26 TRAVELS IN AFRICA, 
flieets of pafte, fried in the oil of the palm tree, rice, milk, 
dates, &c. They drink in great quantities the liquor extracted 
from the date tree, which they term date-tree water, though it 
have often, in the ftate they drink it, the power of inebriating. 
Their domeftic animals are, the hairy flieep and goat of Egypt, 
the afs, and a very fmail number of oxen and camels. The 
women are veiled, as in Egypt. After the rains the ground in 
the neighbourhood of Siwa is covered with fait for many 
weeks. 
Having left our temporary refidence, we proceeded, myfelf 
and my interpreter on horfeback, our original conductor on 
foot, and the two men we had hired each on an afs : but we 
had not gone far, before one of the latter told us that it would 
be necelTary to return, as the people of the town were in pur- 
fuit of us, and would not permit us to go and difinter the trea- 
fures of Arafchie. 
■ We neverthelefs continued our journey for two days, with- 
out any particular moleftation ; in conftant alarm indeed, from 
the pretended vicinity of hoftile tribes, but without actually 
feeing any. At the end of that time we arrived at the place 
defcribed to us. It is not far from the plain of Gegabib *. I 
found it an ifland, in the middle of a fmall lake of fait water, 
which contained misfhapen rocks in abundance, but nothing 
that I could pofitively decide to be ruins ; nor indeed was it 
very likely that any fuch fhould be found there, the fpot being 
entirely deftitute of trees and frefh water. Yet I had the 
* See Major Rennel's map. 
curiofity 
