Departure for Tegerry, through Zuela and Gatrone — Arrival at
Zaizow — Pass on to Traghan — Visit Gardens and Springs —
Arrival at Zaitoon and Touela — Pass Villages of Maghwa and Taleb
— Arrival at Hamera — Illness — Leave Hamera — Bearings
of its neighbouring Villages — Large Salt Plain — Arrival at
Zuela — Description of Inhabitants — Author’s Illness —
Ancient Buildings — Hospitality of the Shreefs — Leave the
Town — Arrival at Terboo — Its Wretchedness — Curious Story
of Marāboot — Arrival at Mejdool — Journey across the Desert,
and Arrival at Gatrone — Feast of Milood — Costume, Character,
and general Description of the Tibboo — Description of Gatrone
— Accounts of Tibesty and Waday, from a Tibboo Trader — Tibboo
Language — Leave Gatrone in order to meet the Grazzie — El
Bakkhi — Tibboo Manner of making Tar — Arrival at Tegerry.
On the 9th of December we began our preparations, and by the 13th,
had succeeded in nailing and lashing up all our effects, which we
lodged in the Koudi or sitting-room of old Hadje Mahmoud, who was
to take charge of them. I bought a very fine brown Maherry seven
feet six inches in height, and able to carry 5 cwt., of a little
one-eyed boy, of about 12 years of age, who drove a bargain harder
than any man I ever saw. My health was very bad, and I suffered
severe pain from diseased liver and enlarged spleen; but having
considered that it would be necessary for me, before I returned to
Tripoli, to ascertain the situation of other parts of the kingdom
of Fezzan beyond Morzouk, I determined, notwithstanding my extreme
weakness, to visit the southern and eastern provinces, proceeding
in the first place to Zuela زويله in the east, and from thence
passing the desert to Gatrone قترون and Tegerry تجرّي in
the south. I persuaded Belford, who always entered into my views,
to try what change of air would do for him as well as for myself,
and he agreed to accompany me, although we more resembled two
men going to the grave, than fit persons to travel over strange
countries. Yussuf ben el Hadge Khaleel kindly lent us his little boy,
Barca, who was to act as our servant, and to lead our camel.
On the 14th we set out, having received a Teskera from the Sultan, on
all the villages through which we might pass, so as that ourselves
and animals might be fed. I also had an order for the Kaid of
Zaizow زيزو and the brother of the Kaid of Traghan طرعغن
to accompany us: but it was not until 1.50. P.M. that we were able
to get away. We were weak and helpless; and the Arabs, according to
custom, gave us so much trouble, by their officiousness, that the
poor camel and our horses were loaded and unloaded a dozen times at
least. At 2.50. we passed a small nest of huts on our left, named
Mangelly منجلّي having another village to the south of it,
about one mile distant, called Ghrowāt غروعت. At 4. after
crossing a sandy plain, we came to a little village in the gardens
of Hadge Hajeel حاج حجيل where we found our friend, Mohammed,
measuring and burying the Sultan’s dates. The heap he was employed
on was about twelve feet in height, and thirty in length, and had all
been collected in the immediate neighbourhood. Mohammed gladly left
his work; and having ordered some Lackbi to be brought, and a fowl
or two to be seized upon, carried us to the hut he was living in.
We proceeded this day E. and by S. about seven miles.—Mohammed made
us welcome in the evening, and brought a fifer and two bagpipers
to stun us, while the women of the village, to do us honour, beat
tin-pots, singing, and dancing before us.
The village of Hadge Hajeel is half a mile south of the gardens,
and has about 250 inhabitants; this is the place which Horneman
mentions under the name of Sidi Besheer, whose tomb stands near it.
Dec. 15th. Therm. 9°. 30′.—At 8.30. A.M. we started with
Mohammed, who was to take us to Zaizow, and at a mile S.E. of the
gardens, arrived at the tomb of Sidi Besheer, where we recited the
Fatha, or first chapter of the Koran, and where I gave a dollar to
purchase food for the poor. It was a small mud hut, white-washed
in front, covered at the top with palm branches, and standing on a
sandy plain. Custom, and the sanctity of the Marāboot, induce all
Kafflés coming from the Interior to stop and refresh the slaves
and animals at this spot, previously to their entering Morzouk; and
here, too, all travellers assembling for the Interior, meet. Hard
by are the ruins of an old Arab Castle, called Gusser Hamādi.
On leaving this plain, we got into a most excellent beaten road,
running S. and by E. to Zaizow, and passed four of the Sultan’s
men on horseback, escorting three poor Augela Arabs, bound on camels,
with thirty-eight slaves, once their property. These people had been
six years trading in Soudan, and were now on their way to prison. We
left fourteen of their countrymen in confinement when we set out.
At 10.35. arrived at the small village of Zaizow, where we found
the Kaid Saad, who was to be our attendant, sitting on the sand, at
his own door, making women’s red shoes. On seeing the Sultan’s
order, he sprung up with alacrity, and carrying his tools into
the house, returned to us in a short time, in a gay dress, with a
sabre hanging over his shoulder. He was a fine honest looking black,
very fat and well oiled, and had the appearance of a great eater,
which qualification he soon gave proof of. While waiting here,
we saw a black woman with lips of a pale pink colour, and one or
two marks on each hand, of the same hue. I wished to ask her some
questions, but she looked so sulky that I desisted.
Zaizow is prettily situated in a little dell, thickly planted
with palms, and having a ruined castle on a rising ground in the
centre. The houses are nearly all in ruins, and many had palms
growing in them: the population, according to the Kaid, amounted
to about 70 souls. It is E. and by S. seven miles from Hadge
Hajeel. Mohammed left us in charge of our new friend, the Kaid,
who soon found a donkey to carry him on with us to Zuela, at which
place he was to find his horse.
At 11.30. A.M. set out, and at 2.30. passed a village on the
left, named Areg el Libban, and an old castle, called Gusser
Bighia. 2.45. Passed the ruined village and castle of Mokhāten
مخعتن. 3.12. arrived at a place called Deesa ديس where we
found the Kaid of Traghan, who promised to come to us on the morrow,
and to send his brother as soon as he returned home. The village
of Ershādi faces Deesa to the southward of the road. Leaving
Deesa, we passed for an hour over a flat, so completely encrusted
with salt, that it had the appearance of a hoar frost in England;
indeed, the whole of the road from Hadge Hajeel bore, more or less,
the same resemblance.
At 5. we entered the gardens and date groves of Traghan طرعغن
which appeared in a higher state of cultivation than any we had yet
seen, and at 5.45. arrived at the town, which stands clear of the
gardens, on a flat desert plain. Yussuf having offered us his house,
we put up there, although not without a great deal of clamour from
an over-civil Negress and her husband, who, to do us more honour,
shifted us and our baggage about without mercy. The Marāboot,
the principal man here, sent to apologise for not being prepared
to provide us with bread and meat. At 2. this day the thermometer
was 25°.
{from Hadge Hajeel 7 miles.
We had travelled E. and by S.{
{from Zaizow 16 miles.
--
23 miles.
