KOUKA.
Our huts were immediately so crowded with visitors, that we had not
a moment’s peace, and the heat was insufferable. Boo-Khaloom had
delivered his presents from the bashaw, and brought us a message of
compliment, together with an intimation that our own would be received
on the following day. About noon we received a summons to attend the
sheikh; and we proceeded to the palace, preceded by our negroes,
bearing the articles destined for the sheikh by our government;
consisting of a double-barrelled gun, by Wilkinson, with a box, and
all the apparatus complete, a pair of excellent pistols in a case,
two pieces of superfine broad cloth, red and blue, to which we added
a set of china, and two bundles of spices.
The ceremony of getting into the presence was ridiculous enough,
although nothing could be more plain and devoid of pretension than
the appearance of the sheikh himself. We passed through passages
lined with attendants, the front men sitting on their hams; and
when we advanced too quickly, we were suddenly arrested by these
fellows, who caught forcibly hold of us by the legs, and had not the
crowd prevented our falling, we should most infallibly have become
prostrate before arriving in the presence. Previous to entering into
the open court, in which we were received, our papouches, or slippers,
were whipped off by these active though sedentary gentlemen of the
chamber; and we were seated on some clean sand on each side of a
raised bench of earth, covered with a carpet, on which the sheikh
was reclining. We laid the gun and the pistols together before him,
and explained to him the locks, turnscrews, and steel shot-cases
holding two charges each, with all of which he seemed exceedingly
well pleased: the powder-flask, and the manner in which the charge
is divided from the body of powder, did not escape his observation;
the other articles were taken off by the slaves, almost as soon as
they were laid before him. Again we were questioned as to the object
of our visit. The sheikh, however, showed evident satisfaction at our
assurance that the king of England had heard of Bornou and himself;
and, immediately turning to his kaganawha (counsellor), said, “This
is in consequence of our defeating the Begharmis.” Upon which,
the chief who had most distinguished himself in these memorable
battles, Bagah Furby (the gatherer of horses) seating himself in
front of us, demanded, “Did he ever hear of me?” The immediate
reply of “_Certainly_” did wonders for our cause. Exclamations
were general; and, “Ah! then, your king must be a great man!”
was re-echoed from every side. We had nothing offered us by way of
refreshment, and took our leave.
I may here observe, that besides occasional presents of bullocks,
camel-loads of wheat and rice, leathern skins of butter, jars of
honey, and honey in the comb, five or six wooden bowls were sent
us, morning and evening, containing rice, with meat, paste made of
barley flour, savoury but very greasy; and on our first arrival,
as many had been sent of sweets, mostly composed of curd and honey.
In England a brace of trout might be considered as a handsome present
to a traveller sojourning in the neighbourhood of a stream, but at
Bornou things are done differently. A camel-load of bream, and a
sort of mullet, was thrown before our huts on the second morning
after our arrival; and for fear that should not be sufficient,
in the evening another was sent.
We had a fsug, or market, in front of one of the principal gates of
the town. Slaves, sheep, and bullocks, the latter in great numbers,
were the principal live stock for sale. There were at least fifteen
thousand persons gathered together, some of them coming from places
two and three days distant. Wheat, rice, and gussub, were abundant:
tamarinds in the pod, ground nuts, ban beans, ochroes, and indigo;
the latter is very good, and in great use amongst the natives, to
dye their tobes (shirts) and linen, stripes of deep indigo colour,
or stripes of it alternately with white, being highly esteemed by
most of the Bornou women: the leaves are moistened, and pounded
up altogether when they are formed into lumps, and so brought to
market. Of vegetables there was a great scarcity—onions, bastard
tomatoes, alone were offered for sale; and of fruits not any: a
few limes, which the sheikh had sent us from his garden, being the
only fruit we had seen in Bornou. Leather was in great quantities;
and the skins of the large snake, and pieces of the skin of the
crocodile, used as an ornament for the scabbards of their daggers,
were also brought to me for sale; and butter, leban (sour milk),
honey, and wooden bowls, from Soudan. The costumes of the women,
who for the most part were the vendors, were various: those of Kanem
and Bornou were most numerous, and the former was as becoming as the
latter had a contrary appearance. The variety in costume amongst the
ladies consists entirely in the head ornaments; the only difference,
in the scanty covering which is bestowed on the other parts of the
person, lies in the choice of the wearer, who either ties the piece
of linen, blue or white, under the arms, and across the breasts,
or fastens it rather fantastically on one shoulder, leaving one
breast naked. The Kanemboo women have small plaits of hair hanging
down all around the head, quite to the poll of the neck, with a roll
of leather or string of little brass beads in front, hanging down
from the centre on each side of the face, which has by no means an
unbecoming appearance: they have sometimes strings of silver rings
instead of the brass, and a large round silver ornament in front of
their foreheads. The female slaves from Musgow, a large kingdom to
the south-east of Mandara, are particularly disagreeable in their
appearance, although considered as very trustworthy, and capable of
great labour: their hair is rolled up in three large plaits, which
extend from the forehead to the back of the neck, like the Bornowy;
one larger in the centre, and two smaller on each side: they have
silver studs in their nose, and one large one just under the lower lip
of the size of a shilling, which goes quite through into the mouth;
to make room for this ornament, a tooth or two is sometimes displaced.
The principal slaves are generally intrusted with the sale of such
produce as the owner of them may have to dispose of; and if they
come from any distance, the whole is brought on bullocks, which are
harnessed after the fashion of the country, by a string or iron run
through the cartilage of the nose, and a saddle of mat. The masters
not unfrequently attend the fsug with their spears, and loiter about
without interfering; purchases are mostly made by exchange of one
commodity for another, or paid for by small beads, pieces of coral
and amber, or the coarse linen manufactured by all the people, and
sold at forty gubka[22] for a dollar. Amongst other articles offered
to me for sale by the people (who, if I stood still for an instant,
crowded round me) was a young lion and a monkey; the latter appeared
really the more dangerous of the two, and from being a degree or
two lighter in complexion than his master, he seemed to have taken
a decided aversion to me.
The lion walked about with great unconcern, confined merely by a small
rope round his neck held by the negro, who had caught him when he was
not two months old, and having had him for a period of three months,
now wished to part with him: he was about the size of a donkey colt,
with very large limbs, and the people seemed to go very close to him
without much alarm, notwithstanding he struck with his foot the leg
of one man who stood in his way, and made the blood flow copiously:
they opened the ring which was formed round this noble animal as I
approached; and, coming within two or three yards of him, he fixed
his eye upon me in a way that excited sensations I cannot describe,
from which I was awakened by the fellow calling to me to come
nearer, at the same time laying his hand on the animal’s back;
a moment’s recollection convinced me that there could be no more
danger nearer than where I was, and I stepped boldly up beside the
negro, and I believe should have laid my hand on the lion the next
moment; but after looking carelessly at me, he brushed past my legs,
broke the ring, and pulled his conductor away with him, overturning
several who stood before him, and bounded off to another part where
there were fewer people.
