1722. BARLOW, VAUGHAX, AND SCROGGS. 277 



at a little distance from the house, there was now 

 lying a great quantity of oak chips, which had 

 been made most assuredly by carpenters. 

 - " A sickness and famine occasioned such 

 havock among the English that, by the setting in 

 of the second winter, their number was reduced 

 to twenty. That winter, 1720, some of the 

 Esquimaux took up their abode on the opposite 

 side of the harbour to that on which the English 

 had built their houses, and frequently supplied 

 them with such provisions as they had, which 

 chiefly consisted of whale's blubber, and seal's 

 flesh, and train oil. When the spring advanced, 

 the Esquimaux went to the continent, and on 

 their visiting Marble Island again, in the summer 

 of 1721, they only found five of the Enghsh 

 alive ; and those were in such distress for pro- 

 visions, that they eagerly eat the seal's flesh and 

 whale's blubber quite raw as they purchased it 

 from the natives. This disordered them so much 

 that three of them died in a few days, and the 

 other two, though very weak, made a shift to 

 bury them. Those two survived many days after 

 the rest, and frequently went to the top of an 

 adjacent rock and earnestly Jooked to the south 

 and east, as if in expectation of some vessels com- 

 ing to their relief. After continuing there a con- 

 siderable time together, and nothing appearing in 

 sight, they sat down close together and wept 

 bitterly. At length one of the two died, and the 



