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The bride, I now find, is no less a personage than the daughter of En-Noor, a full-grown desert princess. The Sfaxee and several other foreign merchants fired in the evening salutes in honour of the occasion. The drum was again kept beating all night, accompanied again by the crickets and the screech-owl. Oh for a quiet sleep! 28th.
I went to visit the wife of Mohammed Es-Sfaxee, who goes with us to Soudan as a merchant, carrying a considerable quantity of goods on account of M. Gagliuffi: this gentleman accompanied me. The object of our visit was to see whether the Sfaxee had left a sufficient quantity of provisions with his wife to support her during his absence.
This is the only man who seems to have any authority in Seloufeeat: the marabouts could do little before he came forward; the people live in the wildest state of lawless independence. In the morning before starting, the Sfaxee and Yusuf came up to me and said, "All up to now was lies; but henceforth all is truth. You have nothing more to fear there is nothing now but good."
We often came upon spots which had been ploughed up as by a torrent from the skies; and few rocks in the Sahara are without water-marks. The rain-water at our camping-ground has an excellent flavour, and I drank of it eagerly. Round this pool we at length found the caravan waiting for us to come up. The Germans and all others were well, except the Sfaxee, troubled with a little fever.
Late in the evening Yusuf and the Sfaxee came from En-Noor with a most threatening message. The Sheikh says, in substance, that "Everybody wishes to attack us, and take away our property. To protect us, therefore, and conduct us to Zinder, he must have, at least, seven hundred dollars." At first he demanded one thousand, and then came down to seven hundred.
She was first taken up by Sakonteroua; then by En-Noor, our Kailouee guide; and afterwards by some other person. Yesterday I saw her in the tent of the Sfaxee. The poor woman submits to the inconstancy of Fortune with marvellous fortitude. She is now quite merry, and inclined to play the coquette. Poor thing!
The Sfaxee, however, leaves his goods in the place, and will go with us to-morrow. Tintaghoda may be a safe dépôt for Muslims, not for Christians. I have omitted to notice in its proper place, but may record here, that one of the free black females was lost for a couple of days in the desert, and recovered after the disaster.
A flood of water pours down the valley every evening, after which the ground continues all night and all next day in a state of wet mud. 9th. I rose without receiving any good news. On the contrary, Mr. Sfaxee, who has always professed such disinterestedness, begins to hint demands. I find that I shall have to pay him as much as the other people.
In the morning En-Noor sent a message, to the effect that he could not see us unless we had made up our minds to give him the seven hundred dollars. He is getting more and more bold and impertinent. I deputed Mahommed Tunisee and the Sfaxee to him as negotiators.
Of our five reals the Germans take one and a half, and the Sfaxee a half. This will make it lighter for me. Our people made a regular feast of the camel's flesh, some of them sitting up and gorging till midnight. Their noise did not disturb me, for I had slept a good deal in the day. I had done very little indeed but sleep and lie down. We felt the heat severely at noon.
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