now been a fortnight here, and with every prospect of being detained
a month longer. I am bored to death by the people, of whom the more
I see the worse I like them. Had a visit from Sheïkh ’Ali, and a
part of his tribe: I was obliged to be civil, lest I should have to
return to Suweïrah; as in that case he would protect me. Health but
indifferent, as I can get no peace or quiet from the importunities
of the people here. Three persons have just come sixty miles to ask
me to tell them where the silver is to be found, that they know is
in great plenty about Tamenart. The old mines are not worked; but
the nokrah is in the field (ground). I told them it was impossible
to give an answer without visiting the spot, or seeing some of the
stones from it. If I am to stop to make them all rich, Heaven knows
when I shall come back. As I have the character of a magician, every
dirty devil in and about the place claims a prescriptive right to the
_entré_, and the beasts come loaded with vermin. Took a short walk,
and retired to rest.
Saturday, May 7.—Therm. 70°. Weather beautiful. Feeling myself much
better, I strolled to the water, which is not a river, but a kind of
lake. Met with rhododendrons in full flower, and saw a great variety
of odoriferous shrubs, with an abundance of tortoises. I was followed
by one of the Sherí beggars for money. A nephew of the Sultán has
got off under[96] .........[97] order. The river Assaka is to the
south of the mountains that enclose Wád Nún; but I can gain no
information about it. Sick at heart with my evening parties, which
occur _quotidie_ (daily). Received letters from Mr. Willshire. It
is lucky that we are here: we have done the big wigs.
Sunday, May 8.—Therm. 70°. Weather is becoming quite warm; was
up early, and read the prayers: sent Abú to the Sók, and tried to
purchase a dagger, but it was too dear. The Sheïkh’s son bought
one at night, but it was not equal to the one I had seen. Found a
document relating to the Auléd Deleim, one of the Arab tribes: took
a walk with Sheïkh Ali, whose people returned to a sheep-killing,
&c. I have no chance of sleeping, as they are to leave at day-break.
Monday, May 9.—Therm. 72°. Weather beautiful. The camels are
collecting for the Sók: the best will not fetch more than thirty
mitcals, and good ones are to be bought for twenty. This animal
changes its name every year for the first nine years; but after that
time, it is the jemál. In the first year, and while suckling, it is
el howar; in the second, el ben áshar; in the third, el bellibún;
in the fourth, el hak; in the fifth, el zoa; in the sixth, el thání;
in the seventh, el erba’; in the eighth, el siasí; and in the
ninth, el jemál: the female is called nákah: it has been known to
work for thirty years; after which they are turned out. The Heïri
horse does not cost more than from sixty to one hundred dollars. All
kinds of cattle and food are cheap to a fault. With regard to their
buildings, the rooms are long and narrow, but without windows, as the
doors answer for that purpose; and there they keep their guns, swords,
saddles, powder-horns, &c. Driven out of the room by vermin. At four,
A.M., I commenced washing my clothes.[98] The Jewish gentleman was
offended, that I did not pay him a visit on the Sabbath: after this,
I helped to cut up the sheep, and set about preparing my own food;
but as these people think I dislike what they cook for me, I ate
a little by way of training, and I shall now have a daily dose of
it. Abú gets more helpless daily. I fear he has become religiously
crazy. Walked to the water, and then had a large party in the evening,
which kept me up till midnight.
Tuesday, May 10.—Therm. 76°. The heat is returning again; very
sultry at noon. Saw the Sheïkh’s three wives, and his numerous
family of sons and daughters; they were more pleased with me than I
with them; there were two pretty girls amongst them, but very dirty:
the Sheïkh’s forty slaves, and all the family, were out to see
one of the ladies off. Walked round the whole place, which is larger
than I thought: ascended a hill that commands all the approaches to
the town; it formerly had a fort upon it, and should have it now. On
the east of the town there is a large enclosure, surrounded with
walls, where the great Sók is held. There are twenty large public
ovens for cooking meat and bread; ten smaller ones for fritters,
made of honey and butter; and some for sphynge and kuskusú, and
many matmórs for corn; and a good supply of water.
All are in expectation of this great day, or rather of these three
days. Sidi Hasan, and all the people from the neighbourhood, will be
here. Beyond the enclosure is a very neat tomb of the Sheïkh’s
predecessor, from which there is a good view of the country. On
the plain are many scattered villages, and four extraordinary hills,
distant from each other about one thousand yards. By the last is meant
the mountains which shut in a part of Wád Nún: in the back ground
is a fine range of hills, about one thousand feet high. I am now in
my third week here, with every chance of detention for three or four
weeks longer. I got rid of my evening party by pretending to be ill.
