126 



WANT OF WATER. 



deserted me. If a man suffers himself to be 

 trifled with, he cannot possibly succeed under 

 circumstances such as these ; however, 1 made 

 the threat under the conviction of that being 

 sufficient. 



We carried water from the resting-place at 

 mid-day, and, as usual, fixed our quarters at 

 night upon the banks of the river. 



The next day we advanced again exactly in 

 the same manner, but at noon, to our dismay, 

 there was no water ; the pool had dried up, 

 but we rested the horses for a short time, not- 

 withstanding this dreadful disappointment. My 

 thirst was great, for I had not drank the night 

 before. We had still some lemons left, which 

 were distributed, and these afforded much relief. 

 In the afternoon the major told me to follow 

 his example, and put a pebble into my mouth, 

 which was the usual resource of the Sertanejos 

 on these occasions. I did so, and certainly 

 found that it produced considerable moisture. 

 This was a dismal day, and we knew not 

 whether we should be able to reach a well be- 

 fore some of our horses failed. One of those 

 belonging to the major, already ran loose among 

 the others, as he was weak, and his load had 

 been changed to the horse which had carried 

 the maize, the remainder of this being distri- 

 buted in small portions, that it might be carried 

 by the rest. My horses bore it very well, z» 



