4^0 cook's voyage to SEPT. 



girl herself. But this music continued not long.* 

 Before night we had got the ships amply supplied 

 with wood, and had carried on board about twelve 

 tons of water to each. 



On the 14th, a party of men were sent on shore 

 to cut brooms, which we were in want, of, and 

 the branches of spruce trees for brewing beer. 

 Toward noon every body was taken on board ; for 

 the wind freshening, had raised such a surf on the 

 beach, that the boats could not continue to land with- 

 out great difficulty. Some doubts being still enter- 



* Captain King has communicated the following account of- his 

 interview with the same family. " On the 12th, while I attended 

 the wooding party, a canoe full of natives approached us ; and, 

 beckoning them to land, an elderly man and woman came on shore. 

 I gave this woman a small knife, making her understand that I 

 would give her a much larger one for some fish. She made signs 

 to me to follow her. I had proceeded with them about a mile, 

 when the man, in crossing a stony beach, fell down, and cut this 

 foot very much. This made me stop ; upon which the woman 

 pointed to the man's eyes, which I observed were covered with a 

 thick, white film. He afterward kept close to his wife, who ap- 

 prized him of the obstacles in his way. The woman had a little 

 child on her back, covered with the hood of her jacket ; and which 

 I took for a bundle, till I heard it cry. At about two miles' dis- 

 tance we came to their open skin-boat, which was turned on its 

 side, the convex part toward the wind, and served for their house. 

 I was now made to perform a singular operation on the man's eyes. 

 First, I was directed to hold my breath ; afterward, to breathe on 

 the diseased eyes ; and next, to spit on them. The woman then 

 took both my hands, and pressing them to his stomach, held them 

 there for some time, while she related some calamitous history of 

 her family, pointing sometimes to her husband, sometimes to a fright- 

 ful cripple belonging to the family, and sometimes to her child. I 

 purchased all the fish they had, consisting of a very fine salmon, 

 salmon-trout, and mullet ; which were delivered most faithfully to 

 the man I sent for them. The man was about five feet two inches 

 high, and well made; his colour of a light copper; his hair black 

 and short, and with little beard. He had two holes in his under 

 lip, but no ornaments in them. The woman was short and squat, 

 with a plump round face ; wore a deer-skin jacket, with a large 

 hood ; and had on wide boots. The teeth of both were black, and 

 seemed as if they had been filed down level with the gums. The 

 woman was punctured from the lip to the chin." 



