The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1911-06-30

some time.
l confess i felt relief when one
morning with three camels and half q
dozen men, including my servant
Hadji, who had attended me while In
Tripoli, l started on my journey.
had tried In vain to secure the serv-
ices Of some trustworthy Bedouin who
knew the desert and would make a
safe guide. But whenever i found q
man who knew the country was
warned that he would probably muir
der me and possess himself of my eff.
fects. and when l found man with a
reputation for morality he knew moth
ing about the desert. finally started
with no one but myself to rely on, and
l had occasion to bitterly rue my te-
merity.
My journey was one continued effort
to protect myself against thieves and
robbers. 1t was useless to put my
men on guard at night, for they did
not seem to care whether what 1 had
was stolen or not. One night while i
myself was watching I noticed large
dog prowling near my camp. Pres
emily discerned q desert thief direct
ing the animal, who had been taught
to steal.
But this was a mere bagatelle COM
pared with a sandstone that overlook
us, and the sandstone was not SO dan
gerous as a man hired for guide
from one oasis to another, who tried
to pilot me into an ambush where a
band of robbers were waiting to kill
me.
Not being satisfied with hiring
guides, determined to 30 through to
the next oasis without one. The dis
lance was three days. travel, but at
the end Of the third day 1 looked in
vain on the horizon for that bunch Of
fauna which indicates an oasis. l
camped. and the next day we travelled
in the burning sun without seeing any
sign of a point for refreshment, nor
did we meet a caravan. The sand
storm had obliterated any tracks of
the great route between Tripoli and
the Sudan on which we had started
All about us was an unmarked will
derness of sand. The desert is so i'm
mense that when one loses his position
there is no hope Of finding it again.
One on that boundless sea without
knowing what direction to take can
only go on day after day, hoping to
strike an oasis.
That is what we were compelled to
do.
The sensation Of being lost in
wilderness. of sand was frightful
enough initself, but to see the stock of
provisions day by day growing smaller,
the skin pouches holding the water
growing thinner, with the hot sun pour
ing down on ones brain, is maddening.
So we toiled on, hoping each day for
some end to this frightful journey.
Either q distant caravan, an oasis or
even band Of robbers would have
been welcome. And now the humps
on the camels' backs became shrunken.
We had no water to give them, for we
were using ourselves what remained
in one Of the pouches. We killed one
Of the camels for the water in its
hump. Then we killed another. One
of my men died, then another and an
other, most of them mad, till about all
were dead and I was left alone, hui
man being with camel. Alas, must
sacrifice my only companion for what
water was left in him. I killed him
and wcs alone on the great desert of
Sahara.
l fell asleep that evening praying
that l might never awaken. But !
was awakened by touch. There, by
the light Of a full moon that had
arisen perhaps an hour before, saw
a skeleton Of man in Bedouin cos
time bending over me.
"Allah has sent me-" he said.
He took me up in his arms and car.
ried me away, knew not where, for
to me there was no north, south, east
or west. Most of the time l was I'M
conscious. When / was not was
looking up into the dome of the heav-
ems, whose stars seemed to be glaring
at me-. Then suddenly l thought ]
was in q boat in a choppy sea, but
soon recognized the motion Of a camel.
l put out my hand and felt hair. Straps
were about me so that could not fall.
1 felt cup Of water placed to my lips
and saw the face Of the man l had
saved Mt Tripoli holding it while J.
drank. Then I slept. 80. ~ ips
In the morning l found myself lying
on green grass In an oasis.
-
have told my story. / shall not at
tempt to explain it, Nor am going to
ask any one to believe 1t. l certainly do
not expect persons to believe what
would not believe myself had it been
told me instead Of having happened to
me. One thing occurred to me the mo-
ment l was conscious of having been
saved. / was seized with desire to
know whether had been saved by the
quick. or the dead.
joined a caravan passing through
the oasis northward of Tripoli. On
reaching there. after rest and having
satisfied myself that the escaped pris-
oner had hidden no longer occupied
either the popular or official mind, ]
went to the castle for any information
I might pick up. l interviewed those
IN charge as to what had become of