Feb. 22.—Boo-Khaloom came to us this morning, after seeing the
sheikh, and said, “that he had explained to him our anxiety to
see every thing, and take home the skins of birds, and gather the
plants that appeared most interesting to us, and to take notes of
what we saw.” The sheikh’s reply was, that “we, or any of our
countrymen, whom the bashaw thought proper to send, should be welcome
to see any part of his dominions, but that out of them he could not
suffer us at present to go.” Boo-Khaloom, who was fully aware of
the ulterior objects we had in view, and whose advice I always found
dictated by an anxious desire to serve us, was of the greatest use,
from his intimate acquaintance with the dispositions of the people;
and he was of opinion that we should, in the first instance,
be satisfied with this offer of the sheikh, and not alarm him,
by declaring too abruptly all our intentions. Accustomed as they
are to plunder, and to be plundered, at the sight of strangers,
apparently possessing superior powers, and superior weapons to
themselves, their alarm is not to be wondered at; and when these
strangers were represented to them as having come from a distance
almost beyond their belief, for purposes they could not in the least
comprehend the importance of, it required extreme delicacy and great
management to tranquillize their minds, and obtain their confidence.
A report had gone abroad, that one of our purposes was to build ships,
in which we should embark on the lake, return to our own country,
and then that the white people would come and destroy them all. For
these reports we had, I have no doubt, to thank some of the Mourzuk
merchants who had preceded us; and whose frequent visits were as
injurious to our stores as their advice would have been to our
interests, had not circumstances prevented the latter from being
acted upon.
Boo-Khaloom assured us “these reports had gained considerable
ground, but that he had explained to the sheikh how unfounded they
were; and what we proposed doing here was what had been done during
the last year by the bashaw’s permission, in many parts of the
regency of Tripoli.”
All the Arabs, who had formed our escort, were in great glee by the
report of the approach of the sultan of Begharmi, with a large force,
to within four short days of Kouka. The sheikh-el-Kanemy had, in
former expeditions, laid waste his whole country, each time driving
the sultan from Kermuk, or the capital. On the last occasion he had
destroyed, by fire, the towns which the natives had deserted, and
had remained nearly three months in the country. The sultan, with all
his family and slaves, had, as before, retired to the other side of
a large river, to the south of his dominions, inhabited by Kaffirs
or savages; but who, nevertheless, always afforded him shelter and
protection. This people were described as resembling the sands of the
desert in number; and they had now accompanied him to revenge himself
on the sheikh of Bornou. The prospect of plunder, and making slaves,
which these reports held out to the Arabs, raised their spirits to
such a degree, that they passed half the night in debating how their
booty was to be conveyed across the desert: without remembering
that their enemies were first to be conquered. A gun being merely
presented, they all declared sufficient to drive away a thousand
negroes. Could these poor creatures but once be made to understand
the real state of an Arab’s pouch, with seldom more than one or
two loads of bad powder, and the little dependence to be placed in
his firelock, a miserable French piece, of the original value of
about twelve shillings, that misses fire at least every other time,
how much more justly would they estimate the Arabs’ strength!
Feb. 24.—We heard this day that the Begharmis had halted at a place
called Gulphi, on hearing that Boo-Khaloom was here with a party of
Arab warriors; but it was strongly reported that the sheikh would
immediately send a force into their country, in order to punish the
sultan for even thinking of revenge.
Feb. 26.—Boo-Khaloom was to have seen the sheikh, in order to
convince him that all, and more than the presents destined for him
by our government, had been delivered to him; and we were afterwards
to see him ourselves, and request permission to visit some of the
neighbouring towns. After this interview, Boo-Khaloom came to our
huts, and explained to us that the sheikh had mentioned merely to
his chief attendant, that he had heard of a watch being intended for
him as well as the powder, and that as he had not seen it, he was
disappointed—he, however, desired us to visit him the next day. The
sheikh had given all Boo-Khaloom’s people a blue tobe, and himself
two very handsome female slaves from Soudan, of a deep copper colour,
under twenty years of age, with two others, negresses, to attend
on them. We had news this day that the people of Begharmi had left
Gulphi on their return home, and were about to rebuild their capital.
Feb. 27.—We attended the sheikh, about three hours before noon. He
received us with considerable affability, and appeared satisfied
that his presents were all delivered to him: when the explanation
was given, he said nothing was necessary to secure his good will; but
they told him the articles he mentioned were brought, and therefore he
asked for them. Indeed, if the things had been properly delivered at
first, no question, I am sure, would have arisen on the subject. He
again inquired what were our wishes; no mention was however made
of the orders of our government, that any one should remain for any
time near him. He made numberless inquiries, wished that the nature
of a map should be described to him, and begged that Ali (as Hillman
the carpenter was called) should make some boxes for him.
We asked to see the Tchad and the Shary, both of which waters,
with the old town of Bornou, he promised us we should visit in a few
days. He asked many questions about our manner of attacking a walled
town; and on our explaining to him that we had guns which carried ball
of twenty-four and thirty-two pounds weight, with which we breached
the wall, and then carried the place by assault, his large dark
eyes sparkled again, as he exclaimed, “Wonderful! wonderful!”
He inquired if we had any thing with us like wild-fire, which could
be thrown into a place and burn it; and was greatly disappointed on
our answering in the negative. I could not help however consoling
him by an assurance that what we had brought him was that which we
considered as likely to be most acceptable; that before our coming he
was a stranger; that now we should see what he was most in need of;
and that two camel-loads of gunpowder were easier for us to send him
than the like quantity of dates from Fezzan. We promised at night
to show him two rockets; and we had scarcely eaten our dinner when
Karawash, one of his chiefs, came to say the sheikh was impatient,
and very fortunately there were in the town several of the hostile
Shouaas—a dangerous race of Arab origin, who occupy the frontier
of his kingdom, and he was anxious they should see the effect of
these terrible fire-engines. Mr. Clapperton fixed them on a rest of
three spears in front of the sheikh’s residence, before a crowd
of persons; and the shrieks of the people, both there assembled
and in their huts, were heard for some seconds after the rockets
had ascended.
