Chap. LXIIT. TAWA'REK WOMEN AND BOYS. 351 
It was almost noon when we started, for 
August lGth. 
as long as my friend El Walati had some- 
thing to sell, there was no chance of travelling, and 
in order to diminish my dissatisfaction, it was pre- 
tended that one of my pack-oxen was lost. Here 
my companion bartered his young camel for sixty 
sheep, and the bargain being at length concluded, we 
were allowed to proceed on our journey. But before 
setting out I had to give my blessing to the whole 
population of the encampment, male as well as female. 
Among the latter I discovered a few pretty young 
women, particularly one, who, together with her baby, 
formed a most pleasing spectacle, her beauty being 
enhanced by her extreme shyness in approaching me ; 
but their dress was very poor indeed, consisting of 
coarse cotton stuff, which was wrapped round the 
body and brought down over the head. All the 
boys under twelve years of age have the left side of 
their head entirely shaven, while from the crop on 
the right side a long curl hangs down. 
At length we were again on the road, but our 
march, through a rather level tract of country, was 
only of short duration, and after a little more than 
six miles, having crossed a basin where a large sheet 
of water had collected, we again took up our quarters 
in another encampment the chief of which was stated 
to possess great authority, so that I had once more 
to give presents to the value of nearly 10,000 shells, 
besides a tiirkedi and " haf " to be given to the man 
belonging to Bele, who had served us as a guide. I 
