CHAPTER XIII.

“compared with which“The laurels that a Cæsar reaps are weeds.”Cowper.

“compared with which

“The laurels that a Cæsar reaps are weeds.”

Cowper.

I knew an instance where a merchant of Mogodor (Mr. James Renshaw) had advanced the money for one of these captives, who, had his ransom not been paid by him to the Arab, would have been obliged to return to the south, where he would have been sold, or compelled to embrace the Mohammedan religion; for the British Vice-Consul had not the purchase money, nor any orders to redeem him, having previously sent to the Consul-General an account of the purchase of the rest of the crew. This man was delivered up by the merchant who had redeemed him, to the British Vice-Consul, to whom he looked for payment; various applications were made to the Consul-General, but the money was not paid two years afterwards, all applications to government having failed; a representation of the case was next made to the Ironmongers company in London,[192]which agreed to pay the merchant the money he had advanced. The purchase-money in this case was paid to me as agent for Mr. Renshaw, and including the cost of clothes (for the man was naked when purchased) did not amount altogether to forty pounds; there was, however, so much trouble attending the accomplishment of the business, that no individual merchant has since ventured to make an advance on a similar security; for, not to mention the difficulty of recovering the principal at the expiration of a long period, the value of money is such at Mogodor, that merchants are unwilling to advance it at a low interest, six per cent. per month being often paid for it. It is in this mannerthat the subjects of a great maritime power have been neglected in a country where, by adopting some judicious regulations, all the hardships of bondage, and the privations which necessarily follow in a barren country, might be prevented.

The coast of Noon or Wedinoon extends to the southward nearly as far as Cape Bojador. The Wed Akassa, or river Akassa, (which is erroneously called in the maps the river Nun, and in some Daradus), is a large stream from the sea to the town of Noon, which is about fifteen miles inland, and about two miles in circumference; from hence the river becomes shallow and narrow; it is to the southward of this river, that the ships are generally wrecked. Between the river Akassa and the province of Ait Bamaran in Suse, is a peninsula extending into the ocean, resembling that on which Mogodor is built, where are the remains of a fort built formerly by the Portuguese, but evacuated by them at the time they discovered America; they afterwards endeavoured to obtain possession of it, for the purpose of establishing a commercial factory, but the natives objected to the proposal.The French have been endeavouring to establish a settlement here at the nearest point of coast to Timbuctoo, with which emporium they are anxious to become better acquainted.The district of Wedinoon is nominally in the Emperor of Marocco’s dominions, but lately no army having been sent farther south than Terodant, the Bashaw Alkaid Mohammed ben Delemy being deceased, this district has suffered neglect, and I apprehend the people pay no taxes or tenths; the Emperor has even lately ordered his Bashaw of Haha topurchasethe British slaves that had been wrecked there. This place being thus only nominally in his dominions is another impediment to the redemption of the mariners who happen to be shipwreckedabout Wedinoon, for if the Emperor had the same authority over this district, that he has over the provinces north of the river Suse, measures might be adopted by the Consul,acting under his orders, for their delivery, without pecuniary disbursement.

Whilst the Europeans remain in the hands of the Arabs and Jews, they are employed in various domestic services, such as bringing water, possibly the distance of nine or ten miles, to the habitation, and in collecting fire-wood. In performing these offices, their feet, being bare, and treading on the heated sand, become blistered and inflamed, the sandy particles penetrate into these blisters when broken, and irritate in such a manner as sometimes to cause mortification, and death. The young lads, of which there are generally two or three in every ship’s crew, are generally seduced by the Arabs to become Mohammedans; in this case, the Sheick or chief of the duar adopts him, and initiates him in the Koran, by sending him to the (Mdursa) seminary, where he learns to read the sacred volume, and is instructed in the pronunciation of the Arabic language; he is named after the Sheick who adopts him, after which an Arabian woman is offered to him as a wife; he marries, has a family, and becomes one of the clan, thus abandoning for ever the religion of his father, his native country, and his connexions.

The state of domestic comfort enjoyed by Christians established in West Barbary or Marocco is far from being impeded by those degrading distinctions practised in Egypt and other Mohammedan countries, where they are not allowed to ride on horses (the prophet’s beast), to wear green (the prophet’s colour,) &c. &c.; here they may do either: they may even enter towns on horseback, a privilege, however, which was not granted till of lateyears: Mons. Chenier, the French consul, first broke through this degrading custom, for being opposed by the gate-keepers at Saffy, he drew his sword, and forced his entrance, adding, that no one should stop the representative of the King of France: and when I went to Agadeer, by order of the Sultan Muley Yezzid, to establish a commercial intercourse with Holland, on my arrival at the gate, the Bashaw’s son objected to my entering on horseback, alleging, that it was near a sanctuary, and that Christians had never been allowed to enter the gate on horseback; I immediately turned my horse, ordered the baggage to be put on board the ship from which I had just landed, and declared, that I would not reside in any town, where I was not on an equal footing with a Mooselmin: but the old Bashaw, El Hayanie, a man of ninety years of age, sent two of his sons to request me to return: “Old customs,” said he, (when I afterwards met him at the gate,) “are abolished; we wish to see this place flourish with commerce, as in its former establishment; enter and go out on horseback when ever you please;” accordingly, ever since this circumstance, Christians have been allowed to enter the town on horseback: they may ride about the country in safety, and amuse themselves in the sports of the field; they are not obliged to stop at the approach of a Bashaw or his family, or to alight till the great man has passed;[193]it is expected that he salute him in his own country fashion, by taking off his hat, which, however, is considered by Mooselmin (unaccustomed to Christians) much in the same light that we should a man taking off his wig; for they go uncovered in presenceof the Emperor, or wear a red cap, which is a substitute for a wig, their heads being shaved.

