Travels, between the years 1765 and 1773, through part of Africa, Syria, Egypt, and Arabia, into Abyssinia, to discover the source of the Nile : comprehending an interesting narrative of the author's adventures in Abyssinia, and a circumstantial account of the manners, customs, government, religion, history &c &c of that country : being the substance of the original work / by the late James Bruce.

  • Bruce, James, 1730-1794.
Date:
[1812]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Travels, between the years 1765 and 1773, through part of Africa, Syria, Egypt, and Arabia, into Abyssinia, to discover the source of the Nile : comprehending an interesting narrative of the author's adventures in Abyssinia, and a circumstantial account of the manners, customs, government, religion, history &c &c of that country : being the substance of the original work / by the late James Bruce. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    48r> The palm-trees of Assouan. selves, death now stared them in the tace. They had neither time nor streno'th to waste, nor provisions to support them. They then took the small skins that had contained their water, and filled them as far as they thought a man could carry them with ease ; but, after all these shifts, there was not enough to serve them three days, at which he had estimated their journey to Seyene, which still, however, was uncertain. Finding, therefore, the camels would not rise, they killed two of them, and took so much flesh as misht serve for the deficiency of bread; and, from the stomach of each of the camels got about four gallons of water. The small remains of their miserable stock of black bread and dirty water, the only support they had hitherto lived on amidst the burning sands, and their spirits likew^ise were exhausted by an un- certainty of their journey’s end. They were sur- rounded among’ those terrible and unusual phoeno- mena of Nature, which Providence, in mercy to the weakness of his creatures, has concealed far from their sight, in deserts almost inaccessible to them. Nothing but death was before their eyes: All Mr. JBruce’s papers, his quadr«ant, telescopes, and time- keeper, were now to be abandoned to the rude and ignorant hands of robbers, or to be buried in the sands. However, on the 29th, to their inexpressible joy, they saw the palm-trees at Assouan, and a quar- ter before ten arrived in a grove of palm-trees on the north of that city. Mr. Bruce was obliged to keep his room five or six days after his arrival; but, as soon as he got better, he and his servants set out on dromedaries, in order to recover his baggage. The Aga had sent four ser- vants belonging to his stables to accompany them; active, lively, and good-humoured fellows. About twelve o’clock, they got into a valley, and hid them- selves in the lowest part of it, under a bank, for the night was exceeding cold ; Mr. Bruce was afraid, that they had passed his baggage in the dark, as none of them were perfectly sure of the place; but, as soon as