was taken to a part of his residence I had never before seen: it was
a handsome apartment, within a square tower, the ceiling of which
was a dome, supported by eight ornamental arches, with a bright
plate of brass in its centre. Between the arches and the outer wall
of the tower, the dome was encircled by a neat balustrade in front
of a gallery, which led into an upper suite of rooms. We had a long
conversation about Europe: he spoke of the ancient Moorish kingdom
in Spain, and appeared well pleased when I told him that we were in
possession of Gibraltar. He asked me to send him, from England, some
Arabic books and a map of the world: and, in recompense, promised
his protection to as many of our learned men as chose to visit his
dominions. He also spoke of the gold and silver to be obtained in
the hills of Jacoba and Adamowa; but I assured him that we were
less anxious about gold mines than the establishment of commerce,
and the extension of science. He now gave me a map of the country,
and after explaining it to me, he resumed the old theme of applying
by letter to the King of England, for the residence of a consul and
a physician at Sackatoo; and again expressed his hope that I would
revisit his dominions. He next inquired to what place on the coast the
English would come, that he might send an escort for the guns; when
I promised to write to his Highness on that subject from Kouka. He
proposed to have two messengers waiting at the place I should select,
at whose return he would send down an escort to the sea-coast.
May 1.—I began to make preparations for my return to Bornou, for
various reasons which it is unnecessary to detail. The Rhamadan
commenced to-day, and the Felatahs keep the fast with extreme
rigour. The chief people never leave their houses, except in the
evening, to prayer, and the women frequently pour cold water over
their backs and necks, under the idea that the greater thirst they
appear to endure, the better entitled they become to Paradise;
although I am inclined to believe that they make a parade of
these privations, in a great measure, to obtain the reputation of
extraordinary sanctity.
May 2.—Ill all day. I sent for the steward of the gadado’s
household, and all the female slaves, who had daily performed
the duty of bringing me provisions from the time of my arrival:
these provisions were, about a gallon of new milk every morning,
in a large bowl, for myself, and two gallons of sour milk and
ticcory for my servants, at noon; in return for each of which I
always gave fifty cowries: at three o’clock, three roast fowls,
with doura or nutta sauce, for which I sent fifty cowries; again,
after sunset, two bowls of bazeen were brought by two female slaves,
to whom I gave one hundred cowries, and about two quarts of new milk
afterwards, for which I gave fifty cowries more. As an acknowledgment
for their attention during my residence in Sackatoo, I now presented
the steward of the household with 10,000 cowries, and the slaves
with 2,000 each. The poor creatures were extremely grateful for my
bounty, and many of them even shed tears. In the afternoon, I waited
upon the sultan, who told me that he had appointed the same escort
which I had before, under the command of the gadado’s brother, to
conduct me through the provinces of Goober and Zamfra, and that an
officer of the gadado’s, after the escort left me, should accompany
me to Zirmee, Kashna, Kano, and Katagum; the governor of which would
receive orders to furnish me with a strong escort through the Bedite
territory, and to deliver me safely into the hands of the sheikh of
Bornou. He also mentioned, that the letter for the King of England
would be ready next day.
May 3.—At daylight, the camels were brought in from their pasturage,
and were sent off in the afternoon to the neighbourhood of the
wells of Kamoon. To-day I was visited by all the principal people of
Sackatoo, to bid me farewell; and at seven o’clock, in the evening,
I went to take leave of the sultan: he was at the mosque, and I had
to wait about two hours till he came out. I followed him, at a little
distance, to the door of his residence, where an old female slave
took me by the hand and led me through a number of dark passages, in
which, at the bidding of my conductress, I had often to stoop, or at
times to tread with great caution as we approached flights of steps,
while a faint glimmering light twinkled from a distant room. I could
not imagine where the old woman was conducting me, who, on her part,
was highly diverted at my importunate inquiries. After much turning
and winding, I was at last brought into the presence of Bello, who
was sitting alone, and immediately delivered into my hands a letter
for the King of England, with assurances of his friendly sentiments
towards the English nation. He had previously sent to me to know
what was His Majesty’s name, style, and title. He again expressed,
with much earnestness of manner, his anxiety to enter into permanent
relations of trade and friendship with England; and reminded me to
apprise him, by letter, at what time the English mission would be
upon the coast. After repeating the Fatha, and praying for my safe
arrival in England, and speedy return to Sackatoo, he affectionately
bade me farewell. I went next to take leave of my good old friend
the gadado, for whom I felt the same regard as if he had been one of
my oldest friends in England, and I am sure it was equally sincere
on his side: the poor old man prayed very devoutly for my safety,
and gave strict charge to his brother, who was to accompany me,
to take special care of me in our journey through the disturbed
provinces. The gadado looked very ill, owing, as I suppose, to his
strict observance of the fast, and the distress which he had recently
suffered by the loss of his son.
I shall here add a short description of the city of Sackatoo. It is
in lat. 13° 4′ 52″ N. and long. 6° 12′ E. and is situate near
the junction of an inconsiderable stream with the same river which
flows past Zirme, and which, taking its rise between Kashna and Kano,
is said to fall into the Quarra four days’ journey to the west. The
name in their language signifies “a halting place;” the city being
built by the Felatahs after the conquest of Goober and Zamfra, as
near as I could learn, about the year 1805. It occupies a long ridge
which slopes gently towards the north, and appeared to me the most
populous town I had visited in the interior of Africa; for, unlike
most other towns in Haussa, where the houses are thinly scattered,
it is laid out in regular well built streets. The houses approach
close to the walls, which were built by the present sultan in 1818,
after the death of his father; the old walls being too confined
for the increasing population. This wall is between twenty and
thirty feet high, and has twelve gates, which are regularly closed
at sunset. There are two large mosques, including the new one at
present building by the gadado, besides several other places for
prayer. There is a spacious market-place in the centre of the city,
and another large square in front of the sultan’s residence. The
dwellings of the principal people are surrounded by high walls, which
enclose numerous coozees and flat-roofed houses, built in the Moorish
style; whose large water-spouts of baked clay, projecting from the
eaves, resemble at first sight a tier of guns. The inhabitants are
principally Felatahs, possessing numerous slaves. Such of the latter
as are not employed in domestic duties reside in houses by themselves,
where they follow various trades; the master, of course, reaping
the profit. Their usual employments are weaving, house-building,
shoe-making, and iron work: many bring fire-wood to the market for
sale. Those employed in raising grain and tending cattle, of which the
Felatahs have immense herds, reside in villages without the city. It
is customary for private individuals to free a number of slaves every
year, according to their means, during the great feast after the
Rhamadan. The enfranchised seldom return to their native country, but
continue to reside near their old masters, still acknowledging them as
their superiors, and presenting them yearly with a portion of their
earnings. The trade of Sackatoo is at present inconsiderable, owing
to the disturbed state of the surrounding country. The necessaries
of life are very cheap: butchers’ meat is in great plenty, and
very good. The exports are principally civet and blue check tobes,
called sharie, which are manufactured by the slaves from Nyffee,
of whom the men are considered the most expert weavers in Soudan,
and the women the best spinners. The common imports are Goora nuts,
brought from the borders of Ashantee; and coarse calico and woollen
cloth, in small quantities, with brass and pewter dishes, and some
few spices from Nyffee. The Arabs, from Tripoli and Ghadamis,
bring unwrought silk, otto of roses, spices, and beads: slaves
are both exported and imported. A great quantity of Guinea corn
is taken every year by the Tuaricks, in exchange for salt. The
market is extremely well supplied, and is held daily from sunrise
to sunset. On the north side of Sackatoo there is a low marsh,
with some stagnant pools of water, between the city and the river:
this, perhaps, may be the cause of the great prevalence of ague,
as the city stands in a fine airy situation.
May 4.—I left Sackatoo, accompanied by one of the gadado’s
officers, named Dumbojee; and we travelled almost all night before we
came up with our servants, who had pitched our tents near Kamoon. At
daylight we moved on to the wells at Kamoon, where we halted to fill
our water skins; and at two in the afternoon, the escort arriving,
we proceeded on our journey, being also joined by four merchants
and their slaves. We took a new road, where no water is to be had,
to avoid the Tooias, as the rebels of Goobeer and Zamfra are called;
“tooia, tooia,” or “war, war,” being the national cry of
this people on entering into battle.
May 5.—We now pursued a footpath, through thick woods full of
briars, which tore our clothes; and, as I had neglected to put
on my boots, my legs were much lacerated. At midnight we passed
near to a kafila of the rebels, who were travelling between Zamfra
and Goobeer. This induced Moodie, the commander of our escort, to
continue our journey all night, in spite of my wishes to halt till
morning. “No, no; the tooias are near;” was his only reply to
my remonstrances; and, in fact, we often heard the sound of their
voices. When day dawned we discovered that we had mistaken the road
all night, and were actually within a short distance of Calawawa,
the capital of Goobeer, no one knowing the safest way to return. I
had observed, to my surprise, during the night, that we travelled in
a northerly direction; but never dreamed of interfering. Moodie now
consulted me on what was to be done, and I recommended our travelling
south-east. We accordingly set out as fast as the camels could be
driven through a thick underwood, by which my trowsers were all torn,
and my legs almost excoriated from the knees to the ancles.
In the afternoon the people on foot began to lag, and one or two
were allowed to ride on the camels; but this was soon given up,
as the applicants became too numerous to grant this indulgence
indiscriminately. A number of the poor natives on foot, who had taken
advantage of the escort to pass through this part of the country,
overcome with fatigue and thirst, sat down never to rise more. One
of my servants, a native of Kano, dropped down apparently dead,
after taking a draught of water, of which the negroes drink an
immense quantity. Indeed, I may safely say, they drink six times the
quantity that Europeans do. I had him lashed on a camel, the motion
of which brought him again to life; and, in half an hour’s time,
after vomiting a great quantity of bile, he was able to walk, and
soon appeared as fresh as ever. Before sunset we saw the high lands
over the lake Gondamee, and then bent our course to the eastward. At
sunset a female slave, belonging to Hadje Ali Boo Khaloom, calling
out that she saw two tooias, Moodie came up to me at full gallop,
and recommended me to exchange the camel on which I was riding for my
horse, and to have my firearms in readiness. Although scarcely able
to support myself from severe pain in my limbs, I placed myself,
however, at the head of the escort; but, fortunately for me, we
could see no enemies, otherwise my sorry plight would have left me
a very poor chance of success. At length, having reached a beaten
path leading eastward, we waited for the camels to come up. The water
skins being now all empty, and no one knowing exactly where we were,
but each travelling as fast as thirst and weariness would permit him,
I kept my people and camels together, and El Wordee, with two of the
Arab merchants, considered it safest for themselves not to leave me. A
fine Arab horse, belonging to Hadje Ali Boo Khaloom, died of fatigue.
May 6.—Thursday, at four in the morning, El Wordee falling ill,
and declaring he could travel no farther, I ordered a halt on his
account, but left the loads on the camels. Being separated from the
whole of the caravan, except one Arab merchant, I lay down by the
side of my horse, and my servants gave me a few small yellow plums
they had picked up, which relieved both my hunger and thirst. I
now slept soundly on the ground until daybreak, when we continued
our journey to the eastward, without following any regular track,
and soon came up with several stragglers from the caravan and
escort, who, overcome with fatigue, had lain down in the night,
and were now pursuing their way, most of them almost unable to
speak from excessive thirst. The horsemen were dismounted,—their
horses having either died, or being too weak to bear their riders,
who were driving them before them. At ten o’clock we fell in with
the road to Gondamee, and at noon halted on the south bank of the
river Futche. We found that very few had arrived there before us,
and, reposing ourselves under the shade of some trees, we despatched
some country people with water to our fellow travellers in the rear,
who continued to drop in one after another till sunset. At first we
ate and drank rather sparingly ourselves, and were also particularly
careful to prevent our cattle from injuring themselves by drinking
too much water at a time. Notwithstanding our distressed condition,
the Felatahs keep the fast of the Rhamadan so strictly, they would
not taste water till after sunset.
May 7.—On mustering the kafila at daylight, we found that nine
men and six horses had perished on the road. Of these, two were
Felatahs going to Mecca, who had come from Ginee, to the westward of
Timbuctoo; and a third was the husband of a woman now left destitute,
to whom I promised my protection as far as Kano. At noon I took leave
of Moodie and the escort, who wished to conduct me to Zirmee; but as
all danger was passed, I declined their friendly offer, and, making
them a present of a sheep and 40,000 cowries, we separated. At one in
the afternoon I arrived at Quari, and encamped outside the town, but
went and paid my respects to the governor, who complained grievously
of the privations which he suffered by keeping the Rhamadan, although
this was only the seventh day.
May 8.—At daylight I left Quari, and crossed a country intersected
by deep ravines. I halted under a large shady tree, during the
heat of the day, and, towards sunset, arrived at Zirmee, where I
was provided with good accommodation for myself and servants. The
governor had gone to reside in one of the small towns in his province
during the Rhamadan; but I was visited by his brother and the Imam,
who sent me a sheep and provisions, as well as by all the principal
people of the place.
