which, running in the direction of our path from S.S.W. to N.N.E., is
adorned with a continuous strip of dúm-trees, besides abísga and talha;
but the latter were of rather poor growth in the northern part of the
valley. Having crossed at noon the broad sandy watercourse, which winds
through the rich carpet of vegetation, and where there happened to be a
tolerably large pond of water, we encamped in the midst of the thicket.
Here the mimosas attained such an exuberance as I had scarcely observed
even in the valley Ásada, and being closely interwoven with “gráffeni”
or climbing plants, they formed an almost impenetrable thicket. From the
midst of this thorny mass of vegetation a beautiful ripe fruit, about an
inch and a half long, of the size of a date, and of dark-red colour,
awakened the desire of the traveller; but having eaten a few, I found
them, though sweet, rather mawkish.
Here too I first became acquainted with the troublesome nature of the
“karéngia,” or _Pennisetum distichum_, which, together with the ant, is
to the traveller in Central Africa his greatest and most constant
inconvenience. It was just ripe; and the little burr-like seeds attached
themselves to every part of my dress. It is quite necessary to be always
provided with small pincers, in order to draw out from the fingers the
little stings, which, if left in the skin, will cause sores. None even
of the wild roving natives is ever without such an instrument. But it is
not a useless plant; for, besides being the most nourishing food for
cattle, it furnishes even man with a rather slight, but by no means
tasteless food. Many of the Tawárek, from Bórnu as far as Timbúktu,
subsist more or less upon the seeds of the _Pennisetum distichum_, which
they call “úzak.” The drink made of it is certainly not bad, resembling
in coolness the fúra or ghussub-water.
From the circumstance that our Kél-owí were here cutting grass for the
camels, I concluded that the next part of our journey would lead through
an entirely sterile tract; but though the herbage was here exuberant, it
was not at all wanting further on. Having left the valley awhile to our
right, we soon re-entered it, and crossed several beautiful branches of
it very rich in vegetation. We then encamped on an open place beyond the
southernmost branch, close to a cemetery of the Imghád who inhabit a
small village to the east called Tawár Nwaijdúd, and further on some
other villages, called Téndau, Tin-tabórak, and Emélloli.
While, with the rest of our companions, we tried to make ourselves
comfortable on the hard ground and under the open canopy of heaven,
Hámma and Mohammed took up their quarters with the Imghád, and,
according to their own statement on their return the following morning,
were very hospitably treated, both by the male and female part of the
inhabitants. As for the Imghád who live in these fertile valleys round
Ágades, they are divided into numerous sections, of which I learnt the
following names:—the Ehér-heren, the Kél-chísem, the Taranaiji, the
Edárreban, the Yowúswosan, the Efeléngeras, the Éheten[145], the
Tariwáza, the Ihíngemángh, the Egemmén, the Edellén, the Kél-tédele, and
the Ikóhanén.
[Sidenote: Wednesday, October 9th.]
Our route led us over stony ground till we reached another favoured
valley, called Tefárrakad, where, owing to the watercourse being divided
into several branches, vegetation is spread over a larger space. Here,
while our Kél-owí hung a little behind, two Imghád, mounted on camels,
attached themselves to us and became rather troublesome; but they looked
so famished and thin that they awakened pity rather than any other
feeling, their dress and whole attire being of the poorest description.
Further on, when we had left the valley and ascended rocky ground, we
met a small caravan of the same mixed kind as our own troop,—camels,
bullocks, asses, and men on foot; they were returning to their village
with provision of Negro millet, which they had bought in Ágades.
We had scarcely advanced three miles when we descended again into
another long, beautiful hollow in the rocky ground, the valley Bóghel,
which, besides a fine grove of dúm-trees, exhibits one very large and
remarkable specimen of the tree called baure[146] in Háusa, a large
ficus with ample fleshy leaves of beautiful green. This specimen, so far
to the north, measured not less than twenty-six feet in circumference at
the height of eight feet from the ground, and was certainly eighty feet
high, with a full, wide-spreading crown. I scarcely remember afterwards
to have seen in all Sudán a larger baure than this. Here, for the first
time, I heard the Guinea fowl (“táliat” or “tailelt” in Temashight,
“zabó” in Háusa); for I did not see it, the birds keeping to the thick
and impenetrable underwood which filled the intervals between the dúm-
trees.
