‘A JOURNEY IN THE EAST’ 349 
mountains of the Dead Sea one after another, all taking their 
daily route to Jerusalem with perfect punctuality. They did 
not deign to look at our kid, and only a couple of Ravens 
and an Egyptian Vulture cruised round it, but without 
settling. 
The heat was terrific, there was not a breath of air or the 
smallest cloud in the dark blue sky, so when an hour had 
gone by we left this unfavourable spot and walked down to 
the bottom of the valley, taking with us the kid, which we 
intended to expose next day. The lower we went the heavier 
and the more oppressive became the air, and as a first greeting 
from the Dead Sea and the Jordan valley there came up from 
the side valley a leaden atmosphere, which we learned to dread 
during the subsequent days. 
We soon got to the tents, which were now all pitched. It 
was quite a little town, and this otherwise desolate region was 
now a scene of the greatest activity. 
The two Arab sportsmen, who had followed the caravan 
from Latrun, shooting by the way, now appeared richly laden 
with spoils for the larder. Besides a number of Red-legs 
they had also brought some of the little Hey’s Partridges, for 
we had now, for the first time, got within the range of these 
beautiful birds. The Arabs, who, with their defective weapons, 
can only shoot sitting, stalk the partridges by concealing 
themselves behind a brown-and-yellow screen extended by 
sugar-canes, and furnished with two holes for the eyes and 
one for the gun. The stupid birds see no one, and keep 
staring at the moving screen until the fatal shot is fired 
from it. 
We lunched as soon as we arrived, while our Oriental 
servants prepared the camping-ground for the night with 
much dexterity. Hvery stone had to be lifted and all the 
grass well searched, for the place was infested with large 
