DIARY OF RESIDENCE AT MOURZUK.
Sickness of Gagliuffi--Baggage left at Mizdah--Runthar Aga--The
Hospital--Various Visits--Arrival of the New Governor--Animated
Scene--Correspondence--Visit Mustapha Agha--Bragging Sheikh Boro--Tibboos
of Tibesty--Curious Country--Presents to Turkish Functionaries--A
Woman divorced--Haj Lameen--Presents expected--Brilliant
Atmosphere--Water-Melons--The Gardens--Winnowing Grain--Houses
of Salt Mud--Nymphs of the Gardens--Wells--Presents to
Functionaries--Phrenology--Queen's Birthday--Walks in the Orchards and
Gardens--Corn-threshing--Kingdom of Aheer--Ass's Head--A Wedding--A
Funeral--Great Dinner--Tibboos--Prepare to depart--The Pilgrim Caravan;
its Privileges--Tuat and the French--Departure of Germans--Wife of
Es-Sfaxee--An Arab Saying--Letters--Disease--Arrival of Escort--Eastern
Consulates--Business--Hateetah--The Son of Shafou--Poor Sheikhs--Hard
Bargain.
_May 7th._--We are already busy with preparations for our start to the
interior. Mr. Gagliuffi has written to Ghât to-day for Hateetah and his
escort of Tuaricks. Excitement protects us, perhaps, from the deadly
influence of the climate of Mourzuk. Mr. Gagliuffi is recovering from a
severe attack, and anticipates being obliged to leave for the coast. We
trust he will not be driven from his post whilst we are in Soudan.
However, we must trust to the same Providence that has hitherto watched
over us.
I am having all our letters of recommendation for the interior copied,
to be sent home to Government, so that if anything happen to us they may
know what kind of support we have received. If anything happen! The
presence of that doubt gives a solemnity and an importance to the most
trifling thing we do. A soldier is allowed to indulge in serious thought
before going into battle, and the chances in his favour are greater than
those in ours. We, too, may have to do battle with men; but the dangers
of the desert are also arrayed against us, and when they are passed, the
miasmas of Central Africa fill the air beyond.
The marabout, with his camel and burden, has not yet come up; he left us
to visit his country. We are likewise still without news of three
camel-loads left behind at Mizdah. There is always a train of stragglers
behind every caravan that is not huddled together by fear. We should
never have procured beasts enough on the road, and did well to take them
direct from Tripoli. The Pasha's circular letter was of little or no use
in this respect; and, indeed, we could not expect it to cause camels to
start out of the ground.
_8th._--I paid a visit to the commandant of the troops, Runthar Aga, Bim
Bashaw, quite a Christian Moor; and got information on military affairs
whilst tasting the soup in the kitchen. Also called upon our old friend
the Doctor, and inspected the hospital, which certainly holds out no
temptation to a man to be ill. The patients are few: two have strong
fevers; five or six are convalescent; the sick-list contains no other
cases; but it will be different when summer comes on.
_9th._--Received a visit from the acting Governor, and presented him
with a bottle of snuff. Like other great men, this Pasha makes a great
consumption of rappee, and empties nearly a box a-day.
_10th._--The military seem to have taken a fancy to us. Here comes the
Commandant, to return our call, with all the officers of the garrison.
Smiles and courtesy are the order of the day. Dr. Overweg brings out
some of his scientific instruments, and the knowing ones have an
opportunity of showing their ignorance. All passes off well. Mr.
Gagliuffi observes: "You would not have had so much attention paid to
you in Tripoli." Possibly; but this may partly be accounted for by the
rarity of Europeans at Mourzuk. Familiarity has not had time to breed
contempt.
_11th._--There is excitement in the town. What news? The new acting
Governor, my old acquaintance of Ghadamez, Rais Mustapha, is in sight,
hull above the horizon. We all go out to meet him, and soon see his
_cortège_ breaking between the groves. This is the gayest and most
spirited scene I have witnessed since leaving Tripoli. Mustapha brings
his staff and 200 Arab cavaliers with him, to relieve the Fezzan
irregulars. They make a gallant-looking body of men as they come swiftly
on. All the authorities of the town, with whatever cavalry is already
collected here, pour out of the gates to pay their compliments; and then
come crowds of the lower classes of citizens, with their rude bagpipes,
which scream discordantly. The horsemen galloped hither and thither in
the plain whilst the interview between the great men took place, and
effectually drowned all the polite things that were said by their
trampling and hurrahing. We rode up likewise to welcome the new great
man. Mustapha looked well, was excellently mounted, and dressed almost
like an European officer. He smiled graciously on seeing his old friend
of Ghadamez, and shook me by the hand; he also recognised the Germans,
having seen them at Zaweeah, near Tripoli. Satisfied with this little
interview, we drew aside, and the procession moved towards the gate.
