service, give you a horse, and see whether you will fight as well for me as you did for yourself”; Abde Nibbe remained more than two months in this situation, drawing water, carrying wood, &c. when he heard that a kafila was about to leave Waday, consisting of a few merchants only, the remains of his own, and former ones, who had bought their lives at a very high price: taking advantage, therefore, of a dark night, he once more escaped and joined them. They lent him a gun and some ammunition to protect him from the wild beasts, which were very numerous, and advised his quitting the kafila before day for the woods : he moved nearly parallel with the kafila, and at night again joined them. In this way he moved for five days, when the Waday horsemen gave up the pursuit, and returned without him. December 14.—Doctor Oudney and Mr. Clapperton left Kouka this day, for Kano, with a kafila of nearly twenty merchants, beside servants : this was the eighth kafila that had gone to Soudan, since our arrival here; and as no other was expected to go for many months in consequence of the non-arrivals from Mourzuk, and the other parts of Fezzan, Doctor Oudney, notwithstanding the extremely debilitated state to which he was reduced, determined on accompanying this, if the sheikh would allow him. El Kanemy not only gave his instant permission, but did his utmost to forward his views, and to secure his safety: he charged Mohammed-el-Wordee, the principal person of the kafila, to assist them in every way, and gave them letters to the sultan of Kattagum, to the sultan of Kano, and also to a Moor, residing at Kano, named Hat-Salah, with whom he had great influence, and. to whose care he confided them as friends of his own, and the best of Christians. December 16.—Yesterday Barca Gana, with, an expedition nearly twelve hundred strong, marched to the south-west, to a place called Kaka; from whence he was to proceed against a Felatah town, called Monana, which was said to be the-rendezvous for the sheikh’s enemies: his orders, however, were more to ascertain in what strength the Felatah really were, and what were their intentions, than to attack them. December 21— To my inexpressible delight, Karouash came with intelligence that a small kafila had arrived at Woodie from Mourzuk, that an Englishman accompanied them, and that this was followed by another, a more numerous one, which they had quitted at Zow. The following was a day of great anxiety; and on the 23d instant, very soon after daylight, !'-was overjoyed at seeing, instead of Mr. Tyrwhit, whose bodily infirmities made me always consider his joining me doubtful, a robust, healthy-looking young man, with a double-barrelled gun slung at his back. When he presented himself at the door of my hut, his very countenance was an irresistible letter of introduction, and I opened the packages which were to account for his appearance with considerable eagerness. Mr. Tyrwhit, I : found, had been prevented by sickness from profiting by the consul’s recommendation; and that on application being made to the governor of Malta for. a substitute, Mr. Toole, an ensign in the 80th regiment, had volunteered to join me, and left Malta at twenty hours’ notice. He had made the long, dangerous, and difficult journey from Tripoli to Bornou, in the short space Of three months and fourteen days, having left that place on the 6th of September; and overcoming all obstacles by perseverance and resolution, both at Mourzuk and in the Tibboo country, had arrived here with only the loss of five camels: The arrival of this kafila with Mr. Toole, and the supplies which he brought, gave a most favourable turn to my situation at Kouka. I had now money,-health, and a desirable companion: even an attack might lead to our pursuing an enemy, and-by that means getting out of the sheikh’s dominions; and “ God send the fair goddess, deep in love with us,” was our constant prayer, as, on the least favourable f f 2
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