THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 567 
alone; but if you approach the camels or the baggage a- 
gain, the world will not be able to fave your life, and your 
blood be upon your own head.” Mahomet, Idris’s nephew, 
who heard me cry, came running up from the well to fee 
what was the matter. We went down together to where 
the camels were, and, upon examination, found that the 
links of one of the chains had been broke, but the opening 
not large enough to let the correfponding whole link 
through to feparate it. A hard blue ftone was driven 
through a link of one of the chains of another camel, and 
left flicking there, the chain not being entirely broken 
through; we faw, befides, the print of a man’s feet on the 
fand. There was noneed to tell us after this that we were 
not to fleep that night; we made therefore another fire 
on the other fide of the camels with branches of the aca- 
cia-tree, which we gathered. I then fent the man back to 
Idris at the well, defiring him to fill his {kins with water 
before it was light, and tranfport them to the baggage 
where I was, and to be all ready armed there by the dawn 
of day ; foon after which, if the Arabs were fufficiently 
ftrong, we were very certain they would attack us. This 
agreed perfectly with Idris’s ideas alfo, fo that, contenting 
themfelves with a leffer quantity of water than they firkt 
intended to have taken, they lifted the {kins upon the camels 
I fent them, and were at the rendezvous, near the baggage, 
a little after four in the morning. 
Tue Barbarins, and, in general, all the lower fort of Moors 
and Turks, adorn their arms and wrifts withamulets ; thefe 
are charms, and are fome favourite verfe of the Koran 
wrapt in paper, neatly covered with Turkey leather. The two 
Barbarins that were with me had procured for themfelves 
new 
