I had to make here some considerable presents to a number of people. There was first our host Jóbbo, who had given us quarters, and who treated us very hospitably; then, the son of the chief or emír, who was absent in Hamda-Alláhi; next, three kinsmen of the latter, who were represented to me as dhálemín; and lastly, three Arabs from Timbúktu, who were staying here at the time, and whose friendly disposition I had to secure for some reason or other. One of the latter was a very amiable young man, of the name of Mohammed el Amín, son of the learned kádhi Mústapha, and it was he, in particular, who gave me some information with regard to my friend El Waláti, who, on his part, endeavoured to obtain the favour of this young man, by persuading me to make him a good present, and to commission him to take charge of my horse through the dangerous and watery tract of country from Sarayámo to Kábara. As for the second of these Arabs, he belonged to the small tribe of the Ansár, or, as they are generally called Lansár,—that most respected Arab tribe which, on account of its intimate connection with Mohammed, enjoyed everywhere and at all times great influence, but which is at present reduced to a very small fraction. He was a follower of Hammádi, the rival of the sheikh El Bakáy in Timbúktu, and seemed to be of such a hostile disposition towards my friend that the latter represented him to me as shamefully exiled from that town, and as totally disgraced. Besides these presents to the inhabitants of the place, I had also to reward the various people who had accompanied us from the Tawárek encampments in order to show us the road, or rather to drive the sheep and cattle belonging to El Waláti. But in return for all these presents I was at least treated hospitably and, for these countries, even sumptuously; and I was glad to find that the rice here, which constituted the chief article of food, was of excellent quality. While we were staying in this place I received a visit from two Tawárek chiefs, who, owing to our slow progress, had heard of me, and came in order to obtain from me my blessing, but more particularly some presents. The chief of them was a very respectable-looking man, of the name of Mohammed, or Hemáhemé, with large open features, such as are never seen among the Kél-owí, and of a tall stately figure. They behaved very friendly towards me, and one of them even embraced me very cordially; but the scale of their religious erudition was not very considerable, and I was greatly amused when El Waláti, in order to get back from them his tobacco-pouch, which they had secretly abstracted from him, suddenly seized one of my books, which happened to be “Lander’s Journey,” and, on threatening them with it as if it were the Kurán, the pouch was restored without delay.