However, we began to be weary of such company; and, to be rid of them,
we set forward again two days sooner than we intended. We found now,
that though the desert did not end, nor could we see any appearance of
it, yet that the earth was pretty full of green stuff of one sort or
another, so that our cattle had no want; and secondly, that there
were several little rivers which ran into the lake, and so long as the
country continued low, we found water sufficient, which eased us very
much in our carriage, and we went on still sixteen days more without yet
coming to any appearance of better soil. After this we found the country
rise a little, and by that we perceived that the water would fail us;
so, for fear of the worst, we filled our bladder-bottles with water.
We found the country rising gradually thus for three days continually,
when, on the sudden, we perceived that, though we had mounted up
insensibly, yet that we were on the top of a very high ridge of hills,
though not such as at first.
When we came to look down on the other side of the hills, we saw, to
the great joy of all our hearts, that the desert was at an end; that the
country was clothed with green, abundance of trees, and a large river;
and we made no doubt but that we should find people and cattle also; and
here, by our gunner's account, who kept our computations, we had
marched about 400 miles over this dismal place of horror, having been
four-and-thirty days a-doing of it, and consequently were come about
1100 miles of our journey.
We would willingly have descended the hills that night, but it was
too late. The next morning we saw everything more plain, and rested
ourselves under the shade of some trees, which were now the most
refreshing things imaginable to us, who had been scorched above a month
without a tree to cover us. We found the country here very pleasant,
especially considering that we came from; and we killed some deer here
also, which we found very frequent under the cover of the woods. Also we
killed a creature like a goat, whose flesh was very good to eat, but it
was no goat; we found also a great number of fowls like partridge, but
something smaller, and were very tame; so that we lived here very well,
but found no people, at least none that would be seen, no, not for
several days' journey; and to allay our joy, we were almost every night
disturbed with lions and tigers; elephants, indeed, we saw none here.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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