Travels Of Richard And John Lander Into The Interior Of Africa Part 8

During the whole of the residence of Adams at Timbuctoo, he never saw any other Moors than those whom he accompanied thither, and the ten by whom they were ransomed; and he understood from the Moors themselves, that they were not allowed to go in large bodies to Timbuctoo. This statement bears on the face of it a certain degree of improbability; but it loses that character when it is considered that Timbuctoo, although it is become, in consequence of its frontier situation, the port, as it were, of the caravans from the north, which could not return across the desert the same season, if they were to penetrate deeper into Soudan, is yet, with respect to the trade itself, probably only the point whence it diverges to Houssa, Tuarick, &c. on the east, and to Walet, Jinnie, and Sego, on the west and south, and not the mart where the merchandise of the caravans is sold in detail. Such Moors, therefore, as did not return to Barbary with the returning caravan, but remained in Soudan until the following season, might be expected to follow their trade to the larger marts of the interior, and to return to Timbuctoo only to meet the next winter's caravans. Adams arriving at Timbuctoo in February, and departing in June, might therefore miss both the caravans themselves and the traders, who remained behind in Soudan; and, on the same principle, Park might find Moors carrying on an active trade in the summer at Sansanding, and yet there might not be one at Timbuctoo.

Adams never proceeded to the southward of Timbuctoo, further than about two miles from the town, to the mountains before spoken of; he never saw the river Joliba or Niger, though he had heard mention made of it. He was told at Tudenny, that the river lay between that place and Bambarra.

This apparently unimportant pa.s.sage, affords on examination a strong presumption in favour of the truth and simplicity of this part of Adams' narrative.

In the course of his examinations, almost every new inquirer questioned him respecting the Joliba or Niger, and he could not fail to observe, that because he had been at Timbuctoo, he was expected, as a matter of course, either to have seen, or at least frequently to have heard of that celebrated river. Adams, however, fairly admitted that he knew nothing about it, and notwithstanding the surprise of many of his examiners, he could not be brought to acknowledge that he had heard the name even once mentioned at Timbuctoo. All that he recollected was, that a river Joliba had been spoken of at Tudenny, where it was described as lying in the direction of Bambarra.

They who recollect Major Rennell's remarks respecting the Niger, in his Geographical Ill.u.s.trations, will not be much surprised that Adams should not hear of the Joliba, from the natives of Timbuctoo. At that point of its course, the river is doubtless known by another name, and if the Joliba were spoken of at all, it would probably be accompanied, as Adams states, with some mention of Bambarra, which may be presumed to be the last country eastward, in which the Niger retains its Mandingo name.

CHAPTER XI.

The ten Moors who had arrived with the five camels laden with tobacco, had been three weeks at Timbuctoo, before Adams learnt that the ransom of himself, the boy, and the Moors, his former companions, had been agreed upon. At the end of the first week, he was given to understand, that himself and the boy would be released, but that the Moors would be condemned to die; it appeared however afterwards, that in consideration of all the tobacco being given for the Moors, except about fifty pounds weight, which was expended for a man slave, the king had agreed to release all the prisoners.

Two days after their release, the whole party consisting of the ten moorish traders, fourteen moorish prisoners, two white men and one slave quitted Timbuctoo, having only the five camels, which belonged to the traders; those which were seized when Adams and his party were made prisoners, not having been restored. As they had no means left of purchasing any other article, the only food they took with them was a little Guinea corn flour.

On quitting the town they proceeded in an easterly course, inclining to the north, going along the border of the river, of which they sometimes lost sight for two days together. Except the two mountains before spoken of to the southward, between which the river runs, there are none in the immediate neighbourhood of Timbuctoo, but at a little distance there are some small ones.

They had travelled eastward about ten days, at the rate of about fifteen or eighteen miles a day, when they saw the river for the last time; it then appeared rather narrower than at Timbuctoo. They then loaded the camels with water, and striking off in a northerly direction, travelled twelve or thirteen days at about the same pace.

