DANCING MAIDENS. 
199 
enter the interior of his house. We then went to 
see the Commander-in-chief— a funny fellow. He 
was very civil to us, and to all, joking with his 
soldiers, amidst whom he was squatting. These 
Zinder troops have no arms in their undress, and 
only wear a loose tobe, with bare heads. The 
General told us he would visit us in the morning. 
After a climb to the summit of one of the 
granite rocks of Zinder to have a view of the town, 
I went to see and hear the drummers hammering 
on their kangas. There were three of them, sur- 
rounded by a group of Zinder maidens. One fellow 
had two long drums, very narrow, on which he 
laboured with all his might. The maidens ap- 
proached the musicians by twos, dancing or step- 
ping forward, and retreating with great apparent 
modesty. Whilst I was looking at a couple, one of 
them ran up to me, and struck me lightly with her 
hand. For this attention I was obliged to give her 
a present of gour-nuts, which are equally current 
with the cowries on such occasions. The drum is 
the national music of the people of Zinder, and they 
hammer away at it from morning to night. They 
say that in the palace it never ceases all day, begin- 
ning at dawn. Perhaps it may be esteemed useful 
in supplying the place of silly conversation. 
Very few Tuaricks are to be seen in the streets 
of this city. They rarely show themselves, except on 
market-days, when they come from their houses in 
the suburbs. Little cordiality exists between them 