Feb. 28.—There was a disturbance in the camp this morning that
nearly approached to direct mutiny, amongst Boo-Khaloom’s Arabs. He
had brought with him a very large assortment of valuable merchandize,
for which there was but little sale at either Kouka or Angornou,
and he was anxious to proceed to Soudan. The tghrees, or infantry,
refused to accompany him: they said the bashaw had ordered them to
come thus far with the English, and that Soudan was bhaid (distant),
and go they would not. Some one had hinted to them that the sheikh
wished to send a ghrazzie (marauding expedition) to Begharmi, and that
Boo-Khaloom opposed such wish, as not consistent with his orders; and
their profit being greater by an expedition of plunder and cruelty,
than by one of peace and commerce, they preferred the east to the
west. Boo-Khaloom certainly had refused to proceed on one of these
marauding expeditions, much to the credit of his humanity, and highly
complimentary to the English nation; whose servant, he often assured
me, he felt himself to be on this mission. The Arabs, however, knew
the sheikh’s wishes, and things remained in a very unsettled state.
I paid a visit this evening to Sooloo, one of the sheikh’s principal
Shouaas, to whom I had given a silk handkerchief in the morning:
his habitation consisted of two inclosures, besides one for his
two horses, cow, and goats, and may be taken as a sample of the
best residences in Kouka. In the first of these divisions was a
circular hut, with a cupola top, well thatched with gussub straw,
something resembling that of the Indian corn: the walls were of the
same materials; a mud wall, of about two feet high, separated one
part from the rest, and here his corn was kept; and a bench of like
simple composition, at the opposite side, was his resting-place: this
was covered with mats; and his spears, and wooden bowls for water
and milk, hung on pegs, completed the furniture: here was his own
apartment. In the second division there were two huts, rather smaller,
about ten paces from each other, in which dwelt his two wives: they
were called to the door, and desired to salute me; but on looking
up, uttered a scream, and hiding their faces with their hands, crept
back again so quickly, as to make me almost ashamed of my complexion.
March 1.—A few yams were sent us by the sheikh, the only ones
we had seen, and a great treat they proved to us, for it was
the only vegetable we had tasted for many months. A meeting took
place this morning at day-break, under a large tree in front of the
sheikh’s residence, and in his presence, between the Arab sheikhs
and Boo-Khaloom. The Arabs had appealed to him as their umpire;
and although he appeared not to take any part in their disputes,
yet I thought a disposition was very apparent in him to increase the
feud: he offered to mount one hundred of the Arabs, and send one of
his chiefs, under Boo-Khaloom’s orders, to Begharmi, with fifteen
hundred or two thousand horsemen; and great part of the produce of
this expedition was to be sent as a present to the bashaw. Nothing
could be more distressing than Boo-Khaloom’s situation; he knew the
disposition of his master too well not to feel what his fate would
be, if he refused such an opportunity of taking him at least two
thousand slaves,—his own inclinations led him to proceed to Soudan;
but he was still anxious to avoid becoming the scourge of one people,
to gratify the revenge of another. The Arabs were also divided. The
people of Begharmi had, on the last expedition, nearly foiled their
invaders by abandoning their towns, driving off their flocks and
cattle, and obliging the sheikh’s people to subsist entirely,
for twenty-five days, on a little prepared paste made of flour and
curd, which they always take with them to the field. This the mounted
Arabs dreaded a repetition of, while the more adventurous infantry,
who had nothing to trade with but their gun, and consequently nothing
to lose but their lives, exclaimed loudly for the ghrazzie.
March 2.—Boo-Khaloom went this day to Birnie, for the purpose
of paying his respects to the sultan, who resides there, and we
accompanied him. Angornou, a very large and populous town, where the
sheikh resided previous to his building Kouka, is about sixteen miles
from that place, and two miles from Birnie. Boo-Khaloom took with
him presents to the amount of about one hundred and twenty dollars,
but by some strange mistake we went empty-handed.
On our arrival at Birnie, which is a walled town, with huts of
the same description as those in Kouka, and probably contains ten
thousand inhabitants, we were first conducted to the gate of the
sultan’s mud edifice, where a few of the court were assembled to
receive us; and one, a sort of chamberlain, habited in eight or ten
tobes, or shirts, of different colours, the outside one of fine white
tufted silk of the manufacture of Soudan. In his hand he carried an
immense staff, like a drum-major’s baton, and on his head he bore
a turban exceeding in size any thing of the kind we had before seen;
this was however but a trifling one to those we were destined to
behold at the audience on the following morning. After salutations,
_Barca l’affia el hamdalilla!_ (Blessing!—Are you well? Thank
God!) which lasted for some minutes, we were conducted to some huts
destined for our resting-place for the night: they were not, however,
of a tempting description; and Boo-Khaloom proposed that a large
tent should be pitched any where, which would be preferable. These
wishes were quickly complied with; a large marquee was in a very
short time ready for our reception, with a screen of linen running
all round it, which, although it kept out the crowds of people
who were assembled round the place, admitted the air, and formed a
most inviting retreat from the burning sun that shone above us. The
sultan shortly after sent word, that by sunrise the next morning he
would receive us. In the evening a most plentiful, if not delicate,
repast was brought to us, consisting of seventy dishes, each of which
would have dined half-a-dozen persons with moderate appetites. The
sultan himself sent ten, his wives thirty, and his mother thirty;
and for fear the English should not eat like the Bornowy, a slave or
two was loaded with live fowls for our dinner. The meats consisted
of mutton and poultry, and were baked, boiled, and stewed.
March 3.—Soon after daylight we were summoned to attend the Sultan
of Bornou. He received us in an open space in front of the royal
residence: we were kept at a considerable distance while his people
approached to within about 100 yards, passing first on horseback;
and after dismounting and prostrating themselves before him, they
took their places on the ground in front, but with their backs to
the royal person, which is the custom of the country. He was seated
in a sort of cage of cane or wood, near the door of his garden,
on a seat which at the distance appeared to be covered with silk or
satin, and through the railing looked upon the assembly before him,
who formed a sort of semicircle extending from his seat to nearly
where we were waiting. Nothing could be more absurd and grotesque
than some, nay all, of the figures who formed this court. Here was
all the outward show of pomp and grandeur, without one particle
of the staple commodity, power, to plead its excuse; he reigns and
governs by the sufferance of the sheikh: and the better to answer
his views, by making him more popular with all parties, the sultan
is amused by indulging in all the folly and bigotry of the ancient
negro sovereigns. Large bellies and large heads are indispensable
for those who serve the court of Bornou; and those who unfortunately
possess not the former by nature, or on whom lustiness will not
be forced by cramming, make up the deficiency of protuberance by a
wadding, which, as they sit on the horse, gives the belly the curious
appearance of hanging over the pummel of the saddle. The eight, ten,
and twelve shirts, of different colours, that they wear one over
the other, help a little to increase this greatness of person: the
head is enveloped in folds of muslin or linen of various colours,
though mostly white, so as to deform it as much as possible; and
those whose turban seemed to be the most studied had the effect of
making the head appear completely on one side. Besides this they are
hung all over with charms, inclosed in little red leather parcels,
strung together; the horse, also, has them round his neck, in front
of his head, and about the saddle.
