CHAP, XXXV.] 



TO WAWIOU. 



519 



old steersman and the cook on board, witli a loaded musket 

 to recall us if needed. We first walked along tb« beach, 

 till stopped by the vertical cliffs at the east end of the 

 island, finding a place where meat had been smoked, a 

 turtle-shell still greasy, and some cut wood, the leaves of 

 wliieh were still green, — showing that some boat had been 

 here very recently. We then entered the jungle, cutting 

 oiir way up to the top of the hill, but when we got there 

 could see nothing, owing to the thickness of the forest. 

 Retumiug, we cut some bamboos, and sharpened them to 

 dig for water in a low spot where some sago-U'ees were 

 growing ; when, just as we were going to begin, Hoi, the 

 Wahai man, called out to say he had found water. It was 

 a deep hole among the sago-trees, in stiii" 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. 1 then went 

 on board to breakfast, leaving my two men to make a 

 bamboo raft to carrj' us on shorn and back without 

 wading. I had scarcely finished when our cable broke, 

 and we bumped against the rocks. Lucidly it was smooth 

 and calm, and no damage was dona 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 without our 

 anchor, or beeu seriously damaged. In the evening %ve 

 went to fetch water Irom the well, when, greatly to our 

 dismay, 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 lung as the present drought continued. 

 Aa we did not know what we might sutler for want of 

 water, we filled our jar with this nmddy stuff so that 

 it might settle. In the afternoon 1 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, 



llie next day (2-kh) I determined to have another 

 search for water ; and when the tide was out rounded a 



