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A SLEEPLESS NIGHT.

379

I went home to refresh myself with a cup of tea, and then made preparations for the eventual defense of my house, and for hiding the more valuable of my effects: after which I returned to the residence of El Bakáy, about midnight, and found the holy man himself, armed with a double-barreled gun, about to enter the great segífa, or parlor, which he had allotted to his faithful and discreet store-keeper, Táleb el Wáfi. Here we sat down; and soon about forty men gathered round us, armed partly with spears and partly with muskets, when, after a great deal of useless talk as to what was to be done, it was agreed upon to send one messenger to the Tawárek chiefs, Rummán and Mushtába, whose acquaintance I had made on a former occasion, and who at present were encamped in Mushérrek, a locality rich in pasture-grounds and well protected by three branches of the river, to the southwest of the town—and another messenger to our friends the Kel-úlli, in order to summon these people to our assistance.

Meanwhile the sheikh, seated on the raised platform of clay, which occupied the left corner of the parlor, entertained the sleepy assembly with stories of the prophets, especially Músa and Mohammed, and the victories achieved by the latter, in the beginning of his career, over his numerous adversaries. The quiet of the listless assembly was only disturbed for a time by a shriek issuing from the northern part of the town, and every body snatched his gun and ran out; but it was soon found that the alarm was caused by our own messengers, who, on leaving the place, had disturbed the repose of the inhabitants of the suburb, or "A'beraz," the latter supposing them to belong to a foray of the predatory and enterprising Welád 'Alúsh, who were then infesting A'zawád.

Having thus sat up the whole night, full of curious reflections on these tragi-comic scenes, I returned to my quarters about five o'clock in the morning, and endeavored to raise my exhausted spirits by means of some coffee. However, our precautions, insufficient as they might seem to a European, had had their full effect, and the Púllo messenger did not dare to enter the town before noon, and even then, although joined by about sixty horsemen from the townspeople, was afraid to traverse our warlike quarter.

Meanwhile Sídi Mohammed and A'lawáte had left the town with a troop of armed men, under the pretext of observing the movements of the enemy, but, perhaps, in order to show them that

they themselves did not coincide with all the views of the sheikh. Going then to the residence, I found nearly two hundred people assembled there, most of them armed, and including among their number even the Púllo, Mohammed ben 'Abd-Alláhi, who did not conceal the greater friendship he felt for the sheikh than for his own countrymen, the Fúlbe of Hamda-Alláhi. While I was there, Mohammed S'aíd, the officer who had been sent to capture me on a previous occasion, was dispatched as a messenger by Férreji, the new officer; and, under the present circumstances, disguising all hostile intentions, he was desirous to know what was the reason of this show of arms; such not being in accordance with the sheikh's former character, and it being rather his duty to bestow hospitable treatment upon his old friend, El Férreji.

Although this was rather a curious distortion of facts, I was still more astonished at the answer of the sheikh, who replied that he had only followed the example of his two brothers. But the business was not settled in this manner. Late in the evening there was another serious consultation in the terrace-room of the sheikh, and Sídi A'lawáte was dispatched to Férreji to elicit from him an indication of his real intentions. Sídi Mohammed, meanwhile, in order to pass away the time, opened a cheerful and jocose conversation, by questioning me respecting the social position and the various relations of the other sex in my own country-a subject which always possesses a great deal of attraction, even among the most serious of the Mohammedans.

Having then been obliged to withdraw, as A'lawáte had pretended that he could only communicate his message from the officer sent from Hamda-Alláhi to El Bakáy himself, I returned home; but, long after midnight, I received a visit from the latter, who came to inform me that Férreji had brought nothing but favorable letters from Hamda-Alláhi, having written, as he said, the threatening letter from Kábara merely at the instigation of the Saheliye, or merchants from Morocco; and that he himself, on his part, had assured Férreji that, if Sheikho A'hmedu left me alone, I should be forwarded on my home-journey after a short delay; but adding that the Fúlbe ought to assist him from the public revenue, in order to hasten my departure.

The same day I witnessed an interesting episode in the private life of these people. The sheikh's mother-in-law having died, he went to pray for her soul at the "ródha," or sepulchre, of Sídi Mukhtár, a sacred locality a few hundred yards on the east side

ARRIVAL OF THE KEL-U'LLI.

381 of the town, which in my career in this place was to become of greater importance to me. Such is the reverence which these Arabs have for the female portion of their tribe. There are, moreover, several women famed for the holiness of their life, and even authoresses of well-digested religious tracts, among the tribe of the Kunta.

Political circumstances were not quite so favorable as my host wanted to represent them to me; as, like many other people, he was not very particular, when endeavoring to obtain a good object, about saying things that were not quite true; and the following day, when Férreji paid a visit to the sheikh, he designated me as a war-chief and a "mehárebi," or freebooter, who ought not to be allowed to remain any longer in the town. Altogether it was fortunate that El Bakáy had provided for the worst by sending for the Kel-úlli, who arrived in the course of the afternoon, about sixty strong, with great military demonstrations and beating of shields. It was on this occasion that I first made the acquaintance of this warlike tribe, who, notwithstanding their degraded position as Imghád, have made themselves conspicuous by totally annihilating the formerly powerful tribe of the I ́gelád and I'medídderen, who in former times ruled over Timbúktu and were hostile to the Kunta. The Kel-úlli are distinguished among all the tribes of the neighborhood by three qualities which, to the European, would scarcely seem possible to be united in the same person, but which are not unfrequently found combined in the Arab tribes, viz., "réjela," or valor; "sírge," or thievishness; and "dhiyáfa," or generous hospitality.

