_4th._--Visit from his highness the Sheikh every day. He is now kind
enough to send me every morning--at the suggestion of his principal
wife--a small can of milk, which, besides the value of the milk itself,
saves my sugar, enabling me to drink tea and coffee without sweetening.
This evening the _shara_ was brought of the arrival of couriers from the
salt-caravan, to say it was near. Like the Arabs, for this shara or
news, or first advice of the coming of something good or agreeable, the
Kailouees ask some present. We gave a little bit of sugar to the slave
who brought the welcome intelligence.

_Dec. 5th to 9th._--I was occupied with vocabulary of Haussa and Bornou.
Weather mild and misty, but a little cold this morning; thermometer, at
three-quarters of an hour after sunrise, 43 deg..

Nearly all the salt-caravan has arrived, and proceeded in advance,
coming in small detachments. They rendezvous in a fine wady full of
herbage, with water higher up. We are expected to leave in a few days,
three or four at most. Nothing seems now to detain En-Noor. But the
Fadeea have returned from the Hagar, finding themselves not pursued.
They very naturally prefer their own fine valley in Asben to the stony,
desert wilds of Hagars. I suppose a razzia will be executed against
them, for the restoration of the camels of Tintaghoda, on the return of
the salt-caravan from Soudan.

En-Noor gives a tremendously unfavourable account of the Oulimad, who
occupy the desert of Sahara between Aghadez and Timbuctoo, and keep the
road there shut against caravans. He says, they would sleep in our tents
in the day, eat and drink with us; but in the night they would carry
away the tent, and make themselves clothing with it. In fact, En-Noor
considers them the veriest barbarians in this region of Africa. There
may be a little exaggeration in this, and the Oulimad may not be worse
than the Hagars of Ghemama, or even than some of his own people. The
Kailouees do not hunt, nor do they cultivate the soil; so that this
country abounds with animals. Some of the country is extremely wild and
rocky, and affords many a retired den for the lions, who descend from
the rocks and prowl abroad for prey in great numbers. Their footmarks
frequently cover the length and breadth of the wadys. Barth himself saw
(very fortunately, for it is a sight seen by very few persons indeed) as
many as five together. Monkeys also abound in great numbers. I related
to En-Noor