It was the holiday of the ʿAíd el fotr, and the inhabitants of the
little town celebrated the day by a religious procession, in which there
figured even as many as ten horses, and a few rounds of powder were
fired. The petty chief also sent me a holiday dish, consisting of a sort
of maccaroni made of millet, with a porridge of beans. It is a very
remarkable circumstance, and one that must not be forgotten by any
traveller who pursues this road, that the inhabitants of the Tebu
country esteem nothing more highly, nay, scarcely value anything at all,
except dried fish, the stinking “búni,” and that he may starve with all
sorts of treasures in his bags, unless he be possessed of this article.
I myself was even obliged to buy the grass or ghedeb (of which I stood
in need for my camels) with dried fish, and I felt sorry that I had not
laid in a greater supply of this article in Bárruwa.
[Sidenote: Monday, June 17th.]
Before setting out, I thought it prudent to pay another visit and bid
farewell formally to May-Bákr, as I was anxious, unprotected as I was,
to secure my rear. I then followed my camels, and having crossed two
defiles, formed by projecting cliffs, which interrupt the valley,
reached after a march of seven miles the town of Anikímma, situated at
the side of an isolated promontory projecting from the cliffs, which
form here a sort of wide recess, and encamped at the border of the palm
grove, when I immediately received some hospitable treatment from my
friend Kólo, who was a native of this place. This is the modern road
which is taken at the present time, the town of Kisbi or rather Gézibi,
which lies on the western side of the valley, and along which the former
mission passed, being at present deserted. This road led in former times
by Kisbi to Azanéres. But although we were treated in a friendly manner
in this place, I did not like to lose any time, but was anxious to
proceed at once to Ánay, the northernmost town in the valley of Kawár,
in order to prepare myself there, without the least delay, for that
second great station of my desert journey which I had to traverse quite
by myself, as my friend Kólo was to stay behind, and was not going to
undertake the journey for a month or so. I recommended to him my freed
slave ʿOthmán, who had remained behind, as he was suffering from the
effects of the guinea-worm. Kólo, however, accompanied me in the
afternoon for a few hundred yards, together with a Tebu from Tibésti, of
the name of Maina Dadakóre, who had recently been plundered of all his
property by the Tawárek. The distance from Anikímma to Ánay is not very
great, about two miles and a half. The site of Ánay is very peculiar, as
may be seen from the description given by the former expedition[56], who
were greatly struck by its singular appearance, although the view which
they have given of the locality is far from being correct. The first
thing which I had to do here was, to endeavour by means of dollars,
cloves, and the remnant of dried fish which I still had left, to procure
as large a supply of ghedeb as possible, in order to carry my camels
through this trying journey, as my only safety with my small band of
people consisted in the greatest speed. It was very unlucky for me that
the blacksmith of Dirki broke his word in not bringing up the shoes for
my horses, a circumstance which would have been productive of the most
serious consequences, if I had been attacked on the road, as both my
horses became lame.
[Sidenote: Tuesday, June 18th.]
Having prepared everything in the forenoon, we set out on our lonely and
dangerous journey with a fervent prayer, and after a march of a little
less than two miles emerged from the valley, or hénderi, through a rocky
defile. We then gradually ascended the higher level of the desert plain,
and having made a stretch of about sixteen miles, we encamped. Having
kept strict watch, as it was not improbable that some people might have
followed us, we started again at an early hour, long before the dawn of
day, and after a march of about thirteen miles reached Íggeba (Denham’s
Ikbar), a shallow depression at the western foot of a mountain, clothed
with some herbage and adorned with a rich profusion of dúm-palms. The
well here afforded a supply of the most delicious water. However, the
locality was too unsafe for our small troop to make here a long stay, it
being frequently visited by predatory expeditions. We therefore thought
it prudent to start again in the afternoon along the western road, by
way of Síggedim, which has been laid down very erroneously by the former
expedition, they probably not having taken the accurate distances and
directions of this route, as they relied upon the direct track, which
they had traced with accuracy. This road is called “Nefása seghíra,”
from a defile, or “thníye,” which we crossed about two miles and a half
from our starting-point. About ten miles beyond we encamped, and reached
the next morning, after a march of ten miles more, over a beautiful
gravelly flat, and crossing the track of a small caravan of asses coming
from Brábu, the beginning of the oasis of Síggedim, stretching out at
the western foot of a considerable mountain group, the direction of
which is from east to west, and well wooded with dúm-palms, date trees,
and with gerredh, or _Mimosa Nilotica_. The ground, which is richly
overgrown with sebót, in several places shows an incrustation of salt.
