Monday, 21st February. Thermometers'5.—At 7. 15. setoff. At nine, passed the eastern Gaaf, and at ten the western. .11. 20. rose gradually to the beginning of Soudah. I walked, and my two camels were made use of by some of the poor fatigued Negresses, who were ready enough to mount them. We passed over a plain of white shining stones, called El* Maytba Bay da and then over a black one called El Maytba Soudah ajjAAx*!!, which is covered with large detached black masses of basalt. A t 2. 15. descended to a long wadey, having a few Talhh trees ¿It, and running north and south, called Temesheen A t four passed this, and ascended with difficulty to another mountain top. A t five we descended by an equally dangerous track to a narrow wadey, called Finger y jj , where, as the slaves were very much exhausted, we lay for the night. My own Maherry had fallen very lame this day in consequence of the sharpness of the rocks we passed over; I therefore lightened his load, and allowed no one to mount him. A remarkably high and black mountain, called Kohol or black, bore north-west about ten miles. We had proceeded this day north 35° east, SO miles. Tuesday, February 22nd.—At 7. 20. went on. Thermometer 5°. A very fine morning. A t noon we passed over a wadey, called Zayra M with many shruhs in it, on which a few poor shepherds from Sockna were feeding their flocks. From 2. to 2. 50. passed over a mountain top, called Dahr t’moumen j w M l i fl or “ the Believer’s back.” At 5 stopped on a wadey, having travelled north 35°, east 14 miles. We were every evening much amused by a little Tibboo boy, called Moosa, about five years of age, whose master was always in the Kaffl6 next to us. This child had picked up a few words of Arabic, and spoke very prettily. The chief amusement of his master, and the Arabs who were with him, was to make Moosa dance, and then fight another boy of double his age. Whilst sitting opposite to each other by the fire, their masters made them fight with lighted sticks. Moosa, who always was the first to be enraged, began to call the other boy an infidel, to curse his father, and to use many other equally insulting speeches, which the Arabs taught him. The elder boy, provoked in his turn, then rose to revenge himself, when the little fellow darted at his legs, and by biting them unmercifully, was always sure of gaining the victory. The Moors never took the trouble of collecting wood for their fires, but waited until every Kaffle had supplied itself, when they sent Moosa to steal what he could. Owing to his small size, he succeeded in these pilferings, to my great amusement, for I found that though he stole from every one else, he never robbed me, but even supplied me when I was in want of fuel. He was repeatedly offered to me as a present by his master, and I have since been sorry I refused him: he was jet black, and extremely pretty. In all the difficult passes he rode on my right knee, telling me the way m : which he was caught, and many long stories besides. I f his master’s camels or mine chanced to stray, he would arm himself with a stick and go in search of them, nor would he give up the chase till he had driven them back; he was indeed a most engaging child, and I became very fond of him. Wednesday, 23rd February. Thermometer 4°.—A t seven the camels took the road by a wadey to the left, whilst I and the slaves went over an almost inaccessible mountain, called Nufdai ^¿iy, which brought us to the well at its foot, called Gutfa UI3, about three miles distant from our last sleeping place.; the water here is very good. We stopped an hour at the well to water and refresh the slaves and animals, and then wound along a wadey having many small Talhh trees in it, until we had made about six miles northeast, the mountains opening out on the left. Old Baba Hassein, the Turk of whom I have made mention as
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