CHAPTER II

.

KOUKA.

Our huts were immediately so crowded with visitors, that we had not a moment’s peace, and the heat was insufferable. Boo-Khaloom had delivered his presents from the bashaw, and brought us a message of compliment, together with an intimation that our own would be received on the following day. About noon we received a summons to attend the sheikh; and we proceeded to the palace, preceded by our negroes, bearing the articles destined for the sheikh by our government; consisting of a double-barrelled gun, by Wilkinson, with a box, and all the apparatus complete, a pair of excellent pistols in a case, two pieces of superfine broad cloth, red and blue, to which we added a set of china, and two bundles of spices.

The ceremony of getting into the presence was ridiculous enough, although nothing could be more plain and devoid of pretension than the appearance of the sheikh himself. We passed through passages lined with attendants, the front men sitting on their hams; and when we advanced too quickly, we were suddenly arrested by these fellows, who caught forcibly hold of us by the legs, and had not the crowd prevented our falling, we should most infallibly have become prostrate before arriving in the presence. Previous to entering into the open court, in which we were received, our papouches, or slippers, were whipped off by these active though sedentary gentlemen of the chamber; and we were seated on some clean sand on each side of a raised bench of earth, covered with a carpet, on which the sheikh was reclining. We laid the gun and the pistols together before him, and explained to him the locks, turnscrews, and steel shot-cases holding two charges each, with all of which he seemed exceedingly well pleased: the powder-flask, and the manner in which the charge is divided from the body of powder, did not escape his observation; the other articles were taken off by the slaves, almost as soon as they were laid before him. Again we were questioned as to the object of our visit. The sheikh, however, showed evident satisfaction at our assurance that the king of England had heard of Bornou and himself; and, immediately turning to his kaganawha (counsellor), said, “This is in consequence of our defeating the Begharmis.” Upon which, the chief who had most distinguished himself in these memorable battles, Bagah Furby (the gatherer of horses) seating himself in front of us, demanded, “Did he ever hear of me?” The immediate reply of “_Certainly_” did wonders for our cause. Exclamations were general; and, “Ah! then, your king must be a great man!” was re-echoed from every side. We had nothing offered us by way of refreshment, and took our leave.

I may here observe, that besides occasional presents of bullocks, camel-loads of wheat and rice, leathern skins of butter, jars of honey, and honey in the comb, five or six wooden bowls were sent us, morning and evening, containing rice, with meat, paste made of barley flour, savoury but very greasy; and on our first arrival, as many had been sent of sweets, mostly composed of curd and honey.

In England a brace of trout might be considered as a handsome present to a traveller sojourning in the neighbourhood of a stream, but at Bornou things are done differently. A camel-load of bream, and a sort of mullet, was thrown before our huts on the second morning after our arrival; and for fear that should not be sufficient, in the evening another was sent.

We had a fsug, or market, in front of one of the principal gates of the town. Slaves, sheep, and bullocks, the latter in great numbers, were the principal live stock for sale. There were at least fifteen thousand persons gathered together, some of them coming from places two and three days distant. Wheat, rice, and gussub, were abundant: tamarinds in the pod, ground nuts, ban beans, ochroes, and indigo; the latter is very good, and in great use amongst the natives, to dye their tobes (shirts) and linen, stripes of deep indigo colour, or stripes of it alternately with white, being highly esteemed by most of the Bornou women: the leaves are moistened, and pounded up altogether when they are formed into lumps, and so brought to market. Of vegetables there was a great scarcity—onions, bastard tomatoes, alone were offered for sale; and of fruits not any: a few limes, which the sheikh had sent us from his garden, being the only fruit we had seen in Bornou. Leather was in great quantities; and the skins of the large snake, and pieces of the skin of the crocodile, used as an ornament for the scabbards of their daggers, were also brought to me for sale; and butter, leban (sour milk), honey, and wooden bowls, from Soudan. The costumes of the women, who for the most part were the vendors, were various: those of Kanem and Bornou were most numerous, and the former was as becoming as the latter had a contrary appearance. The variety in costume amongst the ladies consists entirely in the head ornaments; the only difference, in the scanty covering which is bestowed on the other parts of the person, lies in the choice of the wearer, who either ties the piece of linen, blue or white, under the arms, and across the breasts, or fastens it rather fantastically on one shoulder, leaving one breast naked. The Kanemboo women have small plaits of hair hanging down all around the head, quite to the poll of the neck, with a roll of leather or string of little brass beads in front, hanging down from the centre on each side of the face, which has by no means an unbecoming appearance: they have sometimes strings of silver rings instead of the brass, and a large round silver ornament in front of their foreheads. The female slaves from Musgow, a large kingdom to the south-east of Mandara, are particularly disagreeable in their appearance, although considered as very trustworthy, and capable of great labour: their hair is rolled up in three large plaits, which extend from the forehead to the back of the neck, like the Bornowy; one larger in the centre, and two smaller on each side: they have silver studs in their nose, and one large one just under the lower lip of the size of a shilling, which goes quite through into the mouth; to make room for this ornament, a tooth or two is sometimes displaced.

The principal slaves are generally intrusted with the sale of such produce as the owner of them may have to dispose of; and if they come from any distance, the whole is brought on bullocks, which are harnessed after the fashion of the country, by a string or iron run through the cartilage of the nose, and a saddle of mat. The masters not unfrequently attend the fsug with their spears, and loiter about without interfering; purchases are mostly made by exchange of one commodity for another, or paid for by small beads, pieces of coral and amber, or the coarse linen manufactured by all the people, and sold at forty gubka[22] for a dollar. Amongst other articles offered to me for sale by the people (who, if I stood still for an instant, crowded round me) was a young lion and a monkey; the latter appeared really the more dangerous of the two, and from being a degree or two lighter in complexion than his master, he seemed to have taken a decided aversion to me.

The lion walked about with great unconcern, confined merely by a small rope round his neck held by the negro, who had caught him when he was not two months old, and having had him for a period of three months, now wished to part with him: he was about the size of a donkey colt, with very large limbs, and the people seemed to go very close to him without much alarm, notwithstanding he struck with his foot the leg of one man who stood in his way, and made the blood flow copiously: they opened the ring which was formed round this noble animal as I approached; and, coming within two or three yards of him, he fixed his eye upon me in a way that excited sensations I cannot describe, from which I was awakened by the fellow calling to me to come nearer, at the same time laying his hand on the animal’s back; a moment’s recollection convinced me that there could be no more danger nearer than where I was, and I stepped boldly up beside the negro, and I believe should have laid my hand on the lion the next moment; but after looking carelessly at me, he brushed past my legs, broke the ring, and pulled his conductor away with him, overturning several who stood before him, and bounded off to another part where there were fewer people.

