We Had No Sooner Levelled An
Embankment, And With Great Difficulty Dragged The Vans Across, Than We
Encountered A New And Similar Obstruction.
At length we arrived within
half a mile of the large village Arshia, which, being well irrigated,
opposed a perfect network of barriers in the shape of artificial
water-channels.
The oxen became disheartened, and the pair which drew
the blue van driven by our favourite Georgi determined to strike work
just as he was applying the sharp driving prick to their posteriors in
ascending a steep bank, through which we had cut a passage from the deep
water-course beneath. Instead of keeping a straight course, these
pig-headed bullocks made a sharp turn to the right up the incline. Down
went one upon its knees in rage and despair! while round went the other
in an opposite direction: crash went the pole in two pieces! and the
blue van, having vainly endeavoured to right itself like a lady about to
faint when no one is at hand to save her, tottered for a moment, and
turned over with a crash that betokened general destruction. My
Abyssinian lad, Amarn, was only just in time to escape, as he had been
endeavouring to support the van on the impending side when it suddenly
capsised, and he would have been flattened like a black-edged mourning
envelope had he not actively sprung out of the way.
All hands set about righting the ship--which was upon her beam-ends, and
the wheels uppermost. The first thing necessary was to discharge cargo;
this we quickly effected, as there were doors in front and behind, and
the numerous packages were soon piled upon the wayside. No sooner was
the van empty, than my dogs, who had been watching the operation in
bewilderment, jumped in, and no inducement would persuade them to quit
the comfortable vehicle, which they supposed had been specially cleared
for their convenience; the doors were accordingly shut, and they were
locked up. We now passed ropes beneath the van, and secured the ends to
the bottom of the wheels, which rested upon the ground; the other ends
were thrown over the cap-roof and manned, while the rest of the party
endeavoured to raise the van bodily. All working together, we righted it
immediately, the astonished dogs were liberated, and we soon replaced
the contents. I sent a messenger to Arshia to purchase if possible a
piece of wood sufficiently long to form a pole, and in the meantime I
employed my tools and myself in splicing the broken pole sufficiently to
enable us to creep a little nearer to the village, as we were far from
water.
It was nearly dark by the time I had completed my work, and the bullocks
were once more fastened to the van. In this way we approached within a
quarter of a mile of the village and halted for the night. I made a
capital pole from the stem of a young fir-tree which I procured from the
natives, and lashed it securely to the rough but strong splinter-bar of
dwarf-cypress.
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