May 9.—Warm and sultry. To-day I received a number of visitors of
both sexes.
May 10.—Zirmee, the capital of the province of Zamfra, occupies a
peninsula formed by the river, which has here very high and steep
banks, covered with mimosas and prickly bushes, through which a
narrow winding path leads to the gates of the town. It is surrounded
by a wall and dry ditch: the wall is of clay, from twenty to thirty
feet high. The governor, named Turnee, is considered a brave man,
but bears also the character of a perfect freebooter; and the
inhabitants altogether are reputed to be the greatest rogues in
Haussa. My servants were cautioned by Dumbojee not to quit the house
after sunset, as every black without a beard (to use their expression
for a young man) was liable to be seized, gagged, and carried off to
some of the neighbouring villages for sale. Runaway slaves, from all
parts of Haussa, fly to Zirmee as an asylum, where they are always
welcome; and the inhabitants in general have a remarkably reckless,
independent look. Three female slaves, belonging to Hadje Ali Boo
Khaloom, absconded here; preferring, naturally enough, liberty and
a husband, to slavery and a bad master.
May 11.—At sunrise we left Zirmee, and travelled over a well
cultivated country. During the heat of the day we again halted under
the shade of a tree, and encamped, towards evening, at a village
called Yakua, where Dumbojee wished me to lodge in one of the houses,
alleging the risk of being robbed, or even murdered, out of doors;
but as a number of other people halted outside the village, I merely
pointed to them in ridicule of his timid suggestions.
May 12.—At daybreak we left Yakua without having experienced
the smallest molestation. Our road, in the early part of the day,
lay through a forest of low stunted trees, among which I remarked a
great number of wild mangoes. The soil was clay, mixed with large
round pebbles of yellow quartz, and in the ravines there was mica
slate. After travelling for some time on gravelly heights, I halted
at Roma, where the soil is a black mould over strong clay, large
blocks of siennite running in high ridges from north-north-east to
south-south-west. There was abundance of limpid water, and on all
sides were seen fruit trees, well cultivated fields, and numerous
hamlets and towns. Being market day, the road was crowded with
people: some of whom were driving before them as fine bullocks as
I have ever seen in any country. One man usually went in front,
leading the animal with a rope round its horns, which were dyed with
henna, and two or three others followed behind with a rope fastened
to the legs. Near the channel of one of the little streams winding
among the crags of siennite, I saw five or six plantain trees growing
wild. These were the first I had seen in the country; and, on inquiry,
the inhabitants told me, that this plant did not bear fruit nearer
than Zeg Zeg. The plantains I had from the sultan at Sackatoo were
brought from Nyffee. In the afternoon we resumed our journey. The
country was open and well cultivated; but the road still winding,
and choked up with thorns. At sunset we halted at a large village
called Yanduka, the governor of which, having heard I had come from
Bello, would not allow me to take up my quarters outside the village,
but insisted that I should occupy a house he had provided for me,
where I was liberally supplied with provisions.
May 13.—At sunrise we left Yanduka, about two miles beyond which
the country became very woody, and rested at noon under the shade of
a large tamarind tree, on the banks of a rainy-season stream, which
we had already crossed four times since morning. The kuka tree,
towering over all the other trees of the forest, grew out of the
interstices of the naked rocks, among which the river slowly wound
in beautiful meanders. The water procured from pits made in the bed
of the river was of a blackish colour, and had a disagreeable smell,
seemingly as if strongly impregnated with trona. In the afternoon we
continued our route, and on ascending a rising ground we descried
the minarets of the mosque of Kashna: the country was still very
partially cleared of wood. Having sent El Wordee and Dumbojee before
me to prepare lodgings, I did not arrive at Kashna till after sunset,
when the gates were shut; but on hailing the sentinel, and telling
him who I was, he requested me to go round to a little wicket,
which I found open. I went immediately to Hadje Ahmet Ben Massoud,
who took me to the house provided for me, where I was well supplied
with provisions; but the house itself was in wretched repair, full
of ants and rats, and, I verily believe, had not been inhabited
since the Felatah conquest.
May 14.—After a sleepless night I sent for Dumbojee, desired one
of my servants to show him the house, and asked him if this was the
gadado’s. He informed me it was intended I should be lodged in
the house of Voikin Serkis, a friend of the sultan, but El Wordee
had told him I preferred staying with the Arabs. I desired him to
go immediately to the house of Voikin Serkis, and tell him I was
coming. When Hadje Ahmet and El Wordee heard of this message, they
came to me in great fright, and entreated I would go with them and
choose whatever house I pleased. Not wishing to be troublesome, I
accompanied them after breakfast. I was shown through several houses,
and fixed on one conveniently situate for astronomical observations:
the adjoining court-yard was occupied by the freed female slaves of
old Hadje Ahmet. I was ill all day, although this did not prevent me
from being tormented with the visits of almost all the principal
inhabitants. Fortunately the governor was out of town, but he
was polite enough to send me an invitation to his country-house,
where he secludes himself during the Rhamadan. Among the Arabs he
has the character of being very avaricious, and as I was rather at
a loss for a present to offer him, I thought it better to decline
the visit, notwithstanding the importunity of Hadje Ahmet with me
to see him. Hadje Ahmet, the chief of all the Arabs, had resided
there for the last thirty years; and although it was the Rhamadan,
he ran about with great alacrity, in the heat of the sun, to procure
me salt and tar for the camels, and other little necessaries for my
own use. But his liberality was unbounded: he even permitted me to
visit his seraglio, and told me to pick and choose for myself among,
at least, fifty black girls. I took notice that his countrymen would
find fault with him for giving up a Mahometan female to a Kafir:
“No, no; you must have one.” “Well, as I am sick, and want a
nurse, I will take this woman,” pointing to an elderly slave. “You
have done right,” said the Hadje; “she is an experienced woman,
and a good cook; she has seen the world; she has been in Fezzan.”
This was the first offer of the kind I had ever received from a
Moslem; and along with the old woman, two young females were sent
to assist her. During my sickness, I never before had the benefit
of female nurses, and by their care and attention I soon recovered
my health and strength.
May 15.—Cool and cloudy. I was waited upon, a little after daylight,
by Hadje Ahmet, who told me, with an air of mysterious confidence,
that he had a stone of very great value to show me, and wished my
opinion respecting it. “Well, father pilgrim, show it to me, and
I will tell you its value.” His servant now brought in a leathern
bag, from which his master took a bundle of rags; and unrolling them
carefully, one after the other, he began to make the most ludicrous
faces of mock ecstasy. At last the gem appeared, which he held
up with a cry of rapture:—“Look there! what will you give for
it?” It was a piece of rock crystal, about two inches in length,
and three-fourths of an inch in diameter. Assuming a countenance of
corresponding gravity, I affected to muse for a short time in silent
astonishment, and then drawled out, “A dollar.” The mortified
Hadje would not satisfy my curiosity about where it came from, but
in hazarding a conjecture that it was obtained in Yacoba, I fancied
he betrayed by his manner that I had hit upon the spot. Although
I wished to have the crystal, I was afraid to make another offer,
lest, supposing it to be of inestimable price, he might suspect I
wished to take an unfair advantage of him; and he again wrapped it
up, with like care and solemnity.
May 16.—Clear and warm. In the afternoon we had much rain, with
thunder and lightning.
Kashna is in lat. 12° 59′ N. by merid. alt. of Antares. According
to Hadje Ahmet, it was called Sangras about a century ago, and
afterwards Geshna, from the small underwood of that name growing
on the ridge whereon the town is built, and which is one of many
long ridges that run from north-east to south-west. The walls are of
clay, and very extensive; but, as at Kano, the houses do not occupy
above one-tenth of the space within them: the rest is laid out in
fields, or covered with wood. The governor’s residence resembles
a large village, and is about half a mile to the east of all the
other buildings. On account of the Rhamadan, I was exempted from
the ceremony of paying him a visit: his name is Omar Delogie. The
fruits here are figs, melons, pomegranates, and limes. Grapes are
said to have been plentiful in former times, but at the Felatah
conquest the vines were cut down. The houses are mostly in ruins,
the principal commerce of the country being carried on at Kano since
the Felatah conquest; nevertheless, there is still a considerable
trade. There are two daily markets, in different parts of the town,
one to the south, the other to the north. The southern market is
chiefly attended by merchants of Ghadamis and Tuat; that to the north
by Tuaricks. The Ghadamis and Tuat merchants bring unwrought silk,
cotton and woollen cloths, beads, and a little cochineal, which they
sell for cowries. These are sent to their agents at Kano, to purchase
blue tobes and turkadees, which are conveyed across the country
to supply the fair of Ghraat; and whatever they do not dispose of
there to the Tuaricks, they send to Timbuctoo in exchange for civet,
gold and slaves. The manufactures of Kashna are chiefly of leather;
such as water-skins, red or yellow cushions, and bridles of goat
skin, &c. Tanned bullocks’ hides, also, are frequently carried to
Fezzan and Tripoli. They prepare very good dried beef, with which
the Arab merchants usually provide themselves before crossing the
desert. Kashna is a favourite resort of the Tuaricks who frequent
Soudan during the dry months. The merchants of Ghadamis and Tuat never
keep camels of their own, but hire them from this singular people,
who carry their goods across the desert to Kashna, at the rate of ten
dollars a load, and likewise convey slaves at twenty-five dollars a
head, finding them in every thing. With this revenue, and the produce
of the salt they bring with them, the Tuaricks buy grain and other
necessaries here to serve them during their sojourn in the desert.
May 17.—At sunrise I left Kashna by the gate Koura, on the south
side of the town. I was accompanied so great a distance by Hadje
Ahmet, that I was obliged to entreat him to return; reminding him
it was the Rhamadan, and that riding in the heat of the sun, without
being permitted to quench his thirst, was too severe a trial of any
one’s faith. In the immediate neighbourhood of Kashna, the country
is covered with brushwood and low stunted trees; but we soon entered a
well cultivated district. The road too was good. We rested during the
heat of the day under a tree, at a cluster of villages called Miwa,
near the bed of a rainy-season stream. We afterwards passed the
ruins of a number of towns and villages, which had been destroyed
by the rebel Duntungua. At sunset we encamped for the night near
some villages called Eatowa, where a little girl came to me and told
me to look well after my baggage, as there were eight thieves in a
house which she pointed out, who, she said, plundered all around them.
May 18.—At sunrise we left Eatowa, without sustaining any loss. The
country appeared well cultivated, and the soil rich; and in the
course of an hour, we passed the walled town of Sabon Gree, the walls
of which were in bad repair, and the inhabitants few in number. At
noon we halted under a tree near to a village called Burderowa. We
were here joined by a merchant of Sockna, who left Kashna the day
after us. El Wordee having lost some civet and gold, to the value
of thirty-one dollars, suspected his servant of the theft, who,
in consequence of a guinea-worm in his foot, was allowed to ride
on his master’s camel; but he strenuously denied all knowledge of
the matter, and called on God and the Prophet to judge between him
and his master. El Wordee had searched all his baggage at Kashna,
without discovering the slightest traces of the stolen property,
and was now deploring his loss to the merchant who joined us,
whose Arab servant overhearing him, asked him if he had examined
the saddle of his camel. El Wordee replied in the negative, when
the Arab swore by the Prophet, that the stolen goods were there,
for his servant had without orders repaired the saddle at Kashna;
which being immediately ripped open, the civet was found. Seated
at a little distance under the shade of a tree, I had an excellent
opportunity of watching the countenance of the accused, who gazed
eagerly at the novel search. The moment the first box was found, he
turned round with his back to the party, and throwing himself on the
ground, concealed his face in the earth. All the civet was recovered,
but none of the gold, the thief continuing to exclaim to his master:
“God judge between you and me, I am innocent.” I called out to
El Wordee to compel him at once to produce the gold; for he could no
longer travel in my kafila, as, not content with exculpating himself,
he had basely accused one of my own servants of the theft. El Wordee
appeared very reluctant to criminate his servant, until I insisted
on it. He then proposed the following mode of detection, which is
commonly practised among Arabs. The names of each person belonging
to the kafila are written on separate pieces of paper, and put into
an empty water-skin. Each person in turn is then required to blow
until he inflates the skin, which they feign every one but the thief
can readily do. When all was prepared with much imposing formality,
the culprit called to his master, to say he need not proceed farther,
and instantly delivered up the gold, which was secreted about his
person. I asked El Wordee what he intended to do with him? He said he
would discharge him at Kano. “Do you not intend to punish him?”
“No; although he deserves it. It will not do: the man may do me
a mischief;” and he spoke and behaved to him afterwards just as
if nothing had happened. This is the uniform custom of all Arabs:
however great a vagabond a man may be, he is treated with the same
civility as if there was nothing to impeach his character. From this
indiscriminate complaisance I must except the servants of the bashaw
of Tripoli, who are in the habit of using notorious scoundrels with
very little ceremony.
