Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1891-08-28
A DESERT SANDSTONE,
EXPERIENCE OF A PARTY OF TRAN
ELERS IN SAHARA.

-
bination That Few Animals Resides the
Camels Can Withstand A Terrible
Night in a Strange Place.
On our journeying from Wargala to Go
lra we were struck by one of the storms.
We left that luxuriant group of GASES, OF
which Wargala is the chief town, and re-
sumed our way along the wild desert,
following the dry bed of the Wad Mia
Though it was October, no rain had yet
fallen, SO that the earth still lacked her
winter mantle of green. The conforma-
ton of the land during the first five days
was variety of firm, pebbly and sandy
ground, while mountain range leads di-
rectly to FL Golea.
In all parts the firm soil appeared to be
excellent for culture if it could only be
watered. Tracts of sand of the color of
iron rust were to be noticed along the
Wad Mia, denoting the existence of some
ferruginous spring. The spot where we
encamped in our sixth stage was sea of
sand, interspersed with dunes rising from
thirty to forty feet. One mount, seventy
feet high, probably formed by whirl-
wind, was noticeable above all at a certain
distance from us. Several long and straight
eminences, four or five feet high with a
striking similarity to waves, were to be
seen.
FIamingoes gazing at us from the tops of
the dunes were the only signs of life the
region presented. This bird, the vulture
and raven are the only winged creatures
seen in the Sahara outside of the oasis
They fly in f1ocks in the wake of the cara
vans in expectation of prey, and are often
RECALLED by the death of camels or slaves, as
the caravan owners never take the trouble
of burying them.
THE STORM BREAKS.
During the preceding nights the sirocco
had been blowing hard, without, however
causing much disturbance But now an
atmospherical revolution broke upon the
camp A fearful bluster aroused us from
sleep and terrified the horses. Blast fol-
lowed blast; our tents were terribly shaken,
while the wind grew rapidly to the force
of cyclone The horses were neighing
and the camels groaning. Everybody was
awakened, and all were obliged to take a
frantic hold of the tents from the interior
Some tried to get out to pitch the tents
more securely, but could not stand the
whirl of sand Showers of sand were beat
ing upon our tents like heavy rain. The
more courageous men were swearing
against the impertinent element which had
interrupted their sleep and was blowing
down their fimsy shelter. Others were
terror stricken, fearing imminent destruc
ton All were clinging desperately to their
tents to prevent them from being carried
away, but in spite of their efforts all the
tents, one after another, were blown down.
Each man underneath grasped frantically
at one side of his canvas house and rolled
it around his face for protection against
the sand. The camels, despite their groan-
ing, were little injured by the gritty whirl-
wind, and seemed to be quite accustomed
to it,
Their incompatible vital strength en-
abes them to stand the sorest privations
and the severest weather They live, in
deed, day and night in the open air, and
are fed and watered only every three days.
thus becoming Injured to every hardship
and stress of weather.
FRANTIC HORSES.
The horses felt the violent pelting of the
sand quite differently. AS they are stand
ing up they offer more hold to the fierce
wind, and can resist less than the camels,
which always lie when at rest. They be-
came distracted and flung frantically
against their invisible provoker. The Of
fcers shouted to the horsemen to mind
their horses, but no one dared move. Final
ly several horses broke loose, and blinded
by the sand ran among the tents, tumbling
against the men and falling upon them.
Screams and struggles ensued, increas
ing the disorder and confusion in the camp.
Those who knew not the cause of these
cries were prompted to go out and see
what was happening. Finally the horses
got up unaided and were captured by some
Sc be -ho hot
this hurricane, were cropping and crawling
along with their faces covered with drar
perry The cadi commanding the Arabs,
seeing that we could not be qualified as
warriors of the DESERT" as we were una
BILE to brave that unexpected enemy, or
dered his men to look to the horses until
the tempest ceased
After two hours of struggle calm sue
ceeded in the atmosphere and peace in our
camp. went out to see the effect of the
storm The dawn which family appeared
| through the dust clouded space threw a
| gloomy light upon the camp, revealing the
| overturned tents with the human forms
| underneath like white shrouds covering
corpses. The sand was heaped up against
their bodies, and had filled all the inter
spaces between the men lying under the
same tent, almost leyeling surface smooth
as table at the height of their shoulders
AFRAID sToICIsM.
| went up to the animals and found the
horses shifting and sneezing, while the
camels little farther on were lying partly
| covered with sand in perfect quiet. They
seemed to have bravely borne the brunt of
the storm Enyeloped in their drapery the
Arabs were sitting on the ground with
legs drawn up and their bodies leaning
upon the backs of their camels as upon a
pillow One of them hearing me raised his
head and unrolling his drapery gave me
long look. "Have you not been fright
ened?" said to him. Sat what?" he all
swered, as if astonshed at my question.
"At what?" ! repeated, amazed. SAT
what has just happened, of course"
1.-THE roar of the ghabilih (sirocco) and
the groan of the camel are two sounds
familiar to us since BIRTH" he answered.
Dumfounded at such stoicism ! re
turned to my tent, wondering what such a
people would not be able to endure. They
are truly hardened and toughened in every
respect; deaf to the sufferings of others.
dumb to their own, Injured to fatigue and
insensible to hardship.
When | arose at daylight and looked
around could scarcely realize that was
awake. The plain wore quite different
aspect. These large waves of sand that
had noticed the previous day had disap
peared. A dune, fifteen feet high, had also
been removed, and several of the eminences
had been reformed few miles farther on.
Many tents had been torn, and the sand
had penetrated through every assure and
hole in the knapsack, and even into the
gunbarrels. The pack saddles and loads of
provisions had disappeared almost entirely
beneath the sand. Several boxes weighing
eighty pounds had been rolled a distance
of 200 feet and partly broken. However,
aside from the three men who had been
stumbled over by horses and wounded, no
one felt any serious consequences from the
tempest. Two horses were found to have
lost an eye from being struck by coarse
grains of sand.-Algiers Cor Louisville
| Courier Journal