[figure]
[figure]
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 thesame 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 particularfancy 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 andwell 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 terrificroll, 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 remedyfor 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 Mejdoolمجدودat 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 towna 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 circumstanceI 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 itsusual 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 brightestblack: 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.
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.
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.
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:
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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 shawlof 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’speople, 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 followinginformation. “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:
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.
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. Thismorning 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.
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 thisthey 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 Gongāaقنقع). 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 thepreparation of leather, as well as in dying black. It is frequently employed from its healing qualities.
[figure]
[figure]
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.
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.
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 apiece 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, startedevery 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.
Castle of Tegerry — Description of the Town — Some Accounts of the Desert of Bilma — Salt Lake of Agram — Ride out on the Desert — Leave Tegerry — Belford’s dangerous State — Return to Gatrone — Arrival of the Grazzie, or Slave-hunters, with many Captives and Camels — Account of their Excursion, and of Borgoo and Wajunga — Manner of making Captives — Leave Gatrone in Company with the Grazzie — Mestoota — Reception at Deesa — Feast at Zaizow — Return to Morzouk — Go out to witness the Triumph of the Slave-hunters — Sultan’s Reception of his Son — Remarks on Grazzies — Accounts of Slave-markets — Arrival of Aboo Becker, and Continuation of Mukni in Command — Further Accounts of the Countries of the Tibboo — Arrangements in the Sale of Slaves, so as to ensure the Sultan his Share.
January3rd. Thermometer 10° on the house-top before the sun rose. This was a striking difference from the temperature of the day before. The Castle walls were about thirty feet thick at bottom, and ten at top, and were composed, as usual, of mud, having small loopholes for musquetry. It formerly had commanded the town, but was at this time in a ruined state. There were wells in the Castle of very salt water. The similarity of the Arab and French names for an embrazure is striking, the former calling it embrāza. Close to the Castle we observed several large stagnant pools of water, which had been caused by taking the clay away to re-erect the walls. I cannot conceive that these places contribute much to the healthiness of the town. The date trees are in and close round the houses. The inhabitants are very little superior tosavages, and the Arabic is scarcely understood. The language spoken is Bornou.
This being the resting-place of Kafflés from Bornou, Waday, and sometimes Soudan, provisions are always very dear, the inhabitants selling to the half-starved merchants, who arrive from those places, at whatever price they please. Corn is not to be procured; but gaphooly and barley, poor substitutes! are sold at the rate of three quarts for a dollar. Dates are certainly very cheap, a camel load selling at about three quarters of a dollar. The people of Tegerry have not the custom of burying their dates as in Morzouk, but put them in bins built for that purpose in their houses, and cover or mix them with sand: others keep them on the flat roofs, as there is no fear of their being injured by rain.
A few years ago this country was famed for the excesses committed by the inhabitants, who robbed, and not unfrequently murdered, travellers. Even large Kafflés were not secure from them, until Mukni took several into slavery, and otherwise regulated them.
It must be confessed, that the Arabs and Fezzanners have not the least compassion for the people on whom they may be quartered. A Fezzanner, if obliged to feed one man and horse for a day, considers himself cruelly treated, though he dares not complain; but should he himself obtain an order from the Sultan to go to a distant place with five or six horsemen, he will eat at every cluster of huts, insisting on meat (which is extravagantly dear), for the whole party, and taking besides a few live fowls, or a sheep, and a dozen or two of loaves with him.
As I made a practice of paying in money, trinkets, or cutlery for whatever we required, I was continually advised not to do so, but to avail myself of my order from the Sultan, which warranted my taking what I pleased. The people were indeed so accustomedto imposition, that they were themselves astonished at receiving any remuneration for the articles they supplied us with.
Some of the places at which we stopped, contained scarcely a dozen huts. We were six in number, with four horses and two camels, yet a feast was always ordered, until I discovered what shameful advantage was taken of the poor inhabitants; I then instantly forbade the Sheikh at his peril to deprive them in future of a fowl, or any other article of food. The Fezzanners will drink pure fat, butter, or oil, with the greatest avidity; this occasions their complaining continually of bile.
