night of excessive anxiety and fatigue, owing to the
position of the hulk, we set about killing and cutting up our tortoise.
He proved to be much smaller than we had supposed, although in good
condition,--the whole meat about him not amounting to more than ten
pounds. With a view of preserving a portion of this as long as possible,
we cut it into fine pieces, and filled with them our three remaining
olive jars and the wine-bottle (all of which had been kept), pouring in
afterward the vinegar from the olives. In this manner we put away about
three pounds of the tortoise, intending not to touch it until we had
consumed the rest. We concluded to restrict ourselves to about four
ounces of the meat per day; the whole would thus last us thirteen days.
A brisk shower, with severe thunder and lightning, came on about dusk,
but lasted so short a time that we only succeeded in catching about
half a pint of water. The whole of this, by common consent, was given
to Augustus, who now appeared to be in the last extremity. He drank the
water from the sheet as we caught it (we holding it above him as he lay
so as to let it run into his mouth), for we had now nothing left capable
of holding water, unless we had chosen to empty out our wine from the
carboy, or the stale water from the jug. Either of these expedients
would have been resorted to had the shower lasted.

The sufferer seemed to derive but little benefit from the draught. His
arm was completely black from the wrist to the shoulder, and his feet
were like ice. We expected every moment to see him breathe his last.
He was frightfully emaciated; so much so that, although he weighed a
hundred and twenty-seven pounds upon his leaving Nantucket, he now did
not weigh more than forty or fifty at the farthest. His eyes were sunk
far in his head, being scarcely perceptible, and the skin of his
cheeks hung so loosely as to prevent his masticating any food, or even
swallowing any liquid, without great difficulty.

August 1. A continuance of the same calm weather, with an oppressively
hot sun. Suffered exceedingly from thirst, the water in the jug being
absolutely putrid and swarming with vermin. We contrived, nevertheless,
to swallow a portion of it by mixing it with wine; our thirst, however,
was but little abated. We found more relief by bathing in the sea, but
could not avail ourselves of this expedient except at long intervals,
on account of the continual presence of sharks. We now saw