well as we could,
any spot we could find on the arid side of the mountain as a garden; and
some of them, who had been there for many years, had, in course of time,
produced a good soil, and reared plenty of vegetables. To my surprise,
I found at least twenty Englishmen among the whole mass of slaves; and
one or two of them were inspectors, and several of them
superintendents--saying much in favour of my countrymen. Their
conversation and their advice tended much to soothe the hardships of my
captivity, but I found from them that any hopes of ever leaving the
mines were useless, and that our bones must all be laid by the side of
the mountain. Of course, Ingram and I were inseparable; we worked in
the same gang, and we very soon built a hut for ourselves; and Ingram,
who was a light-hearted young man, set to work to make a garden. He
moved heavy stones on the sides of the mountain, and scraped up all the
mould he could find; sometimes he would get his handkerchief full, but
not often; but, as he said, every little helped. He killed lizards for
manure, and with them and leaves he made a little dung-heap, which he
watered, to assist putrefaction. Everything that would assist, he
carefully collected; and by degrees he had sufficient for a patch of
four or five yards square. This he planted; and with the refuse made
more manure; and in the course of a few months, by incessant activity
and assisted by me, he had a very tolerable patch of ground covered with
this manure and the alluvial soil washed out by the diamond-seeking,
mixed up together. We then obtained seeds, and grew vegetables like the
rest, and this proved a great increase to our comforts--that is, our
bodily wants; but my mind was far away. Amy Trevannion was never out of
my thoughts, and I fell into a deep melancholy. I worked hard at my
vocation, and was fortunate enough to find some good diamonds, long
before I had been a year at the mines. Having acquired the Portuguese
language, I was soon after raised to the office of superintendent. I
now no longer worked, but overlooked others, with a cane in my hand to
administer punishment to those who neglected their business. I cannot
say that I liked the change; I was not so miserable when I was employed,
but I did my duty with diligence. Ingram was in my gang, and another
Englishman, an old man,--I should think not less than seventy years old.
He told me that he belonged to a merchant vessel, and in a dru