[Illustration: From a Sketch by Major Denham.
Engraved by E. Finden.
RECEPTION OF THE MISSION.
BY THE SULTAN OF BORNOU.
_Published Feb. 1826, by John Murray, London._]
When these courtiers, to the number of about two hundred and sixty
or three hundred, had taken their seats in front of the sultan,
we were allowed to approach to within about pistol-shot of the
spot where he was sitting, and desired to sit down ourselves,
when the ugliest black that can be imagined, his chief eunuch,
the only person who approached the sultan’s seat, asked for the
presents. Boo-Khaloom’s were produced, inclosed in a large shawl,
and were carried unopened to the presence. Our glimpse was but a
faint one of the sultan, through the lattice-work of his pavilion,
sufficient however to see that his turban was larger than any of
his subjects’, and that his face, from the nose downwards, was
completely covered. A little to our left, and nearly in front of
the sultan, was an extempore declaimer shouting forth praises of
his master, with his pedigree; and near him one who bore the long
wooden frumfrum, on which he ever and anon blew a blast, loud and
unmusical. Nothing could be more ridiculous than the appearance of
these people squatting down in their places, tottering under the
weight and magnitude of their turbans and their bellies, while the
thin legs that appeared underneath but ill accorded with the bulk
of the other parts.
Immediately after this ceremony we took our departure for
Angornou. Angornou is the largest and most populous town of Bornou,
and is situated a few miles from the Tchad. This town contains at
least thirty thousand inhabitants: it is large and straggling, but
not walled. The huts are also larger and more commodious than those
of Kouka; some of them having four mud walls, and two chambers. All
our friends the merchants, who had accompanied the kafila from
Tripoli and Mourzuk, had removed here, after paying their respects
to the sheikh at Kouka, this being the fsug, or market town: they
visited us immediately on our arrival. The only traders to Soudan
are Moors. I found here a native of Loggun, who had just returned
from Sennaar; he had been, however, two years on the journey. This
man I was extremely anxious to see, but he was purposely moved away;
and when, on the following day, I followed him to Kouka, he sent me
word, that until he had seen the sheikh he dared not come to the hut.
The public market day is on a Wednesday, and attended sometimes by
eighty or a hundred thousand persons, as the natives say, in peaceable
times; but there was a very good market this day in an open space in
the centre of the town, which is held every evening. Fish, flesh,
and fowls, were in abundance, dressed and undressed, and tomatas,
and onions, but no other vegetables.—Again my excessive whiteness
became a cause of both pity and astonishment, if not disgust: a
crowd followed me through the market, others fled at my approach;
some of the women oversetting their merchandize, by their over
anxiety to get out of my way; and although two of them were so struck
with astonishment as to remain fixed to the spot, unconscious of
the escape of their companions, they no sooner perceived me quite
close to them, than they too ran off irresistibly affrighted. The
day had been insufferably hot, and the night was little less so:
indeed I think Kouka the better air of the two. I preferred this
night sleeping in the open air.
March 4.—Linen is so cheap that most of the males in Angornow
indulge in the luxury of a shirt and a pair of trowsers: several
beggars stood near the fsug, and holding the remains of an old
pair of the latter in their hand, while they held up their shirt,
in proof of their assertion, kept exclaiming, “But breeches,
there are none! But breeches, there are none!” This novel mode of
drawing the attention of the passers-by so amused me, that I could
not help laughing outright.
The principal demand at Angornou was for amber and coral; a large
round piece of the former brought four dollars in money, and a
string, eighty or one hundred. Pieces of brass and copper were also
much sought after: all other kinds of merchandize were paid for in
slaves or tobes; but these brought money, and were readily sold. The
inhabitants are mostly Bornowy. The strangers, however, are numerous;
and many Tibboos and Kanemboos reside here for certain months in
the year. The men are well grown, but not so well-looking as the
people of Kanem: the large mouth, and thick lips, are strikingly
ugly features; the men’s heads are, in general, closely shaved,
and those of the lower orders uncovered. The only persons armed near
the sultan’s person were some hundreds of negroes, in blue tobes,
who were outside the court circle. These bore immense clubs, with a
large round head: bows and arrows were slung at their backs, and a
short dagger placed along the inside of the right arm. A footman, in
attendance on a chief mounted, ran behind him, carrying four spears.
March 5.—I had proposed making an excursion, for a few days, to a
large river to the southward of Kouka, called the Shary, as the only
way to gain authentic information about it; and Dr. Oudney wished to
accompany me. We were, however, obliged to put off our journey, first,
in consequence of his illness, and, secondly, from the unsettled
state of Boo-Khaloom’s affairs with the Arabs. Boo-Khaloom paid
us a visit after seeing the sheikh; and from what I could gather,
although nothing was freely communicated, the probability of the
ghrazzie’s going was increased. Hillman had made two wooden boxes
for the sheikh, the workmanship of which surprised him exceedingly,
and, during our absence, he had sent for him, and requested he
would commence making a sort of litter, to go between two camels,
or mules, such as he had heard were used by the sultans of Fezzan:
our carpenter very frankly said, that any thing he could do should
be done with pleasure, but he could not work in the sun, and that a
shed must be built for him, and wood must be found for him, as he had
seen none in the country that would make the keel of a jolly-boat. As
much as was necessary of this reply was interpreted to the sheikh,
who promised him that negroes should make mats directly for his shed,
and that others should go into the wood and bring the largest trees
they could find; and in the evening a present came for the carpenter
of wheat, rice, honey, and butter.
March 6.—The sheikh sent this morning to say, that he wished
for some of our rockets, in order that the Shouaas, his enemies,
might see what the English had brought him. On Monday, the day of
the fsug or market, when they would be in the town, we promised
him six; but reminded him, at the same time, that we had but few,
and that here we could make no more. He also sent a very fine young
lion, about three months old, not above half the size of that I had
seen before: this was a very tame good-natured fellow, and I could
not help regretting the necessity we were under of refusing him a
corner of our huts, as he was ordered to be immediately killed in
consequence of our declining to accept him.
March 7.—Doctor Oudney’s illness increased, and he had daily fits
of the ague, which, in his weak state, became alarming. I had made
it my business, as I thought it my duty, to cultivate the friendship
and good-will of Boo-Khaloom, and by his means I hoped to be made
acquainted with the sheikh’s real intentions towards us. The man
of Loggun, who had returned from Senaar, I used every means to get
a sight of, but I found it impossible, and he sent me word privately
that he dared not come.
