that he did not agree to conduct us to Aheer--an assertion we
contradicted strongly. At length he exclaimed: "Although I did not agree
to this, I will nevertheless conduct you,"--making a new favour of an
old bargain.

When the meeting separated, there was another affair brought on the
carpet by Hateetah and Waled Shafou. They boldly demanded seventy reals,
or small dollars of Ghât, for the passage of our liberated blacks to
Soudan. I declared that I would not give them a real, and told them to
seize the people if they chose. Hateetah upon this went off in a rage,
and Waled Shafou stayed behind, pretending to seize our servants. We did
not take any notice of him, and at last he likewise departed. Mr.
Gagliuffi had not been able to arrange this affair at Mourzuk,--it being
left in this position, "that they (Hateetah and Shafou) would say
nothing about the matter; but that if others did, we should pay a
little." The man who has a right to this tribute from freed blacks is
now absent from Ghât, and any claim ought to be made in his name by his
representatives. When the Governor heard of this affair, he sent to tell
us "to arrange the matter, and give something to these dogs of
Tuaricks;" at the same time expressing his sorrow for such a shameful
demand: and shameful it was, because we had already paid for ourselves
and our servants three hundred reals. Besides this sum, Hateetah and
Waled Shafou had each of them received a present of about a hundred
mahboubs. Finally my friend, Haj Ibrahim, the merchant, undertook to
arrange this business, and paid on our account twenty-eight reals more
for our servants.

On the morning of the 20th there was another general meeting, and I
presented the treaty for consideration. A long discussion followed, but
I at first misunderstood the conclusion to which the Sheikhs came.