The entry into Mourzouk, the capital of Sultan Mukni, was attended
with the usual ceremonial. On drawing near to the palm groves and
gardens, which encompass the city, a large body of horse and foot was
seen approaching with silken flags. When the horsemen had advanced
within five hundred yards of the party, they set off at full speed,
and, on coming up, threw themselves from their horses, and ran to
kiss the sultan's hand. On drawing nearer to the town, the cavalcade
was met by the dancers, drummers, and pipers. Two men, bearing fans
of ostrich feathers, stationed themselves on each side of the sultan,
beating off the flies. Thus preceded by the led horses and silken
flags, they made their entry, the horsemen continuing to skirmish
till they reached the gate. The soldiers then raced up every broad
street, shouting and firing, whilst the women uttered their shrill
cry, and on passing a large open space, a salute was fired from two
six-pounders. The scene was altogether highly interesting.
Mourzouk is a walled town, containing about 2,500 inhabitants, who
are blacks, and who do not, like the Arabs, change their residence.
The walls are of mud, having round buttresses, with loopholes for
musketry, rudely built, but sufficiently strong to guard against
attack; they are about fifteen feet in height, and at the bottom
eight feet in thickness, tapering, as all the walls in this country
do, towards the top. The town has seven gates, four of which are
built up, in order to prevent the people escaping when they are
required to pay their duties. A man is appointed by the sultan to
attend each of these gates, day and night, lest any slaves or
merchandise should be smuggled into the town. The people, in building
the walls and houses, fabricate a good substitute for stones, which
are not to be found in those parts, by forming clay into balls, which
they dry in the sun, and use with mud as mortar; the walls are thus
made very strong, and as rain is unknown, durable also. The houses,
with very few exceptions, are of one story, and those of the poorer
sort, receive all their light from the doors. They are so low as to
require stooping nearly double to enter them; but the large houses
have a capacious outer door, which is sufficiently well contrived,
considering the bad quality of the wood, that composes them. Thick
palm planks, of four or five inches in breadth, for the size and
manner of cutting a tree will not afford more, have a square hole
punched through them at the top and bottom, by which they are firmly
wedged together with thick palm sticks; wet thongs of camels' hide
are then tied tightly over them, which, on drying, draw the planks
more strongly and securely together. There are not any hinges to the
doors, but they turn on a pivot, formed on the last plank near the
wall, which is always the largest on that account. The locks and keys
are very large and heavy, and of curious construction. The houses are
generally built in little narrow streets, but there are many open
places, entirely void of buildings, and covered with sand, on which
the camels of the traders rest. Many palms grow in the town, and some
houses have small square enclosures, in which are cultivated a few
red peppers and onions. The street of entrance is a broad space, of
at least a hundred yards, leading to the wall that surrounds the
castle, and is extremely pretty. Here the horsemen have full scope to
display their abilities, when they skirmish before the sultan. The
castle itself is an immense mud building, rising to the height of
eighty or ninety feet, with little battlements on the walls, and at a
distance really looks warlike. Like all the other buildings, it has
no pretensions to regularity. The lower walls are fifty or sixty feet
in thickness, the upper taper off to about four or five feet. In
consequence of the immense mass of wall, the apartments are very
small, and few in number. The rooms occupied by the sultan are of the
best quality, that is to say, comparatively, for the walls are
tolerably smooth and white-washed, and have ornamental daubs of red
paint in blotches, by way of effect. His couch is spread on the
ground, and his visitors squat down on the sandy floor, at a
respectful distance. Captain Lyon and his party were always honoured
by having a corner of the carpet offered to them. The best and most
airy part of the castle is occupied by the women, who have small
rooms round a large court, in which they take exercise, grind corn,
cook, and perform other domestic offices. The number of great ladies,
called _kibere,_ seldom exceed six. This dignified title is generally
given to the mothers of the sultan's children, or to those, who
having been once great favorites, are appointed governesses to the
rest; there are, altogether about fifty women, all black and very
comely, and from what stolen glances we could obtain, they appeared
extremely well dressed. They are guarded by five eunuchs, who keep up
their authority by occasionally beating them.
The sultan has three sons and two daughters, who live with him in
this cage, the doors of which are locked at night, and the keys
brought to him, so that he remains free from any fear of attack. The
castle is entered by a long winding passage in the wall, quite dark
and very steep. At the door is a large shed, looking on a square
place capable of containing three or four hundred men, closely
huddled together. Under this shed is a great chair of state, once
finely gilt and ornamented, with a patchwork quilt thrown over it,
and behind it are the remains of two large looking-glasses. In this
chair the sultan receives homage every Friday, before he ascends the
castle, after returning from the mosque. This place is the Mejlees,
and was the scene of all the cruelties practised by Mukni, when he
first took possession of the country.
