Chap. XXX. 
MY BO'llNU FRIENDS. 
289 
me in my determination to sacrifice everything in 
order to visit that country as soon as possible, so 
the manifold information of these people with respect 
to the countries on the middle course of the so- 
called Niger excited in me a most ardent desire to 
execute the design, previously but vaguely enter- 
tained, of accomplishing also a journey westward to 
Timbuktu. 
Among my Bornu friends at this time, the most 
instructive were Shitima Makaremma and A'm- 
sakay. The former, who had been a courtier under 
the old dynasty, and who had saved his life by his 
intrigues, was a very intelligent old man, but an 
acknowledged rascal, to whom unnatural vices, which 
seem in general entirely unknown in these regions, 
were imputed. Nevertheless he was the only man 
who was master of all the history of the old dynasty ; 
and he spoke the Kaniiri language with such ex- 
quisite beauty as I have never heard from any- 
body else. He had two very handsome daughters, 
whom he succeeded in marrying, one to the vizier and 
one to his adversary, 'Abd e' Eahman ; but in De- 
cember 1853 he was executed, together with the 
vizier, but on totally different grounds, as having 
long forfeited his life. Quite a different sort of man 
was A'msakay, a simple Kanemma chief, who has 
been represented in one of my sketches. He had 
formerly distinguished himself by his expeditions 
against the Budduma, till those enterprising island- 
ers succeeded in conciliating him by the gift of one 
VOL. II. u 
