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LIFE IN THE CAMP.

399

as the wild I'móshagh; for, having become degraded by being subjected to the caprices of stronger tribes, they have almost entirely lost that independent spirit which is so prepossessing in the son of the desert, even though he be the greatest ruffian.

One afternoon they collected round my tent and began boasting of what they had done for me. They told me that the Fullán had written to their sheikh, Weled 'Abéda, accusing the Gwanín that, in the night when El Bakáy was bringing me back to Timbúktu, they had been fighting against them, and, among other mischief, had killed a horse belonging to them; and that their chief had answered that his people had done well in defending me, and that nobody should hurt me after I had once succeeded in placing myself under the sheikh's protection. And this, be it remembered, was the self-same chief who had murdered Major Laing; and one or the other of these very Gwanín, with whom I had dealings every day, were perhaps implicated in that very murder. I was thus led to inquire of these people whether there were no papers remaining of that unfortunate traveler, and was told that they were all scattered or made away with; but I learned, to my great surprise, that there were letters for myself in Aʼzawád, which had arrived from the east; and although these people were not able, or did not feel inclined, to give me full information about this matter, which was of so much interest to myself, the fact proved afterward to be quite true; but it was a long time before I got possession of those letters.

Nature now looked more cheerful; and, after the little rain that had fallen, spring seemed to have set in a second time, and the trees were putting forth young leaves. The river having now laid bare a considerable tract of grassy ground, the cattle again found their wonted pasture of rich nourishing "býrgu" on its banks, and were thus able to furnish their masters with a richer supply of milk. This was a great point toward hastening my departure, as the télamíd (or pupils of the sheikh) had reason to expect that they would not be starved on the road. The fact that the tribes which we had to pass on our road eastward were entirely without milk, which forms their chief support, had exercised some influence upon them.

Meanwhile the turbulent state of the country grew worse and worse, since the Awelímmiden had shown such signs of weakness; and the Tin-ger-égedesh were said to have fallen upon the tribe of the Takétakayen settled in A'ribínda, and to have killed six of

their number. The chief, Somki, also made at the same time a sanguinary attack upon the Kél-hekíkan; and the state of feud and hostility among the Igwádaren had reached an extraordinary height, for besides the common animosity which this tribe had displayed against their former liege lord, Alkúttabu, two different factions were opposed to each other in the most bloody feud, one of them being led by A'khbi and Wóghdugu, and the other by Téni, to whom were attached the greater part of the Tarabanása and the Kél-hekíkan.

This chief, Téni, rendered himself particularly odious to the sheikh's party by keeping back a considerable amount of property belonging to the Gwanín, among which were a dozen slaves, more than fifty asses, and three hundred and sixty sheep. A very noisy assembly was held, in the evening of the 1st of April, inside my "zeríba," or fence of thorny bushes with which I had fortified my little encampment, in front of my tent. All the Gwanín assembled round my fire, and proposed various measures for arranging their affairs and for subduing the obstinate old Téni. One speaker was particularly distinguished by the cleverness of his address and his droll expressions, although I thought the latter rather too funny for a serious consultation. However, this man was not a Berbúshi, but an I'do 'Alí, and therefore could not present a fair specimen of the capabilities of this tribe.

This same chief, Téni, was also the cause of some anxiety to myself, as it was he who, as I have stated on a former occasion, when a young man, was wounded in the leg by Mungo Park; and I was therefore rather afraid that he might take an opportunity of revenging himself upon me. There is no doubt that, in the murderous assault upon Major Laing in Wádi Ahénnet, the Tawárek were partly instigated by a feeling of revenge for the heavy loss inflicted upon them by Mungo Park in his voyage down the Niger. At this very moment the dreaded chief, with part of his people, was here in the neighborhood, and caused great anxiety to Míni, a younger brother of Wóghdugu, one of the chiefs of the Tarabanása, who had come on a visit to the sheikh. Our frightened friend, in consequence, was rambling about the whole day on the fine black horse which my host had made me a present of, in order to spy out the movements of his enemy. He even wanted me to exchange my horse for two camels, in order that he might make his escape.

This man, who was an amiable and intelligent sort of person,

PRESENTS.-INTRIGUES.

401

gave me a fair specimen of what trouble I should have in making my way through those numerous tribes of Tawárek along the river; for, when he begged a present from me, I thought a common blue shirt, or "rishaba," of which kind I had prepared about a dozen, quite sufficient for him, as I had had no dealings whatever with him, and was under no obligation to him; but he returned it to me with the greatest contempt, as unworthy of his dignity.

My supplies at this time were greatly reduced, and in order to obtain a small amount of shells I was obliged to sell a broken musket belonging to me.