March 8 and 9.—Both these days the numbers of persons who crowded
my hut, from morning to night, were greater, and consequently
their visits more pestering than common. Every little thing, from
the compass to the pen and ink, from the watch to the tin cup out
of which I drank, excited their curiosity; and as they now became
bolder, they seized hold of every thing which they formerly only
eyed at a distance. It was not, however, their curiosity alone that
was excited—the possession was coveted, either for themselves or
the sheikh, of every article: a looking-glass, and a small lantern,
I rescued out of the hands of at least a dozen, a dozen times. A
copy of Captain Lyon’s book, the fame of which had preceded us, in
consequence of Doctor Oudney’s having shown it to some merchants
at Mourzuk, was demanded twenty times a day, and it required all
my patience to go over and explain the pictures as often as they
required. It produced very different effects, but in all astonishment
and in most suspicion. The sheikh had heard of it, and one of his
slaves borrowed it for him of my servant, by stealth, as he did
not wish it to be known that he had a desire to see it. For three
days after this I was again and again applied to by all his chief
people to see what I had drawn, or written, as they express it, of
Bornou. I repeatedly assured them, that those in the book were not
mine, that the person who wrote them was far away. It would not do;
they shook their heads, and said I was cunning, and would not show
them. They then changed their tone, and very seriously begged that
I would not write them, that is, _draw_ their portraits; that they
did not like it, that the sheikh did not like it, that it was a sin;
and I am quite sure, from the impression, that we had much better
never have produced the book at all.
The sheikh expressed a wish that two rockets might be started,
on a signal being made from the top of his house. I gave Karowash
a blue light, with instructions how to make the signal: his heart,
however, failed him when he got to the spot, and the signal was made
by a wisp of straw. The first rocket went off nearly perpendicular,
and with beautiful effect. I lessened very much the elevation of the
second, and it flew over the town not more than a hundred yards higher
than the tops of the huts; and bursting in its course, occasioned a
universal scream, that lasted for some seconds. Its consequences I
believe were not so serious as the first display of fire-works was
at Mourzuk: there several ladies lost all present hopes of blessing
their husbands with little pledges of love; and in one house the
favourite slave of a particular friend of ours was put instantly to
bed of a seven months’ child.
March 10.—We had now been in Kouka nearly a month—had seen
the sheikh but three times; and we discovered, that people coming
from the east and from the south, of which there were but few,
were carefully prohibited from visiting us. I found out also that
a conversation had taken place between Boo-Khaloom and the sheikh,
in which the latter had mentioned, that he had heard the Doctor
wished, or rather intended, to proceed to Soudan, but that he could
not allow of such a proceeding, for that the bashaw’s despatch
had not mentioned such being the wish of the English king.
This day I had a little respite, my visiting list being much
reduced in consequence of its being market-day; there was, as usual,
an abundance of all necessaries, though but few luxuries; and as
the people got more accustomed to my appearance, they became more
familiar: and one young lady, whose numerous bracelets of elephants’
teeth, heavy silver rings on each side of her face, coral in her nose,
and amber necklace, proclaimed her a person of wealth, nimbly jumped
off her bullock, and tore the corner from my pocket-handkerchief,
as she said, for a souvenir. I could do no less than request her to
accept the remainder of so useful an appendage, and I was happy to
see that this piece of gallantry was not lost even upon savages. They
all clapped their hands, and cried, “Barca! barca!” and the lady
herself, whose hands and face were really running down with grease,
so regardless was she of expense, generously poured into the sleeve
of my shirt nearly a quart of ground nuts.
March 11.—Doctor Oudney was still confined to his bed, and I
received a summons from the sheikh, to whom a report had been made of
a musical box of mine, which played or stopped merely by my holding up
my finger. The messenger declared he was dying to see it, and I must
make haste. The wild exclamations of wonder and screams of pleasure
that this piece of mechanism drew from the generality of my visitors
were curiously contrasted in the person of the intelligent sheikh:
he at first was greatly astonished, and asked several questions,
exclaiming “_A gieb! gieb!_” “Wonderful! wonderful!” but
the sweetness of the Swiss Ranz-des-Vaches which it played, at last
overcame every other feeling: he covered his face with his hand and
listened in silence; and on one man near him breaking the charm by a
loud exclamation, he struck him a blow which made all his followers
tremble. He instantly asked, “if one twice as large would not be
better?” I said “Yes; but it would be twice as dear.” “By
G—!” said he, “if one thousand dollars would purchase it,
it would be cheap.” Who will deny that nature has given us all a
taste for luxuries?
During this short conversation we became better friends than we had
ever been before, during our three former visits. To his surprise,
he now found that I spoke intelligible Arabic, and he begged to see
me whenever I chose: these were just the terms upon which I wished
to be with him; and thinking this a favourable moment for adding
strength to his present impressions, I could not help begging he
would keep the box. He was the more delighted as I had refused it
before to Karouash, when he had requested it in the sheikh’s name.
March 12.—I had another interview this day with the sheikh, in his
garden, about four in the afternoon: we were only three persons,
Barca Gana, his first general, Karouash, and myself. We had the
musical box playing until he understood its stops as well as myself;
and after really a pleasant interview of an hour’s duration, we
separated, improved considerably in each other’s good opinion. I
asked to visit the Tchad next day, and he gave immediate orders to
Barca Gana, that some one should attend me who knew the roads, and
that a hut and food might be in readiness for me at night. I lost no
time in availing myself of this permission; and soon after daylight
on the next day my guides were at the door,—Fajah, a Kanemboo, high
in the sheikh’s favour, and Maramy, a sort of half-cast Felatah,
who was sent merely because he could speak a little Arabic. We
proceeded about ten miles, to a town called Bree; where the _kaid_
(governor), after hearing the orders, came to my horse’s side,
and said he should be ready in an instant to accompany me: he
also proposed that we should return that night to the town, where
a supper and hut, with dancing-girls, should be ready for me. I,
however, refused this, and said I was prepared with my blanket, and
that we would sleep near the lake. We now went eastward for about
five miles, when we came to the banks of the Tchad. I had seen no
part of the lake so unencumbered by trees as this, and there were
evident proofs of its overflowings and recedings near the shores;
but beyond was an uninterrupted expanse of waters, as far as the
eye could reach east and south-east. A fine grass grew abundantly
along the marshy shores, and thousands of cattle belonging to the
sheikh, the produce of his last expedition to Begharmi, were grazing,
and in beautiful condition. The sun was now at its greatest power,
and, spreading my mat under the shade of a clump of tulloh trees,
I was just preparing a repast of some bread and honey, when two or
three black boys who had accompanied us from Bree, and whom I had
seen rushing about in the water, brought me five or six fine fish
resembling a mullet, and which they had driven into the shallow water
almost in as many minutes: a fire was quickly made, and they roasted
them so well and expeditiously, that their manner of cooking deserves
to be noticed:—A stick is run through the mouth of the fish, and
quite along the belly to the tail; this stick is then stuck in the
ground, with the head of the fish downwards, and inclined towards
the fire: our negroes had quickly a circle of these fish round a
clear flame, and by turning them constantly by the tail, they were
most excellently dressed. These fish are called by the Kanemboo,
kerwha; in Arabic, turfaw;—the name of fish in general in the
Bornou language is boonie.