At noon the wood, which was rather more than half a mile in breadth,
formed one continued and unbroken cluster of thicket in the most
picturesque state of wild luxuriance, while further on, where it became
a little clearer of underwood, the ground was covered with a sort of
wild melon; but my friend the blacksmith, who took up one of them and
applied his teeth to it, threw it away with such a grimace, that I
rather suspect he mistook a colocynth, “jan-gunna,” for a melon,
“gunna.” Numbers of the _Asclepias gigantea_, which never grows on a
spot incapable of cultivation, bore testimony to the fertility of the
soil, which was soon more clearly demonstrated by a small corn-field
still under cultivation. Traces of former cultivation were evident on
all sides. There can scarcely be the least doubt that these valleys,
which were expressly left to the care of the degraded tribes or the
Imghád, on condition of their paying from the produce a certain tribute
to their masters, once presented a very different aspect; but when the
power of the ruler of Ágades dwindled away to a shadow, and when the
Imghád, who received from him their kaid or governor, “tágaza,” ceased
to fear him, preferring robbery and pillage to the cultivation of the
ground, these fine valleys were left to themselves, and relapsed into a
wilderness.
We encamped at an early hour in the afternoon near the watercourse, but
did not succeed in obtaining water by digging, so that we could not even
cook a little supper. Further down the valley there had been a copious
supply of water; and we had passed there a numerous caravan of asses
near a large pool; but my companions, who were extremely negligent in
this respect, would not then lay in a supply. Several Tawárek, or rather
Imóshagh and Imghád, encamped around us for the night, and thus showed
that we were approaching a centre of intercourse.
Owing to our want of water, we started at a very early hour, and,
ascending gradually, after a little more than three miles, reached the
height of the pebbly plateau on which the town of Ágades has been built.
After having received several accounts of this naked “hammáda” or
“ténere” stretching out to the distance of several days, I was agreeably
surprised to find that it was by no means so dreary and monotonous as I
had been led to expect, forming now and then shallow depressions a few
feet only lower than the pebbly surface, and sometimes extending to a
considerable distance, where plenty of herbage and middle-sized acacia
were growing. The road was now becoming frequented; and my companions,
with a certain feeling of pride, showed me in the distance the high
“Mesállaje,” or minaret, the glory of Ágades. Having obtained a supply
of water, and quenched our thirst, to my great astonishment we proceeded
to encamp at half-past seven in the morning in one of these shallow
hollows; and I learnt that we were to stay here the whole day till near
sunset, in order to enter the town in the dark.
We were here met by two horsemen from Ágades (the son of the kádhi, and
a companion), who, I suppose, had come out on purpose to see us. They
had a very _chevaleresque_ look, and proved highly interesting to me, as
they were the first horsemen I had seen in the country. The son of the
kádhi, who was a fine, tall man, was well-dressed in a tobe and trowsers
of silk and cotton; he carried only an iron spear besides his sword and
dagger, but no shield. But, for me, the most interesting part of their
attire was their stirrups, which are almost European in shape, but made
of copper. Of this metal were made also the ornaments on the harness of
their horses; their saddles also were very unlike what I had yet seen in
these countries, and nearly the same as the old Arab saddle, which
differs little from the English.
While encamped here, I bought from Hamma a black Sudán tobe, which, worn
over another very large white tobe or shirt, and covered with a white
bernús, gave me an appearance more suited to the country, while the
stains of indigo soon made my complexion a few shades darker. This
exterior accommodation to the custom of the natives, my friend Hámma
represented as essential for securing the success of my undertaking; and
it had, besides, the advantage that it gave rise to the rumour that the
sultan of Ágades himself had presented me with this dress.
