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The next morning there was a general meeting of the Sheikhs and people of the town in our apartments; and from the turn affairs began to take, we found it necessary to despatch a courier to Aroukeen, to beg the Tanelkums to wait a few days for us at that place. During the meeting began the first prevarication of the Tuaricks.
We parted with them this morning. They take some loads of dates for us, and have gone to Aroukeen, where they will wait for us six days, and then leave us; that is, if we do not come up. They will be twelve days, they say, on their journey. We go by a different route to Ghât, and shall see but not enter Serdalous.
No doubt it is fashionable in Ghât land to be "out of town" at this season of the year. Our Kailouees have determined to take another and more direct road, avoiding Aroukeen and the Azgher Tuaricks in its neighbourhood. Waled Shafou says, he shall fall in with us somewhere about Falezlez; but this seems somewhat doubtful.
We have at length heard what appears to be a fair account of the rumour respecting that terrible Sidi Jafel. He did leave Janet as if bound for Tajetterat; but it was for the purpose of giving his camels a feeding of herbage in that direction. He took his family and tents with him, and has been seen with his son by the huntsman of Wady Aroukeen.
However, it will remain true, no doubt, that south of Ghât the influence of Soudan will be far more sensibly marked than on the other side. The son of Shafou, Mahommed Wataitee, who seems to have made up his mind to shirk the journey to Aheer, left us this morning to go to Aroukeen and meet his father, who is encamped with his flocks and dependants around that well.
They brought the news that the Tanelkums were a day only in advance, having halted to take up water at Aroukeen, where they dug again the old well which had been blocked with stones. This caravan informed us, besides, that the body of the large caravan was resting at the well of Tajetterat. They had seen no Tuaricks. We begin to hope that we have been disturbed by false alarms.
We moved on late this morning up Wady Aroukeen, one hour and a-half, to a place where we have better feeding for the camels; but it was scarcely worth the trouble of loading and unloading, as the animals could have been led up here to this portion of the wady. Wady Aroukeen is in every respect a desirable place for the resting-place of a caravan.
When people separate in the desert they must not calculate on meeting again in a hurry. We parted about three hours from the water of Akourou, the road to Aroukeen branching off there. He took the easterly route and we the westerly, and we were soon out of sight. Our way still lay through desert-hills, but with vegetation frequently.
In Wady Aroukeen there are some of the finest tholukhs I have seen, reaching the height of thirty or forty feet. There are, besides, two new species of trees, the adwa of Soudan, called, in Aheer, aborah: they have not been observed before, and are natives of Bornou. Their general aspect resembles the tholukh, but they have large prickles and a smooth roundish leaf.
It is necessary to be cautious about indulging in unaccustomed food. Still this meat is far superior to camels' flesh. 9th. We rose, and, with our accustomed regularity, started before daybreak in search of water, for the Kailouees are without this element essential to life in the desert. Having continued about six hours and a-half, we encamped in Wady Aroukeen.
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