After we had finished this affair, we left Burderawa, and travelled
through a fine well cultivated country. To-day we passed a great
many kafilas of Tuaricks and merchants of Ghadamis, who were leaving
Soudan before the rains. At five in the afternoon, we encamped among
high ledges of rock, near a little town called Kaffondingee. There
was a number of other towns close to it, with fine shady trees in the
valleys, among which I saw several trees described in Mungo Park’s
Travels, under the name of Nutta, but here called Doura by the
natives. This tree grows to a greater height than our apple-tree, is
proportionably longer in the trunk, but does not spread its branches
so widely: at present it was the season for gathering the fruit. The
beans of the nutta are roasted as we roast coffee, then bruised,
and allowed to ferment in water. When they begin to become putrid,
they are washed particularly clean, and pounded into powder, which
is made into cakes somewhat in the fashion of our chocolate. These,
notwithstanding they retain a disagreeable smell, form an excellent
sauce for all kinds of food. The farinaceous matter in which the
bean is imbedded is also made into a very pleasant drink; but they
say if drunk often, it causes indigestion and enlargement of the
spleen. They also make it into a sweetmeat, resembling what is
called by the children in England “lollypops.” The nutta tree,
as well as the micadania or butter tree, is always allowed to remain
on clearing the ground. The micadania was not ripe when I saw it;
but the fruit was exactly like a peach in shape, only a little more
pointed at the end. When ripe, the outer pulpy part is eaten, and
the kernels, previously well bruised, are boiled in water, when the
fat rising to the surface, is skimmed off. It is not used in food,
but only to burn in lamps, and has the appearance of dirty lard.
May 19.—The merchant, who joined us yesterday, was quite outrageous
this morning about a basket of glass armlets which a Tuarick had
stolen from under his head while he slept. I certainly gave the thief
credit for his adroitness, and could not help being somewhat amused
at the merchant’s distress. He entreated me to stop for a day,
to give him time to overtake the kafila of Tuaricks which had gone
northward; but this was out of the question. At six in the morning
we left Kaffondingee, the merchant remaining in our company, as
he was afraid to leave me. We travelled through a country that had
formerly been cleared, but was now again overgrown with large trees,
the soil being a strong black vegetable mould. We passed the ruins
of several walled towns, and halted, during the heat of the day,
under some shady trees growing amongst the ruins of one of them,
called Sofa. The country afterwards became woody, and was said to be
much infested by Duntungua’s rebel followers. We afterwards arrived
at Duncamee; but from the lateness of the hour I did not enter the
town, remaining all night in the open air, without pitching my tent.
May 20.—At sunrise I found I had caught a severe cold, from
last night’s exposure to a strong north-east wind. The road was
winding and woody, and I halted during the heat of the day outside
the walled town of Faniroa. My old friend the governor being absent
on an expedition, I rested under the shade of a tamarind-tree, on
account of its coolness and the fine air around me. We afterwards
passed the night at Gadania.
May 21.—To-day we had much thunder and lightning, and took up our
quarters for the night outside the town of Taffo.
May 22.—I sent a horseman off at daylight, for the purpose of
acquainting Hadje Hat Salah and the governor of Kano of my return,
as I anxiously expected news from Bornou and Tripoli. Meanwhile I
rested under the shade of a tree, until a messenger met me with two
letters,—one from Major Denham, sealed with black wax, apprising
me of the melancholy fate of young Toole, who dauntlessly crossed
the desert, with only a guide, to join Major Denham at Kouka. Near
sunset I entered Kano, and immediately proceeded to the house of
Hadje Hat Salah my agent, who appeared as glad to see me as if I had
been his own son. Although it was the Rhamadan, he had a sheep killed
to give me a feast; and pressed me to sit down to table the moment
I came in. It was indeed a severe punishment for him to be a mere
spectator on this occasion, but he turned it off jocularly, calling
out, “Abdullah, eat; for you are a hungry Kafir.” I found that,
during my absence, only one kafila had arrived from Bornou,—the
same which had brought me the letters, along with three bottles
of port wine, and some gunpowder, from Major Denham. Hat Salah,
among other news, mentioned that old Jacob, my servant, had been in
great distress for my safety during my absence; and that a female
slave of El Wordee’s, who was much attached to him, had lost her
reason on hearing we were gone to Youri, and in this unhappy state,
having thrown herself into a well, she had broken one of her arms.
May 23.—Cool and cloudy. I was visited by all the principal Arabs
who were in Kano; amongst the rest old Hadje Boo Zaied, who has
ever been our stanch friend, and was a very worthy man. He begged,
with great earnestness, that I would not acquaint the sheikh of
Bornou or the bashaw of Tripoli of Bello’s behaviour to Hadje
Ali at Sackatoo. For Boo Zaied’s sake, I promised to screen him,
unless questions were expressly put to me concerning his conduct,
when I must speak the truth; for he had behaved to me both like a
fool and a knave.
May 25.—To-day I paid up my servants’ wages, at the rate of four
dollars a month, but reduced them in future one half; notwithstanding
which, they were all glad to remain in my service.
May 26.—I waited on the governor, who received me with marked
kindness, and inquired particularly after the health of the sultan
and of the gadado, and how I had fared in crossing the Gondamee,
the river between Futche and Sackatoo.
May 30.—Clear and sultry. I was earnestly solicited by the people
to refer to my books, and to ascertain if the new moon would be seen
to-day; which much longed-for event, I assured them, would take place
after sunset, if the evening was clear. This anxiety was occasioned
by the fast of the Rhamadan, then terminating, and the Aid, or great
feast, immediately commencing. The evening turning out cloudy, all
were in low spirits; but at midnight a horseman arrived express to
acquaint the governor that the new moon had been visible.
May 31.—After the arrival of the horseman, nothing was heard
but the firing of musketry and shouts of rejoicing.—Paying and
receiving visits now became a serious occupation. In the morning,
accompanied by Hat Salah, I went on horseback to pay my respects
to the governor. I accepted his invitation to ride out with him,
according to their annual custom; and we proceeded to an open space
within the city walls, amid skirmishing and firing of muskets,
attended by his people on horseback, and the Arabs and principal
townsfolk dressed in their gayest raiments,—all who could possibly
muster a horse for the occasion being mounted. The most conspicuous
person in the whole procession was a man on horseback in quilted
armour, who rode before the governor bearing a two-handed sword. On
reaching the plain, the governor made a speech to the people,
declaring his intention to attack Duntungua, when he expected every
man to exert his utmost prowess. Their sons too should not, as in
times past, be left behind, but would accompany them to the war,
and learn to fight the battles of their country under the eyes of
their parents. Afterwards we rode home in the same order. All work
was laid aside for three days. Men, women, and children, in their
finest clothes, paraded through the town; a number of slaves were
also set free, according to the custom of Mahometans at this holy
season. The owner of my house freed fifteen.
June 1.—I visited the governor, to take leave. He was very kind,
and after inquiring if I should ever return, begged me to remember
him to his friend the sheikh El Kanemy, and expressed his hope I would
give a favourable account of the people I had visited. I assured him,
as to the last particular, I could not do otherwise, as I had every
where experienced the greatest civility. He then repeated the Fatha,
and I bade him farewell.
June 3.—At ten in the morning I left Kano, and was accompanied some
miles by Hadje Hat Salah and all my friends on horseback. Before Hat
Salah left me, he called all my servants before him, and told them
he trusted they would behave well and faithfully; for, as they had
seen, I was the servant of a great king, the friend of the bashaw of
Tripoli, and had been passed from one sultan to another; consequently
any misbehaviour of theirs, on a complaint from me, would be severely
punished. We only travelled a short way before halting, for the heat
of the day, under a shady tree. In the afternoon we again set forward,
and at sunset encamped outside the town of Duakee.
June 4.—This morning we passed through the walled town of Sockwa,
which is now reduced to a few huts inhabited by slaves; and halting
for the heat of the day under a tamarind tree, we pitched our tents
at sunset under the walls of Girkwa, not far from the banks of the
river. The people were dancing in honour of the Aid. The dance was
performed by men armed with sticks, who springing alternately from
one foot to the other, while dancing round in a ring, frequently
flourished their sticks in the air, or clashed them together with a
loud noise. Sometimes a dancer jumped out of the circle, and spinning
round on his heel for several minutes, made his stick whirl above
his head at the same time with equal rapidity; he would then rejoin
the dance. In the centre of the ring there were two drummers, the
drums standing on the ground. They were made of a hollow block of
wood about three feet high, with a skin drawn tensely over the top
by means of braces. A great concourse of natives were assembled to
witness the exhibition.
June 5.—Morning cloudy. At six in the morning we left Girkwa, and
reposing ourselves during the heat of the day under some tamarind
trees among the villages of Nansarina, we encamped at sunset in the
woods. The inhabitants were now very busy in the fields planting
grain. Their mode of planting it is very simple. A man with a hoe
scrapes up a little mould at regular intervals, and is followed by a
woman carrying the seed, of which she throws a few grains into each
hole, and treads down the mould over them with her feet.
June 6.—At noon we halted in the town of Sangeia, the governor of
which was at Kano; so I fortunately escaped the pain of hearing his
squeaking voice. We encamped for the night in the woods.
June 7.—At one in the afternoon we halted outside the town of
Katungwa. At sunset two horsemen arrived at full gallop, with the
news of the governor of Kano having taken a town, at a very short
distance to the north, from the rebel Duntungua.
June 8.—Every where the inhabitants were busily employed clearing
the ground, and burning the weeds and stubble, preparatory to sowing
grain. We sheltered ourselves from the mid-day heat under the shade
of a tamarind tree, in the province of Sherra, and halted for the
night outside the town of Boosuea. A son of the governor of Sherra
was here, attended by a number of horsemen, and a band of music. He
drank coffee with me, and I was in turn regaled with music the
greater part of the night. The instruments were chiefly flutes and
long wooden pipes, called by the natives frum-frum.
June 9.—At sunset we arrived at the town of Dugwa.
June 10.—At daybreak we left Dugwa, and travelled through a thickly
wooded country. It rained all day, and we also had some thunder and
lightning. At seven in the evening we arrived at Murmur. I heard,
at Kano, that a kafila of Arabs, belonging to Augela, had destroyed
the clay wall around Dr. Oudney’s grave, and made a fire over it,
telling the inhabitants he was a Kafir. This report, to my great
regret, I found to be true.
June 11.—At sunrise I sent for the governor, to inquire who had
committed the outrage, when he protested it was the Arabs, and not
the people of the town. I felt so indignant at this wanton act of
barbarity, I could not refrain from applying my horsewhip across the
governor’s shoulders, and threatened to report him to his superior,
the governor of Katagum, and also to despatch a letter on the subject
to the sultan, unless the wall was immediately rebuilt: which,
with slavish submission, he promised faithfully to see done without
delay. During my halt at noon, near Katagum, I sent Dumbojee forward
to inform Duncawa, the governor, of my return. In the afternoon I
heard that he was on his way to meet me; and I had scarcely left my
resting-place before he made his appearance, attended by about thirty
horsemen, who, when they saw me, came up at full gallop, brandishing
their spears. I presented the governor with a hundred Goora nuts,
every one of which he distributed amongst his people. He gave me many
very hearty welcomes, and made numerous inquiries about Bello, and
his behaviour to me. He and his people now galloped into the town,
yelling and skirmishing; and although the governor had been sick
for some time past, he appeared as lively and cheerful as any of
them. On entering Katagum I was lodged in my old quarters, and was
immediately visited by my old friend Hameda, the Tripoline merchant,
who was still here. I invited him to accompany me to Tripoli,
as the late Dr. Oudney had advised him; but he excused himself,
on the plea of being unable to collect his outstanding debts from
his numerous creditors, who were scattered all over the country.
June 12.—Warm and sultry. Duncawa remained with me all day,
and informed me, that he had the sultan’s orders to conduct me
to Kouka, in Bornou. This mark of respect I positively declined,
both on account of his recent illness, and also lest his presence
might give umbrage to the sheikh; but agreed to accept from him an
escort through the Bede territory. I assured him, when once in Bornou,
that I felt myself as safe as in his house. If he insisted, however,
on somebody accompanying me, he might, if he pleased, send one of his
principal people. I made a formal complaint of the insult committed
to Dr. Oudney’s grave,—enforcing, in the strongest terms, the
disgrace of disturbing the ashes of the dead, whose immortal part
was now beyond the power of malignant man. He frankly acknowledged
the enormity of the act, and faithfully promised to have the wall
rebuilt,—even offering to send for the governor of Murmur, and have
him punished; but, at the same time, begging me not to acquaint the
sultan of the occurrence. I expressed my reliance on his assurances,
but apprised him I must inform the gadado of the affair. I afterwards
spent the evening with Hameda.
