The Springs On The Road Are: El Ghadyan (Arabic), El Ghammer (Arabic), And Weyba (Arabic).] Is Several Hours In Extent; Its Bottom Is Full Of Gravel.

We met with a few families of Arabs Heywat (Arabic), who had chosen this place, that their camels might feed upon the thorny branches of the gum arabic tree, of which they are extremely fond.

These poor people had no tents with them; and their only shelter from the burning rays of the sun, and the heavy dews of night, were the scanty branches of the Talh trees. The ground was covered with the large thorns of these trees, which are a great annoyance to the Bedouins and their cattle. Each Bedouin carries in his girdle a pair of small pincers, to extract the thorns from his feet, for they have no shoes, and use only a sort of sandal made of a piece of camel’s skin, tied on with leathern thongs. In the summer they collect the gum arabic (Arabic), which they sell at Cairo for thirty and forty patacks the camel load, or about twelve or fifteen shillings per cwt. English; but the gum is of a very inferior quality to that of Sennaar. My companions eat up all the small pieces that had been left upon the trees by the road side. I found it to be quite tasteless, but I was assured that it was very nutritive.

We breakfasted with the Arabs Heywat, and our people were extremely angry, and even insolent, at not having been treated with a roasted lamb, according to the promise of the Sheikh, who had invited us to alight.

Enter page number Go  Previous Next
Page 566 of 870
Words from 153706 to 153980 of 236498