It happened at this time, that one of the horses was so sick that he
could not move. It was plain he would soon die; therefore the travellers
determined to kill him, and eat his flesh. Mr. Eyre was grieved at the
thought of killing his horse, neither could he bear the idea of eating
horse flesh; but then he feared, that if the horse were not killed, the
whole party would be starved.
The native boys were delighted when they knew the horse was to be eaten;
for they had long been fretting for more food. They would like to have
devoured it _all_ on the spot; but they were not allowed to do so; the
greater part of the flesh was cut off in thin slices, dipped in salt
water, and then hung up in the sun to dry, to serve as provision for many
days to come. The boys were permitted to devour the rest of the carcase.
With what haste they prepared the feast! They made a fire close to the
carcase, and then cut off lumps of flesh, which they roasted quickly, and
then ate. They spent the whole afternoon in this manner, looking more
like ravenous wolves than human creatures. When night came, they were not
willing to leave their meat, but took as much as ever they could carry
into their beds, that they might eat whenever they awoke. Next day, they
returned to the roasting and eating, and the next night again they took
meat with them to bed.
Mr. Eyre wondered at their gluttony and he thought it necessary to give
them an allowance of food, instead of letting them eat as much as they
liked.
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