April 23.—The rain ceased with the appearance of daylight, and though tired and unrefreshed from want of sleep, all our miseries were forgotten at the thought of leaving this unenjoyable place. We sent to have the state of the river examined by experts, and to our great contentment it was pronounced fordable, though not without difficulty, and at a point a little further up the stream; our horses and mules were ordered round, and to our amazement they came covered with clotted blood; every animal, including even the horses of our escort, had been bled in both shoulders to relieve their fatigue and to fit them for the heavy work still before them. They presented a most ghastly appearance; no attempt had been made to remove the blood from their legs, and each limb was decorated with a tuft of hair, which, with a common pin, had been used to close the vein after the operation.
I am not veterinarian enough to pronounce an opinion as to the necessity of this operation, but the Arabs have universal faith in its efficacy, and I am bound to state that the animals went none the worse for it, and bore their fatiguing journey in a manner that daily excited our admiration. The mules seemed absolutely incapable of fatigue, and our plucky little horses were as fresh after a march of twenty-five or thirty miles as they were at starting.
The ordinary high road between Testour and El-Badja is along the right bank of the Medjerda, to Medjez el-Bab, whence it proceeds in a north-westerly direction. This was the route followed by Bruce, who thus narrates the commencement of his journey:—
From Tunis we ascended the Bagrada, now called the Medjerda; we went to Bas el-Bab; found there ruins of indifferent taste; designed nothing; came to Dougga.
The Bas el-Bab here mentioned is evidently Medjez el-Bab, which was called by several of the old writers Basil-Bab, and by Peyssonnel Bebo. Bruce made, as he says, no finished drawings here, but amongst his sketches is a rough outline, with details, of the gate, described by Peyssonnel.
‘One sees still an ancient gate, made like a triumphal arch, where there remain two mutilated figures, one of which holds a head in his hands, the other has them joined together. It has the following inscription:—
SALVIS . ET . PROPITIIS . DDD . NNN. GRATIANO
VALENTINIANO . THEODOSIO . INVICTISSIMIS PRIN
CIPIBVS . DD . PACIS . EX . MORE . CONDITO . DECRETO.’[228]
We preferred a less easy but a shorter and far more picturesque route over the mountains, nearly due north in its general direction, and joining the main road at a point where a bridge has been commenced over the Oued Zergäa, fifteen miles from El-Badja.