We halted, for the mid-day hours, a little more than a mile further on,
near the well, as we could not afford to make any long stay here. The
place was at present quite deserted, but I was told that about a month
later in the season people occasionally take up their temporary
residence here, and a few isolated stone dwellings on a projecting
cliff, testified to the occasional presence of settlers.
From hence we reached, in an afternoon’s and a long morning’s march, of
altogether nearly thirty-four miles, the shallow vale of Jeháya
(Denham’s Izhya) or Yát. We were in a sad state, as, besides being
exhausted by fatigue, we were almost totally blinded by the glare of the
sand in the heat of the day. A smaller strip of vegetation on the west
side of the rocky eminences which dotted this country, had already some
time previously led us to hope that we had reached the end of our march;
but when at length we had gained the spot, we found the vale, with its
rich growth of herbage, very refreshing, and men as well as animals had
an opportunity of recruiting their strength a little.
[Sidenote: June 22nd.]
The horse which the Sheikh had given me being quite lame, I wanted to
mount the only one of the camels which seemed strong enough to carry
such a burden in addition to its load, but it refused to rise with me,
and I was thus obliged to mount the donkey-like nag which the sultan of
Sókoto had given me, my servant going on foot. It is certainly very
difficult to carry horses through this frightful desert with limited
means, but it is of the utmost importance for a small party to have a
horse or two with them, in order to scour the country to see whether all
be right, and to make a spirited attack or to pursue the robbers in case
of a theft having been committed.
Having advanced in the course of the evening a little more than eighteen
miles, we traversed early the next morning a narrow defile enclosed
between rocky heights on both sides, in a very stony tract of country,
and halted, after a march of about twelve miles, at a little distance
from the mountain group Tíggera-n-dúmma, where the boundary is formed
between Fezzán and the independent Tebu country, by a valley clothed
with a good profusion of herbage and a few talha trees just in flower.
From here we reached, after a march of sixteen miles more, the well of
Máfaras, the southernmost well of Fezzán, in such a state of exhaustion,
that we felt induced, notwithstanding the danger from the Éfadaye, to
allow ourselves and the animals a day and a half’s repose; I myself
being particularly in want of a little rest, as I had been suffering a
great deal from rheumatism for the last few days. In addition to this
the well contained so little water that it required an enormous time to
water the animals and to fill our skins. The vale was pleasantly adorned
with a good number of fine talha trees, and there was even one isolated
dúm-palm, while of another one nothing but the trunk was remaining.
Although we had advanced so much towards the north, we did not yet feel
the slightest decrease in the temperature, and the thermometer all this
time, at two o’clock in the afternoon, constantly indicated 109°.
This is the southern well of the name of Máfaras, while the northern
spot of the same name, where Mr. Vogel made his astronomical
observation, is about nineteen miles further to the north. We did not
pass the latter till early in the morning of the 26th, when, stretching
over an open desert flat, a real mirror or “meraye,” the exhaustion of
our animals became fully apparent, so that just in the very place where
a small Tebu caravan, which had preceded us a few days, had left behind
one of their camels, we also were obliged to abandon the camel upon
whose strength we had hitherto placed our chief reliance.
