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Bi-uca at die Fouutains of tlie Blue Nile

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ILLIA

I M M O

London, and Edinburgh

THE

ENGLISH EXPLORERS

COMPRISING

DETAILS OF THE MORE FAMOUS TRAVELS

MANDEVILLE, BRUCE, PARK
■< AND LIVINGSTONE

WITH CHAPTER ON ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS.

EDITED BY

ROBERT COCHRANE.

MAP AND PORTRAITS,

EDINBURGH
WILLIAM P. NIMMO & CO.

EDIITBTTBOH : T. AND A. COKSTABLE,
, PRINTEBS TO THE QUEEK, AND TO THE UNIVERSITY.

PREFACE.

'T'HE plan of The English Explorers was originally
drawn up by the late lamented David Laing Purves,
as a companion volume to his * English Circumnavigators ;*
the voyages of Drake, Dampier, Anson, and Cook, but
he did not survive to witness its completion. As
now presented in keeping with the original plan, if its
perusal should awaken an intelligent desire for an in-
creased acquaintance with the works of our greatest
travellers and explorers, and form besides a contribution
to the healthy literature of the times, the book may be
said, in some respects, to have fulfilled its mission.

At a time when public attention is being interested in

1 another Polar Expedition, the section on 'Arctic Explora-

[tions,' while giving brief details of what has already been

iccomplished in this direction, may also form a brief

[ntroductior o the voluminous literature on the subject.

Mandevillt ^ travels, with their strange mixture of fable
Lnd superstitious legend, are given in an abridged and
lodernised form. What is given in the present volume
lay be looked upon as an interesting selection of ex-
tracts, giving in a sequent narrative the spirit of the old
traveller. While much indebted to Halliwell's reprint of
the Cottonian Library edition of Mandeville, acknow-
ledgment must also be made here to Messrs. George Bell
ind Sons for permission to make some extracts from their
Early Travels in Palestine.'
In Bruce's Travels, that great adventurer is left to tell
Jiis own story as nearly as possible in his own words, and

PRE FA CE.

in the first person, free from the wearisome details and
digressions which, aside from the bulk of the second
edition of the original work (7 vols. 8vo), form in them-
selves a barrier to popular perusal. It is hoped, how-
ever, that in the present abridgment, all the salient and
more generally interesting portions have been retained.
The Life and Travels of Mungo Park naturally follow
those by James Bruce, and these again are supplemented
by a brief sketch of recent African discovery till the death
of Dr. Livingstone, compiled from various sources.

As the bulk of the volume consists of details relating to
African discovery, a Map has been added showing the
routes of the principal explorers. The Engravings which
form the frontispiece are taken from authentic portraits,
while the vignette represents an episode which occurred
when Bruce reached the goal of his journey, at the head
l)f the Bahr-el-Azrek or Blue Nile. 'Home-keeping
youths have ever homely wits,' and travelling, as well as
the perusal of the works of our travellers in the right spirit,
* draws the grossness from the understanding,* and forms in
itself a subject exhaustless in compass and interest. The
exploration of the interior of Africa has been a problem,
towards the solution of which the greatest travellers have
spent the best years of their lives. The life and explora-
tions of David Livingstone have given an increasing stimu-
lus to all that concerns Africa and African travel, and
missionary and geographical enterprise. While interested
and attracted by all that the modern traveller brings to
light, let not the work of earlier and humbler men, who
worked up to the measure of their light and possibilities,
be forgotten. The association of the names of Bruce and
Park in this volume may be a help towards this result.
The labours of the early travellers should have an undy-
ing interest to every fresh generation. They have toiled
and discovered, and we have entered into the fruit of their
labours.

INTRODUCTION.

nPHE leading facts in the lives of the principal * Ex-
plorers ' mentioned in the volume, as far as available
for our present purpose, may well be given here by way
of Introduction.

Sir John Mandeville was born at St. Albans
about the beginning of the fourteenth century. He left
his native country in 1327, spent about thirty-four years
in visiting the Holy Land, India, and China, and on
his return published an account of his travels. These
travels are professedly a guide-book for pilgrims to Jeru-
salem, and contain many fabulous absurdities, with descrip-
tions of countries which he visited, and of others which
he certainly did not visit, derived mostly from books.
The original manuscripts of these travels are said to have
been written in French, in preference to Latin, and as the
language then most generally understood. It long con-
j tinned to be one of the most popular works of the four-
teenth and fifteenth centuries. Although little is known
with any degree of positive certainty regarding his Hfe, yet
!a sketch of him by John Bale, an old writer, might here be
quoted. * Amongst other things,' says Bale, 'he was
ravished with a mightie desire to see the greater parts of
the world, as Asia and Africa. Having therefore pro-
vided all things necessary for his journey, he departed
from his country, in the yeere of Christ 1322 ; and, as
another Ulysses, returned home, after the space of 34
yeeres, and was then known to a very fewe. ... He
died at Leege, in the year 1371, the 17 day of November,
being then buried in the Abbie of the Order of Gulielmites.'

INTRODUCTION.

Another writer says, — * He had extraordinary qualifica-
tions and opportunities, and was the chief traveller of his
time, having been 33° 16' southern latitude, and 62° 10'
northern. He mentions one that travelled round the
globe, which he had heard of when he was young ; this
probably inspired him with an early passion for travel.
He was of a family that came into England with the
Conqueror. He was a man of learning and substance, had
studied Physic and Natural Philosophy. He was a con-
scientious good man, as appears from several instances in
the book.' As physician, soldier, and philosopher, he
seems to have been one of the first men of his day. One
of the most remarkable features of his book is his attempt
to prove, at that time, that the earth was a sphere, and
the possibility of the Antipodes on the other side of the
world. * For they who are towards the Antarctic are
directly feet opposite of them who dwell under the Polar
Star, as well as we and they that dwell under us are
feet opposite feet. For all parts of the sea and land
have their opposites, habitable or passable.*

James Bruce, of whose travels an epitome is given in
this volume, was born at Kinnaird House, the family
mansion, in the county of Stirling, December 14, 1730.
He was the younger of the two children of David Bruce,
Esq., by his first wife, Marion, daughter of James Graham,
Esq. of Airth, Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, and
Judge of the High Court of Admiralty in Scotland. She
died in 1733, before her son had an opportunity of fully
knowing the tenderness of a mother. His father married
very shortly afterwards, and had a numerous issue by his
second wife. In his eighth year young Bruce was sent to
London, and intrusted to the care of Councillor Hamilton,
brother-in-law to his father, and who was to see after his
education. He stayed with him a year, and was afterwards
placed in the school of a Mr. Graham, whence in 1742 he

JNTR0DUC7I0N.

vl!

was removed to the public seminary at Harrow. While
there he acquired a knowledge of the ancient languages,
and made the acquaintance of several persons of distinc-
tion, whose friendship he retained through life. At first
he intended qualifying himself for entering the Church, but
finally deciding to qualify himself as an Advocate for the
Scottish Bar, he entered as a student at Edinburgh Univer-
sity in 1747. In 1748 his studies were interrupted by deli-
cate health, and being obliged to remove into the country,
this, with other circumstances, determined him to renounce
the profession of law. In July 1753 he removed to Lon-
don, with a view of settling in India as a free trader, under
the patronage of the East India Company. While in
London he was introduced to the family of a Mrs. Allan,
the widow of an eminent wine merchant. He married Mrs.
Allan's daughter in February 1754, and with her hand
also secured a share of the business of the family into
which he was admitted. But, unfortunately for him, his
wife died a very few months after marriage. This changed
the tenor of his life and prospects ; he applied himself to
drawing and languages, and in 1757 he visited Spain and
Portugal, to view the state of society, art, and science in
those countries. He continued his travels through France,
on to Frankfort, Bonn, Cologne, Brussels, and Rotterdam.
While at Rotterdam, the intelligence reached him of the
death of his father at Edinburgh, in May 1758, which
caused him to hurry homewards.

By the death of his father he succeeded to the paternal
estate. In 1761 he withdrew from the partnership in the
wine business, with which he had been identified for seven
years along with his brother-in-law, Mr. Allan. The events
of the subsequent years of his life, his acceptance of the
British Consulship at Algiers, and his travels in Asia and
towards the source of the Bahr-el-Azrek, or Blue Nile,
are detailed in the present epitome of his travels.

On his landing at Marseilles after his travels in the

m !

yiii

INTRODUCTION.

East, he spent a short time in France, where his fame had

preceded him, and afterwards repaired to Italy in July

1773, to recruit his health after the fatigues of travel. He

returned to England in 1774, after an absence of twelve

years, was introduced at Court, and graciously received

and honoured by the King for his numerous discoveries.

Settling on his estate, he married Mary, daughter of

Thomas Dundas, Esq. of Fingask, who died in 1785, and

by whom he had three children. The preparation of his

travels for publication occupied his mind after this sad

event, and were eventually published in five quarto volumes

in 1790. Although many of the statements in these travels

were at first doubted and ridiculed, and regarded as mere

traveller's tales, the experience of subsequent explorers

has verified their truthfulness and accuracy in almost every

particular. Though he felt these attacks keenly, he made

no public reply to those who challenged his truthfulness.

He survived his publication only four years. He slipped

one evening in his own staircase, while handing a lady to

her carriage, and he died in consequence of the injury then

received on the 27th of April 1794. A second edition of

his travels was published in 1805, under the editorial care

of Dr. Alexander Murray, in seven volumes ; and a third

in 1813.

MuNGO Park was born at Fowlshiels, near Selkirk,
on the loth of September 177 1. He studied medicine at
Edinburgh, and performed a voyage to Bencoolen, in the
East Indies, as an assistant surgeon. The African Asso-
ciation, founded in 1778 for the promotion of discovery in
Central Africa, secured his services, after he had satisfied
their Committee with respect to his skill in astronomy,
geography, and natural history. He sailed from Ports-
mouth on May 22, 1795, and reached Jillifrey, on the
northern bank of the Gambia, on the 21st of June. Pur-
suing his journey towards the kingdom of Bambarra, he

INTRODUCTION.

saw the great object of his mission, the river Niger flowing
towards the east. The incidents of travel, his sufferings
and captivity among the Moors, with his descriptions of
the manners and customs of the natives, form a narrative
of the deepest interest. He returned to England at the
end of 1797, and published his travels in 1799. In this
publication he settled the question as to the direction of
the Niger in the interior of Africa, having discovered it
flowing to the east. He remained at home, practising as a
surgeon in the town of Peebles till 1805, when he again
accepted another offer from the African Association. This
journey, as is well known, terminated fatally for him, when
striving manfully to discover the termination of the Niger.
Several interesting anecdotes regarding Mungo Park are
told in Lockhart's Life of Sir Walter Scotiy which illustrate
his character better than any mere verbal description. * On
one occasion the traveller communicated to him (Scott)
some verj' remarkable adventures which had befallen him
in Africa, but which he had not recorded in his book. On
Scott asking the cause of this silence, Mungo answered,
" That in all cases where he had information to communi-
cate, which he thought of importance to the public, he had
stated the facts boldly, leaving it to his readers to give
such credit to his statements as they might appear justly
to deserve ; but that he would not shock their faith, or
render his travels more marvellous, by introducing circum-
stances which, however true, were of little or no moment,
as they related solely to his own personal adventures and
escapes." * Further, we read, — ' Calling one day at Fowl-
shiels, not finding Park at home, Scott walked in search
of him along the banks of the Yarrow, which, in that
neighbourhood, passes over various ledges of rock, forming
deep pools and eddies between them. Presently he dis-
covered his friend standing alone on the bank, plunging
one stone after another into the water, and watching
anxiously the bubbles as they rose to the surface. " This,"

ifT

X INTRODUCTION,

said Scott, " appears but an idle amusement for one who
has seen so much stirring adventure ?" " Not so idle,
perhaps, as you suppose," answered Mungo ; " this was
the manner in which I used to ascertain the depth of a
river in Africa before I ventured to cross it, judging whether
the attempt would be safe, by the time the bubbles of air
took to ascend." *

We are told further : * When about to quit his country for
the last time, Park paid Scott a farewell visit, and slept at
Ashestiel. Next morning his host accompanied him home-
wards over the wild chain of hills between the Tweed and
the Yarrow. Park talked much of his new scheme, and
mentioned his determination to tell his family that he had
some business for a day or two in Edinburgh, and send
them his blessing from thence, without returning to take
leave. He had married, not long before, a pretty and
amiable woman, and when they reached the Williamhope
ridge^ "the autumnal mist floating heavily and slowly
down the valley of the Yarrow," presented to Scott's
imagination " a striking emblem of the troubled and
uncertain prospect which his undertaking afforded." He
remained, however, unshaken, and at length they reached
the spot at which they had agreed to separate. A small
ditch divided the moor from the road, and, in going over
it. Park's horse stumbled, and nearly fell. *I am afraid,
Mungo,' said the Sheriff, * that is a bad omen.' To which
he answered, smiling, * Freits (omens) follow those who
look to them.' With this expression, Mungo struck the
spurs into his horse, and Scott never saw him again.*

The name of David Livingstone, the greatest of all
explorers, has now become a household word throughout
the length and breadth of the land. In a familiarity and
popularity of this kind, there is an aptness to overlook the
homely, sincere, and earnest elements which go to make
up such a character. Something more wonderful is half

INTRODUCTION.

expected than this simple manly greatness. An out-
line of his more important discoveries has been given at
the end of the volume. * His position among explorers/
says a contemporary journalist, * is that of Shakespeare
among dramatists ; Bruce, Mungo Park, Cailli6, Denham,
Clapperton, and the Landers ; Barth, Rohlfs, and Nachti-
gal ; Burton, Speke, Baker, and Schweinfurth ; all these
illustrious men made campaigns in Central Africa, but
Livingstone spent nearly thirty years of his life in that
country, and nearly twenty in active exploration. Other
travellers have died in Africa ; he did more, he lived in
it. Like the Romans, he inhabited the countries which
he conquered. . . . Livingstone has rendered it impos-
sible that there should be such another as himself. His
actual discoveries have laid bare a continent to view ; but
it is impossible to estimate the precise value of that
impulse which he has given to the cause of exploration in
Europe and America.'

The facts in his early life, though familiar enough, have
an undying interest to the student of biography. David
Livingstone was born at Blantyre, in Lanarkshire, on the
19th of March 181 3. His father, Neil Livingstone, who
was of Highland extraction, had been upwards of thirty
years settled at Blantyre, working in the linen factories,
( when he married Agnes Hunter, a young woman in his own
position of life. Three sons and two daughters blessed
this union. We are granted a glimpse in his Missionary
Travels of part of the mental food at least which perhaps
in lieu of the much condemned modern novel, widened the
area of their young imaginings. He remarks, regarding
the traditionary legends told by his grandfather, — * His
memory was stored with a never-ending stock of stories,
many of which were wonderfully like those I have since
heard while sitting by the African evening fires. Our
grandmother too used to sing Gaelic songs, some of which,
as she believed, had been composed by captive Highlanders

INTRODUCTION,

languishing among the Turks/ His father's narrow cir-
cumstances necessitated his being sent, in 1823, when but
ten years of age, to the mill as * piecer,' where he was
employed, with the exception of the intervals for breakfast
and dinner, from six o'clock in the morning until eight
at night. Despite these adverse circumstances, he managed
to pick up a good knowledge of Latin ; his general reading
embraced books of travel and scientific works, classical reli-
gious works, and, more than all, the Bible. He had a habit
of fixing upon the spinning-jenny the book he was read-
ing, so that his eye could catch the sentences as he passed
in his work. Though his work hours were from six in the
morning till eight o'clock in the evening, yet he managed
in his limited leisure, amongst other studies, to make
himself thoroughly acquainted with the scenery, botany,
and geology of his native district. Eighteen hours out
of the twenty-four were thus very often given up to toil
and self-improvement. At nineteen he was promoted to
the more laborious toil of a cotton-spinner. The wages
he now received enabled him to attend the medical and
other classes in Glasgow University, walking to and from
his father's house, a distance of about nine miles. When
about sixteen years of age, under awakened religious
feeling, he had been inspired with a .strong desire to be-
come a missionary in China. When he was at last
admitted a member of the Faculty of Physicians, he wrote
afterwards, — * It was with unfeigned delight I became a
member of a profession which is pre-eminently devoted
to practical benevolence, and which with unwearied
energy pursues from age to age its endeavours to lessen
human woe.'

In 1840, after a preliminary examination and training,
he was ordained as a Medical Missionary by the London
Missionary Society. He sailed for the Cape, where, after
a brief stay, he landed at Port Natal, and soon afterwards
made personal acquaintance at Kuruman with the Rev.

INTROD UCTION,

•••
xm

Robert Moflfat, whose daughter he afterwards married.
His subsequent triumphs are briefly chronicled at the
conclusion of this volume. How great had been these
triumphs nearly twenty years ago, is shown in the words
of Sir Roderick Murchison, spoken shortly after his return
in 1856. *He had travelled over no less than 11,000
miles of African territory. ... By his astronomical
observations he had determined the sites of numerous
places, hills, rivers, and lakes, nearly all of which had
been hitherto unknown, while he had seized upon every
opportunity of describing the physical features, clima-
tology, and geological structure of the countries which he
had explored, and had pointed out many new sources
of commerce as yet unknown to the scope and the enter-
prise of the British merchant.' Livingstone wished to
make complete work of the exploration of the sources of
the Nile, and death found him busy at his task.

The details of his death are familiar to most readers,
and so we give them in their briefest form. He was making
for a mound to the west of Lake Bangweolo, from which
rose four rivers, two of which, flowing north, formed the
Lualaba. Soon after leaving Unanyemb^ he began to
suffer from a complaint which occasioned loss of blood,
and weakened him much. Throughout the wearisome
journey, up till the end of April, his strength rapidly de-
clined, when he expired at Ilala, in a hut built by his
faithful servants Susi and Chuma, on May i, 1873. His
body was brought with difficulty by his faithful followers
to the coast, whence it was shipped to this country, where
it arrived, at Southampton, on the i6th of April 1874. It
was conveyed through the streets of Southampton in
solemn procession, and taken by special train to London.
On the 1 8th his remains were interred in the central nave
of Westminster Abbey with all the distinction and honour
which such an unselflsh aad heroic life demanded ixovci
his countrymen.

XIV

INTRODUCTION.

A memorial tablet, with the following inscription, now
marks the spot in Westminster Abbey where the remains
of Dr. Livingstone are deposited : — * Brought by faithful
hands over land and sea, here rests David Livingstone,
missionary, traveller, philanthropist. Born March 19,
181 3 ; died May i, 1873, at Chitambo's village, Ulala.
For thirty years his life was spent in an unwearied effort
to evangelise the native races, to explore the undis-
covered secrets, to abolish the desolating slave-trade of
Central Africa, and where, with his last words, he wrote :
— " AH I can add in my solitude is, may Heaven's rich
blessing come down on every one — American, English, or
Turk — ^who will help to heal this open sore of the world." *
On each side of the tablet are also the following inscrip-
tions : — * Tantus amor veri, nihil est quod noscere malim,
quam fluvii causas per saecula tanta latentes ; ' and ' Other
sheep I have which are not of this fold ; them also I must
bring, and they shall hear My voice.*

M 1

CONTENTS.

VAGS
PREFACE, iii

INTRODUCTION . v

ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS, «7

MANDEVILLE'S TRAVELS,
The Prologue, 4>

CHAPTER I.

The way out of England to Constantinople — Cross and Crown of our Lord Jesus

Christ— The daughter of Ypocras transformed from a woman to a dragon, . . 43

CHAPTER II.
Of the many names of Sultans, and of the tower of Babylon, ..... 46

CHAPTER III.

Of the desert between the Church of St. Catherine and Jerusalem— How roses first

came into the world— Of the temple of our Lord — Mount Sion, ... - S*

CHAPTER IV.

^Of the Dead Sea, and of the River Jordan— Of the province of Galilee— Of the age

of our Lady— Of the City of Damascus— The way to Jerusalem by land, . . S9

CHAPTER V.

fHow the Sultan discoursed to me the author of this book— Of Mohammed— Of
Albania and of Libya— Of Noah's ship— Of the land of Job, and of his age— Of
the array of men of Chaldea— Of the knowledge and virtues of the true
diamond, ., 6s

CHAPTER VI.

Of the customs of Isles about India— Of the Judgments made by St Thomas— Of
the evil customs in the isle of Lamary— How the earth and the sea are of round
form— Of the trees that bear meal, honey, wine, and venom, .... j%

CHAPTER VII.

< How men know by an idol if the sick shall die or not— Of the great Chan of Cathay
—Wherefore he is called the great Chan— Of the realm of Thairse and the lands
«nd kingdoms towards the north parts, in coming down fiwm the land of Cathay, 79

•I

I'l.i

1 !

XVI

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VIII.

PAGE

Of the Emperor of Persia, and of the land of darkness, and of other kingdoms that
belong to the great Chan of Cathay— Of the coiutries and islands beyond the
land of Cathay— Of the devil's head in the perilous valley— Of the hills of gold
that ants keep— Of the four streams that come from terrestrial Paradise, . , 84

CHAPTER IX.

Of the Customs of Kings and others that dwell in the isles bordering on Prester
John's Land, ..«. »•. !•••••

BRUCE' S TRAVELS,
Chap.

I. Introdactoty, ^

II. From Sidon to Kenn^, ,•••. log

III. From Kenn< to Cocseir, ..•••,,.,., 133

IV. From Cosseir to Masuah, • • . 243

V. Reddeace and transactions at Masuah, ..•.,.... 159

VI. Journey from Arkeeko to Adowa, .>••..... 169

VII. From Adowa to Gondar, , 181

VIII. Residence at Gondar, * . . 198

IX. Division of Abysania— Manners and Customs of the Inhabitants, . . . 315

X. Made Governor of Ras el Feel— Skirmish between the army of Fasil and

Ras Michael, 3^

XI. Arrival at the Fountains of the Nile, 266 I

XII. The return from Geesh to Gondar, . 390

XIII. From Gondar to Sennaar, . . . . ... . • . 318

XIV. Four months in Sennaar, 338

XV. From Sennaar to Chendi, , . 3^9

XVI. From Chendi to Syene, .357

XVII. Return homewards through Egypt, and arrival at Marseilles, . . . 3^4

LIFE AND TRAVELS OF MUNGO PARK,

CHAPTERS I. TO XXVI., ....... ^ . . 386-574

NARRATIVE OF SECOND TRAVELS IN AFRICA*. . . . . . 575

RECENT AFRICAN DISCOVERY SUBSEQUENT TO PARK, AND

DOWN TO DR. LIVINGSTONE'S DEATH, , . ... 583

PACB

ingdonu that
■ beyond the

i hilla of gold
idise, . . 84

i on Prester

Fasil

and

97
log

»33
»43
»59
169
181
198

244
366

ago
318
338
349
357
374

386-574

575

X-, AND

583

< •*•

II..-

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS.

' Th* only thing in th$ world that is left yet undone, whereby a natal .-< miitd Might be
made/uMous and /ortunate.'—FKOBisHEK.

The earliest Arctic Explorers
on record are said to have been
the hardy Norsemen, who visited
the coasts of Greenland, New-
foundland, and several parts of
the American coasts, in the
ninth and tenth centuries. A
colony is said to have settled
in Iceland, and in the district
between Boston and New York,
about the latter period. Some
relics of their existence, in the
shape of standing stones carved
with Runic inscriptions, were
discovered in the vicinity of
Baffin's Bay in 1824. Their
intercourse with Europe is sup-
posed to have closed about 1406,
owing to extraordinary accumu-
lations of ice on their coasts.

Towards the end of the four-
teenth century the Zeni, two
Venetian navigators, voyaged
to the north and brought home
a record of their discoveries.
Sailing through the Straits of
Gibraltar, Nicolo Zeni arrived
at the Faroe Isles in 1380, and

was made commander of the
fleet by Zichmi, their earl. He
visited Greenland and Iceland,
describing the volcano and
boiling spring in the latter. His
brother succeeded him at his
death, and on hm voyage of
discovery to the westward he
discovered Newfoundland and
the coast of America, and found
the remains of the Norman
colonies. England was then
beginning to be distinguished in
the school of brave and intrepid
mariners, when John Cabot, a
Venetian, arrived and settled
in Bristol in the reign of Henry
VII. A patent was granted him
on March 5th, 1496, by this
king, to go in search of unknown
lands, and to conquer and settle
them. Of Sebastian, one of
Cabot's three sons, we alone
know anything with certainty.
He is said to have landed at
Labrador eighteen months be-
fore Columbus saw the main-
land of tropical America. He

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

thought of a voyage to the Pole,
and sailed up to 67 J° of north
latitude. Under the presence
and influence of Sebastian Ca-
bot, an expedition was under-
taken in 1553, for the discovery
of a north-east passage to Ca-
thay. Sir Hugh Willoughby was
appointed captain-general of the
three ships set apart for this ex-
pedition. The result of this
voyage was most disastrous, as
the brave captain and his crew
miserably perished from the
effects of cold and hunger on
a barren and uninhabited part
of the eastern coast of Lapland.
The ships and dead bodies of
those who perished were dis-
covered in the following year by
some fishermen. Chancelor, in
the Edward Bonaventura, with
Stephen Burrough, the cele-
brated navigator, had better
fortune, reaching Wardhuys in
Norway, and afterwards jour-
neying to the Russian Court at
Moscow, where the then Czar
of Russia sanctioned the trade
between thj two countries. We
have not space here to give the
details of Russian exploration,
but to them is assigned the dis-
covery of the shores of the Polar
Ocean, from Behring's Straits to
Novaya Zemlya. Stephen Bur-
rough, with a view of sailing
round the coast of Asia, went out
in the Speedthrift in 1556, and
discovered the south coast of
Nova Zembla across the inter-
vening channel, when ice and
easterly winds prevented further
progress. Pet and Jackman
made a like attempt in 1580,

Jackman and his crew perished,
Pet returned home in safety.

The endeavour to find a north-
west passage to the eastern
world, next began to engage the
mind of Martin Frobisher, a
mariner of great experience and
ability. He said, *It was the
only thing of the world that
was left yet undone whereby a
notable mind might be made
famous and fortunate.' In
1576, by the patronage of Dud-
ley, Earl of Warwick, he was
enabled to fit out two small
vessels for the voyage. On the
nth of July he sighted the
southern coast of Greenland,
but was compelled by the float-
ing ice to make for Labrador.
Having discovered the entrance
to Hudson's Strait, and explored
that still known as Frobisher's,
and one of the entrances to
Hudson's Bay, he returned to
England, having failed to get
farther westward. He brought
with him an Esquimaux; terming
the whole race, whom the> had
at first mistaken for porpoises or
strange fish, * strange infi deles,
whose like was never seen, read,
nor heard of before.'

* He arrived on the 2d of Oc-
tober, "highly commended of
all men for his great and notable
attempt, but specially famous
for the great hope he brought
of the passage to Cathaia."
One of his seamen chanced to
bring home with him a stone,
as a memorial of his voyage to
those distant countries, report-
ing that it contained a con-
siderable quantity of gold.

AR CTIC EX PL OR A TJONS.

Thus the hope of finding gold
became the incentive to distant
voyages and geographical re-
searches. The Queen now
openly favoured the enterprise ;
and Frobisher again departed,
in May 1577, with three ships,
one of which was equipped by
her Majesty. He sagaciously
observed, that the ice which
encumbers the northern seas
must be formed in the sounds,
or inland near the pole, and
that the main sea never freezes.
He steered for the strait where
his preceding voyage had ter-
minated, and sought the spot
where the supposed gold ore
had been picked up, but could
not find on the whole island " a
piece so big as a walnut." On
the neighbouring islands, how-
ever, the ore was found in large
quantities. In their examina-
tion of Frobisher's Strait, they
were unable to establish a paci-
fic intercourse with the natives.
Two women were seized; of
whom one, being old and ugly,
was thought to be a devil or a
witch, and was consequently
dismissed. As gold, and not
discovery, was the avowed ob-
ject of this voyage, our adven-
turers occupied themselves in
providing a cargo, and actually
got on board almost 200 tons
of the glittering mineral which
they believed to be ore. When
the lading was completed, they
set sail homewards ; and though
the ships were dispersed by
violent storms, they all arrived
safely in different ports of
England.'

* Success seems to have de-
serted Frobisher after his first
voyage, which alone indeed had
discovery for its object. When
the sanguine expectations to
which he had given birth were
disappointed, his voyages were
looked upon as a total failure ;
and he appears himself for a
time to have fallen into neglect.
But in 1585 he served with Sir
Francis Drake in the West
Indies; three years later he
commanded one of the largest
ships of the fleet which defeated
the Spanish armada ; and his
gallant conduct on that trying
occasion procured him the
honour of knighthood.*

' Frobisher's zeal in the pur-
suit of north-western discoveries
is supposed to have been
fostered by the writings of Sir
Humphrey Gilbert, a gentleman
of brilliant talents and romantic
temper. When we contemplate
the early discoveries of the
Spaniards and Portuguese, we
see needy adventurers, and men
of desperate character and
fortune pursuing gain or licen-
tiousness with violence and
bloodshed. But the English
navigators who, in the reign of
Elizabeth, sought to extend our
knowledge of the globe, were
men of a different stamp, and
driven forward by motives of a
more honourable nature. They
undertook the most difficult
navigations through seas per-
petually agitated by storms and
encumbered with ice, in vessels
of the most frail construction
and of small burthen ; they en-

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

Humphrey's
famous trea-
and he fre-

countered all the difficulties
and distresses of a rigorous
climate, and, in most cases,
with a very distant or with no
prospect of ultimate pecuniary
advantage. Sir Humphrey Gil-
bert was one of those gallant
spirits, who engaged in the
career of discovery chiefly from
the love of fame and thirst of
achievement.

*In demonstration of the
^existence of a north-west pas-
sage, he published a treatise in
1576, entitled "A Discourse
of a Discoverie for a new pas-
sage to Cataia."

'Much of Sir
reasoning in this
tise is unsound,
quently displays that childlike
credulity which was so marked
a feature of the character of the
Elizabethan heroes ; but, on
the whole, his views are those
of a statesman ; and in singu-
larly perspicuous language he
expresses philosophical ideas of
the loftiest order, which, in our
own day, have been espoused
and illustrated by our greatest
minds. The concluding words
are of a very noble spirit. As
we read them, we feel they
could only have been penned
by a man of chivalrous nature
and high aspirations ; and
when we remember his sorrow-
ful end, we can hardly divest
ourselves of the feeling that
they were in some measure
prophetic : —

'"Hereafter," he says, "I
desire the reader never to mis-
like with me for the taking in

hand of any laudable and
honest enterprise ; for if through
pleasure or idleness we purchase
slaves, the pleasure vanisheth,
but the shame remaineth for
ever. And therefore, give me
leave, without offence, always
to live and die in this mind,
that he is not worthy to live at
all, that, for fear, or danger of
death, shunneth his country's
service and his own honour;
seeing death is inevitable^ and
the fame of virtue immortal.
Wherefore, in this behalf, mutare
vel timero sperno (I scorn either
to change or fear)."

* In 1 5 7 8 he obtained a patent
authorizing him to undertake
western discoveries, and to pos-
sess lands unsettled by Christian
princes or their subjects. The
grant in the patent was made
perpetual, but was at the same
time declared void unless acted
upon within six years. In com-
pliance with this condition Sir
Humphrey prepared, in 1583,
to take possession of the
northern parts of America and
Newfoundland. In the same
year Queen Elizabeth conferred
on his younger brother, Adrian
Gilbert, the privilege of making
discoveries of a passage to
China and the Moluccas, by
the north-westward, north-east-
ward, or northward ; directing
the company, of which he was
the head, to be incorporated
by the name of "The colleagues
of the fellowship for the discov-
ery of the north-west passage."

^ The fleet of Sir Humphrey
consisted of five ships, of dif-

ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS.

ferent burthens, from lo to 200
tons, in which were embarked
about 260 men, including ship-
wrights, masons, smiths, and
carpenters, besides " mineral
men and refiners ; " and for the
amusement of the crew, " and
allurement of the savages, they
were provided of music in good
variety, not omitting the least
toyes, as morrice dancers, hobby
horses, and Maylike conceits,
to delight the savage people,
whom they intended to- win by
all fair means possible." This
litde fleet reached Newfound-
land on the 30th of July. It is
noticed, that at this early period,
"the Portugals and French
chiefly have a notable trade of
fishing on the Newfoundland
bank, where there are some-
times more than a hundred sail
of ships."

* On entering St. John's, pos-
session was taken in the Queen's
name of the harbour and 200
leagues every way; parcels of
land were granted out ; but the
attention of the general was
chiefly directed to the discovery
of the precious metalsv

'The colony being thus ap-
parently establi^ed. Sir Hum-
phrey Gilbert embarked in
his small frigate, the Squirrel,
which was, in fact, a. miserable
bark of ten tons ; and, taking
with him two other ships, pro-
ceeded on a voyage of discovery
to the southward. One of
these vessels, the Delight, was
soon after wrecked among the
shoals near Sable Island ; and
of above 100 men on board,

only twelve escaped. Among
those who perished were the
historian and the mineralogist
of the expedition, a circum-
stance which preyed upon the
mind of Sir Humphrey, whose
ardent temper fondly cherished
the hope of fame and of
inestimable riches. He now
determined to return to Eng-
land, but as his little frigate, as
she \% called, appeared wholly
unfit to proceed on such a
voyage, he was entreated not
to venture in her, but to take
his passage in the Golden
Hinde. To these solicitations
the gallant knight replied, " I
will not forsake my little com-
pany going homeward, with
whom I have passed so many
storms and perils." When the
two vessels had passed the
Azores, Sir Humphrey's frigate
was observed to be nearly over-
whelmed by a. great sea : she
recovered, however, the stroke
of the w-aves.; and immediately
afterwards the general was ob-
served^, by those in the Hinde,
sitting abaft with a. book in his
hand, and calling out, "Courage,
my lads ! we are as near heaven
by sea as by land." The same
night this little bark, and all
within her, were swallowed up
in the sea, and never more
heard of. Such was the unfor-
tunate end of the brave Sir
Humphrey Gilbert, who may be
regarded as the father of the
western colonization, and who
was one of the chief ornaments
of the most chivalrous age of
English history.'

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

Hi ;,

Longfellow has told the story
of Sir Humphrey Gilbert very
beautifully and simply in verse :

' Eastward from Campobello
Sir Humphrey Gilbert sailed ;

Three days or more seaward he bore,
Then, alas I the land-wind failed.

Alas I the land-wind failed,
Artd ice-cold grew the night ;

And never more, on sea or shore.
Should Sir Humphrey see the light.

He sat upon the deck.
The Book was in his hand ;

" Do not fear ! Heaven is as near,"
He said, "by water as by land 1 " '

* The zeal and ability exerted
by Frobisher in the cause of
north-western discovery was
foiled, as we have seen, by the
vain pursuit of the precious
metals. The ill success of the
recent voyages restored specu-
lation to its legitimate pursuit ;
and it was now resolved to de-
spatch an expedition of which
discovery should be the sole
object.

* The merchants of London,
being satisfied " of the likelihood
of the discovery of the north-
west passage," fitted out two
small barks, the one of fifty,
the other of thirty-five tons,
which they intrusted to the
command of John Davis, an
expert and courageous seaman.
He sailed on his first voyage
from Dartmouth on the 7th of
June 1585, and by this and two
other voyages which he made,
he discovered the strait which
still bears his name, he opened
the way to Baffin's Bay and the
Polar Sea, and also surveyed
a considerable extent of the
Greenland coast.' ^

1 Maritime and Inland Discovery, vol. ii.

Towards the close of the
sixteenth century, the spirit for
commercial adventure made
rapid progress in Holland, and
various companies were formed
to promote the interest of traffic.
With the individuals composing
them, some members of the
Dutch Government were asso-
ciated, who, by their power and
influence, could accomplish what
was denied to the exertions of
simple merchants. But the
desire of new discoveries being
conjoined with mercantile enter-
prise, led to the foundation of
colonies in remote regions of
the world, which vied for cen-
turies with the flourishing estab-
lishments originating from the
island of Britain. Sensible of
the great advantages that would
result from shortening the voy-
age from Europe to the distant
climates of the east, the Dutch
were at an early period occupied
in searching for a passage by
the north, which, according to
the geographical opinions pre-
vailing in that age, would con-
duct their fleets to China, Japan,
and other places in half the
usual time. Though their at-
tempts in this respect ultimately
proved abortive, they were not
void of utility, and led to the
voyages by William Barentz,
1594-96. The third expedition
set sail at an earlier period than
the two preceding had done,
and by the ist of June had
reached so high a latitude that
they had no night. On the 9th
he arrived at Bear (afterwards
called Cherry) Island^ where

AR CTIC EXPL OR A TIONS.

the Dutch killed a bear whose
skin measured twelve feet in
length. Ten days afterwards
they discovered land to the eait-
ward, and found by observation
they were in latitude 80° 11'.
This is unquestionably the first
discovery of Spitzbergen. The
Dutch were surprised to find
that this northern land was
covered with good herbage, and
supplied with herds of deer,
while Nova Zembla, four de-
grees to the south, was a bleak
and barren desert. Here also
they found a multitude of red
geese, such as visit some parts
of Holland in the winter, but of
which, as our author says, *it
was never known till this time
where they hatched their eggs ;
so that some men have taken
upon them to write that they sit
upon trees in Scotland that hang
over the water, and such eggs
as fall from them down into the
water become young geese, and
swim there out of the water;
but those that fall upon the land
burst in sunder and are lost.*
Thus the fable of the barnacles
was supposed to be for the first
time experimentally refuted.

'From Spitzbergen the two
ships steered south-west till they
arrived at Bear Island : and here
they agreed to part company;
Jan Cornelis wishing to exa-
mine the east coast of Spitz-
bergen, while Barentz hoped to
find the passage to the eastward
in a lower parallel. He steered
accordingly for Nova Zembla,
where by the first week in Au-
gust he had reached the lati-

tude of 77°. But strong winds
from the east opposing his pro-
gress, he was obliged to make
fast the ship to an immense ice-
berg, which soon after burst into
innumerable fragments with a
sudden explosion. Being forced
to return, they reached with
difficulty Icehaven, in lat. 73"
50', on the 26th, and here the
ice which had beset them in the
voyage immediately closed them
up. The unhappy crew, now
reduced to seventeen persons,
found themselves under the ne-
cessity of passing the winter in
this dreary and inhospitable spot.
Luckily for them, the drift-wood
on the shore was sufficiently
abundant to supply them with
fuel and with the materials for
a house. They calmly pre-
pared to meet the difficulties
of their situation ; and the jour-
nal of their sufferings is rendered
doubly interesting by their pa-
tience and resignation. It is
difficult to conceive, and impos-
sible to describe in adequate
language, the feeUngs of men
thus doomed to an abode of
darkness, desolation, and intense
cold, where bears and foxes are
the only inhabitants of the for-
lorn scene. On the 4th of
November the last rays of the
sun forsook them, and the cold
increased until it became al-
most too intense for endurance.
Their wine and beer were frozen
and deprived of their strength.
By means of great fires, of apply-
ing heated stones to their feet,
and wrapping themselves in
double fox-skin coats, they were

«4

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

just able to keep themselves
from being frozen. But in
searching for drift-wood they
were obliged to endure acute
pain and to brave imminent dan-
ger. They were also frequently
attacked by bears, which fear-
lessly assaulted their wooden
hut. But they found means to
kill some of those animals, the
fat of which they used for their
lamps. It is remarkable, that
when the sun disappeared the
bears also took their departure,
and then the white foxes came
in great numbers. These ani-
mals, which served at once for
food and clothing, were easily
taken by traps set on the roof
of the house.

'When the 19th of Decem-
ber arrived, these unhappy men
derived comfort from the con-
sideration that the season of
darkness had half expired, and
that with the return of the sun
they would find new resources
and means of preservation.
Their spirits were not so far
sunk as to prevent them from
celebrating Twelfth-eve with an
extra allowance of wine and
with games. The gunner was
made king of Nova Zembla,
"which is at least 200 miles
long, and lyeth between two
seas." At length the joyful
moment arrived. On the 27 th
of January the entire disc of the
sun was visible abv. ve the hori-
zon, to the surprise of Barentz,
who did not exptc-- its appear-
ance for fourteen days to come.
But the calculation of Barentz
\as undoubtedly erroneous ;

while, on the other hand, the
narrative cannot be easily ex-
plained; for, under ordinary
circumstances of refraction, the
appearance of the sun would
seem to have been premature
by seven or eight days. The
appearance of the northern limb
of the sun above the horizon on
the 24th of January, in lat. 76°
N., supposes a refraction of
nearly three degrees. With the
light of the sun the bears also
returned. The weather grew
more boisterous and inclement,
so that it was June before they
could set about repairing their
two boats : for the ship was too
much injured by the ice to be
again refitted by their feeble
exertions. On the 13th of that
month they prepared to quit their
wretched abode; but Barentz
first drew up in writing, and left
in the wooden hut, a list of their
names, with an account of their
misfortunes, and a description
of what had befallen them while
residing there. They then left
Icy Haven in two small boats.
But Barentz, enfeebled by sick-
ness and anxiety, was unable to
profit from the gleam of hope
which now broke in upon them.
He died on the 26th, to the
great affliction of the crew, who
placed unbounded confidence
in his skill and experience.
There are many instances on
record of long voyages per-
formed through the ocean in
open boats ; but perhaps there
is not one of so extraordinary
a character as the present, in
which two small boats ventured

ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS.

«S

to cross the frozen ocean, more
than 1 1 CO miles, continually
threatened by masses of float-
ing ice, liable to the attack of
bears, and exposed for upwards
of forty days to the extremities
of cold, famine, sickness,, and
fatigue. At length the ex-
hausted crews arrived at Cola,
where they found three Dutch
ships, in which they embarked,
and reached the Maes in safety
in October 1597/^

The failure in the attempt to
find a navigable path to the
Indies by a north-east or north-
west passage, led to a resolution
on the part of the London
merchants to explore a new
route, and to seek a passage
directly across the North. Pole.
For this daring enterprise they
chose Henry Hudson, a cour-
ageous and intrepid seaman.
He sailed from Gravesend on
the I St of May 1607, in a small
bark, with a crew of only ten
men and a boy. Reaching
Spitzbergen, he was so much
incommoded by ice, that he
bore up in his little bask home-
wards, arriving in the Thames
on the 15th September.

He made a second voyage
in another year, agdn attempt-
ing to find a north-eastern
passage to China, but met with
no better success than any
of the previous expeditions.
Somewhere between Nova
Zambia and what was called
Cherry Island, two of the
mariners declared they saw a
mermaid. *She was close

1 Maritime and Inland Discovtryi vol. ii.

to the ship's side, looking
earnestly on the men.' * From
the navill upwards her backe
and breasts were like a woman's,
her body as big as one of us ;
her skin very white, and long
haire hanging downe behind,
of colour blacke.'

Hudson made his third and
last voyage in 1610, this time
being sent to the north-west.
On the first week of June, Hud-
son arrived at Fiobisher's
Straits, and persisting in a
westerly course arrived at the
north-west point of Labrador,
which he named Cape Wolsten-
holm, and descrying a cluster
of islands to the north-west, he
named the nearest headland
Cape Digges. The land open-
ing to the south disclosed a
great sea to view, which has
since gone by the name of Hud-
son's Bay. Here discontents
began unhappily to appear
among the crew, which took
the form of a regular conspiracy
on the 2 1 St of June, headed by
one Green*

The oath, Ms^ich was. admin-
istered to each of the conspira-
tors, was as follows : — * You
shall swear truth to God, your
prince and country ; you shall
do nothing but to the glory of
God, and the good of the
action in hand, and harm to no
man.' And here, immediately
afterwards, Hudson and his
son, with seven others, were
seized and bound> and with a
very scanty supply of provisions,
cast adrift in an open boat
among the floating ice. They

r^^ ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

\ I

were never afterwards heard of.
Green was shortly afterwards
made captain, but perished
with four others in a quarrel
with the Esquimaux near Cape
Digges. Those of the crew
who survived were reduced to
the most desperate extremities
in the homeward voyage. Be-
fore they made the coast of
Ireland, they were compelled to
eat their candles, and fry the
skins and crushed bones of the
fowls with vinegar. One of the
mutineers died from absolute
want. Arriving in the Bay of
Galloway, they were carried in
a fishing smack to Plymouth,
when, strangely enough, none of
them were brought to trial, but
some of them were afterwards
engaged in further explorations.
Hudson's Bay was visited in
the year following by Captain
(afterwards Sir) Thomas Button,
who finding it open to the
westward, sailed in that direc-
tion, but, checked by the long
range of desolate coast running
north and south, forming the
western boundary of the Bay,
he termed it Hopes Checked.
He passed the winter of 1 6 1 2-
16 13 near the mouth of the
present Nelson River, now one
of the principal settlements of
the Hudson's Bay Company.
The explorations which they
were enabled to make in the
ensuing summer, couv^inced
them it was useless to look for
a western passage. In 16 15
another. attempt was made to-
wards the discovery of this
desired outlet. The Dis-

covery was fitted out for the
expedition, and Robert Bylot,
who was accustomed to the
navigation of these seas, was
appointed master, and William
Baffin, who wrote the account
of the voyage, his mate. They
sailed into and explored the
vast bay now known as Baffin's
Bay, which they thought to be
land-locked, which was 800
miles long, and 300 wide. In
latitude 76° a fair headland was
seen, and then a goodly sound,
called Cape Digges and Wol-
stenholm Sound. Another
sound, still more expansive,
running to the north of 78°, was
named after Sir Thomas Smith.
Following the general direction
of the coast, now west-south-
west, and then south, they
passed by an inlet, merging in
a broader opening called Sir
James Lancaster's Sound ; this
was the channel leading into the
Polar Ocean, with which Parry's
name has been long identified.
Between 1769-72 three over-
land journeys had been under-
taken by Mr. Hearne across the
territories of the Hudson's Bay
Company. In his last journey
he had proved the existence
of the Coppermine river. In
September of the same year
that Captain Parry was em-
ployed in exploring a passage
from Baffin's Bay to the Paci-
fic, another expedition was de-
spatched over land to ascertain
the true position of the Copper-
mine river, and the windings
of the shore to the eastward of
.it. .Lieutenant Franklin was

ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS.

selected to command this ex-
pedition, accompanied by Dr.
Richardson, a gentleman well
skilled in natural history ; with
Mr. Hood, and Mr. Back, two
midshipmen; and two English
seamen.

Franklin and his compan-
ions embarked in the end of
May 1 819, and arrived in safety
at York Factory, on the shores
of Hudson's Bay, on the 30th of
August.

The whole party were as-
sembled at Fort Chippewayan;
and on the i8th of July 1820
they set forward on their journey
with hopes that, before the
good season should expire,
they might be able to establish
themselves comfortably for the
winter at the mouth of the
Coppermine river, and, to em-
ploy the whole of the following
spring in the examination of the
coast to the eastward.

When they had got about
550 miles from Chippewayan,
the Canadian hunters declared
it would be impossible for them
to proceed further, when on the
bank of a river named Winter
river, they constructed a house,
and called it Fort Enterprise.
Here they wintered while Mr.
(since Sir George) Back re-
turned to Chippewayan, to see
after the baggage and neces-
sary articles which had not yet
arrived from the southward.
This extraordinary journey was
performed wholly on foot, in
snow storms, over a distance of
1 104 miles, and in the depth of
winter. It was June. 1.8 21 be-

fore the ice was sufficiently
broken in the Coppermine
river to allow of its being
navigated by canoes, and the
18th of July before they reached
the sea at the mouth of the
river. On the 21st of July,
twenty people, of whom fifteen
had never seen salt water,
launched on the Polar Sea, in
two frail bark canoes, with pro-
visions for only fifteen days,
and a voyage before them of
indefinite extent. They fol-
lowed the coast for two weeks,
often pinched for want of food,
till they came to what is now
called Coronation Gulf, a dis-
tance of 555 geographical miles.
Here their distresses began to
increase daily, and Captain
Franklin found it absolutely
necessary to return, making a
land journey. On the fifth day
of their journey, they were sur-
prised by a heavy fall of snow,
the harbinger of winter. Dur-
ing a journey of three weeks,
all the fresh meat that could
be procured, amounted to only
five days' consumption. The
strength and spirits of the
Canadians sank rapidly through
want of food, and through reck-
lessness induced by their de-
spairing condition their two
canoes were dashed to pieces,
although they had yet to cross
the Coppermine river. They
reached the banks of the river
on the 26th September, and
after a delay of eight days
managed to cross with extreme
difficulty. The next stage of
their jouraey was about to prove

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

' I

even more disastrous. They
were within forty miles of Fort
Enterprise, without food, and
miserably reduced by toil, an-
xiety, and privation. Mr. Back
and three Canadians hastened
forward in the hope of finding
a band of hunters in the neigh-
bourhood of Fort Enterprise.
A few days afterwards Captain
Franklin and seven of the party
proceeded onward, leaving Dr.
Richardson and Mr. Hood to
take care of those who were
unable to continue <:he march.

They were within twenty-four
miles of Fort Enterprise when
this separation took place. Four
of those who set out with Captain
Franklin left him in the course of
the journey, being unable to pro-
ceed. Michel, an. Indian, alone
returned to Dr. Richardson's
party, the other three were heard
of no more. When Captain
Franklin reached the Fort on
the 1 1 thy >?aving tasted no food
for five days, he found it utterly
deserted, with no provisions,
and without trace of any living
animal.

He remained eighteen days
thus, in a miserable and help-
less condition, when on the
25tth October, Dr. Richardson
and John Hepburn made their
appearance, but without the
remainder of the party. They
brought the melancholy in-
telligence that Mr. Hood and
the Iroquois were both dead.
Michel,, they had good reason
to believe,, had shot Hood in a
sullen or spiteful fit, and they
in self-defence had put the

Indian to death by a pistol-
shot. On the 7 th November
relief came to them at last, sent
from Mr. Back by three Indians.
The Indians cleaned the house,
and attended the famished tra-
vellers with a kindness, it is
said, that would have done hon-
our to most civilized people.
In about a week afterwards
they were able to set out for
Fort Chippewayan, where they
remained until June in the year
following. Proceeding to the
nearest of the company's posts,
they met with their companion
Mr. Back, to whom they were
so much indebted for their pre-
servation and the ultimate suc-
cess of their expedition. And
so terminated a journey which
had occupied over three years,
and which extended to 5500
miles. The coast, running
northward, had been followed
to Cape Tumagain in lat. 68J°,
making, it evident, if a north-
west passage did exist, it must
be found beyond that limit. A
better equipped expedition was
undertaken by Franklin and
Richardson to the same region
in 1825. Descending the Mac-
kenzie river to the Polar Ocean,
a large extent of coast westward
from its mouth was explored, and
the whole space examined east-
ward to the Coppermine, while
Captain Beechy, sailing in the
Blossom frigate through Beh-
ring's Strait, had very nearly
connected himself with the over-
land expedition.

Both these expeditions were
fruitful in. scientific results. A

A CTIC EXPLORATIONS.

»9

series of magnetV- bser- ations
were commenced \m soi .
observations record jd on t e
Aurora Borealis. L, Richar '-
son delivered a course of lectures,
too, on practical geology, with
regard to the new country. Mr.
Drummond, one of the party,
who passed a whole winter alone
at the foot of the Rocky Moun-
tains, in a hut erected by himself,
had collected 1500 specimens
of plants, and 200 birds and
quadrupeds, besides insects.
The cold experienced by Frank-
lin's party at Fort Enterprise is
said to have been more severe
than that felt by Parry in Mel-
ville Island, much nearer the
Pole. The trees in the neigh-
bourhood were frozen to their
very centre, any attempts to fell
them only resulted in the break-
ing of the axe. Fogs were of
very frequent occurrence, en-
veloping both earth and ocean
in deepest gloom. Parhelion
mock-suns sometimes shone at
different quarters of the firma-
ment, and in winter when the
sun disappeared, the Aurora
Borealis with its vivid light
lighted up the northern sky.

A reward of ;£ 2 0,000 had been
offered by Parliament in 1743
to any one who should sail to
the north-west by way of Hud-
son's Strait. Captain Cook
sailed in 1776 on this well-
known but fatal expedition.
His instructions were to attempt
the passage of the icy sea from
Behring's Strait to Baffin's Bay.
A further reward of ;^5ooo had
been added to the former grant.

which was now inr^'de 'any
northern passa ' >r ships,
provided they sh. ' ;et within
onr degree of the -le. The
far poir his em. .entnavi-

ga could each was 70 45'
bey. id Ic Cape, where he
found the ice stretching in a
compact mass to the opposite
continent, to which he also
sailed, going as far as Cape
North on the coast of Asia.
Some notions of the success of
his expedition seem to have
been entertained at the time, as
a vessel in charge of Lieutenant
Pickersgill had been sent to
wait for him at Baffin's Bay.

In 1 8 18, at the close of the
long Continental war, two ex-
peditions were again fitted out,
for the purpose of passing from
the Atlantic to the Pacific by
the north of America. The
fact that whales breaking loose
after being struck in the Green-
land waters, had been -captured
in Behring'-s Strait with the
harpoons adhering to them, and
also that at that particular time
the northern waters were re-
ported as remarkably free from
ice, had great weight with the
Admiralty, and the Council of
the Royal Society. Accord-
singly the Isabella, under Cap-
tain Ross, and the Alexander,
commanded by Lieutenant
Parry, were fitted out to follow
up, if possible, this line of com-
munication, and form another
attempt at a solution of a north-
west passage. The ships put
to sea on the iSth of April
1 8 18. They found the ice

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

*<('
^i

abundant on their arrival at the
western coast of Greenland, and
Ihey were told by the governor
of one of the Danish settle-
ments there, that he found the
winters were growing uniformly
more severe. The commander
made the round of Baffin's Bay,
and confirmed the general ac-
curacy of the old navigator's
delineation of it, but owing to
the evident carelessness or want
of hope on the part of Captain
Ross, several inlets, such as
Wolstenholm Sound, Sir Thomas
Smith's Sound, and Lancaster
Sound, were either very imper-
fectly or superficially surveyed.
Ross, when sailing up Lancas-
ter Sound, while the sea was
comparatively free from ice,
extremely deep, and its tem-
perature increased, and with
every prospect of a good voyage
westward, suddenly made a
signal to tack about. He ex-
plained as the reason of this
sudden resolution, that he had
seen land stretching across the
inlet at a distance of eight
leagues. To some ignorant
and degraded natives on the
northern shores of Greenland,
Ross gave the name of Arctic
Highlanders. They received
from them some fragments of
meteoric iron. But one of the
strangest spectacles they wit-
nessed on the voyage was a
range of cliffs 600 feet high,
and eight miles in length,
covered with snow of a deep
red colour, which, when thawed,
looked like muddy port wine.
A portion was brought home

for analysis, when it was found
that the rednes: was occa-
sioned by the presence of a
multitude of minute crypto-
gamic plants, which vegetate
in the severest veather, and
penetrate to a ^leat depth in
the snow.

The Admiralfv in iSiSalso
despatched C; tain Buchan
and Lieutenant ; ranklin in the
Dorothea and the Trent, who
reached 80° 34', when they were
stopped by ice. A narrative
of the voyage, which added
little to previous information,
was written by Captain Beechy.

Lieutenant Parry, who had
sailed with Captain Ross, but
dissented from him with regard
to the impracticability of the
north-west passage, was placed
in command of the Hecla and
Griper for another expedition,
which left the Nore on the nth
May 181 9, and made the en-
trance of Lancaster Sound on
the 30th July.

* The hope of finding a north-
west passage rested chiefly on
their success in this part of
their mission. They crowded
all sail, while a fresh easterly
breeze carried them rapidly to
the westward. " It is more easy
to imagine than describe," says
Captain Parry, " the almost
breathless anxiety which was
now visible in every counten-
ance, while, as the breeze in-
creased to a fresh gale, we ran
quickly up the sound. The mast-
heads were crowded by the offi-
cers and men during the whole
afternoon ; and an unconcerned

AR CTIC EX PL OR A TIONS.

observer, if any could have been
unconcerned on such an occa-
sion, would have been amused
by tiie eagerness with which
the various reports from the
crow's nest were received : all,
however, hitherto favourable
to our most sanguine hopes."
Before night they had passed
the limits explored in the last
voyage, and yet could discern
no land in the direction of
their progress. They had
R ached the longitude of 83
12' ; and the two shores of the
passage, as far as could be dis-
cerned, were observed to con-
tinue full fifty miles asunder.
Thus the expedition proceeded
rapidly to the westward. The
sea was deep, had the colour
of the ocean, with a long swell
rolling from the south and east,
and was perfectly free from ice.
Our navigators began to flatter
themselves that they had actu-
ally reached the Polar Sea ; but
their joy received some check
from discovering land ahead.
This proved to be only a small
island; but the ice stretching
between it and the northern
shore disturbed their hopes of
proceeding to the west'

'On advancing a little far-
ther their difficulties increased.
The passage was studded with
small islands, the water was
shoal, the ice more trouble-
some, and fogs frequent. They
still, however, continued to pro-
ceed to the westward along the
shore of a large island named
Bathurst Island.^

' As our navigators pro-

ceeded towards the west, to
the farthest extreme of another
large island which they named
Melville Island^ the difficulties
which they had to encounter
from ice and foggy weather
continually increased ; out on
the 4th of September they suc-
ceeded in passing the meridian
of 1 10° west longitude, by which
they became entitled to the
first sum in the scale of rewards
granted by Parliament, namely
;^5ooo. A projecting point of
land in this place was named
from the circumstance Bounty
Cape. A good roadstead, dis-
covered at no great distance,
was named the Bay of the Hecla
and Griper: here the ensigns
and pendants were hoisted ;
"and it created in us," says
Captain Parry, "no ordinary
feelings of pleasure to see the
British flag waving for the first
time in these regions, which
had been hitherto considered
beyond the limits of the habi-
table world." '

*0n their first arrival in
Winter Harbour, parties were
sent out to hunt, and found
abundance of grouse and rein-
deer ; but these animals had all
migrated from Melville Islantl
before the end of October,
foxes and wolves alone remain-
ing through the winter. During
the severest season no bears
were seen, and one solitary seal
was all that appeared. These
sports, however, were not with-
out their danger : some of the
men who neglected the neces-
sary precautions were severely

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

■■l^

frost-bitten ; and the torpor and
suspension of the mental facul-
ties produced by extreme cold,
and resembling the effects of
intoxication, were often percep-
tible in the hunting parties.

* To amuse the men Captain
Parry and his officers got up a
play, the first performance tak-
ing place oh the 6th of Novem-
ber, the day on which the sun
sank below the horizon, not to
rise again for three tedious
months. The sailors were de-
lighted with the performance,
and characteristically testified
their applause by three hearty
cheers. The active minds of
the oflScers needing more
strenuous employment, they
engaged in the composition of
a Christmas piece, in which
reference was made to the
situation of the ships, and the
service on which they were en-
gaged. They also contributed
to a weekly newspaper, entitled
The North Georgia Gazette and
Winter Chronicle^ of which
Captain Sabine undertook the
editorship. This gazette, con-
sisting of one-and-twenty num-
bers, and deriving interest from
the circumstances under which
it was written, was printed on the
return of the expedition. The
dramatic performances being
observed to be particularly suc-
cessful in exhilarating the men,
and also affording them em-
ployment in fitting up the
theatre, and afterwards taking
it to pieces, were repeated once
every fortnight during the dark
season.'

'Notwithstanding the inten-
sity of the cold and the dark-
ness, the officers generally
rambled a little on shore every
day ; and they experienced no
inconvenience, although the
thermometer was from 30° to
500 below zero, provided there
was no wind; but the least
breath of air stirring made the
cold intolerable, even when the
thermometer was above zero.
But these walks afforded no
amusement; the dreary same-
ness of the scene, the torpid
stillness and deathlike silence,
were calculated to inspire no
feelings but those of melan-
choly.

' On the 7th of February, the
full orb of the sun was visible
above the horizon : this was the
signal for making a show of
preparations to leave this gloomy
abode, though the officers were
well aware that many tedious
months must pass over before
they could be free from their
icy prison.

'On the 24th, the observa-
tory constructed on shore was
discovered to be on fire. All
hands instantly went to work to
extinguish the flames, by heap-
ing snow upon them ; the ther-
mometer, at this time, was 44°
below zero, or 76° below the
freezing point. The men's faces
at the fire presented a singular
spectacle : almost every nose
and cheek was frost-bitten, and
became quite white in five min-
utes after being exposed to the
weather; so that the medical
men, with some others appointed

ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS,

to assist them, were obliged to
go constantly round while the
men were working at the fire,
and to rub with snow the parts
affected in order to restore ani-
mation. Captain Sabine's ser-
vant, in his anxiety to save the
dippingneedle from the observa-
tory, ran out without his gloves ;
his fingers, in consequence,
were so completely frozen
that, his hands being plunged
into a basin of cold water, the
surface was immediately covered
with a cake of ice from the in-
tensity of the cold thus com-
municated to it ; but animation
could not be restored in this
instance, and it was found ne-
cessary to resort to amputation.
' As the cold relaxed, the ice
which had for some time lined
the ship's side began to melt.
The middle of April arrived
without any perceptible thaw;
but on the 30th, the tempera-
ture of the atmosphere under-
went a remarkable change, the
thermometer rising to the freez-
ing point, or, as in this climate
it might be termed more pro-
perly, the thawing point. Ani-
mation began now to spread
through the surrounding scene.
The first ptarmigan made its
appearance on the 12 th of May,
and the day after were seen the
tracks of rein-deer and musk
oxen bending their course to the
north. Thus their migration
takes place in the first fine
weather after the return of con-
stant daylight. These symp-
toms and intimations of their
approaching liberation were

viewed with delight by our
navigators ; but a shower of
rain, which fell on the 24th of
May, created in them even
feelings of surprise ; " we being
so unaccustomed," says Cap-
tain Parry, " to :^ ee water natur-
ally in a fluid state at all, and
much less to see it fall from the
heavens, that such an occur-
rence became a matter of con-
siderable curiosity, and I be-
lieve every person on board
hastened upon deck to witness
so interesting as well as novel
a phenomenon." On the istof
June, Captain Parry with some
of the officers commenced an
excursion into the interior of
Melville Island. They reached
its northern extremity without
perceiving any land farther to
the northward or the westward.
On their return from this jour-
ney, which employed fifteen
days, they found the vegetation
round Winter Harbour shooting
forth with wonderful vigour, and
the ice was covered with innu-
merable pools of water; the
purple flower of a species of
saxifrage imparted beauty and
gayness to a scene hitherto
dreary in the extreme. By the
middle of July, the thermo-
meter stood as high as from 56°
to 60°; and at length, on the
first day of August, the ships
were able to effect their escape
from Winter Harbour ; but the
immense quantity of floating ice
with which the strait was beset
rendered '^heir progress ex-
tremely difficult. They had to
face dangers which ships less

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

strong, or men less resolute,
vigilant, and skilful, could not
have escaped from. They still
stmggled to proceed towards the
west, but all their efforts were
of no avail to get beyond the
south-west extremity of Melville
Island ; and on the i6th of Au-
gust the attempt was given up
as impracticable. The farthest
point which the expedition
reached in the Polar Sea was in
latitude 74' 26' 25", and longi-
tude 113*' 46' 43".

* On leaving Sir James Lan-
caster's Sound, the ships stood
southward along the western
shore of Baffin's Bay, with the
view of surveying a coast but
little known, and imperfectly
seen in the former expedition.
It was found to be indented
with numerous deep bays or in-
lets : in one of these, about the
lat. of 70° 22', a tribe of Esqui-
maux was met with, of whom
Captain Parry says, " Upon the
whole, these people may be
considered as in possession of
every necessary of life, as well as
most of the comforts and con-
veniences which can be enjoyed
in so rude a state of society."
On the 26th of September the
ice was seen for the last time, and
about the middle of November
the ships arrived in the Thames.
The crews returned with unim-
paired health, after an absence
of nearly eighteen months from
their native country.' *

In May 182 1 Captain Parry
was sent out in the Hecla and
Fury a second time, it being

1 Maritime and Inland Discovery, vol. iii.

thought that the north-west pas-
sage might be effected in a lower
latitude than Melville Island,
where the sea was freer from
ice, and thus proceed westward.
During the two winters in which
they were out, the lands on the
north-eastern side of Hudson's
Bay were explored, and their
desolate character and their de-
tachment from the American
continent was demonstrated.
They failed, however, in the
ultimate object of their mission.
A third voyage, undertaken in
1824-5, ^^^ '^ot succeed any
better. This time they pro-
ceeded by way of Lancaster
Sound, and wintered at Port
Bowen in Prince Regent's Inlet,
which they intended to explore.
The accumulations of ice, how-
ever, rendered it impossible for
them to advance, and the Fury
was driven ashore and rendered
useless, most of the stores being
saved and piled up on the beach.
The barrels of beef, beer, bis-
cuit, sugar, and other prov''"ions,
escaped the notice of the Esqui-
maux, and thirty years after-
wards proved of service to the
searchers for Franklin.

The Hecla returned to Eng-
land with a double crew on
board, and although one of the
least successful of all Parry's
voyages, yet they gained an
acquaintance with the fact that
the consequent loss of power in
the compasses, in the Polar re-
gions, might be neutralized. This
was effected by a contrivance
due to Mr. Peter Barlow, Green-
wich, by simply placing a small

ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS.

circularplate of iron in the lineof
the direction of the ship, which
kept it in working condition.

The plan proposed by Frank-
lin and Scoresby, of reaching the
North Pole by sailing to the
ice-fields, and proceeding thence
over the frozen surface of the
ocean in sledges drawn by rein-
deer or dogs, which had failed
in the hands of Captain Buchan
in 1818, was taken up by Sir
Edward Parry in 1827, on re-
turning from his third voyage.
This was the last enterprise
undertaken by this distinguished
navigator. He sailed for Spitz-
bergen in the Hecla, calling on
the way at Hammerfest, to take
on board a number of reindeer
which were to be employed in
drawing the two boats built ex-
pressly for the service, and fitted
\vith sledge runners. With ex-
traordinary difficulty they made
the latitude of 82° 40', the
highest ever attained, and about
500 miles from the Pole. Here
the southerly drifts of the ice-
fields hindered their progress
northwards, and they were com-
pelled, though reluctantly, to
return, and repair to the ship,
having, on their reckoning, tra-
versed 292 miles, but which,
owing to the difficult march over
the ice-fields, and the southerly
drift of the ire, they found
amounted to at least: 580 geo-
graphical miles.

The next expedition with the
north-west passage in view, was
equipped by the munificence of
Sir Felix Booth, and conduct-
ed by Captain Ross, and his

nephew,Commander (afterwards
Sir James) Ross. They sailed
in May 1829 in the Victory,
and after enduring miserable
hardships during the four win-
ters which they passed in these
northern regions, they were
picked up in August 1833 by
a whaler and conveyed to Eng-
land. The northern sea-board
of the American continent to-
wards the eastern extremity was
traced for the first time during
this voyage. A peninsula, the
most northerly portion of the
land, was named Boothia Felix,
after the patron of the expedi-
tion, and was more completely
explored afterwards by Captain
Back, Messrs. Dease and Simp-
son, officers in the service of the
Hudson's Bay Company.