There was instantly a rush of the Arab horsemen, every one trying to get
in front; and as the entry was narrow an obstruction soon took place. We
drew aside, and called out to those who were pressing on to make way for
the Governor. One fellow would not hear; and Mustapha himself riding up,
lashed him with a small whip across the shoulders. Bad taste; but
perhaps excusable in this case, if ever. These lawless soldiery can
never be taught good manners, without which true discipline is
impossible. However, we at length got within the gate, and the
procession poured along the streets, the women _loo-looing_ as we
passed, the bagpipes shrieking louder than ever, the crowd buzzing, the
horses thundering, the cavaliers shouting. In fine, this hubbub carried
us quite back into the regions of civilisation, where men collect on
public occasions often without any real joy, and by mere process of
action and reaction succeed in working themselves up into a state of
boisterous enthusiasm.
Several days were now chiefly occupied in writing reports on the
progress made by the expedition hitherto; and in voluminous
correspondence on petty, matters--petty, I mean, in themselves, but very
important to us--all connected with our future proceedings. I forwarded
to the Foreign Office a letter addressed by the Sultan Laoul, of the
Tibboos of Bilma, to Mr. Gagliuffi. It appears these people are now
nominally subject to the Ottoman Porte.
_12th._--We went to pay a visit to Mustapha Agha, my old friend of
Ghadamez. He received us with all the honours--a guard of officers,
pipes, coffee, and sherbet. That important subject of health was a good
deal talked of. Mustapha fears the climate of Fezzan, and finds little
consolation in the doctrines of fatalism. He seemed surprised at the
bulk of the despatches last forwarded from the Consulate, and asked if
we all knew how to write. He cannot understand the necessity of minute
directions. We explained as well as we could; and then talked of the
journeys we had respectively performed. This gave Mustapha an
opportunity of astonishing us in his Turkish way. He said that he had
come with 200 men and 300 camels from Tripoli in sixteen days, having
stopped only one day, and travelled regularly from three in the
afternoon to nine next morning. We marvelled, as in duty bound; but
refrained not from making inquiries; the result of which was, that the
real time was thirty-one days, only eight days less than we had
occupied. We did not scold Mustapha for his exaggeration, but might
perhaps have done so without offence. When a Turk does tell a lie, he
submits to be accused of it with good-humour.
After leaving the hyperbolical Governor, we went to see Sheikh Mohammed
Boro, Sakontaroua of Aghadez, who has arrived here _en route_ from
Mekka. He was recommended to us by Hassan Pasha of Tripoli; but Mr.
Gagliuffi does not think much of him. We shall see.
_14th._--Walked in the gardens, and were pleased with their aspect. On
returning, I wrote out the different kinds of dates in this country. We
saw some Egyptian camels with a pilgrim caravan, of a dark and almost
black colour.
My Fezzanee marabout, by the way, has left Mourzuk, after making me a
present of some cakes and dates of dainty quality. He has been of great
use to me, and I shall remember him with pleasure.
I had to-day a conversation with a Tibboo of Tibesty. How interesting it
is to talk with the natives of those untrodden countries, to which
chance may some day lead us! He says Tibesty is ten days from Gatroun,
and fourteen from Mourzuk. It is all mountainous, except one long wady
where the population is located. There is no regular town; but all along
the valley the population, which is said to be about 5000, though desert
statistics are little to be credited, is scattered in groups of three or
four, cultivating the ground and tending on the flocks which feed on the
rich herbage, whilst goats scramble for food along the slopes of the
boundary mountains. The people dwell either in huts or in caverns
scooped out of the sides of hills, some of them very extensive. What a
picture of primitive life! Families living separate, not yet driven to
hide behind walls, or congregate in masses for safety. The desert is
their bulwark. This place lies, indeed, far east of the caravan route
from Bornou. There is no road direct eastward from Tibesty, but caravans
can go south-east to Wadaï. The valley produces, besides other grain, a
good quantity of ghaseb, which is the principal food of the inhabitants.
