companion. Mr. Cormack did not succeed in the main object he had in view, yet was his trouble anything but profitless. We now possess through his means a general knowledge of the interior of our Island—together with a specific account of its soil—its geological and mineralogical aspect—its varied natural productions—of trees, shrubs, plants, flowers, &c., all named and methodically described—the kind of animals met with, and a variety of other useful information.

In the following year, 1823, and early in the spring of that year, three females, a mother and two daughters, in Badger Bay, near Exploits Bay, being in a starving condition, allowed themselves in despair, to be quietly captured by some English furriers who accidentally came upon them. Fortunately their miserable appearance, when within gunshot, led to the unusual circumstance of their not being fired at. The husband of the elder woman in attempting to avoid the observation of the white men, tried to cross the creek upon the ice, fell through and was drowned. About a month before this event, and a few miles distant from the spot where this accident occurred, the brother of this man and his daughter, belonging to the same party, were shot by two English furriers. The man was first shot, and the woman in despair remained calmly to be fired at, and incredible as it may appear, this poor woman, far from her tribe—helpless—with her back to her murderers,—excited in them no feeling of compassion—they deliberately shot her,—the slugs passed through her body, and she fell dead by the side of her father. The mind is slow to believe that so brutal an act as this could have been committed, and is willing to doubt the correctness of the report, but the proof of its accuracy is the statement of one of the ruffians who perpetrated the foul act.

The three females were brought to St. John's, where they remained four or five weeks, and were then sent back to the Exploits with many presents, in the hope that they may meet and share such presents with their people. They were conveyed up the river Exploits to some distance, by a party of Europeans, and left on its banks with some provisions and clothing, to find their friends as they best might. Their provisions however were soon consumed, and not finding any of the tribe, they wandered down the right bank of the river, and in a few days again reached the Exploits habitations. The mother and one daughter died there shortly afterwards, and within a few days of each other. The Survivor known as "Nancy" here, but among her tribe as "Shaw-na-dith-it," was received and taken care of by Mr. Peyton, jun. and family, with whom she remained several years. She was then brought to St. John's, and as a Society called the "Boeothick Institution" had then been established, Shaw-na-dith-it became the object of its peculiar care and solicitude, and it is to this interesting woman we are indebted for much of the information we possess regarding her race. She remained under the care of the Boeothick Institution for about nine months, during the greater part pf which period she was in bad health. Much attention was shewn her, and attempts were perseveringly made to communicate to her a knowledge of the English language, and this she so far acquired as to be able to communicate with tolerable ease. In person Shaw-na-dith-it was 5 feet 5 inches high—her natural abilities were good. She was grateful for any kindness shown her, and evinced a strong affection for her parents and friends. As she evinced some taste for drawing, she was kept supplied with pencils of various colors, and by the use of these made herself better understood than she otherwise could have done. In her own person she had received two gun-shot wounds at two different times from volleys fired at the band she was with by the English people at the Exploits—one wound was that of a slug through the leg. Poor Shaw-na-dith-it! she died destitute of any of this world's goods, yet, desirous of showing her gratitude to one from whom she had received great kindness, she presented a keepsake to Mr. Cormack, and there is something very affecting under the circumstances in which she was placed, as associated with the simple articles of which her present consisted—they were a rounded piece of granite—a piece of quartz—both derived from the soil of which her tribe were once the sole owners and lords, but which were all of that soil she could then call her own; and added to these, was a lock of her hair. This present has now a place in the Museum of the Mechanics' Institution, and will, it may not be doubted, be an object of interest to many. Shaw-na-dith-it lived in Mr. Cormack's house until he left the colony in 1829, when she was taken to the house of the then Attorney-General. She died in June following, and was interred in the burial ground on the South-side. A Newfoundland paper, of the 12th of June, 1829, notices her death thus:—"Died, on Saturday night, the 6th inst., at the Hospital, Shaw-na-dith-it, the female Indian, one of the aborigines of this Island. She died of consumption,—a disease which seems to have been remarkably prevalent among her tribe, and which has unfortunately been fatal to all who have fallen into the hands of the settlers. Since the departure of Mr. Cormack from the Island, this poor woman has had an asylum afforded her in the house of James Simms, Esq., Attorney General, where every attention has been paid to her wants and comforts, and under the able and professional advice of Dr. Carson, who has most liberally and kindly attended her for many months, it was hoped her health might have been re-established. Latterly, however, her disease became daily more formidable, and her strength rapidly declined, and a short time since it was deemed advisable to send her to the hospital, where her sudden decease has but too soon fulfilled the fears that were entertained for her."

Shaw-na-dith-it as before observed, gave much information as to the state of her tribe, and the following is the substance of the statement she made with reference to Captain Buchan's expedition to the Great Lake in the winter of 1811:—

The tribe, she said, at that time had been much reduced in numbers, in consequence of the hostile encroachments and meetings of the Europeans at the sea-coast. But they still had, up to that time, enjoyed, unmolested, the possession of their favorite interior parts of the Island, especially the territory around and adjacent to the Great Lake and Exploits River. There number then it would appear barely amounted to one hundred and seventy two—and these were encamped in their winter quarters, in three divisions, on different parts of the margin of the Great Lake. The principal encampment was at the East end of the Lake, on the South-side. There were here three mamaseeks or wigwams, containing forty-two persons. A smaller encampment lay six or eight miles to the Westward on the North-side of the Lake, containing two mamaseeks with thirteen people, and another lay near the West end of the Lake on the South-side, and consisted of two mamaseeks with seventeen people. It was the principal encampment which Captain Buchan fell in with. He took it by surprise, and made the whole party prisoners. This occurred in the morning; after a guarded and pantomimic interchange for several hours, it was agreed that two hostages should be given on each side, for Captain Buchan wished to return down the river for an additional supply of presents, in order thereby the better to secure the friendship of the Indians.

Captain Buchan had no sooner departed with his men and hostages, than the Indians suspected he had gone down the river for an additional force, with, which to return—make them all prisoners, and carry them off to the coast. Their suspicions induced them to break up their encampment immediately and retire farther into the interior, where the rest of the tribe were, and where they would be less liable to be again surprised.

To ensure