June 13.—There was a fresh breeze in the morning; but it afterwards
began to rain. Duncawa being laid up from lameness, I had a day’s
rest, and again spent the evening with Hameda. The conversation
turning on the trustworthiness of slaves, he mentioned to me, that
his servants never knew in what apartment of his house he slept;
and that he even lay with a dagger, and loaded pistols, under his
pillow, lest he should be murdered by his female slaves. He also
acquainted me, that almost all the Arabs did the same; for it was
chiefly females whom they had reason to fear, the master being often
strangled at night by the women of his household.
June 14.—Duncawa visited me again, and made me a present of two
tobes, two sheep, and a large quantity of Guinea corn, and gave a
tobe to each of my servants. I presented him with six hundred Goora
nuts, having brought a large supply of them from Kano.
June 15.—I had every thing prepared for continuing my journey,
but Duncawa pressed me to spend another day with him, and I availed
myself of the delay to write to Bello and the gadado. I returned
my humble thanks to the former for his protection and favour while
I sojourned in his territories; and, in acknowledging the uniform
kindness of the latter, I did not fail to acquaint him of the outrage
committed on Dr. Oudney’s grave. I delivered these letters to the
charge of Dumbojee, who, having fulfilled his orders, took leave of
me here, having first made him a present of a couple of tobes and
forty dollars. My guide, Mahomed Dumbojee, had now become rich and
gay, having a numerous train of attendants; for at every town where
we halted, the governor was bound in courtesy to make him a present,
in token of respect for the sultan.
Having sent my camels forward, I went to bid farewell to Duncawa,
who was still confined to his house by illness. He made me breakfast
with him. Our breakfast consisted of a sheep’s head, singed in the
same manner as is practised in Scotland—a sheep’s fry—and bread
and milk. I was accompanied across the Yeou by my friend Hameda,
and Duncawa’s horsemen, who all wished to be allowed to attend
me to Sansan; but I excused myself from this guard of honour, at
once troublesome and expensive, by pretending it was unlucky to go
beyond the banks of a river with a friend. Attended only by one of
Duncawa’s principal men, I passed the thick woods on the bank of the
river, and, halting under a tamarind tree during the heat of the day,
I encamped towards evening at a village called Mica. The inhabitants
were all very busy in the fields sowing gussub. They brought me,
however, an abundant supply of milk, and repeated inquiries were made
after Bello’s health; for although they recently belonged to Bornou,
of which country they are natives, they entertain, nevertheless,
a great respect for their new sultan.
June 17.—I started at daylight, and, as the weather was cloudy
and rather windy, I did not halt before reaching Sansan. I was here
provided with very indifferent accommodation; but, on threatening
I would encamp outside the town, the governor received me into
his own house, according to Duncawa’s orders, and also made me
a present of a sheep. At night there was a violent storm, with
thunder and lightning. The poor lad Joseph, who had been hired at
Kouka by the late Dr. Oudney to tend the camels, was out all night
with them. Being a native of Fezzan, and half an idiot, he was here
considered a holy man, and I still retained him in my service out
of charity. It was he who gave me an account of the people of Bede,
as he had been a slave among them; and related his story with such
artless simplicity, that I implicitly rely on its correctness.
June 18.—Cool and cloudy. I heard to-day of a courier being delayed
on his route, by his camel’s being knocked up; and as Duncawa was
also preparing a present for the sheikh El Kanemy, I postponed my
departure yet another day.
June 19.—At eleven in the forenoon the courier arrived, bringing
a sabre as a present for the sultan Bello, and letters from Major
Denham, the consul at Tripoli, and the secretary of state. Accordingly
at mid-day I set off on my return to Katagum, in order to have the
sword forwarded to Bello by Duncawa.
At ten in the morning I entered Katagum, and immediately waited on
Duncawa to acquaint him with the cause of my return. I showed him
the sword, and explaining to him the manner of attaching the belt,
he expressed himself in terms of the highest admiration of both sheath
and sabre; and looking again and again at the ornaments, he frequently
asked, “Is not this all gold?” He sent instantly for the cadi,
who wrote a letter in my name to Bello, and a courier was despatched
with it and the sword. In the evening, another thunder-storm, with
much rain.
June 21.—At one in the afternoon I arrived again at Sansan.
June 22.—Clear and sultry. I was further detained on account of
the present for the sheikh not being ready.
June 23.—Morning cloudy. At seven in the morning I left Sansan,
attended by part of the escort which was to conduct me through the
Bede territory, and was obliged to stop about noon at the village of
Girkwa, by a violent attack of ague and bilious vomiting. Previous
to starting, I was joined by two merchants of Tripoli, who had
been at Kano, and begged to be allowed to place themselves under my
protection during this perilous part of the journey. In the afternoon
Hadje Fudor, the governor of Sansan, arrived with the remainder of
the escort, and also brought me a sheep, more in the expectation,
I think, of receiving some Goora nuts in return, than from any regard
for me. At midnight more rain, thunder, and lightning.
June 24.—Cool and cloudy. At ten in the morning halted at the
village of Boorum, to fill our water-skins, and afterwards travelled
through a thick wood, where we saw a number of karigums and elephants:
the karigum is a species of antelope, of the largest size, as high as
a full grown mule. At sunset we pitched our tents in the woods. The
night was extremely boisterous, with rain, thunder and lightning,
and violent squalls of wind; and my tent being blown down, the
baggage was drenched with water.
June 25.—Next morning we continued our route through a thick wood,
and halted at Joba during the heat of the day, when I had my baggage
dried in the sun. We still travelled through a thick wood, and at
seven in the evening encamped at a village called Gorbua. Rain,
thunder, and lightning, all night.
June 26.—Cloudy, with rain. At ten in the morning I left Gorbua,
or “the strong town,” as it is ironically called in the Bornouese
language, from being enclosed with matting. Our road, still winding
and woody, led through the Bede territory; and at sunset we reached
Guba, a small town on the south bank of the Yeou, within the dominions
of Bornou.
June 27.—The forenoon was rainy, which obliged us to remain at Guba
till one in the afternoon; when the weather clearing up, we loaded the
camels, and crossing to the north bank of the channel of the river,
which was now dry, we travelled east by south to the town of Muznee,
where we halted for the night.
June 28.—Cloudy, with rain. We travelled eastward along a crooked
path, full of holes, and overgrown with brushwood, and took up our
abode for the night at the town of Redwa. An officer of the sultan of
Bornou was here, collecting his master’s dues, and sent me milk,
onions, and six fowls; and I presented him, in return, with fifteen
Goora nuts.
June 29.—After travelling east by north, we halted at noon at
Kukabonee, or “wood and fish,” a large town on the south bank of
the Yeou. We next passed Magawin, and a number of other villages and
towns on the banks of the river, which we had not visited before,
when we accompanied the sheikh last year.
June 30.—Cool and cloudy. We halted at ten in the morning at
Dungamee, in consequence of heavy rain with thunder and lightning,
which continued without intermission all day.
July 1.—Clear. The weather was hot and sultry. At sunset we arrived
at Mugabee. I shot at a hippopotamus which was swimming in a lake,
of which there are many in this part of the country; I seemed to
hit it, but it quickly disappeared.
July 2.—Stopped for the day to allow the camels to have food
and rest.
July 3.—Between Gateramaran and Mugabee we met Malam Fanamee, the
governor of Munga, who had been to Kouka on a visit to the sheikh. He
was a dirty looking old man, preceded by a drummer beating a drum,
and attended by a parcel of ragged followers, armed with bows and
spears. We encamped at night in a wood.
July 4.—At mid-day we halted on the banks of the Yeou: in the
afternoon there was thunder, lightning, and rain. A dealer in fish,
who had joined our party, solicited me in vain to pursue a route
through a town named Sucko, where he was going, promising me a sheep,
with plenty of milk, as an inducement. We passed another night in
the woods.
July 5.—Clear and cool. At ten in the morning we halted and filled
our water-skins, and I here shot a hare and two Guinea-fowls. About
an hour after starting we had heavy squalls of wind, with thunder and
rain: the storm was so violent that the camels lay down with their
burdens, and my horse would neither move forward, nor face the storm
in spite of all I could do. It was an hour before we were able to
resume our journey, and at eight in the evening we encamped in the
woods. The dangers of the road being past, my two fellow travellers,
the merchants before mentioned, left me at midnight on account of
the want of water.
July 6.—To-day I shot a fine male mohur, or beautiful red and white
antelope; a female only of which species I had once shot at Woodie. At
noon we took shelter under the walls of Borgee from heavy squalls of
wind and sand, but without rain. At sunset we encamped near a well
where there had been a great fall of rain, and all the hollows were
filled with water. To roast our mohur a large fire was kindled in a
hole made in the sand, on which it was placed, and then covered over
with hot embers; but, in the morning, to our great disappointment,
nothing remained of our prize but the naked skeleton.
July 7.—At noon we halted at the wells of Barta, and encamped at
night at the wells and town of Calawawa.
July 8.—At eight in the morning I returned to Kouka: Major Denham
was absent on a journey round the east side of the Tchad. Hillman,
the naval carpenter, was busily employed in finishing a covered cart,
to be used as a carriage or conveyance for the sheikh’s wives:
the workmanship, considering his materials, reflected the greatest
credit on his ingenuity; the wheels were hooped with iron, and it
was extremely strong, though neither light nor handsome.
July 9.—In the afternoon I waited on the sheikh, who was very
kind in his inquiries after my health, and expressed much regret at
Dr. Oudney’s death.
July 10.—To-day the sheikh sent me three pairs of slippers, two
loaves of sugar, and a supply of coffee; and two days afterwards a
sheep, two bags of wheat, and a jar of honey.
=APPENDIX.=
TRANSLATIONS FROM THE ARABIC, OF VARIOUS LETTERS AND
DOCUMENTS, BROUGHT FROM BORNOU AND SOUDAN BY
MAJOR DENHAM AND CAPTAIN CLAPPERTON.
BY A. SALAME, ESQUIRE.
* * * * *
No. I.
_Translation of a Letter from the Sheikh Mohammed El Kanemy, Chieftain
of Bornou, in the Interior of Africa, to his Most Excellent Majesty
King George the Fourth. Brought by Major Denham._
“Praise be to God, and blessings and peace be unto the Apostle of
God (Mohammed). From the servant of the High God, Mohammed El Ameen
ben Mohammed El Kanemy,
“To the pre-eminent above his equals, and the respected among
his inferiors, the great King of the English, salutation be to him
from us:
“Whereas your messengers, the travellers through the earth, for
the purpose, as they state, of seeing and knowing its marvellous
things, have come to us, we welcomed them, and paid attention to
their arrival, in consequence of what we heard of your intercourse
with the Mùslemeen, and the establishment of your friendly relations
between you and their kings, since the time of your and their fathers
and grandfathers (ancestors).
“We have thus regarded that friendship, and behaved to them
according to its merits, as much as God the Omnipotent enabled
us. They communicated your compliments to us, and that which you
stated in your letter, that you would not object, if we should be
in want of any thing from your country, was made known to us; and
we felt thankful to you for this (offer) on your part.
“They are now returning to you, after having accomplished their
wishes; but one of them, whose period of life was ended, died. This
was the physician; and an excellent and wise man he was.
“The Rayes Khaleel (travelling name of Major Denham) desired of
us permission, that merchants seeking for elephant-teeth, ostrich
feathers, and other such things, that are not to be found in the
country of the English, might come among us. We told him that our
country, as he himself has known and seen its state, does not suit
any heavy (rich) traveller, who may possess great wealth. But if a few
light persons (small capitalists), as four or five only, with little
merchandize, would come, there will be no harm. This is the utmost
that we can give him permission for; and more than this number must
not come. If you should wish to send any one from your part to this
country again, it would be best to send Rayes Khaleel; for he knows
the people and the country, and became as one of the inhabitants.
“The few things that we are in want of are noted down in a separate
paper, which we forward to you.
“Write to the consul at Tripoli, and to that at Cairo, desiring
them, if any of our servants or people should go to them for any
affair, either on land or at sea, to assist them, and do for them
according to their desire. And peace be with you.
“Dated on the evening of Saturday, the middle of the month Fledja,
1239 of Hejra (corresponding to August 1824).
“Sealed. The will of God be done, and in God hath his faith,
his slave Mohammed El Ameen ben Mohammed El Kanemy.”
* * * * *
No. II.
_Translation of a Letter from an African Chieftain (Bello) of Soudan,
to his Majesty King George the Fourth. Brought by Mr. Clapperton._
“In the name of God, the merciful and the clement. May God bless our
favourite Prophet Mohammed, and those who follow his sound doctrine.
“To the head of the Christian nation, the honoured and the beloved
among the English people, George the Fourth, King of Great Britain;
“Praise be to God, who inspires, and peace be unto those who follow,
the right path:
“Your Majesty’s servant, Ra-yes-Abd-Allah, (Mr. Clapperton’s
travelling name,) came to us, and we found him a very intelligent
and wise man; representing in every respect your greatness, wisdom,
dignity, clemency, and penetration.