Of the vessels wrecked from time to time on the coast of the Desert, or Sahara, many are probably never heard of; but if any of the crew survive their hardships, they are induced, seeing no prospect of emancipation, to become Mahommedans, and nothing is afterwards known or heard of them; the vessel is supposed by its owners to have foundered at sea, and all passes into oblivion. Of vessels whose loss has been learnt by any chance (such as that of the sailors falling into the hands of Wedinoon Jews, or Moors), there may have been from the year 1790, to the year 1806, thirty of different nations, part of whose crews have afterwards found their way to Marocco, and given some account of their catastrophe; these may be thus divided,

Of the English vessels the crews probably amounted to 200 men and boys, who may be thus accounted for:

If any nation of Europe ought to enquire into the mode of remedying this evil, it is certainly Great Britain, whose influence at the Court of Marocco, by adopting a judicious system, might be made very considerable and advantageous to the country; a small sum would be sufficient at Mogodor (if the expense of an express agent for this particular purpose were disapproved), if deposited in the hands of the Vice-Consul, or any merchant of respectability, where it might remain ready to be employed in the purchase of these unfortunate people, and by allowing a sum rather above the price of a black slave, the Arabs would immediately bring them to Mogodor, knowing they could depend on an adequate price; by this means they might be procured for half what they now cost; and it would be an infinitely better plan than that of soliciting the Emperor to procure them through the Bashaw of Suse; for, besides the delay, and consequent protracted sufferings of the captives, the favour is undoubtedly considered by the Emperor as incalculably more than the cost and charges of their purchase.[194]

It is generally a month or two before the news of a shipwreck reaches Mogodor, at which time, if a fund were there deposited, in the hands of a competent agent, a hundred and fifty dollars would be sufficient to purchase each man; yet, often from the scarcity of specie, or the various commercial demands which the merchants have for their money, they have it not in their power (however philanthropically disposed) to redeem these poor men: and if they do, it is at their own risk, and they must necessarily wait to know if the government chooses to reimburse their expenses.

FOOTNOTES:[191]I will here mention a stratagem by which a sailor, a few years since, saved a ship on this coast, as it may be of use to some future navigator:—The vessel was stranded, and one of the crew being a Spaniard, who had been used to fish there from the Canaries, advised the Captain to let go an anchor, as if the vessel were riding and in safety: some Arabs coming on board, the captain told them to bring their gums and other produce, for that they were come to trade with them, and were going away again in a few days; as it happened to be low water, the vessel on the return of the tide floated, they then weighed anchor, and set sail, leaving the Arabs astonished at their unexpected departure.[192]Mr. Thomas Betton, of Hoxton-square, a Turkey merchant, by his will, dated in 1724, devised to the Ironmongers Company in trust about 26,000l.one moiety of the interest and profit thereof to be perpetually employed in the redemption of British captives from Moorish slavery. See Maitland’s History of London. See also Mr. Betton’s will proved at Doctor’s Commons 15th June 1725, by his executors, viz by John Cox, and four others of the Ironmongers Company.[193]This latter is expected by a prince of the first dignity; but I have often passed princes on horseback without being required to alight: on such occasions I uncovered, and bowed in the European manner.[194]As a further proof of the practicability of establishing an advantageous alliance with the present Emperor, it should be here observed, that his predecessors often obliged the English to send an ambassador, with presents, &c. to solicit the liberation of British seamen; but Muley Soliman gives them up to the British consul,without exacting such kind of remuneration.

FOOTNOTES:

[191]I will here mention a stratagem by which a sailor, a few years since, saved a ship on this coast, as it may be of use to some future navigator:—The vessel was stranded, and one of the crew being a Spaniard, who had been used to fish there from the Canaries, advised the Captain to let go an anchor, as if the vessel were riding and in safety: some Arabs coming on board, the captain told them to bring their gums and other produce, for that they were come to trade with them, and were going away again in a few days; as it happened to be low water, the vessel on the return of the tide floated, they then weighed anchor, and set sail, leaving the Arabs astonished at their unexpected departure.

[192]Mr. Thomas Betton, of Hoxton-square, a Turkey merchant, by his will, dated in 1724, devised to the Ironmongers Company in trust about 26,000l.one moiety of the interest and profit thereof to be perpetually employed in the redemption of British captives from Moorish slavery. See Maitland’s History of London. See also Mr. Betton’s will proved at Doctor’s Commons 15th June 1725, by his executors, viz by John Cox, and four others of the Ironmongers Company.

[193]This latter is expected by a prince of the first dignity; but I have often passed princes on horseback without being required to alight: on such occasions I uncovered, and bowed in the European manner.

[194]As a further proof of the practicability of establishing an advantageous alliance with the present Emperor, it should be here observed, that his predecessors often obliged the English to send an ambassador, with presents, &c. to solicit the liberation of British seamen; but Muley Soliman gives them up to the British consul,without exacting such kind of remuneration.

Commercial Relations of the Empire of Marocco with Timbuctoo, and other Districts of Soudan — Route of the Caravans to and from Soudan — Of the City of Timbuctoo — The Productive Gold Mines in its Vicinage — Of the navigable Intercourse between Jinnie and Timbuctoo; and from the latter to Cairo in Egypt: the whole being collected from the most authentic and corroborating testimonies of the Guides of the Caravans, Itinerant Merchants of Soudan, and other creditable sources of Intelligence.

Timbuctoo,[195]the great emporium of central Africa, has from time immemorial carried on a very extensive and lucrative trade with the various maritime States of North Africa, viz. Marocco, Tunis, Algier, Tripoli, Egypt, &c. by means of (akkabaahs) accumulated caravans, which cross the great Desert of Sahara, generally between the months of September and April inclusive; these akkabaahs consist of several hundred loaded camels, accompanied by the Arabs who let them to the merchants, for the transport of their merchandize to Fas, Marocco, &c. at a very low rate. During their route, they are often exposed to the attacks of the roving Arabs of Sahara, who generally commit their depredations as they approach the confines of the Desert.

Pl. XIII.Mapshewing theTractas followed by theCaravansfromFastoTimbuctoobyJas. G. Jackson,1811.London Published Augst. 30th. 1811. by G. & W. Nicoll Pall Mall.

Pl. XIII.

Mapshewing theTractas followed by theCaravansfromFastoTimbuctoobyJas. G. Jackson,1811.

London Published Augst. 30th. 1811. by G. & W. Nicoll Pall Mall.