About eleven miles beyond the northern well Máfaras, we halted during
the heat of the day in a spot entirely destitute of herbage, and made
another stretch of fifteen miles in the afternoon, leaving the well-
known mound of Fája, along which the road leads to Tibésti, at some
distance on our right. In order to recruit the strength of the camels,
we gave them a good supper of dates, ground nuts, and millet, so that
each of the poor animals, according to his habits and national taste,
could pick out what was most palatable to him.
[Sidenote: June 27th.]
A march of about thirteen miles brought us to the well “El Áhmar,” or
“Máddema,” in an open desert country, bounded on the west by a large
imposing mountain group, and distinguished by a great profusion of
kháreb, or kaye, the whole ground being overgrown with “handal,” or
colocynth, and strewed with bones. Here we passed an excessively hot
day, the thermometer indicating 114° at two o’clock in the afternoon in
the best shade I could find, and 105° at sunset, it remaining extremely
hot the whole night, till after midnight, when a heavy gale arose.
Nature here showed some animation, and beetles were in extraordinary
numbers; we also beheld here a herd of gazelles, but no beast of prey.
At a very early hour the following morning, we started with a good
supply of water, and after proceeding for about ten miles, reached a
valley tolerably well provided with talha-trees, and overgrown with dry
herbage. We were obliged to stay here the whole day, in order to give
the camels a feed, as they were reduced to the greatest extremity: we
had also to provide ourselves with wood and water. But although we
stayed here till the forenoon of the following day we had only proceeded
a few miles when we lost another of our camels, and thus were obliged to
halt earlier than we intended. In order to retrieve this loss, we
started before midnight, and marching the whole night, a distance of
about twenty-four miles, and making only a short halt during the hottest
part of the day, we encamped in the evening of the 30th, close to the
well “El Wár,” or “Temmi,” having entered the narrow-winding glen
leading into the heart of the mountain-mass itself, although caravans in
general encamp at its opening. We remained here the following morning,
when I found shelter from the sun in the cave where the water collects,
which is of a cool and pleasant character, a heavy gale which had sprung
up the previous evening continuing all the while. But we had no time to
tarry here, this being the worst and most fatiguing part of our journey.
Taking all things into consideration there is no reason to wonder how
Mr. Vogel made no observation during the whole of this journey,
comprising a tract of three degrees and a half.
Having filled our water-skins, and watered the animals, we pursued our
journey before noon, and made a stretch of about fifteen miles.
Starting, then, again at midnight, and marching twenty miles, only
halting about four hours at noon, we encamped at night, but halted only
for a couple of hours, after which we marched about fifteen miles, and
again halted for the heat of the day. On this march we passed a very
rugged passage, called “Thníye e’ seghíra,” where the rocks were rippled
in a very remarkable manner, like the water. Having been accustomed to
an intense degree of heat for some time, we felt it very cold this
morning at sunrise, the thermometer indicating 68°, which was certainly
a great difference, it having been 81° the preceding morning.
[Sidenote: July 3rd.]
Again we started, a little after midnight, and having passed, early in
the morning, with considerable difficulty and long delay, the rugged
sandy passage called “Thníye el kebíra,” we halted, after a march of
eight hours and a half, having accomplished only a distance of about
fifteen miles. I felt greatly exhausted, and I was the more sensible of
fatigue, as I had a long march before me, the well being still distant;
and after a most toilsome and wearisome stretch of more than eighteen
miles, with numerous delays, and several difficult passages over the
sandhills, we reached the well “Mésheru,” which is notorious on account
of the number of bones of the unfortunate slaves by which it is
surrounded. The water of this well, which is five fathoms in depth, is
generally considered of good quality, notwithstanding the remnant of
human bones which are constantly driven into it by the gale; but at
present it was rather dirty. The whole country around presents a very
remarkable spectacle, especially the tract closely bordering on the well
to the north, and which, in a rather maliciously witty manner, has been
called by the Arabs “Dendal Ghaladíma” (“the Promenade of the
Minister”). It would form a good study for a painter experienced in
water colours, although it would be impossible to express the features
in a pencil sketch.