The habitation in which Captain Lyon and his party were lodged, was a
very good one, and as all the houses are built upon nearly the same
plan, the following description will give an idea of all the rest. A
large door, sufficiently high to admit a camel, opened into a broad
passage or _skeefa,_ on one side of which was a tolerable stable for
five horses, and close to it, a small room for the slaves, whose duty
it might be to attend the house. A door opposite to that of the
stable opened into the _kowdi,_ a large square room, the roof of
which at the height of eighteen feet, was supported by four palm
trees as pillars. In the centre of the roof was a large open space,
about twelve feet by nine, from this, the house and rooms receive
light, not to mention dust and excessive heat in the afternoon. At
the end of the room facing the door, a large seat of mud was raised
about eighteen inches high, and twelve feet in length. Heaps of this
description, though higher, are found at the doors of most houses,
and are covered with loungers in the cool of the morning and evening.
The large room was fifty feet by thirty-nine. From the sides, doors
opened into smaller ones, which might be used as sleeping or store
rooms, but were generally preferred for their coolness. Their only
light was received from the door. Ascending a few steps, there was a
kind of gallery over the side rooms, and in it were two small
apartments, but so very hot as to be almost useless. From the large
room was a passage leading to a yard, having also small houses
attached to it in the same manner, and a well of comparatively good
water. The floors were of sand, and the walls of mud roughly
plastered, and showing every where the marks of the only trowel used
in the country--the fingers of the right hand. There are no windows
to any of the houses, but some rooms have a small hole in the
ceiling, or high up the wall.
Near the house was the principal mosque, to which the sultan and the
Christian party went every Friday, as a matter of course, and every
other day they found it necessary to appear there once or twice. It
is a low building, having a shed projecting over the door, which,
being raised on a platform, is entered by a few steps. A small
turret, intended to be square and perpendicular, is erected for the
Mouadden to call to prayers. One of the great lounges is on the seat
in front of the mosque, and every morning and evening they are full
of idle people, who converse on the state of the markets, and on
their own private affairs, or in a fearful whisper canvass the
sultan's conduct.
In Mourzouk there are sixteen mosques, which are covered in, but some
of them are very small. Each has an imaum, but the kadi is their
head, of which dignity he seems not a little proud. This man had
never, been beyond the boundaries of Fezzan, and could form no idea
of any thing superior to mud houses and palms; he always fancied the
Europeans to be great romancers, when they told him of their country,
and described it as being in the midst of the sea.
They had many opportunities of observing the fighi and their scholars
sitting on the sand. The children are taught their letters by having
them written on a flat board, of a hard wood, brought from Bornou and
Soudan, and repeating them after their master. When quite perfect in
their alphabet, they are allowed to trace over the letters already
made, they then learn to copy sentences, and to write small words
dictated to them. The master often repeats verses from the Koran, in
a loud voice, which the boys learn by saying them after him, and when
they begin to read a little, he sings aloud, and all the scholars
follow him from their books, as fast as they can. Practice at length
renders them perfect, and in three or four years their education is
considered complete. Thus it is, that many who can read the Koran
with great rapidity, cannot peruse a line of any other book.
Arithmetic is wholly put of the question. On breaking up for the day,
the master and all the scholars recite a prayer. The school-hours are
by no means regular, being only when the fighi has nothing else to
do. Morning early, or late in the evening, are the general times for
study. The punishments are beating with a stick on the hands or feet
and whipping, which is not unfrequently practised. Their pens are
reeds--their rubber sand. While learning their tasks, and perhaps
each boy has a different one, they all read aloud, so that the
harmony of even a dozen boys may be easily imagined.
In the time of the native sultans, it was the custom, on a fixed day,
annually, for the boys who had completed their education, to assemble
on horseback, in as fine clothes as their friends could procure for
them, on the sands to the westward of the town. On an eminence stood
the fighi, bearing in his hand a little flag rolled on a staff; the
boys were stationed at some distance, and on his unfurling the flag
and planting it in the ground, all started at full speed. He who
first arrived and seized it, was presented by the sultan with a fine
suit of clothes, and some money, and rode through the town at the
head of the others. These races ceased with the arrival of Mukni, and
parents now complain that their sons have no inducement to study.
All the houses are infested with multitudes of small ants, which
destroyed all the animals which the party had preserved, and even
penetrated into their boxes. Their bite was very painful, and they
were fond of coming into the blankets. One singularity is worthy of
remark in Fezzan, which is, that fleas are unknown there, and those
of the inhabitants, who have not been on the sea-coast, cannot
imagine what they are like. Bugs are very numerous, and it is
extraordinary that they are called by the same name as with us. There
is a species of them which is found in the sands, where the coffles
are in the habit of stopping; they bite very sharply, and fix in
numbers round the coronet of a horse; the animals thus tormented,
often become so outrageous as to break their tethers.
