While we were pitching the tents, and all hands were employed,
some of our horses got loose, and Shekh Mahommed el Diibbah, who
had just come up with us on his trusty mare, was violently assailed
by them on all sides. He called out most lustily for help, and in
the mean time exhibited uncommonly good horsemanship; wheeling
about rapidly in all directions, and making his mare kick out in the
intervals, to the no small amusement of our whole party, who were
at first too much overcome by laughter to give him any effectual
assistance.
As the attack however began to grow serious, from the number
and impetuosity of our valiant Shekh’s assailants, we soon recovered
ourselves sufficiently to make a diversion in his favour, and eventually
to secure all the horses, though not before the Dfibbah was quite
out of breath, and had broken his gun in his defence.
The next morning he entered our tent with the fragments of his
ill-fated weapon in his hand; and after he had squatted himself down
as usual, and paid his two or three customary salams, and a variety
of fulsome compliments, which always preceded any request he had
to make, he began to expatiate upon his rencontre of the preceding
evening, and the address which he had shewn on the occasion: he
concluded by holding forth the shattered remains of his béndikah
(musket), and observing that the Dflbbah had now nothing to
defend himself with in case of an attack from the formidable bands
of robbers which he had always asserted to be lying in wait for us.
As we had no timé to spend in trifling, and were not inclined to
take the hint by presenting him with one of our muskets, we suddenly
changed the subject, to the discomfiture of his hopes, and
began to make inquiries about the camels which he was to provide
us with at Boosaida, where we expected to arrive the next day.
He replied that he had already given directions about them, but
that he thought it would be. better that he should proceed on in
advance of the party,, to make arrangements for their being in readiness
on pur arrival; he proposed in the mean time to leave his eldest
son as \na locum tenens, who had lately come from the eastward to
pay his respects to his father.
This proposal being agreed to, we remained silent for a few
moments, in expectation that he would rise and leave the te n t; we
were however disappointed, for the Dfibbah kept his post, and
it was evident that he had something more to ask. The customary
toll of a little brown sugar had already been allowed and accepted;
for Shekh Mahommed, though old, had not yet lost his relish for
sweets, and we usually indulged him when he visited our tent with
a few spoonfuls of his favorite dainty. His approbation had also
been extended, as usual, to the knives, pens, and pencils, pockets
pistols, and powder-flasks, and other little things usually lying about
the tent, without any of them having been offered to him: yet he
still remained sitting, to our great annoyance ; for besides taking up
our time, as we thought,, very unnecessarily, he was all the while
colonizing our carpets and mats with the fleas and other animals
which escaped from his baracan; and this article of his dress (which
indeed was generally Ins only one) was at all times sufficiently
well provided with these residents to allow of, very extensive emigration.
At last our patience was exhausted, and our complaisance