On our return from the volcano, we took on wood, water, and other necessaries for the voyage, and stood for the "Off shore ground," or the Coast of Peru, where we cruised two months with the poorest luck. Sick at heart, we put into Payta, one of the ports of Peru. The poor success which had attended us, caused the greatest dissatisfaction among the crew, yet none attributed it to the officers of the ship. Myself and two others concluded to try our luck in another way; together we formed a plan to leave the ship, secrete ourselves in the woods until her departure, we would then return to the shore, and see what chance would favor us with. [84] When we were allowed liberty on shore again, we took as much salt beef, bread, and water, as we could carry without detection, and started for the woods, which lay but a short distance from the shore; they were about two miles wide; beyond them lay an immense sand plain or desert, without bush or shrub of any kind. The light drifting sand soon obliterated all traces of life. On we wandered, hoping soon to reach the opposite side, but hope soon failed; we had lost sight of the woods: to retrace our steps was now utterly impossible—our footprints were no longer visible—we now realized the true character of our situation—parched with thirst—worn with fatigue—amidst an ocean of sand, where neither shrub, or cooling stream appeared to cheer the lonely wanderer. We sat ourselves sat down upon the burning sand, beneath a torrid sun, and partook of such as we had. The quantity of water being small, we were obliged to use it sparingly. The saltness of the meat greatly increased our thirst; we at length fell in with our own footprints, nearly filled with sand. We sat down in despair; the sun having now passed the meridian, served as a compass, which we followed, until it sank beneath the horizon; night came, and found us still hungry and shelterless. Having eaten our last morsel, and drank our last drop of water, we lay down upon the sand, fatigued almost beyond endurance; so excessive was our thirst, that we slept but very little. We spread our flannel shirts upon the sand, and when they were saturated with dew, (the dews of the country are very heavy, and supply the deficiency of rains, which seldom appear) we would wring them, and suck the moisture; this being often[85] repeated, alleviated our thirst somewhat. No mind can form any description, or form to itself any definite idea of our situation. Most sincerely we repented the course we had taken, and anxiously sought to retrace our steps. With joy we welcomed the approach of morning, hoping that ere another day should pass, we should be able to find some means of rescue from our horrible situation. We traveled until mid-day, almost crazed with the heat of the sun upon the head; and our tongues were so swollen as to render our mouths hardly able to contain them. We sat down half inclined to give up, and leave our bones to whiten the sands.