Their Liquor Now Began To Fail, And Many Of The People Being Quite
Exhausted With Incessant Labour, Long Watchings, And The Other Hardships
They Had Undergone, And Through Scarcity Of Provisions, A Great Number Of
Them Died.
So great particularly was the scarcity of drink, that the
allowance for each man was only a fourth part of a moderate cupful once in
twenty-four hours.
They were better provided with salted meat, cheese, and
biscuit; but this dry and salt food excited an intolerable thirst, which
they had no means to quench; in consequence of which some of them died
suddenly, and without having exhibited any previous symptoms of illness;
and it was particularly observed, that those were first carried off who had
formerly lived in the most intemperate manner, and had given themselves up
to drunkenness, or had continually indulged themselves in hovering over the
fire. Though these had the external appearance of being strong and healthy,
they were least able to endure the hardships they had now to suffer, and
two or three of them used to die in a day. This mortality prevailed for ten
days, from the 19th to the 29th of December. On the 29th the last remainder
of the wine was served out, and every one resigned himself to meet death,
which seemed at hand. Some of the people, urged by raging thirst, drank sea
water, which evidently hastened their dissolution. Others had recourse to
their own urine, and this nauseous beverage, joined to the precaution of
eating as little salt provision as possible, contributed most of all to the
preservation of their lives.
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