Examining a Grave. 239 



animal itself. The marks of bears' teeth and claws 

 were plainly visible on some of the casks, the wood 

 of one containing flour having been literally gnawed 

 through. 



Seeing a cairn near the water's edge, I hurried 

 towards it, and quickly demolished the heap in the 

 expectation of finding some record, but, after an 

 hour's hard work with pick and shovel, I was horri- 

 fied to find that it was a grave, the body having* 

 been sewn up in canvas instead of a coffin. I care- 

 fully replaced everything, endeavouring to give the 

 heap more the shape and appearance of a grave than 

 a cairn. It must have been the body of Chimham 

 Thomas, the carpenter of the " Victory," with Sir 

 John Ross, who died on February 22nd, 1833. His 

 is the only body that is buried on Fury Beach. He 

 was aged forty- eight, and his constitution had been 

 undermined by long service in the first Burmese 

 war, and on the American lakes, before he ever made 

 an Arctic voyage. It is very strange that this poor 

 man should have been buried so near the water, for 

 a more desirable site could easily have been found 

 further inland. 



Two 32 -pounder carronades and a small gun- 

 carriage, with a large amount of shot of all descrip- 

 tions, were lying about. A pistol was also picked 

 up, one of the old navy pattern. I found an old 

 rusty knife, which, with a good harpoon, a broken 