Dec. 16th. Therm. 9°. Fine clear morning. I paid a visit to the
Marāboot, who was sitting on an earthen mound, half naked, and in a
very dignified manner, enjoying the heat of the sun. His dependants
were seated round on the sand, listening with mute attention to the
sagacity of his remarks. He was very fat, greasy, and consequential,
and told me that all his family had been Marāboots, and equally
eminent for learning with himself. On leaving him, full of admiration
at his modesty, I went out to the gardens to see the springs, of
which I had heard so much. As I was a stranger, and these springs
were the pride of Fezzan, several people left their work to follow
me, and to witness my surprise and admiration at the first sight of
them. There are four ponds, each 30 or 40 feet in diameter, covered
with a green crust, and containing innumerable frogs. Insignificant,
however, as they were, I dismounted and drank heartily from them,
although the water, even here, was not perfectly fresh. The gardens
which are supplied from them are altogether as white with salt as
those watered from the wells. A number of strange birds, resembling
thrushes, but with longer tails, fluttered about us; but having no
gun with me, I was unable to kill one. The date trees here are very
thickly planted, and form a most agreeable shade.
I got a meridian altitude of the sun, 81°. 1′. 30″. which
gives the latitude 25°. 55′. N.
On our return to the town, I observed that its walls and houses
were of a light green colour, while the castle in ruins appeared
of a reddish clay; but I soon discovered that the earth and clay
all round the town were actually green, and I collected specimens
of them. This place appears to have been once of some consequence,
but is now nearly in ruins, and has not, I should imagine, above
five or six hundred inhabitants. At 2 P.M. thermometer 19°. The
Marāboot sent us a couple of fowls and some bread; and as the Kaid
of the town followed the present to know if we were properly served,
he came in for his share. I observed here, with much satisfaction,
that Belford seemed quite recovered from his giddiness, though he
remained very thin and weak.
Dec. 17th. Thermometer 8° 30′. Raw misty morning, with the wind
in the north-east. We visited the Gusba, or castle, the ruins of
which show it to have once been a place of some importance as an
Arab fortress. The Marāboot informed me that it had been built
prior to Morzouk, in which case it must be nearly six hundred years
old. A story is told, that of the asses employed in bringing the
materials for building it, 500 died before it was finished, of
mere fatigue. About sixty years ago it was inhabited by a brother
of the native Sultan’s, who governed the eastern provinces, and
was styled “Sultan el Shirghi,” or Sultan of the East. From the
castle we were enabled to observe that the town stood on a plain,
bounded to the southward by palms, and from east-south-east to west
by the Desert.
The following towns bore thus: El Glaib, south-west three or
four miles; Ben Gleif, south-south-west four miles; Māfen,
south-half-west eight miles; Zebbār, south four miles; and Zaitoon,
south-east by east seven miles.
There are four mosques in Traghan, having small mud minarets. The
houses are many of them large, but are now in ruins, owing to the
great alteration in the circumstances of their owners. That of our
friend Yussuf had been one of the best. We had, however, a proof
of its present altered state, in finding the roof breaking in upon
us, which obliged us to change our quarters. Three beams gave way
at once, and no doubt the whole would have fallen in before night;
though the old man and woman stood fearlessly under it, and asserted
that it could not happen, because no roof had ever fallen in their
master’s house. The people here have an idea, that corn grows more
luxuriantly in salt earth than in any other, and from the appearance
of the crops, I am inclined to be of the same opinion. At eleven
I sent the Maherry on, and waited, at the Marāboot’s request,
to partake of a mess which he was preparing for us. I observed that
Kaid Saad’s horse seemed in very poor case, and was greedily eating
date leaves; but this was soon accounted for, on my learning that
the allowance of food which he received for the poor beast was all
sent home to the favourite wife. The people of this place have (if
possible) a more whining tone in their salutations, than those of
Morzouk. I sent the Marāboot a knife and pair of scissars; and at
12.45. left the town, attended by Yussuf’s slaves, who saw us well
on our road, and then took their leave of us. At 3.15. came up with
the Maherry, and at 3.25. entered a miserable assemblage of about two
dozen mud and palm huts, called Zaitoon, زيتون, having proceeded
east-south-east seven miles over a gravelly plain. We met the Kaid
of Traghan on the road, with some other horsemen who were bringing
eight slaves and some sheep, the property of Augela merchants.
As the huts promised but little comfort, we pitched our tent in the
midst of them, to the astonishment of the natives; who, on hearing
from Saad (who never forgot to order a dinner) that we were very
great men, and friends of the Sultan, dispersed themselves about the
village to catch all the unlucky fowls that came in their way, and,
in consequence, we had six served up in an hour after we arrived. The
Kaid felt much hurt at my paying for them, as he was afraid it would
be the means of spoiling the people, who would always, in future,
expect remuneration.
Dec. 18th. Thermometer 5° at the tent door. Fine clear morning,
with the wind to the eastward. We had much difficulty in catching our
horses, which had broken their tethers, and run out on the desert;
even the Kaid’s Rosinanté was capering about: my horse, however,
stopped at the sound of my voice, and by 9.15. we were enabled to
proceed. At about three-quarters of a mile south-east by east of
Zaitoon, is another village of the same description, called Touela,
طويله. We passed through it, and, I believe, shook hands with
every male inhabitant in the place. Near this village is a large heap
of ruins, said to have once been a castle, the walls of which are,
though roughly built, very curious. Between a rising ground a little
to the eastward, and the principal well, there are twelve others,
each about four yards apart, and having arched communications
sufficiently high for a man to walk erect in. Leaving Touela, we
ascended to a bleak stony plain, running on to the desert on the
left, and having very irregular sand hills, about the distance of
two miles to the right. We directed our course north 65° east. A
strong north-east wind was blowing, and I observed, as in coming from
Tripoli, that in the coldest days the sun has the greatest power
of burning the skin. Belford and myself were completely disfigured
about the nose, which became very red, and smarted painfully. At
eleven the sand hills closed in, and we came again to a few palms
and a small village called Maghwa, مخوه. We remained to warm
ourselves in the sun by a well side, and were joined by Besheer el
Dthucker, the Kaid of Traghan’s brother, who had followed us full
speed from Morzouk. At 11.45. the camel having passed, we went on;
and at 1.30. came again to sand hills. At 2.10. we arrived with the
horses at Taleb, طالب, (Fox), a village with about eighteen palm
trees, and four or five mud huts: the Sheikh brought us out some
dates and very salt water. The mountains between us and Hamera,
حميره, called El Gāra, القار, bore north 60° east. At
three, the camel having passed, we went on. At 4.10. passed El Gāra
on the right. From hence Hamera bore north 55° east. We travelled
all this day, with the exception of the villages, over a gravelly
desert. On the plain we visited a well which is haunted by Iblis,
or the devil; for the Arabs cannot conceive that the echo which
proceeds from it can arise from any other cause. At five we arrived
at Hamera. I found myself greatly exhausted in consequence of the
pain in my liver, and the debility occasioned by the mercury I had
taken. The Kaid promised me much comfort here, as we were to have
the Sultan’s own house; but we waited so long in the midst of the
village, before we could find any one to get it ready, that I was
obliged to produce my Teskera, which soon set the people in motion,
and converted a set of impudent lazy Arabs into the most submissive
people in the world, and every one of them seemed equally anxious to
do us honour. We soon found the house, which was a miserable ruin,
having only two roofed rooms. The one destined for our reception
was occupied by five or six half naked Arab women, and a small flock
of sheep; but they all made way for us, and we took possession of it.
