The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1885-09-11
WHOLE NO. H. S44t /
IN A SANDSTORM.
CARNIVAL OF THE WILD ELEMENTS
OF THE SouOAN.
The Perturbation It Carried to the Tent Of
= Newspaper Correspondent-Genu
Of Arab Folk Lore Destruct-
i've Sand BIllows.
lDongola Cor. London News.l

lDongola Cor. London Newsl
Dongola was visited the other day by q
sandsturm-to my idea the most dreadful OF
storms Was there ever such one beforei
Millions, suppose; but never expert
snced one SO bad. / must really use the
penny -a-lner's very convenient expression,
sit battles all description" and for that rea-
son I shall describe It Our respected friend,
the penny -a-liner, observe, after stating
that a thing bafflsd description, invariably
tries to describe it Why, then, should not
II Midday, everything sweltering and
seething in the sun that happens to be ex-
posed to it; everybody bubbling-posi-
lively bubbling-with perspiration, who hap
pens to be in the shade; thermometer looks
as IL it would burst-I am afraid to say how
high the mercury has risen-in fact. the
perspiration pours so into my eyes that l
can not see the small figures. Rock and
sand pain the eye by their glare. A black
dense, mud-colored cloud suddenly appears
on the horizon at the SOUTH at first a speck,
then growing larger and larger, rolling rap
idly toward us, now in the distance, now
nearer and nearer. Down 60 tents and up
in the air go straw huts and sheds, while
the palm branches wave and nod like the
plumes Of hearse caught in q gale, or Of
the helmet Of q knight at mad gallop
On, ON, 1t rolls, that grimy fast-riding
cloud. Now ! can not see twenty yards
ahead Of me- The landscape is suddenly
enveloped In a black shroud. It bursts upon
my bowel Away, away, away 60 my half
answered home letters Who shall catch
themi @Go; run after them; quickly,
quickly. boy" I am snveloped in sand.
Over goes my only globe lams-
crash! My bottle Of seven days al
lowance Of lime-juice-it tottsrs and
capsizes. Down come tho spiders, and
away bolt the rats-whom l encourage
to run about and eat the scorpions, cent?
pedes, and white ants In comes a flock Of
little crimson headed bats, and tumble ex-
hausteI. / have no doors or windows to be
blown in, and there is no fear Of shower Of
broken glass, such as have seen during
sirocco on the shores Of the Levant. Books,
sketches, writing paper, manuscript, linen,
lie scattered on the floor, was going to say
no, the earth--we have no floors here in
Ethiopia-buried in q moment in black dust;
and over goes my only bottle Of cognac,
kept for medical purposes Luckily the
cork was In But the only bottle Of whisky
an Irish friend had been at; he had left the
cork out; 1t was light, not much balance
tain dew pervades the room. Bisallahi 1t
was to have accompanied me across the
desert to Wady Halfa, where some say
Cambyses lost his army, though others near
Meroe.
Iput my head out Of my window, was I
going to writei-I mean square hole In
one Of the four mud walls forming what is
called by courtesy q house. was blinded
as quickly as any inhabitant Of the cities Of
the plain was by the hand Of the angel
Ny eyes were instantly filed with sand, ev-
ery molecule Of which was burning spark
and every particle a scintillation. It wear
led me to find my way to my-washing
stand; mean my pile OF old wooden cases,
on which was carefully balanced my basin
an old biscuit tin, with classically shaped
red amphora in it Finding it at length I
cleanse my eyes, smarting with the fiery
dust, and put on pair Of hugo green Cog
gles-all glass; these are the only kind that
keep out the sand.
Thus armed, looked forth into the NOV
ing mountain Of sand. A burning blast,
like unto the breath Of fiery furnace,
scorches my face, dries up my skin, stop
ping every pore. look unto the heavens.
The sun was blood-red ball Of fire,
floating "all in a hot and copper
e@ys "hAo oAohb sho hohAzoh uuuR
. lurid light, such as one sees on the
ocean before a storm. In the distance trees,
huts and tents were invisible; but near one
could just make out the winding, lead
colored Nile, dashed into billows A dense
cloud, which enveloped all, seemed raining
fire. The atmosphere as IL seething, boiling,
suffering. And now waltzing, whirling
along the banks come the devils" SHAY
tams), as the Arabs call them, the sand
spouts-aerial giants-each indulging in q
pas seul, their huge. fantastic figures rear
ing their headsfrom earth to heaven. One
is reminded of the dim of the arabian
Nights" let out Of the casket In which King
Solomon had sealed him up, and rising as q
tall column Of smoke. How grim and grue-
some are they! No doubt the fanciful
ghouls, efreets, and genii Of Arab folklore
drew their origin from such IS these.
And destructive element are these roll
ing, spiral sand billows-powerful agents Of
disintegration, having grinding, roughing
action on rocks anil stone-as they ride the
whirlwind, accelerating destruction in
country replete with decaying pedigrees Of
decay-a country where all changes are not
Of life, but Of destruction-where the char
acteristics OF the scenery around are heaps
Of rocks breaking into fragments And
so0s0 8us0 VI snAu p0ueIbuo ivory Wuero,
into clefts and assures Of stones, eating into
and sapping their foundations, and acting
with mechanical strength, lifting and roll
ing rock over rock.
There Is weird and ghastly dance all
around, in dull and lurid glare. Now am
envslopsd in q heaving mountain Of sand;
the ar Is sitting, my mouth Is parched,
speech IL impossible without wetting the lips,
the tongue In swollen never before pror-
erly understood @the darkness Of the Egyp-
tian plague" which 1could be felt" Half
an hour-the sand tornado has swept by. I
can hear the rush Of scared horses, mules,
donkeys, and cattle, as they rush madly by,
having broken loose: the TREMENDOUS gut
tural roar and grunting OF camsls, the howl
ing Of dogs, and the shrill screeching OF vul-
lures and kites flying before the gale. All
nature groans. Half an hour--the DON
COLA carnival Of the wild elements Of ths
s6oudan" is over. r.... .....l .....t. .,,..z,