and necks had been made
sore from the chains took an active part in this fatiguing exercise,
and all came to kiss our hands and to prostrate themselves at our feet
and to sprinkle them with sand. We were careful not to interrupt this
feast of good augury. It was the first proof to us that they had at
last accepted their lot, and we had no longer to fear they would dream
of escaping as they were so far from the Sudan and in the very middle
of the desert.... From that day all were sincerely attached to us, and
our joy was not less than theirs, for the continued watch which had
been imposed upon us had been frightfully fatiguing. They helped us to
load and unload our camels, to guide them en route, to stretch our
tents, and to bring wood and water, labors which we alone had
performed for a month. Finally we could lie down and sleep in
peace."[13] At an early hour the next morning the tents were folded
and the several caravans parted company. One went eastward through
Ghat to Ghedames, accompanied as far as Ghat by another whose wares
were sold in Fezzan and to other caravans coming from Murzuk. Another
went eastward directly to Fezzan, where its merchandise was to be
distributed to points in Tunis, Tripoli and Egypt. Daumas and his
companion caravan of Tuat struck out to the northwest for the oasis of
Tuat.

Two thirds of the camels bought by Daumas in the Sudan died before he
reached "Isalab" (Ain Salah?), as they could not stand the hardship of
the journey, especially the chilly and damp nights of the desert.
Arriving at Metlily the Arab merchants repaired to a mosque and
thanked God for His protection.

III. REGION OF NORTHWEST AFRICA AND THE DESERT OF SAHARA. HARDSHIP OF
THE DESERT ROUTE

In 1850 Barth estimated the number of slaves carried across the desert
from Kuka at 5,000 per annum, and in 1865 Rohlfs estimated the number
at 10,000. A British Blue Book of 1873 estimated that the Mohammedan
States of North Africa absorbed annually one million slaves.

The mortality in crossing the desert was frightful. Denham saw near a
well in the Tibbu country 100 skeletons of Negroes who had perished
from hunger and thirst. In his travels he saw a skeleton every few
miles, and for several days he passed from sixty to ninety skeletons
per day. Sometimes a whole caravan perished, consisting of as many as
2,000 persons and 1,800 camels. The Negroes composing the caravans
often had to walk and carry heavy loads. Rohlfs says