Feb. 22.—Boo-Khaloom came to us this morning, after seeing the sheikh, and said, “that he had explained to him our anxiety to see every thing, and take home the skins of birds, and gather the plants that appeared most interesting to us, and to take notes of what we saw.” The sheikh’s reply was, that “we, or any of our countrymen, whom the bashaw thought proper to send, should be welcome to see any part of his dominions, but that out of them he could not suffer us at present to go.” Boo-Khaloom, who was fully aware of the ulterior objects we had in view, and whose advice I always found dictated by an anxious desire to serve us, was of the greatest use, from his intimate acquaintance with the dispositions of the people; and he was of opinion that we should, in the first instance, be satisfied with this offer of the sheikh, and not alarm him, by declaring too abruptly all our intentions. Accustomed as they are to plunder, and to be plundered, at the sight of strangers, apparently possessing superior powers, and superior weapons to themselves, their alarm is not to be wondered at; and when these strangers were represented to them as having come from a distance almost beyond their belief, for purposes they could not in the least comprehend the importance of, it required extreme delicacy and great management to tranquillize their minds, and obtain their confidence.

A report had gone abroad, that one of our purposes was to build ships, in which we should embark on the lake, return to our own country, and then that the white people would come and destroy them all. For these reports we had, I have no doubt, to thank some of the Mourzuk merchants who had preceded us; and whose frequent visits were as injurious to our stores as their advice would have been to our interests, had not circumstances prevented the latter from being acted upon.

Boo-Khaloom assured us “these reports had gained considerable ground, but that he had explained to the sheikh how unfounded they were; and what we proposed doing here was what had been done during the last year by the bashaw’s permission, in many parts of the regency of Tripoli.”

All the Arabs, who had formed our escort, were in great glee by the report of the approach of the sultan of Begharmi, with a large force, to within four short days of Kouka. The sheikh-el-Kanemy had, in former expeditions, laid waste his whole country, each time driving the sultan from Kermuk, or the capital. On the last occasion he had destroyed, by fire, the towns which the natives had deserted, and had remained nearly three months in the country. The sultan, with all his family and slaves, had, as before, retired to the other side of a large river, to the south of his dominions, inhabited by Kaffirs or savages; but who, nevertheless, always afforded him shelter and protection. This people were described as resembling the sands of the desert in number; and they had now accompanied him to revenge himself on the sheikh of Bornou. The prospect of plunder, and making slaves, which these reports held out to the Arabs, raised their spirits to such a degree, that they passed half the night in debating how their booty was to be conveyed across the desert: without remembering that their enemies were first to be conquered. A gun being merely presented, they all declared sufficient to drive away a thousand negroes. Could these poor creatures but once be made to understand the real state of an Arab’s pouch, with seldom more than one or two loads of bad powder, and the little dependence to be placed in his firelock, a miserable French piece, of the original value of about twelve shillings, that misses fire at least every other time, how much more justly would they estimate the Arabs’ strength!

Feb. 24.—We heard this day that the Begharmis had halted at a place called Gulphi, on hearing that Boo-Khaloom was here with a party of Arab warriors; but it was strongly reported that the sheikh would immediately send a force into their country, in order to punish the sultan for even thinking of revenge.

Feb. 26.—Boo-Khaloom was to have seen the sheikh, in order to convince him that all, and more than the presents destined for him by our government, had been delivered to him; and we were afterwards to see him ourselves, and request permission to visit some of the neighbouring towns. After this interview, Boo-Khaloom came to our huts, and explained to us that the sheikh had mentioned merely to his chief attendant, that he had heard of a watch being intended for him as well as the powder, and that as he had not seen it, he was disappointed—he, however, desired us to visit him the next day. The sheikh had given all Boo-Khaloom’s people a blue tobe, and himself two very handsome female slaves from Soudan, of a deep copper colour, under twenty years of age, with two others, negresses, to attend on them. We had news this day that the people of Begharmi had left Gulphi on their return home, and were about to rebuild their capital.

Feb. 27.—We attended the sheikh, about three hours before noon. He received us with considerable affability, and appeared satisfied that his presents were all delivered to him: when the explanation was given, he said nothing was necessary to secure his good will; but they told him the articles he mentioned were brought, and therefore he asked for them. Indeed, if the things had been properly delivered at first, no question, I am sure, would have arisen on the subject. He again inquired what were our wishes; no mention was however made of the orders of our government, that any one should remain for any time near him. He made numberless inquiries, wished that the nature of a map should be described to him, and begged that Ali (as Hillman the carpenter was called) should make some boxes for him.

We asked to see the Tchad and the Shary, both of which waters, with the old town of Bornou, he promised us we should visit in a few days. He asked many questions about our manner of attacking a walled town; and on our explaining to him that we had guns which carried ball of twenty-four and thirty-two pounds weight, with which we breached the wall, and then carried the place by assault, his large dark eyes sparkled again, as he exclaimed, “Wonderful! wonderful!” He inquired if we had any thing with us like wild-fire, which could be thrown into a place and burn it; and was greatly disappointed on our answering in the negative. I could not help however consoling him by an assurance that what we had brought him was that which we considered as likely to be most acceptable; that before our coming he was a stranger; that now we should see what he was most in need of; and that two camel-loads of gunpowder were easier for us to send him than the like quantity of dates from Fezzan. We promised at night to show him two rockets; and we had scarcely eaten our dinner when Karawash, one of his chiefs, came to say the sheikh was impatient, and very fortunately there were in the town several of the hostile Shouaas—a dangerous race of Arab origin, who occupy the frontier of his kingdom, and he was anxious they should see the effect of these terrible fire-engines. Mr. Clapperton fixed them on a rest of three spears in front of the sheikh’s residence, before a crowd of persons; and the shrieks of the people, both there assembled and in their huts, were heard for some seconds after the rockets had ascended.

