THE SHEIKH OF THE DESERT. 
445 
Korosko we came upon old red sandstone and conglo- 
merate as hard as flint. Our direction during six days 
had been mainly upon the pointers to the north star, 
when they are westerly and horizontal. The cry of 
the Sheikh to rouse us for the march from our com- 
fortable couches upon the desert sand, can never be 
forgotten; his "Abdil Ka-a-dr," repeated and repeated 
till he saw us up and saddling, was at the time pro- 
voking, but how very necessary with such a waterless 
country to pass over ! In my J ournal I have noted, 
with reference to the Sheikh and his followers, that 
we should never again meet their superiors for civil- 
ity, their unpresuming modest manner, their thorough 
knowledge of their work, and their willingness always 
to serve. They would assist our Seedees in conveying 
water during the march, picking up for them what- 
ever they let fall, packing and tying up our baggage, 
and never murmuring or begging. They left us smil- 
ing, satisfied with our treatment of them. 
The first indication of the Korosko habitations was 
the appearance of some date-palms, long -stemmed, 
like the wild date-tree of Uganda. As we emerged 
from the sandy wastes there was a general impression 
that the Nile was amongst the hills we saw; and the 
old Sheikh confirmed this by stating that shortly we 
should drink of the waters of the Nile. Bounding a 
hill, the scattered village of Korosko was full before 
us in the midst of an amphitheatre of hills, their fiery 
sides of sand nearly killing every living thing around 
them. There was, however, some shade by the river 
bank ; and we hired a diabeah, and a party of seven 
men to convey us to Shellal. It was a luxury to get 
rid of the camels — to experience any change — and 
