General Remarks.--In most of those countries where travelling is arduous,
it is the daily care of an explorer to obtain water, for his own use and
for that of his caravan. Should he be travelling in regions that are for
the most part arid and rarely visited by showers, he must look for his
supplies in ponds made by the drainage of a large extent of country, or
in those left here and there along the beds of partly dried-up
water-courses, or in fountains. If he be unsuccessful in his search, or
when the dry season of the year has advanced, and all water has
disappeared from the surface of the land, there remains no alternative
for him but to dig wells where there are marks to show that pools
formerly lay, or where there are other signs that well-water may be
obtained.
Short Stages.--I may here remark that it is a good general rule for an
explorer of an arid country, when he happens to come to water, after not
less than three hours' travelling, to stop and encamp by it; it is better
for him to avail himself of his good fortune and be content with his
day's work, than to risk the uncertainty of another supply.
Purity of Watering-places.--Make no litter by the side of
watering-places; and encourage among your party the Mahomedan feeling of
respect for preserving the purity of drinking-water. Old travellers
commonly encamp at a distance from the watering-place, and fetch the
water to their camp.
Signs of the Neighbourhood of Water.--The quick intelligence with which
experienced travellers discover watering-places, is so great that it
might almost be mistaken for an instinct.
Intelligence of Dogs and Cattle.--Dogs are particularly clever in
finding water, and the fact of a dog looking refreshed, and it may be
wet, has often and often drawn attention to a pond that would otherwise
have been overlooked and passed by. Cattle are very uncertain in their
intelligence. Sometimes oxen go for miles and miles across a country
unknown to them, straight to a pond of water; at other times they are
most obtuse: Dr. Leichhardt, the Australian traveller, was quite
astonished at their stupidity in this respect.
Trees and ordinary vegetation are not of much help in directing a
traveller to water, for they thrive on dew or on occasional rain; but it
is otherwise when the vegetation is unusually green or luxuriant, or when
the vegetation is unusually green or luxuriant, or when those trees are
remarked, that are seldom seen to grow except near water in the
particular country visited, as the blackthorn-tree in South Africa.
Birds.--Some species of birds (as water-fowl, parrots, and the diamond
bird) or animals (as baboons) afford surer promise; but the converging
flight of birds, or the converging fresh tracks of animals, is the most
satisfactory sign of all. It is about nightfall that desert birds usually
drink, and hence it often happens that the exhausted traveller,
abandoning all hope as the shades of evening close in, has his attention
arrested by flights of birds, that give him new life and tell him where
to go.
Tracks.--In tropical countries that have rainy and dry Seasons, it must
be recollected that old paths of men or wild animals only mislead; they
go to dry ponds that were full at the time they were trodden, but have
since been abandoned on becoming exhausted.
Other Signs.--Well-water may be sought where the earth is still moist,
though arid all around, or, failing that, where birds and wild animals
have lately been scratching, or where gnats hover in swarms.
To find the Spring--From the number of birds, tracks, and other signs,
travellers are often pretty sure that they are near water, but cannot
find the spring itself. In this case the party should at once be spread
out as skirmishers, and the dogs cheered on.
To probe for Well-water.--It is unusual, when no damp earth can be seen,
but where the place appears likely to yield well-water, to force an iron
ramrod deep into the soil; and, if it bring up any grains that are moist,
to dig.
Pools of Water.--For many days after there has been rain, water is sure
to be found among mountains, however desert may be their appearance; for
not only does more wet fall upon them, but the drainage is more perfect;
long after the ravines and stream-beds are quite dry, puddles and cupfuls
of water will be found here and there, along their courses, in holes and
chinks and under great stones, which together form a sufficiency. A
sponge tied to the end of a stick will do good service in lapping these
up.
The sandy Beds of Watercourses in arid countries frequently contain pools
of stagnant water; but the places where these pools are to be found are
not necessarily those where they have been found in preceding years. The
conditions necessary for the existence of a pool are not alone those of
the rocky substratum of the river-bed, but more especially, the
stratifications of mud and clay left after each flooding. For instance,
an extensive bed of sand, enclosed between two layers of clay, would
remain moist, and supply well-water during the dry season; but a trivial
variation in the force and Amount of the current, in different years,
might materially affect the place and the character of the deposition of
these clay strata.
In searching the beds of partly dried-up watercourses, the fact must
never be forgotten, that it is especially in little tributaries at the
point where they fall into the main one, that most water is to be found;
and the most insignificant of these should never be overlooked. I presume
that the bar, which always accumulates in front of tributaries, and is
formed of numerous layers of alluvial deposit, parallel to the bed of the
great stream, is very likely to have one, at least, of its layers of an
impervious character. If so, the bar would shut in the wet sand of the
tributary, like a wall, and prevent it from draining itself dry.
When a river-bed has been long followed by a traveller, and a frequent
supply of water found along it, in pools or even in wells, say at every 5
or 10 miles--then, should this river-bed appear to lose itself in a
plain that is arid, there is no reason why the traveller should be
disheartened; for, on travelling further, the water will be sure to be
found again, those plains being always green and grassy where the water
in such river-beds entirely disappears.
By Sea-shore.--Fresh water is frequently to be found under the very
sands of the sea-shore, whither it has oozed underground from the upper
country, and where it overlies the denser salt water; or else abuts
against it, if the compactness of the sand resists free percolation. In
very many places along the skirt of the great African desert, fresh water
is to be found by digging two or three feet.
