306 
MOUNTAINS OF TEND A. 
from my clothes ; at length, at two o'clock we reached a small 
Poula village , situated on the highest point of the mountain. 
Seated on some of the ferruginous stones which compose these 
mountains, we waited till Saadou returned with provisions 
which he was gone in quest of ; in a short time he brought us 
a little rice boiled in water, and seasoned with a sauce of 
pistachio nuts, which a Poula had given him. This repast, 
the first I had taken for two days, recruited my strength ; and 
before sun-set, our route still leading across the mountains, we 
reached Tambamasiri, the first village of Tenda, situated on 
a steep declivity. I was obliged to stop the next day at this 
village ; for my fever would not allow me a moment's rest. 
To the sufferings caused by my illness, was added the unea- 
siness I began to feel respecting the fidelity of Saadou ; who 
on the 24th of June, actually required the payment of his 
salary before he would proceed to conduct me to the frontier 
of the country, and also demanded a present for his brother 
Mamadou. In the distressing situation in which I was placed, 
surrounded by the family of my guide, to whom the village 
belonged, and overcome by the hardships I had to encounter, 
I complied with the unjust demands of Saadou. 
This affair settled, we descended into the plains lying 
at the foot of the mountains, and covered with ferruginous 
stones. In the evening we entered a village situated on the 
frontiers of Tenda, and the countries lying beyond the 
Rio Grande. Tenda is a small country, in appearance re- 
