Having then passed a small tract of cultivated ground and emerged from the undulating country, we obtained a sight of the town of Bámbara, situated a little in front of a chain of hills, as represented in the accompanying woodcut. In an hour more we reached the place, and at the instigation of our Arab companion fired a salute with our pistols, whereupon the principal individuals made their appearance, and we obtained quarters without further delay. The town or village consists partly of low clay buildings, partly of huts, but the inhabitants appear to dwell almost exclusively in the latter, using the clay dwellings, which generally consist of low, oblong, and flat-roofed buildings, as store-rooms or magazines for depositing their treasures; that is to say, their long rolls of cotton-strips, “leppi,” or “tári.” The dwelling also which was assigned to me consisted of a rather low dirty hut, which was anything but well ventilated, and proved almost insupportable during the hot hours of the day. But the clay soil in the courtyard was too hard for pitching my tent, and besides, it was not advisable to expose myself in this manner to the gaze of inquisitive and curious observers. The inhabitants of this place, almost all of whom are Fúlbe, and on account of their large features evidently belong to the section of the Toróde or Tórobe, are ill-famed as “dhálemín,” or evil-doers. However, they are a warlike set, and had succeeded a few months before in driving back the Awelímmiden, who had made a foray on a large scale against the place. But Bámbara is important in an economical respect, for the inhabitants, besides possessing numerous cattle, cultivate a large extent of ground; even many of the people of Timbúktu have fields here, the transport of the grain being easy and cheap by means of the immense inland navigation which is formed by the many back-waters and branches of the Niger. But the neighbourhood of the place is very barren, and at that time especially, when no rain had fallen for some time, looked extremely dry, so that the camels had to be driven to a great distance to find pasturage. Some Tawárek half-castes are also settled in the place, and they kept up dancing every evening till a very late hour. [Illustration] Bámbara is called Hudári by the Tawárek or Imóshagh, and Sukurára by the people of the kingdom of Bámbara, the Bámanón, or as they are called by the inhabitants of Timbúktu, Benáber. Why the name Bámbara has attached to this place in particular I cannot say, but probably the reason was, that the people of Bámbara, who some seventy years ago conquered all this country to the south of the river, retained dominion of this town for a longer time than of any other place in the neighbourhood. There is no doubt that the Fúlbe, or Fullán, as well as the Songhay and Arabs, call the place only by the latter name.