eating alternately
the whole night long; his only complaint now being that the water was so
far off, and that as we had to carry it all up from the sand-hills to our
camp, he could not drink so much as he should like, and in consequence,
could not eat so much either, for it required no small quantity of liquid
to wash down the enormous masses of meat that he consumed whenever he had
an opportunity.

May 24.--Leaving Wylie to continue his feast and attend to the horses, I
went down to the beach to hunt again for crabs, of which I procured about
three dozen, but still of the same small size as before; a few larger
ones were seen in the deeper clefts of the rocks, but I could not get at
them; indeed, as it was, I was very nearly terminating my crab hunting
and expedition at the same time. The places where these animals were
obtained, were the clefts and holes among large masses and sheets of rock
close to the sea, and which were covered by it at high water; many of
these were like platforms, shelving to the sea, and terminating abruptly
in deep water. Whilst busily engaged upon one of them, in trying to get
some crabs out from its clefts, I did not notice that the surf sometimes
washed over where I stood, until whilst stooping, and in the act of
fishing out a crab, a roller came further than usual and dashing over me,
threw me down and took both me and my crabs to some distance, nearly
carrying us down the steep into the sea, from which nothing could have
rescued me, as I should soon have been dashed to pieces by the breakers
against the rocks. Having gathered up the crabs I had collected, I set
off homewards in a sad cold uncomfortable plight, with the skin scraped
off my hands and one of my heels, and with my shoes in such a state from
scrambling about among the rocks and in the wet, as strongly to indicate
to me the propriety of never attempting to go crab hunting again with my
shoes on, unless I wished to be placed altogether "hors du combat" for
walking. Wylie I found had got up the horses and watered them, and had
brought up a supply of water for the camp, so that we had nothing to do
in the afternoon but boil crabs and eat them, at which occupation I found
him wonderfully more skilful than I was, readily getting through two to
my one.

On the 25th we still remained in camp to take advantage of the abundant
supply of food we had for ourselves, and by giving the horses a long
rest, enable them also to recruit a litt