The Argosy, Vol. XXV, No. 3 — page 81: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Pig Di oi Se ee a te i i ie a. lee Ki a LOST IN THE NUBIAN DESERT. A thrilling experience that befell a traveler as the result of a slight mishap—The terrors of a, baat storm and the menace that confronts frail humanity in the desert wilds, Col, Damrell, the clubman and traveler, has just returned from the Soudan, ete.— Society Journal, Eee G the above in a metropolitan Wessis. and being desirous of renew- ing acquaintance with an interesting old friend, for he always had a new experience of thrilling interest to exploit, I hastened up to his favorite club, and between puffs of Havana Perfectos I obtained the following account of a weird predicament, which I give as nearly verbatim as my memory allows me. ‘The desert !’’ exclaimed the colonel rapturously. ‘‘ Ah, my boy, standing on the brink of the great Nubian sand seas, one is transfixed. The sun was just peeping over the barren cliffs beyond the Nile, tipping them with a dull fire, when the order came to start. My heart leaped. I forgot all dangers, and thought only of adventure, of. new sensations. The chief guide gave the word, and we mounted, giving civilization, home, the very world itself, it seemed, a single backward glance. ‘There were five of us, with guides and men; and it was the third day of last March that we started over the difficult trail from Korosko, taking the southward trail toward Absoh, leading through the very bowels of the Nubian sands. Our objects were diverse. My own was to discover some rare antiquities of which I had heard rumors, but the principal interest on the part of the others was to rediscover the abandoned gold mines of Absoh. Knowing that the Nubians are confirmed in their indolence and utterly _ unacquainted with the modern methods of prospecting, the two experts of the party, one a Californian and the other an Australian, both thoroughly familiar with gold bearing regions, felt convinced that with patient effort there was a possibility of unearthing a fortune, and the exciting experiment was at least worth the trial. ‘For four days our little caravan snailed along the barren sands, passing El Murrah, or springs of bitter water, and all went well. Then the journey, which for the first day or two was full of varied novelties, began to grow painfully monotonous. ‘To make matters worse, the geerbah skins, which were used to carry fresh water from the Nile, were daily growing flatter. The wells of El Murrah were saline and heavy with brackish sediment ; and though the camels drank of the water without suffering ill effects, the men who indulged freely were seized with intense gripings. ‘Two days south- ward from the wells a strange incident occurred. 6 (S@) Eomichook