The district of the Sekhti is indicated by his travelling
south to Henenseten, and going with asses and not by boat. Hence we are
led to look for the Sekhet Hemat, or salt country, in the borders of the
Fayum lake, whence the journey would be southward, and across the
desert. This lake was not regulated artificially until the XIIth
Dynasty; and hence at the period of this tale it was a large sheet of
water, fluctuating with each rise and fall of the Nile, and bordered by
lagoons where rushes would flourish, and where salt and natron would
accumulate daring the dry season of each year. At the present time the
lake of the Fayum is brackish, and the cliffs which border it contain so
much salt that rain pools which collect on them are not drinkable. The
paths and roads of Egypt are not protected by law as in Western
countries. Each person encroaches on a path or diverts it as may suit
his purpose, only checked by the liberties taken by passers-by in
trespassing if a path be insufficient. Hence, it is very usual to see a
house built over half of a path, and driving the traffic into the
field or almost over the river bank. In this case the Hemti had taken
in as much of the path as he could, and left it but a narrow strip
along the top of the canal bank. The frequent use of the public way
for drying clothes, or spreading out property, gave the idea of
choking the way altogether, and leaving no choice but trespassing on
the crops.
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