amongst the Arabs of the Great African Desert. 
district. Here they remained two or three months without any 
thing remarkable occurring, until the trees began to lose their 
leaves, all the vegetables withered, and the ground dried up, 
when the whole caravan set out direct for El Ghiblali. 
For a week or two they went over hard ground, and then 
came to sandy valleys, quite barren, and without any vegetable 
on them, except the palm-like tree El Myrreh before noticed. 
In little more than a week they got over this sandy district, and 
in about another week again arrived at El Ghiblah, but not in 
the exact spot from which they had taken their departure. 
They pitched their tents, however, by some wells, and seem- 
ed to consider themselves at home.*^ They always avoided going 
too far to the northward, for fear of being taken by the “ Moors^'"' 
or . subjects of the Emperor of Morocco, between whom and 
the wandering Arabs, or Moors of the Desert, there is a deadly 
hatred and perpetual war. The tribe with whom Scott lived 
was often at war also with Arabs to the southward At El 
Ghiblah, the black prisoners taken in their contest with the 
Bambarras, were sold to some people from Wadnoon, who gave 
80 dollars for each. 
The tribe was now held in much greater estimation by their 
neighbours than before their journey into the interior^ and the 
men were called Sidi El Hezsh Hezsh. To Scott, however, this 
journey was a source of trouble ; for since his refusal to turn Ma^ 
hommedan, they treated him much more cruelly, beating him 
almost daily with sticks. This he acknowledges, however, 
sometimes arose from his sleeping too lon^ in the morning, 
when they thought that he should be attending to their cattle, 
Scott states, that the district in possession of the Arabs 
commences some distance from Wadnoon, and is divided into 
* During these long journeys Scott saw various animals, not noticed in the 
preceding pages, as monkeys, squirrels, porcupines, wolves, foxes, leopards, 
which are cowardly animals, hares, deer, with and without horns, various kinds 
of wild eattle, and an animal like a bear. Birds were seen of the eagle species,-^ 
a large one of this kind Scojtt has seen to carry off young kids. There were dif- 
ferent kinds of hawks and crows. He saw a bird like an eagle, but largei*, which 
preys only on hares. There were ' many ostriches, peacocks, cranes, red-lCgged 
partridges, parrots, “ green and red birds with long tails,” a large green bird, with 
the under part of the bill like a spoon. 
1 ' 
O 
