Having thus surveyed the river, I took a turn round the hamlet, which altogether consists of about 300 huts, grouped in separate clusters, and surrounded by heaps of rubbish, which seemed to indicate the site of some larger buildings of the former city. While walking round the huts, the women came out from their “búge,” or matting huts, and gathered cheerfully round us, exclaiming one above the other, “Nasára, nasára, Allah aákbar!” “A Christian, a Christian: God is great!” but they seemed to take a greater interest in my younger Shúwa lad than in myself, dancing round him in a very cheerful and fascinating manner. Some of them had tolerably regular features, and were tall and of good proportions. They were all dressed in the same style, very different from the dress of the women in Timbúktu, having a broad wrapper of thick woollen cloth of different coloured stripes fastened below the breast, so that it came down almost to their ankles, and many of them had even fastened this dress over their shoulders by a pair of short braces, in the same way as men wear their trowsers in Europe, and others had simply fastened it from behind. While I was thus walking round the village, I met an old man who greeted me in the most cheerful manner, and attached himself to me. From what he intimated, I could not but conclude, that he had come into close contact with the Christian who so many years ago navigated this river in such a mysterious manner; but, unfortunately, he was of weak understanding, and I could not make out half of what he said to me. I regretted this the more as he conducted me through the heaps of rubbish to a long narrow clay building at a short distance west from the mosque, where he wanted to show me something of interest, but the owner of the house refused me admittance. Leaving then the furthermost huts on my right, I turned my steps towards the jíngeré-bér, and endeavoured to make out as well as I could the plan of this building.