The Moors set a
high value upon their horses, as their fleetness enables them to
plunder the negro countries.
On the same afternoon, a whirlwind passed through the camp, with such
violence, that it overturned three tents, and blew down one side of
the hut in which Mr. Park was. These whirlwinds come from the Great
Desert, and at that season of the year are so common, that Mr. Park
has seen five or six of them at one time. They carry up quantities of
sand to an amazing height, which resemble at a distance so many
moving pillars of smoke.
The scorching heat of the sun, upon a dry and sandy country, now made
the air insufferably hot. Ali having robbed Mr. Park of his
thermometer, he had no means of forming a comparative judgment; but
in the middle of the day, when the beams of the vertical sun are
seconded by the scorching wind from the desert, the ground is
frequently heated to such a degree, as not to be borne by the naked
foot; even the negro slaves will not run from one tent to another
without their sandals. At this time of the day, the Moors are
stretched at length in their tents, either asleep or unwilling to
move, and Mr. Park has often felt the wind so hot, that he could not
hold his hand in the current of air, which came through the crevices
of his hut, without feeling sensible pain.