Wednesday, May 11.—Therm. 76°. Weather most favourable for
acclimatizing me for the Sahrá. Went to the house of ’Omar to see
Banna; had two ladies to examine. There was too great fastidiousness
on the part of some, and too little on the part of others: from this
I went to the Millah. My pretty patient is better to-day, but is very
stupid, as they all are: the Jewesses bear away the palm of beauty;
and dirty as they proverbially are, they are cleanliness itself,
as compared with the Arab ladies, whose filth, dirt, and misery,
are dreadful. A consul lives here, which is quite absurd. Received
many blessings. Had some disturbance about my horse: the people are
beginning to find fault, and my food is falling off; nor do they
give the same hearty welcome as formerly: the fact is, one must be
always giving to get on with these people. I took to my haik, and
like it much better than the sulham. I am nearly devoured by flies
by day, and fleas by night. Am pleased more and more with Hájí El
Khirefí, who is to take us, I hear, to Súdán, where he has been
twenty times. My evening party was much better behaved than usual.
Thursday, May 12.—Therm. 75°. Went to breakfast with Solomon
the Jew, whose wife is making up my shirts, and mother washing my
clothes; but such is the fashion of the place. Went some distance
up the bed of the river, which is now quite dry. Nothing is talked
of but Sidi El Rásí and the Moutardi, or the forthcoming great
Sók. Food is very bad, and the meat stinking. Saw a beautiful gun
that was made here; the Sheïkh promises to get me one[99] before I
go. Some rain fell before noon, and it became quite cold, as evening
came on. To-day I had many more lady-patients, as Abú calls them;
their complaints are curious. One is to be fattened up to thrice her
present size. Several wish to know how they are to become mothers:
many want me to give them the powder which Christians have to make
people love them. Eyes to be cured out of number; and as they
are far too many for me to attend to all, I have selected two,
who are very ill, and whom I think I can cure, and I have put the
rest away as incurable. Rain has fallen all round, but has not yet
reached here. The husband of the pretty Jewess has sent to say,
that he shall feel hurt, if I do not breakfast with him, as I had
breakfasted with Solomon. I promised to go to-morrow.
Friday, May 13.—Therm. 78°. Went to breakfast with the pretty
Jewess; her husband is a man of some information. We had too much
to eat: afterwards walked about two miles up the bed of the river,
which, when full, must contain a large body of water. Visited the Arab
tents; on returning, saw some very fine women, but they were beastly
dirty. Morality is here at a very low ebb; the husband prostitutes his
wife, and the father his child; and this is considered no disgrace, if
it is done for a valuable consideration, and not for love. Witnessed
a very disgusting scene with the Sheïkh; he has three wives all
living, but he still likes his slaves: his fourth wife died lately;
she was an Arab of great beauty, for whom he gave two hundred camels,
twelve slaves, and a great quantity of produce. His eldest son is
a chip of the old block, and is running after every woman he takes
a fancy to, the pretty Jewess excepted, whose person is considered
sacred. Three Moors have destroyed themselves for her in a fit of
love, and all come to see her. As she is a patient, I can visit her
daily. I am becoming very impatient, and the people tell me I have a
quick temper: but the fact is, time is no object to the people here;
their care is merely how to waste it; as soon as one meal is finished,
they want to sleep till the time for the next arrives. It is quite
dreadful to see the sad state to which human nature is degraded in
this place. The small-pox has broken out with great violence, and I
have to run the gauntlet without the least chance of escaping from
it. A slave was brought in, charged with attempting to run away;
it appears to have been a little love affair: he was punished by
having a fifty-six pound-weight fastened to his leg.
