The extreme dryness of the air induced an extraordinary amount of electricity in the hair and in all woollen materials.

A Scotch plaid laid upon a blanket for a few hours adhered to it, and upon being withdrawn at night a sheet of flame was produced, accompanied by tolerably loud reports.
We reached Berber on May 31st, and spent a week in resting after our formidable desert march of fifteen days.

From the slight experience I had gained in the journey, I felt convinced that success in my Nile expedition would be impossible without a knowledge of Arabic.
My dragoman had me completely in his power, and I resolved to become independent of all interpreters as soon as possible.

I therefore arranged a plan of exploration for the first year, to embrace the affluents to the Nile from the Abyssinian range of mountains, intending to follow up the Atbara River from its junction with the Nile in latitude 17 deg.

37 min.