THE SOURCE OF THE NILE.
339
of the largefl kind, moflly males ; fo that the Arabs make this a favourite ftarion, after the grafs is burnt, efpeciully the young part of them, who are hunters.
We reached Imferrha at half paft eleven, the water being about half a mile diftant to the S. W. The wells are fituated upon a fmall ridge that runs nearly eafl and weft. At one extremity of this is a fmall-pointed mountain, upon which was formerly a village belonging to the Arabs, called Jehaina, now totally deftroyed by the hunting parties of the Daveina, the great tyrants of this country, who, to- gether with the fcarcity of water, are the principal caufes that this whole territory is defolate. For though the foil is fandy and improper for agriculture, yet it is thickly over- grown with trees ; and were the places where water is^ found fufficiently ftocked with inhabitants, great numbers of cattle might be paftured here, every fpecies of which live upon the leaves and the young branches of trees, evea on fpots where grafs is abundant.
On the 20th, at fix o'clock in the morning we fet out from Imferrha, and in two hours arrived at Ralliid, where we were furpriied to fee the branches of the Ihrubs and buflies all covered with a fliell of that fpecies of univalve called Turbines, white and red ; fome of them from three to four inches l<mg, and not to be dillinguiflied by the niceft eye from thofe fea-ihclls, of the fame fpecies, which are brought in great quantities from the Weft India iflands, efpecially St Domingo.
How thefe came firft in a fandy defert fo far from the fea is a difquifition I fliall not now enter into. There are
U u 2 of
