Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1874-06-26

at the.hippos, who did not condescend
| to notice it. This I did merely to be
able to say, as I do now, that L have
had shot at a hippo. This is what
very few travellers can say. 1t takes a
four-ounce ball at twenty yards and ID
a vital spot, to kill these animals.
We stayed at Abou-hamed one day,
to prepare for the great desert before
us, and while there we were dlsap-
pointed in getting quarter OF beet,
because the village butcher, who was
| an important man, took 1t into his
head to die suddenly that very, day.
All night long we were kept awake by
the cries of the village women. The
sound by which they express their
grief is perfectly expressed by the
Latin word (?) ulululu. &C., repeated
hundreds of times, in the most lugu-
brious tones, and mingled with the
bowls of all the village dogs.
On the Sth of April We left Abou-
named and launched out into the great
desert between thatplace and korosko.
From Abou- named the Nile makes an
enormous semi circle, one degree and
half to the south and three degrees
of longitude to the west, and moreover
it is hardly navigable, on account OF
several cataracts, so that all the trade
and travel follow the chord Of this I'M
mense arc. But the whole distance,
nine days journey, IS through the
most arid and fearful desert, with
one we'll, halfway, and that IS salt ana
bitter. It is called mo1lrrour (Hebrew,
| MARIA bitter. At this well we rested
our camels one day and let them
drink. but we carried for our own use
Nile water enough to last us till we
got back to the river at korosko. Only
two things deserve mention IN connec-
ton with this desert. One is the
mirage. [ had already seen much of
it. but never in such perfection as ON
this boundless sandy plain. The illu-
sion was wonderful. One could have
sworn that it was water, lakes,
ponds, rivers, bordered with trees be
| fore, behind and in fact nearly all
around There was the white water
with the tremulous ripple upon 1t at
| an apparent distance OF mile or two,
and to complete the deception, the
| hills beyond it were as perfectly re-
| fected as in a mirror. The caravan
when at distance, looked frequently,
as if crossing water and at other times,
when rising a slight elevation, 1T was
| accurately reflected in the fictitious
pond in the hollow below it. There IS
a tradition of body of Turkish sol
diers in that desert, wild with thirst
and following the mirage until they
persisted after having massacred the
| guides who wished to keep them in
the straight road. After beholding
this wonderful delusion uay after day
one can hardly wonder than ignorant
men, unacquainted with the geography
of the country, were deceivedby it.
All the caravans from Mibra, Sou
dan, Abyssinia and the trade coming
from Arabia to Luakin on the Red
Sea and thence to Berber follow this
route, and on their return trip bring
back cotton cloth, hardware and va
rious other goods. The trail across
this desert is generally one or two hun
dred yards wide. But if the sand
| should etface it, it could be easily re-
covered by following the line of camel
carcasses. They average forty to fifty
to the mile, making for the whole dis
lance from ten to twelve thousand
skeletons of those animals. We lost
but two coming across. but IL the
months of August and September they
perish by hundreds. When cam ell
is unable to go further, they distribute
his load among the rest and leave him.
Before he is cold, hundreds of vul-
| lures are on him and devour him as
long as daylight lasts. Then the
| hyenas and jackals continue his dissec-
ton. In a wonderfully short time
nothing is left but his skin and bones,
perfectly dried by the intense heat, SO
that in spite of this great mortality,
the scent of carrion is never perceived
on the desert the atmosphere of which
is the very perfection of purity.
| During the eight days we were
crossing this desert without hardly a
single bush, and the sun nearly YER
teal at noon day, the heat was in
tense. The thermometer in the
Sun would rise to 135 de-
grees. Yet with our heads covered
with helmets and kouieLs we hardly
needed the parasols We carried. The
heat was perfectly dry, and produced
neither perspiratiOn nor thirst. [ have
perspired more since | returned to
! Cairo, and really suffered more from
| heat, with the thermometer at So or 80
| degrees, than did on the desert. Yet,
| the noon day halt WIS hot when we
| naQ no Olner SQeltef IMAM tQat Ci
two or three blankets stretched on
sticks. In the latter part of the jour
neg, the sandstone hills abounded in
natural cages in which we eat our
| lunch and took feat for an hour or
two in great comfort.
At last, on the ninth day from Abou-
! named, we came once more to tie val
| ley of the Nile, at korosko. There we
| babe final farewell (for this trip to
| the camel. Henceforth our Journey
was to be by boats. As for me, after
! fully fifteen hundred miles of camel
riding, [ felt as much at home III the
saddle as in my bed, and never expe-
! rienced fatigue at the end of the days
ride. Yet, [ had enough of it for the
present, and il was a pleasant change
to get on board tle ,}aHabceah and be
in the shade all day Long, ans sleep as
much as we wanted, though / assure
You that after a while, the day seemed
a great deal longer than when riding
on the desert. for boating down the
Nile is dreadfully slow. But reserve
the description of our long navigation
for ny next letter, and until then,
remain
Truly yours, G.