At length, when the sun was almost down, and when it was known that the
Kél-gerés and Itísan (who had come to Ágades in very great numbers, in
order to proceed on their journey to Bílma after the investiture of the
new sultan) had retreated to their encampments at some distance from the
town, we started, and were soon met by several people, who came to pay
their compliments to my companions. On entering the town, we passed
through a half-deserted quarter and at length reached the house of
Ánnur, where we were to take up our abode. But arriving in a new place
at night is never very pleasant, and must be still less so where there
are no lamps; it therefore took us some time to make ourselves tolerably
comfortable. But I was fortunate in receiving hospitable treatment from
our travelling companion ʿAbd el Káder, who being lodged in a chamber
close to mine, sent me a well-prepared dish of kuskusu, made of Indian
corn. I could not relish the rice sent by one of Ánnur’s wives, who
resides here, owing to its not being seasoned with any salt, a practice
to which I became afterwards more accustomed, but which rather
astonished me in a country the entire trade of which consists in salt.
Having spread my mat and carpet on the floor, I slept well, in the
pleasing consciousness of having successfully reached this first object
of my desires, and dreaming of the new sphere of inquiry on which I had
entered.
[Footnote 137: It is an obvious mistake to derive this name, which is
written اصُطِه and اصوطِه, though the former is the more correct form
and is evidently of sub-Libyan origin, from the Arabic word اسود
(black).]
[Footnote 138: See Gesenius, s. v. “abel;” and compare Porter, Five
Years in Damascus, vol. i. p. 264.; Stanley, Sinai and Palestine, pp.
405. 485.]
[Footnote 139: I have noticed in my memorandum-book also, that I saw
here the first túji; but what “túji” means I am at present unable to
say.]
[Footnote 140: Ebn Khaldún, texte Arabe, tom. i. p. 265.; Ebn Batúta,
Journal Asiatique, 1843, p. 233.]
[Footnote 141: At the moment I am revising this, I am happy to state
that the slave-trade is really abolished.]
[Footnote 142: I trust my readers will approve of my using the
expression Western Negroland to denote the countries from Fúta as far as
Sókoto; Middle Sudán, or Central Negroland, from Sókoto to Bagírmi; and
Eastern Negroland, comprising Wadäy, Darfúr, Kordofán, and Sennár.
However, here, when I say that Mohammed ben ʿAbd el Kerím introduced
Islám into Central Negroland, I exclude Bórnu, where the Mohammedan
religion is much older.]
[Footnote 143: He may have been born in Telemsán; but at least from very
early youth he was settled in Tawát.]
[Footnote 144: E’ Soyúti’s full name is Abu’l Fadhl Jelál e’ dín ʿAbd e’
Rahmán el Khodaíri e’ Soyúti.]
[Footnote 145: This name may be connected with the Sónghay or Sónrhay;
the Awelímmiden, at least, call the Sónghay people Ehétane.]
[Footnote 146: This tree has nothing in common with the _Adansonia_,
with which it has been supposed to be identical.]
CHAP. XVII.
ÁGADES.
Early in the morning the whole body of people from Tawát who were
residing in the place, ʿAbd el Káder at their head, paid me a visit. The
Tawátíye are still, at the present time (like their forefathers more
than 300 years ago), the chief merchants in Ágades; and they are well
adapted to the nature of this market, for, having but small means, and
being more like pedlars or retail dealers, they sit quietly down with
their little stock, and try to make the most of it by buying Negro
millet when it is cheap, and retailing it when it becomes dear.
Speculation in grain is now the principal business transacted in Ágades,
since the branches of commerce of which I shall speak further on, and
which once made the place rich and important, have been diverted into
other channels. Here I will only remark, that it is rather curious that
the inhabitants of Tawát, though enterprising travellers, never become
rich. Almost all the money with which they trade belongs to the people
of Ghadámes; and their profits only allow them to dress and live well,
of which they are very fond. Till recently, the Kél-owí frequented the
market of Tawát, while they were excluded from those of Ghát and Múrzuk;
but at present the contrary takes place, and, while they are admitted in
the two latter places, Tawát has been closed against them.