Feb. 28.—There was a disturbance in the camp this morning that nearly approached to direct mutiny, amongst Boo-Khaloom’s Arabs. He had brought with him a very large assortment of valuable merchandize, for which there was but little sale at either Kouka or Angornou, and he was anxious to proceed to Soudan. The tghrees, or infantry, refused to accompany him: they said the bashaw had ordered them to come thus far with the English, and that Soudan was bhaid (distant), and go they would not. Some one had hinted to them that the sheikh wished to send a ghrazzie (marauding expedition) to Begharmi, and that Boo-Khaloom opposed such wish, as not consistent with his orders; and their profit being greater by an expedition of plunder and cruelty, than by one of peace and commerce, they preferred the east to the west. Boo-Khaloom certainly had refused to proceed on one of these marauding expeditions, much to the credit of his humanity, and highly complimentary to the English nation; whose servant, he often assured me, he felt himself to be on this mission. The Arabs, however, knew the sheikh’s wishes, and things remained in a very unsettled state.

I paid a visit this evening to Sooloo, one of the sheikh’s principal Shouaas, to whom I had given a silk handkerchief in the morning: his habitation consisted of two inclosures, besides one for his two horses, cow, and goats, and may be taken as a sample of the best residences in Kouka. In the first of these divisions was a circular hut, with a cupola top, well thatched with gussub straw, something resembling that of the Indian corn: the walls were of the same materials; a mud wall, of about two feet high, separated one part from the rest, and here his corn was kept; and a bench of like simple composition, at the opposite side, was his resting-place: this was covered with mats; and his spears, and wooden bowls for water and milk, hung on pegs, completed the furniture: here was his own apartment. In the second division there were two huts, rather smaller, about ten paces from each other, in which dwelt his two wives: they were called to the door, and desired to salute me; but on looking up, uttered a scream, and hiding their faces with their hands, crept back again so quickly, as to make me almost ashamed of my complexion.

March 1.—A few yams were sent us by the sheikh, the only ones we had seen, and a great treat they proved to us, for it was the only vegetable we had tasted for many months. A meeting took place this morning at day-break, under a large tree in front of the sheikh’s residence, and in his presence, between the Arab sheikhs and Boo-Khaloom. The Arabs had appealed to him as their umpire; and although he appeared not to take any part in their disputes, yet I thought a disposition was very apparent in him to increase the feud: he offered to mount one hundred of the Arabs, and send one of his chiefs, under Boo-Khaloom’s orders, to Begharmi, with fifteen hundred or two thousand horsemen; and great part of the produce of this expedition was to be sent as a present to the bashaw. Nothing could be more distressing than Boo-Khaloom’s situation; he knew the disposition of his master too well not to feel what his fate would be, if he refused such an opportunity of taking him at least two thousand slaves,—his own inclinations led him to proceed to Soudan; but he was still anxious to avoid becoming the scourge of one people, to gratify the revenge of another. The Arabs were also divided. The people of Begharmi had, on the last expedition, nearly foiled their invaders by abandoning their towns, driving off their flocks and cattle, and obliging the sheikh’s people to subsist entirely, for twenty-five days, on a little prepared paste made of flour and curd, which they always take with them to the field. This the mounted Arabs dreaded a repetition of, while the more adventurous infantry, who had nothing to trade with but their gun, and consequently nothing to lose but their lives, exclaimed loudly for the ghrazzie.

March 2.—Boo-Khaloom went this day to Birnie, for the purpose of paying his respects to the sultan, who resides there, and we accompanied him. Angornou, a very large and populous town, where the sheikh resided previous to his building Kouka, is about sixteen miles from that place, and two miles from Birnie. Boo-Khaloom took with him presents to the amount of about one hundred and twenty dollars, but by some strange mistake we went empty-handed.

On our arrival at Birnie, which is a walled town, with huts of the same description as those in Kouka, and probably contains ten thousand inhabitants, we were first conducted to the gate of the sultan’s mud edifice, where a few of the court were assembled to receive us; and one, a sort of chamberlain, habited in eight or ten tobes, or shirts, of different colours, the outside one of fine white tufted silk of the manufacture of Soudan. In his hand he carried an immense staff, like a drum-major’s baton, and on his head he bore a turban exceeding in size any thing of the kind we had before seen; this was however but a trifling one to those we were destined to behold at the audience on the following morning. After salutations, _Barca l’affia el hamdalilla!_ (Blessing!—Are you well? Thank God!) which lasted for some minutes, we were conducted to some huts destined for our resting-place for the night: they were not, however, of a tempting description; and Boo-Khaloom proposed that a large tent should be pitched any where, which would be preferable. These wishes were quickly complied with; a large marquee was in a very short time ready for our reception, with a screen of linen running all round it, which, although it kept out the crowds of people who were assembled round the place, admitted the air, and formed a most inviting retreat from the burning sun that shone above us. The sultan shortly after sent word, that by sunrise the next morning he would receive us. In the evening a most plentiful, if not delicate, repast was brought to us, consisting of seventy dishes, each of which would have dined half-a-dozen persons with moderate appetites. The sultan himself sent ten, his wives thirty, and his mother thirty; and for fear the English should not eat like the Bornowy, a slave or two was loaded with live fowls for our dinner. The meats consisted of mutton and poultry, and were baked, boiled, and stewed.

March 3.—Soon after daylight we were summoned to attend the Sultan of Bornou. He received us in an open space in front of the royal residence: we were kept at a considerable distance while his people approached to within about 100 yards, passing first on horseback; and after dismounting and prostrating themselves before him, they took their places on the ground in front, but with their backs to the royal person, which is the custom of the country. He was seated in a sort of cage of cane or wood, near the door of his garden, on a seat which at the distance appeared to be covered with silk or satin, and through the railing looked upon the assembly before him, who formed a sort of semicircle extending from his seat to nearly where we were waiting. Nothing could be more absurd and grotesque than some, nay all, of the figures who formed this court. Here was all the outward show of pomp and grandeur, without one particle of the staple commodity, power, to plead its excuse; he reigns and governs by the sufferance of the sheikh: and the better to answer his views, by making him more popular with all parties, the sultan is amused by indulging in all the folly and bigotry of the ancient negro sovereigns. Large bellies and large heads are indispensable for those who serve the court of Bornou; and those who unfortunately possess not the former by nature, or on whom lustiness will not be forced by cramming, make up the deficiency of protuberance by a wadding, which, as they sit on the horse, gives the belly the curious appearance of hanging over the pummel of the saddle. The eight, ten, and twelve shirts, of different colours, that they wear one over the other, help a little to increase this greatness of person: the head is enveloped in folds of muslin or linen of various colours, though mostly white, so as to deform it as much as possible; and those whose turban seemed to be the most studied had the effect of making the head appear completely on one side. Besides this they are hung all over with charms, inclosed in little red leather parcels, strung together; the horse, also, has them round his neck, in front of his head, and about the saddle.

