all
cask only having been saved from the ship. The next step was to remove
their encampment to higher ground, where they could breathe a purer
air, and be in greater safety in case of attack.

In a short time the island presented a scene of bustle and activity
strangely at variance with the dreary solitude it had exhibited two
days before; and the once silent woods resounded with the voices of
men, and the strokes of the axe and the hammer. One party was employed
in cutting a path to the summit of the hill, another in removing
thither their small stock of provisions. A few men were on board the
wreck, endeavouring to save every article that might prove of general
use.

About midnight, the men who had been employed for so many hours on a
most fatiguing and harassing duty, and exposed to the burning rays of
a vertical sun, began to suffer most painfully from increased thirst,
and it was at that moment when they were almost bereft of hope that
they experienced one of the many merciful interpositions of Providence
by which the Almighty displays His tender care for His creatures: a
plentiful shower of rain fell, which the people caught by spreading
out their table cloths and clothes; and then, by wringing them, a
degree of moisture was imparted to their parched lips, and their
hearts were revived, and prepared to hear the joyful news, which was
communicated by the diggers soon after midnight, that they had found
water in the well, and a small bottle of this most dearly prized
treasure was handed to the captain. So great was the excitement of the
people on receiving the announcement, that it became necessary to
plant sentries, in order to prevent their rushing to the well and
impeding the work of the diggers.

On the morning of the 20th, the captain called all hands together, and
pointed out to them the critical nature of their position, and the
absolute necessity of their uniting as one man to overcome the
difficulties by which they were surrounded. He reminded them that they
were still amenable to the regulations of naval discipline, and
assured them that discipline would be enforced with even greater
rigour, if necessary, than on board ship; and that in serving out the
provisions the strictest impartiality should be observed, and all
should share alike until the arrival of assistance from Lord Amherst.

During this day, the well afforded a pint of water to each man; the
water is said to have tasted like milk and water