The winds in Kossier camp, from nine to twelve o’clock, generally blew from the N. W. accompanied with torrents of sand.
On the march, a very hot suffocating wind from the W. set in about ten and continued till three o’clock. The thermometer at Kossier could not be attended to.
On the 29th, at Le Gita, in my tent, at three P. M. the mercury stood at 114°. In the soldiers tents it could not have been less than 118°. At six o’clock in the morning, in a well three feet deep, it was at 69°; and, after taking it out, it fell to 63°: but evaporation must have had a share in the reduction. In other places, on the march, the degree of heat must have been higher. Le Gita is not a situation favourable to the centration of heat: it is situated in a large open plain of many miles extent.
There was but little sickness in this month, and yet almost every exciting cause existed. The heat was intense. In the currents of dust, much of it went into the stomach and lungs, and occasioned nausea, which was likewise occasioned by the destructive hot wind. To this the Arabs and even the camels always turn their backs. The men were frequently exercised, and the duties of fatigue in India, usually done by black natives, were performed at Kossier by the soldiers. The fatigue on the march has perhaps never been exceeded in any army. Diarrhœa, and a few cases of ophthalmia, and nyctalopia, were the only diseases in the army. The native corps from Bombay were recovering from a fever, with which they landed. These corps were the last that crossed the desert.
JULY.
During almost the whole of this month, the army was encamped on the banks of the Nile, which now began to overflow its banks, near Ghenné. On the opposite bank are the magnificent ruins of Tentyra, or Dendira, and the fine temple of Isis. The situation of the army near Ghenné was very healthy. There was excellent water, and an abundant market of vegetables, of fruit, and of the best provisions. We prepared to move, and detachments of the army went up to Thebes, Luxor, and to the cataracts, to press all the boats. About the end of the month, the army began to move to Lower Egypt. The 10th regiment marched to Girgé, the capital of Upper Egypt, sixty miles below Ghenné.
On the 27th and following days, the rest of the army was embarked in boats. The wind at Ghenné was not regular from any quarter, and sand was blown from all quarters, particularly at the time of the springs. The thermometer had a wide range at Ghenné. In my marquee from 71° to 108°.
On the 20th, it rose to 110°. In the open air the heat was from 70° to 115°. There was more sickness than in the last month. There were several cases of hepatitis, particularly in the 10th regiment, and cases of dysentery were not unfrequent towards the end of the month. In the beginning a considerable number of cases of fever appeared, and not a few of ophthalmia and pneumonia: but all these soon did well, after being removed to a good hospital. The Catchief, the officer next in rank to the Bey, gave up his own house for an hospital, and General Baird likewise gave up his quarters to the sick.