Tegerry is the southernmost town in Fezzan, and here the cultivation of the palm ceases. The dates are very fine, and generally in great plenty. The Desert is close to the town, which lies to the southward of its palms.
Sun’s meridian altitude, 85° 2′ 50″, which gives the latitude 24° 4′ north. In this place they do not cultivate Liftsلفت(turnips), or radishes; a very few dwarf carrots, some onions and pompions, are their chief garden productions. The corn here is not in so forward a state as that of Morzouk.
Belford again complained of a bilious attack, and was, as in former cases, so giddy as to be scarcely able to walk. I greatly feared that this return of his complaint would finally prevent my going as far as Tibesty, which I fully intended doing.
In the course of our cooking I observed that a date plastered over a hole in a leaky pot renders it quite tight for one boiling, and as dates are more easily procured than tinkers on a journey, this hint may be worth noticing by those who may hereafter travel in this country.
January 4th. Thermometer 2°, wind northerly.—I was again very severely attacked with hemma, and, as usual, suffered muchpain in the spleen and liver. I imagined this attack to proceed from the coarseness of our bazeen, which was made of bad gaphooly, and resembled dough. The Sheikh brought me a dome date, which was a curiosity rarely seen in Fezzan; it was the size of a large cob walnut. The rind, which is hard and dry, is the only part eaten, and is gnawed off; under it is a hard covering, which encloses the stone; the outer shell is so strong as to resist a hammer, and even to break knives. The taste of the rind is not much unlike that of stale gingerbread, which it resembles both in smell and colour. There were four trees of the dome date here, which I purposed seeing. I was so fortunate as to purchase a dried and smoked fish from the Niger near Kashna, which I intended taking to England.
This evening, while lying in my bed, I heard the mewing of a cat, which our people imagined must be the devil. At first they attempted to laugh; but the boy significantly remarking that “the Castle was a very old place,” Besheer and the Kaid hastened to load their guns, and to fire them off in the Skeefa; Iblis, or the devil, being much averse to gunpowder, or any thing of which sulphur forms a part; each then, taking a lighted palm branch, rushed out to look for the cause of their alarm; the poor cat had, however, in the meantime escaped. On their return, the camel man, whom they considered a great scholar, roared out the Korsi, a most powerful charm against every kind of spirit, from Iblis and the little Shiateen, or young devils, down to gholes and afrites. After this comforting stave, he hurried over several chapters of the Koran in the same key; but owing to the Kaid’s musket not going off until he had snapped it four or five times, their fears remained in full force, and they continued talking and praying until a late hour, convinced that Iblis was still in the house. They were notmuch pleased with my ridiculing their fears, observing, that although in my country there might be no devils, I ought not, therefore, to doubt their existence in Fezzan, for there were plenty in every old house. Even the discovery of the cat after this disturbance, could not in any way remove their prejudices.
January 5th. Thermometer 7°, wind north-east.—Belford and myself better to-day; the water very brackish, which not a little increased our weakness.
From a Zuela Arab, who had lately returned from Benghāzi and Derna, I obtained the following account, which I have reason to suppose correct, as he was a better informed man than the generality of Arabs.
Zuela to Temissa, 2 days of eight hours each; the first east, the second north.
Temissa to Fuggha, 2 long summer days, and three and a half in winter, north-north-east. It is one day west of the Harutz el Abiad, and is situated in a wadey between two mountains, which run north-east and south-west.
They make very good jereeds and abas at Fuggha.
All these are watering places. Derna is a considerable town on the coast; it is walled, and has a large Mosque with sixty arches.
From Tegerry to Bilma, according to the Account of some Travellers recently arrived from thence.
