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ABORTIVE PLAN OF DEPARTURE.

597

they put me to fresh expense; for, by their authority, as being the followers of a highly venerated Mohammedan chief, they increased the probability of my safely entering upon my home-journey. I therefore went with my friends to pay a visit to Zén el A'bidín, the son-in-law of the Sheikh el Bakáy, who, having been formerly employed by the Sheikh 'Omár as a messenger to the Emir of Sokoto, was now again to return eastward; for having in the beginning been treated rather unkindly by his wife Zéna, "The Ornament," El Bakáy's daughter, he had thought it better to console himself with a pilgrimage to Mekka, and did not now appear willing to listen to the solicitations of his repentant wife, who sincerely wished him to return to bear her company. I found him a simple and decent-looking man, whose manners pleased me the more as he abstained entirely from begging, and I testified the obligation which I bore to his family by sending him an ox for slaughtering, a sheep, and some smaller articles. I had also the pleasure of meeting here the Sherif 'Abd e' Rahmán, the same man whom we had met four years previously in the country of A'ír, and who had lately returned from A'damáwa. He brought me the latest information of the state of that country, and as he was to return again in that direction, at a later period, when I had received fresh supplies, I thought it prudent to give him a small parcel to deliver to Mr. Vogel wherever he should fall in with him, especially a few túrkedís and some sugar, of which he had taken with him only a small supply.

Having hired a guide and protested repeatedly to the sheikh that I could not wait any longer, my health having suffered considerably from my five years' stay in these countries, I left the town on the 20th of February, and pitched my tent on the high ground at Dárwerghú, just above the pool or swamp, round the southern border of which sorghum is cultivated to a considerable extent, and which in the daytime formed the watering-place for numerous herds of cattle. During the night it was visited by a great number of water-fowl. On the whole, I felt extremely happy in having at length left behind me a town of which I had become excessively tired.

But it was not my destiny to get off so easily, and leave this country so soon, for I had had repeated and very serious consultations, not only with the sheikh, but especially with his brother, Abba Yusuf, who was distinguished by his learning and his love of justice, about the parcel sent by her majesty's government, to

gether with the 400 dollars which I had left behind in Zínder, and which had been stolen in consequence of the revolutionary outbreak. After a great deal of discussion, the sheikh promised me that he would restore what I had lost; but, knowing from experience that with these people time is of no value, and finding my health rapidly declining, I had come to the resolution of not waiting any longer, and the sheikh, seeing that I was determined, according to all appearance gave his full approval to my departure by sending me, on the morning of the 21st, five camels, which, although of very inferior quality, yet held out to me a slight hope of proceeding on my journey. But in the afternoon of the 22d he sent to me my old friend Háj Edrís, in order to induce me to return into the town; and the latter made me all sorts of promises as to the manner in which the sheikh wanted to grant me redress for all the claims which I had upon him. In order to show the ruler of the country that I had no fault to find with his own conduct, and to entreat him once more to send me off without farther delay, I went into the town in the course of the afternoon and paid my respects to him. He desired me to return with all my effects to my old quarters; but I told him that was impossible, as my state of health rendered it essential for me to return home without farther delay, whereas by taking up my quarters once more inside the town, according to their own slow mode of proceeding, I was sure not to get away before a couple of months had elapsed; but I said that I would gladly wait outside some days longer, and that, if he wished, I would come into the town. every day in order to ascertain if there was any thing he wished to say to me. To this the sheikh seemed to agree at the time, and thus I took leave of him in the most quiet and satisfactory manner, and it appeared as if every thing was arranged, and that he would in no way interfere with my departure. I therefore bought two more camels the following day out of a large number which had been brought into the town by the Tebu from the Bahhr el Ghazál, and on the 25th, through the mediation of a respectable Tebu merchant, of the name of Háj el Bíggela, made an agreement with a guide, paying him half of his salary in adThe same evening the sheikh sent me some more pro

vance.

visions.

Thus all seemed ready for my departure, although I had not many people at my disposal; but when it had only been delayed one day by accident, there appeared suddenly, in the afternoon

RE-ENTER THE TOWN.

599 of the 28th, 'Alí Zíntelma, that same servant of Díggelma who had stolen part of the merchandise which he was bringing from Zínder to Kúkawa, at the head of four horsemen armed with muskets, bringing me an order from the sheikh to return to the town. Feeling convinced, from the character of the messenger, that if I did not obey the order I should expose myself to all sorts of insults from this contemptible villain, if I did not rid myself of him in a violent and unlawful manner, I thought it prudent, heartrending though it was, to resign myself in obedience to the tyrannical will of these people. It happened rather fortunately for me that Sídi A'hmed, the chief of Sídi el Bakáy's messengers, was staying with me at the time in my encampment. Having, therefore, sent my people in advance to my old quarters, I went to see the skeikh. I then protested against such a proceeding; but he himself did not speak, a younger brother of his, of the name of Abba 'Othmán, taking the lead in the conversation, and stating that the sheikh could not allow me to depart in this manner; and from all that I could learn, I concluded that it was especially this man who had persuaded his elder brother that it was not prudent to allow me to go, unsatisfied as I was, and without having settled my claims, the dangers of the road also being very great. But the principal reason was, that a Tebu messenger had arrived with letters from the north, although I did not hear what the letters addressed to the sheikh himself contained; but I afterward learned that this man had brought the news of the approach of a caravan, and it was but natural that the sheikh should wish to await its arrival. This messenger brought nothing for me except a copy of a dispatch of Lord Clarendon's, dated 10th of June, 1853, and consequently more than twenty months old. The news of my death seemed to be fully accredited in Tripoli and Fezzán, my letter, forwarded from Kanó, of course not having arrived in the latter place when this parcel left; and the only thing which afforded me satisfaction in my unpleasant situation were a few Maltese portfolios, which gave me some information of what had been going on in Europe four months previously.

