Page:Diary of ten years.djvu/365

 347 great discussion as to whether the nail should be taken from the thumb also. Some were of one opinion, some another; at length one old man, a stranger, was appealed to. He said one was sufficient (the finger), and so it was done. The body being placed as above was first covered with green boughs, then with grass trees and pieces of wood firmly trodden down; then the earth was scraped from the Eastern side so as to fill up the hollow. His cloak was buried with him, his spear broken into pieces, his throwing board, his knives, stick, ornaments and feathers were then all stuck in the mould, his bag torn, and the contents strewed about. A screen of boughs was then made over the grave, the trees in the neighbourhood were marked with rings and notches. A piece of fire was left burning in front of the mound. The ceremony appeared then completed, and they all retired, and so shall I now for the night.

May 2th.—I know not how it has happened that I have omitted to make the usual daily or even hebdomadal entries for some time past; a good deal of public business has been on hand meetings of Council, both Legislative and Executive, meetings of committees about roads, about churches, about whaling companies, about a supply of labourers (which is a very pressing subject), meetings of agricultural societies, and many other such things. I have had several Acts to prepare for the Council. One of them has been troublesome, not so much from the length of it, as the finding out some mode of adapting the machinery of old countries to our infant state. I allude to an Act to regulate the management of roads and streets and all other internal communications.

We are in a most absurd state for want of more population. Not a sailor can be obtained to man our colonial schooner; she lies idle, and there are a number of persons sentenced to transportation lying in gaol, a useless expensive dead weight upon us. All the men are gone into the whale fishery. One company was so prodigally conducted, that the shareholders dissolved it yesterday, by general consent, and received the