In this fatiguing journey, the akkabaahs do not proceed in a direct line across the trackless Desert to the place of their destination, but turn occasionally eastward or westward, according to the situation of certain fertile, inhabited, and cultivated spots, interspersed in various parts of Sahara, like islands in the ocean, called Oas,[196]or Oases; these serve as watering-places to the men, as well as to feed, refresh, and replenish the hardy and patient camel: at each of these Oases, the akkabaah sojourns about seven days, and then proceeds on its journey, until it reaches another spot of the same description. In the intermediate journies, the hot and impetuous winds denominated Shume,[197]convert the Desert into a moveable sea, aptly denominatedby the Arabs (El Bahar billa maa), a sea without water, more dangerous than the perfidious waves of the ocean. In the midst of the latter the pilot always entertains some hopes, but in these parching Deserts, the traveller never expects safety, but from the cessation of the wind. If it continues, the most numerous caravans are often buried under mountains of sand, which, like the tempestuous billows in a storm, advance in an undulating manner, stopping and accumulating wherever they find the smallest substance to impede their progress, insomuch that in a few hours a mountain of sand is thus accumulated, where it was before an uninterrupted plain, then the wind shifting, scatters in the air these newly constructed mountains, forming amidst this chaos dreadful gulphs and yawning abysses; the traveller continually deceived by the aspect of the place, can discover his situation only by the position of the stars; moreover the desiccating nature of these winds is such, that they exhale the water carried in skins by the camels for the use of the passengers and drivers; on these occasions, the Arabs and people of Soudan affirm, that 500 dollars have been given for a draught of water, and that 10 or 20 are commonly given when a partial exhalation has occurred.

In 1805, a caravan proceeding from Timbuctoo to Tafilelt,was disappointed, in not finding water at one of the usual watering-places, when, horrible to relate, the whole of the persons belonging to it, 2000 in number, besides 1800 camels, perished of thirst! Accidents of this sort account for the vast quantities of human and other bones which are found mingled together in various parts of the Desert.

It is generally affirmed, that the guides, to whom the charge of conducting these numerous and accumulated caravans is committed, in their routes to and from Marocco, direct their course by the scent of the sandy earth; but I could never discover any reasonable foundation for such an opinion, and apprehend it to be an artful invention of their own, to impose on the credulity of this superstitious and ignorant people, and thus to enhance the value of their knowledge. These guides possess some idea of astrology, and the situation of certain stars, and being enabled by the two pointers to ascertain the polar star, they can by that unvarying guide steer their course with considerable precision, preferring often travelling in the night, rather than under the suffocating heat of the effulgent meridian sun.

When the akkabaah reaches Akka, the first station on this side of the Desert, and situated on the confines thereof, in Lower Suse, which is a part of Bled-el-jerrêde, the camels and guides are discharged, and others there hired to proceed to Fas, Marocco, Terodant, Tafilelt, and other places.

The akkabaahs perform the traverse of the Desert, including their sojournments at El-wahaht, or Oases, in about 130 days. Proceeding from the city of Fas, they go at the rate of 3½ miles an hour, and travel seven hours a day; they reach Wedinoon, Tatta, or Akka in eighteen days, where they remain a month,as the grand accumulated akkabaah proceeds from the latter place.

In going from Akka to Tagassa[198]they employ sixteen days, here sojourning fifteen days more to replenish their camels; they then proceed to the Oasis and Well of Taudeny, which they reach in seven days; here again they remain fifteen days; their next route is to Arawan, another watering place, which they reach in seven days; here they sojourn fifteen days; and then proceed and reach Timbuctoo the sixth day, making a journey of fifty-four days actual travelling, and of seventy-five days repose, being altogether, from Fas to Timbuctoo, one hundred and twenty-nine days, or four lunar months and nine days.[199]

There is another akkabaah which sets out from Wedinoon and Sok Assa, and traversing the Desert between the black mountains of Cape Bojador and Gualata, touches at Tagassa, El Garbie (both g’s guttural, being the letterغ), or West Tagassa, and staying there to collect salt, proceeds to Timbuctoo. The time occupied by this akkabaah is five or six months, as it goes as far as Jibbel-el-biëd, or the White Mountains, near Cape Blanco, through the desert of Mograffra and Woled Abbusebah, to a place called Agadeen,[200]where it sojourns twenty days.

The akkabaahs which cross the Desert may be compared to our fleets of merchant vessels under convoy, the (stata) convoy of the Desert being two or more Arabs, belonging to the tribethrough whose territory the caravan passes; thus, in passing the territory of Woled Abbusebah, they are accompanied by two Sebayhées, or people of that country, who on reaching the confines of the territory of Woled Delim, receive a remuneration, and return, delivering them to the protection of two chiefs of Woled Deleim; these again conducting them to the confines of the territory of the Mograffra Arabs, to whose care they deliver them, and so on, till they reach Timbuctoo: any assault made against the akkabaah during this journey, is considered as an insult to the whole clan to which the (stata) convoy belongs, and for which they never fail to seek ample revenge.

Besides these grand accumulated caravans, there are others which cross the Desert, on any emergency, without a stata or guard of soldiers: but this is a perilous expedition, and they are too often plundered near the northern confines of the Desert, by two notorious tribes, called Dikna and Emjot.[201]These ferocious hordes are most cruel and sanguinary, poor and miserable, ignorant of their situation, but unsubdued and free; when they attack the akkabaahs they generally succeed; sometimes they put all the persons to death, except those whom they cannot pursue. In the year 1798, an akkabaah consisting of two thousand camels loaded with Soudanic produce, together with seven hundred slaves, was plundered and dispersed, and many were killed. These desperate attacks are conducted in the following manner: a whole clan picket their horses at the entrance of their tents, and send out scouts to give notice when an akkabaah is likely to pass; these being mounted on theHeirie, or Shrubba Er’reeh, quickly communicate the intelligence, and the whole clan mount their horses, taking with them a sufficient number of (niag) female camels, to supply them with food (they living altogether on the milk of that animal); they place themselves somewhere in ambush near an oasis, or watering-place, from whence they issue on the arrival of the akkabaah, which they plunder of every thing, leaving the unfortunate merchants, if they spare their lives, entirely destitute.