There are several pools of stagnant salt water in the town, which it
is conceived in a great measure promote the advance of the summer
fever and agues. The burying places are outside the walls, and are of
considerable extent. In lieu of stones, small mud embankments are
formed round the graves, which are ornamented with shreds of cloth
tied to small sticks, with broken pots, and sometimes ostrich eggs.
One of the burying places is for slaves, who are laid very little
below the surface, and in some places the sand has been so carried
away by the wind, as to expose their skeletons to view. Owing to the
want of wood, no coffins are used. The bodies are merely wrapped in a
mat, or linen cloth, and covered with palm branches, over which the
earth is thrown. When the branches decay, the earth falls in, and the
graves are easily known by being concave, instead of convex. The
place where the former sultans were buried, is a plain near the town;
their graves are only distinguished from those of other people, by
having a larger proportion of broken pots scattered about them. It is
a custom for the relations of the deceased to visit, and occasionally
to recite a prayer over the grave, or to repeat a verse of the Koran.
Children never pass within sight of the tombs of their parents,
without stopping to pay this grateful tribute of respect to their
memory. Animals are never buried, but thrown on mounds outside the
walls, and there left. The excessive heat soon dries up all their
moisture, and prevents their becoming offensive; the hair remains on
them, so that they appear like preserved skins.
The men of Mourzouk of the better sort, dress nearly like the people
of Tripoli. The lower orders wear a large shirt of white or blue
cotton, with long loose sleeves, trousers of the same, and sandals of
camel's hide. The shirts being long, many wear no other covering.
When leaving their houses, and walking to the market or gardens, a
_jereed_ or _aba_ is thrown round them, and a red cap, or a neatly
quilted cotton white one, completes the dress. On Fridays, they
perhaps add a turban, and appear in yellow slippers. In the gardens,
men and women wear large broad-brimmed straw hats, to defend their
eyes from the sun, and sandals made from the leaves and fibres of the
palm trees. Very young children go entirely naked, those who are
older have a shirt, many are quite bare-headed, and in that state
exposed all day to the sun and flies. The men have but little beard,
which they keep closely clipped. The dress of the women here, differs
materially from that of the moorish females, and their appearance and
smell are far from agreeable. They plait their hair in thick bobbins,
which hang over their foreheads, nearly as low down as the eye-brows,
and are there joined at the bottom, as far round to each side as the
temples. The hair is so profusely covered with oil, that it drops
down over the face and clothes. This is dried up, by sprinkling it
with plenty of a preparation made of a plant resembling wild
lavender, cloves, and one or two more species pounded into powder,
and called atria; it forms a brown dirty-looking paste, and combined
with perspiration and the flying sand, becomes in a few days far from
savoury. The back hair is less disgusting, as it is plaited into a
long tress on each side, and is brought to hang over the shoulders;
from these tresses, ornaments of silver or of coral are suspended.
Black wool is frequently worked in with their black locks, to make
them appear longer. In the centre of the forehead, an ornament of
coral or beads is placed, hanging down to the depth of an inch or
two. A woollen handkerchief is fastened on the back of the head; it
falls over behind, and is tied by a leathern strap under the chin.
Each ear is perforated for as many rings as the woman possesses, some
wearing even six on one side. The largest, which is about five inches
in diameter, hanging lowest, supported by a string from the head.
Round the neck, a tight flat collar of beads, arranged in fancy
patterns, is worn with coral necklaces, and sometimes a broad gold
plate immediately in front. A large blue shirt is generally worn, the
collar and breast ornamented with needle-work. The women also wear
white shirts, and striped silk ones called shami, which are brought
from Egypt; a jereed and red slippers complete their dress. They
generally have their wrappers of a darker colour than those of the
men. Some of the better class of women wear trousers, not fuller in
the leg than those worn in Europe; they are very prettily embroidered
with silk at the bottom of the leg, and form a handsome contrast to
the black skin of the wearer. Cornelians or agates, roughly shaped in
the form of hearts, are much worn as necklaces, and they have a
variety of rings for the thumbs and fingers. A band of silk cord
hanging round the body from one shoulder, is generally filled with
pendent leather or cloth bags, containing charms. Round the wrists
and above the elbows, armlets of silver, gold, glass, horn or ivory
are worn, according to the ability of the wearer to purchase them,
and on the ankles they have silver, brass, copper or iron shackles.
