200 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. Chap. LXXVII. 
here heard from a shepherd who was watering his 
flock at a small pond formed by the recent fall of rain, 
that there was an encampment at some distance, we 
gave to our course a more southerly direction, and soon 
reached a village lying at the very brink of the steep 
bank of the river, consisting of huts, and inhabited 
conjointly by some Arabs of the tribe of the Bu-'Ali, 
and some poorer members of the tribe of the Kel e' 
Siik. The huts consisted of matting, and were very 
clean and well ventilated, each of them having two 
doors, one on the north and another on the south side, 
both of moderate dimensions. 
It was late in the evening when we arrived here, 
and there being an entire want of trees, we had 
great difficulty in obtaining a little firewood ; nor 
was there any good byrgu for the horses, the river, 
which here divided into two branches, being too deep 
to allow this rank grass, which prefers the swampy 
lowlands, to grow to any extent. The poverty of 
the inhabitants, also, could not at all satisfy the 
wants of my companions, who were very fond of 
a good supper ; hence El Bakay himself, who was 
well aware of this circumstance, had passed this 
locality, and, notwithstanding the lateness of the 
hour, directed his steps to another encampment 
further on. This was also the reason of our fol- 
lowing day's march being limited to a few hundred 
yards. We thus exchanged our encampment at 
Isdbegen for that of El Bakay's at Asdkan Im- 
begge ; but the change was by no means advanta- 