[Illustration: From a Sketch by Major Denham.

Engraved by E. Finden.

RECEPTION OF THE MISSION.

BY THE SULTAN OF BORNOU.

_Published Feb. 1826, by John Murray, London._]

When these courtiers, to the number of about two hundred and sixty or three hundred, had taken their seats in front of the sultan, we were allowed to approach to within about pistol-shot of the spot where he was sitting, and desired to sit down ourselves, when the ugliest black that can be imagined, his chief eunuch, the only person who approached the sultan’s seat, asked for the presents. Boo-Khaloom’s were produced, inclosed in a large shawl, and were carried unopened to the presence. Our glimpse was but a faint one of the sultan, through the lattice-work of his pavilion, sufficient however to see that his turban was larger than any of his subjects’, and that his face, from the nose downwards, was completely covered. A little to our left, and nearly in front of the sultan, was an extempore declaimer shouting forth praises of his master, with his pedigree; and near him one who bore the long wooden frumfrum, on which he ever and anon blew a blast, loud and unmusical. Nothing could be more ridiculous than the appearance of these people squatting down in their places, tottering under the weight and magnitude of their turbans and their bellies, while the thin legs that appeared underneath but ill accorded with the bulk of the other parts.

Immediately after this ceremony we took our departure for Angornou. Angornou is the largest and most populous town of Bornou, and is situated a few miles from the Tchad. This town contains at least thirty thousand inhabitants: it is large and straggling, but not walled. The huts are also larger and more commodious than those of Kouka; some of them having four mud walls, and two chambers. All our friends the merchants, who had accompanied the kafila from Tripoli and Mourzuk, had removed here, after paying their respects to the sheikh at Kouka, this being the fsug, or market town: they visited us immediately on our arrival. The only traders to Soudan are Moors. I found here a native of Loggun, who had just returned from Sennaar; he had been, however, two years on the journey. This man I was extremely anxious to see, but he was purposely moved away; and when, on the following day, I followed him to Kouka, he sent me word, that until he had seen the sheikh he dared not come to the hut.

The public market day is on a Wednesday, and attended sometimes by eighty or a hundred thousand persons, as the natives say, in peaceable times; but there was a very good market this day in an open space in the centre of the town, which is held every evening. Fish, flesh, and fowls, were in abundance, dressed and undressed, and tomatas, and onions, but no other vegetables.—Again my excessive whiteness became a cause of both pity and astonishment, if not disgust: a crowd followed me through the market, others fled at my approach; some of the women oversetting their merchandize, by their over anxiety to get out of my way; and although two of them were so struck with astonishment as to remain fixed to the spot, unconscious of the escape of their companions, they no sooner perceived me quite close to them, than they too ran off irresistibly affrighted. The day had been insufferably hot, and the night was little less so: indeed I think Kouka the better air of the two. I preferred this night sleeping in the open air.

March 4.—Linen is so cheap that most of the males in Angornow indulge in the luxury of a shirt and a pair of trowsers: several beggars stood near the fsug, and holding the remains of an old pair of the latter in their hand, while they held up their shirt, in proof of their assertion, kept exclaiming, “But breeches, there are none! But breeches, there are none!” This novel mode of drawing the attention of the passers-by so amused me, that I could not help laughing outright.

The principal demand at Angornou was for amber and coral; a large round piece of the former brought four dollars in money, and a string, eighty or one hundred. Pieces of brass and copper were also much sought after: all other kinds of merchandize were paid for in slaves or tobes; but these brought money, and were readily sold. The inhabitants are mostly Bornowy. The strangers, however, are numerous; and many Tibboos and Kanemboos reside here for certain months in the year. The men are well grown, but not so well-looking as the people of Kanem: the large mouth, and thick lips, are strikingly ugly features; the men’s heads are, in general, closely shaved, and those of the lower orders uncovered. The only persons armed near the sultan’s person were some hundreds of negroes, in blue tobes, who were outside the court circle. These bore immense clubs, with a large round head: bows and arrows were slung at their backs, and a short dagger placed along the inside of the right arm. A footman, in attendance on a chief mounted, ran behind him, carrying four spears.

March 5.—I had proposed making an excursion, for a few days, to a large river to the southward of Kouka, called the Shary, as the only way to gain authentic information about it; and Dr. Oudney wished to accompany me. We were, however, obliged to put off our journey, first, in consequence of his illness, and, secondly, from the unsettled state of Boo-Khaloom’s affairs with the Arabs. Boo-Khaloom paid us a visit after seeing the sheikh; and from what I could gather, although nothing was freely communicated, the probability of the ghrazzie’s going was increased. Hillman had made two wooden boxes for the sheikh, the workmanship of which surprised him exceedingly, and, during our absence, he had sent for him, and requested he would commence making a sort of litter, to go between two camels, or mules, such as he had heard were used by the sultans of Fezzan: our carpenter very frankly said, that any thing he could do should be done with pleasure, but he could not work in the sun, and that a shed must be built for him, and wood must be found for him, as he had seen none in the country that would make the keel of a jolly-boat. As much as was necessary of this reply was interpreted to the sheikh, who promised him that negroes should make mats directly for his shed, and that others should go into the wood and bring the largest trees they could find; and in the evening a present came for the carpenter of wheat, rice, honey, and butter.

March 6.—The sheikh sent this morning to say, that he wished for some of our rockets, in order that the Shouaas, his enemies, might see what the English had brought him. On Monday, the day of the fsug or market, when they would be in the town, we promised him six; but reminded him, at the same time, that we had but few, and that here we could make no more. He also sent a very fine young lion, about three months old, not above half the size of that I had seen before: this was a very tame good-natured fellow, and I could not help regretting the necessity we were under of refusing him a corner of our huts, as he was ordered to be immediately killed in consequence of our declining to accept him.

March 7.—Doctor Oudney’s illness increased, and he had daily fits of the ague, which, in his weak state, became alarming. I had made it my business, as I thought it my duty, to cultivate the friendship and good-will of Boo-Khaloom, and by his means I hoped to be made acquainted with the sheikh’s real intentions towards us. The man of Loggun, who had returned from Senaar, I used every means to get a sight of, but I found it impossible, and he sent me word privately that he dared not come.

