Page images
PDF
EPUB

ness is transacted in this place; and, on account of the many strangers who visit it, ready-cooked pudding, tíggera, and sour milk are offered for sale throughout the whole day. Besides salt, cotton strips, dyed cloth, Kóla nuts, corn, and asses, some copper manufactured chiefly into large drinking-vessels is also brought into the market by the people of Mósi. However, I do not think they manufacture the copper vessels themselves, but bring them from Asanti. Copper is worn by the inhabitants by way of ornament, to a large extent; and I was greatly amused on observing that some of the young girls wore in the long plaits of their hair a very remarkable ornament made of that metal, representing a warrior on horseback with a drawn sword in his hand and a pipe in his mouth; for, with the Songhay people, smoking, although forbidden by the present ruler of the western part of the former territory of their empire, the fanatical prince of Hamda-Alláhi, is, next to dancing, the chief enjoyment of their existence. Whether these small horsemen worn in the hair of the young damsels form an ornament without meaning, or are intended as auspicious omens as to their future husbands, I can not say; and I must apologize to the reader for not being able in this part of my journey, which was more beset by dangers, to enter fully into the private life of the people.

Altogether, Dóre, or, as it is generally called by the name of the whole province, Libtáko, appeared to me an extremely dry and uncomfortable place. However, this seemed to be rather exceptional, owing to the extraordinary drought prevailing that year; and it was not until the evening of the 17th of this month (July), that we had a moderate fall of rain, when nature as well as man appeared a little refreshed. The name which the Tawárek, as well as the Arabs of A'zawád, give to this place, namely Wéndu, or Winde, seems to imply quite another character, as the word means pond or lake; but, in reality, a very extensive sheet of water is annually formed close to the western side of the town, although during my stay the extensive depression was dry; and I even have ground to suppose that this sheet of water is very often, through a very considerable backwater, directly connected with the Niger.

The political state of the country, however, was at the present moment worse than its material condition. The disorder and anarchy were such as to make it appear as if there were no government at all. There were so many different factions that one par

POLITICAL SITUATION.

205

alyzed the other, and there is no doubt that the present misery was the immediate consequence of such a state of anarchy. There was a titular governor of the place called I'brahíma; but his mild disposition and his advanced age had left him scarcely any power at all, and I had to make my peace with all parties as well as I could. The most energetic and influential among the aspirants to power seemed to be a relative of the governor, of the name of Hámed 'Aísa. Then there was an elder but weaker brother of his, of the name of Bélko, and farther, a man of the name of El Jeládi, who troubled me greatly, begging me to write him a charm, by the secret influence of which I might procure him the government of the place.

Libtáko is situated between many different tribes, with the seats of the Tawárek close to the north, from whence these restless people are continually pushing on; and this situation necessarily imbues the inhabitants with a warlike spirit. In former times, especially, they were renowned for their valor, and distinguished, moreover, by the breed of their horses; but at the present moment, owing to the severe drought which had prevailed for so long a time, all the horses had been sent to a great distance, where they were likely to find better pastures. At present, there being so many factions and no strong government whatever, and the supremacy exercised by their liege lord in Gando being a perfect nullity, no certain line of policy can be pursued, and they are one day on good terms with the Tawárek, while the next day some serious fighting takes place; and thus it happened that on the 16th a party of these people, who supplied the market with the article which all the people were in want of, were plundered of the whole of their property. Even with the inhabitants of the province of Yágha, so nearly related to themselves by origin and interest, there were serious dissensions; and during my stay in the place the latter drove away all the cattle belonging to the village of Kória. The province comprises a considerable number of villages,* and, if well governed, would be of great importance, es

* The names of the small towns and villages forming this province are as follows: Dóre, Kória, Katínga, Wéndu, Dáni, Dángadé, Sélgo, Jámga, Mámmashé, Báfadé, Pékul, Bámde, Babírke, Toródi, Pulé, Gámbetí, Bedíngel, three villages of the name of Debére, Bámura, Fadambáka, Gébu, Kóla, Bombúfa, Kácheré, Kénde, Lérbu, Buré, Benbenjángo, Kollangel-páttidé, Nélba, Beresángo, Fúlgu, Billi, Chompángu (probably identical with Kampángu), U ́regáudi, Gurmáre, U ́relangawu, Táka, Kilínke, Yákutá U'riltáso, U'ro-Bellábe, Bangatáke, Tobijágha, Dankándi, Begontígi, Kúri.

pecially as forming the western province of the empire of Gando where it borders upon that of Másina, or Hamda-Alláhi.