Several of these Tawátíye were about to return to their native country,
and were anxiously seeking information as to the time when the caravan
of the Sakomáren, which had come to Tin-téllust, intended to start on
their return-journey, as they wished to go in their company. Among them
was a man of the name of ʿAbdallah, with whom I became afterwards very
intimate, and obtained from him a great deal of information. He was well
acquainted with that quarter of the African continent which lies between
Tawát, Timbúktu, and Ágades, having been six times to Ágades and five
times to Timbúktu, and was less exacting than the mass of his
countrymen. The most interesting circumstance which I learnt from them
to-day was the identity of the Emgédesi language with that of
Timbúktu,—a fact of which I had no previous idea, thinking that the
Háusa language, as it was the vulgar tongue of the whole of Ásben, was
the indigenous language of the natives of Ágades. But about this most
interesting fact I shall say more afterwards.
When the Tawátíye were about to go away, Ámagay, or Mággi, as he is
generally called, the chief eunuch of the sultan, came; and I was
ordered by my Kél-owí companions, who had put on all their finery, to
make myself ready to pay a visit to the sultan. Throwing, therefore, my
white heláli bernus over my black tobe, and putting on my richly-
ornamented Ghadámsi shoes, which formed my greatest finery, I took up
the letters and the treaty, and solicited the aid of my servant Mohammed
to assist me in getting it signed; but he refused to perform any such
service, regarding it as a very gracious act on his part that he went
with me at all.
The streets and the market-places were still empty when we went through
them, which left upon me the impression of a deserted place of by-gone
times; for even in the most important and central quarters of the town,
most of the dwelling-houses were in ruins. Some meat was lying ready for
sale; and a bullock was tied to a stake, while numbers of large
vultures, distinguished by their long naked neck, of reddish colour, and
their dirty-greyish plumage, were sitting on the pinnacles of the
crumbling walls ready to pounce upon any kind of offal. These natural
scavengers I afterwards found to be the constant inhabitants of all the
market-places, not only in this town, but in all the places in the
interior. Directing our steps by the high watch-tower, which, although
built only of clay and wood, yet, on account of its contrast to the low
dwelling-houses around, forms a conspicuous object, we reached the gate
which leads into the palace or fáda, a small separate quarter with a
large irregular courtyard, and from twenty to twenty-five larger and
smaller dwellings. Even these were partly in ruins; and one or two
wretched conical cottages built of reeds and grass, in the midst of
them, showed anything but a regard to cleanliness. The house, however,
in which the sultan himself dwelt proved to have been recently repaired,
and had a neat and orderly appearance; the wall was nicely polished, and
the gate newly covered in with boards made of the stem of the dúm-tree,
and furnished with a door of the same material.
We seated ourselves apart on the right side of a vestibule, which, as is
the case in all the houses of this place, is separated from the rest of
the room by a low balustrade about ten inches high, and in this shape
[Illustration]. Meanwhile Mággi had announced us to his Majesty, and,
coming back, conducted us into the adjoining room, where he had taken
his seat. It was separated from the vestibule by a very heavy wooden
door, and was far more decent than I had expected. It was about forty or
fifty feet in every direction, the rather low roof being supported by
two short and massive columns of clay, slightly decreasing in thickness
towards the top, and furnished with a simple abacus; over which one
layer of large boards was placed in the breadth, and two in the depth of
the room, sustaining the roof formed of lighter boards. These are
covered in with branches, over which mats are spread, the whole being
completed with a layer of clay. At the lower end of the room, between
the two columns, was a heavy door giving access into the interior of the
house, while a large opening on either side admitted the light.
[Illustration]
ʿAbd el Káderi, the son of the sultan el Bákiri, was seated between the
column to the right and the wall, and appeared to be a tolerably stout
man, with large benevolent features, as far as the white shawl wound
around his face would allow us to perceive. The white colour of the
lithám, and that of his shirt, which was of grey hue, together with his
physiognomy, at once announced him as not belonging to the Tawárek race.
Having saluted him one after the other, we took our seats at some
distance opposite to him, when, after having asked Hamma some
complimentary questions with regard to the old chief, he called me to
come near to him, and in a very kind manner entered into conversation
with me, asking me about the English nation, of which, notwithstanding
all their power, he had, in his retired spot, never before heard, not
suspecting that “English powder” was derived from them.
After explaining to him how the English, although placed at such an
immense distance, wished to enter into friendly relations with all the
chiefs and great men on the earth, in order to establish peaceable and
legitimate intercourse with them, I delivered to him Ánnur’s and Mr.