I told my satellites that here would be my quarters for the night:
they assured me that the musquitoes were both so numerous and
so large, that I should find it impossible to remain, and that
the horses would be miserable. They advised our retiring with the
cattle to a short distance from the water, and sleeping near them;
by which means the attention of these insects would be taken off
by the quadrupeds. Englishman-like, I was obstinate; and very soon
falling asleep, although daylight, I was so bitten by musquitoes,
in size equalling a large fly, that I was glad, on awaking, to take
the advice of my more experienced guides. Towards the evening we
mounted our horses and chased some very beautiful antelopes, and
saw a herd of elephants at a distance, exceeding forty in number;
two buffaloes also stood boldly grazing, nearly up to their bodies
in water; on our approaching them they quickly took to the lake:
one of them was a monstrous animal, at least fourteen feet in length
from the tail to the head. The antelopes are particularly beautiful,
of a light brown colour, with some stripes of black and white about
their bellies; they are not very swift, and are only to be found in
the neighbourhood of the Tchad, and other large waters.
The tamarind and locust-trees were here abundant, and loaded with
fruit; the former of a rich and fine flavour. The horses now became
so irritated by the shoals of insects that attacked them, the white
one of Fajah being literally covered with blood, that we determined
on seeking the cattle herd, and taking up our quarters for the night
with them. A vacant square was left in the centre, and ourselves and
horses were admitted: mats were spread, and about thirty basket jars
of sweet milk were set before me, with another of honey; this, in
addition to some rice which I had brought with me, made a sumptuous
repast; and although, previous to leaving the lake, my face, hands,
and back of the neck, resembled those of a child with the small-pox,
from the insects, yet here I slept most comfortably, without being
annoyed by a single musquito.
March 14.—A very heavy dew had fallen this night, a thing we had
not felt since leaving Gatrone, and then but very slightly: in the
morning my bornouse, which lay over me, was completely wet through;
and on the mat, after daylight, crystalline drops were lying like
icicles. On arriving at the lake, Maramy left us, as he said, to look
for the elephants, as the sheikh had desired him to take me close to
them; and I commenced shooting and examining the beautiful variety of
waterfowl that were in thousands sporting on the water, and on its
shores. I succeeded in shooting a most beautiful white bird of the
crane kind, with black neck and long black bill; and some snipes,
which were as numerous as swarms of bees: and in three shots killed
four couple of ducks, and one couple of wild geese—these were very
handsomely marked, and fine specimens. While I was thus employed,
Maramy came galloping up, saying that he had found three very large
elephants grazing, to the south-east, close to the water: when we
came within a few hundred yards of them, all the persons on foot,
and my servant on a mule, were ordered to halt, while four of us,
who were mounted, rode up to these stupendous animals.
The sheikh’s people began screeching violently: and although
at first they appeared to treat our approach with great contempt,
yet after a little they moved off, erecting their ears, which had
until then hung flat on their shoulders, and giving a roar that
shook the ground under us. One was an immense fellow, I should
suppose sixteen feet high; the other two were females, and moved
away rather quickly, while the male kept in the rear, as if to guard
their retreat. We wheeled swiftly round him; and Maramy casting a
spear at him, which struck him just under the tail, and seemed to
give him about as much pain as when we prick our finger with a pin,
the huge beast threw up his proboscis in the air with a loud roar,
and from it cast such a volume of sand, that, unprepared as I was
for such an event, nearly blinded me. The elephant rarely, if ever,
attacks; and it is only when irritated that he is dangerous: but he
will sometimes rush upon a man and horse, after choking them with
dust, and destroy them in an instant.
As we had cut him off from following his companions, he took the
direction leading to where we had left the mule and the footmen:
they quickly fled in all directions; and my man Columbus (the mule
not being inclined to increase its pace) was so alarmed, that he did
not get the better of it for the whole day. We pressed the elephant
now very close, riding before, behind, and on each side of him;
and his look sometimes, as he turned his head, had the effect of
checking instantly the speed of my horse—his pace never exceeded a
clumsy rolling walk, but was sufficient to keep our horses at a short
gallop. I gave him a ball from each barrel of my gun, at about fifty
yards’ distance; and the second, which struck his ear, seemed to
give him a moment’s uneasiness only; but the first, which struck
him on the body, failed in making the least impression. After giving
him another spear, which flew off his tough hide without exciting
the least sensation, we left him to his fate.
News was soon brought us that eight elephants were at no great
distance, and coming towards us: it was thought prudent to chase them
away, and we all mounted for that purpose. They appeared unwilling
to go, and did not even turn their backs until we were quite close,
and had thrown several spears at them; the flashes from the pan
of the gun, however, appeared to alarm them more than any thing:
they retreated very majestically, first throwing out, as before,
a quantity of sand. A number of the birds here called tuda were
perched on the backs of the elephants; these resemble a thrush in
shape and note, and were represented to me as being extremely useful
to the elephant, in picking off the vermin from those parts which
it is not in his power to reach.
When the heat of the sun was a little diminished, we followed the
course of the water; and had it not been for the torment which the
mosquitoes and flies occasioned, there were spots in which I could
have pitched my tent for a week. I saw several Balearic cranes,
but I was too far off to get a shot at them. Having proceeded
nearly eight miles along the shores of the Tchad, in which there
is no sort of variety either in appearance or vegetable production,
a coarse grass, and a small bell-flower, being the only plants that
I could discover, about an hour before sunset we left these banks,
and arrived at Koua, a small village to the north; where, the kaid of
the town being absent, we were glad to take up our quarters within the
fence of rushes that went round his hut, and after making some coffee,
I laid myself down for the night: about midnight he returned, and we
then got corn for our horses, and fowls and milk for ourselves. Both
this town and Bree were quite new, and peopled by the Kanemboos,
who had emigrated with the sheikh from their own country; and I
never saw handsomer or better formed people.
