O ROUTE TO TIMBUCTOO.

which bk)ws ivom the west-north-west. To

alleviate the great drought which travellers feel

in the desert, they have recourse to melted

butter. °

After passing this desert of twenty days, they

enter a country which varies in its appearance,

particular spots being fertile ^ (called El Wah). Here they meet wdth sederah **, a kind of wild

myrtle, in great quantities. This plant is called by the natives, gylan : its height is about that

of a man ; the camels feed upon it. Between

these shrubs there is a very small quantity of

grass in particular spots. In this part of the

desert they meet with extensive strata of stones: though the surface is generally sand, yet at the depth of eight or ten inches, they meet with a

yellow or reddish earth ; and about four ieei

deeper, with another kind of earth of various

colours, but most commonly of a broAvnish cast;

about five or six feet under this they find water, which springs up very sjowly, and at the bottom

tion of this extraordinary wind, see Jackson*s Account

of the Empire of Marocco, &c. &c. 2d or 3d edition, page 283 and 284.

° This is old butter kept several years in a matamoi'e, or

subterraneous cavern. It is called by the Arabs of the de-

sert, bUdra ; and much virtue is ascribed to it when it has

attained a certain age : a small quantity swallowed, quickly

diffuses itself through the system.

P El Wah. For a full explanation of this terra, see

Jackson's Account of the Empire of Marocco, 3d edition,

p. 283.

^ Sederah, thorny shrubs of all kinds are so called.