Those who have philosophy enough to confine their wants solely to what nature requires, would view the individual happiness of the people who compose the caravans, with approbation. Their food, dress, and accommodation, are simple and natural; proscribed from the use of wine, and intoxicating liquors, by their religion, and exhorted by its principles to temperance, they are commonly satisfied with a few nourishing dates, and a draft of water; and they will travel for weeks successively without any other food; at other times, a little barley meal and cold water is the extent of their provision, when they undertake a journey of a few weeks across the Desert; living in this abstemious manner, they never complain, but solace themselves with a hope of reaching their native country, singing occasionally during the journey, whenever they approach any habitation, or whenever the camels appear fatigued; these songs are usually sung in trio, and in the chorus all the camel drivers, who have a musical voice, join; it is worthy observation, how much these songs renovate the camels, and the symphony and time they keep surpasses what any one would imagine, who had not heard them. In traversing the Desert they generally contrive to terminate the day’s journey at l’Asaw a term which they appropriate to our four o’clock, P.M. so thatbetween that period and the setting sun, the tents are pitched, prayers said, and the (Lashaw) supper got ready; after which they sit round in a circle, and talk till sleep overcomes them, and next morning, at break of day, they proceed again on their journey.

The Arabic language, as spoken by the camel-drivers, is peculiarly sweet and soft; the guttural and harsh letters are softened, and with all its energy and perspicuity, when pronounced by them, is as soft, and more sonorous than the Italian; it approaches the ancient Korannick language, and has suffered but little alteration these twelve hundred years. The Arabs of Moraffra, and those of Woled Abbusebah, frequently hold an extempore conversation in poetry, at which the women are adepts, and never fail to shew attention to those young Arabs who excel in this intellectual and refined amusement.[202]

The articles transported by the company of merchants trading from Fas to Timbuctoo, are principally as follows: various kinds of German linens, viz. plattilias, rouans, brettanias, muslins of different qualities, particularly muls, Irish linens, cambricks, fine cloths of particular colours, coral beads, amber beads, pearls, Bengal raw silk, brass nails, coffee, fine Hyson teas, refined sugar, and various manufactures of Fas and Tafilelt,viz. shawls and sashes of silk and gold, hayks of silk, of cotton and silk mixed, of cotton and of wool; also an immense quantity of (hayk filelly) Tafilelt hayks, a particularly light and fine manufacture of that place, and admirably adapted to the climate of Soudan; to these may be added red woollen caps, the general covering of the head, turbans, Italian silks, nutmegs, cloves, ginger, and pepper; Venetian beads, cowries, and a considerable quantity of tobacco and salt, the produce of Barbary and Bled-el-jerrêde.

The produce of Soudan, returned by the akkabaahs, for the above articles, consists principally in gold dust, twisted gold rings of Wangara,[203]gold rings made at Jinnie,[204]bars of gold, elephants’ teeth, gum of Soudan, (guza Saharawie) grains of Sahara, called by Europeans grains of paradise, odoriferous gums, called el b’korr’h Soudan, much esteemed by the Arabs for fumigating, to which they ascribe many virtues; a great number of slaves, purchased at Timbuctoo, from the Wangareen, Houssonian, and other slatees,[205]who bring them fromthose regions which border on the Jibbel Kumra,[206]or Mountains of the Moon, a chain which, with little or no intermission, runs through the continent of Africa from west to east, viz. from Assentee in the west, to Abyssinia in the east.

Ostrich feathers and ambergris are collected on the confines of the Desert, and are added to the merchandize before mentioned. The gold jewels of Jinnie[207]are denominated by the Arabs El Herrez, from the supposed charm they contain; they are invariably of pure gold, and some of them of exquisite workmanship, and of various forms, but hollow in the middle for the purpose of containing the Herrez, or amulet, which consists of passages from the Koran, arranged in some geometrical figure, on paper, which being enclosed in the gold jewel, is suspended from the neck, or tied round the arms, legs, or elsewhere. These charms have various and particular powers attributed to them, some insuring the wearer against the effects of an evil eye, others from an evil mind; some are intended to secure a continuation of prosperity and happiness, or to avert misfortune, whilst others secure to the wearer health and strength. This superstition, and predilection for charms, pervades the greater part of Africa: thus, in the northernmaritime states, in Suse, and other parts of Bled-el-jerrêde, the fakeers, or saints, attach half a hundred Herrez (without, however, the gold covering, for which they substitute a leathern one) to different parts of their body, and even to the horses: at Marocco I have seen eleven round one horse’s neck.[208]The inhabitants of these countries imagine no disorder incident to mankind can attack either man or beast without the aid of some (jin) spirit, or departed soul, or (drubba del’ain) an evil eye.

The slaves brought by the akkabaahs are more or less valuable in Barbary, according to their beauty and symmetry of person, and also according to their age, and the country from whence they are procured: thus a Wangareen slave is not worth so much as one from Houssa; the former being a gross, stupid people, little superior in understanding to the brute creation, whilst those of Houssa are intelligent, industrious, acute, and possess a peculiarly open and noble countenance, having prominent noses, and expressive black eyes: those of Wangara, on the contrary, have large mouths, thick lips, broad flat noses, and heavy eyes. A young girl of Houssa, of exquisite beauty, was once sold at Marocco, whilst I was there, for four hundred ducats,[209]whilst the average price of slaves is about one hundred, so much depends on the fancy, or the imagination of the purchaser.

