It was a curious sight for us who were untroubled
with the care of camels, and consequently getting on faster than they, to look down upon the wavy lines of moving creatures, and hear the echoes of their voices from below.
Reached the summit at half-past four, and after an hour’s progress upon level ground, we halted for the night. Poor old Selâmeh fell down flat, not so much from the effect of mere fatigue, as from having had his ankle bitten by a spiteful camel in the morning, and then the long climbing in addition.
This was to be our last night together, and we enjoyed to the utmost the social gathering round the bivouac fire with our Arab companions, to whom, after ten days association, to the exclusion of all the rest of the world, we could not but feel something of temporary personal attachment. There was Selâmeh, with his mended shoe and his bitten ankle, who had been our officer and diplomatist, ready for fun or a row at any minute; ’Odeh the champion, called out upon emergencies; Khamees, the slave boy, a general domestic, if this latter word may be allowed for a Bedawi Arab; and Salem the merry-man, short in stature, and drawing into the vale of years. We chatted over the fire about the events of the expedition, while some of the men were kneading and baking fresh bread upon stones made hot in the fire.
Yet this is a sad aimless life that such people lead—of course our excursion under their
protection was an event to supply matter for many a conversation afterwards.
As for religion: they seem to have little or no sense of its responsibility or benefit, or even its formalities. I asked Selâmeh about prayers or reading, and all he had to say was that annually in Ramadan they hire a reader from some mosque of a town to come and read the Korân to them; but not one, not even Abu Dahook could read for himself. I never heard these Jehâleen mention either the word Moslem or Ghiaour, much less the technical words Mushrakeen or Seerat el Mustakeem. Thermometer at sunset, 79¼° Fahrenheit.
April 11th.—Our camels were loaded for the last time, as usual grunting, groaning, and tossing the head backwards while the burdens were placed upon them, and, as must be known to all desert travellers, the smell exhaled from these animals after a long journey is particularly disagreeable.
We were marching forward at half-past five, and in an hour and a half we caught a distant view of our old familiar Frank mountain, which was lost again afterwards. About ten o’clock, we saw in a valley at our left an encampment of Saïr Arabs; and soon afterwards in a valley at our right, a circle of the Ta’amri tents. In another hour we arrived at a square enclosure of very large ancient stones, which was denominated ’Arkoob Sahâba. The breezes on this high land were most refreshing after our southern excursion.
Passed Thekua’ or Tekua’, (Tekoa,) and at some distance forwards, to the north-east, some ruins called Abu’n-jaib, or perhaps Abu N’jaim.