All Their Stock Of Water At This Time Consisted Of Four Goat-Skins, And Those Not Full, Holding From One To Two Gallons Each; And It Was Known To The Moors, That They Had Then Ten Days Further To Travel Before They Could Obtain A Supply.

In this distressing dilemma it was resolved to mix the remaining water with camels' urine.

The allowance of this mixture to each camel was only about a quart for the whole ten days; each man was allowed not more than about half a pint a day.

The Moors, who had been in confinement at Timbuctoo, becoming every day weaker, three of them in the four following days lay down, unable to proceed. They were then placed upon the camels, but continual exposure to the excessive heat of the sun, and the uneasy motion of the animals, soon rendered them unable to support themselves; and towards the end of the second day, they made another attempt to pursue their journey on foot, but could not. The following morning at day-break, they were found dead on the sand, in the place where they had lain down at night, and were left behind, without being buried. The next day, another of them lay down, and, like his late unfortunate companions, was left to perish; but on the following day, one of the Moors determined to remain behind, in the hope that he, who had dropped the day before, might still come up, and be able to follow the party; some provisions were left with him. At this time it was expected, what proved to be the fact, that they were within a day's march of their town, but neither of the men ever after made his appearance, and Adams has no doubt that they perished.

Vled Duleim, the name of the place at which they now arrived, was a village of tents, inhabited entirely by Moors, who, from their dress, manners, and general appearance, seemed to be of the same tribe as those of the encampment to which Adams was conveyed from El Gazie. They had numerous flocks of sheep and goats, and two watering places, near one of which their tents were pitched, but the other lay nearly five miles off.

Vled, or Woled D'leim, is the douar of a tribe of Arabs inhabiting the eastern parts of the desert, from the latitude of about twenty degrees north to the tropic. They are a tribe of great extent and power, inhabiting detached fertile spots of land, where they find water and pasturage for their flocks, but are very ignorant of the commonest principles of agriculture. They are an extremely fine race of men, their complexion very dark, almost as black as that of the negroes. They have straight hair, which they wear in large quantities, aqueline noses, and large eyes. Their behaviour is haughty and insolent, speaking with fluency and energy, and appearing to have great powers of rhetoric. Their arms are javelins and swords.

The first fortnight after the arrival of the party was devoted to their recovery from the fatigues of the journey; but as soon as their strength was re-established, Adams and his companion were employed in taking care of goats and sheep. Having now begun to acquire a knowledge of the moorish tongue, they frequently urged their masters to take them to Suerra, which the latter promised they would do, provided they continued attentive to their duty.

Things, however, remained in this state for ten or eleven days, during which time they were continually occupied in tending the flocks of the Moors. They suffered severely from exposure to the scorching sun, in a state almost of utter nakedness, and the miseries of their situation were aggravated by despair of ever being released from slavery.

The only food allowed to them was barley-flour and camels' and goats' milk; of the latter, however, they had abundance. Sometimes they were treated with a few dates, which were a great rarity, there being neither date-trees, nor trees of any other kind, in the whole of the country round. But as the flocks of goats and sheep consisted of a great number, from one hundred and fifty to two hundred, and as they were at a distance from the town, Adams and his companion sometimes ventured to kill a kid for their own eating, and to prevent discovery of the fire used in cooking it, they dug a cave, in which a fire was made, covering the ashes with grass and sand.

At length, Adams, after much reflection on the miserable state in which he had been so long kept, and was likely to pass the remainder of his life, determined to remonstrate upon the subject. His master, whose name was Hamet Laubed, frankly replied to him, that as he had not been successful in procuring slaves, it was now his intention to keep him, and not, as he had before led him to expect, to take him to Suerra or Mogadore. Upon hearing this, Adams resolved not to attend any longer to the duty of watching the goats and sheep; and in consequence, the following day, several of the young goats were found to have been killed by the foxes.

This led to an inquiry, whether Adams or the boy was in fault, when it appearing that the missing goats were a part of Adams' flock, his master proceeded to beat him with a thick stick; he, however, resisted, and took away the stick, upon which a dozen Moors, principally women, attacked him, and gave him a severe beating.

As, notwithstanding what had occurred, Adams persisted in his determination not to resume his task of tending the goats and sheep, his master was advised to put him to death, but this he was not inclined to do, observing to his advisers, that he should thereby sustain a loss, and that if Adams would not work, it would be better to sell him.

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