Part 34 (1/2)

_Sheikh Berka._--”G.o.d Almighty bless you.”

_The writer._--”How old are you, Berka?”

_Sheikh Berka._--”My mother knows, but she's gone. She's gone to G.o.d!”

Essnousee came in for eye-powders to make a solution, and fever-powders to take with him to Soudan. Have only two or three of the latter which I keep for myself. Gave him the last I had. He said, ”You don't see the fever, you don't visit enough, there's plenty of it in the houses.”

Apparently it is common intermittent fever with some climatic variety; I think Tertian ague.

People are more civil in the streets to-day, and the rabble has lost its curiosity or fancy for running after us. Negroes and slaves are still impudent, not recognizing in the Kafer their secret friend. Saw Khanouhen in the Esh-Sh.e.l.ly, who called after me to come to him. Hateetah was with him. The Prince began his satires on the Consul:--”Yakob, who is the best man, I or Hateetah? Have you written[92] this fellow Hateetah? All about him? Is this the English Consul? Does your Sultan own him?” Khanouhen pressed him so hard, that I ran off to save Hateetah's feelings, all the people roaring with laughter, and calling me back.

Afternoon saw the Governor. His Excellency lavished his hospitality on me. He gave me coffee, dried Soudan beef cut up into shreds, and some of the Soudan almonds. These almonds are not fine flavoured like those of the north, but are viscid, rancid, and bitter. Nor are they of the same beautiful filbert-form, but of clumsy oval and double-oval shapes. The sh.e.l.l is soft, and can be broken easily with the fingers. The kernel is mostly double, and when slightly rubbed splits into halves or rather two kernels. The dried beef is very pleasant eating, but rather too dry, the fat and moisture being all consumed. We have heard of beef cooked in the sun on the bastions of Malta, but this is really beef cooked in the sun.

It is an excellent provision for long journeys over The Desert. People chew it as tobacco is chewed. Our Governor-Marabout got very familiar this morning, and talked about his family. He called a little boy and said to me, ”Look at my little son, he's as white as you are white.” The child was indeed very fair for a young Saharan. He asked me as tabeeb, if Christian women had more children than one, and if they went longer than a year, which he had heard. He pretended his was a small family, and he should like to have fifty children, which, he added, ”all Sultans ought to have;” but, for money he did not care, he wished all his children were poor but pious marabouts. His preaching is quite contrary to his practice. A more money-getting ambitious fellow I have not found in The Desert. The report which I heard of the Governor of Ghat being changed whilst at Ghadames, was a sham abdication on his part. From domestic matters he proceeded to talk of politics. His Excellency is always anxious to give an immense idea of the fighting qualities and numbers of the Touaricks. He wishes me to make a favourable report of them, and his position at Ghat, and country. He declares the warriors to muster 15,000 strong, which would give too numerous a population for the Azgher section of Touaricks. The Haghar, and especially the Kylouy Touaricks, have an infinitely larger population than those of Ghat. The Marabout pretends there are some Touaricks who never saw corn or tasted bread, and others who dress only in skins. Indeed, I saw a Touarghee from the country, as well as The Touarick Prophet, dressed entirely in skins and tanned leather.

His Excellency then introduced his favourite subject of the battles between Moslems and Nazarenes for the possession of Constantinople, in which his ancestors so valiantly fought. He said, the sword of one of his grandfathers was laid up in the armoury of Stamboul, and submitted to me if I thought the Turks would give it to him if he were to make the demand. I told him to apply to the British Amba.s.sador at the Porte, making the thing of the consequence suited to the Marabout's taste. ”No,”