“When the time of his departure came, he requested us to form
a friendly relation, and correspond with you, and to prohibit
the exportation of slaves by our merchants to Ata-gher, Dahomi,
and Ashantee. We agreed with him upon this, on account of the good
which will result from it, both to you and to us; and that a vessel
of yours is to come to the harbour of Racka with two cannons, and
the quantities of powder, shot, &c. which they require; as also,
a number of muskets. We will then send our officer to arrange and
settle every thing with your consul, and fix a certain period for
the arrival of your merchant ships; and when they come, they may
traffic and deal with our merchants.
“Then after their return, the consul may reside in that harbour
(viz. Racka), as protector, in company with our agent there, if God
be pleased.”
“Dated 1st of Rhamadan, 1239 of Hejra.” 18th April, 1824.
* * * * *
No. III.
_A Letter from Yousuf, Pasha of Tripoli, to the Sheikh of Bornou._
“Praise be to God, and prayers be unto him who was the last of
the Prophets (Mohammed).
“To the learned and accomplished, the virtuous Iman, the jealous
and zealous defender of the Mohammedan faith, our true friend the
Sheikh Mohammed El Kanemy, Lord of the country of Barnooh[66],
and its dependencies, whom may God protect and dignify, and prolong
his life long in happiness and felicity. Peace be unto you, and the
mercy and blessings of God be upon you, as long as the inhabitants
of the world shall exist.
“It follows, my Lord, subsequent to the due inquiry we make after
your health, which may God preserve, that your esteemed letter has
reached us, and we became acquainted with its contents. You informed
us that our beloved son, Aba Bak’r Ben Khalloom, arrived in your
presence, in company with some persons of the English nation, our
friends; and that you received them with extreme kindness, and showed
them all the marvellous things that your country contains, and made
them see all the extraordinary rivers and lakes that surround it; and
that you behaved to them as becoming your high station, and indicating
your esteem and regard towards us. May God reward you for all this
kindness, and protect you from all evils. This kind treatment was
our sanguine expectation, and indeed we were already sure of it, from
what we knew of the true friendship and amity established between us.
“What we have now to acquaint you with, is to request that you will
continue your protection and assistance to the said English travellers
(though we doubt not you do not need this additional recommendation),
and cause them to proceed to the country of Soudan, to behold its
marvellous things, and traverse the seas (lakes or rivers), and
deserts therein. This being the proper desire of the great King of
the English himself, we beg of you to use your utmost endeavours,
as far as lies in your power, in their safe arrival at the country
of Soudan, accompanied either by letters of recommendation, or by
troops and guards, in order that they may obtain the accomplishment
of their wishes, and return to us safe and unhurt; and whatever
kindness you may do to them, it is done to us. Resolve therefore,
and exert yourself, as we are confident of your goodness, and let
them see all the places which they wish to visit.
“At the end there will be a splendid present, befitting your high
rank, sent to you through us, consisting of various rare and elegant
articles of value; for the delivery of which, unto your hands,
we pledge ourselves.
“This is all that we have to say at present, and if any affair
should occur to you in this country, let us know. And peace be
unto you.
“Your friend,
(Signed) “YOUSUF PASHA.”
(Dated) “28th of Sha-wal, 1238 of Hejra;”
corresponding to August, 1823.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 66: Note. This is the proper name of Bornou. A. S.]
No. IV.
_A Letter from the before named Pasha of Tripoli to Aba Bak’r ben
Khalloom, at Bornou._
“We received your letter, and comprehended all that you stated
to us. We were glad to hear that you, and our friends, the English
travellers, with whom we sent you as guide and conductor, had
arrived at Barnooh in safety; and that you were kindly received by
our friend, my Lord, the Sheikh Mohammed El Kanemy, who immediately
allowed the travellers to inspect all the deserts, and seas, lakes
and rivers, that are in his country. May God reward him for this act
of kindness. We have written to thank him for his laudable behaviour;
and we pray to God to enable us to show him equal kindness in return.
“With regard to the persons of the different tribes, who were
obstinate and disobedient to you on the road, they have been
apprehended, and taken and punished one by one.
“As long as the English travellers remain at Barnooh, you have
to attend, and be with them wherever they go, till they shall have
obtained their wishes, and accomplished their object; and when
they desire to return, you may accompany and come with them as you
went. If this letter should reach you before you leave Barnooh, you
must stay with them, as above stated; if it reach you while you are
on the road homewards, you must return to Barnooh immediately, and
only send us the slave you have with you; and if you should arrive at
Fezzan before this letter reaches you, you may then send your brother
to Barnooh, to stay with them instead of you; for we only sent you
on their account, for the purpose of facilitating their proceeding,
and all their affairs. It is, therefore, impossible that you should
leave or part with them, but in this manner; and we are sure that,
to a person like you, there is no need to add any stronger words,
especially as you know that they are in our honour, and under our
protection, both in their going and returning in safety; which is the
accomplishment of our wishes. And may you live in happiness and peace.
(Signed) “YOUSUF PASHA.”
(Dated) “2d of Ze-el-ka’da, 1238;”
corresponding to August, 1823.
No. V.
_A Letter from the Sheikh of Bornou to the Sultan of Kanou._
“Praise be to God, and prayers and peace be unto the Apostle of God
(Mohammed).
“From the slave of the high God, Mohammed El-ameen ben Mohammed
El-kanemy, to the head of his land and the leader of his people,
the learned Mohammed Daboo, lord and master of Kanou: Perfect peace,
and the mercy and blessings of God, be unto you.
“Hence, the bearer, who is going to you, is our friend Mohammed
El-wardy, in whose company he has some Englishmen; who came to the
land of Soodan for the purpose of seeing and delighting themselves
with the wonders it contains, and to examine and see the lakes and
rivers, and forests, and deserts therein. They have been sent by
their king for this purpose.
“Between their nation and the Mooslemeen, there have existed,
since the times of their fathers and great grandfathers (ancestors),
treaties of religious amity and friendship, special to themselves
out of all the other nations that have erred, and are at variance
with the doctrine of Aboo Hanifa[67]. There never was between them
and the Mooslemeen any dispute; and whenever war is declared by the
other Christians against the Mooslemeen, they are always ready to
help us, as it has happened in the great assistance they gave to our
nation when they delivered Egypt from the hands of the French. They
have, therefore, continually penetrated into the countries of the
Mooslemeen, and travelled where-ever they pleased with confidence
and trust, and without being either molested or hurt. They are, as
it is stated, descendants of the ancient Greek emperor Heraclius,
who received and esteemed the letter sent to him from the Apostle
of God (Mohammed), whom may God bless, by Dahi-yah El-kalbee,
containing his exhortation to him to embrace the Moosleman faith;
and who, on receiving that sacred epistle, preserved it in a gold
case,—though it is stated, in the books of history, that he did
not become a Mooslem.
“Thus, if God permit them to reach you in safety, be attentive
to them, and send guards to conduct them to the country of Kashna,
safe and unhurt; for they are at the mercy of God, and at the honour
of his Apostle; and you are well aware of the Alcoraanic sayings upon
the subject of the observance of honour. And peace be with you.”
Dated “Wednesday, the 6th day of Rabee-ul-thani, 1239,”
(Corresponding to January, 1824.)
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 67: Aboo Hanifa, or Imam Kanafee, was one of the four
great imams or high priests, founders of the four orthodox rites of
Mohammedanism; and whose doctrine, it seems, is followed by these
people. A. S.]
* * * * *
No. VI.
_A Letter from the Sheikh of Bornou to Mohammed Bello, Sultan
of Hoossa._
“Praise be to God, and prayers and peace be unto the Apostle of God,
(Mohammed).
“To the honoured and accomplished, the virtuous and munificent,
the pattern of goodness and the standard of benevolence, head of the
Soodanic kingdom, and ruler of the country of Hoossa, our friend,
the learned Mohammed Bello, son of the intelligent sheikh Ossman,
whose soul may God shelter with the clouds of mercy and peace.
“Our kind salutation, accompanied with affection as strong as
the odour of musk, and as perpetual as the movement of the globe,
and with the mercy and blessings of God, be unto you.
“Hence, the cause of writing this letter and the purpose of its
lines, is to acquaint you that the bearers are English travellers;
whose nation, out of all the other Christians, has maintained with the
Mooslemeen uninterrupted treaties of religious amity and friendship,
established since ancient periods, which they inherited from their
forefathers and ancestors; and, on this account, they penetrate into
the Mooslemeen countries whenever they please, and traverse all
provinces and lands, in confidence and trust, without fear. They
came to our country, sent to us by our virtuous and accomplished
friend, the Lord Yousuf Pashá, master of Tripoli, to see and
delight themselves with the wonders of the land of Soodan, and to
become acquainted with its rarities, as lakes, rivers, and forests
(or gardens); equal to which are seldom seen in any other countries.
“After having accomplished their wishes, in seeing all the things
that the land of Barnooh and its environs contained, they felt
anxious to visit your country from what they heard of the innumerable
wonders therein. I have, therefore, permitted them to proceed on their
journey, accompanying them with letters which explain their object.
“You are well aware of what is stated in the Alcoraanic sayings
upon the subject of the observance of honour, dictated by our Lord,
the Apostle of God; and that the true Mooslemeen have always avoided
shedding the blood of Christians, and assisted and protected them
with their own honour. Be then attentive to these travellers, and
cast them not into the corners of neglect; let no one hurt them,
either by words or deeds, nor interrupt them with any injurious
behaviour: but let them return to us, safe, content, and satisfied,
as they went from us to you; and may the high God bestow upon you
the best reward for your treatment to them, and insure to us and to
you the path of the righteous for our conduct in this life.
“Our salutation may be given to all who are about you, and to
those who are related to you in general. And peace be unto you.
(Sealed) “MOHAMMED EL-AMEEN BEN MOHAMMED EL-KANEMY.”
Dated “23d of Rabee-ul-thani, 1239,”
(Corresponding to January, 1824).
* * * * *
No. VII.
_A Letter from the Chieftain Mohammed Gamsoo, at Sackatoo, to the
Prince of Ya-oory._
“In the name of God, the merciful and the clement; and prayers
and peace be unto our Lord, Mohammed.
“From the slave of God, Mohammed, son of the Hadgi Omar Gamzoo,
to our friend, the dearest we have, the Prince of Ya-oory.
“Salutation without end or termination be unto you and all your
friends and relations. If you inquire after our health, and that
of the Prince of the Mooslemeen, and our friends, we are all sound
and vigorous. Our slave has reached us with the letter from you,
which I showed and read to the prince, and he was delighted with it;
and we are prevented from sending you a messenger with an answer,
only by the prince having ordered us to proceed to the eastern parts
of the country to attend to some of his affairs there. But, if God
be pleased to cause us to return in safety, you shall receive an
express messenger from me.
“The prince now sends you the English Rayes Abdallah (Captain
Clapperton’s assumed name), who is anxious to see your country
and visit you. He has been honoured and esteemed by the sheikh
(of Bornou), and by the prince of Kanoo, as also by the prince of
the Mooslemeen; and as you rank among the generous, receive him
and honour him generously. When he returns, send us a letter, and
express all your wishes in it.
“Give our salutation to our brother and all the friends, and we
exhort you to attend to the contents of this epistle for the sake of
the friendship which was established between you and our ancestors,
and is now between me and you; especially as you never behaved towards
us but very laudably. And may God bestow upon you more good sense,
in addition to that which you possess.”
* * * * *
No. VIII.
_A Document relating to the Death of Mungo Park._
“Hence, be it known that some Christians came to the town of
Youri, in the kingdom of Yaoor, and landed and purchased provisions,
as onions and other things; and they sent a present to the King
of Yaoor. The said king desired them to wait until he should send
them a messenger, but they were frightened, and went away by the sea
(river). They arrived at the town called Bossa, or Boossa, and their
ship then rubbed (struck) upon a rock, and all of them perished in
the river.
“This fact is within our knowledge, and peace be the end.
“It is genuine from Mohammed ben Dehmann.”
[In addition to the above, there is a kind of postscript appended to
the document by a different hand; which, being both ungrammatical and
scarcely legible, I had some difficulty in translating and giving
it a proper meaning. The words, however, are, I think, as follows;
though most of them have been made out by conjecture.]
“And they agreed, or arranged among themselves, and swam in the sea
(river), while the men, who were with (pursuing) them, appeared on
the coast of the sea (bank of the river), and fell upon them till
they went down (sunk) in it.”
* * * * *
No. IX.
_A Letter from the Sheikh of Bornou to Captain Clapperton._
“Praise be to God, and prayers and peace be unto the Apostle of God.
“From the slave of the high God, Mohammed El-ameen ben Mohammed
El-kanemy, to the Ra-yes Abd-allah, the Englishman. Peace be unto
him who follows the light of instruction.