All that now remained for me under the present circumstances was to resign myself in patience, although the delay pressed upon me with indescribable heaviness, and I had scarcely energy enough to endeavor to employ my time usefully. However, a rather pleasant intermezzo occurred, whereby at the same time one of the conditions was fulfilled upon which my own departure was

dependent, by the arrival of the Arab caravan from the north; and on the 23d of March I went to see them encamped in Dáwerghú, the path being enlivened by all sorts of people going out to meet their friends, and to hear what news had been brought by the new-comers. The caravan consisted of rather more than a hundred Arabs, but not more than sixty camels, the chief of the caravan being Háj Jáber, an old, experienced Fezzáni merchant. There was, besides, an important personage of considerable intelligence, notwithstanding his youth, viz., Abba Aʼhmed ben Hamma el Kánemi. These people had left Fezzán under the impression that I was dead, and were therefore not a little surprised at finding me alive, especially that same Mohammed el 'Akeroút, from whom I had received the 1000 dollars in Zínder, and who was again come to Negroland on a little mercantile speculation. This caravan also carried 1000 dollars for the mission, but it was not addressed to me, as I had long been consigned to the grave, but to Mr. Vogel, although the chief of the caravan offered to deliver it to me. All this mismanagement, in consequence of the false news of my death, greatly enhanced the unpleasant nature of my situation; for, instead of leaving this country under honorable circumstances, I was considered as almost disgraced by those who had sent me out, the command having been taken from me and given to another. There is no doubt that such an opinion delayed my departure considerably, for otherwise the sheikh would have exerted himself in quite a different manner to see me off, and would have agreed to any sacrifice in order to satisfy my claims. However, in consequence of the representations of Abba Ahmed, he sent me on the 28th, through that same Diggelma, to whom I was indebted for the greater part of my unpleasant situation, the 400 dollars which had come along with the box of English ironware, and he offered even to indemnify me for the loss of the articles contained in the box. This, however, I did not feel justified in accepting, as the value of those contents had been greatly exaggerated by the agent in Múrzuk, and claims raised in consequence. Nevertheless, the amount received was a great relief to me, as, without touching the sum brought by the caravan, I was thus enabled to pay back the 200 dollars lent me by the Fezzáni merchant Khweldi, and to pay my servant Mohammed el Gatróni, the only one of my free servants who was still staying with me, the greater proportion of the salary due to him, for I had succeeded in paying off my other servants from the money realized by my merchandise.

NEWS FROM MR. VOGEL.

601

Meanwhile I endeavored to pass my time as well as I could, studying the history of the empire of Bórnu, and entering occasionally into a longer conversation with some of the better instructed of my acquaintances, or making a short excursion; but altogether my usual energy was gone, and my health totally undermined, and the sole object which occupied my thoughts was to convey my feeble body in safety home. My reduced state of body and mind was aggravated by the weather, as it was extremely hot during this period, the thermometer in the latter part of the month of April, at half past two o'clock in the afternoon, rising as high as 1130.* My exhausted condition had at least this ef fect upon the people, that it served to hasten my departure, by convincing them that I should not be able to stand this climate any longer. From the 20th of April, therefore, onward, I was made to hope that I should be allowed to proceed on my journey in the company of a Tebu merchant of the name of Kólo. A small caravan of Tebu, proceeding to Bilma to fetch salt, having gone in advance on the 25th, I went in the afternoon of the 28th to the sheikh in company with Abba A'hmed, who, on the whole, was extremely useful to me in my endeavors to get off, in order to make my final arrangement with Kólo. This day was certainly the happiest day or the only happy one which I passed in this place after the departure of Mr. Vogel; for, in the morning, on returning from an excursion to Dáwerghú, I found a messenger with letters from my companion, one dated from Gújeba, the other from Yakoba, wherein he informed me of the progress of his journey, and how he had safely reached the latter place, which had never before been visited by a European. He also informed me that he was just about to start for the camp or sansánne of the governor, who had been waging war for the last seven years against a tribe of idolaters whom he had sworn to subject. Greatly delighted at the prospect which opened to my fellow-traveler, whom I was to leave behind me, of filling up the blanks which I had left in my discoveries, I made the messenger a handsome present. Being thus considerably relieved in mind and full of hopes, I bore with patience and resignation some little disagreeable incidents which occurred before my final departure, especially the loss of two of the camels which I had recently bought.

*It was rather remarkable that on the 15th of April we had a few drops of rain, accompanied by repeated thunder; and altogether, as the sequel showed, the rainy season that year appeared to set in at a rather unusual and early period for Kukawa.

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