Chap. XLI. BEAUTIFUL VALE. 
89 
wilderness, and nothing particular to be seen, except- 
ing a party of five men watching our movements, and 
keeping parallel with us. We therefore returned to 
our troop and informed them of the circumstance ; 
and a body of horsemen were sent in pursuit. 
We then, about half an hour before noon, crossed 
another hollow or vale, called Towader, with the 
dry basin of a lake in its southernmost part, on whose 
border were several wells ; the ground was thickly 
overgrown with underwood. Continuing our march, 
we reached, after noon, a more extensive and ex- 
tremely beautiful vale, richly clothed with vegeta- 
tion, but not in so wild a state, and not of the same 
impenetrable character, as many of those which we 
had seen ; the reason seemed to be, that it was less 
deep, being only about 150 feet under the higher level. 
Here the troop halted during the heat of the day, the 
groups being scattered over the whole extent of the 
hollow ; but it was not a fit spot for a night's encamp- 
ment, as well on account of the wild beasts, as of the 
danger of a sudden attack from hostile men. Sweet as 
repose was here in the cool shade of a luxuriant serrakh 
or a kiirna, the ground was full of scorpions ; and my 
bodyguard, Bii-Zed, was severely stung by one. Ac- 
cordingly, when the dhohor had passed by, the order 
was given for decamping, and we kept along the vale 
and ascended the eastern slope, when, on an entirely 
open ground almost bare of trees, we chose a place 
for our night's encampment. The Arabs here brought 
us a young ostrich which they had caught in the 