One interesting discovery was
made in the course of this voy-
age, — namely, that of the north
magnetic pole on the land of
Boothia. This was accom-
plished by Commander James
Ross, in one of his exploring
excursions on ist June 1831.
The amount of the dip of the
magnetic needle was here 89°
59', only one minute less than
90°, the vertical position, which
would have indicated the Polar
station exactly. A caim of
stones was raised on the spot
to mark such an important
position, but which was found
to be entirely razed to the
ground when visited by M'Clin-
tock in February 1859.

Another important attempt at
the solution of the north-west
passage was undertaken by Go>

Is I

S>l

|i||

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

|r !- ■

vemment, though contrary to
the wishes and judgment of
many at the time. Sir John
Franklin was placed in com-
mand of the ships Erebus and
Terror, with directions to push
directly westward from Melville
Island to Behring's Strait, with-
out any deviation to north or
south, unless for sutlicient rea-
son, and if he should reach the
Pacific, he might refit at the
Sandwich Islands and return
by way of Cape Horn. They
sailed in May 1845, with Cap-
tain Crozier in command of the
Terror, with an aggregate crew
of 138 individuals. They were
all picked men, ready to brave
hardship and danger. Fitz-
james, the captain of the Erebus,
had served in India and China,
and was specially commissioned
to take charge of the magnetic
observations.

The first lieutenant Gore had
been with the Terror in 1836,
under Sir George Back, to the
north of Hudson's Bay. Fair-
holme, the third lieutenant, had
been in the expedition to the
Niger, and Osmer, the purser,
had accompanied Captain
Beechy to Behring's Strait.

They left Sheerness on the
26th of May 1845, and on the
4th June, while off the Orkney
Islands, parted company with
their two attendant steamers
Rattler and Blazer, and on the
nth and nth the ships were
off the south of Iceland. They
soon after entered Davis Straits,
where the temperature very sen-
sibly decreased. In a letter

written from Disco Bay, Green-
land, to Colonel Sabine, Frank-
lin stated that the ships were
supplied with three years' pro-
visions. The letter concluded
thus : — * I hope my dear wife
and daughter will not be over-
anxious if we should not return
by the day they have fixed upon;
and I must beg of you to give
them the benefit of your ad-
vice and experience when that
arrives ; for you know well, that
even after a second winter, with-
out success in our object, we
should wish to try some other
channel, if the state of our pro-
visions and the health of our
crews justify it.' The ships
were spoken with on the 2 2d
by Captain Martin of Peter-
head, in the Enterprise, a whaler,
in latitude 75° 10', longitude
66°, weather calm. A few days
later they were seen by Cap-
tain Dannett of the Prince of
Wales whaler, moored to an
iceberg, and waiting an open-
ing in the middle ice of Baffin's
Bay, to cross through it to Lan-
caster Sound. For fourteen
years after this, the fate of the
'missing expedition' was a
source of interest and specula-
tion to the whole civilized
world. Between 1848 and 1853
more than thirty vessels had
been despatched on the search
after Franklin, at a cost to the
country of about one million
sterling. The enterprise was
also liberally supported by pri-
vate individuals, both in this
country and in America.
On the 4th of May 1850, an

ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS.

expedition, under the command
of Captain Austin, C.B., sailed
in search of Sir John Franklin.
The expedition, consisting of
four ships, was locked in the
ice between the islands of Corn-
wallis and Griffiths from 24th
September till nth August
185 1, arrived off Woolwich on
the 7 th of October, after an
absence from England of about
eighteen months. During their
confinement in the ice, a little
manuscript newspaper, contain-
ing contributions from the com-
manders, officers, and men of
the expedition, was published
on the 15 th of every month,
under the title of The Aurora
Borealis. These interesting
contributions were afterwards
published in one volume, under
the title of Arctic Miscellanies.

In 1850 the existence of the
passage between the Atlantic
and Pacific Oceans was con-
clusively established by Cap-
tain M'Clure. Having win-
tered at Prince Albert's Land,
he started with a party from the
ship on the 2Tst of October,
and on the 26th reached the
shores of Barrow's Strait.

In 1854 Dr. Rae returned with
some relics of the missing expe-
dition, and the information that
forty of them had died of star-
vation in 1 850. This quickened
public interest, but nothing con-
clusive was done till 1857. In
the summer of that year, Cap-
tain M'Clintock sailed on the
search expedition, in the Fox,
a yacht purchased and equipped
by private liberality. The Fox

sailed from Aberdeen, on the
I St of July 1857 ; but being be-
set by the pack ice in Baffin's
Bay, they were imprisoned eight
months in it, and drifted nearly
1200 geographical miles. The
second winter was spent in a
harbour at the eastern entrance
of Bellot Strait. In February
1859, in the course of a sledging
tour, he came upon traces of the
unfortunates, and his further ex-
plorations gave conclusive proof
about Franklin's fate. In the
middle of April they found out
from the account given them by
the natives, that two ships had
been seen, one of which sunk
in deep water, and the other
was forced on shore by the ice
and broken up by the natives.
The body of a man of large size
was found inside one of the
vessels.

It was said to be in the fall
of the year, August or Septerr-
ber, that the ships were de-
stroyed, the crews having pre-
viously gone away to the large
river, where their bones were
found on the following winter.

Captain M'Clintock pro-
ceeded towards the Great
Fish River, while Lieutenant
Hobson directed his course to
the west coast of King William's
Island, each with a sledge, dogs,
and men. Buttons, medals,
and silver-plate were purchased
from the Esquimaux, the latter
bearing the crests or initials of
those who had been connected
with the Franklin expedition.
An old woman said that many
of the white people * fell down

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

.. ^

m\V

iWi!

!| i

as they walked.' On the 24th
May, as M'Clintock returned
from Montreal Island, at the
mouth of Fish River, they came
upon a bleached human skele-
ton lying on its face, with
fragments of European cloth-
ing around it. On the 30th
May a boat was discovered
containing two skeletons, and a
considerable quantity of mis-
cellaneous clothing. Two
double-barrelled guns stood up-
right against the side, exactly
as they were placed eleven
years before. A quantity of
plate marked with the crests
or initials of the different offi-
cers was also found.

A large cairn on Point Vic-
tory was discovered by Lieu-
tenant Hobson, which gave the
most interesting and decisive
information. Among the loose
stones which had fallen from
the top, a small tin case was
found containing a document
of much value. Round the
cairn were scattered many mis-
cellaneous articles of clothing,
compasses, ship stores, etc.
The paper found was one of
those used for placing here and
there on their journey to mark
progress, and containing a print-
ed request for the finder to
send it to the nearest British
Consul, or to the Admiralty in
London. It was as follows : —

^MayiZ^ 1847. — H.M. ships
Erebus and Terror wintered in
the ice in lat. 70° 5' n., long.
98° 23' w.

* Having wintered in 1846-7
(a mistake for 1845-6) at Beechy

Island, in lat. 74° 43' 28" n.,
long. 91° 39' 15" w., after hav-
ing ascended Wellington Chan-
nel to lat 77°, and returned by
the west side of Cornwallis
Island. * •

'Sir John Franklin com-
manding the expedition.

* All well.

* Party consisting of 2 offi-
cers and six men left the ships
on Monday, 24 May 1847.

• G. M. Gore, Lieut.
Chas. F. Des. Voeux, Mate.'

On the margin of this paper
the following was written : —

'April 2^, 1848.— H.M. Ter-
ror and Erebus were deserted
on the 2 2d April, 5 leagues
N.N.w. of this, having been
beset since 12 September
1846. The officers and crews,
consisting of 105 souls, under
the command of Capt. F.
R. M. Crozier, landed here in
lat. 69" 37' 42" N., long. 98°
41' w. Sir John Frankhn died
on the nth June 1847 ; and
the total loss by deaths in the
expedition has been to this
date 9 officers and 15 men.

(Signed) F. R. M. Crozier,

Cap. and Sen. Officer.
„ Jas. Fitzjames,

Do. H.M. Ship Erebus.

* And start on to-morrow, 26th,
for Back's Fish River.*

The rest may be briefly told.
After having been surrounded
by the ice for over nineteen
months, the ships were aban-
doned by their hopeless crews ;
one was crushed and sank, ac-
cording to native reports, and
the other proved a source of

ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS.

plunder for the Esquimaux. The
Fox having thus accomplished
lier mission, returned to Eng-
land, and reached the Thames
on the 23d September 1859.

In support of the idea of open
water to the northward, Dr.
Kane's steward, Morton, saw at
the farthest point reached by
him at Smith's Sound, an open
Polar sea, refulgent with north-
em sunshine.

Dr. Hayes, in the schooner
United States, accomplished the
most northerly land everreached,
in lat. 8i° 35'. Parry on the ice
had advanced to 82° 45'. One
of the results of his journey was
to confirm the theory that the
Polar Sea is open during a part
of the season. In 1868 a Prus-
sian expedition made the lati-
tude of 81° 5', and long. 16° e.,
when they were stopped by ice
and forced to return. A Swedish
expedition in the same summer
reached lat. 81° 42' andlong. 1 7°
30' E. A German Polar expedi-
tion of 1869-70 yielded many in-
teresting results, the crew of the
steamer Germania enduring
heroically many hardships and
perils. Some of the results
were a survey of East Spitzber-
gen in 1870; a sledge- journey
along the east coast of Green-
land northwards, and the ex-
plorations of Franz Joseph
Fjord, in lat. 73° 8', and of East
Greenland in 1870. Next we
have the unfortunate Polaris
expedition under Captain Hall,
which sailed from New York
on the 29th June 187 1, and,
making for Smith's Sound,

reached lat. 82° x6'; next to
Parry, the most northerly point
which has been gained. Here
the ice prevented further pro-
gress ; they drifted southward,
and Captain Hall died on
the 8th November. Under
Mr. Buddington, the sailing-
master, two boat expeditions
were undertaken, reaching lat.
82° 5', when they returned and
started on their homeward voy-
age. But the Polaris, beset with
ice, was forced out of the water
on her beam-ends, and, while
engaged in landing stores, she
broke adrift, leaving ten men,
two Esquimaux, their two wives,
and five children, on the ice.
These nineteen persons floated
on the ice for nearly seven
months, till they were picked
up by the Tigress and carried
to New York. Those who had
been on board the Polaris
brought her on shore on the
1 6th October, and, building a
hut, passed the winter; when
endeavouring to escape in two
boats which they had built out
of the materials of the vessel,
they were picked up by a pass-
ing whaler, and finally landed
in Dundee on the 19th Septem-
ber 1873.

In connexion with the pos-
sible biological results of the
Arctic expedition accomplished
by the Polaris, the northern
limit actually reached was 82°
16'. Yet at this extreme lati-
tude fifteen species of plants
were collected, five of which
were grasses. Twenty-six musk
oxen were shot in lat. 81° 38'.

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

Dr. Bessels also made a fair
collection of insects, principally
flies and beetles, two or three
butterflies and mosquitos ; and
birds of seventeen different
kinds were shot in lat. 82°, in-
cluding two Sabine gulls and an
Iceland snipe.

An Austro-Hungarian expe-
dition, under Lieutenants Payer
and Weyprecht, sailed from
Tromso in 1872. They have
reported the discovery of exten-
sive territory, which is thought
to be a prolongation of the
Spitzbergen archipelago, and is
at least as large as Spitzbergen
itself. FranzJosephLandis the
name given to this discovery.
The sledge parties reached a
point from which they saw land
stretching to 83° n. This land
is similar to North -Eastern
Greenland in formation, but in-
ferior in vegetation, and its most
northerly point has been called
Cape Vienna. The Polar Ocean
is thought to be always naviga-
ble in summer, and the follow-
ing picture is given of the pic-
turesque side of these regions: —
* Before us was the dark sea,
with its icebergs resting upon it
like pearls. Heavy clouds hung
down from above, through which
the sun's rays shone straight on
the glittering water. Just above
the sun was a second, fainter
sun, and the ice-covered moun-
tains of Prince Rudolph Land
stood out with a rosy glow from
the undulating mists.*

It has been stated on good
authority, that from the earliest
Polar researches of the Cabots,

at the close of the fifteenth cen-
tury, to the vo)'age of M'Clin-
tock, there have been nearly
one hundred and thirty northern
expeditions, about which over
two hundred and fifty volumes
and printed documents have
been issued. The money ex-
pended in these expeditions
must have amounted to several
millions sterling.

England has again come to
the front, and a Government
Polar expedition under Captain
Nares of H.M. ship Challenger,
with A. H. Markham, R.N., in
second command, may be ex-
pected to sail in the summer of
1875, when the ice has been
broken at the entrance to Smith's
Sound. The region to which
the expedition is bound is well
described as ' the home of the
walrus, seal, and bear, unin-
habited by man, a stranger al-
most to flower and tree, whose
forest giant is the dwarf birch,
a tree thirteen inches in height,
the resting-place of iceberg and
floe, the seat of land which is
wrapped in a mantle of frozen
water, and of seas whose soli-
dity equals that of the rocks —
a spot on which, for four months,
the sun never shines, where the
cold freezes the mercury, and
the thermometer in March re-
gisters 70° below zero — such is
the place to which two exploring
ships, manned by gallant and
daring crews, are bound for the
honour of their country and the
enlightenment of the world.'

Regarding the perils and
pleasures attending Arctic ex-

ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS.

\
41

ploration, Mr. C. R. Markham,
in speaking of the passage
through Melville Bay, in his
Threshold of the Unknown Re-
gionSy says, — * Exploring vessels
have passed through the ice of
Melville Bay thirty-eight times,
and not one has been lost. A
good nip merely causes a little
" pleasurable excitement." The
weird beauty of the scenery, the
wonderful effects of refraction
round the horizon, the bright:-
ness of ice, and sea, and sky,
the cutting of docks, and blast-
ing and charging of floes, all
combine to render the Melville
Bay detention a most enjoyable
and exhilarating time. There
may be seen those stupendous
icebergs, which are among the
most sublime of nature's works,
with their brilliant emerald and
sapphire tints ; there the ma-
jestic movements of irresistible
floes may be watched, and that
still grander sight when a nip
causes the formation of a long
ridge of ice-hummocks, and
huge blocks are raised one upon
the other amidst a loud grinding
moan.'

In November 1874 the an-
nouncement was made that Her
Majesty's Government ' had de-
termined to lose no time in
organising a suitable expedition
to explore the region of the
North Pole.' Accordingly, the
'Alert,' a steam sloop of 751
tons burden and 100 horse-

power, and the * Discovery,'
556 tons burden and 96 horse-
power, were fitted out with the
most modern appliances, under
the command of Captain Nares,
and, with their complete equip-
ment, sailed from Portsmouth
Harbour on the 29th May
1875. After a long and bois-
terous passage, the region of ice
was reached on the 27th of
June. After innumerable diffi-
culties Captain Nares had the
satisfaction of reporting, on Sep-
tember I St, 1876, that the

* Alert' had been carried into
82° 24' N., a higher latitude
than any ship had ever before
attained. The results of the
various sledging expeditions
were such as to convince him

* that, owing to the absence of
land trending to the northward,
and the Polar pack not being
navigable, no ship could be
carried north on either side of
Smith Sound beyond the posi-
tion we had already attained ;
and also, that from any attain-
able position in Smith Sound,
it was impossible to advance
nearer the Pole by sledges.' In
October the vessels returned to
British waters, having appar-
ently demonstrated that the
Polar Ocean is not * open sea ; '
his sledges had reached a point
within 400 miles of the Pole,
and this expedition has other-
wise added largely to our know-
ledge of the Arctic regions.

»;
m

THE BOOK OF SIR JOHN MANDEVILLE.

THE PROLOGUE.'

I' i1

I !li

Forasmuch as the land be-
yond the sea, that is to say, the
Holy Land, which men call the
land of promise or of behest,
passing all other lands, is the
most worthy land, most excel-
lent, and lady and sovereign of
all other lands, and is blessed
and hallowed of the precious
body and blood of our Lord
Jesus Christ ; in the which land
it pleased him to take flesh and
blood of the Virgin Mary, to
environ that Holy Land with
his blessed feet ; and there
he would of his blessedness
shadow him in the said blessed
and glorious Virgin Mary, and
become man, and work many
miracles, and preach and teach
the faith, and the law of Chris-
tian men unto his children ;
and then it pleased him to
suffer many reprovings and
scorns for us ; and he that was
King of heaven, of air, of earth,
of sea, and of all things that be
contained in them, would only
be called King of that land
when he said, / am King of

1 The space at our disposal here, and the fabulous nature of much of the narrative, has led
to a re-arrangement and some considerable abridgments, while it is believed all the more
generally interesting, scientific, or historical parts have been retained.

4ii

the Jews; and that land he
chose before all other lands, as
the best and most worthy land,
and the most virtuous land of
all the world : for it is the heart
and middle of all the world ;
witnessing the philosopher that
saith thus : the virtue of things
is in the middle ; and in that
land he would lead his life
and suffer passion and death of
Jews for us ; for to buy and
deliver us from pains of hell,
and from death without end;
the which was ordained for us,
for the sin of our former father
Adam, and for our own sins
also : for as for himself he had
deserved no evil. For he
thought never evil, nor did evil :
and he that was King of glory
and of joy might best in that
place suffer death, because he
chose in that land, rather than
in any other, there to suffer his
passion and his death : for he
that will publish anything to
make it openly known, he will
make it to be cried and pro-
claimed in the middle place of a

MANDEVILLE.

town, so that the thing that is pro-
claimed and pronounced may
equally reach to all parts, —
rightly so, lie that was former of
all the world, would suffer for us
at Jerusalem, that is the middle
of the world, to that end and in-
tent that his passion and his
death that was published there
might be known even to all the
parts of the world. . . .

Wherefore every good Chris-
tian man, that is of power, and
hath whereof, should labour
with all his strength to conquer
our right heritage, and drive
out all the unbelieving men.
For we are called Christian men
after Christ our Father. And
if we be right children of Christ,
we ought to claim the heritage
that our Father /left us, and
take it out of heathen men's
hands. But now, pride, covet-
ousness, and envy have so in-
flamed the hearts of worldly
lords, that they are busier to
disinherit their neighbours, than
to claim or conquer their right
heritage aforesaid. And the
common people that would put
their bodies and their goods to
conquer our heritage, may do
it without the lords. For an
assembly of people without a
chieftain, or a chief lord, is as
a flock of sheep without a
shepherd, the which departeth
and disperseth, and know never
whither to go. But would God
that the temporal lords and all
worldly lords were at good
accord, and with the common
people would take this holy
voyage over the sea I Then I

believe confidently that, within
a little time, our right heritage
aforesaid should be recovered
and put in the hands of the
right heirs of Jesus Christ.

And forasmuch as it is long
time past that there was no
general passage or voyage over
the sea, and many men desiring
to hear speak of the Holy Land,
and have thereof great solace
and comfort, I, John Mande-
ville, knight, albeit I be not
worthy, who was born in Eng-
land, in the town of Saint
Albans, passed the sea in the
year of our Lord Jesus Christ
1322, on the day of St. Michael ;
and hitherto have been a long
time over the sea, and have
seen and gone through many
divers lands, and many pro-
vinces and kingdoms, and isles,
and have passed through Tar-
tary, Persia, Armenia, the little
and the great ; through Libya,
Chaldea, and a great part of
Ethiopia, through Amazonia,
India the Less, and the Greater,
a great part, ?nd throughout
many other isles that are about
India, where dwell many divers
folks, and of divers manners
and laws, and of divers shapes
of men. -

. CHAPTER I.

The way out of England to Constantinople-
Cross and Crown of our Lord Jesus
Christ — The daughter of Ypocras trans-
formed from a woman to a dragon.

In the name of God, glorious
and Almighty. He that will pass

»'
'¥-'■

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

L I

I ■III

over the sea to go to the city
of Jerusalem, may go many
ways, both by sea and land.

[If a man comes from the
' west side of the world, he may
go through Germany, Hungary,
to the land of Pannonia, and so
to Silesia. At Constantinople,
formerly called Byzanthium,
there is the fairest and noblest
church in the world, that of St.
Sophia. Before the church is
the image of the Emperor Jus-
tinian, who sits crowned upon
a horse. Formerly he held an
apple of gold in his hand; it
has now fallen off, says our tra-
veller, a token that he hath lost
a great part of his lands and lord-
ships. This apple betokened
the lordship he had over the
world, which is round, and the
other hand he lifts up towards
the east, in token to menace
the misdoers.* Many wonder-
ful relics are said to lie at
Constantinople, such as the
cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
his coat without seams, and
the sponge and the reed with
which the Jews gave our Lord
vinegar and gall on the cross ;
and one of the nails with
which Christ was nailed to the
cross. This cross is described
as made of four kinds of wood;
the upright beam was of cypress,
the cross piece palm, the stock
that stood within the earth of
cedar, and the table: on which
was written the inscription was
made of olive. The crown
which was placed on the brow
of our Lord is said to be white
thorn, * therefor- hath white

thorn many virtues, for he that
beareth a branch thereof no
thunder or tempest may hurt
him, and no evil spirit may
enter in the house in which it
is.' We are also told that the
bodies of St. Anne, our Lady's
mother, St. Chrysostom, and
St. Luke, all lie at Constan-
tinople. The palace of the
emperor is described as very
handsome and well built, with
a fair place for joustings, or for
other plays and sports, made with
stages, beneath which were the
emperor's stables, well vaulted,
all the pillars being of marble.

The Christians of the Greek
Church say that the Holy Ghost
may not come of the Son, but
only of the Father. They do
not acknowledge the authority
of the Pope, and when Pope
John XXII. sent letters to them,
asking their obedience, they re-
plied thus : * We believe well
that thy power is great upon
thy subjects. We may not
suffer thy great pride. We are
not in purpose to fulfil thy great
covetousness. The Lord be
with thee, for our Lord is with
us. Farewell.']

[Those who would go to Jeru-
salem through Turkey, go to-
wards the city of Nice and pass
through the gate of Chienetout.
And if by water, by way of the
islands of Sylo, Patmos ; thence
to Ephesus, from Ephesus to
the city of Patera on an island,
by the isles of Colos and of
Lango (Cos), Rhodes, and Cy-
prus, and from Cyprus to the
haven of Tyre.]

MANDE VILLE.

Some men say that in the
isle of Lango* is still the daugh-
ter of Ypocras, in form and
likeness of a great dragon,
which is a hundred fathoms in
length, as they say, for I have
not seen her. And they of the
isles call her lady of the land.
And she lies in an old castle,
in a cave, and appears twice or
thrice in the year ; and she doth
no harm to any man unless he
do her harm. She was thus
changed and transformed from
a fair damsel into the likeness
of a dragon by a goddess named
Diana; and they say that she
shall remain in that form until
the time that a knight come,
who shall be so bold that he
dare come to her and kiss her
on the mouth; and then she
shall turn again to her own
nature, and be a woman again,
but after that she shall not live
long. And it is. not long since
a knight of Rhodes, who was
bold and doughty in arms, said
that he would kiss her; when
he was upon his courser and
went to the castle, and entered
into the cave, the dragon lifted
up her head towards him, and
when the knight saw her in that
form, so hideous and horrible,
he fled away. But the dragon
carried the knight upon a rock,
and from thence she cast him
into the sea, and so was lost
both horse and man. A young
man that knew not of the dra-
gon, went out of a ship, and
proceeded through the isle un-
til he came to the castle and

- Cos, where Hippocrates was bom.

entered the cave, and went so
far that he found a chamber:
and there he saw a damsel who
was combing her head and
looking in a mirror, and she
had much treasure about her,
and he believed that she had
been a common woman, who
dwelled there to receive men to
folly ; and he abode till the
damsel saw the shadow of him
in the mirror, and she turned
her towards him and asked him
what he would? And he said,
he would be her paramour.
And she asked him if he were
a knight 1 And he said, nay.
And then she said, that he
might not be her leman ; but
she bid him go again unto his
fellows and get him knighted,
and come again upon the mor-
row, and she would come out
of the cave before him ; and
then he should come and kiss
her on the mouth, and have no
fear, *for I shall do thee no
harm, although thou see mc in
likeness of a dragon ; for though
thou see me hideous and hor-
rible to look upon, know that
it is made by enchantment.
For without doubt I am no
other than thou seest now, a
woman, and therefore fear not ;
and if thou kiss me, thou shalt
have all this treasure, and be
my lord, and lord also of all
the isle.' And he departed
from her and went to his fel-
lows, in the ship, and was made
a knight, and returned on the
morrow to kiss this damsel.
But when he saw her come out of
the cave, in form of a dragon, so

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

i) . .lU

hideous and so horrible, he had
so great fear that he fled again
to the ship, and she followed
him. And when she saw that
he turned not again, she began
to cry as a thing that had much
sorrow, and then she returned
to her cave ; and anon the
knight died. And from that
time to this might no knight
see her, but he died anon.
But when there shall come a
knight who is bold enough to
kiss her, he shall not die ; but
he shall turn the damsel into her
right form and natural shape,
and he shall be lord of all the
countries and isles abovesaid,

[At Cyprus we are told there
are many vines, which first pro-
duce red wine, * and after one
year they become white, and
those wines that are most white
are the clearest and best of
smell.' In Cyprus, on the hill
of the Holy Cross, an abbey of
black monks pretended to have
the cross of the good thief Dis-
mas. Before Tyre we are told
stood formerly the stone on
which our Lord sat and preached,
and over which was built the
Church of St. Saviour. About
the town of Jaffa, we have the
following astonishing story : —
' And you shall understand that
it is one of the oldest towns of
the world, for it was founded
before Noah's flood.. And there
may still be seen in the rock
there the place where the iron
chains were fastened, wherewith
Andromeda, a gre?t giant, was
bound and put in prison, before
Noah's flood; a rib of whose

side, which is forty feet long, is
still shown.*

Those who go to the port of
Tyre or Sur, might proceed by
land to Jerusalem. It was one
day's journey from Tyre to Acre,
and from Akoun or Acre, four
days' journey to Gaza, * a gay
and rich city ; and it is very fair,
and full of people, and is at a
little distance from the sea.'
From thence we go to the city
of Cesarea, and so to the castle
of Pilgrims, and so to Ascalon,
and then to Jaffa, and so to
Jerusalem.]

CHAPTER II.

Of the many names of Sultans, and of the
Tower of Babylon.

He who will go by land through
the land of Babylonia, where the
Sultan dwells commonly, he
must get leave and grace of
him to go more safely through
the lands and countries. And
after that they come out of
Syria and enter a wilderness
where the way is sandy; and
that wilderness and desert lasts
eight days. But men always
find good inns and all they need
of victuals. At Babylon there is
a fair church of our Lady, where
she dwelt seven years, when she
fled out of the land of Judea for
dread of King Herod. And
there lieth the body of St. Bar-
bara, the virgin and martyr.
And there dwelt Joseph after
he was sold by his brethren.
The Sultan dwells in his Cala-

MANDE VILLE.

helyke (for there is commonly
his residence), in a fair castle,
strong and great, and well set
upon a rock. In that castle
dwell always, to keep it and
to serve the Sultan, more than
6000 persons, who receive here
all necessaries from the Sultan's
court. I ought to know it well,
for I dwelt a great while with
him as soldier in his wars against
the Bedouins; and he would
have married me full highly to
a great prince's daughter if I
would have forsaken my law
and my belief. But I thank
God I had no will to do it for
anything that he promised me.
And you shall understand that
the Sultan is lord of five king-
doms, that he hath conquered
and taken possession of by
strength; and these are their
names : the kingdom of Cano-
pac, that is Egypt ; and the
kingdom of Jerusalem, where
David and Solomon were kings ;
and the kingdom of Syria, of
which the city of Damascus
was chief; and the kingdom of
Aleppo, in the land of Mathe ;
and the kingdom of Arabia,
that belonged to one of the
three kings who made offering
to our I^ord when he was bom.
And he holds many other lands
in his hand. And therewithal
he holds khalifs, which is a full
great thing in their language,
being as much as to say, kings.
And there were wont to be five
sultans, but now there is no
more but he of Egypt.

Now you must know that the
Sultan can lead out of Egypt

more than 20,000 men of arms ;
and out of Syria, and Turkey,
and other countries that he
holds, he may raise more than
50,000. And all these are at
his wages ; and they are always
ready, besides the people of his
country, who are without num
ber. The Sultan has four wives,
one Christian and three Sara-
cens ; of whom one dwells at
Jerusalem, another at Damas-
cus, and another at Ascalon.,
And when they please they re-
move to other cities ; and when
the Sultan will he may go and
visit them. And he has as
many paramours as he pleases.
You must understand that the
Babylon of which I have spoken,
where the Sultan dwells, is not
that great Babylon where the
diversity of languages was first
made by the miracle of God,
when the great Tower of Babel
was begun, of which the walls
were sixty-four furlongs high ,"
for that is in the great deserts^
of Arabia, on the way as men
go toward the kingdom of Chal-
dea. But it is full long since
any man dare approach to the
tower ; for it is all desert, and
full of dragons and great ser-
pents, and infested by divers
venomous beasts. And from
Babylon, where the Sultan dwells.
to go right between the east and
the north, towards the great
Babylon, it is forty days across
the desert. But the great Baby-
lon is not in the land and power
of the said Sultan, but in the
power and lordship of the king
of Persia, who holds it of the

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

[iv I-

great Chan, who is the greatest
emperor and the most sovereign
lord of all the parts beyond ;
and he is lord of the isles of
Cathay, and of many other isles,
and of a great part of India.
His land borders unto Prester
John's land ; and he possesses
so much land, that he knoweth
not the end of it.

The city of Mechou (Mecca),
where Mohammed is buried, is
also in the great desert of Arabia.
His body lies there very hon-
ourably in their temple, which
the Saracens call Mosque. The
realm of Arabia is a ytiy great
country; but therein is over
much desert, and no man may
dwell there in that desert, for
want of water, because the land
is all gravelly and full of sand.

Babylon is situated on the
river Gyson, sometimes called
the Nile, which comes out of
terrestrial paradise. The river
Nile, every year, when the sun
enters the sign of Cancer, be-
gins to increase, and continues
increasing as long as the sun is
in Cancer and in Leo. And
when the sun is in the sign of
Virgo, then begins the river to
wane and decrease gradually,
so that when the sun is entered
into the sign of Libra, then they
enter between these rivers.
This river comes from our terres-
trial paradise, between the de-
serts of India ; and after it
descends on the earth, and
runs through many extensive
countries under earth ; and after
It comes out under a high hill,
which they call Alothe, be-

tween India and Ethiopia, at
a distance of five months' jour-
ney from the entrance of Ethio-
pia, and after it environs all
Ethiopia and Mauritania, and
goes all along from the land of
Egypt, to the city of Alexandria,
to the end of Egypt, where it
falls into the sea. About this
river are many birds and fowls,
as storks, which they call ibes.

Egypt is a long country, but
it is narrow, because they may
not enlarge it towards the desert
for want of water. And the
country is situated along the
river Nile; so that that river
may serve, by floods or other-
wise, that when it flows it may
spread abroad through the
country.

The city of Cairo is very
great, more extensive than that
of Babylon the Less, and it is
situated above towards the de-
sert of Syria, a little above the
river aforesaid. In Egypt there
are two parts: Upper Egypt,
which is towards Ethiopia, and
Lower Egypt, which is towards
Arabia. In Egypt is the land
of Rameses and the land of
Goshen.

In Egypt is the city of Helio-
polis, that is to say, the City of
the Sun, in which there is a
temple, made round, after the
shape of the Temple of Jeru-
salem. The priests of that
temple have all their writings
dated by the bird called Phoe-
nix, of which there is but one
in the world. It comes to bum
itself on the altar of the temple
at the end of five hundred years,

ah" I
next

MANDEVILLE,

for so long it lives; and then
the priests array their altar, and
put thereon spices, and sulphur,
and other things that will burn
quickly, and the Phoenix comes
an'' bums itself to ashes. The
next day they find in the ashes
a worm; and the second day
after they find a bird, alive and
perfect ; and the third day it
flies away.*

At Cairo they sell commonly
in the market, as we do beasts,
both men and women of a dif-
ferent religion. And there is a
common house in that city,
which is all full of small fur-
naces, to which the townswomen
bring their eggs of hens, geese,
and ducks to be put into the
furnaces ; and they that keep
that house cover them with
horse-dung^ without hen, goose,
or duck, or any other fowl, and
at the end of three weeks . or a
month they come again and
take their chickens, and nourish
them and bring them forth,, so
that all th€ country is full .of
them. And this they do there
both winter and summer.

They find there also the apple-
tree of Adam, the fruit of which
has a bite on one side. And
there are also fig-trees which
bear no leaves, but figs grow
upon the small . branches ; and
men call them figs of Pharaoh.
Also near Cairo is the field
where balm grows ; itv comes
out on small trees that are no
higher than the girdle of a
man's breeches, and resemble
the wood of the wild vine. And

1 Yx'ivci'iViXif^ Natural History.

in that field are seven weU»,
which our Lord Jesus Christ
made with one of his feet when
he went to play . with other;
children.

Now I will speak- of another
thing that is beyond Babylon,
above the Nile, towards the de-
sert, between Africa and Egypt ;.
that is, . of the granaries of
Joseph ^ that he caused/ to be
made, to keep the grains against
the dear years. They are made
of stone, well made- by masons'
craft ; two of them are marvel-
lously great and high, the others
are not so great. And each
granary has a gate to enter
within, a little above the earth ;
for the land is wasted and fallen
since the granaries were made.
Within they are all full of ser-
pents, and above the granaries
without are many writings- in
divers languages. And some
men say that they are sepulchres
of great lords, that were for-
merly; but that is not true, for all
the common rumour and speech
of the people there, both far
and near, is, that they are the
granaries of Joseph ; and so
find they in their writings and
chronicles.

Whoever will go to Babylon
by another way, and shorter
from the countries of the west^
he may go by France, Bur-
gundy, £Uid Lombardy. It is not;
necessary to tell you the names
of the cities and towns in that
way, fon the way is common and
known to every body* ... Also
in thatisle (Sicily) is Mount Etna>,

' The Pyramids.

W:\

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

Ml:

J' 'U

which men call Mount Gybell,
and volcanoes, that are ever
burning. And there are seven
places which bum and cast out
flames of divers colours ; and
by the changing of those flames,
men of that country know when
it will be dearth or good time,
or cold or hot, or moist or dry,
or in all other manners how the
time will vary. From Italy to
the volcanoes is but twenty-five
miles; and they say that the
volcanoes are ways to hell.

Also, for those who go by
Pisa, there is an arm of the sea
where men go to other havens
in those parts, and then they
pass by the Isle of Greaf, that
is at Genoa ; and so they arrive
in Greece at the port of the city
of M)rrok, or at the port of Va-
lone, or at the city of Duras
(where there is a duke), or at
other ports in those parts ; and
so men go to Constantinople.
And afterwards they go by water
to the Isle of Crete, and to the
Isle of Rhodes, and so to
Cyprus, and so to Athens, and
from thence to Constantinople.
To hold the more direct way
by sea, it is full one thousand
eight hundred and eighty Lom-
bard miles. And after, from
Cyprus they go by sea, and
leave Jerusalem and that coun-
try on the left, and proceed to
Egypt, and arrive at the city of
Damiette, at the entrance of
Egypt, whence they go to Alex-
andria, which is also upon the
sea. From Alexandria we go
to Babylon, where the Sultan
dwells, which is situated also

on the river Nile; and this is
the shortest way to go direct to
Babylon. From Babylon to
Mount Sinai, where St. Cathe-
rine lieth, you must pass by
the desert of Arabia, by which
Moses led the people of Israel ;
and then you pass the well
which Moses made with his
hand in the desert, when the
people murmured because they
found nothing to drink. And
then you pass the well of Marah,
of which the water was first
bitter, but the children of Israel
put therein a tree, and anon the
water was sweet and good to
drink. And then you go by the
desert to the vale of Elim, in
which vale are twelve wells;
and there are seventy-two palm-
trees that bear the dates which
Moses found with the children
of Israel. And from that valley
is but a good day's journey to
Mount Sinai.

'And those who will go by
another way from Babylon go
by the Red Sea, which is an
arm of the ocean. There Moses
passed with the children of
Israel across the sea all dry,
when Pharaoh, king of Egypt,
pursued him. That sea is
about six miles broad. That
sea is not redder than other
seas ; but in some places the
gravel is red, and therefore they
call it the Red Sea. That sea
runs to the bordeis of Arabia
and Palestine, its extent being
more than four days. Then
we go by desert to the vale of
Elim, and thence to Mount
Sinai. And you must know

MANDE VILLE.

that by this desert no man may
go on horseback, because there
is neither meat for horses nor
water to drink ; wherefore they
pass that desert with camels.
For the camel finds always food
in trees and on bushes, and he
can abstain from drink two or
three days, which no horse can
do.

Mount Sinai is called the
Desert of Sin, that is to say, the
burning bush ; because there
Moses saw our Lord God many
times in form of fire burning
upon that hill, and also in a
burning bush, and spake to him.
And that was at the foot of the
hill. There is an abbey of monks
well built, and well closed
with gates of iron for fear of
wild beasts. The monks are
Arabians or Greeks ; and there
is a great convent, and they are
all as hermits, and drink no wine
except on principal feasts ; they
are very devout men, and live
in poverty and simplicity on
gourds and dates, and perform
great abstinence and penance.
Here is the church of St. Cathe-
rine, in which are many lamps
buming, for they have enough
oil of olives both to bum in
their lamps and to eat also,
which plenty they have by God's
miracle : for the ravens, crows,
and choughs, and other fowls of
that country, assemble there
once every year, and fly thither
as in pilgrimage ; and each
brings a branch of bays or olive
in its beak instead of offering,
and leaves it there ; of which
the monks make great plenty

of oil ; and this is a great mar-
vel.

Beside the high altar raised
on three steps, is the chest of
alabaster containing the bones
of St. Catherine, and the pre-
late of the monks shows the
relics to the pilgrims, and rubs
the bones with an instrument
of silver, whereupon there issues
a little oil, as though it were a
kind of sweating, which is
neither like oil nor balm, but is
very sweet of smell; and of
that they give a little to the
pilgrims, for there issues but a
small quantity of the liquor.
They next show the head of St.
Catherine, and the cloth that
she was wrapped in, which is
still all bloody. And in that
same cloth, so wrapped, the
angels bore her body to Mount
Sinai, and there they buried
her with it. They also show
the bush which burnt and was
not consumed, in which our
Lord spake to Moses ; and
they have many other relics.

From that abbey you go up
the mountain of Moses by
many steps ; and there is, first,
a church of our Lady, where she
met the monks ; and higher up
the mountain is the chapel of
Elijah the prophet, which place
they call Horeb, whereof Holy
Writ speaks, * And he went in
the strength of that meat forty
days and forty nights, unto
Horeb, the mount of God.*
And close by is the vine that
St. John the Evangelist planted ;
and a little above is the chapel
of Moses, and the rock where

it'

-i:

(

.„ijl

' Ir"'

1:1!

Z»'-£ ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

Moses fled for dread when he
saw our Lord face to face. And
in that rock is imprinted the
form of his body ; for he threw
himself so strongly and so hard
on that rock that all his body
was buried into it, through the
miracle of God. And near it is
the place where our Lord gave
to Moses the ten command-
ments of the law. And under
the rock is the cave where
Moses dwelt when he fasted
forty days and forty nif^hts.

CHAPTER HI.

Of the desert between the Church of St
Catherine and Jerusalem — How k,>ses
first came into the world — Of the
temple of our Lord— Mount Sion.

After people have visited
these holy places, they pro-
ceed towards Jerusalem, having
taken leave of the monks and
recommended themselves to
their prayers. And then the
monks give the pilgrims victuals
to pass the desert towards
Syria, which desert extends
full thirteen days' journey.
In that desert dwell many of
the Arabians, who- are called
Bedouins and Ascopardes, who
are people full of all evil con-
ditions, havirg no houses, but
tents which they make of the
skins of camels and other beasts
that they eat They carry but
one shield and one spear> with-
out other arms; they wrap
their heads and necks with a
great quantity of white linen

cloth ; and they are right felo-
nious and foul, and of a cursed
nature.

When you pass this desertj
on the way to Jerusalem, you
come to Beersheba, which was
formerly a very fair and plea-
sant town of the Christians,
some of whose churches still
remain. From thence we go
to the city of Hebron, a dis-
tance of two good miles ; it
was formerly called the Vale of
Mamre, and sometimes the Vale
of Tears, because Adam wept
there a hundred years for the
death of Abel, his son, whom
Cain slew. Hebron was the
principal city of the Philistines,
and was inhabited sometime by
giants. And it was a sacer-
dotal city, that is, a sanctuary,
of the tribe of JudsA ; and was
so free, that all manner of fugi-
tives from other places, for their
evil deeds, were received there.
In Hebron, Joshua, Calephe,
and their company, came first
to espy how they might win the
Land of Promise. Here king
David first reigned, seven years
and a half; and in Jerusalem
he reigned thirty-three years
and a half. In Hebron are all
the sepulchres of the patriarchs,
Adam, Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob; and their wives, Eve,
Sarah^ Rebekah, and Leah ;
which sepulchres the Saracens
keep very carefully, for they
hold the place in great reverence,
on account of the holy fathers,
the patriarchs, that He there.

Two miles from Hebron is
the gr^.ve of Lot, Abraham's

MANDEVILLE.

brother. And a little from
Hebron is the mount of
Mamre, from which the valley
takes its name. From Hebron
we proceed to Bethlehem, in
half a day, for it is but five
miles ; and it is a very fair way,
by pkasant plains and woods.
Bethlehem is a little city, long
and narrow, and well walled,
and on each side enclosed with
good ditches. It was formerly
called Ephrata, as Holy Writ
says, * Lo, we heard it at
Ephrata.' 1 And towards the
east end of the city is a very
fair and handsome church, with
many towers, pinnacles, and
corners strongly and curiously
made ; and within are forty-
four great and fair pillars of
marble. And between the city
and the church is the Field
Floridusy that is to say, the
field flourished ; for a fair
maiden was blamed with wrong,
and slandered, that she had
committed fornication, for which
cause she was condemned to
be burnt in that place ; and as
the fire began to burn about
her, she made her prayers to
our Lord, that as truly as she
was not guilty, he would by his
merciful grace help her, and
make it known to all men.
And when she had thus said,
she entered into the fire, and
immediately the fire was ex-
tinguished, and the fagots that
were burning became red rose-
bushes, and those that were
not kindled became white rose-
bushes, full of roses. And

' Psalm cxxxii. 6.

these were the first rose-trees
and roses, both white and red,
that ever any man saw. And
thus was this maiden saved by
the grace of God. And there-
fore is that field called the field
that God flourished, for it was
full of roses. Also near the
choir of the church, at the right
side, as men go down sixteen
steps, is the place where our
Lord was born ; which is full
well made of marble, and full
richly painted with gold, silver,
azure, and other colours. And
three paces from it is the crib
of the ox and the ass. And
beside that is the place where
the star fell, which led the three
kings, Jaspar, Melchior, and
Balthazar : but the Greeks call
them Galgalathe, Malgalathe,
and Saraphie j and the Jews
call them in Hebrew Appellius,
Amerius, and Damasus. These
three kings offered to our Lord
gold, incense, and myrrh ; and
they met together by a miracle
of God, for they met together
in a city in India called Cassak,
which is fifty-three days from
Bethlehem, and yet they arrived
at Bethlehem on the thirteenth
day, which was the fourth day
after they had seen the star,
when they met in that city ;
and thus they were nine days
from that city to Bethlehem :
and that was a great miracle.*

From Bethlehem to Jenisa-
lem it is but two miles. And
in the way to Jerusalem, half

1 The mediaeval legendary history of the
three kings will be found printed at die
end of the first volume of the Chtster
Mysteries.— 'Ihouks Wright.

' t

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

■ I, iii

a mile from Bethlehem, is a
church, where the angel an-
nounced to the shepherds the
birth of Christ. And in that
way is the tomb of Rachel, the
mother of Joseph the patriarch,
who died immediately after she
was delivered of her son Ben-
jamin J and there she was buried
by Jacob, her husband, and he
caused twelve great stones to
be placed over her, in token
that she had borne twelve chil-
dren. In the same way, half a
mile from Jerusalem, the star
appeared to the three kings.
In that way also are .many
churches of Christians, by which
men go towards the city of
Jerusalem.

Jerusalem, the holy city,
stands full fair between hills ;
and there are no rivers or wells,
but water comes by conduit
from Hebron. And you must
know that Jerusalem of old,
until the time of Melchisedek,
was called Jebus ; and after-
wards it was called Salem, until
the time of king David, who
put these two names together,
and called it Jebusalem; and
after that king Solomon called
it Jerosoluma ; and after that
it was called Jerusalem, and so
it is called still. Around Jeru-
salem is the kingdom of Syria,
and there beside is the land
of Palestine; and beside it is
Ascalon; and beside that is
the land of Maritaine. But
Jerusalem is in the land of
Judea ; and it is called Judea,
because Judas Maccabeus was
king of that country.

When men come to Jerusa-
lem, their first pilgrimage is to
the church of the holy sepulchre,
where our Lord was buried,
which is without the city on
the north side ; but it is now
enclosed by the town wall.
And there is a very fair church,
round, and open above, and
covered in its circuit with lead;
and on the west side is a fair
and high tower for bells,
strongly made ; and in the
middle of the church is a taber-
nacle, as it were a little house,
made with a little low door;
and that tabernacle is made in
manner of half a compass, right
curiously and richly made of
gold and azure and other rich
colours. And in the right side
of that tabernacle is the se-
pulchre of our Lord ; and the
tabernacle is eight feet long,
and five wide, and eleven in
height ; and it is not long
since the sepulchre was all
open, that men might kiss it
and touch it. But because
pilgrims that came thither la-
boured to break the stone in
pieces or in powder, therefore
the Sultan has caused a wall
to be made round the sepulchre,
that no man may touch it. In
the left side of the wall of the
tabernacle, about the height of
a man, is a great stone, the
magnitude of a man's head,
that was of the holy sepulchre;
and that stone the pilgrims that
come thither kiss. In that
tabernacle are no windows ; but
it is all made light with lamps
which hang before the sepulchre.

MANDE VJLLE,

And there is one lamp which
hangs before the sepulchre
which burns bright; and on
Good ]?riday it goes out of
itself, and lights again by itself
at the hour that our Lord rose
from the dead. And you shall
understand that when our Lord
was placed on the cross he was
thirty-three years and three
months old.

In the church of St. Sepulchre
there were formerly canons of
the order of St. Augustin, who
had a prior, but the patriarch
was their head. And towards
the east side, without the walls
of the city, is the vale of Je-
hoshaphat, which adjoins to the
walls as though it were a large
ditch. And over against that
vale of Jehoshaphat, out of the
city, is the church of St. Stephen,
where he was stoned to death.
And thore beside is the golden
gate, which may not be opened,
by which gate our Lord entered
on Pain. Sunday, upon an ass ;
and the gate opened to him
when he would go unto the
temple ; and the marks of the
ass's feet are still seen in three
places on the steps, which are
of very hard stone. Before the
church of St. Sepulchre, two
hundred paces to the south, is
the great hospital of St. John,
of which the Hospitallers had
their foundation. And within
the palace of the sick men of
that hospital are one hundred
and twenty-four pillars of stone ;
and in the walls of the house,
besides the number aforesaid,
there are fifty-four pillars that

support the house. From that
hospital, going towards the east,
is a very fair church, which is
called Our Lady the Great ; and
after it there is another church,
very near, called Our Lady the
Latin ; and there stood Mary
Cleophas and Mary Magdalene,
and tore their hair, when our
Lord was executed on the cross.

One hundred and sixty paces
from the church of the Sepul-
chre, towards the east, is the
temple of our Lord. It is a
very fair house, circular and
lofty, and covered with lead,
and well paved with white mar-
ble.

You must know that this is
not the temple that Solomon
made, which lasted only one
thousand one hundred and two
years. For Titus, the son of
Vespasian, emperor of Rome,
had laid siege about Jerusalem
to overcome the Jews, because
they put our Lord to death
without the emperor's leave.
And when he had won the city,
he burnt the temple and beat
it down and all the city, and
took the Jews, and put to death
one million one hundred thou-
sand of them ; and the others
he put in prison, and sold them
to slavery thirty for a penny,
because they said they bought
Jesus for thirty pennies; and
he sold them cheaper, giving
thirty for one penny. After
that, Julian the Apostate, when
emperor, gave the Jews permis-
sion to make the temple of
Jerusalem, for he hated the
Christians although he had been

5«

77/i^ ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

■« J

J. i

christened ; but he forsook his
law, and became a renegade.
And when the Jews hjid made
the temple, an earthquake came
and cast it down (as Gotl would),
and destroyed all that they had
made. And after that, Hadrian,
who was emperor of Rome, and
of the lineage of Troy, rebuilt
Jerusalem and the temple, in
the same manner as Solomon
made it. And he would not
suffer Jews to dwell there, but
only Christians. For although
he was not christened, yet he
loved Christians more than any
other nation, except his own.
And on the other side of the
temple there is a rock which
men call Moriah, but after it
was called Bethel, where the
ark of God with relics of Jews,
was wont to be put. And
Jacob was sleeping upon that
rock when he saw the angels
go up and down by a ladder,
and he said, * Surely the Lord
is in' this place; and I knew it
not.* * And there an angel held
Jacob still, and changed his
name, and called him Israel.
And in that same place David
saw the angel that smote the
people with a sword, and put
it up bloody in the sheath.
And St. Simeon was on that
same rock when he received
our Lord into the temple. And
in this rock he placed himself
when the Jews would have
stoned him ; and a star came
down and gave him light. On
that rock our Lord preached
frequently to the people; and

^ Gen. xxviii. x6.

out of that same temple our
Lord drove the buyers and
sellers. Upon that rock also
our Lord set him when the Jews
would have stoned him ; and
the rock clave in two, and in
that cleft was our Lord hid;
and there came down a star and
gave him light ; and upon that
rock our Lady sat and learned
her psalter ; and there our Lord
forgave the woman her sins that
was found in adultery; and
there our Lord was circumcised ;
and there the angel gave tidings
to Zacharias of the birth of St.
John the Baptist his son ; and
there first Melchisedek offered
bread and wine to our Lord, in
token of the sacrament that was
to come ; and there David fell
down praying to our Lord, and
to the angel that smote the
people, that he would have
mercy on him and on the people ;
and our Lord heard his prayer,
and therefore would he make
the temple in that place ; but
our Lord forbade him, by an
angel, because he had done
treason, when he caused Uriah,
the worthy knight, to be slain,
to have Bathsheba his wife;
and therefore all the materials
he had collected for the build-
ing of the temple he gave to
Solomon his son, and he built
it. And in that church is a well,
in manner of a cistern, which is
called ProbcUica Piscinay which
hath five entrances. Angels
used to come from heaven into
that well and bathe them in it,
and the man who first bathed
after the moving of the watei

MANDE VIU.E.

was maile whole of whatever
sickness he had ; ami there our
Lord healed a man of the palsy,
with which he had lain thirty-
eight years ; and our Lord said
to him, • 'I'ake up thy Ijed and
go.'* And near it was Pilate's
house. And fast by is king
Herod's house, who caused the
Innocents to be slain.

Mount Sion is within the city,
and is a little higher than the
other side of the city ; and the
city is strongest on that side.
For at the foot of Mount Sion
is a fair and strong castle made
by the Sultan. In Mount Sion
were buried king David and
king Solomon, and many other
Jewish kings of Jerusalem. Atid
there is the place where the
Jews would have cast up the
body of our Lady, when the
apostles carried the body to be
buried in the Valley of Jehosha-
phat. And there is the place
where St. Peter wept bitterly
after he had forsaken our Lord.
And a stone's cast from that
chapel is another chapel, where
our Lord was judged ; for at
that time the house of Caiaphas
stood there. One hundred and
forty paces from that chapel, to
the east, is a deep cave under
the rock, which is called the
Galilee of our Lord, where St.
Peter hid himself when he had
forsaken our Lord. Between
Mount Sion and the Temple of
Solomon is the place where our
Lord raised the maiden in her
father's house. Under Mount
Sion, towards the Valley of

1 Matt. ix. 6.

Jehosh.'iphat, is a well called
Natatorium Siloaj (t1ie pool of
Siloah), where our Lord was
washed after his baptism; and
there our Lord made the blind
man to see. There was buried
Isaiah the prophet. Alsoslraight
from Natatorium Si lore is an
image of stone, and of ancient
work, which Absalom caused to
be made, on account of which
they call it the hand of Absalom.
And fast by is still the elder-tree
on which Judas hanged himself
for despair, when he sold and
betrayed our Lord.

To the west of Jerusalem is
a fair church, where the tree of
the cross grew. And two miles
from thence is a handsome
church, where our Lady met
with Elizabeth when they were
both with child ; and St. John
stirred in his mother's womb,
and made reverence to his
Creator, whom he saw not.
Under the altar of that church
is the place where St. Jol^n was
born. A mile from that church
is the Castle of Emmaus, where
our liord showed himself to two
of His disciples after His resur-
rection. Also on the other side,
two hundred paces from Jeru-
salem, is a church where was
formerly the cave of the lion ;
and under that church, at thirty
steps deep, were interred twelve
thousand martyrs, in the time
of King Cosrhoes, that the lion
met in a night, by the will of
God. Two miles from Jerusa-
lem is Mount Joy, a very fair
and delicious place. There
Samuel the prophet lies in a

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

fair tomb ; and it is called
Mount Joy, because it gives
joy to pilgrims' hearts, for from
that place men first see Jeru-
salem. Between Jerusalem and
Mount Olivet is the Valley of
Jehoshaphat, under the walls of
the city, as I have said before ;
and in the middle of the valley
is a little river, which is called
the brook Cedron ; and across
it lies a tree (of which the cross
was made) on which men passed
over ; and fast by it is a little
pit in the earth, where the
foot of the pillar still remains
at which our Lord was first
scourged ; for he was scourged
and shamefully treated in many
places. Also in the middle of
the Valley of Jehoshaphat is
the Church of our Ladj', which
is forty-three steps below the
sepulchre of our Lady, who was
seventy- two years of age when
she died. Beside the sepulchre
of our Lady is an altar, where
our Lord forgave St. Peter all
his sins. From thence, toward
the west, under an altar, is a
well which comes out of the
river of Paradise. You must
know that that church is very
low in the earth, and a part is
quite within the earth. But I
imagine that it was not founded
so; but since Jerusalem has
often been destroyed, and the
walls beaten down and tumbled
into the valley, and that they
have been so filled again and
the ground raised, for that rea-
son the church is so low within
the earth. Nevertheless, men
say there commonly, that the

earth hath so been cloven since
the time that our Lady was
buried there ; and men also say
there, that it grows and increases
every day, without doubt. In
that church were formerly black
monks, who had their abbot.
Beside that church is a chapel,
beside the rock called Gethse-
mane, where our Lord was kissed
by Judas, and where he was
taken by the Jews; and there
our Lord left his disciples when
he went to pray before his pas-
sion, when he prayed and said,
* O my Father, if it be possi-
ble, let this cup pass from me.' ^
And when he came again to his
disciples he found them sleep-
ing. And in the rock withm
the chapel we still see the mark
of the fingers of our Lord's
hand, when he put them on
the rock when the Jews would
have taken him. And a stone's
cast from thence, to the south,
is another chapel, where our
Lord sweat drops of blood.
And close to it is the tomb of
king Jehoshaphat, from whom
the valley takes its name. This
Jehoshaphat was king of that
country, and was converted by
a hermit, who was a worthy
man, and did much good. A
bow -shot from thence, to the
south, is the church where St.
James and Zechariah the pro-
phet were buried. Above the
vale is Mount Olivet, so called
for the abundance of olives
that grow there. That mount
is higher than the city of Jeru-
salem ; and therefore from that

1 Matt xxvi. 39.

MANDEVILLE,

mount we may see many of the
streets of the city. Between
that mount and the city is only
the valley of J ehoshaphat, which
is not wide. From that mount
our Lord Jesus Christ ascended
to heaven on Ascension Day,
and yet there appears the im-
print of his left foot in the stone.
And there is a church where
was formerly an abbot and
canons regular. About twenty-
eight paces thence is a chapel,
in which is the stone on the
which our Lord sat when he
preached the eight blessings.
And there he taught his dis-
ciples the Paternoster, and
wrote with his finger on a stone.
And near it is a church of St.
Mary, the Egyptian, where she
lies in a tomb. Three bow-shots
thence, to the east, is Beth-
phage, whither our Lord sent
St. Peter and St. James, on Palm
Sunday, to seek the ass on which
he rode into Jerusalem. In de-
scending from Mount Olivet,
to the east, is a castle called
Bethany, where dwelt Simon the
leper ; and there he entertained
our Lord; and afterwards he
was baptized by the apostles,
and was called Julian, and was
made bishop; and this is the
same Julian to whom men pray
for good entertainment, because
our Lord was entertained by
him in his house. In that house
our Lord forgave Mary Magda-
lene her sins, and there she
washed his feet with her tears,
and wiped them with her hair.
And there St. Martha waited
upon our Lord. There our

Lord raised Lazarus, who was
dead four days, and stank.
There also dwelt Mary Cleo-
phas. That castle is a mile
from Jerusalem. Also in coming
down from Mount Olivet is the
place where our Lord wept upon
Jerusalem. And there beside is
the place where our Lady ap-
peared to St. Thomas the apostle
after her assumption, and gave
him her girdle. And very near
it is the stone on which our
Lord often sat when he preach-
ed; and upon that same shall
he sit at the day of doom, right
as he said himself.

After Mount Olivet is the
Mount of Galilee, where the
apostles assembled when Mary
Magdalene came and told them
of Christ's ascension. And
there, between Mount Olivet
and the Mount of Galilee is a
church, where the angel fore-
told our Lady of her death.
We next go from Bethany to
Jericho, which was once a little
city, but it is now destroyed,
and is but a little village.

CHAPTER IV.

Of the Dead Sea, and of the River Jordan
—Of the province of Galilee^Of the
age of our Lady — Of the city of Damas-
cus — The way to Jerusalem by land.

From Jericho it is three miles
to the Dead Sea. About that
sea groweth much alum and
alkatran.* The water of that
sea is very bitter and salt, and
if the earth were moistened

1 Supp"? .u ic mean bitumen.

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

with that water it would never
bear fruit. And the earth and
land changeth often its colour.
The water casteth out a thing
that is called asphalt, in pieces
as large as a horse, every day,
and on all sides. And there
beside grow trees that bear
apples very fair of colour to be-
hold ; but when we break or
cut them in two we find within
ashes and cinders, which is a
token that by the wrath of God
the cities and the land were
burnt and sunk into hell.
Some call that sea the Lake
Dasfetidee ; some, the River of
Devils ; and some the river
that is ever stinking. Into that
sea, by the wrath of God, sunk
the five cities, Sodom, Gomor-
rah, Aldama, Seboym, and
Segor, for the abominable sin
that reigned in them.

And you shall understand
that the river Jordan runs into
the Dead Sea, and there it dies,
for it runs no farther ; and its
entrance is a mile from the
church of St. John the Baptist,
toward the west, a little beneath
the place where Christians bathe
commonly. A mile from the
river Jordan is the river of
Jabbok, which Jacob passed
over when he came from Meso-
potamia. This river Jordan is
no great river, but it has plenty
of good fish ; and it cometh
out of the hill of Libanus by
two wells that are called Jor
and Dan; and of those two
wells it hath its name.

In going eastward from the
Dead Sea, out of the borders of

the Holy Land, is a strong and
fair castle, on a hill which is
called Carak, in Sarmoyz ; that
is to say, Royal. That castle
was made by king Baldwin,
when he had conquered that
land, who put it into the hands
of Christians, to keep that part
of the country ; and for that
cause it was called the Mount
Royal;* and under it there is
a town called Sobache; and
there all about dwell Christians
under tribute. From thence
men go to Nazareth, of which
our Lord beareth the surname.
And thence it is three days to
Jei-usalem : and 'men go by the
province of Galilee, by Ramoth,
by Sodom, and by the high hill
of Ephraim, where Elkanah and
Hannah, the mother of Samuel
the prophet, dwelt. There this
prophet was born; and, after
his death, he was buried at
Mount Joy, as I have said be-
fore. And then men go to
Shiloh, where the ark of God
with the relics were long kept
under Eli the prophet. There
the people of Hebron sacrificed
to our Lord ; and there they
yielded up their vows; and
there God first spake to Samuel,
and showed him the change of
the order of priesthood, and the
mystery of the sacrament. And
•right nigh, on the left side, is
Gibeon, and Ramah, and Ben-
jamin, of which Holy Writ
speaketh. And after men go
to Shechem, formerly called
Sichar, which is in the province

1 Mount Royal is supposed to have stood
in the neighbourhood of the ancient Petra.

MANDE VJLLE.

of the Samaritans ; and there is
a very fair and fruitful vale, and
there is a fair and good city
called Neapolis, whence it is a
day's journey to Jerusalem.
And there is the well where our
Lord spake to the woman of
Samaria; and there was wont
to be a church, but it is beaten
down. And there beside is the
hill of Gerizim, where the
Samaritans make their sacrifice :
on that hill would Abraham
have sacrificed his son Isaac.
And there beside is the valley
of Dothan ; and there is the
cistern wherein Joseph was cast
by his brethren, when they sold
him, and that is two miles from
Sichar. From thence we go to
Samaria, which is now called
Sebaste ; it is the chief city of
that country, and is situated be-
tween the hill of Aygnes in a
similar manner to Jerusalem.
In that city was the sittings of
the twelve tribes of Israel ; but
the city is not now so great as
it was formerly.

From this city of Sebaste
unto Jerusalem it is twelve
miles. The Samaritans believe
well in one God ; and they say
that there is only one God, who
created all things, and judges
all things; and they hold the
Bible according to the letter,
and use the Psalter as the Jews
do ; and they say that they are
the right sons of God.

From this country of the
Samaritans- men go to the plains
of Galilee, and leave the hills
on the. one side. Galilee is
one of the provinces of the

Holy Land; and in that pro-
vince are the cities of Nain, and
Capernaum, and Chorazin and
Bethsaida. In this Bethsaida
St. Peter and St. Andrew were
born. And four miles thence
is Chorazin; and five miles
from Chorazin is the city of
Kedar, whereof the Psalter
speaketh : * I dwell in the tents
of Kedar.' ^ In Chorazin shall
Antichrist be born, as some
meni say ; and others say he
shall be bom in Babylon ; for
the prophet saith, * Out of
Babylon shall come a serpent
that shall devour all the world.'
This Antichrist shall be nour-
ished in Bethsaida, and he
shall reign in Capernaum ; and
therefore saith Holy Writ, *Woe
unto thee, Chorazin 1 woe unto
thee, Bethsaida! and thou,
Capernaum.'* And all these
towns are in. the land of Gali-
lee ; and also Cana of Galilee
is four miles from Nazareth, of
which city was Simon the
Canaanite and his wife Cance,
of whom the holy Evangelist
speaks : there our Lord per-
formed the first miracle at the
wedding, when he turned water
into wine. And at the ex-
tfemity of Galilee, on the hills,
was the ark of God taken ; and
on the other side is Mount
Hendor, or Hermon. And
thereabout goeth the brook of
Kishon ; and near there Baruch,
who was son of Abimelech,
with Deborah the prophetess,
overcame the host of Idumea,
when Sisera the king: was. slain

'i„

i'i'

1 Pt. CXX. Sr

*Luke X. 13, 15.

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

I?'!

'(I

by Jael, the wife of Heber, and
Gideon drove beyond the river
Jordan, by strength of the
sword, Zeba and Zalmunna,
and there he slew them. Also
five miles from Nain is the city
of Jezreel, which was formerly
called Zarim, of which city
Jezebel the wicked queen was
lady and queen, who took away
the vineyard of Naboth by force.
Fast by that city is the field
Mageddo, in which king Joras
was slain by the king of Samaria,
and after was carried and
buried in Mount Sion. A mile
from Jezreel are the hills of
Gilboa, where Saul and Jona-
than, that were so fair, died;
wherefore David cursed them,
as Holy Writ saith : * Ye moun-
tains of Gilboa, let there be no
dew, neither let there be rain,
upon you.' i A mile from the
hills of Gilboa, to the east, is
the city of Cyropolis, which was
before called Bethsain ; and
upon the walls of that city was
the head of Saul hanged.

After men go by the hills,
beside the plain of Galilee,
unto Nazareth, which was for-
merly a great and fair city, but
now there is but a small village,
and houses scattered here and
there. It is not walled, but it
is situated in a little valley,
with hills all about. Here our
Lady was born; but she was
begotten at Jerusalem ; and
because our Lady was born at
Nazareth, therefore our Lord
bare his surname of that town.
There Joseph took our Lady

1 a Sam. i. ai.

to wife when she was fourteen
years of age ; and there Gabriel
greet our Lady,, saying, * Hail,
thou that art highly favoured,
the Lord is with thee.' ' And
half a mile from Nazareth is
the leap of our Lord ; for the
Jews led him upon a high rock,
to make him leap down, and
have slain him; but Jesus passed
amongst them, and leaped
upon another rock ; and the
steps of his feet are still to
be seen in the rock where he
alighted. And therefore men say,
when in travelling they are in
fear of thieves or enemies, ''Jesus
atitem transiensper medium illor-
um^ ibat; ' that is to say, * But
Jesus passing through the midst
of them, went : * in token and re-
membrance that as our Lord
passed through the Jews' cruelty,
and escaped safely from them,
so surely may men escape the
peril of thieves ; and then men
say two verses of the Psalter
three times: ^ Irruat super eos
formido et pavor^ in magtiitu-
dine brachii tui^ Domine^ fiant
inmobiles quasi lapis,, donee per-
transeat populus tuus^ Domine;
donee pertranseat populus tuus
iste^ quern possedisti* [*May
fear and dread fall upon them ;
by the greatness of thine arm,
O Lord, let them be as still
as a stone ; till thy people
pass over, O Lord, till the
people pass over, which thou
hast purchased,'] And then
men may pass without peril.
And you shall understand, that
our Lady had child when she was

1 Luke i. a8.

MANDE VILLE.

fifteen years old ; and she was
conversant with her son thirty-
three years and three months.
And after the passion of our Lord
she lived twenty-four years.

From Nazareth we go four
miles to Mount Tabor, which is
a very fair and lofty hill, where
was f.'ri nerly a town and many
churchcy, but they are all de-
stroyed ; but yet there is a place,
which they call the School of
God, where he was wont to
teach his disciples, and told
them the secrets of Heaven.
At the foot of that hill Mel-
chisedek, who was king of
Salem, met Abraham in the
turning of the hill on his return
from the battle, when he had
slain Abimelech ; and this Mel-
chisedek was both king and
priest of Salem, which is now
called Jerusalem. On that hill
of Tabor our Lord transfigured
himself before St. Peter, St.
John, and St. James ; and there
they saw, in spirit, Moses and
Elias the prophets, and there-
fore St. Peter said, * Lord, it is
good for us to be here ; let us
make here three tabernacles.'

