BEGINNING OF THE ROCKY DISTRICT.

457

bare and destitute of vegetation, but after a while became overgrown with stunted talha-trees, a few siwák, and a great profusion of retem; till, after a march of two miles, the river again approached on our right, being here free from rocks, and bordered by a grassy lowland richly clad with the famous býrgu. On our left, a few tobacco plantations gave proof of a certain degree of industry on the part of the natives, although on this side only a nomadic encampment was to be seen, but on the opposite bank a hamlet appeared. The whole of this district belongs to Tinsherífen.

As the river takes here a very winding course, meandering along between steep banks, we again left it at some distance on our right, ascending from a low swampy inlet upon higher ground, where we passed another Tawárek encampment, and then, as darkness was setting in, we again descended to the green shore, where the river seemed to be obstructed by islands. Parallel with the bank, a shallow grassy swamp stretched along, and from beyond the southern bank, a little higher up, a village was seen. On the largest of the islands, which was at the same time the nearest to our side, was the residence of Kára, the father of a young man named Sála, one of the pupils of El Bakay. This was the reason why my companions, notwithstanding the darkness of the evening, and although the island was at present separated from the main land by a deep channel, entertained the absurd idea of crossing over to the latter. It was only after much uncertainty, and a great deal of dispute, that we decided upon encamping 'on the narrow neck between the swamp and the river.

In this place we remained the four following days, my protector not returning until the third day, and my patience was again put to a severe trial. But, altogether, the stay here was not so uninteresting, as we received a great many visits from the inhabitants of this and the neighboring districts. First there came Kára, the gov ernor of the island, a stately-looking old man, dressed in a fine white tobe, with a white shawl round his head. Having entered into conversation with me, he stated, without the subject being brought forward by myself, that about fifty years ago a Christian had come down the river in a large boat with a white tent, and the river being then full, had passed without any accident the rocky passage ahead of us. But he added that the Kél-terárart had attacked him at Zamgoy. Park had passed this place in the morning, while he (Kára) was encamped with his people on the sandy

downs of A'ribínda. This chief himself, although he was not at all hospitable, had really something in his demeanor which might indicate a descent from a nobler stock, but the rest of the inhabitants of the island had much the same appearance as the less noble tribes of the Tawárek in general. However, there is no doubt that the name of the whole district, Tin-sherífen, is taken from the supposed origin of these people-from sherífs. And here in this district, as well as in the neighboring one of Burrum, where the great river, after having made this remarkable bend into the heart of the desert, changes its easterly course into a southeasterly one, we must evidently look for the earliest Mohammedan settlers along the Niger.

I here also first came into more intimate relation with that remarkable tribe the Kél e' Súk, who seem to deserve a great deal of attention among these nomadic tribes, although I am not yet able to elucidate all the points connected with their history, for they themselves take very little interest in historical facts, and if there exist written records they are not generally known. But this much is certain, that these Kél e' Súk have been so called from a place, Súk, or at least generally called Súk,* situated at the distance of five days' journey from this point, and six from Gógó, which seems to have been a very considerable place in former times, but was destroyed in the latter half of the fifteenth century by Sonni 'Alí, the great predecessor of the still greater conqueror Háj Mohammed A'skíá. The original name of this place I did not succeed in making out, but it is no doubt that very place which, by El Bekrít and other Arab geographers, after the name of the tribe, has been called Tademékket, and which, till the middle of the seventeenth century, ruled over this region.

This large and well-built town appears to have been the centre of various tribes, although I can scarcely conceive that my informants were right when they asserted that their ancestors had been living there, together with the Hogár and the Kélowí, as from this statement, if it were true, we should have in this place

* The reader need not be under the impression that the name "súk” indicates Arabic influence, for the word is of the most extensive Semitic range.

+ El Bekrí, who is the only reliable authority, in the edition of de Slane, p. 181, et seq. The distance of nine days from Gógó, according to El Bekrí, is to be regarded as the rate for heavily-laden caravans, corresponding well to six days of light camels or mehára. See the itinerary from Tawát to this place, in the Appendix. Of the (erroneous) derivation of the name of the town, I have spoken on a former occasion. See ante, p. 335.

a much more remarkable example of a community founded by several Berber tribes together than is afforded by the history of A'gades. Be this as it may, the name of Súk has settled upon this tribe, who still form quite a separate body, being distinguished from the neighboring tribes for their learning and peaceable pursuits.

