DESCRIPTION OF A JOURNEY
FROM
UPPER EGYPT THROUGH THE DESERTS OF NUBIA
TO
BERBER AND SUAKIN, AND FROM THENCE TO DJIDDA
IN ARABIA.

At noon, the camels were watered,[1] and knelt down by the side of their respective loads. Just before the lading commenced, the Ababde women appeared with earthen vessels in their hands, filled with burning coals. They set them before the several loads, and threw salt upon them. At the rising of the bluish flame, produced by the burning of the salt, they exclaimed, “may you be blessed in going and in coming.” The devil and every evil genius are thus, they say, removed.

We were accompanied for about half an hour beyond the village by all the women and children. My principal friend at Daraou, Hadji Hosseyn el Aloüan (الحاج حسين العلوان), at whose house I had lived, and who had obtained from me a variety of presents, in making me believe that he intended to undertake the journey in person, in which case he might have proved to me a most useful companion on the road, had declared the day before, that he should remain at Daraou; but his brother and his son Aly joined the caravan, and their party formed the largest and most wealthy party of the Fellah traders among us. The old man followed us with his women to a distance from the village, and at parting, recommended me to his relations; “he is your brother,” he said to his son, “and there,” opening his son’s waistcoat, and putting his hand upon his bosom, “there let him be placed:” a way of recommendation much in use in the Arabian desert likewise, where it has some meaning, but among these miserable Egyptians it has become a mere form of speech. We then proceeded upon a sandy plain, in great disorder, as it always happens upon the first setting out of a journey. Many loads were badly laid on, several were thrown off by the camels who had for some time been unused to them, and we were obliged to encamp for the night in a small valley, with shrubs in it, about two hours and a half to the S. S. E. of Daraou, where we feasted upon the dainties which had been prepared by the ladies of Daraou; large fires were lighted, and the whole night was passed in singing and noise.

3d March. We departed early from our resting place, and entered Wady Om Rokbe (وادي اُم رُكبه), a broad valley with good pasture, which we followed for upwards of two hours; we then ascended a steep hill, and after several ascents and descents, encamped in a valley near the source of water called Abou Kebeyr (ابو كبير), having proceeded to day about six hours, very slow march There are a few trees in this valley; and water is found every where by digging pits in the sand. The source of Abou Kebeyr which yields a very scanty supply, had attracted some Ababde Bedouins from whom we bought some sheep. The mountains we had traversed to day, were all composed of flint.

4th. March. Our route this morning lay through sandy valleys until we arrived, after about four hours march, at a steep ascent, or Akaba, where the sand and flint hills terminate. After crossing over the Akaba which is composed of granite schistus, we arrived, at the end of six hours, at a fine natural reservoir of rain water, among the granite rocks called Abou Adjadj (ابو عجاج); our route was in a S. S. W. direction. From hence to Assouan the distance is six hours. Just beyond the bason of rain water, begins a narrow pass among the rocks, where loaded camels proceed with difficulty. In here turning round a corner of the mountain we found our advanced men, loudly quarreling with a strong party of armed Bedouins, and before I could inform myself of the particulars, the Ababde belonging to our caravan had armed themselves, and proceeded to attack the enemy. The latter were likewise Ababde, but of a different tribe. Having been informed of our departure from Daraou, they had left their homes at Khattar (خطّار), a village near Assouan, to way-lay us in this narrow pass, and to levy a contribution upon us as passage money. They were about thirty, and our Ababdes as many. The individuals of both parties were naked, for it is a rule among them never to fight with any incumbrance upon their bodies, and merely to wrap a rag or napkin round their waists.[2] They were armed with long two-edged swords, and short lances and targets, which latter were particularly useful to them in warding off the shower of stones with which the attack commenced. When I saw them thus attack each other, and then under the most horrible clamour come to close action with swords believing that we were attacked by robbers, I was about to join our people, and had already levelled my musquet at the principal man of the assailants, when one of our Ababdes cried out to me, for God’s sake not to fire, as he hoped there should be no blood between them. By the advice of our guides, the Egyptian merchants, who were armed with swords, (for nobody had a gun but myself, and few had pistols) willingly took charge of the defence of our baggage in the rear, for the Ababde were anxious to fight out the quarrel amongst themselves. After about twenty minutes’ rather shy fighting, the battle ceased by the interference of the chiefs on both sides, and both parties claimed the victory. The whole damage amounted to three men slightly wounded and one shield cleft in two. Our people however gained their point, for we passed without paying any tribute, and I was somewhat gratified in seeing how far our Arabs might be depended upon in any future attack in the course of the journey. As for the Egyptians they had given evident proofs of the most cowardly disposition, notwithstanding their boasting language. Several Shikhs of the Ababde have a right to claim a tribute from the caravan. Others set up unfounded pretensions of the same kind, and it is the duty of the guides (Khobara plur. of Khabir, خَبير) to protect the caravan from such extortions. No caravan can cross the desert in safety without being accompanied by some of the Ababde, and although many of the Fellah merchants perfectly know the road, they never venture to perform it alone.

Our assailants retreated after a long parley, which succeeded the fight; and although we had at first intended to remain at Abou Adjadj for the night, our guides now thought it adviseable to push further on, because they were afraid that the opposite party might send during the night for a reinforcement of men from their village. We therefore rode three hours farther over a rocky ground until we arrived in a wide valley called Wady Houd (وادي هود), where we halted. During the whole of this afternoon’s march we had observed among the barren granite rocks, great quantities of locusts.