Saturday, May 14.—Therm. 74°. The poor creature is still chained,
and has not a drop of water, although it is now mid-day. The Sheïkh
should have clean hands before he thus punished others. Went out
again to the bed of the river, and made the round of the Khiesin:
met many beautiful women, if they were only clean. Their husbands
are all gone to Súdán; had to prescribe for some fifty of them;
they wanted me to make their faces of the same colour as my legs and
arms. My watch, rings, &c. were a great object of curiosity with them:
had a little difficulty in making some of them shew their tongues,
which they consider a mark of impudence; they all like to be closely
examined; their figures are perfectly beautiful; most of them were at
work. I had prayers and thanks in abundance. One very merry lass had
on her neck a curious collection: it embraced a little bag of spices
and scents; the nail of a horse-shoe; a leather charm, called horse;
a broken shell; a large glass bead; another horse; a shell again
(habha); a small habha, consisting of a circular piece of agate, and
a large horse at the centre, from which was suspended the horn of a
young ram; and the same things were repeated, forming the circle. Some
of the women work beautiful háïks, blankets, and carpets. In the
large tents are two beds raised on feet, with a cradle, the canopy
for the bride. There are two tents in each inclosure of thorns or
prickly pears. Visited the Millah, and then home.
Sunday, May 15.—Therm. 76°. Had a long conversation with Zeïn,
who was at Tumbuktú when Major Laing was killed.[100] It appears
that Hámed Libbú gave all the protection he could; but that the
Sheïkh, to whose care the Major was entrusted, expected to gain a
large plunder by his destruction. Zeïn had seen also Caillié[101]
several times during his stay there. Things have now changed. The
government is now Fulání. Hámed Libbú killed four thousand
of the Tawáriks in one day, and has quite reduced that tribe to
subjection. These marauders are, however, still in force between
Tumbuktú and Sakatú. A large portion of the former place, inhabited
by the Tawáriks, has been burnt down. Zeïn tells me there is no
chance of my getting to Sakatú. The Wád and the river are both beset
by the Tawáriks. The distance by land is forty days to Jennah, which
is distant from Tumbuktú eight days; from thence to Sansanding and
Ségó four or five days; and from thence twenty days to the source
of the river. To Kóng he did not know how long the journey was;
but it is very distressing, and is all performed on foot. Read the
prayers. Day very hot towards noon. There is a little quiet to-day,
as all the people are out at the Sók; which has been but badly
attended, as there is no arrival from Suweïrah, and the káfilah
will not be here for some days. Walked out and looked at Wesnúnah,
which is about six miles south, and to As-sérir about four east. The
Sheïkh has about forty villages, containing a population, they say,
of twenty-five thousand. My spirits are much depressed to-day. My
position is truly miserable: I am bored to death, and obliged to
submit, through the fear of making enemies amongst savages. I have
scarcely a book to while away the time, and no means of improving
myself, or getting information from others. I have at last learnt
the name of the river; it is the Bontkonman, or, as some call it,
Buatkuman: it is called also Mulasar. The large river that is laid
down in the maps, as the Akassa, runs nearly due east and west,
flowing through the south of Wád Nún to the sea. The river here
comes from Eít-Bamáran, and runs towards the mountains east, and is
lost in the sand. At present there are only a few patches of water,
the stream having failed to a mere dropping spring, which the Arab
tribes consume. I have been much amused with the Arab ladies; their
frankness is quite extraordinary. I shall give away about twenty
dollars to them, as soon as I arrive at Sídí el Rasí: it will
be money well laid out. Had a very pleasant hour with the Sheïkh,
giving him a description of the battle of Waterloo: he said the joy
here was universal, when they heard that the French had been beaten;
for they are detested in these parts. He said that the price of
ostrich feathers had declined terribly; the very same quantity which
could once fetch twenty and thirty mithkáls, could now be bought
for three or four.
Monday, May 16.—Therm. 72°. The day beautiful; all have been busily
occupied for some days past in carrying the corn; the crops are very
heavy; they are now treading it out; camels, horses, mules, donkeys,
and boys, are all employed indiscriminately. I am feeling severely
the effect of hunger: I have now been two days without food, except
some bad bread and eggs. If these people think I am going to beg
for every thing, they will find themselves mistaken. I shall wait
two hours longer, and then send Abú to see if any thing is to be
bought. I had ordered some food yesterday, but I could not get it
cooked. To-day I have received a present of meat, and the Sheïkh
has asked me to drink tea with the party. I am afraid, however,
of being too much with these people. Three-fourths of the whole
population have been inoculated in the left ankle for the small-pox:
how they will manage at the large Sók, I know not. I have been
here nearly a month, and there has not been a single death; this,
in so large a population, speaks much in favour of the healthiness
of the spot. I am anxious for the Sók to take place; for I shall
then know how long I am to stay here.
Tuesday, May 17.—Therm. 72°. Weather close, and air heavy,
and feels very sirocco-ish. A host of people are under a course of
physic. The Sheïkh’s sons have taken up their position in the
garden for the day. Received letters from Mr. Willshire, and some
for the Sheïkh, which I hope will decide the question. I have been
here a month all but two days. Preparations are making for the Sók.