Dec. 19th.—I was so ill that I remained in bed, and was stared
at by the whole village.
December 20th. Thermometer 3° 30′. This place is now nearly
unwalled by time, and is completely wretched; it stands on
the desert, but is surrounded by a few straggling palms, and
gardens. The ground near the walls is covered with bushes of
Agool (or thorn of the desert), which, at a little distance, has
a pleasing green effect, and was then quite a novelty to us. The
Sheikh brought his two wives to me for advice: the first, who
had a head-ache and sore eyes, I was able to do something for;
but as for the second, her case was hopeless; for, according to
her husband’s and her own account, she had been three years
with child. Such mistakes are frequent here, as many women take
this method of deceiving their husbands, to avoid being divorced
for sterility. The lady left the house very much irritated at my
giving her no remedy for her complaint. At 11.20. we started,
and I observed the following bearings from Hamera. El Bedere,
east by north two miles. (It is from this place that the people of
the neighbouring districts supply themselves with salt, as it is
here free from earth, and of a beautiful whiteness.) Omelerāneb,
west-south-west two miles. This is the town of Sheikh Barood,
of the Boowadie Arabs; and from this place Teweewa is south-west
two or three miles. As usual, the desert is to the left, and high
sand hills to the right. The first part of our road was over a
barren plain, and we then, for an hour and a half, travelled over
a plain of salt, broken up in large slabs by the heat of the sun,
and having the appearance of a brown disturbed sea. We found the
footing very difficult for ourselves and animals. At 1.40. arrived at
the village of Omesogueen. Stopped here for a short time, and sent
the camels on. I consider this place seven miles and a half east
8° north of Hamera. Low table-topped hills bound the view to the
northward. The plains which occurred at intervals between the sand
hills, were covered by brittle stones, resembling pieces of yellowish
earthen ware, and ringing when struck by iron. At 2.15. we set off,
and proceeded east 17° north; met three more Augela prisoners, and
eight camels laden with merchandize, which they had brought from
Egypt, and which, with themselves, were seized on their entering
Zuela. At four we passed a flat hill on the left, running east and
west for many miles, called Mengār; some talhh trees are scattered
on the plain at its foot, which afford a lasting joke against the
people of Zuela. A man coming from thence, in great dread of meeting
the Waled Suliman, a band of Arabs who were pillaging the country,
was so blinded by his fears, that he mistook these trees, which he
had seen from his infancy, for horsemen, and in great trepidation
galloped to Zuela with the news: the Zuela men, in consequence,
putting their women and children in safety, went out in a body
towards evening to reconnoitre, when, after the usual caperings of
a party of Arabs, they came up with their enemy, which proved to be
the trees in question! After passing over another rough salt plain,
we arrived at 5.10. at Zuela, having on each side heaps of ruins
within the walls. On an eminence near the town, the principal people
(who are Shreefs) had been assembled for four or five hours in order
to welcome us. We were shown to a very good house, and numberless
visitors came, bringing provisions of all descriptions. For each
mess Kaid Saad, who was highly delighted, paid some compliment
to the bringer, though not till he had first dipped his finger in
and tasted. I was here so ill, that I was obliged to apply a large
blister to my side, and to go to bed, leaving my party listening to
the wonders which the Kaid was relating about Belford and myself,
whom he represented as two very extraordinary personages.
Dec. 21st. Thermometer, at nine A.M. 7°. Being too unwell to leave
my bed, Shreefs in numbers came to see us. About twelve different
bowls of meat, soup, and bread, were sent in to us, which the Kaid
and Besheer (for neither Belford nor myself had much appetite)
successively despatched.
December 22nd. Thermometer 9°, wind east-north-east, and at
two P.M. thermometer 21°. I found myself better until noon,
when a severe attack of hemma seized me, and my spleen became so
very hard and painful, that I was unable to lie down. At night,
the attack having ceased, I had a very large party to visit me,
and to examine my curiosities, amongst which the compass, and a
phosphoric match-box, were the most admired, and of course in great
danger of being broken. A venerable Shreef, named Mohammed Ali, came
late, and it was therefore necessary to go through my exhibition a
second time, at which he seemed highly gratified. He paid me great
compliments on my sagacity in having turned Moslem, and invited me
to an assembly at the great Mosque on the Friday following.
The inhabitants of Zuela are nearly all white, and Shreefs, and
they are particularly careful about intermarriages with other
Arabs, priding themselves much on their immediate descent from
Mohammed. They are certainly the most respectable, hospitable,
and quiet people in Fezzan, and their whole appearance (for they
are handsome and very neatly dressed) bespeaks something superior
to the other whites. I observed this evening that these people, as
well as all other Arabs and Negroes, invariably express admiration
by laughter, which is generally accompanied by holding the open hand
with the back towards the forehead. The more they are surprised or
amused, the more boisterous and loud they become.
December 23rd. Thermometer 9°, wind easterly. This morning my
curiosity was much excited respecting a very extraordinary fowl,
of which the Shreef, Mohammed el Dthābi, last night told me some
wonderful stories. He described it as being almost white, and above
a foot and a half in height; very stately and dignified in its
gait. He had brought a cock and a hen from Egypt, and what was most
remarkable, though the cock crowed very loud, and unlike other cocks,
the hen crowed also, and nearly as well as her mate. The eggs were
very large, and an omelette, which he brought me, was composed of
five of them, though, from its size, I really thought twenty would
have been requisite. A very large crowd assembled to witness what
would be my surprise at the sight of this creature, and while the
Sidi went out to fetch it, each told me some curious story respecting
it. At last it arrived, and Mohammed having begged that the way might
be cleared, walked up to me with great importance, and opening his
abba, set before me a goose, which waddled off with great dignity,
hissing as it went; while I, to the great disappointment of the
company, fell back and laughed immoderately.
We rode out of the town to see the extraordinary ruins, so much
spoken of by the commentators on Horneman’s travels, but which
Horneman himself never saw or heard of, unless as two or three
miserable mud edifices of the early Arabs. The one most esteemed by
the Shreefs is an old Mosque, standing at about half a mile to the
westward of the town. It is a large oblong building of evidently an
early date, though certainly of Arab origin. The walls are built with
a neatness now unpractised and unknown, of unbaked rough bricks,
and strong binding clay. At the north-west corner is the Mouaden
(or minaret), much dilapidated, but still of a height sufficient to
command an extensive view of the surrounding country. The length
of the Meseed inside is 135 feet, and its breadth is 90, immense
dimensions for an Arab building, which has no cross walls to support
the roof. It is quite open overhead, and nothing remains to give
an idea of what it once was covered with. There are two niches for
the Imaum; one is in a partition built partly across, near one end,
for that purpose; the other is in the wall, and in the form of a
pulpit, and I suppose has been used for the purpose of addressing
the people when assembled on the plain below, a custom prevailing
at Morzouk after Rhamadan, at Milood, and other feast days.