A mile from Mount Tabor is
Mount Hermon, and there was
the city of Nain. Before the gate
of that city our Lord raised the
widow's son. Three miles from
Nazareth is the castle of SafFra.

From Saffra we go to the sea
of Galilee, and to the city of Ti-
berias, which is situated upon
that sea, and although they call
it a sea, it is neither sea, nor
arm of the sea ; for it is but a
stank of fresh water, which is in

length one hundred furlongs,
and in breadth forty furlongs.

From the land of Galilee men
come back to Damascus, which
is a very fair and noble city,
and full of all merchandise, and
three days from the sea, and
five days from Jerusalem. Men
carry merchandise thither upon
camels, mules, horses, drome-
daries, and other beasts ; and
thither come merchants by sea
from India, Persia, Chaldea,
Armenia, and many other king-
doms. This city was founded
by Helizeus Damascus, who was
yeoman and steward to Abra-
ham before Isaac was bom;
for he expected to have been
Abraham's heir, and he named
the town after his surname, Da-
mascus. And in that place,
where Damascus was founded,
Cain slew Abel his brother.
And beside Damascus is Mount
Seir. In that city of Damascus
there is great plenty of wells ;
and within the city and without
are many fair gardens, with di-
versity of fruits. No other city
can be compared with it for
fair gardens for recreation. The
city is great and full of people,
and well walled with double
walls, and it contains many
physicians ; and St. Paul him-
self was there a physician, to
keep men's bodies in health,
before he was converted; and
after that he was physician of
souls. And St. Luke the Evan-
gelist was a disciple of St. Paul
to learn physic, and many
others ; for St. Paul held then
a school of phvsic. And near

■■;)

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

M \.

Damascus he was converted ;
and after his conversion he
dwelt in that city three days,
without sight, and without meat
or drink. And in those three
days he was raised to heaven,
and there he saw many secrets
of our Lord. And close beside
Damascus is the castle of Arkes,
which is. both fair and strong.

Now I have told you some
of the ways by land and water,
how men may go to Jerusalem ;
but there are many other ways
according to the countries from
which they come. There is one
way, all by land, to Jerusalem,
without passing any sea, which
is from France or Flanders ;
but that way is very long and
perilous, and therefore few go
that way. It lies through. Ger-
many and Prussia, and so on
tr* Tartary. This Tartary is
held of the great Chan, of whom
I shall speak more afterwards ;
and the lords of Tartary pay
the great Chan tribute. This is
a very bad land, and sandy, and
bears v^ry little fruit ; for there
grows little com, or wine, or
beans, or peas; but there are
plenty of cattle, and men eati
nothing but flesh, without bread;
and they drink the brothj and
also they drink milk. And they
eat all manner of animals, such
as dogs, cats, and rats. And
they have little or no wood,
and therefore they warm and
boil their meat with horse-dung,
and cowrdung, and that of other
beasts, dried by the sun ; and
princes and others eat but once
a day, and that but little ; and

they are very foul people, and
of evil nature. And in summer,
in all these countries, fall many
tempests, and dreadful storms
of thunder and lightning, which
kill many people, and beasts
also. And the temperature
passes suddenly from extreme
heat to extreme cold. It is the
foulest country, and the most
cursed, and the poorest, that
men know. And their prince,
whom they call Batho, dwells
at the city of Orda. And truly
no good man would dwell in
that country, fop it is not worthy
for dogs to CiA^eH in. It were a
good country to sow thistles,
and briars, and broom, and
thorns; and it is good for no
other thing. There is some
good, land, but very little, as
men say. I have not been in
that country, but I have been
in other lands which border on
those countries, and in the land
of Russia, and in Nyflan, and
in the realm of Cracow, and
Letto (Lithuania), and in Da-
restan, and in many other places
which, border on those parts,
but I never went by that way
tO' Jerusalem, wherefore I can-
not describe it from personal
knowledge ; for no man may
pass by that way well, except
in time of winter, for the peril-
ous waters and diflicult marshes,
which ne man may pass except
it be strong frost, and snow
upon it ; for if the snow were
not- there, men might not go on
the ice. From this it is full
three days from Prussia to the
inhabited land of the Saracens.

MANDBVILLE.

«S

V'\\

CHAPTER V.

How the Sultan discoursed to me, the author
of this book— Of Mohammed— Of Al-
bania and of Libya— Of Noah's ship —
Of the land of Job, and of his age— Of
the array of men of Chaldea— Of the
knowledge and virtues of the true dia-
mond.

The Saracens say that the
Jews are cursed, because they
have defiled the law that God
sent them by Moses. And the
Christians are cursed also, as
they say, for they keep not the
commandments and the pre-
cepts of the Gospel, which Jesus
Christ gave them. And, there-
fore, I shall tell you what the
Sultan said to me one day, in
his chamber. He sent out of
his chamber all men, lords and
others, because he would speak
with me in counsel. And there
he asked me how the Christian
men governed themselves in our
country? And I answered,
' Right well ; thanked be God.'
And he said to me, * Truly, nay;
for you Christians care not how
untruly you serve God. You
should set an example to the
common people to do well,
and you set them an example
of doing evil. Eor the com-
mons, upon festival days, when
they should go to church to
serve God, go to taverns, and
are there in gluttony all day
and night,, and eat and drink
as beasts that have no reason,
and know not when they have
enough And also, . the Chris-
tians encourage one another, in
all ways that they may, .to fight,

and to deceive one another.
And they are so proud that they
know not how to be clothed;
now long, now short, now
straight, now large, now with
sword, now with dagger^ and
in all manner of guises. They
should be simple, meek, and
true, and full of alms-deeds, as
Jesus was, in whom they be-
lieve ; but they are all the con-
trary, and ever inclined to evil,
and to do evil. And they are
so covetous, that for a little
silver they sell their daughters,
their sisters, and their- own
wives, where they come, to'
shame. They are great law-
breakers, and none of them
holdeth faith to another ; . but
they break their law, that Jesus
Christ gave them to keep for
their salvation. And.thuSjfor
their sins, have they lost all this
land which we hold. Becainse,
for their sins here, God hath
given them into our hands ;
not only by our power, but> for
their sins. For we know well
in very truth, that when you
serve God, God will help you ;
and when he is with you, no
man may be against you. And
that know we well by our pro-
phecies, that the Christians shall
win again this land out of our
hands when they serve God
more devoutly. But as long as
they are of foul and unclean liv-
ing (as they are now)^ wo have
no dread of them,, for theic God
will not help them.' And then
I asked him how he knew the
state of the Christians? And
beanswered me, * That he knew

II)

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

all the state of the commons
also, by his messengers, whom
he sent to all lands, in guise of
merchants of precious stones,
cloths of gold, and other things,
to know the manners of every
country amongst Christians.'
And then he called in all the
lords that he had sent out of
his chamber, and he showed
me four who were great lords,
who told me of my country, and
of many other Christian coun-
tries, as well as if they had been
of the same country ; and they
^ spoke French perfectly well,
and the Sultan also, whereof I
had great marvel. Alas ! it is
great slander to our faith and
to our law, when people that
are without law shall reprove
us of our sins. And they that
should be converted to Christ
and to the law of Jesus by our
good examples and by our ac
ceptable life to God, and so
converted to the law of Jesus
Christ, are through our wicked-
ness and evil living, far from us,
and strangers from the holy and
true belief shall thus accuse us
and hold us for wicked livers
and accursed. And indeed
they say truth. For the Sara-
cens are good and faithful, and
keep entirely the command-
ment of the holy book Alko-
ran, which God sent them by
his messenger Mohammed ; to
whom, as they say, St. Gabriel
the angel often told the will of
God.

And you shall understand
that Mohammed was born in
Arabia, and was first a poor

boy that kept camels which went
with merchants for merchan-
dise ; and so it happened that
he went with the merchants
into Egypt. And in the deserts
of Arabia he went into a chapel
where a hermit dwelt ; and when
he entered into the chapel, which
was but little and low, and had
a small low door, then the en-
trance became so great, and so
large, and so high, as though it
had been of a great minster, or
the gate of a palace. And this
was the first miracle, the Sara-
cens say, that Mohammed did
in his youth. Then he began
to wax wise and rich ; and he
was a great astronomer; and
afterwards he was governor and
prince of the land of Cozro-
dane, which he governed full
wisely; in such manner that,
when the prince was dead, he
took his lady, named Gadrige,
to wife. And Mohammed fell
often in the great sickness called
the falling evil, wherefore the
lady was sorry that ever she
took him to husband. But
Mohammed made her believe
that when he fell so Gabriel the
angel came to speak with him,
and for the great brightness of
the angel he might not help
falling. And therefore the Sara-
cens say that Gabriel came often
to speak with him. This Mo-
hammed reigned in Arabia in
the year of our Lord Jesus
Christ 6io; and was of the
generation of Ishmael, who was
Abraham's son, by Agar, his
chambermaid. And, therefore,
there are Saracens that are

MANDEVILLE.

called Ishmaelites ; and some
are called Agarenes, of Agar;
and others are called Saracens,
of Sarah ; and some are called
Moabites, and some Ammo-
nites, from the two sons of Lot,
Moab and Ammon, whom he
begat on his daughters, and who
were afterwards great earthly
princes. And also Mohammed
loved well a good hermit, who
dwelt in the desert a mile from
Mount Sinai, in the way from
Arabia towards Chaldea and
towards India, one day's jour-
ney from the sea, where the
merchants of Venice come often
for merchandise. And so often
went Mohammed to this hermit
that all his men were angry;
for he would gladly hear this
hermit preach, and make his
men wait all night, and there-
fore his men thought to put the
hermit to death : and so it be-
fell upon a night that Mohammed
was drunk with good wine, and
he fell asleep; and his men
took Mohammed's sword out of
his sheath, while he slept, and
therewith they slew the hermit,
and put his sword, all bloody,
in his sheath again. And on
the morrow, when he found the
hermit dead, he was very wroth,
and would have put his men to
death; but they all with one
accord said that he himself had
slaui him when he was drunk,
and showed him his sword all
bloody; and he believed that
they said truth. And then he
cursed the wine and all those
that drink it. And therefore
Saracens that be devout never

drink wine ; but some drink it
privately; for if they drank it
openly they would be reproved.
But they drink good beverage,
and sweet and nourishing, which
is made of galamelle ; and that
is what men make sugar of,
which is of right good savour,
and it is good for the breast.
Also it happens sometimes that
Christians become Saracens,
either from poverty or from
ignorance, or else from their
own wickedness. And there-
fore the archiflamen, or the
flamen, as our archbishop or
bishop, when he receives them,
says, Za ellec siia, Machomete
rores alia ; that is to say. There
is no God but one^ and Mo-
hammed his messenger.

Now, since I have told you
before of the Holy Land, and
of that cou'^try about, and of
many ways to go to that land,
and to Mount Sinai, and of
Babylon the Greater and the
Less, and other places, now is
the time, if it please you, to tell
you of the borders and isles,
and divers beasts, and of various
peoples beyond these borders.
For in the countries beyond
are many divers countries, and
many great kingdoms, that are
separated by the four streams
that come from terrestrial Para-
dise. For Mesopotamia, and
the kingdom of Chaldea, and
Arabia, are between the two
rivers of Tigris and Euphrates.
And Media and Persia are be-
tween the rivers of Nile and
Tigris. And Syria, Palestine,
and Phoenicia are between the

i!; i

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

Euphrates and the Mediterra-
nean Sea, which sea extends in
length from Marok, on the sea
of Spain, to the Great Sea, so
that it lasts beyond Constan-
tinople three thousand and forty
Lombard miles. Towards the
Ocean Sea, in India, is the king*
dom of Scythia, which is en-
closed with mountains ; and
after, below Scythia, from the
Cabplan Sea to the river Thainy,
is Amazonia, or the land of
Feminy, where there is no man,
but only women. And after is
Albania, a full great realm ; so
called because the people are
whiter there than in other coun-
tries thereabout. And in that
country are so great and strong
dogs, that they assail lions and
slay them. And then after is
Hircania, Bactria, Iberia, and
many other kingdoms. And
between the Red Sea and the
Ocean Sea, towards the south,
is the kingdom of Ethiopia, and
Libya the Higher. Which land
of Libya (that is to- say. Lower
Libya) commences at the sea. of
Spain, from thence where the
Pillars of Hercules are, and
extends to Egypt and. towards
Ethiopia. In that country of
Libya the sea is higher than the
land, and it seems that it would
cover the earth, and yet it
passeth not its bounds. And
men see in that coAintry a moun-
itain to which no man cometh.
In this land of Libya, whosatur-
neth towards the east, the shadow
of himself is on the right side ;
and here, in our country, the
fihadow is on the left side. In

that sea of Libya is no fish, for
they may not live for the great
heat of the sun, because the
water is ever boiling for the
great heat And many other
lands there are that it were too
long to tell or to number ; but
of some parts I shall speak
more plainly hereafter.

And, therefore, whoever will
go the direct way (to India)
must proceed from Trebizond
towards Ermony the Great, to a
city called Artyroun (Erzeroum),
which was foraaerly a good and
populous city, but the Turks
have greatly wasted it. There-
about grows little or no wine or
fruit. In this land the earth is
higher than in any other, and
that makes it very cold. And
there are many good waters and
good wells that come under earth
from, the river of Paradise, which
is called Euphrates, which is a
day's journey from this city.
And that river comes towards
India, under earth, and reap-
pears in the land of Altazar.
And so men pass by this Er-
mony, and enter the sea of
Persia. From that city of Arty-
roun men go to a mountain
called Sabissocolle; and there
beside is another mountain
called Ararat, but the Jews call
it Taneez, where Noah's ship
rested, and still is upon that
mountain; and men may see
it afar in clear weather. That
mountain is futt seven miles
high,, and some men say that
they have seen and touched the
ship, and put their fingers in the
papts where the devil went out

MANDE VJLLE.

6(j

when Noah said * Benedicite.'
But they that say so speak with-
out knowledge, for no one can
go up the mountain for the
great abundance of snow which
is always on that mountain both
summer and winter, so that no
man ever went up since the
time of Noah except a monk,
who, by God's grace, brought
one of the planks down, which
is yet in the monastery at the
foot of the mountain. And
beside is the city of Dayne,
which was founded by Noah,
near which is the city of Any,
in which were one thousand
churches. This monk had great
desire to go up that mountain,
and so upon a day he went up,
and when he had ascended the
third part of the mountain he
was so weary that he fell asleep,
and when he awoke he found
himself lying at the foot of the
mountain. Then he prayed de-
voutly to God that he would
suffer him to go up, and an
angel came to him and said
that he should go up ; and so
he did. And since that time
no one ever went up; where-
fore men should not believe
such words.

From that mountain we go to
the city of Thauriso (Tabreez),
which was formerly called Taxis,
a very fair and great city, and
one of the best in the world for
merchandise ; and it is ki the
land of the Emperor of Persia.
And they say that the emperor
receives more in that city for
custom of merchandise than the
richest Christian king alive from

all his realm ; for the toll and
custom of his merchants is be-
yond calculation. Beside that
city is a hill of salt, of which
every man taketh what he will.
There dwell many Christians
under tribute of Saracens. And
from that city men pass by many
towns and castles on the way
towards India to the city of
Sadony, which is ten days from
Thauriso ; and it is a very noble
and great city. And there the
Emperor of Persia dwells in
summer, because the climate is
temperate. And there are good
rivers capable of bearing ships.
Then men go the way towards
India for many days, and by
many countries, to the city
called Cassak, a full noble city,
abounding in com, wines, and
all other goods. This is the
city where the three kings met
together when they went to
seek our Lord in Bethlehem to
worship him, and to present
him with gold, essence, and
myrrh. And it is from that
city to Bethlehem fifty-three
days. From that city men go
to another city called Bethe
(Beth-Germa? or Old Bagdad),
a day from the sea which they
call the Sandy Sea. This is
the best city which the Emperor
of Persia has in all his land,
and it is called there Charda-
bago ; and others call it Vapa.
And the Pagans say that no
Christian may remain long alive
in that city ; but they die within
short time, and no man knows
the cause. Afterwards men go
by many cities and towns and

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

ill

great countries to the city of
Cornaa (Komah?), which was
formerly so great that the walls
are twenty-five miles about.
The walls are still standing, but
it is not all inhabited. From
Cornaa men go by many lands,
and many cities and towns,
unto the land of Job ; and there
ends the land of the Emperor
of Persia.

After leaving Cornaa, we en-
ter the land of Job, a very fair
country, and abounding in all
goods ; and men call it the land
of Sweze (Susiana). In that
land is the city of Theman.
Job was a pagan, and he was
son of Are of Gosre, and held
the land as prince of the coun-
try ; and he was so rich that he
knew not the hundredth part of
his goods. And, although he
was a pagan, still he served
God well, after his law; and
our Lord took his service in
satisfaction. And when he fell
in poverty he was seventy-eight
years of age. And afterwards,
when God had tried his pati-
ence, which was so great, he
brought him again to riches,
and to higher estate than before.
And after that he M'as king of
Idumea, after king Esau. And
when he was king he was called
Jobab. And in that kingdom
he lived afterwards one hundred
and seventy years ;* and so he
was of age, when he died, two
hundred and forty-eight years.
In that land of Job there is
no want of anything needful to

1 One hundred and forty years. Job xlii.

man's body. There are hills,
where they get manna in greater
abundance than in any other
country. This manna is called
bread of angels; and it is a
white thing, very sweet and de-
licious, and sweeter than honey
or sugar ; it comes of the dew
of heaven, that falls upon the
herbs in that country; and it
congeals, and becomes white
and sweet ; and they put it in
medicines for rich men, for it
cleanseththe blood, and putteth
out melancholy. This land of
Job borders on the kingdom of
Chaldea. This land of Chaldea
is very extensive ; and th3 lan-
guage of that country is greater
in sounding than it is in other
parts beyond the sea. We pass
it to go to the Tower of Baby-
lon the Great, of which I have
spoken, where all the languages
were first changed ; and that is
four days from Chaldea. In
that realm are fair men, and
they go full nobly arrayed in
cloths of gold, orfrayed, and
apparelled with great pearls and
precious stones full nobly ; but
the women are very ugly, and
vilely arrayed; and they go
barefoot, and clothed in evil
garments, large and wide, but
short to the knees, and long
sleeves down to the feet, like
a monk's frock, and their
sleeves are hanging about their
shoulders; and they are black
women, foul and hideous ; and
truly they are as bad as they
are foul. In that kingdom of
Chaldea, in a city called Ur,
dwelt Terah, Abraham's father ;

MANDE VILLE,

jater
kher

illed

lis a

de-

)ney
I dew

the
id it
^hite

and there was Abraham born,
which was in the time that Ninus
was king of Babylon, of Arabia,
and of Egypt. This Ninus made
the city of Nineveh, which Noah
had begun ; and because Ninus
completed it, he called it Nine-
veh, after his own name. There
lies Tobit the prophet, of whom
Holy Writ speaketh. And from
that city of Ur Abraham de-
parted, by the commandment
of God, after the death of his
father, and led with him Sarah,
his wife, and Lot, his brother's
son, because he had no child.
And they went to dwell in the
land of Canaan, in a place
called Shechem. And this Lot
was he who was saved, when
Sodom and Gomorrah and the
other cities, where the Dead
Sea now is, were burnt and
sunk down to hell, as I have
told you before.

And from that other side of
Chaldea, toward the south, is
Ethiopia, a great country, which
extends to the extremity of
Egypt. Ethiopia is divided into
two principal parts, the east and
the south, the latter part being
called Mauritania. And the
people of that country are
blacker than in the other part,
and are called Moors. In that
country is a well, which in the
day is so cold that no man may
drink thereof, and in the night
it is so hot that no man may
suffer his hand therein. To-
wards the south, to pass by the
Ocean Sea, is a great country,
but men may not dwell there,
for the fervent burning of the

sun. In Ethiopia all the riven
and waters are troubled, and
somewhat salt, for the great
heat that is there. And the
people of that country are easily
intoxicated, and have but little
appetite for meat. And they
are afflicted with dysenteries,
and live not long. In Ethiopia,
the children, when young, are
all yellow ; and when they grow
older that yellowness turns to
black. In Ethiopia is the city
of Saba and the land where one
of the three kings reigned who
came to our Lord in Bethlehem.
From Ethiopia they go to
India through many different
countries; and men call the
higher India Emlak. India is
divided into three principal
parts : the Greater, which is a
very hot country; and India
the Less, which is a temperate
country, extending to the land
of Media; and the third part,
toward the north, is so cold,
that for continual frost the
water becomes crystal ; and
upon those rocks of crystal
grow the good diamonds, that
are of troubled colour. Yellow
crystal draws colour like oil.
And they are so hard that no
man may polish them ; and men
call them diamonds in that
country, and hamese in another
country. Other diamonds are
found in Arabia, but they are
not so good ; they are browner
and more tender. And other
diamonds also are found in the
island of Cyprus, which are still
more tender, and may easily be
polished ; and they find dia-

*■'!

ii^al;

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

:•!

monds also in Macedonia ; but
the best and most precious are
in India. And they often find
hard diamonds in a mass which
comes out of gold, when they
break the mass in small pieces,
to purify it and refine it, out of
the mine. And it sometimes
happens that they find some as
great as a pea, and some less ;
and they are as hard as those
of India. And although men
find good diamonds in India,
yet nevertheless men find them
more commonly upon the rocks
in the sea, and upon hills where
the mine of gold is. They grow
many together, one little, an-
other great ; and there are some
of the greatness of a bean, and
some as great as a hazel nut.
They are square and pointed of
their own kind, both above and
beneath, without work of man's
hand ; and they grow together,
male and female, and are nour-
ished by the dew of heaven ;
and they engender commonly
and bring forth small children,
that multiply and grow all the
year. I have oftentimes tried
the experiment, that if a man
keep them with a little of the
rock, and wet them with May-
dew often, they shall grow every
year, and the small will grow
great;* for right as the fine
pearl congeals and grows great
by the dew of heaven, right so
doth the true diamond ; and
right as the pearl of its own
nature takes roundness, so the
diamond, by virtue of God,
takes squareness. And a man

* Partly Ukcn from Pliny, lib. xxxvii. c. 4.

should carry the diamond on
his left side, for it is of greater
virtue than on the right side;
for the strength of their growing
is toward the north, that is the
left side of the world ; and the
left part of man is, when he
turns his face towards the east.

CHAPTER VI.

Of the customs of Islet about India— Of the
Judgments made by St Thomas — Of
the evil customs in the isle of Lamary —
How the earth and the sea are of round
form — Of the trees that bear meal,
honey, wine, and venom.

In India are very many differ-
ent countries ; and it is called
India, from a river which runs
through the country called In-
dus. In that river they find
eels thirty feet long and more.
And the people that dwell near
that water are of evil colour,
green and yellow. In India,
and about India, are more than
five thousand inhabited islands,
good and great, besides those
that are uninhabitable, and other
small islands. Every island has
great plenty of cities, and towns,
and people without number.
For men of India have this con-
ditipn of nature, that they never
go out of their own country,
and therefore there is great
multitude of people ; but they
are not stirring or moveable,
because they are in the first
climate, that is, of Saturn. And
Saturn is slow, and little mov-
ing ; for he tarrieth thirty years
to make his course through the

MANDEVILLE,

rle;
ing
the
the
he
ist.

twelve signs ; and the moon
passes through the twelve signs
in a month. And because Sa-
turn is so slow of motion, the
people of that country, that are
under his climate, have no in-
clination or will to move or stir
to seek strange places. Our
country is all the contrary ; for
we are in the seventh climate,
which is of the moon, and the
moon moves rapidly, and is a
planet of progression ; and for
that reason it gives us a natural
will to move lightly, and to go
different ways, and to seek
strange things and other diver-
sities of the world ; for the moon
goes round the earth more
rapidly than any other planet.

Also men go through India
by many different countries, to
the great Sea of Ocean. And
afterwards men find there an
island that is called Hermes ;
and there come merchants of
Venice and Genoa, and of other
parts, to buy merchandise ; but
there is great heat in that dis-
trict. In that country, and in
Ethiopia, and in many other
countries, the inhabitants lie all
naked in rivers and waters, men
and women together, from un-
durn* of the day till it be past
noon. And they lie all in the
water, except the face, for the
great heat that there is. And
the women have no shame of
the men, but lie all together,
side by side, till the heat is past.
There may men see many foul
figures assembled, and chiefly
near the good towns. In that

1 Uuduru was nine o'clock in the morning*

island are ships without nails of'
iron or bonds, on account of
the rocks of adamants (load-
stones) ; for they are all abun-
dant thereabout in that sea,
that it is marvellous to speak
of; and if a ship passed there
that had either iron bonds or
iron nails, it would perish ; for
the adamant, by its nature,
draws iron to it; and so it
would draw to it the ship, be-
cause of the iron, that it should
never depart from it.

From that island men go by
sea to another island called
Ghana, where is abundance of
corn and wine ; and it was wont
to be a great island, and a great
and good haven, but the sea has
greatly wasted it and overcome
it. The king of that country
was formerly so strong and so
mighty that he held war against
king Alexander; The people
of that country differ in their
religious belief ; for some wor-
ship the sun, some the moon,
some the fire, some trees, some
serpents, or the first thing that
they meet in a morning; and
some worship simulacres, and
some idols. Between simulacres
and idols there is a great differ-
ence ; for simulacres are images
made after the likeness of men
or of women, or of the sun or
of the moon, or of any beast, or
of any natural thing ; and an
idol is an image made by the
lewd will of man, which is not
to be found among natural
things, as an image that has
four heads, one of a man, an-
other of a horse, or ot an ox.

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

or of some other beast, that no
man has seen in nature. And
they that worship simulacres
worship them for some worthy
man who once existed, as Her-
cules and many others, that did
many wonders in their time.

From thence men go by sea
towards India the Greater, to a
good and fair city called Sarche,
where dwell many Christians of
good faith : and there are many
monks, especially mendicants.
Thence men go by sea to the
land of Lomb, in which grows
the pepper, in the forest called
Combar, and it grows nowhere
else in all the world ; that forest
extends full eighteen days in
length. In the forest are two
good cities, one called Fladrine,
and the other Zinglantz, in each
of which dwell many Christians
and Jews ; for it is a good and
rich country, but the heat is
exceeding.

Toward the head of that forest
is the city of Polombe, above
which is a great mountain, also
called Polombe, from which the
city has its name. And at the
foot of that mountain is a fair
and great well, which has the
odour and savour of all spices ;
and at every hour of the day it
changes its odour and savour
diversely; and whoever drinks
three times fasting of the water
of that well is whole of all kind
of sickness that he has; and
they that dwell there, and drink
often of that well, never have
sickness, but appear always
young. I have drunk thereof
three or four Jmes, and me-

thinks I still fare the better.
Some men call it the Well of
Youth ; for they that often drink
thereof appear always young,
and live without sickness.
And men say that that well
comes out of Paradise, and
therefore it is so virtuous. All
that country grows good ginger ;
and therefore merchants go
thither for spicery. In that land
men worship the ox for his
simpleness and his meekness,
and for the profit that comes of
him.

From that country we pass
many districts, towards a coun-
try ten days* journey thence,
called Mabaron, which is a great
kingdom, containing many fair
cities and towns. In that king-
dom lies the body of St. Thomas
the Apostle, in flesh and bone,
in a fair tomb, in the city of
Calamy ; for there he was mar-
tyred and buried. But men of
Assyria carried his body into
Mesopotamia, into the city of
Edessa; and, afterwards, he
was brought thither again. And
the arm and the hand that he
put in our Lord's side, when he
appeared to him after his resur-
rection, is yet lying in a vessel
without the tomb. By that
hand they there make all their
judgments. For when there is
any dissension between two
parties, and each of them main-
tains his cause, both pardes
write their causes in two bills,
and put them in the hand of St.
Thomas; and anon he casts
away the bill of the wrong cause,
and holds still the bill with the

MANDEVILLE.

ink
ing,

right cause. And, therefore,
men come from far countries to
have judgment of doubtful
causes. The church where St.
Thomas Hes is both great and
fair, and full of great simulacres,
which are great images that they
call their gods, of which the least
is as great as two men. And,
amongst the others, there is a
great image larger than any of
the others, all covered with fine
gold and precious stones and
rich pearls ; and that idol is the
god of false Christians, who have
renounced their faith. It sits
''n a chair of gold, very nobly
arrayed, and has about the neck
large girdles made of gold and
precious stones and pearls.
The church is full richly wrought,
and gilt all over within. And
to that idol men go on pilgrim-
age, as commonly and with as
great devotion as Christian men
go to St. James, or other holy
pilgrimages. And many people
that come from far lands to seek
that idol for the great devotion
that they have, never look up-
wards, but evermore down to
the earth, for dread to see any-
thing about them that should
hinder them of their devotion,
and others there are who carry
their children to be slain as a
sacrifice to that idol. And so
people come to worship this
image, some a hundred miles,
and some many more.

From that country men go
by the Sea of Ocean, and by
many divers isles and countries
which it would be too long to
describe. Fifty-two days from

the land I have spoken of there
is another extensive land which
they call Lamary, in which the
heat is very great ; and it is
the custom there for men and
women to go all naked. And
they scorn when they see fo-
reigners going clothed, because
they say that God made Adam
and Eve all naked, and that no
man should be ashamed of what
is according to nature. And
they say that they that are
clothed are people of another
world, or people who believe
not in God. And they marry
there no wives ; and they say
for God commanded Adam and
Eve, and all that come of him,
that they should increase and
multiply and fill the land, there-
fore may no man in that country
say, * This is my wife,' and no
woman may say, 'This is my
husband.* And all land and
property is common, nothing
being shut up or kept under
lock, one man being as rich
as another. But in that country
there is a cursed custom, for
they eat more gladly man's
flesh than any other flesh, al
though their country abounds
in flesh, fish, com, gold, and
silver, and all other goods.
Thither merchants go, who
bring with them children to
sell to them of the country,
and they buy them ; and if
they are fat they eat them anon ;
and if they are lean they feed
them till they are fat, and then
eat them ; and they say that it
is the best and sweetest flesh
in the world.

■1»

i^i

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

Neither in that land, nor in
many others beyond it, may
any man see the Polar star,
which is called the Star of the
Sea, which is immovable, and
is towards the north, and which
we call the Load-star. But they
see another star opposite to it,
towards the south, which is
called Antarctic. And right as
shipmen here govern themselves
by the load-star, so shipmen
beyond these parts are guided
by the star of the south, which
appears not to us. This star,
which is towards the north, that
we call the load-star, appears
not to them. For which cause,
we may clearly perceive that
the land and sea are of round
shape and form, because the
part of the firmament appears
in one country which is not
seen in another country. And
men may prove by experience
and their understanding, that if
a man found passages by ships,
he might go by ship all round
the world, above and beneath ;
which I prove thus, after what
I have seen. For I have been
towards the parts of Brabant,
and found by the astrolabe *
that the Polar star is fifty-three
degrees high; and further, in
Germany and Bohemia it has
fifty-eight degrees ; and still fur-
ther towards the north it is sixty-
two degrees and some minutes ;
for I myself have measured it
by the astrolabe. Now you shall
know, that opposite the Polar
star is the other star called Ant-

1 An astronomical instrument used in the
m^dille ages for taking altitudes, ttc.

arctic, as I have said before.
These two stars are fixed ; and
about them all the firmament
turns as a wheel that turns on
its axle-tree ; so that those stars
bear the firmament in two equal
parts; so that it has as much
above as it has beneath. After
this I have gone towards the
south, and have found, that in
Libya we first see the antarctic
star; and I have gone so far
in those countries that I have
found that star higher, so that,
towards Upper Libya, it is
eighteen degrees and certain
minutes.

And know well that, after
what I may perceive and under-
stand, the lands of Prester John,
emperor of India, are under us ;
for in going from Scotland or
from England towards Jerusa-
lem, men go always upwards ;
for our land is in the low part
of the earth, towards the west ;
and the land of Pisester John is
in the low part of the earth, to-
wards the east ; and they have
there the day when we have
night; and, on the contrary,
they have the night when we
have the day, for the earth and
the sea are of a round form, as
I have said before ; and as men
go upward to one part, they go
downward to another. Also you
have heard me say that Jeru-
salem is in the middle of the
world ; and that may be proved
and shown there by a spear
which is fixed in the earth at
the hour of mid-day, when it is
equinoxial, which gives no
shadow on any side. They,

MANDEVILLE,

therefore, that start from the
west to go towards Jerusalem,
as many days as they go up-
ward to go thither, in so many
days may they go from Jeru-
salem to other confines of the
superficialities of the earth be-
yond. And when men go be-
yond that distance, towards
India and to the foreign isles,
they are proceeding on the
roundness of the earth and the
sea, under our country. And
therefore hath it befallen many
times of a thing that I have
heard told when I was young,
how a worthy man departed
once from our country to go
and discover the world ; and
so he passed India, and the
isles beyond India, where are
more than five thousand isles ;
and so long he went by sea
and land, and so environed the
world by many seasons, that he
found an isle where he heard
people speak his own language,
calling on oxen in the plough
such words as men speak to
beasts in his own country,
whereof he had great wonder,
for he knew not how it might
be. But I say that he had gone
so long, by land and sea, that
he had gone all round the earth,
that he was come again to his
own borders, if he would have
passed forth till he had found
his native country. But he
turned again from thence, from
whence he was come-; and so
he lost much painful labour^ as
himself said, a. great while after,
when he was coming home ; for
it befell after,, that he went inta

Norway, and the tempest of the
sea carried him to an isle ; and
when he was in that isle, he
knew well that it was the isle
where he had heard his own
language spoken before, and
the calling of the oxen at the
plough. But it seems to simple
and unlearned men that men
may not go under the earth, but
that they would fall from under
towards the heaven. But that
may not be any more than we
fall towards heaven from the
earth where we are ; for from
what part of the earth that men
dwell, either above or beneath,
it seems always to them that
they go more right than any
other people. And right as it
seems to us that they be under
us, so it seems to them that we
are under them ; for if a man
might fall from the earth unto
the firmament, by greater rea-
son the earth and the sea, that
are so great and so heavy,
should fall to the firmament;
but that may not be, and there-
fore saith our Lord God, * He
hangeth the earth upon no-
thing.'* And although it be
possible so to go all round
the world, yet of a thousand
persons not one might hap-
pen to return to his country :
for, from the greatness of
the earth and sea, men may
go by a thousand different ways
that no one could be sure of
returning exactly to the parts
he came from.

Beside the isle I have spoken-
of, there is another great isle

1 Job xxvi. 7.-

il!:;'Si

l'il.,1

lil, ■('

"'I

■:^yKi

t 'M

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

called Sumobor, the king of
which is very mighty. The
people of that isle make marks
4n their faces with a hot iron,
both men and women, as a
mark of great nobility to be
known from other people ; for
they hold themselves most
noble and most worthy of all
the world. They have war
always with the people that go
all naked. Fast beside is an-
other rich isle called Beteinga.
And there are many other isles
thereabout.

Fast beside that isle, to pass
by sea, is a great isle and ex-
tensive country, called Java,
which is near two thousand
miles in circuit. And the king
of that country is a very great
lord, rich and mighty, having
under him seven other kings of
seven other surrounding isles.
This isle is well inhabited, and
in it grow all kinds of spices
more plentifully than in any
other country, as ginger, cloves,
canel, sedewalle, nutmegs, and
maces.

After that isle is another large
isle, called Pathan, which is a
great kingdom, full of fair cities
and towns. In that land grow
trees that bear meal, of which
men make good bread, white,
and of good savour; and it
seemeth as it were of wheat,
but it is not quite of such sav-
our. And there are other trees
that bear good and sweet honey ;
and others that bear poison,*
against which there is no medi-
cine but one; and that is to

1 Probably an allusion to the upas tree.

take their own leaves, and stamp
them and mix them with water,
and then drink it, for no medi-
cine will avail.

Beyond this isle men go by
sea to another rich isle, called
Calonak, the king of which has
as many wives as he will ; for
he makes search through the
country for the fairest maidens
that may be found, who are
brought before him. He hath
also as many as fourteen thou-
sand elephants, or more, which
are brought up amongst his serfs
in all his towns. And in case
he has war with any of the kings
around him, he causes certain
men of arms to go up into
wooden castles, which are set
upon the elephants' backs, to
fight against their enemies ; and
so do other kings thereabouts ;
and they call the elephants
wai'kes.

From that country they go by
the Sea of Ocean, by an isle
called Caffolos ; the natives of
which, when their friends are
sick, hang them on trees, and
say that it is better that birds,
which are angels of God, eat
them, than the foul worms of
the earth. Then we come to
another isle, the inhabitants of'
which are of full cursed kind,
for they breed great dogs, and
teach them to strangle their
friends when they are sick, for
they will not let them die of
natural death ; for they say that
they should suflfer great pain if*
they abide to die by themselves,
as nature would; and, when
they are thus strangled, they eat

MANDEVILLE.

their flesh as though it were
venison.

Afterwards men go by many
isles by sea to an isle called
Milk, where are very cursed
people ; for they delight in no-
thing more than to fight and
slay men ; and they drink most
gladly man's blood, which they
call Dieu. And the more men
that a man may slay, the more
worship he hath amongst them.
And thence they go by sea, from
isle to isle, to an isle called
Tracoda, the inhabitants of
which are as beasts, and un-
reasonable, and dwell in caves
which they make in the earth,
for they have not sense to make
houses. And hen they see
any man passing through their
countries they hide them in
their caves.

Hence men go to another isle
called Silha, which is full eight
hundred miles in circuit. In
that land is much waste, for it
is so full of serpents, dragons,
and cockodrills, that no man
dare dwell there. These cocko-
drills are serpents, yellow and
rayed above, having four feet,
and short thighs, and great nails
like claws; and some are five
fathoms in length, and some of
six, eight, or even ten ; and
when they go by places that are
gravelly, it appears as if men
had drawn a great tree through
the gravelly place. And there
are also many wild beasts, espe-
cially elephants. In that isle
is a great mountain, in the midst
of which is a large lake in a full
fair plain, and there is great

plenty of water. And they of
the country say that Adam and
Eve wept on that mount a hun-
dred years,^ when they were
driven out of Paradise. And
that water they say is of their
tears ; for so much water they
wept, that made the aforesaid
lake.

CHAPTER VII.

How men know by an idol if the sick shall
die or not — Of the great Chan of Cathay
— Wherefore he is called the great Chan
— Of the realm of Thairse and the lands
and kingdoms towards the north parts.
in coming down from the land of Cathay.

From that isle, in going by sea
towards the south, is another
great isle, called Dondun, in
which are people of wicked
kinds, so that the father eats
the son, the son the father, the
husband the wife, and the wife
the husband. And if it so be-
fall that the father or mother or
any of their friends are sick, the
son goes to the priest of their
law, and prays him to ask the
idol if his father or mother or
friend shall die; and then the
priest and the son go before the
idol, and kneel full devoutly,
and ask of the idol ; and if the
devil that is within answer that
he shall live, they keep him
well; and if he say that he
shall die, then the priest and
the son go with the wife of him
that is sick, and they put their
hands upon his mouth and stop
his breath, and so kill him.

1 Probably Adam's Peak, in the island af
Ceyloc

Ilii

*. '<*

IrM

!' 'Wk

«i!l

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

And after that, they chop all
the body in small pieces, and
pray all his friends to come and
eat ; and they send for all the
minstrels of the country and
make a solemn feast. And
when they have eaten the flesh,
they take the bones and bury
them, and sing and make great
melody.

In another isle are people
who have the face all flat, with-
out nose and without mouth.
In another isle are people that
have the lip above the mouth
so great, that when they sleep
in the sun they cover all the
face with that lip. And in an-
other isle there are dwarfs, which
have no mouth, but instead of
their mouth they have a little
round hole ; and when they
shall eat or drink, they take it
through a pipe, or a pen, or
such a thing, and suck it in.
And in another isle are people
that have ears so long that they
hang down to their knees. And
in another isle are people that
have horses' feet. In another
isle are people that go upon their
hands and feet like beasts, and
are all skinned and feathered,
and would leap as lightly into
trees, and from tree to tree, as
squirrels or apes. And in an-
other isle are people that go
always upon their knees, and
at every step they go it seems
that they would fall ; and they
have eight toes on- every foot.
Many other divers people of
divers natures there are in other
isles about, of the which, it were
too long to tell.

From these isles, in passing
by the Sea of Ocean towards
the east, by many days, men
find a great kingdom called
Mancy, which is in India the
Greater ; and it is the best land,
and one of the fairest in all the
world ; and the roost delightful
and plentiful of all goods.

From that city men go by
land six days to another city
called Chilenfo, of which the
walls are twenty miles in cir-
cumference. In that city are
sixty bridges of stone, so fair
that no man may see fairer.
In that city was the first seat of
the king of Mancy, for it is a
fair city and plentiful in all
goods. Hence we pass across
a great river called Dalay, which
is the greatest river of fresh
water in the world ; for where
it is narrowest it is more than
four miles broad. And then
men enter again the land of the
great Chan. That river goes
through the land of pigmies,
where- the people are small, out
three spans long ; and they are
right fair and gentle, both the
men and the women. They
marry when they are half a year
of age, and have children ; and
they live but six or seven years
at most; and he that liveth
eight years is considered very
aged. These men are the best
workers of gold, silver, cotton,
silk, and of all such things, that
are in the world. And they
have oftentimes war with the
birds of the country, which
they take and eat. This little
people neither labour in lands

MANDEViLLE.

8i J

ncr in vineyards ; but they have
great men amongst them, of
our stature, who till the land
and labour amongst the vines
for them. And of the men of
our stature they have as great
scorn and wonder as we should
have among us of giants. There
is a great and fair city amongst
others, with a large population
of the little people ; and there
are great men dwelling amongst
them ; but when they get chil-
dren they are as little as the
pigmies ; and therefore they
are for the most part all pig-
mies, for the nature of the land
is such.

Cathay is a great country, fair,
noble, rich, and full of merchants.
Thither merchants go to seek
spices and all manner of mer-
chandises, more commonly than
in any other part. And you
shall understand that merchants
who come from Genoa, or
from Venice, or from Romania,
or other parts of Lombardy, go
by sea and by land eleven or
twelve months, or more some-
tiines, before they reach the isle
of Cathay, which is the principal
region of all parts beyond ; and
it belongs to the great Chan.
From Cathay men go towards
the east, by many days' journey,
to a good city, between these
o'hers, called Sugarmago, one
of the best stored with silk and
other merchandises in the world.
Then men come to another old
city, towards the east, in the
province of Cathay, near which
the men of Tartary have niade
another city, called Caydon,

which has twelve gates. And
between the two gates there is
always a great mile ; so that
the two great cities, that is to
say the old and the new, have
in circuit more than twenty
miles. In this city is the seat
of the great Chan, in a very
great palace, the fairest in the
world, the walls of which are in
circuit more than two miles ;
and within the walls it is all full
of other palaces.

At great feasts, men bring,
before the emperor's table, great
tables of gold, and thereon are
peacocks of gold, and many
other kinds of different fowls,
all of gold, and richly wrought
and enamelled ; and they make
them dance and sing, clapping
their wings together, and making
great noise ; and whether it be
by craft or by necromancy I
know not, but it is a goodly
sight to behold. But I have the
less marvel, because they are
the most skilful men in the
world in all sciences and in all
crafts ; for in subtility, malice,
and forethought they surpass
all men under heaven ; and
therefore they say themselves
that they see with two eyes,
and the Christians see but with
one, because they are more sub-
tle than they.

And you shall understand that
my fellows and I, with our yeo-
men, served this emperor, and
were his soldiers, fifteen months,
against the king of Mancy, who
was at war with him, because
we had great desire to see his
nobleness, and the estate ^'^ his

.1 %:*?'
1 4

' ( *!

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

court, and all his government,
to know if it were such as we
heard say. And truly we found
it more noble, and more excel-
lent and rich, and more marvel-
lous, than ever we heard, inso-
much that we would never have
believed it had we not seen it.
For it is not there as it is here.
For the lords here have a cer-
tain number of people as they
may suffice ; but the great Chan
hath every day people at his
cost and expense without num-
ber. But the ordinance, nor
the expenses in meat and drink,
nor the honesty, nor the clean-
liness, is not so arranged there
as it is here ; for all the com-
mon- there eat without cloth
upon their knees ; and they eat
all manner of flesh, and little of
bread. And after meat they
wipe their hands upon their
skirts, and they eat but once a
day. But the estate of lords is
full great, and rich, and noble.
First I shall tell you why he
was called the great Chan. You
shall understand that all the
world was destroyed by Noah's
flood, except only Noah, and
his wife, and his children.
Noah had three sons, Shem,
Cham (i.e. Ham), and Japheth.
This Cham was he who saw his
father naked when he slept, and
showed him to his brethren in
scorn, and therefore he was
cursed of God. And Japheth
turned his face away, and
covered him. These three bre-
thren shared all the land ; and
this Cham, for his cruelty, took
the greater and the best part,

towards the east, which is called
Asia; and Shem took Africa;
and Japheth took Europe ; and
therefore is all the earth parted
in these three parts, by these
three brethren. Cham was the
greatest and most mighty ; and
of him came more generations
than of the others. And of his
son Cush was engendered Nim-
rod the giant, who was the first
king that ever was in the world,
and he began the foundation of
the Tower of Babylon. And
that time the fiends of hell
came many times, and had
many children on the earth,
and engendered divers people,
as monsters, and people dis-
figured, some without heads,
some with great ears, some with
one eye, some giants, some with
horses' feet, and many other
diff-erent shapes contrary to na-
ture. And of that generation
of Cham are come the Pagans,
and different people that are in
islands of the sea about India.
And forasmuch as he was the
most mighty, and no man might
withstand him, he called himself
the son of God, and sovereign
of all the world. And on ac-
count of this Cham, this emperor
called himself Chan and sove-
reign of all the world. And of
the generation of Shem are
come the Saracens. And of the
generation of Japheth came the
people of Israel. And though
we dwell in Europe, this is the
opinion that the Syrians and the
Samaritans have amongst them,
and that they told me before I
went towards India; but I found

MANDEVILLE.

83 '

it otherwise. Nevertheless the
truth is this — that Tartars, and
they that dwell in Greater Asia,
came of Cham.

The kingdom of Cathay is the
greatest realm in the world ; and
the greatChan is the most power-
ful emperor and greatest lord
under the firmament; and so
he calls himself in his letters
right thus : * Chan, son of the
high God, emperor of all who
inhabit the earth, and lord of
all lords.' And the letter of
his great seal has the inscrip-
tion, *God in heaven, Chan
upon, the earth,, his fortitude ;
the seal of the emperor of all
men.' And the superscription
about his little seal is this:
*The fortitude of God; the
seal of the emperor of all men.'
And although they are not
christened, yet the emperor and
all the Tartars believe in im-
mortal God; and when they
will threaten any man, they say,
* God knoweth well that I shall
do thee such a thing,' and tell
their menace.

This land of Cathay is in
Central Asia ; and after, on this
side, is Asia the Greater. The
kingdom of Cathay borders
towards the west on the king-
dom of Tharse, of which was
one of the kings that came with
presents to our Lord in Bethle-
hem , and some of those who
are of the lineage of that king
are Christians. In Tharse they
eat no flesh, and drink no wine.
And on this side, towards the
west, is the kingdom of Turkes-
tan, which extends towards the

west to the kingdom of Persia ;
and towards the north to the
kingdom of Chorasm. In the
centre of Turkestan are but few
good cities ; but the best city
of that land is called Octorar.
There are great pastures, but
little com ; and therefore, for
the most part, they are all
lierdsmen ; and they lie in tents,
and drink a kind of ale made
of honey.

And after it, on this side, is
the kingdom of Chorasm (Kho-
rasan), which is a good land
and a plentiful,, but without
wine. It has a desert toward
the east, which extends more
than a hundred days' journey ;
and the best city of that country
is called Chorasm, from which
the country takes its name.
The people of that country are
hardy warriors. And on this
side is the kingdom of Comania,
whence were driven the Co-
rn anians that dwelt in Greece.
This is one of the greatest
kingdoms of the world, but it is
not all inhabited; for in one
part there is so great cold, that
no man may dwell there, and in
another part there is so great
heat, that no man can endure
it ; and also there are so many
flies that no man may know on
what side he may turn him. In
that country is but little wood
or trees bearing fruit, or others.
They lie in tents ; and they
burn the dung of beasts for
want of wood.

This kingdom descends on
this side towards us, and to-
wards Prussia and Russia. And

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THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

'A,

through that country runs the
river Ethille, which is one of
the greatest rivers in the world ;
and it freezes so strongly all
year, that many times men have
fought upon the ice with great
armies, both parties on foot,
having quitted their horses for
the time ; and what on horse
and on foot, more than 200,000
persons on every side. And
between that river and the great
Sea of Ocean, which they call
the Maure Sea,^ lie all these
kingdoms. And towards the
head beneath in that realm is
the mountain of Chotaz, which
is the highest mountain in the
world ; and it is between the
Maure Sea and the Caspian
Sea. There is a very narrow
and dangerous passage to go
towards India ; and therefore
king Alexander made there a
strong city, which they call
Alexandria,to guard the country,
that.no man should pass with-
out his leave ; and now men
call that city the Gate of Hell.
And the principal city of Co-
mania is called Sarak, which
is one of the three ways to go
into India ; but by this way no
great multitude of people can
pass unless it be in winter;
and that passage men call the
Derbent. The ether way is
from the city of Turkestan, by
Persia; and by that way are
many days' journey by desert ;
and the third way is from Co-
mania, by the great sea, and
by the kingdom of Abchaz.

^ Northern Ocean.

^CHAPTER VIII.

Of the emperor of Persia, and of the land of
darkness, and of other kingdoms that
belong to the great Chan of Cathay— Of
'the countries and islands beyond the
land of Cathay— Of the devil's head
in the perilous valley— Of the hills of
gold that ants keep— Of the four stream*
that come from terrestrial Paradise.

Now, since I have spoken of
the lands and the kingdoms to-
wards the north part, in coming
down from the land of Cathay
unto the lands of theChristians,
towards Prussia and Russia,
I will speak of other lands
and kingdoms conning down
towards the right side, unto
the Sea of Greece, towards the
land of the Christians. And
since, after India and Cathay,
the emperor of Persia is the
greatest lord, I will tell you of
the kingdom of Persia. He
hath two kingdoms.; the first
begins towards the east, towards
the kingdom of Turkestan, and
extends towards the west to the
river Pison, which is one of the
four rivers that come out of
Paradise. And on another side
it extends toward the north to
the Caspian Sea, and toward
the south to the desert of India.
And this country is good, and
pleasant, and full of people, and
contains many good cities.
But the two principal cities are
Boycurra and Seomergant, that
some men call Sormagant.^ The
other kingdom of Persia ex-
tends towards the river Pison,
and the parts of the west, to the

1 Bokhara and Samarcand.

MANDE VILLE.

«5

kingdom of Media, and from
the Great Armenia toward the
north to the Caspian Sea, and
towards the south to- the land
of India. That is also a good
and rich land, and it hath three
great principal cities, Messabw,
Caphon, and Sarmassane.

And then after is Armenia,
in which were formerly four
kingdoms ; it is a noble coimtry,
and full of goods. And it be-
gins at Persia, and extends to-
wards the west in length unto
Turkey, and in breadth it ex-
tends to the city of Alexandria,*
that now is called the Gate of
Hell, that I spoke of before,
under the kingdom of Media.
In this Armenia are many good
cities, but Taurizo* is most of
name.

After this is the kingdom of
Media, which is very long, but
not broad, beginning, towards
the east, with the land of Persia,
and India the Less ; and it ex-
tends towards the west to the
kingdom of Chaldea, and towards
the north towards Little Ar-
menia. In that kingdom of
Media are many great hills and
little of level ground. Sara-
cens dwell therei and another
kind of people called Cordines."
The two best cities of that
kingdom are Sarras and Kare-
men.

After that is the kingdom of
Georgia, which commences to-
wards the east, at the great
mountain called Abzor, and
contains many people of differ-

* Iskanderoon T ' Tabreez,

* The Kurds, the Gordyme of the ancients.

ent nations. And men call
the country Alamo. This king-
dom extends towards Turkey,
and towards the Great Sea ; and
towards the south it borders on
the Greater Armenia. And there
are two kingdoms in that
country, the kingdom of Georgia
and the kingdom of Abchaz ;
and always in that country are
two kings, both Christians : but
the king of Georgia is in sub-
jection to the great Chan. And
the king of Abchaz has the
stronger country, and he always
vigorously defends his country
against all who assail him, so
that no man may reduce him to
subjection. In that kingdom of
Abchaz is a great marvel ; for
a province of the country, that
has well in circuit three days,
which they call Hanyson, is all
covered with darkness, without
any brightness or light, so that
no man can see there, nor no
man dare enter into it. And,
nevertheless, they of the country
say that sometimes men hear
voices of people, and horses
neighing, and cocks- crowing ;
and men know well that men
dwell there, but they know not
what men. And they say that
the darkness befell by miracle
of God'; for a cursed emperor
of Persia, named Saures, pur-
sued all the Christians to de-
stroy them, and to compel them
to make sacrifice to his idols,
and rode with a great host, in
all that ever he might, to con-
found the Christians. And then,
in that country, dwelt many
good Christians, who left their

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goods, and would have fled
into Greece ; and when they
were in a plain called Me-
gon, anon this cursed emperor
met with them, with his host,
to have slain them and cut
them to pieces. And the Chris-
tians kneeled to the ground,
and made their prayers to God
to succour them ; and anon a
great thick cloud came, and
covered the emperor and all
his host; and so they remain
in that manner, that they may
go out on no -side ; and so shall
they evermore abide in dark-
ness till doomsday, by the
miracles of God. And then
the Christians went where they
liked at their own pleasure, with-
out hindrance of any creature.
And you shall understand that
outof that land of darknessissues
a great river, that shows well
there are people dwelling there,
by many ready tokens ; but no
man dare enter into it.

And kjiow well that in the
kingdoms of Georgia, Abchaz,
and the Little Armenia, are
good and devout Christians ;
for they shrive and housel *
themselves always once or twice
in the week ; and many housel
themselves every day.

Also after, on this side, is
Turkey, which borders on the
Great Armenia. And there are
many provinces, as Cappadocia,
Saure, Brique, Quesiton, Pytan,
and Gemethe ; and in each of
these are many good cities.
This Turkey extends to the city
of Sathala, that sitteth upon the

1 Take the sacrament.

sea of Greece, and so it borders
on Syria. Syria is a great and
a good country, as I have told
you before. And also it has,
towards Upper India, the king-
dom of Chaldea, extending from
the mountains of Chaldea to-
wards the east to the city of
Nineveh, on the river Tigris;
in breadth it begins towards the
north, at the city of Maraga,
and extends towards the south
to the Sea of Ocean. Chaldea
is a level country, with few hills
and few rivers.

After is the kingdom of
Mesopotamia, which begins to-
wards the east, at the river
Tigris, at a city called Moselle,*
and extends towards the west
to the river Euphrates, to a city
called Roianz ; and in length it
extends from the mountain of
Armenia to the desert of India
the Less. This is a good and
level cowntry; but it has few
rivers. There are but two
mountains in that country, of
which one is called Symar, the
other Lyson. This land bor-
ders on the kingdom of Chal-
dea.

There are also, towards the
south parts, many countries and
regions, as the land of Ethiopia,
which borders towards the east
on the great deserts, towards
the west on the kingdom of
Nubia, towards the south on
the kingdom of Mauritania,
and towards the north on the
Red Sea. After is Mauritania,
which extends from the moun-
tains of Ethiopia to Upper

1 Mosul.

MANDE VILLE.

Libya. And that country lies
along from the Ocean Sea to-
wards the south, and towards
the north it borders on Nubia
and Upper Libya. The men
of Nubia are Christians. And
it extends from the lands above
mentioned to the deserts of
Egypt, of which I have spoken
before. And after is Upper
and Lower Libya, which de-
scends low down, towards the
great sea of Spain, in which
country are many kingdoms and
different people.

In passing by the land of
Cathay towards Upper India,
and towards Bucharia, men pass
by a kingdom called Caldilhe,
which is a very fair country.
From that land men go towards
the land of Bucharia, where are
very evil and cruel people. In
that land are trees that bear
wool,^ as though it were of
sheep, whereof men make
clothes, and all things that may
be made of wool. In that
country are many ipotaynes,
that dwell sometimes in the
w^ater and sometimes on the
land ; and they are half man
and half horse, as I have said
before ; and they eat men when
they may take them. And there
are rivers of water that are very
bitter, three times more than is
the water of the sea. In that
country are many griffins, more
abundant than in any other
country. Some men say that
they have the body upward of
an eagle, and beneath of a lion,
and that is true. But one

^Cottoa

griffin has a greater body and
is stronger than eight lions, and
greater and stronger than a
hundred eagles. For one grif-
fin there will carry, flying to his
nest, a great horse, or two oxen
yoked together as they go at
the plough. For he has his
talons so long, and so large and
great, as though they were horns
of great oxen, or of bulls, or of
kine, so that men make cups of
them to drink out of; and of
their ribs, and of the feathers
of their wings, men make bows
full strong, to shoot with arrows
and darts. From thence men
go, by many days, through the
land of Prester John, the great
emperor of India. And they
call his kingdom the isle of
Pentexoire.

Near that isle of Mistorak,
upon the left side, nigh to the
river of Pison, is a marvellous
thing. There is a vale between
the mountains which extends
nearly four miles ; and some
call it the Enchanted Vale, some
call it the Vale of Devils, and
some the Perilous Vale. In
that vale men henr oftentimes
great tempests and thunders,
and great murmurs and noises,
day and night ; and great noise
as it were, of tabors, and
nakeres, and trumpets, as
though it were of a great feast.
This vale is all full of devils, and
has been always ; and men say
there that it is one of the
entrances of hell. In that vale
is great plenty of gold and
silver; wherefore many misbe-
lieving men, and many Chris-

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THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

A ;

tians also, oftentimes go in, to
have of the treasure ; but few
return, especially of the misbe-
lieving men, for they are anon
strangled by the devils. And
in the centre of that vale, under
a rock, is a head and the visage
of a devil bodily, full horrible
and dreadful to see, and it
shows but the head to the
shoulders. But there is no man
in the world so bold. Christian
or other, but he would be in
dread to behold it, and he
would feel almost dead with
fear, so hideous is it to behold.
For he looks at every man
so sharply with dreadful eyes,
that are ever moving and spark-
ling like fire, and changes and
stirs so often in divers manners,
with so horrible a countenance,
that no man dare approach
towards him. And from him
issues smoke, and stink, and
fire, and so much abomination
that scarce any man may en-
dure there. But the good
Christians, that are stable in
their faith, enter without peril ;
for they will first shrive them,
and mark them with the sign
of the holy cross, so that the
fiends have no power over them.
But although they are without
peril, yet they are not without
dread when they see the devils
visibly and bodily all about
them, that make full many
divers assaults and menaces, in
air and on earth, and terrify
them with strokes of thunder
blasts and of tempests. And
the greatest fear is that God
will take vengeance then of

that which men have misdone
against his will.

And you shall understand
that when my fellows and I
were in this vale, we were in
great thought whether we durst
put our bodies in aventure, to
go in or not, in the protection
of God \ and some of our fel-
lows agreed to enter, and some
not. So there were with us two
worthy men, friars minors of
Lombardy, who said that if any
man would enter they would go
in with us ; and when they had
said so, upon the gracious trust
of God and of them, we heard
mass, and every man was
shriven and houseled ; and then
we entered, fourteen persons,
but at our going out we were
but nine. And so we never
knew whether our fellows were
lost, or had turned back for
fear ; but we never saw them
after. They were two men of
Greece, and three of Spain.
And our other fellows, that
would not go in with us, went by
another road to be before us ;
and so they were. And thus we
passed that Perilous Vale, and
found therein gold and silver,
and precious stones, and rich
jewels, in great plenty, both
here and there, as it seemed ;
but whether it was as it seemed
I know not, for I touched none ;
because the devils are so subtle
to make a thing to seem other-
wise than it is, to deceive man-
kind ; and therefore I touched
none ; and also because that I
would not be put out of my
devotion, for I was more devout

MANDE VILLE.

then than ever I was before or
after, and all for the dread of
fiends that I saw in divers
figures ; and also for the great
multitude of dead bodies that I
saw there lying by the way, in
all the vale, as though there
had been a battle between two
kings, and the mightiest of the
country, and •' at the greater
party had been discomfited and
slain. And I believe that
hardly should any country have
so many people in it as lay
slain in that vale, as^it seemed
to us, which was a hideous
sight to see. And I marvelled
much that there were so many,
and the bodies all whole, with-
out rotting ; but I believe that
fiends made them seem to
be so fresh, without rotting.
And many of them were in
habits of Christian men ; but I
believe they were such as went
in for covetousness of the trea-
sure that) was there, and had
overmuch feebleness in faith ;
so that their hearts might not
endure in the belief for dread.
And therefore we were the more
devout a great deal ; and yet
we were cast down and beaten
down many times to the hard
earth by winds, and thunders,
and tempests; but evermore
God of his grace helped us.
And so we passed that perilous
vale without peril and without
encumbrance, thanked be Al-
mighty God !

After this, beyond the vale,
is a great isle, the inhabitants
of which are great giants of
twenty-eight or thirty feet long,

with no clothing but skins of
beasts, that they hang upon
them ; and they eat nothing but
raw fic-h; and drink milk of
beasts. They have no houses
to lie in. And they eat more
gladly man's flesh than any
other flesh. Into that isle dare
no man enter ; and if they see
a ship, and men therein, anon
they enter' into the sea to take
them. And men told us that
in an isle beyond that were
giants of greater stature, some
of forty-five or fifty feet long,
and even, as some men say, of
fifty cubits long; but I saw
none of those, for I had no
lust to go to those parts, be
cause that no man comes either
into that isle or into the other
but he will be devoured anon.
And among those giants are
sheep as great as oxen here,
which bear great rough wool.
Of the sheep I have sees many
times. And men have said
many times those giants take
men, in the sea, out of theii
ships, and bring them to land,
two in one hand and two in the
other, eating them going, all
raw and alive. In. another isle,
towards the north j. in the Sea
of Ocean, are very evil women,
who have precious stones in
their eyes ; and if they behold
any man with wrath, they slay
him with the look.

Towards the east of Prester
John's land is a good and great
isle called Taprobane, and it is
very fruitful ; and. the king
thereof is- rich,, and is under
the obeisance of Prester John.

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THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

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And there they allways make
their king by election. In that
isle are two summers and two
winters, and men harvest the
corn twice a yea? \ and in all
seasons of the year the gardens
are in flower. There dwell
good people, and reasonable,
and many Christian men among
them, who are so rich that they
know not what to do with their
goods. Of old time, when men
passed from the land of Prester
John unto that isle, men made
ordinance to pass by ship in
twenty-three days or more ; but
now men pass by ship in seven
days. And men may see the
bottom of the sea in many
places, for it is not very deep.

Beside that isle, towards the
east, are two other isles, one
called Grille, the other Argyte,
of which all the land is mines
of gold and silver. And those
isles are just where the Red Sea
separates from the Ocean Sea.
And in those isles men see no
stars so clearlyas in other places,
for there appears only one clear
star called Canopus. And there
the moon tie not seen in all the
lunation, except in the second
quarter. In the Isle, ate©, of
this Taprobane, are great hills
of gold that ants keep full -dfli-
gently.

And beyond the land, and
isles, and deserts of Prester
John's lordship, in goingstraight
towards the east, men find no-
thing but mountains and great
rocks ; and there is the da/rk
region, where no man may see
neither by day nor night, as

they of the country say. And
that desert, and that place of
darkness, lasts from this coast
unto Terrestrial Paradise, where
Adam, our first father, and Eve
were put, who dwelt there but
a little while; and that is to-
wards the east, at the beginning
of the earth. But this is not
that east that we call our east,
on this half, where the sun rises
to us ; for when the sun is east
in those parts towards Terres-
trial Paradise, it is then mid-
night in our parts on this half,
on account of the roundness of
the earth, of which I have told
you before ; for our Lord God
made the earth all round, in the
middle of the firmament. And
there have mountains and hills
been, and valleys, which arose
only from Noah's flood, that
wasted the soft and tender
ground, and fell down into val-
leys; and the hard earth and
the rock remain mountains,
when the soft and tender earth
was worn away by the water,
and fell, and became valleys.

Of Paradise I cannot speak
properly, for I was not there.
It is far beyond ; and I repent
not going there, but I was not
worthy. But as I have heard
say of wise men beyond, I shall
tdl you with good will. Ter-
restrial Paradise, as wise men
say, is the highest place of the
earth ; and it is so high that it
nearly touches the circle of the
moon there, as the moon makes
her turn. For it is so high that
the flood of Noah might not
come to it, that would have

! t-

MANDE VILLE,

^» I

covered all the earth of the
world all about, and above and
beneath, except Paradise. And
this Paradise is enclosed all
about with a wall, and men
know not whereof it is ; for the
wall is covered all over with
moss, as it seems, and it seems
not that the wall is natural stone.
And that wall stretches from the
south to the north, and it has
but one entry, which is -closed
with burning fire, so that no
man that is mortal dare enter.
And in the highest place of
Paradise, exactly in the middle,
is a well that casts out the four
streams, which run by divers
lands, of which the first is
called Pison, or Ganges, that
runs throughout India, or Em-
lak, in which river are many
precious stones, and much lig-
num aloes, and much sand of
gold. And the other river is
called Nile, or Gyson, which
goes through Ethiopia, and after
through Egypt. And the other
is called Tigris, which runs by
Assyria, and by Armenia the
Great. And the other is called
Euphrates, which runs through
Media, Armenia, and Persia.
And men there beyond say that
all the sweet waters of thie world,
above and beneath, take their
beginning from the well of Para-
dise ; and out of that well all
waters come and go. The first
river is called Pison, that is, in
our language, Assembly ; for
many other rivers meet there
and go into that river. And
some call it Ganges, from an
Indian king called Gangeres,

because it ran through his
land. And its water is in some
places clear, and in some places
troubled ; in some places hot,
and in some places cold. The
second river is called Nile, or
Gyson, for it is always troubled ;
and Gyson, in the language of
Ethiopia, is to say Trouble, and
in the language of Egypt also.
The third river, called Tigris,
is as much as to say. Fast Run-
ning ; for it runs faster than any
of the others. The fourth river
is called Euphrates, that is to
say, Well Bearing; for there
grow upon that river com, fruit,
and other goods, in great plenty.
And you shall understand
that no man that is mortal may
approach to that Paradise ; for
by land no man may go for
wild beasts that are in the de-
serts, and for the high moun-
tains, and great huge rocks, that
no man may pass by for the
dark places that are there ; and
by the rivers may no man go,
for the water runs so roughly
and so sharply, because it comes
down so outrageously from the
high places above, that it runs
in so great waves that no ship
may row or sail against it ; and
the water roars so, and makes
so huge a noise and so great a
tempest, that no man may hear
another in the ship, though he
cried with all the might he could.
Many great lords have assayed
with great will, many times, to
pass by those rivers towards
Paradise, with full great com-
panies; but they might not
speed in their voyage ; and

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many died for weariness of row-
ing against the strong waves ;
and many of them became blind,
and many deaf, for the noise of
the water; and some perished
and were lost in the waves ; so
that no mortal man may ap-
proach to that place without
special grace of God ; so that
of that place I can tell you. no
more.

