December 31st. We started at twelve o’clock, and on the sands met about fifty girls neatly dressed, dancing in two lines, and preceded by a couple of drummers. They advanced to us, and surrounded our horses, kneeling and singing choruses. After this they rose and danced round us, when Besheer most ungallantly fired his gun, and rode amongst them as in a slave-hunt, which threw them into great confusion, and convinced me that I had never in my life seen better runners. The music of the Tibboo, as well as of Fezzan, consists chiefly of drums, which are made of a block of palm-tree hollowed out, and having a skin stretched at each end, beaten on one side by a stick, and on the other with the hand. (This instrument is called Gongāa قنقع). They have a kind of rude bagpipe, called Zuccra, زكّرا, and smaller drums than the Gongāa, called Dubdaba, ظبظبه. Our road was over sand, with small clumps of young palm bushes and Attila scattered at intervals, until two, when we arrived at the little village of El Bakkhi, and pitched our tent before a neat house belonging to the Sheikh, who was a Marāboot. We were much delighted at having two large trees of Gurda, some fig-trees, vines, and palms, in front of us. The water of the well was comparatively good, and the Marāboot’s son, in the absence of his father, was very civil to us. So much verdure, though within the compass of half an acre, made this place appear to us quite a Paradise; but on turning again, we saw with very different feelings the wide desert, stretching like an immense sea as far as the eye could reach. The women appeared here, as at Gatrone, busy in making their baskets. The Marāboot’s son, a boy of about sixteen years of age (whom the Kaid always styled “Sidi Marāboot,” particularly when he brought any thing to eat), was all attention, and we dined rurally under the first shady tree of any size we had yet seen. The Gurd is a species of Mimosa, having a yellow flower, and small delicate leaves resembling the acacia. It produces a pod, also called gurd, which, from its great astringency, is used in the preparation of leather, as well as in dying black. It is frequently employed from its healing qualities. [Illustration] [Illustration: _Drawn from Life by G. F. Lyon._ _On Stone by M. Gauci._ TIBBOO OF GATRONE. _London. Published by J. Murray Albemarle St. Feb.1.1821._ _C. Hullmandel’s Lithography._] January 1st, 1820. Thermometer 5°. Our new year’s morning was beautiful, and we felt quite refreshed, and free from pain. On striking our tent we found in the top about two quarts of flies, which had taken refuge from the cold, and were quite torpid, and which we buried. At 8.15. we left with much regret this delightful spot, and I gave the young man a knife and some beads.