having been thus forcedly generous, we had now scarcely anything left to
give. It would require a thousand camel-loads to satisfy all the tribes
and people in this route, even if their exigencies did not rise in
proportion to our wealth.

We have not yet been able to procure any provisions in Tintalous. After
a journey of two months, during which we have been obliged to feed the
whole caravan, Kailouees and Tanelkums, to say nothing of the robbers
and bandits, who were pleased to levy this kind of tribute upon us, we
arrive at a friendly town, and can find nothing to eat! This is really
too bad. Fortunately, I put away three bottles of olive oil in the
spirit-boxes. With these and my little macaroni I may manage, perhaps,
to subsist until provisions can be found. But my servants have finished
their last _hemsa_, and the Germans have nothing left. Our last resource
is our biscuits, which I am sorry we are obliged to eat in this early
part of our journey. This supply of biscuits has certainly cost us much
in carriage--many hard dollars; but nevertheless we have found it
excellent for our health, and it now promises to save us from
starvation. We had heard contradictory reports on the road; some people
saying we should find everything in Aheer, and others nothing. The
latter prophecy seems likely to turn out true.

There is not much herbage about where we are, so we are obliged to send
away the camels some distance to feed. It appears to be only the
beginning of the rainy season in Tintalous. We have passed through much
finer districts in Aheer than this; e.g. that of Taghajeet, where we
observed fat women and fat sheep! But we have not yet seen the
enormously fat women that Mr. Gagliuffi described. This, of course,
would always be difficult for us, except in our capacities as
physicians. Dr. Overweg has the best chance of this piece of good luck.

_5th._--We are much troubled with a nephew of En-Noor, the same that
acted as the courier from Seloufeeat to Tintalous. We gave him a white
burnouse, and he is worrying Yusuf to let him have a finer and better
one. This individual has given us more trouble than anything else in
Tintalous. Little things here, as elsewhere, prove more annoying than
great things. To set matters straight, we have offered him a better
burnouse, but he is not yet content.

The Tanelkums are also very troublesome. I always saw that we must
beware of them, for they will never let us rest, if they can