CHAPTER IX.

Of the customs of Kings and others that
dwell in the Isles bordering on Prester
I I John's Land.

From those isles that I have
spoken of before, in the land
of Prester John, that are under
earth as to us, and of other isles
that are further beyond, who-
ever will pursue them may come
again right to the parts that he
came from, and so environ all
the earth ; but what for the isles,
what for the sea^ and what for
strong rowing, few people assay
to pass that passage. And there-
fore men return from the isles
beforesaid by other isles, coast-
ing, from the land of Prester
John. And then come men, in
returning, to an isle called Cas-
son, which is full sixty days in
length, and more than fifty in
breadth. This is the best isle,
and the best kingdom, that is
in all those parts, except Cathay ;
and if the merchants used that
country as much as they do
Cathay, it would be better than
Cathay in a short time. This
country is well inhabited, and

so full of cities and good towns,
and inhabited with people, that
when a man goes out of one
city he sees another city before
him. In that isle is great plenty
of all goods to live with, and of
all manner of spices ; and there
are great forests of chestnuts.
The king of that isle is very
rich and mighty, and yet he
holds his land of the great Chan,
and is subject to him ; for it is
one of the twelve provinces
which the great Chan has under
him, besides his own land, and
other less isles, of which he has
many.

From- thafr kingdom come
men, in returning, ta another
isle, called Rybothe, which also
is under the great Chan. It is
a full good country, and rich
in all goods, and wine and fruit,
and all other riches. And the
people of that country have no
houses, but they dwell and lie
all under tents made of black
fern. And the principal city,
and the most royal, is all walled
with black: and white stone;
and all the streets alsaare paved
with the same stones. In that
city is no man so hardy as to
shed blood of any man, nor of
any beast, for the reverence of
an idol that is worshipped there.
And in that isle dwells the pope
of their law, whom they call
lobassy. This lobassy gives all
the benefices, and other digtii-
ties, and all other things that
belong to the idol. In that
isle they have a custom^ in all the
country, that when- any man's
father, is deadj. and' the son

MANDE VILLE.

wishes to do great honour to
his father, he sends to all his
friends, and to all his kin, and
for religious men and priests,
and for minstrels also, in great
plenty ; and then they bear the
dead body unto a great hill,
with great joy and solemnity ;
and when they have brought it
thither, the chief prelate smites
off the head and lays it upon a
great platter of gold and silver,
if he be a rich man ; and then
he gives the head to the son,
and then the son and his other
kin sing and say many prayers ;
and then the priests, and the
religious men, smite all the body
of the dead man in pieces, and
then they say certain prayers.
And the birds of prey of all the
country about know the custom
for a long time before, and come
flying above in the air, as eagles,
kites, ravens, and other birds
that eat flesh. And then the
priests cast the bits of flesh,
and each fowl takes what he
may, and goes .a little thence
and eats it; and they do so
whilst any piece of the dead
body remains. And after that
the priests sing with high voice,
in their language, * Behold how
worthy a man, and how good a
man this was, that the angels of
God came to seek him, and to
bring him into Paradise.' And
then it seems to the son that he
is highly worshipped when many
birds, and fowls, and ravens,
come and eat his father ; and
he that has most number of
fowls is most worshipped. Then
the son brings home with him

all his kin, and his friends, and
all the others, to his house, and
makes a great feast ; and then
all his friends make their boast
how the fowls came thither,
here five, here six, here ten,
and there twenty, and so forth j
and they rejoice greatly to speak
thereof. And when they are at
meat the son brings forth the
head of his father, and thereof
he serves of the flesh to his
most special friends as a dainty.
And of the skull he makes a
cup, and drinks out of it with
his other friends in great devo-
tion, in remembrance of the
holy man that the angels of
God had eaten. And that cup
the son shall keep to drink out
of all his lifetime, in remem-
brance of his father.

From that land, in returning
by ten days through the land
of the great Chan, is another
good isle, and a great kingdom,
where the king is full rich and
mighty. And amongst the rich
men of his country is a passing
rich man, that is neither prince,
nor duke, nor earl ; but he has
more that hold of him lands
and other lordships - or he has
every year, of annuL. .at, more
than three hundred thousand
horses charged with com of
divers grains and rice ; and so
he leads a full noble and deli-
cate life, after the custom of the
country; for he has every day
fifty fair damsels, all maidens,
that serve him evermore at his
meat, and to wait upon him,
and to do with them what he
pleases. And when he is at the

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THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

iihi-

table, they bring him his meat
at every time, five and five to-
gether ; and in bringing their
service they sing a song. And
after that they cut his meat
and put it in his mouth ; for he
touches nothing, nor handles
nought, but holds evermore his
hands before him upon the
table ; for he has such long
nails that he may take nothing,
nor handle anything. For the
nobleness of that country is to
have long nails, and to make
them grow always to be as long
as men may ; and there are
many in that country that have
their nails so long that they
environ all the hand ; and that
is a great nobleness. And the
nobleness of the women is to
have small feet ; and therefore,
as soon as they are born, they
bind their feet so tight that they
may not grow half as nature
would. And always these dam-
sels, that I spoke of before, sing
all the time that this rich man
eateth ; and when he eateth no
more of his first course, then
other five and five of fair dam-
sels bring him his second course^
always singing, as they did be-
fore ; and so they do continually
every day, to the end of his
meat. And in this manner he
leads his life ; and so they did
before him that were his ances-
tors; and so shall they that
come after him, without doing
of any deeds of arms, but live
evermore thus in ease, as a
swine that is fed in a sty to be
made fat. He has a full fair
and rich palace, the walla of

which are two miles in circuit ;
and he has within many fair
gardens, and many fair halls
and chambers ; and the pave-
ment of his halls and chambers
are of gold and silver. And in
the middle of one of his gar-
dens is a little mountain, where
there is a little meadow; and
in that meadow is a little house,
with towers and pinnacles, all
of gold ; and in that little house
will he sit often to take the air
and sport himself.

And you shall understand,
that of all these countries and
isles, and of all the divers people
that I have spoken of before,
and of divers laws, and of divers
beliefs that they have, there is
none of them all but they have
some reason and understanding
in them, and they have certain
articles of our faith, and some
good points of our belief ; and
they believe in God that created
all things and made the world ;
but yet they cannot speak per
fectly (for there is no man to
teach them), but only what
they can devise by their na-
tural understanding; for they
have no knowledge of the Son
nor of the Holy Ghost ; but
they can all speak of the Bible,
namely, of Genesis, of the
Prophets' laws, and of the books
of Moses. And they say well
that the creatures that they
worship are no gods ; but they
worship them for the virtue that
is in them. And of simulacres,
and of idols, they say that there
are no people but that they
have simulacres ; and they sa>:

MANDEVILLE.

that we Christian, men have
images, as of our Lady, and of
other saints, that we worship ;
not the images of wood or of
stone, but the saints in whose
names they are made ; for right
as the books of the Scripture
teach the clerks how and ini
what manner they shall believe,
right so the images and the
paintings teach the ignorant
people to worship the saints,
and to have them in their minds,
in whose name the images are
made. They say also^ that the
angels of God speak to them
in those idols, and that they do
many great miracles. And they
say truth, that there is an angel
within them ; for there ase two
manner of angels,^ a good and
an evil ; as the Greeks say,
Cacho and Calo* This Cacho
is the wicked angel, and Calo
is the good angel ; but the other
is not the good angel, but the
wicked angel, which is within,
the idols to deceive them and
maintain them in their error.

There are many other divers
countries, and many other mar-
vels beyond, that I have not
seen ; wherefore I cannot speak
of them properly. And, also, in
the countries where I have been
are many diversities of many
wonderful things, more than I
make mention of; for it were
too long a thing to devise you
the manner of them- all. And
therefore now that I have de-
vised you of certain countries,
which I have spoKcn of before,
I loeseech your worthy and ex-
cellent nobleness that it suffice

to you at this time ; for if I told
you all that is beyond the sea,
another man, perhaps, who
would labour to go into those
parts to seek those countries,
might be blamed by my words
in rehearsing many strange
things ; for he might not say
anything new, in the which the
hearers might have either so-
lace or pleasure.

And you shall understand
that, at my coming home, I
came to Rome, and showed
my life to our holy father the
pope, and was absolved of all
that lay in my conscience of
many divers grievous points, as
men must need that are in com-
pany, dwelling amongst so
many divers people, of divers
sects and beliefs, as I have
been. And, amongst all, I
showed him this treatise, that I
had made after information of
men that knew of things that I
had not seen myself, and also
of marvels and customs that
I had seen myself, as far as
God would give me grace ; and
besought his holy fatherhood
that my book might be examined
and corrected by advice of his
wise and discreet council. And
our holy father, of his special
grace, gave my book to be exa-
mined and proved by the advice
of his said council, by the which
my book was proved for true,
insomuch that they showed me
a book, which my book was
examined by, that compre-
hended full much more, by an
hundredth part, by the which
the Mappa Mundi was mad«i

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TllF. ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

And 80 my hook (albeit that
many men hst not to give crc-
dcn<'c to anything hut to what
they see with their eye, he the
author or the i)er8on over so
true) is aflinned and proved by
our holy father in manner and
form as I have said.

And 1, John Mandevillc,
knight, abovesaid (although I
be unworthy), that went from
our countries, and passed the
sea, in the year of grace 1322,
have passed many lands, and
many isles and countries, and
searclied many full strange
places, and have been in many
a full good and honourable com-
pany, and at many a fair deed
of arms (albeit that I did none
myself, for my insufficiency),
now I nm come home (in spite
of myself) to rest ; for rheuma-
tic gouts, that distress me, fix
the end of my labour, against
my will (God knoweth). And
thus, taking comfort in my
wretched rcst| recording the

time passed, I have fulfilled
these tilings, and written them
in this book, as it would come
into my minil, the year of grace
1356, in the thirty-fourth year
that I departed from our coun-
try. Wherefore 1 pray to all
the readers and hearers of this
book, if it please them, that
they would pray to God for me,
and I shall pray for them.
And all those that say for me a
Pater Noster^ with an Ave
Maria^ that God forgive me
my sins, I make him partner
and grant him part of all the
good pilgrimages, and of all the
good deeds that I have done,
if any be for his good, and not
only of those, but of all thai
ever I shall do unto .my life's
end.'

1 The text of the Introductory portion of
• M.v»dcville' h.is been niodcrnixed from
Halliwell's reprint of the Cottonian Library
edition, while part of iho remainder has
been collated with, and partly given from,
the version of the travels in Early TravtU
in Pahsiine, in Dohn's Library, by perniis-
sion of Messrs. George Bell and Sou.

BRUCE'S TRAVELS IN ABYSSINIA.

CTIAI'TI'.R I.

Iiitroiltictory.

It is with a view to give
every possible information to
my reader, that I lay before
him the motives upon which
these travels were undertaken,
the order and manner in which
they were executed, and some
account of the work itself, as
well of the matter as the dis-
tribution of it.

Every one will remember
that period, so glorious to Bri-
tain, the latter end of the mini-
stry of the late Earl of Chatham.
I was then returned from a tour
through the greatest part ofi Eu-
rope, particularly through the
whole of Spain and Portugal, be-
tween whom there was then an
appearance of approaching war.
I was about to retire to a small
patrimony I had received from,
my ancestors, in order to em-
brace a life of study and reflec*
tion, nothing more active ap-
pearing then within my power,
when chance threw me unexr
pectedly into a very short and
desultory conversation with
Lord Chatham.

A few days after this, Mr.
Wood, then undersecretary of
state, my very zealous and sin-
cere friend, informed me that
Lord Chatham intended to em-
ploy me on a i)articular service ;
that I might, however, go down
for a few weeks to my own
country to settle my affairs, but
by all means to be ready upon
a call. Nothing could be more
fluttering to nie than such an
offer; to be thought worthy,
when so young, of any employ-
ment by Lorcl Chatham was
doubly a preferment. No time
was lost on my side; but, just
after my having received orders
to return to London, his lord-
ship had gone to Bath, and re-
signed his office.

This disappointment, which
was the more sensibly felt by
me, as it was the first I: had
met with in public life, was
promised to be made up to me
by Lord Egremont and Mr.
George Grenville. The former
had been long my friend; but
unhappily he wasthen fargonein
a lethargic indisposition, which
threatened, and very soon after
put a period to his existence.

I*1>'^\^

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- 41

{,■ A

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

Seven or eight months were
passed in an expensive and fruit-
less attendance in London,
when Lord Halifax was pleased,
not only to propose, but to plan
for me a journey of consider-
able importance, and which was
to take up several years. His
lordship said, that nothing
could be more ignoble, than
that, at such a time of life, at
the height of my reading, health,
and activity, I should, as it
were, turn peasant, and volun-
tarily bury myself in obscurity
and idleness; that though the
war was now drawing fast to an
end, a competition full as hon-
ourable remained among men
of spirit, who should acquit
themselves best in the danger-
ous line of useful adventure and
discovery. * He observed, that
the coast of Barbary, which
might be said to be just at our
door, was as yet but partially
explored. The discovery of
the source of the Nile was also
a subject of these conversations ;
but it was always mentioned to
me with a kind of diffidence, as
if to be expected only from a
more experienced traveller.
Fortune seemed to enter into
this scheme. At the very in-
stant, Mr. Aspinwall, very
cruelly and ignominiously
treated by the Dey of Algiers,
had resigned his consulship,
and Mr. Ford, a merchant,
formerly the Dey's acquaint-
ance, was named in his place.
Mr. Ford was appointed, and
dying a few days after, the con-
sulship became vacant. Lord

Halifax pressed me to accept
this, as containing all sorts ot
conveniencies for making the
proposed expedition. This
favourable event finally deter-
mined me. I had all my life
applied unweariedly, perhaps
with more love than talent, to
drawing, the practice of mathe-
matics, and especially that part
necessary to astronomy. The
transit of Venus was at hand.
It was certainly known that it
would be visible once at Algiers,
and there was great reason to
expect that it might be twice.
I had furnished myself with a
large apparatus of instruments,
the comjiletest of their kind,
for the observation. In the
choice of these I had been as-
sisted by my friend Admiral
Campbell, and Mr. Russel,
secretary to the Turkish Com-
pany : every other necessary
had been provided in propor-
tion.

Thus prepared, I set out for
Italy, through France ; and
though it was in time of war,
and some strong objections had
been made to particular pass-
ports solicited by our govern-
ment from the French secre-
tary of state, Monsieur de
Choiseul most obligingly waved
all such exceptions with regard
to me, and most politely assured
me, in a letter accompanying
my passport, that those difficul-
ties did not in any shape regard
me, but that I was perfectly at
liberty to pass through, or re-
main in France, with those that
accompanied me, without limit-

BRUGES TRAVELS.

ing their number, as short or as
long a time as should be agree-
able to me. On my arrival at
Rome I received orders to pro-
ceed to Naples, there to await
his Majesty's further commands.
Nothing remained but to take
possession of my consulship.
I returned without loss of time
to Rome, and thence to Leg-
horn, where, having embarked
on board the Montreal man-of-
war, I proceeded to Algiers.

After a year spent at Algiers,
constant conversation with the
natives whilst abroad, and with
my manuscripts within doors,
had qualified me to appear in
any part of the continent with-
out the help of an interpreter.
My immediate prospect of set-
ting out on my journey to the
inland parts of Africa had made
me double my diligence ; night
and day there was no relaxation
from these studies, although the
acquiring any single language
had never been with me either
an object of time or difficulty.

There was a Greek priest, a
native of Cyprus, a very vener-
able man, past seventy years of
age, who had attached himself
to me from my first arrival in
Algiers. This man was of a
very social and cheerful temper,
and had, besides, a more than
ordinary knowledge of his own
language. I had taken him to
my house as my chaplain, read
Greek with him daily, and spoke
it at times when I could receive
his correction and instruction.
It was not that I, at this time
of day, needed to learn Greek,

I had long understood that lan-
guage perfectly ; what I wanted
was the pronunciation, and read-
ing by accent, of which the
generality of English scholars
are perfectly ignorant, and to
which it is owing that they
apprehend the Greek spoken
and written in the Archipelago
is materially different from that
language which we read in
books, and which a few weeks'
conversation in the islands will
teach them it is not. I had in
this, at that time, no other view
than mere convenience during
my passage through the Archi-
pelago, which I intended to
visit, without any design of con-
tinuing or studying there : but
the reader will afterwards see
of what very material service
this acquaintance was to me ; so
very essential, indeed, that it
contributed more to the success
of my views in Abyssinia than
any other help that I obtained
throughout the whole journey.
This man's name was Padre
Christophoro, or Father Christo-
pher. At my leaving Algiers,
finding himself less conveni-
ently situated, he went to Egypt,
to Cairo, where he was pro-
moted to be second in rank
under Mark, patriarch of Alex-
andria, where I afterwards found
him.

I sailed from Algiers, having
taken leave of the Dey, who
furnished me with every letter
that I asked, with strong and
peremptory orders to all the
officers of his own dominions,
pressing recommendatory ones

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THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

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to the Beys of Tunis and Tripoli,
states independent, indeed, of
the Dey of Algiers, but over
which the circumstances of the
times had given him a consider-
able influence. I sailed in a
small vessel from Port Mahon,
and, having a fair wind, in a
short time made the coast of
Africa, at a cape, or headland,
called Ras el Hamra, and
landed at Bona, a considerable
town, the ancient Aphrodisium,
built from the ruins of Hippo
Regius, from which it is only
two miles distant. It stands on.
a large plain, part of which
seems to have been once over-
flowed by the sea. Its trade
consists now in the exportation-
of wheat, when, in plentiful
years, that trade is permitted
by the government of Algiers.
I had a delightful voyage close
down the coast, and passed the
island Tabarca, lately a small
fortification of the Genoese, now
in the hands of the regency of
Tunis, who took it by surprise,
and made all the inhabitants
slaves. The island is famous
for a coral fishery, and along
the coast are immense forests
of large beautiful oaks, more
than sufficient to supply the
necessities of all the maritime
powers in the Levant, if the
quality of the wood be but equal
to the size and beauty of the
tree.

From Tabauca I sailed and>
anchored at Biserta, and thence-
went to pay a visit to Uticaj
out of respect to the memory of
Cato, without having sanguine

expectations of meeting any-
thing remarkable there; and
accordingly I found nothing
memorable but the name. It
may be said, nothing remains
of Utica but a heap of rubbish
and of small stones; without
the city the trenches and ap-
proaches of the ancient be-
siegers are still very perfect.

After doubling Cape Carthage
I anchored before the fortress
of the Goletta, a place now of
no strength, notwithstanding the
figure it made at the time of the
expedition of Charles v. Row-
ing along the bay, between the
Cape and this anchorage, I saw
several buildings and columns
still standing under water, by
which it appeared that old Car-
thagehadowed part of its destruc-
tion to the sea, and hence like-
wise may be inferred the absur-
dity of any attempt to represent
the site of ancient Carthage upon
paper. It has^ been, besides, at
least ten times. destroyed, so that
the stations, where its first citi-
zens fell fighting for their liberty,
are covered deep in rubbish far
from being trodden upon by
those unworthy slaves who are
now its masters. Tunis is twelve
miles distant from this : it is a
large and flourishing city. The
people are more civilized than
in Algiers, and the government
milder, but the climate is very
far from, being so good. Tunis
is> low, hot, and damp, and de-
stitute of good: water, with which
Algiers is supplied from a thou-
sand springs. I delivered my
letters from the Bey, and ob-

BRUGES TRAVELS.

lOI

tained permission to visit the
country in whatever direction I
should please. I took with me
a French renegado, of the name
of Osman, recommended to me
by Monsieur Barthelemy de
Saisieu, consul of France to that
state ; a gentleman whose con-
versation and friendship furnish
me still with some of the most
agreeable reflections that result
from my travels. With Osman
I took ten spahi, or horse-sol-
diers, well armed with firelocks
and pistols, excellent horsemen,
and, as far as I could ever dis-
cem upon the few occasions
that presented, as eminent for
cowardictf, at least, as they
were for horsemanship. This
was not the case with Osman,
who was very brave; but he
needed a sharp look-out, that
he did not often embroil us
where there was access to
women or to wine.

The coast along which I had
sailed was part of Numidia and
Africa Proper, and there I met
with no ruins. I resolved now
to distribute my inland journey
through the kingdom of Algiers
and Tunis. In order to com-
prehend the whole, I first set
out along the river Majerda,
through a country perfectly cul-
tivated, and inhabited by people
under the control of govern-
ment. This river was the an-
cient Bagrada. After passing a
triumphal arch of bad taste at
Basil-bab, I came the next day.;
to Thugga, perhaps more pro-
perly called Tucca, and, by the
inhabitants, Dugga.

I found at Dugga a large
scene of ruins, among which
one building was easily distin-
guishable. It was a large pillar
of the Corinthian order, all of
Parian marble, the columns
fluted, the cornice highly orna-
mented in the very best style
of sculpture. In the tympanum
is an eagle flying to heaven
with a human figure upon his
back, which, by the many in-
scriptions that are still remain-
ing, seems to be intended for,
that of Trajan, and the apo-
theosis of that emperor to be
the subject, the temple having
been erected by Adrian to that
prince, his benefactor and pre-
decessor. From Dugga I con-
tinued the upper road to Keff,
through the pleasant plains in-
habited by the Welled Yagoube.
I then proceeded to Hydra, a
frontier place between the two
kingdoms of Algiers and Tunis,
as Keff is also. It is inhabited
by a tribe of Arabs, whose chief
is a marabout, or saint. They
are called Welled Sidi Boogan-
nim, the * sons of the father of
flocks.' These Arabs are im-
mensely rich, paying no tribute
either to Tunis or Algiers.

There is at Thunodrunum a
triumphal arch, which Dr. Shaw
thinks is more remarkable for
its size than for its taste or
execution; but the size is not
extraordinary ; on the other
hand, both taste and execution
are admirable. It is, with all
its parts, in the King's collec-
tion, and, taking the whole to-
gether, is one of the most

1- vK

I <

tf^iS

102

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

beautiful landscapes in black
and white now existing. The
distance, as well as the fore-
ground, are both from nature,
and exceedingly well calculated
for such representation.

Before Dr. Shaw's travels first
acquired the celebrity they have
maintained ever since, there was
a circumstance that very nearly
ruined their credit. He had
ventured to say in conversation
that these Welled Sidi Boogan-
nim were eaters of lions ; and
this was considered at Oxford,
the University where he had
studied, as a traveller's license
on the part of the doctor. They
thought it a subversion of the
natural order of things, that a
man should eat a lion, when it
had long passed as almost the
peculiar province of the lion to
eat man. With all submission
to that learned University, I
will not dispute the lion's title
to eating men ; but, since it is
not founded upon patent, no
consideration will make me stifle
the merit of the Welled Sidi
Boogannim, who have turned
the chase upon the enemy. It
is an historical fact, and I will
not suffer the public to be mis-
led by a misrepresentation of
it ; on the contrary, I do aver,
in the face of these fantastic
prejudices, that I have ate the
flesh of lions, that is, part of
three lions, in the tents of
Welled Sidi Boogannim. I con-
fess I have no desire of being
again served with such a morsel;
but the Arabs, a brutish and
ignorant folk, will, I fear, not-

withstanding the disbelief of the
University of Oxford, continue
to eat lions as long as they
exist.

From Hydra I passed to the
ancient Tipasa, another Roman
colony, where there is a large
temple, and a four-faced tri-
umphal arch of the Corinthian
order, in the very best taste,
both of which are now in the
collection of the King. I here
crossed the river Myskianah,
which falls into the Bagrada,
and continuing through one of
the most beautiful and best-cul-
tivated countries in the world,
I entered the eastern province
of Algiers, now called Constan-
tina. Advancing still to the
S.E. through broken ground and
some very barren valleys, which
produced nothing but game, I
came to Jibbel Aurez, the
Aurasius Mons of the middle
age. Here I met a tribe, who,
if I cannot say they were fair,
like English, were of a shade
lighter than that of the inha-
bitants of any country to the
southward of Britain. Their
hair was red, and their eyes
blue, and they are a savage
and independent people, re-
quiring address to approach
them with safety. Each of the
tribe, in the middle between
their eyes, has a Greek cross
marked with antimony.

From Jibbel Aurez I came
to Cassareen, where I suffered
something from hunger and
from fear. The country was
more rugged and broken than
any we had yet seen, and withal

BRUCE' S TRAVELS.

103

less fiLiitful and inhabited.
Journeying east, I came to
Spaitla, and again got into the
kingdom of Tunis. From
Spaitla I went to Gilma, or
Oppidum Chilmanense. There
is here a large extent of rub-
bish and stones, but no distinct
trace of any building whatever.
From Gilma I passed to Much-
tar, corruptly now so called,
where there are two triumphal
arches, the largest of which I
suppose equal in taste, execu-
tion, and mass, to anything
now existing in the world. The
lesser is more simple, but very
elegant. They are both, with
all the particulars of their parts,
not yet engraved, but still in
my collection.

From Muchtar we came to
Kisser, which stands on the
declivity of a hill, above a large
fertile plain, still called the
Plain of Surse, which is pro-
bably a corruption of its ancient
name Assuras. From Kisser I
came to Musti, where there is
a triumphal arch of very good
taste, but perfectly in ruins.
From Musti I proceeded north-
eastward to Tubersoke, thence
again to Dugga, and down the
Bagrada to Tunis. My third
journey through Tunis was by
Zowan, a high mountain, where
is a large aqueduct which for-
merly carried its water to Car-
thage. Thence I came to Jel-
loula, a village lying below high
mountains on the west. I fell
here again into the ancient road
at Gilma, and, not satisfied with
.what I had seen of the beauties

of Spaitla, I passed there five
days more, correcting and re-
vising what I had already com-
mitted to paper.

When I again reached Tripoli
I miet the Hon. Mr. Frazer
of Lovat, his Majesty's consul
in that station, from whom I
received every sort of kindness,
comfort, and assistance, which
I very much needed after so
rude a journey, made with such
diligence that two of my horses
died some days after. From
Tripoli I sent an English ser-
vant to Smyrna with my books,
drawings, and supemumeiary
instruments, retaining only ex-
tracts from such authors as
might be necessary for me in
the Pentapolis, or other parts
of the Cyrenaicum. I then
crossed the Gulf of Sidra, and
arrived at BengazL The bro-
ther of the Bey of. Tripoli "Com-
manded here, a young man>. as
weak in understanding- as he
was in health. The inhabi-
tants of Bengazi had for a year
before been labouring under a
severe famine, and by this acci-
dent about four thousand per-
sons, of all ages and sexes, were
forced in upon them, when per-
fectly, destitute of every neces-
sary. Ten or twelve people
were found dead every night in
the streets^ and life was said in
many to be supported by food
that human nature shudders at
the thought of. Finding no-
thing at Arsinoe nor Barca, I
continued my journey to Ras
Sem, the petrified city, which
is five long days* journey south

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THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

from Bengazi. It has no water,
except a spring very disagree-
able to the taste, that appears
to be impregnated with alum,
and this has given it the name it
bears of Ras Sem, or the Fountain
of Poison, from its bitterness.
The whole remains here consist
in the ruins of a tower or fortifi-
cation, that seems to be a work
full as late as the time of the
Vandals.

Approaching now the sea-
coast, I came to Ptolometa, the
ancient Ptolemais, the work of
Ptolemy Philadelphus, the walls
and gates of which city are still

• entire. There is a prodigious
number of Greek inscriptions,
but there remain only a few
columns of the portico of an
Ionic temple, in the first man-
ner of executing that order;
and therefore, slight as the re-
mains are, they are treasures in

"t the history of architecture which
are "worthy to be preserved.
These are in the King's collec-
tion, with all the parts that could
be recovered. Here I met a
small Greek junk belonging to
Lampedpsa, a little island near
Crete, which had been unload-
ing corn, and was now ready to
sail. I embarked on board the
Greek vessel, very ill accoutred,
as we afterwards found, and
though it had plenty of sail, it
had not an ounce of ballast.
The wind became contrary, and
blew a violent storm, seeming
to menace both thunder and
rain. The vessel being in her
irim with large lateen sails, fell
violently to leeward, when all

at once it struck upon a sunken
rock, and seemed to I e set down
upon it. The wind at that in-
stant seemed providentially to
calm ; but I no sooner observed
the ship had struck than I be-
gan to think of my own situa-
tion. We were not far from
shore, but there was an exceed-
ing great swell at sea. Two
boats were still towed astern of
them, and had not been hoisted
in. Roger M'Cormack, my Irish
servant, had been a sailor on
board the Monarch before he
deserted to the Spanish service.
He, and the other, who had
likewise been a sailor, presently
unlashed the largest boat, and
all three got down into her fol-
lowed by a multitude of the
passengers whom we could not
hinder. We were not twice the
length of the boat from the vessel
before a wave very nearly filled
it. I saw the fate of all was to
be decided by the very next
wave that was rolling in ; and
apprehensive that some woman,
child, or helpless man would
lay hold of me, and entangle
my arms, or legs, and weigh
me down, I cried to my servants,
both in Arabic and English,
* We are all lost ; if you can
swim, follow me;' I then let
myself down in the face of the
wave. Whether that, or the
next, filled the boat, I know
not, as I went to the leeward to
make my distance as great as
possible. I received a blow
upon my breast from the eddy
wave and reflux, which seemed
as given me by a large branch

BRUGES TRAVELS.

i"5

of a tree, thick cord, or some
elastic weapon. I avoided the
next wave, by dipping my head,
and letting it pass over, but
found myself breathless, ex-
ceedingly weary and exhausted.
The land, however, was before
me, and close at hand. I
strove manfully, taking advan-
tage of floating only with the
influx of the wave, and preserv-
ing my strength for the struggle
against the ebb, which, by sink-
ing and touching the ground, I
now made more easy. At last,
finding my hands and knees
upon the sand, I fixed my nails
into it, and obstinately resisted
being carried back at all, crawl-
ing a few feet when the sea had
retired. I had perfectly lost my
recollection and understanding,
and after creeping so far as to
be out of the reach of the sea,
I was totally insensible of any-
thing that passed around me.
In this critical situation, the
Arabs, who live two short miles
from the shore, first wakened
me from this semblance of
death by a blow with the butt-
end of a lance, shod with iron,
upon the juncture of the neck
with the back-bone. This pro-
duced a violent sensation of
pain ; and having received
this discipline, I walked or
crawled up among some "wfeite,
sandy hillocks, where I sat
down and concealed myself as
much as possible. The weather
was then warm, but the even-
ing promised to be cooler, and
it was fast drawing on ; there
was great danger to be appre-

hended if I approached the
tents where the women were
while I was naked, for, in this
case, it was very probable I
would receive another bastinado
sometiiing worse than the first.
An old man, and a number of
young Arabs, came up to me
where I waS sitting. I gave
them the salute * Salam Alicum !'
which was only returned by one
young man, in a tone as if he
wondered at my impudence.
On finding I was not a Turk, a
ragged dirty baracan was thrown
over me, and I was ordered up
to a tent, in the end of which
stood a long spear thrust through
it, a mark of sovereignty. The
Shekh of the tribe, after many
questions, ordered me a plenti-
ful supper, of which all my ser-
vants partook, none of them
having perished. After staying
two days among them, the Shekh
mounting us upon camels, and
giving us a conductor, forwarded
us to Bengazi. Thence I sent
a present to the Shekh, but I
could not induce them to make
an attempt to fish up my cases,
in which I lost many valuable
instrunvents and manuscripts.

I found at Bengazi a small
French sloop, which had come
there laden with com, and was
going up the Archipelago, or
towards the Morea, for more.
We sailed with a fair wind, and,
in four or five days, landed at
Canea, at the west end of the
island of Crete. Here I was
taken dangerously ill, occa-
sioned by my hardships at
Ptolemeta.

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THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

From Canea I sailed for
Rhodes, and there found my
books; I then proceeded to
Castelrosso, on the coast of
Caramania, which is a part of
Asia Minor yet unexplored,
and my illness increasing, it
was impossible for me to exe-
cute.

Mr. Peyssonel, French con-
sul at Smyrna, furnished me
with letters for that part of Asia
Minor, and there is no doubt
but they would have been very
efficacious. From Castelrosso
I continued, till I came to Cy-
prus ; I stayed there but half a
day, and arrived at Sidon, where
I was most kindly received by
Mr. Clerambaut, brother-in-law
to Mr. Peyssonel, and French
consul at this place.

While at Canea I wrote by
way of France, and again while
at Rhodes by way of Smyrna,
to particular friends, both in
London and France, informing
them of my disastrous situation,
and desiring them to furnish
me with another set of instru-
ments similar to those which I
had lost.

The answer received from
Paris and London much about
the same time was, that every-
body was employed in making
instruments for Danish, Swedish,
and other foreign astronomers ;
that all those which were com-
pleted had been bought up.
And without waiting a con-
siderable, indefinite time, no-
thing could be had that could
be depended upon. At the
same time I was told, that

report said that I was gone
with a Russian caravan through
the Curdistan, where I was to
observe the transit of Venus in
a place where it was not visible,
and that I was to proceed to
China, and return by the way
of the East Indies : — a story
which was industriously circu-
lated at the time, and which
some have affected to believe
to this day. Finding myself so
treated I had almost returned
home, had it not been for my
desire of fulfilling my promise
to my Sovereign, and of adding
the ruins of Palmyra to those
of Africa, already secured and
out of danger.

In my anger I renounced all
thoughts of the attempt to dis-
cover the source of the Nile,
and I repeated my orders no
more for either quadrant, tele-
scope, or timekeeper. I had
pencils and paper ; and luckily
my large camera obscura, which
had escaped the catastrophe of
Ptolemeta, was arrived from
Smyrna, and then standing be-
fore me. I therefore began to
cast about for the means of
obtaining feasible and safe
methods of repeating the famous
journey to Palmyra. I found
it was necessary to advance
nearer the scene of action.
Accordingly I accepted an in-
vitation from the British consul
for Tripoli in Syria to take up
my residence there.

The two tribes, almost equally
powerful, who inhabit the de-
serts round Palmyra, were
upon what is called ill-terms

BRUGES TRAVELS.

to7

with each other, which is the
most dangerous time for stran-
gers to have any dealings with
either. I learned this as a
certainty from a friend at Has-
sia, where a Shekh lives, to
whom I was recommended by
a letter, as a friend of the Pasha
of Damascus. Returning from
Hassia, I visited the ancient
Byblus, and bathed with plea-
sure in the river Adonis. All
here is classic ground. I saw
several considerable ruins of
Grecian architecture, very much
defaced.

I returned to Tripoli, and at
the time appointed set out for
Hamath, found my conductor,
and proceeded to Hassia.
Coming from Aleppo, I had not
passed the lower way again by
Antioch. The river Orontes
was so swollen with rain which
had fallen in the mountains,
that the ford was no longer
visible. Stopping at two miser-
able huts inhabited by a base
set called Turcomans, I asked
the master of one of them to
show me the ford, which he
very readily undertook to do,
and I went, for the length of
some yards, on rough, but very
hard and solid ground. The
current before me was, how-
ever, so violent, that I had
more than once a desire to
turn back, but, not suspecting
anything, I continued, when on
a sudden man and horse fell
out of their depth into the river.
I and my horse swam separately
ashore. At a small distance
from thence was a caphar, or

turnpike, to which, when I came
to dry myself, the man told me,
that the place where I had
crossed was the remains of
a stone bridge now entirely
carried away ; where I had first
entered was one of the wings of
the bridge, from which I had
fallen into the space the first
arch occupied, one of the
deepest parts of the river ; that
the people who had misguided
me were an infamous set of
banditti. From Hassia we
proceeded with our conductor
to Cariateen ; we passed the
desert between Cariateen and
Palmyra in a day and two
nights, going constantly without
sleeping. Just before we came
in sight of the ruins, we ascended
a hill, and, when arrived at the
top, there opened before us the
most astonishing, stupendous
sight that perhaps ever appeared
to mortal eyes. The whole
plain below, which was very
extensive, was covered so thick
with magnificent buildings, as
that one seemed to touch the
other, all of fine proportions,
all of agreeable forms, all com-
posed of white stones, which at
that distance appeared like
marble. At the end of it stood
the palace of the sun, a building
worthy to close so magnificent
a scene.

I divided Palmyra into six
angular views, and before our
departure from Palmyra, I ob-
served its latitude with a Had-
ley's quadrant from reflection.

From Palmyra I proceeded to
Baalbec, distant about 130 miles.

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THE EiVGLISff EXPLORERS.

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fif

It is pleasantly situated in a plain
on the west of Anti-Libanus, is
finely watered, and abounds in
gardens. It is about fifty miles
from Hassia, and about thirty
from the nearest sea-coast,
which is the situation of the
ancient Byblus. The interior
of the great temple of Baalbec,
supposed to be that of the sun,
surpasses anything at Palmyra,
indeed any sculpture I ever re-
member to have seen in stone.
Passing by Tyre, from curiosity
only, I came to be a mournful
witness of the truth of that
prophecy, — that Tyre, the queen
of nations, should be a rock for
fishers to dry their nets on.*
Two wretched fishermen, with
miserable nets, having just given
over their occupation with very
little success, I engaged them,
at the expense of their nets, to
drag in those places where they
said shell- fish might be caught,
in hopes to have brought out
one of the famous purple-fish.
I did not succeed ; but in ^is
I was, I believe, as lucky as the
old fishers had ever been.
The purple-fish at Tyre seems
to have been only a conceal-
ment of their knowledge 'of
cochineal, as, had they de-
pended upon the fish for their
dye, if the whole city of Tyre
applied to nothing else but
fishing, they would not have
coloured twenty yards of cloth
in a year. Much fatigued, but
satisfied beyond measure with
what I had seen, I arrived in
perfect health, and in the gayest

- 1 Ezek. xxvL $.

humour possible, at the hos-
pitable mansion of M. Cleram-
baut at Sidon.

The letters from Europe
which I found lying there, while
so far satisfactory, still left me
in absolute despair about ob-
taining a quadrant, and conse-
quently gave me very little
satisfaction, but in some mea-
sure confirmed me in my resolu-
tion already taken, to go from
Sidon to Egypt : as I had then
seen the greatest part of the
good architecture in the world,
in all its degrees of perfection
down to its decline, I wished
now only to see it in its origin,
and for this it was necessary to
go to Egypt. I had been long
of the opinion, in which I am
still further confirmed, that
taste for ancient architecture,
founded upon the examples that
Italy alone can furnish, was not
giving ancient architects fair
play. What was to be learned
from the fycsi proportions of
their plans and elevations
seemed to have remained un-
touched in Egypt ; after having
considered these, I proposed to
live in retirement on my native
patrimony, with a fair stock of
unexceptionable materials upon
this subject, to serve for a
pleasant and useful amusement
in my old age.

I now received, however, a
letter very unexpectedly byway
of Alexandria, which, if it did
not overturn, at least shook
these resolutions. The Comte
de Buflfon, Mons. Guys of Mar-
seilles, and several others well

BRUGES TRAVELS,

109

known in the literary world, had
ventured to state to the minis-
ter, and through him to the
king of France, Louis xv.,
how very much it was to be
lamented, that after a man had
been found who was likely to
succeed in removing that
opprobrium of travellers and
geographers, by discovering the
sources of the Nile, one most
unlucky accident, at a most
unlucky time, should frustrate
the most promising endeavours.
That prince, distinguished for
every good quality of the heart,
for benevolence, beneficence,
and a desire of promoting and
protecting learning, ordered a
moveable quadrant of his own
military academy at Marseilles,
as the nearest and most con-
venient port of embarkation, to
be taken down and sent to me
at Alexandria. With this I
received a letter from Mr.
Russel, which informed me that
astronomers had begun to cool
in the sanguine expectations of
discovering the precise quantity
of the sun's parallax by observa-
tion of the transit of Venus,
from some apprehension that
the errors of the observers
would probably be more than
the quantity of the equation
sought, and that they now
ardently wished for a journey
into Abyssinia, rather than an
attempt to settle a nicety for
which the learned had begun to
think the accuracy of our in-
struments was not sufficient.
A letter from my correspon-
dent at Alexandria also ac-

quainted me, that the quadrant*
and all the other instruments,
were in that city.

What followed is the voyage
itself, the subject of the present
publication.

CHAPTER II.

From Sidon lo Kenn€.

On Saturday the 15th of June
1768, I sailed in a French
vessel from Sidon, once the
richest and most powerful city
in. the world, though now there
remains not a shadow of its
ancient grandeur. We wer*»
bound for the island of Cyprus ;
the weather clear and exceed-
ingly hot, the wind favourable.

On the 1 6th, at dawn of day,
I saw a high hill, which, from
its particular form, described
by Strabo, I took for Mount
Olympus. Soon after the rest
of the island, which seemed low,
appeared in view. We scarce
saw Lemica till we anchored
before it. It is built of white
clay, of the same colour as the
ground, precisely as the case
with Damascus, so that you
cannot, till close to it, distin-
guish the houses from the earth
they stand upon.. . ?

We left Lernica the 17th
of June, and on the rSth, a
little before twelve o'clock,
a very fresh and favourable
breeze came from the n,w. and
we pointed our prow directly,
as we thought^ upon Alex-

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THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

aiulria. Tlie coast of K^yp^
is exceedingly low, and if tlie
weather is not clear, you often
are close in with the land be-
fore you discover it.

On the aoth of June, early
in the morning, we iuul a dis-
tant prospect of Alexandria
rising from the sea. Were not
the state of that city perfectly
known, a traveller in search of
antiquities in architecture would
think here was a field for long
study and employment. It is
in this point of view the town
appears most to advantage.
The mixture of old monuments,
such as the column of Pompey,
with the high Moorish towers
and steeples, raise our expecta-
tions of the consequence of the
ruins we arc to find. But the
moment we are in the port the
illusion ends, and we distinguish
the immense Herculean works
of ancient times, now few in
number, from the ill-imagined,
ill-constructed, and imperfect
buildings of the several barbar-
ous masters of Alexandria in
later ages.

Pompey's pillar, the obelisks,
and subterraneous cisterns, are
all the antiquities we find now
in Alexandria ; these have been
described frequently, ably, and
minutely. The foliage and
capital of the pillar are what
seem generally to displease ;
the fust is thought to have
merited more attention than has
been bestowed upon the capital.
The whole of the pillar is
granite, but the capital is
of another stone ; and I should

suspect those rudiments of
leaves were only intended to
support firmly, leaves of metal
of better workmanship ; for the
capital itself is near nine feet
high, and the work, in propor-
tionable leaves of stone, would
be not only very large, but
after being finished, liable to
injuries. This magnificent
monument appears, in taste, to
be the work of that period be-
tween Hadrian and Severus ;
but, though the former erected
several large buildings in the
Kast, it is observed of him, he
never put inscriptions upon
them. 'I'his has had a Greek
inscri])tion, and I think may
very probably be attributed to
the time of the latter, as a
monument of the gratitude of
the city of Alexandria for the
benefits he conferred on them.
I apprehend it to have been
brought in a block from the
Thebais in Upper Egypt, by
the Nile ; though some have
imagined it was an old obelisk,
hewn to that round form.

Alexandria has been often
taken since the time of Csesar.
It was at last destroyed by the
Venetians and Cypriots upon,
or rather after, the release of St.
Lewis, and we may say of it as
of Carthage, PerUre ruina, its
very ruins appear no longer.
The building of the present
gates and walls, which some
have thought to be antique, does
not seem earlier than the last
restoration in the 13th century.
Some parts of the gate and walls
may be of older date (and

BRUCFS TRAVELS,

III

prol)al)ly were ihosc of the last
Caliphs before Saladin), but,
except these, and the pieces of
rolumns which lie horizontally
in different parts of the wall,
everything else is appnrcntly
of very late times, and the work
has been huddled together in
great haste.

It is in vain then to expect a
plan of the city, or try to trace
here the Macedonian manlf*'
ofDinochares ; the very vestiges
of ancient ruins arc covered,
many yards deep, by rubbish,
the remnant of the devastations
of later times. Cleopatra, were
she to return to life again, would
scarcely know where her palace
was situated, in this her own
capital.

There is nothing beautiful or
pleasant in the present Alexan-
dria, but a handsome street of
modern houses, where a very
active and intelligent number of
merchants live upon the miser-
able remnants of that trade,
which made its glory in the first
times. It is thinly inhabited, and
there is a tradition among the na-
tives that, more than once, it has
been in agitation to abandon it
altogether, and retire to Rosetta,
or Cairo, but that they have
been withheld by the opinion
of divers saints from Arabia,
who have assured them, that
Mecca being destroyed (as it
must be as they think by the
Russians), Alexandria is then
to become the holy place, and
that Mahomet's body is to be
transported thither; when that
city is destroyed, the sanctified

relics are to be tran8i)orled
to Cairouan, in the kingdom of
Tunis : lastly, from Cairouan
they are to come to Rosetta,
ancl there to remain till the
consummation of all things,
which is not then to be at a
gr It distance.

VVi left Alexandria in the
fifternoon for Aboukir. Some
inconsiderable ruins are to be
found there, anrl seem to denote
that it was the former situatioif
of an ancient city. There u
here also an inlet of the sea.
At Medea, which we suppose,
by its distance of near seven
leagues, to be the ancient
Heraclium, is the passage or
ferry which terminates the fear
of danger from the Arabs of
Libya ; and it is here supposed
the Delta, or Egypt, begins.

We saw no vegetable from
Alexandria to Medea, excepting
some scattered roots of absin-
thium ; and two or three
gazelles, or antelopes, walking
one by one. From Medea, or
the Passage, our road lay
through very dry sand ; to
avoid which, and seek firmer
footing, we were obliged to
ride up to the bellies of our
horses in the sea. All Egypt
is like to this part of it, full of
deep dust and sand, from the be-
ginning of March till the first of
the inundation. It is this fine
powder and sand, raised and
loosened by the heat of the
sun, and want of dew or rain,
and not being tied fast, as it
were, by any root or vegetation,
which the Nile carries off with

,*.

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112

THR ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

Kte

it, and buries in the sea, and
which many ignorantly suppose
comes from Abyssinia, where
every river runs in a bed of
rock.

Rosetta is upon that branch
of the Nile which was called the
Bolbuttic Blanch, and is about
four miles from the sea. It is
a large, clean, neat town, or
village, upon the eastern side
of the Nile. It is about three
miles long, much frequented by
studious and religious Maho-
metans ; among these, too, are
a considerable number of mer-
chants ; it being the entrepdt
between Cairo and Alexandria,
and vice versa; here, too, the
merchants have their factors,
who superintend and watch
over the merchandise which
passes the Bogaz to and from
Cairo. There are many gar-
dens, and much verdure, about
Rosetta ; the ground is low,
and retains long the moisture
it imbibes from the overflowing
of the Nile. It is a favottrite
halting-place of the Christian
travellers entering Egypt, and
merchants established there.
There they draw their breaths,
in an imaginary increase of
freedom, between the two great
sinks^ of tyranny, oppression,
and injustice, Alexandria and
Cairo. Rosetta has this good
reputation, that the people are
milder, more tractable, and
. less avaricious, than those of
the two last-mentioned capitals.

We embarked for Cairo on
June the 30th, and in the be-
ginning of July we arrived there.

The part of Cairo where the
French are settled is exceed-
ingly commodious, and fit for
retirement. It consists of one
long street, where all the mer-
chants of that nation live to-
gether. It is shut at one end,
by large gates, where there is
a guard, and these are kept
constantly closed in time of the
plague. At the other end is a
large garden tolerably kept, in
which there are several pleasant
walks, and seats; all the en-
joyment that Christians can
hope for, among this vile
people, reduces itself to peace
and quiet ; nobody seeks for
more. There are, however,
wicked emissaries who are con-
stantly employed, by threats,
lies, and extravagant demands,
to torment them, and keep
them from enjoying that re-
pose,, which' would content
them .instead of freedom, and
more solid happiness, in their
own country. But a more
brutal^ unjust, tyrannical, op-
pressive, avaricious set of in-
fernal miscreants there is not
on earth, than are the members
of the government of Cairo.
The government of Cairo is
much praised by some. It is
said to consist of twenty-four
Beys ;. yet its admirers could
never fix upon one year in
which there was that number.
There were but seven when I
was at Cairo, and one who
commanded the whole. The
Beys are understood to be
vested with the sovereign power
of the country ; yet sometimes

BRUGES TRAVELS,

113

a Kaya commands absolutely,
and though of an inferior rank,
he makes his servants Beys, or
sovereigns. At a time of peace,
when tlie Beys are contented
to be on an equality, and no
ambitious one attempts to
govern the whole, there is a
number of inferior officers de-
pending upon each of the Beys,
such as Kayas, Schourbatchies,
and the like, who are but sub-
jects in respect to the Beys,
yet exercise unlimited jurisdic-
tion over the people in the
city, and appoint the same over
villages in the country. For-
tunately in my time this many-
headed monster was no more ;
there was but one Ali Bey, and
there was neither inferior nor
superior jurisdiction exercised,
but by his officers only. This
happy state did not last long.
In order to be a Bey, the per-
son must have been a slave,
and bought for money, at a
market. Every Bey has a great
number of servants slaves to
him, as he was to others before ;
these are his guards, and these
he promotes to places in his
household, according as they
are qualified.

The Bey is old, the wife is
young, so is the hasnadar, upon
whom she depends for every-
thing, and whom she must, look
upon as the presumptive hus-
band \ and those people who
conceal, or confine their women,
and are jealous, upon the most
remote occasion, never feel any
jealousy for the probable con-
sequences of this passion, from

the existence of 3"ch a connec-
tion. It is very extraordinary
to find a race of men in power,
all agree to leave their succes-
sion to strangers, in preference
to their own children, for a
number of ages ; and that no
one should ever have attempted
to make his son succeed him,
either in dignity or estate, in
preference to a slave, whom he
has bought for money like a
beast.

The Bey, with all his good
sense and understanding, was
still a Mamaluke, and had the
princii)les of a slave. Three
men of different religions pos-
sessed his confidence, and
governed his councils, all at a
time. The secretary, whose
name was Risk, professed
astrology, and the Bey, like all
other Turks, believed in it im-
plicitly, and to this folly he
sacrificed his own good under-
standing ; and Risk, probably
in pay to Constantinople, led
him from one wild scheme to
another, till he undid him — by
the stars. The apparatus of
instruments that were opened
at the custom-house of Alex-
andria, prepossessed Risk in
favour of my superior know-
ledge in astrology.

It was not long before Risk's
curiosity gave him a fair op-
portunity of testing me. He in-
quired of Bertran as to my know-
ledge of the stars; and my friend,
who then saw perfectly the drift
ofallhisconduct, so prepossessed
him in favour of my superior
science, that he communicated

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114

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

to him in the instant the great
expectations he had formed, to
be enabled by me, to foresee
the destiny of the Bey; the
success of the war ; and, in
particular, whether or not he
should make himself master of
Mecca ; to conquer which place
he was about to despatch his
slave and son-in-law, Mahomet
Bey Abou Dahab, at the head
of an army, conducting the
pilgrims. Bertran communi-
cated this to me with great
tokens of joy. For my own part
I did not greatly like the profes-
sion of fortune-telling, where
bastinado or impaling might be
the reward of having mistaken.

In a few days I received a let-
ter from Risk, desiring me to
go out to the Convent of St.
George, about three miles from
Cairo, where the Greek patri-
arch had ordered an apartment
for me ; that I should pretend
to the French merchants that
it was for the sake of health,
and that there I should receive
the Bey's orders.

The next day after my arrival
I v/as surprised by the visit of
my old friend Father Chris-
topher, who took upon him,
with the greatest readiness, to
manage the letters, and we
digested the plan of them ; three
copies were made to send se-
parate ways, and an admoni-
tory letter to the whole of the
Greeks then in Abyssinia,in form
of a bull. By this the patriarch
enjoined them as a penance,
upon which a kind of jubilee
was to follow, that, laying aside

their pride and vanity, great
sins with which he knew them
much infected, and instead of
pretending to put themselves
on a footing with me when I
should arrive at the court of
Abyssinia, they should' concur,
heart and hand, in serving me ;
and that before it could be
supposed they had received in-
structions from mci they should
make a declaration before the
king, that they were not in con-
dition equal to me, that I was a
free citizen of a powerful nation,
and servant of a great king;
that they were born slaves of
the Turk, and, at best, ranked
but as would my servants ; and
that, in fact, one of their
countrymen [Michael] was in
that station then with me.

In the meanwhile, Risk sent
to me one night about nine
o'clock to come to the Bey. I
saw him then for the first time.
He was a much younger man
than I conceived him to be:
he was sitting upon a large sofa,
covered with crimson cloth of
gold ; his turban, his girdle, and
the head of his dagger, all thick
covered with fine brilliants;
one in his turban that served
to support a sprig of brilliants
also was among the largest I
had ever seen. He entered
abruptly into discourse upon
the war between Russia and the
Turk, and asked me if I had
calculated what would be the
consequence of that war. I
said the Turks would be beaten
by sea and land wherever they
presented themselves. Again,

BRUGES TRAVELS.

Whether Constantinople would
be burned or taken? I said,
Neither; but peace would be
made, after much bloodshed,
with little advantage to either
party.

He clapped his hands to-
gether, and swore an oath in
Turkish, then turned to Risk,
who stood before him, and said.
That will be sad indeed 1 but
truth is truth, and God is mer-
ciful. He offered me coffee
and sweetmeats, promised me
his protection, bade me fear
nothing, but, if anybody
wronged me, to- acquaint him
by Risk. -*

Two or three nights- after-
wards the Bey sent for me
again. It was near eleven
o'clock before I got admittance
to him. I met the janissary
aga going out from^ him, and a
number of soldiers at the door.
As I did not know hinv, I passed
him without ceremony, which
is not usual for any person to
do. Whenever he mounts on
horseback, as he was then just
going to do, he has absolute
power of life and death, with-
out appeal, all over Cairo and
its neighbourhood. He stopped
me just at the threshold, and
asked one ef the Bey's people
who I was, and was answered,
' It is Hakim Englese,* the En-
glish philosopher or physician.
He asked me in Turkish, in a
very polite manner, if I would
eome and see him, for he was
not well. I answered him in
Arabic, * Yes, whenever he
pleased, but could not then

stay, as I had received a message
that the Bey was waiting.' He
replied in Arabic, * No, no, go,
for God's sake go ; any time will
do for me.* The Bey was sit-
ting leaning forward, with a
wax taper in one hand, and
reading a small slip of paper,
which he held close to his face.
He seemed to have little light,
or weak eyes ; nobody was
near him : his people had been
all dismissed, or were following
the janissary aga out. H e did
not seem to observe me till I
was close upon him, andstarted
when 1 said, 'Salam.' I told
him I came upon his message.
He said, * I thank you, did I
send for you?' and without
giving me leave to reply, went
on, * O, true, I did so,' and fell
to reading his paper agam.
After this was over, he com-
plained that he had been ill,
that he vomited immediately
after dinner, though he ate
modierately. I felt his pulse,
which was low and weak ; but
very little feverish. 1 desired
he would order his people to
look if his meat was dressed in
copper properly tinned'; I as-
sured him he was in no danger,
and insinuated that I thought
he had been guilty of some ex-
cess before dinner ; at which he
smiled, and said to Risk, who
now was standing by, * Afrite !
Afrite ! ' he is a devil 1 he is a
devil ! I said, ' If your stomach
is really uneasy from w-hat you
may have ate, warm some water,
and, if you please, put a little
greea tea into it, and drink it

,l>

'41

ii6

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

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Si. !

till it makes you vomit gently,
and that will give you ease ;
after which you may take a dish
of strong coffee, and go to bed,
or a glass of spirits if you have
any that are good. He looked
surprised at this proposal, and
said very calmly, * Spirits ! do
you know I am a Mussulman?'
* But I, sir,* said I, ' am none. I
tell you what is good for your
body, and have nothing to do
with your religion or your soul.'
He seemed vastly diverted, and
pleased with my frankness, and
only said, *He speaks like a
man.' There was no word of
the war nor of the Russians
that night. I went home des-
perately tired, and peevish at
being dragged out on so foolish
an errand.

Next morning, his secretary
Risk came to me to the con-
vent. The Bey was not yet
well ; and the idea still remained
that he had been poisoned.
Risk told me the Bey had great
confidence in me. I asked him
how the water had operated.
He said he had not yet taken
any of it : that he did not know
/iow to make it, therefore he
was come at the desire of the
Bey, to see how it was made.
I immediately showed him
this by infusing some green tea
in some warm water. But this
was not all ; he modestly in-
sinuated that I was to drink it,
and so vomit myself, in order
to show him how to do with
the Bey. I excused myself
from being patient and physi-
cian at the same time, and told

him, I would vomit him, which
would answer the same pur-
pose of instruction ; neither
was this proposal accepted.

As my favour with the Bey
was now established by my
midnight interviews, I thought
of leaving my solitary mansion
at the convent. I desired Mr.
Risk to procure me peremptory
letters of recommendation to
Shekh Haman, to the governor
of Syene, Ibrim, and Deir in
Upper Egypt. I procured also
the same from the janissaries,
to these three last places, as
their garrisons are from that
body at Cairo, which they call
their port. I had also letters
from Ali Bey to the Bey of
Suez, to the Sheriffe of Mecca,
to the Naybe (so they call the
sovereign) of Massuah, and to
the king of Sennaar, and his
minister for the time being.

On the other side of the
Nile from Cairo is Geezeh,
which signifies the Passage.
About eleven miles beyond this
are the Pyramids, called the
pyramids of Geezeh, the descrip-
tion of which is in everybody's
hands.

The vessel on which we em-
barked on the voyage up the
Nile was about loo feet from
stem to stem, with two masts,
main and foremast, and two
monstrous lateen sails ; the
main-sail yard being about 120
feet in length.

The wind was contrary, so
we were obliged to advance
against the stream by having
the boat drawn with a rope.

BRUCE' S TRAVELS,

117

We were surprised to see the
alacrity with which two young
Moors bestirred themselves in
the boat ; they supplied the
place of masters, companions,
pilots, and seamen. We ad-
vanced a few miles to two con-
vents of Copts, called Deire-
teen. Here we stopped to pass
the night, having had a fine
view of the Pyramids of-Geezeh
and Saccara, and being then in
sight of a prodigious number of
others built of white clay, and
stretching far into the desert to
the south-west. Two of these
seemed full as large as those
that are called the Pyramids of
Geezeh.

On the 13th, in the morning,
about eight o'clock, we let out
our vast sails, and passed a
very considerable village called'
Turra, on the east side of the
river, and Shekh Attnan, a small
village, consisting of about thirty
houses, on the west. The Nile
here is about> a quarter of a
mile broad; and there cannot
be the smallest doubt, in' any
person disposed ta be con-
vinced, that this is by very far
the narrowest part of Egypt yet
seen. As this, and many other
circumstances to be repeated
in the sequel, must naturally
awaken the attention of the
traveller to look for the ancient
city of Memphis here, I left our
boat at Shekh Atman, accom-
panied by the Arabs, pointing
nearly south. We entered a
large and thick wood of palm-
trees, whose greatest extension
seemed to be south by east.

We continued in this course
till we came to one, and then
to several large villages, all built
among the plantation of date-
trees, so as scarce to be seen,
from the shore.

These villages are called Me-
trahenny, a word from the ety-
mology of which I can derive
no information ; and leaving the
river, we continued due west to
the plantation that is called
Mohannan, which, as far as I
know, has no signification either.
All to the south, in this desert,
are vast numbers of pyramids ;
as far as I could discern, all of
clay, some so distant as to ap-
pear just in the horizon. Hav-
ing gained the western edge of
the palm-trees at Mohannan,
we have a fair view of the Pyra-
mids at Geezeh, which lie in a
direction nearly N.w. As far as
I can compute the distance, I
think about nine miles, and, as
near as it was possible to judge
by sight, Metrahenny, Geezeh,
'and the centre of the three
pyramids,, made an isosceles
triangle, or nearly so.

All to the west and south
of Mohannan, we saw great
mounds and heaps of rubbish,
and calishes that were not ot
any length, but were lined with
stone, covered and choked up
in many places with earth. We
saw three large granite pillars
s.vir. of Mohannan, and a piece
of a broken chest or cistern of
granite ; but no obelisks, or
stones with hieroglyphics and
we thought the greatest part of
the ruins seemed to point that

'.m

iiS

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

Jii

way/or more southerly. These,
our conductor said, were the
ruins of Mimf, the ancient seat
of the Pharaohs, kings of Egypt.

The learned Dr. Pococke, as
far as I know, is the first Euro-
pean traveller that ventured to
go out of the beaten. path, and
look for Memphis at Metra-
henny and Mohannan, but I
cannot consider any 'Of the rea-
sons for placing Memphis at
Geezeh as convincing, and very
few of them that do not prove
just the contrary in favour of
Metrahenny.

Our wind was fair and fresh,
rather a. little on our beam,
wlaen, in great spirits, we hoisted
our main and fore sails, leaving
the point of Metrahenny.

After sailing about two miles,
we :saw three men fishing in a
very extraordinary manner and
situation. They were on a raft
of palm branches, supported on
a float of clay jars, made fast
together. The form was like
an isosceles triangle, or face of
a pyramid ; -two men, each pro-
vided with a casting-net, stood
at the two corners, and threw
their net into the stream toge-
ther ; the third stood at the
apex of the triangle and threw
his net the moment the other
two drew theirs out of the
water. And this they repeated
in perfect time, and with sur-
prising regularity. Our Rais
thought we wanted to buy fish,
and, letting go his main-sail,
ordered them on board. They
were in a moment alongside of
us, and one of them came on

board, lashing his miserable raft
to a rope at our stem. In re-
compence for their trouble we
gave them some large pieces of
tobacco, and this transported
them so much that .they brought
us a basket of several different
kinds of fish. They said their
fishing was merely accidental,
and in course of their trade,
which was selling rthese potter
earthen jars, which they got
near Ashmounein ; and after
having carried the raft with
them to Cairo, they untie, sell
them at the market, and carry
the produce home in money, or
in necessaries upon their back.
A very poor economical trade,
but sufficient, as theysaid, from
the carriage of crude materials,
the moulding, making, and send-
ing them to market to Cairo,
and to different places in the
Delta, to afford occupation to
two thousand men. This is
nearly four times the number
of people employed in the
largest iron-foundery in Eng-
land.

The pyramids, which had
been on our right hand at
different distances since we
passed the Saocara, terminated
here in one* of a very singular
construction. About two miles
from the Nile, between Suf and
Woodan, there is a pyramid,
which at first sight appears all
of a piece ; it is of unbaked
bricks, and perfer*.'}- entire;
the inhabitants cal). ii, the False
Pyramid.^ The lower part is a
hill, exactly shaped like a pyra-

1 Dagjour.

BRUCE S TRAVELS.

mid for a considerable height.
Upon this is continued the
superstructure, in proportion,
till it terminates like a pyramid
above ; and, at a distance, it
would require a good eye to
discern the difference, for the
face of the stone has a great
resemblance to clay, of which
the pyramids of the Saccara are
composed.

The 1 8th, we prepared to
get on our way. At the village
of Nizelet El Arab, consisting
of miserable huts, begin large
plantations of sugar-canes, the
first we had yet seen. They
were then loading boats with
them to carry them to Cairo.
I procured for them as many
as I desired. We next passed
Boush, a village on the west
side of the Nile, which is about
two miles and a quarter from
the river. Beni Ali is a large
village, and its neighbour, Zey-
toun, still larger, both on the
western shore. I suppose this
last was part of the Heracelotic
norae where Strabo' says the
olive-tree grew, and nowhere
else in Egypt, but we saw no
appearance of the great works
once said to have been in that
nome. From Maniareish to
Beni Suef is two miles and a
half, and opposite to this the
mountains appear again of con-
siderable height, about twelve
miles distant.

The country all around is
well cultivated, and seems to
be of the utmost fertility ; the
inhabitants are better clothed,

1 Strabo, lib. xvii. p. 936.

and seemingly less miserable
and oppressed, than those we
had left behind in the places
nearer Cairo. The Nile is very
shallow at Beni Suef, and the
current strong. We touched
several times in the middle of
the stream, and came to an
anchor at Baha, about a quar-
ter of a mile above Beni Suef,
where we passed the night.
We were told to keep good
watch here all night, that there
were troops of robbers on the
east side of the water who had
lately plundered some boats,
and that the Casheff either
dared not, or would not, give
them any assistance. We did
indeed keep strict watch, but
saw no robbers, and were no
other way molested.

The 1 8th we had fine weather
and a fair wind. Still I thought
the villages were beggarly, and
the constant groves of palm-
trees so perfectly verdant, did
not compensate for the penury
of sown land, the narrowness
of the valley, and barrenness of
the mountains.

We next came to a village
called Rhoda, whence we saw
the magnificent ruins of the
ancient city of Antinous, built
by Adrian. Unluckily I knew
nothing of these ruins when I
left Cairo, and had taken no
pains to provide myself with
letters of recommendation. I
asked the Rais what sort of
people they were. He said
that the town was composed of
very bad Turks, very bad Moors,
and very bad Christians ; that

t >

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'.■5

.I'iL I

I20

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

several devils had been seen
among them lately, who had
been discovered by being better
and quieter than any of the
rest. I told the Rais that I
must, of necessity, go ashore,
and asked him if the people of
this place had no regard for
saints ; that I imagined, if he
would put on his red turban as
he did at Comadreedy for my
honour, it would then appear
that he was a saint, as he be-
fore said he was known to be
all the world over. He did
not seem to be fond of the ex-
pedition ; but hauling in his
main-sail, and with his fore-sail
full, stood S.S.E. directly under
the ruins. Abou Cuffi's son
Mahomet, and the Arab, went
on shore, under pretence of
buying some provision, and to
see how the land lay, but after
the character we had of the
inhabitants, all our fire-arms
were brought to the door of the
cabin. In the meantime, partly
with my naked eye, and partly
with my glass, I observed the
ruins so attentively as to be
perfectly in love with them.
Three columns of the angle of
the portico were standing front-
ing to the north, part of the
tympanum, cornice, frieze, and
architrave, all entire, and very
much ornamented; thick trees
hid what was behind. The
columns were of the largest
size, and fluted ; the capitals
Corinthian, and in all appear-
ance entire. They were of
white Parian marble probably,
but had lost the extreme white-

ness or polish of the Antinous
at Rome, and were changed to
the colour of the Fighting
Gladiator, or rather to a brighter
yellow. I saw indistinctly, also,
a triumphal arch, or gate of the
town, in the very same style.
No person had yet stirred, when
all of a sudden we heard the
noise of Mahomet and the
Moor in strong dispute. A
number of people were assem-
bled, and three shots were fired
at us, very quickly, the one
after the other. I cried out in
Arabic, 'Infidels, thieves, and
robbers 1 come on, or we shall
presently attack you :' upon
which I immediately fired a
ship-blunderbuss with pistol
small bullets, but with little
elevation, among the bushes, so
as not to touch them. The
three or four men that were
nearest fell flat upon their
faces, and slid away among the
bushes on their bellies, like
eels, and we saw no more of
them.

