During our stay at Morat a violent dispute had arisen among the Arabs of our caravan about some money which had been stolen from one of them.  The man suspected of the theft endeavored to justify himself by much hard swearing, but circumstances being strong against him, I told the man who had been robbed, that if the money was not restored previous to our arrival at Assuan, I would speak to the Cacheff about the affair, who would take the proper measures to detect and punish the thief.  In consequence of this menace, the man robbed, next morning had the satisfaction to find unexpectedly that his money had been secretly restored and deposited among the baggage, from whence it had been stolen.

On the 13th, at sunset, we quitted Morat; and after a winding march among the hills for five hours, we arrived at a broad valley, surrounded by high mountains and abounding in doum trees, the first we had seen since we quitted the river.  This place is called “El Medina.”  It contains an Arab village, whose inhabitants gain something by supplying the caravans with goats, of which they have many, and by furnishing them with water, of which they possess several reservoirs filled by the rains.  We reposed for the rest of the night under the doum trees, and in the morning regaled ourselves with the pure and wholesome water of El Medina, which was to me particularly grateful after being obliged to drink, for several days, either the muddy water we had brought from the river, or that of Apseach, which had become heated by the sun, and impregnated with a disgusting smell, derived from the new leather of the water-bags which contained it.  I bought here a fat goat and some milk, which made us a feast, which hunger and several days fasting on bad bread made delicious.

We stayed here to water and repose the camels till the afternoon of the second day after our arrival, when we recommenced our march for the river, whose distance we were told was three days march from El Medina.  During our stay at El Medina, Khalil Aga my companion was taken very ill with vomiting and purging, occasioned by having drank of the water of Morat, against which I had remonstrated without effect.  He did not get quit of the consequences of his imprudence for several days.

On the 15th, in the afternoon, we commenced our march for the river.  The desert hereabouts resembles that we passed the two first days after our quitting the river, being a sandy plain studded with hills and mountains of granite.  We proceeded till about three hours after midnight, when we lay down to repose till day-break, when we again mounted and continued our journey till two hours before noon, when we stopped at a rock which had some holes in it, where we sheltered ourselves from the sun, and dined with appetite on some coarse durra bread baked upon camel’s dung.