March 5th. Wady Houd is a broad valley full of shrubs and pasturage, bordered on both sides by rocks of fine granite, similar to those of Assouan and the Cataract. We pursued our road for two hours along the valley; and at the end of three hours march came to sandrocks intersected by layers of quartz. We then ascended a slightly sloping plain, and at the end of four hours entered a wide sandy valley, in which we continued in a direction, S. W. by S. for several hours, until we reached, after about seven hours march, a narrow Wady called Om el Hebal (اُم الحبال), or the mother of ropes; so called from its numerous windings. Here we halted after a day’s march of about seven hours and a half. The Wady is full of thorny trees of the acacia species, the dark-green leaves of which are in singular unison with the surrounding granite rocks, the surface of which is smooth and shining, and of the deepest black. The valley is in few places more than sixty yards across; the highest summits of the rocks, which are every where steep cliffs, may be about two or three hundred feet above the level ground. This evening we lighted our fires with the dried dung of the camels that had rested here before; indeed we seldom halted in the evening without finding fuel of this kind, for the traders rarely go out of the accustomed track, nor can they choose their resting places at random, being fixed to those spots where there is some pasturage of herbs and shrubs, or at least some acacia trees, upon the leaves and branches of which their camels may feed for a few hours in the evening. I found much less order at the encamping of this caravan, than I had observed among other caravans in the Eastern Desert. Our party consisted of thirty nine loaded camels, thirty five asses, and about eighty men, and it was divided into a dozen different families or messes, each of which on the halting ground formed a separate bivouac. We had two men from Assouan, the others were from Daraou, Klit, and Esne, and a few from Gous, and Farshiout. People from Siout seldom travel this road. Although the chief of the Ababde was the acknowledged head of the caravan, yet the Fellah merchants generally followed their own humour in moving and halting;[3] and there was every evening some quarrelling about the place of halting. None of the traders had any tent; we all slept in the open air, but none ever shut his eyes without placing his baggage in such a manner as to render it difficult for thieves to attempt it without awaking him. We were not afraid of robbers from without, but it was too well known that many of our own people were of a pilfering disposition, and notwithstanding every precaution, they repeatedly indulged themselves in it in the course of the journey.

6th March. We continued in Wady el Hebal for about three hours, when we stopped near an inlet in the western chain of hills, where we found among the rocks a large natural reservoir of rain water, delightfully clear, sweet, and cool. The place is called Damhit (دمحيت), and is much praised by the Arabs, because the water is very seldom dried up. It is situated in a cleft of the mountain, which has the appearance of having been rent asunder by a violent earthquake. Large blocks of granite are heaped up at the entrance; these masses increase in quantity, in ascending through the cliff, and rise to a considerable height, among them are two other reservoirs of water of equal size with the lower, but of difficult access. The Wady itself is not without its natural beauties. It is about forty yards across, overgrown with acacia or (سنط) Sant trees, and bordered on both sides by steep shattered granite cliffs, of grotesque shapes. During heavy rains, which often happen here, the water descending from the western chain collects in a large torrent, which, as I was informed, empties itself into the Nile, near the village of Dehmyt, eight hours south of Assouan. About four hours distant from Damhit, in a S. W. direction, is a spring of good water called El Moeleh (الموِيلَح); it is resorted to by the caravans, which set out from Assouan. We remained here the whole day, for it is a general rule among caravans in the east, to make slow marches during the three or four first days of a long journey, in order to accustom the cattle, which are generally allowed several months of rest before the journey, to fatigue by degrees; and this is particularly the case when the ground affords good pasturage. Loss of time is seldom taken into consideration by eastern merchants, and least of all by Arabs, and thus I have heard it related at Damascus that the caravans from thence to Bagdad are, in the spring, sometimes three months in crossing the desert. We again met great numbers of locusts. These rapacious insects had spread sometimes in such quantities over the mountain as to eat up every green vegetable: the cattle of the Bedouins are some times reduced by these animals to the greatest distress.

7th March. After two hours we issued from the Wady and met several Bisharein Arabs. These Bedouins, whom I have already mentioned in my journey towards Dóngola, remain in winter time in the mountains near the Red Sea, where the rains produce plenty of pasture; but there being very few wells and springs in that quarter, they are obliged to approach in summer nearer to the Nile, where wells are more numerous. We were now upon an open sandy plain, without any vegetation, bordered on the east by high mountains, and towards the west, at a shorter distance, by lower hills. The whole valley of Om el Hebal is of granite, but here in the plain I again found sandstone with quartz. We were about five hours in crossing this plain, which bears the name of Birket Zokhan (بركت زُخان), and then after seven hours slow march (in the direction S. 1° ½ E.) we stopped at the entrance of a chain of low mountains, where we found very luxuriant pasture. The herb called Towyle (طويله) grows here in abundance, and is an excellent food for the camels. From my first setting out from Daraou, I had been involved in continual disputes with the man, to whom I had sold my camel, and who carried my baggage. He had undertaken to take more baggage than the camel was able to bear, and in order to lighten it, he was constantly endeavouring to transfer my baggage, for the carriage of which I paid him, to my ass. This evening the camel broke down, when he accused me of having cheated him, in selling him an unsound animal, insisting at the same time upon having his money returned, a demand which was however soon over-ruled. According to justice, and to the customs even of the traders themselves, he would have been obliged to pay the further freight of my baggage out of his own pocket; but he was so loud in his oaths and lamentations, exclaiming that he was a ruined man, and besmearing his face with dirt and dust, in sign of excessive grief, that he brought the chiefs of the caravan all over to his side, and I was obliged to contract a second time for the freight of my goods and provisions, with one of the Bedouins Ababde. As we had already been six days on our journey, our provisions were considerably diminished, and the camel’s load became every day lighter. Upon this the traders always reckon, never taking any spare camels from Egypt with them, as other desert caravans usually do, and if camels break down, their loads are distributed among the others, and the carriage is paid for according to a fair calculation. No man can ever refuse to charge his camel with part of such load, if necessity demands it, and his own camel is strong enough. We again set out after sunset, and marched about three hours farther, through several vallies, until we came to the low mountains called Om Hereyzel (اُم حُريذَل), where we stopped.

8th March. The mountain of Om Hereyzel is of a dark gray granite. We passed it, and then crossed a deep sandy plain entirely barren, direction S. 1° ½ E. The road was strewn with carcases and bones of camels. Few caravans perform the journey without loosing some of their beasts, and this happens more frequently in rocky districts, of difficult passage, or in the neighbourhood of wells, where the already weakened camels surfeit themselves with water, which has the effect of rendering them incapable of resisting fatigue, and the weight of their loads. We passed many low insulated granite hillocks, and granite blocks in the midst of the sands. We halted about mid-day at the entrance of a chain of mountains, running S. E. and N. W., called Djebel Heyzorba (جبل هِزُربه). It is a custom with caravans always to rest during the mid-day hours, when they dine, and sleep afterwards for a couple of hours. At the return from the black countries, when camels are always plentiful, and every body is mounted, the caravan travels in forced marches; but two-thirds of our people were at present on foot. Towards two o’clock we usually set out again, and alighted just before sunset. In the afternoon of this day we passed Heyzorba, and continuing in the same direction as before, halted near some rocks called Beiban (بيبان); a day’s march of about nine hours. I had seen neither trees nor verdure during the whole day. The rocks where we rested, were of granite mixed with large masses of feldspath.