March 8 and 9.—Both these days the numbers of persons who crowded my hut, from morning to night, were greater, and consequently their visits more pestering than common. Every little thing, from the compass to the pen and ink, from the watch to the tin cup out of which I drank, excited their curiosity; and as they now became bolder, they seized hold of every thing which they formerly only eyed at a distance. It was not, however, their curiosity alone that was excited—the possession was coveted, either for themselves or the sheikh, of every article: a looking-glass, and a small lantern, I rescued out of the hands of at least a dozen, a dozen times. A copy of Captain Lyon’s book, the fame of which had preceded us, in consequence of Doctor Oudney’s having shown it to some merchants at Mourzuk, was demanded twenty times a day, and it required all my patience to go over and explain the pictures as often as they required. It produced very different effects, but in all astonishment and in most suspicion. The sheikh had heard of it, and one of his slaves borrowed it for him of my servant, by stealth, as he did not wish it to be known that he had a desire to see it. For three days after this I was again and again applied to by all his chief people to see what I had drawn, or written, as they express it, of Bornou. I repeatedly assured them, that those in the book were not mine, that the person who wrote them was far away. It would not do; they shook their heads, and said I was cunning, and would not show them. They then changed their tone, and very seriously begged that I would not write them, that is, _draw_ their portraits; that they did not like it, that the sheikh did not like it, that it was a sin; and I am quite sure, from the impression, that we had much better never have produced the book at all.

The sheikh expressed a wish that two rockets might be started, on a signal being made from the top of his house. I gave Karowash a blue light, with instructions how to make the signal: his heart, however, failed him when he got to the spot, and the signal was made by a wisp of straw. The first rocket went off nearly perpendicular, and with beautiful effect. I lessened very much the elevation of the second, and it flew over the town not more than a hundred yards higher than the tops of the huts; and bursting in its course, occasioned a universal scream, that lasted for some seconds. Its consequences I believe were not so serious as the first display of fire-works was at Mourzuk: there several ladies lost all present hopes of blessing their husbands with little pledges of love; and in one house the favourite slave of a particular friend of ours was put instantly to bed of a seven months’ child.

March 10.—We had now been in Kouka nearly a month—had seen the sheikh but three times; and we discovered, that people coming from the east and from the south, of which there were but few, were carefully prohibited from visiting us. I found out also that a conversation had taken place between Boo-Khaloom and the sheikh, in which the latter had mentioned, that he had heard the Doctor wished, or rather intended, to proceed to Soudan, but that he could not allow of such a proceeding, for that the bashaw’s despatch had not mentioned such being the wish of the English king.

This day I had a little respite, my visiting list being much reduced in consequence of its being market-day; there was, as usual, an abundance of all necessaries, though but few luxuries; and as the people got more accustomed to my appearance, they became more familiar: and one young lady, whose numerous bracelets of elephants’ teeth, heavy silver rings on each side of her face, coral in her nose, and amber necklace, proclaimed her a person of wealth, nimbly jumped off her bullock, and tore the corner from my pocket-handkerchief, as she said, for a souvenir. I could do no less than request her to accept the remainder of so useful an appendage, and I was happy to see that this piece of gallantry was not lost even upon savages. They all clapped their hands, and cried, “Barca! barca!” and the lady herself, whose hands and face were really running down with grease, so regardless was she of expense, generously poured into the sleeve of my shirt nearly a quart of ground nuts.

March 11.—Doctor Oudney was still confined to his bed, and I received a summons from the sheikh, to whom a report had been made of a musical box of mine, which played or stopped merely by my holding up my finger. The messenger declared he was dying to see it, and I must make haste. The wild exclamations of wonder and screams of pleasure that this piece of mechanism drew from the generality of my visitors were curiously contrasted in the person of the intelligent sheikh: he at first was greatly astonished, and asked several questions, exclaiming “_A gieb! gieb!_” “Wonderful! wonderful!” but the sweetness of the Swiss Ranz-des-Vaches which it played, at last overcame every other feeling: he covered his face with his hand and listened in silence; and on one man near him breaking the charm by a loud exclamation, he struck him a blow which made all his followers tremble. He instantly asked, “if one twice as large would not be better?” I said “Yes; but it would be twice as dear.” “By G—!” said he, “if one thousand dollars would purchase it, it would be cheap.” Who will deny that nature has given us all a taste for luxuries?

During this short conversation we became better friends than we had ever been before, during our three former visits. To his surprise, he now found that I spoke intelligible Arabic, and he begged to see me whenever I chose: these were just the terms upon which I wished to be with him; and thinking this a favourable moment for adding strength to his present impressions, I could not help begging he would keep the box. He was the more delighted as I had refused it before to Karouash, when he had requested it in the sheikh’s name.

March 12.—I had another interview this day with the sheikh, in his garden, about four in the afternoon: we were only three persons, Barca Gana, his first general, Karouash, and myself. We had the musical box playing until he understood its stops as well as myself; and after really a pleasant interview of an hour’s duration, we separated, improved considerably in each other’s good opinion. I asked to visit the Tchad next day, and he gave immediate orders to Barca Gana, that some one should attend me who knew the roads, and that a hut and food might be in readiness for me at night. I lost no time in availing myself of this permission; and soon after daylight on the next day my guides were at the door,—Fajah, a Kanemboo, high in the sheikh’s favour, and Maramy, a sort of half-cast Felatah, who was sent merely because he could speak a little Arabic. We proceeded about ten miles, to a town called Bree; where the _kaid_ (governor), after hearing the orders, came to my horse’s side, and said he should be ready in an instant to accompany me: he also proposed that we should return that night to the town, where a supper and hut, with dancing-girls, should be ready for me. I, however, refused this, and said I was prepared with my blanket, and that we would sleep near the lake. We now went eastward for about five miles, when we came to the banks of the Tchad. I had seen no part of the lake so unencumbered by trees as this, and there were evident proofs of its overflowings and recedings near the shores; but beyond was an uninterrupted expanse of waters, as far as the eye could reach east and south-east. A fine grass grew abundantly along the marshy shores, and thousands of cattle belonging to the sheikh, the produce of his last expedition to Begharmi, were grazing, and in beautiful condition. The sun was now at its greatest power, and, spreading my mat under the shade of a clump of tulloh trees, I was just preparing a repast of some bread and honey, when two or three black boys who had accompanied us from Bree, and whom I had seen rushing about in the water, brought me five or six fine fish resembling a mullet, and which they had driven into the shallow water almost in as many minutes: a fire was quickly made, and they roasted them so well and expeditiously, that their manner of cooking deserves to be noticed:—A stick is run through the mouth of the fish, and quite along the belly to the tail; this stick is then stuck in the ground, with the head of the fish downwards, and inclined towards the fire: our negroes had quickly a circle of these fish round a clear flame, and by turning them constantly by the tail, they were most excellently dressed. These fish are called by the Kanemboo, kerwha; in Arabic, turfaw;—the name of fish in general in the Bornou language is boonie.