“Hence, we received your letter, and comprehended its contents;
as also what you acquainted us with relative to the kindness and
friendship which the people showed you. May God bless them; and we
never doubted this behaviour on their part.
“With regard to what you stated upon the subject of the calumny
uttered by some of the Arabs against you, you need not turn your
mind to, nor think of it; as nothing shall befal you, while you are
in this land, but what God Almighty may inflict upon you, without
the instigation of any of his creatures.
“The physician your friend is dead. This is the state of the world;
and may God increase your life. Before his death, he promised to
give his pistols to us as a present; and on this condition he kept
them for his own use, as being borrowed from us, until his return
to his own country: but now, as he is dead, you may deliver them to
our friend Hadgi Saleh, to send them to us. And may God conduct you
(to your own country) in health and safety.
(Sealed) “MOHAMMED EL-AMEEN BEN MOHAMMED EL-KANEMY.”
No. X.
_A Document made at the Court of Justice of Bornou._
“Praise be to God alone. May God bless our Lord Mohammed, and all
his relations and friends.
“Whereas, at the court of (here the titles of the sheikh and
his pedigree follow,) the Lord Sheikh Mohammed El-Kanemy, Hadgi
Alij, son of Hadgi Moosa ben Khalloom, and the English physician,
with his two friends, Rayes Abdallah, and Rayes Khaleel, appeared;
the physician demanded of the said Hadgi Alij the restitution of
two thousand hard silver dollars, which he and his said friends had
lent to his late brother Abu Bakr ben Khalloom, through the English
consul at Tripoli, on condition of repaying them after their arrival
at Barnooh, according to his own acknowledgment and a bond in the
said physician’s possession; and that they demanded this debt
from Hadgi Alij, because he took possession of all his deceased
brother’s property. Hadgi Alij replied, that he knew nothing of
their claim upon his late brother: but, if they possessed a bond,
they might produce it to prove their claim. They produced a paper,
not written in Arabic, bearing the seal of the said deceased Abu Bakr;
and, as no one could read what that paper contained, the judge told
them that, notwithstanding it bore the seal of the said deceased,
it could not be valid, nor of any use to them. They then produced
one of the friends of the deceased Abu Bakr, as witness, who attested
that, while at Tripoli, he was sent by him to the consul’s house,
where he received the two thousand dollars and delivered them to him
(the deceased), knowing that they were to be repaid at Barnooh,
according to the present claim. His testimony, however, was not
approved of by the judge.
“They appeared a second time at the said court of justice, and
alleged that Hadgi Alij, after their first appearance, acknowledged,
and pledged himself to pay them the two thousand dollars which they
claimed from his late brother; that he paid them a part of the said
sum in cotton clothes to the value of six hundred dollars in Barnooh
money, and that the remaining fourteen hundred were to be repaid
to them by him at the city of Kanoo in Soodan; and they, therefore,
wished to legalize this before the judge.
“Hadgi Alij, however, said, that he gave them the six hundred
dollars, merely as an act of kindness on his part, and as a loan from
him to them, which they were to return to him at Kanoo; and that
he never acknowledged, nor promised to pay his brother’s debt;
but that, he told them, if they should be in want of more money at
Kanoo, he would advance them as much as he could afford. They then
requested the judge to restrict him from selling, or sending his
brother’s property to Kanoo (lest it should be lost on the road),
until they had proved their claim by better evidence. Hadgi Alij,
at last, agreed, either himself or through his agent, to pay them
five hundred dollars more, in addition to the six hundred, two months
after their arrival at Kanoo; and fixed a period of one year, from
the date of this document between them and him, for the proof of the
justice of their claim; and that, if they fail to prove their demand
upon his deceased brother before the lapse of the said period, they
were to repay him the eleven hundred dollars, and forego all their
claims. But if, on the contrary, they should be able to substantiate
their demand within the stipulated period, he would then repay to
them the nine hundred dollars, balance of the two thousand.
“Upon these conditions, both parties agreed and declared themselves
content and satisfied, while they were in a perfect state of health
and mind as to deserve reliance and dependence upon.
“Issued from the Court of Justice of the honoured and learned
sheikh Mohammed El-ameen ben Mohammed El-kanemy, at Barnooh, on the
27th day of Rabee-ul-a-wal, one thousand two hundred and thirty-nine
of the Prophetical Hejra, (corresponding to December, 1823); in
presence of Mohammed Zain-ul-Abedeen ben Akhmed ben Mohammed; of
Mohammed ben Akhmed ben Aba Bakr; and of Mohammed ben Hadgi Meelad
ben Taleb. And may the high God be witness upon all.”
No. XI.
_Translation of Letters and Documents received from the Sheikh of
Bornou concerning Mr. Tyrwhit’s Death._
1.—A Letter from the above-mentioned Sheikh to the British Consul
at Tripoli.
“Praise be to God, and blessings and peace be unto the Apostle of
God, (Mohammed).
“From the slave of the High God, Mohammed El Ameen ben Mohammed El
Kanemy, to the head of his people, the respected and honoured by the
children of his nation, the English Consul resident at Tripoli. After
the due salutation, and our inquiry after your health, we have to
inform you that we are, by the grace of God, enjoying perfect health
and prosperity. Your letter which you sent to Fezzan has reached
us, and we comprehended its contents; but the letter you sent by
our messengers Abraham and Abdullah has not come to our hand yet,
though we hope their arrival will be soon.
“You are well aware, that the omnipotent God hath ordained to every
man a certain age, which can neither be increased nor decreased, and
hath destined to him a grave, in which he can neither enter before
his time, nor from which he can fly when his time comes. Thus,
when you know this, it may be an alleviation to your sorrow and
grief, when you hear of the death of your friends and relations:
so that we have now to acquaint you, that your son Tair (Tyrwhit)
ended his life, and his days and hours terminated by his death, on
Monday the end of Saffar 1240[68], while we were absent in a war with
our enemies. After his death and interment, the elders and priests
of our metropolis entered his house, to ascertain and note down the
effects he left, in order, and from fear, that in the course of time,
there may be no suspicion of distrust thrown upon the trustees. They
found the property he left was not considerable: they made a list of
it, which herewith you will receive, and left the whole in the hands
of his trustees, Eben Saada of Tripoli, and the Hadje Aly El-ma-yel,
who were his servants. But God knows whether this was the whole of
his property, or some of it was fraudulently concealed by those who
were in the house at his death.
“With regard to the desire which you expressed to us, to know
the source of the inundation of the river that divides our country,
we have to inform you that this sea (river) of ours is a great and
extensive lake, the circumference of which is about twenty days’
journey, and into which various rivers empty themselves from the part
of the land of Soodan, and from the right and east of our country,
which joins the uninhabited mountains and the land of the Pagans,
to whom no one goes. And God only knows what is to be found on the
other side of these places.
“Send our salutation to the great King of the English, and to
every one who inquires after us amicably.
(Sealed) “MOHAMMED EL KANEMY.”
(Dated) “Sunday, the eve of the end of the month of
Rajab, 1240.” (About the 20th of March, 1825.)
2.—A Document containing the List of the Property left by
Mr. Tyrwhit, as alluded to in the foregoing Letter, and a Certificate
of his Death, and the Things that were found after the Return of
the Sheikh from his Expedition.
THE LIST.
“Whereas the Elders and Priests of the metropolis of the Arabs
(Barnoo), having assembled and repaired to the house of the deceased
English traveller, named Tair (Tyrwhit), who died on Monday the
last day of Saffar, 1240, to ascertain and note down what he left;
it proved, in their presence, that all his property was as follows:
“First, two swords and a sash, a musket, a pair of pistols,
another pair ditto, three . . . ., a sash, six silver spoons, a
fork, a razor, fifteen bottles of . . . . . ., eleven . . . . . .,
four coffee cups, three cupping glasses, a sun scale (quadrant), a
. . . . ., three squares of soap, a box containing some . . . . .,
four . . . . ., two pair of boots or slippers, a skull cotton cap,
a woollen ditto, an Indian looking-glass, twenty pieces of wearing
apparel, as shirts, drawers, &c. of his country, six towels, a paper
containing some cinnamon, a black napkin handkerchief for his neck,
four hand napkins, two . . . . ., a pillow of Soodan manufacture,
a silk sash, a silk cord, a . . . . ., a jacket embroidered with
silver, a yard of red cloth, a canvas bag, three gun covers, a cord
for trowsers, some boxes containing part of these things, a pair
of Constantinople slippers, a pair of Barbary ditto, or shoes,
two scrapers of pig’s hair (tooth-brushes), a looking-glass,
ten pounds of gunpowder, twenty-three bundles of . . . . ., three
looking-glasses for the nose (spectacles), a . . . . ., another hand
napkin, three empty . . . . ., a broken glass, three squares of soap
again, a . . . . three watch rings, a pair of fine razors, a pound
of antimony, a pound of coral, fifty-three beads of amber, a pair of
Soodanie boots, three pair ditto of his country, a red cloth bornouse
or cloak, a . . . . ., fifty hard dollars, fifty-two books, a coffee
waiter, two tin cans, three burning glasses, a telescope, a waistcoat,
a white bornouse of Barbary, a towel, another bornouse, a writing
desk, an umbrella, two loaves of sugar, a . . . . ., two time pieces
for the road (compasses), a nose looking-glass (spectacles), a razor,
two cork-screws, or ramrod screws, a . . . . ., five . . . . ., three
pair of trowsers, four tiger skins, two mats of Noofee, two beds,
or small Turkish carpets, a pillow of Soodan, five sacks, fifteen
water skins, or leather bags, a cooking pot, a saucepan, an ewer,
two large jars, a pan, two coffee pots, two . . . ., two hooks,
four empty . . . . ., a chisel, a hammer, a camel, a female ditto,
a horse, a mule, two saddles of Barnoo, one ditto of his country,
three wax cloth covers, a . . . . ., two sun glasses, fifty medicine
bottles, a woollen bed or carpet, a . . . . .; and Hamdo Et-tafteef
has by him a network shirt or dress, a bird called Jamaj-mak; and
he confessed that he borrowed fifty dollars from the deceased.
“Besides the above property, it was found that he has to receive
twenty dollars from one of the inhabitants of Barnoo, and thirty
from another; as likewise twenty-four dollars from the servant of
the sharif Barakat, sixty dollars from the Mamluk Bey Mohammed,
and 165 from the Mamluk Mohammed, son of Hadje Mahmood.
“His debts to various persons are as follows: fourteen and a half
dollars to Hamdo Et-tafteef for . . . . ., eight dollars to the same,
for a bed and six pounds of . . . . ., four feathers to . . . . .,
and the wages of his two servants; as likewise, three dollars to the
burying people, and two dollars to the man who watched his tomb at
night, to prevent the body from being devoured by the hyena.
“His servant Ben Saada stated that this account of the debts
owing by, and due to the deceased, were contracted through him for
his master.
“This is the whole of the property left by the deceased; and
whatever has been noted down in this document, whether of great
or little value, has been deposited in the hands of his abovenamed
servant Ben Saada of Tripoli, and his fellow-servants.”
THE CERTIFICATE.
“Whereas our Master and Lord, defender of the Moosleman faith, the
Sheikh Mohammed El Kanemy, having, after his return from subduing
his enemies, assembled the elders and priests of the inhabitants
of his metropolis, and gave them a special audience, ordered that
the foregoing list, which was written during his absence, be read
in their presence; and, after every one heard and understood it,
commanded a revisal of the property left by the deceased Englishman
to be made, to ascertain its amount afresh. Accordingly, we the
undersigned repaired to the house of the deceased, and found all the
beforementioned articles extant except the following, which have
been used or lost by his servant, Mohammed ben Saada of Tripoli,
who had the things under his care. A pair of boots, four bottles out
of the fifteen, a napkin or handkerchief for the neck, three pair of
trowsers, three . . . ., three squares of soap, a canvas bag, and
two . . . . . But a few more articles, which had not been inserted
in the list, were found. They are as follows: a piece of Egyptian
mat, two pieces of sealing-wax, a bullet mould, four charts or maps,
two travelling bags (one of which contains some of the articles, and
is deposited with his other servant Hadje Aly El-ma-yel), a cannon
ramrod screw, a pound of . . . . ., two . . . . ., two bridles,
a . . . . ., two covers, three horse-shoes, five tin canisters
for meat, a wooden bowl, a wax cloth cover, a large tin canister,
a writing box containing eight pens, two blank books, nine . . . . .,
and a bottle containing some oil.
“His horse, which is mentioned in the list, has been sold to
Mohammed Sal-ha for 172 dollars.
“His servant, Mohammed ben Saada, declared before the assembly,
that his master, the said deceased Englishman, named Tair (Tyrwhit),
on finding his life was hopeless, bequeathed the following articles to
his Excellency the Sheikh. A mule, a red bornouse, a looking-glass,
or telescope, a pair of pistols, ten canisters of gunpowder, of
which, however, eight only were found, a pair of Egyptian shoes or
slippers, a sword, though it was rusty, a . . . . ., a dining waiter
or table-cloth, and a . . . . .