9th March. Being in want of water, we set out soon after midnight, and reached, after five hours march, the Wady Nakeyb (نقيب), with wells of the same name. The Wady is full of Sant trees, and has near its extremity two deep wells of tolerable water.

From the first day of our departure from Daraou, my companions had treated me with neglect, and even contempt; they certainly had no idea of my being a Frank, but they took me to be of Turkish origin, either from European Turkey or Asia Minor, an opinion sufficient of itself to excite the ill treatment of Arabs, who all bear the most inveterate hatred to the Osmanlis. I had with me a Firman of Ibrahim Pasha, son of Mohammed Aly Pasha, and governor of Upper Egypt, together with a letter of recommendation from him, addressed to all the black kings on the Sennaar route, and wherein I was called Hadji, or Shikh Ibrahim el Shamy, or the Syrian. For obvious reasons I had never let this be known amongst my companions, and all that I gave them to understand was, that I was by birth an Aleppine; they knew that I was much befriended by Hassan Beg, the Governor of Esne, under whose jurisdiction Daraou is included, as well as by the great commercial house El Habater of Esne, who had recommended me to his correspondent at Daraou. Seeing that I had brought a very small quantity of goods with me, they thought I had been forced to leave Egypt on account of debts, but I gave out that I was in search of a lost cousin, who several years ago had departed from Siout to Darfour, and Sennaar, upon a mercantile expedition, in which my whole property had been engaged. This was a pretext for my undertaking, quite suited to the notions of these people. The smallness of my adventure in goods would hardly have justified any man in his senses in attempting such a journey with mere commercial views, for after paying all the passage duties in the road, the most sanguine person could not hope for any greater success, than that of returning with the full capital. I was obliged therefore to allege some reasons for undertaking the journey. I often repeated my hopes of finding my lost cousin, and at all events of conducting my expenses in such a manner as not to be a loser on my return. My companions were not disinclined to believe my story, and thought it not at all improbable, that I might also be avoiding my creditors; but I could easily perceive at the same time that they could not divest themselves of some commercial jealousy, thinking it not improbable that I might find the means of attempting a second expedition into these countries with a large capital, in case I should return from the present with a conviction of the profitable nature of the trade. It was probably for this reason that they thought it necessary to ill treat me, in order to prevent my making any further attempt. Several Turks from Asia Minor or from European Turkey had within the last ten years endeavoured to engage in the trade, but the Daraou people had always found means to disgust them so much, as to make them abandon any second enterprize. When in addition to other motives for ill treating me, the traders saw in me every appearance of a poor man, that I cut wood, and cooked for myself, and filled my own water-skins, they thought me hardly upon an equality with the servants who are hired by the merchants, at the rate of ten dollars for the journey from Daraou to Guz, or Shendy, and back again. I had always endeavoured to keep upon good terms with the family of Alowein, who were the principal Fellah merchants, and whose good offices I thought might be useful to me in the black countries; but when they saw that I was so poor that they could have but little hopes of obtaining much from me in presents, they soon forgot what I had already given them before we set out, and no longer observed the least civility in their behaviour towards me. They began by using opprobrious language in speaking of Hassan Beg, of Esne, observing that now we were in the desert, they cared little for all the Begs and Pashas in the world; seeing that this did not seriously affect me, they began to address me in the most vulgar and contemptuous language, never calling me any thing better than Weled, “boy.” Though they became every day more insulting, I restrained my anger, and never proceeded to that retaliation to which they evidently wished to provoke me, in order to have sufficient reasons for coming to blows with me. In the beginning of the journey I had joined the party of the Alowein in our evening encampment, although I always cooked by myself; I was soon, however, driven away from them, and obliged to remain alone, the people of Daraou giving out that several things had been purloined from their baggage, and that they suspected me of having taken them. Not to enter into any further details, it is sufficient to say, that not an hour passed without my receiving some insult, even from the meanest servants of these people, who very soon imitated and surpassed their masters. When we arrived at the well of Nakeyb, and the camels and asses went to be watered, and the water-skins were carried to be filled, some people of the caravan descended according to custom into the wells to fill the Delou or leather bucket, while others drew up the water. Having no friend to go down for me, I was obliged to wait near the well the whole afternoon, until near sunset, to the great amusement of my companions, and I should have remained unsupplied had not one of the guides at last assisted in drawing up the water from above, while I descended into the well to fill the Delou.

We were joined at Nakeyb by a small party of traders, who being in great haste to depart, had left Daraou three days before us, but afterwards thinking it imprudent to venture alone through the desert, had been waiting here for us, for several days.