These slaves are treated very differently from the unhappy victims who used to be transported from the coast of Guinea,and our settlements on the Gambia, to the West India islands. After suffering those privations, which all who traverse the African Desert must necessarily and equally submit to, masters as well as servants and slaves, they are conveyed to Fas and Marocco, and after being exhibited in the sook, or public market place, they are sold to the highest bidder, who carries them to his home, where, if found faithful, they are considered as members of the family, and allowed an intercourse with the (horraht) free-born women of the household. Being in the daily habit of hearing the Arabic language spoken, they soon acquire a partial knowledge of it, and the Mohammedan religion teaching the unity of God, they readily reject paganism, and embrace Mohammedanism; their Mooselmin masters then instil into their vacant minds, ready to receive the first impression, the fundamental principles of the Mooselmin doctrine; the more intelligent learn to read and write, and afterwards acquire a partial knowledge of the Koran; and such as can read and understand one chapter, from that time procure their emancipation from slavery, and the master exults in having converted an infidel, and in full faith, expects favour from heaven for the action, and for having liberated a slave. When these people do not turn their minds to reading, and learning the principles of Mohammedanism, they generally obtain their freedom after eight or ten years servitude; for the more conscientious Mooselmin consider them as servants, and purchase them for about the same sum that they would pay in wages to a servant during the above period, at the expiration of which term, by giving them their liberty, they, according to their religious opinions, acquire a blessing from God, for having done an act, which a Mooselmin considers more meritorious in thesight of Heaven, than the sacrifice of a goat, or even of a camel. This liberation is entirely voluntary on the part of the owner; and I have known some slaves so attached to their masters from good treatment, that when they have been offered their liberty, they have actually refused it, preferring to continue in servitude. It should not, however, be supposed, that the Arabs and Moors are always inclined thus to liberate these degraded people; on the contrary, some of them, particularly the latter, are obdurate, and make an infamous traffic of them, by purchasing, and afterwards intermarrying them, for the purposes of propagation and of sale, when they are placed in the public market-place, and there turned about, and examined, in order to ascertain their value.

The eunuchs which the Emperor and princes keep to superintend their respective Horems, are, for the most part, procured from the vicinage of Senaar in Soudan; these creatures have shrill effeminate voices: they are emasculated in a peculiar manner, and sometimes in such a way, as not to be incapacitated from cohabiting with women;[210]they are in general very fat and gross, and from the nature of the charge committed to them, become very confidential servants: indeed their fidelity is surpassed only by their unbounded insolence. I knew one of these creatures, who was chief of the eunuchs superintending the Horem of Muley Abd Salam,[211]at Agadeer, who was one hundred and ten years old; he was then upright, and walked about without a stick.

Persons unaccustomed to, or unacquainted with, the mode of living in Africa, may imagine the expense and trouble of conveying the slaves across the Desert, would be more than the advantage derivable from their sale; but it must be recollected that these people are very abstemious, particularly whilst travelling; ten dollars expended in rice in Wangara is sufficient for a year’s consumption for one person; the wearing apparel is alike œconomical, a pair of drawers, and sometimes a vest, forming all the clothing necessary in traversing the Desert.

It is not ascertained when the communication between Barbary and Soudan was first opened, yet it is certain, that the enterprising expedition of Muley Arsheede to the latter country[212]tended considerably to encrease and encourage theexchange of commodities, and caused the establishment of the company of Fas merchants, at Fas, as well as that of their factory at Timbuctoo, which has continued to increase and flourish ever since.

The circulating medium at Timbuctoo is (tibber) gold dust, which is exchanged for merchandize, thus a plattilia is worth 20 mizans[213]of gold: a piece of Irish linen, of 25 yards, is worth 30 mizans: and loaf sugar is worth 40 mizans of gold per quintal.

Having in some measure explained the nature of the trade with Timbuctoo, we may now proceed to discuss the extent of its territory, and although this does not appear to have beenascertained, yet it may be said to extend northward to the confines of Sahara, or the Desert; a tract of country about ninety miles in breadth; the western boundary is one hundred and thirty miles west of the city, and the eastern extends to the Bahar Soudan, or the Sea of Soudan, which is a lake formed by the Nile El Abeede, whose opposite shore is not discernible; this is the description given of it by the Soudanees, who have visited it; on its opposite or eastern shore begins the territory of white people hereafter mentioned, denominated by the Arabs (N’sarrath) Christians, or followers of Jesus of Nazareth: south of the river is another territory of immense extent, the boundary of which extends to Lamlem, or Melli, which latter is reported to be inhabited by one of the lost, or missing tribes of Israel.

The city of Timbuctoo is situated on a plain, surrounded by sandy eminences, about twelve miles north of the Nile El Abeede,[214]or Nile of the Blacks, and three (erhellat) days journey from the confines of Sahara: the city is about twelve miles in circumference, but without walls. A ditch or excavation, about four cubits in depth, and the same in breadth, but without water, circumscribes the city. The town of Kabra, situated on the banks of the river, is its commercial depot, or port. By means of a water carriage east and west of Kabra, great facility is given to the trade of Timbuctoo, from whence the various articles of European, as well as Barbary manufactures brought by the akkabaahs from the north of Africa, are distributed to the different empires and states of Soudan, and the south. This great mart is resorted to by all nations, whither they bring thevarious products of their respective countries, to barter for the European and Barbary manufactures.

The houses of Timbuctoo have, for the most part, no upper apartments: they are spacious, and of a square form, with an opening in the centre, surrounded by a gallery similar to the houses at Fas and Marocco; they have no windows, as the doors, which are lofty and wide, opening in the gallery before mentioned, admit sufficient light to the rooms when thrown open. The walls of the houses are erected thus: they put boards on each side of the wall, supported by stakes driven in the ground, or attached to other stakes laid transversely across the wall, the intermediate space is then filled with sand, mud, and lime, and beat down with large wooden mallets till it becomes hard and compact: the cases are left on for a day or two; they then take them off, and move them higher up, until the wall be finished, which is generally erected to the heighth of eight or nine cubits.[215]Contiguous to the house door is a building consisting of two rooms, called a Duaria, in which visitors are received and entertained, so that they see nothing of the women, who are extremely handsome. The men are so excessively jealous of their wives, that, when the latter visit a relation, they are obliged to muffle themselves up in every possible way to disguise their persons; their face also is covered with their garment, through which they peep with one eye to discover their way.

In various parts of the city are spacious (fondaque) caravanseras, built on a plan similar to that of the houses, having a gallery round the area, the access to which is by stairs: therooms which surround and open into the gallery are very numerous, and are hired by merchants and strangers for themselves and their merchandize. These are private property, and the rooms are let each for about twenty okiat, or two dollars per month; the agent of the proprietor of the fondaque usually resides in some apartment, in order to accommodate the strangers with provisions and other necessaries, having messengers, or porters, who perform the domestic offices of the house until the strangers become settled, and have leisure to provide themselves with domestics, or to purchase slaves from the market to cook their victuals, clean their rooms, and attend their persons, whilst they are employed in bartering and exchanging their commodities till they have invested the whole in Soudanic produce, which they endeavour to accomplish by autumn (September), in order to be ready for the akkabaah, either to proceed to Marocco, Cairo, Jidda,[216]or elsewhere.