A pair of silver ones were seen, which weighed one hundred and
twenty-eight ounces, but these ponderous ornaments produce a callous
lump on the leg, and entirely deform the ankle. The poorest people
have only the jereed and sandals. Both men and women have a singular
custom of stuffing their nostrils with a twisted leaf of onions or
clover, which has a very disgusting appearance. The men, not using
oil, are much cleaner than the women, but the whole race of them,
high and low, apparently clean, are otherwise stocked with vermin,
and they make no secret of it. The sultan has been frequently
observed, when detecting an interloper, to moisten his thumb to
prevent its escape, and then demolish it with great composure and
dignity. Some of the neighbours, whom Captain Lyon visited, while
reposing on their carpets, would send for a slave to hunt for these
tormentors on their shirts, and it is a great recommendation to a
female slave on sale to say that she is well skilled in this art, and
in that of shampooing.
The natives have a variety of dances, of which two or three are
peculiar to the country. The parties assemble on the sands in the
dusk of the evening, when a number of young men and women range
themselves side by side, and dance to the sound of drums, to which
they keep good time. The men have a rude kind of iron cymbal in each
hand, which opens and shuts; this they beat in the manner of
castanets, both sexes singing at the same time in chorus. The
movements consist in stepping forward, the whole line at once, at a
particular turn of the tune, as if to catch something with their two
hands, which they hold out; they balance themselves a short time on
the advanced foot, and then step back, turning half round, first to
one side and then to the other, the whole line then moves slowly in a
circle round the musicians, who form the centre, and who all join in
the dance. There is nothing improper nor immodest in this exhibition,
but on the contrary, from its slowness and the regularity of its
movements, it is extremely pleasing and elegant. Another dance is
performed by women only, who form a circle round the drummers, and
occasionally sing a lively chorus; one advances, and with her arms
extended, foots it to and from the drummers, two or three times,
until a change of tune, when she runs quickly backwards and falls
flat down, the women behind are ready to receive her, and by a jerk
of their arms throw her again upright, on which she once more turns
round and resumes her place, leaving the one next in succession to
her, to go through the same movements, all of which are performed in
the most just time; the whole party occasionally enlivening the
music, by their skill and extraordinary shout of joy. The dancing in
the houses is not so pleasing as that in public, and as for decency,
it is quite out of the question. The male slaves have many dances, in
which great activity and exertion are requisite. One consists in
dancing in a circle, each man armed with a stick, they all move,
first half and then quite round, striking as they turn, the sticks of
those on each side of them, and then jumping off the ground as high
as they can. Another is performed by boys, and they have no drum, but
keep chorus by singing in a particular manner, _la ilia il alia,_
(there is no God, but God.)
The sultan had frequently requested Mr. Ritchie to visit his
children, and some of his negresses when they were indisposed, and he
had in consequence frequently attended them, but being himself
confined by illness, Captain Lyon was allowed to prescribe for them,
and had therefore frequent opportunities of observing the interior of
his family, which would not otherwise have been afforded him. He was
much struck with the appearance of his daughters, one of three, the
other of one year and a half old, who were dressed in the highest
style of barbarian magnificence, and were absolutely laden with gold.
From their necks were suspended large ornaments of the manufacture of
Timbuctoo; and they had massive gold armlets and anklets of two
inches in breadth, and half an inch in thickness, which, from their
immense weight had produced callous rings round the legs and arms of
the poor infants. They wore silk shirts composed of ribbons sewed
together, in stripes of various colours, which hung down over silk
trousers. An embroidered waistcoat and cap completed this
overwhelming costume. Their nails, the tips of their fingers, the
palms of their hands and soles of their feet were dyed dark-brown
with henna. Captain Lyon viewed with amazement and pity the dress of
these poor little girls, borne down as they were with finery; but
that of the youngest boy, a stupid looking child of four years old,
was even more preposterous than that of his sisters. In addition to
the ornaments worn by them, he was loaded with a number of charms,
enclosed in gold cases, slung round his body, while in his cap were
numerous jewels, heavily set in gold, in the form of open hands, to
keep off _the evil eye._ These talismans were sewn on the front of
his cap, which they entirely covered. His clothes were highly
embroidered, and consisted of three waistcoats, a shirt of white
silk, the women only wearing coloured ones, and loose cloth, silk, or
muslin trousers.
The costume of the sultan's court or hangers-on, is strictly
Tripoline, and as fine as lace or presents of cast off-clothes can
make them. It is the custom with Mukni, in imitation of the bashaw,
to bestow occasionally on his principal people some article of dress.
Those presents are made with much affected dignity, by throwing the
garment to the person intended to be honoured, and saying, "Wear
that," the dress is immediately put on in his presence, and the
receiver kneels and kisses his hand in token of gratitude. Captain
Lyon once saw the old kadi, who was very corpulent, receive as a gift
a kaftan, which was so small for him, that when he had squeezed
himself into it, he was unable to move his arms, and was in that
condition obliged to walk home.