Fountains.--Fountains in arid lands are as godsends. They are far more
numerous and abundant in limestone districts than in any others, owing to
the frequent fissures of those rocks: therefore, whenever limestone crops
out in the midst of sand deserts, a careful search should be made for
water. In granite, and other primary rocks, many, but small springs, are
usually seen.
The theory of ordinary fountains is simple enough, and affords help in
discovering them. In a few words, it is as follows:--All the water that
runs from them has originally Been supplied by rain, dew, or fog-damp,
falling on the face of the land and sinking into it. But the subsoil and
rocks below, are far from being of a uniform character: they are full of
layers of every imaginable degree of sponginess. Strata of clay wholly
impenetrable by water, often divide beds of gravel that imbibe it freely.
There are also cracks that make continuous channels and dislocations that
cause them to end abruptly; and there are rents, filled with various
materials, that may either give a free passage or entirely bar the
underground course of water. Hence, when water has sunk into the earth,
it does not by any means soak through it in an equable degree. It is an
easier matter for it to ooze many miles, along a layer of gravel, than to
penetrate six inches into a layer of clay that may bound the gravel.
Therefore, whenever a porous earth or a fissured rock crops out to the
light of day, there is, in ignorance of all other facts, some chance of a
spring being discovered in the lowest part of the outcrop. A favourable
condition for the existence of a large and permanent fountain, is where a
porous stratum spreads over a broad area at a high level, and is
prolonged, by a gradually narrowing course, to an outlet at a lower one.
The broad upper part of the stratum catches plenty of water during the
wet season, which sinks into the depths as into a reservoir, and oozes
out in a regular stream at its lower outlet. A fissured rock makes a
still easier channel for the water.
[Fig 1 and Fig. 2].
As examples of ordinary cases of fountains, we will take those
represented in the following figures. Fig. I is a mountain. Fig. 2 is a
model, made to explain more clearly the conditions represented in fig. I.
It will be observed that there is a ravine, R, in front; a line of fault,
L, M. N, on its left side, Supposed to be filled with water-tight rock;
and a valley, V (fig. 1), on the extreme right. The upper part of the
mountain is supposed to be much more porous than its base, and the plane
which divides the porous from the non-porous rock, to cut the surface of
the mountain along the line, A, N, M, B, C, D, E, F. The highest point of
the plane is F, and the lowest point A. The effect of rain upon the model
fig. 2 would be, to wet its upper half: water would ooze out along the
whole of the lines A, N, and M, B, C, D, E, F; and there would be a small
fountain at A, and a large one at M. But in the actual mountain, fig. 1,
we should not expect to find the same regularity as in the model. The
rind of the earth, with its vegetation and weather-impacted surface,
forms a comparatively impermeable envelope to the mountain, not likely to
be broken through, except at a few places. But ravines, such as r, would
be probably denuded of their rind, and there we should find a line of
minute fountains at the base of the porous rock. If there be no actual
fountains, there would at least be some vegetation that indicated
dripping water: thus the appearance is well known and often described, of
a ravine utterly bare of verdure above, but clothed with vegetation below
a sharply defined line, whence the moisture proceeds that irrigates all
beneath. We should also be almost certain of finding a spring breaking
forth near m or even near a. But in the valley V we should only see a few
signs of former moisture, along e, f; such as bunches of vegetation upon
the arid cliff, or an efflorescence of salts. Whenever a traveller
remarks these signs, he should observe the inclination of the strata, by
which he would learn the position of m, where the probability of finding
water is the greatest. In a very arid country, the anatomy of the land is
so manifest, from the absence of mould, that geological indications are
peculiarly easy to follow.
Wells.--Digging Wells.--In default of spades, water is to be dug for
with a sharp-pointed stick. Take it in both hands, and, holding it
upright like a dagger, stab and dig it in the ground, as in fig. 1; then
clear out the loose earth with the hand, as in fig. 2. Continue thus
working with the stick and hand alternately, and a hole as deep as the
arm is easily made. In digging a large hole or well, the earth Must be
loosened in precisely the same manner, handed up to the surface and
carried off by means of a bucket or bag, in default of a shovel and
wheelbarrow.
[Fig. 1. And Fig. 2.--sketches of digging as described above].
After digging deeply, the sand will often be found just moist, no water
actually lying in the well; but do not, therefore, be disheartened; wait
a while, and the water will collect. After it has once begun to ooze
through the sides of the well, it will continue to do so much more
freely. Therefore, on arriving at night, with thirsty cattle, at a well
of doubtful character, deepen it at once, by torch-light, that the water
may have time to collect; then the cattle may be watered in the early
morning, and sent to feed before the sun is hot.
It often happens when digging wells in sandy watercourses, that a little
water is found, and that below it is a stratum of clay. Now if the
digging be continued deeper, in hopes of more water, the result is often
most unfortunate; for the clay stratum may prove extremely thin, in which
case the digging will pierce it: then the water that had been seen will
drain rapidly and wholly away, to the utter discomfiture of the
traveller.
