of hunger and thirst; the latter was such, that the first time that several
of them discovered water in the desert, such selfishness was manifested
that those who had found these beneficent springs, knelt down four or five
together, near the hole which they had just dug, and there, with their eyes
fixed on the water, made signs to their comrades not to approach them; that
they had found the springs, and that they alone had a right to drink at
them; it was not till after the most urgent supplications that they granted
a little water to their wretched companions, who were consumed by a raging
thirst. When they met with any Moors, they obtained some assistance from
them; but these barbarians carried their inhumanity so far as to refuse to
shew them the springs which are scattered along the shore: sordid avarice
made them act in this manner to these unhappy people; for when the latter
had passed a well, the Moors drew water from it, which they sold to them at
a gourd for a glass; they exacted the same price for a small handful of
millet. When the brig approached the coast, to assist these unfortunate
men, a great many of the natives of the country immediately crowned the
heights; their number was so great, that it caused some fear in the French,
who immediately formed, in order of battle, under the command of a captain
of infantry. Two officers went to ask the chiefs of the Moors what were
their intentions? whether they desired peace or war? They gave the officers
to understand that far from wishing to act as enemies, they were willing to
afford the shipwrecked people all the assistance in their power; but these
barbarians shewed, on all occasions, a perfidiousness which is peculiar to
the inhabitants of these climates; when the brig had sent biscuit on shore,
they seized the half of it, and a few moments after, sold it at an
exorbitant price, to those from whom they had stolen it. If they met with
any soldiers or sailors who had had the imprudence to stray from the main
body, they stripped them entirely, and then ill treated them; it was only
numbers united, which, inspiring them with fear, that did not receive any
insult from them; besides, there exists between the chiefs of these tribes
and the government of the Isle of St. Louis, a treaty, in which it is
stipulated that a large reward shall be given to the Moors, who meet in the
desert with persons that have been shipwrecked, and bring them to the
European factory: these barbarians were therefore induced by their
interest, and if they brought back those who went astray, it was only in
hope of obtaining a reward.
The women and young children inspired the greatest pity. These feeble
beings could not put their delicate feet on the burning sands, and were
besides incapable of walking for any length of time. The officers
themselves assisted the children, and carried them in turn: their example
induced others to imitate them; but having met with some Moors, who never
travel in these deserts without having their camels and their asses with
them, all that were not able to walk, mounted these animals: to obtain this
indulgence, it was necessary to pay two gourds for a day; so that it was
impossible for Mr. Picard, who had a numerous family, to bear so great an
expence: his respectable young ladies were therefore obliged to walk.
One day at noon, which was the hour for halting, the eldest of these young
ladies, exhausted with fatigue, withdrew to a solitary place to take some
moments rest. She fell asleep upon the beach; to guard herself from the
mosquitoes, she had covered her breast and face with a large shawl. While
every body was sleeping, one of the Moors who served as guides, either from
curiosity, or some other motive, approached her softly, attentively
examined her appearance, and not content with this, lifting up the shawl,
looked at her with fixed eyes, remained for a few moments like one
profoundly astonished, approached her then very near, but did not venture
to touch her. After having looked at her for some time, he let fall the
veil, and returned to his place, where he joyfully related to his comrades
what he had just seen. Several Frenchmen who had perceived the Moor,
informed Mr. Picard, who resolved, on the obliging offers of the officers,
to dress these ladies in a military dress, which, for the future, prevented
all attempts of the inhabitants of the desert.
Before they arrived at the Senegal, the Irish officer, of whom we have
already spoken, bought an ox: it was immediately killed; they collected
such combustibles as they could find, and when the animal was divided into
as many portions as there were persons, each fixed his portion to the end
of his sabre or bayonet, and thus they prepared a repast which they found
delicious.
During the whole time they remained in the desert, biscuit, wine and
brandy, in very small quantities, had been their principal nourishment;
sometimes they procured by money, from the Moors, milk and millet; but what
most distressed them was, that in the midst of these sandy plains, it was
absolutely impossible for them to shelter themselves from the rays of a
burning sun, which inflames the atmosphere of these desert regions.
