28th.—Some time before we got off this morning, on account of the difficulty of watering the camels. My nagah started off on the route of Fezzan about a mile and a half, and Said went another way in search of her. I was, therefore, obliged to fetch her myself, which was a considerable run through a hilly region. I found her alone wandering about. The she-camel strays more than the male-camel, and is more restless. As soon as I called to her she stopped, stood stock-still, and looked at me. Before the camels were all watered, the well of Mazeen was nearly dry and the water muddy. This is the reason large caravans have such difficulty in traversing The Desert, it often requiring several days to water a thousand camels. Here I recollected the justness of Napoleon's observation cited by French writers,—"That if Africa is to be invaded and conquered viâ The Great Desert, it must be done by small detached parties." For it is not that the wells do not afford a sufficiency of water for large caravans, but that they do not yield an immediate supply for numerous bodies, so as to enable their people to march in one compact whole. Here we were obliged to leave half the caravan, waiting for the running of the water, thus miserably dividing our strength in case of attack. Noticed one of the camels laden with a bale of goods, on which were European writing, viz., I. A. n. 6. The great merchants usually write the name of their firm under the designation of Oulad (اولاد) "sons," for example, Oulad Makouran, "Sons of Makouran."
The advanced party, of which I was, unexpectedly left the route of Fezzan to the east, and turned sharp round to the south, through the gorge of a low mountain range, which we had had all along to the right. In this defile we proceeded an hour, but it had no natural opening at the end. We came at last to a very abrupt ascent of some hundred feet high, and mounted an elevated plateau. Once on the plateau, all was plain as far as the eye could see. The defile was tertiary formation, mere dull crumbling limestone; nothing in the shape and consistence of granite. We are now on the highway for Ghat, and it is said we shall arrive in fifteen days from the plateau. Saw on the plateau, for the first time of my life, the celebrated mirage, which our people call Watta, but the classic Arabic is Es-Sarab (السّرب). At first sight, I thought it was salt, for it flamed in the sun white, like a salt-pit, or lagoon. There appeared some low hills in the midst of the white lake. As we proceeded, I saw what appeared like white foam running from east to west, as the sea-surf chafing the shore. It then occurred to me that this might be the mirage; and so it turned out, for as we approached the phenomenon, it retired and disappeared. The character of the mirage was evidently affected by the wind, for the foam appeared to run from east to west with the wind. In some of the white flaming lakes, shrubs and reeds stood out, as we find in shallow pools. Some high hills appeared suspended in the air, veritable "castles in the air." The weather was dull, the sun sometimes hidden, and it was noon when the phenomena were most observable. At Mazeen a few small birds were hopping and chirping, and two large crows followed us upon the plateau; also a butterfly and a few flies. These are the living creatures noticed to-day.
The plateau, where I now write, is either covered with very small stones, some quite black, and others calcined or burnt, like brick-bats thrown from a kiln, or is altogether hardened and black earthy soil. The latter assists the mirage, for the phenomenon appears mostly on the earthy tracts of ground. In some parts is herbage for the camels. On the plateau we saw several small mounds of soft brown stone, crumbling to earth, which looked like Arab hovels at a distance. I went up to undeceive myself. These curious mounds have yet to crumble away before the plateau is a perfect plane. Course to-day mostly south, with a leaning to the west. Wind cold S.E. and E. The day as dull and dreary as in England. Our people occasionally mount the maharees, which look very haughty and imposing. A maharee would be a noble present for the Sultan of the Touaricks to send to the Queen.
Was surprised this morning at a question, as "To whom Tripoli belonged?" to the English or the Sultan (of Constantinople). I find there is a vague notion amongst our ghafalah that Tripoli is either really the property of the English, or under the immediate protection of England. "Just the same," say the people. They prefer the late tyrant Bashaw, Asker Ali, to the present Mehemet, because Asker Ali, they say, did not fleece them so much or so plunder them of their money. 'Tis natural enough. One of the lower fellows had the impudence to say, "The English Consul receives bribes from Mehemet Pasha to let him remain in Tripoli." These people are great gobemouches; they always report the most incredible things. A trader said to me, "When you get to Soudan you must marry two wives; this is our custom." I replied, "I never do anything out of my country, and apart from my countrymen, which I should be ashamed to do at home in their presence." Some of these Desert louts are very familiar and insolent, and require sharp answers to keep them at a distance. I must not forget to mention, the Rais put my passport en règle for Soudan. A more monstrous piece of absurdity could not be attempted against the virtue of the free and simple-minded children of The Desert. Such documents are only fit for our elevated Christian civilization, for countries like Naples, France, and Austria, the hot-beds of spies and police. When I showed my passport to the Touaricks, and explained to them what it was for, they very indignantly (and properly so) spat on it.
