214 
From this moment others of my caravan began to drop 
successively, and there was no possibility of giving them 
any assistance; they were abandoned to their unhappy 
destiny, as every one thought only of saving himself,, 
Several mules with their burdens were left behind, and 
I found on my way two of my trunks on the ground, 
without knowing what was become of the mules which 
had been carrying them, the drivers had forsaken them 
as well as the care of my effects and of my instruments. 
I looked upon this loss with the greatest indifference 
as if they had not belonged to me, and pushed on. But 
my horse began now to tremble under me, and yet he 
was the strongest of the whole caravan. We proceed- 
ed in silent despair. When I endeavoured to encour- 
age any of them to increase his pace, he answered me 
by looking steadily at me, and by putting his forefinger 
to his mouth to indicate the great thirst by which he 
was affected. As I was reproaching our conducting 
officers for their inattention which had occasioned this 
want of water, they excused themselves from the mu- 
tiny of the oudaias; and besides, added they, " do we 
not suffer like the rest?" Our fate was the more shock- 
ing, as every one of us was sensible of the impos- 
sibility of supporting the fatigue to the place where 
we were to meet with water again. At last, at about 
four in the evening I had my turn, and fell down with 
thirst and fatigue. 
Extended without consciousness, on the ground in the 
middle of the desert; left only with four or five men, one 
of whom had dropped at the same moment with my- 
self, and all without any means of assisting me, because 
