[12] I have not thought it advisable to abridge or alter this naïve account of a Christmas-day on the southern borders of the Sahara. Mr. Richardson seems already to feel certain presentiments of the fate that awaited him. In other places I have omitted devotional passages; but in this it seemed to me that it would be unjust to the memory of this amiable traveller to do so.—Ed.
[13] In Egypt it is made of rice.—Ed.
CHAPTER IX.
Enter the Hamadah—Home of the Giraffe—Water of Chidugulah—Turtles—Cool Wind—Jerboahs—Centre of the Sahara—New-year's Eve—Cold Weather—Birds of Prey—Soudan Date—Burs—Animals on the Plateau—Young Ostrich—The Tholukh-tree—Severe Cold—Eleven Ostriches—Termination of the Desert—Inasamet—The Tagama—Purchases—People begin to improve—Fruit of the Lote-tree—Village roofed with Skins—Vast Plain—Horses—Approach Damerghou—Village of Gumrek—Rough Customers—Wars of the Kilgris and Kailouees—A small Lake—Guinea-hens—Vultures—Party of Huntsmen.
Dec. 29th.—About five hours after we started, the route opened into a bonâ fide hamadah. All around us stretched a limitless plain. Our course lay always south, and we journeyed ten hours, with sand in the evening.
Yesterday I had observed a few footmarks of the giraffe, but to-day they were everywhere visible. They were double, as this animal does not move its feet one after another, like the camel or the horse, but two of its feet together, or simultaneously. We saw the footprints of young as well as old ones. This plateau is the real home of the giraffe. No place could be better adapted for such an unwieldy creature. There is abundance of small tholukh, on which it feeds; all the country is open around to it, and it is out of the reach of ferocious animals. Towards the evening the marks of the giraffe disappeared, and were succeeded by the footprints of what is here called the wild ox (but which Overweg believes to be a large species of gazelle), so that one animal appears to have made room for the other. The day was cool and cloudy.
The plain is intersected with shallow beds and streams, and in some places evident marks of an abundance of water in the rainy season.
30th.—We started early for the well, but did not reach it till late in the evening, after a march of nine hours. The well is called Chidugulah, and is situated on the side of a valley of some depth. In the bed of this valley Overweg found some infusoria, clay or stone.