days than I did in all my sojourn at the north, when the chances were a hundred to one against me. I cannot but repeat if there were any cannibalism, and there now seems no doubt of it, the man-eating was done in secret and entirely without my knoM ledge and contrary to my discipline. I can make no stronger desial. All my papers and Kislingbury's diary, Lockwood's diary, and, in fact, every scrap of intormation relating to the expedition, are in charge of the War Department. The crew of the Thetis can testify that the body of the last dead, Schneider, was not mutilated in any way, and the fact that we kept Ellison alive in the hopeless state he was in ought to convince anybody that we were not cannibals. Since my return from Newburyport every ono of my men has called upon me. They came in a body, and assured me that they knew nothing about the condition of the bodies of their fallen comrades, and each solemnly swore he was innocent. Perhaps those who died last fed upon the bodies of those who died before, but all this is supposition. I can but answer for myself and for my orders to the party. For days and weeks I lay on my back unable to move. If, in my enfeebled condition, one or more of my men fed upon human flesh, it was beyond my control and certainly beyond my knowledge. I know I have been criticised for not telegraphing the fact of tho shooting of Henry as soon as I arrived at St. John's, but you must remember I was in a wretched condition of body and mind. I was in a quandary whether I should be tried for murder, as Henry was shot on my own responsibility, and not by order of a regular court-martial."