Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1899-12-08

among the long, low, wide tents, where
preparations for the evening meal were
going on.
NEGRO slaves were roasting coffee,
which gave forth perfume only 'Araby
the Best' could yield. Round about
parties of Arabs were exercising the
horses-such creatures! names
flowing like the tresses of Princess
Bndroulbadour.
"Shcill lIassam, man of noble mp
pcarance, met me, andlaftcr reading the
letter, at once relaxed the stern dig
nifty of his countcnnnce, and the supper
being now ready, bade ne partake of
the same tray with himself. The meal
consisted of n kids flesh roasted deli
catcly with certain condiments, of the
nature OF enu dc cologne, and washed
down with mares milk. y noble cup of
coffee, however, atoned for the singu-
larity of this rcpast, and lighting
chcroots OF strong, sweet flavor, we
srollcd among the horses, much of
whose beauty and fine points were OBJ
scrvablc in the moonlight, for that lumi-
IIIN ilith llONF llNN II tDbNI wv i4ci ifsSi''
For reasons of his own, the sheii GER
tuinly did his best TO get me what l
wanted and out of 80, every one of
which seemed TO possess some different
charm, / chose one, and regretted that
had not chosen all the others. l was
Ioath to leave so romantic u spot, and,
| though duty called, fingered some days,
the guest of the shoil, who seemed
equally unwilling to have me go, and
piled mc with rare tobacco and still
rarer legends, dusby happenings of
desert land, which had come within his
| ken, and revealed TO few. l began to
feel as if had chewed the lotus buds,
und did not care greatly whether re-
turned to my native land or not.
"One evening Chat before tn" day set
for my departure) while strolling and
smoking, as usual, in the moonlight, at
some distance from the cncampment,
our footsteps, whether by accident or
the shcils's design, were directed to-
ward a dark ridge of rocks which crest
ed great rise OF sand on the horizon
and shone jagged against the rising
moon.
"'That forbidding pile said Sheik
uassam, with Il wave of his long arm,
causing n meteoric effect with the glow
iur end of his cheroot, formed once
the center of an oasis, discovered by
myself and tribe while seeking an un-
frcuuentcd portion of the desert for the
purpose of establishing ourselves for
the favorable pursuit of our business.
""rhis oasis seemed the portal of
paradise when, in the splendor OF the
noontide, we halted, after days Of travel
beneath copper sky, before its wav-
tag palms and luyuriurt shade, among
which gurglcd hidden springs Of water,
blessed water and the songs Of birds
echoed among the foliage.
"'"Allah be praised! We shall pros
per hcrc!" | cried aloud, and bade
them set up the tents, which were rot
few, and dig a cisteIn, which was filled
from the springs amid the groves. The
ho@t I'.-i,,irhel net, but r%thcr inten-
iled fic;a day 10 day, so that the outer
springs became dry. and VIC had to force
our way inward (for the oasis WAS wide
and of densest growth to obtain sup
plies of water.
"IIere and there we encountered
beaten paths, which struck US as being
rather singular. as we had seen no liv-
ing thing save birds. Possibly, we ar
gued they were made by the iackals,
which howled about in the daytime and
Went there for water after dark. al
| tbouCb ON Oun OcroCiCp I could bova
sworn that vague imprint in the sandy
pathway was that of beast of prey.
"T kept a sharp lookout and
sentinels ever on watch about the
horses, camels and goats tethered
q short distance from the camp beneath
rafy sheds. Nothing of note trans
pired fer some days, except slight adj
ditional proofs from time to time that
sorne living creature inhabited the
'''a"o The heat seemed TO increase
daily, and the skies assumed the red
dish tinGc which BODIES no good TO The
dwelleT j.. the desert. At;a.e intervals
across the yellow hilloclis would ccmt
pirouetting diabolical little spirals o
sand, moved by puiis of wind, lik,
breaths from furnace.
Ion the morning of the fifth da,
Hamed, my Circassian slave, man o
rare courage and singular persona
beauty, disappeared into the depths o
the oasis in quest of fresh water, tha
in the cistern being used for the beast
only, and, from the length OF time elaps
ing, must have penetrated further thar
usual. Suddenly we perceived him a
the edge of the jungle wildly gesticu
lating. The Arabs rifles were at thei
shoulders in an instant, but there wa
a mingled scream and roar, flash o