“After this, the assembly agreed, by the order of our Lord the
Sheikh, to allow to each of the three servants of the deceased
(who are intrusted with the things he left), three dollars per month.
“Done on the evening of Monday, the last day of Rajab 1240,
in the presence of the noble Sheikh and his assembly, of which we
the undersigned are members, and do hereby bear witness before the
Almighty God.
(Sealed) “MOHAMMED EL AMEEN BEN MOHAMMED EL KANEMY.
(Signed) “YOUSOF BEN ABD ELKADER EL-KAKARY,
“SALEH BEN EL-HADJE HAMED,
“MOHAMMED EL WARDI BEN EL HADJE ALY,
“BEN ABD ELKADER ABA-NEARAN,
“MOHAMMED BEN IBRAHEEM ET-TAFTEEF,
and “MOHAMMED BEN EL-HADJE ISSA BEN AHMED EL-MESSRATI[69].”
3. A Letter from the Sheikh to Ra-yes-Khaleel, or Major Denham.
“Praise be to God, and blessings and peace be unto the Apostle
of God.
“From the slave of the High God, Mohammed El Ameen ben Mohammed
El Kanemy, to the honoured by the children of his nation, Ra-yes
Khaleel, the Englishman. After our salutation and inquiry after
your health, we have to inform you that we are, by the grace of God,
enjoying perfect health and prosperity. Your letter has reached us,
and we comprehended its contents.
“You are well aware, that the Omnipotent God hath ordained to every
man a certain age, which can neither be increased nor decreased; and
hath destined to him a grave, in which he can neither enter before
his time, nor from which he can fly when his time comes. Thus, when
you know this, it may be an alleviation to your sorrow and grief, when
you hear of the death of your friends and relations: so that we have
now to acquaint you that your brother Tair (Tyrwhit) ended his life,
and his days and hours terminated by his death, on Monday, the end of
Saffar, 1240, while we were absent in a war with our enemies. After
his death and interment, the elders and priests of our metropolis
entered his house, to ascertain and note down the effects he left,
in order, and from fear that, in the course of time, there might
be no suspicion of distrust thrown upon the trustees. They found
the property he left was not considerable: they made a list of it,
which herewith you will receive, and left the whole in the hands of
his trustees, Eben Saada of Tripoli, and the Hadje Aly El-ma-yel,
who were his servants. But God knows whether this was the whole of
his property, or whether some of it might have been fraudulently
concealed by those who were in the house at his death.
“The war in which we were engaged was with Aly Yamanook, who
first declared hostilities against us. We went out to him through
the Kanoom road on the last day of Moharram 1240, and arrived near
the islands in which he was intrenched on Thursday the 19th of the
month of the sacred birth of our Prophet[70].
“He entered the islands, and left between him and us seven streams;
two of which could not be crossed but in boats, two were as deep as
to cover a man to the neck, and the other three had their water as
high as the navel only, or perhaps lower.
“We besieged him till he was in great distress, suffered much
famine, and most of his animals perished; and when we had collected
canoes for the landing of our troops on the islands, he submitted,
and begged forgiveness. We at first refused; but when he repeated
his applications and solicitations, we consented, binding him by many
severe and heavy conditions, which he accepted, and restored to us,
according to our demands, all that he had taken from our people. He
then came out of the islands, humble like a camel led by his driver,
and submissive like a tender twig to the hand that roots it out.
“Thus we withdrew our army, after a siege of three months and
ten days, and after having likewise subdued all the disobedient
and disorderly Arabs, and returned to our home on Sunday the middle
of Rajab[71].
“Nothing new has happened since you left us, but every good
and happiness, and the increase of tranquillity and cheapness. We,
however, have lost our illustrious and noble friend Hassan Et-Teflati,
who died in this town; as likewise Mohammed Ben Dehman of Katacoom,
and Yakoob El-Owjal of An-karno, to whom may God show mercy and
forgiveness.
“The news from the interior is, that the ruler of Wa-da-i made an
expedition against the eastern part of the country towards Tamak; but
that he was repulsed and returned routed. The truth of this, however,
we could not ascertain, because it came from indirect channels.
“The ruler of Foor, also, sent an army against the Turks[72],
who are in Kordafal or Kordofal; and it is reported that they had
a battle at a place called Kajah, which ended with the defeat of
the army of Foor, and the death of three of their grandees, besides
what fell of the troops; but that the said chieftain is gathering a
larger army, and means to send it against them. God only, however,
knows what will be the result.
“The ruler of Bakermy, who last year fled to the land of the Pagans,
has not returned; and a brother of his from Wa-da-i has collected
what troops he could, and proceeded against him. But God knows what
will happen between them.
“Give our salutation to your sister, and all your family and
friends; and peace be with you.”
Dated and sealed as the foregoing, viz. Letter No. I.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 68: About the 22d or 23d of October 1824.]
[Footnote 69: Explanation. The blanks in this list are those of the
names of some articles which I could not make out; they being mostly
English in the Moorish character, or described according to the idea
those people have of their use. A. S.]
[Footnote 70: From this it seems, that the journey was made in
forty-nine days, viz. the last day of Moharram, which is the first
month of the year, the twenty-nine days of the following month
Saffar, and nineteen days of the month in which Mohammed was born,
which is the third in the year. Being unacquainted with the distance
and the spot, I cannot, of course, pretend to give any farther
illustration. A. S.]
[Footnote 71: The middle of Rajab is the 164th or 165th day from his
first departure; and according to this, it appears that the sheikh,
on returning home, made the journey in fifteen or sixteen days only;
whereas, on going, it took him forty-nine days. This difference may
perhaps be accounted for, on account of the incumbrances and slow
movement of the army. A. S.]
[Footnote 72: The Sheikh says “he went” through the Kanoom
(or Kanem) road, which is by the north side of the lake; and the
difference of time occupied in the journey out and home may therefore
be easily accounted for, by supposing him to have returned across
the Shary by the southern end of the lake, this road being much the
shortest, as will appear on referring to the map. Indeed, I see no
other way of accounting for the difference. D. D.]
No. XII.
_Translation of an Arabic MS. brought by Captain Clapperton from
the Interior of Africa, containing a geographical and historical
Account of the Kingdom of Tak-roor, now under the Control of Sultan
Mohammed Bello of Hoossa, extracted from a larger Work composed by
the said Sultan._
“In the name of God, the merciful and the clement, &c. &c.
“This is an extract taken from the work entitled, “Enfak
El-may-soor, fee tareekh belad Et-tak-roor,” (viz. The Dissolver of
Difficulties, in the History of the Country of Tak-roor), composed by
the ornament of his time, and the unequalled among his contemporaries,
the Prince of the faithful, and defender of the faith, Mohammed Belo,
son of the prodigy of his age, the noble Sheikh Ossman,” &c.
PART I.
THE GEOGRAPHICAL ACCOUNT.
SECTION I.
“The first province of this dominion (Tak-roor), on the east
side, is, as it is supposed, Foor (Darfoor); and, next to it, on
the west side, are those of Wa-da-i, and Baghar-mee. Foor is an
extensive country, containing woods, and rivers, and fields fit for
cultivation. Its inhabitants are partly composed of itinerants who
became settlers, and partly of Arabs who still wander about; and it
contains a great number of herdsmen, or graziers of cattle. The food
of these inhabitants is the dokhn dura (millet), and the daj’r,
or peas. Mooslemanism spread itself very much in this province, and
most of its inhabitants perform the pilgrimage; and, it is said, have
great respect for the pilgrims, and interrupt them not on their way.
“The inhabitants of Wa-da-i and Baghar-mee are nearly of the same
description. Baghar-mee, however, is now desolated. The cause of
its ruin was, as they say, the misconduct of her king, who, having
increased in levity and licentiousness to such a frightful degree,
as even to marry his own daughter, God Almighty caused Saboon, the
Prince of Wa-da-i, to march against him, and destroy him, laying
waste, at the same time, all his country, and leaving the houses
uninhabited, as a signal chastisement for his impiety.
“These provinces are bounded on the north by deserts and dry sands,
which, in the spring only, are frequented by herdsmen; and on the
south by a great many countries, inhabited by various tribes of
Soodan, each of whom speak a different language, and among whom
Mooslemanism is not much spread.
“Adjoining this country, Baghar-mee, on the west side, is the
province of Barnoo, which contains rivers, and forests, and extensive
sands. It has always been well peopled, even before the last mentioned
country, and its extent and wealth are unequalled by any part of this
tract of the earth. Its inhabitants are the Barbar, the Felateen,
the before-mentioned Arabs, and a great many of the slaves of the
Barbar. These Barbars are of the remnants of those who first inhabited
the country between Zanj and Abyssinia, and who were expelled from
Yemen by Hemeera[73], subsequent to their establishment in that
country by Africus. The cause of their being brought to Yemen was,
as it is related, as follows:—While Africus reigned over Yemen,
and the Barbars in Syria, the inhabitants of the latter country,
being oppressed by the iniquities and impiety of their rulers, applied
to Africus to deliver them from their hands, and, at the same time,
they proclaimed and acknowledged him as their legal sovereign. He
marched against the Barbars, fought and destroyed them, except the
children, whom he kept in Yemen as slaves and soldiers. After his
death, and the elapse of a long period, they rebelled against Hemeera,
who then ruled Yemen. He fought and turned them out of that country;
whence they emigrated to a spot near Abyssinia (the coast of the Red
Sea facing Mokha), where they took refuge. They then went to Kanoom,
and settled there, as strangers, under the government of the Tawarék,
who were a tribe related to them, and called Amakeetan. But they
soon rebelled against them, and usurped the country. Fortune having
assisted them, their government flourished for some time, and their
dominion extended to the very extremity of this tract of the earth;
and Wa-da-i and Baghar-mee, as well as the country of Hoosa, with
those parts of the province of Bow-sher which belong to it, were in
their possession. In the course of time, however, their government
became weakened, and their power destroyed.
SECTION II.
“Adjoining this province (Barnou), on the south side, is that of
Aáheer, which is spacious, and contains extensive plains. It is
inhabited by the Tawarék, and by some remnants of the Sonhajá, and
the Soodan. This province was formerly in the hands of the Soodan
inhabitants of Ghoobér; but five tribes of the Tawarék, called
Amakeetan, Tamkak, Sendal, Agdálar, and Ajdaraneen, came out of
Aowjal, and took it from them; and, after having settled themselves,
they agreed to nominate a prince to rule over them, in order to
render justice to the weak against the powerful. They appointed a
person of the family of Ansatfén; but they soon quarrelled among
themselves, and dismissed him. They then nominated another, and
continued upon this system, viz. whenever a prince displeased them,
they dethroned him, and appointed a different one. These Tawaréks
were of the remnants of the Barbar, who spread themselves over Africa
at the time of its conquest.
“The Barbars are a nation, descendants of Abraham;—though it
is stated that they descended from Yafet (Japhet); and others say,
from Gog and Magog, whom “the two horned” Alexander (the great)
immured[74]; but that, at the time, a tribe of them, happening to
be at Ghair-oon, remained there, and intermarried with the Turks
and Tattars.
“It is likewise stated that they (the Barbars) originated from
the children of the Jan, or Jinn (Demon), under the following
circumstances:—A company of them having gone to Jerusalem, and
slept during the night in a plain there, their women became pregnant
by the Jinn of that spot. They are, therefore, naturally inclined
to blood-shedding, plundering, and fighting. It is also said, that
they were the people who slew the prophets Zachariah and Eliah;
and that, after leaving Palestine, they proceeded westwards till
they arrived at Wa-leeba and Morakéba,—two towns in the interior,
west of Egypt, where the Nile does not reach, but the inhabitants
drink the rain water[75],—where they fixed their residence for
some time. They then divided themselves into different tribes, and
proceeded westwards in Africa. The tribes of Zedata and Magh-yala
first entered the Gharb, and inhabited the mountains. These were
followed by that of Láwata, who inhabited the country of Enttablos
(Tripoli), which is Barka. They afterwards spread themselves over
the interior of the Gharb, till they reached the country of Soossa,
where the tribe of Hawazna took possession of the city of Lebda,
and the tribe of Nafoosa entered the city of Ssabra, and expelled
the Room (Greeks or Romans) who then ruled there.
“It is again stated that they descended from Farek, son of Yonssar,
son of Ham; and that, when Yonssar conquered Africa, they spread
themselves over the Gharb, and first inhabited Tunis. Thence they
proceeded in tribes towards the southern parts of the Gharb, which
communicates with the country of Soodan, where they settled at Aowjal,
Fazaran, Ghadamess, and Ghata.
“Thus they came in five tribes from Aowjal, as before mentioned,
and conquered this province (Aáheer), as before stated.
