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in the morning, as soon as the sun began to shine forth, to a place in a cool shade a little south from our encampment, without knowing that this was the very spot which the Arabs had chosen for their holiday prayers. In general only a few of them were praying; but to-day the leading persons among them, who came here with Sheikh Ghét, offered up their prayer with solemnity and apparent fervor.

This proved an unlucky day to us, and very unfavorable to our design to penetrate into those dangerous districts on the east side of the lake; for a considerable portion of the tribe (one hundred and fifty men, with about seventy horses) left that day for Kúkawa, to our great surprise and mortification, and, as it would seem, also to the mortification of the young chief, a circumstance of which we became fully aware when we paid him a visit about noon. Of course, with our very small means, and the poor and insignificant character of our mission, we could not expect that this unsettled horde should have a scrupulous regard to our wishes and designs in arranging their affairs. It was quite evident that their proceeding was the mere effect of a stubborn sense of independence and jealousy, and it seemed to be done in open opposition to the wish of their young chief. About one o'clock in the afternoon they left; and we forwarded a short note with them, expressive of our dissatisfaction at this state of things, which filled us with the saddest forebodings as to the success of our mission.

But, while thus disappointed in more important matters, we felt tolerably well off in material comforts; for in the morning a party of Fugábú arrived with a number of sheep for sale, selling two for a dollar, and thus enabled us to gratify the religious longing of our servants for an extra dish on this their holiday. In the course of the evening, a numerous caravan of oxen laden with grain, or rather Negro millet, arrived from Bórnu, which made provisions a little cheaper. The grain grown in the country, in its present wild and desolate state, is not sufficient for the population, though so greatly reduced; and the last season had been rather an unfavorable one. In consequence of the arrival of this caravan, we not only had the opportunity of buying corn

A JEWISH ADVENTURER.

283

at a cheaper rate, but we also got some from the chief as a present.

Every thing in Kánem is bought with the common white Bórnu shirts, which form the general dress of the people, black tobes being worn only by richer persons. Even the general dress of Arabs settled here in Kánem consists of these white tobes and a háík made of the same stuff, only the wealthier individuals being able to buy a woolen plaid. The dress of the females, too, is made of these very tobes, which are cut into the regular oblong pieces of which they consist, and sewn together lengthwise.

Tuesday, October 7th. Being obliged to remain here without the certain prospect of doing any thing worth while, we at least thought we had some right to the hospitality of our hosts, and we expressed our desire to obtain a little more milk, as we ourselves possessed neither cows nor she-camels. Our request was complied with. Thus we accustomed ourselves entirely to camel's milk, and found it by degrees more palatable and wholesome than the milk of cows. I attribute the recovery of my strength principally to this sort of diet. There was always some milk brought into the encampment by the daughters of the Bení Hassan; but this was generally milk in an unpleasant intermediate state between sweet and sour, and the vessels (the kórió, made of the leaves of the palm-tree) in which it was carried had usually a bad smell, which they communicated to the milk.

As the renegade Jew 'Abd-Allah (El Musulmáni) was the medium through which all our business with the chief was transacted, I made him to-day a present of a red sash, and continued to keep him in good humor by occasional small presents. This man was a curious specimen of a Jewish adventurer. He was by birth a Tripolitan, but had been obliged to leave his native home on account of a murder which he had committed. He then betook himself to the tribe of the Welád Slimán, exchanging his Jewish creed for that of Mohammed, and obtained protection. When he had gained a good deal of property as a silversmith, his new companions stripped him of his treasures; he then for a time separated from them, and, in company with two other

renegade Jews, Músa and Ibrahím, made a journey to Negroland-a memorable event, as they were the first of their nation who trod this road. On his receiving news of the prosperity of the Welád Slimán in Kanem, he once more joined them, and became a freebooter. He was a very good horseman; but that was all, his horsemanship but badly supplying his want of courage. However, he was useful to us in many respects, although we had to take care that the people did not confound us with these Jewish adventurers.

I began this day my little vocabulary of the Tébu language, or, rather, the "módi Tedá," and provisionally that dialect of this language which is spoken by the inhabitants of Búrgu, and which varies considerably from the language as it is spoken by the inhabitants of Bilma and in the south of Fezzán. Already at that early period I became aware that this language is nearly related to the Kanúri, while it has scarcely any link whatever which externally connects it with the Berber language.

