entrepôt—Súk—of the tribe of the Tademékka, about one hundred miles from Burrum, on that great highroad, was evidently founded for that purpose. Formerly there were three villages, containing a considerable population, till about eleven years ago[34] the Fúlbe, under the command of ʿAbd Alláhi, the uncle of the present ruler of Másina, who at that time was a very energetic and warlike chieftain, made an expedition to this place with about 6000 horse, and 20,000 foot, while the whole of the Tawárek, the Awelímmiden, Igwádaren, and Tademékket, collected together near Tóndibi, did not dare to offer them open battle. Destroying, then, those villages of Burrum, the Fúlbe transferred the whole population, consisting of nearly 4000 people, into the neighbourhood of Gúndam. A good deal of rice is here cultivated; the cultivation of that article in this region being said to have proceeded from this very locality, a fact which is of the greatest interest as regards the ancient intercourse with Egypt. Even now, those among the rest of the inhabitants of Burrum who belong to the Tawárek tribe of the Tademékket, are distinguished for their wealth and their more refined manners; and I here made the acquaintance of two eminent men among them, named Énnas and Gedéma, the latter particularly remarkable for his corpulency. At the place where we chose our encampment, the low grassy shore was greatly compressed, a steep bank of black sandstone rising to about thirty feet elevation close behind us, and forming at the top a flat level, strewn with black pebbles, which, if a person turned his back to the river, offered almost the same view as the most dreary part of the waste; but as soon as one directed one’s eyes southward, the picture was entirely reversed;—a magnificent stream, studded with rich grassy islands, and affording the most refreshing breeze, appeared in sight. The Sheikh had so many dealings with the inhabitants of the islands opposite our encampment, that he was obliged to stay here several days; but in order to satisfy me, he made us move on a little. However, we only proceeded for about the distance of a mile, leaving this steep rocky bank behind us, the ground remaining stony, clad with nothing but small stunted trees. Here we encamped again near the border of the green shore, where alone the soil was soft enough to admit the pegs, opposite a long sandbank, which was the resort of numerous flocks of white waterfowl. Of course this sort of progress did not exactly suit my wishes, and in order to soothe my discontent, El Bakáy, soon after we had encamped, paid me a long visit, in order to cheer me up, telling me that he had heard that there really had been, as I conjectured myself, a letter from Háj Beshír, with my parcel, and enumerating those of his pupils, or télamíd, whom he wanted to send along with me.