Kerkari.--I am indebted to correspondents for an account of a method
employed in the plains of the Sikhim Himalaya, and in Assam, where it is
called a "Kerkari," also in lower Bengal, for digging deep holes. The
natives take a freshly cut bamboo, say three inches in diameter: they cut
it just above one of the knots, and then split the wood as far as to the
next joint, in about a dozen places, and point the pieces somewhat. The
other end of the instrument should be cut slantingly, to thrust into the
earth, and its other end is afterwards worked vertically with both hands.
[Unlabelled figure of kerkari].
The soft soil is thus forced into the hollow of the bamboo, and spreads
out its blades, as is intended to be shown in the figure. The bamboo is
next withdrawn and the plug of earth is shaken out: it is then
reintroduced and worked up and down as before. It is usual to drive a
stake in the ground to act as a toothed comb, to comb out the plug of
earth. Mr. Peal writes from Assam:--"I have just had 4 holes dug in the
course of ordinary work, in hard earth. Two men dug the holes in 1 1/2
hour; they were 3 feet 6 inches deep and 6 inches in diameter. I weighed
the clay raised at each stroke. In 4 consecutive strokes the weights were
1 1/4 lbs., 1 3/4 lbs., 1 3/4 lbs., 2 lbs. Another trial gave 7 lbs.
lifted, after 5 or 6 strokes." According to the above data, an Assamese
workman makes a hole, 1 foot deep and 6 inches in diameter in 6 minutes.
Holes 10 feet deep and 6 inches wide can be made, as I am informed, by
this contrivance.
Protecting Wells.--The following extract from Bishop Heber, though
hardly within the scope of the 'Art of Travel,' is very suggestive. "The
wells of this country (Bhurtpoor, India), some of which are very deep,
are made in a singular manner. They build a tower of masonry of the
diameter required, and 20 or 30 feet high from the surface of the ground.
This they allow to stand a year or more, till its masonry is rendered
firm and compact by time; then they gradually undermine it, and promote
its sinking into the sandy soil, which it does without difficulty, and
altogether. When level with the surface, they raise its walls higher; and
so go on, throwing out the sand and raising the wall, till they have
reached the water. If they adopted our method, the soil is so light that
it would fall on them before they could possibly raise the wall from the
bottom; nor, without the wall, could they sink to any considerable
depth." A stout square frame of wood scantling, boarded like a
sentry-box, and of about the same size and shape, but without top or
bottom, is used in making wells in America. The sides of a well in sandy
soil are so liable to fall in, that travellers often sink a cask or some
equivalent into the water, when they are encamped for any length of time
in its vicinity.
Scanty wells in hot climates should be brushed over, when not in actual
use, to check their evaporation.
Snow-water.--It is impossible for men to sustain life by eating snow or
ice, instead of drinking water. They only aggravate the raging torments
of thirst, instead of assuaging them, and hasten death. Among dogs, the
Esquimaux is the only breed that can subsist on snow, as an equivalent
for water. The Arctic animals, generally, have the same power. But, as
regards mankind, some means of melting snow into water, for the purposes
of drinking, is an essential condition of life in the Arctic regions.
Without the ingenious Esquimaux lamp (p. 205), which consists of a circle
of moss wicks, fed by train-oil, and chiefly used for melting snow, the
Esquimaux could not exist throughout the year, in the countries which
they now inhabit.
That eating large quantities of snow should seriously disturb the animal
system is credible enough, when we consider the very large amount of heat
that must be abstracted from the stomach, in order to melt it. A mouthful
of snow at 32 degrees Fahr., that is to say, no colder than is necessary
for it to be snow at all, robs as much heat from the stomach, as if the
mouthful had been of water 143 degrees colder than ice-cold water, if
such a fluid may, for the moment, be imagined to exist. For the "latent
heat" of water is 143 degrees Fahr. In other words, it takes the same
quantity of heat to convert a mass of snow of 32 degrees into water of
32º, as it does to raise the same mass of water from 32 degrees to 141º +
32 degrees = 175 degrees Fahr. It takes in practice about as long to melt
snow of a low temperature into water, as it does to cause that same water
to boil. Thus to raise snow of 5 degrees below zero Fahr. To 32 degrees,
takes 37 degrees of heat, and it requires 143 degrees more, or 180
degrees altogether, to melt it into water. Also it requires 180 degrees
to convert water of 32 degrees into water of 212 degrees, in other words,
into boiling water.
Distilled Water.--It will take six or seven times as long to convert a
kettle full of boiling-water into steam, as it did to make that kettle
boil. For the "latent heat" of steam is 967 degrees Fahr.; therefore, if
the water that was put into the kettle was 60 degrees, it would require
to be raised through (212 degrees--60º degrees =) 152º degrees of
temperature in order to make it begin to boil; and it would require a
further quantity of heat, to the extent of 967 degrees (= about 6 1/2
times 152 degrees), to boil it all away. Hence, it is of no use to
attempt to distil, until you have provided abundance of good firewood of
a fit size to burn quickly, and have built an efficient fireplace on
which to set the kettle. Unfortunately, fuel is commonly deficient in
those places where there is a lack of fresh water.
Rate of Distillation.--A drop per second is fully equivalent To an
imperial pint of water in three hours, or be an imperial gallon in an
entire day and night.
The simplest way to distil, but a very imperfect one, is to light a fire
among stones, near a hollow in a rock, that is filled, or can be filled
with salt-water. When the stones are red-hot, drop them one by one into
it: the water will hiss and give out clouds of vapour, some of which may
be collected in a cloth, and wrung or sucked out of it. In the same way a
pot on the fire may have a cloth stretched over it to catch the steam.
