More than half their course, from the spot whence they
commenced towing, had been completed, when the harassed
men were made to quit their oars, in order to partake of
the scanty fare of the vessel, consisting chiefly of
dried bear's meat and venison. Spirit of any description
they had none; but, unlike their brethren of the Atlantic,
when driven to extremities in food, they knew not what
it was to poison the nutritious properties of the latter
by sipping the putrid dregs of the water-cask, in quantities
scarce sufficient to quench the fire of their parched
palates. Unslaked thirst was a misery unknown to the
mariners of these lakes: it was but to cast their buckets
deep into the tempting element, and water, pure, sweet,
and grateful as any that ever bubbled from the moss-clad
fountain of sylvan deity, came cool and refreshing to
their lips, neutralising, in a measure, the crudities of
the coarsest food. It was to this inestimable advantage
the crew of the schooner had been principally indebted
for their health, during the long series of privation,
as far as related to fresh provisions and rest, to which
they had been subjected.
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