The plan adopted by the Arabs in taking these people is described in the following manner.—They rest for the night, two or three hours ride from the village intended to be attacked; and after midnight, leaving their tents and camels, with a small guard, they advance, so as to arrive by daylight; they then surround the place, and, closing in, generally succeed in taking all the inhabitants. As those who elude the first range have also to pass several bodies placed on the look-out, and armed with guns, their chance of escape is almost impossible. On a rising ground, at a convenient distance, is placed a standard, round which are stationed men prepared to receive and bind the captives, as they are brought out by those who enter the town: when bound, the pillagers return for fresh plunder. In the course of one morning, a thousand or fifteen hundred slaves have sometimes been procured in this manner, by two or three hundred men only. When the inhabitants are all secured, the camels, flocks, and provisions, come into requisition; and these dreaded Arabs march on and conquer other defenceless hordes, in the same manner. The Tibboo of Borgoo are of a lighter complexion than other Negroes, and are handsome people. The females braid their hair, which is not very woolly, in long plaits,which hang down round their head in bobbins of sometimes eighteen inches in length.
The Arabs found many pigeons in Borgoo; these birds emigrate from Fezzan in October and November, to Kawār, Bilma, Borgoo, and other places to the southward.
January 12th. Therm. 3°. Left Gatrone, and preceded the Ghrazzie to the wells of Wudakaire, from which place I have already noted the bearings to Gatrone. We slept here, and took care that it should be at least a mile distant from the Arabs. My Maherry was now in tolerable condition, owing to the care taken of him by the Marāboot, to whom I sent a six-bladed knife, as an acknowledgment for his trouble; this he considered so splendid a present, that his house had a constant succession of visitors, to see and admire its wonderful blades, saws, &c. which were opened with great care, and looked on with astonishment.
January 13th. Therm. 2°. 10′.—We left Wudakaire at 7.20. and passed over a desert of sand, without a break in the horizon, N. 10°. W. 35 miles, when at seven we arrived at Mestootaمستوته, a small spot of about two miles in circumference, covered with palm and Attila bushes; and having a low marsh, abounding in rushes, and the favourite shrubs of the camels, viz. Deesaديسه, Agoolعقول, and Dthamaranظمرعن. There are many wells here, and an old ruined Arab castle. We observed the Ghrazzie to encamp about five miles short of this place. The Jerboas were here in immense quantities, and ran over our heads the whole night: they were even bold enough to attempt stealing a piece of bread from under my head.
Friday 14th. Therm. 2°. 30′. below zero.—Water which we had left in a bowl over night, became ice of the thickness of half an inch; and the Gerbas (water skins) were so completely frozen up at the necks, that we were obliged to melt them over a fire. Whatmust the poor naked Negroes, who know no winter, have suffered during the whole of this night, lying out uncovered, on the sand! We had a long chase after our horses, which had broken loose and gone away, until 10.20. when, after much trouble in securing them, we set off, passing as before over a flat plain of sand until 3.20. when we arrived at some dangerously high sand hills; down which I every moment expected the Maherry, which carried myself and two sacks of dates, would tumble. At 7.30. we arrived safely past the hills at Māfenمعفن, a small village which I saw from Traghan, when first I went there. We had travelled, when on the plain, N. 35°. E. 15 miles, and over the sand hills, N. 10°. E. 12 miles.
Saturday 15th. Therm. 2°. Fine morning.—Started at nine from Māfen, and passed over a most curious plain of salt and earth, so broken by the sun, that it resembled the rough and irregular lava of Vesuvius; large slabs of four or five feet in height, with sharp points, were sticking up in every direction, and as hard as stone. I think it next to an impossibility for a man to walk even a few yards over this ground. A poor path, barely wide enough for a camel, has been cut and worn through it; but many accidents still happen by animals falling on their journey over it. This extraordinary bed extends east and west above twenty miles, and is about three in breadth at this part. I paid it a much longer visit than I could have wished, being attacked so severely by hemma, as to be obliged to dismount and lie in the road, until the afternoon, without water to relieve me, or any thing at hand to assuage the pain in my liver.
On my recovery, we passed Traghan, without entering the town; and having refreshed ourselves at a well of tolerably good water, went on with Besheer to his house at Deesa, where he killed the fatted calf, and gave us the most cordial welcome. His mother and young wife came out to receive us, and with his sisters, weptfor joy at his return. I gave the old woman some eye medicine, for which she wanted me to accept a fine fat-tailed sheep; and his sister furnished us with eggs, fowls, and sour milk in abundance. Kaid Saad would not stop here; but after taking Lackbi enough to make him merry, set off for Zaizow, to prepare a welcome for us on the morrow.
January 16th. Therm. 4°. We set out at ten for Morzouk. I suffered Belford and the camel to go on, and remained amongst the surrounding little hamlets, with Besheer, who introduced me to his friends and neighbours, many compliments passing on both sides. He also presented me to a very pretty girl whom he had fixed on as his new wife, making two his complement. About noon, we heard the firing of the Ghrazzie’s people on entering Beedanبيدانa village near Zaizow, and soon after, arriving at the latter place, we alighted at the residence of Kaid Saad. We found him lying on the ground, most amusingly drunk and communicative, and surrounded by fowls and bread, eggs, cakes, soup, sweet and sour lackbi, and dates.
He was all generosity, and would have given us his whole house, and into the bargain, even his old wife, who waited on us during the meal, and was highly oiled for the occasion. We soon discovered, as he was not in condition to keep a secret, why he had recourse to such large draughts of lackbi. He had boasted, all the time he was with me, of his second wife, and had promised I should be treated with a sight of her, if he could prevail on so beautiful and bashful a creature to show her face to any other man than her husband: no sooner, however, had he left Zaizow to accompany me a month before, than this charming person decamped. She first collected as much corn as she could find, and a dollar or two which were hoarded up; and after abusing her house-mate, the elder wife, set out for Morzouk. Report spoke unfavourably of her conductthere, and the old man was endeavouring, in consequence, to drown his sorrows in his favourite liquor. The lady of the house presented me with a bowl of Soudan manufacture.
