THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 563 



lars faced to the eaftward, and feemed to be coming direct- 

 ly upon us ; but, though they were little nearer us than 

 two miles, a confiderable quantity of fand fell round us. 

 I began now to be fomewhat reconciled to this plijenome- 

 non, feeing it had hitherto done us no harm. The great 

 magnificence it exhibited in its appearance, feemed, in fome 

 aneafure, to indemnify us for the panic it had firfl occafion- 

 cd : But it was otherwife with the fimoom ; we all of us 

 were firmly perfuaded that another pafTage of the purple 

 meteor qvcf us would be attended with our deaths. 



At half pall four we alighted in a vaft plain, bounded on 

 isdl fides by low fandy hills, which feemed to have been tranf- 

 ported hither lately. Thefe hillocks were from feven to 

 ■thirteen feet high, drawn into perfed cones, with very fliarp 

 •points and well-proportioned bafes. The fand was of an 

 incorxceivable finenefs, having been the fportT)f hot winds 

 for thoufands of years. There could be no doubt that the 

 day before, when it was calm, and we fuflered fo mucli 

 "by the fimoom between El Mout and Chiggre, the wind 

 had beenraifing pillars of fand in this place, called Umdoom; 

 marks of the v/hirling motion of the pillars were dilHndly 

 feen in every heap, fo that here again, while vv^e were re- 

 pining at the fimoom, Providence was bufied keeping us out 

 of the way of another fccne, where, if we had advanced a 

 day, we had all of us been involved in inevitable dcftruc- 

 tion. 



On the r8th we left Umdoom at fcven in the morning, 

 -our diredion N. a little inclined to \V. ; at nine o'clock 

 we pafTed through a fandy plain, without trees or ver- 

 dure. About 300 yards out of our way, to the left, among 



4 13 2 fome 



