The sun., 1891-07-12
IN n SAHARiH SANDSTONE
Tho Strange Experiences OF . Party or
Travellers In the African Desert.
From the CourierJournaL

The strange Experiences OF . Fsrty o.
Travellers In the African Desert.
From the courie,.JournaL
.,AJo1ERs. juno 1O-The ever bright sky o
ne sanata nR Is IN strong contrast TO our change
"a our countrias bring rain and wind at almos
fixed periods. are not in force there. The onl,
directly from southern lea. wfere The s'f%s, hot
sss eo. h monsh hsa.
roush the desers of auss und snd the sfSe i
mense sandy exnanse Of the sahara. this i'm.
alone SHOWERS EnSs o sand "d
Lun,lreds of miles away Il .geneially lust.
toward night. sometimes 10 the fury oi a hurri.
central. southern. and eastern snhnra whole
years sometimes pass without drop Of water
only three times. Tho%se % were - abnndant butp'a IL
volume: but la lasted only an hour or two: Only
Journey through the desert "A sultry and
ySHporous atm ssI sphere generally succeeded
where have / seen tho stars 50, iadiant.
The weather is not taken into account in
place Of rain, 80 that the failure Of the crops is
| rarely due to drought
Wess eTs v s Of bs - G9e
above. We loft that iuxuriant group of oases.
Of which Warxais Is ihs chiet town; AMI re-
inR the dry led Of lie Wad MIA 'ii though e It
was October. no, rain had yet fallen. SO that
green. The con orma ion m Of tie land during q
the first Ave das was q variety OF firm pebbly
leads directly 10 Ii Golea In ali parts taiE Tie
| firm soil appeared to be excellent for culture
S s nssed G ndns
! the Wnd Mia denoting the existence Of some
ferrugipous spring The spot whero We on;
forty feet. One, mount. seventy feet high.
able above all at a certain distance from Us.
Several long and straight Gminences, four or
wa! es. were to be seen. Flamingos gazing at
us from he ,ops Of the dunes were the only
signs Sig s 81 lie the reg.on p.esen'ed. Tnis bird;
creaturss seen 10 the Sahara outside Of the
oasis. They fly in locks in the wake OF tins
reraleL by tho death Of cameIs or slaves, as
the oarsysn s owners never take tho trouble Of
During the preceding. nights the sirocco had
been blowing I,,N hard. without however, causing
revolnt on lroke npon the camp. A fearful
bluster aroused us from sleep a terri led the
t.n,;ei hSrses blast folCMe blast; our tents were
neighing and the camels groaninG. Everybody
frantic hold Of the tents from the interior.
Some tried 10 get out to pitch the tents more
Showers oil sand Were beating upon our tents
like heavy rain. The more courageous mon
ment which had interrupted heir sleep and
was blowing down their .tiimsy shelter. others
were ,,i terror stri"ken; fearlns imminent de.
their tents to ore, vent them rom being carried
away. but In spite OF 1h ir efforts nil the tents.
man undernea. Ii eraspod franticnliy AT on side
OF his canvns house and rolled 1t around his
cameIs despite their Croaning. were little in-
(ured oy the gritty whrlwind. anu seemed to
Ther incomrareble e. Vital strength enables
sssm the est Iss and the
10 ,sS every hardship and sreis Of weather. 49,.
up they oiler more hold to the derce wind. AVID
lie when at tIss es: They beeams Ma eM aSd
flung frapticaIy against their Invisible pro-
dara
Fina ly several boi ises broke loose. and. blinded
by tho sand. ran among the tents. tumblin2
Screams and struggles ensued. incl casing the
disorder and confusi IN the camp Those
prompted 10 go out and SEQ what was happen.
Ing. Finally the horses got up unaded and
better accustomed to this hurricane. were
groping and crawling along with their faces
Tr aesns that e we " aSa
qualified as warriors OF the desert" as we
were unable TO brave that unexpected enemy
ordered his men to look to the horses until the
compost VeaSet.
After two hours Of struggle calm succeeded
went out o see the, effect Of the storm. The
dawn which family nn?oared through the
s@S hrs% a9Sa sn
the human forms uuderuealh lik" white
hs Snd ss
all the inte spaces between the mon lying
under the same ,ent almost levellirg SUI face |
smoo,h as table at the height OF their
went Up to the animals and found the
with sand in perfect, quiet. They seemed to
IN hsr nG drnerS the
sitting on The ground. with legs drawn IN md
.odes sn1inG non s hHs Gl their
me. m D. rnissas his Sen,!. and, uHrolIlaE his drap:
az gave ne long look you not b'Sn
a"SHt's Il T1tSnai sueated a amazea @ a: wha.
$. Ani nj what @ has happened I" asked be, indif-
yom on,s seep so deeply Hy that this fierce
is this peculiar weather for your" re-
is this peculiar weather, for your ?" de-
mapded. Mus, heaycn itself fall upon your
gronn OF the camel are Two sounds familiar TO |
us since birth" he answered..
Dumfounded bv such Sioic ism, 7 returned to |
my tent, wondering whit sucn people would |
not be uble to endure Thov are truly hardened |
and toughened In every respert: deRf TO the |
sutierings OF o hers, dumb 10 their own. inmred |
to fatigue. md insensible 10 hnrdship. The |
awakei,i,g, call was not sounded TINT morn
ing how much damage had heen done aud |
whether the mon were 1T to march:
When arose Mt daylight and looked around. |
I could scarcely realize - sh.t was awake n, Tho
large waves ol sand that l had no Iced tho
previous dav had d. .snrpea'cd. dune. fifteen
feet high had al so been removed. and several
Of. tie eminences had been reformed a low
miles furth on,
Many tents had been torn. and tho sand had
pen notrated through every fssure and hole iu
the knapsnck, ana oven into the gun barrels.
The pack ssddles and oads Of provisions had
! been rolled distance Of 2O6 ieet and partly
broken. However. aside from the three men |
who had been stumbled over BY horses and
from the tempest. Two horses were found to
have lost an eye from being struck By coarse