10th March. After a march of three hours, over a rocky and mountainous country, along a road thickly covered with loose stones, we arrived at El Haimar (حيمَر), a collection of wells of great repute in this desert. Just before we reached it we passed by the tomb of a distinguished person belonging to the Mamelouks, who died on this spot. His companions having inclosed the naked corpse within low walls of loose stones, had covered it over with a large block. The dryness of the air had preserved the corpse in the most perfect state. Looking at it through the interstices of the stones which enveloped it, it appeared to me a more perfect mummy than any I had seen in Egypt. The mouth was wide open, and our guide related that the man had died for want of water, although so near the wells. When the remnant of the Mamelouks under the command of Ibrahim Beg el Kebír, and Osman Beg Hassan, left the shores of the Nile, near Ibrim, in the year 1810, to escape from the eager pursuit of the Pasha’s troops, they retired to these mountains, and claimed the hospitality of the Ababde Bedouins, who received them in their encampments, but left no means untried of getting possession of all the property they had brought with them. Provisions were sold to them at enormous prices, and as one well or source could not afford water to so large a party for any length of time, the Mamelouks were obliged to trust to their Ababde guides to carry them from one watering place to another. During these wanderings the Ababde often carried their guests through circuitous routes in order to create a momentary distress for water, and sell their skins of water (which they secretly filled at some neighbouring spring), at the most exorbitant prices. It was a want of water, caused by these contrivances, that proved fatal to the above mentioned Mamelouk, and to others, who lie buried in the neighbourhood. Their whole corps remained several weeks at Haimar, and it was from thence that they ordered all their unnecessary servants and followers to depart: among these were several dashing Egyptian dancing girls, the price of whose charms had increased in the mountains, in the same proportion as other commodities, and who had thus been enabled to acquire large sums of money in a very short time. The dismissed followers of the Mamelouk camp formed a caravan, which was proceeding towards Assouan under the guidance of several Ababde, when, the night before they expected to reach the Nile, their guides absconded, and the next morning they found themselves attacked by a large body of Ababde, by whom they were robbed and stripped naked, and in this condition permitted to pursue their journey towards Egypt. The Ababde, as an excuse for their abominable treachery upon this and other occasions when many of the Mamelouk stragglers were robbed and killed by them, allege that the Mamelouks were the first to prove themselves unworthy of good faith and the rights of hospitality, by slaughtering the cattle of the Bedouins, and taking liberties with their women. Some such instances may have happened, but they were certainly not sufficient to exculpate the Ababde, whose treacherous character is too well known. The wells of Haimar are formed in a small sandy plain, in the midst of craggy hills. In one or two of them the water is drinkable, but in the greater part, it is of a bitterish and very disagreeable taste, though in great plenty. A nitrous crust is seen on the borders of the wells: the ground around them was still covered with the dung of camels and horses which had remained there since the time of the Mamelouk encampment. Old boots and shoes, with rags of tents and clothing covered the ground. The plain of Haimar is often frequented by large encampments of Bisharein Bedouins, who pasture here their cattle, but as the wells are within the dominion of the Ababde, they are obliged to pay a certain yearly tribute to the Ababde chiefs. This is often the cause of wars, but at present the Ababde have become more formidable than the Bisharein, and their intercourse with Egypt renders them much the wealthier of the two. It is only the northern Bisharein, who ever come in contact with the Ababde. We found only a few families of Bisharein encamped at Haimar, and passed through the plain without stopping, having filled our water skins with the comparatively sweet water of the Nakeyb. Beyond Haimar begins a wild, stony district, through which our camels had difficulty in passing. We ascended amidst granite and sand-stone rocks, for about one hour, and then descended again into the plain, about five hours and a half after our setting out in the morning. Our direction was S. 1° E. The mountains we passed are called Akabet Haimar (عَقَبِة حيمَِر) and are visible at a considerable distance. The plain beyond the Akabe is sandy, with many insulated granite rocks. I could see no where any regular strata, but the rocks were all in shattered, sharp-edged masses, bearing the marks of some violent commotion of the earth. In one hour we entered a fine valley called Wady Nehdyr, or Ghedeyr (the Arabic name in my journal is not quite clear (غَدير or نَحدير), with plenty of acacia trees. We had hoped to find some rain water here, in a large basin formed by nature, but it was dry, and the quantity of camel’s dung round it, proved that it had lately been exhausted by an Arab encampment. We therefore rode on, and alighted, after eight hours and a half, at the extremity of the Wady.

11th March. Our road lay over stony hills and rocky passages, for three hours, to the well called el Morra (المُرَّهَ), meaning “the bitter,” a name which it justly bears when compared to the sweet waters of the Nile; but the eastern Arabs, who are more accustomed to bad water than Nubians and Egyptians, would hardly perceive its disagreeable taste. It is a very large well, upwards of forty feet in depth, and I was told that it never dries up. Wady Morra extends for two or three hours, in an eastern direction. Having here taken in a small provision of water, we immediately continued our road, for five hours, to Wady Olaky (وادي عُلاقي) a fine valley extending from east to west, and having its extremities (as I was told) on one side near the Red Sea, and on the other near the Nile. In time of rain considerable torrents collect in the Wady, and empty themselves into the Nile. There is excellent pasturage and many trees in the valley, for which rare advantages it is held by the Bedouins in great veneration. Our guides in approaching the Wady saluted it with great solemnity, and thanked heaven for having permitted them to arrive so far in safety (السلاُم عليك يا وادي علاقي الحمد لَّله الذي جيناك بالسلامه). In crossing the valley, which is about one hundred and fifty yards across, each person took a handful of Dhourra and threw it on the ground, a kind of pious offering to the good genius who is supposed to preside over the Wady. At the end of six hours we entered Wady Om-gat (اُم قاط). It has a reservoir of rain water, which renders it a resting place for caravans; but we found it dry. No valley we had hitherto passed was so thickly overgrown with acacia trees. Swarms of locusts were feeding upon the young sprigs and leaves. The ground was covered with the coloquintida, a plant very common in every part of this desert. The people of the caravan amused themselves with throwing these round gourds at each other, and warding them off with their targets, in which they shewed great dexterity. Unfortunately I had no target, and my Daraou friends so often aimed at my head, that I was at last obliged to apply seriously to the chief of the caravan for protection, a measure which saved me from a bloody nose, but procured for me the title of a “cowardly boy,” which lasted for several days, until it was exchanged for an appellation still more insulting. Our direction was this day S. by W. The ground of the Wady Omgat is all sandy; the hills lose their wild, grotesque shape, and are disposed in more regular chains. Most of the trees were entirely dried up, there having been no rain for nearly three years. I was surprised not to see the footsteps of any wild animals in the sand, and no birds, except a few crows. We met several Bisharein, accompanying camels loaded with Senna-mekke, which they were carrying to Derr for sale, or to barter for Dhourra. We continued the whole evening in the Wady, and halted after about nine hour’s march.

12th March. We set out before sunrise, and in three hours arrived at the extremity of Wady Omgat, the hills of which are throughout composed of granite. We entered here upon a wide sandy plain, and beyond it crossed, for two hours, a chain of mountains composed of grunstein. At six hours we descended into Wady el Towashy (وادي الطواشي), or the Valley of the Eunuch. It is so called from an eunuch belonging to the great temple of Mekka, who was here killed and robbed of the presents which he had received from the kings of Darfour and Sennaar.[4] I could not gain exact information, as to the year when this murder was committed; but one of our guides told me that his father remembered it perfectly well. I have no doubt, therefore, that this eunuch was the same called Mahomet Towash, by Bruce, and whose body was found by the traveller, exactly in this situation, three days after he had taken prisoner a Bisharye Bedouin, one of the murderers; a story which appears to be made up in all its details, although true in its principal facts. The people who killed the Towashy however were not Bisharein, but the Towashy’s own guides, a party of Ababde of the tribe of Asheybab, called Hameydab, whose chief seat is at Beyheyra, a village not far from Edfou, on the eastern bank of the Nile (حميداب من قبيلة عشيباب في بحيره). They were much blamed for that action by their friends, and it is observed that ever since, the Hameydab have fallen into disrespect and weakness. The tomb of the Towashy is near the foot of the mountain, on the spot where he fell, and is looked upon as that of a saint or martyr. The tomb is of stone, and was erected by another tribe of Arabs. We found it covered with a few loose mats. All our people went up to it, and many of them prayed near it. In parting, they strewed some Dhourra and other offerings upon it, and filled with water a jar, which some other traveller had left there. Coloured rags had been tied upon poles near the tomb, according to a custom common among the Arabs. Several camel saddles lay about, which travellers had dedicated to the saint. We passed the hours of noon near the tomb, in the broad valley, to which it has given name. After mid-day we again started, and traversed an uneven ground of sand and stones. Our way for the whole day was S. 1° E. After about ten hours march, we halted in Wady Abou Borshe (وادي ابو بُرشه); a chain of mountains runs here in a N. W. direction. Some Sellam trees grow in the barren sands of this Wady: this tree is a species of acacia; the Arabs value the wood for its great hardness; they use it for the shafts of their lances, and cut the thin branches into sticks of about the thickness of the thumb, and three feet in length, the top of which they bend in the fire, while the wood is yet green, and rubbing it frequently with grease, it acquires greater weight and strength. Every man carries in his hand such a stick, which is called Sélame.[5] There is another tree of the same species, called by the Bisharein El Dodda, which is preferred to the Sellam, for making these sticks. It grows nearer to the Red Sea. In the Wady Abou Borshe we met with some gazelles, the first we had seen since leaving Daraou; where water is only found in deep wells, it cannot be supposed that game much abounds.