We now put our vessel into
the stream, filled our foresail,
and stood off, Mahomet crying,
* Be upon your guard, if you
are men ; we are the San jack's
soldiers, and will come for the
turban to-night.' More we
neither heard nor saw. We
were no sooner out of their
reach, than our Rais, filling his
pipe, and looking very ^^rave,
told me to thank God that I
was in the vessel with such a
man as he was, as it was owing to
that only I escaped from being
murdered ashore. 'Certainly,'

BRUGES TRAVELS.

12T

said I, * Hassan, under God,
the way of escaping from being
murdered on land, is never to
go out of the boat ; but don't
you think that my blunderbuss
was as effectual a means as
your holiness?' On the 21st,
in the morning, we came to
Gawa, where is the second
scene of ruins of Egyptian
architecture, after leaving Cairo.
I immediately went on shore,
and found a small temple of
three columns in front, with the
capitals entire, and the columns
in several separate pieces.
They seemed by that, and their
slight proportions, to be of the
most modem of that species
of building; but the whole
were covered with hieroglyphics,
the old story over again, the
hawk and the serpent, the man
sitting with the dog's head^ \vith
the perch or measuring-rod ; in
one hand, the hemisphere and
globes with wings, and leaves
of the banana-tree, as is sup-
posed, in the other. The
temple is filled with rubbish
and dung of cattle, which the
Arabs bring in here to shelter^
them from the heat.

On the 2 2d, at night, we
arrived at Achmim, a very con-
siderable place. The inhabi-
tants are of a very yellow, un-
healthy appearance, probably
owing to the bad air, occasioned
by a very dirty calish that
passes through the town. There
is here what is called a Hospice,
or convent of religious Francis-
cans, for the entertainment of
the converts, or persecuted

Christians in Nubia, when they
can find them.

I think I never knew a num-
ber of priests met together, who
differed so little in capacity and
knowledge, having barely a
routine of scholastic disputa-
tion ; on every other subject
inconceivably ignorant.

These priests lived in great
ease and safety, were much
protected and favoured by this
Arab prince Hamam ; and their
acting as physicians reconciled
them to the people.

On the 24th of December we
left Achmim, and came to the
village Shekh Ali on the west,
and at! three o'clock we arrived
at Girgd, the largest town we
had seen since we left Cairo.
The Nile makes a kind of loop
here; is very broad, and the
current strong.

The villages have all a very
picturesque appearance among
the trees, from the many pigeon-
houses that are on the tops of
them. At night we anchored
between two villages, Beliani
and Mobanniny.

Next morning, the 25th, we
arrived at Dendera. Although
we had heard that the people
of this place were the very
worst in Egypt, we were not
very apprehensive. We had
two letters from the Bey to the
two principal men there, com-
manding them, as they should
answer- with their lives- and
fortunes^ to have a special care
that no mischief befell us ;
and likewise a very pressing
letter to Shekh Hamam at

•4 %

1 ^ .ji

122

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

Furshout, in whose territory we
were.

Dendera is a considerable
town at this day, all covered
with thick groves of palm-
trees, the same that Juvenal
describes it to have been in his
time. This place is governed
by a casheff appointed by Shekh
Hamam. A mile south of the
town are 'the ruins of two
temples, one of which is so
much buried under ground,
that little of it is to be seen ;
but the other, which is by far
the most magnificent, is-etrtire,
and accessible on every side.
It is also covered with hiero-
glyphics, both within and with-
out, all in relief; and of every
figure, simple and compound,
that ever has been published,
or called an hieroglyphic. The
form of the building is an. ob-
long square, the ends of which
are occupied by two large apart-
ments, or vestibules, supported
by monstrous columns, all
covered with hieroglyphics like-
wise. Some are in the form of
men and beasts; some seem
to be the figures of instruments
of sacrifice ; while others, in a
smaller size, and less distinct
shape, seem to be inscriptions
in the current hand of hiero-
glyphics, of which I shall speak
at large afterwards. They are
all finished with great care.
The capitals are of one piece,
and consist of four huge human
heads, placed back to back
against one another, with bat's
ears, and an ill-imagined, and
worse executed, fold of drapery

between them. Above these is
a large oblong square block,
still larger than the capitals,
with four flat fronts, disposed
like panels, that is, with a
kind of square border round
the edges, while the faces and
fronts are filled with hierogly-
phics ; as are the walls and ceil-
ings of every part of the temple.
Between these two apartments
in the extremities, there are
three other apartments resem-
bling the first, in every respect,
only they are smaller. The
whole building is of common
white stone, from the neighbour-
ing mountains The top of the
temple is flat, the spouts to carry
off the water are monstrous heads
of sphinxes ; the glol^es with
wings, and the two serpents, with
a kind of shield or breastplate be-
tween them, are here frequently
repeated, such as we see them
on the Carthaginian medals.
The hieroglyphics have been
painted ovoi, and great part of
the colouring yet remains upon
the stones ; red,'in all its shades,
especially that dark dusky col-
our called Tyrian Purple ; yel-
low, very fresh ; sky-blue (that
is, near the blue of an eastern
sky) several shades lighter than
ours ; green of different shades ;
— these are all the colours pre-
served. It strikes and imposes
on you, at first sight, but the
impressions are like those made
by the size ofmountains, which
the mind does not retain for any
considerable time after seeing
them. I think, a very ready
hand might spend six months.

SPRUCES TRAVELS.

12'

from morning to night, before
he could copy the hieroglyphics
in the inside of the temple.

Dendera stands on the edge
of a «mall but fruitful plain ;
the wheat was thirteen inches
high, now at Christmas; their
harvest is in the end of March.
The valley is not above five
miles wide, from mountain to
mountain.

A little before we came to
Dendera, we saw the first cro-
codile, and afterwards hundreds,
lying upon every island, like
large flocks of cattle; yet the
inhabitants of Dendera drive
their beasts of every kind into
the river, and they stand there
for hours. Having made some
little acknowledgment to those
who had conducted me through
the ruins 'in great safety, I re-
turned to my tent. I saw at
some distance a well-dressed
man with a white turban, and
yellow shawl covering it, and a
number of ill-looking people
about him. As soon as our
Rais saw me ^enter my tent,
he came with ^expressions of
very great indignation. * What
signifies it,' said he, * that you
are a friend of the Bey, have
letters to everybody, and are at
the door of Furshout, if yet a
man is here that will take your
boat away from you?'

'Sofdy, softly,' I answered,
' Hassan ; he may be in the
right. If Ali Bey, Shekh Ha-
mam, or anybody want a boat
for public service, I must yield
mine. Let us hear.'

' Shekh Hamam and Ali Bey !'

says he ; * w'oy t: is a fool, an
idiot, and an a a v,llov ^hat
goes begging ii nt, ant says
he is a saint ; bu he is a h tural
fool, full as much knave as fool,
however ; he is a thief, I know
him to be a thief.'

* If he is a saint,' said I,
' Hagi Hassan, as you arc an-
other, known to be so all the
world over, I don't see why I
should interfere; saint against
saint is a fair battle.' — *It is the
cadi,' replies he, 'and no one
else.'

' Come away with me,' said I,
' Hassan, and let us see this
cadi ; if it is the cadi, it is not
the fool, it may be the knave.'

He was sitting upon the
ground on a carpet, moving his
head backwards and forwards,
and saying prayers with beads
in his hand. I had no good
opinion of him from his first
appearance, but said, Salam
alicum^ boldly ; this seemed to
offend him, as he >looked at me
with great contempt, and gave
me no answer, though he ap-
peared a little disconcerted by
my confidence.

* Are you the C^r,' said he,
* to whom that boat belongs?'

* No, sir,' said I, * it belongs
to Hagi Hassan.'

* Do you think,' says he, * I
call Hagi Hassan, who is a
Sherriffe, CafrV

*That depends upon the
measure of your prudence,'
said I, * of which, as yet, I
have no proof that can enable
me to judge or decide.'

* Are you the Christian that

^ ♦?.

' t' '< !l

124

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

\ '

was at the ruins in the morn-
ing?* says he.

* I was at the ruins in the
morning,' repHed I, * and / am
a Christian. Ali Bey calls that
denomination of people Nazar-
afu\ that is the Arabic of Cairo
and Constantinople, and I un-
derstand no other.'

* I am,' said ho, * going to
Girg^, and this holy saint is
with me, and there is no boat
but yours bound that way, for
which reason I have promised
to take him with me.*

By this time the saint had
got into the boat, and sat for-
ward-; he was an ill-favoured,
low, sick-like man, and seemed
to be almost blind*

*You should not make rash
promises,' said I^ * to the cadi,
for this one you made you never
can perform; I am not going
to Girgd. Ali Bey, whose slave
you are, gave me this boat, but
told me, I was not to ship either
saints or cadis. There is my
boat, go aboard if you dare;
and you, Hagi Hassan, let me
see you lift an oar, or loose a
sail, either for the cadi or the
saint, if I am not with them.'

I went to my tent, and the
Rais followed me. * Hagi Has-
san,' said I, * there is a proverb
in my country, It is better to*
flatter fools than to fight them :
cannot you go to the fool, and
give him half-a-crown ? Will he
take it, do; you think, and aban-
don hisjourney to Girgd ? After-
wards leave me- to settle with
the cadi for his voyage thither.'

' He will take it with alb his

heart ; he will kiss your hand
for half-a-crown,' says Hassan.

The saint had taken his half-
crown, and had gone away sing-
ing, it being now near dark. —
The cadi went away, and the
mob dispersed, and we directed
a Moor to cry. That all people
should, in the night-time, keep
away from the tent or they
would be fired at. While we
were striking our tent, a ^reat
mob came down, but without
the cadi. The fool, or saint,
got into the boat with a yellow
flag in his hand. I pointed a
blunderbuss from one of the
windows, and cried out, * Have
a care ! the next stone that is
thrown, I fire my cannon among
you, which will sweep away
three hundred of you instantly
from the face of the earth;'
though, I believe, there were
not above two hundred then
present. I ordered Hagi Has-
san to cast off his cord immedi-
ately. The wind was fair, though
not very fresh, on which we set
both our sails, and made great
way. The saint now began to
show some apprehensions for
his own safety. He asked
Hagi Hassan, if this was the
way to Girg^? and had for
answer, * Yes, it* is the fool's
way to Girgd.'

We carried him^:about a mile,
or more, up the river; then, a
convenient landing-place offer-
ing, I asked him whether he
had got my money or not, last
night. He said, he had for
yesterday, but. he had got none
for; to-day. * Now, the next

BRUGES TRAVELS,

125

thing I have to ask you,' said
I, 'is, Will you go ashore of
your own a- cord, or will you
be thrown into the Nile?' He
answered, with great confidence,
' Do you kn w that, at my word,
I can fix yudr boat to the bot-
tom of the Nile, and make it
grow a tr<^e there for ever?'
' Ay,' says Hagi Hassan, * and
make oraiiges and lemons grow
on it, likewise, can't you ? You
are a cheat.' * Come, sirs,'
said I, * lose no time, and put
iiim out.' I thought he had
been blind and weak ; and the
boat was not within three feet
of the shore, when, placing
one foot upon the gunnel, he
leaped clean upon land. We
slacked our vessel down the
stream a few yards, filling our
sails, and stretching away. Up-
on seeing this, our saint fell
into a desperate passion, curs-
ing, blaspheming, and stamp-
ing with his feet, at every word,
crying, 'Shar UUah !' i.e. may
God send, and do justice. Our
people began to taunt and gibe
him, asking him, if he would
have a pipe of tobacco to warm
him, as the morning was very
cold ; but I bade them be con-
tent. It was curious to see
him, as far as we could discern,
sometimes sitting down, some-
times jumping and skipping
about, and waving his flag, then
running about a hundred yards,
as if it were after us ; but always
returning, though at a slower
pace.

We arrived happily at Fur-
shout that same forenoon, and

went to the convent of Italian
Friars, of the reformed Fran-
ciscans.

Furshout is in a large and
cultivated plain. It is nine
miles over to the foot of the
mountains, all sown with wheat.
There are likewise plantations
of sugar-canes along the banks
of the river. We waited upon
the Shekh Hamam, a big, tall,
handsome man, I apprehend
not far from sixty. He was
dressed in a large fox-skin
pelisse over the rest of his
clothes, and had a yellow India
shawl wrapt about his head like
a turban. He received me with
great politeness and condescen-
sion, made me sit down by him,
and asked me more questions
about Cairo than about Europe.
The Rais had told him our ad-
venture with the saint, at which
he laughed very heartily, saying
I was a wise man, and a man
of conduct. To me he only
said, ' They are bad people at
Dendera ;' to which I answered,
' There were very few places in
the world in which there were
not some bad.' He replied,
* Your observation is true ; but
there they are all bad; rest
yourselves, however, here ; it is
a quiet place, though there are
still some even here not quite
so good as they ought to be.'

We left Furshout the 7 th of
January 1769, early in the morn-
ing. We had not hired our boat
farther than Furshout ; but the
good terms which subsisted be-
tween me and the saint, my
Rais, made an accommodation

• ',•■ ^'1

126

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

lit:

to carry us farther very easy.
He now agreed for £,^ to carry
us to Syene and down again;
but, if he behaved well, he ex-
pected a trifling premium. * And
if you. behave ill, Hassan,' said
I, • what do you think you de-
serve?' * To be hanged,' said
he ; * I deserve, and desire no
better.'

We passed a large town called
How,, on the west side of the
Nile. About four in the after-
noon we arrived at El Gourni,
a small village, with a temple
of old Egyptian) architecture.

Nothing remains of the an-
cient Thebes but four prodi-
gious templesj all of them in
appearance more ancient, but
neither so entire, nor so magni-
ficent, as those of Dendera.
The temples at Medinet Tabu
are the most elegant of these.
The hieroglyphics are cut to
the depth of half-a-foot in some
places, but we have still the
same figures, or rather a less
variety, than at Dendera. The
hieroglyphics are of four sorts :
first, such as have only the
contour marked, and, as it were,
scratched in the stone ; the se-
cond are hollowed ; and in the
middle of that space, excavated,
rises the figure in relief, so that
the prominent part of the figure
is level with the flat unwrought
surface of the stone, which seems
like a frame round it, designed
to defend the hieroglyphic from
mutilation ; the third sort is in
relief, or b-^sso-relievo, as it is
called, where the figure is left
bare and exposed, without being

sunk in or defended by any
compartment cut round it in
the stone ; the fourth are those
mentioned in the beginning of
this description, the outlines of
the figure being cut very deep
in the stone, and all the iriterior
hollowed. All the hieroglyphics
but the last mentioned are paint-
ed red,, blue, and green, as at
Dendera, and with no other
colours. Thebes, according to
Homer, had a hundred gates.
We cannot, however, discovei
yet the foundation of any wall
that it had surrounding it ; and,
as for the horsemen and cha-
riots it is said to have sent out,
all the Thebaid sown with. wheat
would not have maintained ofie-
halfofxhtva.

About half a mile north of El
Gourni are the magnificent, stu-
pendous sepulchres of Thebes.
The mountains of the Thebaid
come close behind the town.
They are not mn in upoa one
another like ridges, but stand
insulated upon their bases, so
that you can get round each of
them. A hundred of these, it
is said, are excavated into se-
pulchral, and a variety of other
apartments. I went through
seven of them with a great deal
of fatigue. It is a solitary place;
and my guides, either from a
natural impatience and distaste
that these people have at such
employments, or that their fears
of the banditti that live in the
caverns of the mountains were
real, importuned me to return
to the boat, even before I had
begun my search, or got into

BRUGES TRAVELS.

127

the mountains where are the
many large apartments of which
I was in quest.

Within one of these sepul-
chres, on a panel, were several
musical instruments strewed
upon the ground, chiefly of the
hautboy kind, with a mouth-
piece of reed. There were also
some simple pipes, or flutes.
With them were several jars
apparently of potter's - ware,
which, having their mouths co-
vered with parchment, or skin,
and being braced on their sides
like a drum, were probably the
instrument called the tabor ^ or
tahret^ beat upon by the hands,
coupled in earliest ages with
the harp, and preserved still in
Abyssinia, though its compa-
nion, the last-mentioned instru-
ment, is no longer known there.
In three following panels were
painted, in fresco, three harps,
which merited the utmost atten-
tion, whether we consider the
elegance of these instruments
in their form, and the detail of
their parts, as they are here
clearly expressed, or confine
ourselves to the reflection that
necessarily follows, to how great
perfection music must have ar-
rived before an artist could have
produced so complete an instru-
ment as either of these. As the
first harp seemed to be the most
perfect, and least spoiled, I im-
mediately attached myself to
this, and desired my cler>k to
take upon him the charge of
the second. In this way, by
sketching exactly, and loosely,

1 Gt-n. xvxi 27 ; Isa. v-vc. 32.

I hoped to have made myself
master of all the paintings in
that cave, perhaps, to have ex-
tended my researches to others,
though, in the sequel, I found
myself miserably deceived.
Upon seeing the preparations
I was making to proceed farther
in my researches, my conduc-
tors lost all" sort of subordi-
nation* Withi great clamour
and marks of discontent, they
dashed : their torches against
the largest harp, and made the
best of their way out of the
cave, leaving me and my people
in the- dark ; and all the way as
they went, they made dreadful
denunciations of tragical events
that were immediately to follow
upon their departure from the
cave. There was no possibility
of doing more. Very much
vexed, I mounted my horse to
return to the boat. The road
lay through a very narrow val-
ley, and a number of large stones
were rolled down upon me.
Finding, by the impatience of
the horse, that several of these
stones- had come near him, I
levelledi my gun as near as pos-
sible, by the ear, and fined one
barrel among them. A mo-
ment's silence ensued, and then
a loud howl, which seemed to
have come from thirty or forty
persons. I took my servant's
blunderbuss and discharged it
where I heard the howl, and a
violent confusion of tongues
followed, but no more stones.

Fearing further hostilities, we
cast off our rope that fastened
us, and let ourselves over to the

,1 1^^

128

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

other side. About twelve at
night a gentle breeze began to
blow, which wafted us up to
Luxor, where there was a go-
vernor, for whom I had letters.

We were well received by the
governor, who, having 'made
him a small present, furnished
us with provisions, and, among
several other articles, some
brown sugar \ and as we had
seen limes and lemons in great
perfection at Thebes, we were
resolved to refresh ourselves
with some punch, in remem-
brance of Old England.

Luxor and Carnac, which is
a mile and a quarter below it,
are by far the largest and most
magnificent scenes of ruins in
Egypt, much more extensive
and stupendous than those of
Thebes and Dendera put toge-
ther. There are two obelisks
here of great beauty, and in
good preservation ; they are less
than those at Rome, but not at
all mutilated. The pavement,
which is made to receive the
shadow, is to this day so hori-
zontal, that it might still be
used in observation. At Carnac
we saw the remains of two vast
rows of sphinxes. They were
composed of basalts, with a
dog or lion's head, of Egyptian
sculpture ; they stood in lines
likewise, as if to conduct or
serve as an avenue to some
principal building. The 17 th
we took leave of our friendly
Shekh of Luxor, and sailed with
a very fair wind, and in great
spirits. In the evening we came
to an anchor on the eastern

shore, nearly opposite to Esnd.
The 1 8th we left Esnd, and
passed the town of Edfu, where
there are likewise considerable
remains of Egyptian architec-
ture.

We next came to Shekh Am-
mer, the ^encampment gf the
Arabs Ababdd who reach from
near Cosseir far into the desert.

Shekh Ammer is not one,
but a collection of villages, com-
posed of miserable huts, con-
taining, at this time, about a
thousand effective men : they
possess few horse, and are
mostly mounted on camels.
Ibrahim, the son, who had seen
me at Furshout and Badjoura,
knew me as soon as I arrived,
and, after acquainting his fa-
ther, came with about a dozen
of naked attendants, with lances
in their hands, to escort me.
We were introduced to their
Shekh, who was sick, in a cor-
ner of a hut, where he lay upon
a carpet, with a cushion under
his head. This chief of the
Ababdd, called Nimmer, i.e. The
Tiger (though his furious quali-
ties were at this time in a great
measure allayed by sickness;
asked me much about the state
of Lower Egypt. I satisfied
him as far as possible, but re-
commended to him to confine
his thoughts nearer home. A
very friendly conversation en-
sued, in which was repeated
often, how little they expected
I would have visited them ! As
this implied two things; the
first, that I paid no regard to
my promise when given ; the

BRUGES TRAVELS.

129

other, that I did not esteem
them of consequence enough
to give myself the trouble, I
thought it right to clear myself
from these suspicions.

' Shekh Nimmer,' said I, * this
frequent repetition, that you
thought I would not keep my
word, is grievous to me. I am
a Christian, and have lived iiOv/
many years among you Arabs.
Why did you imagine that I
would not keep my word, since
it is a principle among all the
Arabs I have lived with, in-
violably to keep theirs 1 When
your son Ibraham came to me
at Badjoura, and told me the
pain that you was in, night and
day, fear of God, and desire to
do good, even to them I had
never seen, made me send you
those medicines that have given
you ease. After this proof of
my humanity what was there
extraordinary in my coming to
see you in the wayl I knew
you not before \ but my religion
teaches me to do good to all
men, even to enemies, without
reward, or without considering
whether I ever should see them
again. Now, after the drugs
I sent you by Ibraham, tell me,
and tell me truly, upon \ht faith
of an Arah^ would your people,
if they met me in the desert^ do
me any wrong more than now^
as I have ate and drank with
you to-day % '

The old man Nimmer, on this
rose from his carpet, and sat
upright; a more ghastly and
more horrid figure I never saw.
'No,' said he, 'Shekh, cursed

be those men of my people or
others^ that ever shall lift up
their hand against you, either
in the Desert or the Tell, ^ As
long as you are in this country,
or between this and Cosseir,
my son shall serve you with
heart and hand ; one night of
pain that your medicines freed
me from, would not be repaid,
if I was to follow you on foot
to Messir (that is, Cairo).' I
then thought it a proper time
to enter into conversation about
penetrating into- Abyssinia that
way, and they discussed it
among themselves in a> very
friendly, and, at the same time,
in a very sagacious and sensible
manner. * We would carry you
to El Haimer (which I under-
stood, to be a well in the desert,
and which I afterwards was
much better acquainted with to
my sorrow). *We could con-
duct you so far,* says old' Nim-
merj * under God^ without fear
of harm ; all that country was
Christian once, and we Chris-
tians like yourself.2 Th^g Sara-
cens having nothing in their
power there, we could carry
you safely to Suakem ; but the
Bishary are men not ta be
trusted, and we could go no
farther than to land you among
them, and they would put you
to death, and laugh at you all
the time they were tormenting
you. Now, if you want to visit
Abyssinia, go by Cosseir and
Jidda; there you Christians
command the country.'

^ The part of Egypt which is cultivated.
*They were Shepherds Indigenx, not
Arabs. \

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TIfE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

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I told him, I apprehended the
Kennouss, about the second
cataract above Ibrim, were bad
people. He said the Kennouss
were, he believed, bad enough
in their hearts; but they were
wretched slaves, and servants,
had no power in their hands,
would not wrong anybody that
was with his people ; if they
did, he would extirpate them in
a day.

I told him I was satisfied of
the truth of what was said, and
asked him the best way to Cos-
seir. He said, the best way for
me to go was from Kennd or
Cuft, and that he was carrying
a quantity of wheat from Upper
Egypt, while Shekh Hamam was
sending another cargo firom his
country, both of which would
be delivered at Cosseir, and
loaded there for Jidda.

* All that is right, Shekh,' said
I; *but suppose your people
meet us in the desert, in going
to Cosseir, or otherwise, hew
should we fare in that case?
Should we fight T *I have
told you, Shekh, already,' says
he. * Cursed be the man who
lifts his hand against you ! or
even does not defend and be-
friend you, to his own loss,
were it Ibrahim my own son.'

I then told him I was bound
to Cosseir, and that if I found
myself in any difliculty, I hoped,
upon applying to his people,
they would protect me, and
that he would give them the
word, that I was Yagoube^ a
physician, seeking no harm, but
doing good ; bound by a vow,

for a certain time, to wander
through deserts, from fear of
God, and that they should not
have it in their power to do me
harm.

The old man muttered some-
thing to his sons in a dialect I
did not understand ; it was that
of the Shepherds of Suakem.
As that was the first word he
spoke which I did not compre-
hend, I took no notice, but
mixed some lime-water in a
large Venetian bottle that was
given me when at Cairo, full ot
liqueur^ and which would hold
about four quarts ; and a little
after I had done this, the whole
hut was filled with people.
These were priests and monks
of their religion, and the heads
of families, so that the house
could not contain half of them.
The great people among them
came, and after joining hands,
repeated a kind of prayer,^ of
about two minutes long, by
which they declared themselves
and their children accursed, if
ever they lifted their hands
against me in the Tell, or field,
in the desert, or on the river;
or, in case that I or mine should
fly to them for refuge, if they
did not protect us at the risk of
their lives, their families, and
their fortunes, or, as they em-
phatically expressed it, to the
death of the last male child
among them. Medicines and
advice were then given on my
part, faith and protection pledged
on theirs, and we parted per-

^ This kind of oath was in use among the
Arabs or Shepherds, as early as the time of
Abraham. Gen. xxL 32, 33, xxyi. 28.

BRUGES TRAVELS.

i3»

fectly content with one an-
other.

We sailed on the 20th, with
the wind favouring us, till about
an hour before sunrise, and
about nine o'clock came to an
anchor on the south end of the
palm groves, and north end of
the town of Syene, where I had
letters of credit I was not
well arrived before a janissary
came in long Turkish clothes,
without arms, and a white wand
in his hand, to tell me that
Syene was a garrison town, and
that the Aga was at the castle
ready to give me audience.

I returned him for answer,
that I hoped he would indulge
me till the arrival of my land-
lord ; in which interim I should
take a little rest, change my
clothes, and be more in the
situation in which I would wish
to pay my respects to him.

The fort is built of clay, with
some small guns mounted on it ;
it is of strength sufficient to
keep people of the country in
awe. I found the Aga sitting in
a small kiosk or closet, upon a
stone bench covered with car-
pets. As I was in no fear of
him, I was resolved to walk
according to my privileges ; and
as the meanest Turk would do
before the greatest man in Eng-
land, I sat down upon a cushion
below him, after laying my hand
on my breast, and saying, in an
audible voice, with great marks
of respect however, * Salam ali-
cumT to which he answered,
without any of the usual diffi-
culty, '■ Alicutn SalumI* Peace

he between us is the salutation ;
There is peace between us is the
return. After sitting down
about two minutes, I again got
up, and stood in the middle of
the room before him, saying, * I
am bearer of a hatdsheriffe,
or royal mandate, to you, Ma-
homet Aga ! ' and took the fir-
man out of my bosom, and pre-
sented it to him. Upon this he
stood upright, and all the rest
of the people, before sitting
with him likewise ; he bowed
his head upon the carpet, then
put the firman to his forehead,
opened it, and pretended to read
it ; but he knew well the con-
tents, and I believe, besides, he
could neither read nor write any
language. I then gave him the
other letters from Cairo, which
he ordered his secretary to read
in his ear. All this ceremony
being finished, he called for a
pipe and coffee. I refused the
first, as never using it ; but I
drank a dish of coflee, and
told him that I was bearer of a
confidmticU message from Ali
Bey of Cairo, and wished to
deliver it to him without wit-
nesses, whenever he pleased.
The room was accordingly
cleared without delay, except-
ing his secretary, who was also
going away, when I pulled him
back by the clothes, saying,
*Stay, if you please, we shall
need you to write the answer.*
We were no sooner left alone,
than I told the Aga, that, being
a stranger, and not knowing the
disposition of his people, or
what footing they were on to-

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THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

? t

gether, and being desired to ad-
dress myself only to him by the
Bey, and our mutual friends at
Cairo, I wished to put it in his
power (as he pleased or not)
to have witnesses of delivering
the small present I had brought
him from Cairo. The Aga
seemed very sensible of tiiis
delicacy ; and particularly de-
sired me to take no notice to
my landlord, the Schourbatchie,
of anything I had brought
him.

All this being over, and a
confidence established with gov-
ernmenty I sent his present by
his own servant tliat night,
under pretence of desiring
horses to go to the cataract
next day. The message was
returned, that the horses were
to be ready by six o'clock next
morning. On the 21st the Aga
sent me his own horse, with
mules and asses for my servants,
to go to the cataract.

The river, not half a mile
broad, is divided into a number
of small channels, where the
current, confined for a long
course between the rocky moun-
tains of Nubia, tries to expand
itself with great violence.
Finding, in every part before
it, opposition from the rocks of
granite, and forced back by
these, it meets the opposite
currents. The chafing of the
water against these huge ob-
stacles, the meeting of the con-
trary currents, one with another,
creates such a violent ebullition,
and makes such a noise and
disturbed appearance, that it

fills the mind with confusion
rather than with terror.

We saw the miserable Ken-
nouss (who inhabit the banks
of the river up into Nubia, to
above the second cataract) to
procure their daily food, lying
behind rocks, with lines in
their hands, and catching fish ;
they did not seem to be cither
dexterous, or successful in the
sport. They are not black,
but of the darkest brown ; are
not woolly-headed, but have
hair. They are small, light,
agile people, and seem to be
more than half-starved. I made
a sign that I wanted to speak
with one of them, but, seeing
me surrounded with with a
number of horse and fire-arms,
they did not choose to trust
themselves. I left my people
behind with my fire-lock, and
went alone to see if I could
engage them in a conversation.
At first, they walked off ; find-
ing I persisted in following
them, they ran at full speed, and
hid themselves among the rocks.

Having finislied everything
we had to do at Syene, we pre-
pared to descend the Nile.

On the 26th we embarked
at the north end of the town,
in the very spot where I again
took boat above three years
afterwards.

On the 31st of January we
arrived at Negad^, the fourth
settlement of the Franciscan
friars in Upper Egypt, for the
pretended mission of Ethiopia.

It was the 2d of February I
returned to Badjoura, and took

BRUGES TRAVELS.

up fny quarters in the house
formerly assig?ic(l me, greatly
to the joy of Shekh Ismael,
who, though he was in the main
reconciled to his friend, friar
Christopher, had not yet forgot
the wounding of the five men
by his miscalculating Ramadan;
and was not without fears that
the same inadvertence might,
some day or other, be fatal to
him, in his pleurisy and asthma,
or, what is still more likely, by
the operation of the tabange.
As I was now about to enter on
that part of my expedition, in
which ] was to have no further
intercourse with Europe, I set
myself to work to examine all
my observations, and put my
journal in such forwardness by
explanations, where needful, that
the labours and pains I had
hitherto been at, might not be
totally lost to the public, if I
should perish in the journey I
had undertaken, which, from all
information I could procure,
every day appeared to be more
and more desperate. Having
finished these, at least so far as
to make them intelligible to
others, I conveyed them to my
friends Messrs Julian and Rosa,
at Cairo, to remain in their
custody till I should return, or
news come that I was otherwise
disposed of^

CHAPTER HI.

From Kenn^ to Cosseir.

On Thursday the i6th of Feb-
ruary 1 769, we heard the cara-

van was ready to set out from
Kenn(5, the Came Emporium of
antiquity. At half-past two we
came to a well, called Bir Am-
bar, the well of spices, and a
dirty village of the same name,
belonging to the Azaizy, a poor
inconsiderable tribe of Arabs.
They live by letting out their
cattle for hire to the caravans
that go to Cosseir, and attend-
ing themselves, when neceswary.
The houses of the Azaizy are of
a very particular construction,
if they can be called houses.
They are all made of potter-clay,
in one piece, in shape of a bee-
hive ; the largest is not above
ten feet high, and the greatest
diameter six.

On the 17th, at eight o'clock
in the morning, having mounted
my servants, all on horseback,
and taken the charge of cur own
camels (for there was a confu-
sion in our caravan not to be
described, and our guards we
knew were but a set of thieves),
we advanced slowly into the
desert. Our road was all the
way in an open plain, bounded
by hillocks of sand, and fine
gravel, perfectly hard, and Jiot
perceptibly above the level of
the plain country of Egypt.
About twelve miles distant
there is a ridge of mountains of
no considerable height, perhaps
the most barren in the world.
Between these our road lay
through plains, never three
miles broad, but without trees,
shrubs, or herbs. There are
not even the traces of any living
creature, neither serpent nor

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TirE ENGLisir nxrroRERs.

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llzfird, nntclopo nor oHtric h, the
UKUttI inhnbitiintn of the mont
dreary deserts. There i« no
Rort of water on the Rurfnee,
brackish or sweet. lOven the
birds seem to avoid the place
as pestilential, not havinjjt seen
one of any kind so much as
flying over. The sun was burn-
ing hot, and, upon rubbing two
sticks together, in half a minute
they botli took fire and flamed,
a mark how near the country
was reducetl to a general con-
flagration.

While at the wells of T.egeta,
my Arab, Abd el (lin, came to
me with his money, which had
increased now to nineteen
seqiiins and a half. * What I *
said I, * Mahomet, arc you
never safe among your country-
men, neither by sea nor land 1 *

* Oh, no,' replied Mahomet ;

* the difVercnce, when we were
on board the boat, was, we had
three thieves only ; but, when
assembled here, we shall have
above three thousand. But I
have an advice to give you.*

* And my ears,' said I, ' Ma-
homet, are always open to ad-
vice, especially in strange
countries.' * These people,'
continued Mahomet, *are all
afraid of the Atouni Arabs ;
and, when attacked, they will
r»m away, and leave you in the
hand of these Atouni, who will
carry off your baggage. There-
fore, as you have nothing to do
with their corn, do not kill
any of the Atouni if they
come, for that will be a bad
attivir, but go aside, and let

me manage. I will answer
with my life, thotigh all the
caravan should be stripped
stark naked, and you loaded
with gold, not one article he-
longing to you shall he
touched.' I questioned him
very particularly about this in-
timation, as it was an affair of
much consequence, and I was
so well satisfied, that [ resolved
to conform strictly to it.

In the evening came twenty
Turks from Caramania, ail of
them neatly and cleanly drensed,
all on camels, armed with
swords, a pair of pistols at their
girdle, and a short neat gun.
They told me that they were a
number of neighbours and com-
panions, who had set out to-
trether to go to Me< ca, to the
Hadjc ; and had been but in-
differently used since they
landed at Alexandria, that one
of the thieves had been on board
in the night, and had carried olT
a small jiortmanteau with about
200 sequins in gold ; that,
though a complaint had been
made to the Bey of Girg<f, yet
no satisfaction had been ob-
tained ; and that now they had
heard an Englishman was here,
whom they reckoned their
countryman, they had come to
propose, that we should make
a common cause to defend
each other against all enemies.
I cannot conceal the secret
pleasure I had in finding the
character of my country so
firmly established among na-
tions so distant, enemies to
our religion, and strangers to

BRUCE'S TRAVELS.

'35

our government. Turks from
Mount Taurus, and Arabs from
the desert of Libya, thought
themselves unsafe among their
own countrymen, but trusted
their lives nnd their little for-
tunes implicitly to the direction
and word of an Englishman,
whom they had never before
seen. These Turks seemed to
l)c above the middling railk of
pc'oi)le ; each of them had his
little cloak-bag very neatly
packed up ; and they gave me
to understand that there was
money in it. These they placed
n my servant's tent, and chained
them altogether, round the mid-
dle pillar of it ; for it was easy
to see the Arabs of the caravan
had those packages in view,
from the first moment of their
arrival. Our journey lay now
through a plain, never less than
a mile broad, and never broader
than three ; the hills, on our
right and left, were higher than
the former, and of a brownish
calcined colour, like the stones
on the sides of Mount Vesuvius,
but without any herb or tree
upon them. At half-past ten,
we passed a mountain of green
and red marble, and at twelve
we entered a plain, called Ham-
ra, where we first observed the
sand red, with a purple cast, of
the colour of porphyry.

On the 2oth, at six o'clock
in the morning, we left Main el
Mafarek, and, at ten, came to
the mouth of the defiles. At
eleven, we began to descend,
having had a very impercepti-
ble ascent from Kennd all the

way. At a quarter past four,
we encamped at Koraim, a
small plain, perfectly barren,
consisting of fine gravel, sand,
and stones, with a few acacia-
trees, intersperscfl throughout ;
and on the 21st we departed
early in the morning from Ko-
raim, and at ten o'clock passed
several defiles, perpetually
alarmed by a report that the
Arabs were approaching, none
of whom we ever saw. While
here, I went early with my
camel-drivers, expecting to
have seen some antelopes,
which every night come to
drink from the well, having no
opportunity to do it throughout
the day. I had not concealed
myself half an hour, above a
narrow path, leading to the
principal cave, before I saw
first one antelope walking very
stately alone ; then four others
closely following him. Although
I was wholly hid as long as I
lay still, he seemed to have dis-
cerned me from the instant that
I saw him. I should have
thought it had been the smell
that had discovered me, had I
not used the precaution of carry-
ing a piece of burnt turf along
with me, and left one with my
horse likewise ; perhaps it was
this unusual smell that terrified
him. Whatever was the cause,
he advanced apparently in fear,
and seemed to be trusted with
the care of the flock, as the
rest testified no apprehension,
but were rather sporting, or
fighting with each other. Still
he advanced slower, and with

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THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

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great caution; but, being per-
fectly within reach, I did not
think proper any longer to risk
the whole from a desire to ac-
quire a greater number. I shot
him so justly, that, giving one
leap five or six feet high, he fell
dead upon his head. I fired at
the rest, retiring all in a crowd,
killed one likewise, and lamed an-
other, who fled to the mountains,
where darkness protected him.
We found our tents all lighted
on our return, which, at that
time of night, was unusual ; and
we were surprised when, coming
within a moderate distance of
our tent, we heard the word
called for ; I answered imme-
diately * Charlotte ;' and, upon
our arrival, we perceived the
Turks were parading round the
tents in arms, and soon after
our Howadat Arab came to us,
and with him a messenger from
Sidi Hassan, desiring me to
come instantly to bis tent, while
my servants advised me first to
hear what they had to say to
me in mine.

I found that, While our people
had been asleep, two persons
had got into the tent and at-
tempted to steal one of the
portmanteaus ; but as they were
chained together, and the tent-
pole in the middle, the noise
had awakened my servants, who
had seized one of the men ; and
that the Turks had intended in-
stantly to have despatched him
with their knives, and with great
difficulty had been prevented.
They had indeed leave to deal
about with their sticks as freely

as their prudence suggested to
them ; that the thief was only
known to be living by his groans,
and they had thrown him at a
small distance, for any person
to own him that pleased. It
appeared that he was a servant
of Sidi Hassan, an Egyptian
slave, or servant to Shekh
Hamam, who commanded the
caravan. There were with me
ten servants, all completely
armed ; twenty-five Turks, who
seemed worthy to be depended
upon, and four janissaries, who
had joined us from Cairo, so
that there were forty men of us
perfectly armed, besides attend-
ants on the cattle. As there
were people with us who knew
the wells, and also a friend who
was acquainted with the Atouni,
nothing, even in a desert, could
reasonably alarm us.

At dawn of day the caravan
was all in motion. They had
got intelligence that, two days
before, 300 Atouni had watered
at Terfowey j and indeed there
were marks of great resort at
the well where we filled the
water. Hassan was mounted
on horseback, with about a
hundred of his myrmidons, and
a number of Arabs on foot. He
sent me word that I was to ad-
vance with only two servants,
but I returned for answer that
1 had no intention to advance
at all ; that if he had any busi-
ness, he should say so, and
that I would meet him one to
one, or three to six, just as he
pleased. After drinking a cup
of coffee 4n my presence, * Now,'

BRUCE'S TRAVELS.

'37

says he, * pr U is past j the
Atouni are to meet us at the
mouth of Beder ; your people
are better armed than mine, are
Turks, and used to fighting. I
wish you to go foremost, and
we will take charge of your
camels, though my people have
4000 of their own, and they
have enough to do to take
charge of the com.' * And I,'
said I, * if I wanted water or
provision, would go to meet the
Atouni, who would use me well.
Why, you don't know to whom
you are speaking, nor that the
Atouni are Arabs of AH Bey,
and that I am his man of con-
fidence going to the sheriffe of
Mecca? The Atouni will not
hurt us ; but, as you say you
are commander of the caravan,
we have all sworn we will not
fire a shot till we see you heartily
engaged, and then we will do
our best to hinder the Arabs
from stealing the sheriffe of
Mecca's corn for his sake only.'

The 2 2d, at half-past one in
the morning, we set out full of
terror about the Atouni.

Our road now presented one
of the most extraordinary sights
I ever saw. The former moun-
tains were of considerable
height, without a tree, or shrub,
or blade of grass upon them ;
but these now before us had
all the appearance, the one of
having been sprinkled over with
Havannah, the other with Brazil
snuff. About eight o'clock we
began to descend smartly, and,
half an hour after, entered into
another defile like those before

described, having mountains of
green marble on eveiy side of
us. About ten o'clock, descend-
ing very rapidly, with green
marble and jasper on each side
of us, but no other green thing
whatever, we had the first pro-
spect of the Red Sea, and, at a
quarter past eleven, we arrived
at Cosseir. It has been a won-
der among all travellers, and
with myself among the rest,
where the ancients procured
that prodigious quantity of fine
marble, with which all their
buildings abound. That won-
der, however, among many
others, now ceases, after having
passed, in four days, more gra-
nite, porphyry, marble, and
jasper, than would build Rome,
Athens, Corinth, Syracuse,
Memphis, Alexandria, and half
a dozen such cities.

Cosseh: is a small mud-walled
village, built upon the shore,
among hillocks of floating sand.
It is defended by a square fort
of hewn stone, with square
towers in the angles, which
have in them three small can-
non of iron, and one of brass,
all in very bad condition — of
no other use but to terrify the
Arabs, and hinder them from
plundering the town when full
of com going to Mecca in time
of famine. The walls are not
high; nor was it necessary, if
the great guns were in order.
But as this is not the case, the
ramparts are heightened by clay,
or by mud-walls, to screen the
soldiers from the fire-arms of
the Arabs, that might otherwise

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138

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

command them from the sandy
hills in the neighbourhood. I
had orders from Shekh Hamam
to lodge in the castle. But a
few hours before my arrival,
Hussein Bey Abou Kersh land-
ed from Mecca and Jidda, and
he had taken up the apartments
which were destined for me.
He was one of those Beys whom
Ali Bey had defeated and driven
from Cairo. He was called
Abou Kersh, i.e. Father Belly,
from being immoderately fat ;
his adversity had brought him
a little into shapes.

My fellow - travellers, the
Turks, finding themselves in a
situation to be heard, had not
omitted the opportunity of com-
plaining to Hussein Bey of the
attempt of the Arab to rob
them in the desert. The Bey
asked me if it happened in my
tent. I said it was in that of
my servants. * What is the rea-
son,' says he, * that when you
English people know so well
what good government is, you
did not order his head to be
struck off, when you had him
in your hands, before the door
of the tent ?' * Sir,' said I, * I
know well what good govern-
ment is; but being a stranger
and a Christian, I have no sort
of title to exercise the power of
life and death in this country ;
only in this one case, when a
man attempts my life, then I
think I am warranted to defend
myself. My men took him in
the fact, and they had my orders,
in such cases, to beat the offen-
ders, so that they should not

steal these two months again.
They did so ; that was punish-
ment enough in cold blood.'

* But my blood,' says he, * never
cools with regard to such rascals
as these. Go (and he called one
of his attendants), tell Hassan,
the head of the caravan, from
me, that unless he hangs that
Arab before sunrise to-morrow,
I will carry him in irons to
Furshout.' Upon this message
I took my leave, saying only,

* Hussein Bey, take my advice,
procure a vessel and send these
Turks over to Mecca before you
leave this town, or, be assured,
they will all be made responsi-
ble for the death of this Arab.'
This measure was already pro-
vided for, and the poor Turks
joyfully embarked next morn-
ing. The thief was not at all
molested ; he was sent out of
the way, under pretence that
he had fled.

The caravan from Syene ar-
rived at this time, escorted by
four hundred Ababdd, all upon
camels, each armed with two
short javelins. The manner of
their riding was very whimsical.
They had two small saddles on
each camel, and sat back to
back, which might be, in their
practice, convenient enough,
but, if they had been to fight
with us, every b'all would have
killed two of them. The whole
town was in terror at the influx
of so many barbarians. Every-
body shut thjir doors, and I
among the rest, whilst the Bey
sent word to me to remove into
the castle. But I had no fear,

BRUGES TRAVELS,

139

and resolved to make an expe-
riment, after hearing these were
people of Nimmer, whether I
could trust them in the desert
or not. I sent the best of my
baggage into a chamber in the
castle. ^ ^

I was next morning down at
the port looking for shells in
the sea, when a servant of mine
came to me in apparent fright
and hurry. He told me the
Ababdd had found out that
Abd- el-gin, my Arab, was an
Atouni, their enemy, and that
they had either cut his throat,
or were about to do it. He
brought me a horse, which I
mounted immediately, and, in
the fishing-dress, with a red tur-
ban about my head, I galloped
as hard as the horse could
carry me through the town.
Coming near them, six or eight
of them surrounded me on
horseback, and began to gabble
in their own language. I was
not very fond of my situation.
It would have cost them nothing
to have thrust a lance through
my back, and taken the horse
away, and, after stripping me,
to have buried me in a hillock
of sand, if they were so kind as
give themselves that last trouble.
However, I picked up courage,
and putting on the best appear-
ance I could, said to them
steadily, without trepidation,
' What men are these before ? '
The answer, after some pause,
was, * They are men ;* and they
looked very queerly, as if they
meant to ask each other, * What
sort of spark is thir?' * Are

those before us, AbabfM,' said
I J * are they from Shekh Am-
merl' One of them nodded,
and grunted sullenly, rather than
said, * Ay, Ababd^ from Shekh
Ammer.' * Then Salam Ali-
cum !' said I, * we are brethren.
How does the Nimmer? Who
commands you herel Where
is Ibrahim V At the mention
of Nimmer and Ibrahim, their
countenance changed, not to
anything sweeter or gentler than
before, but to a look of great
surprise. They had not returned
my salutation, * Peace be be*
tween us ;' but one of them
asked me who I was. ' Tell
me first,' said I, * who is that
you have before V * It is an
Arab, our enemy,* says he,
* guilty of our blood.' * It is
not so,* replied I ; * he is my
servant, a Howadat Arab ; his
tribe lives in peace at the gates
of Cairo, in the same manner
yours at Shekh Ammer does at
those of Assouan. I ask you
where is Ibrahim your Shekh's
son V * Ibraham,' says he, ' is
at our head ; he commands us
here. But who are you?' 'Come
with me, and show me Ibra-
him/ said I, * and I will show
you who I am.* I passed by
these, and by another party of
them. They had thrown a hair-
rope about the neck of Abd-el-
gin, who was almost strangled
already, and cried out most
miserably to me not to leave
him. I went directly to the
black tent, which I saw had a
long spear thrust up in the end
of it, and met at the door Ibra-

,)>.<.

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'l4

IIP Hi

I40

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

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1 ■

I'f

him and his bjother, and seven
or eight Ababdd. He did not
recollect me, but I dismounted
close to the tent-door, and had
scarce taken hold of the pillar
of the tent, and said * Fiarduc,'^
when Ibrahim and his brother
both knew me. * What 1' said
they, * are you Yagoube, our
physician, and our friend V * Let
rne ask you,' replied I, * if you
are the Ababdd of Shekh Am-
mer, that cursed yourselves and
your children if you ever lifted
a hand against me or mine in
the desert, or in the ploughed
field 1 If you have repented of
that oath, or sworn falsely on
purpose to deceive me, here I
am come to you in the desert.'
• What is the matter?' says
Ibrahim. * We are the Ababdd
of Shekh Ammer ; there are no
other; and we still say. Cursed
be he, whether our father or
child, that lifts his hand against
you in the desert, or in the
ploughed field.' * Then,' said
I, ' you are all accursed in the
desert and in the field, for a
number of your people are going
to murder my servant. They
took him, indeed, firom my
house in the town; perhaps
that is not included in your
curse, as it is neither in the
desert nor the ploughed field.'
I was very angry. * Whew 1'
says Ibrahim, with a kind of
whistle, * that is downright non-
sense. Who are those of my
people that have authority to
murder and take prisoners while
I am here ? Here, one of you,

1 That is, I am under your protection.

get upon Yagoube's horse, and
bring that man to me.' Then
turning to me, he desired I
would go Into the tent and sit
down : * For God renounce me
and mine,' says he, * if it is as
you say, and one of them hath
touched the hair of his head,
if ever he drinks of the Nile
again.'

The Arab, Abd-el-gin, was
the person that seized the ser-
vant of Hassan, the captain
of the caravan, when he was
attempting to steal the Turk's
portmanteau out of my tent ;
that my people had beat him
till he lay upon the ground like
dead, and that Hussein Bey,
at the complaint of the Cara-
maniots, had, for this offence,
ordered him to be hanged.
Now, in order to revenge this,
Hassan had told the Ababd^
that Abd-el-gin was an Atouni
spy, that he had detected him
in the caravan. He did not say
one word that he was my ser-
vant, nor that I was at Cosseir;
so the people thought they had
a very meritorious sacrifice to
make, in the person of poor
Abd-el-gin. All passed now in
kindness, and desire of repara-
tion ; fresh medicines were
asked for the Nimmer; great
thankfulness, and professions,
for what they had received;
and a prodigious quantity of
meat on wooden platters very
excellently dressed, and most
agreeably diluted with fresh
water, from the coldest rocks of
Terfowey, was set before me.
, I cannot help here accusing

BRUGES TRAVELS.

141

myself of what doubtless may
be well reputed a very great
sin, the more so that I cannot
say I have yet heartily repented
of it. I was so enraged at the
traitorous part which Hassan
had acted, that at parting I
could not help saying to Ibra-
him, 'Now, Shekh, I have
done everything you have de-
sired, without ever expecting
fee or reward; the only thing
I now ask you, and it is pro-
bably the last, is, that you re-
venge me upon this Hassan,
who is every day in your power/
Upon this, he gave me his
hand, saying, *He should not
die in his bed, or I shall never
see old age.'

I proposed to the Bey, that
he and I should contribute
something to make it worth
this captain's pains to take our
friends, the Turks, and carry
them to Yambo. The Bey
promised to stay till they sailed,
and I engaged to take the
vessel after it returned ; and
the captain, in quality of a
saint, assured us that any rock
that stood in our way in the
voyage would either jump
aside or become soft like a
sponge.

All was settled to our mtitual
satisfaction, when, unluckily, the
Turks going down to their
boat, met Sidi Hassan, whom,
with reason, they thought the
author of all their misfortunes.
The whole party drew their
swords, and, without seeking
sabres from Persia, as he had
done, they would have cut Sidi

Hassan in pieces, but, fortu-
nately for him, the Turks had
great cloth trousers, like Dutch-
men, and could not run, whilst
he ran very nimbly in his.
Several pistols, however, were
fired, one of which shot him
in the back part of the ear;
on which he fled for refuge to
the Bey, and we never saw him
more.

I now took up my quarters
in the castle, and as the Ababd^
had told strange stories about
the Mountain of Emeralds, I
determined, till my captain
should return, to make a voyage
thither.

On Tuesday the 14th of
March, we sailed from the har-
bour of Cosseir. Our vessel
had one sail, like a straw mat-
tress, made of the leaves of a
kind of palm-tree, which they
call Doom.

On the 15th, about nine
o'clock, I saw a large high rock,
like a pillar, rising out of the
sea.

TTie i6th, we landed on a
point perfectly desert, where
the soil was fixed, producing
some few plants of rue or ab-
sinthium. We advanced above
three miles farther in a perfectly
desert country, with only a few
acacia-trees scattered here and
there, and came to the foot of
the mountains. I asked my
guide the name of that place ;
he said it was Saiel. At the
foot of the mountain, or about
seven yards up from the base
of it, are five pits or shafts,
none of them four feet in

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142

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

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ii!"

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diameter, called the Zumrud
Wells, from which the ancients
are said to have drawn the
emeralds. We were not pro-
vided with materials, and little
endowed with inclination, to
descend into any one of them,
where the air was probably bad.
I picked up the nozzles, and
some fragments of that brittle
green crystal, which is perhaps
the zumrud, the smaragdus de-
scribed by Pliny, but by no
means the emerald whose first
character absolutely defeats its
pretensions, the true Peruvian
emerald being equal in hardness
to the ruby.

Besides a number of very
fine shells, we picked up several
branches of coral, and many
other articles of natural history.
Next day, the 17th, about
eleven o'clock, we found our-
selves about two leagues astern
of a small island, known to the
pilot by the name of Jibbel
Macowar.

This island, Jibbel Macowar,
has breakers running off from
it at all points ; but though we
hauled close to these, we had
no soundings.

On the 1 8th, at daybreak, I
was alarmed at seeing no land,
as I had no sort of confidence
in the skill of my pilot, however
sure I was of my latitude.
About an hour after sunset, I
observed a high rugged rock,
which the pilot told me, upon
inquiry, was Jibbel (viz. a Rock),
and this was all the satis-
faction I could get. We bore
down upon it with a wind,

scanty enough ; and, about
four, we came to an anchor.
As we had no name for that
island, and I did not know that
any traveller had been there
before me, I used the privilege
of giving it my own, in memory
of having been there.

The 19th, at daybreak, we
saw the land stretching all the
way northward, and soon after
distinctly discerned Jibbel Si-
berget upon our lee bow. We
had seen it indeed before, bat
had taken it for the mainland.
After passing such an agreeable
night, we could not be quiet,
and laughed at our pilot a'bout
his perfect knowledge of the
weather. The fellow shook his
head, and, in a very little time,
the vane on the mast-head be-
gan to turn, first north, then
east, then south, and back again
to all the points in the compass.
The sky was quite dark with
thick rain to the southward of
us ; then followed a most violent
clap of thunder, but no light-
ning ; and back again came the
wind fair at south-east. The
first thing I asked was, if the
pilot could not lower his main-
sail But that we found im-
possible, the yard being fixed
to the mast-head. The next
step was to reef it, by hauling it,
in part, up like a curtain. This
our pilot desired us not to at-
tempt, for it would endanger
our foundering. I began now
to throw off my upper coat and
trousers, that I might endeavour
to make shore, if the vessel
should founder, whilst the ser-

BItUCES TRAVELS.

vants seemed to have given
themselves up, and made no
preparation. Our pilot began,
apparently, to lose his under-
standing through fright. I
begged him to be steady, per-
suading him to take a glass o"
spirits, and desired him not to
dispute or doubt anything that
I should do or order, for that
I had seen much more terrible
nights in the ocean, I assured
him, that all harm done to his
vessel should be repaired when
we should get to Cosseir. He
answered me nothing, but that
Mahomet was the prophet of
God. *Let him prophesy,'
said I, *as long he pleases;
but what I order you is, to
keep steady to the helm ; mind
the vane on the top of the mast,
and steer straight before the
wind, for I am resolved to cut
that main-sail to pieces, and
prevent the mast from going
away, and your vessel from
sinking to the bottom.' I got
no answer to this which I could
hear, the wind was so high, ex-
cept something about the mercy
and the merit of Sidi All el
Genowi. I now became vio-
lently angry. *You beast,'
said I, * cannot you give me a
rational answer? Stand to
your helm, look at the vane ;
keep the vessel straight before
the wind, or I will shoot you
dead.' He answered only,
Maloom, i.e. Very well. All
this was sooner done than said;
I got the main-sail in my arms,
and with a large knife cut it
all to shreds, which eased the

vessel greatly, though we were
still going at a prodigious rate.
About two o'clock the wind
seemed to fail, but, half an hour
after, was more violent than
ever. At three it fell calm.
We now saw distinctly the
white cliffs of the two moun-
tains above Old Cosseir ; and,
on the 19th, a little before sun-
set, we arrived safely at the
New.

CHAPTER IV.

From Cosseir to Masuah.

On the 5 th day of April, after
having made my last observa-
tion of longitude at Cosseir, I
embarked and sailed from that
port. For the first two days
we had hazy weather, with
little wind. We saw a high
land to the south-west of us,
very rugged and broken, which
seemed parallel to the coast,
and higher in the middle than
at either end. This, we con-
ceived, was the mountain that
divides the coast of the Red
Sea from the eastern part of
the Valley of Egypt. In the
morning of the 6 th we made
the Jaffateen Islands. They
are four in number, crooked or
bent, like half a bow, and are
dangerous for ships sailing in
the night.

Next morning, the 7th, we
left our very quiet berth in the
bay, and stood close, nearly
south-east, alongside of the two
southermost Jaffateen Islands,
our head upon the centre of

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144

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

Sheduan, till we had cleared
the eastermost of these islands
about three miles. It is a
rocky shore, full of sunken
rocks, which, though not visi-
ble, are near enough the surface
to take up a large ship, whose
destruction thereupon becomes
inevitable. Therefore, though
in the tract of my voyage to
Tor, I am seen running from
the west side of Jibbel Zeit, a
w.N.w. course (for I had no
place for a compass) into the
harbour t f Tor, I will venture,
without fear of contradiction,
to say, that my course from
Cosseir, or even from Jibbel
Siberget, to Tor, is impossible
to a great ship. My voyage,
painful, full of care, and dan-
gerous as it was, is not to be
accounted a surety for the lives
of thousands.

On the 9th we arrived at
Tor, a small straggling village,
with a convent of Greek monks
belonging to Mount Sinai.
Our Rais, having despatched
his business, was eager to de-
part; and accordingly, on the
nth of April, at daybreak, we
stood out of the harbour of
Tor.

At night, by an observation
of two stars in the meridian, I
concluded the latitude of Cape
Mahomet to be 27° 54' n. It
must be understood of the
mountain or high land, which
forms the Cape, not the low
point. The ridge of rocks that
run along behind Tor bound that
low sandy country,, called the
Desert of Sin, to the eastward

and end in this cape, which is the
high land observed at sea ; but
the lower part, or southermost
extreme of the cape, runs about
three leagues off from the high
land, und is so low, that it can-
not be seen from deck above
three leagues. The 12th, we
sailed from Cape Mahomet,
just as the sun appeared. We
passed the island of Tyrone,
in the mouth of the Elanitic
Gulf, which divides it near
equally into two ; or, rather the
north-west side is narrowest.
On the 13th, the Rais having
in the night remedied what was
faulty in the vessel, set sail
about seven o'clock in the
morning. We passed a coni-
cal hill on the land, called Abou
Jubb^, where is the sepulchre
of a saint of that name. The
mountains here are at a con-
siderable distance ; and nothing
can be more desolate and bare
than the coast.

On the T5th, we came to an
anchor at El Har, where we saw
high, craggy, and broken moun-
tains, called the mountains ci
Ruddua. These abound with
springs of water ;^ all sort of
Arabian and African fruits grow
here in perfection, and every
kind of vegetable tliat they will
take the pains to cultivate. It
is the paradise of the people of
Yambo \ those of any substance
have country houses there ; but,
strange to tell, they stay there
but for a short time, and prefer
the bare, dry, and burning
sands about Yambo, to one of
the finest climates, and most

BRUCE' S TRAVELS.

MS*

verdant pleasant countries that
exists in the world.

On the 1 6th, about ten
o'clock, we passed a mosque,
or Shekh's tomb on the main
land, on our left hand, called
Kubbet Yambo, and before
eleven we anchored in the
mouth of the port in deep
water. Yambo, corruptly called
Imbo, is an ancient city, now
dwindled into a paltry village.
Yambo, in the language of the
country, signifies a fountain or
spring, a copious one of excel-
lent water being found there
among the date-trees, and it is
one of the stations of the Emir
Hadje in going to and coming
from Mecca.

In the evening, the captain
of the port came on board, and
brought two janissaries with
him, whom, with some diffi-
culty, I suffered to enter the
vessel. Their first demand was
gunpowder, which I positively
refused. They asked me a
thousand questions, whether I
was a Mamaluke, whether I was
Turk, or whether I was an
Arab, and why I did not give
them spirits and tobacco 1 To
all which I answered, only,
that they should know to-mor-
row who I was : then I ordered
the captain of the port to carry
them ashore at his peril, or I
would confine them on board
all night.

Soon after they went, we
heard a great firing, and saw
lights all over the town.

At night the firing had
abated, the lights diminished,

and the captain of the port
again came on board. They
asked me where I came from.
I said, * From Constantinople,
last from Cairo ; but begged
they would put no more ques-
tions to me, as I was not at
liberty to answer them.' They
said 'they had orders from
their masters to bid me wel-
come, if 1 was the person that
had been recommended to
them by the Sheriffe, and was
Ali Bey's physician at Cairo.'

We found that, upon some
discussion, the garrison and
townsmen had been fighting
for several days ; in which dis-
orders the greatest part of the
ammunition in the town had
been expended ; but it had since
been agreed on by the old men
of both parties that nobody had
been to blame on either side,
but that the whole wrong was
the work of a camel, which was
seized and brought without the
town, and there a number of
old men upbraided the camel
with everything that had been
either said or done, and finally
thrust him through with their
lances.

Next morning I went to the
palace. The two Agas were
sitting on a high bench upon
Persian carpets, and about forty
well-dressed and well-looking
men (many of them old), sitting
on carpets upon the floor, in a
semicircle round them. They
behaved with great politeness
and attention, and asked no
questions but general ones, as,
How the sea agreed with me 1

; h 3

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146

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

:*f. . 1.

If there was plenty at Cairo ?
till I was going away, when the
youngest of the Agas inquired,
with a seeming degree of dif-
fidence, Whether Mahomet Bey
Abou Dahab was ready to
march ? As I knew well what
this question meant, I answered,
* I knoW not if he is ready, he
has made great preparations.'
The other Aga said, *I hope
you will be a messenger of
peace 1 ' I answered, ' I entreat
you to ask me no questions ; I
hope, by the grace of God, all
will go well.' Every person
present applauded the speech ;
agreed to respect my secret, as
they supposed I had one, and
they were all inclined to be-
lieve that I was a man in the
confidence of AH Bey, and that
his hostile designs against
Mecca were laid aside. This
was just what I wished them to
suppose, tor it secured me
against ill-usage all the time I
chose to stay there ; and of
this I had a proof in the in-
stant, for a very good house
was provided for me by the
Aga, and a man of his sent to
show me to it. Yambo is re-
puted very unwholesome, but
there were no epidemical dis-
eases when I was there.

I was not a little uneasy at
thinking among what banditti
I lived, whose daily wish was
to rob and murder me, from
which they were restrained by
fear only; and this, a fit of
drunkenness, or a piece of bad
news, such as a report of Ali
Bey's death, might remove in a

moment. Indeed, we were
allowed to want nothing. A
sheep, some bad beer, and
some very good wheat bread
were delivered to us every day
from the Aga, which, with dates
and honey, and a variety of
presents from those that I at-
tended as a physician, made us
pass our time comfortably
enough ; we went frequently
in the boats to fish at sea,
and caught several kinds of
fish.

On the 28th of April, in the
morning, I sailed with a cargo
of wheat that did not belong to
me, and three passengers, in-
stead of one, for whom only I
had undertaken. On the 3d
May, at four o'clock we an-
chored in the port of Jidda,
which is very extensive, consist-
ing of numberless shoals, small
islands, and sunk rocks, with
channels between them, and
deep water. You are very safe
in Jidda harbour, whatever wind
blows, as there are numberless
shoals which prevent the water
from ever being put into any
gener?l motion ; and you may
moor head and stern, with
twenty anchors out if you
please. But the danger of
being lost, I conceive, lies in
the going in and coming out of
the harbour. Indeed, the ob-
servation is here verified, — the
more dangerous the port, the
abler the pilots, and no acci-
dents ever happen.

From Yambo to Jidda I had
slept little, making my memo-
randa as full upon the spot as

BRUGES TRAVELS,

147

possible. I had, besides, an
agueish disorder, which very
much troubled me, and in dress
and cleanliness was so like a
Galiongy (or Turkish seaman)
that the Emir Bahar* was
astonished at hearing my ser-
vants say I was an Englishman j
at the time they carried a,way
all my baggage and instruments
to the custom-house. He sent
his servant, however, with me
to the Bengal house, who pro-
mised me, in broken English,
all the way, a very magnificent
reception from my countrymen.
Upon his naming all the cap-
tains for my choice, I desired
to be carried to a Scotchman, a
relation of my own, who was
then accidentally leaning over
the rail of the staircase leading
up to his apartment. I saluted
him by his name ; he fell into
a violent rage, calling me vil-
lain, thief, cheat, and renegado
rascal, and declared, if I ofifpred
to proceed a step further, he
would throw me over the stairs.
I went away without reply ; his
curses and abuses followed me
long afterwards. The servant,
my conductor, screwed his
mouth, and shrugged up his
shoulders. * Never fear,' says
he, * I will carry you to the best
of them all.' We went up an
opposite staircase, whilst I
thought within myself, if those
are their India manners, I shall
keep my name and situation to
myself while I am at Jidda. I
stood in no need of them, as I
had credit for 1000 sequins and

1 Captain of the port.

more, if I should want it, upon
Yousef Cabil, Vizier or Gover-
nor of Jidda.

I was conducted into a large
room, where Captain Thornhill
was sitting, in a white calico
waistcoat a very high-pointed
white cotton night-cap, with a"
large tumbler of water before
him, seemingly very deep in
thought. The Emir Bahar's
servant brought me forward by
the hand, a little within the
door ; but I was not desirous of
advancing much farther, for fear
of the salutation of being
thrown down-stairs again. He
looked very steadily, but not
sternly, at me, and desired the
servant to go and shut the door.
*Sir,' says he, *are you an
Englishman ? ' I bowed. * You
surely are sick, you should be
in your bed ; have you been
long sick % * I said, * Long, sir,'
and bowed. * Are you wanting
a passage to India % ' I again
bowed. 'Well,' says he, *>ou
look to be a man in distress;
if you have a secret, I shall
respect it till you please to tell
it me ; but if you want a pas-
sage to India, apply to no one
but Thornhill of the Bengal
Merchant. Perhaps you are
afraid of somebody ; if so, ask
for Mr. Greig, my lieutenant,
he will carry you on board my
ship directly, where you will be
safe.' 'Sir,' said I, 'I hope
you will find me an honest man ;
I have no enemy that I know,
either in Jidda or elsewhere, nor
do I owe any man anything.'
' I am sure,' says he, ' I am

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148

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

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\ -

doing wrong in keeping a poor
man standing, who ought to be
in' his bed. Here! Philip!
Philip ! ' Philip appeared.