Wednesday, May 18.—Therm. °. The heat is coming on with great
power. Some of the Damání have arrived from Tagakánth, and the
Súdán caravan is expected to-morrow. I walked out to the four hills
leading to the sea. Mashulí is gone to the Sók at Tinzí. From Wád
Nún to As-serír three hours; to Tergezít one day; to Tínzert one
day; to Oúfren two short days; to Tazerwelt, the residence of Sídí
Hasan, two days; to Tinzí three or four days. This line is often
taken from hence to the desert. Visited all the gardens to-day; but
there is not a single vegetable cultivated here, with the exception
of a few onions; fruits, however, such as grapes, figs, dates,
pomegranates, and prickly pears, are in abundance. In some of the
gardens I found one or two apple-trees: but they never wait for the
fruit to ripen. The Sheïkh is rather fidgety, but has said nothing.
Thursday, May 19.—Therm. 76°. It was very cold during the night,
notwithstanding the doors that have been put to my room. There is
an evident change for the better in our treatment: but I am more
anxious about a change of place, and the permission to let us be
moving to the south. Something was said, but not to me, of our going
in about a month. The Sheïkh has evidently something on his mind,
but is afraid to speak out. He is an extraordinary person; I have
never seen such a combination of opposites in any individual: at one
time proud, arrogant, austere, despotic, and occasionally savage; he
then changes his character, and becomes low and grovelling, or else
full of kindness, frank and open-hearted: now severely punishing
his slaves, and now taking the meanest and dirtiest to his arms,
passing at once from finery to filth. Although he thinks nothing of
cooking three or four sheep a-day, yet he will ask for the refuse of
my tobacco-leaves to fill his own pipe. He is much led by others,
and in constant fear about his money. He has a numerous family,
four wives, forty female slaves, and hosts of children in all the
tents, as he is an universal lover. The wretched state of many of his
children is beyond all belief; they are covered with filth and vermin,
and clothed in rags. His hoards of treasure must be very great; and as
much of it is buried, it will be lost, perhaps for ever, should the
owner die without disclosing the place of concealment. The people
are all in a great bustle, preparing for the Sók. The place has
great capabilities, and would yield, were the people of industrious
habits, an immense revenue; but all are afraid of each other. I am
now so changed in appearance, that I hardly know myself. I cannot
master the language. The electrical horse has lost its power since
its arrival here. There is a Sók to-day at Tinzí, from whence the
people come here: none are more anxious for it than I am, and none
will be more pleased at returning home than I shall be at going on. I
have at last resolved, if a delay of more than a month is proposed,
to retrace my steps to Fez, and start afresh _In-shá-llah_! I have
written my journal up to noon; at which period all were looking out
for the káfilah. At two P.M., eight camels and twenty individuals of
the Damání tribe arrived here from Súdán, bringing with them gold,
cloths, and twenty slaves, whose looks were savage in the extreme:
they had a profusion of long black hair, and were half naked; their
lips were remarkably thin, and their teeth looked like ivory; both
themselves and their animals looked sadly haggard, and the whole
affair tended rather to throw a damp upon my feelings and future
movements. I have now told the Sheïkh that I would take no further
excuse: he painted in strong colours the dangers and privations I
must suffer, if I started except with a káfilah; but as none will
move for four months, I determined to commit myself to the care of
Providence, and take merely my guides, our guns and pistols being
our escort, and not to take the road by Taudení and ’Arrawán,
but to strike at once across the desert, and make for our point. Only
one man is said to know the track, and I am to have him. All will
be settled to-morrow, and I shall start one way or the other, after
the Sók. News has been brought of the defeat of the Felláṭehs
by the people of Bambárah, and that Hámed Libbú has come down to
Hamdu-li-llah, which is about 250 miles south of Tumbuktú.
