Page:Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile - In the Years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, and 1773 volume 4.djvu/588

 500 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

ly filled with water. The principal pool is about forty yards fquare. and five feet deep ; but the beft tafted water was in the cleft of a rock, about 30 yards higher, on the weft fide of this narrow outlet. All the water, however, was very foul, with a number of animals both aquatic and land. It was impoffible to drink without putting a piece of our cotton girdle over our mouths, to keep, by filtration, the filth of dead animals out of it. We faw a great many partridges upon the face of the bare rock ; but what they fed upon I could not guefs, unlefs upon infeifts. We did not dare to fhoot at them, for fear of being heard by the wandering Arabs that might be fomewhere in the neigh- bourhood ; for Chiggre is a hauntof the Billiareen of the tribe of Abou, Bertran, who, though they do not make it a ftation, becaufe there is no paflure in the neighbourhood, nor can any thing grow there, yet it is one of the moll va- luable places of refrelhment, on account of the great quan- tity of water, being nearly half way, when they drive their cattle from the borders of the Red Sea to the banks of the Nile ; as alfo in their expeditions from fouth to north, when they leave their encampments in Barbar, to rob the Ababde Arabs on the frontiers of Egypt.

Our firfc attention was to our camels, to whom we gave that day a double feed of dora, that they might drink for the reft of their journey, fliould the wells in the way prove fcant of water. We then walhed in a large pool, the coldeft water, I think, I ever felt, on account of its being in a cave covered with rock, and was inaccellible to the fun in any diredlion. All my people feemed to be greatly recovered by this refrigeration, but from fome caufe or other, it fared otherwife with the Tucorory ; one of whom died about an hour afterour arrival, and another early the next morning.

3 SUjBORDINATION