She continued to lead us on in this wanton manner, until we were aware that we had wandered from the road further than was prudent. At last, she ran towards some narrow defiles; but we did not allow our ardour for the chase to carry us further. Although conscious we were in the direction the caravan must take, we did not see it for some time, and felt a strange inquietude on finding ourselves alone, destitute, and helpless, in the midst of this immense desert. I fired my gun, and, the signal being answered, our uneasiness was relieved. Towards the end of this chain of hills, about two hours’ journey east of the direct road, is a place called Absah, where there are traces of gold mines, and, as at the one at the same distance from the valley of the dooms, numerous remains of habitations, but apparently not very ancient. The stones with which they were worked remain, and there are wells now dry. The Arabs keep them a great secret, and will take no traveller to visit them, unless he has a particular order from the Pasha, and is protected by one of their chiefs. M. Bonomi, who enjoyed these advantages, will, I hope, soon give us an account of them. The result, I believe, of his investigation was, that they are now so exhausted, that they would not repay the labour of working. At eleven we entered a large sandy plain, and at four P.M. we passed some hills of a pyramidal shape. They are of syenite, and their formation is similar to the round granite rocks of the First Cataract. They are called El Talati Greibat—the Three Greibat—from their being at a distance apparently only three. They extend considerably towards the east; but some of them are so low as to be nearly covered with the sand. North-east of these I observed some hills of the same conical form, called Adaramat; but I was at too great a distance from them to perceive whether they were of granite. After eleven hours’ ride, we encamped in the plain at six. The wind is very high; I am almost afraid of my tent being carried away. For several days I have been on the look out, thinking it possible that on these light sandy plains I might see some of Bruce’s pillars of moving sand; but I have not been favoured with the view of any such stalking prodigy; and I must declare that, notwithstanding the numerous deserts I have crossed, at different seasons, always making particular enquiries on the subject, I have neither seen nor heard of such as he describes. The wandering Arabs tell the women, children, and peasants of the Nile fearful stories of the whirlpool of the desert, and the terrible simoom; but such tales, embellished by an Oriental imagination, will rarely bear investigation. From what I have been able to ascertain, there are certain gusts of wind which occasionally sweep over these deserts, with clouds of sand, which prevent your distinguishing any object at all distant; but these are not very dangerous to caravans, except in those tracts where there are immense hills or accumulations of light sand, such as I have seen near the Oasis Magna, in the Libyan desert. The custom of caravans, when they have the misfortune to meet with such blasts, is to pitch their tents and shelter themselves within them. Whatever may be the quantity of sand, they are always safe if they can reach the summit, or place themselves under covert of a hill. I will mention here an instance of this kind, which, in returning from my first voyage up the Nile to the Second Cataract, along with Mr. Ponsonby, he and I witnessed, on the 14th of April, 1832. We were on the point of going that evening to the Isle of Elephantina, when a violent storm, which, considering the season, though rather too early, I might almost call Khampseen, came on. The whole day had been unusually hazy, the air thick and exceedingly oppressive. The extreme heat of the thermometer was 86° in the shade; at sunrise, 70°; sunset, 74°: 86° was a few degrees higher than we experienced it several days previous and after; and I may also remark, that the day following, the thermometer did not rise above 79°. About five o’clock, an immense cloud of sand came sweeping along with a wind so violent, that a boat which was crossing the river to the island was driven back, and the air became so turbid and impregnated with sand, that it was impossible to distinguish any object ten yards from the bank of the river. We heard the peasants in the fields, seemingly wild with confusion and alarm, calling aloud to each other and for their children; and when the sand enveloped them from our sight, we still heard their cries. A scene so strange and impressive I shall never forget. The gale blew almost directly from the west, and seemed to be a specimen of those which have successively swept before them the hills of light loose sand, which, as the Egyptian traveller will recollect, have completely smothered the cultivated land on the western bank of the river opposite Assuan. We endeavoured to shelter ourselves from it as well as the old windows of our cangia would permit; but the sand penetrated every where, into my bed, arms, instruments, and linen; and even my watch was affected. I felt it in my eyes and between my teeth. I then made the reflection, how awful it would be to encounter such a simoom in the desert. It was by such a storm that the army of Cambyses is supposed to have been overwhelmed, as Dr. Darwin in his “Botanic Garden” most graphically describes it:—
Wave over wave the driving desert swims,
Bursts o’er their heads, inhumes their struggling limbs,
And one great earthly ocean covers all:
Then ceased the storm—Night bow’d his Æthiop brow
To earth, and listen’d to the groans below.