At the end of this time they arrived at a place called Tudenny, or Taudenny, a large village inhabited by Moors and negroes, in which there are four wells of very excellent water. In this place there are large ponds or beds of salt, which both the Moors and negroes come in great numbers to purchase; in the neighbourhood the ground is cultivated in the same manner as at Timbuctoo. From the number of Moors, many, if not all of whom, were residents, it appeared that the restriction respecting them, which was in force at Timbuctoo, did not extend to Tudenny.

The Moors here are perfectly black, the only personal distinction between them and the negroes being, that the Moors had long black hair, and had no scars on their faces. The negroes are in general marked in the same manner as those of Timbuctoo. Here the party stayed fourteen days to give the ransomed Moors, whose long confinement had made them weak, time to recruit their strength; and having sold one of the camels for two sacks of dates and a small a.s.s, and loaded the four remaining camels with water, the dates and the flour, they set out to cross the desert, taking a north-west direction.

They commenced their journey from Tudenny about four o'clock in the morning, and having travelled the first day about twenty miles, they unloaded the camels, and laid down by the side of them to sleep.

The next day they entered the desert, over which they continued to travel in the same direction nine and twenty days, without meeting a single human being. The whole way was a sandy plain like the sea, without either tree, shrub or gra.s.s. After travelling in this manner about fourteen days, at the rate of sixteen or eighteen miles a day, the people began to grow very weak; their stock of water began to run short, and their provisions were nearly exhausted. The a.s.s died of fatigue, and its carca.s.s was immediately cut up and laden on the camel, where it dried in the sun, and served for food, and had it not been for this supply, some of the party must have died of hunger.

Being asked if a.s.s's flesh was good eating, Adams replied, "It was as good to my taste then, as a goose would be now."

In six days afterwards, during which their pace was slackened to not more than twelve miles a day, they arrived at a place, where it was expected water would be found; but to their great disappointment, owing to the dryness of the season, the hollow place, of about thirty yards in circ.u.mference, was found quite dry.

All their stock of water at this time consisted of four goat-skins, and those not full, holding from one to two gallons each; and it was known to the Moors, that they had then ten days further to travel before they could obtain a supply.

In this distressing dilemma it was resolved to mix the remaining water with camels' urine. The allowance of this mixture to each camel was only about a quart for the whole ten days; each man was allowed not more than about half a pint a day.

The Moors, who had been in confinement at Timbuctoo, becoming every day weaker, three of them in the four following days lay down, unable to proceed. They were then placed upon the camels, but continual exposure to the excessive heat of the sun, and the uneasy motion of the animals, soon rendered them unable to support themselves; and towards the end of the second day, they made another attempt to pursue their journey on foot, but could not. The following morning at day-break, they were found dead on the sand, in the place where they had lain down at night, and were left behind, without being buried.

The next day, another of them lay down, and, like his late unfortunate companions, was left to perish; but on the following day, one of the Moors determined to remain behind, in the hope that he, who had dropped the day before, might still come up, and be able to follow the party; some provisions were left with him. At this time it was expected, what proved to be the fact, that they were within a day's march of their town, but neither of the men ever after made his appearance, and Adams has no doubt that they perished.

Vled Duleim, the name of the place at which they now arrived, was a village of tents, inhabited entirely by Moors, who, from their dress, manners, and general appearance, seemed to be of the same tribe as those of the encampment to which Adams was conveyed from El Gazie.

They had numerous flocks of sheep and goats, and two watering places, near one of which their tents were pitched, but the other lay nearly five miles off.

Vled, or Woled D'leim, is the douar of a tribe of Arabs inhabiting the eastern parts of the desert, from the lat.i.tude of about twenty degrees north to the tropic. They are a tribe of great extent and power, inhabiting detached fertile spots of land, where they find water and pasturage for their flocks, but are very ignorant of the commonest principles of agriculture. They are an extremely fine race of men, their complexion very dark, almost as black as that of the negroes. They have straight hair, which they wear in large quant.i.ties, aqueline noses, and large eyes. Their behaviour is haughty and insolent, speaking with fluency and energy, and appearing to have great powers of rhetoric. Their arms are javelins and swords.

