RAPID PROGRESS. 
45 
measured tread of tlie caravan, the occasional ^''Isa! 
Isa /" of tlie drivers, the hasty wrench with which our 
camels snatch a mouthful of some ligneous plant 
that clings to the stony soil, the creaking of the 
baggage, or the whistling of the wind that comes 
moanino- over the desert. These are trulv moments 
in a man's life to remember ; and I shall ever look 
back to that solemn night-marcli over the desert, 
which my pen fails to describe, with sentiments of 
pleasurable awe. 
This night we moved at comparatively a rapid 
pace — nearly three miles an hour ; for there was 
scarcely any temptation to the camels to linger for 
browsing purposes, and the drivers seemed des- 
perately anxious to get over as much ground as 
possible at once. At lirst all went well enough ; 
and now and then even, the blacks, who were on 
foot, braved the Haraadah with a lively difty — cele- 
brating some Lucy Long of Central Africa. But by 
degrees these merry sounds ceased to be heard ; and 
the hastily-moving crowd of the caravan insensibly 
stretched out into a longer line. The poor women 
were beginning to knock up, and several fell at times 
from mere exhaustion. We proceeded, however, 
without stopping, for eleven hours, and after a long, 
dreary night indeed, halted at five in the morning, 
having reached the encampment of our German 
friends. 
The dawn soon lighted up the waste, and 
enabled us to see that it was a level plain of hard 