When I appeared in the town, the curiosity and alarm which my hands
and face excited almost inclined me to doubt whether they had not
been changed in the night. One little girl was in such agonies of
tears and fright at the sight of me, that nothing could console her,
not even a string of beads which I offered her—nor would she put
out her hand to take them. I must, however, do the sex the justice
to say, that those more advanced in years were not afflicted with
such exceeding diffidence—at the sight of the beads they quickly
made up to me; and seeing me take from the pocket of a very loose
pair of Turkish trowsers a few strings, which were soon distributed,
some one exclaimed, “Oh! those trowsers are full of beads, only
he won’t give them to us.” This piece of news was followed by a
shout, and they all approached, so fully determined to ascertain the
fact, that although I did not until afterwards understand what had
been said, Fajah, my guide, thought it right to keep the ladies at a
distance, by what I thought rather ungentle means. Had I been aware
of all the circumstances, I do not think that I should have consented
to their being so harshly treated, as I have no doubt they would,
like their sisterhood, those beautiful specimens of red and white
womankind in our own country, have been reasoned into conviction,
without absolutely demanding ocular demonstration.
March 15.—A little after noon, we arrived again at Kouka. Although
much fatigued by the excessive heats, yet I was greatly gratified
by the excursion: no information was, however, on this occasion
to be obtained, as to the inhabitants of those islands which are
said to be far away to the eastward, up the lake. These Kerdies,
as they are called, come, at certain times, to the spot where I
had been, and even close to Angornou; plunder sometimes a village,
and carry off the cattle in their canoes. These plunderers continue
their depredations, without any means being taken to oppose them.
I was not at all prepared for the news which was to reach me on
returning to our inclosure. The horse that had carried me from Tripoli
to Mourzuk and back again, and on which I had ridden the whole journey
from Tripoli to Bornou, had died, a very few hours after my departure
for the lake. There are situations in a man’s life in which losses
of this nature are felt most keenly; and this was one of them. It
was not grief, but it was something very nearly approaching to it;
and though I felt ashamed of the degree of derangement which I
suffered from it, yet it was several days before I could get over
the loss. Let it be however remembered, that the poor animal had
been my support and comfort—may I not say companion?—through
many a dreary day and night; had endured both hunger and thirst in
my service with the utmost patience; was so docile, though an Arab,
that he would stand still for hours in the desert, while I slept
between his legs, his body affording me the only shelter that could
be obtained from the powerful influence of a noon-day sun: he was yet
the fleetest of the fleet, and ever foremost in the race. My negro lad
opened his head, and found a considerable quantity of matter formed
on the brain. Three horses at the Arab tents had died with similar
appearances; and there can be little doubt but that it was the effect
of climate, the scarcity and badness of the water, and the severe
exposure to the sun which we had all undergone. The thermometer was
this day in the hut 103°; the hottest day we had yet felt in Bornou.
I made it a rule to show myself among the people and merchants at
some part of each market-day, in order to make myself familiar
to the strangers who attended from the neighbouring towns, and
to-day I was eminently successful—the young and the old came
near me without much apparent alarm; but stretching out my hand,
a smile, or any accidental turn of the head, always started them
from my side: there seemed to be, however, a reciprocal feeling of
better acquaintance between us, and I was rather surprised at the
complacency, nay, even satisfaction, with which I began to survey the
negro beauties—frequently exclaiming to Boo-Khaloom’s brother,
who was with me, “What a very fine girl! what pretty features!”
without even remarking that “toujours noir” which had previously
accompanied any contemplation of what might otherwise have struck
me as a pleasing countenance.
March 18.—Doctor Oudney thinking himself a little improved in
health, he determined on seeing the sheikh the next day, on the
subject of his departure for Soudan; for myself, I was but too happy
for the present in having received no refusal from the sheikh to my
proposition of accompanying the ghrazzie. I had previously determined,
whether I should succeed in this object or not, that I would as yet
ask no other favour; as I felt assured that only by slow degrees and
a patient cultivation of the friendship of El Kanemy, our ultimate
objects could be accomplished. I was not, therefore, greatly surprised
to find that the sheikh gave this morning a decided refusal to Doctor
Oudney’s request of accompanying the kafila to Soudan.
A Shouaa chief, Dreess-aboo Raas-ben-aboo-Deleel, whose people had
their tents close to the Shary, visited me to-day. I found him a
very intelligent cunning fellow: he put a hundred questions, and,
strange to say, asked for nothing as a gift. I, however, gave him
a looking-glass, with which he was much pleased. He and his people
had passed over from the service of the sultan of Waday to that of
our sheikh, three years ago: he told me that the Sultan of Begharmi
was preparing to rebuild his capital, Kernuck; and from this man
I obtained a route and plan of the branches of the Shary, close
to Begharmi.
March 26.—I had another visit from my new ally this morning,
who came alone, and assured me the sheikh was not willing that
we should see any of the country to the south of the Shary; that
my liberality to him yesterday had made him take an oath to be my
friend; and that if I would lay my hand on that book, pointing to my
own journal, that holy book, he said he would tell me what order the
sheikh had given him with respect to his conduct on our arriving in
his district,—which was, that we were not to cross the river. He,
however, added, that if I chose to pass the Shary and come to his
tents, which were at a place called Kerga, he would find means of
sending me still farther south. “If you leave the Shary,” said
he, “when the sun is three fathoms high, you will be with me
by sunset.” I questioned him as to the danger of incurring the
sheikh’s displeasure; but he did not prevaricate, and his reply
was “there were three brothers of them, and the sheikh wanted to
bring them all over to his service, and that it was not his interest
to quarrel with them.”
March 28.—Doctor Oudney was getting worse and worse: he had
applied a blister to his chest in consequence of the violence of his
cough; but he was so weak as not to be able to move from one hut to
another. His principal food was a little flour and water paste, and
sometimes a little soup at night. Boo-Khaloom saw us after prayers;
he said that he had determined on dismissing about thirty of the
most rebellious Arabs, and they were about to return to Mourzuk.
March 29 to April 8.—Tuesday. Drees paid me a third visit previous
to his leaving Kouka, and pressed me to come over the Shary, and at
least stay some time at his tents. It was night when he came; and he
either affected, or really had great fear, of any one’s noticing
him. “Do not mention my coming to you,” said he; “every body
who visits your hut is a spy on your actions. Every thing you say is
repeated to the sheikh.” “—And yourself,” said I. “Very
good,” said he; “you have no reason to trust me. Say nothing;
I have made you the offer. Come, if you think proper; but do not
commit yourself. I have spoken to you as I would to my own bowels.”
The Shouaas Arabs are a very extraordinary race, and have scarcely
any resemblance to the Arabs of the north: they have fine open
countenances, with aquiline noses and large eyes; their complexion
is a light copper colour: they possess great cunning with their
courage, and resemble in appearance some of our best favoured
gypsies in England, particularly the women, and their Arabic is
nearly pure Egyptian.
[Illustration: From a Sketch by Major Denham.
Engraved by E. Finden.
SHOUAA WOMEN.
KINGDOM OF BORNOU.
