T he extenfive, and very thick foreft, which had reached
without interruption all the way from Tcherkin, ended
her« at Imgellalib. The country is perfectly flat, and hath
very little water. The foreft, however, though thick, afforded
no fort o f ihade ; the hunters, for the fake o f their
iport, and the Arabs, for deftroying the flies, having fet fire
to all the dry grafs and Ihrubs, which, palling with
great rapidity, in the direftion o f the wood from eaft to«
weft, though it had not time enough to deftroy the trees,,
did yet wither, and occafion every leaf that was upon them
to fall, unlefs ip. thofe fpaces where villages had been, and,
where water was. In fuch fpots a number o f large fpread—
in g trees remained fu ll o f foliage, which, from their;
great height, and being cleared o f underwood, continued
in fu ll verdure, loaded with large, projeiting, and!
exuberant branches. But, even here, the'pleafure that their
ihade aflorded was- very temporary, fo as to allow us no.
time for enjoyment. The fun, fo near the zenith, changed;
his azimuth ib rapidly, that every few minutes I was obliged
to change the carpet on which I lay round the trunk,
o f the tree, to which I had fled for. fhelter-; and, though,
I lay down to fleep, perfectly ikreened by the trunk,,
or branches, I was prefently awakened by the violent rays,
o f a fcorching fun, the ihade having palled beyond m e f
and this was particularly incommodious, when the trees,,
under which we placed ourfelves, were o f the thorny kind,,
very common in thofe forefts. The thorns, being all Scattered
round the trunk upon the ground, made either ehan-
ging-place, or lying, equally u n e a fy ; fo that often, however
averfe we were to fatigue, w ith the effeits o f the
fimoom, we found, that, pitching the head o f our tent, and,
fotnetimes the whole o f it, was ahe only poflible means o f
fecu ring
Securing a'permanent proteilion from the fun s oppreflive
heat. In all other places, though we had travelled con-
ftantly in forefts, we never met with a tree that could ihade
us for a moment, the fire having deprived them o f alL their
Heaves.
________ —Late tibi gurgtte rupto
Ambitur nigris Meroe facunda colonis,
Leeta conns hebeni; qua quamms arborc mult&
Frondeat, ajiatm nuMJibi mitigat umbra,
Idnea tam reClum mundi ferit ilia teonemt
L u c a n ,
H a v in g refrefhed ourfelves for near two hours by the-
enjoyment o f this water at Imgellalib, and raked a fuflicient
quantity o f fand over the dead bodies o f our two companions,
from piety and decency rather than for ufe, we abandoned
them to the hyenas, who-had already fmelled the
mortality, and w ere coming, two and three together, at the
diftance o f a long fliot from the well where we were then-
drinking.; We fetrout at eleven, our road beingthro’ a very
extenfive p la in ; and, at two in the afternoon, we alighted
at another well, caHed-Garigana 4 the water was bad, and in
{inall quantity- In this plain is fituated the principal
village of. Atbara, called Teawa. The thermometer, flung,
under the camel, in the ihade o f the girba, o f water, h ad
yet, nev-erthelefs, varied w ithin thefe three hours from 111*
to ii9t.#
A t five o'clock we left Garigana, our journey being ftill
to the eaftward o f north; and, at a quarter paft fix in the evening,
a r r iv e d at th e village o f that name,whofe inhabitants had