TO FERNANDO PO. 153 



flesh. Eight ounces of water were served out to 

 each man for twenty-four hours ; a very short 

 allowance for persons living under a vertical sun. 

 Fortunately it was a dull wet morning, and we 

 were enabled to catch a little rain from a dirty 

 awning placed over the quarter-deck ; this we 

 did by holding our mouths to the holes as it 

 trickled through. 



Our fuel was now exhausted, and we had no 

 sails. Some thoughts were entertained of taking 

 down the masts and using them for the fires ; 

 and Lieutenant Allen got some jury-masts rig- 

 ged, and some awnings ready to be converted 

 into sails, which, when set, enabled us to go at 

 the rate of two or three knots an hour. At 

 noon we found ourselves eighty miles from Fer- 

 nando Po, with many of our hands sick from 

 scanty allowance and change of weather. 



On the morning of Saturday, November 2lnd, 

 all hands were on the look-out for a sail ; but we 

 were doomed to disappointment, and our situa- 

 tion became anything but desirable, — particularly 

 as the compasses were useless, from the attrac- 

 tion of the vessel. In the afternoon, when about 

 fifty miles from Fernando Po, we perceived a 

 smoke, which we concluded was that of a 



