At 4 A.M. I Woke, And Lighting A Lamp, I Tried In Vain To Wake Any Of
The Men Who Lay Stretched Upon The Ground, Like So Many Corpses, Sound
Asleep.
At length Saat sat up, and after rubbing his eyes for about ten
minutes, he made a fire, and began to boil the coffee; meanwhile I was
hard at work lightening the ship.
I threw away about 100 lbs. of salt;
divided the heavy ammunition more equally among the animals; rejected a
quantity of odds and ends that, although most useful, could be forsaken;
and by the time the men woke, a little before sunrise, I had completed
the work. We now reloaded the animals, who showed the improvement by
stepping out briskly. We marched well for three hours at a pace that bid
fair to keep us well ahead of the Turks, and at length we reached the
dry bed of a stream, where the Latooka guides assured us we should
obtain water by digging. This proved correct; but the holes were dug
deep in several places, and hours passed before we could secure a
sufficient supply for all the men and animals. The great sponging-bath
was excessively useful, as it formed a reservoir out of which all the
animals could drink.
While we were thus engaged some natives appeared carrying with them the
head of a wild boar in a horrible state of decomposition, and alive with
maggots. On arrival at the drinking-place they immediately lighted a
fire, and proceeded to cook their savoury pork by placing it in the
flames.
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