224 
RESIDENCE AT SOCCATOO AND MAGARIA. 
are saying. All they know of their religion is to repeat their 
prayers by rote in Arabic, first from sunrise to sunset in the 
Rhamadan, and a firm belief that the goods and chattels, wives and 
children of all people differing with them in faith, belong to them ; 
and that it is quite lawful in any way to abuse, rob, or kill an un- 
believer. Of the Fellatas, I should suppose about one in ten are 
able to read and write. They believe, they say, in predestination; 
but it is all a farce ; they show not the least of such belief in any 
of their actions. 
They believe, however, in divination by the book, in dreams, 
and in good and bad omens. 
Wednesday, Nov. 29th. — This morning the Gadado sent to 
inform me that in the course of two days the sultan was going 
a short distance to the south of Soccatoo, to found a new town, 
and asked me to accompany him. At noon a fire broke out in the 
west quarter of the town, which consumed nearly 200 houses, and 
a great quantity of grain. At 3 P. M. another fire broke out in the 
adjoining house to that in which I was living. I had my baggage 
put out in the open square, in my enclosure, and placed a servant 
over it as sentry, and went with my two other servants to assist 
the wives and concubines of my friend Malam Moodie, who was 
out of town. They were busy in removing the household goods 
into the street. This I stopped, and had them put into my square; 
as I saw that the fire was nearly put down by the removal of the 
roofs of the huts in the adjoining house, and by applying wet mats. 
Thieves were in abundance, and a great quantity of articles were 
stolen belonging to the people whose house was on fire. There was 
fortunately little wind, or several other houses would have been 
burnt. As it was, the light and burning thatch was carried to a 
great distance. My servant, Mohamed Allah Sirkie, got great 
praise from the Gadado for his activity in putting a stop to the 
