Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - IX.—In the Heart of the Desert-Ocean
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
THE HEART OF THE DESERT-OCEAN. 103
it with the greatest care. Our camels, too, had sometimes
to go hungry ; we had nothing better to give them when we
stopped than the straw stuffing of one or the other pack-
saddle.
The 27th December brought me a great and glad sur-
prise. As usual I was leading the way on foot, the caravan
following in a long string behind. Upon reaching the
summit of a high dune, I stopped to consider seriously the
situation, and began to search the desert with a telescope.
Away in the south my eye fell upon a hayir that presented
an unexpected appearance ; it was sprinkled with black
dots. Down I hurried, and to my growing amazement I
found that the black dots were wind-driven kamish leaves,
and amongst them were signs of a small rodent no bigger
than a rat. Advancing a little farther, I discovered to my
great delight that there was kamish, dry it is true, but
nevertheless kamish, and it was growing in thin clumps.
When at length the caravan caught me up, the men
were as jubilant as if it was the gates of Paradise they beheld
opening before them. The camels dilated their nostrils,
sniffing food ; and in truth it was a discovery as welcome
as it was unexpected. Indeed, it inspired in us the hope
that we should get out of that dread desert without losing
our lives. Yes, grazing in the middle of the sandy desert,
over 80 miles from the nearest water !
We encamped and turned the animals loose ; then,
gathering up the kamish by the armful, we made a rousing
fire. That evening each camel was allowed 6|- gallons of
water to drink. The bucket was emptied in a couple of
greedy mouthfuls. This made our loads of ice very appre-
ciably lighter ; but the presence of this vegetation led us to
hope that the ground water could not be very far down.
We spent the whole of the afternoon melting ice for the
camels. Then the storm-clouds began to separate ; on
the upper side they were a greyish violet, with an edge of
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
