Page:Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile - In the Years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, and 1773 volume 4.djvu/581

 THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. S53

place where the river turns weft by Korti towards Dongola, and this was of great fervice to me in fixing fome other mate- rial points in my map.

On the 14th, at feven in the morning we left AfTa Nagga, our courfe being due north. At one o'clock we alighted a- mong fome acacia-trees at Waadi el Halboub, having gone twenty-one miles. We were here at once furprifcd and ter- rified by a fight furely one of the moft magnificent in the world. In that vaft expanfe of defert, from W. and to N. W. of us, we faw a number of prbdigious pillars of fand at differ- ent diftances, at times moving with great celerity, at others ftalking on with a majeflic flownefs; at intervals we thought they were coming in a very few minutes to overwhelm us ; and fmall quantities of fand did ad:ually more than once reach us. Agaia they would retreat fo as to be almoft out of fight, their tops reaching to the very clouds. There the tops often feparated from the bodies ; and thefe, once disjoined, difperfed in the air, and did not appear more. Sometimes they were broken near the middle, as if ftruck with a large cannon fliot. About noon they began to advance with confi- derable fwiftnefs upon us, the wind being very ftrong at north. Eleven of them ranged alongfide of us about the dillance of three miles. The greateft diameter of the largeft appeared to me at that difiance as if it would meafure ten feet. They reti- red from us with a wind at S. E. leaving an impreffion upon my mind to which 1 can give no name, though (urely one in- gredient in it was fear, with a confiderabic deal of wonder and aftonifliment. It was in vain to think of flying ; the fwifteft horfe, or fafteft failing fliip, could be of no ufe to carry us out of this danger, and the full perfuafion of this rivetted me as if to the fpot where I flood, and let the

Vol. IV. 4 A camels