Chap. XXII. 
THE MARKET. 
21 
Overweg and myself, or for one of us at least, to go 
to Kano, as we had several debts to pay, and were 
obliged to sell the little merchandise we had with us, 
in order to settle our affairs. 
We were still considering the question, when we 
were informed that our old protector the chief A'nnur 
had just arrived from Zinder; and I immediately 
determined to go to see him in his own domain at 
Nachira, situated at a little more than a mile N. E. 
from Tasawa. In passing through the town I crossed 
the market-place, which at that time, during the hot 
hours of the day, was very well frequented, and pre- 
sented a busy scene of the highest interest to a 
traveller emerging from the desert, and to which the 
faint sparks of life still to be observed in A'gades can- 
not be compared. A considerable number of cattle 
were offered for sale, as well as six camels, and the 
whole market was surrounded by continuous rows of 
runfas or sheds ; but provisions and ready-dressed food 
formed the staple commodity, and scarcely anything of 
value was to be seen. On leaving the town I entered 
an open country covered with stubble-fields, and 
soon reached that group of Naehira where the chief 
had fixed his quarters. In front of the yard was a 
most splendid tamarind-tree, such as I had not yet 
seen. Leaving my horse in its shade, I entered the 
yard, accompanied by Gajere, and looked about for 
some time for the great man, when at length we dis- 
covered him under a small shed or runfa of a conical 
form, so low that we had passed it without noticing 
c 3 
