400 
AFRICA AND ITS EXPLORATION. 
witli my relatives and principal people, and to-morrow 
night we will have another talk.” 
The next evening, at about eight o’clock, Hamed bin 
Mohammed, or Tippu-Tib, appeared with his cousin, 
Mohammed bin Sayid, and others, to confer upon the 
important business broached the evening before, and, 
after the usual courteous and ceremonious greeting’s, I 
was requested to state my intentions. 
“ I would like to go down the river in canoes until I 
reach the place where the river turns for good either to 
the west or east.” 
“ How many days’ journey on land would that be ? ” 
asked Tippu-Tib. 
“ I don’t know. Do you ? ” 
“ No ; indeed, I was never in that direction ; but I 
have a man here who has reached farthest of all.” 
“ Where is he ? ” 
“ Speak, Abed, son of Jumah, what you know of this 
river,” said Tippu-Tib. 
The son of Jumah, thus urged by his superior, spoke 
and said, “ Yes, I know all about the river, El liamd ul 
illah ! ” (“ the thanks be to God ”). 
“ In which direction does it flow, my friend ? ” 
“ It flows north.” 
“ And then ? ” 
“ It flows north ! ” 
“ And then ? ” 
“ Still north ! ” 
“ Come, my friend, speak ; whither does it flow after 
reaching the north ? ” 
“ Why, master,” replied he, with a bland smile of 
wonder at my apparent lack of ready comprehension, 
“ don’t I tell you it flows north, and north, and north, 
and there is no end to it ? I think it reaches the salt 
sea, at least some of my friends say so.” 
£ ‘ Well, in which direction is this salt sea ? ” 
“ Allah yallim ! ” (“ God knows ! ”) 
“ I thought you said you knew all about the river ? ” 
“ I know it goes north ! ” said he decisively, and 
sharply. 