Richardson’s letters, and begged him to forward another letter to
ʿAlíyu, the sultan of Sókoto, wherein we apologised for our
incapability, after the heavy losses and the many extortions we had
suffered, of paying him at present a visit in his capital, expressing to
ʿAbd el Káder, at the same time, how unjustly we had been treated by
tribes subject to his dominion, who had deprived us of nearly all the
presents we were bringing with us for himself and the other princes of
Sudán. While expressing his indignation on this account, and regretting
that I should not be able to go on directly to Sókoto, whither he would
have sent me with the greatest safety in company with the salt-caravan
of the Kél-geres, and at the same time giving vent to his astonishment
that, although young, I had already performed journeys so extensive, he
dismissed us, after we had placed before him the parcel containing the
presents destined for him. The whole conversation, not only with me, but
also with my companions, was in the Háusa language. I should have liked
to have broached to him the treaty at once; but the moment was not
favourable.
On the whole, I look upon ʿAbd el Káder as a man of great worth, though
devoid of energy. All the people assured me that he was the best of the
family to which the sultan of Ágades belongs. He had been already sultan
before, but, a few years ago, was deposed in order to make way for Hámed
e’ Rufäy, whom he again succeeded; but in 1853, while I was in Sókoto,
he was once more compelled to resign in favour of the former.
While returning with my companions to our lodging, we met six of Bóro’s
sons, among whom our travelling companion Háj ʿAli was distinguished for
his elegance. They were going to the palace in order to perform their
office as “fadáwa-n-serkí” (royal courtiers), and were very complaisant
when they were informed that I had been graciously received by his
Majesty. Having heard from them that Bóro, since his return, had been
ill with fever, I took the opportunity to induce my followers to
accompany me on a visit to him.
[Illustration]
Mohammed Bóro has a nice little house for a town like Ágades, situated
on the small area called Erárar-n-sákan, or “the place of the young
camels.” It is shown in the accompanying sketch. The house itself
consists of two stories, and furnishes a good specimen of the better
houses of the town; its interior was nicely whitewashed. Bóro, who was
greatly pleased with our visit, received us in a very friendly manner,
and when we left accompanied us a long way down the street. Though he
holds no office at present, he is nevertheless a very important
personage, not only in Ágades, but even in Sókoto, where he is regarded
as the wealthiest merchant. He has a little republic of his own (like
the venerable patriarchs) of not less than about fifty sons with their
families; but he still possesses such energy and enterprise, that in
1854 he was about to undertake another pilgrimage to Mekka.
When I had returned to my quarters, Mággi brought me, as an
acknowledgment of my presents, a fat large-sized ram from ʿAbd el Káder,
which was an excellent proof that good meat can be got here. There is a
place called Aghíllad, three or four days’ journey west from
Ágades[147], which is said to be very rich in cattle. On this occasion I
gave to the influential eunuch, for himself, an aliyáfu, or subéta,—a
white shawl with a red border. In the afternoon I took another walk
through the town, first to the erárar-n-sákan, which, though it had been
quiet in the morning, exhibited now a busy scene, about fifty camels
being offered for sale, most of them very young, and the older ones
rather indifferent. But while the character of the article for sale
could not be estimated very high, that of the men employed in the
business of the market attracted my full attention.
They were tall men with broad coarse features, very different from any I
had seen before, and with long hair hanging down upon their shoulders
and over their face, in a way which is an abomination to the Tawárek;
but upon inquiry I learnt that they belonged to the tribe of the
Ighdalén, or Éghedel, a very curious mixed tribe of Berber and Songhay
blood, and speaking the Sónghay language. The mode of buying and
selling, also, was very peculiar; for the price was neither fixed in
dollars, nor in shells, but either in merchandise of various
description, such as calico, shawls, tobes—or in Negro millet, which is
the real standard of the market of Ágades at the present time, while
during the period of its prime, it was apparently the gold of Gágho.
This way of buying or selling is called “kárba.” There was a very
animated scene between two persons; and to settle the dispute it was
necessary to apply to the “serki-n-káswa,” who for every camel sold in
the market receives three “réjel.”
[Illustration]