252 CURIOUS SCENE — APATHETIC PEOPLE. 
whirling' in amongst us. I called out to Yusuf 
to select some high ground at once, to which our 
goods might be conveyed. He calmly replied, 
" The people still stay where they are ;" implying 
that there was no danger, that the inundation 
would subside like the former one, and that we 
should escape with a wetting. Not so, however. 
All the low parts of the valley were already covered 
with a turbid stream, that broke fiercely round the 
trunks of the trees; and at length the mounting 
tide threatened our tent. Yusuf then made a little 
child's dam around, as if in sport; but in a few 
minutes this was swept away, and we found our- 
selves standing in the water. 
It was now absolutely necessary to move ; and 
our people, who seemed until then to have been 
paralysed by the humidity, as we in northern cli- 
mates sometimes are with cold, began to bestir 
themselves, and to transfer our tents and baggage 
to a piece of ground which rose considerably above 
the level of the valley, and was surrounded with 
rushing waters. The remainder of the caravan 
imitated us, and we soon saw them all occupying 
the summits of little islands, whither the camels, 
at least such as did not instinctively take refuge 
there themselves, were also driven. This was a 
good opportunity of seeing a specimen of African 
character. The Kailouees made no preparation for 
the deluge until the last moment, and then seemed 
absolutely to make the worst possible. They rolled 
