Mac quart e liar bon r. 
203 
the worst characters were constantly kept on the small island, 
which place was in fact considered as a gaol, and the men 
sentenced there, as they are at other places, to sleep in the 
cells. Two gangs were stationed at Gordon’s River—one to 
burn lime, the other to cut timber ; the remainder lived 
on the settlement, in the buildings appropriated to their use. 
As there was neither wood nor water on the settlement, a 
strong gang for the former service was sent daily to the main, 
whilst the latter duty fell to part of the boats’ crews. 
The gangs which were stationed at Gordon’s River, 
although worked as severely as their comrades who were 
sent daily from the small island to similar occupations, fared 
much better in one respect. They had regular meals, for 
the rations being issued to them periodically, they cooked 
them when and how they pleased ; not so the others, the in¬ 
habitants of the small island. In the mornings, before they 
proceeded to work, they received each about a pint and a 
half of skilly, a kind of hasty pudding, composed of flour, 
water, and salt. They were then embarked in launches, and 
sent to the place destined for the day’s labour ; here they 
were kept hard at work till evening, without a morsel to sa¬ 
tisfy their hunger, naturally increased by exercise. There 
had been so many (although fruitless) attempts at escape, 
that these men could not be trusted with provisions. The 
labour over, they had to pull themselves sometimes a distance 
of nine and ten miles towards their cheerless home, often in 
bad weather compelled to wade up to their middles on land¬ 
ing. Once on shore, affairs wore a more agreeable aspect, 
and a comfortable warm meal greeted their craving appetites, 
whilst a blazing Are invited them to dry their clothes, and 
warm their shivering limbs. But even in the article of fire, 
some restrictions were obliged to be enforced, and no fuel 
that would swim was allowed, because some men had made 
rafts of their firewood, and attempted to escape. 
The prisoners at the settlement had their dinner regularly 
r 2 
