MATRICIDE. 189 



owned nearest relationship, the friendly stroke which 

 should let out her scanty remnant of existence. Her 

 desire was obeyed with an apathy only to be accounted 

 for by the enshrouding veil of custom, and her life 

 was ended by him to whom she had given it, and 

 whose first throbbings she had cherished. What more 

 ghastly, more unnatural than this ! To take life in 

 any way is fearful ; infanticide revolts the senses ; but 

 for a man to proceed with the utmost deliberation to 

 cut the fast diminishing thread of existence of his 

 mother, of her who gave him birth and nm^sed his 

 feeble ray of existence into strength, is a deed of which 

 the idea ciu-dles the warm blood in one's veins, and 

 creates dark feelings of horror and dismay. 



Retiu-ning on the first of April to the ship, I 

 received instructions the same evening to depart on 

 the morrow with a large party of the natives to a 

 place called En-mil-lane, situated at a considerable 

 distance along the coast to the westward. The party 

 I joined was evidently conducting a bride to her new 

 home, together with her dowry, with which six or 

 seven sledges were heavily laden. It consisted of 

 large bladders of very beautiful pemmican, venison 

 fat, reindeer skins and clothes, some few trinkets 

 obtained from ourselves, and other matters, but the 

 provision greatly preponderated. The bridegroom. 



