Page:Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile - In the Years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, and 1773 volume 4.djvu/376

 348 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

The extenfive, and very thick foreft, which had reached without interruption all the way from Tcherkin, ended here at Imgellalib. The country is perfedly flat, and hath very little water. The foreft, however, though thick, af- forded no fort of fliade ; the hunters, for the fake of their fport, and the Arabs, for deftroying the flies, having fet fire to all the dry grafs and flirubs, which, pafling with great rapidity, in the diredion of the wood from eaft to weft, though it had not time enough to deftroy the trees, did yet wither, and occafion every leaf that was upon them to fall, unlcfs in thofe fpaces where villages had been, and where water was. In fuch fpots a number of large fpread- ing trees remained full of foliage, which, from their great height, and being cleared of underwood, con- tinued in full verdure, loaded with large, projecT:ing, and exuberant branches. But, even here, the pleafure that their fliade afforded was very temporary, fo as to allow us no time for enjoyment. The fun, fo near the zenith, changed, his azimuth fo rapidly, that every few minutes I was obli- ged to change the carpet on which I lay round the trunk of the tree, to which I had fled, for fhelter ; and, though I lay down to flcep, perfedly fkreened by the trunk,, or branches, I was prefently awakened by the violent rays, of a fcorching fun, the fhade having paffcd beyond me;; and this was particularly incommodious, when the trees,, under which we placed ourfelvcs, were of the thorny kind,, very common in thofe forefts. The thorns, being all fcat- tered round the trunk upon the ground, made either chan- ging- place, or lying, equally uneafy ; fo that often, how- .ever averfe we v/ere to^ fatigue, with the efFe6ls of the fimoom, we found, that, pitching the head of our tent, and fcmctimes the whole of it, was the only pofTible means of

fecuring;