about twenty persons, and bringing one hundred and twenty slaves; and some hours after we saw the place where they had passed the preceding night. They had lit their fires in the very centre of the path, and made a good fence all round them of large branches of trees and dry wood. This fence is sometimes set, fire to, when their four-footed visitors are numerous, and approach too near. Camels and animals of every description are placed in the centre, and should one stray in the night, he is seldom again recovered. Kafilas never travel after dusk, particularly those on foot; and our negroes had such a fright during the latter part of this day’s march, that they declared on coming up with the camels, that their fives were in danger from such late marches, an immense lion having crossed the road before them only a few miles from w'here we halted. There can be little doubt, that by th e ir, singing and number they had disturbed the lion from his lair, as we must have passed within ten paces of the foot of the tree from which he broke forth on their approach: they said that he had stopped, and looked back at them, and if they had not had presence of mind sufficient to pass on without at all noticing him, or appearing alarmed, some one of the party would have suffered. Previous to pitching our tents at night, the sheikh’s negro examined the ground, and, after dismounting and listening attentively for an instant, he declared some people to be near. We fired a gun, which, after a little time, was answered by a shout, and at no great distance we found about half a dozen Kabsliarians. who said they were on their way to Kouka, and near them we fixed ourselves for the night. In these woods kafilas from Soudan are often robbed, and the runaway negroes, who are good bowmen, pick off the leaders from behind the trees, and then plunder the baggage: ten men from one kafila had, we were informed, been so murdered during the last year.
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