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Having proceeded at a tolerable rate as far as this place, we here once more relapsed into our usual slow mode of progress; and af ter a short march of scarcely three miles over a ground strewn with pebbles and small stones, and clad only with scanty vegetation, we encamped close to the steep bank which descended toward the river opposite the island of Zamgoy, for here we were told was the residence of Sadáktu, the chief who had levied such heavy contributions upon the inhabitants of Bámba. As the country itself did not present any features of interest, it was some recompense to me for the delay we met with in this place that the character of the river was remarkable; and, in order to enjoy it as much as possible, I prepared myself a resting-place on the slope of the bank, which was thickly overgrown with small trees.

It is here that the beginning of the rocky district through which the river takes its course is first perceptible. The western end of a small island is entirely surrounded by large granite blocks, which have given to the island the remarkable name of Tahóntn-éggish, clearly indicating that even the natives themselves regard this place, for him who comes down the river, as the "entrance-rock," or the beginning of the rocky district.

The island of Zamgoy lies nearer to the southern shore, and seems to be of considerable extent, densely clothed with trees, and containing a small hamlet or ádabay. Besides the view of the river, and a walk now and then over the desert ground in our neighborhood, where I observed the ruins of some stone dwellings, I had plenty of occupation during this and the three following days which we remained here in conversing with the natives.

Sadaktu himself was very unwell, and greatly wanted my medical assistance; but after I had made him feel the efficacy of my medicines so strongly that he declared every evil to be remove from his body, he did not reward my zeal with so much as a dre of milk. I therefore could not help observing, to the great delight of his subjects, that he was the most niggardly chief I had ever met with. There were, however, others who were more social and communicative, if not more liberal, than this chief. There was, first, a wealthy and good-looking man of the name of Jemíl, of the Kel-Burrum or the people of Burrum, who evidently orig inate in a mixture of free Songhay people and I'móshagh, and he himself seemed to unite in a certain degree the qualities of these different nations, while his rich dress and his embonpoint proved that he was not an austere inhabitant of the desert. A great deal

THE CHIEF SADA'KTU.

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of trouble was caused me by another man of the name of Simsim, the son of Sídi A'mmer, and the eldest of seven brothers, a very rich A'móshagh, who was totally blind, but who, nevertheless, expected me to restore his sight; and it really seemed as if my friend El Bakay confirmed him in this belief, in order to obtain from him some handsome presents for himself.

This person also had the stately appearance peculiar to all these easterly Tawárek, who seem to have enriched themselves with the spoil of the native Songhay population, the latter having in a great measure been reduced by them to the condition of serfs. Almost all of them had a very proud bearing, but nevertheless, upon nearer acquaintance, they proved to be of a very cheerful disposition; and, although of a wild character and of warlike propensities, they have an easy temper, and are not difficult to manage.

The poor inhabitants of Bámba, from whom Sadáktu had taken seventy cows and ten slaves, joined us here in the endeavor to recover their property. They earnestly begged me to be the mediator between them and that hostile chief; and I was very glad when, after a good deal of dispute, the chief returned half of the spoil. It was here also that I learned that the whole population of A'ír, under the command of Háj 'Abdúwa, had gained a great victory over the Dínnik, or Awelímmiden-wén-Bodhál, and the Aréwan, or Kél-gerés. The tribe of the Kél-fadáye enjoy a great name in this region; and it is evident that, in former times, they occupied a much more conspicuous position than they do at present. Even El Bakáy himself had taken a wife from that tribe; and I was also informed here that they lay claim to a descent from sherífs.

We had a storm almost every day during our stay in this place; but, although we ourselves had very little else than a disagreeable -nd-wind, there seemed to be a very heavy fall of rain in A'ribínda. In one of these thunder-storms we nearly lost our camels, which, headed by one of their companions that had lately come from A'zawád, were making straight for that district, their beloved home, and had proceeded a distance of some miles before they were overtaken.

Wednesday, May 31st. At length we pursued our journey, but only for a short march of two hours; and I was so disgusted at the repeated delays and sham traveling, that I prayed earnestly that the Almighty would speedily deliver me from this sort of bondage. Throughout our march, the bare desert, here consisting

of stony ground, torn by many small channels, closely crept up to the fertile bed of the river, where a green swampy lowland girded the present reduced sheet of water. Among the stones with which the ground was covered, fine white and red striped rock was discernible; and I observed another island, with a rocky point, toward the west.

The ground where we encamped was bleak in the extreme, without any shade, although a few hundred yards in front of us. there was a fine grove of gerredh; but as these trees adorned a cemetery, my companions, from superstitious motives, were too much afraid to choose that place for their encampment. Although our camping-ground was excessively hot, I was agreeably surprised to find the water of the river so pleasantly cool at a time when the sun was high, and could only attribute this phenomenon to the rocky character of the channel and to its considerable depth. Nevertheless, crocodiles, as well as river-horses, were numerous.

