154 
TREES AND FRUIT. 
dan. We pray and hope this amendment may 
continue ; for hitherto, since we left Mourzuk, we 
have always had the people, with the exception of 
those of Tintalous, more or less hostile towards us. 
Some of our customers came to ask if the rings were 
really silver, for the blacksmith of the village had 
said they were only pewter. We replied, they were 
de-de silver ; that is, looked like it, or equal to it. 
They are, indeed, a most excellent imitation of silver, 
and answer quite as well the purpose of adorning 
these Targhee beauties. 
I saw to-day, on a single bough of tholukh, 
and a very small bough, three birds' nests sus- 
pended in a festoon. I tasted the wild water- 
melons of this part of the Sahara, and found 
them bitterness itself. But I am told by our 
Gatronee, that the Tibboos have a method of extract- 
ing the bitterness from this wild fruit. The people 
brought me en route some fruit, called in Bornou 
Jtusulu, and mageria in Haussa ; that is, the nebek or 
fruit of the sider or lote-tree. They were dry, but 
sweet and nice, and of a pleasant, acid sweet. Pro- 
visions thus are becoming more plentiful and varied. 
Dr. Barth has bought some meat of el-wagi, the name 
given by Yusuf for the bugar wahoush, or wild ox 
of the Arabs. 
The greater part of the trees in this region are 
of the species called in Haussa, tadani, and in Bor- 
nouese, kabi. Were these trees adorned with 