29th.—Not a living creature was met with to-day. Our camels found the "dry bones" of camels perished in The Desert; they munched them with gusto, a piece of cannibalism on the part of these melancholy creatures which I was not prepared for. Dr. Oudney remarks, "The latter (camels) are very fond of chewing dried bones." In some parts of the routes, mostly where the water-stations are distant, and where they drop from exhaustion before reaching the wells, camels' bones lie in such heaps as to suggest, the Vision of the Dry Bones of Ezekiel.
We started with the rising sun and continued till four o'clock p.m. A strong S. and S.E. wind blew all day, and very cold, parching my lips and mouth. This wind would have a veritable burning simoon in the summer! We traversed all day the plateau, now become an immeasurable plain. It slightly undulates in parts, but I think we continued to ascend. Some of the surface is wholly naked, having neither herbage or stones scattered about, being of a softish clayey soil, and printed in little diamond squares, like the dry bottom of a small lake on the sea-shore. This, I doubt not, is the action of the rain, which falls at long intervals. Other parts presented the usual black calcined stones, and sometimes pieces of the common limestone and pebbles, but not very round. The track was in some places well-defined, in others the earth so hard as not to admit of the impression of the camel's foot. Passed by several tumuli of stones, said by the people to mark the route, and called âlam—علم—directors. Passed also a conspicuous tomb of some distinguished individual, who had died in the open Desert. There was no writing or ornament, only a higher heap of stones, and piled in the shape of an oblong square. As soon as a traveller dies he is buried, if he have companions; the body is never brought to the neighbouring oases. My friend Haj-el-Besheer, to my regret, has disappeared with the Touarick.
Nothing possibly could be more horrible and dreary, exhibiting the very "palpable obscure," than our course of to-day. As far as the eye can stretch on every side is one vast, solitary, lifeless, treeless expanse of desert earth! It is a—
"Dreary [plain] forlorn and wild, The seat of desolation."
A Derge Arab said to me this evening, "The English will never come to Derge, wherever else they may go. The climate will kill them; in three days you will die of fever." The love of discussion, as well as their complaints against the Turkish Government, follow our people through The Desert. They are trying to make me turn Mohammedan, as far as disputing goes, and I have enough to do to get rid of their importunities. Sometimes I get the conversation turned by telling them, if I turn Mussulman I shall offend my Sultan. They reply, "Oh! you can confess with your lips, that you are a Christian, whilst you remain a Mussulman in your heart." One fellow got saucy, and said, turning up the fire with a stick, "The Jews and Christians will have this (fire) for ever." Threatening to report him to the Rais of Ghadames, he exclaimed, "The dog Rais has no rule in The Sahara." The other people made him hold his tongue. Felt the cold last night but especially this morning. It nips me up severely. Sleep in the clothes I wear during the day, and have additional covering of a thick rug and a cloak. We pitch no tents. Very little water is now drunk. Our people seem to shun it as mad dogs. As to the morning, no one drinks water this time of the day. How different to the summer! when a drink of water is sometimes reckoned a great favour, an immense boon, a heaven's best gift.
30th.—A fine morning; the dawn almost cloudless. Not so yesterday, volumes of cloud on cloud inflamed with purple stretched over all the east, not unlike an English summer's dawn, but the colours more vivid. But this was succeeded by the dreariest of days. In summer, the Saharan dawn is usually cloudless, and offers no beautiful variety of colours. The cloud of yesterday was surcharged with wind, which we soon felt to our annoyance. In The Desert the wind generally rises in the morning and falls in the evening. We continued our course over the vast plain all the morning, but at midday it broke into wide shallow valleys, and in the evening it was cut across by a large broad valley, or wady, as the Moors called it, stretching east and west. In this wady lies the well of Năthār or Năjār, some spelling the name with the ز—النزار. Here we encamp. We had come a very long weary day. Begin to feel very sensibly the hardships of Desert travelling. The length of a day's journey depends upon whether water is near or far off, and also upon there being fodder for camels. Our Arabs are obliged to look out lest they encamp upon an arid spot where the poor camel cannot crop a single herb. Mostly in the beds—dry beds of these wadys—there is some herbage and brushwood. The well of Nathar is very deep, and cut through rock as well as earth, but its water is extremely sweet and delicious. We usually find the best water running through rocky soil. En route, I observed no living creature, save a grasshopper, which had managed to get into existence amidst these herbless wilds. Think I also saw an ant near the foot of the camel. A few flies still follow our caravan, which we brought from Ghadames. These witless things have wisdom enough not to remain behind and perish in The Desert. Passed by two dead camels, fast decomposing into bones. Road all small stones sprinkled over an earthy soil, or altogether earth. Mirage again seen, with similar phenomena. Small islets in the midst of lakes, and white foam running on the ground as on the sea-shore. Our course S. and S.E.