he replied, ”I shall go myself one day and fetch it.” His Excellency then began to extol the military forces and powers of the princes of Africa:--”The Sultan of Timbuctoo has 100,000 fighting men! Wadai has 100,000 warriors! The Sultans of Soudan have innumerable hosts, as the sand-grains of The Desert are innumerable!” He then asked silly questions as to whether the Turks could beat the Christians in fighting. I told him plainly, the Turks now learnt the art of war from the Christians, and the latter were not only superior to them, but to all Mohammedans whatever, Arabs or Touaricks, Kabyles, or what not, recommending his Excellency not to credit the absurd reports propagated by foolish dervishes of The Desert, as to how the Emperor of Morocco was conquering all the French and other Christians. Indeed, I'm obliged to be school-master, and geographer, and admonisher, to Sheikhs, marabouts, merchants, to all and every body. The subject of religion was now introduced, and I found the Governor, though a Marabout, of the first water, did not know that the Christians read and studied the sacred books of the Jews. I told his Excellency, Christian Marabouts must read and study the sacred books of all religions, and Christian talebs frequently read the Koran to acquire a knowledge of cla.s.sic Arabic. This information greatly amazed the Governor. I cannot, however, report more of his conversation, which would be endless. I sent him on my return the Arabic Bible, which the Shereef had told him I had with me.

Spent the evening with Haj Ibrahim. The Haj surprised me by saying, ”All my slaves, even the youngest of not more than four or five years' old, must walk to Tripoli as they have walked from Kanou to Ghat.” I found Kandarka with him. The camel-driver is a right-jolly fellow, quite a new species of being from the Touaricks of Ghat. A great deal of merry laughing and grinning Negro feeling is in his composition. But, with all his fun, he is a most determined man. He is about to convey some of the Haj's merchandize to Kanou, as being the bravest and most trust-worthy of all the Aheer camel-drivers.

_27th._--I'm out of my reckonings with the Moors by some mistake or other, of them or me, for I'm Monday, and they're Tuesday. Their month and our month, like our respective religions, is also in continual collision, their month being lunar, not solar. The weather is very warm.

Am exceedingly tired of remaining in Ghat; always regretting I did not determine to go to Soudan. Merchants are daily leaving in small caravans, not large caravans, which is a proof of the security of the routes, and the word of the Touarghee Sheikh is ”one” word; ”The routes are all in peace,” they say. Walked out with a very large stick, which frightened the Ghatee boys, who all thought it was for them, on account of their former sauciness. Was surprised at the Medina Shereef asking me to lend (give) him fifteen dollars to go to Tripoli. I promised very foolishly to give him his provisions to Tripoli, in the event of his proceeding with our caravan. What people for begging are these! The Shereef had just been scolding me for giving so much to these importunates. Although their houses are full of stores and money, they will still beg, and beg, and beg . . . . beg . . . beg. . . But this evening, at Haj Ibrahim's, we had a transcendant specimen of begging. The beggar was no less a personage than The Giant. I may remind the reader, The Giant is the son of Berka's sister, and is head of the tribe at Berka's death. The Giant therefore came to demand backsheesh, as being the lineal successor of Berka, who was Haj Ibrahim's protector. Haj Ibrahim observed:--”I have given Berka twenty dollars, and some other presents, and I cannot give any thing to his oulad ('sons.')” The Giant would hear none of this, insisted upon a present for himself, and swore by all the sacred names of the Deity, frequently using his favourite oath, ”Allah Akbar!” After an hour's debating, it was agreed that, for the future, Berka, if he lived till another year, (for the aged chieftain is ”tottering o'er the grave,”) should have a smaller present, and the portion subtracted should be given to The Giant. But this is cutting the blanket at one end, to sew the piece on the other, for the sons and nephews of Berka now share the presents amongst them. His Giants.h.i.+p was very condescending to me, though savage enough with the merchant. He laughed and joked, and ”grinned a ghastly smile,” and asked me, why I did not go into the public square and see all the people, thinking my not going out more showed a want of confidence in the Touaricks. Want of confidence in a Touarick is the most serious insult you can offer to him. So Dr. Oudney properly records of Hateetah, and says, ”he was indignant at the feelings which the people of Mourzuk had against the Touaricks--the Touaricks who pride themselves in having one word, and performing what they promise.” But Hateetah has since become an old man, and, with the usual prudence of age, recommends me not to go much about amongst the people. ”Something unpleasant might happen,” he says, ”for which all the Sheikhs would be sorry.” The Giant said to me, ”Come, you Christian, I shall sell you a wife of the Shanbah women. Stop here till I come back.”

