456 A JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



short gun in his hand at the time he was speaking to me. Hepburn 

 afterwards informed me that previous to the report of the gun 

 Mr. Hood and Michel were speaking to each other in an elevated 

 angry tone ; that Mr. Hood being seated at the fire-side, was hid 

 from him by intervening willows, but that on hearing the report he 

 looked up, and saw Michel rising up from before the tent-door, or 

 just behind where Mr. Hood was seated, and then going into the 

 tent. Thinking that the gun had been discharged for the purpose 

 of cleaning it, he did not go to the fire at first ; and when Michel 

 called to him that Mr. Hood was dead, a considerable time had 

 elapsed. Although I dared not openly to evince any suspicion that 

 I thought Michel guilty of the deed, yet he repeatedly protested 

 that he was incapable of committing such an act, kept constantly on 

 his guard, and carefully avoided leaving Hepburn and me together. 

 He was evidently afraid of permitting us to converse in private, 

 and whenever Hepburn spoke, he inquired if he accused him of 

 the murder. It is to be remarked, that he understood English 

 very imperfectly, yet sufficiently to render it unsafe for us to speak 

 on the subject in his presence. We removed the body into a clump 

 of willows behind the tent, and, returning to the fire, read the 

 funeral service in addition to the evening prayers. The loss of 

 a young officer, of such distinguished and varied talents and appli- 

 cation, may be felt and duly appreciated by the eminent cha- 

 racters under whose command he had served ; but the calmness 

 with which he contemplated the probable termination of a life of 

 uncommon promise ; and the patience and fortitude with which 

 he sustained, I may venture to say, unparalleled bodily suffer- 

 ings, can only be known to the companions of his distresses. 

 Owing to the effect that the tripe de roche invariably had, when he 

 ventured to taste it, he undoubtedly suffered more than any of the 

 survivors of the party, BickerstetJC s Scripture Help was lying open 

 beside the body, as if it had fallen from his hand, and it is probable 



