The old man has become too feeble to hunt and his time is almost entirely occupied in attendance upon his wife who has been long affected with an ulcer on the face which has nearly destroyed her nose.
Lately he made an offering to the water spirits whose wrath he apprehended to be the cause of her malady.

It consisted of a knife, a piece of tobacco, and some other trifling articles which were tied up in a small bundle and committed to the rapid with a long prayer.

He does not trust entirely however to the relenting of the spirits for his wife's cure, but comes daily to Dr.Richardson for medicine.
Upon one occasion he received the medicine from the Doctor with such formality and wrapped it up in his reindeer robe with such extraordinary carefulness that it excited the involuntary laughter of Mr.Hood and myself.

The old man smiled in his turn and, as he always seemed proud of the familiar way in which we were accustomed to joke with him, we thought no more upon the subject.

But he unfortunately mentioned the circumstance to his wife who imagined in consequence that the drug was not productive of its usual good effects and they immediately came to the conclusion that some bad medicine had been intentionally given to them.