But not even here were we enabled to grant ourselves the slightest
repose, only staying long enough to take in a sufficient supply of
water, and to slaughter one of our camels, which was totally unfit to
proceed. Having made this day about eighteen miles, we reached the
following day, after a moderate march of from nineteen to twenty miles,
the southernmost solitary date-grove of Fezzán. Here we were so
fortunate as to meet a small caravan of Tebu, comprising a few very
respectable men, who brought us the latest news from Murzuk, where I was
glad to hear that Mr. Frederick Warrington, the gentleman who had so
kindly escorted me out of Tripoli more than five years previously, was
awaiting me, and that the very governor who had been appointed to the
government of Fezzán during our first stay there, had a few days before
again been reinstalled in that office.
[Sidenote: July 6th.]
This was an important day in my journey, as having performed the most
dangerous part of this wearisome desert march, I reached Tegérri, or
Tejérri, the first outlying inhabited place of Fezzán. The village,
although very small in itself, with its towering walls, the view of
which burst suddenly upon us through the date-grove, made a most
pleasing impression, and I could not prevent my people from expressing
their delight in having successfully accomplished the by no means
contemptible feat, of traversing this desert tract with so small a band,
by firing a good number of shots. In consequence of this demonstration,
the whole population of the little town came out to salute and
congratulate me on having traversed this infested desert tract without
any accident. But that was the only advantage that we reaped from having
reached a place of settled habitation; and having taken up our
encampment on the north-western side of the kasr, among the date trees,
we had the greatest difficulty in procuring even the slightest luxury,
and I was glad when I was at length able to obtain a single fowl and a
few measures of dates. There was therefore no possibility of our staying
here and allowing the animals a little rest, but we were obliged to push
on without delay to the village of Madrúsa. But I had the greatest
difficulty in reaching that place in the evening of the 8th, having lost
another camel and one of my horses; and of the animals which remained to
me I was obliged to abandon in Madrúsa another, which I had to pay for
the hire of a couple of camels to carry my luggage to Múrzuk.
This was the native place of my servant El Gatróni, who had served me
for nearly five years, (with the exception of a year’s leave of absence,
which I granted him in order to see his wife and children,) with the
strictest fidelity, while his conduct had proved almost unexceptionable;
and of course he was delighted to see his family again. Besides a good
breakfast and a couple of fowls with which he treated me, he made me
also a present of a bunch of grapes, which caused me no little delight
as a most unusual treat. However, being anxious to get over this desert
tract, I started a little after noon the same day, and met at the
village of Bakhíl, about six miles beyond, a Tebu caravan, which was
accompanied by a courier from Kúkawa, who had found an excuse in the
state of the country to remain absent on his mission to Múrzuk nine
months, instead of having retraced his steps directly to his own
country. About four miles further on we reached Gatrón, consisting of
narrow groups lying closely together, and by the fringe of its date
grove contrasting very prettily with the sandy waste around.
Here also we were hospitably treated by the relatives of another
servant, who was glad to have reached his home; and we encamped the
following day at Dekír, where we had some trouble first in finding and
then in digging out the well, which was entirely filled up with sand. In
two very long days’ stretches from here, the first including a night’s
march, we reached the well, two miles and a half on this side of the
village Bedán, when we heard that Mr. Warrington was encamped five miles
beyond, in the village of Yesé.
[Sidenote: Saturday, July 13th.]
Having got ready at an early hour, we proceeded cheerfully through the
poor plantation, scattered thinly over a soil deeply impregnated with
salt, and fired a few shots on approaching the comfortable tent of my
friend. I could not but feel deeply affected when, after so long an
absence, I again found myself in friendly hands, and within the reach of
European comforts. Having moved on a little in the afternoon to a more
pleasant spot, we entered Múrzuk the following morning, and were most
honourably received by a great many of the inhabitants, including an
officer of the Bashá, who had come out a great distance to meet us.