The first fortnight after the arrival of the party was devoted to their recovery from the fatigues of the journey; but as soon as their strength was re-established, Adams and his companion were employed in taking care of goats and sheep. Having now begun to acquire a knowledge of the moorish tongue, they frequently urged their masters to take them to Suerra, which the latter promised they would do, provided they continued attentive to their duty.

Things, however, remained in this state for ten or eleven days, during which time they were continually occupied in tending the flocks of the Moors. They suffered severely from exposure to the scorching sun, in a state almost of utter nakedness, and the miseries of their situation were aggravated by despair of ever being released from slavery.

The only food allowed to them was barley-flour and camels' and goats'

milk; of the latter, however, they had abundance. Sometimes they were treated with a few dates, which were a great rarity, there being neither date-trees, nor trees of any other kind, in the whole of the country round. But as the flocks of goats and sheep consisted of a great number, from one hundred and fifty to two hundred, and as they were at a distance from the town, Adams and his companion sometimes ventured to kill a kid for their own eating, and to prevent discovery of the fire used in cooking it, they dug a cave, in which a fire was made, covering the ashes with gra.s.s and sand.

At length, Adams, after much reflection on the miserable state in which he had been so long kept, and was likely to pa.s.s the remainder of his life, determined to remonstrate upon the subject. His master, whose name was Hamet Laubed, frankly replied to him, that as he had not been successful in procuring slaves, it was now his intention to keep him, and not, as he had before led him to expect, to take him to Suerra or Mogadore. Upon hearing this, Adams resolved not to attend any longer to the duty of watching the goats and sheep; and in consequence, the following day, several of the young goats were found to have been killed by the foxes.

This led to an inquiry, whether Adams or the boy was in fault, when it appearing that the missing goats were a part of Adams' flock, his master proceeded to beat him with a thick stick; he, however, resisted, and took away the stick, upon which a dozen Moors, princ.i.p.ally women, attacked him, and gave him a severe beating.

As, notwithstanding what had occurred, Adams persisted in his determination not to resume his task of tending the goats and sheep, his master was advised to put him to death, but this he was not inclined to do, observing to his advisers, that he should thereby sustain a loss, and that if Adams would not work, it would be better to sell him. In the mean time, he remained idle in the tent for three days, when he was asked by his master's wife if he would go to the distant well, to fetch a couple of skins of water, it being of a better quality; to which he signified his consent, and went off the next morning on a camel, with two skins to fetch the water.

On his arrival at the other well, instead of procuring water, he determined to make his escape; and understanding that the course to a place called Wadinoon lay in a direction to the northward of west, he pa.s.sed the well, and pus.h.i.+ng on in a northerly course, travelled the whole of that day, when the camel, which had been used to rest at night, and had not been well broken in, would not proceed any further, and in spite of all the efforts Adams could make, it lay down with fatigue, having gone upwards of twenty miles without stopping. Finding there was not any remedy, Adams took off the rope, with which his clothes were fastened round his body, and as the camel lay with his fore knee bent, he tied the rope round it in a way to prevent its rising, and then laid down by the side of it. This rope, which Adams had brought from Timbuctoo, was made of gra.s.s, collected on the banks of the river.

The next morning, at daylight, he mounted again, and pushed on till about nine o'clock, when he perceived some smoke in advance of him, which he approached. There was a small hillock between him and this place, ascending which, he discovered about forty or fifty tents pitched, and on looking back, he saw two camels coming towards him, with a rider on each. Not knowing whether these were in pursuit of him, or strangers going to the place in view, but being greatly alarmed, he made the best of his way forward. On drawing near to the town, a number of women came out, and he observed about a hundred Moors standing in a row, in the act of prayer, having their faces towards the east, and at times kneeling down, and leaning their heads to the ground. On the women discovering Adams, they expressed great surprise at seeing a white man. He inquired of them the name of the place, and they told him it was Hilla Gibla. Soon afterwards the two camels, before spoken of, arriving, the rider of one of them proved to be the owner of the camel on which Adams had escaped, and the other his master. At this time Adams was sitting under a tent, speaking to the governor, whose name was Mahomet, telling him his story; they were soon joined by his two pursuers, accompanied by a crowd of people.

