CAMEL AND DROMEDARY. 191 



had hired an Ababde guide, who conducted them in 

 safety to that place, but who lost his way from thence 

 northward, the route being very unfrequented. After five 

 days' march in the mountains, their stock of water was 

 exhausted, nor did they know where they were. They re- 

 solved, therefore, to direct their course toward the setting 

 sun, hoping thus to reach the Nile. After two days' thirst, 

 fifteen slaves and one of the merchants died ; another of 

 them, an Ababde, who had ten camels with him, thinking 

 that the camels might know better than their masters 

 where water was to be found, desired his comrades to tie 

 him fast upon the saddle of his strongest camel, that he 

 might not fall down from weakness. And thus he parted 

 from them, permitting his camels to take their own way ; 

 but neither the man nor the camel were ever heard of 

 afterwards. On the eighth day after leaving Owareyk, the 

 survivors came in sight of the mountains of Shigre, which 

 they immediately recognised ; but their strength was 

 quite exhausted, and neither men nor beasts were able to 

 move any further. Lying down under a rock, they sent 

 two of their servants, with the two strongest remaining 

 camels, in search of water. Before these two men could 

 reach the mountain, one of them dropped off his camel, 

 deprived of speech, and able only to move his hands to 

 his comrade as a signal that he desired to be left to his 

 fate. The survivor then continued his roul^e ; "but such 

 was the effect of thirst upon him, that his eyes grew dim, 

 and he lost the road, though he had often travelled over it 

 before, and had been perfectly acquainted with it. Having 

 wandered about for a long time, he alighted under the 

 shade of a tree, and tied the camel to one of its branches. 

 The beast, however, smelt the water, (as the Arabs ex- 

 press it,) and, wearied as it was, broke its halter, and set 

 off galloping furiously, in the direction of the spring, which, 

 as it afterward appeared, was at half an hour's distance. 

 The man well understanding the camel's action, endea- 



