30 SICKNESS AND DEATH IN CAMP.

admit of our pitching the tents : the tempest, if possible, in-

creased during the night.

Except that it was not so hot, it reminded me of my experi-

ence once in travelHng by rail from Suez to Cairo. Then a

violent rhamseen wind got up after we had started ; and,

although all the windows were kept closed, the sand on the

floor was over a quarter of an inch deep. Some of the car-

riages ran off the rails, owing to the driving sand ; and in some

places men had to go on ahead to sweep it off the rails, before

it was possible to proceed. The heat, too, was terrific, the

thermometer in the wind marking 113° F. The sun was, of

course, obscured by the sand which rattled against the carriage-

windows like hail. It is no joke to be living in tents in such a

tempest, and it must be undergone to be thoroughly understood

and appreciated.

There were a great many dhoum-'^2\m^ near our encampment

:

previously we had only found them in ones and twos. There

were, too, plenty of tamarisk-trees, which were here met with

for the first time, and which we were glad to see, as they are

a very favourite food of the camel.

We had to remain where we were the next day, as Jules was

not well enough to go on. George, too, was unwell, and lay

down all day in the tent ; and Suleiman, who was never ill,

complained that "his stomach bite him plenty." The storm

rather increased than decreased, as the day wore on ; and we had considerable difficulty in securing the tents. To add

to the general cheerfulness, a death took place in camp.

A day or two previously a small band of Takroori pilgrims,

returning from Mecca, had attached themselves to our caravan. The Takrooris came originally from Darfour. They have now,

however, settled in the neighbourhood of Gallabat, on the Abys-

sinian frontier ; and the Egyptian Government has given them