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CHAP. LXI. POLITICAL SITUATION.DELAY.

295

terms with the Tawárek, while the next day some serious fighting takes place; and thus it happened that on the 16th a party of these people, who supplied the market with the article which all the people were in want of, were plundered of the whole of their property. Even with the inhabitants of the province of Yágha, so nearly related to themselves by origin and interest, there were serious dissensions; and during my stay in the place, the latter drove away all the cattle belonging to the village of Kória. The province comprises a considerable number of villages and, if well governed, would be of great importance, especially as forming the western province of the empire of Gando where it borders upon that of Másina, or Hamda-Alláhi.

I was peculiarly situated with regard to my new companion El Waláti, who was the sole reason of my making so long a stay in this place, while my exhausted camels, instead of having, as it was asserted, a fair opportunity of recruiting their strength for the remainder of the journey, were growing weaker every day from want of good feeding. The

* The names of the small towns and villages forming this province are as follows: Dóre, Kória, Katínga, Wéndu, Dáni, Dángadé, Sélgo, Jámga, Mámmashé, Báfadé, Pékul, Bámde, Babírke, Toródi, Pulé, Gámbetí, Bedíngel, three villages of the name of Debére, Bámura, Fadambáka, Gébu, Kóla, Bombúfa, Kácheré, Kénde, Lérbu, Buré, Benbenjángo, Kollangel-páttidé, Nélba, Beresángo, Fúlgu, Bílli, Chompángu (probably identical with Kampángu), U'regáudi, Gurmáre, U'relangáwu, Táka, Kilínke, Yákutá, U'riltáso, U'ro-Bellábe, Bangatáke, Tobijágha, Dankándi, Begontígi, Kúri.

clever Arab, who represented himself as a very important person in Timbúktu, and as an intimate friend of the sheikh El Bakáy, under whose especial protection I intended to place myself, at times had the power of raising my spirits by the interesting information which he was able to give me. Now and then, for instance, he described the great mercantile importance of Sansándi, or dwelt upon the great authority enjoyed by the chief, whose fame had inspired me with so much confidence in my undertaking this journey to the west, and through whose influence the former mercantile importance of Timbúktu had not only been entirely restored, but a new interest had accrued to it as being the seat of a religious chief of high authority, who exercised an influence, not very unlike that of the pope of Rome, over a very large tract of country, and extending even over the pagan tribes around, into the very heart of Mósi, that country which, as we shall see more distinctly further on, from a remote age has been the champion of paganism against Islám. But on other occasions the conduct of my companion was so little straightforward, as to fill me with serious fears. Nevertheless, I here entered into an agreement with him, giving him a fine black tobe and a black shawl, and stipulating to reward him, on my safe arrival in Timbúktu, with a present of twenty dollars and a white heláli bernús, besides buying him here a horse for the price of another tobe, three túrkedí, and a black shawl. On the whole, at that time, I was too much imposed upon by his fascinating manners to

CHAT. LXI. UNLUCKY FATE OF A LETTER.

297

become fully aware of his intriguing character; and perhaps it was well that it was so, or I might not have trusted myself into his hands. However, by degrees, I became heartily tired of the long delay which he, together with 'Alí el A'geren, forced upon me. I had long prepared everything for my outset, and on the 20th I finished a letter, which I addressed to Her Majesty's consul at Tripoli, and inclosed it under cover to my friend 'Abd el Káder dan Taffa, in Sókoto, and decided on intrusting it to the care of Dahóme, the man who had accompanied me from Gando, and who was to return home from this place, beyond which he enjoyed no authority; but unfortunately he took so little care of the parcel on his journey, when he had to cross a great many swollen rivers, that the outer envelope was destroyed entirely, so that the learned Púllo, not knowing what to make of a letter in a writing which he did not understand, left it with the bearer, with whom I found it on my return to Gando, in the middle of the following year. He had worn it as a sort of charm in his cap, while I expected that it had long reached Europe and informed my friends of my latest proceedings.

298

CHAP. LXII.

UNSETTLED PROVINCES OBSTRUCTED BY NATURE AND INFESTED BY

Thursday,

MAN.-ARIBÍNDA.-HÓMBORI.

AT length I set out on the last and most July 21st. dangerous stage of my journey to Timbúktu, thinking at the time that I should be able to reach that celebrated place in about twenty days. But I underrated the distance, such a very different position having been assigned to that mysterious place by geographers; and I had no idea of the difficulties which attended this journey, at least for a Christian, and the delays which would be caused me by the character of the new companion whom I had attached to me.

On leaving the turbulent town of Dóre, a great many armed people accompanied me, much against my inclination; and their conduct was so suspicious that we were obliged to make a halt and send them about their business: for the inhabitants of this place, not long before, had robbed and killed, in a similar manner, a wealthy sherif, whom they pretended to escort, on his way from Sansándi. Just in crossing the shallow concavity where every year a very extensive sheet of water is formed, which often as

CHAP. LXII.

LEAVE DO'RE.

299

sumes the dimensions of an immense lake, and even now was covered with fine fresh turf, we met a large caravan of Mósi traders from Bússumo, their asses heavily laden with immense bundles of tári, or cotton strips, and with Kóla nuts. Further on, where a little cultivation of cotton appeared, the monkey-bread or baobab tree became predominant. Altogether the whole province seemed to be in a miserable state; and the village Dánandé, which we passed after a march of about seven miles, bore evident traces of having suffered from the effects of war. The monotony of the country was pleasingly broken by a small rivulet, which we crossed a few yards beyond the village, and which was bordered by some very fine trees of the "mur" kind, which I have mentioned on a former occasion as affording excellent timber for boat-building. The baobab trees, also, were here greatly distinguished, both by their size and their fine foliage.

We took up our quarters this day in Wúlu, a village situated beyond a large sheet of water, or, as it is here called, "wéndu," overgrown by the finest trees. The place is inhabited by Tawárek slaves, who are trilingues, speaking Temáshight as well as Songhay and Fulfúlde; but their huts were very miserable indeed, and of mosquitoes there was no end, and we had likewise great difficulty in finding a supply of corn. The hut in which I took up my quarters had been recently built, and on the whole was not so bad, but so choke-full of

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