348 ' TRAVELS TO DISCOVER 
Tue extenfive, and very thick foreft, which had reached 
. without interruption all the way from Tcherkin, ended 
here at Imgellalib. The country is perfeétly flat, and hath 
very little water. The foreft, however, though thick, af- 
forded no fort of fhade; the hunters, for the fake of their 
fport, and the Arabs, for deftroying the flies, having fet fire 
to all the dry grafs and fhrubs, which, pafling with. 
great rapidity, in the direction of the wood from eaft to: 
weft, though it had not time enough to deftroy the trees,. 
did yet wither, and occafion every leaf that was upon them, 
to fall, unlefs in thofe fpaces where villages had been, and: 
where water was. In fuch fpots a number of large fpread-. 
ing trees remained full of foliage, which, from their: 
great height, and being cleared of underwood, con-. 
tinued in full verdure, loaded with large, projecting, andi. 
exuberant branches. But, even here, the pleafure that their 
fhade afforded was very temporary, fo as to allow us nos ~ 
time for enjoyment. The fun, fo near the zenith, changed: 
his azimuth fo rapidly, that every few minutes I was obli- 
ged to change the carpet on which I lay round the trunk: 
of the tree, to which I had fled for fhelter ; and, though» 
I lay down to fleep,. perfectly {kreened: by the trunk,, 
or branches, I was prefently awakened by the violent rays. 
of a fcorching fun, the fhade having paffed beyond me:; 
and this was particularly incommodious, when the trees,, 
under which we placed ourfelves, were of the thorny kind,. 
very common in thofe forefts. The thorns, being all fcat- 
tered round the trunk upon the ground, made either chan— 
ging-place, or lying, equally uneafy ; fo that often, how- 
ever averfe we were to fatigue, with the effects of the- 
fimoom, we found, that, pitching the head of our tent,andi  __ 
fometimes the whole of it, was the only poflible means of 
fecuring- 
