On the 29th, at six in the morning, we proceeded northward. The soil over which we passed was covered with quartz. About nine o’clock in the morning, we halted in a place where we found some traces of vegetation amidst the rocks. One of the Moors took water in his leather bag, and went to tend the camels; the others were engaged in examining and weighing their gold; they commonly hide it as I have already mentioned, in pieces of rag, on which they put a mark denoting the quantity, and the person to whom it belongs; for this gold is often the proceeds of goods entrusted to them by merchants, when they leave Tafilet. The camel upon which I rode was laden with ostrich-feathers only. That it might be the less fatigued with the journey, I was never allowed to mount it while it was on its knees; one of the Moors was commissioned by Sidi-Aly to help me to mount; and, for the reasons above stated, this Moor was very ill-natured, and took every opportunity of playing me a trick which might raise a laugh amongst his companions at my expense. At nightfall, rice was cooked for our supper. We had nothing before that but a little dokhnou and water to refresh us; as the roots of this plant were scarce, the slaves were sent to pick up camel’s dung for fuel; though the wind quickly effaces their footsteps, it is always easy to track them by the great quantity of their excrement. At ten in the evening, we broke up, and proceeded towards the N. W. The soil, which was as unvaried as ever, was covered on the surface by quartz. The night was calm, and the heat stifling. On the 30th of May, we halted at eleven in the morning, and found some herbage, which supplied the camels with food during that day and part of the succeeding night. On the 31st, at two in the morning, we continued our journey in the same direction. The soil was sandy, and covered with hills of loose yellow sand. In crossing the desert, I perceived, at a distance, immense tracts, which had the appearance of rivers or lakes, with islands of sand rising in the midst of them; they presented themselves to the eye, in the horizon of the desert, as places where one might quench one’s thirst. This prospect broke for a time the uniformity of these vast deserts; on approaching, I was cruelly disappointed, for the water vanished, and I saw nothing but loose sand where I had hoped to quench my thirst. This illusion only rendered my situation more dreadful, when I was consumed with thirst, and saw the sea receding before me as by enchantment. It is impossible to form any correct idea of a _mirage_ without having seen one.