The caravan got under way at 5:30 P.M. Our water had become scarce and bad, and the camels looked weak and exhausted. We were anxious to reach Erdi as soon as possible. Shortly after the start Bukara and Arami—not the one who went away into the desert and disappeared, but another who had also killed his man—found the track of a big warran or lizard, and we followed it to its hole. A little sport was a pleasant relief. We dug into the hole, but the lizard was not at home. We traced its track to a pile of rocks and after twenty minutes of excavation caught the creature.
The Bedouins and blacks use the fat of the warran as medicine for rheumatism and say that if one carries its head about with him he is safe against black magic. Its skin hung in a house is reputed to keep snakes at a distance. The warran does not bite, but it has a tail like a whip with which it can do damage. Arami skinned the creature for me.
We followed the track made by our guides but lost it many times in the dark and wasted time finding it again. At last it began to wabble about, and I realized that Mohammed was by no means certain of his direction. I ordered the men to camp and fired shots into the air. Shortly we were joined by Mohammed and Herri, who were relieved that I had decided to halt. The guide told me that he could not be sure of his road in this country in the darkness, but that he knew we were not far from the well.
For the first time since leaving Ouenat we had five solid hours of undisturbed sleep. Before going to bed I talked to Arami about Erdi and its wells.
A BELLE OF THE ZAGHAWA TRIBE
With silver rings in her hair and ivory and silver bangles
ZAGHAWA GIRL
Note the thatched roof on the building in the foreground