My Arab Camel-Men
Were Supposed To Be Provided With Their Own Private Supply; But,
As They Had Calculated Upon Stealing From My Stock, In Which They
Were Disappointed, They Were On Exceedingly Short Allowance, And
Were Suffering Much From Thirst.
During our forced march of three
days and a half it had been impossible to perform the usual
toilette, therefore, as water was life, washing had been out of
the question.
Moorahd had been looked forward to as the spot of
six hours' rest, where we could indulge in the luxury of a bath
on a limited scale after the heat and fatigue of the journey.
Accordingly, about two quarts of water were measured into a large
Turkish copper basin; the tent, although the heat was
unendurable, was the only dressing-room, and the two quarts of
water, with a due proportion of soap, having washed two people,
was about to be thrown away, when the Arab guide, who had been
waiting his opportunity, snatched the basin from the servant, and
in the agony of thirst drank nearly the whole of its contents,
handing the residue to a brother Arab, with the hearty
ejaculation, "El hambd el Illah!" (Thank God!)
My wife was seriously ill from the fatigue and intense heat, but
there can be no halt in the desert; dead or alive, with the
caravan you must travel, as the party depends upon the supply of
water. A few extracts verbatim from my journal will describe the
journey:--
"May 2O.--Started at 12.30 P.M. and halted at 6.30.
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