Amongst the smaller ones, for the first time, we came
upon the senna plant, some of the leaves of which our people plucked.
Higher up, in Aheer, is apparently the native soil of this plant. We had
also again the adwa, several trees, and the kaiou or kremka, the only
plant we have yet seen with a truly tropical aspect.
The adwa bears a fruit something like the date, and is eaten by the
people in Soudan. As to the _sabot_, above mentioned, it is a kind of
herbage, which covers the beds of the valleys in this region of
primitive rock: it forms the principal food of our camels. The _bou
rekabah_, however, the best for them, is in small quantities, but when
seen is devoured to the sand. The people of Aheer eat its seed as
ghaseb.
Yesterday, we saw, for the first time, a bird's nest in the desert, in
the side of a rock. It contained no eggs; our people, on a former
occasion, brought in some. It is astonishing how few birds' nests are
found, though in some places a good number of small flutterers are seen.
About the wells of Tajetterat darted half-a-dozen quails. We have not
yet observed an ostrich, although many traces have been found on the
sand. Around, however, are numbers of the wadan,[8] and our huntsmen are
active. Yesterday some flesh of this animal was brought in.
[8] Wadan is the Arabic name of the aoudad of the Berbers. We
call the animal "mouflon" (_Ovis tragelaphus_).
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