On the morning of the 8th of September, the first news I heard was, that Hammádi the rival and enemy of El Bakáy had informed the Fúlbe, or Fullán, that a Christian had entered the town, and that, in consequence, they had come to the determination of killing him. However, these rumours did not cause me any great alarm, as I entertained the false hope that I might rely on the person who, for the time, had undertaken to protect me: but my feeling of security was soon destroyed, this very man turning out my greatest tormentor. I had destined for him a very handsome gift, consisting of a fine cloth bernús, a cloth kaftán, and two tobes, one of silk and the other of indigo-dyed cotton, besides some smaller articles; but he was by no means satisfied with these, and peremptorily raised the present to the following formidable proportions:— Shells. Two blue bernúses of the best quality, worth 100,000 One kaftán 40,000 Two waistcoats; one red and one blue 15,000 Two silk tobes 35,500 Two Núpe tobes 30,000 A pair of small pistols, with 7 lbs. of fine powder Ten Spanish dollars Two English razors, and many other articles While levying this heavy contribution upon me, in order to take from the affair its vexatious character, my host stated, that as their house and their whole establishment were at my disposal, so my property ought to be at theirs. But even this amount of property did not satisfy him, nor were his pretensions limited to this; for, the following day, he exacted an almost equal amount of considerable presents from me, such as two cloth kaftáns, two silk hamáíl, or sword belts, three other silk tobes, one of the species called jellábi, one of that called harír, and the third of the kind called filfil, one Núpe tobe, three túrkedís, a small six-barrelled pistol, and many other things. He promised me, however, on his part, that he would not only make presents of several of these articles to the Tawárek chiefs, but that he would also send a handsome gift to the governor of Hamda-Alláhi; but this latter condition at least, although the most important, considering that the town was formally subjected to the supremacy of the ruler of Másina, was never fulfilled; and although I was prepared to sacrifice all I had for the purposes of my journey, yet it was by no means agreeable to give up such a large proportion of my very limited property to a younger brother of the chief under whose protection I was to place myself. Thus my first day in Timbúktu passed away, preparing me for a great deal of trouble and anxiety which I should have to go through; even those who professed to be my friends treating me with so little consideration.