At seven hours and
a half we again entered upon sandy ground, in a valley called Wady
Noman, where, towards the south, are some wells, and a few plantations
cultivated by the Arab tribes of Kebakeb and Ryshye.
At eight hours and
a half we passed an encampment of the Bedouin tribe of Hodheyl, where
dogs attacked our camels so fiercely that I had much difficulty, though
mounted, to defend myself from their teeth. At eight hours and three
quarters we passed a cluster of huts and coffee-shops, called shedad,
with wells of very good water. At nine hours and a half, it being a
cloudy and extremely dark night, we lost our way in following the
windings of a side valley, and being unable to regain the right road, we
lay down on the sand and slept till day-break.
August 27th. - We found ourselves close to the road, and proceeding, we
began to ascend, in half an hour, the great chain of mountains. From
Djjdda to this place, our route, though generally between hills and
mountains, had been constantly over flat
[p.62] ground, in valleys, with an ascent almost imperceptible to the
traveller, and the existence of which became visible only in viewing the
country from the summit of the mountains now before us. The lower hills
are seldom higher than four or five hundred feet. The lowest range above
Djidda is calcareous; but its rocks soon change into gneiss, and a
species of granite, with schorl in the place of feldspath, accompanied
by predominant masses of quartz, and some mica.
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