We Came Upon
A Herd Of Small Deer, Called Ebba, Which Are A Little Larger Than The
Gazelle, But They Soon Bounded Beyond Our Pursuit, Leaving Us Scarcely
Time To Admire Their Delicate Make And Unapproachable Speed.
We crossed a range of hills into another plain, at the extremity of
which lies Ghafsa.
The surface was naked, with the exception of tufts of
strong, rushy grass, almost a sure indication of hares, and of which we
started a great number. We saw another description of bird, called
rhaad, [36] with white wings, which flew like a pigeon, but more
swiftly. Near our tract were the remains of a large tank of ancient
Roman construction. The Bey shot a fox. Marched fourteen or fifteen
miles to Zwaneah, which means "little garden," though there is no sign
of such thing, unless it be the few oranges, dates, and pomegranates
which they find here. We had water from a tank of modern construction;
some remains were close to the camp, the ancient cistern and stone duct
leading from the hills. We had two thousand camels with the camp and
following it, for which not a single atom of provender is carried, the
camels subsisting scantily upon the coarse grass, weeds or thorns, which
the soil barely affords. The camel is very fond of sharp, prickly
thorns. You look upon the animal, with its apparently most tender mouth,
chopping the sharpest thorns it can find, full of amazement! Some of the
chiefs who have lately joined us, have brought their wives with them,
riding on camels in a sort of palanquin or shut-up machine. These
palanquins have a kind of mast and shrouds, from which a bell is slung,
tinkling with the swinging motion of the camel. This rude contrivance
makes the camel more than ever "the ship of the Desert." Several fine
horses were brought in as presents to the Bey, one a very fine mare.
Our next march was towards Ghafsa, about twenty miles off. We were
joined by a considerable number of fresh Arabs, who "played at powder,"
and kept firing and galloping before the Bey the whole day; some of them
managed themselves and their arms and horses with great address,
balancing the firelock on their heads, firing it, twisting it round,
throwing it into the air, and catching it again, and all without once
losing the command of their horses. An accident happened amidst the fun;
two of the parties came in contact, and one of them received a dreadful
gash on the forehead. The dresses of some of them were very rich, and
looked very graceful on horseback. A ride over sand-hills brought us in
view of the town, embedded in olive and date-trees, looking fresh and
green after our hot and dusty march; it lay stretched at the foot of a
range of hills, which formed the boundaries of another extensive plain.
We halted at Ghafsa, [37] which is almost a mass of rubbish filled with
dirty people, although there are plenty of springs about, principally
hot and mineral waters.
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