It appears that when these people came to Ghât, a few weeks ago, they left a sick slave with some shepherds among these rocks. To-day they inquired about the slave, whether she was dead, or what had become of the poor thing; but the shepherds refused to give any account,—said, in fact, they knew nothing about the matter. Upon this the Kailouees seized a black boy belonging to these poor people and dragged him along, with a rope round his neck, to terrify him into confessing what had become of the slave. The poor boy, however, had nothing to confess; so at last, after they had dragged him for some distance, they let him go. Such is a specimen of the incidents which almost daily occur, arising out of this horrible traffic. I lectured one of the Kailouees on the subject, and told him that we were in Tuarick territory, and that such an action might bring the genuine Tuaricks upon us.
It would appear that the governor of the town of Aghadez, or rather of the whole Kailouee race, is not known, there having lately been a revolution in this Saharan region. All the country is up in arms. We shall arrive at the interesting crisis of a change of dynasty. The two Sultans of Aheer known, are our friends En-Noor and Lousou.
27th.—We rose at daybreak and soon started, ascending from the valley through a difficult pass to a rocky plateau, over which we pursued our undeviating track for more than nine hours, and pitched our tents in a small and nameless wady, covered with a sprinkling of herbage. This was a trying day for the camels, the ground being rough with loose stones. How different is all this from European notions of a desert, or level expanse of sand! With some few exceptions, the Sahara is a region covered by comparatively low, rocky hills, forming valleys here and there, supplied with trees, and herbage, and water. We are now in a really uninhabited spot; scarcely a bird is seen, or a lizard, or a beetle, or any living thing, save a few flies that still follow the caravan on unwearied wing, and buzz with moderated ferocity about the noses of the camels.
What fantastic forms did the rock assume to-day! Now its pinnacles bristled up like a forest of pines; now there seemed to rise the forms of castles and houses, and even groups of human beings. All this is black sandstone—hideously black, unlovely, unsociable, savage-looking. 'Tis a mere wilderness of rock, thrown in heaps about, with valleys, or trenches, or crevices, through which the caravan slowly winds. This is our first cloudy day. May we have many such! We feel little of the sun's power, although there is little or no wind. We must have reached a considerable elevation.
I begin to find it necessary to keep a tight rein over our servants, otherwise our encampment and party would always be in disorder. Mohammed Tunisee is a very impertinent fellow at times, and is capable of spoiling all the others. This evening I gave the Kailouees and their servants a treat of coffee, which much delighted them. Amongst the rest was En-Noor's servant. We get on very well with them for the present.
30th.—We made five hours of very difficult road, winding nearly all the way through a ravine of the rocky plateau, and finally descended by a precipitous path, among some rocks, to a small lake or pool enclosed within immense cliffs of rock, called the Egheree Water. It is produced solely by rain. Within ten minutes of this, between the cliffs, is another three times the size, and of the same origin. All about, moreover, there are little pools of water sparkling amongst the rocks, left by the recent rain. We encamped in a narrow wady, called Ajunjer, further on; and propose to remain during the rest of the day and to-morrow. It has been cool to-day, with wind; the sky clear, of a deep blue. In the rocky valley we observed a species of hedge-thorn, called jadāree; also many of the fine large-leafed plants, called baranbakh; and the sweet-smelling sheeah, that reminded us of home-lavender.
We have been hitherto going on in a quiet, jog-trot way enough, almost forgetting that the desert has perils, and that we are not in a civilised land. Now comes something to awaken us out of this dream of comfort. A courier has arrived from Ghât, bringing the news that one Sidi Jafel Waled Sakertaf, the great man of the oasis of Janet—on which we have been speculating so pastorally—is preparing to come out and intercept our passage to Soudan, near the well of Tajetterat. This pleasant intelligence came to us in a letter from Hateetah and Jabour, who, however, philosophically add that they are not quite sure it is correct. I rewarded the courier with five reals, and sent him off to Waled Shafou and the Sultan with the news; begging the former to meet us certainly at Falezlez, which is about four days from this, whilst Tajetterat is nearly eight. Janet is now only a day and a-half south-south-west from our encampment. It is a small oasis, inhabited by Moors and Tuaricks. The statistics of the place begin to interest us exceedingly. We are told that there is a good deal of corn grown there, on account of the abundance of water. Sidi Jafel Waled Sakertaf—whose voluminous name we found it quite easy to learn under these circumstances—is cousin of the Sultan Shafou, and a very old man; but we cannot hope that in these frugal regions the gout will interfere in our favour, and put a stop to this unprovoked foray.
The weather has been cool to-day. We are on high ground, although in a wady; and this renders the heat very supportable. The reported attack keeps our minds occupied, and has a little upset us; but no one talks of flinching. Besides, this has not been the first alarm, nor will it be the last. I sent an account of this circumstance so far to Lord Palmerston by the courier; and should have written much more, had not I been occupied with the news and with the Kailouees, who have chosen this occasion to be troublesome. We do not get so much information, by the way, out of these people as we might expect; they do not know the names of the wadys and rocks hereabouts, and so pretend they have none.
The hundred dollars which we brought from Mourzuk are now nearly all gone—I have only eight or ten left. Friend Sidi Jalef Waled Sakertaf—how unmusical the name sounds!—will get little money from us, and must content himself with our baggage, if he will play the robber. For the cousin of a Sultan, fie!
August 1.—We left Ajunjer early, and made five hours only, because to-morrow there is no herbage until late in the evening. How tantalising to be obliged to advance thus by short stages towards an ambuscade! We take things pretty philosophically, however, and make geological observations. Overweg (who begins to show signs of weakness) is delighted that we have at length reached a region of granite. I think I must have passed a great number of rocks of the same kind between Ghadamez and Ghât. To the eye of an ordinary observer, some of them have the same aspect as sandstone, or even limestone. This granite interests us, especially as in the direct Bornou route there appears to be none at all.