Litchfield enquirer., 1832-07-19


to form an adequate idea Of The horrors OF
such situation as IS here described. Ehe
following description may serve Il. paint to
us The terrors Of the desert, and the dam
4 ger of perishing in It with Thirst. ag3so
The desert Of Mesopotamia now pre-
sents r onf eyes its melancholy uniformi-
/ ~. III iysa continuation aud as il were a
branch of the Great Arabian Desert on
the other side of the Euphrates. Saline
plants cover, at large Intervals, the burning
sand of the dry gypsum. Wormwood
spreads here, as the fnrze ID Europe, oyer
immense tracts from which it excludes eve
ry other plant, Agile herds of gazelles
traverse those plains, where many wild
asses formerly wed. The lion concealed
| in the rushes along the river lies in wait for
these animals but whenever he is unable
toseize them, to appease his hunger, he sals
lies forth with fury. and his terrible roar
ing rolls like thunder from desert to desert.
The water of the desert is, for the most
part, bitter and brackish. Tho atmos-
pherc, as is usual III Arabia, is pure and
dry frequently il is burning in the naked
and sandy plains; the corrupt vapors Of
stagnant waters are diffused there the
calculations of the sulphurous and salt
lakes increased the lsestilential matter
Whenever any interruption Of the equilib-
rum sets column Of such infected air into
rapid motion, that poisonous wind arises.
which is called Samum or Sanlyel, which
is dreaded less in the interior Of Arabia
than on the frontiers, and especially IN
Syria and Mesopotomia. AS soon as this
dangerous wind arises, the air Immediately
loses its purity, the sun is covered with a
bloody veil, all animals fall alarmed 10 the
earth, to avoid this burning blast, which
stiles every living being that is. bold en-
ough to expose itself to il. M
The caravans which convey goods back
wards and forwards from Aleppo 10 Bag
dad, and have to traverse these deserts, pay
a tribute to the Arabs, who consider them
selves as gsasters Of these solitudes. They
have also to dread the snffocating wind, the
swarms bf locusts, and the want ofgWatcr
as soon as they leave the EUphrates. 4 AZ
French traveller affirn,s, that he RassMil
ness to scene occasioned BY The want Of
water, the most terrible that can be imag
ined fora man offeeliDg. lt was betweeiE
Anah and OXYGEN. The locdsts, after they
had devoured every thing, a, last peEished!
The immense number Of dead locusts cof-,
ropted the pools, from which, for want Of
springs, they were obliged TO draw water.
The traveller observed Turk, who, with
despair III his countenance, ran down d hill
and came towards him. i am cried he.
sthe most unfortunate in the world
have purchased at prodigions expense;
two hundred girls, the most beautiful pf
Greece and Georgia. have eUOcatedl
them with care and now they are mar
riageable, lani taking them 10 Bagdad to
sell them to advantages. All they perish
in this desert for Thirst. but ! feel greater
toriures than they The traveller I'M
mediately ascended the hill; q dreadful
spectacle here presented itself to him. In
the midst Of twelve euanchs and about a
hundred camels, he saw these beautiful
girls, Of the age of twelve to ifteen.
stretched upon the ground; exposed TO the
torments ola burning thirst add inevitable
death. Some were already buried IN pit
which had just been made = greater nuns.
Der had dropped down dead BY the side of,
their leaders, who had no more strength 10
bury them. On all sides were heard the
signs ef tho dying; and the cries Of those
who, having still some breath remaihing,
demanded in vain "a drop Of water. me
French traveller fastened to open his lea
thern bottle, in which there was a little
water. He was already going to present
it to one Of these unhappy victims.
Madame = cried his Arabian guide,
wouldst thou also have Us ~ die FROM
thirst He Immediately killed tho girl
with an arrowsseized the bottle and threat
ened to kill any one who Should venture
TO touch il. He advised The sIave-mer-
fchant 10 GO to Dryjeh, where he would
! find water. No. replied the Turk, at
: Dryieh the robbers would take away all
. my slaves The Arab dragged the tray-
i eller away. The moment they were re-
. firing, these unhappy victims seeing the
last ray of hope vanish, raised 9 dreadful
) cry. The Arab was moved with campas-
sion he took one Of them. poured q drop
Of water ON her burning lips. and set her
! upon his camel, with the intention of max
ing his wife present Of her. The poor
gin tainted several times, when she pass
: cd the bodies Of her companions. who had
fallen down dead in tho way. Our tray
eller's small stock ofwatet was exhausted,
when they found 4 fne well ofstfesh aud
pure water but the rope was so short.