RUSH FOR PRESENTS. 
165 
departure, a great uproar was made on tliis subject, 
and I was obliged to yield the point, and give them 
burnouses. These presents had been promised to 
Hateetah on the road from Mourzuk to Ghat, upon 
the condition that the Sheikhs and people would 
agree to the treaty. They had also been mentioned 
at Mourzuk ; but then, nothing had been said about 
conditions. I considered it highly impolitic to 
allude to the treaty in the hearing of the Turks, 
who would have thought I was secretl}^ going to 
enter into an alliance offensive and defensive with 
the Ghateen against them. The Tuaricks, however, 
stood upon the point, that when the burnouses were 
promised first, there was no talk of an equivalent, 
and 1 was obliged to concede. 
When I had finished distributing these presents, 
there was peace for the few hours that we v. ere yet 
to remain at Ghat. Haj Ahmed, however, seeing 
and hearing of all this confusion, became alarmed 
lest I should repeat it to Mourzuk, and refused to 
take the presents of tea, cofi*ee, sugar, a white bur- 
nouse, and a few large carpet-rugs, which I offered 
him. His son, also, refused what I tendered, a fez 
and a turban, because it was not enough. Every- 
body in Ghat who expected a present from us, 
seemed determined to be satisfied with nothing less 
than a burnouse. The Governor wished to appear 
perfectly disinterested amidst this confusion and 
these extortionate demands of the Tuaricks. I was 
not sorry for the refusals, for really I have ten thou- 