CHAPTER LXXII.

GREAT CRISIS.-OBLIGED TO LEAVE THE TOWN.-MILITARY

DEMONSTRATION.

THERE was now a fair opportunity offered me of leaving the town in an honorable way, under the protection of the friendly Kel-úlli, who for this very purpose had brought with them from the encampment my four camels; but the sheikh missed this favorable occasion by relying too much upon the promised arrival of the great Tawárek chief Alkúttabu. As for our friends the Tademékket, to whom A'hmed Wádáwi, the learned follower of

the sheikh, had been sent as a messenger, they did not come along with him, but sent word that they would follow him as soon as their presence was required, their chief A'wáb having gone to raise tribute from the degraded tribe of the Idélebó.

Uncertain as my situation was under these circumstances, I felt cheered by the not very improbable chance of my departure; for at length the last cause which had delayed me so long seemed to be removed by El Bakáy's wife giving birth to a child on the 4th of March. All political as well as domestic circumstances therefore seemed to conspire in rendering it possible for him to accompany me for the distance of some days; and he had really assured me the night before, when I was engaged in a consultation with him till near morning, that I should leave on the following Tuesday; but, having had too much insight into his dilatory character, I told him very plainly that I did not believe a word of it, as he had disappointed me so often. And I had reason to be satisfied with my skepticism, as the phantom of the “tábu," or the great army of the Tawárek, with whose assistance he hoped to triumph over his enemies, did not allow him to adhere to any fixed plan. Now the "tábu" was really approaching; and it was merely some unforeseen circumstance, probably owing in part to the machinations of the party publicly or secretly opposed to the authority of the sheikh, which prevented the great chief of all those westerly Tawárek from reaching Timbúktu, and crowning all the hopes and wishes of my protector.

It was in the afternoon of the 5th that we received undoubted news of the approach of the tábu, the shepherds seeking to secure their flocks by flight, and all those who had reason to fear the wrath or anger of their mighty liege lord endeavoring to reach the islands and creeks of the river as a place of safety. A messenger who arrived from Bamba stated that the tábu had really reached the town of E'gedesh, a few miles beyond Bamba; nay, even the state of the atmosphere seemed to confirm the news of the approach of a numerous host, as it was entirely enveloped in thick clouds of dust. But the sheikh was a little too rash in sending on the 6th a message to El Férreji, giving him official information of the arrival of Alkúttabu. That officer answered, in a manly way, that he must not think of frightening him, and that he himself, if necessary, was fully able to summon an army from Fermágha and from Dár e' Salám, the capital of the Province of Jimbálla on the other side of the river; that he had come to drive

THE "TABU."-WHO IS A MOSLIM?

383 me out of the town, and that he would at any cost achieve his purpose; and although the sheikh's rival, Hammádi, seemed to be frightened and came to sue for peace, yet Sídi Mohammed was wearied with his brother's continual procrastination, and from that day forward did all in his power to make me leave the town under any condition, and banish me to the tents.

There is no doubt that, in the event of the "tábu" not arriving, the sheikh's situation became more dangerous in consequence of the arrival of his brother 'Abidín, who entered the town amid a demonstration of firing and music on the afternoon of the 7th. All the three brothers went out on horseback to meet him; but this man, who was bent upon following a policy entirely opposed to that of El Bakáy, took up his quarters with Hammádi, the adversary of the latter. Even the eldest brother was so little șatisfied with the sheikh's present policy, that, when I called upon him about midnight of that same day, a very serious conversation arose between the two brothers, Sídi Mohammed asking El Bakáy whether they were to fight the Fullán on account of a single individual, and one too of a foreign religion; and reproaching him at the same time with the fact that his preparations did not advance, while on his part he did not think any preparations were necessary at all, as he was sure that not even the tribe of the Igwádaren, who are settled near Bamba, would do me any harm. But the sheikh endeavored to gain time by telling his brother that he would send the following day for the horses from Kábara, and that he would write a letter to some chiefs on the road through whose territory I had to pass.

Having been a quiet spectator of this dispute, I returned to my quarters, and in order to provide against any accident I packed up the remainder of my luggage and made every thing ready for starting. Meanwhile, Sídi Mohammed and A'lawáte, in order to further their plans, had the same afternoon an appointment with 'Abidín and Hammádi, where they probably determined as to the course to be pursued with regard to me: and El Bakay, who went the same evening to pay a visit to to 'Abidín, seemed to have given a kind of half promise that I should leave in the afternoon of the 10th. But having obtained a short respite, in the course of the following day, he delayed my departure from day to day, expecting all the time the arrival of Alkúttabu.

Meanwhile, Sídi Mohammed had made a serious attack upon my religion, and called me always a káfir. But I told him that I

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