The country of the Braknas is situated about sixty leagues E.N.E. of St. Louis; it is bounded on the south by the Senegal; on the east by the country of the Douiches;[26] on the N.E. by that of the Koonts;[27] and on the north, by the tribe of Oulad-Lame,[28] which is united with another neighbouring tribe; these two compose a nation formidable on account of the depredations which they commit; they are not Mahometans. The tribe of Labohs[29] is on the N.E., and to the west of the Trarzas. This nation is composed of several tribes, some hassanes, and others marabouts. The principal tribes of hassanes are: Oulad-Sihi, Oulad-Aly, Oulad-Hamet, Oulad-Makhso, Oulad-Abdallah, Oulad-Baicar, Oulad-Pis-nem-Nematema; of the marabouts, Dhiedhiebe-Touaryk, Oulad-Tandora, and Oulad-Biery-Togat. Each of these tribes has its separate and independent chief. Hamet-Dou is recognised as king by the French government, and the duty on the trade in gum is paid into his hands; he receives also the tax which is levied on merchant ships; but the goods derived from these sources are divided amongst all the chiefs and princes. The marabouts receive nothing from the princes. These tribes are often engaged in war with one another, which they undertake without the king’s consent. The crown is hereditary only when the king leaves a son who is of age; if he leaves no children, or minors only, it devolves to his brother, who enjoys it during life; after his death, if the sons of the preceding king are of age to inherit, the eldest succeeds to his father’s rights. The population of the Braknas is not very numerous; it is divided into five classes, which have been already mentioned: _hassanes_, _marabouts_, _zenagues_, _laratines_, and _slaves_. The hassanes may be considered as the aristocracy of the country and its warriors; their armies consist of themselves and their slaves; the zenagues join also, in the hope of pillage; the common people, that is, the poorer hassanes, are attracted by the same hope, but they serve only as volunteers, and the princes have no power to compel free men to enlist in their armies. When the chief of a tribe is cruel or unjust towards his subjects, or even deficient in liberality, it is at every man’s option to remove with his flocks, and to join any other tribe which he pleases; hence nothing is more uncertain than the population of a tribe, which increases or diminishes according to the reputation of its chief; even the king’s own tribe is not exempt from desertion.