Bryan morning eagle. [volume] (Bryan, Tex.) 1898-1909, 1906-05-01
WHEN THE DUNES WALK
A sand storm Experience In the
peserf OF sahara,

r. aee from n sand storm IN the
midst OF drcnchlng rain seems an abb
surd performance. The Arab. however.
experlenccd IN the ways Of Sahara,
Knows that when the rain stops the
dunes are apt % begin their most ter.
rlble walking" lie seeks shelter
while there Is yet time.
our worst experience Of the desert IN
me Of It's mad hts. says the author Of
I'm the Desert" was on a morning
when. luckily for as perhaps. we were
nearing the large oasis Of Nefta. near
the Tunislan frontier. The Tapping OF
the tent aud the drumming Of rain
drops upon II awoke Us, and Ahmedn'
IN some excitement. hurried our depar'
ture. lie explained that SO long as the
rain lasted IL would keep the sand
aulet aud that this was our opportuni'
Is. Accordingly. IN a very short time
we had struck tent. loaded camels, sad
died ponies and were under way.
II seemed to as somewhat purpose
less proceeding. The rain was and had
been heavy. The ground was saturat-
Ell. There seemed no prospect OF It's
drying IN a hurry. As Nefta was only
half days march away IL seemed
unnecessary 20 start IN frantic haste In
the middle Of the night In pouring
rain. Ahmeda, however. made no an
swer 20 our protests. The other Arabs
seconded his efforts with all their en-
ergy.
Morning broke wan and sIckly. As
the light grew the rain slackened. Tue
big warm drops became less frequent
and at last ceased. The dull, opaque
eky was pasty white and the air hot
and oppressive. but the wind still blew
as hard as or harder than ever.
Hardly had the rain stopped when
tasted between lips and teeth the IA
mIliar, gritty texture OF sand. Hardly
had the light increased sufficiently C
disclose 10 view the drifts when al
their edges and crests could be sect
crawling and pickering in the gale. Al
ready there was the droning sound u
the air which meant that the dune
were walking. We saw az last the rea
son for the hurry. The rain cannot hols
the sand for more than the instant J
Is falling. As soon as IL strikes th'
earth IL sinks In. One moment you ma,
be streaming with water like a drown
ed rat. the next you are choking II
clouds Of sand.
The air grew darker and darker, ans
the roar OF the sand as II rushed aionl
the desert made speech, except b.
shouting. impossible. | could Just dis
tlngulsh our tall camels In the gloom
their ungalnly action giving then
something the look Of ships pitching
and tossing In a gale.
Ahmeda led the way by some mys
terious Instinct TO Us totally incomprt
hensible. We followed as best W
might, breathing sand as we went, gu
heads bent 20 protect our faces. NJ
recollection Of the next two hours Is n
more definite than would be the reco
lection OF being rolled over and owe
BY a huge breaker. A singing an
roaring In the ears. almost total blint
ness. sense OF sufrocation and III
feeling that l was In the hands
elements more powerful Than myse
are the vague impressions that remail
When we M last got 90 Meta
could not have been more saturate
with sand had we been buried In
and dug up again. Hair. ears. cloth'
were full OF IL. Our cheeks were sea
let and sore with the ceaseless bate
Ing. and on them had formed har
crusts OF sand. cemented by the WI
ter that had streamcd from our eyes.