Chai\ LXVII. LETTER TO EL BAKA'Y, 
447 
the Imam of Maskat ; and whose attention the region 
of the Great River (Niger), together with Tim- 
buktu, had long attracted. At the same time I as- 
sured him that his own fame as a just and highly 
intelligent man, which I had received from my friends 
far to the east in the heart of Negroland, had in- 
spired me with full confidence that I should be safe 
under his protection. In consequence of the views 
which I set forth in this letter, I was so fortunate as 
to gain the lasting esteem of this excellent man, who 
was so much pleased with the contents of it, that on 
its arrival in Giindam, where he was at the time, he 
read it to all the principal men, Tawarek, Songhay, 
and even Fullan, in whose company he was staying. 
Meanwhile, in order to obtain the friendship and 
to secure the interest of other and more selfish people, 
I gave away a great many presents ; but, from what I 
learned afterwards, I had reason to suspect that they 
did not all reach the persons for whom they were 
intended. Most of them remained in the possession 
of the greedy Weled A'mmer Walati, through whose 
hands they had unfortunately to pass. 
The day that I received the important message 
from the Sheikh has been impressed on my memory 
with so much greater force, as it was the grand 
festival of the Mohammedans, or the 'Aid el Kebir. 
Here also in this city, so far remote from the centre 
of Mohammedan worship, the whole population, on 
this important day, said their prayers outside the 
town ; but there being no paramount chief to give 
