258 ABORIGINES or NEWFOUNDLAND.

Nothing further was known of this extraordinary tribe, until the winter of 1819, when a party of fur- riers proceeded up to the Red Indian Lake, where they met two men and a woman on the ice. They ‘

made a pr‘isone1 of the woman , but her husband,. “ who became desperate, and determined to rescue her? single-handed, was most unjustly and c1uelly shot: by the brutal party, who also shot the other man. They ca11ied off the woman, whom they called Maiy March, being the name of the month 111 which they made her a captive. Her husband, Whom they mur- dered, was a most noble-looking man, about six feet high. This woman was carried to St John’s, and, in the following winter, was sent back to the river Exploits, in charge of Captain Buchan. She died on board his vessel, at the mouth of the river; but he carried her body up to the lake, where he left it in a

- coffin, in a place Where he knew her tribe would likely find it. It appears that a party of them was encamped at this time near the banks of the river, who observed Captain Buchan on the ice, and afterwards carried away the body of Mary March, which they deposited alongside of that of her husband?‘6

The last time any of the Boeothics were seen, was

then at the Grand Lake, in different encampments. A suspicion spread among them that Captain Buchan had gone down to bring up a party of men from the sea-coast to make all the Boeothics prisoners. They accordingly determined on breaking up their en- campments, and to alarm and join the rest of their tribe, who were encamped on the western side of the lake. To prevent their pm- ceedings being known, they decapitated the marines. 5“ See Mr Cormack’s Narrative hereafter.