At noon we resumed a hot ride down the ugly, rocky watercourse,
both of whose banks showed long lines of ruins. Presently,
crossing a divide marked by two stone-heaps, we fell into the
broader but equally unpicturesque Wady Salma. It is on about the
same parallel as Ziba' (north lat. 27 20'); and more than the
usual allowance for the error of low latitude must be admitted if
we would identify it with the Mediterranean of
Ptolemy (vi. 7), , in north lat. 260 , or fifteen
miles south of Soaka.

Wady Salma is the smallest and the northernmost of the three
basins which we have just visited; the central being the Damah,
and the southern Wady Shaghab-Aslah-Aznab. Steaming southwards we
shall note the mouths of all these watercourses. We presently
passed on the right bank the debouchure of the Wady Ruways, and
left there a guard to direct the caravan, in case it should
disobey orders, and march up to Umm Amil. Here the valley gave
forage to a herd of milch-camels, apparently unguarded; each had
her foal, some newborn, others dating from January or February.
After one hour and forty-five minutes (= six miles) we camped on
the fine sands that floor the dull line hemmed in by tall masses
of red and green trap. The adjacent scatter of Arab wells in the
bed is known as the Ma el-Badi'ah. I carefully inquired
concerning ruins in the neighbourhood; and we climbed the
torrent-sides to command a (very limited) bird's-eye view of the
hills. According to the guides, there are no remains of the "old
ones" nearer than Umm Amil

Setting out early next morning (5.45 a.m., March 5th), after half
an hour down the Wady Salma, we saw its lower course becoming a