For miles and miles on the Tanezrouft there was, as far as I could see, no landmark of any description to assist Mahomed, yet he never erred. On this vast plain it would be extremely easy to miss a well, for an error of a few minutes in direction, when prolonged over a distance of about 133 miles, would bring the caravan to a point many miles away from the well on one flank or the other. For this very reason a compass is not of much use in desert travelling. The guide’s knowledge and instinct must alone be relied upon. Of course, the sun and stars give a good guide a very fair indication of his direction, but as I have just hinted, a greater degree of accuracy than this is imperative, for, surrounding a well, for many miles there are probably no landmarks to help the guide, and the well itself can usually not be seen till it is actually reached.
Towards the end of the Tanezrouft Mahomed’s sight began to get weak. He had probably strained his eyes by continually gazing at the far-distant horizon. I gave him some lotion from my small stock of medicines which did him good in a few days.
In the desert one of the commonest diseases, if not the only one observed in this healthy region, is ophthalmia. It is said to be produced by the sand which is always in motion in the atmosphere. Grown-up people and children alike suffer from it.
Our chief source of anxiety was always the water. The skins, or “guerbas,” in which this is carried are extremely susceptible to injury. Thorns, which are so common in the Sahara, penetrate the soft goatskin with ease, causing a puncture which very soon empties the bag of its precious liquid. For this reason great precautions are necessary, when a halt is made, that the water-skins shall not be placed on the bare ground on being taken off the camel’s back. It is essential to place something firm underneath. Further, the “guerba” should be covered over in the daytime to prevent it from perspiring unduly on account of the heat. In the desert one gets to care for one’s water supply with extraordinary solicitude. But this is hardly to be wondered at, since it is the very soul of existence there.
These water-skins each carry about six gallons when full. They resemble the “mussock” of the Indian “bhisti,” and have one end left unsewn to act as a mouthpiece. This end is tied up with string on the march. The “guerba” is slung, by means of a rope attached to two of its corners, across the hooks on the pack-saddle. At first I used to carry a water-bottle on my own camel, but latterly I rejected this in favour of a small “guerba,” which carried about a gallon of water and kept it far cooler. I never used a filter, and sometimes was obliged to drink the most filthy water, which under ordinary circumstances one would not have washed in. I must say that I seldom felt any ill-effects for long, after drinking this unwholesome stuff, and can only attribute it to the fact that one keeps in marvellously good health in that dry atmosphere.
CHAPTER XXIII
The Ahnet or Western Hoggar — A bad reputation — Tuareg highwaymen — A salt well — A barren region — We reach Insalah — A dramatic entrance — Colonel Laperine — Insalah — Its importance — Resources — Artesian wells — Varieties of dates — Pasturage — The streets.
THE region of the Tanezrouft, which we had just quitted, divides Adrar from the Hoggar country, and it was into the Ahnet, or Western Hoggar, that we had now emerged. The subsoil of Hoggar Ahnet consists of a certain amount of clay underneath the sand. In this respect it differed from the Tanezrouft, which has a large proportion of salt in its subsoil. The salt is, of course, to a great extent responsible for the barrenness of the Tanezrouft.
Western Hoggar consists of a plateau, about 200 feet lower than the Tanezrouft, the average height of which is 1200 feet. The whole of Hoggar is a mountainous country, situated almost in the middle of the Central Sahara. The nomads, as has already been stated, are a tribe of the Tuareg race. Their country is poor, as is only to be expected in the Sahara, but at the same time a little barley is grown in certain parts, while a small grape is also known to exist. These Tuaregs have a certain number of sheep and goats, but they are far inferior in quality as well as numbers to the flocks of the Iforas. Indeed, the Hoggars buy goats and sheep from the nomads of Adrar.
The Hoggars had a most unenviable reputation as the greatest robbers in the Sahara until quite recent years. The French desert columns have, however, inflicted some severe lessons on them, and they are now no longer so much to be feared as formerly. That they have not altogether abandoned their marauding propensities, however, I was soon to discover for myself.