ts of the desert, in the land of Iritit, among the blacks
of the land of Maza, among the blacks of the land of Amamit, among the
blacks of the land of Uauait, among the blacks of the land of Kaau,
among the blacks of To-Tamu, and his Majesty sent me at the head of this
army. It is true, there were chiefs there, there were mamelukes of the
king there, there were sole friends of the Great House there, there
were princes and governors of castles from the south and from the north,
'gilded friends,' directors of the prophets from the south and the
north, directors of districts at the head of troops from the south and
the north, of castles and towns that each one ruled, and also blacks
from the regions which I have mentioned, but it was I who gave them
their orders--although my post was only that of superintendent of the
irrigated lands of Pharaoh,--so much so that every one of them obeyed
me like the others." It was not without much difficulty that he brought
this motley crowd into order, equipped them, and supplied them with
rations. At length he succeeded in arranging everything satisfactorily;
by dint of patience and perseverance, "each one took his biscuit and
sandals for the march, and each one of them took bread from the towns,
and each one of them took goats from the peasants." He collected his
forces on the frontier of the Delta, in the "Isle of the North," between
the "Gate of Imhotpu" and the "Tell of Horu nib-mait," and set out into
the desert. He advanced, probably by Gebel Magharah and Gebel Helal,
as far as Wady-el-Arish, into the rich and populous country which lay
between the southern slopes of Gebel Tih and the south of the Dead Sea:
once there he acted with all the rigour permitted by the articles of
war, and paid back with interest the ill usage which the Bedouin had
inflicted on Egypt. "This army came in peace, it completely destroyed
the country of the Lords of the Sands. This army came in peace, it
pulverized the country of the Lords of the Sands. This army came in
peace, it demolished their 'douars.' This army came in peace, it cut
down their fig trees and their vines. This army came in peace, it burnt
the houses of all their people. This army came in peace, it slaughtered
their troops to the numbers of many myriads. This army came in peace, it
brought back great numbers of their people as living captives, for which
thing his Majesty praised me more than for aught else."* As a matter of
fact, these poor