Scorched by insupportable heat, almost destitute of the first necessaries
of life, some of them partly lost their senses; a spirit of mutiny even
shewed itself for some moments, and two officers, whose conduct is,
however, irreproachable, were marked as the first victims: happily they did
not proceed to open violence. Many of those who crossed the desert, have
assured us that there were moments when they were quite beside themselves.
An officer of the army in particular, gave signs of the most violent
despair; he rolled himself in the sand, begging his comrades to kill him,
because he could no longer bear up against so many sufferings. They
succeeded in calming him; he arrived at St. Louis with the caravan.[B10]
The sixty-three who embarked near the Moles of Angel, had a longer series
of fatigue to endure: they had to go between eighty and ninety leagues, in
the immense desert of Zaara. After their landing, they had to cross downs
that were extremely elevated, in order to reach the plain, in which they
had the good fortune to meet with a vast pond of fresh water, where they
quenched their thirst, and near which they lay down to rest. Having met
with some Moors, they took them for guides, and after long marches, and the
most cruel privations, they arrived at the Senegal, on the 23d of July, in
the evening. Some of them perished for want: among this number was an
unhappy gardener, and the wife of a soldier: this poor woman, exhausted
with fatigue, told her husband to abandon her, for, that it was impossible
for her to proceed; the soldier in despair, said to her in a rage: "well,
since you cannot walk, to hinder you from being devoured alive by wild
beasts, or carried into captivity among the Moors, I will run you through
the body with my sabre;" he did not execute this threat, which he had
probably conceived in a moment of despair; but the poor woman fell, and
died under the most cruel sufferings.
Some persons having strayed from the main body, were taken by the natives
of the country, and carried into the camp of the Moors; an officer remained
above a month with them, and was afterwards brought to the Isle of St.
Louis. The naturalist, Kummer, and Mr. Rogery, having separated from the
troops, were forced to wander from one horde to another, and were at last
conducted to Senegal. Their story, which we are now going to give, will
complete the narrative of the adventures of our shipwrecked companions who
traversed the desert.
After the stranding of the long-boat, Mr. Kummer quitted the caravan,
formed by the persons wrecked, and proceeded in an easterly direction, in
the hope of meeting with some Moors, who would give him food, to appease
the hunger and thirst which he had endured for two days. Shortly after his
departure, Mr. Rogery took the same resolution as our naturalist, and
followed a route parallel to that taken by Mr. Kummer. This latter walked
the whole day without meeting with any body; towards the evening he
perceived, at a distance, some fires on the heights which generally lie
round the ponds. This sight filled him with joy, and with hopes of meeting,
at length, with some Moors who would conduct him to the Isle of St. Louis,
and give him food of which he was much in need; he advanced with a firm and
rapid step, went up to the Moors, who were under their tents, with much
assurance, pronouncing as well as he could, a few words in Arabic, in which
language he had taken some lessons while in France, and which he
accompanied with profound salutations: "Receive," said he, "in your tents,
the son of an unfortunate Mahometan woman, whom I am going to join in Upper
Egypt; a shipwreck has thrown me on your coast, and I come in the name of
the great prophet, to ask you for hospitality and assistance." At the name
of the great prophet, Mr. Kummer bowed his face to the earth, and made the
customary salutation: the Moors did the same, and doubted not but that they
saw, before them, a follower of Mahomet.
They received him with joy, asked him to enter their tents, and to give a
short account of his adventures. Milk, and flour of millet, were given him,
and this food revived his strength. Then the Moors made him promise to
conduct them to the place where the long-boat had stranded; they hoped to
get possessions of the numerous effects, which they supposed the persons
shipwrecked to have abandoned on the shore. Having made this promise, Mr.
