38 
VIOLENT STORM. 
a great fire^ and huddled round it, and in this state were 
drenched with the rain, which fell for two hours in torrents : 
it was extremely cold, and as it may be easily conceived, 
we were very uncomfortable. When the storm had ceased, 
we again put on our coussabes, which were perfectly dry • 
but a mizzling rain, which lasted all night, incommoded us 
much. The bad weather having prevented us from getting 
our supper, we breakfasted at the dawn of day with a keen 
appetite, though our sangleh had been exposed to the rain 
the whole night. At sunrise we spread out the goods to 
dry ; all of them had got wet, the soil, composed of ferru- 
ginous rock, being too hard to allow us to dig holes to shel- 
ter them in. 
September 5th. At noon we resumed our route, travel- 
ling to the N. E. for the space of twelve miles, and at ten at 
night we arrived at a camp situated on the bank of a rivulet : 
here we halted a moment, and one of our people went to 
apprize the marabouts of our arrival : he soon returned and 
we entered the camp ; I was immediately surrounded. The 
marabouts made me repeat the usual form of prayer of the 
Musulmans : There is but one God, and Mahomet is his 
prophet. I was besieged, and could not obtain a moment's 
rest the whole evening. The females, squatted behind the 
men, thrust their heads between the legs of the latter to get 
a sight of me ; but at every motion that I made they drew 
back their heads with loud screams, at the risk of upsetting 
the men, producing confusion among the throng which kept 
constantly increasing. Being warned by my conductors not 
to leave the centre of the camp, lest I should be robbed, I 
lay down upon the ground, and covered myself with a 
pagne, hoping that the Moors would retire ; but this precau- 
tion was of no avail ; they continued to torment me : the 
women, having grown bolder, uncovered me ; the children, 
after their example, pulled me one by the leg, another by 
the arm, while others struck my feet or pricked me with 