13th March. We set out before sun rise, and reached, after three hours, Wady el Berd (وادي البرد), a fine wide valley overgrown with trees. Large flocks of white birds, of the size of geese, passed over our heads, on their way northwards. The Arabs have given this valley the name of Berd (cold), because they find that even in summer, a cold breeze always reigns here; it is open to the Nile, from whence the winds at that time generally blow. We found it at the early hour of the morning in which we passed it so extremely cold, that during a short halt we set fire to several dead trees, of which there are many in the Wady. Having continued our way along it for about two hours, and then crossed a chain of hills, we halted again during the mid-day hours, in another valley. The halting at noon always gave rise to disputes. Whenever it was known before hand that the chiefs intended to stop in a certain valley, the young men of the caravan pushed eagerly forwards, in order to select at the halting place the largest tree, or some spot under an impending rock, where they secured shelter from the sun for themselves and their mess. Every day some dispute arose as to who arrived the first, under some particular tree: as for myself I was often driven from the coolest and most comfortable berth, into the burning sun, and generally passed the mid-day hours in great distress: for besides the exposure to heat, I had to cook my dinner, a service which I could never prevail upon any of my companions, even the poorest servants, to perform for me, though I offered to let them share in my homely fare. In the evening, the same labour occurred again, when fatigued by the day’s journey, during which I always walked for four or five hours, in order to spare my ass, and when I was in the utmost need of repose. Hunger however always prevailed over fatigue, and I was obliged to fetch and cut wood to light a fire, to cook, to feed the ass, and finally to make coffee, a cup of which, presented to my Daraou companions, who were extremely eager to obtain it, was the only means I possessed of keeping them in tolerable good humour. A good night’s rest, however, always repaired my strength, and I was never in better health and spirits than during this journey, although its fatigues were certainly very great, and much beyond my expectation. The common dish of all the travellers at noon was Fetyre (فطيره), which is flour mixed up with water into a liquid paste, and then baked upon the sadj, or iron plate; butter is then poured over it, or honey, or sometimes a sauce is made of butter and dried Bamyé. In the evening some lentils are boiled, or some bread is baked with salt, either upon the sadj or in ashes, and a sauce of Bamyé, or onion poured over lentils, or upon the bread, after it has been crumbled into small pieces. Early in the morning every one eats a piece of dry biscuit with some raw onion or dates. In the afternoon we again crossed a mountainous country, and then a sandy plain, terminated by a valley, where some Doum trees afford a delightful prospect to the traveller. After a day’s march of about nine hours, we halted in that valley, near the wells called el Nabeh (النَابِح). While we were crossing the before mentioned plain, we met a small caravan of eight Ababdes; coming from Berber, and bound for Daraou. They had about thirty slaves and several loaded camels with them, which they intended to sell in Upper Egypt. The intelligence they gave us was extremely discouraging. Two wells which lay before us, on our road to Berber, they had found almost dried up. In one, that of Shigre, they said, we might still find some water, but in the farther one at “Nedjeym” we must reckon upon very little or no supply. Some of our people, alarmed at this intelligence, thought of returning with the Ababde caravan, but they were dissuaded by the others. The Daraou people bought a strong camel from the other caravan, for the purpose of loading it with water, and we passed the whole night in consulting what was to be done. In Wady el Nabeh there are five or six wells, close together, three of which are brackish, and two drinkable, but the latter contain very little water, and this little was immediately consumed in filling the water-skins. On the next morning disputes arose about the water that had flowed out of the wells during the night, each party wishing to appropriate it for its own use.

14th March. The fine shade afforded by the numerous Doum trees, and the copious wells, render the Wady el Nabeh next to Haimar, and Shigre, the most important position upon this route. Small caravans generally stop here a few days, in going to Berber, in order to give their camels a little time to repair their strength. It is supposed, that the water of the Nabeh is peculiarly refreshing to them. It certainly has strong purgative qualities. Large caravans however find it impossible to remain here for more than one night, because the drinkable water is but scanty. Our chiefs were the whole morning consulting, what to do; we had a two days march to Shigre, and from thence five days to the Nile at Berber. It was impossible to load the animals with a quantity of water, sufficient for the whole journey, yet we had no water to expect south of Shigre, and very little at Shigre. There is another source called Nawarik (نواريق) in the mountains to the S. E., four days and a half journey from El Nabeh, and as many from Berber, which would have been an eligible route to take. But none of our party were acquainted with the road, excepting a Bisharye Arab, and the others were not willing to trust themselves to his guidance. A third route was pointed out to me from Nabeh, leading in a S. S. W. direction, to the Nile in three long days and a half, but that part of the Nile is inhabited by the Arabs of Mograt, who were enemies of our caravan, and whose chief, Naym, had lately been killed by a Shikh of the Ababde. Upon such occasions as these, every man gives his opinion, and mine was, that we should kill our thirty-five asses, which required a daily supply of, at least, fifteen water skins, that we should load the camels to the utmost of their strength with water, and strike out a straight way through the desert towards Berber, without touching at Shigre; in this manner we might perform the journey in five forced marches. But the Arabs can seldom be brought to take manly resolutions, upon such occasions, generally consoling themselves with the hope of Allah Kerim, or God’s bounty; so that the result of our deliberation was, that we should follow the usual track. We repaired our water skins and our sandals, refreshed ourselves with bathing in the cool wells, and then set out. It was not without great apprehension that I departed from this place. Our camels and asses carried water for three or four days only, and I saw no possibility of escaping from the dreadful effects of a want of water. In order to keep my ass in good spirits, I took off the two small water skins with which I had hitherto loaded him, and paid one of the Ababdes four dollars to carry four small water skins as far as Berber; for I thought that if the ass could carry me, I might bear thirst for two days at least, but that if he should break down, I should certainly not be able to walk one whole day without water in this hot season of the year. This evening, for about one hour, we passed along the valley, and then for two hours across a stony country (direction S. by E.), when we stopped for the night in a narrow valley. I was overcome by fatigue, my eyes had for several days been sore, and my reflections on our melancholy situation kept me long awake. A camel overloaded with water fell down this evening and broke its leg, by which accident several water skins were burst. The camel was killed in the legal way, by turning its head towards Mekka, and cutting its throat. Some of our people remained behind, and overtook us at night with some choice morsels of flesh, which they had cut from the carcass.

