hole
of the way, and the country was not unlike some of the heaths in
England. A herd of more than a hundred gazelles crossed them towards
the evening, and the footmarks of the ostrich, and some of its
feathers, were discovered by the Arabs. The spot where they halted
was called Geogo Balwy.

Early on the following morning, they made Beere-Kashifery, and soon
afterwards Mina Tahr, (the black bird,) the sheik of the Gunda
Tibboos, attended by three of his followers, approached the camp.
Beere-Kashifery lay within his territories, and no kafilas pass
without paying tribute, which, as he is absolute, sometimes amounts
to half what they possess. In the present case, the visit was one of
respect. Boo Khaloom received him in his tent, and clothed him in a
scarlet bornouse of coarse cloth, and a tawdry silk caftan, which was
considered as a superb present. The Tibboos are smart active fellows,
mounted on small horses of great swiftness; their saddles are of
wood, small and light, open along the bone of the back; the pieces of
wood, of which they are composed, are lashed together with thongs of
hide; the stuffing is camels' hair, wound and plaited so as to be a
perfect guard; the girths and stirrup-leathers are also of plaited
thongs, and the stirrups themselves of iron, very small and light;
into these, four toes only are thrust, the great toe being left to
take its chance. They mount quickly, in half the time an Arab does,
by the assistance of a spear, which they place in the ground, at the
same time the left foot is planted in the stirrup, and thus they
spring into the saddle.

Their camels had not finished drinking until the sun was full six
fathoms high, as the Arabs term it; and as the expedition was in want
of fresh meat, and indeed of every thing, Mina Tahr proposed that
they should go to a well nearer his people, which, he assured them,
was never yet shown to an Arab.

On the 29th January, therefore, they moved on, accompanied by the
Tibboos; and after travelling about ten miles, they came to the well
of Duggesheinga. This was a retired spot, undiscoverable from the
ordinary route of travellers, being completely hidden from it by
rising sand-hills. Here the Tibboos left them, promising to return
early on the following day, with sheep, an ox, honey, and fat. This
was joyful news to persons who had not tasted fresh animal food for
fourteen or fifteen days, with the exception of a little camel's
flesh.

On the foll