Kummer went to examine the tents, and the flocks of the chief of this tribe
who conducted him himself, and boasted of his wealth and his dignity: he
told him that he was the Prince Fune Fahdime Muhammed, son of Liralie
Zaide, King of the Moors, called Trazas, and that, when he returned from
the sea coast, he would take him to the King, his father, and that he would
see there, his numerous slaves, and his innumerable flocks. While they were
walking about the camp, Prince Muhammed perceived that Mr. Kummer had a
watch: he desired to see it; of course, he could not refuse to shew it; the
prince took it, and told Mr. Kummer that he would return it him when they
should arrive at Andar, which promise he punctually performed. They arrived
at last at the head of the flock, and our naturalist was astonished at the
extraordinary care which these people take of their beasts. The horses and
camels were in a separate place, and the whole flock was on the border of a
large salt pond; behind them, the slaves had formed a line of fires of
great extent, to drive away the mosquitoes and other insects, which torment
these animals: they were all remarkably beautiful. While traversing, with
the chief, the various quarters of the camp, Mr. Kummer beheld with
surprise, their manner of cleaning their beasts. Upon an order of the
Prince, the men, charged with this employment, take the strongest oxen by
the horns, and throw them down on the sand with astonishing ease; the
slaves then take the animal, and clear its whole body from the insects,
which, notwithstanding the fires that surround the flocks, get among the
hair of the cattle, which they torment cruelly. After this first operation,
they are washed with care, particularly the cows, which are then milked.
These various operations generally employ the slaves, and even the masters,
till eleven o'clock at night. Mr. Kummer was afterwards invited to repose
in the Prince's tent; but before, he could go to sleep, he was assailed
with a multitude of questions. The history of the French Revolution has
penetrated to these people; and they put questions to our naturalist which
surprised him much; they afterwards asked him why our vessels no longer
came to Portendick and the Isles of Arguin; after this, they allowed him to
take a few moments' repose; but the poor Toubabe, (the name which the Moors
give to the whites) did not dare to indulge himself in sleep; he feared the
perfidy of the Moors, and their rapacious spirit; however, exhausted by
three days incessant fatigue, he fell asleep for a few moments; he had but
a very disturbed slumber; during which, the barbarians took away his purse,
which still contained thirty pieces of 20 francs each, his cravat, pocket
handkerchief, great-coat, shoes, waistcoat, and some other things which he
carried in his pockets: he had nothing left but a bad pair of pantaloons
and a hunting jacket; his shoes were, however, returned to him.
The next morning, at sun-rise, the Moors made their salam, (a Mahometan
prayer): then about eight o'clock, the Prince, four of his subjects, Mr.
Kummer, and a slave, set out for the sea-coast, in order to look for the
wreck of the long-boat. They proceeded first towards the _South_, then to
the _West_, then to the _North_, which made Mr. Kummer imagine that they
were conducting him to Morocco. The Moors have no other method of finding
their way, than to go from one eminence to another, which obliges them to
take all sorts of directions; after they had proceeded five or six leagues
to the East, they again turned to the _West_, then to the _South West_.
After walking a considerable time longer, they arrived at the shore, where
they found but few things. What particularly attracted their attention, was
pieces of copper: they took them away, resolving to return and fetch the
fragments of the long-boat, and several barrel, which the currents had
driven on the coast. After taking whatever they could carry away, they set
out towards the _East_, and at the end of about two leagues, they met some
other Moors, also subjects of Prince Muhammed; they stopped and lay down
under their tents: the Prince lay down under the finest, and ordered
refreshments to be given to the _Toubabe_, who was worn out with fatigue
and want of nourishment. Here Mr. Kummer was tormented by the women and
children, who came every moment to touch and feel the fineness of his skin,
and to take away some fragments of his shirt, and the few things which he
had left. During the evening, fresh questions were put to him respecting
the cruel wars which desolated France; he was obliged to trace the account
of them, on the sand in Arabic letters. It was this extreme complaisance,
and his pretended quality of the son of a Christian and of a Mahometan
woman, which caused him to be upon very good terms with Prince Muhammed,
and in general, with all the Moors whom he met with, on his journey. Every
moment of the day, the Prince begged Mr. Kummer, to make the wheels of his
watch go, the motions of which, much astonished the Moors; our traveller
was on his side equally surprised, to see among the hordes, children five
or six years of age, who wrote Arabic perfectly well.