* Boy,' says he, in Portuguese,
which, as I imagine, he sup-
posed I did not understand,

* here is a poor Englishman,
that should be either in his bed
or in his grave ; carry him to
the cook, tell him to give him
as much broth and mutton as
he can eat ; the fellow seems
to have been starved, but I
would rather have the feeding
of ten to India, than the bury-
ing of one at Jidda.'

Philip de la Cruz was the
son of a Portuguese lady, whom
Captain Thornhill had married ;
a boy of great talents, and ex-
cellent disposition, who carried
me with great willingness to
the cook. I made as awkward
a bow as I could to Captain
Thornhill, and said, * God will
return this to your Jionour some
day.' Philip carried me into a
courtyard, where they used to
expose their samples of their
India goods in large bales. It
had a portico along the left-
hand side of it, which seemed
designed ior a stable. To this
place I was introduced, and
thither the cook brought me
my dinner. Several of the
English from the vessels, Las-
cars, and others, came in to look
at me ; and I heard it, in general,
agreed among them, .that I
was a very thief-like fellow, and

certainly a Turk, and

them if they should like to fall
into my hands.

I fell fast asleep upon the
mat, while Pliilip was ordering
me another apartment. In
the meantime, some of my
people had followed the baggage
to the custom-house, and some
of them stayed on board the
boat to prevent the pilfering of
what was left. The keys had
remained with me, and the
Vizier had gone to sleep, as is
usual, about mid-day. As soon
as he awaked, being greedy of
his prey, he fell immediately
to my baggage, wondering that
such a quantity of it, and that
boxes in such a curious form,
should belong to a mean man
like me ; he was therefore
full of hopes that a fine oppor-
tunity for pillage was now at
hand. He asked for the keys
of the trunks ; my servant said
they were with me, but he
would go instantly and bring
them. That, however, was too
long to stay; no delay could
possibly be granted. Accus-
tomed to pilfer, they did not
force the locks, but, very artist-
like, took off the hinges at the
back, and in that manner opened
the lids, without opening the
locks. The first thing that
presented itself to the Vizier's
sight was the firman of the
Grand Signier^ magnificently
written and titled, and the in-
scription powdered with gold
dust, and wrapped in green
taffeta. After this was a white
satin bag, addressed to the
Khan of Taitary, with which
Mr. Peyssonel, French consul
at Smyrna, had favoured me,

BRUGES TRAVELS.

149

and which I had not delivered,
as the Khan was then' prisoner
at Rhodes* The next was a
green and gold silk bag, with
letters directed to the Sherriffe
of Mecca ; and then came a
plain crimson satin bag, wirfi
letters addressed ta Metical
Aga sword-bearer (or Selictar,
as it is called) of the Sherriffe,
or his chief minister and favour-
ite. He then found a letter
from Ali Bey to himself, writ-
ten with all the superiority of a
prince to a slave. In this let-
ter, the Bey told him plainly
that he had heard the govern-
ments of Jidda, Mecca, and
other States of the Sherriffe
were disorderly, and that mer-
chants coming about their law-
ful business were plundered,
terrified r and detained; He
therefore intimated to him,
that if any such thing happened
to me, he should not write or
complaini, but he would send
and punish the affront at the
very gates of Mecca. This
was very unpleasant language
to the Vizier, because it was
now publicly known^ that Ma-
homet Bey Abou Dahab was
preparing next year to march
against Mecca, for some offence
the Bey had taken against the
Sherriffe. There was also an-
other letter from him to Ibrahim
Sikakeen, chiefof the merchants
at Cairo, ordering him to fur-
nish me with a thousand sequins
for my present use, and, if
more were needed, to take my
bill.
These contents of the trunk

were so unexpected, that Yousef,
the Vizier, thought he had gone
too far, and called my servant
in a violent hurry, upbraiding
him for not telling who I was.
The servant defended himself
by saying that neither he, nor
his people about him, would so
much as regard a word that he
had spoken ; and that the cadi
of Medina's principal servant,
who had come with the wheat,
told the Vizier plainly to his
face that he had given him
warning enough, if his pride
would have suffered him to
hear it. All was now wrong ;
my servant was ordered to nail
up the hinges, but he declared
it should be the last action of
his life ; that nobody opened
baggage that way, but with an
intention of stealing, when the
keys could be got; and, as
there were many rich things
in the trunk, intended as pre-
sents to the Sherriffe and
Metical Aga, which might have
been taken out, by the hinges
being forced off before he came,
he washed his hands of the
whole procedure, but knew his
master would complain, and
loudly too, and would be heard
both at Cairo and Jidda. The
Vizier took his resolution in a
moment like a, man. He nailed
up the baggage, ordered his
horse to be brought, and, at-
tended by a number of naked
blackguards (whom they call
soldiers) he came down to the
Bengal house, at which the
whole factory took alarm.
I was sitting drinking coffee.

■•:?«

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150

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

on the mat when the Vizier's
horse came, and tlie whole
court was filled. One of the
clerks of the custom-house
asked me, ' Where my master
wasi' I said, 'In Heaven.'
'['lie Kmir Bahar's servant now
])rought forward the Vizier to
me, who had not dismounted
liimself Me repeated the same
(juestion, * Where my master
wasl' I told him I did not
know the purport of his ques-
tion ; that I was the person to
whom the baggage belonged,
which he liad taken to the cus-
tom-house, and that it was in
my favour the Grand Signior
and Bey had written. He
seemed very much surprised,
and asked me * How I could
appear in such a dress % ' ' You
cannot ask that seriously,' said
I ; * I believe no prudent
man would dress better, con-
sidering the voyage I have
made. But besides, you did
not leave it in my power, as
every article, but what I have
on me, has been these four
hours at the custom house,
waiting your pleasure.'

We then went all up to our
kind landlord, Captain Thorn-
hill, to whom I made my ex-
cuse, on account of the ill-
usage I had first met with from
my own relation. He laughed
very heartily at the narrative,
and from that time we lived in
the greatest friendship and con-
fidence. All was made up,
even with Yousef Cabil ; and
all heads were employed to get
the strongest letters possible to

the Naybe of Masuah, the kinp;
of Abyssinia, Michael SuhCil,
the minister, and the king of
Sennaar.

Metical Aga, the great friend
and protector of the English at
Jidda, and in effect, we may
say, sold to them, for the great
presents and profits he received,
was himself originally an Abys-
sinian slave, was the man of
confidence, and directed tiie
sale of the king's and Michael's
gold, ivory, civet, and such
precious conmiodities, that are
paid to them in kind ; he fur-
nished Michael, likewise, with
returns in fire-arms ; and these
had enabled Michael to subdue
Abyssinia, murder the king his
master, and seat another on his
throne.

We, therefore, set about pro-
curing effective letters, letters of
business and engagement, be-
tween man and man ; and we
all endeavoured to make Me-
tical Aga, a very good man, but
no great head-piece, compre-
hend this perfectly. My letters
from Ali Bey opened the afiiiir
to him, and first commanded
his attention. A very hand-
some present of pistols inclined
him in my favour. All tiie
letters were written in a style
such as I could have desired ;
and an Abyssinian, called Ma-
homet Gibberti, was appointed
to go with particular letters.

Jidda is very unwholesome,
as is, indeed, all the east coast
of the Red Sea. Immediately
without the gate of that town,
to the eastward, is a desert

itl

BRUGES TRAVELS.

«i«

plain filled with the huts of the
llcdouins/ or country Arabs,
built of long bundles of spar-
tum, or bent grass, put together
like fascines. These liedouins
supply Jidda with milk and but-
ter.

Its barren and desert situa-
tion would, probably, have
occasioned its being abandoned
altogether, were it not for its
vicinity to Mecca, and the sud-
den influx of wealth from the
India trade, which, once a
year, arrives in this part, pass-
ing on to Mecca. Very little
advantage, however, accrues to
Jidda. The customs are all
immediately sent to a needy
sovereign, and his hungry set
of relations, dependants, and
ministers at Mecca. The pro-
fit of the traflic is in the hands
of strangers ; most of whom,
after the market is over, retire
to Yemen, and other neigh-
bouring countries, which abound
in every sort of provision.
Owing to this, although Ma-
hometans, nowhere are there
so many unmarried women.

It was on the 8th of July 1769
I sailed from the harbour of
Jidda, and as we passed through
the English fleet at their anchors,
they all honoured me with their
regret at parting, every one
hoisting his colours, and salut-
ing it with his guns. At a
quarter past eight on the nth
we were towed to our anchor-
age in the harbour of Kon-
fodah.

I Red means a desert plAin country : Re-
doui, in the plur.il, ''erlow'ii, its inhabttnnts.

Konfodah is a small village
consisting of about two hun-
dred miserable houses, built
with green wood and covered
with mats, made of palm-tree ;
a bay, or rather a shallow bason,
in a desert waste or plain.

The l'>mir Ferhan, the gover-
nor, invited me on shore, and
we dined together on very
excellent provision, dressed ac-
cording to their custom. He
said the country near the shore
was desert ; but a little within
land, or where the roots and
gravel had fixed the sand, the
soil produced everything, espe-
cially if they had any showers
of rain. It was so long since
I had heard mention of a
shower of rain, that I could
not help laughing. He begged
so politely to know what I
laughed at, that I was obliged
to confess. ' The reason,' said
I, * is that I had travelled
about two thousand miles, and
had neither seen nor heard of
a shower of rain till now ; yet I
declare to you, the moment
you spoke it, had you asked,
what was the Arabic for a
shower of rain, I could not have
told you. ' You are going,'
says he, * to countries where you
will have rain and wind suffi-
ciently cold, and where the
water in the mountains is harder
than the dry land, and people
stand upon it.^ We have only
the remnant of their showers,
and it is to that we owe our
greatest happiness.'

I Yemen, or the hiKh land of Arabia
Fel'x, wh«r»! w.iterfrecres.

■ I

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1 1 I' M-'s

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■j-^mm

152

THE ENGIJSff EXPLORERS.

li J 1

I was very much pleased with
his conversation. He seemed
to have a more rational know-
ledge of things, and spoke more
elegantly than any man I h.id
conversed with in Arabia. He
said he had lost the only seven
sons he had, in one month, by
the small-pox.

I took my leave of the Emir
to return to my tent, to hold a
consultation what was to be
done. On the 14th, our Rais,
more afraid of dying by a fever
than by the hands of the pirates,
consented willingly to put to
sea ; and on the i8th we first
discovered the mountains, under
which lies the town of Loheia.
Loheia is built upon the south-
west side of a peninsula, sur-
rounded everywhere, but on the
east, by the sea.

At Loheia we had a very
uneasy sensation ; a kind of
prickling came into our legs,
occasioned by the salt effluvia,
or steams, from the earth, which
is strongly impregnated with
that mineral. All sorts of pro-
vision are plentiful and reason-
able at Loheia, but the water is
bad. The government is much
more gentle than any Moorish
government in Arar>ia or Africa ;
the people, too, ai e of gentler
manners, the men, from early
ages, being accustomed to trade.
The women at Loheia are as
solicitous to please as those of
the most polished nations in
Europe, and, though very re-
tired, whether married or un-
married, they are not less careful
of their dress and persons. At

home they wear nothing but a
long shift of fine cotton cloth,
suitable to their quality. They
dye their feet and hands with
henna, not only for ornament,
but as an astringent, to keep
them dry from sweat ; they wear
their own hair, which is plaited,
and falls in long tails behind.

At Loheia we received a letter
from Mahomet Gibberti, telling
us that it would yet be ten days
before he could join us, and
desiring us to be ready by that
time. This hurried us extremely,
for we were much afraid we
should not have time to see the
remaining part of the Arabian
Gulf, to where it joins wiMi the
Indian Ocean.

On the 27th, in the evening,
we parted from Loheia, but
were obliged to tow the boat
out.

On the 29th, we passed six
islands, called Jibbel el Ourbe ;
and having but indifferent wind,
we anchored about nine off the
point of the shoal, which lies
immediately east of the north
fort of Mocha. The town of
Mocha makes an agreeable ap-
pearance from the sea. Behind
it there is a grove of palm-trees,
that do not seem to have the
beauty of those in Egypt, pro-
bably owing to their being ex-
posed to the violent south-
westers that blow here, and
make it very uneasy riding for
vessels ; there is, however, very
seldom any damage done. The
port is formed by two points of
land, which make a semicircle.
The ground for anchorage is of

BR UCSS TRA VELS,

'53

the very best kind, sand with-
out coral, which last chafes the
cables all over the Red Sea.

The coast of Arabia, all along
from Mocha to the Straits of
Ibbelmandeb, is a bold coast,
close to which you may run with-
out danger night or day. We
continued our course within a
mile of the shore, where in some
places there appeared to be
small woods, in other; a flat bare
country, bounded with moun-
tains at a considerable distance.

On the 31st, at nine in the
morning, we came to an anchor
above Jibbel Kaban, or Pilot's
Island, just under the cape,
which, on the Arabian side,
forms the north entrance of the
Straits. The Rais said he had
a design to have anchored there
last night, but as it was trouble-
some to get out in the morning
by the westerly wind, he in-
tended to run over to Perim
island to pass the night, and
give us an opportunity to make
what observations we pleased,
in quiet.

We caught here a prodigious
quantity of the* finest fish that I
had ever before seen ; but the
silly Rais greatly troubled our
enjoyment, by telling us that
many of the fish in that part
were poisonous. Several of our
people took the alarm, and abs-
tained. The rule I made use
of in choosing mine, was, to
take all those that were likest
the fish of our own northern
seas ; nor had I ever any rea-
son to complain. We had rice
and butter, honey and flour.

The sea afforded us plenty of
fiish, and I had no doubt but
that hunger would get the better
of our fears of being poisoned.
On the Tst of August we ate
drammock, made with cold
water and mw flour, mixed with
butter and hrney, but we soon
found this would not do, though
I never wa3 hungry in my life
with so much good provision
about me; for, besides the
articles already spoken of, we
had two skins of wine from
Loheia, and a small jar of
brandy, which I had kept ex-
pressly for a feast, to drink the
King's health on arriving in his
dominions, the Indian Ocean. I
therefore proposed, that leaving
the Rais on board, myself and
two men should cross over to
the south side, to try if we could
get any wood in the kingdom
of Adel. Here again the Rais's
heart failed him. He said the
inhabitants on that coast had
fire-arms as well as we, and they
could bring a million of men
together, if they wanted ihem,
in a moment ; therefore we,
should forsake Perim island for
the time, and, without hoisting
in the boat, till we saw further,
run with the vessel close to the
Arabian shore.

Upon attempting to get our
vessel out, we found the wind
strong against us, so that we
were obliged, with great diffi-
culty and danger, to tow her
round the west point, at the
expense of many hard knocks,
which she got by the way. We
were but twenty leagues to

Si*

t.t .J

*ii

vFi

»54

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

Mocha, and not above twenty-
six from Azab, and wo thought
it better to get on our return
to Loheia than to stay and live
upon drammock, or fight with
the pirates for firewood.

On the 2d, at sunrise, we
saw land ahead, which we took
to be the Main, but, upon nearer
approach, and the day becoming
clearer, we found two low islands
to the leeward, one of which we
fetched with great difficulty. We
found there the stock of an old
acacia -tree, and two or three
bundles of wreck, or rotten
sticks ; and all of us agreed we
would eat breakfast, dinner, and
supper hot, instead of the cold
repast we had made upon the
drammock in the Straits. We
now made several large fires.
One took the charge of the
coffee, another boiled the rice ;
we killed four turtles, made
ready a dolphin, got beer, wine,
and brandy, and drank the
King's health in earnest, which
our regimen would not allow
us to do in the Straits of liabel-
niandeb.

The wind continuing mode-
rate, we arrived at Loheia on
the 6th, in the morning, being
the third day from the time we
(quitted Azab. We found every-
thing well on our arrival at
Loheia, but no word of Ma-
homet Gibberti, and I began
now to be uneasy.

He arrived, however, on the
I St of September, bringing with
him the firman for the Naybe
of Masuah, and letters from
Metical Aga to Ras Michael.

He also brought a letter to me,
and another to Achmet, the
Naybe's nephew, and apparent
successor, from Sidi Ali Zim-
ziniia, that is, * the keej)er of
Jshmael's well at Mecca, called
Zimzim.' In this letter, Sidi
Ali desires me to put little trust
in the Naybe, but to keep no
secret from Achmet his nephew,
who would certainly be my
friend.

All being jjrepared for our
departure, we sailed from Loheia
on the 3d of September 17C9,
but the wind failing, we were
obliged to warp the vessel out
upon her anchor.

Our Rais found himself under
great difficulties to provide water
enough for the voyage, for we
had but a scanty provision left
Having supplied our great and
material want of water, we all
repaired on board in the even-
ing of the 7th. We then found
ourselves unprovided with fire,
and my people began to remem-
ber how cold our stomachs were
from the drammock at Babel-
mandeb. Firewood is a very
scarce article in the Red Sea.
It is, nevertheless, to be found
in small quantities, and in such
only it is used. Zimmer, an
island to the northward, was
known to afford some, but,
from the time I had hnded at
Foosht, on the 6th, a trouble
of a very particular kind had
fallen upon our vessel, of which
I had no account till I had re-
turned on board.

An Abyssinian, who had died
on board, and who had been

BRUCE S TRAVELS.

155

buried upon our coming out
from Loheia bay, had boon
seen upon the boltsprit for two
nights, and had terrified the
sailors very much ; even the
Rais had been not a little alarm-
ed ; and, though he could not
directly say that he had seen
him, yet, after I was in bed on
the 7th, he complained seriously
to me of the bad consequences
it would produce, if a gale of
wind was to rise and the ghost
was to keep his place there, and
desired me to come forward and
speak to him. ' My good Rais,*
said I, ' I am exceedingly tired,
and my head aches much with
the sun, which has been violent
to-day. You know the Abyssi-
nian paid for his passage, and,
if he does not overload the ship
(and I apprehend he should be
lighter than when we took him
on board), I do not think that,
in justice or equity, either you
or I can hinder the ghost from
continuing his voyage to Abys-
sinia, as we cannot judge what
serious business he may have
there.' The Rais began to bless
himself that he did not know
anything of his affairs. * Then,'
said I, • if you did not find him
make the vessel too heavy be-
fore, do not molest him, be-
cause, certainly, if he were to
come into any other part of the
ship, or if he should insist to sit
in th** middle of you (in the dis-
position in which you all are),
ne would be a greater incon-
venience to you than in his
present post.' The Rais again
began to bless himself, repeat-

ing a verse of the Koran — * bis-
milla sheitan rejem,' in the
name of God keep the devil far
from me. ' Now, Rais,* said I,
♦ if he does us no harm, you
may let him ride upon the bolt-
sprit till he be tired, or till he
come to Masuah ; for I swear
to you, unless he hurt or trouble
us, I do not think I have any
obligation to get out of my bed
to molest him ; only see that
he carry nothing off with him.'

The Rais now seemed to be
exceedingly offended, and said,
for his part he did not care for
his life more than any other
man on board ; if it were not
for fear of a gale of wind, he
might ride on the boltsprit ;
but that he had always heard
learned people could speak to
ghosts, * Will you be so good,
Rais,' said I, ' to step forward
and tell him that I am going to
drink coffee, and should be glad
if he would walk into the cabin
and deliver anything he has to
communicate to me, if he be a
Christian, and, if not, to Maho-
met Gibberti.' A Moor, r \lled
Yasine, well known to m after-
wards, now came forwan , and
told me that Mahomet Gibberti
had been very ill since we sailed,
of sea-sickness, and begged that
I would not laugh at the spirit,
or speak so familiarly of him,
because it might very possibly
be the devil, who often appeared
in these parts. This bad news
of my friend Mahomet banished
all merriment ; I gave, there-
fore, the necessary orders to
my servant to wait upon him,

''•':.(

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156

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

I-.:, \

' »

\ J:
li

3!>

and at the same time recom-
mended to Yasine to go for-
ward with the Koran in his
hand and read all night, or till
we should get to Zimmer, and
then report what he had seen.

On the loth I first saw Jibbel
Teir, and ordered the pilot to
bear down directly upon it. All
this forenoon our vessel had
been surrounded with a pro-
digious number of sharks. They
were of the hammer-headed
kind, and two large ones seemed
to- vie with each other which
should come nearest our vessel.

I harpooned one, which
proved to be eleven feet seven
inches from his snout to his
tail, and nearly four feet round
in the thickest part of him i He
had in him a dolphin very
lately swallowed, and about
half a yard of blu'; cloth.

We left Jibbel Teir on the
nth, when I saw, a little before
sunset, a white fringed wave
of the well-known figure of a
breaker. I cried to the Rais
to shorten sail, for I saw a
breaker ahead, straight in our
way. He said there was no
such thing ; that I had mistaken
it, for it was a sea-gull. About
seven in the evening we struck
upon a reef of coral rocks. The
boat was immediately launched,
and one of my servants, the
Rais, and two sailors were put
on board. Yasine stripped
himself naked, went forward on
the vessel, and then threw him»-
self into the sea; The Rais
and Yasine now cried for poles
and handspikes, which were

given them ; two more men let
themselves down by the side.
and stood upon the bank.

A little after, a gentle wind
just made itself felt from the
east, and the cry from the Rais
was, * Hoist the fore-sail, and
put it aback.' This being im-
mediately done, and a gentle
breeze filling the fore-sail at the
time, they all pushed, and the
vessel slid gently off, free from
the shoal. The people were
all exceedingly tired, and no-
body thought they could enough
praise the courage and readi-
ness of Yasine. From that day
he grew into consideration with
me, which increased ever after,
till my departure from Abys-
sinia.

The ghost was supposed to
be again seen on the bowsprit,
as if pushing the vessel ashore ;
and; as this was breaking cove-
nant with me, as a* passenger,
I thought it was time some
notice should be taken of him.
I inquired who the persons
were that had seen him. Two
Moors of Hamazen were the
first that perceived him. 1
called them forward to examine
them before the Rais,. and
Mahomet Gibberti, and they
declared that, during the night,
they had seen him go and come
several times ; once, he was
pushing against the boltsprit,
another time he was pulling
upon the rope, as if he had an
anchor ashore ; after this he
had a very long pole or stick
in his hand, but it seemed
heavy and stiff, as if it had been

BRUGES TRAVELS.

157

made of iron ; and, when the
vessel began to move, he turned
into a small blue flame, ran
along the gunnel on the lar-
board side of the ship, and,
upon the vessel going off, he
disappeared. * Now,' said I,
'it is plain by this change of
shape, that he has left us for
ever; let us, therefcMFe, see
whether he has done us any
harm or not. Has any of you
any baggage stowed forwards ? '
The strangers answered, * Yes,
it is all there.' Then -said I,
'Go forward, and see if every
man has got his own.' They
all did this without loss of time,
when a great noise and confu-
sion ensued : every one was
plundered of something.

All the passengers were now
in the utmost despair, and be-
gan to charge the sailors. ' I
appeal to you, Yasine and
Mahomet Gibberti,' said I,
' whether these two Moors who
saw him oftenest, and were
most intimate with him, have
not a chance of knowing where
the things are hid; for in my
country, where ghosts are very
frequent, they are always as-
sisted in the thefts they are
guilty of, by those that see and
converse with them. I sup-
pose, therefore, it is the same
with M ahometan ghosts. ' 'The
very same,' said Mahomet Gib-
berti and Yasine, *as far as
ever we heard.' 'Then, go,
Yasine, with the Rais, and ex-
amine that part of the ship
where the Moors «lept, while I
keep them here ; and take two

sailors with you, that know the
secret places.' Before the
search began, however, one of
them told Yasine where every-
thing was, and accordingly all
was found and restored. I
would not have the reader
imagine that I here mean to
value myself, either upon my
Supernatural knowledge or ex-
1 re -Tie sagacity, in supposing
that it was a piece of roguery
from the beginning, of which I
never doubted. But, while
Yasine and the sailors were
busy pushing off the vessel, and
I astern at an observation,
Mahomet Gibberti's servant,
sitting by his master, saw one
of the Moors go to the reposi-
tory of the baggage, and, after
staying a little, come out with a
box and package in his hand.
This he told his master, who in-
formed ^me, and the ghost, find-
ing his associates discovered,
never was seen any more.

On the 12th we saw land,
which our pilot told us was the
south end of Dahalac. After
having again violently struck
on the coral rocks in the entry,
at sunset we anchored in the
harbour of Dobelew.

The village is three miles
south-west of the harbour, and
consists of about eighty houses,
built of stone drawn from the
sea. Ir^v^e is a village still
smaller than Dobelew, about
four miles distant. Dahalac is
by far the largest island in the
Red Sea, as none that we had
hitherto seen exceeded five
miles in length, it being thirty-

' 'w«

• MA

t58

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

: *f.

seven miles in length, and its
greatest breadth eighteen. It
is low and even, the soil fixed
gravel and white sand, mixed
with shells and other marine
l)roductions. It is destitute of
:dl sorts of herbage, at least in
summer, though in many places
covered with large plantations
of acacia-trees. Though in the
neighbourhooil of Abyssinia,
1 )ahalac does not partake of its
seasons : no rain falls here from
the end of March to the begin-
ning of October; but, in the
intermediate months, especially
December, January, and Feb-
ruary, there are violent showers
for twelve hours at a time,
which deluge the island, and
fill the cisterns so as to serve
all next summer. These cis-
terns alone preserve the water,
and of them there yet remain
370, all hewn out of the solid
rock. They say these wer^ *^he
works of the Persians ; it i^
more probable they were those
of the first Ptolemies. But
whoever were the constructors
of these magnificent reservoirs,
tliey were a very different
peojile from those that now
nossess them, who have not
inv^ustry enough to keep one of
tiie 370 clear for the use of man.

The Inhabitants of Dahalac
seemed to be a simple, fearful,
and inoffensive people, the com-
mon sort being employed in
fishing.

Of all the islands we had
jiassed on this side the channel,
Dahalac alone is inhabited.
In the same extent, between

Dahalac and Suakem, was
another very valuable fishery,
that of tortoises, ftom which
the finest shells of that kind
were produced. That the pearl-
fishing might, moreover, no
longer be an allurement for
the Turkish power to maintain
itself here, and oppress them,
they discouraged the practice
of diving, till it grew into de-
suetude ; this brought insensibly
all the people of the islands to
the continent, where they were
employed in coasting vessels,
which continues to be their
only occupation to this day.
The immense treasures in the
bottom of the Red Sea have
thus been abandoned for near
two hundred years, though, in
all probability, they were never
richer than at present. No
nation can now turn them
to any profit, but the English
East India Company, more in-
tent on multiplying the number
o:' their enemies, and weakenini?
themselves by spreading theii
inconsiderable force over new
conquests, than creating addi-
tional profit by engaging in new
articles of commerce. A settle-
ment upon the river Frat,
which never yet has belonged
to any but wandering Arabs,
would open them a market
both for coarse and fine goods,
from the southern frontiers of
Morocco, to Congo and Angola,
and set the commerce of pearls
and tortoise-shell on foot again.
All this section of the Gulf
from Suez, as I am told, is in
their charter ; and twenty ships

BRUGES TRAVELS.

tii

miglit be employed on the Red
Sea, without any violation of ter-
ritorial claims. The myrrh, the
frankincense, some cinnamon,
and a great variety of drugs,
arc all in the possession of the
weak king of Adel, an usurper,
tyrant, and Pagan, without pro-
tection, and willing to trade
with any superior power, that only
would secure him a miserable
livelihood. If this does not take
place, I am persuaded the time
is not far off when these coun-
tries shall, in some shape or
other, be subject to a new
master. Were another Peter,
another Elizabeth, or, better
than either, another Catherine,
to succeed the present, in an
empire already extended to
China ; were such a sovereign,
unfettered by European politics,
to prosecute that easy task of
pushing those mountebanks of
sovereigns and statesmen, these
stage-players of government,
the Turks, into Asia, the in-
habitants of the whole country,
who in their hearts look upon
her already as their sovereign,
because she is the head of their
religion, would, I am persuaded,
submit without a blow, that
instant the Turks were removed
to the other side of the Helle-
spont.

On the 1 8th we sailed, and
at eleven o'clock passed the
island of Dergaiham, bearing
N. by east, three miles distant,
and at five in the afternoon we
came to an anchor in the har-
bour of Masuah, having been
seventeen days on our passage.

CHAPTER V.

Reii(lenc« and Transacttoni at Mattiah.

Masuah, which means the port
or harbour of the Shepherds, is
a small island immediately on
the Abyssinian shore, having an
excellent harbour, and water
deep enough for ships of any
size. It is scarcely three quar-
ters of a mile in length, and
about half that in breadth, one-
third occupied by houses, one
by cisterns to receive the rain-
water, and the last is reserved
for burying the dead.

Masuah was once a place of
great commerce, possessing a
share of the Indian trade, ex-
porting gold and ivory, ele-
phants' and buffaloes' hides,
and slaves. Pearls, consider-
able for size, water, or colour,
were found all along its coast.
It fell into obscurity under the
oppression of the Turks, who
ruined the India trade. The
first government of Masuah
under the Turks was by a basha
sent from Constantinople, but
losing its value as a garrison,
and, at the same time, as a
place of trade, it was thought
no longer worth while to keep
up so expensive an establish-
ment as that of a bashalik.
When the Turks conquered the
place, they gave the chief of
a tribe of Mahometans the
civil government of Masuah and
its territory, under the title of
Naybe of Masuah. The Naybe
finding the great distance he
was at from his protectors,

t.'rtl

y^m

mmm

I no

rnn ^,\vrjs/r ^xrroKrA's.

\\\c T\nk« In AirtMrt. (\0vvA
with W\n ounuioR {\\i\{ «m\c-
h\\\{ ol |Ik» litslom-^ rIwmiIvI bo
IM\\ l»y l\in\ <v> iho kin^ ol
AhysRinirt. wlu) wrt« to h\\\}\}\
\\\\\\ to enjoy \\\n tfovovnnu'nt
unn^olostoil ; for ISI^HUrth is
rthsohUoly ^lowtilulc ol \\(\Wv ;
noilluM <Mn it ho. n{\\^\\\w\\ with
rtny 5\nt of pmvisiot\s hnt tVoni
the n\o*mt!unons couttHy ot
Ahvsjtn\i.i.

i'hc fVioMdshIp of Ahyssinirt
ot\\c R«K\iif\l, iuul the pOWlM
ot the Tiuks «hH>lininu AmW in
Atrthirt, tho N^ivhc nouitn [o
\\\{\\K\\i\w \\msA( hy JogivoH
lh>m isiv<tv^ tnh\ito at rtll to tho
lv\sh,v ol }\\\y\i\, to whose go
\ornnient hi* lui<l heeti nnttexoil
bv the Povte. He thevotbif ic-
oetN'tvl the fnm.in rts a nioto
tornu nni! loiurne*! trilling pre-
sonts» but tu> liibute ; ana in
t«\>ublesv>tMe tin\e»» or when rt
wx^rtk gx)\^rnn\enl hAppcnoil in
l\g«x^ he witlultt^w himseU"
evutrtlly ri\>n\ pAyitig; at\y con-
sivlcr;\iion cither to the bash.t
itv n;\tMc ol" tribute, or to the
king of Aby^iniA us a share ol
the cwstoms. This was \^\v^
eiseiv his situation whei\ I ar-
\\\-ck\ in Abysvsinia. He was
thtx?atencil, that in the next
cat\\|>Aigi\ against him, Arkeeko
and Ntasuah would be laid
waste. Many of the lucirhants
rtevi, but the Naybe did not
show any pubhc mark of fear,
nor sent one ncnny cither to
the kin^ of Auy^itiia or the
l>ashA o! Ttdda.

Abdelcadcr, w^ho was cox'er-
nor of the island of Dahalac.

ftnd who f rtnloil the n^ennrtun
nnd rnn»an, h.ul sttilod nt llu-
srtme tlnu' wilh me, nnd \\m\
Wvw upcttMlov of tiiO luthlMII
whioh WUR prtid to nu' ship
whoti Rho loll tho hrtrbo\u oi
ji<hl,i. Kunning stritight uvn
to Mf»RUrth, he im«l pmohnninl
\\\\,\{ ho hail Roon wilh ^wm
exaiigemlion, ami rep<)rted [\\m
rt prime wmr ootnit\g, a votv
nenr rol.iiion t»rihe king of I'n^
litnil. who WAR no trndor, \m
o;mte oitly to visit eontttrioR aiul
pr^oplel ll was nuiny linios,
and oiU-ehilly ngitalod (us \\r
know allerworilR), between I ho
Nrtvbe flthl hisoonnRellors, wh.it
wns to be ilone with IIur pvinrc
{Some were lor the i\u)rI v\\w
ditiouR» and what hns long boon
the o\istomaty, tnethod of treat
itig st ratters in Masuah, to \m
then^ to ilortlh, ami divide every
thing thev had atuong the g.un
son. Otliors insisteu that ihoy
should stay and see what letters
1 h;ul fuMU Ambia to Abyssinia.
lest this n\iglit prove an aiKli
lion to the storm just rendy (o
bivrtk upon thctn, on the p;ui
of Metioal Aga and Michael
Suhul. Uut Aehmet, the Naybe s
nephew, said it was folly todoul»i
but that a man of my dest rip
tion wouhl have protections of
every kind ; but whether 1 luul
or not, that my very rank should
protect tne it\ every ])lace where
there was any government what-
ever ; it might do even among
banditti and thieves inhabiting
woods and mountains ; that a
surticient quantity of strangers'
I blood had been already shed at

nNcrcKs TN/ivnr.s.

Mrtsiirtli for tlie iMirpowc of m

Idni'.

hihI lie briipvpil «, tMirwc

rttiil povorly linil follo\VP<l It ;
tliiM it wrts iin|M)«Ri))lo for tluwo,
who IukI licnid the firing (»r
tluw nhlpn, to rrmjpcttirc wluv
ihoi I IumI IcttciR to Abywninirt
,)) nut i tliMt it would he hnttrr
(o fonHulcf whcllu'i I WfiR held
it) calectii by the cnptftinw of
tlioMc RhiiiN, An hnlf of the kuhr
they (hed in eonipliinent to nie
wrts Rnlliciont to dentroy them
till, M\^ Irty Aikecko tind ^T{^
w\\\\\ fiR dcR(»l;ile nq Miihrtel
Stiluil lirtd tlnefltrned to d(» ;
nor roiild thnl ven^nuir.e cost
itny of the RhipR, coming iioKt
yciir to Jiddn, it tlny'R H«ilinf<
(Mil of their way ; and there
hcing plenty of water when they
rciiched Arkeeko, iit the Routh-
woRt of the hiiy, ttll this dcRtruc*
tion nnght be clfceted in one
jiUcrnoon, nnd repented once a
year without diUiculty, danKor,
or cxpeiiRe, while they were
wjilering.

Aclnnet declared his rcHolu-
tion that I should i)c received
with marks of consideration,
till, upon inspecting my letters,
and coiwcrsing with mc, they
might see what sort of a man 1
was, and U|)on what errand 1
Gunc ; but even if I was a trader,
!uul no priest or I' nink, he wouUl
not then consent to any per-
sonal injury being done me ; if
I was indeed a i)ric8t, or one of
those Franks, tliey might send

inc to (Gehcnnim) if they

chose ; but lie, for his part,
would not even then have any-
ming to do with it. Through

Achmet's sovereign innucnte,
as heirnppnrent of the oM
Nnybe, it was agreed the rest
shotdd be only spei Intors, and
that my fate Rhoidd be left Ut
him.

On the 19th cff Rriitrtrjbrr
lyTM) we arrived at MaHuah,
very much tired of the sea, anil
dcRirotiR to land ; but as it wan
evening, I thought it advisable
to sleep on board all night
and wait any intelligence from
friends, and the teiiiiination of
the affair with the Naybe.

On the 20th a person came
from Mahomet (libbcrti to con-
duct me on Rhore. The Naybe
himself was still at Arkeeko,
and Achmet therefore had i ome
down to receive the ilutics of
the merchandise on board the
vessel which brought me. There
were two elbow chairs placciJ in
the middle of the market-place.
Achmet sat on one of them,
while the several ollicers oj»ened
the bales and packages before
him ; the other chair on his
left hand was empty. He was
dressed all in white, in a long
Jianian habit of muslin, and a
dose bodied frock reaching to
his ankles, much like the white
frock and petticoat the young
children wear in Kngland. Thin
species of dress did not in any
way suit Achmct's shaj^e or
size, but it seems he meant to
be in gala. As soon as t came
in sight of him I doubled my
pace. Mahomet (jibberti's ser-
vant whispered to me not to kiss
his hand, which indeed I intended
to have done. Achmet stood

III

II :\

'"Si

i^«l

"IFF

.•'*OT

>«*5

'ij

i6a

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

' ! 'fi il*

up just as I arrived within arm's-
length of him, when we touched
each other's hands, carried our
fingers to our lips, then laid our
hands across our breasts. I
pronounced the salutation of
the inferior, Salam Alicum f to
which he answered immediately,
Alicum Salam ! He pointed to
the chair, which I declined, but
he obliged me to sit down. He
made a sie;n to bring coITrr e di-
rectly, as the immediate offering
of meat or drink is an assurance
your life is not in danger. He
began with an air that seemed
rather serious : * We have ex-
pected you here some time ago,
but thought you had changed
your mind, and was gone to
India.'

* Since sailing from Jidda I
have been in Arabia Felix, the
Gulf of Mocha, and crossed last
from Loheia.'

' Are you not afraid,* said he,
* so thinly attended, to venture
upon these long and dangerous
voyages?'

' The countries where I have
been are either subject to the
emperor of Constantinople,
whose firman I have now the
honour to present you, or to
the regency of Cairo, and port
of Janissaries — here are their
letters — or to the Sherriffe of
Mecca. To you, sir, I present
the Sherriffe's letters ; and, be-
sides these, one from Metical
Aga, your friend, who, depend-
ing on your character, assured
me this alone would be sufiicient
to preserve me from ill-usage so
long as [ did no wrong. As for

the dangers of the road from
banditti and lawless persons, my
servants are indeed few, but
they are veteran soldiers, tried
ancl exercised from their infancy
in arms, and I value not the
superior numbers of cowardly
and disorderly persons.'

He then returned me the let-
ters, saying, ' You will give these
to the Naybe to-morrow ; I will
keep Metical's letter, as it is to
me, and will read it at home.'
He put it accordingly in his
bosom ; and our coffee being
done, I rose to take my leave,
and was presently wet to the
skin by deluges of orange flower-
water showered upon me from
the right and left by two of his
attendants from silver bottles.

A very decent house had been
provided ; and I had no sooner
entered than a large dinner was
sent us by Achmet, with a pro-
fusion of lemons, and good fresh
water, now become one of the
greatest delicacies in life ; and,
instantly after, our baggage was
all sent unopened, with which
I was very well pleased, being
afraid they might break some-
thing in my clock, telescopes,
or quadrant, by the violent man-
ner in which they satisfy their
curiosity.

Late at night I received a
visit from Achmet ; he was then
in an undress, his body quite
naked, abarracan thrown loosely
about him; he had a pair of
calico drawers, a white cowl, or
cotton cap, upon his head, and
had no sort of arms whatever.
I rose up to meet him, and

BR ICE'S TRAVELS.

ift3

If^ou, Sidi
prince, the
of the king

thank him for his civility in
sending my baggage.

• Tell me, therefore,' said he,
' are you a prince, son, brother,
or nephew of a king 1 Are you
banished from your own coun-
try 1 And what is it you seek in
ours, exposing yourself to so
many difficulties and dangers?'
• I said I was neither son nor
l)rothcr of a king. I am a pri
vatc Knglishman.
Achniet, saw my
eldest, or any son
of England, you would then be
able to form a justcr idea of
them, and that would for ever
binder you from confounding
them with common men like
me. If they should choose to
ai)pear in this part of the world,
this little sea would be too nar-
row for their ships ; your sun,
now so hot, would be darkened
by their sails ; and when they
fired their terrible wide-mouthed
cannon, not an Arab would
think himself safe on the dis-
tant mountains, while the houses
on the shore would totter and
fall to the ground, as if shaken
to pieces by an earthquake. I
am a servant to that king, and
an inferior one in rank. My
ancestors were the kings of the
country in which I was born,
and to be ranked among the
greatest and most glorious that
ever bore the crown and title of
king. I may now ask, without
offence. To what does all this
information tend V

' To your safety,' said he,
' and to your honour, as long as
1 command in Masuah : to

your certain death and destruc-
tion if you go among the Abys-
sinians ; a people without faith,
covetous, barbarous, and in
continual war.'

'I would now speak one
word in secret to you (upon
which everybody was ordered
out of the room) : I now thank
you for the humane part you
took against these bloody in-
tentions others had of killing
and plundering me on my
arrival, because of the honour
that the English ships paid me,
and that I was loaded with
gold.' * Ullah Acbart (in great
surprise), why, you was in the
middle of the sea when that
passed.' ' Scarcely advanced
so far, I believe ; but your ad-
vice was wise, for a large Eng-
lish ship will wait for me all
this winter in Jidda, till I know
what reception I meet here, or
in Abyssinia.' I then presented
him with a pair of English pis-
tols, of excellent workman-
ship.

• Let the pistols remain with
you, and show them to nobody
till I send you a man, to whom
you may say anything, and he
shall go between you and me ,
for there is in this place a num-
ber of devils, not men ; but
Ullah Kerim^ God is great.
The person that brings you dry
dates in an Indian handker-
chief, and an earthen bottle to
drink your water out of, give
him the pistols. You may
send by him to me anything
you choose. In the meantime,
sleep sound, and fear no evil ;

1^4

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

but never be persuaded to trust
j'ourself to the Cafrs of Hab-
besh at Masuah.' On the 20th
of September, a female slave
came, and brought with her the
proper credentials, an Indian
handkerchief full of dry dates,
and a pot, or bottle, of unvar-
nished potter's earth, and took
away the pistols destined for
Achmet. On the aist, in the
morning, the Naybe came from
Arkeeko.

He was dressed in an old
shabby Turkish habit, much too
short for him, he wore also
upon his head a Turkish high
cap, which scarcely admitted
any part of his head. In this
dress, which on him had a
truly ridiculous appearance, he
received the caftan, or investi-
ture, of the island of Masuah ;
and, being thereby representa-
tive of the grand signior, con-
sented that day to be called
Omar Aga, in honour of the
commission. Two standards
of white silk, striped with red,
were carried before him to the
mosque, from whence he went
to his own house to receive the
compliments of his friends. In
the afternoon of that day I went
to pay my respects to him, and
found him sitting on a large
wooden elbow-chair, at the
head of two files of naked
savages, who made an avenue
from his chair to the door. He
had nothing upon him but a
coarse cotton shirt, so dirty,
that it seemed all pains to clean
it again would be thrown away ;
and so short that it scarcely

reached his knees. He was
very tall and lean ; his colour
black ; had a large mouth and
nose ; and altogether of a most
stupid brutal appearance. His
character perfectly corresponded
with his figure, for he was a
man of mean abilities, cruel to
excess, avaricious, and a great
drunkard.

I presented my finnan. The
greatest basha in the Turkish
empire would have risen upon
seeing it, kissed it, and carried
it to his forehead. But he did
not even receive it into his
hand, and pushed it back to
me again, saying, * Do you read
it all to me, word for word.' I
told him it was Turkish ; that
I had never learned to read a
word of that language. * Nor
I either,' says he ; * and I be-
lieve I never shall' I then
gave him my other letters. He
took them all together in both
his hands, and laid them un-
opened beside him, saying,
*You should have brought a
moullah ^ along with you. Do
you think I shall read all these
letters? Why, it would take
me a month.' And he glared
upon me, with his mouth, open
so like an idiot, that it was
with the utmost difficulty I kept
my gravity, only answering,
* Just as you please ; you know
best.'

I shortly afterwards gave him
his present, and took my leave
of the Naybe, very little pleased
with my reception, but heartily
satisfied with having sent my

1 Interpreter.

BRUGES TRAVELS.

'65

despatches to Janni, now far
out of his power.

On the 15 th of October the
Naybe came to Masuah^ and
despatched the vessel that
brought me over; and, as if
he had only waited till this
evidence was out of the way, he,
that very night, sent me word
that I was to prepare him a
handsome present. He gave
in a long list of particulars to a
great amount, which he desired
might be divided into three
parcels, and presented three
several days. One was to be
given him as Naybe of Arkeeko ;
one as Omar Aga, representa-
tive of the grand signior ; and
one for having passed our
baggage gratis and unvisited,
especially the large quadrant.

As Achmet's assurance of
protection had given me courage,
I answered him, That, having a
firman of the grand signior, and
letters from Metical Aga, it was
mere generosity in me to give
him any present ; I was not a
merchant that bought and sold,
nor had merchandise on board,
therefore had no customs to
pay. Upon this he sent for me
to his house, where I found
him in a violent fury ; and many
useless words passed on both
sides. At last he peremptorily
told me, that unless I had 300
ounces of gold ready to pay
him on Monday, upon his land-
ing from Arkeeko, he would
confine me in a dungeon, with-
out light, air, or meat, till the
bones came through my skin.

I answered firmly, * Since you

have broken your faith with the
grand signior, the government
of Cairo, the basha at Jidda,
and Metical Aga, you will, no
doubt, do as you please with
me ; but you may expect to see
the English man of war, the
" Lion," before Arkeeko, some
morning by daybreak.'

* I should be glad,' said the
Naybe, 'to see that man at
Arkeeko, or Masuah, that would
carry as much writing from you
to Jidda as would lie upon my
thumb-nail; I would strip his
shirt off first, and then his skin,
and hang him before your door
to teach you more wisdom.'

' But my wisdom has taught
me to prevent all this. My
letter is already gone to Jidda ;
and if, in twenty days from this,
another letter from me does not
follow itj you will see what will
arrive. In the meantime, I
here announce it to you, that I
have letters from Metical Aga
and the Sherriffe of Mecca, to
Michael, governor of Tigre,.
and the king of Abyssinia.
The Naybe said, in a low voice
to himself, * What, Michael too !
Then go your journey, and
think of the ill that is before
you.' I turned my back, with-
out any answer or salutation.

On the 29th of October, the
Naybe came again from Arkeeko
to Masuah, and, I was told, in
very ill-humour with me. I soon
received a message to attend
him, and found him in a large
waste room like a barn, with
about sixty people with him.
This was his divan, or grand

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j66

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

council, with all his janiss.iries
and officers of slate, all naked.
Assembled in parliament. There
was a comet that had appeared
a few days after our arrival at
Masuah, which had been many
days visible in Arabia Felix.
The first question the Naybe
asked me was, What that comet
meant, and why it appeared ?
And before I could answer him,
he again said, ' The first time it
was visible it brought the small-
pox, which has killed above
1000 people in Masuah and
Arkeeko. It is known you
conversed with it every night
at Loheia ; it has now followed
you again, to finish the few that
remain, and then you are to
cany it into Abyssinia. What
have you to do with the comet 1 '

Without giving me leave to
speak, his brother Emir Achmet
said I was going to Michael,
governor of Tigr^, to teach the
Abyssinians to make cannon
and gunpowder ; that the first
attack was to be against Masuah.
Five or six others spoke much
in the same strain ; and the
Naybe concluded by saying,
that he would send me in
chains to Constantinople, unless
I went to Hamazen, with his
brother Emir Achmet.

I continued, * Now I must
tell you my resolution is never
to go to Hamazen, or elsewhere,
with Emir Achmet. Both he
and the Naybe have showed
themselves my enemies ; and I
believe that to send me to
Hamazen is to rob and murder
me out of sight.' *Dog of a

Christian 1 ' says Emir Achmet,
putting his hand to his knife,
• if the Naybe was to murder
you, could he not do it here
now this minute?' *No,' snys
the man, who had called him-
self Sardar, * he could not ; I
would not suffer any such thing.
Achmet is the stranger's friend,
and recommended me to-day
to see no injury done him ; he
is ill, or would have been here
himself.' * Achmet,' said I, • is
my friend, and fears God ; and
were I not hindered by the
Naybe from seeing him, his
sickness before this would have
been removed. I will go to
Achmet at Arkeeko, but not to
Hamazen, nor ever again to the
Naybe here in Masuah. What-
ever happens to me must befall
me in my own house. Con-
sider what a figure a few naked
men will make, the day that my
countrymen ask the reason of
this either here or in Arabia.'
I then turned my back, and
went out without ceremony.

1 had scarcely dined, when a
servant came with a letter from
Achmet at Arkeeko, telling me
howill he had been, and howsorry
he was that I refused to come to
see him, as Mahomet Gibberti
had told him I could help him.
He desired me also to keep the
bearer with me in my house,
and give him charge of the gate
till he could come to Masuah
himself. That night I was dis-
turbed by several natives en-
deavouring to force the door,
but they were eventually re-
pulsed. It was the 4th of

BRUCE S TRAVELS,

167

November when the servant of
Achmet returned in a boat from
Arkccko, and with him four
janissaries. He was not yet
well, and was very desirous to
see me.

I gave him proper remedies
to ease his pams and his
stomach. I stayed here till the
6th in the morning, at which
time he was free from the fever.

Upon the 6th, in the morn-
ing, while at breakfast, I was
told that three servants had
arrived from Tigr^; one from
Janni, a young man and slave,
who spoke and wrote Greek
perfectly ; the other two ser-
vants were Ras Michael's, or
ratlier the king's, both wearing
the red short cloak lined and
turned up with mazarine-blue,
which is the badge of the king's
servant, and is called shalaka.
Ras Michael's letters to the
Naybe were very short. He
said the king Hatze Hannes's
health was bad, and wondered
at hearing that the physician,
sent to him by Metical Aga
from Arabia, was not forwarded
to him instantly at Gondar, as
he had heard of his being ar-
rived at Masuah some time be-
fore. He ordered the Naybe
moreover to furnish me with
necessaries, and despatch me
without loss of time. Janni
sent a message to us, bidding
us a hearty welcome, and ac-
knowledging the receipt of the
patriarch's letter.

In the afternoon I embarked
for Masuah. We arrived in the
island at eight o'clock, to the

great joy of our servants, who
were afraid of some stratagem
of the Naybe.

We left on the loth of Novem-
ber, with the soldiers and boats
belonging to Achmet. We had
likewise three servants from
Abyssinia, and no longer ap-
prehended the Naybe, who
seemed, on his part, to think
no more of us.

We found Achmet, though
much better, far from being
well. His fever had left him,
but he had some symptoms of
its being followed by a dysen-
tery. I endeavoured to remove
these complaints, and had suc-
ceeded in part : for which he
testified the utmost gratitude,
as he was wonderfully afraid to
die.

On the 14th I waited upon
the Naybe, having first struck
my tent and got all my baggage
in readiness. He received me
as before, then told me with a
grave air, that he was willing
to further my journey into Hab-
besh to the utmost of his power,
provided I showed him that
consideration which was due to
him from all passengers. Less
than 1000 patakas offered by
me would be putting a great
affront upon him ; however, in
consideration of the governor
of Tigr^, to whom I was going,
he would consent to receive
300, upon my swearing not to
divulge this, for fear of the
shame that would fall upon him
abroad. To this I answered
in the same grave tone, that I
thought him very wrong to take

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TIf£ ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

300 patakas with shame, when
receiving a thousand would be
more honourable as well as
more profitable; therefore he
had nothing to do but put that
into his account-book with the
governor of Tigr^, and settle
his honour and his interest to-
gether. As for myself, I was
sent for by Metical Aga, on
account of the king, and was
proceeding accordingly, and if
he opposed my going forward
to Metical Aga, I should re-
turn ; but then, again, I should
expect 10,000 patakas from
Metical Aga, for the trouble and
loss of time I had been at,
which he and the Ras would no
doubt settle with him. The
Naybe said nothing in reply,
but only muttered, closing his
teeth, sheitan afrit! that devil,
or tormenting spirit ! * Look
you (says one of the king's
servants, whom I had not heard
speak before), I was ordered to
bring this man to my master;
I heard no talk of patakas ; the
army is ready to march against
Waragna Fasil ; I must not
lose my time here.' There was
no more talk of patakas after
this. He ordered the king's
servant not to gc that day, but
come to him to-morrow to re-
ceive his letters, and he would
expedite us for Habbesh.

On the 15th, early in the
morning, I struck my tent again
and had my baggage prepared,
to show we were determined to
stay no longer. At eight o'clock
I went to the Naybe, when he
received me in a manner that,

for him, might have passed for
civil. He began with a con-
siderable degree of eloquence,
or fluency of speech, a long
enumeration of the difficulties
of our journey, the rivers, pre-
cipices, mountains, and woods
we were to pass; the number
of wild beasts everywhere to be
found ; as also the wild savage
people that inhabited those
places, the most of which, he
said, were luckily under his
command, and he would re-
commend to them to do us all
manner of good offices. He
commanded two of his secre-
taries to write the proper letters,
and, in the meantime, ordered
us coffee.

At this time a servant came
in, covered with dust, and
seemingly fatigued, as having
arrived in haste from afar. The
Naybe, with a considerable deal
of uneasiness and confusion,
opened the letters, which were
said to bring intelligence that
the three nations who possessed
that part of Samhar through
which our road led to Dobarwa,
had revolted, driven away his
servants, and declared them-
selves independent. He then
(as if all was over) lifting up his
eyes, began, with great seeming
devotion, to thank God we were
not already on our journey, for,
innocent as he was, our death
might have been imputed to
him.

Angry as I was at so bare-
faced a farce, I could not help
bursting out into a violent fit of
loud laughter, when he put on

BRUGES TRAVELS,

169

the severest countenance, and
desired to know the reason of my
laughing at such a time. * Can
you wonder that I do not give
into so gross an imposition T
answered I. * This same morn-
ing, before I struck my tent,
in presence of your nephew
Achmet, I spoke with two Shiho
just arrived from Samhar, who
brought letters to Achmet, which
said all was in peace. Have
you earlier intelligence than
that of this morning V He then
said, ' If you are weary of living
you are welcome to go, but I
will do my duty in warning
those that are along with you
of their and your danger, 'ihat
when the mischief happens it
may not be imputed to me.'
• No number of naked Shiho,'
said I, * unless instructed by
you, can ever be found on our
road that will venture to attack
us. The Shiho have no fire-
anns ; but if you have sent on
purpose some of your soldiers
that have fire-arms, these will
discover by what authority they
come. We cannot fly ; we
neither know the countiy, the
language, nor the watering-
places ; and we shall not at-
tempt it. We have plenty of
different sorts of fire-arms, and
your servants at Masuah know
we are not ignorant in the use
of them. We may lose our lives,
but we shall not fail to leave
enough on the spot to give
sufficient indication to the king
and Ras Michael who it was
that were our assassins ; Janni
of Adowa will explain the rest/

In his turn he burst out into a
loud fit of laughter, which sur-
prised me full as much as mine
some time before had done him.
Every feature of his treacherous
countenance was altered and
softened into complacency.

* What I mentioned about
the Shiho,' he then said, ' was
but to try you ; all is peace. I
only wanted to keep you here,
if possible, to cure my nephew
Achmet, and his uncle Emir
Mahomet; but since you are
resolved to go, be not afraid ;
the roads are safe enough. I
will give you a person to con-
duct you, only go and prepare
such remedies as may be proper
for the Emir, and leave them
with my nephew Achmet, while
I finish my letters.' This I
willingly consented to do, and
at my return I found everything
ready. Before our setting out
Achmet furnished me with a
man to show me where I should
pitch my tent, and told me he
should now take my final de-
liverance upon himself, for we
were yet far, according to the
Naybe's intentions, from begin-
ning our journey to Gondar.

CHAPTER VI. ,

Journey from Arkeeko to Adowa.

We left Arkeeko, which con-
sists of about 400 houses, on
the T5th, taking our road south-
ward along the plain. After an
hour's journey I pitched my

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THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

tent at Laberhey, near a pit of
rain-water. The mountains of
Abyssinia have a singular aspect
from this, as they appear in
three ridges. The first is of
no considerable height, but full
of gullies and broken ground,
thinly covered with shrubs ; the
second, higher and steeper, still
more rugged and bare ; the third
is a row of sharp, uneven-edged
mountains, which would be
counted high m any country in
Europe. Far above the top of
all, towers that stupendous mass,
the mountain of Taranta, I sup-
pose one of the highest in Jhe
world, the point of which is
buried in the clouds, and very
rarely seen but in the clearest
weather; at other times aban-
doned to perpetual mist and
darkness, the seat of lightning,
thunder, and of storm. Taranta
is the highest of a long steep
ridge of mountains, the boun-
dary between the opposite sea-
sons. On its east side, or
towards the Red Sea, the rainy
season is fn ■ October to April ;
and, on the western, or Abys-
sinian side, cloudy, rainy, and
cold weather prevails from May
to October.

In the evening a messenger
from the Naybe found us in our
tent at Laberhey, and carried
away our guide Saloome. It
was not till the next day that he
appeared again, and with him
Achmet, the Naybe's nephew.
Achmet made us deliver to him
the thirteen pieces of Suratcloth,
wliich was promised Saloome
for his hire, and this apparently

with that person's good-will. He
then changed four of the men
whom the Naybe had furnished
us for hire to carry our baggage,
and put four others in their
place. Achmet now came into
the tent, called for coffee, and,
while drinking it, said, * You
are sufficiently persuaded that
I am your friend; if you are
not, it is too late now to con-
vince you. It is necessary, how-
ever, to explain the reasons of
what you see. You are not to
go to Dobarwa, though it is the
best road, the safest being pre-
ferable to the easiest. Saloome
knows the road by Dixan as
well as the other. You will be
apt to curse me when you are
toiling and sweating ascending
Taranta, the highest mountain
in Abyssinia, and on this ac-
count worthy your notice. You
are then to consider if the fatigue
of body you shall suffer in that
passage is not overpaid by the
absolute safety you will find
yourselves in. Dobarwa be-
longs to the Naybe, and I can-
not answer for the orders he
may have given to his own ser-
vants, but Dixan is mine, al-
though the people are much
worse than those of Dobarwa.
I have written to my officers
there ; they will behave the
better to you for this ; and as
you are strong and robust, the
best I can do for you is to send
you by a rugged road, and a
safe one.'

Achmet again gave his orders
to Saloome ; and we, all rising,
said the fedtab, or prayer of

BRUGES TRAVELS,

171

peace, which being over, his
servant gave him a narrow web
of muslin, which, with his own
hands, he wrapped round my
head in the manner the better
sort of Mahometans wear it at
Dixan. He then parted, say-
ing, ' He that is your enemy is
mine also ; you shall hear of
me by Mahomet Gibberti.'

Thus finished a series of
trouble and vexation, not to
say danger, superior to any-
thing I ever before had expe-
rienced, and of which the bare
recital (though perhaps too
minute a one) will give but an
imperfect idea. These wretches
possess talents for tormenting
and alarming, far beyond the
power of belief, and, by laying
a true sketch of them before a
traveller, an author does him
the most real service. In this
country, the more truly we draw
the portrait of man, the more
we seem to fall into caricature.

Our course on the i6th and
17th lay along a plain, the
ground becoming dry, firm, and
gravelly, and covered thick with
acacia-trees in blossom, with a
round yellow flower. We turned
westerly through an opening in
the mountains, which here stand
so close together as to leave no
valley or plain space between
them.

The bed of the torrent being
our only road, and, as it was
all sand, we could not wish for
a better. The moisture it had
strongly imbibed protected it
from the sudden effect of the
sun, and prooMced all along its ,

course a great degree of vegeta-
tion and verdure. Its banks
were full of rack-trees,capers,and
tamarinds ; the two last bearing
larger fruit than I had ever be-
fore seen, though not arrived to
their greatest size or maturity.
We continued this winding, ac-
cording to the course of the
river, among mountains of no
great height, but bare, stony,
afid full of terrible precipices.
We met with large numbers of
Shiho, having their wives and
families along with them, de-
scending from the tops of the
high mountains of Habbesh,
with their flocks to pasture on
the plains below near the sea.

The Shiho are the blackest
of the tribes bordering upon the
Red Sea. They were all
clothed ; their women in coarse
cotton shifts reaching down to
their ankles, girt about the
middle with a leather belt, and
having very large sleeves ; the
men in short cotton breeches
reaching to the middle of their
thighs, and a goat's skin across
their shoulders, a lance in their
hands, and a knife at their
girdles. They have neither
tents nor cottages, but either
live in caves in the mountains
ander trees, or in small conical
huts built with a thick grass
like reeds.

We pitched our tent that
night at a place called Ham-
hammou, on the «ide of a small
green hill some hundred yards
from the bed of the torrent.
The weather had been perfectly
good since we left Masuah:

^~->k^^

172

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

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this afternoon, however, it
seemed to threaten rain; the
high mountains were quite hid,
and great part of the lower ones
covered with thick clouds ; the
lightning was very frequent,
broad, and deep-tinged with
blue ; and long peals of thunder
were heard, but at a distance.
This was the first sample we
had of Abyssinian bad weather.

The river scarcely ran at our
passing it, when, on a sudden, we
heard a noise on the mountains
above, louder than the loudest
thunder. Our guides, upon
this, flew to the baggage, and re-
moved it to the top of the green
hill, which was no sooner done
than we saw the river coming
down in a stream about the
height of a man, and the breadth
of the whole bed it used to
occupy. The water was thick
tinged with red earth, and ran
in the form of a deep river, and
swelled a little above its banks,
but did not reach our station
on the hill.

Hamhammou is a mountain of
black stones, almost calcined by
the violent heat of the sun. This
is the boundary of the district ;
Samhar, inhabited by the Shiho
from Hamhammou toTaranta,is
called Hadassa; it belongs to the
Hazorta. This nation, the Ha-
zorta, belonging to the district,
though not so numerous as the
Shiho, are of a colour much
resembling new copper; but
are inferior in size, though very
agiie. They live entirely upon
milk, and live either in caves,
or in cabannes, like cages, just

large enough to hold two per.
sons, and covered with an ox's
hide. Some of the better sort
of women have copper brace-
lets upon their arms, beads in
their hair, and a tanned hide
wrapt about their shoulders.

On the 1 8th we left our
station on the side of the green
hill at Hamhammou ; for some
time our road lay through a
plain, so thick set with acacia-
trees that our hands and faces
were all torn and bloody with
the strokes of their thorny
branches. We then resumed
our ancient road in the bed ot
the torrent, now nearly dry,
over stones which the rain of
the preceding night had made
very slippery. At half-past
seven we came to the mouth of
a narrow valley, through which
a stream of water ran very
swiftly over a bed of pebbles.
It was the first clear water we
had seen since we left Syria,
and gave us then unspeakable
pleasure.

The caper-tree here grows
as high as the tallest English
elm ; its flower is white, and its
fruit, though not ripe, was fully
as large as an apricot.

I went at some distance to a
small pool of water in order to
bathe, and took my firelock
with me ; but none of the
savages stirred from their huts,
nor seemed to regard me more
than if I had lived among
them all their lives, though
surely I was the most extra-
ordinary sight they had ever
seen ; whence I concluded

BRUGES TRAVELS.

173

that they are a people of small
talents or genius, having no
curiosity.

On the 19th we left, our
road still winding between
mountains in the bed or torrent
of a river, bordered on each
side with rack i:nd sycamore
trees of a good si^e. We en-
camped at a place called Tubbo,
where the mountains are very
steep and broken very abruptly
into cliflfs and precipices. Tub-
bo was by much the most agree-
able station we had seen ; the
trees were thick, full of leaves,
and gave us abundance of very
dark shade. There was a num-
ber of many different kinds, so
closely planted that they seemed
to be intended for natural
arbours. Every tree was full
of birds, variegated with an
infinity of colours, but destitute
of song; others of a more
homely and more European
appearance, diverted us with a
variety of wild notes, in a style
of music still distinct and
peculiar to Africa ; as different
in the composition from our
linnet and goldfinch, as our
English language is to that of
Abyssinia. Yet, from very
attentive and frequent observa-
tion, I found that the skylark
at Masuah sang the same notes
as in England. It was observ-
able that the greatest part of
the beautiful painted birds were
of the jay or magpie kind.

On the 20th, about seven in
the morning, we began to
ascend the hills or eminences
which serve as the roots or

skirts of the great mountain
Taranta. We found every-
where immense flocks of ante-
lopes ; as also partridges of a
small kind, that willingly took
refuge upon trees ; neither of
these seemed to consider us as
enemies. In the afternoon we
began to ascend the mountain,
through a most rocky, uneven
road, if it can deserve the name,
not only from its incredible
steepness, but from the large
holes and gullies made by the
torrents, and the huge mon-
strous fragments of rocks which,
loosened by the water, had
been turnbled down into our
way. -J. was with great diffi-
culty we could creep up. Our
tent suffered nothing by its falh ;
but our telescopes, timekeeper,
and quadrant were to be treated
in a more deliberate and tender
manner. Our quadrant had
hitherto been carried by eight
men, four to relieve each other ;
but these were ready to give up
the undertaking upon trial of
the first few hundred yards.
At last, with the help of a Moor,
we carried the head of it for
about 400 yards over the most
difficult and steepest part of
the mountain.

We continued to carry it
steadily up the steep, eased the
case gently over the big stones
on which, from time to time, we
rested it ; and, to the wonder
of them all, placed it in safety
far above the stony parts of the
mountain. The next most
difficult task was to carry up the
iron foot of the quadrant in a

'I ■^!

174

TIfE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

'■.. . 'J;^

V \

single deal-case ; we succeeded
however in placing the second
case about ten yards above the
first in perfect condition. We
returned, bearing very visibly
the characters of such an ex-
ertion ; our hands and knees
were all cut, mangled, and
bleeding with clambering over
the rocks ; our clothes torn to
pieces, yet we professed our
ability, without any reproaches
on our comrades, to carry the
two telescopes and timekeeper
also. Shame and the proof of
superior constancy so much
humbled the rest of our com-
panions, that one and all put
their hands so briskly to work,
that with infinite toil, and as
much pleasure, we advanced so
far as to place all our instru-
ments and baggage, about two
o'clock in the afternoon, near
half way up this terrible moun-
tain of Taranta.

There were five asses, and
these were fully as difficult to
bring up the mountain as any
of our burdens. Most of their
loading we carried up the
length of my instruments ; and
it was proposed to make the
unladen light asses follow.
They no sooner, however, found
themselves at liberty, than they
began to bray, to kick, and to
bite each other ; and, as it were
with one consent, not only ran
down the part of the hill we
had ascended, but with the
same jovial cries as before.
All our little caravan saw from
above in despair all our eager-
ness to pass Taranta defeated

by the secession of the mo&t
obstinate of the brute creation.
At length four Moors were sent
down after the asses, and found
them before sunset feeding on
some bushes. On the way up
one of them was seized by one of
the hyaenas which had followed
them up the mountain.

