Tuesday, March 27. Start at 8:15 A.M., halt at 8 P.M. Make 47 kilometers. Highest temperature 26°, lowest 8°. Fine and clear, cold strong northeast wind all day and all night. A few white clouds. From El Harrash Well the guide points out the direction of Kufra as being five degrees south of southeast. For two hours we walk among hatab, which extends about 10 kilometers southeast of the well. Then we enter a region of soft sand, a little undulating. The undulations gradually increase until we get into the sand-dune country late in the afternoon.
At 2:30 we sighted a range of sand-dunes to the east, with a few black stone garas or small hills in between them. They were about twenty or thirty kilometers away and marched off to the southeast as far as we could see. Later there were gherds—sand-dunes—to the southwest as well, and at 5:30 the gherds closed in across our track and we definitely entered them. So far, however, they were not high or difficult to cross.
The complete separation between the Bedouins and the Tebus on the march impressed me again. The blacks say that they do not like the Zwayas and fear them. The Tebu camels were well kept and better behaved than those of the Bedouins. Each Tebu camel had a lead-rope and did not run loose as the others did.
In the afternoon we passed the landmark of Jebail El Fadeel. As with most desert landmarks, its name commemorates some one who lost his life there.
El Fadeel was one of the best guides in the desert. He was going toward Kufra from Jalo with a caravan. Sand-storms of great severity swept down upon them. While there is no direct evidence of what happened, the testimony of what was finally found told the story eloquently. Fadeel’s eyes must have been badly affected by the driving sand. He bandaged them and, thus deprived of sight, had those who were with him describe the landmarks as they reached them. Nevertheless they missed the wells of Zieghen and tried to struggle on direct to Kufra. The desert took them in its relentless grip, and of the entire caravan but one camel survived. The beast struggled on to its home at Kufra, led by its infallible instinct. There it was recognized by the markings on its neck as belonging to El Fadeel. A rescue party followed the camel’s track back into the desert, but its help came too late. The bodies of the men lay stiff upon the sand, near the landmark now known by El Fadeel’s name, the bandage on the old guide’s eyes revealing the tragic truth.
THE HILLS OF ARKENU
The first oasis that the explorer discovered on his way from Kufra to the Sudan; the camp can be easily discerned
Wednesday, March 28. There were heavy clouds all day, with little sunshine. It was cloudy too in the evening. A cold northeast wind developed at 8 A.M. into a sand-storm lasting for three hours and a half. The cold wind continued on into the evening. A few drops of rain fell at 10:30 P.M.
We walked among sand-dunes for two hours, when we entered undulating country, covered with broken black stone. It was bad going for the camels. An hour later the black stone belt ended and we came into the sand-dunes again.