We Continued Our Second Days Journey Like The First,
All Day And Night, From Sun-Rise To The Twenty-Second Hour Of The Day,
And This Was The Constant Regular Order.
Every eighth day they procure
water by digging the ground or sand, though sometimes we found wells and
cisterns.
Likewise after every eight day, they rest two days, that the
camels and horses may recover strength. Every camel bears an incredible
load, being equal to that Which is borne by two strong-mules.
[Footnote 36: The Emir Haji, or captain of the pilgrimage, which name of
office is transposed in the text to Haji-emir, corrupted _Agmir_, and
latinized Agmirus. - E.]
At every resting-place at the waters, they are always obliged to defend
themselves against vast numbers of Arabians, but these conflicts are
hardly ever attended with bloodshed, insomuch that though we often
fought with them, we had only one man slain during the whole journey,
these Arabians are so weak and cowardly that our threescore Mamelukes
have often driven 60,000 Arabians before them. Of these Mamelukes, I
have often seen wonderful instances of their expertness and activity. I
once saw a Mameluke place an apple on the head of his servant at the
distance of 12 or 14 paces, and strike it off from his head, another
while riding at full speed took the saddle from his horse, and carried
it some time on his head, and put it again on the horse without checking
his career.
At the end of twelve days journey we came to the valley of Sodom and
Gomorra, which we found, as is said in the holy scripture, to retain the
ruins of the destroyed city as a lasting memorial of God's wrath. I may
affirm that there are three cities, each situated on the declivity of
three separate hills, and the ruins do not seem above three or four
cubits high, among which is seen something like blood, or rather like
red wax mixed with earth. It is easy to believe that these people were
addicted to horrible vices, as testified by the barren, dry, filthy
unwholesome region, utterly destitute of water. These people were once
fed with manna sent from heaven, but abusing the gifts of God they were
utterly destroyed. Departing about twenty miles from this place, about
thirty of our company perished for want of water, and several others
were overwhelmed with sand. A little farther on we found water at the
foot of a little hill, and there halted. Early next morning there came
to us 24,000 Arabians, who demanded money from us in payment of the
water we had taken, and as we refused them any money, saying that the
water was the free gift of God to all, we came to blows. We gathered
ourselves together on the mountain as the safest place, using our camels
as a bulwark, all the merchants and their goods being placed in the
middle of the camels while we fought manfully on every side.
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