In any direction but the sky and the sands, without the
slightest trace of a road; and travellers find nothing to guide them but
the bones of men and beasts and the droppings of camels. During the
passage of this wilderness you hear sounds, sometimes of singing,
sometimes of wailing; and it has often happened that travellers going
aside to see what those sounds might be have strayed from their course and
been entirely lost; for they were voices of spirits and goblins. 'Tis for
these reasons that travellers and merchants often prefer the much longer
route by Kamul." (Visdelou, p. 139.)
"In the Desert" (this same desert), says Fa-hian, "there are a great many
evil demons; there are also sirocco winds, which kill all who encounter
them. There are no birds or beasts to be seen; but so far as the eye can
reach, the route is marked out by the bleached bones of men who have
perished in the attempt to cross."
["The Lew-sha was the subject of various most exaggerated stories. We find
more trustworthy accounts of it in the Chow shu; thus it is mentioned in
that history, that there sometimes arises in this desert a 'burning wind,'
pernicious to men and cattle; in such cases the old camels of the caravan,
having a presentiment of its approach, flock shrieking to one place, lie
down on the ground and hide their heads in the sand.
