Копи царя Соломона
Our March into the Desert
Indeed,thatloadwasaheavyonepermanwithwhichtotravelacrosstheburningdesert,forinsuchplaceseveryadditionalouncetells. Butwecouldnotseeourwaytoreducingtheweight.Therewasnothingtakenbutwhatwasabsolutelynecessary.
Withgreatdifficulty,andbythepromiseofapresentofagoodhunting-knifeeach,Isucceededinpersuadingthreewretchednativesfromthevillagetocomewithusforthefirststage,twentymiles,andtocarryalargegourdholdingagallonofwaterapiece. Myobjectwastoenableustorefillourwater-bottlesafterthefirstnight’smarch,forwedeterminedtostartinthecooloftheevening. Igaveouttothesenativesthatweweregoingtoshootostriches,withwhichthedesertabounded. Theyjabberedandshruggedtheirshoulders,sayingthatweweremadandshouldperishofthirst,whichImustsayseemedprobable; butbeingdesirousofobtainingtheknives,whichwerealmostunknowntreasuresupthere,theyconsentedtocome,havingprobablyreflectedthat,afterall,oursubsequentextinctionwouldbenoaffairoftheirs.
Allnextdaywerestedandslept,andatsunsetateaheartymealoffreshbeefwasheddownwithtea,thelast,asGoodremarkedsadly,wewerelikelytodrinkformanyalongday. Then,havingmadeourfinalpreparations,welaydownandwaitedforthemoontorise.
