READING, John

"The usual method of disposing of the dead was to weight the bodies and dump them overboard. When others and I asked the privilege of removing our dead and burying them on land, the Captain was hateful and mean about it. All of my dear ones except Samuel's wife I had to perform this last earthly service for. Others of the party had sustained like losses, and were as anxious as I to bury them as decently as possible. The Captain at last agreed to wait and we hired a Negro to help dig a trench big enough to put them in all together. We removed the dead from the boat and began our heart¬breaking task, but had it only partly done when the boat whistle blew and the boat began to get underway. All ran hastily back except the Negro, one woman and myself. She and I stood at the grave site of our dead and watched them go. What bitterness of spirit I experienced only God knows. Was this what I had come to America, the home of the brave, for? Here I was with two strangers standing beside the open grave of a group of strangers. Our common interests were all lying before us or fast receding from sight, subject to the whim of a heartless thing in human form. "Surges of emotion swept over me, sorrow, anger, love, fear, and despair, but my nearest duty was to protect these rapidly decomposing dear forms of mine from the ravages of wild beasts, heat, and other elements. Perhaps I had been blessed and spared to perform this last service. If! were dead with them our bodies would rot together. So I urged on my companions the need for work. I felt responsible for seeing this thing through.