SECTION III.
“Next to the above-mentioned province, on the right hand side,
and west of Barnoo, the country of Howssa lies. It consists of seven
provinces, to each of which a prince is appointed to superintend its
affairs, and the inhabitants of the whole speak one language. The
central province of this kingdom is Kashnah, the most extensive is
Zag-Zag, the most warlike is Ghoobér, and the most fertile is Kanoo.
“It contains rivers, woods, sands, mountains, valleys, and
thickets inhabited by the Soodans (who originated from the slaves
of the Barbars, and from the people of Barnoo), the Falateen, and
the Tawarék. It is presumed that the first father of the Soodans
of this country was a slave, named Ba-oo, belonging to one of the
former kings of Barnoo; and, on this account we said above, their
origin was from the slaves of the Barbars, and the people of Barnoo.
“My friend, the prince of the faithful, Mohammed El-bákery, son
of Sultan Mohammed El-ad-dal, informed me that the inhabitants of
Kashnah, Kanoo, Zag-Zag, Dor, or Dowry, Ranoo, and Yareem, originated
from the children of the above-named slave, Ba-oo, but that the people
of Ghoobér are free born; because their origin was from the Copts of
Egypt, who had emigrated into the interior of the Gharb, or western
countries. This tradition he found in the records which they possess.
“These seven provinces (of Howssa) contain a great many wonderful
and rare things; and the first who ruled over them was, as it is
stated, ’Amenáh, daughter of the Prince of Zag-Zag. She conquered
them by the force of her sword, and subjected them, including Kashnah
and Kanoo, to be her tributaries. She fought, and took possession
of the country of Bow-sher, till she reached the coast of the ocean
on the right hand and west side. She died at Atágára, or Ataghér.
“In consequence of these conquests, the province of Zag-Zag is
the most extensive in the kingdom of Howssa, including in it the
country of Bow-sher; which consists of various provinces inhabited
by tribes of Soodan.
“Among the provinces of Bow-sher, the following are the most
considerable:—First is Ghoo-wary, which contains seven divisions,
inhabited by seven tribes of Soodan, who speak one language, and
who have not embraced Mooslimanism. Second is Ghoondar. Third is
Reer-wa, or Rear-wee, which contains a lead mine. Fourth, fifth,
sixth, and seventh, are Yass, Kodoor, Kotoo, and Aádám. Eighth is
another Kotoo, which contains a copper mine, and one of alum. And
ninth is Kornorfa, which embraces about twenty divisions, ruled by
one king, who often sallied forth upon Kanoo and Barnoo, and caused
much desolation. A gold mine is found in it, as likewise one of
salt, and another of antimony. Near to this province there is an
anchorage or harbour for the ships of the Christians, who are sent
by two sovereigns to traffic or trade with the people of Soodan.
“The province of Atagára, or Ataghér, is likewise one of the most
extensive in the territory of Zag-Zag; and near it there is also
an anchorage or harbour for the ships of the said Christians. Both
these places are on the coast of the ocean.
“In all the above-mentioned provinces of Bow-sher and Zag-Zag,
Mohammedanism was not known before our conquest.
SECTION IV.
“West of Kashnah and Ghoobér there are seven different provinces,
extending into the territory of Howssa, which are—Zanfarah, Kabi,
Ya-ory, Noofee, Yarba, Barghoo, and Ghoorma. To each of these there
is a prince appointed as governor.
“With regard to Zanfarah, it is presumed that the first father of
its inhabitants was from Kashnah, and their mother from Ghoobér. They
had the government of the province in their own hands, and their
authority increased after the decline of the power of the people
of Kabi. They had once a very ambitious sultan, named Yá-koob
(Jacob) ben Bub, who, on coming into power, marched against Kabí,
and conquered and ruined most of its towns and villages. He likewise
went to Kashnah, and conquered the greatest part of it. Their power,
however, was destroyed by one of the sultans of Ghoobér, whose name
was Bá-bari, and who, after taking possession of their country
(Zanfarah), entailed it upon his generation for a period of fifty
years, till they were conquered by us.
“Kabí is an extensive province, containing rivers, forests, and
sands. Its inhabitants, it is supposed, had their first father from
Sanghee, and their mother from Kashnah. They ruled their own country,
and their government flourished very much during the reign of Sultan
Kantá, who, it is said, was a slave of the Falateen. He governed
with equity, conquered the country, and established peace in its
very extremities and remotest places. His conquests, it is stated,
extended to Kashnah, Kanoo, Ghoobér, Zag-Zag, and the country
of Aáheer; but having oppressed the inhabitants of some of these
places, Sultan Aly-Alij marched from Barnoo against him, through
the road leading to Simbaki, and passed north of Dowra, or Dowry,
and Kashnah, and west of Ghoobér, till he entered the country of
Kabí, and reached the fort of Soorami. The Sultan of Kabí met
him on the morning of the feast. They fought together for an hour;
at the end of which the former fled westwards, and the Sultan of
Barnoo remained there to reduce the fort. But it being very strong,
he was obliged to retire, taking the right hand road, till he arrived
at Ghandoo, from which place he returned to his own country.
“Sultan Kanta, however, soon prepared an expedition, and followed
him through the same road, till he reached Onghoor, where they met,
and fought together, and Kanta gained the battle. After making much
booty, he returned to a place called Doghool, in the province of
Kashnah, where he attempted to subdue a tribe of the Soodan who were
disobedient to him. He had a very severe battle with them, during
which he received an arrow, which wounded him mortally. On arriving at
Jir he died, whence his body was carried by his troops to his palace
at Soorami, and there interred. He had three favourite capitals,
where he had residences; the most ancient of which was Ghonghoo,
then Soorami, and, the last, Leek. His dynasty continued reigning
for about one hundred years after his death, notwithstanding the
desolation of most of their territories. There were no greater than
them in these countries, and their tradition has no equal. Their power
was only destroyed when Sultan Mohammed Ebn Shárooma of Ghoobér,
Agabba Ebn Mohammed El-mobárék, Sultan of Aáheer, and the Prince of
Zanfarah, allied together, and marched against them, taking possession
of their dominions, and destroying the three above-named capitals.
“The province of Ya-ory contains mountains and valleys, and is
situated on the coast of the river called the Nile. It is inhabited
by some tribes of the Soodan, who are mostly weakminded[76].
“Noofee is a province that has, on the right and left sides, rivers,
forests, sands, and mountains; and its inhabitants are tribes of the
Soodan of Kashnah; but their true origin is a mixture from Kashnah,
Zag-Zag, Kanoo, and other places. Their language is different from
that of the people of Howssa. They possess much knowledge in the fine
and rare arts; and from their country many elegant and marvellous
things are still exported.
“Yarba is an extensive province, containing rivers, forests, sands,
and mountains, as also a great many wonderful and extraordinary
things. In it the talking green bird, called babaga (parrot),
is found.
“By the side of this province there is an anchorage or harbour
for the ships of the Christians, who used to go there and purchase
slaves. These slaves were exported from our country, and sold to
the people of Yarba, who resold them to the Christians.
“The inhabitants of this province (Yarba), it is supposed,
originated from the remnants of the children of Canaan, who were of
the tribe of Nimrod. The cause of their establishment in the west of
Africa was, as it is stated, in consequence of their being driven by
Yaa-rooba, son of Kahtan[77], out of Arabia, to the western coast
between Egypt and Abyssinia. From that spot they advanced into the
interior of Africa, till they reached Yarba, where they fixed their
residence. On their way they left, in every place they stopped at,
a tribe of their own people. Thus it is supposed that all the tribes
of Soodan, who inhabit the mountains, are originated from them;
as also are the inhabitants of Ya-ory.
“Upon the whole, the people of Yarba are nearly of the same
description as those of Noofee.
“The province of Barghoo contains forests and sands[78], and is
inhabited by tribes of the Soodan, whose origin, it is supposed,
was from the slaves of the Falateen. They are insubordinate and
stubborn, as also very powerful in magic.
“And Ghoorma is an extensive country, larger than Barghoo, and
contains rivers, woods, sands, and mountains. Its inhabitants are
almost like those of Barghoo, and chiefly robbers and depraved.
SECTION V.
“Near the last-mentioned province, there is an extensive country
called Moo-shér, which contains rivers, trees, and a gold mine. It
is inhabited by tribes of the Soodan.
“Adjoining to it, on the north side, the province of Sanghee
lies. It is extensive, very fertile, and well peopled. Its
inhabitants are remnants of the Sonhaja, the wandering Arabs, and
the Falateen. They profess the Mohammedan faith, and their princes
ruled them always with equity and justice. A great number of learned
and pious persons have distinguished themselves from among them.
“Next to Sanghee, on the west side, and north of Barghoo, the
country of Malee is situated. It is a very extensive province,
and inhabited by the Soodan, who, it is said, originated from the
remnants of the Copts of Egypt. Among its inhabitants, some of the
Tow-rooth, the Falateen, the Arabs, the Jews, and the Christians, are
found. It is likewise supposed that their origin was from Sarankaly,
or the Persians. It contains a gold mine, and has an anchorage or
harbour for ships sent by two Christian sovereigns, since former
periods. This country has always been in a flourishing state from
times immemorial. It embraces the province of Banbara, which is very
extensive, and contains rivers, forests, and a gold mine. The Soodan
who inhabit it are very powerful, and to this time still infidels.
“Near to Banbara there is the province of the Tow-rooth, and that
of Footá; which are extensive, and inhabited by their own people,
and by those of Sarankaly, or Persians. The Tow-rooth nation, it
is said, originated from the Jews, others say from the Christians,
and others make them to be descendants of the Soodan of Banbara.
“Beyond the last mentioned countries there is only the province
of Dámlá, or Damloo, which lies on the coast of the ocean. In it
Mooslimanism is not known; and its inhabitants presume to hear the
sound of the sun on reaching the meridian at noon. This country
contains many wonderful, rare, and extraordinary things, which we
are prevented from detailing by the pressure of time.
“Thus we now conclude what we intended to insert in this extract,
for the purpose of giving an outline of the geography of the kingdom
of Tak-roor.”
END OF PART FIRST.
N. B. The next, or Second Part, contains only the details of the
actions and battles that took place when Bello’s father conquered
these countries.
OBSERVATION.—It is proper here to explain, that the only deviation
I made from the original is in dividing the Pamphlet into two parts,
and separating the geographical from the military account.—A. S.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 73: On referring to the History of Yemen, by Mass-oodi,
to ascertain the period at which these two sovereigns reigned, I
find that the author of this pamphlet has made a mistake in asserting
that Africus reigned anterior to Hemeera; whereas Hemeera ruled Yemen
many hundred years previously to Africus, and that “Africus was the
sovereign who removed the Barbars from Syria, Palestine, and Egypt,
to their present countries.”
From the above-mentioned history (if it can be relied upon) it
appears, that the reign of Hemeera was after the demise of the
Prophet Heber, and that Africus reigned soon after the death of
Alexander the Great. A. S.]
[Footnote 74: The Eastern, and all Mohammedan people, considering
Alexander the Great as the only monarch who conquered the globe from
east to west, give him the title of “the two horned,” in allusion
to his said conquests. They likewise believe that Gog and Magog
were two great nations, but that, in consequence of their wicked and
mischievous disposition, Alexander gathered, and immured them within
two immensely high mountains, in the darkest and northernmost parts
of Europe, by a most surprising and insuperable wall, made of iron and
copper, of great thickness and height; and that, to the present time,
they are confined there: that, notwithstanding they are a dwarfish
race—viz. from two to three feet in height only—they will one
day come out and desolate the world!—A. S.]
[Footnote 75: Perhaps in the Oases.—A. S.]
[Footnote 76: This expression means nothing less than that the people
of Ya-ory are chiefly light-headed; for the author, in this part of
the MS., is very clear and intelligible.—A. S.]
[Footnote 77: This was a great sovereign of Arabia, to whom the
people of that country gave the title of “Father of Arabia;”
and, according to Mass-oodi, he was the first who ruled over Yemen,
and wrote the Arabic language. His reign was, as the said historian
says, during the lifetime of the Prophet Heber.—A. S.]
[Footnote 78: This province seems to contain no rivers; because the
word “rivers” was inserted in the MS., but afterwards struck
out by the writer.—A. S.]
* * * * *
No. XIII.
NOTE BY THE TRANSLATOR.—In my translation of the first part of this
pamphlet, I stated that the second part embraced only the details
of the battles and actions that took place when Sultan Bello’s
father conquered his present dominions; which details are those of
the battles of Kashnah, Dowra, Kanoo, Kabi, and of three actions
in the province of Kadawee. These being of no general interest,
I considered it superfluous to translate the whole; but, in order
to give an idea of the military tactics of the Africans, and the
manner of their warfare, I have selected the account of the first
battle of Kadawee, which is the longest, and somewhat interesting.
_A Narrative of the first Battle of Kadawee._