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94 taste of water by the use of the \ upon 1 . “ I see several bushes of it growing amidst these cedars,” said he, “and, al though the water "we have found is too brackish to be pleasant, it will be made pleasant enough if boiled or steeped with a few leaves of the Yupon.” The other suggestion was from Wheel er, and, by way of authority, was pre faced with a short narrative. He said that while aiding once as escort to a company of learned Frenchmen, under the lead of someone by the name of Nickoly, or Nicolay, they were all saved from suffering, and perhaps from death, by the happy device of one of the corps. “We were passing through those hor rible salt-prairies out West,” said he, “ where there is oftentimes water enough in pools and lakes, but which is all as briny as the ocean. For several days our horses’ feet had been crunching through the salty crust of the prairie, which looked all the while as if covered with frost, when by an accident we lost our supply of drinking water. “ The faces of most of the party turned pale at the sight of the empty kegs, for no one could tell how many days it would bo before fresh water was to be had ; but one of them spoke up cheerily, and said, ‘We shall do very little credit to our education, if, with our camp-kettles and with the Avood around us, we suffer long from thirst because the water happens to be salt.’ # “I saw Mr. Nicolay’s eyes brighten as if there was life from the dead in this re mark, and so did the faces of the others, too ; but how it was possible to turn salt water into fresh by means of a kettle and wood, was more than I could imagine, for I knew that the longer salt water is boiled the more briny it becomes; nor did I know how, until I saw it done. But I have practiced it several times since, and if the Doctor and the Sargcant say so, I will do as I saw the Frenchmen do, and make some of this sea-water fit for use.” Tomkins had a high regard for Wheel er’s good sense, as well he might, but at this suggestion he looked rather doubt ful, until Dr. Gordon remarked: “ Wheeler is right. The great Author of nature lias endowed water with such laws that it can be compelled to part with its salts, and most other impurities, by either of two methods, the very op posites of each other, and fitting, too, the two extremes of heat and cold. One is The Yu-pon, or Cassona (spelt also Cassina, or Cas sine,) is a beautiful evergreen shrub, growing to the eig.it or ten f ee t an <l adorned in winter with jerries o a brilliant red. It abounds along the coast, and is known by many as “North Carolina tea,” being ofton used as a substitute for the better article of com in croc* B U ll K E’S WEEKLY. by freezing, and the other is by evapora tion. Those who visit the Polar regions tell us that the icebergs are all fresh, though composed of sea-water. The act of freezing forces out the salt. And the same is true of water that is evaporated, though in a different way; the heat forces out the water in the shape of steam or vapor, leaving the salt behind. How, if we can catch and condense that steam, we shall have fresh water; and all that we need do to condense it, is to bring it in contact with something colder than itself. This is the philosophy of the case, expressed in a simple way; but lam cu rious to learn Wheeler’s process for this, which must be simple, indeed, since it can be practiced on a salt-prairie or a sandy sea-beach.” It was then agreed that a trial should be given to both plans, and as both plans required fire, and as it was expedient, for the sake of concealment, to avoid, as far as possible, all flame and smoke, the fire was committed to the Indian skill of Wild Cat, who selected a place amid the dense growth of the thicket, which he made still more private by a screen of bushes, and then made his fire of small dry twigs, which soon produced a strong heat, with very little flame or smoke. The result of the two experiments was, that the party enjoyed a comfortable supper, and had some water left, over and above their evening’s necessity, for breakfast next morning. Jones’ Yupon did not alto gether destroy the brackishness of the water; it only modified and disguised it to such degree that the water, which was wholly unfit for tea and other purposes before, was endurable now. But Wheel er’s plan, although liable to the serious objection of being very slow, was per fectly successful. His whole apparatus consisted of a camp-kettle for his boiler, a tin bucket for his condenser, and a tin cup for his receiver. The kettle was filled only about half-full, leaving a perfectly free passage for the steam through the spout even when most vigorously boiling. As soon as the steam began to issue freely, the tin bucket of cold water was held, or rather suspended, in a tilted posture, near the spout and to the windward of the fire, so that the steam, unmixed with smoke, should pour upon its cool side, where it instantly condensed into the form of dew, and then trickled, drop by drop, down the side, and then down the loaning bottom of the bucket into a cup set for its reception. The process was so slov, that one kettle would scarcely distil a quart in an hour, and the water, be sides, was flat to the taste, as water al ways is after being boiled; still, it was ‘perfectly fresh —it could quench thirst— it could save life in time of need. Dr. Gordon expressed himself highly delighted with the simple contrivance. When the water thus produced was cooled and handed to Tomkins, he tasted it, then looked very sad, and finally sur prised every one by brushing away a tear. “Excuse me, sir,” be said to Dr. Gor don, “but this water carried me to a time when I saw people die for the want of it, or rather I may say when I saw an angel of a child starve to death for the want of water, when, if we had only known this simple plan, avc might have saved her life. She was not my child, sir, nor any kin of mine, but the daughter of a passenger, who was so unfortunate as to lose his wife at the same time. It was years ago, but all is as fresh to my mind as if it happened yesterday. We were on a wreck at sea, off the coast of North Carolina, where Ave floated for four mortal days Avithout a mouthful to eat or a drop of Avater to drink. You knoAV people suffer more from thirst, and die of it sooner, than they do from hlin ger. Well, this child died in her father’s o lap the third day of our misfortune. She had cried for water and for something to eat seA r eral times during the first day and a half, but Avhen her father said to her, ‘My darling, there is none to be had; you must try and not ask for it,’ she never cried again. She suffered and suffered, and died, but the word ‘ water ’ novel* came from her lips. Oh, sir, she avus an angel! and when I think of her, the tears come up in spite of me. Now, we had Avood enough on the Avreck for fire, and matches, too, and vessels sufficient to distil what that poor child needed, and perhaps others, too, that died, but nobody knew of this .way of producing it. Oh, if avc had known !” “Did you adopt no plan for quenching your thirst?” Dr. Gordon asked. “Oh, yes,” he replied; “we tried many plans, but the only one that proved of any avail Avas keeping our clothes wet with sea-water. It seems that the skin has some of the power that you ascribe to both freezing and evaporation ; it can separate the water from the salt, and, as it were, suck the Avater into the system. We who kept our clothes wet, and Avho kept Avet cloths around our necks, lived in tolerable comfort, while those Avho drank the sea-water sickened, and raved, and died. We lost five out of eighteen. These last remarks led into quite a long and interesting conversation on the