This afternoon, a man came to me for medicine, for a pain in the chest, and opening his shirt, displayed the most sickening sight I ever beheld: he had been so burnt over the whole of his breast, that it had festered, and become a sore of above a foot in diameter, and had so eaten into his skin, that I imagined he could not survive many days. I had nothing with me which would relieve him, but advised that his sore should be kept clean, a precaution which had never entered his head. His friend, who brought him to me, said, that for all the world he would not suffer him to be washed, as he had read in a book, that using water to a burn occasioned certain death. Thus, owing to their ignorance and prejudice, this poor man probably lost his life. After being nearly killed with kindness, we set out. The Kaid, though almost incapable of sitting his own poor lean horse, amused himself by riding at full speed before and across mine, screeching and discharging his gun out of compliment to me; but happily for his own neck, and I may add for mine also, in about half an hour his powder failed him.
In the evening we arrived at Morzouk, and found that my kind friends, Yussuf and the old Hadje, had prepared a feast for me. I went to visit Mukni, who received me very graciously, and thanked me for going to meet his son, whom he pretended to be ashamed of, for not having presented me with a couple of Maherrys; one to eat, and the other to ride on. Yussuf and the old man spent the greater part of the night with us, relating all the city news; and I promised them, that on the morrow, I would set out with the Sultan’s two youngest sons, to Hadge Hajeel, to meet and return with the Ghrazzie to Morzouk.
January 17th. Therm. 6°.—I set out as I had proposed, with the Mamlukes and a large body of Fezzanners, to meet their friends; for which, on joining Aleiwa’s people, I received many thanks and compliments: having only slept one night at my own house, I was not expected to leave it again so quickly. I here found my little patient, whom I mentioned before, quite recovered, and able, by his master’s instruction, to thank me in a few words of Arabic. This little fellow’s patience, during illness, had so won on his master, a shoemaker of Morzouk, that he had adopted him; and intended, instead of selling, to bring him up to his own trade, in which, if the boy succeeds, he is to make me a pair of boots on my return. We spent this afternoon in singing and eating, and every one assumed a new appearance: instead of the dirty ragged wretches whom I had last seen, they were transformed into a gay multitude, dressed in silks, scarlet, and embroidery; their friends collecting for them such finery as would enable them to enter the capital with becoming dignity. Many of the Arabs smelt most odoriferously of attar of roses, and affected to look as if they had been accustomed to it all their lives.
The whole procession would have been very amusing, on the morning of the 18th, but for the multitude of poor dejected captives;—their swelled and sore feet, and emaciated bodies, formed such a sad contrast to the finery and ostentation of the conquerors, that it not only completely checked all inclination to laugh, but gave rise to the most painful feelings. Six flags preceded the army with a large band of musicians, who formed a melodious concert, each disdaining time or tune, and playing such airs as their own taste dictated. On approaching Morzouk, the dancing women and bagpipers came out, and added to the din; and the Arabs, dividing as usual into two bodies, skirmished with very good effect. Atnoon we entered the town, and I rode ahead of the Sultan’s son, to observe what would be his father’s reception of him. I found Mukni sitting in the greatest agitation, pale, and alone in the Mezlis, or Court of his Castle, and scarcely able to welcome me. The crowd assembling, a lane was formed from the place where Aleiwa was to alight, to the great chair in which the Sultan sat. The boy dismounted, and, supported by his younger brother, ran and threw himself on his knees to kiss his father’s hand. A general silence prevailed, when the father, overcome by his feelings, reclined on the son’s neck, and wept aloud. At that moment I felt that I could have forgiven him all his unkindness to Mr. Ritchie and myself, and the numerous murders he had committed; had I not recollected that this favourite boy was returning with many poor children, whose existence was not less dear to their own parents than his was to Mukni. When the Sultan had become a little composed, and had re-assumed his look of dignity, a splendid Bornouse of cloth of gold was brought, and Aleiwa being stripped of that which he then wore, by some of the principal people, the new one was thrown over him, for which he knelt and kissed his father’s hand. This, I find, is the customary present in all the Barbary states to generals returning victorious. The ceremony over, all the Arabs commenced kissing hands, and the Sultan then, having vouchsafed a smile on the crowd, entered the Castle, leaning on the shoulders of his two sons.
January 19th.—All this day the Sultan was sitting outside the Castle gate, surrounded by Sheikh Barood and the Arabs, and buying of them, slaves and camels.
The square near the Castle presented quite a novel appearance, being filled with above 1000 Maherries. The town was all alive, and formed a very amusing spectacle. Merchants from neighbouring countries, Tibboo, Tuarick, Arabs, and camels, wereall in motion at once, while the poor Negroes, who occasioned the assemblage of so many strangers, sat naked and shivering in the sun, and were oiled all over to better their appearance. Some were paraded for sale, whilst others went about with broken pots to collect the blood of the numerous camels, which people were slaughtering, and which, on being baked over a fire, they eagerly swallowed. Such skeletons as were seen amongst them might really have moved the pity even of their owners. Slaves were selling as low as ever, and the market was full: a fine girl of thirteen years of age was worth about thirty-five dollars; a boy of the same age about fifteen or twenty; occasionally the price was greater for the females, if particularly handsome; but boys seldom rose higher than the sum I have mentioned.
None but the Bedouins appear to approve of these Ghrazzies; their wandering manner of life, and total want of every social feeling, their having no lands to cultivate, or houses to take care of, may account for it. Those who have possessions are aware that these predatory excursions are the ruin of the country and of trade; but their fear of Mukni is even greater than their love of home, and they therefore must engage, however unwillingly, in this service. Every man who attends the Ghrazzies is obliged to furnish himself with arms and provisions, and he is at liberty to make what plunder or captives he can, which, with the exception of one-fourth, is his own private property. A general attack, in which all are engaged, allows of no man appropriating to himself the slaves he takes, as all are carried to the standard, and thus divided; the Sultan has one-fourth, every footman is entitled to one slave, and every horseman to two. Should the number of captives exceed that of the captors, a second sharing is made after each man has received his first portion; but should the number of slaves not amount to that of the captors, they are divided, one between twoor three, in proportion. Two little children are considered as equal to a young boy, and two boys of about nine or ten years of age, or one girl of the same age, make a share.
