a small extent used rough treatment to some natives so
caught, we could not by any possibility have succeeded in crossing the
desert, and should not only have lost our own lives, but possibly those
of others who would have made search for us after. "A man arms himself
where his armour is weakest," so I have read; that, however, is not my
case. I am not justifying myself to myself, or defending a line of action
not yet assailed. I write this in answer to some who have unfavourably
criticised my methods, and to those I would say, "Put yourselves in our
position, and when sitting in a comfortable armchair at home, in the
centre of civilisation, do not, you who have never known want or suffered
hardship, be so ready to judge others who, hundreds of miles from their
fellow-men, threatened every day with possible death from thirst, were
doing their best to lay bare the hidden secrets of an unknown region, as
arid and desolate as any the world can show."

On starting back for camp the gin refused to walk or move in any way, so
we had to pack her on Czar, making her as comfortable as possible on
Warri's blankets, with disastrous results thereto. Arrived at camp, I
found that the rock-hole was bottomed, and now quite dry. Straining the
putrid water brought by me through a flannel shirt, boiling it, adding
ashes and Epsom salts, we concocted a serviceable beverage. This, blended
with the few gallons of muddy water from the well, formed our supply,
which we looked to augment under the guidance of the gin. After
completing our work the well presented the appearance of a large
rock-hole, thirty feet deep, conical in shape, of which one-half the
contents had been dug out. This confirmed my opinion that the native
wells of these regions are nothing more than holes in the bed-rock, which
have been covered over and in by the general deposit of sand. I had no
time to observe for latitude at this spot, the position of which is fixed
merely by dead reckoning. The rock-hole lies eight miles from it to the
S.E. by E., and has no guide whatever to its situation. I christened the
well "Patience Well," and I think it was well named.

From September 8th, 9 a.m., until September 12th, 12.30 a.m., we had
worked almost continuously, only taking in turn what sleep we could
snatch when one could be spared; and the result, 140 gallons as sum
total, inclusive of mud and other matter.

We left Patience Well on the 12th, at 10 a.m., taking the woman wi