296 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
Chap. LXL 
clever Arab, who represented himself as a very im- 
portant person in Timbuktu, and as an intimate friend 
of the sheikh El Bakay, under whose especial protec- 
tion I intended to place myself, at times had the power 
of raising my spirits by the interesting information 
which he was able to give me. Now and then, for 
instance, he described the great mercantile importance 
of Sansandi, or dwelt upon the great authority enjoyed 
by the chief, whose fame had inspired me with so 
much confidence in my undertaking this journey to 
the west, and through whose influence the former mer- 
cantile importance of Timbuktu had not only been en- 
tirely restored, but a new interest had accrued to it as 
being the seat of a religious chief of high authority, 
who exercised an influence, not very unlike that of the 
pope of Rome, over a very large tract of country, and 
extending even over the pagan tribes around, into the 
very heart of Mosi, that country which, as we shall 
see more distinctly further on, from a remote age 
has been the champion of paganism against Islam. 
But on other occasions the conduct of my com- 
panion was so little straightforward, as to fill me 
with serious fears. Nevertheless, I here entered into 
an agreement with him, giving him a fine black tobe 
and a black shawl, and stipulating to reward him, on 
my safe arrival in Timbuktu, with a present of twenty 
dollars and a white helali berniis, besides buying him 
here a horse for the price of another tobe, three tiirkedi, 
and a black shawl. On the whole, at that time, I was 
too much imposed upon by his fascinating manners to 
