The next day they traversed an extensive plain, in which is situated Teawa, the capital, or principal village of Atbara. The thermometer slung under the camel, in the shade of the girba, was now from 111° to 119½°. At six in the evening they arrived at the village of Carigana, "whose inhabitants," says Bruce, "had all perished with hunger the year before; their wretched bones being unburied, and scattered upon the surface of the ground where the village formerly stood. We encamped among the bones of the dead; no space could be found free from them; and on the 23d, at six in the morning, full of horror at this miserable spectacle, we set out for Teawa." Late in the evening, when they had arrived within a quarter of a mile from this capital, they were met by a man on horseback, clothed in a large loose gown of red camlet, with a white muslin turban on his head, and attended by about twenty naked servants on foot, armed with lances, and preceded by a pipe and two small drums. The leader of this savage band was about seventy, with a very long beard, and a graceful appearance. It was with the utmost difficulty that he could be prevailed upon to mount his horse, as he declared it was his intention to walk by the side of Bruce's mule till he entered the town of Teawa; mounting, however, at last, he made a great display of his horsemanship, as a mark of humiliation or politeness. On entering the town they passed a very commodious house, which had been ordered by the sheikh for the residence of Bruce; and, after crossing the square, they came to the sheikh's house, or rather his collection of houses, which were one story high, and built of canes. They then entered a large hall, built of unburned bricks, and covered with straw mats. In the middle there was a chair to which obeisance was made, it being considered as the seat of the Grand Seignior. The sheikh was sitting on the ground, affecting great humility, and pretending to be devoutly occupied in reading the Koran. When Bruce entered he seemed to be surprised, and made an attempt as if to rise, but the traveller prevented it by holding him down by his hand, which he kissed. "I shall not fatigue the reader," says Bruce, "with the uninteresting conversation that passed at this first interview. He affected to admire my size and apparent strength, and to blame me for exposing myself to travel in such a country. In return, I complained of the extreme fatigue of the journey and heat, the beasts of prey, the thick woods without shade, the want of water, and, above all, the poisonous blasts of the simoom that had almost overcome me, the effects of which I was at that instant feeling.