The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1894-01-25

CHAPTER XVII.
.ELE -

The details Of the march need not be mar
rated at length. Our Journey Law over
scared and blighted 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; dcsoate heaps that hide the
bones OF the pctsbcd traveller and are for
| ever moviHg their furlnlpss lps with n
silent, stealthy motion to suck in and over.
whelln the living Nomnn knows the deep
: tr"ashe3y OF mother eartn till he has gres
tied with the nOiseless forces of the, desert
Inc pace, however, was BRISK Inr man
and beast were fresh and eager. Indeed it
WASH perpetual surprise tome now the ami
mails made such progress over the elusive
path. The crmcIs, swinging at a STEADY
] trot, had much the best o it, for wnen the
hard hoof of the horse sinks and slips the
elastic spongy foot of the camel spreads
like weD, and he passes as easily and safe
ly over drifting sands as n SHOWS noer over
smothcring Wreaths. 1t was then | first
understood how truly the camel deserve,
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 wastrs. Yet the horses, too, Ind IN
common iighsuess and skill in making way
where every step forward was a half sten
backward
To the iorsemen the first sensation Of a
desert ride is as il lie were poised on spriuns
OF ineffabe delicscy, which swaycd gently
on The slightest pressure. Mucn of this
luxurlnuS case is due TO the yielding track,
but something also 10 the springy motion
of the Arab horse. 70 the saddle nothing
whatever is due. since it is merely pieres of
the hardest wood roughly nailed and bound
with thongs of rawhide. On all English
horse and macadami2ed road il would re-
duce n trooper 10 helplrssness in an hour:
and indeed with all the suppieness and
softness of the true Kohlan Arab satldlery
is apt to pain the inexperienced The Arabs
themselves are aware OF no discomfort be-
canse they are as hard as the wood they
bestride
On the first night we marched steadily
till act OF moon, then halted for food and
rest. | could not half admire the quick
ness with which the fires were lighted with
withered grasses and shrubs, and the good
humored alaerity OF the COOKS in preparing
the meal. To be sure il 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 skin aud kneaded it into a dirty
dough with dirty hands. 1t would be pro-
fame in an Arab cook to have clean hands,
and so he keeus them reisiously filthy,
thus giving those who eat his preparations
the benefit OF many unsuspected ingred-
ents.
The dough- which was wet perhaps half
way TO the center, was beaten out into thick
cakes, which were laid on the glowing en-
bers and covered with hot ashes. They were
left tins ill converted irto sodden soapy
paste, then taken out and eaten as hot rs
they could be swallowed. | nibbled the
edge Of one, but finding my teeth stick in
it | ate IA handful of dates, took drink of
water, and then wrapping my burnoose close
about me threw myself on the ground and
slept the sweet sleep ot the weary.
1t seemed | had not lain five minutes
when the kettledrums were beating the
reyeille. The gray dawn was only begin
ming to glimmer, but already the camel
men were quarreling with their grunting
beasts and our bakers We're busy with the
glntinous compound they called bread We
hastily swallowed some mouthfiils of it
straight off the burning Goals, with few
dates and drink OF musty water apiece,
and We're of again.
For awhile the air was dellciously cool
and refreshing, and the glories of the open
ing day in the lone wilderness rs the sun
broke through his curtain OF white mist
were such as n man beholds with awe and
remembers with reverence Bnt the blaz-
ing orb soon turned the dewy freshness to
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 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 a
sound. When the sun mounts in his might,
desert travellers are apt to fall silent.
Toward noon when wa bad almost
reached the point of utter dissolution, We
gained the crest of a low ridge, whence i
looking to the northwest .Es saw what /