OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 



417 



recovered would, it is to be feared, never have evinced her gratitude in so 182:? - 



iVTcirch 



feeling and unequivocal a manner ; but when death drew near, and the 



Frid 21 



things of the world began to lose their value, the better feelings of our com- 

 mon nature at once gained the ascendancy, and the selfishness of the savage 

 character was lost in the awfulness of the approaching crisis. Her husband 

 who observed her take Mr. Skeoch's hand, and had throughout her illness 

 watched her with unremitting attention, was much affected by this last act 

 of his wife, and with many tears earnestly repeated his own thanks. An 

 hour or two before her death, he came over to the ships for his two boys, one 

 of whom was their real, and the other their adopted, son, and taking them 

 into the hospital told them that their mother was dying. The boys then 

 joined their father in crying for a few minutes, after which they went out to 

 play with their usual cheerfulness, and with equal indifference. As soon as 

 she was dead her husband put all her clothes on her, and then agreed to our 

 proposal of sewing the body up in a hammock, the face only being left un- 

 covered by his desire. He also consented to her being buried on shore, for 

 which purpose his two brothers came at an early hour on the following day, sat, 22. 

 and with many expressions of acknowledgment, attended to the arrange- 

 ments for the burial. These consisted only in the body being placed on a 

 sledge, and drawn to the grave by men ; though no request was made for the 

 dogs to be tied up or put out of the way, as had been the case in a former 

 instance. The husband alone accompanied us to the grave over which, as 

 soon as the body was deposited, he was thankful to have some staves placed, 

 to prevent any weight resting immediately upon it. He next laid on large 

 slabs of snow, after which he had no objection to our people throwing on 

 stones and earth ; which shews that their principal care is to avoid loading the 

 body with any weight. Nothing was deposited in or near the grave but a pair 

 of her spare boots, which were laid upon the body near the head. He came fre- 

 quently afterwards to visit the grave, at an interval of several days each time, 

 and generally walked round it once, sometimes muttering a few words and at 

 others in silence, but never appearing to be much affected : this custom is at- 

 tended to with scrupulous care, and is evidently connected with some super- 

 stitious notion that renders it indispensable in their eyes. This man also 

 expressed great anxiety about his living three days at the ship after his wife's 

 death and, within an hour after that time was accomplished, went away 

 satisfied and in good spirits. The custom of not using sledges and dogs 

 for five days after such an event, which is certainly considered decent 



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