COCOANUT MILK. 429 



captured on their arrival, ashore, saw her asunder, lengthen her 

 twelve feet, — which would give her forty tons' burden and enable 

 her to carry them all to China. The carpenters, who had been 

 fortunately left on the island, had been consulted, and had pro- 

 nounced the proposal feasible. The men, who at first were 

 unwilling to abandon all hope of the Centurion's return, at last 

 saw the necessity of active co-operation, and went zealously to 

 work. 



The blacksmith, with his forge and tools, was the first to com- 

 mence his task ; but, unhappily, his bellows had been left on 

 board the ship. Without his bellows he could get no fire; without 

 fire he could mould no iron ; and without iron the carpenters 

 could not rivet a single plank. But the cattle furnished hides 

 in plenty, and these hides were imperfectly tanned with the help 

 of a hogshead of lime found in the jerked-beef warehouse: with 

 this improvised leather, and with a gun-barrel for a pipe, a pair 

 of bellows was constructed which answered the intention tolerably 

 well. Trees were felled and sawed into planks, Anson working 

 with axe and adze as vigorously as any of his men. The juice 

 of the cocoanut furnished the men a natural and abundant grog, 

 and one which had this advantage over the distilled mixture to 

 which that name is usually applied, — that it did not intoxicate 

 them, but kept them temperate and orderly. When the main 

 work had been thus successfully started, it was found, on consul- 

 tation, that the tent on shore, some cordage accidentally left by 

 the Centurion, and the sails and rigging already belonging to 

 the bark, would serve to equip her indifferently when she was 

 lengthened. Two disheartening circumstances were now dis- 

 covered: all the gunpow T der which could be collected by the 

 strictest search amounted to just ninety charges, — considerably 

 less than one charge apiece to each member of the company : 

 their only compass was a toy, such as are made for the amuse- 

 ment of school-boys. Their only quadrant was a crazy instru- 

 ment which had been thrown overboard from the Centurion with 