On the 2 1 St, at half-past six
in the morning, having encou-
raged my company with good
words, increase of wages, and
hopes of reward, we began to
encounter the other half of the
mountain. My baggage moved
much more briskly than the
preceding day. The upper part
of the 'mountain was indeed
steeper, more craggy, rugged,
and slippery than the lower,
and impeded much more with
trees, but not embarrassed so
much with large stones and
holes. Our knees and hands,
however, were cut to pieces by
frequent falls, and our faces
torn by the multitude of thorny
bushes. I twenty times now
thought of what Achmet had
told me at parting, that I should
curse him for the bad road
shown to me over Taranta.

At last we gained the top of
the mountain, upon which is
situated a small village, chiefly
inhabited by poor servants and
shepherds, keeping the flocks
of men of substance living in
the town of Dixan.

The people here are of a
dark complexion bordering very
much upon yellow. They have
their head bare, their feet co-
vered with sandals, a goat's skin

BRUCBS TRAVELS.

175

upon their shoulders, a cotton
cloth about their middle, their
hair short and curled, like that
of a negro's in the west part of
Africa. The men carry in their
hands two lances, a large shield
of bull's hide, and a crooked
knife.

All sorts of cattle are here in
great plenty ; cows and IxiUs of
exquisite beauty, especially the
former ; they are, for the most
part, completely white, with
large dewlaps hanging down to
their knees ; their heads, horns,
and hoofs perfectly well-turned ;
the horns wide, and their hair
like silk. Their sheep are large,
and all black. Their heads are
large, their ears remarkably
short and small ; instead of the
wool they have hair ; but this
is remarkable for its lustre and
softness. The goats here, too,
are of the largest size ; but they
are not very rough, nor is their
hair long.

The plain on the top of the
mountain Taranta was, in many
places, sown with wheit, which
was then ready to be cut down.
The grain was clean, and of a
good coloui ^ but inferior in size
to that of Egypt. It did not,
however, grow thick, nor was
the stalk above fourteen inches
high. The water here is very
bad, being only what remains
of the rain in the hollows, and
in pits prepared for it.

On the 2 2d we began to de-
scend on the side of Tigr^,
through a broken and uneven
road. In the evening we came
to Dixan. It is built on the

top of a hill, perfectly in the
form of a sugar-loaf; a deep
valley surrounds it everywhere
like a trench, and the road
winds spirally up the hill till it
ends among the houses.

It is true of Dixan, as I be-
lieve of most frontier towns,
that the bad people of both con-
tiguous countries resort thither.
The town consists of Moors
and Christians, and is very well
peopled, yet the only trade of
either of these sects is a very
extraordinary one, that of selling
children. The priests of Tigre
are openly concerned in this
infamous practice.

A transaction which happened
while I was in Ethiopia, and
which reached Gondar by way
of complaint from Masuah, and
was told me by Michael him-
self, will show how this trade
is carried on : — Two priests
of Tigrd had been long inti-
mate friends, and dwelt near
the rock Damo. The youngest
was married, and had two
children, both sons; the other
was old, and had none. The
old one reproved his friend one
day for keeping his children at
home idle, and not putting them
to some profession by which
they might gain their bread.
The married priest pleaded his
poverty, and his want of rela-
tions that could assist him; on
which the old priest offered to
place his eldest son with a rich
friend of his own who had no
children, and where he should
want for nothing. The pro-
posal was accepted, and the

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THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

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young lad, about ten years of
age, was delivered by his father
to the old priest to carry him
to this friend, who took the boy
to Dixan, and sold him there.
Upon the old priest's return,
after giving the father a splendid
account of his son's reception,
treatment, and prospects, he
gave him a piece of cotton cloth
as a present from his son's pa-
tron. The younger child, about
eight years old, hearing the good
fortune of his elder brother,
became so importunate to be
allowed to go and visit him,
that the parents were obliged
to humour him, and consent.
But the old priest had a £:'^ruple,
saying he would not take the
charge of so young a boy unless
his mother went with him. This
being settled, the old priest con-
veyed them to the market at
Dixan, where he sold both the
mother and the remaining child.
Returning to the father, the
old priest told him that his wife
would only stay so long, and
expected he would then fetch
her upon a certain day. The
day being come, the two priests
went together, and, upon their
entering Dixan, it was found
that the old priest had sold the
young one, but not to the same
Moor to whom he had sold his
family. Soon after, these two
Moors, who had bought the
Christians, becoming partners
in the venture, the old priest
was to receive forty cotton-
cloths, that is, £10 sterling, for
the husband, wife, and children.
It occurred to the Moorish mer-

chants that there was some
profit, and not more risk, if
they carried off the old priest
likewise. They prevailed on
him to accompany them out-
side the town, when the whole
party fell upon the old priest,
threw him down, and bound
him. The woman insisted that
she might be allowed to tear off
the little beard he had, in order,
as she said, to make him look
younger ; and this demand was
granted. The whole five were
then carried to Masuah ; the
woman and her two children
were sold to Arabia ; the two
priests had not so ready a mar-
ket, and they were both in the
Naybe's house when I was at
Masuah, though I did not then
know it. The Naybe, willing
to ingratiate himself with Ras
Michael at a small expense,
wrote to him an account of the
transaction, and offered, as they
were priests, to restore them to
him. But the Ras returned for
answer, that the Naybe should
keep them to be his chaplains j
and that there still remained at
Damo enough of their kind to
carry on the trade with Dixan
and Masuah.

The priests of Axum, and
those of the monastery of Abba
Garima, are equally infamous
with those of Damo for this
practice, which is winked at by
Ras Michael as contributing to
his greatness, by furnishing fire-
arms to his province of Tigr^,
which gives him a superiority
over all Abyssinia. As a return
for this article, about five bun-

BRUGES TRAVELS.

177

dred of these unfortunate people
are exported annually from Ma-
suah to Arabia, of which three
hundred are Pagans, and come
from the market at Gondar ; the
other two hundred are Christian
children, kidnapped by some
such manner as this we have
spoken of, and in times of
scarcity four times that number.
The Naybe receives six patakas
of duty for each one exported.

On November 25th we left
Dixan. At eleven o'clock we
encamped under a daroo-tree,
one of the finest I have seen in
Abyssinia, being 7 J feet dia-
meter, with a head spreading
in proportion.

The king's servants, now
upon their own ground, began
to take upon them a proper
consequence. One of them
went to meet Saloome at the
bank of the river, and making a
mark on the ground with his
knife declared that if now
Saloome, or any other man be-
longing to the Naybe, offered to
pass that mark he would bind
him hand and foot, and leave
him a prey to the lion and
hysena. They all returned, and
there our persecution from the
Naybe ended.

We remained under the
daroo-tree that night, and it
will be to me a station ever
memorable, as the first where I
recovered a portion of that
tranquillity of mind to which I
had been a stranger ever since
my arrival at Masuah. We had
been joined by about twenty
loaded asses driven by Moors,

and Itwo loaded bulls for Ber.
In the morning we left our
most pleasant quarters under
the daroo-tree, and set' forward
with great alacrity. We en-
camped near a village called
Hadawi, the seat of the Bahar-
nagash.

The governor paid me a visit
in my tent, and was the first
Abyssinian I had seen on horse-
back ; he had seven attendant
horsemen with him, and about
a dozen of others on foot, all of
a beggarly appearance, and very
ill armed and equipped. Hf
was a little man, of an olive
complexion, or rather darker ;
his head was shaved close,
with a cowl or covering upon
it; he had a pair of short
trousers j his feet and legs were
bare ; the usual coarse girdle
was wrapt several times about
him, in which he stuck his knife ;
and the ordinary web of cotton
cloth, neither new nor clean,
was thrown about him.

After we left him, the king's
servant got hold of him and
told him he roust furnish us
with a goat, a kid, and forty
loaves. He then went away and
sent us a goat and fifty cakes
of teff bread. But my views
upon him did not end here.
His seven horses were all in
very bad order, though there
was a black one among them
that had particularly struck my
fancy. In the evening I sent
the king's servants, and Janni's
for a check to try if he would
sell that black horse. The
bargain was immediately made,

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THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

I \

and I was exceedingly pleased
with this acquisition. The
horse was then lean, as he
stood about sixteen and a half
hands high, of the breed of
Dongola. Yasine, a good horse-
man, recommended to me one
of his servants or companions
to take care of him. He was
an Arab from the neighbour-
hood of Medina, a superior
horseman himself, and well
versed in everything that con-
cerned the animal. We called
the horse Mirza, a name of
good fortune. Indeed, I might
say I acquired that day a com-
panion that contributed always
to my pleasure, and more than
once to my safety ; and was no
slender means of acquiring me
the first attention of the king.
I had brought my Arab stirrups,
saddle, an<j bridle with me, so
that I war now as well equipped
as a horseman could be.

On the 27 th we continued
our journey down a very steep
and narrow path between two
stony hills, then ascended one
still higher, upon the top of
which stands the large village
of Goumbubba, whence we have
a prospect over a considerable
plain. We next passed the
village of Dergate, then that of
Regticat, on the top of a very
high hill on the left, as the
other was on our right. We
pitched our tent about half a
mile off the village called Bar-
randa.

We left on the 29th, and the
first part of our journey to-day
was in a deep gully ; and, in half

an hour we entered into a very
pleasant wood of acacia-trees,
then in flower. In it likewise
was a tree, in smell like a
honeysuckle, whose large white
flower nearly resembles that of
a caper. Our guides assembled
us all in a body, and warned us
that the river before us was tlie
place of the rendezvous of the
Sera we horse, where many cara-
vans had been entirely cut off.
I here, for the first time,
mounted on horseback, to the
great delight of my companions
from Barranda, and also of our
own, none of whom had ever
before seen a gun fired from a
horse galloping excepting Ya-
sine and his servant, now mj
groom, but neither of these had
ever seen a double-barrelled
gun. We passed the plain with
all the diligence consistent with
the speed and capacity of our
long-eared convoy ; and, having
now gained the hills, we bade
defiance to the Serawe horse.
We entered now into a close
country covered with brush-
wood, wild oats, and high bent
grass; in many places rocky
and uneven, so as scarce to
leave a narrow part to pass.
Just in the very entrance, a
lion had killed a very fine
animal of the goat kind. The
animal was scarcely dead ; the
blood was running; and the
noise of my gun had probably
frightened its conqueror away;
every one with their knives cut
off a large portion of flesh;
Moors and Christians did the
same, yet the Abyssinians' aver-

BRUGES TRAVELS.

I
179

sion to anything tliat is dead is
such, unless killed regularly by
the knife, that none of them
would lift any bird that was
shot, unless by the point or
extreme feather of its wing.
They say they may lawfully
eat what is killed by the lion,
hot not by the tiger, hyaena, or
any other beast.

At noon we crossed the river
Balezat, which is both clear and
rapid, and seems to be full of
fish. We continued for some
time along its banks, when we
encamped by the river's side,
and were obliged to stay this
and the following day for a
duty or custom to be paid by
all passengers. As I was sent
for by the king, and going to
Ras Michael, in whose province
they were, I affected to laugh
i^hen they talked of detaining
me, and declared peremptorily
to them, that I would leave all
my baggage to them with great
pleasure, rather than that the
king's life should be in danger
by my stay. They were now
staggered, and seemed not pre-
pared for an incident of this
kind. As I kept up a high
tone, we were quit with being
detained a day, by paying five
pieces of blueSurat cotton cloth,
value three-fourths of a pataka
each, and one piece of white,
value one pataka.

On the ist of December we
departed from Balezat, and
next encamped at a place
named the Kella, or Castle, be-
cause, nearly at equal distances
the mountains on each side run

for a considerable extent,
straight and even, in shape like
a wall, with gaps at certain dis-
tances, resembling embrasures
and bastions. This rock is
otherwise called Damo, an-
ciently the prison of the col-
lateral heirs-male of tlic royal
family.

Kella being one of these bers,
or passages, we were detained
there three whole days by the
extravagant demands of these
farmers of the Awide, who
laughed at all the importance
we gave ourselves. They had
reasons for our reasons, menaces
for our menaces, but no civili-
ties to answer ours. What in-
creased the awkwardness of our
situation was, they would take
no money for provisions, but
only merchandise by way of
barter. We were, indeed, pre-
pared for this by information,
so we began to open shop by
spreading a cloth upon the
ground, at thesightof which hun-
dreds of young women poured
down upon us on every side from
villages behind the mountains
which we could not see. Beads
and antimony are the standard
in this wayfaring commerce.
At first the stock we traded
with proved unfashionable, but
the poor Moor, whose lip was
bit by the hysena, chanced to
have some of the right sort.
In return for these we were
plentifully supplied with honey,
butter, flour, and pumpkins of
an exceeding good taste,
scarcely inferior to melons.
While detained here I managed

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to send a letter to Janni at
Adowa, by bribing one of the
natives. At the same time came
an officer from Janni, with a
violent mandate, in the name
of Ras Michael, declaring to
the person that was the cause
of our detention, that were it
not for ancient friendship, the
present messenger should have
carried him to Ras Michael in
irons ; discharging me from all
awides ; ordering him as Shum
of the place, to furnish me with
provisions; and, in regard to
the time he had caused us to
lose, fixing the awides of the
whole caravan at eight piasters,
not the twentieth part of what
he would have exacted. The
Moors, with their asses, grateful
for this benefit received, began
to bless ' the moment they
joined us \ hoping, on my con-
sideration, upon our arrival
at the custom-house of Adowa,
they might meet with further
favour.

Yasine, in the four days we
had stayed at Kella, had told me
his whole history. It appeared
he had been settled in a pro-
vince of Abyssinia, near to
Sennaar, called Ras el Feel;
had married Abd-el-Jilleel, the
Shekh's daughter ; but, growing
more popular than his father-in-
law, he had been persecuted by
him, and obliged to leave the
country. He began now to
form hopes that, if I was well
received, as he saw, in all ap-
pearance, I was to be, he might
by my interest be appointed to
his father-in-law's place, espe-

cially if there was war, as every-
thing seemed to indicate. Abd-
el-Jileel was a coward. Yasine
was a tried man, an excellent
horseman, strong, active, and
of known courage, having been
twice with the late king Yasous
in his invasions of Sennaar, and
both times much wounded there.
It was impossible to dispute his
title to preferment; but I had
not formed that idea of my
own success that I should be
able to be of any use or assist-
ance to him in it.

It was on the afternoon of
the 4th that we set out from
Kella ; our road was between
two hills covered with thick
wood. On our right was a cliff
or high rock of granite, on the
top of which were a few houses
that seemed to hang over the
cliff rather than stand upon it.

We passed two hamlets, and at
half-past four o'clock we came
to a considerable river, called
Angueah, which we crossed,
and pitched our tent on the
farther side of it. It was about
fifty feet broad, and three in
depth ; it was perfectly clear,
and ran rapidly over a bed of
white pebbles, and was full of
small fish. This river has its
name from a beautiful tree,
which covers both its banks.
This tree, by the colour of its
bark and richness of its flower,
is a great ornament to the
banks of the river. A variety
of other flowers fill the whole
level plain between the moun-
tain and the river, and even
some way up the mountain ; in

BRUGES TRAVELS.

iSi

particular, great variety of jessa-
mine, white, yellow, and parti-
coloured. The country seemed
now to put on a more favour-
able aspect ; the air was much
fresher, and more pleasant,
every step we advanced the
country was well watered with
clear running streams.

We now first began to see
the high mountains of Adowa,
nothing resembling in shape
those of Europe, nor, indeed,
any other country. Their
sides were all perpendicular
rocks, high, like steeples, or
obelisks, and broken into a
thousand different forms.

On the evening of the 5 th
we pitched our tent at the foot
of the hill, close by a small, but
rapid and clear stream, called
Ribieraini, and on Wednesday,
the 6th of December, we set out
from Ribieraini \ and, in about
three hour's travelling on a very
pleasant road, over easy hills
and through hedge-rows of jes-
samine, honey-suckle, and many
kinds of flowering shrubs, we
arrived at Adowa, where once
resided Michael Suhul, gover-
nor of Tigr^.

CHAPTER VII.

From Adowa to Gondar.

Adowa is situated on the de-
clivity of a hill, on the west
side of a small plain surrounded
everywhere by mountains, and
watered by three rivulets, which
are never dry in the midst of

summer. Its situation accounts
for its name, which signifies
pass, or passage, the pass
through which everybody must
go in their way from Gondar to
the Red Sea.

Adowa consists of about 300
houses, and occupies a much
larger space than would be
thought necessary for these to
stand on, by reason that each
house has an enclosure round
it of hedges and trees. The
mansion of Ras Michael is not
distinguished from any of the
others in the town unless by its
size; it is situated upon the
top of the hill. The person,
who is Michael's deputy, in his
absence lives in it. It resem-
bles a prison rather than a pal-
ace ; for there are, in and about
it, above three hundred persons
in irons, some of whom have
been there for twenty years,
mostly with a view to extort
money from them. Most of
them are kept in cages like
wild beasts, and treated every
way in the same manner. Our
kind and hospitable landlord,
Janni, had sent servants to con-
duct us from the passage of the
river, and met us himself at the
outer door of his house. I do
not remember to have seen a
more respectable figure. He
had his own short white hair,
covered with a thin muslin tur-
ban, a thick well-shaped beard,
as white as snow, down to his
waist He was clothed in the
Abyssinian dress, all of white cot-
ton, only he had a red silk sash,
embroidered with gold, about

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TUB ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

his waist, and sandals on his
feet ; his upper garment reached
down to his ankles. He had a
number of servants and slaves
about him of both sexes ; and,
when I approached him, seemed
disposed to receive me with
marks of humility and inferi-
ority, which mortified me much,
considering the obligations I
was under to him, the trouble I
had given, and was unavoid-
ably still to give him» I em-
braced him with great acknow-
ledgments of kindness and gra-
titude, calling him father ; a
title I always used in speaking
either to him or of him after-
wards, when I was in higher
fortune, which he constantly
remembered with great plea-
sure.

He conducted us through a
court-yard planted with jessa-
mine, to a very neat, and, at the
same time, large roomj furnished
with a silk sofa ; the floor was
covered with Persian carpets
and cushions. All round,
flowers and green leaves were
strewed upon the outer yard ;
and the windows and sides of
the room stuck full of ever-
greens, in commemoration of the
Christmas festival that was at
hand. I stopt at the entrance
of this room ; my feet were both
dirty and bloody.

He was so shocked at my
saying that I had performed
this terrible journey on foot,
that he burst into tears, utter-
ing a thousand reproaches
against the Naybe for his hard-
heartedness- and ingratitude,, as

he had twice, as he said, hin-
dered Michael from going in
person, and sweeping the Nay-
be from the face of the earth.
Water was immediately pro-
cured to wash our feet. Janni
insisted upon doing this him-
self; which made me run out
into the yard, and declare I
would not suffer it. This was
no sooner finished, than a great
dinner was brought, exceedingly
well dressed. But no considera-
tion or entreaty could prevail
upon my kind landlord to sit
down and partake with me.
He would stand, all the time,
with a clean towel in his hand,
though he had plenty of ser-
vants. It was long before I
cured my kind landlord of these
respectful observances, nor could
he ever wholly get rid of them,
his own kindness and good
heart, as well as particular
orders of the Greek patriarch,
Mark, constantly suggesting the
same attention.

In the afternoon, I had a
visit from the governor, a very
graceful man, of about sixty
years of age, tall and well-
favoured. He had just then
returned from an expedition to
the Tacaaze, against some vil-
lages of Ayto Tesfos which he
had destroyed, slain 120 men,
and driven off a number of
cattle. He said he doubted
much if we should be allowed
to pass through Wogara, unless
some favourable news came
from Michael; for Tesfos of
Samen, who kept his govern-
ment after Joas's death, and re-

BRUCE'S TRAVELS.

fused to acknowledge Michael,
or to submit to the king, acted
now the part of robbers, plun-
dering all sorts of people, that
carried either provisions, or any-
thing else, to Gondar, to dis-
tress the king and Michael's
Tigrd soldiers, who were then
there. The church of Mariam
is on a hill s.s.w. of the town,
and east of Adowa ; on the
other side of the river is the
church, called Kedus Michael.

Adowa is the seat of a very
valuable manufacture of coarse
cotton cloth, which circulates
all over Abyssinia instead of
silver money. The houses of
Adowa are all of rough stone,
cemented with mud instead of
mortar. That of lime is not
used but at Gondar, where it is
very bad. The roofs are in the
form of cones, and thatched
with a reedy sort of grass, some-
thing thicker than wheat straw.
The Jews enjoy this profession
of thatching exclusively.

Throughout the neighbour-
hood, they have three harvests
annually. Their first seed-time
is in July and August ; it is the
principal one for wheat, which
they then sow in the middle of
the rains. In the same season
they sow tocusso, teff, and bar-
ley. From the 20th of Novem-
ber they reap first their barley,
then their wheat, and last of all,
their teff. In room of these,
they sow immediately upon the
same ground, without any man-
ure, barley, which they reap in
February; and then often sow
teff, but more frequently a kind of

vetch, or pea, called Shimbra ;
these are cut down before the
first rains, which are in April.
With all these advantages of
triple harvests, which cost no
fallowing, weeding, manure, or
other expensive processes, the
farmer in Abyssinia is always
poor and miserable.

The province of Tigrd is all
mountainous ; but it is not the
extreme height of the moun-
tains in Abyssinia that occa-
sion surprise, but the number
of them, and the extraordinary
forms they present to the eye.
Some of them are flat, thin, and
square, in shape of a hearth-
stone, or slab, that scarce would
seem to have base sufficient to
resist the winds. Some are like
pyramids, others like obelisks
or prisms, and some, the most
extraordinary of all the rest,
pyramids pitched upon their
points, with their base upper-
most.

It was on the loth of January
1770 r visited the remains of
the Jesuits' convent of Fre-
mona. It is built upon the
even ridge of a very high hill,
in the middle of a large plain,
on the opposite side of which
stands Adowa. It rises from
the east to the west, and ends
in a precipice on the east ; it is
also very steep to the north,
and slopes gently down to the
plain on the south. The con-
vent is about a mile in circum-
ference, built substantially with
stones, which are cemented with
lime-mortar. It has towers in
the flanks and angles, and, not

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THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

witlistanding the ill-usage it has
sufVered, tlic walls remain still
entire to the height of twenty-
five feet. All the walls have
holes for muskets, ami even
now it is by far the most de-
fensible place in Abyssinia. It
resembles an ancient castle
much more than a convent.

A kind of calm had at this
lime spread itself universally
over the country, and this calm
I resolved to take advantage of,
and to set out immediately for
(londar; and, accordingly, on
the 1 7th, we set out from Adowa,
resuming our journey to Gon-
dar. On the 18th, in the morn-
ing, we ascended one of these
hills through a very rough stony
road, and again came into the
plain wherein stood Axum, once
t)\e capital of Abyssinia, at least
as it is supposed. For my part,
I believe it to have been the
magnificent metropolis of the
trading people, or Troglodyte
Ethiopians, called properly
Cushites.

The ruins of Axum ^ are very
extensive, but, like the cities of
ancient times, consist altogether
of public buildings. In one
square, which I apprehend to
have been the centre of the
town, there are forty obelisks,
none of which have any hiero-
glyphics upon them. There is

1 Axum, the ancient capital of Habbesh,
appears to ha\*e been miKii ailomed, if not
fninded. by the Ptolemies. The ruins are
in the Egyptian style, but the want of hiero-
glyphics seems to indicate, that the city was
built by EgA'ptian artists rather than peopled
by an Egy^nian colony. It is one of the
obscurest parts of Abyssinian history which
relates to the building and desertion of this
city.

one larger than the rest siill
standing, but there are two still
larger than this fallen. They
are all of one piece of granite,
and, on the top of that which
is standing, there is a patera
exceedingly well carved in the
Greek taste. After passing the
convent of Abba Pantaleon,
called in Abyssinia, Mantillcs,
ami the small obelisk situated
on a rock above, we proceed
south by a road cut in a moun-
tain of red marble, having on
the left a parapet-wall above five
feet high, solid, and of the same
materials. At equal distances
there are hewn in this wall soHd
pedestals, upon the tops of which
we see the marks where stood
the colossal statues of Syrius.
the Latrator Anubis, or Dog
Star. One hundred and thirty-
three of these pedestals, with
the marks of the statues I just
mentioned, are still in their
places ; but only two figures of
the dog remained when I was
there, much mutilated, but of a
taste easily distinguished to bo
Egyptian. These are composed
of granite, but some of them
appear to have been of metal.
There are likewise pedestals
whereon the figures of the Sphinx
have been placed. Two magni-
ficent flights of steps, several
hundred feet long, all of granite,
exceedingly well-fashioned, and
still in their places, are the only
remains of a magnificent temple.
The church is a mean, small
building, very ill kept, and full
of pigeons' dung. In it are sup-
posed to be preserved the ark

imUCFS TRAVELS.

'Rs

of the covenant, and copy of
the law, which Menilck, son of
Solomon, is said, in their fabul-
ous legends, to have stolen from
Iiis father Solomon in his return
to Kthiopia ; and these were
reckoned, as it were, the palladia
of this country. Some ancient
(opv of the Old Testament, I
do liclicve, was deposited here,
probably that from which the
first version was made. I3ut
whatever this might be, it was
destroyed, with the church itself,
by Mahomet Gragne, though
jirctcnded fiilsely to subsist
there still. This I had from
the king himself. There was
miotlier relic of great import-
ance that iiappened to escape
from being burnt, — a ]MCture
of Christ's head crowned with
tliorns, said to be painted by
St. Luke, which, upon occa-
sions of the utmost importance,
is brought out and carried with
the army, especially in a war
with Mahometans and Pagans.
Within the outer gate of the
church, below the steps, are
three small square enclosures,
all of granite, with small octa-
gon pillars in the angles, appa-
rently Egyptian ; on the top of
which formerly were small
images of the dog-star, proba-
bly of metal. Upon a stone,
in the middle of one of these,
the king sits, and is crowned,
and always has been since the
days of Paganism ; and below
it, where he naturally places his
feet, is a large oblong slab like
a hearth, which is not of granite,
but of freestone. The inscrip-

tion, though much defaced, may
.safely be restored :

HTOAEMAIOY KYEPFETOY
BAi:iAKJ22.^

On the 2oth of January we left
Axum. Our road was at first
through small valleys and mea-
dows perfumed with a variety
of flowering shrubs, impregnat-
ing the whole air with the most
delicious odour. The country
all round had the most beauti-
ful appearance, and this was
heightened by the finest of
weather.

Not long after our losing
sight of the ruins of this ancient
capital of Abyssinia, we over-
took three travellers driving a
cow before them ; they had
black goat -skins upon their
shoulders, and lances and
shields in their hands, in other
respects were but thinly clothed ;
they appeared to be soldiers.
The cow did not seem to be fat-
ted for killing, and it occurred
to us all that it had been stolen.
We saw that our attendants at-
tached themselves in a particu-
lar manner to the three soldiers
that were driving the cow, and
held p. short conversation with
them. The drivers soon after
suddenly tript up the cow, giving
the animal a rude fall upon the
ground, which was but the be-
ginning of her sufferings. One
of them sat across her neck,
holding down her head by the
horns, the other twisted the
halter about her forefeet, while
the third, who had a knife in

1 Of King Ptolemy the Benefirent

fit
pi

■"-;'■ ■
is ^

I
■ w

Wm-::L

iS6

rilF. ENGUSH EXPLORERS,

his hnnl. to my very ^rcat sur-
prise, in place of taking her by
the throat, got astride upon her
belly Inlbre her hiudlegs, and
gave her a very deep wound in
the upper part of her buttock.

I'roin the time I had seen
them throw the beast upon the
ground, 1 had rejoiced, thinking
that, when three people were
killing a cow, they nuist have
agreed to si^ll i)art of her to us.
Upon my proposing they should
bargain tor part of the cow, my
men answered what they had
already learned in conversation,
that they were not then to kill
her ; that she was not wholly
theirs ; and that they could not
sell her. This awakened my
curiosity. 1 let my people go
forward, and stayed myself, till I
saw, with the utmost astonish-
ment, two pieces, thicker and
longer tiiai) our ortlinary beef-
steaks, cut out of the higher
part of the buttock of the beast.
How it was done I cannot posi-
tively say, because judging the
cow was to be killed from the
moment I saw the knife drawn,
I was not anxious to view that
catastrophe, which was by no
means an object of curiosity.
Whatever way it was done, it
surely was adroitly, and the two
pieces were spread upon the
outside of one of their shields.
One of them still continued
holding the head, while the
other two were busied in curing
t h e wou n d . ' Ph i s, too, was don e
not in an ordinary manner ; the
skin which had covered the flesh
that was taken away was left

entire, and (lappi'd over the
wound, and was fastene to ilu-
corresponding part by two or
more small skewers, or pins.
Whether they had put anythin>r
under the skin, between that
and the woimded flesh, I know-
not, but at the river side, wIhmv
they were, they had prepared a
cataplasm of clay, with which
they covered the wound. Tiicy
then forceil the animal to rise,
and drove it on before them, to
furnish them with a fuller meal
when they should meet their
companions in the evening.*

When first I mentioned this
in England, as one of the sin-
gularities whicli prevailed in this
barbarous country, I was told by
my friends it was not believed.
I asked the reason of this dis
belief, and was answered, that
people who had never been
out of their own country, and
others well actpiainted with
the manners of the world, for
they had travelled as far as
France, had agreed the thing
was impossible, and therefore

1 Thts stt>ry, which has l<een tue cause of
much riilicule ami ilin\l)t, is now well csta-
l)lish»d l)y fact. In 'IsiuaVlia,' Sir Samuel
linker gives his own experience, which was
as follows : —

* The great traveller Uruce was dis-
credited for having dcscril>eil a fact of which
he was an eye-witucss. This was the vivi-
section of u cow driven by natives, who cut
a steak out of her hinil-i|uarters. I had .1
bull with a very large lunup. This m\\\\\\\\
was very handsome, and was kept for stock.
I observed that the skin of the hump showed
a long jagged .score from end to end, and my
people assured me that this bidl had fre-
(luently been operated upon. It had been
tne property of one of the slave-hunter's
parties, and they had been in the habit of
removing the hump (.is a siirpeon would a
tumor). This is the most delicate part of
the meat, and I was assured th.U the hump
would always be replaced by a similai
growth after e.ich operation.'

r^RVCF:S TRAVFJS.

187

it was so. My friiMuls ronn-
si'llcd inc flirt hrr, that as these
men were inranil)le, an<l had
each the leading of a rircle, I
should by all means obliterate
this from my journal, and not
iittrinpt to ineuleate in the
minds of my readers the belief
of a thing that men who had
travelled pronounced to be im-
possible. Far from being a
coiwert to such prudential rea-
sons, I must for ever profess
openly, that 1 think them un-
worthy of me. To represent as
truth a thing I know to be a
falsehood, not to avow a truth
1 ought to declare ; the one is
fraud, the other cowardice ; I
hope I am equally distant from
them both ; and I pledge myself
never to retract the fact here ad-
vanced, that tbe Abyssinians do
feed in common ujion live tlesh,
and that I myself have, for
several years, been partaker of
that disagreeable and beastly
diet. On the contrary, I have
no doubt, when time shall be
given to read this history to an
end, there will be very few, if
they have candour enough to
own it, that will not be ashamed
of ever having doubted.

On the 20th, we pitched our
tent in a small plain^ by the
banks of a quick clear running
stream ; the spot is caUed Mai-
Shum. A peasant had made a
very neat little garden on both
sides of the rivulet. This man
guessed by our arms and our
horses that we were hunters,
and he brought us a present of
the fruits of his garden, and

begged our assistance against a
number of wild boars, which
carried havoc and desolation
through all his labours, marks
of which were, indeed, too
visible everywhere. We went
in search of them, and amongst
us we kilK'd five boars, all large
ones, in the space of about two
hours* lUit the misfortune was,
that after our hunting had been
crowned with success, we did
not dare to partake of the ex-
cellent venison we had acquired ;
for the Abyssinians hold ])ork
of all kinds in the utmost de-
testation ; and I was now be-
come cautious, lest I should
give offence, being at no great
tlistance from the capital.

On the 2 1 St we left Mai-Shum,
afterwards descending into a
plain, called Selech-lecha, the
village of that name being two
miles cast of us. The country
here has an air of gaiety and
cheerfulness superior to any-
thing we had ever yet seen.
Poncet was right when he com-
pared it to the most beauteous
part of Provence. We crossed
the plain through hedge-ro>»'s of
flowering shrubs, among •' ch
the honeysuckle now ma». •; a
principal figure, which is of
one species only, the same
known in England ; but the
flower is larger and perfectly
white, not coloured on the out-
side as our honeysuckle is. Fine
trees of all sizes were everywhere
interspersed ; and the vine, with
small black grapes of very good
flavour, hung in many places
in festoons, joining tree to tree,

4, «»:

1 * J *'l*,B

THf

i88

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

as if they had been artificially
twined ami intended forarbours.
After having passed this
])lain, we again entered a close
country through defiles between
mountains, thick covered with
wood and bushes. When we
pitched our tent by the water-
side, an alarm was raised that
robbers were in the neighbour-
hood, and on my riding up to
the tents, I was saluted from
among the bushes with stones.
I advanced towards them, cry-
ing out we were friends, and
Ras Michael's friends ; and de-
sired only to speak to them, and
would give them what they
wanted. Two men came for-
ward, making great complaints,
and we found the matter was
this. One of the Moors had
taken a heap of straw which
he was carrying to his ass, but
tlie proprietor, at seeing this,
li ad alarmed the village. Every-
body had taken lances and
shields ; but not daring to ap-
proach for fear of the fire-arms,
they had contented themselves
with showering stones at us from
their hiding-places at a distance
from among the bushes. We
immediately told them, how-
ever, that though as the king's
guest I had a title to be fur-
nished with what was necessary,
yet, if they were averse to it, I
was very well content to pay for
everything they furnished, both
for my men and beasts ; but
that they must throw no stones,
other\vise we would defend our-
selves. A treaty soon followed,
when they consented to sell us

what we wanted, but at extra-
vagant prices. We found that
the Moor's taking the straw
was not really the reason of the
uproar, for they made no use
of it, except to burn ; but that
a report had been spread abroad,
that an action had hai)pene(l
between Fasil and Ras Mich.^el,
in which the latter had been
defeated, and, the country no
longer in fear of the Ras, they
had intended to rob us.

We left Selech-lecha on the
22d, and arrived at Sir^, at ten
o'clock that night. The town
of Sird is larger than that of
Axum ; it is in the form of a
half-moon fronting the plain;
all the houses are of clay, and
thatched : the roofs are in form
of cones. Sird is famous for a
manufacture of coarse cotton
cloths, which pass for current
money through all the province
of Tigrt^. Although Sird is
situated in one of the finest
countries in the world, like
other places it has its incon-
veniences. Putrid fevers of the
very worst kind are almost con-
stant here ; and there did then
actually rage a species of these,
that swept away a number of
people daily. I did not think the
behaviour of the inhabitants of
this province to me was such as
required my exposing myself to
the infection for the sake of
relieving them j I therefore left
the fever and them to settle
accounts together, without any-
wise interfering. At Sird we
heard the good news, that Ras
Michael, on the loth of this

BRUGES TRAVELS.

i%C)

month, had come up with Fasil
at Fagitta, and entirely dispersed
his army, after killing 10,000
men. This account, though
not confirmed by any authority,
struck all the mutinous part of
this province with awe ; and
every man returned to his duty
for fear of incurring the dis-
pleasure of this severe governor,
which they well knew would
instantly be followed by more
than an adequate portion of
vengeance, especially against
those that had not accompanied
him to the field.

On the 24th, at seven o'clock
in the morning, we struck our
tent at Sird, and passed through
a vast plain. All this day we
could discern no mountains, as
far as the eye could reach,
but only some few detached
hills standing separate on the
plain, covered with high grass,
which they were then burning, to
produce new with the first rains.

On the 26th we reached the
Tacazz^, one of the pleasantest
rivers in the world, shaded with
fme lofty trees ; its banks
covered with bushes, inferior in
fragrance to no garden in the
universe ; its stream is most
limpid, its water excellent, and
full of good fish of great variety,
as its coverts are of all sorts of
game. The banks are all
covered at the water's edge
with tamarisks, behind which
grow high and straight trees.
Beautiful and pleasant, however,
as this river is, like everything
created, it has its disadvantages.
From the falling of the first

rains in March till November,
it is death to sleep in the
country adjoining to it, both
wit' in and without its banks ;
the whole inhabitants retire
and live in villages on the top
of the neighbouring mountains ;
and these are all robbers and
assassins, who descend from
their habitations on the heights
to lie in wait for and plunder
the travellers that pass. Not-
withstanding great pains have
been taken by Michael, his son,
and grandson, governors of
Tigrd and Sird, this passage had
never been so far cleared, but,
every month, people are cut off.

The plenty of fish in this
river occasions more than an
ordinary number of crocodiles
to resort thither. These are so
daring and fearless, that when
the river swells, so as to be
passable only by people upon
rafts, or skins blown up with
wind, they are frequently car-
ried off by these voracious and
vigilant animals. There are also
many hippopotami, which, in
this country, are called Gomari.
I never saw any of these in the
Tacazzd j but at night we heard
them snort, or groan, in many
parts of the river near us.
There are also vast multitudes
of lions and hyaenas in all these
thickets. The river Tacazzd is
the boundary of the province
of Sir^.

On the 27th of January we
continued and came to Inger-
ohha, a small rivulet rising in
the plain above, which after a
short course through a deep

rr^nii

' 19

f!l

ttJi

190

rilE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

valley, joins the Tacazzd All
the way wc passed among
ruined villa^'es, the monuments
of Michael's cruelty or justice ;
for it is hard to say whether th«*
cruelty, robberies, and violence
of the former inhabitants, did
not deserve the severest chas-
tisement.

On the 30th we encamped at
Addergey, near a small rivulet
called Mai-Lunsi, the river of
limes or lemons, in a plain
scarce a mile square, surrounded
on each side with very thick
wood in form of an amphitheatre.
The hysenas this night devoured
one of the best of our mules.
They are here in great plenty,
and so are lions; the roaring
and grumbling of the latter, in
the part of the wood nearest
our tent, greatly disturbed our
beasts, and prevented them
from eating their provender. I
lengthened the strings of my
tent, and placed the beasts be-
tween them. The white ropes,
and the tremulous motion
made by the impression of
the wind, frightened the lions
from coming near us. I had
procured from Janni two small
brass bells, such as the mules
carry. I had tied these to
the storm-strings of the tent,
where their noise no doubt
greatly contributed to our
beasts' safety from these raven-
ous yet cautious animals, so
that we never saw them ; but
the noise they made, and per-
haps their smell, so terrified
the mules, that in the morning
they were drenched in sweat

as if they had been a long
journey.

The brutish hyaena was not
so to be deterred. I shot one
of them dead on the night of
the 31st of January, and on the
id of February I fired at another
so near, that I was confident of
killing him. Whether the balls
had fallen out, or that I had
really missed him with the first
barrel, I know not, but he gave
a snarl and a kind of bark upon
the first shot, advancing directly
upon me as if unhurt. The
second shot, however, took
l)lace, and laid him without mo-
tion on the ground. Yasine
and his men killed another with
a pike ; and such was their de-
termined coolness, that they
stalked round about us with the
familiarity of a dog, or any
other domestic animal brought
up with man.

But we were still more in-
commoded by a lesser animal,
a large black ant, little less
than an inch long, which, com-
ing out from under the ground,
demolished our carpets, which
they cut all into shreds, and
part of the lining of our tent
likewise, and every bag or sack
they could find. We had first
seen them in great numbers at
Angari, but here they were in-
tolerable. Their bite causes a
considerable inflammation, and
the pain is greater than that
which arises from the bite ol
a scorpion \ they are called
gundan.

On the I St of February the
Shum sent his people to value,

BRUGES TRAVELS,

10!

4S he said, our mcrcliandisc,
that wc miglit pay custom.
Many of the Moors, in our
caravan, had left us to go a
near way to llauza. We had
at most five or six asses, in-
cluding those belonging to
Vasine. 1 humoured them so
far as to open the cases where
were the telescopes and quad-
rant, or, indeed, rather showed
them open, as they were not
shut from the observation I had
been making. They could
only wonder at things they had
never before seen.

On the 2d of February the
Shuni came himself, and a vio-
lent altercation ensued. He
insisted upon Michael's defeat.
I told h".m the contrary news
were true, and begged him to
beware lest it should be told
to the Ras upon his return that
he had propagated such a false-
hood. I told him also we had
advice that the Ras's servants
were now waiting for us at
Lamalmon, and insisted upon
his suffering us to depart. On
the other hand, he threatened
to send us to Ayto Tesfos. I
answered, 'Ayto Tesfos was a
friend to Ayto Aylo, under
whose protection I was, and a
servant to the Iteghe, and was
likelier to punish him for using
me ill, than to approve of it, but
that I would not suffer him to
send me either to Ayto Tesfos,
or an inch out of the road in
which I was going.' He said,
' That I was mad ; ' and held a
consultation with his people for
about half an hour,- after which

he came in again, seemingly
{[uite another man, and said he
would despatch us on the mor-
row, which was the 3d, and
would send us that evening
some provisions. And, indeed,
we now began to be in need,
having only flour barely sufli-
cient to make bread for one
meal next day. The miserable
village on the clifT had nothiu'^
to barter with us ; and ncjne
from the five villages about the
Shum had come near us, })ro-
bably by his order. As he had
softened his tone, so did I mine.
I gave him a small present, and
he went away repeating his
promises. But all that evening
passed without provision, and
all next day without his coming,
so we got everything ready for
our departure. Our supper did
not prevent our sleeping, as all
our provision was gone, and we
had tasted nothing all that day
since our breakfast.

On the 4th of February we
left Addergey. Hunger pressing
upon us, we were prepared to
do it earlier, but our loss of a
mule obliged us, when we
packed up our tent, to arrange
our baggage differently. While
employed in making ready for
our departure, a hyoena fastened
upon one of Yasine's asses, and
had almost pulled his tail away.
A boy, who was servant to
Yasine, saw the hyaena first, and
flew to my musket. Yasine was
disjoining the poles of the tent,
and, having one of the half of
the largest in his hand, he ran
to the assistance of his ass, and

1 ' !

: mm

mC'^y '.■

192

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

i\ I

in that moment the musket
went off, which gave Yasine a
flesh wound between the thumb
and forefinger of his left hand.
The boy instantly threw down
the musket, which had terri-
fied the hyaena, and made him
let go the ass ; but he stood
ready to fight Yasine, who, not
amusing himself with the choice
of weapons, gave him so rude
a blow with the tent-pole upon
his head, that it felled him to
the ground \ others with pikes
put an end to his life.

We were then obliged to
turn our cares towards the
wounded. But the poor ass
was not so easily comforted.
The stump remained, the tail
hanging by a piece of it, which
we were obliged to cut off.
The next operation was actual
cautery ; but, as we had made
no bread for breakfast, our
fire had been early out. We,
therefore, were obliged to tie
the stump round with whip-
cord, till we could get fire
enough to heat an iron. On
account of these delays we did
not leave Addergey till near
ten o'clock in the forenoon.
When we had just reached the
side of the river Angwah we
saw the Shum coming from
the right hand across us. There
were nine horsemen in all, and
fourteen or fifteen beggarly foot-
men. He had a well-dressed
young man going before him
carrying his gun, and bad only
a whip in his own hand. Upon
the first appearance, we had
stopped on this side of the

river; Janni's seivant told us
to cross the river, and make
what speed we could, as the
Shum's government ended on
thi^ side. As soon as they ob-
served us drive our beasts into
the river, one of their horsemen
came galloping up, while the
others continued at a smart
walk. When the horseman was
within twenty yards' distance of
me, I called upon him to stop,
and, as he valued his life, not
approach nearer. On this he
made no difficulty to obey, but
seemed rather inclined to turn
back. As I saw the baggage
all laid on the ground at the
foot of a small round hill, upon
the gentle ascent of which my
servants all stood armed, I
turned about my horse, and
with Yasine, who was by my
side, began to cross the river.
The horseman upon this again
advanced ; again I cried to him
to stop. He then pointed be-
hind him, and said, 'The Shum!'
I desired him peremptorily to
stop, or I would fire; upon
which he turned round, and
the others joining him, they
held a minute's counsel to-
gether, and came all forward
to the river, where they paused
a moment as if counting our
number, and then began to en-
ter the stream. Yasine now
cried to them in Amharic, as I
had done before in Tigr^, de-
siring them, as they valued
their lives, to come no nearer.
They stopt, a sign of no great
resolution ; and, after some al-
tercation, i<- was agreed that the

BRUGES TRAVELS,

193

Shum, and his son with the
gun, should pass the river.

The Shurn complained vio-
lently that we had left Adder-
crey without his leave, and now
were attacking him in his own
government upon the high road.
*A pretty situation,* said I,
'was ours at Addergey, where
the Shum left the king's stranger
p.o other alternative but dying
with hunger, or being eaten by
the hyaena.* * Friends,' said I,
' you understand one another's
grievances better than I do.
My only business here is to get
to Lamalmon as soon as pos-
sible. Now, pray, Shum, tell
me what is your business with
me ; and why have you followed
me beyond your government,
which is bounded by that river?'
He said, *That I had stolen
away privately, without paying
custom.' * I am no merchant,'
replied I ; * I am the king's
guest, and pay no custom ; but
as far as a piece of red Surat
cloth will content you, I will
give it you, and we shall part
friends.' He then answered,
'That two ounces of gold were
what my dues had been rated
at, and he would either have
that, or would follow me to
Debra Toon.' * Bind him, and
carry hir> to Debra Toon,' says
the Sir^ servant, * or I shall go
and bring the Shum of Debra
Toon to do it By the head of
Michael, Shum, it shall not be
long before I take you out of
your bed for this.'

I now gave orders to my
people to load the mules. At

hearing this, the Shum made a
signal for his company to cross;
but Yasine, who was opposite
to them, again ordered them to
stop. ' Shum,' said I, * you in-
tend to follow us, apparently
with a design to do us some
harm. There is a piece of ord-
nance,' continued I, showing
him a large blunderbuss, 'a
cannon, that will sweep fifty
such fellows as you to eternity
in a moment. This shall take
the care of them, and we shall
take the care of you ; but join
you shall not till we are at De-
bra Toon.* The conversation
lasted about five minutes \ and
our baggage was now on the way,
when the Shum said, he would
make a proposal : — Since I had
no merchandise, and was going
to Ras Michael, he would ac-
cept of the red cloth, its value
being about a crown, provided
we sw jre to make no complaint
of hfm at Gondar, nor speak of
what had happened at Debra
Toon ; while he likewise would
swear, after having joined his
servants, that he would not again
pass that river. Peace was con-
cluded upon these terms. I
gave him a piece of red Surat
cotton cloth, and added some
cohol, incense, and beads for
his wives. I gave to the young
man, that carried the gun, two
strings of bugles to adorn his
legs, for which he seemed
most wonderfully grateful. The
Shum returned, not with a very
placid countenance ; his horse-
men joined him in the middle
of the stream, and away they

y < St

194

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

\ f I'i fttfii'i

ii '

went soberly together, and in
silence. At one o'clock we
alighted at the foot of one of
the highest, called Debra Toon,
about half way between the
mountain and village of that
name, which was on tl-s side of
the hill about a mile north-west.
The mountains of Waldubba,
resembling those of Adebarea,
lay north of us about four or
five miles. Waldubba, which
signifies the valley of the hyaena,
is a territory entirely inhabited
by the monks, who, for morti-
fication's sake, have retired to
this unwholesome, hot, and
dangerous country, voluntarily
to spend their lives in penitence,
meditation, and prayer. This,
too, is the only retreat of great
men in disgrace or in disgust.
These first shave their hair, and
put on a cowl like the monks,
renouncing the world for soli-
tude, and taking vows which
they resolve to keep no longer
than exigencies require; after
which they return to the world
again, leaving their cowl and
sanctity in Waldubba.

These monks are held in
great veneraticto; are believed
by many to have the gift of pro-
phecy, and some of them to
work miracles, and are very
active instruments to stir up
the people in time of trouble.
Those that I have seen out of
Waldubba in Gondar, and about
Koscam, never showed any
great marks of abstinence ; they
ate and drank everything with-
out scruple, and in large quan-
tities too. They say they live

otherwise in Waldubba, and
perhaps it may be so, for any-
thing I have heard of them

Violent fevers perpetually
reign there. The inhabitants
are all of the colour of a corpse;
and their neighbours, the Shan-
galla, by constant inroads, de-
stroy many of them, though
lately they have been stopped,
as they say by the prayers of
the monks. The natural cause
why the Shangalla molest them
no more, is the small-pox,
which has greatly reduced their
strength and number, and ex-
tinguished, to a man, whole
tribes of them.

On the 5th we left Debra
Toon, and at eleven o'clock
we encamped at the foot of the
mountain Adama, in a small
piece of level ground, after pass-
ing a pleasant wood of no con-
siderable extent.

As we passed the Anzo, im-
mediately on our right is that
part of Waldubba, full of deep
valleys and woods in which
the monks used to hide them-
selves from the incursions of
the Shangalla, before they found
out the more convenient de-
fence by the prayers and
superior sanctity of the present
saints. * ' -

On the 5 th we encamped at
Tchober, and on the 7th we
reached the plain of Dippebaha.
This plain was full of grass,
and interspersed with flowering
shrubs, jessamine, and roses,
several kinds of which were
beautiful, but only one fragrant.
We met several monks and

BRUGES TRAVELS.

195

nuns of Waldubba, who said
they had been at market. Both
men and women, but especially
the latter, had large burdens of
provisions on their shoulders,
bought that day, as they said,
at Dobarke, which showed me
they did not wholly depend
upon the herbs of Waldubba
for their support. The women
were stout and young, and did
not seem, by their complexion,
to have batn long in the mor-
tifications of Waldubba. The
men seemed very miserable,
and ill-clothed, but had a great
air of ferocity and pride in their
faces. They are distinguished
only from the laity by a yellow
cowl or cap on their head.

On the 8th we left Dippebaha
and reached Lamalmon, which
is the pass through which the
road of all caravans to Gondar
lies. It is here they take an
account of all baggage and mer-
chandise, which they transmit
to the Negade Ras, or chief
officer of the customs at Gon-
dar, by a man whom they send
to accompany the caravan. We
had obtained leave to depart
early in the morning of the 9th,
but it was with great regret we
were obliged to abandon our
Mahometan friends into hands
that seemed disposed to show
them no favour. The persons
whose right it was to levy these
contributions were two, a father
and son ; the old man professed
a violent hatred to all Mahome-
tans, on account of their
religion, a sentiment which
seemed to promise nothing

favourable to our friend Yasine
and his companions : but in
the evening, the son, who
seemed to be the active man,
came to our tent and brought us
a quantity of bread and bouza,
which his father had ordered
before. He seemed to be much
taken with our fire-arms, and
was very inqt, isitive about them.
I gave him every sort of satis-
faction, and, little by little, saw
I might win his heart entirely,
which I very much wished to
do, that I might free our com-
panions from bondage.

The young man having been
in several actions under Ras
Michael as a fusileer, had
brought his gun, and insisted
on shooting at marks. I hu-
moured him in this; but as I
used a rifle, he found himself
overmatched, especially by the
greatness of the range, for he
shot straight enough. I then
showed him the manner we
shot flying, there being quails in
abundance, and wild pigeons,
of which I killed several on
wing, which left him in the
utmost astonishment. Having
got on horseback, I next went
through the exercise of the
Arabs, with a long spear and a
short javelin. This was more
within his comprehension, as he
had seen something like it;
but he was wonderfully taken
with the fierce and fiery appear-
ance of my horse, and, at the
same time, with his docility, the
form of his saddle, bridle, and
accoutrements. He threw at
last the sandals off his feet.

196

THE ENGLTSir EXPLORERS.

: illl

twisted his upper garment into
his girdle, and set off at so furious
a rate, that I could not help
doubting whether he was in his
sober understanding.

It was not long till he came
back, and with him a man-ser-
vant, carrying a sheep and a
goat, and a woman carrying a
jar of honey-wine. I had not
yet quitted the horse, and when
I saw what his intention was, I
put Mirza to a gallop, and with
one of the barrels of the gun,
shot a pigeon, and immediately
fired the other into the ground.
There was nothing after this
that could have surprised him,
and it was repeated several
times at his desire, after which
he went into the tent, where
he invited himself to my house
at Gondar. There I was to
teach him everything he had
seen. We now swore perpetual
friendship, and a horn or two
of hydromel being emptied, I
introduced the case of our
fellow-travellers, and obtained
a promise that we should have
leave to set out together. He
would, moreover, take no awide,
and said he would be favour-
able in his report to Gondar.

Matters were so far advanced,
when a servant of Michael's
arrived, sent by Petros (Janni's
brother), who had obtained
him from Ozoro Esther. This
put an end to all our difficul-
ties. Our young soldier also
kept his word, and a mere
trifle of awide was given, rather
by the Moor's own desire than
from demand, and the report

of our baggage, and dues there-
on, were as low as could be
wished. Our friend likewise
sent his own servant to Gon-
dar with the billet to accom-
pany the caravan. But the
news brought by his servant
was still better than all this.
Ras Michael had actually beaten
Fasil, and forced him to retire
to the other side of the Nile,
and was then in Maitsha, where
it was thought he would re-
main with the army all the
rainy season. This was just
what I could have wished, as
it brought me at once to the
neighbourhood of the sources
of the Nile, without the small-
est shadow of fear or danger.

On the 9th of February we
took leave of the friends whom
we had so newly acquired at
Lamalmon. We began to as-
cend what still remained of the
mountain, and found when we
arrived at the top of Lamalmon,
that it consisted of a large plain,
part in pasture, but more bear-
ing grain. They plough, sow,
and reap here at all seasons;
and the husbandman must
blame his own indolence, and
not the soil, if he has not
three harvests. We saw in
one place people busy cutting
down wheat ; immediately next
to it others at the plough;
and the adjoining field had
green com in the ear ; a little
further it was not an inch
above the ground.

After having suffered, with
infinite patience and persever-
ance, the hardships and danger

BRUCE' S TRAVELS.

197

of this long and paini.il journey,
at forty minutes past ten we
were gratified at last with the
sight of Gondar, according to
niy computation about ten miles
distant. The king's palace (at
least the tower of it) is distinctly
seen, but none of the other
houses, which are covered by
the multitude of wanzey-trees
growing in the town, so that it
appears one thick, black wood.
Behind it is Azazo, likewise
covered with trees. On a hill
is the large church of Tecla
Haimanout, and the river below
it makes it distinguishable ; still
further on is the great lake
Tzana, which terminates our
horizon. The Tchagassa has
very steep, rocky banks; it is
so deep, though narrow, that,
without this bridge, it scarce
would be passable. We en-
camped at a small distance from
it, but nearer Gondar. Here
again we met with trees (small
ones indeed), but the first we
had seen since leaving Lamal-
mon, excepting the usual groves
of cedars. It is the Virginia
cedar, or oxy-cedros, in this
country called Are, with which
their churches are constantly
surrounded.

On the 15th, at ten minutes
past seven, we began to ascend
the mountain, and, at twenty
minutes after seven, passed a
village on our left. At seven
and three quarters we passed
Tiba and Mariam, two churches,
the one on our right, the other
on our left, about half a mile
distant, and near them several

small villages inhabited by Fa-
lasha, masons and thatchers of
houses, employed at Gondar.
At half-past eight we came to
the village Tocutcho, and, in a
quarter of an hour passed the
river of that name, and in a
few minutes rested on the river
Angrab, about half a mile from
Gondar.

Tchagassa is the last of the
many little districts, which,
together, compose Woggora,
generally understood to be de-
pendent on Samen, though
often, from the turbulent spirit
of its chiefs, struggling for in-
dependency, as at the present
time, but sure to pay for it im-
mediately after. In fact though
large, it is too near Gondar to
be suffered to continue in rebel-
lion, and, being rich and well
cultivated, it derives its support
from the capital as being the
mart of its produce. It is cer-
tainly one of the most fniitful
provinces in Abyssinia, but the
inhabitants are miserably poor,
notwithstanding their threefold
harvest ; whereas in Egypt, be-
holden to this country alone for
its fertility, one moderate har-
vest gives plenty everywhere.

Woggora is full of large ants,
and prodigious swarms of rats
and mice, which consume im-
mense quantities of grain. To
these plagues may be added
one still greater than them all,
bad government, which speedily
destroys all the advantages they
reap from nature, climate, and
situation.

' - '>i

.s' ¥Kfc

ipS

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

\ z

■4 i|j

CHAPTER VIII.

Residence at Gondar.

We were much surprised at
arriving on the Angrab that no
person had come to us from
Petros, Janni's brother. We
found afterwards, indeed, that
he had taken fright upon some
menacing words from the priests
at hearing a Frank was on his
way to Gondar, and that he had
soon after set out for Ibaba,
where the Ras was, to receive
his directions concerning us.
This was the most disagreeable
accident could have happened
to me. I had not a single per-
son to whom I could address
myself for anything. My let-
ters were for the king and Ras
Michael, and could be of no
use, as both were absent ; and
though I had others for Petros
and the Greeks, they, too, were
out of town. I had Janni's let-
ters to Negade Ras Mahomet,
the chief of the Moors at Gon-
dar, and principal merchant in
Abyssinia, who was absent like-
wise with the army. But one of
his brethren, a sagacious, open-
hearted man, desired me not to
be discouraged ; that, as I had
not put off my Moorish dress, I
should continue it ; that a house
was provided for Mahomet Gib-
berti, and those that were with
him, and that he would put me
immediately into possession of
it, where I might stay, free from
any intercourse with the priests,
till Petros or the Ras should

return to Gondar. This advice
I embraced with great readiness,
as there was nothing I was so
much afraid of as an encounter
with fanatical priests before I
had obtained some protection
from government, or the great
people in the country. After
having concerted these mea-
sures, I resigned myself to the
direction of my Moorish friend,
Hagi Saleh.

We moved along the Angrab,
having Gondar on our right,
situated upon a hill, and the
river on our left, proceeding
down till its junction with a
smaller stream called the Kahha,
that joins it at the Moorish town.
This situation, near running
water, is always chosen by the
Mahometans on account of their
frequent ablutions. The Moor-
ish town at Gondar may consist
of about 3000 houses, some of
them spacious and good. I was
put in possession of a very
neat one destined for Mahomet
Gibberti. Flour, honey, and
suchlike food, Mahometans and
Christians eat promiscuously,
and so far I was well situated.
As for flesh, although there was
abundance of it, I could not
touch a bit of it, being killed
by Mahometans, as that com-
munion would have been looked
upon as equal to a renunciation
of Christianity.

By Janni's servant, who had
accompanied us from Adowa,
his kind and friendly master
had written to Ayto Aylo, who
was the constant patron of the
Greeks, and willingly took the

BRUGES TRAVELS,

199

charge of white people of all
communions who had hitherto
been unhappy enough to stray
into Abyssinia.

About seven o'clock at night,
on the 15th, Hagi Saleh was
much alarmed by a number of
armed men at his door, and
his surprise was still greater
upon seeing Ayto Aylo, who,
as far as I know, was never in
the Moorish town before, de-
scend from his mule, and un-
cover his head and shoulders,
as if he had been approaching
a person of the first distinction.
A contention of civilities imme-
diately followed. This being
got over, the first curiosity was.
What my books were ? And he
was very much astonished at
seeing one of them was Abys-
sinian, and the European helps
that I had towards understand-
ing it. He understood Tigrd
tnd Amharic perfectly, and had
a little knowledge of Arabic.

The beginning of our dis-
course was in Arabic, and em-
barrassed enough, but we had
plenty of interpreters in all
languages. The first bashful-
ness being removed on both
sides, our conversation began
in Tigr^, which is lately, since
Michael had become Ras, the
language most used in Gondar.
Aylo was exceedingly astonished
at hearing me speak the lan-
guage as I did, and said after,
' The Greeks are poor crea-
tures ; Peter does not speak
Tigrd so well as this man.*
Then, very frequently, to Saleh
and the bystanders, * Come,

come, he'll do if he can speak ;
there is no fear of him, he'll
make his way.'

He told us that Welled Ha-
waryat had come from the camp
ill of a fever, and that they were
afraid it was the small-pox ; that
Janni had informed them I had
saved many young people's lives
at Adowa by a new manner of
treating them ; and that the
Iteghe desired I would come
the next morning, and that he
should carry me to Koscam
and introduce me to her.

The next morning, taking
Hagi Saleh and Yasine with
me, and dressed in my Moorish
dress, 1 went to Ayto Aylo, and
found him with several great
plates of bread, melted butter,
and honey before him, of one
of which he and I ate ; the
rest were given to the Moors,
and other people present.
There was with him a priest
of Koscam, and we all set out
for that palace as soon as we
had eaten breakfast. We alighted
and were shown into a low
room in the palace. Ayto Aylo
went immediately to the queen
to inquire about Welled Ha-
waryat, and his audience lasted
two long hcrars. He returned
to us with these news, that
Welled Hawaryat was much
better, by a medicine a saint
from Waldubba had given him,
which consisted in some char-
acters written with common
ink upon a tin plate, which
characters were washed off by
a medicinal liquor, and then
given him to drink. It was

■■J 1 ■•

■t:S

900

THE ENGLISH EXPIOKEKS,

agreed, however, tliat the com-
plaint was the smalt-pox, and
the good the medicine had
done him was, he had eaten
heartily of brind or raw heef
after it, though he had not eaten
before since his arrival, but
called perpetually for drink.
Aylo said he was to remain at
Koscam till towards evening,
and desired me to meet him at
his own house when it turned
dark, and to bring Petros with
me, if he was returned.

IVtros was returned when I
arrived, and waited for me at
Hagi Saleh's house. Although
he showed all the signs of my
being welcome, yet it was easy
to read in his countenance he
had not succeeded. He had
seen, on going to the Ras's tent,
the stulTed skin of the unfor-
tunate Woosheka swinging upon
a tree, and drying in the wind.
He was struck with such horror
at the sight, that he had gone
and returned without goingnear
the Ras. Aylo on hearing the
story was equally afraid, and as
both Peter and he were too
excited to sleep, I ordered
some gniel to be made, and put
a dose of laudanum into it,
which. they were to take before
going to bed.

I took my leave, and returned
with Saleh ; but, before I went
to the door, Aylo told me he
had forgot Welled Hawaryat
>vasvery bad, and the Iteghe,
Ozoro Altash, his wife, and
Ozoro Esther desired I would
come and see him to-morrow.
One of his daughters by Ozoro

Altash, had been ill some time
before his arrival, and she too
was thought in great danger.
* Look,* saitl I, * Ayto Aylo,
the small-pox is a disease that
will have its course ; nnd dur-
ing the long time the patient is
under it, if people feed them
and treat them according to
their own ignorant prejudices,
my seeing him, or advising him,
is in vain. This morning you
said a man had cured him l)y
writing upon a tin plate ; and
to try if he was well they
crammed him with raw beel.
I do not think the letters that
he swallowed will do him
any harm, neither will they
do him any good ; but I shall
not be suri)rised if the raw beef
kills him, and his daughter
Welleta Selasse, too, before I
see him to-morrow.'

On the morrow Petros was
really taken ill and feverish,
from a cold and fotigue an(l
fright. Aylo and I went to
Koscam, and, for a fresh amuse-
ment to him, I showed him
several feats of horsemanship.
We were just entering into tiie
palace-door, when we saw a
large procession of monks, with
the priests of Koscam at their
Iiead, a large cross and a pic-
ture carried with them, the last
in a very dirty gilt frame. Aylo
turned aside when he saw these ;
and going into the chamber-
lain's apartment, called Ayto
Heikel, afterwards a great friend
and companion of mine. He
informed us that three great
saints from Waldubba, one of

BRUCE S TRAVELS.

201

whom hud neither cntcn nor
drunk for twenty years of his
life, had promised him to come
and cure Welled 1 lawaryat, by
laying a picture of the Virgin
Mary and the cross upon him,
and, therefore they would not
wisii me to be seen, or meddle
in the alTair. ' 1 assure you,
Ayto Aylo,' said I, * I shall
strictly obey you. There is no
sort of reason for my meddling
in this alTair with such asso-
ciates. If they can cure him by
a miracle, I am sure it is the
easiest kind of cure of any, and
will not do his constitution the
least harm afterwards, which is
more than I will i)romise for
medicines in general ; but, re-
member what I say to you, it
will indeed be a miracle, if both
the father and the daughter are
not <lead before to-morrow
niglit.'

After the procession was
gone, Aylo went to the Itcghd,
and, I suppose, told her all that
happened since he had seen
her last. I was called in, and
Aylo then said, 'This is our
gracious mistress, who always
gives us her assistance and pro-
tection. You may safely say
before her whatever is in your
heart.'

Our first discourse was about
Jemsalem, the Jloly Sepulchre,
Calvary, the City of David,
and the Mount of Olives, with
the situations of which she was
perfectly well acquainted. She
then asked me to tell her truly
if I was not a Frank 1 * Madam,'
said I, 'if I was a Catholic,

which you mean by Frank,
there could be no greater folly
than my concealing this from
you in the beginning, after the
assurance Ayto Aylo has just
now given ; and, in confirmation
of the truth I am now telling
(she had a large iiible lying on
the table before her, upon which
1 laid my hand), 1 declare to
you, by all those truths con-
tained in this book, that my
religion is more different from
the Catholic than yours is :
that there has been more blood
shed between the Catholics and
us, on accx)unt of the difference
of religion, than ever was be-
tween you and the Catholics in
this country; even at this day,
when men are become wiser
and cooler in many i)arts of the
world, it would be full as safe
for a Jesuit to i)reach in the
marketplace of (jondar, as for
any priest of my religion to pre-
sent himself as a teacher in the
most civilized of Frank or
Catholic countries.'

* How is it then,' says she,
'that you don't believe in
miracles % '

' I see, Madam,' said I,
* Ayto Aylo has informed you
of a few words that some time
ago dropt from me. I do cer-
tainly believe the miracles of
Christ and his apostles, other-
wise I am no Christian ; but I
do not believe these miracles
of latter times, wrought upon
trifling occasions, like sports and
juggler's tricks.'

'And yet,' says she, 'our
books are full of them.'

'''\k%

< >

•OS

nrn engush explorers.

• I know tlicy arc/ Bnid I,
'and «(> jirc those of the Cr-
iholirs: but I never ran be-
hove that A saint ronvertcil the
ilcvil, who hved, lorty years
after, a holy li'o as a monk ; nor
the story of another saint, wlio,
being sick and hunury, eansctl
a brace of partridges, ready
roasted, to tly npon his phite
lliat he might eat them.'

• lie has been reailing the
Synaxar,' says Ayto Aylo.