Under all these circumstances I was extremely glad when, in the evening of the 3d of April, the provision bags of the sheikh, of which I was assured the half was destined for my own use, were brought out of the town. But, nevertheless, the final arrangements for my departure were by no means settled, and the following day every thing seemed again more uncertain than ever, the kádhi, Weled F'aámme, having arrived with another body of sixty armed men, and with fresh orders to levy contribu tions of money upon the inhabitants, in order to make them feel the superiority of the ruler of Hamda-Alláhi. At the same time the people from Tawát set all sorts of intrigues afoot, in order to prevent the sheikh from leaving the town, being afraid that in his absence they should be exposed to continual vexation on the part of the ruling tribe; for although the Sheikho A'hmedu, in sending presents to Timbúktu, had not neglected El Bakáy, yet he had shown his preference for Hammádi, the rival of the latter, in so decided a manner, that my friend could not expect that in leaving the town his interests would be respected;* and I had to employ the whole of my influence with the sheikh in order to prevent him from changing his plan.

But, gradually, every thing that my host was to take with him on such a journey, consisting of books and provisions, was brought from the town, so that it really looked as if El Bakáy was to go himself. His horses had been brought from Kábara on the 9th, and several people, who were to accompany us on our journey eastward, having joined us the following day, the sheikh himself arrived on the 11th, and our encampment became full of bustle. My own little camping-ground also was now enlivened with all my people, who had come to join me; and my small store of *The present sent by the Sheikho Ahmedu consisted of 800 measures of corn to El Bakáy, and as much to Hammádi, besides ten slaves to the latter.

VOL. III.-C c

books, which had been brought from the town, enabled me to give more variety to my entertainment.

A rather disagreeable incident now occurred. The Zoghorán officer, the companion of Férreji, had came out on some errand, while I was staying with the three brothers in the large tent, which had been erected for Sídi Mohammed. I wanted to leave, but Bakáy begged me to stay. I therefore remained a short time, but became so disgusted with the insulting language of the Zoghorán, that I soon left abruptly, although his remarks had more direct reference to the French, or rather the French and halfcaste traders on the Senegal, than to the English or any other European nation. He spoke of the Christians in the most contemptuous manner, describing them as sitting like women in the bottom of their steam-boats, and doing nothing but eating raw eggs: concluding with the paradoxical statement, which is not very flattering to Europeans, that the idolatrous Bámbara were far better people, and much farther advanced in civilization than the Christians. It is singular how the idea that the Europeans are fond of raw eggs (a most disgusting article to a Mohammedan), as already proved by the experience of Mungo Park, has spread over the whole of Negroland, and it can only be partially explained by the great predilection which the French have for boiled eggs.

Altogether my situation required an extraordinary amount of forbearance, for A'lawáte also troubled me again with his begging propensities. But when he came himself to take leave of me, I told him the time for presents was now past; whereupon he said, that he was aware that if I wanted to give I gave, meaning that it was only the want of good-will that made me not comply with his wish. I assured him that I had given him a great many presents against my own inclination. He owned that he had driven a rather hard bargain with me, but, when he wanted me to acknowledge at least that he had done me no personal harm, I told him that the reason was rather his want of power than his want of inclination, and that, although I had nothing to object to him in other respects, I should not like to trust myself in his hands alone in the wilderness.

The difficulties which a place like Timbúktu presents to a free commercial intercourse with Europeans are very great. For while the remarkable situation of the town, at the edge of the desert and on the border of various races, in the present degenerated condi

GENERAL POLITICAL RELATIONS.

403 tion of the native kingdoms, makes a strong government very difficult, nay, almost impossible, its distance from either the west coast or the mouth of the Niger is very considerable. But, on the other hand, the great importance of its situation at the northern curve or elbow of that majestic river, which, in an immense sweep encompasses the whole southern half of North-Central Af rica, including countries densely populated and of the greatest productive capabilities, renders it most desirable to open it to European commerce, while the river itself affords immense facilities for such a purpose. For, although the town is nearer to the French settlements in Algeria on the one side, and those on the Senegal on the other, yet it is separated from the former by a tract of frightful desert, while between it and the Senegal lies an elevated tract of country, nay, along the nearest road a mountain chain extends of tolerable height. Farther: we have here a family which, long before the French commenced their conquest of Algeria, exhibited their friendly feelings toward the English in an unquestionable manner, and at the present moment the most distinguished member of this family is most anxious to open free intercourse with the English. Even in the event of the greatest success of the French policy in Africa, they will never effect the conquest of this region. On the other hand, if a liberal government were secured to Timbúktu, by establishing a ruler independent of the Fúlbe of Hamda-Alláhi, who are strongly opposed to all intercourse with Europeans, whether French or English, an immense field might be opened to European commerce, and thus the whole of this part of the world might again be subjected to a wholesome organization. The sequel of my narrative will show how, under the protection of the Sheikh el Bakáy, I endeavored to open the track along the Niger.

CHAPTER LXXIII.

ABORTIVE ATTEMPT AT DEPARTURE FROM TIMBU'KTU.

I HAD been obliged to leave the town on the 17th of March, in consequence of the brothers of the sheikh having deemed such a step essential for the security of the town, and advantageous to their own personal interest. Since that time my departure had been earnestly discussed almost daily, but, nevertheless, amid in

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