618 THE WORLD *S WONDERS. 



his eyes were fixed and glassy. Indeed, his weakness was such 

 that it was with difficulty he swallowed the stimulants given him 

 by Drs. Green and Ames ; his jaws had dropped, his heart was 

 barely pulsating, and his body temperature very low. 



"This tender scene of a helpless, almost famished officer con- 

 soling a dying companion, was in itself one that brought tears to 

 the eyes of the strongest and stoutest of those who stood about 

 them on the merciful errand of relief. 



"Sergeants Brainerd and Fredericks and Hospital-Steward 

 Bierderbick were extremely weak and hardly able to stand ; they 

 were no longer able to venture away from their camp to seek 

 food, nor to prepare the simple diet of boiled seal-skin, nor to 

 collect lichens, nor to catch shrimps, upon which they had to 

 depend to a great extent to sustain life. Their faces, hands and 

 limbs were swollen to such an extent that they could not be 

 recognized. This indicated that the entire party had but a short 

 lease of life probably not more than forty-eight hours at most. 

 This fact was recognized by them all, and had come to them from 

 their experience during that long and desolate winter in watching 

 their dying companions, as one after another passed away from 

 among them forever. 



"Poor Sergeant Elison was found in his sleeping bag, where 

 he had lain helpless and hopeless for months, with hands and 

 feet frozen off. Strapped to one of the stumps was found a 

 spoon, which some companion had secured there to enable him 

 to feed himself. His physical condition otherwise appeared to 

 be the best of any of the survivors, and this may be attributed 

 to the fact that each of his companions had doled out to him from 

 their small allowance of food something to help him, on account 

 of his complete helplessness to add anything to his own by 

 hunting about the rocks for lichens or shrimps. He suffered no 

 waste of strength by exertion incident thereto. This care of 

 Elison was such as only brave and generous men, suffering with 

 each other under the most desperate circumstances, could think of. 



"Sergeant Long was very much reduced, though in somewhat 

 better condition than some of the others. His office of hunter 



