I could not help thinking what a noble family this was. They were all sons of Sídi Mohammed el Kunti, the chief who received Major Laing in Ázawád. First, Mukhtár, Bakáy’s elder brother, who succeeded to his father when that chief had succumbed to an epidemic fever which raged in Ázawád, just at the time of Major Laing’s arrival, and who died in 1847; then Sídi Mohammed, a man with a truly princely demeanour; then El Bakáy himself; next, ʿAbidín, likewise well deserving the distinguished position of a chief, although he differed in politics from El Bakáy; then Hámma, a man with whom I did not become personally acquainted, but who was represented by all as a noble man; Sídi Ílemín; Bábá Áhmed; and Sídi Ámmer. This latter is the youngest, but certainly not the least noble of the family. While on a visit to Sókoto, together with his brother El Bakáy, he made a deeper impression upon the people, and obtained their favour more generally, than his elder brother. Álawáte is the only member of this family, who, with the exception of his learning, does not seem to contribute much to its honour; but, even in his case, we must take into account the customs of the country, and not judge of him according to our views of nobility. [Illustration] The light dwelling which had been erected for my protector, simple as it was, was spacious and elegant, affording a very cool resting-place during the heat of the day. It was of an oblong shape, measuring about 20 feet by 9, with two doors opposite each other, a large angáreb forming a comfortable resting-place. The mats of which these huts are constructed are very large and excellently woven, the huts being supported by a framework of slender bushes. But the hut, although very pleasant, was too crowded, and, during the hot hours of noon, I retired to a group of magnificent gerredh trees, which overshaded the cemetery, lying at the southern side of the village, and, interwoven by a dense growth of creepers, afforded a most agreeable shade, such as I had never before observed in the case of this tree. Together with the adjoining tobacco fields, which were just exhibiting their freshest green, this cemetery formed a striking contrast to the barren country further north, which, although broken by a dhaye, or pond, of considerable size, and excellently adapted for the cultivation of rice, has neither trees nor bushes, with the exception of two or three isolated date-palms surrounding the border of the pond.