128 THE WHALEMAN ; OR, 



Captain Norton had in his possession a pack- 

 age of wormwood, which he picked up on the 

 shore near the wreck. Though it had been sat- 

 urated with salt water, yet, from time to time, he 

 administered a strong drink of it for the above 

 disease, with complete success. As proof of 

 their appreciation of his services, they would put 

 a dried crow's head upon his arm. His success 

 went so far, that he had as many crows' heads 

 as could be strung from his wrist to his elbow. 



Captain Norton, however, was wisely cautious 

 in one respect, and that was, he would not pre- 

 scribe in any given case of sickness, unless he 

 was well convinced there was no immediate dan- 

 ger to the patient, or that he could afford some 

 temporary relief. 



Their superstitious notions were such that, if 

 any prescription should fail, and the patient 

 should not recover, they would suppose at once 

 that the proposed remedy was the cause of death. 

 It required great prudence, therefore, to manage, 

 not only the sick, but also those who were well. 



A case occurred of a very trifling character at 

 first, but finally it proved fatal. The face of a 

 person, a woman, was somewhat swelled; the 

 cause of it, so far as we could ascertain, origi- 

 nated in a defective tooth. 



Mr. Osborn acted the part of a physician at 