I found no one who knew of the salt lakes of Domboo, laid down in all the maps; but there is abundance of salt at Agram, (which is four days from Bilma west-south-west,) and a large lake, on the borders of which this article is collected. The Tuarick of Aghades go there, and carry away great quantities to Soudan. This agrees with the accounts of Domboo; and from the circumstance of the Tuarick going to Agram, and the position of that place, I am led to imagine it may be the same with Domboo, though under another appellation. The Tibboo immediately to the northward of Bornou are Wandela, Gunda, and Traita, which tribes are all mingled together. Tibesty is east of the Bornou road, and on the road to Waday. I here saw a woman who pretended to tell fortunes by examining the palm of the hand; which is the first instance of the kind I have met with.
Belford considering himself quite unable to go to El Wiekh, whither I was about to proceed, I resolved on leaving him with the Kaid and Barca, to recruit his strength, proposing to return about the sixth day. I went to the gardens to see the dome trees, and obtained a few of the domes, but they were not quite ripe. The trees, which I saw were considered by the natives as small ones, being about twenty feet in height, and seven or eight in a cluster. I learnt that the fruit ripens in the spring about the same time as the corn. These trees have the trunk of the common palm, though covered with branches; and the domes grow from the sides, as well as the top of the tree. The leaves are all curved, and being very thick, form a pretty head; they are of a light green; and along their edges, and from their tops, a fibre resembling long black hair hangs down. They all unite at about three inches from their common stalk. This tree is the palm of Bornou, the Tibboo, and the Tuarick.
January 6th. Thermometer 4°; wind southerly.—It had been mywish this morning to proceed to the well called El Wiekh, in hopes of there meeting the Ghrazzie; but fearing to leave Belford for so long a time, I determined on riding out to the southward as far as the day would allow me: my object in so doing was to see the state of that part of the desert, which I found the same as the one we had passed. I returned at night, and learnt, that at Mogreb the Kaid of the town had arrived from Morzouk, with two camels laden with clothes, oil, butter, and other articles for Aleiwa and such of the Sultan’s immediate household as were with him: as this man brought news that the army would pass Tegerry on the morrow, it made my proposed journey unnecessary.
January 7th. Fine morning; thermometer 4°.—Myself much better, Belford very weak. At half past eight the camel started, and at nine we followed; quite rejoiced at escaping from the salt water, damaged barley, and miserable people of Tegerry. At six we arrived at Medroosa, where, even for money, I could procure no food, and where they totally disregarded the Sultan’s order. Unfortunately my character had preceded me: “He is a fool who actually pays for every thing, and yet has the power of taking it.” They carried their resistance so far, that I was at last obliged to exercise the power given me in the Teskera; but it was so late before I got the better of them, that nothing could be cooked that night. My custom of paying for every thing at the places we had passed would actually have exposed me to the risk of being nearly starved all the way back, had I not at last made them sensible of my power.
I now began to feel much alarm respecting Belford, whom we had left some hours before, slowly following with the camel and its driver, but who did not come up with us. After having made frequent and anxious search for him, to our great relief he arrived at 11.45. P.M.; though in a most deplorable condition, having fallenfrom his horse in consequence of excessive weakness and dizziness. The camel man saw the animal without its rider, and was still more fortunate in observing Belford as he lay extended and helpless on the desert; where, but for this providential discovery, he must have remained all night, at the risk of his life; exposed to severe cold, and in danger of being devoured by the immense herds of jackals and hyænas which were prowling about the plain, and whose howlings we heard all round the village. The poor fellow was so deaf, that our voices could not have reached him, even at the highest pitch; and the night being very dark, every attempt to find him would have been fruitless. Much as he required food and restoratives, we had, unhappily, none to give him, the people of the village refusing to supply us. A little coffee was all we could prepare for him, and that his stomach rejected. In this dilemma, all that remained was to cover him up as comfortably as we could, and to place him on the sandy floor, where we left him, in the hope that his total exhaustion would at least produce quiet and undisturbed sleep.
