Half the day was, however,- spent in sending backwards and forwards
and still we could get no camels, Abou-Bukra himself making
a thousand professions of his readiness to oblige us on all occasions,
but giving us no proofs of it whatever, I t required very little penetration
to discover that this was evidently a concerted manoeuvre;
and that Bey Halil was either unable to make any satisfactory
arrangement for us, or was himself a party in the plan. Abou Bukra
was certainly the principal agent in the affair, and the whole plot
was doubtless got up by hinl. He had mentioned no difficulties of
the kind at Ptolemeta, because the camel-drivers of Bengazi would
have offered to proceed with us to Cyrene, had he declined supplying
us on reasonable terms. The eighty dollars required by all the
Bedouin Shekhs was the sum which he wished to extract from us,
and the circumstance of the whole assembly being unanimous in the
demand was intended to be a proof of its fairness, he himself having
made no offer whatever, on the plea of not having camels enough at.
his disposal. Bey Halil very probably did not wish to interfere in
preventing his Arab friend from making what profit he could of us
(such an act being considered by Mahometans in general as extremely
unbrotherly, and not by any means called for); and with regard to
the Arabs, they willingly lend their services to one another on all
occasions of a similar nature*.
Finding the chances against us on this tack, we determined to try
* One of the reasons alleged for putting so high a . price upon the camels was the
probability of their eating t i e silphium which grows in the country we were about to
yisit, and which has sometimes very fatal effects upon them.
another ; there being no end to Arab extortion when you have once
given them reason to suppose that you will submit to it. We accordingly
arranged that two of our party should set out with all speed
for Derna, to request Mahommed Bey would furnish us with camels,
which we knew he would immediately do. This manoeuvre succeeded,
as we expected it would, in bringing about a favourable
change; but we had determined, in the event of being obliged to
put the threat in execution, to transport a tent and some provisions
to Ptolemeta, on the horses, where our time would be employed to
advantage till the camels from Derna arrived; and, as the distance
from Merge to Ptolemeta was only a few hours, and the road could
not be mistaken, this plan would have been easily effected.
Abou-Bukra, however; no sooner perceived that we were in
earnest, than he offered to supply us himself with camels at a price
of forty dollars ; butas thirty was the sum we had ourselves proposed,
We declared that we would not make any other alteration in
it than by meeting him half way in his demand ; and as he had
begun to suspect that we kept to our word he made no further
difficulty in the matter, and agreed to bring his camels at thirty-
five. This he accordingly did, and Shekh Hadood not having yet
arrived we quitted Merge the, next day, under convoy of Abou-
Bukra and our Bengazi Chaous, Babdi, who had now recovered from
his illness, and joined us to resume his office.
During the time of our stay at Merge, we received a present of
séveral sheep from Bey Halil, for which we made a suitable return to
the Chaous who brought them, and took the opportunity of sending