Friday, May 20.—Therm. 65°. It feels very cold, with a strong
wind from the N.W., and heavy clouds. News has been brought by
a second party, that the crops in Súdán have failed; that the
Tawáriks have assembled on the east of Tumbuktú, and that most
of the inhabitants have quitted the city, partly through fear, and
partly to seek subsistence elsewhere. This morning we have heard
more bad news: the Fulání are said to have been again beaten, with
immense loss: some of the female captives have been brought to the
Sheïkh; four as a present: they look well, and are well dressed,
and do not seem to have suffered as much by the journey as their
inhuman traffickers. This is a trying scene for poor Abú, as most
of the captives are from the neighbourhood of the place where his
family reside. The expedition for the slave-market has not been so
fortunate, although the war has furnished an immense number for the
people of Bambárah. My heart sickens at the sight of this horrid
practice. In another lot of these unfortunate beings were six women,
one of whom had given birth to a child on the road, which was thrown
into the bargain. There was an old wretch who had come from Suweïrah
to purchase female slaves: his examination was carried on in the most
disgusting manner. I could not refrain from calling down the curse of
Heaven on these inhuman wretches: in many but little feeling is shewn
for the poor blacks; and they seemed to think less of their own fate
than I did, who was merely a looker-on. One poor creature, however,
who was a finer woman and less black than the rest, shed tears: I
could have given her my dagger to have plunged it in the breast of the
villain who was examining her: and yet these people pray four times
a day, and think themselves superior to all God’s creatures. More
than ever do I wish to get away from this den of hell-hounds. Each of
the grown persons were in the prime of life, and had once possessed
a home, and were more to be pitied than the children, who had never
known the liberty of thought and act. To each of the ten slaves was
given a lunch of bread; while both the inhuman buyers and sellers,
after chuckling over their bargains, went to offer up their prayers
to Heaven, before they took their daily meal. Can such unhallowed
doings be permitted to endure longer? Oh! spirit of civilization,
hither turn your eyes, and punish the purchasers, who ought to know
better; for thus only will the sale be stopt. At length something has
been settled definitively with the Sheïkh: I am not to wait for the
káfilah, but to proceed with a few camels and five guides, the whole
of whom I am to pay for; and we are to take the courier’s track,
by which we shall reach Tumbuktú in forty days from starting. I am
to leave this place ten days after the Sók. So far so good.
Saturday, May 21.—Therm. 66°. Wind still very strong. Parties
are coming in for the Sók. Another small portion of the káfilah
has arrived: the main body is expected here on Monday. Walked the
entire circuit of the town, and visited the burial-ground, which is
the prettiest I have seen in this country. Most of the graves are
planted with flowers, and all are kept in good order. The tomb of
Sídí El Kádí is very neat. Coming round by the gardens, I met
some of the Damánís, who are anxious to take me on. Had a visit
from a Sheïkh, who has just returned from Tumbuktú, where he has
resided many years: he has been two months on the road, his camel
being a weak one. Feel in much better spirits to-day.
Sunday, May 22.—Therm. 70°. Weather beautiful. Read the
prayers, and kept the house till three P.M. Another arrival from
Tumbuktú: they were two persons of consequence upon white camels,
and four others on their eshreb el ríhhs;[102] all were in good
condition. They say that the káfilah will be here to-morrow. I
am half-famished.
Monday, May 23.—Therm. 72°. The heat is increasing. Parties are
arriving from all quarters for the Sók. News was brought this day,
that the káfilah had been attacked by the tribe of Erdebát. The
people of Tagakánth went out against them, and have taken from
them one thousand camels, five hundred horses, thirty slaves,
and all their arms, and have driven them towards the sea: this
will make the káfilah one day later in its arrival here. Took my
walk towards Agadír, and went afterwards to the Arab tents. Felt
not very well. Am anxiously looking for the káfilah from Mogadór,
which ought to have been here to-day, and is now looked for shortly
after sun-set to-morrow.
Tuesday, May 24.—Therm. 76°. Weather melting towards the middle of
the day. Went to look at the preparations: they are well arranged,
and upon a large scale. The Sók are our fairs; the road exhibits
one line of camels, horses, mules, and donkeys, the Sheïkhs vying
with each other in the number of their attendants. The bulk of the
Súdán caravan is not yet arrived, but expected at day-break. All
here are very civil to the Súdán people; and all are anxious for
me to go on. The Moors are just as jealous of hearing the name of
Súdán mentioned. I sat on the ground, first with one party, and
then with another, and heard from both the same story about their
gold and silver mines: the brass, they talk of here, is iron pyrites
and copper pyrites. I have received many invitations. The slaughter
of cattle for to-morrow is immense: we have five sheep killed for
the consumption of one day at this house; the public kitchen is
all busied in preparing kuskusú and other eatables. The noise is
beyond every thing I ever heard; nor must I expect any rest for the
next three days and nights: the thing is really worth seeing. Of the
whole mass of people collected together, I am the only individual
not personally interested in it.