About this time I frequently visited the slave-markets, which are conducted with the same degree of indifference to the feelings of the captives as at Tripoli. There are many auctioneers, as well for slaves, as for other articles of trade; each runs from side to side of the street, crying in a shrill voice the price last bidden, and standing on tiptoes: should he be selling a slave, the poor creature follows him at a trot, like a dog, to the different groups of merchants who are sitting on the sand.
Aboo Becker Boukhalloumابوبكربوخلّوم, the Sultan’s head man, arrived from Tripoli, bringing with him the Bashaw’s Teskera, continuing Mukni in the command of Fezzan for three years, on condition of his paying to the Bashaw 80,000 dollars. In order to treat this person with great respect, and to show he was “the man the King delighted to honour,” the Sultan’s three sons, and all the horsemen to be found, were sent to meet him at Dgleim, and accompany him to the town; drums and colours preceding him, and the inhabitants, who cared not if he were alive or dead, roaring for joy. This man had been an Augela Arab five or six years before; but now, covered with gold and scarlet, was as great as fine clothes (the African standard of dignity) could make him. On his arrival at the Mezlis, the Sultan received him sitting in his chair of state; and having read the Bashaw’s letter (or affected to do so, for his Majesty is no scholar), he thrice kissed and put it to his forehead. The Fighi then read it in a loud voice to the people, who all exclaimed, “Thank God!”
A fine yellow Bornouse, ornamented with lace, having been sent as a present, Mukni descended from his throne, and after beingstripped by his slaves of the one he then wore, he put on the new one, first kissing, and thrice putting it to his head.
I received a large packet of letters by Bookhalloum, who said he had often seen the Consul and Dr. Dickson; he also brought me money from a kind friend, who was aware of our distressed situation.
From a number of persons, who had been on the recent expedition, I obtained the following account of the routes they had taken, which, as the narrators pretty generally agreed in them, I have reason to believe correct.
The chief town is called Yen.—The above are not towns, but resting-places.
Yen is more properly a large nest of mud huts than a town. Its inhabitants are, in time of peace, very numerous, and are all Kaffirs. It is to this place that the natives of Waday come in Kafflés to trade for slaves. Several of the King of Waday’s men were taken captive by Mukni’s people near this place.
All these are resting-places.
Kawār and Bilma are not distinct countries, but are names oftwo parts of the same, having little villages, and scattered families all over the desert; the people are Mohammedans and Kaffirs, though the latter are the most numerous.
Wajunga, a country also pillaged during the last excursion, is eight days east of Borgoo. It is a considerable tract, and has two large towns or districts one day east and west of each other. The eastern one has a very large river running north and south through it, five or six hundred yards in breadth, and of great depth. The water is brackish, and in it are abundance of very fine fish. The Ghrazzie passed this river on rafts, and the horses, having been previously slung with inflated gerbas, or water-skins, were towed across. The whole of this country is very mountainous, having large rocky tracts of perfectly black stone, which they say not a little favoured the escape of the greater part of the inhabitants, who were not easily distinguished from them. Some of the rocks here, as well as in Borgoo, are so perpendicular and high, that, to use an Arab expression, “You could not see their tops without losing your tagaia, or red cap.”
The western Wajunga has three rivers running through it, two of which are sweet “as honey,” and one salt; the largest, which the Arabs say is the Nil, is of great breadth, and very deep, and runs from west to east. Dates are in great plenty here, and the cattle very numerous; there are also elephants in this country, and multitudes of ostriches. The people of both sexes are clothed in skins; some, however, wear a curious leather gown. They are a fine race of people, and are swift runners; but the Arabs consider them in the light of Kaffirs, asserting that they were not made by God, but that they came by chance.
Wajunga to Waday is ten days south. On the road Terraweiya is three days from Wajunga.
From the well of El Wiakh, which is two days to the southward of Tegerry, is another road to Tibesty, shorter, yet at the same time more difficult than the other, being seven long days from thence to Braï, at which place rain water is found. These seven days are over a black range of mountains, which are destitute of water, grass, shrubs, or living animals; and in many places so very difficult of ascent, that camels and horses often meet their death by falls in passing them. The plain round the well of El Wiakh is said to be quite covered with human and other bones. In the Kafflés coming from Waday, many of the slaves and animals are often so exhausted by fatigue in passing this dreary road, that on being allowed a day’s rest, they become too stiff and sore to be able to proceed, and are thus left to perish. Many poor sinking wretches are deserted by their masters while yet alive, and it not unfrequently happens, that in order to get the healthy slaves to a resting-place, the sick ones are left to their fate.
Arna and Braï are three days apart. Berdai (which I take to be the Berdoa of the maps) is two days east of Tibesty. From Braï to Marmar is nine days south-east.
A tribe of Tibboo, called by some Febaboo, is not known. I suspect Aboo, in Tibesty, is the name from which it has been taken by mistake. It is a small town, and not, as has been supposed, a tribe.
January 24th.—This morning I sat in the Mezlis, and saw the Arabs and Sultan’s people buying and selling the recently captured slaves. The manner of conducting the sale was quite new to me, and let me into the secret of the method taken by the great man toascertain how much was due to him out of every private capture. Bookhalloom, old Sheikh Barood, and some more of the Sultan’s people, amongst whom are one or two of his scribes, summon the slaves of every person concerned in the Ghrazzie before them, the masters attending also. Each slave is then put up to auction at a certain price; the Sultan’s brokers only bidding high for the finest, the other people, who sit round in crowds, also bidding vociferously. The owner bids against them until he has what he considers the value of the slave offered him, when, if he chooses to sell, he has three fourths of the money paid to him, while one-fourth is paid by the purchaser to the Sultan. Should he not wish to part with his slaves, he buys them in, and the sum which he last names is considered as the price, from which he has to pay the Sultan’s share. The scribes write down each slave-owner’s name, and the sum due from him to the Sultan, and thus the account is easily kept between them.