[Sketch of still as described below].
Still made with a Kettle and Gun-barrel.--There is an account of the
crew of the 'Levant' packet, which was wrecked near the cosmoledo
Islands, who supplied themselves with fresh water by means of
distillation alone, and whose Still was contrived with an iron pot and a
gun-barrel, found on the spot where they were wrecked. They procured, On
the average, sixty bottles, or ten gallons, of distilled water in each
twenty-four hours. "The iron pot was converted into a boiler to contain
salt water; a lid was fitted to it out of the root of a tree, leaving a
hole of sufficient size to receive the muzzle of the gun-barrel, which
was to set as a steampipe; the barrel was run through the stump of a
tree, hollowed out in the middle, and kept full of cold water for the
purpose of condensation; and the water so distilled escaped at the nipple
of the gun-barrel, and was conducted into a bottle placed to receive it."
The accompanying sketch is taken from a model which I made, with a
soldier's mess-tin for a boiler, and a tin tube in the place of a gun
barrel. The knob represents the breech; and the projection, through which
the water is dropping, the nipple. I may remark that there is nothing in
the arrangement which would hurt the most highly-finished gun barrel; and
that the trough which holds the condensing water may be made with canvas,
or even dispensed with altogether.
Condensing Pipe.--In default of other tubes, a reed may be used: one of
the long bones of an animal, or of a wading bird, will be an indifferent
substitute for a condensing pipe.
Still, made with Earthen Pots and a Metal Basin.--A very simple
distilling apparatus is used in Bhootan; the sketch will show the
principle on which it is constructed.
[Sketch of apparatus].
Salt water is placed in a pot, set over the fire. Another vessel, but
without top or bottom, which, for the convenience of illustration, I have
indicated in the sketch by nothing more than a dotted line, is made to
stand upon the pot. It serves as a support for a metal basin, S, which is
filled with salt water, and acts as a condenser. When the pot boils, the
steam ascends and condenses itself on the under surface of the basin S,
whence it drops down and is Collected in a cup, C, that is supported by a
rude tripod of sticks, T, standing in the inside of the iron pot.
Occasional Means of Quenching Thirst.--A Shower of Rain will yield a
good supply. The clothes may be stripped off and spread out, and the
rain-water sucked from them. Or, when a storm is approaching a cloth or
blanket may be made fast by its four corners, and a quantity of bullets
thrown in the middle of it; they will cause the water that it receives,
to drain to one point and trickle through the cloth, into a cup or bucket
set below. A reversed umbrella will catch water; but the first drippings
from it, or from clothes that have been long unwashed, as from a
macintosh cloak, are intolerably nauseous and very unwholesome. It must
be remembered, that thirst is greatly relieved by the skin being wetted,
and therefore it is well for a man suffering from thirst, to strip to the
rain. Rain-water is lodged for some days in the huge pitcher-like
corollas of many tropical flowers.
Sea-water.--Lives of sailors have more than once been saved when turned
adrift in a boat, by bathing frequently and keeping their clothes damp
with salt-water. However, after some days, the nauseous taste of the
salt-water is very perceptible in the saliva, and at last becomes
unbearable; such, at least was the experience of the surgeon of the
wrecked 'Pandora.'
Dew-water is abundant near the sea-shore, and may be collected in the
same way as rain-water. The storehouse at Angra Pequeña, in S. W. Africa,
in 1850, was entirely supplied by the dew-water deposited on its roof.
The Australians who live near the sea, go among the wet bushes with a
great piece of bark, and brush into it the dew-drops from the leaves with
a wisp of grass; collecting in this way large quantities of water. Eyre
used a sponge for the same purpose, and appears to have saved his life by
its use.
Animal Fluids are resorted to in emergencies; such as the contents of the
paunch of an animal that has been shot; its taste is like sweet-wort. Mr.
Darwin writes of people who, catching turtles, drank the water that was
found in their Pericardia; it was pure and sweet. Blood will stand in the
stead of solid food, but it is of no avail in the stead of water, on
account of its saline qualities.
Vegetable Fluids.--Many roots exist, from which both natives and animals
obtain a sufficiency of sap and pulp, to take the place of water. The
traveller should inquire of the natives, and otherwise acquaint himself
with those peculiar to the country that he visits; such as the roots
which the eland eats, the bitter water-melon, etc.
To purify water that is muddy or putrid.--With muddy water, the remedy
is to filter, and to use alum, if you have it. With putrid, to boil, to
mix with charcoal, or expose to the sun and air; or what is best, to use
all three methods at the same time. When the water is salt or brackish,
nothing avails but distillation. (See Distilled Water," p. 218.)