Some palms rise here and there in clumps, but are not very productive;
and dates are imported from Fezzan. The tree most frequent is the
tholukh; but there is also another common tree, called the arak. In the
open country, the wadan, the gazelle, and the ostrich are found, and the
people hunt them with dogs. Good water is supplied by wells and streams,
in sufficient quantities to irrigate the fields of ghaseb, wheat, and
barley. Rain is abundant some years, but fails in others; torrents are
continually descending from the mountains: one stream flows through a
space of two days' journey. If these accounts be correct, the country
must be one of the most interesting in Africa. They say, that on account
the height of the mountains some of the inhabitants do not see the moon
for fifteen days together. A Sultan rules paternally in this
out-of-the-way country, where the Mohammedan religion reigns paramount.
My informant made me pay three Tunisian piastres and two common
handkerchiefs for a vocabulary of the language of the Tibboos of
Tibesty. A visit to this singular oasis might repay a hardy traveller;
but the people of the country have a faithless character, and it would
be dangerous to trust to their promises of protection.
The Tibesty Tibboos must not be confounded with the Tibboos of the
salt-mines of Bilma, who have recently made their submission to the
Porte. There is little connexion between the people, although they speak
a similar language. The Bilma Tibboos lie in the direct route to Bornou,
and were fully studied by the Denham and Clapperton expedition.
_15th._--Continue to prepare papers to send home. Report the fact, that
the functionaries of Mourzuk trade in slaves.
_16th._--I had lent Mustapha a sword; but, after keeping it a night, he
was obliged to return it, sending word that a firmân had been written to
all the functionaries of the Porte, forbidding them to receive any
presents,--an excellent measure, doing credit to the Sultan's
administration. The great plague of the East is the system of bribery
carried on under the form of presents. The pay of the Pasha is six
hundred and fifty mahboubs per month, nearly all spent in the town.
_17th._--The weather is extremely hot and sultry. The sun burns the
umbrella if you pass for a few minutes under it. Even the natives
complain of the extreme heat of the weather.
_18th._--Not quite so oppressive; but, as Dr. Barth says, the south wind
blows throughout Northern Africa in May.
_20th._--This morning, the black who came with us, and had two wives,
divorced one of them, returning the woman's dowry of thirty-seven
Tunisian piastres. The divorce took place before the Kady in the open
streets.
_21st._--Haj Lameen came to see me. He does not forget to remind us that
the Tuaricks expect many presents. I have no doubt they do. He says we
must be generous at all the following places:--Ghât, Aheer, Aghadez,
Damerghou, Zinder, Minyou, Tesaouah, Kashna, Kanou, Sakkatou, Bornou,
Begharmi, Mandara, and to the Tibboos of Bilma; not to mention the
intermediate towns and villages. However, if the presents be valuable,
we may expect in some places rations of food in return. It is worthy of
remark, that this said Haj Lameen, brother of the governor of Ghât, took
an oath during the past year that he would never again purchase slaves.
This is a remarkable instance of the progress of opinion. I afterwards
gave Lameen a present, consisting of one pound of tea, five pounds of
coffee, and four heads of loaf sugar. This was the first considerable
present I made. In the evening we observed Mercury in conjunction with
Venus. The heavens were unusually bright for Mourzuk. We saw also
Jupiter's satellites at seven in the evening. The two upper ones were
much nearer than the two lower ones to the great planet, but all in a
line. Mars was very bright. The rings, or extinct volcanoes of the moon,
were also truly transparent this evening. Usually the sky of Mourzuk is
charged with a dirty red haze, and not at all favourable to astronomical
observations.
_21st._--The culture of water-melons is progressing for the summer
season. The melons are planted in the irrigation ducts that lead to the
squares of clover, which is cultivated at this season for the horses of
the cavalry stationed here, and also for the camels of the merchants.
Every fifteen or twenty days a fresh crop is ready, all produced by
irrigation.
