e 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. The overseer was affected also, but in a
less violent degree. The origin of this complaint was plainly traceable
to the food we had used for the last day or two; it rendered us both
incapable of the least exertion of any kind, whilst the disorder
continued, and afterwards left us very languid and weak. In the evening
upon examining the meat, a great deal of it was found to be getting
putrid, or fly-blown, and we were obliged to pick it over, and throw what
was tainted away.

April 20.--To-day I had all the meat boiled, as I thought it would keep
better cooked than raw, we had only a small tin saucepan without a
handle, to effect our cooking operations with, and the preparation of the
meat therefore occupied the whole of the day. The overseer was again
attacked with dysentery. At night the clouds gathered heavily around, and
the weather being mild and soft, I fully expected rain; after dark,
however, the wind rose high and the threatened storm passed away.

On the 21st, I was seized again with illness. The overseer continued to
be affected also, and we were quite unable to make the necessary
preparations for our journey to the westward, which I fully intended to
have commenced to-morrow. For several hours we were in the greatest
agony, and could neither lie down, sit up, nor stand, except with extreme
pain. Towards the afternoon the violence of the sympto