From this Mosque we went to a spot half a mile east of the town,
to examine five buildings, the appearance of which was much more
interesting. These are in a line with one another, and have a
passage between them of three or four feet in breadth. They are
square; their diameters are about twenty feet, and their height
about thirty. They have dome tops, and two windows; one low near
the ground, the other high and narrow, and situated about ten feet
above it. The rough skeleton of the building is of sun-dried bricks
and clay, which have hardened to nearly the consistency of stone;
over this, to about half the height of the building, are laid
large flat stones of a reddish colour, and unhewn, as found in the
neighbouring mountains. Few of these, however, still adhere.
The interior of the buildings are perfectly void, and appear never
to have had any floors or partitions. From the smallness of the
lower windows, it strikes me that these places were the tombs of
the Shreefs, who first settled here about five or six hundred years
ago; at all events, they now answer this purpose, as each contains
a Shreef, whose grave is ornamented with the usual complement of
broken pots, shreds of cloth, and ostrich eggs. The people here
look with much reverence on these edifices, and tell many wonderful
stories of the dead now enshrined in them.
On these tombs are the inscriptions about which so many ridiculous
tales are told; but two only at present retain them, and these are
on the point of falling.
The Zuela people, like all other Moors, attribute strange buildings
and writings to the Christians, so that some excuse may be offered
for those who have circulated such pompous stories of Fezzan.
The inscriptions are on the upper part of the walls, and on the
sides instead of the front, which makes it very difficult to see
them, owing to the neighbouring buildings not allowing sufficient
space to walk back in order to distinguish them more clearly. The
least perfect has only one or two lines, resembling the tops of
letters, on a white cement of about a foot square; the other has
about two feet of plaster, and some long letters are sunk in it,
apparently Arabic, and much broken. The Shreefs said that these were
the only ones they recollected, and that they were written by the
Christians soon after the time of our Lord Noah. Having fancied
I could distinguish Arabic characters, I made my friends sit on
the sand, whilst with my finger I traced them one by one. They
immediately saw the resemblance, but said, that having fancied
them to be of Christian origin, they had taken it for granted,
and never troubled their heads about decyphering them.
The letters I drew were these,
[Illustration]
which I conceive clearly prove the Arabic origin of these
buildings. Under these characters is a small piece of very neat
cornice, of the size of a cocoa-nut, having little flourishes on it.
One of the people told me that papers and parchments had been
discovered amongst the ruined houses in the neighbourhood of the
town; but no one could inform me who had found them, or where they
were deposited.
On my return I went to see the Castle, or rather the ruins of
one, which occupies a large space in the centre of the town. Its
walls must once have been of great strength, as in some places I
observed them to be above thirty feet in thickness, and built in
the same manner as the houses at Tripoli. The Castle had nothing
to boast of but the solidity of its materials. Near the town my
horse stumbled and fell into a grave, which, from its being hollow,
led me to examine it; and I found, that instead of resembling the
shallow graves of Morzouk, those at Zuela are rather in the form of
vaults. From the side of the first pit a chamber of the same length
is excavated in the gravel, which lies under the surface of the sand,
and the body being placed in the vault, the pit alone is filled with
earth. The present walls of Zuela are of the same materials as the
Castle. The town has but few good houses in it; but, judging from
the ruins I saw, I should conceive it must once have been of much
consequence, and built in a manner rather superior to the Arab
towns in general. The inhabitants boasted that the door of Zuela
was in Egypt, which leads me to conclude, that some town there may
have so named one of its gates, and that the Arabs have taken it
literally. Zuela is even now called Zella by old people. The town
has three very good Mosques, and three gates of entrance.
December 24th. Thermometer 8°. I found that the hour of Friday’s
prayer had been put off on my account, a deputation being sent
to announce to me that the Imaum only waited my arrival to begin
prayers. The Shreefs were already at the Joumma, and as they are
persons of consequence, this attention on their part was a mark
of great honour done me. I therefore did not hesitate to obey
the summons, and was received by them most graciously, although
I perceived that several of them very narrowly scrutinized me,
and appeared evidently watching the manner in which I went through
the ceremonies. After the prayers the Imaum showed me the Mosque,
of which he seemed very proud, and with some reason, for it was
certainly the neatest I had seen in this country.
We were constantly attended by an idiot, who took a particular
fancy to me, and my reputation as a good man became established
in consequence, it having been invariably remarked that he never
distinguished any person by his notice who was not deserving of
it. His name was Boo Mousa (or Father Moses), and many miracles
were attributed to him. The Sheikh here told me, that for some
offence this fool had been guilty of, he had once beaten him,
but had soon cause to repent his imprudence; for on the same
night, Iblis, and a troop of gholes, appeared to him, and under
the directions of Mousa, who stood in the midst, and appeared of
gigantic stature, beat, pinched, and scratched him to such a degree,
as to deter him from ever again daring to insult a saint. They were
afterwards, and still continued to be, good friends. In one of the
slave-hunts the men and cattle had been without water for two days,
and were consequently reduced to great distress, when a Zuela man,
recollecting the miraculous powers of his countryman, immediately
implored him to pray to God in their difficulty. This person soon
after falling asleep, Boo Mousa appeared to him, and pointing to
a particular spot on an adjoining mountain, assured him that he
would, on going there, find what he wanted. The man, on awaking,
followed his directions, and happily found a sufficient supply of
water for the whole army! This poor creature is readily admitted
into all the houses, where, however foolish in other respects,
he never fails to show his talents in eating.
I cannot omit mentioning the names of the Shreefs here, from whom
we experienced the greatest kindness.
Mohammed ben Ali.
Ali el Hindi.
Abd el Rahman.
Ali Aboo Becker.
Mohammed el Dthābi.
They were all related to each other, and appeared sensible and well
behaved men, and, what is really worthy of remark, never asked us
for any thing. Kaid Saad, who was a great cook, undertook to dress
for us a whole sheep, which was to last us the remaining part of
our journey to Gatrone. As this was one of the Arab methods of
preparing meat for a journey, I shall here describe it. The sheep
is deprived of all its fat, and cut into small pieces; the fat is
melted in a large pot, and the meat, with garlic, onions, and red
pepper, is then stewed in it without any water, and with a lid on
the pot, for three or four hours, when it is taken out, and having
been cooled, is put into a goat skin. The grease is kept for mixing
with cusscussou, bazeen, and other dishes; and meat thus prepared
will remain perfectly fresh for two or three weeks. He made us a
very good mess of sheep skin, which is sliced and stewed with onions.
On the 23rd December I got a good meridian altitude of the
sun 80°. 10′. 10″. which gives the latitude of Zuela,
26°. 11′. 48″. N. I also took an observation on this day;
but owing to the interruption I met with from some of my visiters,
unfortunately lost my reckoning.
I found myself obliged to hire another camel here, as we were to
cross a three days’ desert, and it was necessary to carry water
for our horses; our load too was much increased by large presents of
zumeita, dweeda, dates, flour, and other provisions from the Shreefs.
Dec. 25th. Therm. 9°. At 10.45. A.M. we were attended out of the
town by the kind natives, who promised to renew their acquaintance
with us at Morzouk.
