He had, however, lost one man, George Vernoi, a Canadian, who died of
consumption, with which he was suffering when he shipped at New
Bedford, and one officer, Mr. Charles A. Lathe, of Swansea, Mass.,
first mate, who froze to death while on a hunting expedition to the
main-land during the previous fall. He, together with Mr. Gilbert, the
third officer of the vessel, and some Kinnepatoo Inuits, went ashore on
the 1st of October to secure fresh meat for the crew. In five days they
had killed seven reindeer, and started to return to the ship; but a
gale prevented their working to windward, and, their sail torn from the
mast, they drifted during the night to a small barren island, where in
the morning their boat was broken and their provisions washed away.
They were suffering extremely from thirst, having neglected to bring
water with them from the shore, and found none on the island. A day was
spent in endeavoring to repair the boat, and after another bitter night
on the island, without water, they got away at nearly nightfall of the
day following and reached another island where they found water and
spent the night.
Mr. Lathe had already suffered extremely with the cold, as well as with
hunger and thirst, and next day, after walking in a snow-storm about
twenty miles toward the Kinnepatoo village, on the main-land, he gave
up entirely and lay down to die. Mr. Gilbert urged his companion to
make another effort, but to no purpose, and had finally to abandon him,
though still alive, for the Inuits were nearly out of sight, and as
they would not wait for him his own life depended on keeping them in
view. Arrived at the Kinnepatoo camp, which was about ten miles from
where his companion fell, Mr. Gilbert was much exhausted. The natives
then treated him very kindly and supplied him with dry clothing, but no
persuasion or promises of reward could induce any of them to go back
and look after Mr. Lathe, whom they said would be dead before they
found him. Mr. Gilbert remained here for more than two months, when the
arrival of some of the tribe from the north brought the joyful news
that the ice bridge had formed between Marble Island and the main-land,
and then they were willing to conduct him to the ship, where he arrived
on the 23d of December, long after all on board had given them both up
as dead.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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