Thus I had again reached this place, where, under ordinary
circumstances, all dangers and difficulties might be supposed to have
ceased. But such was not the case at the present time; for, in
consequence of the oppression of the Turkish government, a very serious
revolution had broken out among the more independent tribes of the
regency of Tripoli extending from the Jebel over the whole of Ghurián,
and spreading farther and farther, cutting off all intercourse and
making my retreat very difficult. The instigator of this revolution was
a chief of the name of Ghóma, who, having been made prisoner by the
Turks many years before, had, through the events of the Crimean war,
contrived to make his escape from confinement in Trebizond. This
unforeseen circumstance caused me a little longer delay in Múrzuk than I
should otherwise have allowed myself, as I was most anxious to proceed
on my journey; nevertheless I staid only six days.
Having some preparations to make for this last stage of my march, I had
thus full opportunity of becoming aware of the immense difference in the
prices of provisions between this outlying oasis of North Africa and
Negroland, especially Kúkawa, and for the little supply which I wanted
for my journey from here to Tripoli, I had to pay as much as 100
makhbúbs. Besides procuring here my necessary supplies for the road, my
chief business was in discharging some of my servants, and more
particularly Mohammed el Gatróni, whose fidelity I have mentioned
before. I added to the small remainder of his salary which I still owed
him, the stipulated present of fifty Spanish dollars, which I would
willingly have doubled if I had had the means, as he well deserved it;
for it is only with the most straightforward conduct and with a generous
reward that a European traveller will be able to make his way in these
regions.
As for encountering the dangers of the road, the arrangement of the
Bashá, that a party of soldiers whom he had discharged, and who were
returning home, should travel in my company, seemed rather of doubtful
effect; as such a company, while it afforded a little more security in
certain tracts, could not fail to turn against myself the disposition of
the native population in those districts where the revolt against the
Turkish government was a popular movement; I was obliged therefore to
leave it to circumstances to decide how I should make my way out of
these difficulties. The Bashá for some time thought that the only safe
course for me to pursue would be to turn my steps towards Ben-Gházi, in
order to avoid the revolted district altogether. But such a plan seemed
very objectionable, as well on account of the greater distance and
expense of this road, as with regard to the disposition of the Arabs of
that region, who, if the revolution should prove successful, would
certainly not lose a moment in following the example of their brethren.
[Sidenote: July 20th.]
I left the town of Múrzuk in the afternoon and encamped in the
plantation, and the next day moved on a short distance towards Sheggwa,
where Mr. Warrington took leave of me. Halting then for the greater part
of the following day near the village of Delém, and making a good
stretch in the evening and the early part of the morning, we reached
Ghodwa, with its pretty plantation and its many remains of former well-
being. Starting again in the afternoon, and making a long stretch during
the night, we encamped in the evening of the following day at the border
of the plantation of Sebha, some twenty years ago the residence of the
chief of the Welád Slímán. Here we staid the following day in order to
obtain some rest. The heat all this time was very considerable, and the
thermometer at two o’clock in the afternoon, on an average, indicated
from 110° to 112°.
[Sidenote: July 26th.]
A march of from eighteen to nineteen miles brought us from Sebha to the
small town of Temáhint, and we encamped a little beyond the well, where
a numerous herd of camels, belonging to a camp of Arabs, was being
watered. I was greatly pestered during my halt by a number of Welád
Slímán, who were anxious for information with regard to their relations
in Kánem, and greedy for some presents.
Making a short halt in the evening, and starting a little after
midnight, we encamped the following day near Zíghen. Here I had to hire
fresh camels in order to pursue my journey, and therefore did not set
out again till the afternoon of the following day, when, through the
barren desert tract by Óm el ʿabíd, and by a very rugged mountainous
passage, we reached the important town of Sókna in the morning of the
2nd August.
