Travels in Turkey, Asia Minor, Syria, and across the desert into Egypt ...

208 TRAVELS IN ASIATIC TURKEY,
I employed myself on the 24th in examining the waters 1 had
collected at the different places at which we had stopped in our passafe
through the desert, and collected the residuous matter for f\U
tare experiments.
r
X'hat which I had obtained from Thick was of
excellent quality, and having been found in the basin of the Cas-
t e evacuated by the French, I conjectured it to have bee?n brought
from the Nils-.
In .the evening two hundred and fifty camels laden with
barley
arrived from Mahomed Pacini. By this letters
opportunity were
received from Captains Laccy and Leake. Taker Packa had ad-
vanced two miles beyond Belbeis.
On the 25th we rose at half past two in the morning, and at
three o'clock the baggape moved off the ground. We were, however,
detained until near eight o'clock by some arrangements it was
necessary to make for sending off a party cf camels to Tineh ; and
the interval which elapsed hung very heavily on our hands. At
ten o'clock we halted for neariy an hour, and reached our ground,
of encampment at Bir-denedar at two o'clock, after having per-
formed a march of eighteen miles. There were several date-trees
on the spot; and the red bricks which lay scattered on the grounds
indicated that it had been formerly covered by dwellings. The
water which we found at this place was salt, bitter, and of the
worst
quality. The weather was extremely hot during our march,
which, being over a rough and uneven ground, covered with deep
and heavy sands, was performed with infinite fatigue. There was,
however, a greater abundance of shrubs than we had met with on
our preceding marches. Half an hour after we had quitted our
iate encampment, we passed over a very rough piece of ground,
which, being covered with large quantities of saline matter, ap-
peared to have been a salt work. Several pits
in which the salt
water had been left to evaporate, had been apparently dug out for
that purpose, and still contained a quantity of pure and white salt.
Many of the date-trees in the vicinitv of Catieth lay on the ground,
having been cut down by the French for various purposes on their
retreat from Syria.
In the course of the
day's march the Vizier sent forward a
party
of Dehlis to prepare a causeway over a river, which had formerly
been provided with a capacious btone.
bridge. To impede the progress
of the Ottoman army, the enemy had thrown down this
; bridge but the impediment was sQon removed by the Dehlis,
who effected their purpose in the course of a few hours. The