Upon his master claiming him, Adams protested that he would not go back; that his master had frequently promised to take him to Suerra, but had broken his promises, and that he had made up his mind either to obtain his liberty or die. Upon hearing both sides, the governor determined in favour of Adams, and gave his master to understand, that if he was willing to exchange him for a bushel of dates and a camel, he should have them; but if not, he should have nothing. As Adams' master did not approve of these conditions, a violent altercation arose, but at length, finding the governor determined, and that better terms were not to be had, he accepted the first offer, and Adams became the slave of Mahomet.

The natives of Hilla Gibla or El Kabla, appeared to be better clothed, and a less savage race than those of Woled D'leim, between whom there appeared to be great enmity. The governor, therefore, readily interfered in favour of Adams, and at one time threatened to take away the camel, and to put Mahomet Laubed to death. Another consideration by which the governor was probably influenced, was a knowledge of the value of a Christian slave, as an object of ransom, of which Mahomet Laubed seemed to be wholly ignorant.

On entering the service of his new master, Adams was sent to tend camels, and had been so employed about a fortnight, when this duty was exchanged for that of taking care of goats. Mahomet had two wives, who dwelt in separate tents, one of them an old woman, the other a young one; the goats which Adams was appointed to take care of, were the property of the elder one.

Some days after he had been so employed, the younger wife, whose name was Isha, or Aisha, proposed to him that he should also take charge of her goats, for which she would remunerate him, and as there was no more trouble in tending two flocks than one, he readily consented.

Having had charge of the two flocks for several days, without receiving the promised additional reward, he at length remonstrated, and after some negotiation on the subject of his claim, the matter was compromised by the young woman's desiring him, when he returned from tending the goats at night, to go to rest in her tent. It was the custom of Mahomet, to sleep two nights with the elder woman, and one with the other, and this was one of the nights devoted to the former. Adams accordingly kept the appointment, and about nine o'clock Aisha came and gave him supper, and he remained in her tent all night. This was an arrangement which was afterwards continued on those nights, which she did not pa.s.s with her husband.

Things continued in this state for about six months, and as his work was light, and he experienced nothing but kind treatment, his time pa.s.sed pleasantly enough. One night his master's son coming into the tent, discovered Adams with his mother-in-law, and informed his father, when a great disturbance took place; but upon the husband charging his wife with her misconduct, she protested that Adams had laid down in her tent without her knowledge or consent, and as she cried bitterly, the old man appeared to be convinced that she was not to blame. The old lady, however, declared her belief that the young one was guilty, and expressed her conviction that she should be able to detect her at some future time.

For some days after, Adams kept away from the lady, but at the end of that time, the former affair appearing to be forgotten, he resumed his visits. One night, the old woman lifted up the corner of the tent, and discovered Adams with Aisha, and having reported it to her husband, he came with a thick stick, threatening to put him to death.

Adams being alarmed, made his escape, and the affair having made a great deal of noise, an acquaintance proposed to Adams to conceal him in his tent, and to endeavour to buy him off the governor. Some laughed at the adventure; others, and they by far the greater part, treated the matter as an offence of the most atrocious nature, Adams being "a Christian, who never prayed."

As his acquaintance promised, in the event of becoming a purchaser, to take him to Wadinoon, Adams adopted his advice, and concealed himself in his tent. For several days, the old governor rejected every overture, but at last he agreed to part with Adams for fifty dollars worth of goods, consisting of blankets and dates, and thus he became the property of Boerick, a trader, whose usual residence was at El Kabla.

The frail one ran away to her mother.