Each of the sultan's sons has a large troop of slaves, who attend him
wherever he goes; they are generally about the same age as their
master, and are his playmates, though they are obliged to receive
from him many hearty cuffs, without daring to complain. The suite of
the youngest boy in particular, formed a very amusing groupe, few of
them exceeding five years of age. One bears his master's _bornouse,_
another holds one shoe, walking next to the boy who carries its
fellow. Some are in fine cast-off clothes, with tarnished embroidery,
whilst others are quite or nearly naked, without even a cap on their
heads, and the procession is closed by a boy, tottering under the
weight of his master's state gun, which is never allowed to be fired
off.
In Mourzouk, the luxuries of life are very limited, the people
principally subsisting on dates. Many do not, for months together,
taste corn; when obtained, they make it into a paste called _asooda,_
which is a softer kind of _bazeen._ Fowls have now almost disappeared
in the country, owing to the sultan having appropriated all he could
find for the consumption of his own family. The sheep and goats are
driven from the mountains near Benioleed, a distance of four hundred
miles; they pass over one desert, which, at their rate of travelling,
occupies five days, without food or water. Numbers therefore die,
which in course raises the price of the survivors, They are valued at
three or four dollars each, when they arrive, being quite skeletons,
and are as high as ten and twelve, when fatted. Bread is badly made,
and is baked in ovens formed of clay in holes in the earth, and
heated by burning wood; the loaves, or rather flat cakes are struck
into the side, and are thus baked by the heat which rises from the
embers. Butter is brought in goat-skins from the Syrtis, and is very
dear. Tobacco is very generally chewed by the women, as well as by
the men. They use it with the _trona_ (soda). Smoking is the
amusement of a great man, rather than of the lower class, the mild
tobacco being very dear, and pipes not easily procured.
The revenues of the sultan of Fezzan arise from slaves, merchandise,
and dates. For every slave, great or small, he receives, on their
entering his kingdom, two Spanish dollars; in some years the number
of slaves amount to 4,000; for a camel's load of oil or butter, seven
dollars; for a load of beads, copper, or hardware, four dollars; and
of clothing, three dollars. All Arabs, who buy dates pay a dollar
duty on each load, equal at times to the price of the article, before
they are allowed to remove it. Above 3,000 loads are sold to them
annually. Date trees, except those of the kadi and mamlukes, are
taxed at the rate of one dollar for every two hundred; by this duty,
in the neighbourhood of Mourzouk, or more properly in the few
immediately neighbouring villages, the sultan receives yearly 10,000
dollars. Of all sheep or goats, he is entitled to a fifth. On the
sale of every slave, he has, in addition to the head-money, a dollar
and a half, which, at the rate of 4,000, gives another 6,000 dollars.
The captured slaves are sold by auction, at which the sultan's
brokers attend, bidding high only for the finest. The owner bids
against them until he has an offer equal to what he considers as the
value of the slave; he has then three-fourths of the money paid to
him, while one-fourth is paid by the purchaser to the sultan. Should
the owner not wish to part with his slaves, he buys them in, and the
sum which he last names, is considered as the price, from which he
has to pay the sultan's share. The trees, which are his private
property, produce about 6,000 camel loads of dates, each load 400
pounds weight, and which may be estimated at 18,000 dollars. Every
garden pays a _tenth_ of the corn produced. The gardens are very
small, and are watered, with great labour, from brackish wells. Rain
is unknown, and dews never fall. In these alone corn is raised, as
well as other esculents. Pomegranates and fig-trees are sometimes
planted in the water-channels. Presents of slaves are frequently
made, and fines levied. Each town pays a certain sum, which is small;
but as the towns are numerous, it may be averaged to produce 4,000
dollars. Add to this his annual excursions for slaves, sometimes
bringing 1,000 or 1,600, of which one-fourth are his, as well as the
same proportion of camels. He alone can sell horses, which he buys
for five or six dollars, when half starved, from the Arabs, who come
to trade, and cannot maintain them, and makes a great profit by
obtaining slaves in exchange for them. All his people are fed by the
public, and he has no money to pay, except to the bashaw, which is
about 15,000 dollars per annum. There are various other ways, in
which he extorts money. If a man dies childless, the sultan inherits
great part of his property; and if he thinks it necessary to kill a
man, he becomes his entire heir.
In Mourzouk, about a tenth part of the population are slaves, though
many of them have been brought away from their native country so
young as hardly to be considered in that light. With respect to the
household slaves, little or no difference is to be perceived between
them and freemen, and they are often entrusted with the affairs of
their master. These domestic slaves are rarely sold, and on the death
of any of the family to which they belong, one or more of them
receive their liberty; when, being accustomed to the country, and not
having any recollection of their own, they marry, settle, and are
consequently considered as naturalised. It was the custom, when the
people were more opulent, to liberate a male or female on the feast
of Bairam, after the fast of Rhamadan. This practice is not entirely
obsolete, but nearly so. In Mourzouk there are some white families,
who are called mamlukes, being descended from renegades, whom the
bashaw had presented to the former sultan. These families and their
descendants are considered noble, and, however poor and low their
situation may be, are not a little vain of their title.
