Natur als Grenzerfahrung - Oapen

Natürliche Erfahrungsgrenzen
in a feverish state“ 77. Als die Nacht kommt, entdeckt er ein Feuer im Tal unter
sich, und er feuert seine Pistole ab, um die Aufmerksamkeit seiner Reisegefährten
auf sich zu ziehen, doch seine Schüsse verhallen unbeantwortet. Wieder droht die
Depression ihn endgültig aufgeben zu lassen:
„I lay down in resignation, committing my life to the care of the Merciful One; but it was in
vain that I tried to sleep, and, restless and in a high fever, I tossed about on the ground, looking
with anxiety and fear for the dawn of the next day.
At length the long night wore away, and dawn was drawing nigh. All was repose and silence;
and I was sure I could not choose a better time for trying to inform my friends of my whereabouts.
I therefore collected all my strength, loaded my pistol with a heavy charge, and fired – once
– twice. I thought the sound ought to awaken the dead from their tombs, so powerfully did it reverberate
from the opposite range and roll along the wadi; yet no answer. I was at a loss to account for
the great distance apparently separating me from my companions, who seemed not to have heard my
firing. The sun that I had half longed for, half looked forward to with terror, at last rose. My condition,
as the heat went on increasing, became more dreadful, and I crawled around, changing every
moment my position, in order to enjoy the little shade afforded by the leafless branches of the tree.
About noon there was, of course, scarcely a spot of shade left – only enough for my head – and I
suffered greatly from the pangs of thirst, although I sucked a little of my blood till I became senseless,
and fell into a sort of delirium, from which I only recovered when the sun went down behind
the mountains. I then regained some consciousness, and crawled out of the shade of the tree, throwing
a melancholy glance over the plain, when suddenly I heard the cry of a camel. It was the most
delightful music I ever heard in my life; and, raising myself a little from the ground, I saw a
mounted Tarki [einen Tuareg, AFK] passing at some distance from me, and looking eagerly
around. […] But I could speak but little at first, and could scarcely eat any thing for the next
three days, after which I gradually recovered my strength. It is, indeed very remarkable how quickly
the strength of a European is broken in these climes, if for a single day he be prevented from taking
his usual food.“ 78
Auf jeden rationalen Versuch, seine Lage zu verbessern, folgt für den Reisenden
die deprimierende Erfahrung der eigenen körperlichen und geistigen Grenzen.
Jedesmal aber, wenn ihn die Melancholie der scheinbar ausweglosen Situation zu
überwältigen scheint, überschreitet Barth in seiner Wahrnehmung diese Grenzen
einen kleinen Schritt weit durch seine Aktivität. Letztlich wird dieser Durchhaltewillen
belohnt und der Tuareg, der auf der Suche nach ihm auf seinem Kamel
heran reitet, findet Barth noch am Leben. Aus der Grenzerfahrung der Nähe des
eigenen Todes kann Barth abschließend ein verallgemeinerndes Resümee über die
körperliche Konstitution ‚des Europäers‘ ziehen. Aus der tödlichen Gefahr, mit
der die bedrohliche Natur ein Individuum konfrontiert, wird so ein gesellschaft-
77 Barth: Travels, Bd. 1, S. 191.
78 Barth: Travels, Bd. 1, S. 191 f..
191