ut one in his mouth, which served only to prolong his pains;
from which, however, soon after my little supply failed, he was released by
death. For this, and another man I mentioned a little before to have
expired under the like circumstances, when we returned from this
unsuccessful enterprize, we made a grave in the sands.

It would have redounded greatly to the tenderness and humanity of Captain
Cheap, if at this time he had remitted somewhat of that attention he shewed
to self-preservation, which is hardly allowable but where the consequence
of relieving others must be immediately and manifestly fatal to ourselves;
but I would venture to affirm, that in these last affecting exigencies, as
well as some others, a sparing perhaps adequate to the emergency, might
have been admitted consistently with a due regard to his own necessities.
The captain had better opportunities of recruiting his stock than any of
us; for his rank was considered by the Indians a reason for supplying him
when he would not find a bit for us. Upon the evening of the day in which
these disasters happened, the captain producing a large piece of boiled
seal, suffered no one to partake with him but the surgeon, who was the only
man in favour at this time. We did not expect, indeed, any relief from him
in our present condition, for we had a few small mussels and herbs to eat;
but the men could not help expressing the greatest indignation at his
neglect of the deceased, saying, that he deserved to be deserted by the
rest for his savage behaviour.

The endeavouring to pass up this river was for us, who had so long
struggled with hunger, a most unseasonable attempt, by which we were
harassed to a degree that threatened to be fatal to more of us; but our
guide, without any respect to the condition our hardships had reduced us
to, was very solicitous for us to go that way, which possibly he had gone
before in light canoes, but for such a boat as ours, was impracticable. We
conceived, therefore, at that time, that this was some short cut, which was
to bring us forward in our voyage; but we had reason to think afterwards,
that the greater probability there was of his getting the barge, which was
the wages of his undertaking, safe to his settlement by this, rather than
another course, was his motive for preferring it to the way we took
afterwards, where there was a carrying place of considerable length, over
which it would have been impossible to have carried o