The king, whose authority has been acknowledged at Timbuctoo ever since the death of Muley Ismael, Emperor of Marocco, is the sovereign of Bambarra; the name of this potentate in 1800 was Woolo; he is a black, and a native of the country which he governs; his usual place of residence is Jinnie, though he has three palaces in Timbuctoo, which are said to contain an immense quantity of gold. Many of the civil appointments at Timbuctoo, since the decease of Muley Ismael before mentioned, and the consequent decline of the authorityof the Emperor of Marocco, have been filled by Moors of Maroquin origin;[217]but the military appointments, since the above period, have been entirely among negroes of Bambarra, appointed by the King Woolo; the inhabitants are also for the most part Negroes, who possess much of the Arab hospitality, and pride themselves in being attentive to strangers. The various costumes exhibited in the market-places and streets, indicate the variety and extent of the commercial intercourse with the different nations of central Africa; the individuals being each habited in the dress of his respective country, exhibit a variety both pleasing and interesting to every stranger who goes there.

The toleration in a country like this is particularly deserving of notice. The Diwan, or L’Alemma, never interfere with the tenets of the various religions professed by the different people, who resort to Timbuctoo for commercial or other purposes; every one is allowed to worship the great Author of his being without restraint, and according to the religion of his father, or in the way wherein he may have been initiated.

The police of this extraordinary place is extolled, as surpassing any thing of the kind on this side of the Desert; robberies and house-breaking are scarcely known; the peaceable inhabitants of the town each following their respective avocation, interfere with nothing but what concerns them. The governmentof the city is entrusted to a Diwan of twelve Alemma, or men learned in the Koran, and an umpire, who retain their appointments, which they receive from the king of Bambarra, three years. The power of the Alemma is great, and their falling into the mass of citizens after the expiration of the above period, obliges them to act uprightly, as their good or bad administration of justice either acquits or condemns them after the expiration of their temporary power. The civil jurisprudence is directed by a Cadi, who decides all judicial proceedings according to the spirit of the Koran; he has twelve talbs of the law, or attornies, attending him, each of whom has a separate department of justice to engage his daily attention.

Daggers and stillettos are generally worn: if any one disputes with his comrade, and becomes irritated, the daggers are drawn, and one stabs the other, without premeditation, whilst under the influence of passion. Revenge, or retaliation for injuries, is so precise, and so eagerly followed, as to become hereditary in a family. Thus if a man be killed or stabbed, it devolves on the next of kin to him to seek retaliation, and to obtain satisfaction, who accordingly seeks every opportunity of destroying the man who killed his brother or relation; when he dies the charge devolves on his next of kin. In the mean time, if the officers of police discover that any sanguinary assault has been committed, they pursue the aggressor, and oblige him to attend the wounded man, at his own expense, till he recovers; but if he dies, the aggressor is condemned, by law, to death, unless the next of kin to the deceased chooses to grant him a pardon, in consideration of some pecuniarycompensation, regulated according to the circumstances of the aggressor.

There is but one prison in this extensive city, where the prisoner is not confined, but suffers the bastinado, or pays a fine, and is liberated. Robberies attended with personal violence, stealing cattle, or provisions, are capital crimes, and are thus punished by decapitation:

The criminal sits down on the ground, and whilst a person engages his attention, by pushing him on the back or shoulder, the executioner seizes that opportunity of striking off his head with a sabre, at which he is very adroit. Strangling is seldom practised. Bastinadoing, when the crime is extremely aggravated, is sometimes practised till the criminal expires under the chastisement.

A debtor may be arrested and sent to prison, but on proving his insolvency, he is liberated, but still remains accountable to his creditors; and, in the event of his becoming afterwards a man of property, his creditors may claim and sue him to the extent of the debt previously contracted.

The Diwan, when the King is in the town, sit in his presence round the throne, and examine capital culprits. The king never decides contrary to the opinion of the Diwan, or El Alemma.

Slaves may complain to the Alemma of illegal severity received from their masters, of want of food or cloathing, either of which, if substantiated, he is ordered to liberate him.

A native of Timbuctoo cannot be a slave; he must necessarily have been born in another country, and these are generally captives taken in battle. The children of slaves are inheritedby the masters of their parents. Slaves of different masters cannot marry without the consent of the latter: the master of a negress endeavours to purchase the negro to whom she is attached.

It is asserted that until lately no Jews were permitted to enter the town, and various conjectures have been made as to the cause of this interdiction. It is also reported that those Jews who do now resort thither, are obliged to become Mohammedans, the forms of which religion they probably relinquish on their return to their native country; but whatever may be the ostensible, I am inclined to think the true cause why the Jews are not admitted into Timbuctoo, is the extreme jealousy of the individuals of the Moorish factory, whose avarice induces them to exclude every person from sharing their emoluments whenever a plausible pretext can be found.

The climate of Timbuctoo is much extolled as being salubrious and extremely invigorating, insomuch that it is impossible for the sexes to exist without intermarriage; accordingly it is said, there is no man of the age of eighteen who has not his wives or concubines, all which are allowed by the laws of the country, which are Mohammedan; and it is even a disgrace for a man who has reached the age of puberty to be unmarried. The natives, and those who have resided there any considerable time, have an elegance and suavity of manners which is not observed on this side of Sahara: they possess a great flow of animal spirits, and are generally so much attached to the country, that they invariably return, when insurmountable difficulties do not prevent them.

With regard to the manufactures of different kinds of apparel at Timbuctoo, and other places of the interior, they are made, for the most part, by the women in their respective houses,whenever they cannot procure European cloths and linens, or when there is a great scarcity of Fas and Tafilelt manufactures of silk, cotton, and woollen.