Belford was now much recovered; but I still continued in a very
weak state. Our road lay over the highest and most irregular
sand hills I ever saw; the horses with great difficulty ascending
without their riders. I was too weak to walk, and was pulled up by
Besheer. The hired camel and its load took a most terrific roll,
and I greatly feared we should be at a stand: fortunately, however,
a man travelling our way came up with us, and helped us to re-load
the camel, so that by 11.45. we cleared the hills, and arrived on
a heavy sandy plain, over which we toiled until 4. when we arrived
at Terboo, the most wretched mud village I had as yet met with. All
the men were mere skeletons, and the women equally miserable in
appearance; yet they were obliged, poor and wretched as they were,
to feed us and our horses without expecting a reward. I bought,
however, a quantity of corn, and distributed amongst them; and they
declared I was the first person coming from the Sultan, who had not
distressed them by taking their small stock of provisions. Nothing
could exceed the wretchedness of this place but the water, which
was of a much worse quality than any we had tasted, from its close
resemblance to sea water. A few old walls of about 12 feet high
were in the centre of the huts, and were dignified by the name of
the Castle. There are but few palms here, and the people subsist
chiefly by attending camels, sent to feed on the Agool; and for
the right of pasture they receive, in return, some very trifling
payment in corn or dates. We made this day S. 12°. W. 10 miles. As
it was Christmas day, Belford and myself drank to the health of
our friends in England, in a bumper of coffee.
Dec. 26th. Therm. 3°. 40′. A beautiful morning; but being cold,
we had a good fire, and at 8.50. A.M. the camels started. We were
much amused by the blacksmith of the village, who had his forge
in the sand at the gate. A man from a neighbouring place came to
ask his advice for a liver complaint, which had for a long time
troubled him; and having been so frequently burned with a red hot
iron, in order to alleviate his complaint, his side was literally
covered with scars. The blacksmith having felt the man’s side,
and asked many questions, told him, that the most certain remedy
for his disorder would be three long burns across the back, which
he assured him would soon put all to rights. Feeling compassion for
the poor sufferer, I told him if he would follow me to the camels,
I would give him some medicine which would relieve, instead of
putting him to the torture; but he refused, and I have no doubt
paid the accustomed fee of corn, and submitted to the prescribed
burning next morning. This operator showed us a file of his own
making, of which he was very proud. It was a small bar of iron,
and when red hot, had been notched by a flint. He boasted, that
although its appearance was not in its favour, it was a far better
file than any bought in Morzouk.
From this place some remarkable mountains bore Mengār Mejdool,
S. 75°. W. Mengār Omesogueer, S.W. two miles; and Mengār Terboo,
N.E. one mile. We followed the camels, and arrived with them at
10.20. at Omesogueer, 3½ miles S.W. by W. of Terboo. Here we were
shown the tomb of a very great Marāboot; and, as usual on such
occasions, repeated the Fatha. This holy man was named Sidi Saïd
el Tare, (or lion the bird); because, on every Friday, according
to the people of the plain, he appeared in the form of a beautiful
green bird during the Asr, or afternoon prayer; but he was visible
only to a few of his own relations and brother Marāboots.
We passed over a salt plain, and came to some scattered palms, after
which we entered on a larger plain, and arrived at Mejdool مجدود
at 1.50.; having travelled S. 75°. W. from Omesogueer. Mejdool is
a large straggling village of mud and palm huts, and not surrounded
by a wall; it has, however, a castle in about the same state of
repair as the others we had seen. The people appear more lively
and animated than the generality of Fezzanners.—Behind the town
a continuation of the mountains from Terboo runs nearly north and
south, as far as the Mengār.
This evening we had large bowls of sweet lackbi sent us, and we soon
perceived that the people were great lovers of this liquor. Five
or six drunken men came and honoured us with their company without
any invitation. Kaid Saad sold to the women a great quantity of
tobacco which he had brought from Zaizow, with which they were
very glad to recruit their stock. We hired a guide for the desert,
our two attendants being unacquainted with the road.
Dec. 27th. Therm. 5°. At 9.30. A.M. we set out, having taken water
for three days in our gerbas. Our road lay over a plain of gravel,
bounded by mountains close at hand, to the westward, and a distant
range to the eastward. At 10.30. Mejdool bore from a rising ground,
N. 44°. E. At 11. the mountains closed in, and our road lay through
them. At 12.10. we ascended to a rough stony plain, resembling, in
colour and badness of footing, some parts of the Soudah. Indeed,
all the mountains here appear composed of nearly the same black
irregular masses of basalt. Five or six Tibboo passed us on camels;
they were the first I had seen fully armed: every man had his three
light darts, and his spear. At 2. we descended to a level plain,
by a very precipitous pass. The mountain we descended is the most
western of a low black chain, which bounds the view as far as the
eye can reach, to the eastward. The rocks here, which are of a clay
stone, are, in many places, fantastically streaked with veins of a
light pink colour. We stopped to rest ourselves under some Talhh
trees, when I was alarmed by seeing my Maherry come towards me,
foaming at the mouth, and champing like a mad animal. Besheer soon
eased me of my fears, by telling me that he was eating bones,
a circumstance I was not before aware of. I now found, however,
by observing the camels, that whenever we passed any skeletons,
they selected a mouthful of such bones as they could easily break.
At 5.30. P.M. we pitched our tent on the plain, the pass bearing
from us N. 44°. E. The whole of this flat is covered with beautiful
rounded pebbles of the size of a pea, and even smaller. We made
30 miles.
Dec. 28th. Therm. at tent door, 4°. 50′. At 7.35. A.M. we
went on, still over the plain, until 3.30. when we came to sand,
having small shrubs on it, called Omeladam Tafsert, and here met a
Tibboo bringing sixteen Negresses from Waday. We found a small well,
and having watered our horses, proceeded to another, near which we
were to pass the night. At 6.30. we came to it, but found it had
fallen in. Whilst cooking, we caught a young Gerboa, which came
foraging. During our journey this day, Besheer shot a crow with a
single ball, very adroitly. We observed the Kaid seize the bird,
and pretend that he was desirous of obtaining the wing feathers; but
I discovered that he had pulled off the head, intending to keep it
about his person, as a charm against a pain in the elbow. We made,
this day, S. 45°. W. 35 miles, slept on the sand, and were much
disturbed by the howlings of jackals. This well is called Jufāra.
Dec. 29th. Therm. 2°. 30′. At 7.45. A.M. we left the well,
and passing over an uneven country, arrived at 9.30. at a few
scattered palms, and the wells of Wūdakaire, where we found
the water excellent, when compared with that of Morzouk. Having
previously heard from our attendants that it was particularly clear,
I carried a small tin pot at my saddle-bow, and a paper containing
a little tea, with which I hoped to regale myself. In this I was
not disappointed, and was content to obtain the luxury, even though
destitute of its usual auxiliaries, milk and sugar, articles which
had now become almost unknown to us. Proceeded S. 50°. W. At 2. the
camels arrived at the gardens, and we went on to the town of Gatrone,
where we arrived at 3°. 30′. At 4.50. the camels came in, having
made twenty miles.