_Published Feb. 1826, by John Murray, London._]
The disputes between the Arabs had arrived at such a height,
that all idea of an amicable arrangement between them seemed
at an end. Abdallah Bougiel had obtained the support of most of
the sheikh’s people, and was therefore favoured by the sheikh
himself: he succeeded in getting away nearly half of the Arabs
from Boo-Khaloom; and they pitched their tents at a few miles’
distance from the town. The chiefs, however, were in Kouka every
day, always with loaded pistols under their barracans, fearing
assassination from the intrigues of each other. Abdallah Bougiel
charged Boo-Khaloom with wasting his time in Kouka, for the purpose
of disposing of his merchandize; while the Arabs were starving, and
might have been employed in a marauding expedition for the benefit of
the bashaw. Boo-Khaloom very boldly, and with great truth, accused
Abdallah of mutinous and disorderly conduct, in opposing him on all
occasions,—taking the part of those refractory Arabs whom he had
thought it right to punish on the road for robbery, and seducing them
from under his command, where the bashaw had placed both them and
himself: he most properly declared, that they came as an escort to
the English, and he as a merchant—that if a ghrazzie was advisable,
he was to judge when the proper time would be for undertaking it.
The sheikh, however, without lessening his attentions to Boo-Khaloom,
whom he now promised to send with his own people to the country
beyond Mandara, encouraged Abdallah to pursue his plan of quitting
Boo-Khaloom. The occupation of making up our despatches, as well
as the continued weakness of Doctor Oudney, had prevented our
attempting any movement during the last ten days: I say attempting,
for we were upon such ticklish ground, that success seemed more
than doubtful. Doctor Oudney was, however, a little better, though
not fit to accompany an expedition of this nature; and I declared
my intention of proceeding with Boo-Khaloom, begging him to make
known my wish to the sheikh.
Thus were we situated on the 8th of April, after ten days of repeated
disappointment, great anxiety, and excessive heat, the thermometer
being some days at 106°. Mr. Clapperton’s horse had died on the
5th, of the same complaint as my own. Both the Arab expeditions
were on the eve of departing, but without our having any knowledge
of their destination. Bougiel had been repeatedly to my hut, and
endeavoured to convince me of the uprightness of his conduct, and
his great love for the English: “Only say, _sidi reis_, (my lord
captain) where you will go, and I will bring you a hundred men,
who will accompany you, and die by your side.” I told him, “I
had no occasion for such an escort, and no money to reward them;
that he had better return to the tents, be reconciled to Boo-Khaloom,
and, as he had left Tripoli with him, return with him, and then make
his complaint to the bashaw.” He said, “No: Boo-Khaloom had once
d——d his father and his faith! that it was deep in his heart;
_Ikmish fi gulbi_, and he could never forgive him. But would I write
to the bashaw, and the consul at Tripoli, and say that he had always
been my friend?” I replied, “Certainly not! That, if I wrote at
all, it would be to say that he was decidedly wrong in every thing
that he had done.”
Boo-Khaloom left Kouka this afternoon on an expedition, without
coming to take leave of us: this was a sufficient proof to me that
our application to accompany the ghrazzie had been met by a denial
on the part of the sheikh. The disappointment this occasioned me was
very great indeed, for I had always reckoned on being at least left
to my own arrangements for this expedition; and I felt confident that
by such means only could we get to the southward—which conclusion
subsequent events proved to be a just one.
April 10.—Soon after daylight we were summoned to appear before
the sheikh, and our request of visiting the Shary complied with.
The sheikh produced some uncouth ornaments for the front of the head
and breast, of gold and silver, with a number of paste and glass
imitations of ruby and other precious stones. He thought these real,
and asked their value; and, showing him the little bit of yellow
metal which gave the glass bead the colour of the topaz, amazed him
greatly: the person who gave him these as real will meet with but
a sorry reception on his next visit, as what he had thought worth
one hundred dollars were probably dear at as many pence.
April 11 and 12.—The ghrazzie, under Boo-Khaloom, remained these
two days at Angornou with Barca Gana, the sheikh’s kashella (or
general), to collect people for the expedition. Abdallah Bougiel
had left Kouka the day before, in the direction of Kanem. This day
five of his horsemen, and twenty of his men on foot, redeserted,
and passed through Kouka in their way to rejoin Boo-Khaloom. One of
the sheikh’s eunuchs, of whom he had six, the only males who were
allowed to enter that division of his house where the women resided,
came to me on the part of his favourite wife begging for a bead,
as she called it, similar to the one she sent for me to look at,
adding, that his mistress would give any price for it, for the like
was never seen in Bornou. On this curiosity being taken out of a
beautiful silk handkerchief, to my surprise I saw one of the glass
drops of a chandelier, diamond-shaped, which I suppose had been
brought by some of the freed female slaves from Tripoli. “He was
not at all astonished,” he said, “at my not having any thing
like it: Ah! he was afraid not; it was wonderfully beautiful! His
mistress would be very unhappy at the news he would take back.”
No glass beads, or such as are brittle, and likely to break, can be
sold for any thing: strength in these articles is looked for even
more than beauty, and the sterling weight of this crystal drop,
added to its clearness, made it invaluable in the eyes of the sultana.
April 13.—I had thought it prudent to send as a present to the
sheikh my remaining horse. I had mounted him but once for two months;
a sore on his back, from a small size became inflamed, with a deep
hole in the middle, surrounded with proud flesh: his blood was in
a sad state, and he got thinner and thinner. I hinted, at the same
time, that a horse of the country would be very acceptable to me in
exchange. The sheikh very handsomely sent me word that I should have
as good a one as the country afforded—and a very active powerful
little iron-grey was sent me.
Boo-Khaloom, we heard, was to quit Angornou on his expedition on
the 14th: the losing this opportunity of both seeing the country
and in what manner these people could lead 3000 men into action,
for his ghrazzie was to consist of that number, vexed me more than I
can express. It was an opportunity, I felt, that was not to be lost:
the sheikh’s promised expedition might never take place; it would
certainly be in a different direction; and at any rate I knew that
with Boo-Khaloom I could follow my own plans, which most likely
with the sheikh I could not. In this state of dilemma I determined
on applying to the sheikh’s chief karouash, who professed himself
greatly my friend, and to offer him fifty dollars if he could obtain
the sheikh’s permission. The request instantly opened my eyes as
to which quarter the wind of the court blew from. “Could not you
make the sheikh,” said he “some pretty present? At the same time
he is only afraid of your getting into danger: _egal rais khaleel
rajal meliah yassur_ (he says the rais is an excellent person).”
I replied, “that was impossible; that we had already given many
handsome presents, and had written to England for others; for himself
he should have fifty dollars if he succeeded.”—Karouash left me
with, I am sure, every wish to succeed in my behalf.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 22: _Gubka_, about a yard English.]