15th March. We set out before day break, were about one hour and a half in crossing over a rocky district, and then reached a wide sandy plain, called Gob el Kheyl (قُب الخيل), which has many insulated granite rocks, similar in shape to those described on the 6th. After four hours march we halted at the entrance of Wady Tarfawy (وادي طَرفاوي), so called from the Tarfa or tamarisk tree, that grows there. The ground was covered also with the fine Senna shrub, the verdure of which was quite a novel sight. The pulse or fruit of the Senna had now come to its full maturity, and supplied food to swarms of locusts. Many thorny tamarisks, and a few Doum trees, also, grow here, and render the valley the most pleasant of the whole route.

In general, I found the dreaded Nubian deserts, as far as Shigre at least, of much less dreary appearance than the great Syrian desert, and still less so than the desert of Suez and Tyh. We seldom passed a day without meeting with trees and water, as far at least as Shigre; they are much more frequent than on the caravan route from Aleppo to Bagdad, or from Damascus to Medina. The flatness of the Syrian desert may appear less horrid than the barren shaggy rocks of the Nubian desert; but the latter has at least the advantage of variety. As we arrived very early at our halting place in the Wady Tarfawy, the camels were sent to a side valley, at the distance of more than one hour and a half, to get some water from a pool, the slight brackish taste of which makes it probable that, besides the rain water collected in it, there is a spring at the bottom. They returned soon after mid-day. Another camel, which was pronounced unable to continue the journey, was killed to day, and many of the eagles, called Quakham, quickly assembled to have their share of the meat. Our Ababde guides had a quarrel to day with the men from Daraou, from whom they endeavoured to extort some additional payment. I was not sorry to see this dispute, hoping that it might lead to a greater cordiality between me and the Ababde, who might perhaps join their interests with mine against the common adversary. The caravan set out again about four P. M. At the moment of departure, the Arab who carried my water, brought me the largest of the four skins, and told me that his camel was unable to carry it any further. Before I had arranged two smaller skins, had filled them with the water of the large one, had tied ropes to them, and had loaded them upon my ass, the caravan had gained a great distance ahead, so that following their footsteps in the sand, I could not rejoin them till late after sunset. It is in such cases that the want of a servant or companion is chiefly felt; for slave traders show no sort of compassion for the embarrassments of their fellow creatures. We marched this evening about six hours, over stony ground, and encamped late at night in Wady Kowa, (وادي كوع), a valley full of pasturage. The direction during the day was S. by E.

16th March. After a few hours rest we again started. Our road lay over a sandy flat. High mountains appeared far in the east. At the end of three hours we halted in Wady Safyha (وادي صَفيحه), which cannot properly be called a valley, being a strip of lower land, running across the plain, where the rain water collects, and produces some trees and shrubs. Such spots in the Arabian deserts are called Ghadyr (غدير). After mid-day we continued over the plain. During the whole day’s march we were surrounded on all sides by lakes of mirage, called by the Arabs Serab. Its colour was of the purest azure, and so clear that the shadows of the mountains which bordered the horizon were reflected on it with the greatest precision, and the delusion of its being a sheet of water was thus rendered still more perfect. I had often seen the mirage in Syria and Egypt, but always found it of a whitish colour, rather resembling a morning mist, seldom lying steady on the plain, but in continual vibration; but here it was very different, and had the most perfect resemblance to water. The great dryness of the air and earth in this desert may be the cause of the difference. The appearance of water approached also much nearer, than in Syria and Egypt, being often not more than two hundred paces from us, whereas I had never seen it before at a distance of less than half a mile. There were at one time about a dozen of these false lakes round us, each separated from the other, and for the most part in the low grounds. After about eight hours march we stopped at Wady Om Doum (وادي اُم دوم). The name indicates the existence of Doum trees, but I could see no trees of any kind. I have observed that the vallies south of Omgat run generally from east to west, while those to the north of that place were parallel to our route. Our direction was still S. by E.

17th March. We set out at daylight and approached the high mountains of Shigre, which we had had in view the whole of the preceding day. After two hours march, we entered among these mountains, and then turning east, came to a fine Wady full of Doum trees, and bordered on either side by steep, and almost inaccessible cliffs. In following the windings of the valley, we arrived, after four hours march, near the water of Shigre, (شِقر) where we encamped. The surrounding mountains are all of granite, and consist of blocks of various sizes, heaped upon one another in the wildest disorder. Near the opening of the mountain, where the water is found, at some distance below the highest summit, I found the rock to be porphyry of a light reddish colour, close grained, with small veins of feldspath, much resembling the porphyry I saw last year, in Wady Lamoule, beyond the Second Cataract of the Nile. The approach to the spring is somewhat difficult, being at the extremity of a very narrow passage, in a cavern or cleft of the rock, where, besides the spring, there is also a collection of rain water. The water is excellent, and very cool, but unfortunately not very copious; at least, we found only a small supply. Some pigeons were flying about the spring. The well of Shigre is famous throughout this desert. The Bisharein frequently encamp in the neighbouring Wadys, and one of their principal Shikhs or Saints is buried near the well. Travellers often make pious offerings at the tomb, and if any Bedouins happen to be encamped in the neighbourhood, some sheep are purchased from them, and killed in honour of the Saint. One of our party found behind a rock, near the tomb, an empty chest, of Egyptian workmanship, quite new, which had probably been deposited there by some trader, whose camel could not carry it further, and who expected to take it up again on his return. The Ababde guides claimed it of the person who found it, alleging that they are the masters of the desert, and that all treasures found in it belong to them. We encamped at about half a mile from the well, and our first care was to fill our water skins. The Ababde kindly permitted the Fellah traders to fill their skins first, but the latter abused the permission, by watering likewise their camels; so that after they had retired from the well, very little water was left in it. The Ababde then declared that they should be obliged to stop here until the well should fill again. We remained therefore the whole night, the Ababde sleeping at the mouth of the cavern, to prevent any body from stealing water during the night.

