A SAND-STORM AT ADEN.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 289, 6 December 1877, Page 4

A SAND-STORM AT ADEN.

The London Daily News' correspondent thus describes a sand-storm at Aden.: —

" The sky being overcast, a mist or cloud of smoke, as it were, rose from the opposite shore of the creek, which for some minutes I waa unable to account for until grnwiug denser and expanding more and more, I concluded it muat be the commencement of a sandStorm. With an experience of more thau five years of those in Egypt, I had never beheld anything ao remarkable and grand. The ui&sd, taking the sh'.pe of the surrouuding hiils and growiug larger aud larger till lost iv the clouds, began to move seaward, enveloping everything in its course in a thick, black cloud. The reflection from the crescent side caused the shipping and every surrounding object to assume an unnatural hue, the sea changing to a dull green aud brown. While gazing on thia moving panorama, a alight breeze and wavering of the immense mass made me think of the open windows and doors, and not a moment too aoon. Scarcely had I, with difficulty, put the last bolt in position, when the whole mass was scattered over the crescent and the bazaar. For a peried of eight or ten minutes the place was in total darkness, and the sand flying iv all directions, and penetratiug the minutest crevice. Tbe scampering of natives for a piece of shelter, tbeir shouting and general excitement, together with the noise of bolting windows and doors, and the immense force with which the sand was dashed against the windows and abutters, caused no little alarm. As the air gradually grew clearer, surrounding objects could once more be distinguished. Towards 6 p.m. the air became much cooler and the sky clear again. Then followed the usual sheet lightning peculiar to and at times very grand in Aden."