98 
ARRIVAL AT BMIGNAN. 
[chap. IV. 
near the fires. The camels were hobbled, and turned 
to graze upon the branches of a large mimosa. We 
were not hungry; the constant anxiety had entirely 
destroyed all appetite. A cup of strong black coffee 
was the greatest luxury, and not requiring a tent in 
the clear still night, we were soon asleep on our simple 
angareps. 
Before daylight on the following morning the drum 
beat; the lazy soldiers, after stretching and yawning, 
began to load the animals, and we started at six 
o’clock. In these climates the rising of the sun is 
always dreaded. For about an hour before sunrise 
the air is deliriously cool and invigorating, but the 
sun is regarded as the common enemy. There is, 
nevertheless, a difficulty in starting before sunrise— 
the animals cannot be properly loaded in the dark¬ 
ness, and the operation being tedious, the cool hour of 
morning is always lost. 
The morning was clear, and the mountain of 
Belignan, within three or four miles, was a fine 
object to direct our course. I could distinctly see 
some enormous trees at the foot of the mountain near 
a village, and I hastened forward, as I hoped to 
procure a guide who would also act as interpreter, 
many of the natives in the vicinity of Gondokoro 
having learnt a little Arabic from the traders. We 
cantered on ahead of the party, regardless of the 
assurance of our unwilling men that the natives were 
not to be trusted, and we soon arrived beneath the 
shade of a cluster of most superb trees. The village 
was within a quarter of a mile, situated at the very 
base of the abrupt mountain; the natives seeing us 
alone had no fear, and soon thronged around us. The 
chief understood a few words of Arabic, and I offered 
a large payment of copper bracelets and beads for 
a guide. After much discussion and bargaining a 
bad-looking fellow offered to guide us to Ellyria, but 
no farther. This was about twenty-eight or thirty 
miles distant, and it was of vital importance that we 
