FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   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   175   176   177   178   179   180   181   182   183   184   185   186   187   188   >>   >|  
tle exercise. But in the evening, after dark, they returned from feeding their camels somewhere in the mountains, and came and bivouacked close to us and our baggage. This alarmed us, and we sent En-Noor to remonstrate with them. After some wrangling, they promised to leave us if we would give them supper. We did so, and got rid of them for the night. There was some dispute this evening with the servants about pitching our tent. I always find them ready to escape this trouble when they can. However, it appears that En-Noor recommended us not to pitch our tents that we may not be known during the night, in the event of these three Haghars having comrades skulking after them, seeking an opportunity to attack us. _21st._--We rose an hour before daylight, and journeyed eight hours, passing through a country resembling that of yesterday, and a pleasant valley called Wady Jeenanee, until we arrived at the wells of the same name. They are scooped out of the sand in a stony bed, and amidst rocks. The water is very palatable. It has no natural source, but there is an abundant supply for several months, and even years, after great rains. To-day we noticed, for the first time on our journey from Tripoli, the recent marks of the fall of a great quantity of rain. It had left after it exactly the same forms on the sandy valley which we see at all times, quite dry, in the more desolated regions of the Sahara. There cannot be a doubt that occasionally an immense quantity of rain falls in every region of this great desert. The senna plant was picked up again to-day, and the tree called aborah appeared in great numbers in the wady, in a corner of which we encamped. Although our friends, the three Haghars, promised to leave us for ever if they had a supper, yesterday they appeared again _en route_ to chat with their Tanelkum acquaintances. God knows, they may be honest men--in reality, poor devils obliged to beg their way to Aheer. They wander about here and there. (I have not seen them this evening, five P.M.) Notwithstanding that the blacks of our caravan (mostly slaves) walked on foot fourteen long, long hours yesterday, they still danced, and sang, and played games in the evening, and kept it up till midnight! How capable are these Africans of bearing up against fatigue and toil! Could we Europeans do as they do? Not even in our own country, and under our own climate. They afterwards made a collection of small articles o
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   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   175   176   177   178   179   180   181   182   183   184   185   186   187   188   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
evening
 

yesterday

 

country

 

quantity

 

appeared

 
Haghars
 
promised
 

called

 
valley
 

supper


friends

 

corner

 
aborah
 

encamped

 
Although
 

numbers

 
desolated
 
regions
 

Sahara

 

desert


picked

 

region

 

occasionally

 

immense

 

midnight

 

capable

 

Africans

 

bearing

 

danced

 

played


fatigue

 
collection
 

articles

 

climate

 

Europeans

 
fourteen
 

devils

 
obliged
 

reality

 
acquaintances

Tanelkum
 

honest

 
wander
 
caravan
 

blacks

 

slaves

 
walked
 

Notwithstanding

 
escape
 

trouble