Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-09

and had TO ride on the baggage camelS. could
only attribute the trouble to rheumatism. and
my medical knowledge being extremely limited,
1 resorted to the use of that old army Standby,
IODINE / made them massage their legs with
it for half an hour Or more after we had halted,
and it so happened that the treatment proved
successful. / felt very hattered and my faith
in my skill in medicine was considerably en-
HANGED.
MAHOMED, q camel-man, possessed as his
A'A entire wardrobe thin vest and pair of
cotton shorts. Had the weather been hot he
would probably have had two or three times
as much, for the size Of natives wardrobe
varies in inverse ratio to the degree of heat.
The hotter it Is the more he wears; he argues
that the thicker the covering the more difacult
it Is for the rays Of the sun to penetrate.
This did not prevent him suffering severely
from the cold, and he was very glad Of the
addition of q blanket and an old suit Of white
mess-kit and pair of pajamas which raked
out from my own scanty wardrobe and pre-
sented to him.
had long since dispensed with the use of
pajamas-much too cold form OF attirel-
and undressing" at night merely consisted OF
removing my boots and belt.
The mess-kit and pajamaS Mahomed wore on
top OF his own apparel and, with large piece
Of cloth wrapped round his head. he looked an
altogether ludicrous sight. really think that
II q native possessed no more than one gar
ment he would bundle Il round his head, be-
cause his first thought Is to keep that portion
of his body warm. II he succeeds in so doing.
he fondly attempts to persuade himself that the
rest Of him Is also warm.
Monotonously the days passed until the sixth
one was commenced, with feeling Of thank
fulneas In the hearts of every one-thankfulness
that the dreary and perilous waste was behind
us and that by nightfal we should be safely
camped at KateIet water hole.
The whole day was spent in making our
way down . gently-sIoping. sandy gravel plain.
limited to the west by series Of low ridges
and to the east by scattered groups of hills
and dunes. The high formation which the
guide said marked the position of Katelet re-
solved itself into steep blur, and although
visible from the commencement Of the march,
never seemed to come any closer.
At about 2 pm. the first trouble occurred.
was walking on well ahead when Sakari, one
Of my native followers, overlook me with IN
formation that q camel had gone down ex-
hausted and could not be persuaded to move.
It was one Of the smaller animals, and had
shown signs Of distress the previous day, I'm
spite OF the fact that it had not been carrying
load for several days.
Just before sunset my own camel collapsed
In similar fashion. It was not strong, and for
that reason / had chosen to use it as q riding
camel IN preference to taking one Of the more
0S0SG8,
short periods that wanted to ride was less
exacting than bearing a heavy load al day.
The men, like the camels were worn out when
we pitched camp that night
woke the following morning to find every
thing, myself included, covered with q thin
layer Of sand. The wind. which, had gradually
risen during the night had worked itself up to
the velocity Of half q gale. and sleep had been
intermittent only. Every now and then was
compelled TO get up and readjust the water
proof sheet which formed my shelter, for the
strength of the gale was too much for the
rather crude support. and time and again ]
found Il lying nat on top Of me.
It was bitterly cold, and there was q thick
sand-hase all around. My little shelter was
always carefully erected with its only opening
to the leeward side, and served its purpose well
enough in the open desert. But now in hilly
country, the vagaries Of the gale seemed directed
against me personally; 1t seemed to take 9
fiendish delight in changing completely round
and blowing singing clouds Of sand all over me
THIS, must confess, was the only reason
why got up early. MY tent. which 50 faI
had hardly justified the trouble Of carrying
so much extra weight was now to come In
useful Inside, when we pitched it, it was pos
sible to get q little peace and to eat meal thai
did not include SO per cent OF sand.
Atahair, the guide, went on to md wateI
hole, the actual location Of which was no
particularly surprised to discover he was moi
sure Of, considering the long period which hac
elapsed since his last and only visit to thu
place when he had accompanied Capt. Angsa
Buchanan.
An hour or two had elapsed after his de
parture, when the nap OF my tent was thrown
open and six of the natives appeared huddiet
together outside. That something was wronI
was obvious. It is not difiicult to sense troubl
when you are in contact with natives. Tn
fact OF their appearance in q bunch and tn