I told my satellites that here would be my quarters for the night: they assured me that the musquitoes were both so numerous and so large, that I should find it impossible to remain, and that the horses would be miserable. They advised our retiring with the cattle to a short distance from the water, and sleeping near them; by which means the attention of these insects would be taken off by the quadrupeds. Englishman-like, I was obstinate; and very soon falling asleep, although daylight, I was so bitten by musquitoes, in size equalling a large fly, that I was glad, on awaking, to take the advice of my more experienced guides. Towards the evening we mounted our horses and chased some very beautiful antelopes, and saw a herd of elephants at a distance, exceeding forty in number; two buffaloes also stood boldly grazing, nearly up to their bodies in water; on our approaching them they quickly took to the lake: one of them was a monstrous animal, at least fourteen feet in length from the tail to the head. The antelopes are particularly beautiful, of a light brown colour, with some stripes of black and white about their bellies; they are not very swift, and are only to be found in the neighbourhood of the Tchad, and other large waters.

The tamarind and locust-trees were here abundant, and loaded with fruit; the former of a rich and fine flavour. The horses now became so irritated by the shoals of insects that attacked them, the white one of Fajah being literally covered with blood, that we determined on seeking the cattle herd, and taking up our quarters for the night with them. A vacant square was left in the centre, and ourselves and horses were admitted: mats were spread, and about thirty basket jars of sweet milk were set before me, with another of honey; this, in addition to some rice which I had brought with me, made a sumptuous repast; and although, previous to leaving the lake, my face, hands, and back of the neck, resembled those of a child with the small-pox, from the insects, yet here I slept most comfortably, without being annoyed by a single musquito.

March 14.—A very heavy dew had fallen this night, a thing we had not felt since leaving Gatrone, and then but very slightly: in the morning my bornouse, which lay over me, was completely wet through; and on the mat, after daylight, crystalline drops were lying like icicles. On arriving at the lake, Maramy left us, as he said, to look for the elephants, as the sheikh had desired him to take me close to them; and I commenced shooting and examining the beautiful variety of waterfowl that were in thousands sporting on the water, and on its shores. I succeeded in shooting a most beautiful white bird of the crane kind, with black neck and long black bill; and some snipes, which were as numerous as swarms of bees: and in three shots killed four couple of ducks, and one couple of wild geese—these were very handsomely marked, and fine specimens. While I was thus employed, Maramy came galloping up, saying that he had found three very large elephants grazing, to the south-east, close to the water: when we came within a few hundred yards of them, all the persons on foot, and my servant on a mule, were ordered to halt, while four of us, who were mounted, rode up to these stupendous animals.

The sheikh’s people began screeching violently: and although at first they appeared to treat our approach with great contempt, yet after a little they moved off, erecting their ears, which had until then hung flat on their shoulders, and giving a roar that shook the ground under us. One was an immense fellow, I should suppose sixteen feet high; the other two were females, and moved away rather quickly, while the male kept in the rear, as if to guard their retreat. We wheeled swiftly round him; and Maramy casting a spear at him, which struck him just under the tail, and seemed to give him about as much pain as when we prick our finger with a pin, the huge beast threw up his proboscis in the air with a loud roar, and from it cast such a volume of sand, that, unprepared as I was for such an event, nearly blinded me. The elephant rarely, if ever, attacks; and it is only when irritated that he is dangerous: but he will sometimes rush upon a man and horse, after choking them with dust, and destroy them in an instant.

As we had cut him off from following his companions, he took the direction leading to where we had left the mule and the footmen: they quickly fled in all directions; and my man Columbus (the mule not being inclined to increase its pace) was so alarmed, that he did not get the better of it for the whole day. We pressed the elephant now very close, riding before, behind, and on each side of him; and his look sometimes, as he turned his head, had the effect of checking instantly the speed of my horse—his pace never exceeded a clumsy rolling walk, but was sufficient to keep our horses at a short gallop. I gave him a ball from each barrel of my gun, at about fifty yards’ distance; and the second, which struck his ear, seemed to give him a moment’s uneasiness only; but the first, which struck him on the body, failed in making the least impression. After giving him another spear, which flew off his tough hide without exciting the least sensation, we left him to his fate.

News was soon brought us that eight elephants were at no great distance, and coming towards us: it was thought prudent to chase them away, and we all mounted for that purpose. They appeared unwilling to go, and did not even turn their backs until we were quite close, and had thrown several spears at them; the flashes from the pan of the gun, however, appeared to alarm them more than any thing: they retreated very majestically, first throwing out, as before, a quantity of sand. A number of the birds here called tuda were perched on the backs of the elephants; these resemble a thrush in shape and note, and were represented to me as being extremely useful to the elephant, in picking off the vermin from those parts which it is not in his power to reach.

When the heat of the sun was a little diminished, we followed the course of the water; and had it not been for the torment which the mosquitoes and flies occasioned, there were spots in which I could have pitched my tent for a week. I saw several Balearic cranes, but I was too far off to get a shot at them. Having proceeded nearly eight miles along the shores of the Tchad, in which there is no sort of variety either in appearance or vegetable production, a coarse grass, and a small bell-flower, being the only plants that I could discover, about an hour before sunset we left these banks, and arrived at Koua, a small village to the north; where, the kaid of the town being absent, we were glad to take up our quarters within the fence of rushes that went round his hut, and after making some coffee, I laid myself down for the night: about midnight he returned, and we then got corn for our horses, and fowls and milk for ourselves. Both this town and Bree were quite new, and peopled by the Kanemboos, who had emigrated with the sheikh from their own country; and I never saw handsomer or better formed people.