Last night an entertainment was provided for me by Mohammed el Lizari, to celebrate my birthday. Lilla Fātma honoured his house with her presence, and was covered with silks, gold, and red paint, which she took care occasionally to show as she accidentally, or rather purposely, dropped her Aba from her face. About a hundred noisy, greasy Morzouk women amused the company, and nearly stunned me by playing on erbabs, drums, tin-pots, and gourds; there was also much dancing, with Lackbi and pipes in abundance. I was sensible of this kindness on the part of Lizari, but I certainly never wished again to pass so noisy and tiresome a birthday. These compliments were followed up by a present of a young camel, on which I was to feast.
As it was Lizari’s wish to accompany me to Tripoli, he held daily consultations with his friends on the subject; and this plan was at length arranged, as a security against the acts of Mukni, who, wegreatly feared, would cause him to be privately murdered before I left Morzouk. In the meantime it was considered necessary that he and his household should be always armed; and as I did not quite understand Mukni’s behaviour to myself, I also determined to be on my guard, constantly concealing a pair of pistols in my dress. We found great difficulty in procuring camels, the Arabs, who let them, being busily occupied in the slave-markets. Some Kafflés at this time came in from Soudan and Bornou, bringing about 1000 slaves, chiefly female.
As I am now about to leave Morzouk, and have been enabled from actual observation in my journey to the extremity of Fezzan to form an opinion of that kingdom, I shall subjoin all the information I have been able to collect on its general state, as well as the habits and customs of the natives.
Aspect of the Country — State of Cultivation — Minerals — Animals — Birds — Vegetable Productions — Fruits — Esculents — Time and Manner of cultivating Grain — Water — Towns — Food of Inhabitants — Possibility of improving Agriculture — Tenure of Lands — Weights and Measures — Government — Principal People — Character of the Natives — Inroads into the Negro Countries — State of the Slave Trade — Crimes and Punishments — Character of the Natives — Religion — State of Literature and Ingenuity — Language — State of the Women — Records — Slavery and the Slave Trade — Laws relative to the Issue of Slaves.
Thenorthern boundary is Bonjem, in latitude 30° 35′ north, of which I have already spoken; and Tegerry, in latitude 24° 4′ north, is the southern, which is inhabited by Tibboo of the mountain tribes. Its eastern boundary is the Harutz mountains behind Temissa, and Oubāri in the west.
The general aspect of the country presents an almost universally barren appearance; fine yellow sand, and a species of gravel, covering the whole face of the plains, save where the Soudah and Harutz extend. The country is very dry, there being only three springs in this immense tract; they are near Traghan; but water is found in many places at ten or twenty feet below the surface, in clay or beds of salt. There is no vegetation on the desert, unless in some of the wadeys, where are found prickly bushes for camels, called Agoulاقول, Thamaranظمرعن, and Deesaديسه, and a few trees of the mimosa species, called Talhhظالح. It is only in the immediate vicinity of towns that palms are cultivated, and a little corn and a few esculents raised with much difficulty and labour. Nothing is more incorrect than the opinion so generally held of the fertility of the Oases.
Fezzan may, without scruple, be said to stand in the desert, and is not to be distinguished from it on the score of fertility. The soil, where soft, is almost all sand; but under the surface, near Morzouk, a kind of white clay is found, which, on being mixed with the sand, becomes tolerably productive. The small spots of ground which are at all cultivated, are fertile; but the immense labour requisite to keep the ground moist, deters the labourers from forming gardens of above an acre in size. Some of the spots so called, are not above forty or sixty feet square. The water is drawn by asses, and the machinery is very complicated. Soda, called Tronaالطرون, rock salt, alum, Shubشب, gypsum, saltpetre, and, as I was told, sulphur, are found in this country; the first three in very large quantities, which form articles of trade. The Soda is produced at or near Germa, in the wadey Shiati; the salt and alum in many places, but more particularly in the eastern districts. There is one plain of solid salt near Mafen, which is nearly thirty miles in length.
The animals found in Fezzan are,
The Tiger Cat, rather fierce.
Hyæna, in great numbers, and very savage.
Jackal.Numerous. They approach very near the towns.
Fox.Scarce, and much smaller than those of Europe.
Wadan.A very fierce buffalo, of the size of an ass, having large tufts of hair from the shoulders, and very long heavy horns.
Red Buffalo.A clumsy animal, easily taken.
White Buffalo.A small white animal, very swift, and courageous when wounded.
Antelope.Few are found near Morzouk.
Wild Cat.Found in the rocks.
Porcupine.Living in the wadeys near Bonjem.
Hedgehog.Met with about the wells, and eaten by the Arabs.
Rat.Of two colours, yellow and brown; the latter are found in houses, the yellow on the desert: both have hairy tails.
Guntsha.An animal of the rat species, black, having a bushy tail, and head resembling that of a badger: lives in palm-trees, and is easily tamed.
Mouse.Of two kinds, like the rats; one yellow, the other brown.
Gerboa.Found only on the desert.
Rabbits.Few wild; some tame in Morzouk. Brought from the coast.
Hare.Found in the wadeys; rather scarce.
Camel.The Maherry, or running Camel. Horse, ass, very few cows; sheep and goats also very scarce. Dogs, two only in Morzouk of the greyhound species.
The Birds are,
The Ostrich.Found in the mountains of Wadan.
Eagle.Scarce.
Vulture.Common on the desert.
Hawk.Common.
Wild Turkey.In the wadeys north of Sockna.
Raven.Numerous on the desert.
Duck.I have seen some flights, but cannot tell whence they come, probably from some waters on the desert.
Coot.A coot was one night picked up in the street, and brought to our house. It was the first seen in Morzouk.
Sparrow.The male is slate-coloured, with black marks; the female as in Europe: very numerous.
Swallow.Slate-coloured, and very small.
Butcher Bird.Slate-colour.
