[p.534] May 16th.During the night we had a heavy shower of rain with
thunder and lightning, which completely drenched both ourselves and our
baggage. A beautiful morning succeeded, and the atmosphere, which during
the last three days had been extremely hot, especially on the low coast,
was now so much refreshed, that we seemed to have removed from a
tropical to an alpine climate. We passed through several valleys
emptying themselves into Wady Orta; the principal of these is called
Wady Ertama [Arabic]. Route N.N.W. Although the rain had been heavy, the
sands had so completely absorbed it, that we could scarcely find any
traces of it. We started several Gazelles, the only game I have seen in
the peninsula, except mountain-goats. Hares and wolves are found, but
are not common, and the Bedouins sometimes kill leopards, of one of
which I obtained a large skin at the convent. The Bedouins talk much of
a beast of prey called Wober [Arabic], which inhabits the most retired
parts only of the peninsula; they describe it as being of the size of a
large dog, with a pointed head like a hog; I heard also of another
voracious animal, called Shyb [Arabic], stated to be a breed between the
leopard and the wolf. Of its existence little doubt can be entertained,
though its pretended origin is probably fabulous, for the Arabs, and
especially the Bedouins, are in the common practice of assigning to
every animal that is seldom met with, parents of two different species
of known animals. On the coast, and in the lower valleys, a kind of
large lizard is seen, called Dhob [Arabic], which has a scaly skin of a
yellow colour; the largest are about eighteen inches in length, of which
the tail measures about one-half. The Dhob is very common in the Arabian
deserts, where the Arabs form tobacco purses of its skin. It lives in
holes in the sand, which have generally two openings; it runs fast, but
a dog easily catches it. Of birds I saw red-legged partridges in great
numbers, pigeons, the Katta, but not in such large flocks as I