At times I was roaming about in the recesses of the rocky slope, which
offered very charming views, one of which is represented in the plate
opposite, or I had some conversation with people who were passing by.
Among the latter were especially a troop of Sherífen, a section of the
Kél e’ Súk, but very different from the general character of that tribe,
whose distinguishing features are humility and harmlessness. All of them
came in full armour, and many were well dressed, and their general
bearing bore testimony to an independent mind. It was curious, however,
that the chief of these people mistook me for El Bakáy, and therefore
paid his compliments to me first, probably in consequence of my beard
being longer.
[Sidenote: Saturday, July 1st.]
The herd of cattle, which the Gá-béro were to make a present of to the
Sheikh, having at length successfully regained their native shore, we
set out on our return march to Gógó late in the afternoon, and keeping
along the rocky slope, where it recedes inland, behind Tin-shéran, we
halted for the night in an encampment of the Kél-gúnhan, which was very
considerable, consisting of more than 100 leathern tents. The encampment
was full of young slaves, such as I had rarely seen with any of these
Tawárek; but as I have observed on a former occasion, the Kél e’ Súk do
not seem as yet to have entirely forgotten their former residence in a
large, luxurious place, and even at the present time indulge greatly in
the traffic of slaves. Here, also, the slaves, male and female, were
entirely clad in leather, but on the whole, they were good-looking, and
appeared cheerful.
[Sidenote: Sunday, July 2nd.]
I again reached Gógó, while the Sheikh remained behind in the encampment
of another body of Kél e’ Súk, situated on a sort of promontory,
projecting into the swampy plain, which we reached about five miles
after setting out from the place where we had passed the night. Our
march lay along the foot of the rocky slope full of caverns and ravines,
and enlivened with trees and bush, the swampy ground on our left being
laid out in rice-fields, which the people were busy cultivating, and
interrupted here and there by insulated rising ground clad with dúm-
bush.
On my arrival in my tent I was glad, after my long abstinence from
palatable food, to indulge in an excellent rejíre, the favourite drink
made with cheese and dates, which is very acceptable in the desert
country, but rather difficult to digest in the feverish regions of
Negroland. Thus I began to prepare myself for my home journey, which
from henceforward I might confidently expect to pursue with more
steadiness. I then went to pay a visit to my friends the Kél e’ Súk,
who, during our long absence, had grown very impatient, and, as it would
seem, not without good reason. They received me very cheerfully, and in
their excess of friendly feeling, made an endeavour to convert me to
their creed; but having received a direct refusal, they entreated me
very earnestly to return to them as soon as possible, but this time by
way of Tawát. However, I was obliged to tell them, that it was very
unlikely I should ever return, and more improbable still by way of
Tawát, that road being extremely dangerous for us; but I informed them,
that I entertained no doubt, that if it were possible to get over the
rapids which obstructed the lower course of the river, the English would
not be long in paying them a visit.
All my friends who now saw my departure near at hand, began to evince
their attachment to me more strongly than ever, and in the evening,
after I had dismissed El Munír and Inésa, the sons of Khozématen, both
of them worthy young men, I had a very animated conversation with my
friend Mohammed el Khottár over our tea, and I promised him a
considerable number of Arabic books, in the event of his paying a visit
to England.[41]
The following morning, when I was lying outside my tent, as was my
custom, enjoying the fresh air, all my friends gathered round me, and I
had to read to them passages from various European books, including the
Greek text of the Evangelists. The German principally attracted the
attention of these people, the full heavy words of that language
appearing to them somewhat like their own idiom, and they became highly
elated, when I recited to them from memory some verses of a favourite
German poem.
All my people were so full of enthusiasm, on account of a fair prospect
of a speedy departure on our home-journey being held out to them, that
they gave the Sheikh El Bakáy, when he joined us, in the course of the
morning, in Gógó, a most hearty reception, and fired away a good deal of
powder in honour of him. I afterwards went with him to distribute some
presents amongst the chiefs of the Kél e’ Súk and some great men of the
Awelímmiden, who had arrived in the company of the Sheikh. Khozématen
received a fine black Núpe tobe and a black lithám; Hanna, a túrkedí and
a lithám; the four Awelímmiden, viz., Bodhál, Ríwa, Alíso, and Sábet,
each a lithám, besides some smaller articles; and each of the sons of
Khozématen and Hanna, the half of a lithám. Every one was content,
although some of them would have liked to receive articles of greater
value.
