I had succeeded in engaging, on my return to Tripoli, as an attendant to accompany me to Bornou, a native of the island of St. Vincent, whose real name was Adolphus Sympkins; but who, in consequence of his having run away from home, and in a merchant vessel traversed half the world over, had acquired the name of Columbus; he had been several years in the service of the bashaw, spoke three European languages, and perfect Arabic. This person was of the greatest service to the mission, and so faithful an attendant, that His Majesty’s government have since employed him to accompany my former companion and colleague, Captain Clapperton, on the arduous service he is now engaged in: we had besides three free negroes, whom we had hired in Tripoli as our private servants; Jacob, a Gibraltar Jew, who was a sort of store-keeper; four men to look after our camels; and these, with Mr. Hillman and ourselves, made up the number of our household to thirteen persons. We were also accompanied by several merchants from Mesurata, Tripoli, Sockna, and Mourzuk, who gladly embraced the protection of our escort to proceed to the interior with their merchandize. The Arabs in the service of the bashaw of Tripoli, by whom we were to be escorted to Bornou, and on whose good conduct our success almost wholly depended, were now nearly all assembled, and had been chosen from the most obedient tribes; they gained considerably in our good opinion, each day we became better acquainted with them: they were not only a great and most necessary protection to us, breaking the ground as we were for any Europeans who might follow our steps, but enlivened us greatly on our dreary desert way by their infinite wit and sagacity, as well as by their poetry, extempore and traditional. We had several amongst our party who shone as orators in verse, to use the idiom of their own expressive language, particularly one of the tribe of Boo Saiff Marabooteens, or gifted persons, who would sing for an hour together, faithfully describing the whole of our journey for the preceding fortnight, relating the most trifling occurrence that had happened, even to the name of the well, and the colour and taste of the water, with astonishing rapidity and humour, and in very tolerable poetry; while some of his traditionary ballads were beautiful. The names of the chiefs who were to accompany us were as follows:— Of the tribe of M’Garha, Sheikh Abdi Smud ben Erhoma, from the Syrtis, with seventy men. He often said that his father’s name was renowned in song, for having killed one hundred men with his own hand in battle, and please God! he should exceed him, for he was but thirty-five, and had brought forty to the ground already. The M’Garhas are at this time in great favour with the bashaw, and entirely exempt from tribute of any sort, from having assisted him very materially in annihilating the Waled Suleyman: I must, therefore, give some account of them.