182 TRAVELS IN THE EIGHTIES. 



steamer of the Alaska Commercial Company. I ac- 

 cepted their offer, being anxious to visit the country 

 farther north. The others preferred returning by the 

 Pinta when she should come. A large proportion of 

 our time was meanwhile consumed in trading with the 

 Indians for " curios," a large amount of both patience 

 and "chin music " being absolutely necessary. Some 

 fireworks were exhibited, and the strongest man 

 among the Indians wrestled with John Dalton. But 

 while we were thus passing our time in dissipations of 

 this harmless character a tragedy was in store. We 

 could see that for some reason the Indians were now 

 avoiding the neighbourhood of our camp. A fiendish 

 series of noises was continually audible in the village, 

 mingled with the howlings of the horrible Indian dogs. 

 Unable to restrain our curiosity, we set forth in a 

 body to find out what was in the wind, and were 

 horrified when we discovered the truth. The old 

 blind medicine-man was plying his loathsome trade, 

 with every manner of accessory calculated to heighten 

 the effect. It seemed that three Indians were at the 

 point of death, and many others seriously ill, having 

 made and eaten bread with arsenic, which one of the 

 Indians had taken from among the articles left at Icy 

 Bay by one of our white men, supposing it to be 

 baking-powder. We endeavoured to induce those 

 who had swallowed the poison to swallow an emetic, 

 though the chief would not allow any of his own 

 utensils to suffer contamination by the sick. Those 

 who did so recovered ; three who refused our aid, 



