Chap. LXIII. BARBARA.— ITS IMPORTANCE. 
355 
their treasures ; that is to say, their long rolls of 
cotton-strips, "leppi," or u tari." The dwelling also 
which was assigned to me consisted of a rather low 
dirty hut, which was anything but well ventilated, 
and proved almost insupportable during the hot hours 
of the day. But the clay soil in the courtyard was 
too hard for pitching my tent, and besides, it was not 
advisable to expose myself in this manner to the gaze 
of inquisitive and curious observers. The inhabitants 
of this place, almost all of whom are Fiilbe, and on 
account of their large features evidently belong to 
the section of the Torode or Torobe, are ill- famed 
as " dhalemm," or evil-doers. However, they are a 
warlike set, and had succeeded a few months before 
in driving back the Awellmmiden, who had made a 
foray on a large scale against the place. But Bam- 
bara is important in an economical respect, for the 
inhabitants, besides possessing numerous cattle, cul- 
tivate a large extent of ground; even many of the 
people of Timbuktu have fields here, the transport 
of the grain being easy and cheap by means of the 
immense inland navigation which is formed by the 
many back-waters and branches of the Niger. But 
the neighbourhood of the place is very barren, and at 
that time especially, when no rain had fallen for 
some time, looked extremely dry, so that the camels 
had to be driven to a great distance to find pas- 
turage. Some Tawarek half-castes are also settled 
in the place, and they kept up dancing: every evening 
till a very late hour. 