Besheer and Belford having stopped at Gatrone gardens to water their
horses, I rode into the town with Kaid Saad, alone, which greatly
mortified him, as he wished me to have made my entrance with four
horses abreast, thinking it would look more dignified, and in
character for such a great person as myself. He was astonished
when I told him, that even the Sultan of my country was neither
ashamed nor afraid to ride unattended, and that his soldiers never
rode or fired before him on his entering a town. This he wisely
supposed must be owing to the excellence of our gunpowder, which
our king would not suffer to be wasted unnecessarily. We put up at
the house of a Tibboo woman: it had a garden and palms in front,
and stood at a short distance from the walls of the town.
Gatrone is surrounded by sand hills, on which are built the low palm
huts of the Tibboo, who appear to form a separate community; the
people within the walls pretending to call themselves Fezzanners,
although the language of Bornou is more generally spoken than
the Arabic.
As this was the evening of the feast of Milood, Mohammed’s
birth-day, every thing promised a gay meeting, and the young Tibboo
girls were adorned for the occasion in all their finery. These
females are light and elegant in form, and their graceful costume,
quite different from that of the Fezzanners, is well put on. They
have aquiline noses, fine teeth, and lips formed like those of
Europeans; their eyes are expressive, and their colour is of the
brightest black: there is something in their walk, and erect manner
of carrying themselves, which is very striking. Their feet and
ankles are delicately formed, and are not loaded with a mass of
brass or iron, but have merely a light anklet of polished silver
or copper, sufficient to show their jetty skin to more advantage;
they wear also neat red slippers.
[Illustration:
_Drawn from Life by G. F. Lyon._
_On Stone by M. Gauci._
TIBBOO WOMAN IN FULL DRESS.
_London. Published by J. Murray Albemarle St. Feb.1.1821._
_C. Hullmandel’s Lithography._]
The costume for the head is almost universally the same, the hair
being plaited on each side, in such a manner as to hang down on the
cheeks, like a fan, or rather in the form of a large dog’s ear. A
piece of leather is fastened from the front to the back of the head,
in the centre, and through this are passed twenty or thirty silver
rings, each linked within the other, ending behind in a flat silver
plate, which is suspended from a few tresses of hair; and in front,
by a silver ornament composed of several rings, in this form:
[Illustration]
On each side of the head, they wear an ornament of gold and rough
cut agate, and round it, above the ears, a bandeau of coral,
cowrie shells, or agates; several light chains of silver, having
round bells at the end of them, are attached to the hair, and
when dancing, produce a pleasing sound. Their necks are loaded
with gaudy necklaces, and one-half of their well-formed bosoms
is shown by the arrangement of their drapery: their arms are bare
to the shoulders, having above the elbow neat silver rings of the
thickness of a goosequill, and on the wrists one or two broader and
flatter. In the ear they wear three or four silver rings of various
sizes, the largest in circumference hanging the lowest. Their most
singular ornament is a piece of red coral, through a hole in the
right nostril, which really does not look unbecoming. The dress
is a large shawl of blue, or blue and white cotton, of which they
have a variety of patterns, fastened over the shoulders and across
the bosom, and hanging in graceful folds, so as to show the back,
right breast, and right arm bare. These dresses are very short,
and exhibit the leg to the calf; but with all this display, their
general appearance offered nothing offensive or immodest.
They tripped about all the evening to exhibit their finery, and
were proudly pointed out by their mothers, who were visiting in our
neighbourhood. As our hostess had a very pretty daughter, all the
young people came to call on her, which afforded them a pretence
for looking at the two new Mamlukes, who had just arrived. I sat on
the sand, at the door, and was much gazed at, not in the Arab way,
but by stealth, from behind their little shawls, and peeping through
the palm bushes.
As it was the custom on this night, for the girls to dance through
the town, in every direction, I heard drums, bagpipes, and the usual
accompaniment of tin-pots. At midnight I was called up to see them
perform at our door. They were directed by an old woman, with a torch
in one hand and a long palm branch in the other, and sung, in chorus,
verses which she recited to them. Three men sung and played on drums
with their hands; and by their motions regulated the dancers, who
were to advance, or to retreat accordingly. The tallest girls were
placed in the centre, while the younger ones formed the wings, and
they then danced in a circle, round their governess. The lookers-on
had torches of palm leaves, and sung occasionally, in chorus.
The chief object in the dance seemed to be the waving, gracefully,
from right to left, and in time with the music, a light shawl, which
was passed over the shoulders, the ends being in the hands. They
employed their feet, only to advance or retreat occasionally; but
accompanied the change of time by movements of the head from side
to side. At a given signal they all knelt, still going through
the same motions of the head, and chanting their verses. They
danced so exactly in time, and were dressed so much in uniform,
that it appeared like witchcraft; when, on a sudden, every torch
was extinguished, and the fairies vanished, to exhibit in some
other part of the town.
The Tibboo women do not, like the Arabs, cover their faces; they
retain their youthful appearance longer than the latter, are much
more cleanly, better housewives, and particularly careful of their
children, of whom they have a multitude. Their chief occupation
seems to be basket-making; and they also form drinking bowls out of
palm leaves, which they ornament with stripes of coloured leather,
and execute with much taste and neatness. All the Fezzanners who
come here to trade return loaded with these baskets, as presents
for their families.
Having said so much of the agreeable qualities of the Tibboo, I feel
it but candid to acknowledge their immoderate fondness for tobacco,
with a great portion of which almost every mouth is crammed. Their
teeth are, nevertheless, quite white, owing to the custom which is
peculiar to the Mohammedans of cleaning them after eating, with a
piece of stick.
The Tibboo men are slender and active in their form, and have
intelligent countenances; their agility is proverbial; and they
are frequently, by way of distinction, called “the Birds.”
The tribes which inhabit the southern parts of Fezzan are, from
circumstances, quiet and civilized; but those of the interior
live chiefly by plunder, are constantly making inroads on their
neighbours, and are not famed for fidelity one to another. They are
not disposed to cruelty, but are most impudent thieves; and their
well known character secures them the almost exclusive commerce
of Waday and Baghermée, no strangers, at least very few, choosing
to risk a passage through their country. They are chiefly Kaffirs,
and live in a state of nature, being clad with the skins of beasts,
and inhabiting holes in rocks, or wretched grass huts. Their camels
or maherries enable them to perform extraordinary journeys, from
which circumstance they are constantly shifting their abode.
Mukni has several times desolated different parts of the
country of the Tibboo of Borgoo, and Kawar, and these people now
revenge themselves on whatever luckless whites may fall into their
power. Their arms in the interior are three light spears and a lance,
a dagger and sword, and missile weapons called Shangar, which do much
execution. The Tibboo men of Gatrone are armed nearly in the same
way; but their weapons are better finished, and they sometimes add
a pistol to the list. The wild tribes live chiefly on dome dates,
and the flesh of their flocks: they have but little corn, and are
unacquainted with the art of making bread. The seeds of the Khandal,
or colocynth apple, form a principal article of food amongst the
Tibboo, Tibesty, and Kawār. It is not the ordinary custom amongst
these people to tattoo or score the skin.
Of the Tibboo slaves who are brought to Fezzan, the females meet
with the readiest market, on account of their beauty: the males
are generally too light for hard work, and are not brought in any
considerable number.