Here the difficulties of my journey, in consequence of the revolutionary
state of the province, increased, and, after a long consultation with
some friends to whom I had been recommended, the only possible way of
proceeding was found to be that of leaving the usual track by way of
Bónjem altogether, and taking an entirely different road by a series of
valleys lying further west, the road by Ben-Gházi also having been found
impracticable. Sókna, even at the present time, is a very interesting
place, as well on account of its mercantile activity and of its fine
plantations of date and other fruit trees, as owing to the peculiar
character of its inhabitants, who still retain a distinct idiom of the
Berber language[57]; but at the present moment, on account of the total
interruption of the communication with the coast, the price of
provisions was very high, and the natives scarcely knew what political
course to pursue. There was especially a merchant of the name of
Beshála, who showed me an extraordinary degree of kindness and
attention.
Having therefore waited until the arrival of the “rekás,” or courier, in
order to obtain the most recent news, and having in consequence of their
unfavourable tenor been induced to increase the wages of my camel
drivers, whom I had hired previously, I at length got off on the 12th of
August. Pursuing the track called Trík el Merhóma, which was never
before traversed by a European, and, passing by the wells El Hammám, El
Maráti, Ershidíye, and Gedafíye, and then by the narrow Wádí Ghirza (the
place once the great object of African research for Lieutenant now
Admiral Smyth), with its interesting ancient sepulchres in the form of
obelisks, we reached Wádí Zemzem on the 19th. Here there was a
considerable encampment of Arabs, and some of the ringleaders of the
revolution residing here at the time, I found myself in a serious
dilemma. But the English were too much respected by these tribes for
them to oppose my passage, although they told me plainly, that if they
suspected that the English were opposed to the revolution, they would
cut my throat, as well as that of any European traveller who might fall
into their hands. However, after some quiet explanations with them as to
what was most conducive to their own interests, and about the
probability of their succeeding in making themselves independent of the
Turkish sway; and after having promised a handsome present to one of the
more influential men among them, they allowed me to pass on. I had also
great difficulty in hiring some fresh camels, the safety of which I
guaranteed, to take me to Tripoli. I thus pursued my journey to Bení-
Ulíd with its deep valley overtowered by the ruins of many a middle-age
castle, and adorned by numbers of beautiful olive trees, besides being
enlivened by many small villages consisting of stone dwellings half in
decay. On approaching the place, I fell in with a messenger, sent very
kindly to meet me by Mr. Reade, Her Majesty’s Vice-Consul in Tripoli,
who, besides a few letters, brought me what was most gratifying to me in
my exhausted state, a bottle of wine, a luxury of which I had been
deprived for so many years.
I had some little trouble in this place, as there was residing here at
the time a brother of Ghóma, the rebel chief himself, who had sent an
express messenger on my account; and differences of interest between the
various chiefs of the place, caused me at the same time some
difficulties, though, in other respects, they facilitated my
proceedings. Altogether I was very glad when I had left this turbulent
little community behind me, which appeared to be the last difficulty
that opposed itself to my return home.
In the evening of the fourth day after leaving Bení-Ulíd, I reached the
little oasis of ʿAín Zára, the same place where I had stayed several
days preparatory to my setting out on my long African wanderings, and
was here most kindly received by Mr. Reade, who had come out of the town
with his tent, and provided with sundry articles of European comfort, to
receive me again at the threshold of civilization.