The general appearance of the men of Fezzan is plain, and their
complexion black. The women are of the same colour, and ugly in the
extreme. Neither sex are remarkable for figure, weight, strength,
vigour, or activity. They have a very peculiar cast of countenance,
which distinguishes them from other blacks; their cheek-bones are
higher and more prominent, their faces flatter, and their noses less
depressed, and more peaked at the tip than those of the negroes.
Their eyes are generally small, and their mouths of an immense width;
but their teeth are frequently good; their hair is woolly, though not
completely frizzled. They are a cheerful people, fond of dancing and
music, and obliging to each other. The men almost all read and write
a little, but in every thing else they are very dull and heavy; their
affections are cold and selfish, and a kind of general indifference
to the common incidents of life, mark all their actions. They are
neither prone to sudden anger, nor at all revengeful. In Mourzouk the
men drink a great quantity of _lackbi,_ or a drink called _busa,_
which is prepared from the dates, and is very intoxicating. The men
are good-humoured drunkards, and when friends assemble in the
evening, the ordinary amusement is mere drinking; but sometimes a
_kadanka_ (singing girl) is sent for. The Arabs practise hospitality
generally; but among the Fezzaners that virtue does not exist, they
are, however, very attentive and obsequious to those in whose power
they are, or who can repay them tenfold for their pretended
disinterestedness. Their religion enjoins, that, should a stranger
enter while they are at their meals, he must be invited to partake,
but they generally contrive to evade this injunction by eating with
closed doors. The lower classes are from necessity very industrious,
women as well as men, as they draw water, work in the gardens, drive
the asses, make mats, baskets, &c. in addition to their other
domestic duties. People of the better class, or, more properly, those
who can afford to procure slaves to work for them, are, on the
contrary, very idle and lethargic; they do nothing but lounge or loll
about, inquiring what their neighbours have had for dinner, gossip
about slaves, dates, &c., or boast of some cunning cheat, which they
have practised on a Tibboo or Tuarick, who, though very knowing
fellows, are, comparatively with the Fezzaners, fair in their
dealings. Their moral character is on a par with that of the
Tripolines, though, if any thing, they are rather less insincere.
Falsehood is not considered odious, unless when detected; and when
employed in trading, they affirm that it is allowed by the Koran, for
the good of merchants. However this may be, Captain Lyon asserts,
that he never could find any one able to point out the passage
authorizing these commercial falsehoods.
The lower classes work neatly in leather; they weave a few coarse
barracans, and make iron-work in a solid, though clumsy manner. One
or two work in gold and silver with much skill, considering the
badness of their tools, and every man is capable of acting as a
carpenter or mason; the wood being that of the date tree, and the
houses being built of mud, very little elegance or skill is
necessary. Much deference is paid to the artists in leather or
metals, who are called, _par excellence, sta,_ or master, as
leather-master, iron-master, &c.
From the constant communication with Bornou and Soudan, the languages
of both these countries are generally spoken, and many of their words
are introduced into the Arabic. The family slaves and their children
by their masters, constantly speak the language of the country,
whence they originally come. Their writing is in the Mogrebyn
character, which is used, as is supposed by Captain Lyon, universally
in western Africa, and differs much from that of the east. The
pronunciation is also very different, the kaf being pronounced as a
G, and only marked with one nunnation, and F is pointed below; they
have no idea of arithmetic, but reckon every thing by dots on the
sand, ten in a line; many can hardly tell how much two and two amount
to. They expressed great surprise at the Europeans being able to add
numbers together without fingering. Though very fond of poetry, they
are incapable of composing it. The Arabs, however, invent a few
little songs, which the natives have much pleasure in learning, and
the women sing some of the negro airs very prettily, while grinding
their corn.
The songs of the kadankas (singing girls), who answer to the Egyptian
almehs, is Soudanic. Their musical instrument is called rhababe, or
erhab. It is an excavated hemisphere, made from the shell of a gourd
lime, and covered with leather; to this a long handle is fixed, on
which is stretched a string of horse hairs, longitudinally closed,
and compact as one cord, about the thickness of a quill. This is
played upon with a bow. Captain Lyon says, the women really produced
a very pleasing, though a wild melody; their songs were pretty and
plaintive, and generally in the Soudan language, which is very
musical. What is rather singular, he heard the same song sung by the
same woman that Horneman mentions, and she recollected having seen
that traveller at the castle.