The fig-tree is found frequently in the gardens of Fezzan, and when
planted near a well, produces as fine fruit as those on the coast. The
rich green of its leaves is very refreshing to the eye. During the
present season, however, the greater portion of the gardens is devoted
to onion-raising. Whole fields are covered with this vegetable. Parsley
is running to seed. The korna is also seen in the suburbs. Few birds
visit the gardens of Fezzan, which are all planted with palms. One or
two groves have been recently added, and are distinguished as the "new
trees." The irrigated beds are covered with palm-shoots, the curving
fan-like leaves bending prettily over the ground.
The winnowing of grain is conducted in the most slovenly manner. The
ripe ears with the dry stalks are thrown on the sand, and then
half-a-dozen donkeys are driven over them--an animated threshing
machine. The grain, of course, mixes with the sand, and is separated
from it with considerable loss and waste of time.
The sandy soil of the gardens is sometimes mixed with a large quantity
of salt, which gives it a firm consistence. Of this soil the houses of
the city are built. Rain would melt them; but this blessing never cools
the scorching atmosphere of Mourzuk.[4]
[4] Showers of rain are subsequently mentioned, however; and it
is a mistake to suppose that the hard blocks of fossil-salt
mixed with earth, of which the houses in the oases of
Northern Africa are often built, can be so easily melted
down.--ED.
In this day's agricultural and horticultural walk I fell in with the
nymphs of the gardens; or, in other words, the washerwomen of Mourzuk.
They come out constantly to the wells, when the irrigation is going on,
early in the morning or late in the evening, and thus take advantage of
the supply of water raised. They are all dark women of the city, for the
most part unlovely and very dirty in appearance, despite their
occupation. Their system of washing is the primitive one practised by
the labouring classes all over the north of Africa. They roll up the
clothes into a round flat heap, and then with their heels keep up a
continual round of treading, using for soap a peculiar sort of clay.
Some of the girls are very impudent and immodest when a stranger passes
by; but as a rule they are not so. The wells at Mourzuk are not all
good; some are fresh, others salt. In many places will be found a well
of very sweet, delicious water; and running nearly to the surface, at
twenty paces distant from it, are found others really quite salt. The
same phenomenon has been observed at Siwah, in the Libyan desert.
One of our party received a present this morning of some fresh and most
delicious leghma. A good deal is drunk in Mourzuk, in an acrid state,
for the purposes of intoxication.
In the evening I went to see the acting Pasha, with the Consul. He
received us with his usual urbanity, and gave coffee and lemonade twice.
He mentioned the things which a functionary of government was permitted
to receive as presents,--viz., two sheep, twelve pounds and a half of
butter, fifty eggs, and two fowls. This to be received once only from a
friend. But some of the functionaries say they can receive a cantar of
butter, if divided into sufficiently small quantities, and spread over
several days.
People all admire the clock I purchased for the Sultan of Sakkatou, to
give him instead of the chronometer. When it strikes the hours, I tell
them it speaks various languages, at which they are greatly astonished.
Yesterday evening, a shower of bats made their appearance at dusk.
_22d._--I went with Dr. Overweg to visit the Pilgrims. We had previously
examined the head of one of them phrenologically. The news had been
spread in the tents, and the whole troop came to have their craniums
studied on our arrival amongst them. This science--if such it can be
called--tickles the fancies of people hereabouts, being suited to their
capacity. One fellow wished to know from his head whether he should gain
much money this year. They looked upon the matter as a species of
fortune-telling.
_23d._--The Pilgrims' heads must have itched all night. Here they are
again to have them handled! All the polls in Mourzuk will probably pass
under our hands if this goes on. It is singular that the pilgrimage to
Mekka has not nourished sufficient fanaticism to prevent these good
people from allowing an infidel doctor to make free with their crowns,
and expatiate on their passions and propensities. There is no
calculating on the strength of the impulse of curiosity.
