THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 



339 



of the largefl kind, moflly males ; fo that the Arabs make 

 this a favourite ftarion, after the grafs is burnt, efpeciully 

 the young part of them, who are hunters. 



We reached Imferrha at half paft eleven, the water 

 being about half a mile diftant to the S. W. The wells 

 are fituated upon a fmall ridge that runs nearly eafl and 

 weft. At one extremity of this is a fmall-pointed mountain, 

 upon which was formerly a village belonging to the Arabs, 

 called Jehaina, now totally deftroyed by the hunting parties 

 of the Daveina, the great tyrants of this country, who, to- 

 gether with the fcarcity of water, are the principal caufes 

 that this whole territory is defolate. For though the foil 

 is fandy and improper for agriculture, yet it is thickly over- 

 grown with trees ; and were the places where water is^ 

 found fufficiently ftocked with inhabitants, great numbers 

 of cattle might be paftured here, every fpecies of which 

 live upon the leaves and the young branches of trees, evea 

 on fpots where grafs is abundant. 



On the 20th, at fix o'clock in the morning we fet out 

 from Imferrha, and in two hours arrived at Ralliid, where 

 we were furpriied to fee the branches of the Ihrubs and 

 buflies all covered with a fliell of that fpecies of univalve 

 called Turbines, white and red ; fome of them from three 

 to four inches l<mg, and not to be dillinguiflied by the niceft 

 eye from thofe fea-ihclls, of the fame fpecies, which are 

 brought in great quantities from the Weft India iflands, 

 efpecially St Domingo. 



How thefe came firft in a fandy defert fo far from the 

 fea is a difquifition I fliall not now enter into. There are 



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