Owl.Small species, having horns or feathered tufts.
Wren.Small, having black wings and yellow breast.
Wagtail.Resembling a mule Canary-bird.
A birdresembling a thrush, but having a long tail.
Wild and tame Pigeons.The former emigrate in August to Bornou and the Tibboo countries.
Partridges.North of Sockna.
Domestic fowlsnot very plentiful.
Goose.A few at Zuela.
Vegetable Productions.
Gafooly Masr.Indian corn.
Gafooly Abiad.A small grain.
Gussub.A small round brown grain. Dhourra of Egypt.
Gussub Tamzawi.Another species of the same.
Gussub Albawi.Another do.
Gummah.Wheat.
Shair.Barley.
Tareedi.Another species of barley, of a red colour.
Bishna.A small grain resembling canary seed.
Lubia.A small bean.
Gilgillān.A small pea.
Latila.A small black tare.
Kerwia.Caraway seeds.
The seeds of sun-flowers are also eaten, as well as those of the colocynth apple.
Fruits, &c.
Grapes.Grow near the wells: almost every garden has a vine.
Pomegranate.Very fine; not plentiful.
Apricot.Scarce, and bad.
Peach.Never comes to maturity.
Apple.Woolly, tasteless, and scarce.
Melons.Water melons; good, but scarce. The musk melons are only over-ripe cucumbers.
Figs.Small, but good.
Corna.A small round fruit, resembling an apple in form and smell, though not larger than a nut. It has three stones, is very sweet, and eats well when fresh. It grows on a tree sometimes thirty feet in height. Mr. Ritchie conceived this to be the Rhamnus or Lotus.
Esculents.
Pompion.Large, yellow, and good.
Kalabash.Very good, and plentiful.
Geroo.A fruit much resembling a cucumber in smell, taste, and appearance, when young; but when ripe, it smells like a melon, and is eaten as such.
Turnip.Tap-rooted, and small; scarce.
Carrot.Small, no flavour, and scarce.
Radish.Good, and pungent.
Melochia.A kind of salading.
Bāmia.A small pod, used in soup.
Birtigallis.A juicy leaved salad.
Mustard and cress.Good, but scarce.
Onions.Fine, and plentiful.
Garlic.Scarce, but very good.
Red pepper.Very good, and plentiful.
Tomata.Scarce, but good.
Corn and barley are sown in October and November, and reaped in March and April; during which time, and until the last month, the crops are watered twice a week, with much labour, by means of small channels cut from the reservoirs at the wells. Guddub or Sufsafa,قدّن صفسفه, which is a species of clover, is sown in small squares, in January and February, and will bear cutting once a fortnight until November, when it ceases to grow, and the roots are given to cattle. It is very expensive, but fattens horses and camels very quickly. Gussubقصب, and Gafoolyقفولي, of both kinds, are sown at midsummer, and ripen in the autumn; they are sometimes given in a green state to horses; the stalks then are very sweet, and resemble sugar-canes in taste. Many people cultivate these plants, without the intention of allowing them to ripen, but merely to supply the horses: by pulling the stalks up by the roots, the land is soon again fit for other crops. The dry straw is the winter fodder, but extravagantly dear. The stalk of the Gafooly sometimes grows to the height of seven or eight feet; the Guddub resembles clover, but is more delicate. The water of Fezzan is universally brackish, and in many places quite salt; and by constantly using it, and comparing the best with the worst, some wells appear almost fresh. There are no rivers of any description; but there are stagnant ponds which produce salt, and generally cause the agues so prevalent in some parts of the country.
The capital of Fezzan is Morzouk, the latitude of which is 25° 54′ north, and longitude 15° 52′ east. The other towns of note are, Sockna in the north, Zuela in the east, and Gatrone in thesouth. The people derive their subsistence from dates which may almost be said to be the only support of the country, and from the small quantity of grain and vegetables, which they raise with so much toil in the gardens: they occasionally treat themselves with a little camels’ flesh. Sheep and goats are too expensive for the poorer class; and I believe, that even among the opulent, there is no man who can afford to eat meat above three times a week. They do not carry on any particular trade, except with Bornou, Soudan, and Waday, for slaves, and the barter attendant on the dealings with the Kafflés. Many of the plants which are cultivated in the southern parts of Europe would, no doubt, flourish in this country, with the usual attention which is paid to the gardens. European spades, rakes, light hoes, and ploughs, might be introduced in this part of the world with great success, and would be most gratefully received. Machines for winnowing corn, which is generally mixed with chaff, sieves, &c. would also be very beneficial. The people would not at first comprehend their use, but I conceive that those few articles would soon become familiar to them, and be much prized. There is not any kind of timber which can be used for building, or, more properly, which can be cut into planks. The palm is the only tree they have, and is used for doors, props, and frames for wells; it is likewise employed for beams, by cutting the trunk in four quarters; it is very porous, dry, and subject to rot, and is easily broken.
Landed property is generally in the possession of the better classes, and is cultivated for them by the free servants and slaves, who work alike, and experience exactly the same treatment. Lands generally descend to the nearest relations at the decease of the owner; but if he dies without heirs, or is put to death for an alleged crime, the Sultan claims them as his right: the owner, notwithstanding, can, if he pleases, buy or sell, without being boundby any sort of entail or clause, against parting with family property. Houses are held in the same way as the lands. When grounds are leased, or sold, the price is generally proportioned to the number of wells and date trees on the premises: it happens, however, not unfrequently, that the palms are the property of one man, while the land on which they grow belongs to another. The gardens are entirely cultivated by the paddle or hoe, and parcelled out into squares of about three feet, having little channels to them, for the purpose of irrigation. Much dung is used, and the sandy soil of old gardens almost assumes the appearance of earth. From the great labour requisite to keep these spots in order, it would not repay any non-resident to have lands in Fezzan; though I am confident that such possessions would be respected, as there are many absentees who have large groves of palms, which their relatives, or those employed by them, keep, and render up an exact account of. The difficulty of finding willing, honest, faithful, or contented workmen, is very great; and each master or agent is obliged to attend constantly to his own immediate property or charge; some gardens, however, are, and have been, attended for generations, by the same family of labourers.