_24th._--The Queen's birthday. At eight o'clock Mr. Gagliuffi fired a
musket, and hoisted the British jack and pennant over the Consulate. At
noon, fifty-one discharges of muskets and matchlocks announced the
auspicious event to the natives of this city, and to the Tibboos,
Tuaricks, Soudanese, Bornouese, and all other strangers of the Sahara
and Central Africa. In the evening, the Consul gave a dinner to us
travellers and to the Pasha and his officers. The healths of her
Majesty, the Sultan, and the King of Prussia, were drunk in champagne
with enthusiasm. There were thirty or forty dishes on the table, and
among them a turkey, the first ever killed in this city. Mr. Gagliuffi
had recently brought a cock and hen from Tripoli. A small saloon was
decorated with banners and cotton-stuffs of Soudan, with various
devices. Amongst these were a small portrait of her Majesty; an Ottoman
blood-red flag, with its crescent and star; and a white flag with the
Prussian black eagle. The effect was excellent, and quite astonished the
natives. The Turks ate and drank famously, and for the most part got
"elevated." When in this state it was curious to see them clawing at the
viands, utterly forgetful of Eastern gravity and decorum. I must
observe, however, that Mustapha Bey himself and one other officer
declined to drink wine. The Turks seem very tolerant to one another in
this respect. It is left as a matter for the decision of every man's
individual conscience. These sensible people do not think that, because
a man is inclined to be an ascetic himself, he is bound to force all
other people to be so likewise.
_25th._--I took a walk in the gardens this evening, and came upon two or
three small circular orchards, having within the circle simply room for
holding water, like a shallow pond, with fruit-trees, vines, fig-trees,
and pomegranates clustering around. These orchards, when thus formed
close by the well-side, are very luxuriant. People now begin to sow
ghaseb, ghafouly, dra, and such grains, which are reaped in the summer
season. Barley and wheat are sown in autumn or winter, and reaped in
spring. As I walked I noticed that the sky was darkly overcast, as if
threatening rain; and presently, sure enough, a few precious drops fell
on the thirsty sandy soil!
I observed a new plant, large, with broad and smooth thick velvety
leaves, but omitted to write down the name. It produces a milky juice,
with which the people dye the palms of their hands, instead of with
henna. The plant has a disagreeable odour, and every appearance of being
poisonous; but they say it is not so, being only bitter in taste.
_26th._--In my morning's walk I had the coolest weather experienced
since our arrival at Mourzuk. The wind was from the north-east and the
sky much overcast. It actually rained,--a slight shower of ten minutes'
duration. How gratefully the trees seemed to spread their leaves to
catch the pleasing drops! The gardens and groves all wore a happy smile.
We hear, that lately a great deal of rain has fallen in the Ghât
district, and on the route to Aheer.
The people are preparing to thresh their corn, and I was interested in
observing all the details of their process. They had scattered yesterday
evening the full ripe grain in its dry stalks over the ground, in the
form of a large circle, to the depth of about two inches; and had then
smoothed the sand all around in small ridges, so that if a thief came
during the night they might observe his footmarks. They thresh out the
grain by means of four or five asses or camels tied abreast, and driven
round and round over this primitive floor. Great waste is occasioned by
allowing the grain to mix with and sink in the sand; the task of
winnowing is most difficult afterwards.
_27th._--This day I had some conversation with Boro, the Sheikh of
Aghadez, about the country and localities of Aheer,--a Saharan kingdom
never yet explored, and which we intend to traverse on our circuitous
route across the desert. It appears that Aheer is the general name of
the whole cluster of towns and districts; that Aghadez is the medineh,
or city; and that Asouty is a town on the line of the caravan route to
Soudan,--a regular halting-place. Asben and Asbenouah are other names
given to this same territory, and do not denote other countries. The
Tibboos and Bornouese describe the whole territory of Fezzan as Zoilah,
a name derived from that of the ancient capital, Zoueelah. These double
names have hitherto caused great confusion in laying down unvisited
places in the desert. If we can penetrate and explore the kingdom of
Aheer or Asben, it will be doing a great service to geography.
_28th._--I am studying rural life in the neighbourhood of Mourzuk, as if
it were to be my occupation. Scarcely a day passes that I do not escape
from the crowded town and wander, either morning or evening, into the
gardens, the groves, and the fields. The water raised by rude machinery
from the wells is always dancing along in little runnels. The chattering
of women crosses my path right and left. Groups of labourers or
gardeners occur frequently. A man this day valued a date-palm at a
mahboub, and I am told that the greater number are not worth more than a
shilling of English money. To avert the evil eye from the gardens, the
people put up the head of an ass, or some portion of the bones of that
animal. The same superstition prevails in all the oases that stud the
north of Africa, from Egypt to the Atlantic, but the people are
unwilling to explain what especial virtue there exists in an ass's
skull. We go sometimes to shoot doves in the gardens; but these birds
are very shy, and after the first shot fly from tree to tree and keep
out of range. So we stroll about making observations, to console
ourselves for the loss of sport. We noticed several cotton-bushes, but
this useful plant is not cultivated here except that it may ornament the
gardens with its green. I have just eaten of the heart of the date-tree.
