Not a little alarmed at this difcovery that the Arabs
were near us, we left Imhanzara at four o’clock in the even
in g o f the 21ft, our journey moftly N. W. ; at eight we loft
our way, and were obliged to halt in a wood. Here we
were terrified to find, that the water in our girbas was entirely
gone ; whether by evaporation o f the hot wind, or
otherwife, I know not ; but the ikin had the appearance o f
water in it, till its lightnefs in unloading difcovered the
contrary. Though all the people were fick, the terror o f
being without water gave us fomething like alacrity, and
defire to puih on. We fet out at eleven, but ftill wandered in
the wood till three o ’clock in the morning o f the 22d„
when we were obliged again to alight. I really then began
to thin k we were loft. I ordered the girbas to be examined
; a large one which we had filled at Raihid was entirely
empty ; and that one which we had partly filled at Imhanzara
on account o f the badnefs o f the water, had not much
more in it than what kept liquid the mud which had been
taken up with it. This, however, (bad as it was) was
greedily gu zzled up in a moment. The people who cond
u c ed the afies, feeing that' we had Ik ins to contain plenty
o f water for us, had omitted to fill the fmall goat-lkin
which each o f them carried. A général murmur o f fea r
and difcontent prevailed through our whole company; fo r
we could have no guefs at the nearnefs or fituation o f the
next well, as we had loft our road ; and fome o f the caravan
even pretended that we had palled it. Rut though
we had travelled thirteen hours, I cannot compute the
diftance to have been above fourteen miles.
T his day, being the fixth from Ras el Feel, at h a lf after
five in the morning, we fet off in great defpondency;
and,
and, upon the firft dawn o f day, I fet our route by the com-
pafs, and found it north and by eaft, or more eafterly. This
did not feem the probable road to Sennaar, after having
gone fo confiderably to the north-weft. But, before I could
make much reflection upon the obfervation, one o f the caravan
declared he knew the road, and that we had gone
very little out o f it, and were how proceeding ftraight to
the well. Accordingly, at h a lf paft nine, we reached it; it
is called Imgellalib *. There is great plenty, o f water, with
a leather-bucket, and a ftraw rope to draw it up, but it is
very ill-tailed. However, the fear o f dying with thirft, more
than having materially fuffered from it, made every one
prefs to dr ink; and the effecft o f this hurry was very foon
feen. Two Abyflinian Moors, a man and woman, died after
d r in k in g ; the man inftahtly, and the woman a few minutes
a fte r ; for my own part, though thirfty, I was fenfible I could
have held out a confiderable time without d a n g e r ; and,
indeed, I did not drink till I had walhed my head, face,
and neck all over. I then walhed my mouth and throat,
and, ha vin g cooled myfelf, and in great meafure afluaged
my thirft, I then drank till I was completely fatisfied, but
only by fmall draughts. I would have perfuaded all my
companions to do the fame, but I was not heard, and one
would have thought, like the camels, they had been drinking
once for many days to come. Yet none o f them h a d
. complained o f thirft till they heard the girbas were empty;
and it was not fixteen hours finoe they had drank at Imhanzara,
and but twelve fince the girbas were found to be
,dry, when we firft loft our way, and flopped in the wood.
X x 2 T he
* The word fignifies the W e ll o f Caravans : I fuppofe o f thofe which, like ours, bring
{alt into Atbara, for there is no other trade between the two nations.