The commerce is chiefly in slaves, and I have already given a list of such articles as are marketable. They have but few weights; these are, the Kantar,قنتار, 150 lb.; the Rottal,الرتال, 1½ lb.; the Oghia,الوقَيه, or ounce; and the weights used in the purchase or exchange of gold, which was once the money of the country. The weights, with little scales, are generally kept in a small box. The largest is called Groowi, 33⅓ Mitgals; the next is 13¾ Mitgals; another is 6⅔ Mitgals, and is called Oghia, and weighs one dollar; the smallest brass weight is 1⅓ Mitgal. 24 Kharoubas,خروبه, or beans of the locust tree, weigh 1 Mitgal. There are also three small weights of iron or lead, weighing 16, 8, and 4 Khoroubas.The small red and black West India bean, so well known in England, is here named Ain el deek,عين الديك(or cock’s eye,) and is the half Kharouba. The boxes containing the gold weights have also a small spoon for the dust, and a trying stone.—The measures at present in use are, Ghefeese, 24 Khail; half ditto; Webba Fezzan, 8 Kail; half ditto; Kail, 8 Saas, equal to 8 quarts; Saa, a quart. This last measure is divided into halves and thirds, for which there are small baskets made to contain that quantity; these are, by particular ways of placing the hand, again divided into fourths and sixths. The current money of the country is a Spanish dollar; the smaller payments are made in corn. A comparative idea of the value of the above measures may be obtained by knowing that one dollar is generally worth one kail and a half, or three gallons of corn. A quart, or saa, is therefore worth fivepence. Dates average twenty-four kail, or a ghefeese for a dollar.
The government of Fezzan was once hereditary, in a black family, which above 500 years since took possession of the country. They were Shreefs, and of a tribe near Fez, in the kingdom of Morocco; but the intrigues of Mukni have succeeded in destroying them all, and the public offices, government, and revenues have assumed entirely another form. Mukni is absolute while in his hired government, though in Tripoli he is considered only as a private individual. He derives his power from a few armed followers, of whom I have spoken, and from the fear which the people have of the Bashaw in their present state of weakness; but above all, from the great dread they have of himself. He governs with a rod of iron, punishes most severely, and his opinion is the law; money is his chief aim, and he leaves no means untried to extort it from his miserably oppressed subjects. No one has the least voice in the state but himself, and such of his favourites as have gained some ascendency over him; but theirinterest with him is very precarious. All weighty matters, such as wars of consequence, are submitted to the Bashaw, though Mukni always acts before he has time either to receive instructions or permission.
The Kadi, being supreme head of the law and of the church, or nominally so, is rather more privileged with the Sultan than others are; but his opinions are always expected to assimilate with those of his master. In Morzouk there are some white families who are called Mamlukes, being descended from Renegades, whom the Bashaw had presented to the former Sultans. These families and their descendants are considered noble; and however poor and low their situation may be, are not a little vain of their title. There is no such thing as nobility, except with these people and the Shreefs, who are, throughout the Mohammedan world, highly privileged; yet are, generally speaking, not better men than the rest. The Kadi, Sheikhs of districts, Kaids, or Governors, Chowses, Hadjes, Marāboots, and all who have money, possessions, and, above all, fine clothes, are considered great people, and respected as long as their situation, money, or garments hold out: but in the event of any failure in these uncertain advantages, they become as low and unnoticed as slaves.
The office of Kadi is hereditary, and has been in the same family for 150 years. Talents are by no means necessary in this high office; the ability to read is all that is required, and the next in the family, after the death of a Kadi, is, whether wise or foolish, immediately vested with the authority. The Kadi of Morzouk is a black man, named Mohammed el Habeeb; he is able to read pretty fluently, is very superstitious, and writes charms of more efficacy than any other man in the country. All the principal towns have Kadis; but the office is not, as in the capital, hereditary. The better class of the people, or those who have some property,are distinguished from the poor by being admitted into the Sultan’s presence, and living in every respect better than the Arabs and the other natives. They have great power to oppress and ill treat their inferiors; yet are as free with their slaves as with each other, and associate as much with them. A slave will come and sit down with his master, though not on the same mat, and join in the conversation, amusement, or meal, even without a shirt on his back; when the master wears his best clothes, however, he is too dignified to permit such freedom.
The Fezzanners are possessed of but little courage, spirit, or honesty, and are as completely submissive to their tyrants as oppression could wish: they seem insensible of their abject state, never having known freedom, or having been exempt from the caprice of their rulers. There is little chance, therefore, that amongst such men, any struggles for liberty should be made; and it never enters their heads to take advantage of the power they possess from their situation in the desert to render themselves independent of Tripoli. The Arabs, and particularly those of the tribe Waled Suliman, of whom I have already spoken, were once dangerous, lawless freebooters, but are now at an end. When the Sultan goes to Tripoli, which he generally does once a year, he leaves his eldest son to command in his absence, under charge of whoever may, at the moment, be most in favour; this decision, or more properly those of his governor, are equally to be enforced as the Sultan’s own orders.
Mukni’s military force, if he presses the Arabs into his service, may, on an emergency, amount to 5000 men. No Fezzanners are ever allowed to go on military excursions, being considered too pusillanimous to be trusted; but they pay deeply for their exemption from bearing arms, by being obliged to support those who do. There are no wars in which the Sultan is called upon to engage; but his love of gain, and the defenceless state of the Negro kingdomsto the southward, are temptations too strong to be resisted. A force is therefore annually sent, not to fight (for the Negroes cannot make any resistance against horsemen with fire-arms) but to pillage these defenceless people, to carry them off as slaves, burn their towns, kill the aged and infants, destroy their crops, and inflict on them every possible misery. These inroads have sometimes been conducted by Mukni in person, and in his absence, by some of his principal men; his son, however, is now thought old enough to make his initiatory campaign. In addition to the people usually ordered to attend these expeditions, many Bedouins from the desert near Sockna and Benioleed join them; also some of the Tibboo of Tibesty and Gatrone, in hopes of obtaining a share in the plunder. The wars thus made for the purpose of carrying off slaves, or invading enemies countries, are called Ghrāzzie. There are no permanent or hereditary feuds existing between tribes, or even families in Fezzan, as the warlike race of independent Arabs no longer exists. The Tibboo and those Arabs who inhabit the southern districts of Fezzan, are distinct from each other; and the native people, living in towns, cannot have the appellation of tribes applied to them.