A most affecting incident was related to me by Mustapha. Two of his slaves quarrelled, and last night, whilst one was fast asleep, the other went stealthily and fetched a shovelful of burning wood ashes, and poured them over the sleeping slave's face, tongue, and neck! He is suffering sadly, and Mustapha has called for medicine. So act these poor creatures, the victims of a common misfortune. How cruel is man to his brother! In all situations, man is his own enemy! This incident reminds me of what Colonel Keatinge relates of the unfortunate Jews in Morocco.

Although the Jews are very badly treated in that empire, and all suffer great indignities, yet, to increase their own misfortunes, and by their own hands, one Jew has actually been known to purchase from the Sultan the right, the privilege of torturing another Jew. The speculation, adds the Colonel, was considered ”a good one,” because, if no pecuniary advantage followed, the pleasure of inflicting the torture was certain.

The privilege of bidding for himself, or buying himself from the torture, was the only one allowed the victim on such horrible occasions! Some people have pretended that there is a limit to human degradation; but there is always a lower depth--and a still lower depth. Not death itself limits this sort of degradation--the tomb of the unfortunate Morocco Jew is defiled--and his name and faith furnishes, unendingly, the ”by-words”

of the curse of the Moor! On the late ma.s.sacre of the Jews at Mogador, neither the Earl of Aberdeen nor Monsieur Guizot, condescended to remonstrate to the Moorish Emperor; nor did their co-religionists of France and England attempt (that I have heard of) to excite their Governments on behalf of the plundered and houseless Maroquine Jews . . .

How long are these things to last? . . . Till doomsday? . . . But did not Jupiter give Pandora the box with hope at the bottom? . . . To be serious, would not a million or two of the Rothschilds be well spent in buying the freedom of the Morocco Jews? Could a patriotic Jew do any thing which, in the last moment of his life, would produce more and such satisfactory reflections? It is to be hoped that the patriotic Jews of Europe are not like some foolish Christians who wish to continue the oppression of the Jews in order to fulfil the prophecies, as if G.o.d could not take care of his own veracity! But these sottish Christians had better mind what they are about, in contributing to the continued oppression of the Jews, and preventing their emanc.i.p.ation, because, whatever may be the duration of the prophetic curse upon the Jews, G.o.d will not, cannot hold the contributors to their oppression guiltless, no more than he did the Babylonian princes who first carried away the Jews into captivity.

_28th._--Distributed to the Soudanese merchants solution for the eyes.

This evening Haj Ibrahim's slaves sung and played together in the court-yard. They consist of girls and boys, and young women. They sung in choruses, one first repeating a line or a verse in the style of the ancient Greeks. Their voices are not very melodious, and they remind me of the responses of a charity school at church. Still it is grateful to one's feelings to witness how pitying is G.o.d to these poor things, in giving them such happy hearts in the early days of their bondage!

Kandarka was here, the same merry-hearted fellow as before. Providence has compensated Africa for the wrongs inflicted by her enemies, in giving her children a happy and contented disposition.

