116 
TRAVELS m AFRICA. 
Chap. LXXIV. 
suffered so much in B6rnu, and which I occasionally 
feel even now. 
The place was the more disagreeable, as we re- 
mained here the three following days, El Bakdy 
endeavouring all the time to persuade the chief 
A'khbi to restore the property which he had taken 
from the subjects of his liege lord. I was in the 
mean time, anxious to keep up a friendly intercourse 
with the people with whom I was thus brought into 
contact, although most of the Igwddaren had already 
gone on in advance to their new retreat, and at that 
time were collected at Ernesse; while the straight- 
forward and fearless chief Woghdugu, and his friend 
Shamuwel, were still behind. I took a great interest 
in the name of the latter ; for I thought that the 
names of Shamuwel, Sdul, and Daniel — all being of 
frequent occurrence among this tribe, while, as far 
as I am aware, none of them is found among the 
Arabs, — tend to confirm the closer relation which 
these Berbers keep up with the Canaanitic tribes than 
with the Arabs. There was, in particular, a man of 
the name of Sdma, who was very friendly with me. 
On reading with him some writing in " Tefmaghen," or 
the native Berber character, I became aware that this 
word signifies nothing more than tokens or alphabet. 
Eor as soon as the people beheld my books, and ob- 
served that they all consisted of letters, they exclaimed 
repeatedly, "Tefmaghen — ay — Tefinaghen!" and my 
little friend Kiingu, who had just learned the Arabic 
alphabet, was very anxious to know something about 