No Barbary or Negro Chief, or indeed any of their people, are able to resist a bribe; much might therefore be done by securing the good will of the Sultans of the interior kingdoms; and they might, by presents properly applied, form together such a barrier against the inroads of Mukni, as would enable them to secure their independence, and prevent the annual seizure of multitudes of their subjects. Though amongst themselves slavery might (and doubtless would) exist; yet it would not, with such arrangements, extend so far as it does at present. The blacks alone, in consequence chiefly of Mukni’s incursions, are always engaged inindemnifying themselves for the losses he occasions them. All their prisoners are sold as slaves, and the money or goods arising from such sale appropriated chiefly by the kings of the country.
In Fezzan the punishment for crimes is as in Tripoli, though hanging is not commonly practised, strangling being more to the Sultan’s taste. If a man is found murdered, and the authors or instigators of his death are unknown or unconvicted, the inhabitants of the town, in or near which the body is found, are obliged to pay to the Sultan a fine of 2000 dollars. If a corpse is found on the desert with marks of violence on it, the people of the districts which border that desert must pay the requisite sum. Should the murderer return after a few months, he escapes notice, provided the penalty be paid; but this cannot be done either by the principal or his relations. Mukni was himself in this predicament some few years since, when he murdered the broker of the British consulate at Tripoli; the Bashaw affected to be ignorant of his flight, and after he had remained six months with the Arabs, allowed him to return to Tripoli, where he was as well received as if he had been an innocent man. The family of a criminal is never involved in his punishment, that is to say, they are not dishonoured or disgraced; but if the convicted person is sentenced to lose his property, all his immediate dependants are reduced to beggary. A grand-daughter of the last rightful Sultan is at this moment a common beggar; yet, while every one allows her to be noble, they are unable to relieve her, except with a little corn or some dates.
The general appearance of the men of Fezzan is plain, and their complexion black; the women are of the same colour, and ugly in the extreme. Neither sex are remarkable for figure, height, strength, vigour, or activity. They have a very peculiarcast of countenance, which distinguishes them from other blacks; their cheek bones are higher and more prominent, their faces flatter, and their noses less depressed and more peaked at the tip than those of the Negroes. Their eyes are generally small, and their mouths of an immense width, but their teeth are frequently good: their hair is woolly, though not completely frizzled. The females bear children at 12 and 13 years of age, and at 15 or 16 their breasts fall, and they assume the appearance of old women; in some few instances, however, they bear children until 35 years of age. They are a cheerful people, fond of dancing and music, and obliging to each other. The men almost all read and write a little; but in everything else they are very dull and heavy: their affections are cold and interested, and a kind of general indifference to the common incidents of life marks all their actions: they are neither prone to sudden anger nor exertion, and are not at all revengeful.
In Morzouk the men drink a great quantity of Lackbi, and are very good humoured drunkards. The Arabs practise hospitality generally, but amongst the Fezzanners that virtue does not exist; they are, however, very attentive and obsequious to those in whose power they are, or who can repay them tenfold for their pretended disinterestedness. Their religion enjoins, that should a stranger enter while they are at their meals, he must be invited to partake; but they generally contrive to evade this injunction, by eating with closed doors. The lower classes are, from necessity, very industrious, women as well as men; they draw water, work in the gardens, drive the asses, make mats, baskets, &c. in addition to their other domestic duties. People of the better class, or more properly who can afford to procure slaves to work for them, are, on the contrary, very idle and lethargic; they do nothing but lounge or loll about, inquire what their neighbours have had for dinner, gossipabout slaves, dates, &c.; or boast of some cunning cheat which they have practised on a Tibboo, or Tuarick, who, though very knowing fellows, are, comparatively with the Fezzanners, fair in their dealings. Their moral character is on a par with that of the Tripolines, though, if any thing, they are rather less insincere. Falsehood is not considered as odious, unless detected; and when employed in trading, they affirm that it is allowed by the Koran for the good of merchants. However this may be amongst themselves, I must say that I never could find any one able to point out the passage, authorising these commercial falsehoods.
The Marāboots are greater liars and rogues than other people, their reputation shielding them from suspicion. I have, indeed, seen amongst these saints some really good and honest men; but these are lost in the general wickedness of the community. Generosity is a virtue so completely unknown here, that it may be said scarcely to exist. Contempt of religion, of holy men and books, are crimes equally heinous with theft. They are rigid and bigoted Mohammedans, of the sect of the learned Malek, one of the four expounders of the Koran, and they worship with all the prostrations and rites peculiar to that sect. The Mamlukes, and ourselves, who were considered as such, are authorised to worship as Hanefis, which is the superior of the four sects; but the Maleki being the form here used, every one complies with it. A belief of the evil eye, devils, gholes, genii, and spirits, is universal; charms and fasting till sunset, are a sure preventive of mischief.
The people attached to the Mosques are the Kadi, who is the head; the Imaum or priest, who, in the absence of the Kadi, prays and preaches; and the Mouadden or crier, who calls the people to prayers, and repeats the responses. None of these men, except the Kadi, have any privileges, but are, in every respect, like therest of the town’s-people, having the same complement of wives and concubines, and dressing in the same manner. It was the custom with former Sultans to grant them a handsome allowance; but this is not observed by the present ruler, and should they not be fortunate enough to possess any garden of their own, they subsist on charity. They are not connected with, or have any thing to do with the state, neither have they any influence over each other, or the people, unless they are outwardly or really religious; in which case, their prayers, either verbal or written, are much sought after and well paid for. Intellectual knowledge is here at a stand, or rather I should say, on the decline, as none of the Mohammedans, in this part of the world, have books on any but religious or superstitious subjects. Their prejudices and fanaticism prevent the introduction of any new customs, and put a stop to all chance of improvement.
