James Wilde’s death in the Arctic is the final loss in a sequence of absences that leaves Washington Black alone in the northern camp. After Titch disappears into the snowy wastes, James sets out to search for his son, returns without finding him, and falls ill. Washington watches over him and draws him as his condition declines. When James dies, Washington recognizes that Titch will not return and decides to leave; Peter House helps him depart with provisions, money, books, and instruments that connect his uncertain future to the life of observation and study he has begun to build.

The Search for Titch

After searchers return without Titch, James grows increasingly restless. He sleeps little, eats less, and keeps watch at the entrance of his igloo rather than tending the traps. At last he gathers his survival tools into a large green sack, puts on a freshly oiled caribou skin, and sets out across the snow. The local people try to dissuade him, but Peter House signals that they should let James go and follows at a distance of about fifty paces, intending to keep him from being lost as well.

Several days later, James and Peter return together across the plain. James has not found Titch. Washington is anxious for news, but James passes him without answering and enters the igloo. He curses Titch as a foolish boy who has always run away and hidden, yet Washington can see that James does not believe his son will come back this time. The failed search makes the possibility of Titch’s permanent absence harder to evade.

Illness and Death

James briefly acknowledges Washington’s situation, telling him he should be all right because there are provisions and clothing. He also refers to Washington’s recent sketch of a whale’s horn, praising its faithful rendering and suggesting that he draw more. The small exchange joins practical reassurance to a recognition of Washington’s ability, but it does not restore the security that Titch’s disappearance has taken away.

Some hours later, James falls gravely ill. He lies bundled in furs, alternately shivering and throwing them off in fever. Peter brings soups, potions, and tinctures in an effort to treat the infection, but James’s condition worsens as Titch remains missing. Washington accompanies Peter on the morning checks of the traps, though they find nothing; the walks offer a way to turn his mind from his fear, not a solution to it.

In the afternoons Washington watches James while Peter makes trips to the outpost. The old man lies with his eyes closed and his breathing shallow. Washington fetches his drawing materials and sketches him, attending to the details of his appearance. As he works, he thinks both of Titch, who may still be alive somewhere beyond the camp, and of earlier events that led to his own escape from Faith Plantation. James’s death therefore arrives within a layered recollection: Washington is caring for a dying man while reconsidering how another man’s death once changed the course of his life.

Washington eventually pauses his drawing and realizes that James has stopped breathing. His face is still, and one arm lies across his body: he is dead. The narration establishes the death through Washington’s close observation rather than through a formal announcement or a scene of farewell.

Aftermath and Departure

James’s death confirms what Washington has feared: Titch is not returning to the camp, and Washington has been left without the person who brought him there. He understands that he must now look after his own safety. Peter and the local people carry James away, while Washington remains in the igloo, staring at his torn mittens. The practical loss is accompanied by a decisive change in his circumstances: the camp can no longer be treated as a place where Titch might return and restore the life Washington expected.

Washington does not want to remain in the Arctic. Accustomed to the warmth and sea air of the Indies, he feels confined by the cold, despite the blankets, animal hides, and fire. He knows Peter and the others will try to protect him, but cannot tell for how long, so he gathers his belongings and tells Peter he intends to leave.

Although Peter has lost his closest companion, he responds with care. He lets Washington choose among the Wildes’ possessions; Washington selects a leather-bound treatise on marine life, and Peter adds several of James’s hand lenses. He also gives Washington the skin of money Titch had left for him, along with food and other provisions. At the outpost Peter places additional small scopes in Washington’s mittens: compact, handmade models belonging to Titch, with dark gears for knobs. Peter and Hesiod set Washington on a sled and lead him out across the snow.

Narrative Significance

The death brings one uncertainty to an end while leaving another unresolved. James, whose death had previously been treated as legendary or presumed, now truly dies in the camp; Titch, by contrast, remains missing. Washington’s decision to leave follows from the combination: he cannot wait indefinitely for Titch, and James’s death removes the remaining family connection that had anchored him there.

The objects Peter gives Washington make the departure more than an escape from the cold. The marine-life book and hand lenses belonged to James, while the self-made scopes belonged to Titch; carried together, they preserve material traces of both men without resolving Washington’s separation from either. The sequence ends not with a reunion or explanation but with Washington sent into the wastes, equipped to continue independently. The death thus marks a painful turn from reliance on the Wilde household toward a future Washington must make for himself.