BERBER AND BLACK 99 dust. '* Without this precaution," El Bekri gravely states, "gold would become so abundant that it would have hardly any value." The nuggets found in the mines of Ghana varied usually in weight from an ounce to a pound ; some were much larger. The king had one which weighed thirty pounds. There was a part of the country called El Ferouin, in which gold was so plentiful and salt so scarce, that salt was sold for its weight in gold. The king had further sources of wealth in a very large customs revenue raised on salt, copper, and foreign merchandise.

When he gave audience to the people, Tenkamenin appeared in great state, seated under a pavilion round which were ranged ten horses caparisoned in gold. Behind him were ten pages bearing shields and swords mounted in gold. On his right stood '* the sons of the princes of the Empire, magnificently dressed." The governor of the town and all the ministers sat upon the ground before the king. The door of the pavilion was guarded by pure-bred dogs, whose collars were of gold and silver, with bells of the same metal. It was the custom for these dogs never to leave the spot occupied by the king. On the days of audience the grievances of the people were inquired into by the king. El Bekri tells us little of the system of justice of the country, except that it was organised by the Mohammedan ministers of the king.

Mohammedanism had made such evident progress in the middle of the eleventh century, that it is not surprising to learn a century later from El Idrisi, that the King of Ghana and the notables of his day were Mohammedan, and that the king accepted investiture from the Eastern Caliph. There had, however, intervened between the period of the two writers a Mohammedan conquest of which we have yet to hear.