it at me, before I was even aware of his intention; the missile, fortunately, only grazed my wide papooshes. He was now disarmed, and I again presented at him. The negro remained perfectly cool, and merely said: “Shoot on! I die; and what of that!” I now saw that nothing was to be effected by intimidation, laid my gun aside, and, walking up to him, enquired into all he circumstances of the case, which he faithfully related. Convinced of the injustice of my servant, I endeavoured to pacify the negro, and assured him that I would punish the former. All my persuasion was, however, in vain; he foamed with rage, and replied, that we should both suffer for this act. Seeing that he was too weak to offer battle to us both, he ran away in an instant, loudly uttering his war-cry of “Lu, lu, lu!”[39] This was an ill omen for us, and put us both in no slight degree of fear. Flight was out of the question, we had no chance of thus escaping. I, therefore, set my wits to work to devise a remedy, to avert at least the first outbreak of our enemies rage. I bound my servant hand and foot with a cord, and taking up the branch of a tree which lay near me pretended to beat him most unmercifully; he played his part remarkably well, and screamed as if he were being impaled, whenever I made the slightest movement with my hand; for we already descried a crowd of natives at the distance, running towards us, their lances glittering in the evening sun, and the shouts of the women, who followed in the wake of the men, boded us no good; but the nearer they approached the better we played our parts; and my servant continued his screams until he was fairly out of breath. Those of our enemies, who were nearest, called out to me to desist; and when I obeyed, my servant rolled himself about in the sand like a madman. The negro who had been the cause of the whole scene now walked up to me, took my hand, and said, “Have no fear, you shall not be hurt, because you have acknowledged the injury your servant has done me, and have punished him for it.” An old man now untied the cord which bound the hands and feet of the culprit, and approached me, to be informed of the whole affair. They proved to be Bakkara.[40] I invited the old man and the negro, of whom I have before spoken into my tent, where I entertained them with coffee, and gave them my pipe to smoke. Harmony was immediately restored, and every one conciliated. They asked me whence I came, and where I was travelling to, and then the conversation turned on other topics. When the night closed in, they all gradually retired, with the exception of five men, who remained with me all night as a guard, emptied several pots of merissa together, and kept up the fire, thus consuming the whole of the wood which had been the _belli teterrima causa_. When they took their leave of me in the morning, they presented me with a young gazelle, as provision for my further journey.