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. Off again at
7.30 P.M. till 2.45 A.M. About four miles from Moorahd, grey
granite takes the place of the volcanic slag and schist that
formed the rocks to that point. The desert is now a vast plain,
bounded by a range of rugged hills on the south. On the north
side of Moorahd, at a distance of above eight miles, slate is met
with; this continues for about three miles of the route, but it
is of impure quality, with the exception of one vein, of a
beautiful blue colour.
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