The lower classes and the slaves, who, in point of colour and
appearance, are the same, labour together. The freeman has, however,
only one inducement to work, which is hunger; he has no notion of
laying by any thing for the advantage of his family, or as a reserve
for himself in his old age; but if by any chance he obtains money, he
remains idle until it is expended, and then returns unwillingly to
work. The females here are allowed greater liberty than those of
Tripoli, and are more kindly treated. Though so much better used than
those of Barbary, their life is still a state of slavery. A man never
ventures to speak of his women; is reproached, if he spends much time
in their company, never eats with them; but is waited upon at his
meals, and fanned by them while he sleeps. Yet these poor beings,
never having known the sweets of liberty, are, in spite of their
humiliation, comparatively happy.
The authority of parents over their children is very great; some
fathers of the better class do not allow their sons even to eat or
sit down in their presence, until they become men; the poorer orders
are less strict.
There are no written records of events amongst the Fezzaners, and
their traditions are so disfigured, and so strangely mingled with
religious and superstitious falsehoods, that no confidence can be
placed in them. Yet the natives themselves look with particular
respect on a man capable of talking of the people of the olden time.
Several scriptural traditions are selected and believed. The Psalms
of David, the Pentateuch, the Books of Solomon, and many extracts
from the inspired writers, are universally known, and most
reverentially considered. The New Testament, translated into the
Arabic, which Captain Lyon took with him, was eagerly read, and no
exception was made to it, but that of our Saviour being designated as
the son of God. St. Paul, or Baulus, bears all the blame of Mahomet's
name not being inserted in it, as they believe that his coming was
foretold by Christ, but that Paul erased it; he is therefore called a
kaffir, and his name is not used with much reverence.
Captain Lyon had not been more than ten days at Mourzouk, before he
was attacked with severe dysentery, which confined him to his bed
during twenty-two days, and reduced him to the last extremity. His
unadorned narrative conveys an affecting account of the sufferings to
which the party were exposed from the insalubrity of the climate; the
inadequate arrangements which had been made for their comfort, or
even subsistence, and the sordid and treacherous conduct of the
sultan. "Our little party," he says, "was at this time miserably
poor; for we had money only sufficient for the purchase of corn to
keep us alive, and never tasted meat, unless fortunate enough to kill
a pigeon in the gardens. My illness was the first break up in our
little community, and from that time, it rarely happened that one or
two of us were not confined to our beds. The extreme saltness of the
water, the poor quality of our food, together with the excessive heat
and dryness of the climate, long retarded my recovery, and when it
did take place, it was looked on as a miracle by those who had seen
me in my worst state, and who thought it impossible for me to
survive. I was no sooner convalescent than Mr. Ritchie fell ill, and
was confined to his bed with an attack of bilious fever, accompanied
with delirium, and great pain in his back and kidneys, for which he
required frequent cupping. When a little recovered, he got up for two
days, but his disorder soon returned with redoubled and alarming
violence. He rejected every thing but water, and, excepting about
three hours in the afternoon, remained either constantly asleep or in
a delirious state. Even had he been capable of taking food, we had
not the power of purchasing any which could nourish or refresh him.
Our money was now all expended, and the sultan's treacherous plans to
distress us, which daily became too apparent, were so well arranged,
that we could not find any one to buy our goods. For six entire weeks
we were without animal food, subsisting on a very scanty portion of
corn and dates. Our horses were mere skeletons, added to which,
Belford became totally deaf, and so emaciated as to be unable to
walk. My situation was now such as to create the most gloomy
apprehensions. My naturally sanguine mind, however, and above all, my
firm reliance on that Power which had so mercifully protected me on
so many trying occasions, prevented my giving way to despondency; and
Belford beginning soon to rally a little, we united, and took turns
in nursing and attending on our poor companion. At this time, having
no servant, we performed for Mr. Ritchie the most menial offices.
Two young men, brothers, whom we had treated with great kindness, and
whom we had engaged to attend on us, so far from commiserating our
forlorn condition, forsook us in our distress, and even carried off
our little store of rice and cuscoussou; laughing at our complaints,
and well knowing that our poverty prevented the redress which we
should otherwise have sought and obtained."
Rhamadan, the Mahommedan Lent, was announced on the 22nd June. The
strictest fast was immediately commenced, lasting from before day,
about three a.m., till sunset, seven p.m. In order to support their
assumed character as Moslem; they were now obliged, during the
sixteen hours, to eat only by stealth, their friend Mukni having
surrounded them with spies. Mr. Ritchie only, being confined to his
bed by illness, was privileged to take food or drink. The excessive
heat, which now raged, added to their sufferings. During the month of
June, the thermometer, at five o'clock a.m., stood at from 86° to
93°, but at two o'clock p.m., it rose to 117°, 122°, 124°, and at
length, on the 19th and 20th, to 131° and 133° of Fahrenheit. In the
early part of July, the heat somewhat abated; the thermometer, at two
p.m., ranging between 110° and 117°. Towards the close of the month,
it again rose to 125°, in August to 130° and 133°, in September it
ranged between 119° and 133°, with little difference in the
temperature of the mornings; and in October, the average was about
110°. The minimum, in December, was 51° at five a.m., and 77° in the
afternoon.
