ITS INJURIOUS EFFECTS. 387 
fire kept constantly around the meat, to keep them 
away by the smoke. I now put the natives upon 
an allowance of five pounds of flesh each per day, 
myself and the overseer using about half that 
quantity. 
On the 19th, I sent out one of the boys to try and 
get a sting-ray to vary our diet, but he returned un- 
successful. During the forenoon I was seized with 
a violent attack of dysentery, accompanied with 
diabetes, from which I suffered extremely. The 
overseer was affected also, but in a less violent 
degree. The origin of this complaint was plainly 
traceable to the food we had used for the last day or 
two ; it rendered us both incapable of the least exer- 
tion of any kind, whilst the disorder continued, and 
afterwards left us very languid and weak. In the 
evening upon examining the meat, a great deal of 
it was found to be getting putrid, or fly-blown, and 
we were obliged to pick it over, and throw what was 
tainted away. 
April 20. — To-day I had all the meat boiled, as 
I thought it would keep better cooked than raw, 
we had only a small tin saucepan without a handle, 
to effect our cooking operations with, and the pre- 
paration of the meat therefore occupied the whole 
of the day. The overseer was again attacked with 
dysentery. At night the clouds gathered heavily 
around, and the weather being mild and soft, I fully 
expected rain ; after dark, however, the wind rose 
high and the threatened storm passed away. 
2 c 2 