December 30th. Thermometer 4°. This day got a good meridian altitude
of the sun, 83° 26′ 50″; which makes the latitude of Gatrone
24° 47′ 57″ North.
Gatrone is a town of itself, principally inhabited by Fezzanners, who
are all black, and having, as I before observed, the Tibboo living
outside in huts, with occasionally houses, of which we occupied
one. There is a castle in the centre of the town, surrounded by
a wall. The Tibboo do not appear to mix with the town’s people,
but form a separate community, and adhere to their ancient manners,
language, and costume. Gatrone has a plentiful stock of Marāboots,
for which profession the Fezzanners are admirably adapted. News
now arrived of the Ghrazzie, or slave hunt, being within three
or four days of Tegerry; corn in consequence became very dear,
being one kail, or about two gallons for a dollar. In the afternoon
our pretty dancers paid us another visit, and passed through the
town. I certainly never saw dancing performed with more modesty,
which is saying a great deal for Africans, who, generally speaking,
regard decency as the last consideration, and totally incompatible
with their ideas of grace.
I at this time visited Hadge el Raschid, a great Marāboot, and a
very cunning fellow, who gave me much information about Waday and
Tibesty, and offered to accompany me to all the Tibboo tribes, if I
would give him a watch and a long telescope. It had been my intention
to have accepted his terms; but I gave up the idea for the present,
in consequence of Belford’s health, which was now very precarious,
and which he feared would be unequal to the journey of seven days
from Tegerry, over the rocks of Tibesty, without wood or water. The
Marāboot treated me to a dish of the Taberca, or seeds of the
colocynth apple, which were brought from Tibesty. I found them very
palatable, and not at all partaking of the bitter of their outward
covering. He told me many stories of the southern Tibboo; of their
great love of plunder, and appropriating to themselves the property
of others. They will sometimes carry off a camel in the night,
which before morning will be entirely devoured; and many traders
have been so completely fleeced by them as to be obliged to wait
for other Kafflés, before they could return to their own country.
Of Tibesty, and the road to Waday, he gave me the following
information. “In Tibesty there is a large spring of hot water,
which appears to boil as if over a fire. The soil in which this
spring is situated is composed entirely of sulphur, in many places
quite pure. The water is drank medicinally by the natives, as well
as strangers who go purposely from other countries to drink it. In
taste it is acid.” This man affirmed, “that all blind people,
on washing their eyes with the water in question, are restored to
sight; while all sores and rheumatic pains are completely cured by
it.” In short, according to his account, its properties are most
wonderful. The existence of such a bed of sulphur and spring water
may throw some interesting light on the idea that the mountains of
Tibesty are of volcanic origin.
To Waday the road from the Tibboo Borgoo is thus:
South-east by south.
Borgoo to Kermedy 2 days, a well.
Kermedy to Bokalia 2 days, a well.
Bokalia to Boushasheem 2 days, a large lake during the rainy season.
Boushasheem to Kharma 2 days, a well.
South.
Kharma to Sobboo 2 days, a town of Tibboo.
Sobboo to Emharaije 1 day, a town in Waday.
Emharaije to Kermedy 2 days, a town.
Kermedy to Wara 2 hours. This is the principal town of Waday,
and is the residence of the Sultan.
My informer had never seen Fittre, but described it as a large lake,
full of fish, which is dried and salted, and sent to great distances
for sale. He did not know of any river communicating with it.
Wara to Fittre 5 or 6 days south.
to Muddago 5 days south-west.
to Bahr el Ghazal 7 days north-west.
to Kaugha 6, 7, or 8 days south-west.
Muddago is the name of some very high mountains of black stone.
Battali, which is laid down as a river, was the bed of an immense
stream, now dried up entirely. He had himself seen in it large
skeletons of fish and animals, shells, and trunks of trees, as in
Bahr el Ghazal, from which it is north-west 5 days, and to which,
perhaps, it was once attached. It still retains its name Bahr or
river. He said, that from Gatrone to Wara there was not a river,
or even a rivulet of any importance, except in the rainy season,
when the torrents form themselves temporary beds in the Wadeys.
The slaves brought from Waday are procured from Kooka, or Kaugha,
Kola, Tama, Runga, and various petty states in their vicinity.
The Tibboo have a particular breed of sheep and goats here, of the
same race as those of Bornou and Soudan. The tails of the sheep are
in some so long as to touch the ground, and are very taper. These
animals are distinguished from the other species, by being called
Majiggri; they are hairy, and generally of a dark colour. The goats
are elegant little creatures, and have hair as sleek and shining
as that of a horse. They are plentiful, and tolerably cheap.
December 31st. Thermometer 4°. I was unable all yesterday to procure
one dollar’s worth of corn, owing to its extreme scarcity; and even
Gaphooly, or Indian wheat, bore the same price as corn at Morzouk.
My Maherry being in very poor case, the Marāboot promised to take
care of him until my return from the southward. This morning I
gave to the woman of the house in which we had stopped a dollar,
which being a large sum, she appeared very grateful for, but at
the same time begged a little butter also. When packing up, and
preparing for my departure, she again attacked me, saying, “What,
then, will you not give me a little corn or some gaphooly, or other
little present? You can come again, you know:” a specimen of
Tibboo covetousness so closely allied to the Fezzan, that I suspect
one tribe must have obtained some valuable hints from the other. A
Fezzan proverb says, “Give a Morzoukōwi your finger, he will
beg first the elbow, and then the shoulder-bone, as keep-sakes.”
The Tibboo on meeting after absence do not shake or touch hands,
as the Arabs do; but, squatting on their heels at some distance from
each other, with their spears in their right hands, turn their backs,
and continue for a time saying, “La La! La La! La La!” which is
their salutation, and which signifies “peace.” They then rise,
and, approaching each other, enter into conversation. The Tibboo
speak very fast; and their language, which is full of liquid letters,
is really very pretty, and not resembling any of the other Negro
dialects. Many of the women came to ask for medicine to make them
bear children[3], some wanting boys, others girls; I was, however,
obliged to disappoint them, declaring I had none which could ensure
their wishes. This they one and all disbelieved, observing that
they supposed I was unwilling to tell the secret to strangers;
but that in my country, the land of the Nazarines, every one was
acquainted with it.
_Tibboo Language._
One Trono. Horse Askee.
Two Chew. Cow Farr.
Three Agozoo. Ass Agurr.
Four Tuzzaw. Camel Gōnee.
Five Fo. Sun Tooggoo
Six Dessee. Moon Aowree.
Seven Tootoosōo. Hot Winnighi.
Eight Oossoo. Cold Wow.
Nine Issee. Blood Gherra.
Ten Mordum. Bone Soorroo.
Bird Woogghe. Take Gon.
Fowl Kokaiya. Rise Yerroo.
Pot Goorroo. Eat Woo.
Come Eery. Drink Ia.
Go Yustoo. Wood Aka.
Bring Kortoo. Stone Aai.
Fire Oonee. Good Tirri.
Water Aee. Bad Zuntoo.
Food Tibbi. Man Aaih.
Meat Yinni. Woman Adi.