_29th._--A fine morning; weather warm, cold seems to have left us altogether. I have discussed the ”vexed question,” with the Soudanese and Saharan merchants, as to how the ostrich is hunted and caught. In Soudan the ostrich is snared by small cords, the bird getting its legs into the nooses. The trap is a quant.i.ty of herbage laid over the cordage. Here the Negro waits for his rich feathery booty, and draws the cordage as soon as their feet are in the noose. Others throw stones, sticks, and lances, at the ostrich; others shoot them. But in Sahara, and in what is called the edge of The Desert, the ostrich is simply ridden down by the mounted Arab during the great heats of summer. The ostrich, though a tenant of the burning Sahara, cannot run well for any length of time during the summer, and so becomes the prey of the Arab, whose horse bears heat better. In and about Wadnoun, ostriches are hunted with what is called the Desert horse, which is a horse living chiefly on milk, and which has a power of endurance the most extraordinary. This agrees with Porret, who says, ”the ostriches can only be taken by tiring them down.” But he does not mention the summer. Riley says the ostrich is driven before the wind, and Jackson against the wind, in being hunted. Captain Lyon says, ”it is during the breeding season the greatest number of ostriches are caught, the Arabs shooting the old ones on their nests.” The Sahara is a world of itself, peopled with a variety of hunters, who will each hunt in the manner he likes best. I may add, as I have often alluded to Biblical matters, the story of the ostrich forsaking her eggs, and leaving them to be hatched in the sun, is not correct. Merchants often questioned me as to what we did with ostrich feathers, people making no particular use of them in Sahara. When I told them our ladies adorned their heads with ostrich feathers, they laughed heartily, adding, ”How ridiculous!” We laugh at their sable beauties adorning their necks and bosoms with trumpery gla.s.s-beads, and they laugh at our red and white beauties adorning their heads with ostrich feathers. The Chinese have their peac.o.c.k's feather as a set-off against our b.u.t.ton-hole ribbon; ”Ainsi va le monde.” One of the Aheer Touaricks, who, unlike my Ghat friends, return presents, brought me to-day a damaged ostrich skin and feathers. Being quite out of pens, and not able to persuade the Tripolines to send me up a few quills, I cut out several ostrich quills, and had the pleasure, for the first time in my life, of writing with an ostrich pen. I cut several, and amused and satirized myself by writing in my journal with one quill, ”James Richardson has much to learn;” with another quill, ”Richardson, James, must take care of his health,” &c., ”Yakob Richardson was an egregious a.s.s to come into The Desert,” &c., &c. These quills are very firm, if not fine and flexible, and it is a good subst.i.tute in The Desert for ”the grey goose quill.” I was so delighted with this unexpected supply of pens, that I offered the Touarghee of Aheer another present, but he resolutely refused it, adding, ”I wish to show you that a Touarick of Aheer can be grateful, and do a kindness to a stranger, without eating him up.” This was a tall man, of fair complexion, but pitted with the small-pox, of middle age, and called Mohammed. He was one of the best specimens of Aheer Touaricks, and always said to me, ”Come to our country. You will walk about the streets without being molested by any one. We never saw a Christian in our country, and we wish to see one.”

Evening, a ghafalah from Aheer has arrived, bringing sixty camel-loads of senna, and ten of elephants' teeth. A courier is also come from Touat, with the intelligence that the Shanbah, instead of fleeing away from the threatened attack of the Touaricks, had boldly appeared on the Touarick territory, in the route of Touat and Ghadames, having a force of 1200 mounted men. The Touaricks are at last alarmed, and dispatching messengers through all their districts, to give intelligence of the arrival of the enemy. I'm afraid the Touaricks have been making too sure of their approaching success. A messenger has been sent after the last Ghadamsee ghafalah which left here. Great excitement prevails in the town, and Jabour and Khanouhen are preparing to leave for their districts, where the levies of troops are collecting. A portion of the Tripoline ghafalah is stopped a few hours from this, on account of three of the camels running away during the night. The camel is by no means so stupid as it looks, and knows exactly when it is about to commence a long journey over The Desert. The three camels could not withstand the temptation of the herbage in the wady, and started off, and will not be found for days. Fulness of food as well as hunger makes animals savage.

One of our camels whilst grazing bit a slave, and has nearly killed him.

This, however, rarely happens; the camel is generally docile, if not harmless.

