A few days more, by which time I hoped
we might again be able to venture on, and attempt another push to the
westward.
Early on the morning of the 16th, I sent the overseer to kill the
unfortunate horse, which was still alive, but unable to rise from the
ground, having never moved from the place where he had first been found
lying yesterday morning. The miserable animal was in the most wretched
state possible, thin and emaciated by dreadful and long continued
sufferings, and labouring under some complaint, that in a very few hours
at the farthest, must have terminated its life.
After a great portion of the meat had been cut off from the carcase, in
thin slices, they were dipped in salt water and hung up upon strings to
dry in the sun. I could not bring myself to eat any to-day, so horrible
and revolting did it appear to me, but the overseer made a hearty dinner,
and the native boys gorged themselves to excess, remaining the whole
afternoon by the carcase, where they made a fire, cutting off and
roasting such portions as had been left. They looked like ravenous wolves
about their prey, and when they returned to the camp at night, they were
loaded with as much cooked meat as they could carry, and which they were
continually eating during the night; I made a meal upon some of the
sting-ray that was still left, but it made me dreadfully sick, and I was
obliged to lie down, seriously ill.
April 17. - Being rather better to-day, I was obliged to overcome my
repugnance to the disagreeable food we were compelled to resort to, and
the ice once broken, I found that although it was far from being
palatable, I could gradually reconcile myself to it. The boys after
breakfast again went down to the carcase, and spent the whole day
roasting and eating, and at night they again returned to the camp loaded.
We turned all the meat upon the strings and redipped it in sea water
again to-day, but the weather was unfavourable for drying it, being cold
and damp. Both yesterday and to-day light showers fell sufficient to
moisten the grass.
April 18. - The day being much warmer, many large flies were about, and I
was obliged to have a 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 unsuccessful. During the forenoon I was
seized with a violent attack of dysentery, accompanied with diabetes,
from which I suffered extremely.