There are persons called Fighi (from “faquire,” a poor man), who subsist by writing letters, and are employed to read those received by the principal inhabitants, who pay them in corn. All the Sultan’s papers and letters pass through the hands of his scribes, who, in consequence (though his purchased slaves), are men of importance, and they accordingly give themselves great airs, knowing that their master, being unable to read, cannot do without their services. Few men can read from any book but their own, which they have used from infancy. Old Hadje Mahmoud, our neighbour, had gone through the same volume every morning for forty years, and yet was unable to repeat one page of it by heart. There were certain passages of it, which, on reading, regularly caused him to exclaim, “God bless me! wonderful! extraordinary! God is great!” as if he had never seen or heard of the contents before. Many of the Fighis, however, havegood memories, and by constantly repeating sentences of the Koran for thirty or forty years, manage to know it by heart.
The lower classes work neatly in leather; they weave a few coarse barracans, and make iron work in a solid though clumsy manner. One or two work in gold and silver with much skill, considering the badness of their tools; and every man is capable of acting as a carpenter or mason. The wood being that of the date tree, and the houses being built of mud, very little elegance or skill is necessary. Much deference is paid to the artists in leather or metals, who are called (par excellence) “Sta,” or master; as, “leather master,”—“iron master,” &c.
No individuals arrive at any eminence of character, or, from their abilities, are exalted above the people, except such Marāboots as have most cunning and hypocrisy. They become privileged, courted, and revered while living, and prayers are addressed to them for their mediation, after they are dead. The language here is Arabic, but differs materially from the dialect of Egypt.
From the constant communication with Bornou and Soudan, the languages of both these countries are generally spoken, and many of their words are introduced into the Arabic. The family slaves, and their children by their masters, constantly speak the language of the country whence they originally come. Their writing is in the Mogrebyn character, which is used, I believe, universally in western Africa, and differs much from that of the east. The pronunciation also is very different, the Kāfقbeing pronounced as a G, and only marked with one nunnation, thusف, and the F is pointed belowڢ. They have no idea of arithmetic, but reckon every thing by dots on the sand, ten in a line; many can hardly tell how much two and two amount to. They expressed great surprise at our being able to add numbers together without fingering.
Though very fond of poetry, they are incapable of composing it. The Arabs, however, invent a few little songs, which the natives have much pleasure in learning; and the women sing some of the Negro airs very prettily while grinding their corn.
The lower class and the slaves, who, in point of colour and appearance, are the same, labour together. The freeman, however, has only one inducement to work, which is hunger; he has no notion of laying by any thing for the advantage of his family, or as a reserve for himself in old age; but, if by any chance he obtains money, remains idle until it is expended, and then returns unwillingly to work.
The females here are allowed greater liberty than those of Tripoli, and are more kindly treated. The effect of the plurality of wives is but too plainly seen, and their women in consequence are not famed for chastity. Though so much better used than those of Barbary, their life is still a state of slavery. A man never ventures to speak of his women; is reproached if he spends much time in their company; never eats with them, but is waited upon at his meals, and fanned by them while he sleeps; yet these poor beings, never having known the sweets of liberty or affection, are, in spite of their humiliation, comparatively happy.
The authority of parents over children is very great, some fathers of the better class not allowing their sons even to eat, or sit down in their presence until they become men: the poorer orders, however, are less strict.
There are no written records of events amongst the Fezzanners, and their traditions are so disfigured, and so strangely mingled with religious and superstitious falsehoods, that no confidence can be placed in them; yet the natives themselves look with particular respect on a man capable of talking of “the people of the olden time.” Several scriptural traditions are selected and believed.The psalms of David, the Pentateuch, the books of Solomon, and many extracts from the inspired writers, are universally known, and most reverentially considered. The New Testament translated into Arabic, which we took with us, was eagerly read, and no exception made to it, but that of our Saviour being designated as the Son of God. St. Paul, or Baulus, bears all the blame of Mohammed’s name not being inserted in it; as they believe that his coming was foretold by Christ, but that Paul erased it: he is, therefore, called a Kaffir, and his name is not used with much reverence.
In Morzouk about a tenth part of the population are slaves, though many have been brought away from their countries so young as hardly to be considered in that light. With respect to the household slaves, little or no difference is to be perceived between them and freemen, and they are often entrusted with the affairs of their master. These domestic slaves are rarely sold, and on the death of any of the family to which they belong, one or more of them receive their liberty, when, being accustomed to the country, and not having any recollection of their own, they marry, settle, and are consequently considered as naturalized. All slavery is for an unlimited time, unless when a religious feeling of the master induces him to set a bondsman free on any great festival, on the occasion of a death, or, which not unfrequently happens, from a wish to show his approval of the slave’s services.
It was, when the people were more opulent, the custom to liberate a male or female on the feast of Bairam, after the fast of Rhamadan. This practice is not entirely obsolete, but nearly so. The slaves are procured from the inland traders, or on those lawless expeditions I have already mentioned.
Respecting the offspring of slaves, it may not be uninteresting to observe the regulations existing in Fezzan, which are, as far as I can collect, the same as in all Moslem countries.
A Khādemخعدم, or negress, bearing a child by her master, cannot afterwards be sold, but must be maintained for the remainder of her life by him, or any person to whom he may marry her; and her child is free, and equally entitled to support.
A negress having a child by any man but her master (even though the parties should be married), is the mother of a slave, she herself not being free.
Should the female slave of one man be with child by the male slave of another, the infant so born becomes the property of the master of the female, and can, as well as its mother, be sold.
A child, the offspring of a free woman by a slave, partakes of its mother’s state, and is free.
It not unfrequently happens that masters allow family slaves to marry without liberating them; but their children are slaves, and can be sold, although it is not considered honourable so to dispose of them. These children, and, indeed, all those born in the country, are called Shushanشوشان.