NAREATIYE OF THE SECOND AND THIRD EXPEDITIONS. 49 



The outlook now was none too hopeful. It was nearly a month since we landed ; 

 we had bored only 118 feet, had had two serious accidents, and were now reduced to 

 our last set of lining pipes; we knew that if anything happened to them like that 

 which had happened to the 5-inch pipes the boring woidd be a failure. The foreman 

 of the drill, Ha.ll, was becoming seriously ill, and we feared his leg would mortify, 

 while one of the foremen and one of the drill men Avere also suffering, though less 

 severely, from ulcerated legs. 



At this juncture a deiis ex machind arrived on July 18, in person of Dr. Corney, 

 in the Government steamer " Clyde " from Fiji. The " Clyde" had come via Rotuma, 

 and passing close to Sophia Island, the southernmost of the Ellice Group, Caj)tain 

 Callaghan" observed signals for help, and standing in found that there was a ship- 

 wrecked crew of 13 Norw^egian sailors ashore. Their ship had been lost near Maiden 

 Island and they had been drifted about 1660 miles to Sophia Island, in their vain 

 endeavour to make the Fiji Group. They had been on Sophia Island for ten months, 

 and'had subsisted chiefly on turtles and fish. 



Dr. CoRN'EY brought us our Sydney mails, together with a welcome supply of cash 

 forwarded by Mr. Pitman from Sydney, and a considerable supply of fruit, and what, 

 was most important a good supply of medicine. He prescribed for the sick, and 

 cheered us all up wonderfully. The numerous sympathetic letters received from our 

 friends were also an immense encouragement. It is not too much to say that the 

 coming of Dr. Coeney was the turning point in our fortunes. The material to be 

 drilled became somew^hat softer, so that it was often possible to " monkey" the 4-inch 

 lining pipes down without having recourse to under-reaming, and this proved an 

 immense saving in time, as our experience proved that it took just twice as long to 

 uuder-ream as to bore. On July 26, the rods of the big drill became jammed in the 

 silt at a depth of 212 feet. The combined force of the diamond-drill hydraulic cylinders 

 and of the S-ton jacks failed to move them. The foreman suggested forcing water 

 down the 4-inch lining pipes, to try and loosen the silt around the boring rods. 

 Accordingly the drill pump was kept going all night forcing water down the lining 

 pipes, instead of down the boring rods. By this means the silt between the boring 

 rods and the lining pipes was gradually driven downwards and outwards below the 

 lining pipes into the numerous crevices of the coral rock in the unlined (low^er) portion 

 of the bore-hole. This device was successful and the rods were safely withdrawn. 

 This accident proved the danger of boring for more than a few feet ahead of the lining- 

 pipes. Two dangers, however, now began to threaten the boring. (1) The supply of 

 coal was getting low, and (2) the jarring, caused by the " dogs " of the under-reamer 

 catching projecting pieces of cavernous coral rock at the sides of the bore-hole, shattered 

 the teeth of the bevelled o'earinp- wheels of the drill. To lessen the first of these 

 dangers the natives were commissioned to cut and carry to the drill supplies of Ngie 

 wood, for which we paid at the rate of lO-y. for 50 small baskets. The l^roken teeth 

 of the bevelled wheel were laboriously replaced by Garland and the other drill men, 



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