DIG A WELL. 
363 
the sea shore dunes and the ridges immediately be- 
hind them were now of a pure white sand, and steep, 
whilst those further back were very high and covered 
with low bushes. Upon ascending one of the latter 
I had a good view around, and to my inexpressible 
pleasure and relief saw the high drifts of sand we 
were looking for so anxiously, in the corner between 
us and the more distant point of land first seen. 
The height of the intervening ridges and the sand- 
drifts being in the angle prevented us from noticing 
them sooner. 
We had now travelled ten miles, and the sand- 
hills were about five miles further. The horses 
were, however, becoming exhausted, and the day 
was so hot that I was compelled to halt, and even 
now, in sight of our long-expected goal, I feared we 
might be too late to save them. Leaving the boys 
to attend to the animals, I took the overseer up one 
of the ridges to reconnoitre the country for the pur- 
pose of ascertaining whether there was no place near 
us where water might be procured by digging. After a 
careful examination a hollow was selected between 
the two front ridges of white sand, where the over- 
seer thought it likely we might be successful. The 
boys were called up to assist in digging, and the 
work was anxiously commenced ; our suspense in- 
creasing every moment as the well was deepened. 
At about five feet the sand was observed to be quite 
moist, and upon its being tasted was pronounced 
quite free from any saline qualities. This was joyous 
