Josephus records the fact that during the siege of Jerusalem, women snatched the bread out of the mouths of their husbands, and in every house where there appeared any semblance of food, a battle ensued and the dearest friends fought with one another to secure the scanty provisions. An instance is recorded where two women are described as agreeing to eat their two sons, during the famine in Lamoine.
At the siege of Antioch during the crusades in 1097, a famine, says Bucke, existed in the Christian camp, and human flesh was eagerly devoured. At the siege of Marra the crusaders ate bodies taken from the graves of their adversaries, and the historian (Albert) who records the fact, expresses surprise that they should prefer the flesh of dogs to that of Saracens.
In comparatively modern times during the reign of Shah Husseyn in 1716, Ispahan in Persia was besieged by Mahmud, Chief of the Afghans, when the besieged having consumed their horses, mules, camels, the leaves and bark of trees, and even cloth and leather, finished—so great was the famine—with not only eating their neighbors and fellow citizens, but their own offspring. It has been alleged that more human beings were devoured when this investment took place, than ever was known in any previous struggle.
CANNIBALISM AT SEA.
A sad and recent experience under equally distressing circumstances, is here told of four sailors, who were adrift for eight days in a dory; one of whom was partly eaten by a shipmate:
“Louisburg, Cape Breton, April 8, 1886—James McDonald of Eastpoint, P. E. I.; S. McDonald of Broadcove, C. B.; Colon Chisholm of Harbor Bouch, N. S., and Angus McEchern of Long Point Cape, of the American fishing schooner Elsie M. Low; March 30 left their vessel in two dories to look after trawls on the western banks, but a fog set in, and when they were pulling back for their vessel they got astray. Subsequently calls for help from one brought the two together again. There being no prospect of the fog lifting or reply to their oft repeated shouts, they decided to all get in one dory and make their way toward land. They had neither food nor water, as they had not expected to be gone long. The second day the sun came out bright and clear, but no sail was in sight, save the smoke of one or two steamers on the horizon, the sufferings of the castaways from thirst were now becoming intense. The succeeding night was extremely cold and rough and the dory iced up badly, taking all the exertions of the now weakened men to keep her head to the sea. Some of them held pieces of ice to their mouths and so endeavored to relieve their parched throats to a slight extent. Of the succeeding six days’ history it is almost impossible to obtain a correct account, for all were dazed. The light house keeper at Guyon Island, off Cape Breton, near Louisburg, observed the dory being feebly pulled toward the light and assisted the men ashore. His eyes met a ghastly sight. In the bow of the dory was a lifeless, naked body, that of James McDonald, much lacerated. One of his arms was hacked off at the elbow, his throat much torn and pieces cut out of each thigh, while scattered remains of his arm and flesh and bones, telling the horrible tale of cannibalism, were in other parts of the boat. The body of the other McDonald was under the thwarts in the bottom of the boat. The latter was the chief cannibal. He clamored for his dead comrade’s blood, tore his throat and sucked it, while the others, worn out, slept, and when they awoke offered them some of the flesh, which they refused. He then cried for more blood, saying it tasted like cream, but was unable to extract it from the lifeless carcass. The next day he became insane, and was with difficulty restrained from violence by the two remaining comrades until he himself died on the seventh day. He is a brother of a prominent lawyer of Halifax. The men rowed in their dory about 90 miles with only the sun and stars to guide them. One of the two survivors Chisholm is very sick and may not recover, while McEchern is extremely weak and very reticent. The light house keeper took the bodies to Louisburg, where a tremendous sensation was caused among the people of the old French fishing village. A jury was empaneled and the inquest brought out the above story.”
The earliest references to this subject among the English, are certain accusations brought against the Saxon conquerors of that country in the chronicles called the Welsh Triads. In these historical documents it is alleged that Ethelfrith, King of England, encouraged cannibalism at his court; and that Gwri, a truant Welshman, became so enamored of human flesh that he would eat no other food. It was his custom to have a male and female “Kymry” killed for his own eating every day, except Saturday, when he slaughtered two of each, in order to be spared the sin of breaking the Sabbath.
St. Jerome has the following passage in one of his works: “Cum ipse adolescentulus in Gallia viderim Attacottos gentem Britannicam, humanis vesci carnibus; et cum per sylvas porcorum greges, et armentorum pecudumque reperiant, pastorum nates et feminarum papillas solere abscindere; et has solas ciborum delicias arbitrari.” The quotation appears in “Gibbons’ Decline and Fall,” and may be rendered: He learned that the Attacotti, the people of the country now called Scotland, when hunting in the woods, preferred the shepherd to his flocks, and chose only the most fleshy and delicate parts for eating.
Gibbon, in comparing the people of Scotland with the natives of the gorilla country, makes what may be considered rather an equivocal compliment. “If,” says he, “in the neighborhood of the commercial and literary town of Glasgow, a race of cannibals has already existed, we may contemplate in the period of Scottish history, the opposite extremes of savage and civilized life.” There is reason to fear that cannibalism was not quite extinct in Scotland, even in an age which must be called civilized.
Andrew Wyntoun has a grisly passage in his Rhyming Chronicle, regarding a man who lived so brief a time before his own day, that he might easily have heard of him from surviving contemporaries. It was about the year 1339, when a large part of Scotland, even the best and most fertile, had been desolated by the armies of Edward III.