Having spent a cheerful evening in his company, I set out the following
morning on my last march on the African soil, in order to enter the town
of Tripoli, and although the impression made upon my mind by the rich
vegetation of the gardens which surround the town, after the long
journey through the desert waste, was very great, yet infinitely greater
was the effect produced upon me by the wide expanse of the sea, which,
in the bright sunshine of this intermediate zone, spread out with a tint
of the darkest blue. I felt so grateful to Providence for having again
reached in safety the border of this Mediterranean basin, the cradle of
European civilization, which from an early period had formed the object
of my earnest longings and most serious course of studies, that I would
fain have alighted from my horse on the sea beach, to offer up a prayer
of thanksgiving to the Almighty, who, with the most conspicuous mercy,
had led me through the many dangers which surrounded my path, both from
fanatical men and an unhealthy climate.
It was market day, and the open place intervening between the plantation
of the Meshíah and the town was full of life and bustle. The soldiers
who had recently arrived from Europe to quell the revolution, were drawn
up on the beach in order to make an impression on the natives, and I
observed a good many fine sturdy men among them. Amidst this busy scene,
in the most dazzling sunshine, with the open sea and the ships on my
right, I entered the snow-white walls of the town, and was most kindly
received by all my former friends.
Having stayed four days in Tripoli, I embarked in a Turkish steamer
which had brought the troops and was returning to Malta, and having made
only a short stay in that island, I again embarked in a steamer for
Marseilles, in order to reach England by the most direct route. Without
making any stay in Paris, I arrived in London on the 6th September, and
was most kindly received by Lord Palmerston as well as by Lord
Clarendon, who took the greatest interest in the remarkable success
which had accompanied my proceedings.
Thus I closed my long and exhausting career as an African explorer, of
which these volumes endeavour to incorporate the results. Having
previously gained a good deal of experience of African travelling during
an extensive journey through Barbary, I had embarked on this undertaking
as a volunteer, under the most unfavourable circumstances for myself.
The scale and the means of the mission seemed to be extremely limited;
and it was only in consequence of the success which accompanied our
proceedings, that a wider extent was given to the range and objects of
the expedition[58]; and after its original leader had succumbed in his
arduous task, instead of giving way to despair, I had continued in my
career amid great embarrassment, carrying on the exploration of
extensive regions almost without any means. And when the leadership of
the mission, in consequence of the confidence of Her Majesty’s
government, was intrusted to me, and I had been deprived of the only
European companion who remained with me, I resolved upon undertaking,
with a very limited supply of means, a journey to the far west, in order
to endeavour to reach Timbúktu, and to explore that part of the Niger
which, through the untimely fate of Mungo Park, had remained unknown to
the scientific world. In this enterprise I succeeded to my utmost
expectation, and not only made known the whole of that vast region,
which even to the Arab merchants in general had remained more unknown
than any other part of Africa[59], but I succeeded also in establishing
friendly relations with all the most powerful chiefs along the river up
to that mysterious city itself. The whole of this was achieved,
including the payment of the debts left by the former expedition, and
200_l._, which I contributed myself, with the sum of about 1600_l._ No
doubt, even in the track which I myself pursued I have left a good deal
for my successors in this career to improve upon; but I have the
satisfaction to feel that I have opened to the view of the scientific
public of Europe a most extensive tract of the secluded African world,
and not only made it tolerably known, but rendered the opening of a
regular intercourse between Europeans and those regions possible.
[Footnote 54: See Vol. II. p. 654.]
[Footnote 55: Vol. I. p. 504.]
[Footnote 56: Denham and Clapperton’s Travels, p. 17.]
[Footnote 57: Also in El Fok-ha, distant three days from Sókna, on the
road to Ben-Gházi, the same idiom is spoken.]
[Footnote 58: This greater success was especially due to the journey
which I undertook to the Sultan of Ágades, thus restoring confidence in
our little band which had been entirely shaken by great reverses.]
[Footnote 59: “It appears singular that the country immediately to the
eastward of Timbuctoo, as far as Kashna, should be more imperfectly
known to the Moorish traders, than the rest of Central
Africa.”—_Quarterly Review_, May, 1820, p. 234. Compare what Clapperton
says about the dangers of the road from Sókoto to Timbúktu. Sec. Exped.,
p. 235.]