ON A WATERLESS WAY 143 



realised that we were camping at El Atash in the Zieghen 

 district, at least a day and a half to two days' journey 

 east of the elusive Taiserbo. I was delighted when I 

 understood this, for fate was obviously giving me a 

 chance of accomplishing my old desire for travelling to 

 Buseima by the uncharted route which had tempted me 

 at Jalo. 



I explained this to the retinue, and was met with 

 blank dismay. They wanted to go to Zieghen and then 

 safely by the caravan route to Kufara. They assured me 

 that Buseima was most dangerous, that a particularly 

 savage portion of the Zouia tribe dwelt there and attacked 

 every strange caravan at sight. I gathered that while 

 Kufara is a large and imposing group of oases round the 

 belad of the holy qubba, a big desert market and the 

 centre of the whole Sahara trade, besides being the head- 

 quarters of the Senussi Government and the sacred 

 headquarters of its religion, Buseima, although very 

 sparsely inhabited, is also to a minor extent a "business 

 centre," for caravans from Wadai and Jalo visit it. 

 There is no zawia there and no Government official. 

 The Zouias fiercely assert their independence and refuse 

 to admit the complete authority of the Sayeds in order 

 to avoid paying taxes in money, although they pay great 

 respect to the Senussi family and to their wishes. They 

 have never seen a soldier within their boundaries, and 

 on no account allow a stranger of any race or sect to 

 enter their country. 



"If they do not kill us in the oasis," said Yusuf dole- 

 fully, "they will lie in wait for us outside among the 

 dunes and murder us on our way to Kufara." I said that 

 I thought we could massacre a few Zouias first, but even 

 Mohammed was frightened. "It is a bad country," he 

 remarked. "Why did not Allah allow us to reach 

 Taiserbo in safety? There is a zawia there and I have 