Dates Timbi. Girl Do.
Sheep Hadinni. Boy Kallih.
Salt Gillayli. Pepper Borkono.
Face Enguddi. Hand Awana.
Head Dāfoo. Eye Soaa.
Arm Kay. Mouth Ichee.
Shoulder Afhirri. Nose Tchā.
December 31st. We started at twelve o’clock, and on the sands met
about fifty girls neatly dressed, dancing in two lines, and preceded
by a couple of drummers. They advanced to us, and surrounded our
horses, kneeling and singing choruses. After this they rose and
danced round us, when Besheer most ungallantly fired his gun,
and rode amongst them as in a slave-hunt, which threw them into
great confusion, and convinced me that I had never in my life seen
better runners.
The music of the Tibboo, as well as of Fezzan, consists chiefly
of drums, which are made of a block of palm-tree hollowed out,
and having a skin stretched at each end, beaten on one side by a
stick, and on the other with the hand. (This instrument is called
Gongāa قنقع). They have a kind of rude bagpipe, called Zuccra,
زكّرا, and smaller drums than the Gongāa, called Dubdaba,
ظبظبه.
Our road was over sand, with small clumps of young palm bushes and
Attila scattered at intervals, until two, when we arrived at the
little village of El Bakkhi, and pitched our tent before a neat
house belonging to the Sheikh, who was a Marāboot. We were much
delighted at having two large trees of Gurda, some fig-trees, vines,
and palms, in front of us.
The water of the well was comparatively good, and the Marāboot’s
son, in the absence of his father, was very civil to us. So much
verdure, though within the compass of half an acre, made this
place appear to us quite a Paradise; but on turning again, we saw
with very different feelings the wide desert, stretching like an
immense sea as far as the eye could reach. The women appeared here,
as at Gatrone, busy in making their baskets.
The Marāboot’s son, a boy of about sixteen years of age (whom
the Kaid always styled “Sidi Marāboot,” particularly when he
brought any thing to eat), was all attention, and we dined rurally
under the first shady tree of any size we had yet seen.
The Gurd is a species of Mimosa, having a yellow flower, and small
delicate leaves resembling the acacia. It produces a pod, also called
gurd, which, from its great astringency, is used in the preparation
of leather, as well as in dying black. It is frequently employed
from its healing qualities.
[Illustration]
[Illustration:
_Drawn from Life by G. F. Lyon._
_On Stone by M. Gauci._
TIBBOO OF GATRONE.
_London. Published by J. Murray Albemarle St. Feb.1.1821._
_C. Hullmandel’s Lithography._]
January 1st, 1820. Thermometer 5°. Our new year’s morning was
beautiful, and we felt quite refreshed, and free from pain. On
striking our tent we found in the top about two quarts of flies,
which had taken refuge from the cold, and were quite torpid, and
which we buried. At 8.15. we left with much regret this delightful
spot, and I gave the young man a knife and some beads.
We rode over a plain, and at 10.15. arrived at Medroosa,
مدروسا, a small neat village, having come south-west by
south six miles. We found a large bowl of lackbi awaiting us,
and I afterwards discovered that the Kaid had sent overnight to
order it. We took from hence a supply of dates for our horses, and
endeavoured to buy a kid; but the price of it being two dollars,
and its size not exceeding that of a small cat, I was unwillingly
compelled to relinquish it. At 11.25. the camel passed; we mounted
and followed it to a well outside the town, where we watered our
horses. Near this well are some holes for making tar, according to
the manner of the Tibboo, which is thus: a pot is buried deep in
the ground with the mouth upwards, which is covered by a piece of
another pot with a hole bored in it; a large jar is then filled with
bones and date stones, and its mouth is filled with a handful of
the fibres of the palm. This is inverted on the perforated piece,
and round it a strong fire of wood and camels’ dung is burnt,
until the pit is full of red hot ashes. The tar then filters into
the lower pot, which is dug up when the upper one cools: it is
immediately fit for use. Gerbas (or water-skins) are rubbed with
this composition, which resembles coal tar in smell and appearance;
and it is applied to the sores of camels.
I observed that every man we met after leaving Gatrone was armed
with the Harba, or long spear, and wore the dagger at his wrist.
At 4.15. arrived, after traversing a plain literally covered with
the tracks of hyænas and jackals, at a few palms, and a well, called
Kasarawa. The unevenness of the road delayed the camel until 6.15. We
had travelled south 40° west, fourteen miles from Medroosa. It was
not necessary to pitch our tents, as we found some palm branches,
which formed a comfortable shade, in which, by the light of the full
moon, we took our new year’s dinner of bazeen. There is a great
deal of Deesa, a kind of light rush, growing here; and we collected,
while our dinner was cooking, a quantity for our horses. It requires
much beating with a stick before these animals can eat it. This is
the fodder which is always taken from Tegerry to feed the horses
and camels, in Kafflés passing the Tibesty mountains.
We were agreeably surprised by the Kaid’s producing a couple
of fowls, which he had, unknown to me, gratuitously procured at
Medroosa, to make amends for the disappointment we had experienced
in not purchasing the kid.
As the Tibboo are not famed for respecting the goods of travellers,
we prepared all our arms, and having a large fire in front of us,
we lay down very snugly in our Bornouses. Our fears were, however,
groundless, nothing disturbing us but the wild rats in their
foraging expeditions.
January 2nd. Thermometer 1° 40′, which was the lowest we had
yet seen in Fezzan; we were, however, taught to expect ice before
the winter should pass. The ground we had gone over since leaving
Gatrone was a narrow stripe of three or four miles, and sometimes
only half a mile in breadth, bounded on either side by the desert,
from which it was only distinguishable by being here and there able
to produce a miserable dwarf thorn bush.
Our camel had disappeared in the night, and we were all in confusion,
searching for him in different directions, and doubting whether
he had been stolen by the Tibboo, or had strayed on the desert,
either of which events would have been equally unhappy for us.
A severe attack of hemma prevented my joining the party which had
gone out in search of the camel, and at two the driver returned
with the animal. We learnt that he had tracked the fugitive back to
Medroosa, in the gardens of which place he was wandering, probably
to look for the Maherry, to which he was much attached. The skill
of the Arabs is really extraordinary in tracking their animals over
plains covered with the feet-marks of other camels and men.
We soon set out, and from a rising ground observed that the desert
was skirted by distant hills from north-east to south. Thermometer
25°. An old castle, called Gusser Hallem, bore south 50°
west. At 3.15. we passed it: our road was very uneven, the ground
being covered with little hummocks bearing small bushes. My horse,
which felt no compassion for my liver complaint, started every five
minutes at the dead wood, and caused me extreme pain. This little
stripe of sand was never above a mile in breadth, and sometimes
ceased altogether in a gravelly desert. We observed several locusts
flying about. At 6.30. arrived at Tegerry, the southern limit of
Fezzan, and obtained a tolerably good house; indeed, the only whole
one in the place, built within a space surrounded by the walls of
the ancient castle. Here we procured good stabling for our horses,
and were free from interruption. No one could come to stare at us,
and we were able to shut the castle gate in due form at night.
We made south 55° west, fourteen miles. No news had arrived of
the Ghrazzie.