The next day, July 8, at day-break, the Moors went and stationed themselves
on the summit of a hill. There, prostrated with their faces turned towards
the East, they waited for the rising of the sun, to perform their salam,
which they begin the moment he appears in the horizon. Mr. Kummer followed
them, imitated them in all their ceremonies, and never failed in the
sequel, to perform his devotions at the same time as they did. The ceremony
being over, the prince and his suite, continued their route in the
direction of the _South East_, which again frightened the poor _Toubabe_;
he thought that the Moors were going to resume their course to the _North_,
and that in the end they would take him to Morocco; then he endeavoured to
impart his uneasiness to Prince Muhammed, who at last comprehended him; but
to make it quite clear, Mr. Kummer drew upon the sand, a part of the map of
Africa; mean time, he heard them continually pronounce the word _Andar_,
which did not at all diminish his alarms; but by the lines which he traced,
he soon understood that the Moors meant the Isle of St. Louis; of which he
was convinced when he had written the name of the European factory, by the
side of that of Andar. The Moors let him know that they had comprehended
him; and shewed great joy that a white could understand their language.
At noon, they stopped on the side of a great pond or lake. Mr. Kummer, who
was extremely fatigued, lay down on the sand, and fell asleep immediately.
During his sleep, the Moors went to look for a fruit, produced by a tree
which generally grows on the sides of these lakes (marigots). They are
bunches of little red berries, and very refreshing: the Moors are very fond
of them, and make great use of them.[34]
During this time, chance ordered it, that Mr. Rogery, who had also been
taken by the Moors, stopped at the same place: he was brought by some of
the natives, who were taking him also to their sovereign Zaide: he soon
perceived Mr. Kummer lying with his face to the earth, and thought he was
dead; at this sight, a mortal chillness pervaded all the limbs of the
unfortunate Rogery; he deplored the loss of a friend, of a companion in
misfortune: he approached him trembling; but his grief was soon changed
into joy, when he perceived that his friend still breathed; he took hold of
him, and embraced him eagerly. These two unfortunate men were transported
with mutual joy, at meeting in the midst of their distress, with a fellow
countryman. Mr. Rogery had lost every thing; they had taken from him about
forty pieces of 20 francs each, his watch, and all his effects: he had
nothing left but his shirt, a very bad pair of pantaloons, and a hat. The
wives of the Moors, and still more the children, had greatly tormented him;
the latter, continually pinched him, and hindered him from taking a
moment's sleep. His character was remarkably soured by this treatment, and
his faculties rather impaired. These two unfortunate men, after having
related their distresses to each other, fell asleep close together; some
hours after, the Moors returned, and gave them some of the berries we have
before mentioned. The caravan soon set forward again, and took a _South
West_ direction, which led to the camp of King Zaide: they reached it in
the evening, but the monarch was absent; the report of our shipwreck had
reached his camp, and Zaide, who desires to see every thing himself, had
gone to the sea-shore to have assistance given to such of the persons
shipwrecked, as he should meet with. The King did not return till
twenty-four hours after, which gave time for our travellers to repose, and
for Prince Muhammed to make a bargain with the two whites: to conduct them
to the Isle of St. Louis; the Prince demanded for his trouble, including
the expences of provisions and travelling, 800 gourdes for each, and
obliged them before they set out, to sign an agreement in the Arabic
language: Mr. Kummer consented to it, and said to Mr. Rogery, when we have
once got to St. Louis, we will give them what we please. The latter
hesitated, being much more scrupulous on that point, he would not at first
accede to an agreement which he feared he should not be able to perform;
but seeing that the Moors were resolved to keep him among them, he
consented to accept the absolute proposal of the Prince, and the
conventions were signed.
Our two travellers passed a part of their time in examining the customs of
these people; we shall mention some circumstances which particularly struck
them. They observed, that the children imperiously command their fathers
and mothers: but especially the latter, who never oppose their
inclinations; hence, doubtless comes that despotic spirit, which is carried
to the extreme; a refusal, or a delay, in the executions of their orders
irritates them, and their anger is so violent that in the first transport,
the unhappy slave who may have excited their fury, runs the risk of being
stabbed on the spot. Hence, too doubtless the manly boldness which
characterises them, and which seems to inspire those who surround them,
with respect and submission. The Moors are, in every respect, much superior
to the Negroes: braver than they are, they reduce them to slavery, and
employ them in the hardest labour; they are, in general, tall and well
made, and their faces are very handsome, and full of expression.