The Touaricks belonging to Berka have just paid Christians a very high compliment, but at my expense. I promised some more sugar to Berka if I could get any from Haj Ibrahim. The Sheikh sent twice for the sugar, and yesterday, when some of his people visited the merchant, they said to him, ”Where is the sugar of The Christian? It is not right for Yakob to treat us thus. Christians never lie.” A Christian tourist must never follow the example of a Mahometan in this country, that is, of always promising and never refusing, because it is disagreeable to refuse. In the above case, however, my promise was quite conditional, on Haj Ibrahim's having sugar. Nevertheless, there is happily an opinion prevalent in North Africa, that Christians, and especially English Christians, have but ”one word.” Let all of us British tourists try to keep up this high character.

_30th._--A little colder this morning, and foggy. The senna ghafalah will detain us three days more. Our camels are come up from the grazing districts; my nagah looks much better. Jabour called this morning to bid me farewell, before departing to his country house.

The Sheikh leaves this evening. Ashamed of the small present I made him on my arrival, I apologized, and begged him to accept of the only razor I had, which being quite new, and very large and fine-looking, exceedingly pleased the Sheikh. We had together a good deal of the most friendly conversation. Jabour promises, on my return, to conduct me _en route_ for Timbuctoo, and confide me to the care of some of his trustworthy followers. He will conduct me by the south-western route, which is stated to be forty-five days'

journey on M. Carette's map. But the Sheikh tells me it is only thirty days, or less. This route is intersected by many mountains, the height of which is so great, that the valleys are, for Sahara, perceptibly cold. These heights attract the clouds and condense them into rain, and the rocky region is full of beautiful springs and foaming cascades, of eternal freshness. There is, however, the dreaded plain of _Tenezrouft_ (?????????) to be traversed, eight days without water for man, or herbage for camels. This is the grand difficulty in getting to Timbuctoo from the north. The Sheikh went so far as to insure my safety to Timbuctoo and back. He then observed, ”All the people from Tripoli are under my protection, all Christians who come that way. Tell your countrymen they have nothing to fear in that route; tell them to come in peace.” He continued, ”Why, I observe you writing Arabic, why don't you believe in our books?” I answered, ”We have our prophet, who is Jesus; but all Christians believe that 'G.o.d is one,' that 'G.o.d is the most merciful,' (???? ?????--????? ??????? ???????)” citing this Arabic.

He then shook hands most cordially with me, and we parted (for ever?). I always looked upon this good and just man as the _bona fide_ friend, not only of me and Christians, but of all strangers, visiting Ghat, whatsoever. A little while after he sent me, by one of his people, a small present of a Touarghee travelling bag, made of coa.r.s.e-dressed leather. This is my first present from a Touarghee Sheikh, and I shall keep it as long as I can.

As soon as Jabour left, Hateetah came in, but in a very different mood.

Somebody had told him I had given the razor to Jabour, and he was also annoyed at seeing the present from Jabour, of whom he is, as of all the other Sheikhs, very jealous. Hateetah now vented his rage against Haj Ibrahim, for only giving him a turban-band. He swore solemnly he would cut the merchant's throat on the road if he did not give him five or ten dollars. I laughed at this petulant sally, and said, ”Yes, cut his throat; you will do better than Ouweek.” This was too much for Hateetah, who was trying, but apparently unable, to work himself up into a pa.s.sion, and he couldn't help breaking down; so taking me by the hand, he said, ”Do you believe me?” He was in hopes I would go and report this mock-furious speech to Haj Ibrahim, but I was determined I would not interfere. He then abused the route of Fezzan, and said it was full of banditti. Of this also I took no notice.

One of my most curious acquaintances is an old Touatee, established in Ghat as a trader many years. He comes frequently to barter with me, bringing bits of cheese and dried meat. He will never let go his wares until he gets the equivalent fast in his hands. But he has no prejudice against Christians. He often recommends to me the sable beauties of Ghat, but I always reply, ”This is prohibited to Christians.” He is very much puzzled to know what I write about, and says, ”Don't write anything against me.”