by pyramidical hills: the surface was strewn with objects
resembling cannon shot and grape of all sizes from a 32-pounder
downwards--the spot looked like the old battle-field of some
infernal region; rocks glowing with heat--not a vestige of
vegetation--barren, withering desolation.--The slow rocking step
of the camels was most irksome, and despite the heat, I
dismounted to examine the Satanic bombs and cannon shot. Many of
them were as perfectly round as though cast in a mould, others
were egg-shaped, and all were hollow. With some difficulty I
broke them, and found them to contain a bright red sand: they
were, in fact, volcanic bombs that had been formed by the
ejection of molten lava to a great height from active volcanoes;
these had become globular in falling, and, having cooled before
they reached the earth, they retained their forms as hard
spherical bodies, precisely resembling cannon shot. The exterior
was brown, and appeared to be rich in iron. The smaller specimens
were the more perfect spheres, as they cooled quickly, but many
of the heavier masses had evidently reached the earth when only
half solidified, and had collapsed upon falling. The sandy plain
was covered with such vestiges of volcanic action, and the
infernal bombs lay as imperishable relics of a hail-storm such as
may have destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.

Passing through this wretched solitude we entered upon a scene of
surpassing desolation. Far as the eye could reach were waves like
a stormy sea, grey, cold-looking waves in the burning heat; but
no drop of water: it appeared as though a sudden curse had turned
a raging sea to stone. The simoom blew over this horrible
wilderness, and drifted the hot sand into the crevices of the
rocks, and the camels drooped their heads before the suffocating