522 Voyage from Ceram 



hill, but when we got there could see nothing, owing to the 

 thickness of the forest. Returning, we cut some bamboos, 

 and sharpened them to dig for water in a low spot where some 

 sago-trees were growing; when, just as we were going to be- 

 gin. Hoi, the Wahai man, called out to say he had found war 

 ter. It was a deep hole among the sago-trees, in stiff black 

 clay, full of water, which was fresh, but smelt horribly from 

 the quantity of dead leaves and sago refuse that had fallen in. 

 Hastily concluding that it was a spring, or that the water had 

 filtered in, we baled it all out, as well as a dozen or twenty 

 buckets of mud and rubbish, hoping by night to have a good 

 supply of clean water. I then went on board to breakfast, 

 leaving my two men to make a bamboo raft to carry us on 

 shore and back without wading. I had scarcely finished when 

 our cable broke, and we bumped against the rocks. Luckily 

 it was smooth and calm, and no damage was done. We 

 searched for and got up our anchor, and found that -the cable 

 had been cut by grating all night upon the coral. Had it 

 given way in the night, we might have drifted out to sea with- 

 out our anchor, or been seriously damaged. In the evening 

 we went to fetch water from the well, when, greatly to our dis- 

 may, we found nothing but a little liquid mud at the bottom, 

 and it then became evident that the hole was one which had 

 been made to collect rain water, and would never fill again as 

 long as the present drought continued. As we did not know 

 what we might suffer for want of water, we filled our jar with 

 this muddy stuff so that it might settle. In the afternoon I 

 crossed over to the other side of the island, and made a large 

 fire, in order that our men might see we were still there. 



The next day (24th) I determined to have another search 

 for water ; and when the tide was out rounded a rocky point 

 and went to the extremity of the island without finding any 

 sign of the smallest stream. On our way back, noticing a 

 very small dry bed of a water-course, I went up it to explore, 

 although every thing was so dry that my men loudly declared 

 it was useless to expect water there ; but a little way up I 

 was rewarded by finding a few pints in a small pool. We 

 searched higher up in every hole and channel where water 

 marks appeared, but could find not a drop more. Sending one 

 of my men for a large jar and tea-cup, we searched along the 