To filter Muddy Water.--When, at the watering-place, there is little
else but a mess of mud and filth, take a good handful of grass or rushes,
and tie it roughly together in the form of a cone, 6 or 8 inches long;
then dipping the broad end into the puddle, and turning it up, a
streamlet of fluid will trickle down through the small end. This
excellent plan is used by the Northern Bushmen--at their wells
quantities of these bundles are found lying about. (Anderson.) Otherwise
suck water through your handkerchief by putting it over the mouth of your
mug, or by throwing it on the gritty mess as it lies in the puddle. For
obtaining a copious supply, the most perfect plan, if you have means, is
to bore a cask full of auger holes, and put another small one, that has
had the bottom knocked out, inside it; and then to fill the space between
the two, with grass, moss, etc. Sink the whole in the midst of the pond;
the water will run through the auger-holes, filter through the moss, and
rise in the inner cask clear of weeds and sand. If you have only a single
cask, holes may be bored in the lower part of its sides, and alternate
layers of sand and grass thrown in, till they cover the holes; through
these layers, the water will strain. Or any coarse bag, kept open with
hoops made on the spot, may be moored in the mud, by placing a heavy
stone inside; it will act on The same principle, but less efficiently
than the casks. Sand, charcoal, sponge, and wood, are the substances most
commonly used in properly constructed filters: peat charcoal is
excellent. Charcoal acts not only as a mechanical filter for solid
impurities, but it has the further advantage of absorbing putrid gases.
(See below, "Putrid Water.") Snow is also used as a filter in the Arctic
regions. Dr. Rae used to lay it on the water, until it was considerably
higher than its level, and then to suck the water through the snow.
Alum.--Turbid water is also, in some way as yet insufficiently
explained, made clear by the Indian plan of putting a piece of alum into
it. The alum appears to unite with the mud, and to form a clayey deposit.
Independently of the action, it has an astringent effect upon organic
matters: it hardens them, and they subside to the bottom of the vessel
instead of being diffused in a glairy, viscous state, throughout the
water. No taste of alum remains in the water, unless it has been used in
great excess. Three thimblefuls of alum will clarify a bucketful of
turbid water.
Putrid Water should always be purified by boiling it together with
charcoal or charred sticks, as low fevers and dysenteries too often are
the consequences of drinking it. The mere addition of charcoal largely
disinfects it. Bitter herbs, if steeped in putrid water, or even rubbed
well about the cup, are said to render it less unwholesome. The Indians
plunge hot iron into putrid water.
Thirst, to relieve.--Thirst is a fever of the palate, which may be
somewhat relieved by other means than drinking fluids.
By exciting Saliva.--The mouth is kept moist, and thirst is mitigated,
by exciting the saliva to flow. This can be done by chewing something, as
a leaf; or by keeping in the mouth a bullet, or a smooth, non-absorbent
stone, such as a quartz pebble.
By Fat or Butter.--In Australia, Africa, and N. America, it is a
frequent custom to carry a small quantity of fat or butter, and to eat a
spoonful at a time, when the thirst is severe. These act on the irritated
membranes of the mouth and throat, just as cold cream upon chapped hands.
By Salt Water.--People may live long without drinking, if they have
means of keeping their skin constantly wet with water, even though it be
salt or otherwise undrinkable. A traveller may tie a handkerchief wetted
with salt water round his neck. See p. 223.
By checking Evaporation.--The Arabs keep their mouths covered with a
cloth, in order to prevent the sense of thirst caused by the lips being
parched.
By Diet.--Drink well before starting, and make a habit of drinking only
at long intervals, and then, plenty at a time.
On giving Water to Persons nearly dead from Thirst.--Give a little at a
time, let them take it in spoonfuls; for the large draughts that their
disordered instincts suggest, disarrange the weakened stomach: they do
serious harm, and no corresponding good. Keep the whole body wet.
Small Water Vessels.--General Remarks on Carrying Water.--People drink
excessively in hot dry climates, as the evaporation from the skin is
enormous, and must be counterbalanced. Under these circumstances the
daily ration of a European is at least two quarts. To make an exploring
expedition in such countries efficient, there should be means of carrying
at least one gallon of water for each white man; and in unknown lands
this quantity should be carried on from every watering-place, so long as
means can possibly be obtained for carrying it, and should be served out
thus:--two quarts on the first day, in addition to whatever private store
the men may have chosen to carry for themselves; a quart and a half
during the second day; and half a quart on the morning of the third,
which will carry them through that day without distress. Besides
water-vessels sufficient for carrying what I have mentioned, there ought
to be others for the purpose of leaving water buried in the ground, as a
store for the return of a reconnoitring expedition; also each man should
be furnished with a small water-vessel of some kind or other for his own
use, and should be made to take care of it.
Fill the Water-vessels.--"Never mind what the natives may tell you
concerning the existence of water on the road, believe nothing, but
resolutely determine to fill the girbas (water-vessels)." (Baker.)
Small Water-vessels.--No expedition should start without being fully
supplied with these; for no bushman however ingenious, can make anything
so efficient as casks, tin vessels or macintosh bags.
[Sketch of water-vessel].
