Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1894-01-22
Il I0XEEf
JoAN A.SElAgr:
copyright, 1898, by John Alexander Steuart.l
copyright, 1873, by John Alexander Steuart.l
CHAPTER XVII.
THE MARCH,

SCARED and blghted ground and across
sandy plains and in and out among circu-
/ lar sand hillS-lOOse, impermanent heaps,
| which the winds of the desert twist and
curve and fling about in their wanton,
! lonely sport; desolate heaps that hide the
bones of the persisted traveller and are for
ever moving their formless lips with a
silent, Stealthy motion to suck in and over
whcir2 the living. No man knows the deep
treachery Of mother earth till he has wres-
tied with the nOiseless forces of the desert.
The pace, however, was brisk, for man
and beast were fresh and eager. Indeed it
was Il perpetual surprise to me how the ami
mails made such progress over the elusive
path. The Camels, swinging at a steady
trot, had much the best of it, for when the
hard hOof of the horse sinks and slips the
elastic spOugy foot of the camel spreads
Ike web, and he passes n, asily and safe
! ~ over drifting sands as Il snowshoer over
| smOthering wreaths. 1t was then l first
understood how truly the camel deserves
its title of the ship of the desert, for as
! ships pass along their liquid way so the
camel treads his unstable course over the
sandy wastes. Yet the horses, too, had I'M
common lightncss and skill in making way
where every step forward was a half step
| backward.
| To the horsemcn the first sensation of
| desert ride is as if he were poised on springs
| of ineffable delicacy, which swayed gently
on the slightest pressure. Much of this
luxurious ease Is due to the yielding track,
but something also to the springy motion
of the Arab horse. To the saddle nothing
whatever IS due, since it is merely pieces of
| the hardest wood roughly nailed and bound
with thongs of rawhide On an English
horse and a macadamized road it would re-
duce n trooper to helplessness in an hour;
and indeed with all the suppleness and
softness of the true kohlan Arab saddlery
is apt TO pain the inexperienced. The Arabs
themselves arr. aware of no discomfort be-
cause they are as hard as the wood they
bestride.
On the first night we marched steadily
till set of moon, then halted for food and
rest l could not half admire the quick
ness with which the fires were lighted with
withcred grasses and shrubs, and the good
humOred alacTiuy OF the cooks in preparing
the meal To be sure it did not call for any
elaborate exercise of art, for the ratiOns
consisted of nothing daintier than coarse
flour, salt and dried dates with some pack
ages of coffee. The cooks took two or three
handfuls of flour apiece, poured water on it
from Il skin and kneaded it into a dirty
dough with dirty hands. 1t would be pro-
fame in an Arab cook to have clean hands,
thus giving hose who cat his preparations
the benefit of many unsupported ingredi-
cuts
The dough, which was wet perhaps half
way to the center, was beaten out into thick
cakes, which We're laid on the glowing en-
bers and covered with hot ashes. They were
left thus till converted into Il sodden, soapy
paste, then taken out and eaten as hot as
they could be swallowed. l nibbled the
ola of lint fn1irCr tooth stick in
it ate Il handful of dates, took drink of
water, and then wrapping my burnoose close
about nc threw myself on the ground and
slept the sweet sleep of the weary.
1t seemed l had not lain five minutes
when the liet.Iedrums We're beating the
revcille- The gray dawn was only begin
| ming to Glimmer, but already the camel
men were QUarrciiug with their Gruntlng
beasts and our bakers were busy with the
glutinous compound they called bread. We
hastily swallowed some mOuthfulS of 1t
straight of the Burning Goals, with few
dates and a drink of musty water apiece,
and were off again.
For awhile the air was deliciously cool
and refreshing, and the glories of the open
ing day in the lone wilderness as the sun
broke through his curtain of white mist
were such as u man beholds with awe and
remem bers with reverence. But the blaZ-
ing orb soon turned the dewy freshness to
| a sweltering, blistering heat that was try
ing to the nerves and temper of men toll
| ing through shifting sands and conical tu-
null of volcanic Stag. Yet no man COM
planned, only as we mopped our streaming
faces the conversation Jagged, and here and
there Il man gave low involuntary moan.
Save such intermittent noises and the
dreary, monotonous sift, sift, sift, of ami
mails feet in the sand there was not q
| sound. When the sun mounts in his might,
desert travellers apt to fall silent.
Toward noon, when we had almost
reached the point of utter dissolution, we
gained the crest of Il low ridge, whence
| looking to the northwest we saw what
| evoked a cry of gladncss from nearly every
| throat in the company. 1t was an oasis, a
tiny spot of green with asclump of trees in
| the midst, shining like an emerald in a
broad drab setting. We knew there was a
well there, and Tabal, with the privilege Of
n guide, suggested we should halt and re-
/ pleniSh our water skins. But ADou kuram
! answered CURLY that we were not yet in
need Of water; that the time for rest had
! not come, and that in forced marches men
had to think more of speed than of comfort.
| There was a general look of diSappOint-
| mcnt ut this speech, which urged Tabal to
! appeal again and TO advance reasons for
~ hen l desire thy counsel, l will tell
! thee" returned AbOu Kuram shortly.
Look thou to the way and leave the rest
| tom And methiiIks thou hadst better
mend thy pace"
After tins EU Iuau durst speak, and keen
"a, WAS the disappointment there was no
| mUrmurin-;-u uly the men sat a little more
/ grizzly aud pru,l,le,l Il little more viciously
| with their riding sticks. As we passed,
/ many 4 man turned with yCIrnin;s eyes to
the verdurUus spot, thinking perhaps he
should be dead ere another came in sight.
| II the forenoon had been hot, the after
| noon had an atmosphere of living fire. Yet
we toiled on, dissOlving and open mouthed,
| and wondering how long we could stand
| the burning lances of the sun.
l speak of the rank and file. AS for a bou
Kuram, he seemed to be obIivious of heat or
thirst or fatigue. How l envied him!
| While my mouth was cracking he was evil
IDENTIFY as cool and moist as a ripe pear.
koOr Ali, who rode beside me, must have
noticed the painful twitching of my lips,
for looking in my face with an expression
of concern he asked if was thirsty.
AS dry as a baked brick, " croaked.
Koor Ais son, Ahmed, a lad about ray
ownag rode beside US, and on hearing my
raven voice burst into fit of laughter.
What art thou laughing at, Ahmed?''
demanded Abou Kuram, turning slightly
in his saddle. Ahmed pointed to me.
The stranger croaketh with thirst" he
said, ERE we are half way over the desert. "
l tried to explain but failed; my mouth
was as a rusty machine that had not moved
for a century.
Give him thy water skin, Koor Ali, -
said Abou kuram, lest he faint. 1t were
i'll 10 die in the desert" he added, smiling
at me.
The water was dingy and beginning to
smell badly, but just then stagnant pool
would have been sweet, and took a huge
gulp. Taking another, 1 held it in my
mouth for a minute, then squirted it out,
sending it, as if by pure accident, over the
sprightly Ahmed.
by my faith, like not to be spat on by