When I appeared in the town, the curiosity and alarm which my hands and face excited almost inclined me to doubt whether they had not been changed in the night. One little girl was in such agonies of tears and fright at the sight of me, that nothing could console her, not even a string of beads which I offered her—nor would she put out her hand to take them. I must, however, do the sex the justice to say, that those more advanced in years were not afflicted with such exceeding diffidence—at the sight of the beads they quickly made up to me; and seeing me take from the pocket of a very loose pair of Turkish trowsers a few strings, which were soon distributed, some one exclaimed, “Oh! those trowsers are full of beads, only he won’t give them to us.” This piece of news was followed by a shout, and they all approached, so fully determined to ascertain the fact, that although I did not until afterwards understand what had been said, Fajah, my guide, thought it right to keep the ladies at a distance, by what I thought rather ungentle means. Had I been aware of all the circumstances, I do not think that I should have consented to their being so harshly treated, as I have no doubt they would, like their sisterhood, those beautiful specimens of red and white womankind in our own country, have been reasoned into conviction, without absolutely demanding ocular demonstration.

March 15.—A little after noon, we arrived again at Kouka. Although much fatigued by the excessive heats, yet I was greatly gratified by the excursion: no information was, however, on this occasion to be obtained, as to the inhabitants of those islands which are said to be far away to the eastward, up the lake. These Kerdies, as they are called, come, at certain times, to the spot where I had been, and even close to Angornou; plunder sometimes a village, and carry off the cattle in their canoes. These plunderers continue their depredations, without any means being taken to oppose them.

I was not at all prepared for the news which was to reach me on returning to our inclosure. The horse that had carried me from Tripoli to Mourzuk and back again, and on which I had ridden the whole journey from Tripoli to Bornou, had died, a very few hours after my departure for the lake. There are situations in a man’s life in which losses of this nature are felt most keenly; and this was one of them. It was not grief, but it was something very nearly approaching to it; and though I felt ashamed of the degree of derangement which I suffered from it, yet it was several days before I could get over the loss. Let it be however remembered, that the poor animal had been my support and comfort—may I not say companion?—through many a dreary day and night; had endured both hunger and thirst in my service with the utmost patience; was so docile, though an Arab, that he would stand still for hours in the desert, while I slept between his legs, his body affording me the only shelter that could be obtained from the powerful influence of a noon-day sun: he was yet the fleetest of the fleet, and ever foremost in the race. My negro lad opened his head, and found a considerable quantity of matter formed on the brain. Three horses at the Arab tents had died with similar appearances; and there can be little doubt but that it was the effect of climate, the scarcity and badness of the water, and the severe exposure to the sun which we had all undergone. The thermometer was this day in the hut 103°; the hottest day we had yet felt in Bornou.

I made it a rule to show myself among the people and merchants at some part of each market-day, in order to make myself familiar to the strangers who attended from the neighbouring towns, and to-day I was eminently successful—the young and the old came near me without much apparent alarm; but stretching out my hand, a smile, or any accidental turn of the head, always started them from my side: there seemed to be, however, a reciprocal feeling of better acquaintance between us, and I was rather surprised at the complacency, nay, even satisfaction, with which I began to survey the negro beauties—frequently exclaiming to Boo-Khaloom’s brother, who was with me, “What a very fine girl! what pretty features!” without even remarking that “toujours noir” which had previously accompanied any contemplation of what might otherwise have struck me as a pleasing countenance.

March 18.—Doctor Oudney thinking himself a little improved in health, he determined on seeing the sheikh the next day, on the subject of his departure for Soudan; for myself, I was but too happy for the present in having received no refusal from the sheikh to my proposition of accompanying the ghrazzie. I had previously determined, whether I should succeed in this object or not, that I would as yet ask no other favour; as I felt assured that only by slow degrees and a patient cultivation of the friendship of El Kanemy, our ultimate objects could be accomplished. I was not, therefore, greatly surprised to find that the sheikh gave this morning a decided refusal to Doctor Oudney’s request of accompanying the kafila to Soudan.

A Shouaa chief, Dreess-aboo Raas-ben-aboo-Deleel, whose people had their tents close to the Shary, visited me to-day. I found him a very intelligent cunning fellow: he put a hundred questions, and, strange to say, asked for nothing as a gift. I, however, gave him a looking-glass, with which he was much pleased. He and his people had passed over from the service of the sultan of Waday to that of our sheikh, three years ago: he told me that the Sultan of Begharmi was preparing to rebuild his capital, Kernuck; and from this man I obtained a route and plan of the branches of the Shary, close to Begharmi.

March 26.—I had another visit from my new ally this morning, who came alone, and assured me the sheikh was not willing that we should see any of the country to the south of the Shary; that my liberality to him yesterday had made him take an oath to be my friend; and that if I would lay my hand on that book, pointing to my own journal, that holy book, he said he would tell me what order the sheikh had given him with respect to his conduct on our arriving in his district,—which was, that we were not to cross the river. He, however, added, that if I chose to pass the Shary and come to his tents, which were at a place called Kerga, he would find means of sending me still farther south. “If you leave the Shary,” said he, “when the sun is three fathoms high, you will be with me by sunset.” I questioned him as to the danger of incurring the sheikh’s displeasure; but he did not prevaricate, and his reply was “there were three brothers of them, and the sheikh wanted to bring them all over to his service, and that it was not his interest to quarrel with them.”

March 28.—Doctor Oudney was getting worse and worse: he had applied a blister to his chest in consequence of the violence of his cough; but he was so weak as not to be able to move from one hut to another. His principal food was a little flour and water paste, and sometimes a little soup at night. Boo-Khaloom saw us after prayers; he said that he had determined on dismissing about thirty of the most rebellious Arabs, and they were about to return to Mourzuk.

March 29 to April 8.—Tuesday. Drees paid me a third visit previous to his leaving Kouka, and pressed me to come over the Shary, and at least stay some time at his tents. It was night when he came; and he either affected, or really had great fear, of any one’s noticing him. “Do not mention my coming to you,” said he; “every body who visits your hut is a spy on your actions. Every thing you say is repeated to the sheikh.” “—And yourself,” said I. “Very good,” said he; “you have no reason to trust me. Say nothing; I have made you the offer. Come, if you think proper; but do not commit yourself. I have spoken to you as I would to my own bowels.”

The Shouaas Arabs are a very extraordinary race, and have scarcely any resemblance to the Arabs of the north: they have fine open countenances, with aquiline noses and large eyes; their complexion is a light copper colour: they possess great cunning with their courage, and resemble in appearance some of our best favoured gypsies in England, particularly the women, and their Arabic is nearly pure Egyptian.

[Illustration: From a Sketch by Major Denham.

Engraved by E. Finden.

SHOUAA WOMEN.

KINGDOM OF BORNOU.

