358 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. Chap. LXIII. 
good present, and to commission him to take charge 
of my horse through the dangerous and watery tract 
of country from Sarayamo to Kabara. As for the 
second of these Arabs, he belonged to the small tribe 
of the Ansar, or, as they are generally called Lansar, 
— that most respected Arab tribe which, on account 
of its intimate connection with Mohammed, enjoyed 
everywhere and at all times great influence, but 
which is at present reduced to a very small fraction. 
He was a follower of Hammadi, the rival of the sheikh 
El Bakay in Timbiiktu, and seemed to be of such a 
hostile disposition towards my friend that the latter 
represented him to me as shamefully exiled from that 
town, and as totally disgraced. Besides these pre- 
sents to the inhabitants of the place, I had also to re- 
ward the various people who had accompanied us from 
the Tawarek encampments in order to show us the 
road, or rather to drive the sheep and cattle belonging 
to El Walati. But in return for all these presents 
I was at least treated hospitably and, for these coun- 
tries, even sumptuously ; and I was glad to find that 
the rice here, which constituted the chief article of 
food, was of excellent quality. 
While we were staying in this place I received a 
visit from two Tawarek chiefs, who, owing to our slow 
progress, had heard of me, and came in order to ob- 
tain from me my blessing, but more particularly some 
presents. The chief of them was a very respectable- 
looking man, of the name of Mohammed, or Hema- 
heme, with large open features, such as are never seen 