A tin vessel of the shape shown in the sketch, and large enough to hold a
quart, is, I believe, the easiest to carry, the cleanest, and the most
durable of small water-vessels. The curve in its shape is to allow of its
accommodating itself to the back of the man who carries it. The tin loops
at its sides are to admit the strap by which it is to be slung, and which
passes through the loops underneath the bottom of the vessel, so that the
weight may rest directly upon the strap. Lastly, the vessel has a pipette
for drinking through, and a larger hole by which it is to be filled, and
which at other times is stopped with a cork or wooden plug. When drinking
out of the pipette, the cork must be loosened in order to admit air, like
a vent hole. Macintosh bags, for wine or water, are very convenient to
carry and they will remain water-tight for a long period when fairly
used. (Mem.--Oil and grease are as fatal to macintosh as they are to
iron rust.) But the taste that these vessels impart to their contents is
abominable, not only at first but for a very long time; in two-thirds of
them it is never to be got rid of. Never believe shopkeepers in an
india-rubber shop, in their assurances to the contrary; they are
incompetent to judge aright, for their senses seem vitiated by the air
they live in. The best shape for a small macintosh water-vessel has yet
to be determined. Several alpine men use them; and their most recent
patterns may probably best be seen at Carter's, Alpine Outfitter,
Oxford Street. A flask of dressed hide (pig, goat, or dog) with a wooden
nozzle, and a wooden plug to fit into it, is very good. Canvas bags,
smeared with grease on the outside, will become nearly waterproof after a
short soaking. A strong glass flask may be made out of a soda-water
bottle; it should have raw hide shrunk upon it to preserve it from sharp
taps Likely to make a crack. Calabashes and other gourds, cocoa-nuts and
ostrich eggs, are all of them excellent for flasks. The Bushmen of South
Africa make great use of ostrich shells as water-vessels. They have
stations at many places in the desert, where they bury these shells
filled with water, corked with grass, and occasionally waxed over. They
thus go without hesitation over wide tracts, for their sense of locality
is so strong that they never fear to forget the spot in which they have
dug their hiding-place.
When a Dutchman or a Namaqua wants to carry a load of ostrich eggs to or
from the watering-place, or when he robs a nest, he takes off his
trousers, ties up the ankles, puts the eggs in the legs, and carries off
his load slung round his neck. Nay, I have seen a half-civilised
Hottentot carry water in his leather breeches, ties up and slung in the
way I have just described, but without the intervention of ostrich eggs;
the water squired through the seams, but plenty remained after he had
carried it to its destination, which was a couple of miles from the
watering-place. In an emergency, water-flasks can be improvised from the
raw or dry skins of animals, which should be greased down the back; or
from the paunch, the heart-bag (pericardium), the intestines, or the
bladder. These should have a wooden skewer runing and out along one side
of their mouths, by which they can be carried, and a lashing under the
skewer to make all tight (fig. below).
[Sketch of bag with skewer and bag being carried].
The Bushmen do this. The water oozes through the membrane, and by its
evaporation the contents are kept very cool. Another plan is, after
having tied a length of intestine at both ends, to roll it up in a
handkerchief and wear it as a belt round the waist. The fault of these
membranous bags, besides their disgusting character and want of strength
is, that they become putrid after a few days' use.
Vessels for Cooling Water may be made that shall also act efficiently as
flasks. Porous earthen jars are too brittle for long use, and their pores
choke up if slimy water be put inside them. But the Arabs use a porous
leather flask, called a Zemsemiya, which is hung on the shady side of the
camel, and by evaporation keeps the water deliciously cool: it is a
rather wasteful way of carrying water. Canvas bags are equally effective.
Open Buckets, for carrying water for short distances, or for storing it
in camp, may be made of the bark of a tree, either taken off in an entire
cylinder, and having a bottom fitted on, or else of a knot or excrescence
that has been cut off the outside of a tree, and its woody interior
scooped out; or of birth bark sewed or pegged at the corners, and having
its seams coated with the gum or resin of the pine-tree. Baskets with
oiled cloth inside, make efficient water-vessels; they are in use in
France as firemen's buckets. Water-tight pots are made on the Snake river
by winding long touch roots in a spiral manner, and lashing the coils to
one another, just as is done in making a beehive. Earthenware jars are
excellent, when they can be obtained.
To prevent Splashing.--When carrying water in buckets, put a wreath of
grass, or something else that will float, on the water, to prevent it
from splashing; and also make a hoop, inside which the porter may walk,
while his laden hands rest on its rim: the hoop keeps his hands wide from
his body, and prevents the buckets from knocking against his legs.
Mending Leather Water-vessels.--If a water-vessel becomes leaky, the
hole should be caulked by stuffing a rag, a wedge of wood, a tuft of
grass, or anything else into it, as shown in the upper figure and also in
the left side of the lower one (p. 230), and then greasing or waxing it
over. A larger rent must be Seized upon, the lips of the wound pinched
up, a thorn or other spike run through the lips, and lastly a piece of
twine lashed firmly round, underneath the thorn; the thorn keeps the
string from slipping off (See the right-hand corner of the lower figure.)
When there is an opportunity, the bag must be patched, as is also shown
in the lower figure.
[Sketch of parts of two bags as referred to in text].
Repairing a battered Metal Flask.--Fill it with dry seed, such as peas
or mustard-seed; then pour in water and put the stopper into it. After a
period varying from 1 to 3 or 4 hours, according to the nature of the
seeds, they will begin to swell and to force the sides of the flask
outwards into their original shape. The swelling proceeds rather rapidly
after it has once commenced, so the operation requires watching, lest it
should be overdone and the flask should burst.
Corks and Stoppers.--Thrust a cork tightly into the mouth of the flask,
cut a hole through the cork and plug the hole, which will henceforth form
the outlet of the flask--with a stopper of wood, bone, or other hard
substance. Thread, wound round a slightly conical plug that has been
sufficiently notched to retain it in its place, makes it nearly
water-tight as a stopper. It is of less importance that the stopper
should fit closely, if the flask be so slung that its mouth shall be
always uppermost: a very imperfect cork will then be sufficient to check
evaporation and splashing, and to prevent the loss of more than a few
drops from occasional upsets.