It has been said that there is an extensive library at Timbuctoo, consisting of manuscripts in a character differing from the Arabic; this, I am inclined to think, has originated in the fertile imagination of some poet; or, perhaps, some Arab or Moor, willing to indulge at the expense of European curiosity, has fabricated such a story. In all my enquiries, during many years, I never heard of any such library at Timbuctoo. The state library, which is composed for the most part of manuscripts in the Arabic, contains a few Hebrew, and perhaps Chaldaic books; amongst the Arabic, it is probable there are many translations from Greek and Latin authors at present unknown to Europeans.

The Nile El Abeede, or Nile of the Negroes, overflows in the same manner as the Nile Massar, or Nile of Egypt,[218]when the sun enters Cancer; this is the rainy season in the countries south of the Great Desert, and in Jibbel Kumra, or the Mountains of the Moon, from whence the waters descend which cause the river to overflow its banks. At Kabra, near Timbuctoo, itbecomes a very large stream. River horses are found in the Nile El Abeede, as well as crocodiles, and the country contiguous to its southern banks is covered with forests of primeval growth, in which are many trees of great size and beauty. These forests abound with elephants of an enormous size.

The river, according to the concurrent testimony of the Arabs and the Moors, and all travellers who have been on the spot, flows from west to east, and is about the width of the Thames at London; the stream is so very rapid in the middle, as to oblige the boats which navigate to Jinnie to keep close to the shore: and the boatmen, instead of oars, push the boat on with long poles.[219]

The soil about Timbuctoo is generally fertile, and near the river produces rice, millet, Indian corn, and other grain; wheat and barley grow in the plains, and are cultivated principally by the Arabs of the tribe of Brabeesh.[220]Coffee[221]grows wild here, as does also indigo; the latter, however, is cultivated in some parts, and produces a very fine blue dye, which they use in their various cotton manufactures; a specimen of this colour may be seen in the British Museum, in a piece of cloth ofcotton and silk, which I had the honour to present to that national depository of curiosities some years since: it is of a checquered pattern, similar to a draft board, the squares are alternate blue and white; these pieces of cotton are manufactured at Jinnie and Timbuctoo, and used as covers to beds; they are valuable from the strength and durability of the texture, and are therefore sold at a high price in Barbary, according to the quantity of silk that is in them, and the quality of the cotton; those however which have no silk interwoven, but are simply cotton, of blue and white patterns, are not so costly: the width varies from two to twelve inches; the pieces are sewed together so closely afterwards with silk or thread, that one can scarcely perceive the seams, the whole appearing as one piece.

The husbandmen (whom they call fulah) are very expert in the œconomy of bees; honey and wax are abundant, but neither is transported across the Desert; first, because the articles abound in Barbary, and secondly, because they are used by the natives of Timbuctoo, the former as an article of food, and the latter for candles.[222]

The fish called shebbel, similar to our salmon in the formation of its bones, and not unlike it in taste, abounds in the Neele El Abeede, near Kabra: it is much esteemed by the natives; eels also abound in the river. There are various other kinds of fish, the names of which I do not recollect.

The mines of gold which lie south of the bed of the riverbelong to the Sultan Woolo, who resides at Jinnie; he has three palaces, or spacious houses at Timbuctoo, where his gold is deposited, of which he is said to possess an enormous quantity. The persons who are daily employed in working the mines are Bambareen negroes, who are extremely rich in gold, for all pieces of ore which they take from the mines not weighing twelve mizans, or about two ounces, become a perquisite to themselves, as a remuneration for their labour, and all pieces of a greater weight belong to the Sultan, and are deposited in his before mentioned palaces.

It is asserted that the mines are so pure, that lumps of virgin gold are constantly found of several ounces in weight; this being admitted, it will not be surprising that the value of this precious metal, here so abundant, should be inconsiderable, and that some articles of small value with us in Europe, such as tobacco, salt, and manufactured brass, should often sell at Timbuctoo for their weight in gold. But here I would wish to be understood as speaking with some latitude, as the precise value of the circulating medium of Soudan is subject to great fluctuation, originating from a company of enterprising speculators of great capital at Fas, who are extremely jealous of the trade, and particularly cautious in communicating any information respecting it. In my various enquiries on this subject, I have constantly been guarded from receiving any information respecting Soudan from men who have had commercial establishments there; but have been rather induced to prefer the testimony of those, whom I have frequently met from time to time in my various journies through West and South Barbary, who were strangers to the motives of my enquiries, considering them merely as the natural suggestions of curiosity; some of these,however, I have by chance met with afterwards at Mogodor and Agadeer, where my commercial establishments were, when finding I was engaged in foreign commerce, they became very circumspect and cautious, and apparently regretted having communicated intelligence to me concerning their country.

I cannot attempt to give the exact geographical bearing and distance of places from Timbuctoo, in a country like this, as the Africans are ignorant of geography as well as other sciences; but from the several accounts which I have at different times received during my residence in Africa, and which were from respectable people who have resided years at Timbuctoo, and had travelled across Africa, it appears to be situated fifteen hundred miles SSE of Fas, eleven hundred and fifty miles about SSE of Akka, Tatta, and Wedinoon; thirteen hundred miles in nearly the same direction from Marocco; one thousand three hundred and twenty miles from Tafilelt: it is also about two hundred and thirty miles eastward of the city of Jinnie; one thousand miles west of Houssa.

The country north of Timbuctoo is inhabited by the powerful tribe of Arabs called Brabeesh, whose original stock emigrated in the eighth century, and took possession of a tract of country bordering on Egypt westward; there are several duars of that kabyle, inhabitants of the western confines of Egypt, who long since emigrated from the original stock, on account of family disputes; they are a turbulent, restless, and warlike tribe, but extremely afraid of fire arms, having no means of defence against such, being armed only with (zeraga) the lance, and occasionally with knives, or daggers: hence the inhabitants of the towns, when they go far into the country, carry guns and pistols with them.

There is another nation situated many (erhellat) journies south-east of Timbuctoo, who worship the sun, and abstain from animal food, living on milk and vegetables. One of these people was at Mogodor about ten years since, and continued his national custom, nor could all the flattering invitations to Mohammedanism induce him to renounce his doctrine.