January 8th. Thermometer 2° 40′; wind northerly.—Belford was this day a little better. At eight the camel started. We observed a Fakeer, or schoolmaster, sitting with his scholars on the sand; one roaring, the others squeaking sentences of the Koran. This man hearing me reproach the natives for their want of hospitality on the previous evening, in refusing assistance to a sick stranger, went into his house, and brought out five eggs, all the food he possessed, which he hoped Belford would eat. This kind action redeemed the character of the village; for had it not been on this good man’s account, I should certainly have complained to the Sultan, and he would, in consequence, have imposed on the offenders a fine of a certain number of dollars, slaves, or cattle, a plan he is very expert in. Indeed, he never loses sight of anyopportunity of exacting such penalties, as they not only enrich him, but make his subjects stand in awe of him. At ten we proceeded: Belford still better, but remaining very giddy. At four, having stopped at El Bakkhi to drink the excellent water there, we arrived at Gatrone, and put up at the house of our former hostess.
January 9th. Thermometer 1° 40′.—Belford was much recovered. The Kaid this morning made me some excellent ink of the pods of the Gurd tree, of which I have already spoken, and a bright yellow earth resembling sulphur in colour, easily dissolvible in water, and acid to the taste, called Shahaira, and brought from Bilma by the Tibboo.
The news of the return of the army had so frightened the people here, that I could not find either a sheep or goat, and was obliged to kill a beautiful Majiggri (which I had brought from Tegerry, and intended taking to England) to make soup for poor Belford.—My hostess informed me that she had lost three children in three successive years by the sting of scorpions. Each child was, at the time it died, two years of age: all were boys, and all had received the sting in the room in which we were.
The fondness of these people for show is quite as great as at Tripoli. This afternoon a Marāboot, brother to my friend El Hadge el Raschid, and one of the chief men here, came in from the Ghrazzie, which he had left at El Bakkhi. He arrived in the gardens early, but could not enter the town until some gaudy clothes, and a fine horse, had been sent out to him, that he might make his entrance as a great personage. In the evening I heard the Tubbel sounded for the first time. This is a large drum, which is generally kept at the house or hut of the Sheikh. When sounded, it is to announce to the natives that news, or some order from the Sultan has arrived, which is loudly proclaimed by the Sheikh, or people who may be ordered to do so. Those who are at a distance come and listen tothe proclamation, and carry it to their neighbours. This evening it was an order to every family to supply a certain quantity of food on the morrow for the Ghrazzie “of our Lord the Sultan,” and a proportionate allowance of straw and dates for the horses; we took the hint, and secured three days’ fodder for ours. I was informed that all the towns south of Morzouk have these drums, but I had never seen one; the poor people consider this kind of sound as not very agreeable, for they never hear the music without paying the piper.
In the course of our journey Besheer often mentioned his having been at the Bahr el Ghazal; and his account agrees with almost every one I have heard. He says that there must once have been a great sea there, as he himself has picked up handsome shells, (according to the Arabs, Beit el Khoot,بيت الخوت, or fishes’ houses,) imbedded in the earth, and as large as his double fist; also backbones of fish the size of his arm, (no small one,) which were petrified; and he added, that if the pieces were joined together, it would appear that the fish, when alive, must have been ten or twelve feet in length. The Kaid dressed and dried, with the hair on, the skin of the sheep I had killed, by stretching it on the ground, and rubbing it with Gurd pods pounded, and afterwards with salt; he allowed it one day to dry, and then softened it by rubbing it with butter, the hair remaining perfectly firm.
January 10th. Thermometer 2° 30′. Went out to meet Sidi Aleiwa and the Ghrazzie, whom I joined at El Bakkhi. The horsemen were in a body, and the foot and captives followed. After many compliments, and shaking hands with all my old friends, I returned with them to Gatrone. They had brought with them 800 lean cripples, clad in skins and rags, between 2000 and 3000 Maherries, and about 500 asses: 180 of the mounted Arabs, and about 300 foot, were still left behind in the negro country;100 horses came with Aleiwa, and 400 Arabs; nearly 1000 camels, and many captives, had died on the road, besides children: the death of the latter was not included, as they were not considered of any importance. If a brutal Arab found a child in a plundered village, so young as to require milk, it was considered sufficient to try to keep the poor infant a day or two on dates and water mixed, and if it sickened, to throw it on the road side to die, or to be devoured by the jackals. A wretch of the Boowadie Arabs, endeavoured to laugh at an acknowledgment of his having followed this odious practice; and he was much astonished at my driving him out of the house in consequence.
