It was rather a bad commencement of a forced march, and the
ravine we had crossed had been a cause of serious delay. Hardly were the
animals reloaded and again ready for the march, when the men remembered
that they had only one waterskin full. I had given orders before the
start from Belignan that all should be filled. This is the unexceptional
rule in African travelling--"fill your girbas before starting." Never
mind what the natives may tell you concerning the existence of water on
the road; believe nothing; but resolutely determine to fill the girbas
--should you find water, there is no harm done if you are already
provided: but nothing can exceed the improvidence of the people. To
avoid the trouble of filling the girbas before starting, the men will
content themselves with "Inshallah (please God), we shall find water on
the road," and they frequently endure the greatest suffering from sheer
idleness in neglecting a supply.
They had in this instance persuaded themselves that the river we had
just crossed would not be dry. Several of them had been employed in this
country formerly, and because they had at one time found water in the
sandy bed, they had concluded that it existed still. Accordingly they
now wished to send parties to seek for water; this would entail a
further delay, at a time when every minute was precious, as our fate
depended upon reaching and passing through Ellyria before the arrival of
the Turks.
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