When the caravan halted for the night, each individual dug a hole in the sand, gathered a few sticks, and prepared his victuals after the African fashion of kouskous, soups, or puddings.

Horneman, according to his European habits, at first employed the services of another, but finding himself thus exposed to contempt or suspicion, he soon followed the example of the rest, and became his own cook.
There are, as usual, oases in this immense waste.

Ten days brought the caravan to Ummesogeir, a village situated upon a rock, with 120 inhabitants, who, separated by deserts, from the rest of the world, passed a peaceful and hospitable life, subsisting on dates, the chief produce of their arid and sterile soil.
Another day's journey brought them to Siwah, a much more extensive oasis, the rocky border of which is estimated by Horneman to be fifty miles in circumference.

It yields, with little culture, various descriptions of grain and vegetables; but its wealth consists chiefly in large gardens of dates, baskets of which fruit form here the standard of value.

The government is vested in a very turbulent aristocracy, of about thirty chiefs, who meet in council in the vicinity of the town wall, and in the contests which frequently arise, make violent and sudden appeals to arms.