Drinking, when riding or walking.--It is an awkward matter to drink when
jolting on wheels, on horseback, or on foot. I adopted the plan of
carrying a piece of small india-rubber tubing 6 or 8 inches long, and
when I wished to drink, I removed the stopper and inserted the tube, just
as an insect might let down its proboscis, and sucked the contents. Sir
S. Baker says of the people of Unyoro, "During a journey, a pretty,
bottle-shaped, long-necked gourd is carried with a store of
plantain-cider; the mouth of the bottle is stopped with a bundle of the
white rush shreds, through which a reed is inserted that reaches to the
bottom: thus the drink can be sucked up during the march, without the
necessity of halting; nor is it possible to spill it by the movement of
walking."
Kegs and Tanks.--Keys for Pack-saddles.--Small barrels, flattened
equally on both sides, so that their tops and bottoms shall be of an oval
and not a circular shape, are the most convenient vessels,
notwithstanding their weight, for carrying water on pack-saddles across a
broken country. They are exceedingly strong, and require no particular
attention, while bags of leather or macintosh suffer from thorns, and
natives secretly prick them during the march, that they may suck a
draught of water. These kegs should not exceed 22 inches in length, 10 in
extreme breadth, and 7 in extreme width; a cask of these measurements
would hold about 40 lbs. weight of water, and its own weight might be 15
lbs. As the water is expended, it is easy to replace the diminished
weight by putting on a bag from one of the other packs. Before starting
away into the bush, these kegs should be satisfactorily fitted and
adjusted to the pack-saddle that is intended to carry them, in such a way
that they may be packed on to it with the least possible trouble. A
couple of leather or iron loops Fixed to each keg, and made to catch on
to the hooks which are let flush into the sides of the pack-saddle, will
effect this.
[Sketch as described below].
The sketch represents a section of the pack-saddle, at the place where
one of the hooks is situated on either side, but the front of the kegs
themselves, and not their section, is given. Above and between the kegs
lies a bag, and a strap passing from the near side of the saddle goes
over the whole burden, and is buckled to a similar short strap on the
other side. It is of importance that the bung-hole should be placed even
nearer to the rim than where it is drawn, for it is necessary that it
should be convenient to pour out of and to pour into, and that it should
be placed on the highest part of the keg, both when on the beast's back
and also when it stands on the ground, lest water should leak and be
lost. According to the above plan, when water is ladled into it, the rim
keeps it from spilling; and in pouring out water, the run acts as a
spout. In making the bung-hole, a metal plate, with a screw-hole in it,
is firmly fixed in the face of the cask; into this a wooden stopper,
bound with iron, is made to screw (natives would probably steal a metal
one). The stopper has a small head and a deeply-cut neck, by which it is
tied to the cask, and its body has a large hole bored in it, which admits
of a stick being put through, to prize it round, if it should become
jammed. A spigot, to screw into the bung-hole on arriving at camp, might
be really useful; but if used, a gimlet-hole must be bored in the cask to
act as an air-vent. A large tundish is very convenient, and a spare plug
might be taken; but a traveller, with a little painstaking, could soon
cut a plug with his own knife, sufficiently well made to allow of its
being Firmly screwed in, and of retaining the water, if it had a bit of
rag wrapped round it. A piece of rag rolled tightly, will suffice to plug
a hole.
Siphons.--A flexible tube of some kind, whether of india-rubber,
gutta-percha, or, still better, of macintosh, strained over rings, would
be very valuable as a siphon: both for filling large kegs out of buckets
and for emptying them again. Vulcanised india-rubber becomes rotten after
short use, and gutta-percha will stand no extremes of temperature.
Tanks for Wagons.--There still remain many large districts in Asia,
Africa, and Australia which may be explored in wagons, but, so far as I
am aware, no particular pattern of a water-tank, suitable for carriage on
wheels, has yet been adopted by travellers. I believe kegs are generally
used, but they are far too heavy for the requirements of a wagon.
Probably the tins used for sending milk by cart and railway to towns,
would be very serviceable for carrying water on expeditions. They are
invariably made of the same shape, and only of few different sizes.
Therefore experience must have shown that their pattern is better than
any other yet devised. Their mouths can be padlocked, which is an
important matter.