It is of a very delicious bitter, and is a choice dish at feasts.
I met with a number of the suburban inhabitants engaged in celebrating a
wedding. First came a group of women, dancing and throwing themselves
into a variety of slow, languid, and lascivious postures, to the sound
of some very primitive string-instrument. Towards this group all the
women of the neighbouring huts were gathering, some merely as
spectators, others bringing dishes of meat. Beyond was a crowd of men,
among whom was the bridegroom helping the musicians to make a noise.
These musicians were an old man and old woman, each above ninety years
of age. The latter beat a calabash with a stick, whilst the former drew
a bow over a single string tied to another calabash. The bridegroom had
got hold of a brass kettle, with which he supplied his contribution to
the din. Preparations for supper were going on; and, the harmony
announcing this fact, idlers were coming in flocks from the distant
hamlets and the fields. Two new huts had been built, one for the bride
and the other for the bridegroom.
These marriages produce very few children, which may partly arise from
licentiousness, but chiefly, no doubt, from misery. I afterwards saw the
burial of an old lady, which ceremony set the whole town in motion. The
women screamed in crowds, and a great number of men went outside the
walls to see the body consigned to its last resting-place. Yusuf
pretends that the burial took place two hours after decease, which is
the ordinary practice here, although thirty-two hours are said to be the
proper time.
To the 21st of May I was occupied in preparing a short report on Fezzan,
with statements of the expedition and other necessary documents.
We have had a grand dinner at the house of the Greek doctor Paniotti.
The Bey, Bim Bashaw, his adjutant, the treasurer, and others were
invited. The French have boasted of the number of their dishes, but I
think the Turks beat them hollow in this particular. Besides two whole
lambs, fowls, pigeons, there were at least twenty made dishes, with
every variety of rich sweetmeat. Amongst the early fruits of the season
we had figs and apples. The dinner was not quite so merry as
Gagliuffi's, the champagne being absent.
We had a smart rain-shower in the morning, and in the evening also there
was a tempest of wind and lightning, and a little rain. The flashes were
very vivid, and lighted up the whole firmament.
The Tibboos persist in saying that there is plenty of water in their
country, abundance of rain, frequent springs; and some go so far as to
describe their streams as running a distance of from one to eight days'
journey. They acknowledge, however, that the soil of their country is
not very favourable to much cultivation of grain and fruit. Perhaps they
want to attract visitors, but are not likely to succeed at present.
Justly or unjustly, they bear a very bad character; and in Mourzuk, to
call a man a Tibboo is rather worse than to call a man a Jew in Europe.
_June 1st_, Post-day.--Letters, private and public, were forwarded. It
is now determined that we shall start for Ghât next Wednesday; at any
rate the Germans talk of doing so, whilst I am inclined to wait for
Hateetah and his escort. It would be imprudent to run the risk of a
disaster at this early stage of our proceedings, and my greater
responsibility renders me more cautious, and perhaps more timid, than my
enthusiastic companions. I am engaged in finishing my last despatches
and reports, collecting Arabic descriptions of Fezzan, one of which is
by the Bash Kateb, and corresponding on the future expenditure of the
Mission. The weather has become very hot with the advancing season, but
I am now pretty well used to the heat. The thermometer has risen to
103°; in Bornou it rarely exceeds 105°: I may hope, therefore, to brave
the sun's rays under or near the line.
Few incidents worth recording mark the latter days of our stay at
Mourzuk. I paid a visit to Abd-el-Kader, the Sheikh of the Pilgrims.
This holy person is quite humanized, and talks freely of the politics of
the Barbary coast. He entertained myself, the German, the Greek doctor,
and Gagliuffi with tea; and this at _sunset_, when all the other
pilgrims were at their prayers. He is a Tuatee of Gharai, and has been
many times to Mekka in his present capacity. Indeed he makes the journey
about once every three years. The pilgrim caravans travel very fast; no
others can keep up with them. On leaving any place where they have
halted, the Sheikh has the privilege of demanding the release of two or
three prisoners; and the scandalous whisper that any Barabbas can
sometimes obtain his liberty by a judicious investment of presents. When
encamped near a town, moreover, the tent of the Sheikh becomes an
inviolable asylum for every criminal who chooses to take refuge there.
