Vietnam or Thailand ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Updated: September 18, 2025
Rose early to pack up, and pay take-leave visits. Weather is mild; the caravan will move slowly on account of the slaves; the journey is short; the route is safe; all things promise a favourable end of my Saharan tour. The mind looks with regret upon leaving places become familiar, but rises buoyant at the thought of seeing new sights and scenes. Called upon the Governor to bid him adieu.
But, in presenting this work to the British public, I have to state, that it is only supplementary and fragmentary. If, therefore, any one were to judge of the results of my Saharan Tour merely by what is here given, he would do me a great injustice.
Amongst ourselves, we Englishmen, have in all our great cities, the frightful excrescences of crime, too frightful for the pure and simple-minded Saharan tribes to look upon. Our common habits of intoxication and intemperance, and the intoxication of our women, would make the Desert man or woman shrink away from us with horror.
But some of them had been obliged to go a day's journey to purchase a few things. The ghafalah had, in fact, been scattered all over The Mountains. A few never left Yefran. This was my first taste of delay in Saharan travel. We began our four days' journey in the evening, and continued all night up to two hours before sunrise. The camels then rested but were not unpacked.
Afternoon, came in sight of the other chain of black, or, as sometimes designated, Soudan mountains, stretching boundlessly north and south, like those near Ghat. This chain likewise extends to the Tibboo country. It is an error of some of the late French writers, to make the Saharan ranges always run east and west. This direction of development only applies to the Atlas ranges of the Coast.
We directed all our energies to the creation of artificial wants in that previously happy and contented community, and flooded the whole adjacent country with articles that were of no more use to the poor natives than ice-boats and mouse-traps would be to the Tuaregs of the Saharan desert. In short, we dispensed the blessings of civilisation with a free hand.
The noise of the gun broke through the painful silence of The Desert, and came finely back reverberating from the Saharan hills with double and treble discharges of sound. When their powder began to be exhausted, and they have never more than half-a-dozen charges, they sang their plaintive love ditties, or chatted to the merchants.
My old broken white umbrella attracts some attention amongst the Kailouees. They all make a trial of it. Strong umbrellas would be very useful during the hot summer months for all Saharan travellers. I to-day asked the son of Shafou how his father liked the sword. An unfortunate question.
The advanced party excused themselves for not letting me go with them, by saying, "We are going amongst the Touaricks our friends for a few days, and you will arrive first." I mentioned this to our party, who say, "They're liars. Are you so foolish, Yâkob, as to believe every thing a Mussulman tells you?" 12th. Rose and started with the earliest rays of the Saharan sun.
To the south we saw the date-palms of Berkat. To the east, is the black range of mountains, throwing sombre shadows upon the scattered sand-hills, which lie like shining heaps of silver at their base. This range is higher than the average height of Saharan mountains.
Word Of The Day
Others Looking