FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149  
150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   >>   >|  
n amphitheatre of savage-looking mountains--great stony swells, made hideous here and there by crags and ravines, and piled away on all sides in shattered magnificence. This is the grandest desert prospect I have yet seen, and must strongly clash with the ordinary notion of the Great Sahara which untravelled geologists have represented as the recently-elevated bed of some ocean. We must now have reached the summit of an inland Atlas, dividing the extreme limits of the Ghat territory from the, to us, mysterious kingdom of Aheer. In Wady Aroukeen there are some of the finest tholukhs I have seen, reaching the height of thirty or forty feet. There are, besides, two new species of trees, the adwa of Soudan, called, in Aheer, _aborah_: they have not been observed before, and are natives of Bornou. Their general aspect resembles the tholukh, but they have large prickles and a smooth roundish leaf. There is a good deal of hasheesh in this valley. We are now, they say, about twelve days from Aheer, exclusive of the stoppages; twelve days, I mean, of twelve hours a-piece. These long stretches are desperately fatiguing, and trying to the health; but there is no remedy. We must make these weary stages on account of the scarcity of water and herbage for the camels. The Kailouees tie their camels by the lower jaw, and fasten the string to the baggage piled on the back of the preceding animal; and the long line moves on well this way. The Tuaricks fasten their bridles, when they ride their maharees, by a round ring in the nose. We had granite again to-day, and fine beds of felspar, pebbles, and rocks. The geology of this portion of Sahara is very interesting, but no crystals have yet been found. Yesterday and to-day, the wind has been high, moderating greatly the heat. The wind is nearly always south-east. The nights are resplendent. Jupiter and Venus are seen close together in beautiful conjunction. The constellation of the Scorpion rises higher in the south, whilst the Pole-star apparently falls. I read nothing nowadays but a few verses of the Greek Testament, and write these miserable leaves of journal. I must save my strength. I am very weak as it is. We have still got nearly forty days of actual travelling to make before we enter Soudan, but we hope Providence will allow us a little rest at Aheer. _10th._--We moved on late this morning up Wady Aroukeen, one hour and a-half, to a place where we have better feeding for th
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149  
150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
twelve
 

fasten

 

camels

 

Soudan

 

Aroukeen

 
Sahara
 
granite
 

morning

 
felspar
 

crystals


Yesterday

 

interesting

 
geology
 

portion

 
pebbles
 

baggage

 
preceding
 
animal
 

feeding

 

string


maharees

 

bridles

 

Tuaricks

 

moderating

 

apparently

 

higher

 

whilst

 

nowadays

 

miserable

 

leaves


strength

 
verses
 

Testament

 

nights

 

Providence

 
journal
 

greatly

 
resplendent
 

Jupiter

 
conjunction

constellation
 

Scorpion

 
beautiful
 
travelling
 

actual

 

elevated

 
reached
 

summit

 
recently
 

represented