I went to visit the "Water," as
they call a small lake that nestles amidst the rocks. It is of some
depth, and filled, they say, merely by rain-water, very palatable to
drink. Even when no showers occur for several years it does not become
quite empty; and as there is no apparent reason for this, I am led to
suppose it may be partly fed by some spring in the rocks that form its
bed. This lake imparts an unusually cheerful aspect to the valley in
which it lies. It is resorted to by the dwellers of the neighbouring
district, who come to water their flocks, and feed them on the herbage
that springs round the margin. These pools or collections of water are
called ghadeer, which I at first mistook for the name of a particular
locality. According to Yusuf, this place gives an exact idea of the
Tibboo country, where, he says, there are no wells, but vast clefts in
the rock, down which pours the water when it rains, to collect in the
hollows at the bottom. Our people speak with great respect of this
ghadeer. Everything connected with water is sacred in the desert. They
say that for several weeks after a rain-storm there are regular cascades
over the rocks.
Next day we advanced in six hours to a wady similar to that we had left;
curiously shaped sandstone rocks showed themselves on all sides: no
fossils were discovered. Asses in droves were seen feeding about. The
Tuaricks possess a good number of these useful animals, brought from
Soudan, of a finer breed than those at Mourzuk.
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