Having Procured Fresh Camels, We Started On 5th July.
This
portion of the desert was rich in agates and numerous specimens
of bloodstone.
Exactly opposite the village of Gozerajup are
curious natural landmarks,--four pyramidical hills of granite
that can be seen for many miles' distance in this perfectly level
country. One of these hills is about 500 feet high, and is
composed entirely of flaked blocks of grey granite piled one upon
the other; some of these stand perpendicularly in single masses
from 30 to 50 feet high, and from a distance might be taken for
giants climbing the hill-side. The pinnacle has a peculiar
conical cap, which appears to have been placed there by design,
but upon closer inspection it is found to be natural, as no stone
of such immense size could have been placed in such a position.
For the first two hours' march from this landmark, the country
was covered with scrubby bush abounding in gazelles and
guinea-fowl. Here, for the first time, I saw the secretary bird,
known to the Arabs as the "Devil's horse." A pair of these
magnificent birds were actively employed in their useful
avocation of hunting reptiles, which they chased with wonderful
speed. Great numbers of wild asses passed us during the march
towards evening; they were on their way from the desert to the
Atbara river, some miles distant upon the west. Veritable thunder
we now heard for the first time in Africa, and a cloud rose with
great rapidity from the horizon.
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