The
average duration of daily march has been upwards of thirteen
hours, including a day's halt at Moorahd. My camels have arrived
in tolerable condition, as their loads did not exceed 400 lbs.
each; the usual load is 500 lbs.
"May 24.--Rested both men and beasts. A caravan of about thirty
camels arrived, having lost three during the route.
"May 25.--Started at 5 A.M. The route is along the margin of the
Nile, to which the desert extends. A fringe of stunted bushes,
and groves of the coarse and inelegant dome palm, mark the banks
of the river by a thicket of about half a mile in width. I saw
many gazelles, and succeeded in stalking a fine buck, and killing
him with a rifle.
"May 26.--Marched ten hours. Saw gazelles, but so wild that it
was impossible to shoot. Thermometer 110 degrees Fahr.
"May 27.--Marched four hours and forty-five minutes, when we were
obliged to halt, as F. is very ill. In the evening I shot two
gazelles, which kept the party in meat.
"May 28.--Marched fifteen hours, to make up for the delay of
yesterday. Shot a buck on the route.
"May 29.--The march of yesterday cut off an angle of the river,
and we made a straight course through the desert, avoiding a bend
of the stream.
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