Macintosh Bags.--I would also recommend a trial of square bags of strong
macintosh--say 18 inches deep and 10 inches square, in which case they
would hold 60 lbs. of water--fitting into square compartments, in large
panniers, like those in a bottle-basket. I have made some experiments
upon this arrangement. The basket-work gives protection against blows and
the jolting together of packages, and it yields without harm to a strain,
and the bags yield also. Moreover, water is less churned in half-empty
bags than in half-empty barrels. No unusual strength of materials would
be required in making these bags: their mouths should be funnel-shaped,
and corked at the neck of the funnel. The funnels should be wide at their
mouths, for convenience in filling them; and a string to secure the cork
should be tied round the neck of the funnel. The bags should have loops
on their sides, through which a strap, passing underneath, might run, in
order to Give a good hold for lifting them up. They could easily be
filled as they lay in their compartments, and would only require to be
lifted out in order to empty them; there is, therefore, no objection to
their holding as much as 60 lbs. weight of water. An india-rubber tube as
a siphon, and with a common spigot at the end of it, would be
particularly useful. A pannier not much exceeding 30 inches long, by 20
broad, and 18 deep, would hold six of these bags, or 360 lbs. weight of
water in all; and two such panniers would be ample for exploring
purposes. I had a pannier and two bags made for a trial, which were quite
satisfactory, and I found that the weight of the panniers and bags
together was at the rate of 6 lbs. for each compartment; therefore the
weight of these water-vessels is not more than 10 per cent. Of that of
the water which they carry. It might be well to vary the contents of some
of the compartments; putting, for instance, two or even three small bags
into one, and tin cases into a few of the others, instead of the large
bags. These panniers, with the bags inflated, and connected together by a
stage, would form an excellent and powerful raft. If secured within a
wagon about to cross a deep river, they would have enough power, in all
ordinary cases, to cause it to float and not to sink to the bottom. I
trust some explorer will try this plan. I may add that the macintosh
water-bags cost me about 1 pound each.
Raw Hide Bags/--Captain Sturt, when he explored in Australia, took a tank
in his cart, which burst, and besides that, he carried casks of water. By
these he was enabled to face a desert country with a degree of success to
which no traveller before had ever attained. For instance, when returning
homewards, the water was found to be drying up on all sides of him. He
was encamped by a pool where he was safe, whence the next stage was 118
miles, or 4 days' journey, but it was a matter of considerable doubt
whether there remained any water at the end of the stage. It was
absolutely necessary to reconnoitre, and in order to do so, he had first
to provide the messenger with the means of returning, should the
watering-place be found dry. He killed a bullock, skinned it, and filling
the skin with water (which held 150 gallons), Sent it by an ex-dray 30
miles, with orders to bury it and to return. Shortly after he despatched
a light one-horse cart, carrying 36 gallons of water; the horse and man
were to drink at the hide, and then to go on. Thus they had 36 gallons to
supply them for a journey of 176 miles, or 6 days, at 30 miles a day at
the close of which they would return to the ox-hide--sleeping, in fact,
5 nights on 36 gallons of water. This a hardy, well-driven horse could
do, even in the hottest climate.
To raise Water from Wells for Cattle.--By hand.--Let one man stand in
the water, or just above it; another 5 feet higher; and again another
higher still, if the depth of the well requires it. Then let the
lowermost man dip a bucket in the water, and pass it from hand to hand
upwards; the top man pours the water into a trough, out of which the
cattle drink. This trough may be simply a ditch scratched in the ground;
a piece of canvas should be thrown over it, if the soil be sandy, to keep
the water from being lost before the cattle have time to drink it. Thus
Eyre speaks of watering his horse, out of his black servant's duck frock.
Light gutta-percha buckets are very useful in temperate climates; and so
are baskets, with oilcloth inside them.
The drove of cattle should be brought up to 60 yards from the
watering-place; then three or four should be driven out--they will run
at once to the water. After they have drunk, drive them to one side, and
let another three or four take their place, and so on; keeping the two
droves quite distinct--those that have drunk, and those that are waiting
to drink. They will drink at the rate of one per minute; sheep and goats
drink very much faster. Never let the cattle go in a rush to the well,
else they will stamp it in, most of them get no water, and they will all
do a great deal of damage.
By horse power.--It does not fall within the scope of this book to
describe water-wheels worked by cattle, or elaborate mechanism of any
kind; I therefore only mention under this head, that the Tartars
sometimes draw water from their wells, of 150 feet deep and upwards, by a
rider harnessing the bucket-rope to his horse, and galloping him off to a
mark that tells the proper distance. Their ropes are of twisted hair, and
are made to run over a smoothed stone, or a log of wood.
[Sketches of pole and bucket and pump as described below].
A pole and bucket is a very convenient way of raising water from 4 to 12
feet. The bucket may be made of canvas, basket-work, leather, wood, or
almost any other material; leakage, though considerable, is of little
consequence, because the action of the apparatus is so quick, that there
is not time for much water to be lost. This contrivance is used over
almost the whole globe--less in England than elsewhere; it is very
common where long poles can easily be obtained, as in fir forests.
Pump.--An excellent and very simple pump is used by the Arabs in
Algeria. A piece of leather or waxed canvas, is stretched round one or
more hoops; it forms a hollow cylinder, that admits of being shut flat
like an accordion. The top and bottom of the cylinder are secured round
the edges of two discs of wood. Holes are bored in these discs and
leather valves are fitted to them. The lower disc is nailed to the bottom
of a tub; the hole in it corresponds with the feed-pipe, and the valve
that covers the hole opens upwards. The upper disc Is attached to the
pump handle; the valves that cover the holes in this disc, open upwards
also. When the leather-pump barrel is pressed flat, water flows through
the upper valves into the barrel around it; when it is pulled out, water
is sucked up through the feed-pipe, and an equal quantity is displaced
from the barrel. This flows out into the trough. A bag would do as well
as a tub, to hold the water which surrounds the pump-barrel; but, without
the water which it is the object of either the one or the other to
contain, the pump-barrel must be air-proof as well as water-proof. The
action of this pump is marvellously perfect. It attracted much attention
in the French Exhibition of 1855.