...As for the detachment he [Cambyses] had sent to attack the Ammonians, they set out from Thebes with guides, and they clearly arrived at the town of Oasis. This is a town which is inhabited by Samians who are said to belong to the Aeschronian tribe, and which is seven days' journey from Thebes across the desert; the name of the place, translated into Greek, is the Isles of the Blessed. So by all accounts the army reached this place, but after that the only information available comes directly or indirectly from the Ammonians themselves; no one else can say what happened to them, because they did not reach the Ammonians and they did not come back either. The Ammonians, however, add an explanation for their disappearance. They say that after the army had left Oasis and was making its way across the desert towards them--in other words, somewhere between Oasis and their lands--an extraordinarily strong south wind, carrying along with it heaps of sand, fell upon them while they were taking their midday meal and buried them.
Thanks for posting one of my favorite fun reads. His inquiries are fascinating and make more sense than some of the rubbish being published today.