_Published Feb. 1826, by John Murray, London._]

The disputes between the Arabs had arrived at such a height, that all idea of an amicable arrangement between them seemed at an end. Abdallah Bougiel had obtained the support of most of the sheikh’s people, and was therefore favoured by the sheikh himself: he succeeded in getting away nearly half of the Arabs from Boo-Khaloom; and they pitched their tents at a few miles’ distance from the town. The chiefs, however, were in Kouka every day, always with loaded pistols under their barracans, fearing assassination from the intrigues of each other. Abdallah Bougiel charged Boo-Khaloom with wasting his time in Kouka, for the purpose of disposing of his merchandize; while the Arabs were starving, and might have been employed in a marauding expedition for the benefit of the bashaw. Boo-Khaloom very boldly, and with great truth, accused Abdallah of mutinous and disorderly conduct, in opposing him on all occasions,—taking the part of those refractory Arabs whom he had thought it right to punish on the road for robbery, and seducing them from under his command, where the bashaw had placed both them and himself: he most properly declared, that they came as an escort to the English, and he as a merchant—that if a ghrazzie was advisable, he was to judge when the proper time would be for undertaking it.

The sheikh, however, without lessening his attentions to Boo-Khaloom, whom he now promised to send with his own people to the country beyond Mandara, encouraged Abdallah to pursue his plan of quitting Boo-Khaloom. The occupation of making up our despatches, as well as the continued weakness of Doctor Oudney, had prevented our attempting any movement during the last ten days: I say attempting, for we were upon such ticklish ground, that success seemed more than doubtful. Doctor Oudney was, however, a little better, though not fit to accompany an expedition of this nature; and I declared my intention of proceeding with Boo-Khaloom, begging him to make known my wish to the sheikh.

Thus were we situated on the 8th of April, after ten days of repeated disappointment, great anxiety, and excessive heat, the thermometer being some days at 106°. Mr. Clapperton’s horse had died on the 5th, of the same complaint as my own. Both the Arab expeditions were on the eve of departing, but without our having any knowledge of their destination. Bougiel had been repeatedly to my hut, and endeavoured to convince me of the uprightness of his conduct, and his great love for the English: “Only say, _sidi reis_, (my lord captain) where you will go, and I will bring you a hundred men, who will accompany you, and die by your side.” I told him, “I had no occasion for such an escort, and no money to reward them; that he had better return to the tents, be reconciled to Boo-Khaloom, and, as he had left Tripoli with him, return with him, and then make his complaint to the bashaw.” He said, “No: Boo-Khaloom had once d——d his father and his faith! that it was deep in his heart; _Ikmish fi gulbi_, and he could never forgive him. But would I write to the bashaw, and the consul at Tripoli, and say that he had always been my friend?” I replied, “Certainly not! That, if I wrote at all, it would be to say that he was decidedly wrong in every thing that he had done.”

Boo-Khaloom left Kouka this afternoon on an expedition, without coming to take leave of us: this was a sufficient proof to me that our application to accompany the ghrazzie had been met by a denial on the part of the sheikh. The disappointment this occasioned me was very great indeed, for I had always reckoned on being at least left to my own arrangements for this expedition; and I felt confident that by such means only could we get to the southward—which conclusion subsequent events proved to be a just one.

April 10.—Soon after daylight we were summoned to appear before the sheikh, and our request of visiting the Shary complied with.

The sheikh produced some uncouth ornaments for the front of the head and breast, of gold and silver, with a number of paste and glass imitations of ruby and other precious stones. He thought these real, and asked their value; and, showing him the little bit of yellow metal which gave the glass bead the colour of the topaz, amazed him greatly: the person who gave him these as real will meet with but a sorry reception on his next visit, as what he had thought worth one hundred dollars were probably dear at as many pence.

April 11 and 12.—The ghrazzie, under Boo-Khaloom, remained these two days at Angornou with Barca Gana, the sheikh’s kashella (or general), to collect people for the expedition. Abdallah Bougiel had left Kouka the day before, in the direction of Kanem. This day five of his horsemen, and twenty of his men on foot, redeserted, and passed through Kouka in their way to rejoin Boo-Khaloom. One of the sheikh’s eunuchs, of whom he had six, the only males who were allowed to enter that division of his house where the women resided, came to me on the part of his favourite wife begging for a bead, as she called it, similar to the one she sent for me to look at, adding, that his mistress would give any price for it, for the like was never seen in Bornou. On this curiosity being taken out of a beautiful silk handkerchief, to my surprise I saw one of the glass drops of a chandelier, diamond-shaped, which I suppose had been brought by some of the freed female slaves from Tripoli. “He was not at all astonished,” he said, “at my not having any thing like it: Ah! he was afraid not; it was wonderfully beautiful! His mistress would be very unhappy at the news he would take back.” No glass beads, or such as are brittle, and likely to break, can be sold for any thing: strength in these articles is looked for even more than beauty, and the sterling weight of this crystal drop, added to its clearness, made it invaluable in the eyes of the sultana.

April 13.—I had thought it prudent to send as a present to the sheikh my remaining horse. I had mounted him but once for two months; a sore on his back, from a small size became inflamed, with a deep hole in the middle, surrounded with proud flesh: his blood was in a sad state, and he got thinner and thinner. I hinted, at the same time, that a horse of the country would be very acceptable to me in exchange. The sheikh very handsomely sent me word that I should have as good a one as the country afforded—and a very active powerful little iron-grey was sent me.

Boo-Khaloom, we heard, was to quit Angornou on his expedition on the 14th: the losing this opportunity of both seeing the country and in what manner these people could lead 3000 men into action, for his ghrazzie was to consist of that number, vexed me more than I can express. It was an opportunity, I felt, that was not to be lost: the sheikh’s promised expedition might never take place; it would certainly be in a different direction; and at any rate I knew that with Boo-Khaloom I could follow my own plans, which most likely with the sheikh I could not. In this state of dilemma I determined on applying to the sheikh’s chief karouash, who professed himself greatly my friend, and to offer him fifty dollars if he could obtain the sheikh’s permission. The request instantly opened my eyes as to which quarter the wind of the court blew from. “Could not you make the sheikh,” said he “some pretty present? At the same time he is only afraid of your getting into danger: _egal rais khaleel rajal meliah yassur_ (he says the rais is an excellent person).” I replied, “that was impossible; that we had already given many handsome presents, and had written to England for others; for himself he should have fifty dollars if he succeeded.”—Karouash left me with, I am sure, every wish to succeed in my behalf.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 22: _Gubka_, about a yard English.]

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