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This speech I most devoutly devoured, and things certainly wore a brighter aspect this morning. But we now anxiously wait news from En-Noor. We moved up the valley of Seloufeeat, our spirits buoyant and mounting high, whilst the air of the morning was soft and fresh, not unlike that of Italy. After two hours we arrived at the City of Marabouts, or Tintaghoda.
Certainly there may have been some twenty or thirty such people, and, undoubtedly, the escort of En-Noor produced a salutary effect upon these brigands, as well as upon the holy maraboutee population who drove away our camels. When at the Marabouteen, as Tintaghoda is called, a very fine gold-embroidered waistcoat was brought by the escort of En-Noor to me, to ask what it was worth.
When men had ceased to fight against us, nature began. I thought I could hear the fanatical people of Tintaghoda say one to the other, "Ah! they saved their lives by money, but now God comes in to punish and destroy them."
Aug. 29th. I rose early, and heard the good news that the camels missing in the first affair were found and brought to our people. This filled everybody with good spirits, and we got off as soon as we could from Seloufeeat. We were obliged to leave the boat in the charge of a faithful inhabitant, to fetch as soon, as we arrived at Tintaghoda.
A great number of houses of Tintaghoda were carried away, and the inhabitants declared that they never remembered such an occurrence to have happened before. I can well believe them, otherwise the site of the town would have been changed for higher ground. Trees numberless were uprooted, and brought down by the mighty current, which must have considerably altered the appearance of the valley.
Any country not producing periodic crops of grain, either by the annual rains or by irrigation, comes under this denomination here. Aheer answers the description perfectly, although there are some exceptions. Seloufeeat and Tintaghoda have annual crops of grain produced by irrigation. I have obtained a list, such as it is, of the towns and villages surrounding Tintalous.
The marabouts indulge the vain hope that, through the influence of the great En-Noor of Tintalous, we may yet become Muslims. It would appear that the whole of the inhabitants of the village of Tintaghoda are marabouts, and so the race of saints is propagated from generation to generation. Generally, the children of the marabouts are good-looking.
I must observe, that, considering the time that elapsed between the departure of the courier from Seloufeeat and the arrival of the escort at Tintaghoda, these people had been collected very quickly, which showed En-Noor to be a man of business and authority. I expected we should have some trouble to satisfy thirty-one people.
We have hired of them eleven camels in all. The original agreement was to carry our goods and baggage from Mourzuk to Tintaghoda, for which we paid dear. Having heard that the great En-Noor would receive me to-day or to-morrow, as I pleased, I determined at once to see him, and made ready the presents for his highness. We had some difficulty in making the selection.
They levy contributions on the caravans, and on the settled people when they can venture. This is the oasis of Janet, mentioned previously. The valley, which embraces Seloufeeat and Tintaghoda, is said to extend, by a series of connexions, as far as Zinder, probably a fanciful connexion of the people.
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