In some part of the country between Timbuctoo and Casina, or Cashna, which is called (Beb Houssa) the Entrance of Houssa, is discovered a race of people, whom the Arabs compare to the English, alleging, that they speak a distinct language of their own, different from all the others known in Africa, and that it resembles the whistling of birds, to which they compare the English language. The people ride on saddles, similar to those of England, and wear rowelled spurs, the only nation in Africa that does, without shoes. Their faces are covered to the eyes, by their turbans folding round their necks and faces. Their weapons are swords, bows, arrows, and lances. When they engage in battle, each man selects an antagonist, they therefore never risk an engagement unless they think themselves superior in number, or at least equal to their enemy, resembling, in this respect, the Chinese. They are represented as a grossly superstitious people; their bodies as well as their horses being covered with (herrez) charms, or amulets.

About fifteen (erhellat) journies east of Timbuctoo, is an immense lake, called (El Bahar Soudan) the Sea of Soudan; on which are decked vessels, and the borders of it are inhabited by the above people; they brought, in or about the year 1793, some of their decked vessels to Timbuctoo, and transported thence goods to Jinnie; but as they were ascertained to be neither Arabs, Moors, Negroes, Shelluhs, nor Berebbers, theboatmen of Timbuctoo complained to the Cadi, that if these people were permitted to go to and from Jinnie, they would lose their business, as their boats performed the passage at less expense, and in half the time. On this suggestion the Cadi ordered them out of the country: some report that they were all poisoned, and their boats broken to pieces, and that since then none of their vessels have been used westward of this lake: the boats are described to be about forty cubits[223]in length, and eight in breadth, having the planks fastened together by shreet, or bass rope, and carry one hundred and fifty or two hundred men, and forty tons of goods; they have no sails, but when the wind is favourable, two oars are set up perpendicularly on each side of the boat, to which is fastened a large hayk, or spreading garment, which serves as a substitute for a sail: these boats are rowed by sixteen oars: at night they come to anchor by throwing a large stone overboard tied to a rope or cable, as before mentioned, which serves as an anchor.

With regard to the water communication between Timbuctoo and Cairo, there is no doubt but such a communication exists; it does not, however, facilitate the purposes of transport, the expense of land carriage by means of camels being more moderate than that by water, besides the advantages to a traveller of a continued succession of rich and fertile country, make the journey rather an excursion of pleasure when compared to the toils of a desert, where heat and thirst are so much dreaded by the weary traveller. In the interior of Africa; and among the rich traders who engage in this traffic across the Continent,there is but one opinion with regard to the Nile ofEgypt and the Nile of Timbuctoo, and that opinion is, that they are one and the same river, or rather that the latter is the western branch of the former. It may be further observed, that the source of the Nile of Timbuctoo is at the foot of the western branch of the chain of mountains called Jibbel Kumra, or Mountains of the Moon, where it forms (merja) a swamp; and on the western side of the same mountain is another lake or swamp, which is the source of the Senegal river; hence the established African opinion, that the Senegal and Nile have the same source, although these two merjas are separated by the mountain: the copious springs, which throw the water up with great force, are very numerous, and are found on both sides of the mountain, that is on the eastern as well as on the western side. The western stream takes a northerly direction, as does also the eastern stream, which is increased in its course by various others issuing from the Jibbel Kumri, more to the east of the source, before described; but where the two streams unite (i.e. the Nile of Egypt, and that of Soudan) is not accurately ascertained.[224]It is proper, also, to observe, that the Africans expresstheir astonishment whenever the Europeans dispute the connection of these two rivers, justly observing, that it is a folly to dispute a thing which the experience of a succession of ages has proved to be true; indeed it is remarkable how many empty hypotheses and idle reasonings the course of this river, or the Egyptian Nile, has given rise to; but there are people so bigotted to the opinions which are founded on these empty hypotheses as to disregard the relation of travellers who have actually been upon the spot, and who have, by the evidence of their eyes, confuted all that has been written on the subject.

In confirmation of the opinion that there is a navigable communication between Timbuctoo in Soudan, and Cairo in Egypt, the following circumstance was related to me by a very intelligent man, who has, at this time, an establishment in the former city:

In the year 1780, a party of seventeen Jinnie Negroes proceeded in a canoe, to Timbuctoo, on a commercial speculation; they understood the Arabic language, and could read the Koran: they bartered their merchandize several times during the passage, and reached Cairo, after a voyage of fourteen months, during which they lived upon rice and other produce, which they procured at the different towns they visited; they reported that there are twelve hundred cities and towns, with mosques or towers in them, between Timbuctoo and Cairo, built on ornear the banks of (the Nile el Abeede, and the Nile Massar) the Nile of Soudan, and the Nile of Egypt.

During this voyage they remained in many towns several days, when trade, curiosity, or inclination induced them to sojourn: in three places they found the Nile so shallow, by reason of the numerous channels which are cut from the mainstream, for the purpose of irrigating the lands of the adjacent country, that they could not proceed in the boat, which they transported over land, till they found the water flowing again in sufficient body to float it; they also met with three considerable cataracts, the principal of which was at the entrance from the west of Wangara; here also they transported the boat by land until passing the fall of water, they floated it again in an immense (merja) lake, whose opposite shore was not visible; at night they threw a large stone overboard as a substitute for an anchor, and watch was regularly kept to guard against the attacks of crocodiles, elephants, and river horses, which abound in various parts. When they arrived at Cairo they joined the great accumulated caravan of the west, called Akkabah el Garbie, and proceeded therewith through Barca, Tripoli, Tunis, Algiers, and Angad, to Fas and Marocco, where they joined the Akka caravan, and again reached Jinnie, after an absence of three years and two months.

Finally it appears from the corroborating testimony of all who have performed the journey from Timbuctoo to Egypt, that the country contiguous to the Nile El Abeede is rich and productive, that the banks of the river are adorned with an incredible number of cities and towns of incalculable population, that the Mohammedan religion prevails; that the Arabic is the general language spoken throughout these countries. The citiesand towns are crowded with mosques, having square towers attached to them: fondaques or caravanseras for the accommodation of travellers are spacious and convenient, so that we may conclude that the banks of the Nile El Abeede from Timbuctoo to the confines of Egypt may be as populous as the banks of any river in China.

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