Awhile the living hill
Heaved with convulsive throes, and all was still.[6]
In mentioning that I have never heard of nor seen these sandy or meteoric pillars, which is the more remarkable since Bruce says he observed them day after day, I do not mean to affirm that he could not have seen that extraordinary phenomenon in this very desert. That adventurous and intrepid traveller has been already too much calumniated. I merely state that my own experience, and the numerous enquiries I have made, lead to the conclusion, that such phenomena are now unknown: it must, however, be recollected, that Bruce crossed this desert more in the interior. Those who have most strongly condemned Bruce for his occasional exaggerations and embellishments (into which he certainly fell), have forgotten that few other travellers have ever brought to their country so large a mass of fresh, interesting, valuable, and correct information. Salt, his most severe critic, in speaking of his drawings of the ruins of Axum, asserts that he was no draftsman; yet he contradicts himself in a variety of other instances, where he confirms the accuracy of Bruce’s delineations of plants and birds, which are more difficult to execute than an obelisk without hieroglyphics. Mr. B. is most to blame for not acknowledging sufficiently the services of his Italian artist. Many of his tales, marvellous as they at first appeared, have proved to be correct. There was a time in England, when, if a traveller mentioned any fact that was contrary to preconceived ideas, he was accused of error, and often, notwithstanding his previous character of honour and integrity, of wilful exaggeration, and even misrepresentation. Now, however, the mass of well-educated and scientific men have more liberal ideas, and, being anxious for information, are pleased to see the errors of earlier travellers corrected, and endeavour, with philosophical discrimination, to bestow on each the credit which is due to him.
Feb. 22. My dromedary was on his knees at seven this morning. The Arab mounts his camel, by pulling down his head, placing his knee on its neck, and allowing the animal to raise him on its back. The first time I attempted to ascend a dromedary in this style, was on my route from the Oasis Magna; and I paid the penalty of my inexperience. I had pushed on in advance of my caravan nearly a couple of miles, when I had occasion to alight to adjust my saddle. Not doubting that I could mount with true Arab agility, I made the attempt; but deeming it necessary to spring with the return of the animal’s neck, our united force pitched me clear over its tail, leaving me sprawling on the sand,—a lesson to all too aspiring riders. The dromedary ran back at full speed to the caravan. For eleven hours before reaching any hills, except a small one called Faroot, we traversed an immense down, the full extent of which, from the hills called El Talati Greibat, to the smaller ones called Mogram, could not be less than forty miles, without any perceptible alteration in its level. It consists of sand, on which was disseminated a great variety of quartz fragments, principally of a deep red colour, and from a half to three inches in length. I observed, also, on the plain, numerous detached pieces of mica, and some curious specimens of granite. We passed at six P.M. the small range of mountains called Mogram, which are of flinty slate; and about two hours afterwards we encamped, after thirteen hours’ ride, in another plain. To-morrow morning we expect to arrive at the valley of the Nile. I look forward to that event with great pleasure. My servants are exhausted by the bodily fatigue for so many hours each day, the short allowance of water, the cold at night, sleeping in the open air, and other privations which they are obliged to submit to; and Signor B. begins to bear with impatience the want of his soup, the provident regulations of the desert not permitting our precious water to be employed for that purpose. For two days the wind has been high, and we have not been able to use our umbrellas as a protection from the scorching rays of an almost vertical sun. Our camels, also, have suffered from the thirteen days’ fatigue. We were obliged to leave one at El Murrah with the Bishareen, being unable to continue the journey. I observed, also, this afternoon, that my Ababdes seemed more than usually tired. Their manner of resting is peculiar. They walk on a short distance in advance of the caravan, choose a flat part of the desert, if possible, shaded by a rock, and extend themselves at full length flat on their backs, stretching out their arms and legs. This mode of reposing for a few minutes I have found to be very refreshing.