However, it may also be observed that the Moors of both sexes, appear at
the first sight, like a people composed of two distinct races, which have
nothing in common, except, the extremely brown, or tanned colour of their
skin, and the shining black of their hair. The greater part of them, it is
true, are endowed with the stature, and the noble, but austere features,
which call to mind some of the great Italian painters, but there are
several, (indeed the smaller number) whose cranium and profile form a
singular contrast with the others. Their head is remarkably elongated, the
ears small: the forehead, which, in the first, is very high and finely
formed, is contracted in the latter, and becomes at the top disagreeably
protuberant; their eyes are sunk, and placed as it were obliquely, which
gives them the savage look with which they are reproached, and their lower
jaw has a tendency to be elongated. Some of them have, it is true, the high
forehead of the former: but it always differs by being sunk in at the base.
These latter are, perhaps, the descendants of the aborigines of this
country, whose characteristic features are still discernible,
notwithstanding their alliance with so many strangers? History has, indeed,
transmitted to us some of the customs of the Numidians, who were by turns,
the enemies, and the allies of the Romans; but it has not condescended to
draw their portrait. Juvenal somewhere speaks of the withered hands of the
Moors: _manus ossea Mauri_. But, besides, that this is general in hot
countries, this description may be understood of ill-fed slaves.
The travellers remarked that there was no difference between the very
frugal diet of the slaves, who are all blacks, and that of their masters.
The fathers and mothers, as well as the marabous, (a kind of priests) pass
their leisure moments in teaching the principles of their religion, as well
as instructing them in reading and writing on the sand; the wives of King
Zaide, the number of whom is considerable, passively obey Fatima, who is
the favourite, or chief wife of the sovereign.
Our travellers estimated the number of men, women, children and slaves, at
seven or eight hundred persons; their flocks appeared to them very
numerous: they constitute part of the wealth of Zaide, who possesses a
great many besides, in different parts of the kingdom, the extent of which
is pretty considerable; it has about sixty leagues of coast, and stretches
to a great depth in the interior of the desert. The people, as we have
said, call themselves _Trasas_, and profess the Mahometan religion; they
hunt lions, tigers, leopards, and all other ferocious animals, which abound
in this part of Africa. Their commerce is in furs or skins, and ostrich
feathers: they manufacture the leather called basil, in french, basane,
which they prepare very well;[A11] they make this leather into pocketbooks,
to which they give different forms, but in general, that of a _sabretache_.
They also dress goats skins, and join several together to give them more
breadth; they are known under the name of _peaux de maures_, are excellent,
and afford a complete defence against the rain: in form, they nearly
resemble the dress of a Capuchin; they sell all these articles in the
interior, as well as goldsmiths work, which they manufacture with only a
hammer, and a little anvil; but their chief commerce, which is very
extensive, is in salt, which they carry to Tombuctoo, and to Sego, large
and very populous cities, situated in the interior of Africa. Sego is built
on both sides of the river Niger, and Tombuctoo not far from its banks, the
former about five hundred, and the latter about six hundred leagues East of
the Island of Goree. The Marabous, who are almost all traders, frequently
extend their journeys into Upper Egypt. The Moors and the Negroes, have an
extraordinary respect for these priests, who manufacture leather, into
little etuis, perfumed bags, and pocketbooks, to which they give the name
of _gris-gris_. By means of magic words spoken over the _gris-gris_, and
little notes written in Arabic, which they enclose in them, he who carries
such a one about him, is secure against the bite of wild beasts; they make
them to protect the wearer against lions, crocodiles, serpents, &c. They
sell them extremely dear, and those who possess them set a very high value
on them; the king and the princes are not less superstitious than those
whom they command. There are some who wear as many as twenty of these
_gris-gris_ fixed to the neck, the arms, and the legs.