In this unprotected ground we remained not only this, but the following day, although the place was as uncomfortable for the people, who were almost scorched by the heat of the sun, as it was detrimental to the animals, who found nothing to eat here. The sheikh had gone in the morning to visit Sadáktu, in the island of Zamgoy, and from thence did not join us until late in the evening. It was one of the hottest days we had had; and it was here that, about noon, we discovered in my tent a large black, poisonous arachnoa, or spider, the body of which measured almost two inches in diameter, and whose like my companions from Timbúktu had never seen. The Tawárek were so disgusted at the sight, that while I was attentively looking at it, after we had killed it, they threw it hastily away with their swords, so that I did not see it again; but they told me that it was the most dangerous and abominable creature to be found in these regions.

The excessive heat rendered a thunder-storm which we had in the afternoon of the second day highly acceptable, especially as the heavy gale was followed by a light rain, which greatly relieved the burning heat of the sandy soil. It was highly amusing to me to observe also, this time, that although a large leathern tent had been pitched for the sheikh, nevertheless, as was always the case when a thunder-storm arose, every body hastened to carry his treasures, especially the saddles and books, under cover of my small European tent, which had now withstood more than four years' exposure to the weather, and was mended and patched in

ENCAMPMENT OF SI'DI I'LEMI'N.

455 such a manner that the original material was scarcely discernible.

Friday, June 2d. We at length left this place, but only to move on a distance of seven or eight miles, to an encampment of a wealthy man of the name of Sídi I'lemín, who, although belonging to the tribe of the Fúlbe, was living among the Tawárek, and had been settled in the place for a great many years. The contrast between the open river, bordered by the green grassy lowlands, which at present had been laid bare by the retiring waters, and the bleak desert which closely approached it, was very remarkable, especially a short distance before we reached the encampment, where an extensive sandy eminence excluded for a while the view of the river, and with a few scattered bushes of the poisonous fernán, and the short herbage called "ellob,” made one fancy one's self transported into the heart of the desert.

Along the former part of our road the low shore of the river had been clothed with a profusion of excellent býrgu, but here there was none, and the poor camels again fared very badly. In the whole of this district along the river, where trees are very scanty, the camel is reduced to the diet of býrgu, although it by no means agrees with animals accustomed to the food of the young acacia-trees and the dry herbage of the desert. All circumstances considered, my camels were in a very bad condition, and there was good reason for my kind friend and protector looking about for some fresh animals to enable me to reach more favored regions. He therefore determined to set out from this point to the nearest of his "kissib," or herds of camels, while we were to wait for him at a place called Tin-sherífen.

The river, which, in its present state, was about 900 yards from our camp, had here a very shallow, and not at all an imposing appearance, although a few miles below it enters a very rocky district, where it is inclosed by steep banks and broken by islets and cliffs. Four boats were lying on the shore. The place was called Igómaren.

The encampment of Sídi I'lemín was large, consisting of very spacious leathern tents, where Tawárek and Fúlbe, and some Arabs also, were living together in peaceful community. Although they are tolerably wealthy, they have only asses, and no horses. A good many Tawárek joined us here the day of our arrival, and, while I rewarded the most respectable among them with a small present of some kind or other, I had some difficulty

in satisfying a more powerful lord of the name of Míki, the son of Elesa; and found it still more difficult to satisfy his companion, or "énhad," who, as is very often the case in Europe, raised his pretensions much higher than his master.

The blind Simsim also accompanied us to this place, and troubled me not a little with begging a remedy for his blindness. Among other chiefs, there was one whose name seemed to me rather remarkable, as he called himself El I'sfaháni; but what he or his ancestors had to do with the famous town of I'sfahan I could not make out. Sídi I'lemín treated us well with a number of large dishes of rice, but the food being prepared without any salt, I was not able to enjoy it, and was the more grateful at being furnished in the evening with a rich supply of milk.

Saturday, June 3d. While my protector directed his steps toward the desert, I, with the greater part of his followers, continued my journey along the banks of the river, which had now almost become a second home to me, and with its many backwaters, islands, and cliffs, afforded me a never-failing source of interest. About half a mile beyond our encampment we passed the site of a former settlement or dwelling-place, after which the sandy downs receded a little from the bank, affording comfortable ground for a good number of Tawárek encampments. Having then left on our right an extensive swampy lowland, which, during the highest state of the river, becomes inundated, we reached the beginning of the rocky district, through which the river has to pass. After a very short march, we encamped in a place called Himberímme, on account of the indisposition of my friend Mohammed ben Khottár.

The slope where we halted was very handsomely adorned with fine shady tabórak, and the river was here free from rocks, being divided into two branches by a low sand-bank, while a mile higher up a mighty ledge of granite rocks projected into the water. But about 1000 yards below our halting-place the river presented a very wild aspect, a considerable rocky island, consisting of immense granite blocks, together with a rocky ledge projecting from the high bank, shutting in half the breadth of the river, and forcing it, with a direction from S. 30° E. to N. 30° W., into a channel of probably not more than 350 yards broad. This remarkable place, where the river, when it is full, must form a very powerful current, is called Tin-álshiden.

The heat of the day having passed by, we continued our march, cutting off the bend of the river over a ground which was at first

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