On the morning of the 18th March, about twenty skins were filled, but the Ababde were not yet satisfied, and the merchants, rather than protract their stay, and see their store of water diminished by the hourly waste, preferred ceding some of their skins to the guides, upon the condition of departing immediately. After much patience and labour, I had succeeded in filling two large skins, and having still some water left, I should thus have been at least as well provided as any other individual in the caravan but I was not to be so fortunate. Having taken one of the skins upon my shoulder to the camp, I had left the other near the well, with the intention of coming back with the ass to take it away. When I returned, I found it empty. My Daraou friends had poured its contents into one of their own skins; and although they excused themselves by saying it was done by mistake, I could not by any means prevail upon them to refill it; indeed the water, now left in the well was rendered so muddy by the blueish clay which covers the bottom, that it was quite unserviceable. It was in vain that I offered two dollars for a full skin. My companions only laughed at me, saying that the price was indeed enormous, but that no one would part with his provision of water, and that they had never been in the habit of doing so. I was thus obliged to retreat from the well with the melancholy reflection that my stock of water was at the utmost sufficient for myself and ass for two days. It may here be remarked that it is of little use in travelling through deserts, to have a very large stock of water; for if the other travellers are in want of water they will take it by force; the rule being that water and bread are common to all, that is to say, that the stronger takes it from the weaker. The eastern Arabs allow the poor traveller to partake of their stock of water even when it is scarce, but the Africans are not so liberal, and all that an individual can do among them, is to lay in such a stock of water as will last as long as that of the great merchants; for he will find no supply from others, while he must give up all he can spare, and sometimes, even his whole stock, to meet the necessities of his more powerful companions. I searched about the well for some traces of ancient works, in the supposition that the place was as well known and frequented in the time when the trade of Meroe flourished as it is at present. But I could find nothing, although the situation is well suited to the construction of a fortress. The road leading up to the cavern which contains the well is almost blocked up by large masses of stones. And near it is another source, which has lately been entirely choaked up by the falling down of a projection of the mountain.

The Ababde chief of the caravan being acquainted with my misfortunes, sent for me just as we were on the point of departure, and having made some severe reflections upon the cruelty of the Egyptians towards me, made me a present of a sufficient quantity of water to fill one of the smaller skins. I was of course very sincere in my protestations of thanks and of gratitude, although I well saw that his anxiety for my welfare was not so great as his wish to mortify the Egyptians. We left Shigre in the course of the morning; it took us four hours to cross the chain of mountains, which bear the name of Djebel Shigre (جِبال شِقر). They appeared to me the highest points of Western Nubia, but their most elevated summit is not more than eight hundred or one thousand feet above the plain. All these mountains are of granite, and are every where as wild in their shape as those about the well. After four hours march, we issued from the mountains, and by a slight descent reached a sandy plain, covered with sharp stones. Our road S. 1° W. At five hours, passed Wady Kabkaba (وادي قَبقَبه); at seven hours, passed Wady Zeynatyb (وادي زَينَاتيب). Trees are very scarce in these Wadys, which are nothing but low grounds with some shrubs. We marched until late at night, and halted in the plain, after a day’s journey of about eleven hours. The country we passed over, after quitting the mountains of Shigre, is one great sandy flat, occasionally interrupted by gravelly ground, with small pebbles of quartz. We likewise passed several districts of moving sands. From Daraou as far as Shigre we had constantly followed a broad beaten path, where it is almost impossible for any one who has once performed the journey to go astray. The road seldom varies in its direction, and the prominent features of the mountains on both sides serve to the traveller as a guide at the few places where the sandy ground prevents any lasting impression of the footsteps of former caravans. From Shigre southward we found no beaten path, and there being no longer any mountains in view, it requires the eye and experience of a Bedouin to keep the caravan in a proper direction, especially during the day time.

19th March. Our road was S. by W. over an immense plain, bordered by low hills in the distant horizon. After about one hour we passed Wady Dimoka-yb (a Bishary name) (وادي ديموكايب), full of dry shrubs. The day was intensely hot. I thought I could perceive a considerable alteration in the climate, to the south of Shigre, it being much warmer than to the north of that place. Eight hours and a half passed Wady Abou Daey (وادي ابو ضَيّ). All these Wadys extend from east to west. Eleven hours arrived at the wells of Nedjeym (ابيار النجيم); in approaching which, we passed, long after sunset, by several tomb-stones, called Gobour Adjouad el Arey-ab (قبور اجوَد الاريَاب); “the bravest men of Are-ab lie buried here,” said one of our chiefs; “their companions carry them from many days journies to this spot, that they may repose in the cool neighbourhood of the wells, and their deeds be remembered by those who pass here.” The Are-ab are a tribe of Bisharein. We had already sent some men to the wells early in the morning, to clear them of the sand, for notwithstanding the report of the caravan travellers which we received at Nabeh, our people still believed that some water might be procured here. But we found them sitting with melancholy countenances near the well, where they had been digging for several hours, without finding any thing but wet sand. Even the Bedouins now became alarmed, and nothing was left for us but to endeavour to reach the Nile by forced marches; each of us had some water left, though not more than sufficient for a single day. Nedjeym is a collection of three or four wells, where the water oozes from the ground, and collects in sand pits of twenty or thirty feet in depth. The winds often choak these pits with sand, and almost every caravan that passes must be at the trouble of digging them out. We only found one accessible, the others being filled with sand to the brim. In times of dryness, such as occurred this year, the wells are exhausted, but when the rains are not deficient they produce excellent water, in sufficient quantity to supply a caravan of middling size. The low insulated rocky hills which surround the Nedjeym are composed of chlorite and petrosilex.

