532 
LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT, ROSS. 
scarcely one of them that had a boot to his foot, and those who 
wore them, had obtained them clandestinely from the Esquimaux. 
Thus, the effects were beginning* to display themselves of the 
selfish line of conduct, which Capt Ross pursued, in prohibit¬ 
ing his men from purchasing any of the skins from the natives, 
as in that case, they would have been able during the winter 
months to have provided themselves with those articles of ap¬ 
parel, of which they now stood so much in need, and for the 
want of which, their feet were brought to a complete state of 
excoriation. One of the men, Joseph Curtis, perhaps one of 
the finest men on the expedition, made a complaint to Capt. 
Ross on this subject, and declared, that his feet were in such a 
w r ounded state, that he could not possibly accompany the next 
travelling party. The answer, that Capt. Ross made, was, “ Oh ! 
that's all stuff, you must go, if you walk without feet.” It was, 
however, not only in regard to the comfort and health of his men, 
as far as their clothing w as concerned, that Capt. Ross evinced 
a callousness of disposition, and a reckless inattention to their 
Wants, which literally rendered him odious to the crew ; but in 
cases where their health was concerned, he treated their appli¬ 
cations with contempt and indifference. On the same day that 
Curtis made his complaint, about the state of his feet, another of 
the crew applied to Capt. Ross for some medicine, (Mr. Mc'Diar- 
mid being at North Ray,) having been for some time afflicted with 
a constipation of the bowels. The advice, that Capt. Ross gave 
him, was, “ ‘to throw the physic to the dogs,’ and to swallow a 
musket ball, and if that had no effect, to send another after it ; 
then swallow a cartridge, set fire to it, and the devil was in it, if 
a passage would not be obtained.” The poor fellow was, how¬ 
ever, refused all medicine, and in less than twenty-four hours, 
he was seized with a violent fit. These acts on the part of a 
commander, whose very existence depended upon the health and 
strength of his crew, appear so diametrically opposite to that line 
of conduct, which a prudent or a feeling man would have com¬ 
mitted, that we should be inclined to discredit them altogether, 
were they not transmitted to us by an authority, of whose veracity 
no doubt can be entertained ; at the same time, that they are 