I was peculiarly situated with regard to my new companion El Waláti, who was the sole reason of my making so long a stay in this place, while my exhausted camels, instead of having, as it was asserted, a fair opportunity of recruiting their strength for the remainder of the journey, were growing weaker every day from want of good feeding. The clever Arab, who represented himself as a very important person in Timbúktu and as an intimate friend of the Sheikh El Bakáy, under whose especial protection I intended to place myself, at times had the power of raising my spirits by the interesting information which he was able to give me. Now and then, for instance, he described the great mercantile importance of Sansandi, or dwelt upon the great authority enjoyed by the chief, whose fame had inspired me with so much confidence in my undertaking this journey to the west, and through whose influence the former mercantile importance of Timbúktu had not only been entirely restored, but a new interest had accrued to it as being the seat of a religious chief of high authority, who exercised an influence not very unlike that of the Pope of Rome over a very large tract of country, and extending even over the pagan tribes around, into the very heart of Mósi, that country which, as we shall see more distinctly farther on, from a remote age has been the champion of paganism against Islám. But, on other occasions, the conduct of my companion was so little straightforward as to fill me with serious fears. Nevertheless, I here entered into an agreement with him, giving him a fine black tobe and a black shawl, and stipulating to reward him on my safe arrival in Timbúktu with a present of twenty dollars and a white heláli bernús, besides buying him here a horse for the price of another tobe, three túrkedí, and a black shawl. On the whole, at that time, I was too much imposed upon by his fascinating manners to become fully aware of his intriguing character; and perhaps it was well that it was so, or I might not have trusted myself into his hands. However, by degrees, I became heartily tired of the long delay which he, together with 'Alí el A'geren, forced upon me. I had long prepared every thing for my outset, and on the 20th I finished a letter, which I addressed to her majesty's consul at Tripoli, and inclosed it under cover to my friend 'Abd el Káder dan Taffa, in Sokoto, and decided on intrusting it to the care of Dahóme, the man who had accompanied me from Gando, and who

[blocks in formation]

was to return home from this place, beyond which he enjoyed no authority; but, unfortunately, he took so little care of the parcel on his journey, when he had to cross a great many swollen rivers, that the outer envelope was destroyed entirely, so that the learned Púllo, not knowing what to make of a letter in a writing which he did not understand, left it with the bearer, with whom I found it on my return to Gando, in the middle of the following year. He had worn it as a sort of charm in his cap, while I expected that it had long reached Europe and informed my friends of my latest proceedings.

CHAPTER LXII.

UNSETTLED PROVINCES OBSTRUCTED BY NATURE AND INFESTED BY MAN.-ARIBI'NDA.-HO'MBORI.

Thursday, July 21st. At length I set out on the last and most dangerous stage of my journey to Timbúktu, thinking at the time that I should be able to reach that celebrated place in about twenty days; but I underrated the distance, such a very different position having been assigned to that mysterious place by geogra phers; and I had no idea of the difficulties which attended this journey, at least for a Christian, and the delays which would be caused me by the character of the new companion whom I had attached to me.

On leaving the turbulent town of Dóre, a great many armed people accompanied me, much against my inclination, and their conduct was so suspicious that we were obliged to make a halt and send them about their business, for the inhabitants of this place, not long before, had robbed and killed in a similar manner a wealthy sherif, whom they pretended to escort on his way from Sansándi. Just in crossing the shallow concavity where every year a very extensive sheet of water is formed, which often assumes the dimensions of an immense lake, and even now was covered with fine fresh turf, we met a large caravan of Mósi traders from Bússumo, their asses heavily laden with immense bundles of tári, or cotton strips, and with Kóla nuts. Farther on, where a little cultivation of cotton appeared, the monkey-bread or baobab tree became predominant. Altogether, the whole province seemed to be in a miserable state; and the village Dánandé,

which we passed after a march of about seven miles, bore evident traces of having suffered from the effects of war. The monotony of the country was pleasingly broken by a small rivulet, which we crossed a few yards beyond the village, and which was bordered by some very fine trees of the "mur” kind, which I have mentioned on a former occasion as affording excellent timber for boatbuilding. The baobab-trees, also, were here greatly distinguished, both by their size and their fine foliage.

We took up our quarters this day in Wúlu, a village situated beyond a large sheet of water, or, as it is here called, "wéndu," overgrown by the finest trees. The place is inhabited by Tawárek slaves, who are trilingues, speaking Temáshight as well as Songhay and Fulfulde; but their huts were very miserable indeed, and of musquitoes there was no end, and we had likewise great difficulty in finding a supply of corn. The hut in which I took up my quarters had been recently built, and, on the whole, was not so bad, but so choke-full of simple furniture, such as large jars, pots, dishes, saddles, provision-bags, and numerous other articles, that I could scarcely find room for myself, while the proprietor, when he returned from the fields and found a stranger quartered in the midst of all his treasures, felt so anxious that he did not stir from the door. However, the west side of the village being bordered by a large sheet of water, or tebki, richly adorned with trees and herbage, I did not remain long in my close quarters, but hastened toward this green open spot, which was delicious in the extreme, but gave birth to a legion of musquitoes.

We felt the inconvenience of this little hamlet the more as we were obliged to stay here the following day, for we received a credible report that El Khatír, the most powerful of the neighboring Tawárek chiefs, intended making a foray against this place, and the inhabitants were in a state of the utmost alarm. But a thunder-storm which broke out the next morning, accompanied with a considerable quantity of rain, relieved us, most providentially, of all danger from this quarter, swelling the many watercourses which intersect this region to such a degree that they became impassable to the enemy. On the west side of the hamlet where we were encamped there is a considerable suburb of Fúlbe cattle-breeders, and in the evening a great many of them paid me a visit.

Saturday, July 23d. We had here entered a district which was different from that which we had hitherto traversed in the

very

« PreviousContinue »