Doubtless--had that water been pure.

But every mouthful of it was a blood poison, and helped promote disease and death.
Even before reaching the Stockade it was so polluted by the drainage of the Rebel camps as to be utterly unfit for human use.

In our part of the prison we sank several wells--some as deep as forty feet--to procure water.

We had no other tools for this than our ever-faithful half canteens, and nothing wherewith to wall the wells.

But a firm clay was reached a few feet below the surface, which afforded tolerable strong sides for the lower part, ana furnished material to make adobe bricks for curbs to keep out the sand of the upper part.