pass. He got off with fifty; whilst to the Aheer people he paid about
twenty dollars. A Christian or a Jew must never think he will be able to
save his money, or, much less, his credit, by apostatising, for these
Tuaricks will always swear his conversion is sham, however real it may
be. He will always have to pay the same money, whether he keep his
religion or sell it for the chance of saving his worthless gold and
silver.

All these Jews, however, seem to have thriven in their apostasy. Ibrahim
of Zinder is worth about six or seven thousand dollars, and, besides
being a working-jeweller, is a merchant. I tried to exchange some of my
imitation rings for his silver ones, but it was useless. He had the
conscience to demand thirty of my nicely-made rings for one of his
trumpery, ill-made silver ones--silver with a very bad alloy. Then he
wanted a pretty cotton-print handkerchief for a miserable silver bead.
With such people it is impossible to strike a bargain. These Barbary
Jews are the hardest and most tricky dealers in the world. Ibrahim has
been laid up with a bad leg for five months, and intends going to Kuka
when he gets better. He wanted me to sell him some mastic, but I
refused. He said he wished to have one jolly day, but the fellow is
almost a skeleton with his ulcerous leg.

The Shereef Saghir is quite a character. He has been over the greater
part of the world, and along the Indian coast--has seen the English in
India, and the Christians in many ways and manners; and so is free from
all sort of fanaticism. He wants now to return with me to England. He
says--Soudan is _batal_ (worthless), and that if he take his wife, the
daughter of the Sarkee of Zinder, with him to the north coast, he will
sell her, and so finish his connexion with the negroes! I forgot to
mention that Ibrahim has brought with him a Muslim wife from Mourzuk,
and has now two or three black wives, and several children.

From the courier who came from Dr. Overweg I have obtained the following
account of the route from Zinder to Tesaoua:

From Zinder direct west to Tus, 1 hour; village: to Termini, 5 hours;
village: to Dambidda, 1 hour; a large village: to Babul, 5 hours;
village: to Gumda, 4 hours; village: to Kurnaua, 4 hours; village: to
Garagumsa, 5 hours; village: to Shabari, 7 hours; village: to Maizirgi,
1 hour; large village: to Tesaoua, 5 hours.

Along this route there is abundance of herbage and trees, but no running
water or wadys