The water of Lake Placid was too quiet, while the mill-race and
the rapids on the other side of Kite Island ran so swiftly that we were
afraid the water wheel would be swept away with its course. The matter was
carefully considered at a special meeting of the society. It occurred to
Bill that we might build a windmill in place of the water wheel, and use
it to pump water from a well which could be dug near the hut.
"We wouldn't have to use a filter, then," he said.
"Why not?" I asked.
"Why, because the sand of the island will strain out all the dirt in the
water. You see, the water in the well will have to soak in from the river,
and by the time it gets through all the gravel and sand between the river
and the well it ought to be filtered pretty clear."
Digging the Well.
That sounded logical, and so we adopted the plan at once. We chose a spot
quite near the hut for our well. When we had dug down about 6 feet we
struck water, but continued excavating until the water lay 3 feet deep in
the well. While making the excavation we shored up the sides with planks,
to prevent the loose soil from falling in on us and smothering us, as it
so nearly did when we were digging our first cave.
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