Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1885-07-30
sAND-SvORM At DONGOLA.
The Perturbation n Carried to the Tent
of q kewspnprt Corrcs sPondent.

Sanu-StOrm-tO my luca tnc stuTcau-
full Of storrAs., Was there ever such a
one beforep Millions, | suppose; but l
never experienced one so bad. | must
really use the pcnny-a-lincr's very con
venient expression, ut battles all de-
scription." and for that reason l shall
describe it. Our respected friend the
penny-a-liner, | observe, after stating
that 4 thing baiiled description, invar-
iably tries to describe it. Why, then,
should not lp Midday, everything
sweltering and secthing in the sun that
Ihappcus,to be exposed to il; everybody
bubbliug-.-positivcly bubbling---with
perspiration that happens to be in the
shade; thermometer looks as if 1t would
burst-l am afraid to say how high the
mercury has riscn--in fact, the perspr-
alton pours so into my eyes that | can
not see the small figures. Rock and
sand pain the eye by their glare. A
black, dense, mud-colorcd cloud sud-
denly appears on the horizon at the
south. at first spcck, then growing
larger and larger, rolling rapidly to-
ward us, now In the distance, now
nearer and nearer. Down go tents and
up in the air 90 straw huts and sheds.
while the palm branches wave and nod
like the plnmes Of hearsc caught in n
gale, or Of the helmet of a knight at a
mad gallop. On. on. it rolls. that
zrimy, fast riding cloud. Now ! can
not see twenty yards ahead of me. The
landscape is suddenly cnveloped in a
black shroud. 1t bursts upon my hovel.
Away, away. away 20 my half-answer-
ed home letters. Who shall catch
them? $50; run after them; quickly,
quickly, boy" am envcloped in sand.
Over goes my only globe lamp~-crash!
Ny bottle Of seven days allowance of
lime 7juice-it totters and capsizes.
Down come the spiders, and away bolt
tho rats whom l encourage to run
about and eat the scorpions, cen,ipcdos,
and white ants. In comes flock of
little crimson-headed bats, and tumble
exhausted. have no doors or win
dOws to be blown in, and there is no
fear of a shower of broken glass, such
as have seen during sirocco on the
shores of the Lcvant. Books. sketches,
writing paper, manuscript. linen. lie
scattered on the floor, l was going to
say--no, the earth-wc have no floors
here in Ethiopa--buricd in a moment
in black dust; and over goes my only
bottle of cognac, kept for medical pur-
poses. Luckily the cork was in. But
the only bottle of whisky an Irish
friend had been at; he had left the cork
out; it was light, not much balance
left, and over it went. An aroma Of
mountain dew pervadcs the room.
Bisallah! 1t was to have accompanied
me across the desert to Wady Halfa,
where some say Cambyses lost his army,
though others near Meroe.
put my head out of my window,
was going to writep-l mean square
hole in one Of the four mud walls form
ing what is called by courtesy IL house.
/ was blinded as quickly as any inhabi-
tant of the cities of the plain was by
the hand of the angel. My eyes were
instantly filled with sand, every mole
cnle Of which was II burning spark,
every particle scintillaton. 1t wearicd
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 Il
classically- shaped red amphora in it.
Ending it at length cleanse my eyes,
smarting with the fiery dust, and put
on II pair OF huge green goggles-all
glass; these are the only kind that keep
out the sand. Thus armed. ] looked
forth into the moving mountain OF
sand. A burning blast, like unto the
breath Of fiery furnace, scorehes my
face, dries up my skin, stopping every
pore. ! look unto the heavens. The
sun was blood-rcd ball OF fire, float
ing "all in hot and copper sky
while along the horizon hung lurid
light such Us one secs on the ocean be-
fore n storm. In the distance trees,
huts, and tents were invisible; but near
one could just make out the winding,
lead-colored Nile, lashcd into pillows.
A dense cloud, which envcloped all,
seemed raining fire. The atmosphere
as II seething, boiling, sputtering. And
now waltzing. whirling along the banks
|, come the devils (shaytams). as the
Arabs call them, the sand spouts--acrial
giants--each indulging in n pas Scuk,
their huge, fantastic figures rearing
their heads from earth to heaven. One
is reminded Of the dim of the "Arabian
Nights led out Of the casket in which
King Solomon had sealed him up, and
grim and gruesome are they! No doubt
the fancifill ghotls, effects, and genii
Of Arab folklore drew their origin
from such as these.
And destructive element are these
rolling, spiral sand pillows powerful
agents of disintcgration, having
grinding. roughing action on rocks and
stOnes-as they ride the whirlwind, ac-
celebrating destruction in country re-
pletc with decaying pedigrccs of decay
"a country where all changes are not
Of life, but of Observation-Disclosures the
characteristics OF the scenery around
are heaps Of rocks breaking into frag-
ments. And these gusts OF sand penc-
tratc everywhere, into cleIts and iis-
'sures OF stones, eating into and sapping
their foundations, and acting with i'm
mensc mechanical strength, lifting and
rolling rock over rock. There is
weird and ghastly dance all around, in
a duh and lurid glare. Now am en-
veloped in heaving mountain of sand;
the air is sitting, my mouth is parched,
speech is impossible without wetting
the lips, the tongue is swollen. never
before properly understood 1.-THE dark
ncss of the Egyptian plague" which
''could be felt. Half an hOur--the
sand tornado has swept by. can hear
the rush Of scared horses, mules, dom
keys, and cattle, as they rush madly
by, having broken loose; the tremen-
dous cultural roar aud grunting of
camels, the bowling of dogs. and the
shrill screeching Of vulturcs and kites
flying before the gale. All nature
groans. Half an hour-the Dongola
carnival Of the wild elements OF the
''Soudan" is over.-London NeWs.
G,ut..a a,L u....lsu