Besides several respectable men of this tribe, I received a visit also from Nássaru, a daughter of one of their chiefs named Khozématen. She was one of the finest women that I saw in this country. Her decent apparel contributed not a little to increase her beauty, for over her under-gown she wore an upper garment of red and black silk, in alternate stripes, which she occasionally drew over her head. Her features were remarkable for their soft expression and regularity, but her person rather inclined to corpulency, which is highly esteemed by the Tawárek. Seeing that I took an interest in her, she half-jokingly proposed that I should marry her; and I declared myself ready to take her with me if one of my rather weak camels should be found able to support her weight. As a mark of distinction I presented her with a looking-glass, which I was always accustomed to give to the most handsome woman in an encampment, the rest receiving nothing but needles. She returned the next day with some of her relations, who were equally distinguished for their comeliness, and who were anxious to obtain a glimpse of me, not less than of the Sheikh el Bakáy. These noble Tawárek ladies furnished a remarkable example of the extreme liberty which the females belonging to this tribe enjoy; and I was greatly astonished to see the pipe pass continually from their mouths to those of the men, and from the latter back again into the mouths of the women. In other respects, I can only hope that they surpass the female portion of the population of Tademékka, of whose virtue El Bekrí speaks in rather doubtful terms.

Less agreeable than the company of these people was the arrival of the blind Simsim, who, it seems, had been rather disappointed in his expectation of having his sight restored, although my friend had contrived to get from him a present of a camel and a female slave. We were here also at length joined by A'hmed Wadawi, the principal pupil of the sheikh, whom I scarcely expected to see again; but, being fully aware of the slow and deliberate character of his master, he felt convinced that he could never come too late. Altogether I was glad that he had arrived, for,

although apt to make great pretensions, and being inspired with too great zeal for his creed, he was nevertheless a cheerful and good-natured man, and, on account of his considerable learning and his knowledge of the Tawárek chiefs, might be of great service to me after having separated from the sheikh. He had, besides, acquired some useful experience with regard to the difference between the straightforward and trustworthy character of a Christian and the treachery and cunning of an Arab; for having in the beginning constantly taken the part of my former guide, Weled A'mmer Waláti, against myself, he had been cheated in return for his friendship by that rascal, and, in order to get from him what was due to him, had been obliged to pursue him to A'ribínda. He brought the news from Timbúktu that the rebel chief A'khbi, whom we had been unable to persuade to return to his former allegiance, was collecting an army against Alkúttabu.

The whole time of our stay at Tin-sherífen the weather was excessively hot, the heat being felt the more severely, as there was not the slightest shade near our encampment; and as my tent was almost insupportably hot, in order to obtain a little shade I wandered to a considerable distance up the slope which rose behind our encampment, and here lay down under a small hájilíj, or tabórak. From this spot I had an interesting view over the river, which, on account of its peculiar features, here deserved my full attention, and even more than I was able at the time to bestow upon it, as, in the absence of my protector, my companions were rather anxious about my safety. My young and cheerful friend, Mohammed ben Khottár, was suffering all this time from severe indisposition, so that I had no one to rove about with me. A little lower down, the road recedes from the bank of the river for a short distance, and hence I am not able to lay down the river, between this place and Tósaye, with that minuteness of detail which it deserves, in order to facilitate navigation. Under other circumstances, I should have made a special drawing of this remarkable locality on a larger scale; but the assertion of the natives, that Park, in his large boat (his majesty's schooner Joliba), had passed through in December or January without accident, reassured me perfectly. Besides, as I myself had to travel all along the bank of the river by land, I had to take care not to excite too much the suspicions of the natives.

From this spot I had a clear prospect over the point where the river, issuing forth from between the islands, is shut in by two

THE RIVER AT TIN-SHERIFEN.

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masses of rock, called, I think, Shabór* and Barrór, which obstructed it like a sort of iron gate, although the passage between them, especially at high water, appeared to be open and clear. In summer, however, during the lowest state of the river, the difficulty of the navigation is greatly increased by the sand-bank which is formed a little above this strait between the islands and the bank. On the island where the chief Kála resided, also, a mass of rock, which at times, in the sunlight of the afternoon, appeared like a snow-white boulder of quartz rock, started forth like an artificial terrace. Higher up, the river was encompassed in its winding course by steep banks; but, in one spot, on the opposite shore, where the sandy downs formed a recess, a low grassy headland or island was formed, which at the time was enlivened by numbers of horses, cattle, and sheep, and was adorned by stately trees, especially a fine group of dúm palms; for dúm palms apparently begin to prevail here, and lower down the river are found occasionally in great numbers. The slope itself, from whence I overlooked this scenery, consisted entirely of rock. Quartz and mica slate were visible every where, and an uninterrupted ledge of the latter mineral set right across with an inclination toward east. The evenings were beautiful, and nothing afforded me greater delight than to walk along the fine sandy beach far into the river. During the lowest state of the water, this beach forms a junction between the main land and the island where Kála resided.

Our attention was also attracted to some young zangway, the small species of alligator, which every evening raised their cry from the swamp where they were left by their dams. It sounds like the barking of a dog, and it appeared to us as if they were bred purposely in this backwater, in order that they might not fall a prey to some larger animal in the river.

CHAPTER LXXVII.

TO'SAYE, OR THE NARROWING OF THE RIVER.—BURRUM; ANCIENT RELATION TO EGYPT.—GREAT SOUTH-SOUTHEASTERLY REACH.

AT length, in the course of the 8th, my protector returned from his herd of camels, or, as the Arabs call it, "kissib," bringing with

* I am not quite certain whether Shabór may not be the name of the island and not of the rock.