264 THE LIFE OF E. J. PECK 



might possibly have reached one of the islands 

 about here. 



" As Captain Sheridan knows all the land there- 

 about, it was arranged that he should take the 

 search party, and that I, with the help of an Eskimo, 

 should make a coffin for the remains of our friend, 

 Captain Clisby. 



" Captain Sheridan returned in the evening with 

 the sad intelligence, that not a vestige of anything 

 or any one had been seen." 



" Sunday, 16th. the remains of Captain Clisby 

 were laid to rest. Nearly all the people attended 

 the funeral. Two boats were manned, and the 

 coffin being placed in the stern-sheets of one, we 

 then proceeded to an island some four or five miles 

 from here. This island has been used as a burial 

 place for many years for men who have died in the 

 country. I counted some twenty-five graves, 

 several of which contained the remains of men who 

 had died on board the whaling ships. 



" Some of the graves had boards erected over 

 them, giving the name, age, etc., of the deceased. 

 One I particularly noticed gave the names of three 

 poor fellows who had died of scurvy. Another 

 board gave the mournful record of two men who 

 had perished in a snow-storm. Altogether it was 

 a sad and touching sight to see all these tokens of 

 loving remembrance in this barren and lonely spot, 

 It was a scene which thrilled one's soul with a 