I could not in any instance find that these cowardly ruffians ever dared to attack an armed man, whilst they inflicted every species of cruelty on invalids, old people, and children. Mohammed el Lizari, a friend of ours and a principal Mamluke of Fezzan, was the actual commander of this expedition, though Aleiwa was the nominal one. This man was so disgusted at the scenes which he had witnessed, that he determined never again to accompany the Ghrazzie; indeed his having now done so was not with his own consent, but in consequence of an order from Mukni, which precluded all possibility of refusal. The Ghrazzie had been six months absent, during which time they had overrun Bergoo (of the Tibboo), Wajunga, and the southern part of the Bahr el Ghazal. In Bergoo their success was not great, as the Tibboo were warned of their approach, and had nimbly betaken themselves to their native fastnesses in the rocks. Afraid to follow them, these wretches made themselves amends by firing at the poor Negroes, well aware that they had no guns with which to defend or revenge themselves. On the return of these people through Tibesty, with which country Mukni is at peace, they endeavoured to take a few of the Tibboo camels (in a friendly way,) and for that purpose sent three of theSultan’s household slaves to demand that they should be given up; these the Tibboo seized and put to death, considering them as nothing less than robbers. Aleiwa’s people, however, succeeded in taking prisoners some of this tribe, cutting the throats of fifteen men and women, and making captive 130 young men and girls, with 200 camels. I was induced to ask who were the aggressors in this case. “Oh! the Tibboo assuredly, for they are Kaffirs and thieves: we only wanted 300 or 400 camels for the Sultan, and were at peace with them, and did not intend making any slaves; therefore they ought not to have resisted us.”
The Tibboo of Borgoo are all Kaffirs, but are quiet inoffensive people, living in houses made of palm-leaf mats, called Booshi, which are so closely woven, that the rain cannot penetrate them. I have seen huts of this description at Gatrone and Tegerry, and consider them superior to the Fezzan houses in general. Very little corn is cultivated in Bergoo, the inhabitants subsisting chiefly on dates, which grow there in immense quantities, of an inferior kind, and on the flesh of their sheep, goats, and camels: they have also a small breed of black cattle, but these are chiefly used for milking. The arms of these people I have spoken of in a former page. Their dress has very little variety; and except the skins of animals they have only such coarse cloths as they sometimes obtain from their trading neighbours, which they wear, having a piece before and another behind, hanging down as low as the knees. Boys and girls are entirely naked, and few of the men have any other covering than a leather wrapper round the loins; all have the head bare. Marriage, according to the accounts of the Arabs, who vilify them in order to excuse their own cruelties, is unknown among them, and the women are in common: brothers and sisters live together, and confess it when asked. They have no knowledge of a God; theyare, nevertheless, peaceable and neighbourly towards each other. One or two whom I questioned, admitted that there was a great Spirit who, made them; but laughed when I asked where he was to be found? They imagine thunder and lightning to be produced by their deceased friends, and are therefore very fearful during a storm. They eat the blood of camels when baked over a fire; and they also will eat animals which die a natural death. Lizari came and lodged with us; we provided him with clothes, and made him as comfortable as we could. Neither he, nor any of the Ghrazzie, had for the last forty-two days tasted any other food than dates; he was fat, however, and so were they all, which is a strong proof of the nutritious quality of that fruit.
Mukni, who was very jealous of Lizari, and bore him great ill will, sent orders to certain people to murder him, by firing ball at him whilst at their evenings’ diversions; but his situation as a great man in Fezzan, and his excellent private character, had made him so respected, that those who had orders to kill him came and informed him of his danger, promising to defend rather than to injure him. He remained, however, in most unpleasant suspense, lest a second order should be more effectual. Even in our house, and in the same room with us, he slept with his pistols cocked under his head, and his sabre by his side.