Many other privileges equally valuable are enjoyed by this functionary.
Abd-el-Kader himself is an extremely urbane gentleman, and we retired
quite satisfied with our reception. He gave me a vocabulary of the
Tuatee dialect, and some account of the statistics of the place, which I
forwarded to the Foreign Office. It appears that formerly the people of
Tuat paid to the Algerines five hundred camel-loads of dates and ten
_necks_ of gold, i.e. the gold ornaments sometimes worn round the
camels' necks. When the French made their conquest, they sent to the
Tuatees to renew their tribute to them as the actual masters of Algeria.
The answer returned was, "Come and take the tribute!"
_11th._--The gardens continue to attract my evening strolls. Every one
is now busy sowing ghaseb, and I passed a half hour in working with some
cheerful labourers at the preparation of the ground, smoothing the soil
in the squares for irrigation. They were amused at my voluntary
industry. I sleep now late of mornings after my evening exercise in the
gardens, and find myself the better for it.
Perhaps the first melons ever eaten at Mourzuk appeared on Mr.
Gagliuffi's table about this time; they were very good.
_12th._--The Germans were preparing to start early in the morning; they
are obliged to lighten everything, and reduce each camel load to two and
a-half, or even two cantars. The Tuaricks will not carry more; generally
their maharees are small, and they have few stray camels. The Germans
went off in good style and great spirits. They propose to accompany a
caravan of Tanelkum Tuaricks, who go by way of Aroukeen, leaving Ghât
far on the right. I was not able to persuade them to delay their
departure, so that we might all travel together: but it may be expected
that they will not find it so very easy or safe to get through this
country without the special protection of those who claim authority over
it.
Two or three days of gheblee succeeded--unpleasant weather to be out in
the desert. I found it bad enough at Mourzuk--100° in the shade at four
o'clock in the afternoon. Hateetah was reported to be on the road; so I
determined to wait five or six days for him, and thus not deviate from
my original plan.
I went to visit the wife of Mohammed Es-Sfaxee, who goes with us to
Soudan as a merchant, carrying a considerable quantity of goods on
account of M. Gagliuffi: this gentleman accompanied me. The object of
our visit was to see whether the Sfaxee had left a sufficient quantity
of provisions with his wife to support her during his absence. It is
necessary to take such precautions with these Moors, who often
barbarously abandon their families, without any adequate provision, for
months and even for years together. We found that he had left dates,
wheat, and a little olive-oil and mutton-fat--the ordinary stock of all
families in Fezzan. Only a few rich people indulge in such luxuries as
coffee, sugar, meat, and liquid butter.
An Arab saying: "You must always put other people's things on your head,
and your own under your arm. Then, if there be danger of the things
falling off your head, you must raise your arm, and let fall your own
things to save those of others." I do not know what things I shall let
fall of my own; but this I know, that during my whole residence in
Mourzuk my mind has been continually occupied in endeavouring to save
Government money. But I have received little assistance.
The weather still continues hot, with wind from the south: however, I
walked in the gardens. On the 16th, the boat went off to the caravan;
the camels carried it very easily, to the astonishment of the good
people of Mourzuk. On the 17th, the thermometer was at 102° in the
shade--in the sun, about 130°. We received letters in answer to those
first written from Mourzuk, and learned that all the despatches written
on the road for Tripoli had arrived in safety. The Arabs, therefore, are
not quite so bad as they are represented.
_20th._--At length Hateetah may be said to be reported "in sight," and
we are busy preparing for departure. The escort has arrived at Tesaoua,
and will be here on Saturday at latest. As the Germans are still at
Tuggerter, we shall proceed on the Ghât route together, after all: it
will be a tough piece of work, whichever way performed. The heat
continues intense--from 100° to 104°, and 130° in the sun. Cooler
weather is expected in August; but at present all the natives complain,
and fevers are becoming prevalent. In the desert we shall escape that
danger; for disease comes only in the moist depression of the plateau on
which Mourzuk stands. We hear talk, by the way, of a fine new
route--only forty days--just opened, from Ghât to Timbuctoo, across the
deserts of Haghar. The present Sultan of the Haghar Tuaricks is called
Ghamama.