The close of the Rhamadan, on the 22d July, was attended, in the
city, with the most extravagant demonstrations of rejoicing.
Everybody was in motion, screaming, dancing, firing guns, eating and
drinking. Poor Mr. Ritchie, after having been confined to his bed for
fifty-eight days, was now able to sit up a little, and by the 20th
August had tolerably recovered. About the same time, Belford was
again attacked with giddiness and deafness, and fell into a very weak
state. Their rate of living was now reduced to a quart of corn _per
diem,_ with occasionally a few dates, divided amongst four persons.
No one would purchase their merchandize, owing, as it became apparent
to Mukni's treacherous orders. Mr. Ritchie, for reasons not
explained, did not think it right to draw for money on the treasury,
and they were reduced to the last extremity, when the sultan
graciously condescended to advance them eight dollars, and at this
time a neighbour repaid them ten dollars, which they had lent soon
after their arrival. They were now able to treat themselves with a
little meat. About the 20th September, Mr. Ritchie, who had never
recovered his spirits, but had latterly shunned the society even of
his companions, again relapsed, and was confined to his bed, and
Belford, though better in health, was entirely deaf; their condition
became every day more destitute. They had hired a woman to cook for
them at a dollar a month. She was required to come only once a day,
to bake their bread or make their cuscoussou; and it often happened,
that when she had stolen half the allowance to which they had
restricted themselves, they were obliged to fast till the morrow.
They were saved, when on the very brink of starvation, by a supply of
seven dollars, the munificent reward conferred upon Belford by the
sultan, for constructing a rude kind of carriage for him. Soon
afterwards, they sold a horse for seventy dollars. This seasonable
supply was carefully economized; but it had become much reduced when
Captain Lyon and Belford both fell ill again. The former rose from
his bed, after being confined to it for a week, a skeleton. Under
this exigency they met with a remarkable instance of disinterested
friendship on the part of a native, Yusuf el Lizari, who, as well as
his brother, had previously shown them much kindness. "One night,"
says Captain Lyon, "as we were all sitting pensively on our mat, our
friend Yusuf came in, and, addressing Mr. Ritchie, said, 'Yusuf, you,
and Said are my friends. Mukni has hopes you may die, that he may
secure to himself all your goods. You seem very melancholy; do you
want money?' Mr. Ritchie having acknowledged that he did, Yusuf
rejoined, 'I have none myself, but I will borrow some for you.'
Twenty dollars being the sum named, our kind friend went out, and
soon returned with thirty, an act of generosity so unlocked for, that
we were incapable of thanking him as he deserved. This seasonable
supply enabled us to buy some good food, and to make some amends for
our late privations. Our health soon improved, and Mr. Ritchie's
spirits began to brighten."
But this interval of hope was soon darkened. On the 8th of November,
poor Ritchie was again attacked by illness, and after lying for three
or four days in a state of torpor, without taking any refreshment, he
again became delirious, and on the 20th expired. The two survivors of
this ill-fated party were themselves reduce to the lowest state of
debility, and the only prospect before them, was that of probably
following, in a few days, their lamented companion. "And now, for the
first time in all our distresses," says Captain Lyon, "my hopes did
indeed fail me. Belford, as well as he was able, hastened to form a
rough coffin out of their chests, while the washers of the dead came
to perform their melancholy office. The protestant burial service was
read over the body, in secret, during the night, and on the next day,
the remains were committed to the grave. At the grave, it was deemed
necessary to keep up the farce of Mahommadism, by publicly reciting
the first chapter of the Koran, which the most serious Christian
would consider as a beautiful and applicable form on such an
occasion."
Within an hour after the funeral, a courier arrived from Tripoli,
announcing that a further allowance of £1,000 had been made by the
British government towards the expenses of the expedition. Had this
welcome intelligence reached them a little sooner, many of their
distresses would have been prevented. The efforts and mental
exertions which the survivors of the party had undergone, proved,
however, too much for their strength, and, for ten days, both were
again confined to their beds. During this time, they were most
humanely attended by Yusuf and Haji Mahmoud, and by a little girl,
who was their principal nurse. At length, Captain Lyon sufficiently
recovered his health, to undertake, during the months of December and
January, two excursions to the east and south of Mourzouk,
preparatory to his return to England. On the 9th of February, he
finally left Mourzouk; and on the 25th March, exactly one year from
the day on which the party left Tripoli, the Captain and Belford, his
surviving companion, re-entered that capital.