20th March. Some of our people continued at work at the well the whole night, and at length by great assiduity filled the water skins. We left the place soon after midnight. Issuing from the hills which surround the wells, and diverging from the straight road that leads to Berber, we took our route over a barren plain covered with moving sands, in a S. S. W. direction. At four hours we passed Wady Holhob (وادي حُلهُب). All the Wadys south of Shigre empty themselves in large torrents into the Nile whenever rain falls in the eastern chain. The ground now became gravelly, covered with small black flints and petrosilex, a dark expanse of waste much resembling some parts of the desert of Tyh. No mountains or hills are any where seen. Here and there only small rocks of granite, quartz or sienite interrupt the dreary uniformity of the plain. Fortunately for us we had northerly winds, but we suffered nevertheless considerably from the heat. We drank only twice to day, and our asses were put upon half allowance. At eleven hours we halted in a Wady. I had a quarrel to day with a man of Daraou, who accused me of having opened his water skin in the night, in order to give my ass some water; he called me by the most insulting names, pelted me with stones, and seemed to have succeeded in persuading the whole caravan that I was guilty.

21st March. We set out after midnight, and marched over a sandy ground. At three hours passed Wady Amour (وادي عامور). It was a chilly night, and the heat of the preceding day had rendered us still more sensible to the cold. Wady Amour is full of Sellam trees and acacias, many of which were quite dried up: our people, to warm themselves, set several of them on fire in passing along, and the flames spreading over the valley, beautifully illuminated the travellers and their frightened beasts. Issuing from the Wady we again met with a gravelly plain, and some low grounds. In seven hours passed a Wady of Sant trees. The heat was very great, and the wind southerly; half a dozen asses had already broken down, and their riders were obliged to walk over the burning plain. I had not drank the whole day, but still gave my ass every now and then a little water to keep up his spirits. At nine hours (direction S. S. W.), reached Wady Abou Sellam (وادي ابو سِلَّم) which abounds with Sellam trees. Here we stopped; for the beasts were much fatigued, and there were many stragglers behind, whom we might have lost in proceeding further. In order to spare my stock of water, I had lived since quitting Shigre entirely upon biscuits, and had never cooked any victuals; I now made another dinner of the same kind, after which I allayed my thirst by a copious draught of water, having in my skins as much as would serve me for another draught on the morrow. We were all in the greatest dejection, foreseeing that all the asses must die the ensuing day if not properly watered, and none of the traders had more than a few draughts for himself. After a long deliberation they at last came to the only determination that could save us, and which the Ababde chief had been for several days recommending. Ten or twelve of the strongest camels being selected, were mounted by as many men, who hastened forward to fetch a supply of water from the nearest part of the Nile. We were only five or six hours distant from it, but its banks being here inhabited by Arabs inimical to the traders, the whole caravan could not venture to take that road. The camels set out at about four P. M., and would reach the river at night. They were ordered to choose an uninhabited spot for filling the skins, and forthwith to return. We passed the evening meanwhile in the greatest anxiety, for if the camels should not return, we had little hopes of escape either from thirst or from the sword of our enemies, who, if they had once got sight of the camels, would have followed their footsteps through the desert, and would certainly have discovered us. After sunset several stragglers arrived, but two still remained behind, of whom one joined us early next morning, but the other was not heard of any more. He was servant to a Daraou trader, who showed not the least concern about his fate. Many of my companions came in the course of the evening to beg some water of me, but I had well hidden my treasure, and answered them by showing my empty skins. We remained the greater part of the night in sullen and silent expectation of the result of our desperate mission. At length, about three o’clock in the morning, we heard the distant hollowings of our watermen, and soon after refreshed ourselves with copious draughts of the delicious water of the Nile. The caravan passed suddenly from demonstrations of the deepest distress, to those of unbounded joy and mirth. A plentiful supper was dressed, and the Arabs kept up their songs till day break without bestowing a thought on the fate of the unhappy man who had remained behind. It rarely happens that persons perish by thirst on this road, and if the Nedjeym has water, it is almost impossible that such an accident should happen. Last year, however, an instance occurred, the particulars of which were related to me by a man who had himself suffered all the pangs of death. In the month of August, a small caravan prepared to set out from Berber to Daraou. They consisted of five merchants, and about thirty slaves, with a proportionate number of camels. Afraid of the robber Naym, who at that time was in the habit of waylaying travellers about the well of Nedjeym, and who had constant intelligence of the departure of every caravan from Berber, they determined to take a more eastern road, by the well Owareyk. They had hired an Ababde guide, who conducted them in safety to that place, but who lost his way from thence northward, the route being very unfrequented. After five days march in the mountains, their stock of water was exhausted, nor did they know where they were. They resolved therefore to direct their course towards the setting sun, hoping thus to reach the Nile. After two days thirst, fifteen slaves and one of the merchants died. Another of them, an Ababde, who had ten camels with him, thinking that the camels might know better than their masters where water was to be found, desired his comrades to tie him fast upon the saddle of his strongest camel, that he might not fall down from weakness; and thus he parted from them, permitting his camels to take their own way: but neither the man nor his camels were ever heard of afterwards. On the eighth day after leaving Owareyk, the survivors came in sight of the mountains of Shigre, which they immediately recognized, but their strength was quite exhausted, and neither men nor beasts were able to move any further. Lying down under a rock, they sent two of their servants with the two strongest remaining camels, in search of water. Before these two men could reach the mountain, one of them dropped off his camel, deprived of speech, and able only to wave his hands to his comrade as a signal that he desired to be left to his fate. The survivor then continued his route, but such was the effect of thirst upon him, that his eyes grew dim and he lost the road, though he had often travelled over it before, and had been perfectly acquainted with it. Having wandered about for a long time, he alighted under the shade of a tree, and tied the camel to one of its branches; the beast however smelt the water, (as the Arabs express it,) and wearied as it was, broke its halter, and set off gallopping furiously in the direction of the spring, which as it afterwards appeared, was at half an hour’s distance. The man well understanding the camel’s action, endeavoured to follow its footsteps, but could only move a few yards; he fell exhausted on the ground, and was about to breathe his last, when Providence led that way from a neighbouring encampment a Bisharye Bedouin, who by throwing water upon the man’s face restored him to his senses. They then went hastily together to the water, filled the skins, and returning to the caravan, had the good fortune to find the sufferers still alive. The Bisharye received a slave for his trouble. My informer, a native of Yembo in Arabia, was the man whose camel discovered the spring, and he added the remarkable circumstance that the youngest slaves bore the thirst better than the rest, and that while the grown up boys all died, the children reached Egypt in safety.