One of our party, who undertook to accompany us to take the management
of the boat, has not proved equal to the occasion; and I have therefore
written to Tripoli, to request that two Moorish sailors, of Jerbah if
possible, should be sent up by the direct route to Bornou. I had almost
engaged a very excellent person at Tripoli, the captain of the vessel in
which I arrived; but when he called at the Consulate on the subject,
some minor official ordered him off with a contemptuous "Barra! barra!"
and he accordingly yielded to the solicitations of his crew and embarked
without seeing me. There is too much of this self-sufficiency and
off-handedness in all Consulates in the Levant, where a grain of
authority is apt at once to magnify a man, in his own estimation, into a
mighty potentate. I regret my Jerbine captain very much; he originally
volunteered to accompany us, and entered into my plans with an
enthusiasm and intelligence rare among Muslims.
These small details of our expedition are interesting to me to record,
though probably many will think them superfluous. Perhaps they will
serve to give a true idea of the magnitude of the undertaking, and of
the great responsibility which weighed upon me, and thus prove an
anticipatory excuse for any accusation of shortcoming or dilatoriness
that may be preferred against me. I will not, however, enter further
into the business-details of the expedition--merely observing that,
among other things to which I had to attend during my stay in Mourzuk,
were, in the first place, to collect provisions and stores for a journey
that may last two years; secondly, to purchase presents for the princes
and other distinguished persons of the interior; and thirdly, to provide
against the casualties of the journey, payment of salaries, &c. All
these things I had to do on my own responsibility. Among other things, I
have purchased from Mr. Gagliuffi an Arab gun and pair of pistols,
inlaid with silver and curiously wrought, for the sum of 180 mahboubs.
This is for a present to the Sheikh of Bornou, who will expect something
pleasing to the eye as well as the boat, which he may at first, perhaps,
not appreciate at its full value.
I have already made a good many casual allusions to our plans and
arrangements; but it will be necessary here, before our departure from
the last city that acknowledges the Ottoman authority, to make a brief
statement of our position and prospects. Things that already appear
clear to me may not be so to others. During my former visit to Ghât,
when I travelled as a private individual, known as "Yakōb," I made
acquaintance with Hateetah, a Tuarick Sheikh, who had assumed the title
of Consul of the English. It is the custom in that country for every
stranger on his arrival to put himself under the protection of one of
the head men, to whom alone he makes presents, and who answers for his
safety. Mr. Gagliuffi had written to him to come with an escort to
protect our party as far as Ghât. It appears, however, that very grand
accounts had circulated in the Sahara on the magnitude and importance of
our mission; so that it was impossible for one Sheikh to monopolise us.
Hateetah, therefore, had come, accompanied by two sons of Shafou, the
nominal Sultan of all the Tuaricks of Ghât. Wataitee, the elder of the
two, is very plausible, and undertakes to accompany us as far as Aheer.
It is to be observed, that the Tuaricks of this place have hitherto
never ventured to come to Mourzuk; and it is considered wonderful that
they have come for the first time at the summons of infidels.
My first plan was, to proceed by the direct route to Aroukeen with the
Germans and the Tanelkums, and from this place make an indispensable
expedition to Ghât. But circumstances compel me to march direct to that
place by the common road. Our escort is to cost us dear, but it will
ensure our safety. These Ghât Tuaricks, however great they may talk in
their own country, are really very poor; they subsist almost entirely on
the custom-dues levied on caravans. Wataitee himself said, "I am the son
of the Sultan, it is true; but I have nothing. If I stay in my country,
I do not feel my necessities much; but if I must escort you to Aheer,
then I must be well-clothed and fed, or else the people will say,
'Behold the son of Shafou, how poor and miserable he is!'" Besides
paying about two hundred Spanish dollars for the escort, I have had to
feed all the people, and furnish them with tents. They had led me to
expect much more reasonable treatment; but there is no help, and I feel
that I am not yet at the end of my troubles of this description. With
these prefatory remarks, I enter upon an account of my departure from
Mourzuk for the oasis of Ghât.