The next day Boerick set out with a party of six men and four camels, for a place called, according to the phraseology of Adams, Villa de Bousbach, but the real name of which was Woled Aboussebah, which they reached after travelling nine days at the rate of about eighteen miles a day, directing their course to the north-east. On their route they saw neither houses nor trees, but the ground was covered with gra.s.s and shrubs. At this place they found about forty or fifty tents, inhabited by the Moors, and remained five or six days; when there, a Moor, named Abdallah Houssa, a friend of Boerick, arrived from a place called Hieta Mouessa Ali, who informed him that it was usual for the British consul at Mogadore, to send to Wadinoon, where this man resided, to purchase the Christians who were prisoners in that country, and that as he was about to proceed thither, he was willing to take charge of Adams, to sell him for account of Boerick; at the same time, he informed Adams that there were other Christians at Wadinoon. This being agreed to by Boerick, his friend set out in a few days after for Hieta Mouessa Ali, taking Adams with him. Instead, however, of going to that place, which lay due north, they proceeded north-north-west, and as they had a camel each, and travelled very fast, the path being good, they went at the rate of twenty-five miles a day, and in six days reached a place called Villa Adrialla, [*]

where there were about twenty tents. This place appeared to be inhabited entirely by traders, who had at least five hundred camels, a great number of goats and sheep, and a few horses. The cattle were tended by negro slaves. Here they remained about three weeks, until Abdallah had finished his business, and then set out for Hieta Mouessa Ali, where they arrived in three days. Adams believed that the reason of their travelling so fast during the last stage was, that Abdallah was afraid of being robbed, of which he seemed to have no apprehension after he had arrived at Villa Adrialla, and therefore they travelled from that place to Hieta Mouessa Ali, at the rate of only about sixteen or eighteen miles a day; their course being due north-west.

[Footnote: It is the opinion of Mr. Dupuis, that this place should be written _Woled Adrialla_, but he has no knowledge of it.]

Hieta Mouessa Ali was the largest place which Adams saw, in which there were no houses, there being not less than a hundred tents.

There was here a small brook issuing from a mountain, being the only one he had seen except that at Soudenny; but the vegetation was not more abundant than at other places. They remained here about a month, during which Adams was as usual employed in tending camels. As the time hung very heavy on his hands, and he saw no preparation for their departure for Wadinoon, and his anxiety to reach that place had been very much excited, by the intelligence that there were other Christians there, he took every opportunity of making inquiry respecting the course and distance; and being at length of opinion that he might find his way thither, he one evening determined to desert, and accordingly he set out foot alone, with a small supply of dried goats' flesh, relying upon getting a further supply at the villages, which he understood were on the road. He had travelled the whole of that night, and until about noon the next day, without stopping, when he was overtaken by a party of three or four men on camels, who had been sent in pursuit of him. It seems they expected that Adams had been persuaded to leave Hieta Mouessa Ali, by some persons who wished to take him to Wadinoon for sale, and they were therefore greatly pleased to find him on foot and alone. Instead of ill treating him as he apprehended they would do, they merely conducted him back to Hieta Mouessa Ali, from whence in three or four days afterwards Abdallah and a small party departed, taking him with them. They travelled five days in a north-west direction at about sixteen miles a day, and at the end of the fifth day, reached Wadinoon. Having seen no habitations on their route, except a few scattered tents within a day's journey of that town.

The inhabitants of Wadinoon are descended from the tribe Woled Aboussebah, and owe their independence to its support, for the Arabs of Aboussebah being most numerous on the northern confines of the desert, present a barrier to the extension of the emperor of Morocco's dominion in that direction.

They have frequent wars with their southern and eastern neighbours, though without any important results; the sterility of the soil throughout the whole of the region of sand, affording little temptation to its inhabitants to dispossess each other of their territorial possessions.

CHAPTER XII.

Wadinoon or Wednoon, was the first place at which Adams had seen houses after he quitted Tudenny. It is a small town, consisting of about forty houses and some tents. The former are built chiefly of clay, intermixed with stone in some parts, and several of them have a story above the ground-floor. The soil in the neighbourhood of the town was better cultivated than any he had yet seen in Africa, and appeared to produce plenty of corn and tobacco. There were also date and fig trees in the vicinity, as well as a few grapes, apples, pears, and pomegranates. p.r.i.c.kly pears flourished in great abundance.

The Christians whom Adams had heard of, whilst residing at Hieta Mouessa Ali, and whom he found at Wadinoon, proved to be, to his great satisfaction, his old companions, Stephen Dolbie the mate, and James Davison and Thomas Williams, two of the seamen of the Charles.

They informed him, that they had been in that town upwards of twelve months, and that they were the property of the sons of the governor.