194 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. Chap. LXXYII. 
Awelirnmiden, Igwadaren, and Tademekket, collected 
together near Tondibi, did not dare to offer them 
open battle. Destroying, then, those villages of Bur- 
rum, the Fiilbe transferred the whole population, con- 
sisting of nearly 4000 people, into the neighbourhood 
of Gundam. 
A good deal of rice is here cultivated ; the culti- 
vation of that article in this region being said to 
have proceeded from this very locality, a fact which 
is of the greatest interest as regards the ancient 
intercourse with Egypt. Even now, those among 
the rest of the inhabitants of Burrum who belong 
to the Tawarek tribe of the Tademekket, are dis- 
tinguished for their wealth and their more refined 
manners ; and I here made the acquaintance of 
two eminent men among them, named E'nnas and 
Gedema, the latter particularly remarkable for his 
corpulency. 
At the place where we chose our encampment, the 
low grassy shore was greatly compressed, a steep 
bank of black sandstone rising to about thirty feet 
elevation close behind us, and forming at the top a 
flat level, strewn with black pebbles, which, if a per- 
son turned his back to the river, offered almost the 
same view as the most dreary part of the waste ; but 
as soon as one directed one's eyes southward, the 
picture was entirely reversed ; — a magnificent stream, 
studded with rich grassy islands, and affording the 
most refreshing breeze, appeared in sight. 
The Sheikh had so many dealings with the inha- 
