On the 14th of March, on arriving at the Wady el Nabeh, they found the celebrated wells of that valley insufficient to supply the caravan until they should reach the rocks of Shigre, and as no water was anywhere to be found in the intervening space they were reduced to the greatest perplexity. “Upon such occasions as these,” says Burckhardt, “every man gives his opinion: and mine was, that we should kill our thirty-five asses, which required a daily supply of at least fifteen water-skins, that we should load the camels to the utmost of their strength with water, and strike out a straight way through the desert towards Berber, without touching at Shigre; in this manner we might perform the journey in five forced marches.” This plan the Arabs refused to follow. They repaired their water-skins and their sandals, refreshed themselves with bathing in the cool wells, and then set out. But “it was not without great apprehension,” says our traveller, “that I departed from this place. Our camels and asses carried water for three or four days only, and I saw no possibility of escaping from the dreadful effects of a want of water. In order to keep my ass in good spirits, I took off the two small water-skins with which I had hitherto loaded him, and paid one of the Ababdes four dollars to carry four small water-skins as far as Berber; for I thought that if the ass could carry me, I might bear thirst for two days at least, but that if he should break down, I should certainly not be able to walk one whole day without water in this hot season of the year.”