There being no prospect that Alkúttabu would join us here, as we were
told that he had gone to drive back a predatory expedition of the Kél-
fadáye, I returned the fine black horse which the Sheikh had made me a
present of, and which I had destined for the chief of the Awelímmiden,
to the former, who was going to visit that chief, in order that he might
present it to him in my name. I also made ready the present which I
intended to make to Thákkefi, the son of the former chief, and El Ágwi,
a near relation of his.
The Sheikh himself showed his consciousness of our approaching
separation by assuming a lively air. In the evening I had a very
animated conversation with him and Sídi Áhmed el Wádáwi, the most
learned of his pupils, with regard to the shape of the earth, and
succeeded, at length, in clearly demonstrating to him its globular shape
and the circular motion of the whole system of the planets. He was not a
little struck when, speaking of what was above the earth and under it, I
told him that, with regard to the Omnipresent Being, such as we and they
recognise the Almighty Creator of the universe to be, the idea of an
above and below was not to be entertained; but that such expressions had
only reference to human speculation. But, although as a Mohammedan he
could not entirely concur in such a doctrine, being overawed by the
authority of the Kurán, yet, having before his eyes the beautiful
panorama of the hemisphere, he became quite convinced that on the whole
I was right; although, shut up within the narrow walls of his room in
the town, he had always thought it both absurd and profane to assert
such a thing.
[Sidenote: Wednesday, July 5th.]
All was ready for our departure, when Thákkefi, the cousin of the
present ruler of the Awelímmiden, and son of the late powerful chief E’
Nábegha, joined us with a few of his companions, among whom Sohéb was
the most conspicuous. The arrival of this important personage caused us
fresh delay, which, however, on the whole, was agreeable to me, as he
was authorized by Alkúttabu to grant me full franchise and perfect
security for all Englishmen travelling or trading in their territory;
and in the course of conversation he even made the remarkable proposal
to me, that the English should endeavour, by means of a strong
expedition up the river, to establish regular intercourse with them.
Meanwhile, the chiefs of the Kél e’ Súk departed for their respective
homes, holding forth the prospect that I myself might soon follow.
Thákkefi stayed with me almost the whole of the day, inspecting my
effects with the greatest curiosity and attention. He was a fine tall
man, possessed of great strength and remarkable intelligence, and had
the most ardent wish to see more of our ingenious manufactures. I was
very sorry that I was able to show him so little, as almost the whole of
my supplies were exhausted. A spear had been thrust through his neck
from behind, in the sudden attack by the Kél-gerés at Tin-taláit, where
his father was slain, and he was very anxious to obtain some efficacious
plaister for his wound. Everything went on so well in my intercourse
with this chief, that in the afternoon of the day following his arrival
the letter of franchise was written by Daniél, the secretary of
Alkúttabu, and the day after Thákkefi himself called upon me in my tent.
He appeared to have some particular object in view, and, having
carefully secured the entrance of the tent, in order to prevent other
people from overhearing our conversation, he expressed his desire and
that of his uncle, that the English might send three well-armed boats up
the river, in order to establish intercourse with them. I took care to
point out to him, that however anxious the English were to establish
commerce and an exchange of produce with this region, yet the success of
their endeavours was dependent on the circumstance whether they would be
able to cross the rapids and the rocky passage which obstructed the
river lower down, between Búsa and Rába, and that therefore I was unable
to promise him anything with certainty. I gave to this chief, who,
besides being possessed of great vigour, had a good deal of good-nature
about him, one tobe shaharíye, two black tobes, two black shawls, three
túrkedís, a silk cord of Fás manufacture for suspending the sword, and
several other smaller articles.
