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55

In the seventies Sebattis told my father of being out porpoising several years before with the fleet from Quoddy when someone stirred [?] a paddle & brought up the rest. He had the body of a woman which he had found afloat. She was a good looking middle aged woman, dressed in a nice black silk dress. Had not been in the water long enough to decompose at all. The Indians were greatly disturbed but did not know what to do. In their ignorance or mortal dread of small pox they imagined she had died & been thrown overboard. So not daring to come too near they towed the body to the nearest island that was inhabited. But here the people were as scared as the Indians and refused the body burial so what could they do but tow it out to sea again and leave it.

Sebattis told me how he once dived three times to the bottom of Passedumcook [?] to free an anchor that was fast. John Ross said he would give him the best hat in Bangor for it.