The people of Wajunga are much allied to the Tibboo in their habits, arms, &c.; but the men have a way of plaiting their hair which is very remarkable, and in some it resembles the curling of a ram’s horn, in size and shape.
I saw this day a fine young Tibboo woman of Gatrone, who was inquiring amongst the Arabs if any one of them had a child to sell. She soon found one, whose mother had died on the road: it was about three weeks old, and miserably thin. As she wanted to suckleit, having lost her own infant, she bargained for it, and at last purchased it with a wooden bowl of about the value of sixpence, and a gallon of dates, worth about a penny more. She however soon returned with the child, which she tossed back to the man who had sold it, complaining that it would not take the breast, and demanding the purchase money back. The dates had been eaten, but the bowl was returned to her; and so ended the bargain, an Arab taking charge of the poor infant, and promising to carry it home to his wife.
A sick child whom I took under my care, and to whom I administered medicine, amused me much by his alarm at the sight of bread when shewn to him for the first time. I offered him a little flat loaf, and he was for a long while considering whether he should venture to touch it, but at last mustered courage to take it up, apparently in great trepidation, holding it between his fingers and thumbs, and frequently turning it round. Having first smelt to it, he began to nibble; and being very hungry and cold, and finding it not quite so terrific as he imagined, the poor little fellow despatched it very soon. I continued to feed him for the two or three days we remained together, and his mode of expressing his gratitude, was by coming close to me, and looking up in my face.
Many of the children were carried in leather bags, which the Tibboo make use of to keep their corn in; and in one instance I saw a nest of children on one side of a camel, and its young one in a bag, hanging on the other. The Arabs brought many asses and sheep from Borgoo: the former are very large and fine, and arrived in high condition, whereas the horses and camels were skeletons. I here had an opportunity of seeing the manner of chaining the prisoners. Five Wajunga men, fierce, well made, handsome people,about 25 years of age, were linked together. The right hand is fastened to the neck, round which is an iron collar, having two rings in the back; through this the heavy chain is passed and locked at each end on the unhappy slaves. The owner sleeps with this chain tied to his wrist, when in fear of their escaping. I was informed by their masters, that these men had been so confined during three months, “because they were fierce fellows, and had actually resisted their captors; but above all, they had been guilty of endeavouring to make their escape when taken.” Their cowardly owners dreaded them even in Fezzan. These were the only strong young men in the Kafflé; almost all the other males being little boys, or infirm old men.
The Tibboo of Borgoo are represented as a timid race, in such dread of a gun or horse, that the bare sight of an Arab, and particularly a mounted one, is sufficient to put a number of them to flight. They run with great swiftness, and when endeavouring to escape, use many successful and ingenious feints. For instance; if pursued on rocky ground, they will kneel suddenly in such a manner, as to resemble a rock or stone, the mountains in their own country being black like themselves; if where wood is lying, they embrace the trunk of a tree: if on sandy ground, they stand on an eminence, until their pursuer is in the hollow near them, they then run to the next hollow, and change their direction or even bury themselves before he gets to the rising ground. They show equal skill in eluding the vigilance of their keepers when caught. Mukni has often told me stories of their cunning, with evident astonishment and anger, that these poor wretches should dare to use their wits to such advantage. One of his remarks was, “if you catch one, and do not immediately bind him, when you turn away from him, he will run off.”
The country from whence these poor victims come produces sufficient dates to furnish the whole army, and the conquerors brought away enough to supply their slaves and animals. There are in this country some singular insulated rocks, which are almost inaccessible, and which stand on plains of sand. On these many of the Tibboo live, and by means of large stones and arrows are able to keep off any people, who, like themselves, are without muskets. The Sultan’s army, in a former Ghrazzie, stormed some of these fastnesses; and though they were superior in number and arms, and the Tibboo naturally timid, they met with very severe loss.