During our stay in this place I had laid down the course of the river
between Timbúktu and Gógó on a tolerably large scale, as far as it was
possible to do so, written a despatch to government, and several letters
to members of the Royal Geographical Society and other private friends,
and having sealed the parcel, I delivered it to the Sheikh in order that
he might forward it without delay upon his return to Timbúktu. I am
sorry to say, however, that this parcel only arrived a few months ago,
having been laid up in Ghadámes for more than two years.
Before leaving Gógó, I was anxious to ascertain exactly the nature of
the river along this shore, as on our march both to and from the Gá-
béro, we had kept at some distance from its bank, and I arranged with
the Sheikh’s nephew to survey the shores of the river for some distance
downwards. When I was about to mount on horseback, Thákkefi requested
that I would put on my European dress, as he was anxious to see how it
looked; but, unfortunately, instead of an officer’s dress, which would
certainly have pleased them very much, I had no European clothes with me
except a black dress suit, which could only impress them with a rather
unfavourable idea of our style of clothing, and although they approved
of the trowsers, they could scarcely fail to think the shape of the coat
highly absurd. But having never before seen fine black cloth, they were
surprised at its appearance, and, at a distance, all the people mistook
it for a coat of mail, as most of them had been accustomed to see only
red cloth.
Pursuing then, my proposed excursion, I observed also, below the
village, some fine groups of date-palms. I also assured myself that the
creek of Gógó, at least at this season of the year, is quite
unnavigable, although I could not understand why the modern capital of
the Songhay empire was not built on the open river, the only advantage
derived from its actual situation being that the small creek forms a
kind of close harbour, which affords protection to the boats, and may
easily be defended in case of need. As for the site of the former
capital Kúkiya, or Kúgha, I am sorry I did not arrive at a distinct
conclusion respecting it.
Having followed the bank, as far as the point where the creek joins the
principal branch of the river, I felt myself induced, by the precarious
state of my companion’s health to retrace my steps. This indisposition
of the Sheikh’s nephew influenced the choice of my companions on my
return journey; as it had been originally the Sheikh’s intention to send
his nephew along with me as far as Sókoto. In his place another, but
more distant relation of the Sheikh, Mohammed ben Mukhtár, an energetic,
and intelligent young man, but of a less noble turn of mind, was
appointed; and besides him, there was the Hartáni Málek, son of a freed
slave, who was to return with the lastnamed messenger from Támkala; then
Mústafa, and Mohammed Dáddeb, the latter a native of Timbúktu, who were
to return from Sókoto, and Áhmed el Wádáwi, and Háj Áhmed, who were to
return from Bórnu.
In the evening preceding our departure, our camp exhibited a busy scene,
as we were engaged in finishing our preparations for the journey, the
Sheikh undertaking the outfit of one half the messengers and I the
other; but the presents, also, which the latter destined for the chiefs
of Negroland, were delivered to me, in order that I might take them
under my care. He had, besides, the goodness to supply me with some
native cotton and tobacco, to distribute as presents to the Tawárek and
Songhay on our road: he also gave a dress to each of my companions, I
doing the same to those among his pupils who had been most attached to
me. I even felt induced to make a present of a very handsome tobe from
Sansándi, richly ornamented with silk, which I had intended to take with
me as a specimen of that very interesting manufacture, to Sídi Mohammed,
a son of the Sheikh, who had accompanied us, and who, on account of our
long absence from the town, was rather shabbily dressed at the time.
[Footnote 37: L. vii. c. 3.]
[Footnote 38: Journal Leipsic Oriental Society, vol. ix. p. 549.]
[Footnote 39: A translation of this letter will be given in Appendix
IV.]
[Footnote 40: The Gá-béro are divided into the following tribes: the
Shédibé, the Bwájil, the Sillánche (the latter probably so called from
the well known town Silla), the Ágades, and the Gorrong.]
[Footnote 41: This young man actually came to Tripoli in the course of
last summer, but the unfortunate state of Indian affairs, and other
circumstances, together with an illness common with people coming from
the interior, which attacked both him and his companions, prevented his
coming to this country.]