Wednesday, October 8th. The only thing which happened this day worth mentioning was the arrival of Hallúf, a warlike Tébu chieftain, with seventeen horsemen of the Fugábú Tébu, who rode up in a very spirited manner to the tent of Sheikh Ghét. Hallúf, a man of great bodily size and strength, and renowned in these quarters on account of his valor, had formerly been the enemy of Bórnu, but had now been won over to its interest. However, he was still too much afraid of the Bórnu people to join the Welád Slimán as long as Háj 'Abbás, the vizier's messenger, was present, but he came as soon as he heard that he was gone. He was not a very scrupulous man, as I soon convinced myself, as he, with the Fugábú, called upon us, and, as soon as he had introduced himself, began begging for poison. We of course cut his demand short. He then sat quietly down with his companions, and took great delight in the performances of my musical box, which I really found, together with the watch, the most useful instrument for demonstrating to the people the great superiority of European genius and handicraft. These people were not without sympathy for those lively airs which the little instrument was capable of per

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forming, and would sit down quietly for a great length of time, enjoying this mysterious music. The rumor soon spread, and Sheikh Ghét likewise desired to be made acquainted with the mysterious little box. But the day did not end so harmlessly, for bad tidings arrived. Háj 'Abbás, on his way to Bórnu, had seen a troop of Kindín near Ngégimi, and warned the Arabs to beware of a sudden attack. Thus uneasiness and anxiety spread through the encampment, and scouts were sent out to scour the country in every direction.

Friday, October 10th. News having been brought in the morning that three Tawárek on horseback, and five on camels, had been seen at a neighboring well, an alarm was raised immediately. All the Arabs mounted, and we followed their example, though I felt extremely weak; while my horse, having had rest and good food for several days, and seeing so many companions galloping and capering about, was almost unmanageable.

The whole encampment presented a very warlike appearance, but it turned out to be a false alarm. We therefore returned into the encampment, and began to arrange our luggage, as we were to leave here the heaviest part of our things, and take only as little as possible with us in our progress further eastward; for the Arabs had conceived the hope of plunder, the news having been brought that the Khalífa of Wádáy had left his residence M'awó, and that nobody was there to defend that quarter against their inroads. At the same time, our friends cast a longing look toward Báteli, the celebrated pasture-grounds in the northern course of the Bahar el Ghazál, two days' march beyond Egé, where numbers of camels were reported to be collected at the time. Of course, they did not want it to become known where they intended to direct their foray, and therefore spoke now of this, then of that quarter, as likely to be the object of their expedition.

CHAPTER XLI.

SHITÁTI.—THE EASTERN, MORE FAVORED VALLEYS OF KANEM.

Saturday, October 11th. With the rest of our people, and with the remaining two camels carrying the smaller part of our luggage, we accompanied the following day the more active part of the horde, while the older men were left behind for the defense of the encampment, with their families and property.

The country through which our way led was entirely of the same character as that which I have already described, a sandy level, adorned with trees of moderate size, almost all of the genus Mimosa, and in favorable seasons well adapted for the cultivation of Indian corn-now and then broken by deep hollows of larger or smaller extent, generally with a sufficient supply of water to produce fine plantations or corn-fields, and overgrown with more luxuriant vegetation. We crossed a fine vale of this description about eight miles from our starting-point, and chose our camping-ground on the higher level commanding the "Bir el Ftáim." The hollow, however, which contains this well is rather of a peculiar kind; for, unlike the other basins, which afford sufficient space for cultivation, it is extremely narrow, while the encompassing slopes, at least that on the north side, rise to a greater altitude than the general level of the country. I made a sketch of it.

On this commanding point there was a village of the Fugábú Kóbber; and Overweg and I, before we went to our encampment, which was chosen on the southern slope, paid these people a visit, dismounting under a tree at some distance from their light huts, and were well received. They brought us immediately a dish made of the meal of Indian corn and sour milk, and sat down cheerfully, questioning us as to the difference between their country and ours, and asking, with regard to the

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