• I behove so,' says she, smil-
ing ; 'lint is there any harn\ in
believing too much, and is
not tliere great danger in be-
hoving too httlc V

• Certainly,' continued I,
* but what 1 meant to say to
Ayto Aylo was, that I did not
l)clievc laying a picture upon
Welled Ibiwaryat would re-
cover him when delirous in a
fever.'

She aiiswcred, * There was no-
thing impossible with God.*

I made a bow of assent,
wishing heartily the conversa-
tion might end there.

1 retm-nod to the Moors
town, leaving Aylo with the
queen. In the afternoon I
heard Welletta Selassd was
dead ; and, at night, died her
father, Welled Hawaryat The
contagion from Masuah and
Adowa had spread itself all
over Ciondar. Ozoro Ayabdar,
daughter of Ozoro Altash, was
now sick, and a violent fever
had fallen ui)on Koscam. The
next morning Aylo came to me
and told me the faith in the
saint, who did not eat or drink

for twenty years, was porfcrtly
abandoned since Welled Ha-
waryat's tieath ; that it was
the desire of the queen and
()/.»)ro Kslher, that I shouM
transport n»ysolf to Kos<ain to
the Iteghd's palace, where all
their children and graiul chil-
tlren, by the dilVoront men the
(pioon's daughters had mairicd,
wore under hor care. Alter
some hesitation, 1 consented
and went.

before 1 entered upon my
charge, I dosirotl IVtros (now
recovered), Aylo, Abba Chris-
tophorus, a (Iroek i)riest, who
acted as a physician before I
came to Ciondar, and Armaxi-
kos, i)riest of Koscam, and
favourite of the Itoglu?, to be
all present. I stated to them
the disagreeable task now im-
posed upon me, a stranger,
without ac(|uaintance or pro-
tection, having the language
but imperfectly, and without
power or control among them.
I professed my intention of
doing my utmost, but I insisted
on one condition, that no di-
rections as to regimen, or
management, even of the most
trilling kind, as they might
think, shouUl be suftered with-
out my permission and super-
intendence. 'I'hey all assented
to this, and Armaxikas declared
those excommunicated that
broke this promise ; and I saw
that the more scrupulous and
particular I was, the more the
confidence of the ladies in-
creased. Armaxikos promised
me the assistance of his prayers,

liNUCrS TRAVELS,

fOJ

nnd thoHC of the vvlioli* monks
morninK fttid cvriiiii^ ; and
y\y|() said in a low lonr to nio,
'You'll hnvc no olijcc lion to this
snint ; I assnic yoti he cats atul
drinks heartily, as I shall show
you when once these troubles
arc over.'

I set the servants nil to
work. I opened all the doors
nnd windows, Ininigating them
with ineense and myrrh, washed
them with warm water and
vinegar, adhering to the rules
which my worthy and skilful
fricntl, l>t)ctor Kussel, had
given me at Aleppo.

Ayabdar, ()/,oro Altash's re-
maining daughter, and the son
of Mariam Marea, were both
tf-.kcn ill at the same time,
and happily recovered. Ayto
Confu, son of Kasmati Netrho
by Ozoro P^sther, had arrived
from Tcherkin, n lad of pro-
mise, tho\igh not then fourteen,
had came to see his mother
witiiout my knowledge or hers,
and was infected likewise ; and
last of all, the infant child of
Michael, the child of his old
age, took the disease, and
though the weakest of all the
children, recovered best. I
tell these actions for brevity's
sake altogether, not directly
in the onler they happened,
to satisfy the reader about the
reason of the remarkable at-
tention and favour showed to
me afterwards upon so short
an acquaintance.

The fear and anxiety of
Ozoro Esther, upon smaller
occasions, was excessive ; many

promises of Michael's favour,
of riches, greatness, and pro-
tection, ff)llowed every instance
of my care and attention to-
wards him. The attention I
showed to this yoiM)g man,
which was more than overpaid
by the return he himself made
on many occ asions afterwards,
was greatly owing to n fire-
possession in his favour, which
I took upon his fust appear-
ance. Policy, as may be ima-
gined, as well as ( harity, alike
influenced nu* in the care of
my other patients ; but an at-
tachment, whi( h Providence
seemed to hav<r inspired me
with for my own preservation,
had the greatest share in my
care for Ayto (!onfu.

Our patients being nil likely
to do well, were removed to a
large house which stood still
within the boundaries of Kos-
cam, while the rooms tmder-
went another lustration and
fumigation, after which they all
returned ; and I got, as my fee,
a i)resent of the neat and con-
venient house which had a
separate entry, without going
through the ])alace. 1 had re-
ceived a letter since coming
here, from Ras Michael, con-
taining ])ositivc orders that I
should not stir from thence till
further orders, which I thought
it well to obey.

I had a great deal to do, and
a good deal of wonderment. I
mounted my instniments, my
barometer and thermometer,
telescopes, and quadrant. It
occasioned me many idle hours

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204

THE ENGLISH EXPLOt'ERS,

before the curiosity of the palace
was satisfied.

One (lay, when I went early
to the (luccn, just as I was
taking my leave, in came Abba
Salania. At first he diil not
know inc from tiic change of
dress ; but, soon after recollect-
ing me, he said, as it were
passing, ' Are you here 1 1
thought you was with Ras
Michael.' 1 made him no an-
swer, but bowed and took my
leave, when he called out with
an air of authority, *Come
back ! ' and beckoned me with
his hand.

Several people entered the
room at that instant, and I stood
still in the same place where I
was, ready to receive the
Iteghd's order. She said, 'Come
back, and speak to Abba
Salama.' I then advanced a
few paces forward, and said,
looking to the Iteghif, *What
has Al)bA Salama to say to
mel' He began directing his
discourse to the queen, * Is he
a priest t is he a priest ? ' The
Itegh^ answered very gravely,

* Every good man is a priest to
himself, in that sense, and no
other; Yagoube is a priest.'
*Will you answer a question
that I will ask youl' says he
to me with a very pert tone of
voice. * I do not know but I
may, if it is a discreet one,'
said I, inTigrd 'Why don't
you speak in Amharicl' says
he to me in great haste, or
seeming impatience. * Because
I cannot speak it well,' said I.

* Why don't you, on the other

hand, speak 'I'igrd to me ? It
is the language the Holy Scrip.
turcs are written in, and you, a
priest, shoidd understand it.'
•That is Cleez,' says he; 'I
understand it, though I don't
speak it.' 'Then,' replied 1,
•Ayto Heikel,' the queen's
chamberlain, who stood beiiind
me, * shall interpret for us \ he
understands all languages.'

*Ask him, Heikel,' says he,
' how many natures are there in
Christ.' Which being repeated
to me, I said, * I thought the
(piestion to be put was some-
thing relating to my country,
travels, or profession, in which
I possibly could instruct him,
and not belonging to his, in
which he should nistruct me.
I am a physician in the town, a
horseman and soldier in the field.
Physic is my study in the one,
and managing my horse and
arms in the other. This I was
bred to ; as for disputes and
matters of religion, they are the
province of priests and school-
men. I profess myself much
more ignorant in these than I
ought to be ; therefore, when
I have doubts, I propose them
to some holy man like you,
Abba Salama (he bowed for the
first time), whose profession
these things are. He gives mi
a rule, and I implicitly follow
it.' * Truth ! truth 1 ' says he ;
*by St. Michael, prince of
angels, that is right j it is an-
swered well ; by St. George, he
is a clever fellow. They told
me he was a Jesuit. Will you
come to see me? Will you

n RUCKS TRAVELS,

205

come to sec mc ? Yoii need
not l>c afr.iid when you come
to me,^ * I trust,' said I, l)ow-
ing, ' I shall do no ill, in that
case shall have no reason to
fear.' Upon this I withdrew
from among the crowd, and
went away, as an express then
arrived from Ras Michael.

It was on the 8th or 9th of
March I met Kas Michael at
Azazo. He was dressed in a
coarse dirty cloth, wra|)t about
him like a blanket, and another
like a table-cloth folded about
his head. He was lean, old, and
apparently much fatigued; sat
stooping upon an excellent
mule, that carried him speedily
without shaking him : he had
also sore eyes. We alighted at
the same time he did, and after-
wards we dei)uted the Greek
priest to tell him who I was,
and that I was come to meet
him. The soldiers made way,
and I came up, took him by
the hand, and kissed it. He
looked me broad in the face
for a second, repeated the
ordinary salutation in Tigr^,
' How do you do ? I hope you
are well ; * and pointed to a
place where I was to sit down.
All the town was in a hurry
and confusion ; 30,000 men
wereencamped upon theKahha;
and the first horrid scene
Michael exhibited there was
causing the eyes of twelve of
the chiefs of the Galla, whom
he had taken prisoners, to be
pulled out, and the unfortu-
nate sufferers turned out to the
fields, to be devoured at night

by the hyjcna. Two of these
I took under my rare, who both
recovered, and from them I
learnt many particulars of their
country and manners.

The next day, which was the
loth, the army marched into
the town in triumph, and the
Kas at the head of the troops
of Tigrd. He was h.ireheaded ;
over his shoulderM, md down to
his back, hung a palliunt, or
cloak, of bliuk velvet, with a
silver fringe. A bov, by his
right stirrup, held a silver wand
of about five feet and a half
long, much like the staves of
our great officers at court, be-
hind him all the soldiers, who
had slain an enemy and taken
the spoils from them, had their
lances and firelocks ornamented
with small shreds of scarletcloth,
one piece for every man he had
slain.

Remarkable among all this
multitude was Hagos, door-
keeper of the Ras. This man,
always well armed and well
mounted, had followed the
wars of the Ras from his in-
fancy, and had been so fortu-
nate in this kind of single com-
bat, that his whole lance and
javelin, horse and person, were
covered over with the shreds of
scarlet cloth. At this last battle
of Fagitta, Hagos is said to have
slain eleven men with his own
hand, no doubt, many of them
wretched, weary, naked fugi-
tives. Behind came Gusho of
Amhara, and Powussen, lately
made governor of Begerader for
his behaviour at the battle of

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Fagitta. One thing remarkable
in this cavalcade, which I ob-
served, was the head-dress of
the governors of provinces. A
large broad fillet was bound
upon their forehead, and tied
behind their head. In the
middle of this was a horn, or a
conical piece of silver, gilt,
about four inches long, much
in the shape of our common
candle-extinguishers. This is
called /:irn, or horn, and is
only worn in reviews or parades
after victory. This, I appre-
hend, like all other of their
usages, is taken from the He-
brews, and the several allusions
made in Scripture to it arise
from this practice : — * I said
unto fools. Deal not foolishly ;
and to the wicked, Lift not up
the horn' — * Lift not up your
horn on high ; speak not with
a stift" neck ' * — ' For promotion
Cometh,' etc. — * But my horn
shalt thou exalt like the horn of
an unicorn' — 'And the horn of
the righteous shall be exalted
with honour.' ' And sc in many
other places throughout the
Psalms. Next to these came
the king with a fillet of white
muslin, about three inches
broad, binding his forehead,
tied with a large double knot
behind, and hanging down
about two feet on his back.
About him were the great
officers of state, such of the
young nobility as were without

* The crooked manner in which they hold
their neck when this ornament is ^a their
forehead, for fear it should fall forward.

* See Psalms Ixxxix. 17-24; xcii. 10;
Micah iv. 13, etc. .,,<,, „„

command, and, after these, the
household troops.

Then followed the Kanitz
Kitzera, or executioner of the
camp, and his attendants ; and
last of all, amidst the king's and
the Ras's baggage, came a man
bearing the stuffed skin of the
unfortunate Woosheka upon a
pole, which he hung upon a
branch of a tree before the
king's palace appropriated for
public executions.

It was now the 13th of
March, and I had heard no
word from Ozoio Esther, or
the Ras, though removed to a
house in Gondar near to Petros.
Negade Ras Mahomet called
and said Mahomet Gibberti
was arrived, had been twice on
private business with the Ras,
but had not yet delivered him
his presents ; and that, at Ayto
Aylo's proposal, it was agreed
that I should be appointed
Palambaras, which is master of
the king's horse. I told Ma-
homet, that, far from being any
kindness to me, this would
make me the most unhappy of
all creatures ; that my extreme
desire was to see the country,
and its different natural produc-
tions ; to converse with the
people as a stranger, but to be
nobody's master nor servant;
to see their books ; and, above
all, to visit the sources of the
Nile; to live as privately in
my own house, and have as
much time to myself, as possi-
ble ; and what I was most anxi-
ous about at present, was to
know when it would be conveni-

BRUCE' S TRAVELS.

207

ent for them to admit me to see
the E.as, and deliver my letters
as a stranger.

Mahomet went away, and re-
turned, bringing Mahomet Gib-
berti, who told me, that, be-
sides the letter I carried to Ras
Michael from Metical Aga, his
master, he had been charged
with a pardcular one, out of the
ordinary form, dictated by the
English at Jidda, who, all of
them, and particularly my
friends Captain Thornhill, and
Captain Thomas Price of the
Lyon, had agreed to make a
point with Metical Aga, de>«oted
to them for his own profit, that
his utmost exertion of friend-
ship and interest, should be
so employed in my recom-
mendation as to engage the
attention of Ras Michael, and
to provide in earnest for my
safety.

This letter I had myself read
at Jidda ; it informed Michael
of the power and riches of our
nation, and that they were -ab-
solute masters of the trade on
the Red Sea, and strictly con-
nected with the Sherriffe, and in
a very particular manner with
him, Metical Aga ; that any
accident happening to me would
*^* an infamy and disgrace to
mm, and worse than death it-
self, because, that knowing
Michael's power, and elying
on his friendship, he had be-
come security for my safety,
after I arrived in his hands ;
that I was a man of considera-
tion in my own country, servant
to the king of it, who, though

himself a Christian, governed
his subjects, Mussulmans and
Pagans, with the same impar-
tiality and justice as he did
Christians ; that all my desire
was to examine springs and
rivers, trees and flowers, and
the stars in the heavens, from
which 1 drew knowledge very
useful to preserve man's health
and life; that I was no mer-
chant, and had no dealings
whatever in any sort of mer-
cantile matters ; and that I had
no need of any man's money,
as he had told Mahomet Gib-
berti to provide for any call I
might have in that country, and
for which he would answer, let
the sum be what it would.

Upon reading this letter,
Michael exclaimed, * Metical
Aga does not know the situa-
tion of this country. Safety I
where is that to be found ? I
am obliged to fight for my own
life every day. Will Metical
call this safety? Who knows,
at this moment, if the king is in
safety, or how long I shall be
so? All I can do is to keep
him with me. If I lose my
own life, and the king's, Meti-
cal Aga can never think it was
in my power to preserve that of
his stranger.' ;

*No, no/ says Ayto Aylo,
who was then present, 'ycu
don't know the man; he is a
devil on horseback ; he rides
better, and shoots better, than
any man that ever came into
Abyssinia ; lose no time, put
him about the king, and there
is no fear of him. He is very

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sober and religious ; he will do
the king good.'

* Shoot 1' says Michael, *he
won't shoot at me as the Ar-
menian did; will he? will he?'

*0h,* continued Aylo, 'you
know these days are over.
What is the Armenian ? a boy,
a slave to the Turk. When
you see this man, you'll not
think of the Armenian.'

It was finally agreed, that the
letters the Greeks had received
should be read to the king ; and
that I should be introduced to
the King and the Ras immedi>-
ately after they were ready.

I think it was about the 14th
that these letters were to be all
read. I expected at the ordi-
nary hour, about five in the
afternoon, to be sent for, and
had rode out to Koscam. I
came a little before the time,
and met Ayto Aylo at the door.
He squeezed me by the hand,
and said, * Refuse nothing; it
can be all altered afterwards;
but it is very necessary, on ac-
count of the priests and the
populace, you have a place of
some authority, otherwise you
will be robbed and murdered
the first time you go half a mile
from home. Fifty people have
told me you have chests filled
with gold, and that you can
make gold, or bring what quan-
tity you please from the Indies ;
and the reason of all this is,
because you refused the queen
and Ozoro Esther's ofifer of gold
at Koscam, which you must
never do again.'

We went in and saw the old

man sitting upon a sofa; his
white hair was dressed in many
short curls. He appeared to be
thoughtful, but not displeased ;
his face was lean, his eyes quick
and vivid. He seemed to be
about six feet high, and his air
was perfectly free from con-
straint, what the French call
dSgagi. In face and person he
was liker my learned and worthy
friend, the Count de Buffon,
than any two men I ever saw
in the world. I offered, as usual,
to kiss the ground before him,
and of this he seemed to take
little notice, stretching out his
hand and shaking mine upon
my rising. He began gravely,

* Yagoube, I think that is your
name, hear what I say to you,
and mark what I recommend
to you. You are a man, I am
told, who make it your business
to wander in the fields in search
after trees and grass in solitary
places, and to sit up all night
alone looking at the stars of
the heavens. Other countries
are not like this, though this
was never so bad as it is now.
These wretches here are enemies
to strangers; if they saw you
alone in your own parlour, their
first thought would be how to
murder you ; though they knew
they were to get nothing by it,
they would murder you for mere
mischief.' * The devil is strong
in them,' says a voice from a
corner of the room, which ap-
peared to be that of a priest.

* Therefore,' says the Ras, * after
a long conversation with your
fiiend Aylo, whose advice I

BRUGES TRAVELS.

269

hear you happily take, as in-
deed we all do, I have thought
that situation best which leaves
you at liberty to follow your
own designs, at the same time
that it puts your person in
safety; that you will not be
troubled with monks about their
religious matters, or in danger
from these rascals that may
seek to murder you for money.'

' What are the monks V says
the same voice from the corner ;
< the monks will never meddle
with such a man as this.'
' Therefore the king,' continued
the Ras, without taking any
notice of the interruption, * has
appointed you BaalomaaV and
to command the Koccob horse,
which I thought to have given
to Francis, an old soldier of
mine ; but he is poor, and we
will provide for him better, for
these appointments have hon-
our, but little profit.'

' Sir,' says Francis, who was in
his presence, but behind, * it is
in much more honourable hands
than either mine or the Arme-
nian's, or any other white man's,
since the days of Hatze Menas,
and so I told the king to-day.'

' Very well, Francis,' says the
Ras ; * it becomes a soldier to
speak the truth, whether it
makes for or against himself.
Go then to the king, and kiss
the ground upon your appoint-
ment. Aylo and Heikel are
very proper persons to go with
you; and there, too, is Tecla
Mariam, the king's secretary,

1 Literally, keeper of the goods, or

effects.

who came with your appoint-
ment from the palace to-day.'

The man in the corner that I
took for a priest, was this Tecla
Mariam, a scribe.

I then gave him a present,
which he scarce looked at, as a
number of people were pressing
in at the door from curiosity or
business. I then paid a short
visit to Ozoro Esther, who over-
flowed with gratitude at all my
previous attentions. Returning
to the king's palace, I met Aylo
and Heikel at the door of the
presence-chamber. Tecla Ma-
riam walked before us to the
foot of the throne ; after which
I advanced and prostrated my-
self upon the ground. * I have
brought you a servant,' says he
to the king, * from so distant a
country, that if you ever let him
escape, we shall never be able
to follow him, or know where
to seek him.'

The king was in an alcove ^
the rest went out of sight from
where the throne was, and sat
down. The usual questions
now began about Jerusalem
and the holy places — where my
country was? — why I came so
far? — whether the moon and
the stars, but especially the
moon, was the same in my
country as in theirs? — and a
great many such idle and tire-
some questions. I had several
times offered to take my pre-
sent from the man who held it,
that I might offer it to his Ma-
jesty and go away ; but the
king always made a sign to put
it off, till, being tired to death

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with standing, I leaned against
the wall. I was absolutely in
despair, and scarcely able to
speak a word, inwardly mourn-
ing the hardness of my lot in
this my first preferment, and
sincerely praying it might be
my last promotion in this court.
At last all the Greeks began to
be impatient, and got out of the
corner of the room behind the
alcove, and stood immediately
before the throne. The king
seemed to be astonished at
seeing them, and told them he
thought they had all been at
home long ago. They said,
however, they would not go
without me, which the king
said could not be, for one
of the duties of my employ-
ment was to be charged with
the door of his bed-chamber that
night.

I think I could almost have
killed him in that instant. At
lastAytoHeikel, taking courage,
came forward to him, pretend-
ing a message from the queen,
and whispered him something
in the ear, probably that the
Ras would take it ill. He then
laughed, said he thought we had
supped, and dismissed us.

We went all to Anthul^'s
house to supper in violent rage,
such anger as is usual with
hungry men. We brought with
us from the palace three of my
brother Baalomaals, and one
who had stood to make up the
number, though he was not in
office ; his name was Guebra
Mascal ; he was a sister's son
of the RaS| and commanded

one-third of the troops of Tigr^,
which carried fire-arms, that is
about 2000 men. He was re-
puted the best officer of that
kind that the Ras had, and was
a man about thirty years ot
age, short, square, and well
made, with a very unpromising
countenance. He had the
greatest opinion of his own
knowledge in the use of fire-
arms, to which he did not
scruple to say Ras Michael
owed all his victories.

This man supped with us
that night, and thence began
one of the most serious affairs
I ever had in Abyssinia. Gue-
bra Mascal, as usual, vaunted
incessandy his skill in fire-arms,
the wonderful gun that he had,
and feats he had done with it.
Petros said, laughing, to him,

* You have a genius for shoot-
ing, but you have had no op-
portunity to learn. Now Ya-
goube is come, he will teach
you something worth talking of.'
They had all drunk abundantly,
and Guebra Mascal had uttered
words that I thought were ir
contempt of me. * I believe,'
replied I, peevishly enough,

* Guebra Mascal, I should sus-
pect, from your discourse, you
neither knew men nor guns;
every gun of mine, in the hands
of my servants, shall kill twice
as far as yours ; for my own it
is not worth my while to put a
ball in it. When I compare
with you, the end of a tallow-
candle in my gun shall do more
execution than an iron ball in
the best of yours, with all the

BRUGES TRAVELS,

211

skill and experience you pre-
tend to.'

He said I was a Frank, and
a liar ; and, upon my imme-
diately rising up, he gave me a
kick with his foot. I was quite
blind with passion, seized him
by the throat, and threw him
on the ground. He drew his
knife as he was falling, attempt-
ing to cut me in the face, but
his arm not being at freedom,
all he could do was to give me
a very trifling stab or wound
near the crown of the head, so
that the blood trickled down
over my face. I had tripped
him up, but till then had never
struck him. I now wrested
the knife from him with a full
intention to kill him. Instead
of the point I struck so vio-
lently with the handle upon his
face as to leave scars. An ad-
venture so new and so unex-
pected presently overcame the
effects of wine. It was too
late to disturb anybody either
in the palace, or at the house of
the Ras. A hundred opinions
were immediately started ; some
were for sending us up to the
king, as we were actually in
the precincts of the palace,
where lifting a hand is death.

At last I determined to go
home, and to bed in my own
house.

In the morning I asked Ayto
Aylo's opinion, when we pro-
ceeded to consult with Ozoro
Esther.

When we arrived we found
Ozoro Esther in a violent anger
and agitation, which was much

alleviated by my laughing. On
her asking me about my wound,
wWch had been represented to
her as dangerous, ' I am afraid,'
said I, * poor Guebra Mascal is
worse wounded than I.' * Is he
wounded too ? ' says she ; 'I
hope it is in his heart.' * In-
deed,' replied I, * Madam, there
are no wounds on either side.
He was very drunk, and I gave
him several blows upon the face
as he deserved, and he has
already got all the chastisement
he ought to have ; it was all a
piece of folly.' * Prodigious ! '
says she, Ms this sol' * It is
so,' says Aylo, * and you shall
hear it all by and by ; only let
us stop the propagation of this
foolish story.'

The Ras in the instant sent
for us. He was naked, sitting
on a stool, and a slave swathing
up his lame leg with a broad
belt or bandage. I asked him
calmly and pleasantly, if I could
be of any service to him ? He
looked at me with a grin, the
most ghastly I ever saw, as
half displeased. ' What,' says
he, 'are you all mad? Aylo,
what is the matter between him
and that miscreant Guebra
Mascair 'Why,' said I, 'I
am come to tell you that my-
self ; why do you ask Ayio
Aylo? Guebra Mascal got
drunk, was insolent, and struck
me. I was sober and beat him,
as you will see by his face ; and
I have not come to you to say
I am sorry that I lifted my
hand against your nephew ; but
he was in the wrong, and drunk,

w.. ^^

' " ■*

mm' «'

I i , >

212

TIfE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

and I thought it was better to
chastise him on the spot than
trust him to you, who perhaps
might take the affair to heart ;
for we all know your justice,
and that being your relation is
no excuse when you judge be-
tween man and man.' * I order
you, Aylo,' says Michael, ' as
you esteem my friendship, to
tell me the truth, really as it
was, and without disguise or
concealment.'

Aylo began accordingly to
relate the whole history, when
a servant called me out ito
Ozoro Esther.

The whole affair was thus
made up, and the king was
acquainted with the issue of it.
I stood in my place, where he
showed me very great marks
of favour ; he was grave, how-
ever, and sorrowful, as if mor-
tified with what had happened.
The king ordered me to stay
and dine at the palace, and he
would send me my dinner.

They all seemed to have
taken my cause to heart more
than I wished them to do, for
fear it should be productive of
some new quarrel. For my
own part I never was so de-
jected in my life. The trouble-
some prospect before me pre-
sented itself day and night. I
more than twenty times resolved
to return by Tigre, to which I
was more inclined by the loss
of a young man who accom-
panied me through Barbary,
and assisted me in the drawings
of architecture which I made
for the king there, part of which

he was still advancing here,
when a dysentery, which had
attacked him in Arabia Felix,
put an end to his life at
Gondar. .

From this constant frettinc
and despondency I found my
health much impaired, and I
was on the point of becoming
seriously ill. There was one
thing that contributed in some
measure to dissipate these mel-
ancholy thoughts, which was,
that all Gondar was in one scene
of festivity, on occasion of the
marriage -ceremony of Ozoro
Ayabdar, the Itegh^'s youngest
daughter, who was married to
P.owussen, governor of Begem-
der. The king gave her large
districts of land in that pro-
vince, and Ras Michael a large
.portion of gold, muskets, cattle,
and horses. All the town, that
wished to be well looked upon
by either party, brought some-
thing considerable as a present.
The Ras, Ozoro Esther, and
Ozoro Altash, entertained all
Gondar. A vast number of
cattle was slaughtered every
day, and the whole town looked
like one great market, the com-
mon people in every street ap-
pearing loaded with pieces of
raw beef, while drink circulated
in the same proportion. After
dinner we slipt away to parties
of -ladies, where anarchy pre-
vailed as completely as at *he
house of the Ras. AH the mar-
ried women ate, drank, .-rid
smoked like the men ; aiid it
is impossible to convey to the
reader any idea of this baccha-

BRUCE'S TRAVELS.

213

nalian scene in terms of com-
mon decency.

Although the king's favour,
the protection of the Ras, and
my obliging, attentive, and lowly
behaviour to everybody, had
made me as popular as I could
wish at Gondar, and among the
Tigrans fully as much as those
of Amhara, yet it was easy to
perceive that the cause of my
quarrel with Guebra Mascal was
not yet forgotten.

One day, when I was stand-
ing by the king in the palace, he
asked, in discourse, ' Whether I,
too, was not drunk in the quar-
rel with Guebra Mascal, before
we came to blows V and upon
ray saying that I was perfectly
sober, both before and after,
because Anthule's red wine was
finished, and I never willingly
drank hydromel, or mead, he
asked, with a degree of keen-
ness, * Did you then soberly
say to Guebra Mascal, that an
end of a tallow-candle, in a gun
in your hand, would do more
execution than an iron bullet
in his ]'

' Certainly, sir, I did so.*

* And why did you say this V
says the king, dryly enough, and
in a manner I had not before
observed.

' Because,* replied I, * it was
truth ; and a proper reproof to
a vain man, who, whatever emi-
nence he might have obtained
in a country like this, has not
knowledge enough to entitle
him to the trust of cleaning a
gun in mine.*

*0, ho !' continued the king ;

* as for his knowledge, I am not
speaking of that, but about his
gun. You will not persuade me,
that, with a tallow-candle, you
can kill a man or a horse V

* Pardon me, sir,' said I, bow-
ing very respectfully ; * I will
attempt to persuade you of no-
thing but what you please to be
convinced of. Will piercing the
table, upon which your dinner
is served (it was of sycamore,
about three quarters of an inch
thick), at the length of this
room, be deemed a sufficient
proof of what I advance ?'

' Ah ! Yagoube, Yagoube,'
says the king, * take care what
you say.'

Ayto Engedan, who was then
present, said, * I am sure if
Yagoube says he can do it, he
will do it ; but how, I don't
know. Can you shoot through
my shield* with a tallow-
candled

* To you, Ayto Engedan,' said
I,. * I can speak freely. I could
shoot through your shield if it
was the strongest in the army,
and kill the strongest man in
the army that held it before
him. When witt you see this
tried V

* Why, now,' says the king ;.
* there is nobody here.*

* The sooner the better,' said
I. * I would not wish to re-
main for a moment longer under
so disagreeable an imputation
as that of lying, an infamous
one in my country, whatever it
may be in this. Let me send
for my gun ; the king will look
out at the window. Nobody^

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says he, * knows anything of it ;

The king appeared to be very
anxious, and, 1 saw plainly, in-
crochtlous. The gun was brought,
I'.ngcdan's slueld was produced,
wliich was of a strong buffah)'s
hide. I said to him, • Tins
is a weak one ; give nie one
stronger.'

He shook his head, and
said, • Ah, Vagoube, you'll find
it strong enough ; Kngedan's
shield is known to be no toy.'

Tocla Mariam brought such a
shield, and the Billetana Ciueta
Tecla another, both of which
were most excellent in their
kind. I loaded the gun before
llicnt, first Htth powder, then
upon it slid down one-half of
what we call a farthing candle ;
and, having beat off the handles
e( three shields, I put them
close in contact with each other,
and set them all three against a
post.

' Now, Engedan,' said I,
* when you please, say — Fire 1
but mind youihave taken leave
of your good shield for ever.'

The word was given and the
gun fired. It struck the three
shields, neither in the most
difiuult nor the easiest part for
perforation, something less than
l\alf-way between the rim and
the boss. The candle went
through the three shields with
such violence, that it dashed
itself to a thousand pieces
against a stone wall behind it.
I turned to Engedan, saying
very lowly, gravely, and with-
out exultation or triumph, on

the contrary with absolute in-
ilitTerence, ' Did not I tell you
your shield was naught V

A great shout of apptauiic
followed from about a thousand
people that were gathered toge-
ther. The three shields were
carried to the king, who ex-
claimed in great tran^port, • I
did not believe it before I saw
it, and 1 can scarce believe it
now I have seen it I'

* Avto Isngcdan,' said I, * wc
must have a touch at that table.
It was said the piercing that,
was more than Guebra Mascal
could do. We have one-half o(
the candle left still ; it is the
thinnest, weakest half, and I
shall put the wick foremost,
because the cotton is .softest.'

The table being now properly
l)laced, to Engcdan's utmost
astonishment, the candle, with
the wick foremost, went through
the table, as the other had gone
through the three shields.

• By St. Michael I' says Enge-
dan, ' Yagoube, hereafter say to
me you can raise my father
Eshte from the grave, and I
will believe you.'

Some priests who were there,
though surprised at first, seemed
afterwards to treat it rather
lightly, because they thought it
below their dignity to be sur-
prised at anything. They said
It was done by writing (muck-
toub), by which they meant
magic. Everybody embraced
that opinion, as an evident and
rational one, and so the wonder
with them ceased. But it was
not so with the king : it made

BRUGES TRAVELS.

«»S

the most favourable and lasting
impression upon his mind ; nor
(lid 1 ever after see, in his coun-
tenance, any marks either of
doubt or diffidence, but always,
on the contrary, the most deci-
sive proofs of friendship, confi-
dence, and attention, and the
most implicit belief of everv-
thing I advanced upor any sub-
ject from my own knowledge.

The experiment was twice
tried afterwards in presence of
Ras Michael ; but he wouUl not
risk his good shields, and al-
ways produced the table, saying,
• Engedan and these foolish
boys were rightly served ; they
tliought Yagoube was a liar like
tlieniselves, and they lost their
shields; but I believed him,
and gave him my table for
curiosity only, and so I saved
mine.'

CHAPTER IX.

Division of AliysnItUft— Manners nnd Cuu-
toms of the InhaMtantH.

At Massuah, on the coast of
the Red Sea, begins an imagi-
nary division of Abyssinia into
two, which is rather a division
of language than strictly to be
understood as territorial. The
first division is called Tigrd, be-
tween the Red Sea and the river
Tacazz^. Between that river
and the Nile, westward where
it bounds the Galla, it is called
Amhara. But whatever con-
venience there may be from this
division, there is neither geo-
graphical nor historical pre-

cision in it, for there are many
little provinces included in the
first tiiat do not belong to Tigrd ;
and, in the second division, or
Amliara, that which gives the
name is but a very small part of
it.

Massuah, in ancient times,
was one of the principal places
of residence of the Bahama-
gash, who, when he was not
there himself, constantly left
his deputy or lieutenant. Jn
summer, he resided for several
months in the island of Daha-
lac, then accounted part of his
territory. He was, after the
King and Betwudet, the person
of the greatest consideration in
the kingdom, and was invested
with sendic and negareet^ the
kettle-drum and colours, marks
of supreme command.

Tigrd is the next province of
Abyssinia, as well for greatness
as riches, power and dignity^
and nearest Massuah. It is
bounded by the territory of the
Baharnagash, that is, by the
river Mareb on the east, and
the Tacazzd upon the west. It
is about one hundred and twen-
ty miles broad from e. to w.
and two hundred from n. to s.
This is its present situation.
The hand of usurping power
has abolished all distinctions
on the west side of the Tacazzd ;
besides many large govern-
ments, such as Enderta and
Antalow, and great part of the
Baharnagash, were swallowed
up in this province to the east.
What, in a special manner
makes the riches of Tigr^, is,

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2l6

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

that it lies nearest the market,
which is Arabia ; and all the
merchandise destined to cross
the Red Sea must pass through
this province ; so that the go-
vernor has the choice of all
commodities wherewith to make
his market. The strongest
male, the most beautiful female
slave, the purest gold, the largest
teeth of ivory, all must pass
through his hands. Fire-arms,
moreover, which for many years
have decided who is the most
powerful in Abyssinia, all these
come from Arabia, and not one
can be purchased without his
knowing to whom it goes, and
after his having had the first
refusal of it.

Sird, a province about twenty-
five miles broad, and not much
more in length, is reckoned as
part of Tigrd also ; but this is
not a new usurpation. It lost
the rank of a province, and was
united to Tigrd for the misbe-
haviour of its governor Kas-
mati Claudius, in an expedition
against the Shangalla, in the
reign of Yasous the Great.

After passing the Tacazzd,
the boundary between Sirtf and
Samen, we come to that moun-
tainous province called by the
last name. A large chain of
rugged mountains, where is the
Jew's Rock, reaches from the
south of Tigr^ down near to
Waldubba, the low hot country
that bounds Abyssinia on the
north.

On the N.E. of Tigr^ lies the
province of Begemder. It bor-
ders upon Angot, whose gover-

nor is called Angot Ras; but
the whole province now, ex-
cepting a few villages, is con-
quered by the Galla. It has
Amhara, which runs parallel to
it, on the south, and is separ-
ated from it by the river Bas-
hilo. Both these provinces are
bounded by the river Nile on
the west. Begemder is about
1 80 miles in its greatest length,
and 60 in breadth, comprehend-
ing Lasta, a mountainous pro-
vince, sometimes depending on
Begemder, but often in rebel-
lion.

Begemder is the strength of
Abyssinia in horsemen. It is
said, that, with Lasta, it can
bring out 45,000 men ; but this,
as far as could be properly
discovered, is a great exaggera-
tion. They are exceedingly
good soldiers when they are
pleased with their general, and
the cause for which they fight :
otherwise, they are easily
divided, a great n ^ny private
interests being contmually kept
alive, as it is thought industri-
ously, by government itself. It
is well stocked with cattle of
every kind, all very beautiful.
The mountains are full of iron
mines; they are not so steep
and rocky, nor so frequent, as
in other provinces, if we except
only Lasta, and abound in all
sorts of wild-fowl and game.

Amhara is the next province,
between the two rivers Bashilo
and Geshen. The length of
this country from E. to w. is
about 1 20 miles, and its breadth
something more than 40. It is

BRUGES TRAVELS,

2^^

a very mountainous country,
full of nobility ; the men are
reckoned the handsomest in
Abyssinia, as well as the
bravest.

Between the two rivers Ge-
shen and Samba is a low, un-
wholesome, though fertile pro-
vince, called VValaka ; and south-
ward of that is Upper Shoa.
This province, ot kingdomy was
famous for the retreat it gave to
the only remaining prince of the
house of Solomon, who fled from
the massacre of his brethren by
Judith, about the year 900, upon
the rock of Damo. Here the
royal family remained in secu-
rity, and increased in number,
for nearly 400 years, till they
were restored.

Gojam, from north-east to
south-east, is about 80 miles in
length and 40 in breadth. It
is a very flat country, and all in
pasture; has few mountains,
but these are very high ones,
and are chiefly on the banks of
the Nile, to the south, which
river surrounds the province.

On the south-east of the king-
dom of Gojam, is Damot. It is
bounded by the Temci on the
east, by the Gult on the west,
by the Nile on the south, and
by the high mountains of Amid-
Amid on the north. It is about
forty miles in length from north
to south, and something more
than twenty in breadth from
east to west.

On the other side of Amid-
Amid is the province of Agows,
bounded by those mountains
on the east ; by Bur^ and Um-

barma, and the country of ^^J
Gongas, on the > est; by Davgw
and Gafat upon he south, mi%
Dingleber on the north.

South from Dembea is Kuara,
a very mountainous province
confining upon the Pagan
blacks, or Shangalla, called
Gongas and Guba, the Macrobi
of the ancients. It is a very
unwholesome province, bu t
abounding in gold, not of its
own produce, but that of its
neighbourhood, thes Pagans —
Guba, Nuba, and Shangalla.

Nara, and Ras el Feel,
Tehelga, and on to Tcherkin,
is a frontier wholly inhabited
by Mahometans. Its govern-
ment is generally given to a
stranger, often to a Mahometan ;
but one of that faith is always
deputy-governor. The use of
keeping troops here is to de-
fend the friendly Arabs and
Shepherds who remain in their
allegiance to Abyssinia, from
the resentment of the Arabs of
Sennaar, their neighbours ; and,
by means of these friendly
Arabs and Shepherds, secure a
constant supply of horses for
the king's troops. It is a bar-
ren stripe of a very hot un-
wholesome country, full of thick
woods, and fit only for hunting.
The inhabitants, fugitives from
all nations, are chiefly Maho-
metans, but very bold and
expert horsemen, using no
other weapon but the broad
sword, with which they attack
the elephants and rhinoceros.
There are many other small
provinces which occasionally

2l8

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

are annexed, and sometimes are
separated.

The crown of Abyssinia is
hereditary, and has always been
so in one particular family,
supposed to be that of Solomon
by the Queen of Sheba, Nagasta
Azab, or queen of the south.
It is nevertheless elective in
this line ; and there is no law
of the land, nor custom, which
gives the eldest son an exclu>
sive title to succeed to his
father. The practice has, in-
deed, been quite the contrary.
When, at the death of a king,
his sons are old enough to
govern, and, by some accident,
not yet sent prisoners to the
mountain, then the eldest, or
he that is next, and not con-
fined, generally takes possession
of the throne by the strength of
his father's friends ; but if no
heir is then in the low country,
the choice of a king is always
according to the will of the
minister, which passes for that
of the people ; and his inclina-
tion and interest being to
govern, he never fails to choose
an infant, whom he afterwards
directs, ruling the kingdom ab-
solutely during the minority,
which generally exhausts, or is
equal to the term of his life.

From this flow all the misfor-
tunes of this unhappy country.
This very defect arises from a
desire to institute a more than
ordinary perfect form of govern-
ment, for the Abyssinians' first
position was, *Woe be to the
kingdom whose king is a child ;'
and this they know must often

happen when succession is left
to the course of nature. But
when there was a choice to be
made out of two hundred per-
sons, all of the same family, all
capable of reigning, it was their
own fault, they thought, if they
had not always a prince of
proper age and qualifications to
rule the kingdom, according to
the necessities of the times, and
to preserve the succession of
the family in the house of Solo-
mon, agreeable to the laws of
the land ; but this mode of rea-
soning, experience has proved
fallacious.

The king is anointed with
plain oil of olives, which, being
poured upon the crown of the
head, he rubs it into his long
hair indecently enough with
both his hands, pretty much as
his soldiers do with the'rs when
they get access to plenty of
butter.

The crown is made in the
shape of a priest's mitre, or
head-piece; it is a kind of
helmet covering the king's fore-
head, cheeks, and neck. It is
lined with blue taffety : the out-
side is half gold and half silver, of
the most beautiful filigree work.
The king goes to church regu-
larly, his guards taking posses-
sion of every avenue and door
through which he is to pass;
and nobody is allowed to enter
with him, because he is then on
foot, excepting two officers of
his bed-chamber, who support
him.

He kisses the threshold and
sideposts of the church-door,

BRUGES TRAVELS.

319

the steps before the altar, and
then returns home : sometimes
there is service in the cli arch,
sometimes there is not ; 1 ut he
lakes no notice of the difference.
He rides up-stairs into the
presence-chamber on a mule,
and lights immediately on the
carpet before his throne ; and
we have sometimes set 1 great
indecencies committed by the
said mule in the presence-
chamber, upon a Persian carpet.

The Serach Massery, an
officer so called, with a long
whip, begins cracking and
making a noise, worse than
twenty French postilions, at
the door of the palace before
the dawn of day. This chases
away the hyaena and other wild
beasts; this, too, is the signal
for the king's rising, who sits in
judgment every morning fasting,
and, after that, about eight
o'clock, he goes to breakfast.

There are six noblemen of
the king's own choosing, who
are called Baalomaal, or gentle-
men of his bed-chamber; four
of these are always with him.
There is a seventh, who is the
chief of these, called Azeleffa el
Camisha, groom of the robe or
stole. He is keeper of the
king's wardrobe, and the first
officer of the bed-chamber.
These officers, the black slaves,
and some others, serve him as
menial servants, and are in a
degree of familiarity with him
unknown to the rest of the
subjects.

^Vhen the king sits to con-
sult upon civil matters of con-

sequence, he is shut up in u
kind of box opposite to the
head of the council-table. The
persons that deliberate sit at
the table ; and according to
their rank, give their voices, the
youngest or lowest officer al-
ways speaking first. The first
that give their votes are the
Shalaka, or colonels of the
household troops. The second
are the great butlers, men that
have the charge of the king's
drink. The third is the Badje-
rund, or keeper of that apart-
ment in the palace called the
iion^s house; and after these the
keeper of the banqueting-house.
The next is called Lika Mag-
wass, an officer that always goes
before the king to hinder the
pressure of the crowd. In war
when the king is marching,
he rides constantly round him
at a certain distance, and car-
ries his shield and his lance ;
at least he carries a silver shield,
and a lance pointed with the
same metal, before such kings
as do not choose to expose
their persons. No prince ever
lost his life in battle till the
coming of the Europeans into
Abyssinia, when both the ex-
communicating and murdering
of their sovereigns seems to
have been introduced at the
same time. After the Lika
Magwass comes thePalambaras;
after him the Fit-Auraris ; then
the Gera Kasmati, and the
Kanya Kasmati, their names
being derived from their rank
or order in encamping, the one
on the right, the other on the

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lrl> of ihc kings tent : Knnya
rtiul (Jci'.i signilying fhf f(ii^f,
l^m\ th^ kO : rtlkr thoiw the
iMkakiu Uillctrtna (Suctrt, or
Ihc undcvH h;u«l>erl{\in ; then
the scciTtnry lor (he king's roni-
nii\nvis ; rtl\or \\\\\\ the ri^ht rttul
loll A/.jigcs, or gcncmls ; aOor
thcnt Rak Mrtsscvy ; JiUcr him
the Urtshrt ; alVcr him Kjivsnirtti
ot Damot, then of S;unon. then
An^h.im, and last of all, TigitS
bcloro whom stands a golden
r\i|> upon a cushion, and he is
I ailed Nehvit, as being Gover-
nor of Axum, or keeper of the
book of th(» law supposes! to l>e
there. After the Governor of
Ttgrt^ comes the Aealv Suat, or
guardian of the fne, and the
< hief ecclesiastical oHtnev of the
king's househv>ld. Some have
said tliAt this otUcer was ap-
pointed to attend the king at
the time of eating, at\d thai i*
was his i>rovince to order both
meat and drink to be withdrawn
whei\c\Tr he s;\\v the kiitg ii^
dined to excess.

After the Acab Saat comes
the firet master of the housc-
lu>ld ; then the Hctwudet, or
Kas ; last of all the king gives
his sentence, which is final, and
sct\ds it to the table, from the
balcony wheiT he is then sit-
ting, by the otHce» KaMlatixS

\Ve meet in Abyssinia with
various usages, which many
have hitherto thought to be
peculiar to those aiKieiit nations
\\\ which they were fust ob-
served; others, not in) learned,
ha\^ thought they originated
in Abyssinia, We shall first

takes notice of those that iv
ganl the king and court.

'I'he kings of IVvsia, like those
we are speaking of, w^ere eligihlo
in one lamily only, that ol the
Arsacidse, and it was not till ih;it
race failetl they chose Darius,
'I'he title of the King of Al>vs
sitiia is, AV/<c <^f kht^\^s ; \\\\\
such Daniel tells us was ih.n
of Nebuchadne/./.ar. The i it;hi
of primogenittne iiocs nut so
prevail in Abyssinia as to c\.
chule election in the person ol*
the younger brt)ihers : and this
was likewise the case in I'crsi;!.
In Persia a prefereticc was
understood to be due to the
king's lawful t hildreti ; but thno
were instances of the natural
chiKl being preferred to the
lawful one. Darius, though a
bastard, w»as preferred to lsogi\is,
Xerxes' lawful son, and thai
merelv bv the election of the
people. The same has always
obtained in Abyssinia. A very
great part of their kitigs arc
adulterous bastards, others arc
the issue of concubines ; hut
they have been preferred to the
crown^ by the mfluei\oe of a
party, always ui\ilcr the name of
the Voice of the People.

Though the Persiati kiugr
had various paUn^es to whuii
they removed at different times
in the year, Pasagartla, the \\\^-
tr€)polis of their ancient kin^s,
was observed as the only i>laco
for their coronation ; and this,
too» was the case of Abyssiuia,
with their metropolis of Axuin.

The next remarkable core-
monyin whicluhesc two nations

nNUCE's TRAvr.rs,

aai

iiLTccd, IH ihttt ol ndorntion, ii\-
violnbly ol>Ncivc(l in AbyHHiniii
to ihJN tlay, HH ollcii as you
ontci the HOVcrcign'N prcRcnrr.
This is not only kneeling, but
;,n nbsoUitc prostrnlion. You
liisl liill upon your kneeH, then
u|H»n ll«e HfiiniM of your hundw,
I hen inrbnc your head and
Ixuly till your lorrhcjul touch
the earth ; and, in ease you
iiavc an answer to expert, you
lie in that posture till the ku%
or souiebody bom him, de-
sires you to rise. This, too,
\v;is tl^c eustoni ol I Vrsia ; Arian
says this was lust iuslituled by
Cyrus, and this was precisely
the posture in whieh they
;nl()ied (Jod, mentioned in the
|{o(»k ol" Kxodus.

It is the ronstant prartiee in
Abyssinia to beset the king's
cUhhs and windows within his
hearing, at\d there, IVonj early
morning to night, to cry for
jiistitc as lout! as p»)ssible in a
distrcsseil and complaining
tone, and in all the dilVerent
liiaguages they arc masters of,
in order to their being adnutleil
10 have their supposed griev-
;inces heard. In a country so
illgoverned as Abyssinia is,
ami so perpetually involved in
war, it may be easily supposed
there is no want of people who
have real injuries and violence
to con)plain of ; but if it were
not so, this is so much the con-
stant usage, that when it hap-
pens (as in the midst of the
rainy season) that few people
can approach the capital or
stand without in such bad

weather, a net of vngrnntu arc
provided, maintained, and paid,
whose sole business is to cry
and lament, as if they had been
really very nmch injured and
oppressed ; and this, they tell
you, is for the king's honour,
that he may not be lonely, by
the palace being too tpiiet.
This, of all their absurd cus-
toms, was the most grievous an<l
troublesome in tlie eyes ol
a Btrat»ger. .Sometimes while
busy in n>y room in the rainy
season, there would be four or
five hundred peoiile, who all at
once wouhl begin, some roaring
and crying, as if they were in
pain, others demanding justice,
as if they were that nioment
sulfering, or if in the instant to
be put to death ; and some
groaning and sobbing as if just
expiring ; and this horrid sym-
phony was 80 artfully performed,
that no ear could distinguish
but that it proceeded from real
distress. JJeing often so sur-
prised as to send the soldiers
at th.e dooi' to bring in one
of them, thinking him come
from the country, to examine
who had injured him ; many a
time he was a servant of my
own, or some other etjually
known ; or, if he was a stranger,
upon asking him what misfor-
tune had befallen him, he would
answer very composedly, * No-
thing was the matter with him ;
that he had been sleeping all
day with the horses ; that hear-
ing from the soldiers at the
door that I had retired to
my apartment, he and his

■H : .'

'||

».' 1

f !'i

222

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

'. i ■ i

companions had come to cry
and make a noise under my
window, to do me honour be-
fore the people, for fear I
should be melancholy, by being
too quiet when alone ; and
therefore hoped that I would
order them drink, that they
might continue with a little
more spirit.' The violent anger
which this often put me into did
not fail to be punctually re-
ported to the king, at which he
would laugh heartily; and he
himself was often hid, not far
off, for the sake of being a
spectator of his heavy displea-
sure. These complaints, whe-
ther real or feigned, have always
for their burden, Rete O Jan
hot\ which, repeated quick,
ery much resembles Prete
Janni, the name that was given
to this prince, of which we never
yet knew the derivation ; its
signification is, * Do me justice,

my king ! '

Xerxes being about to declare
war against the Greeks, as-
sembled all the principal chiefs
of Asia in council. * That I may
not,' says he, * be thought to
act only by my own judgment,

1 have called you together. At
the same time I think proper to
intimate to you, that it is your
duty to obey my will, rather
than enter into any deliberation
or remonstrances of your own.'

We will now compare some
particulars : the dress and or-
naments of the two kings. The
king of Abyssinia wears his
hair long ; so did the ancient
kings of Persia. A comet had

appeared in the war with Per-
sia, and was looked upon by
the Romans as a bad omen.
Vespasian laughed at it ; and
said, if it portended any ill, it
was to the king of Persia, be-
cause like him it wore lontr
hair.

The diadem was, with the
Persians, a mark of royalty as
with the Abyssinians, being
composed of the same materials
and worn in the same manner.
The king of Abyssinia wears
it while marching, as a mark of
sovereignty, that does not im-
pede or incommode him, as any
other heavier ornament would
do, especially in hot weather.
This fillet surrounds his head
above the hair, leaving the
crown perfectly uncovered. It
is an offence of the first
magnitude for any person, at
this time, to wear anything upon
his head,especially white, unless
for Mahommetans, who wear
caps, and over them a large
white turban ; or for priests,
who wear large turbans of mus-
lin also. This was the diadem
of the Persians, as appears from
Lucian, who calls it a white
fillet about the forehead. The
kings of Abyssinia anciently
sal upon a gold throne, which
is a large, convenient, oblong,
square seat, like a small bed-
stead, covered with Persian
carpets, damask, and cloth of
gold, with steps leading up to
it. It is still richly gilded ; but
the many revolutions and wars
have much abridged their
ancient magnificence. It is, in

BRUGES TRAVELS,

223

Abyssinia, high treason to sit
upon any seat of the king's;
and he that presumed to do
this would be instantly hewn to
pieces, if there was not some
other collateral proof of his
being a madman.

It is probable that Alexander
had heard of this law in Persia,
and disapproved of it ; for one
day, it being extremely cold,
the king sitting in his chair,
before the fire, saw a soldier,
probably a Persian, who had
lost his feeling by extreme
numbness. The king immedi-
ately leaped from his chair, and
ordered the soldier to be set
down upon it. The fire soon
brought him to his senses, but
he had almost lost them again
with fear, by finding himself in
the king's seat. To whom Alex-
ander said, * Remember, and
distinguish, how much more ad-
vantageous to man my govern-
ment is, than that of the kings
of Persia. By sitting down on
my seat, you have saved your
life; by sitting on theirs, you
would infallibly have lost it.'

In Abyssinia it is considered
as a fundamental law of the
land, that none of the royal
family, who has any deformity
or bodily defect, shall be al-
lowed to succeed to the crown ;
and, for this purpose, any of the
princes, who may have escaped
from the mountain of Wechn^,
and who are afterwards taken,
are mutilated in some of their
members, that thus they may
be disqualified from ever suc-
ceeding. In Persia the same

was observed. Procopius tells
us, that Zames, the son of Ca-
bades, was excluded from the
throne because he was blind of
one eye ; the law of Persia pro-
hibiting any person that had a
bodily defect to be elected king.

The kings of Abyssinia were
seldom seen by the people.
This absurd usage gave rise to
many abuses. In Persia it pro-
duced two officers, who were
called the king's eyes, and the
king's ears. In Abyssinia it
created an officer called the
king's mouth, or voice ; for be-
ing seen by nobody, he spoke
of course in the third person,
Hear what the king says to yotiy
which is the usual form of all
regal mandates in Abyssinia,
and what follows has the force
of law.

Solemn hunting-matches were
always in use both with the
kings of Abyssinia and those
of Persia. In »both kingdoms
it was a crime for a subject to
strike the game till such time
as the king had thrown his lance
at it. This absurd custom was
repealed by Artaxerxes Longi-
manus in one kingdom, and by
Yasous the Great in the other,
so late as the beginning of the
last century.

The kings of Abyssinia are
above all laws. They are su-
preme in all causes, ecclesiasti-
cal and civil : the land and per-
sons of their subjects are equally
their property, and every inhabi-
tant of their kingdom is born
their slave ; if he bears a higher
rank it is by the king's gift;

It "y^

^i\

nrn F.^arrsn nxrroh'n.KS.

nm\ ■

t \ i\

\ I

for hi« i^erttTRi rclrt lions ai-c ac-
rv>unlcd imtlunji; bcUoi. The
sAmc olUrtinctI in IVrsia.

Thciv arc scvcJiU kinils of
biT.ul in Abyssinirt, sotnc of
ililVcionl j^oits oi tolV, juul Hon^c
ol totiillo, which also vary in
i(Urtlily. The king ol" Abys-
sinia crtts of wheal bicul,
ihongh nol of every wheal, InU
of ihat only tluil gmws in lUc
province of Detnhea, iheiTfore
tailed ihc king's foovl. 1 1 al
ways has been, and still is, ihe
cnslonv of the kings of Abys-
sinia, to nuirry what i\ntnber of
wives they chov)se ; that iIuhic
were iK>t thereline all <jneen« ;
but that anu)ng (hen\ there was
ot\e who was consivlcred |Mrli-
cnlarly as qneen, atui npou her
head was placed the cix)wn ;
and she was callevl Iteglu^.
Thus, in Persia, we read ihat
Ahasuerns loved Ivsther, who
had toniul grace in Itis sight
more than the other virgins,
ai\d he had placcvl a goUlen
ci\>wn upon her head. Ami
lv>scohus intVmns us, that when
l\sther was brought before the
king, he was excecdiiig.lv de
lighted with her, and uuulc her
his lawful wile, atul when she
catne into the nalacc he put a
c»x>wn upot\ her liead. NVhelher
placit^g the cix)wn upon the
queen's b.eail had any civil
etVoct as to regeiu'v in Per-
sia, as it had in Abyssinia, is
what history docs not itUorni
us.

The king of Abyssit\ia tiever
is seen to walk, m>r to set his
foot upon the grounvl, out of his

palace ; atul when he wouhl dis.
tnount lron» the horse <>r nuih'
on which he rides, he has a sor
vant with a stool, wlu) nlacrs n
properly for him for tnat \\\\\.
pose. He ritle« itito the atuc
chamber to the fv)ot t)f ih,<
throne^ or to the stool pl,\nil
in the alcove of IWs lent. IK-
very oIUmi judges capital ciimcs
hiniself. Nt) n»an W lUuuleuuKd
by the king in oorstMi tt) die
fv>r the first (ault, unless thp
crinie be of a hornd natuio,
s\tch as parricide «or saciilogc.
Atul, In general, the life .uul
nierits of the prisoner mo
weighed against his innuediatc
guilt ; Ko that if his hrst bcliavi
our has had more nierit lowanls
the slate than his presewt tiolm
quenc\y is tho\ighl to have in
jurcd it, the one is placetl laiilv
against the other, and the ac-
cused is generally absoivoil
when the sovereign jiulgos
alotie. Darius had condcinnod
Sandoccs, one of the kings
judges, to be crucilied lor cor-
ruption, thai is. for haviiig givni
false judgment for a bribe. The
inan was already hung up on
the cross, when the king, ym-
sidering with himself how ujany
good services he had done, pre-
vious to this, the otdy olloncc
which he had d^mnntlcil. or-
dered him to be pardiinevl.

'i'he Pcrsiati king, \\\ all expe-
ditions, was alleniled by judges,
We lind in Herodotus, ilial mi
the cxpctlition of Cambyscs, ten
of the principal Egyi)tian8 were
condenmed to die by these
juvlges for every Persian lliai

JiNUClCS TKAVHrs.

••5

ol MiMnpliis. iSix judges nl
^vaysnUoiulcd the king ol Ahya
sinirt, to tlio r.'imp, nnd, lu'loiv
thorn, whvh tnkon <)n (he firhl
;ur tried aiul itunishcd on \\\v
sjiot. Pcoplo innl the king di«-
tin^^iiiRhrd hy favoui, or for iinv
jMiMie ntlion, were in bolli
kiiig(lon<s ))r(\sctitcd \\\\\\ gold
chnins, Rwords, antl IhhixmcIh.
Tltcsr, in Abywsinin, nic under
^\0(yy\ to l>e elnelly tcwimls ol
inilil.ny Rcrviee ; yet Poncct re
ccivetl fi gold ehnin from YrtHoua
the (liCiU. The day Ijelbie the
li.illle of SeihraxoR, Ayton l'',n-
gO(l;u» leicived fl silver bridle
and siuldle, covered with nilver
|tl;Ues, frotn Rna Mielmcl.

In AhyHsinia, when a prisoner
is eoniletnncd in rnpital ensea,
he is not ngfiin remitted to
irison, whleh ih thought erticl.
ml he is immediMtcly auried
awiiy niul the Rei\ten(:e executed
upon him. Altim Salam.i, the
Aeah Siiat, wuh eondenmcd by
the king the morning lie entered
('•(Mular, on his return from
Tigie, and innnediately hfinged,
ill the garment ol";i priest, on ii
tree at the door of the kingH
paliiec. Chrenuition, brother
to the usurper Socinios, was
executed that same morning ;
(luchra Denghcl, Ras Michacrs
soivin-law, was likewise execut-
ed that same day, immediately
after judgment ; and so were
several others. The same was
the practice in Persia, as we
learn from Xcnophon, and more
plainly from Diodorus.

The capital punishment in

Abyssinia iw the c-ross. .Soclnion
fust ordered Ar/o, his compc-
tiloi, who \un\ lied fc»r assistance
and refuge to I'hineas, king Ot
the I'alaRha, to bo crurilied
without the camp. We fmd the
Rame puniHluuent inllicted by
AhaRUeruR upon Hainan, who
was ordered to be aifixed to
(he cross till he died.

The next ( apital punishmetit
is Haying alive. That this bar-
barous execution still prevails
in Abyssinia, is proved by the
fate of the unlortunatc Woo-
sheka, taken prisoner in the
cani|)aign in i7fH;, while 1
waR Htill in Abyssinia a Bacri-
fice made to the vengeance of
the beautiful ()/oro Ksther, who,
kind and humane as she was in
other respe("ts, could receive no
atonement for the death of her
huKband.

Lapidation, or stoning to
death, is the next ia|iilal punish-
ment in Abyssinia. This is
chiefly indicted upon strangers
cfilled l''rankR, for religious
causes. 'J'he Catholic priests
in Abyssinia tluit have been de-
te( te(l there in these latter days,
have been stoned to death, and
their bodies lie still in the streets
of (londar in siiuares of waste
places, covered with the heaps
of stones wlii( h occasioned their
death by being thrown at them.
'I'here arc three of these hea])8
at the church of Abbo, all cover-
ing I'Vanciscan friara ; and, be-
sides them, a small i)yramid
over a body who was stoned to
death with them, about the first
year of the reign of David iv.

*■ ii

k *

lie

7HE r:Xi;/JsH /ixriOA\/':AS.

; i

\\\ 1Vtsi;i, wo C\\\y\ \hM t\Mgn-

«tot\oil 1«> (liMth by onlov t^ltho
kinji ; i\\\A [\\v ^Aww iwnUov sivys,
th:\l ri\;nn;<ryrtR, 1)110 «f the
!\u\viUm\Mh ol Novxes, was sloticd
lo do.'Uh liVewiso.

Among r;\pi!:il ininishnioniR
\\\t\\ bo voolvoiioil likowiso iho
plwokinu, oin ot the o\os,
n nuchy whioli I \vm\ but
too often seen ronnnitted \\\
the sborl stay nia^le in Al^ya-
pinia. ThiR is generally in-
flietoil npon MvIr. Al\er the
slinightev ot the battle of V''a-
gitta, twelve ehiet's ot the Pagan
iialla, take!\ pvisoneis by K;ts
Miehael. hail their eyes torn
out, nwA wei"e allerwards aban
dotUHl to starve in the \ alleys
below the town. Several \m-
soners ot a\u>ther rank, noble
men ot" Tigri.^ nndeiwent the
same misfortune ; a\ul what is
wonvlerful, not one of them »lied
in the operation, nor its eonse
ouenoes, though perf.MnuHl in
tne coarsest manner^ with at\
ii\u\ fotvc]>s, or i>\iteers.

The (lead bodies of critnii^als
slain for iiwason, munler, aiivl
violence on the highway, at
certain times, aw seldom buried
it\ AbNT^sinia. The streets oi'
CnMularwere strewed with pieces
of their catxrases, which bting
the wild beasts in multitudes
into the city as soon as it be
comes dark, so that it is scaixely
sate for any one to walk in the
night The dogs usevl to Ining
pieces of humatv bodies into the
wry house ai\d court-yaixl, to
eat U\cm in greater security.

NotwilhsiMuding the Ahyssi-
tn;\ns wore so ancionily atul
no;t>ly c«Mmor1otl with l'',g\pt,
they never roimu to have ninilc
tiso of oapor, or papyr\is, Imh
imi(;\tod the praiiiio o( (lu>
TorsiMns, who wrote upon skins ;
and they do so lo this ilnv.
Tins Mrisos from their h;uino
early been )<'\ns. In Paiihiu,
likewise, Pliny inlbrnis tis, th^
use of papynis was absuhui'ly
imknowtt ; nuil thotigh it was
tliseovered that papyrus grow
in the I'lunhrates, near llitbylon,
ot which tliey i-ould n»ake paper,
they obstinately rather ehoose
to adhere to their ancient eiis-
torn ot weaving their letters on
cloth, of which they tnade their
gariucnts. The Persians, mote
over, made use ot pnrrhmoiu
fv>r their records, to whirh all
their re\narkable tiausav lions
were trusiotl ; and to this it is
probably owing we have so
n»at\y of their customs pro-
served to this day.

I'Vom this great resemblanco
in customs between the Persiat\s
and Abyssiniatis, following the
fashional)le way of juilging aboui
the oiigin of nations, one shouki
boldly c(U\clude that the Abys
fiinians were a colony of Per
sians ; but this is very well
k»H)wn to be without founvla-
tioit. The customs, mentioned
as otdy jieculiar to Persia, were
coimnon to all the Kast; anl
they were lost when those
countries were over-run atul
concjuered by people who in-
troduced barliarous customs o(
their own. The reason why we

/?A7Y;A\V l^CAV/'J.S.

*«7

hftve Ro tnu( li lofl r^r (Itc Pi't
sinn ninloms is, flinl Hwy were
wtiiun, Mn«l si» not linljlo in
jili(>i-iti(Mi ; '.nul llu'ir lii'itig t»n
pnichnu-nt nlso totilribiiliM! fo
thcii |H!'setv;ilioti. '['be history
\\\\'\v\\ tti'Hls nl flmse MiU'it'Hl
and poIisluMl imlions hns iMr
Rorvrtl IVw Ojigmi-iilR ol llu'lr
timiniers entire from the x\\\\\^
oltiine ; while Ahysainin, nl wnr
with nobody, of at war with
ilsolf otily, lins |M('Rrrvi't> the
niu itMil rnstonis which it en-
joyed in connnon witli nil tlie
|',nst, ftnd whieh W(>re only hiRt
la other king(h)nifl l)y the inva-
sion of slrnngera, — a niisfortnne
AhvRsinia hns never snfTered
since the introdnetion of letters.
The old ICgyjjtians, as we are
told hy Saerecl S( riplnre, did
not eat with strnngers ; but
Iterlmps the observation is ex-
tended further thnn ever Scrip-
ture meant. The instanee
given of Joseph's brethren not
i)oing allowed to eat with the
Egyptians was, l)ecause Josejih
Imd told Phnraoh that his
brethren and Jacob his father
were shepherds, thftt he might
obtain from the ICgyptians the
i;uul of (Joshen, a land, ;is
the name imports, of pas-
turage and grass, which the
Nile never overflowed, and it
was therefore in possession of
the shepherds. Now the shep-
herds, we are told, were the
direct natural enemies of the
Egyptians who live in towns.
The shepherds also sacrificed
to the god whom the I'lgyptians
worshipped.

^riie I'.gyplinns worshipped
the cow, nnd the shepherdq
lived n))nn her llfsh, which
niMile them a sepfirate people,
tliMt could n«)t eat nt»r (oni-
munii Mte tof^tlhcr ; nnd the
very knowledge of this wMs, ns
we are bibMincd by Scripture,
the re.'is(jn why Jose'ph told
Pharaoh, when he asked him
what professi«ui his brethrefi
were of, ' Your servMuts (snys
Joseph) are shepherds, and
their emphiymenl the feeding
of cattle;' and this wns given
ottt, thrtt tlie Ifind of (losheii
ought be allotted to them, and
so they and their descendants
be kept separjite from the
I'^-gyptians, and not exposed to
mingle in their abf)miuations ;
for, thoiigh they had abstained
frotn those abominations, they
could not kill c atlle for sacrifice
(»r for food. They would have
raised ill will against themselves;
and, ns Moses says, wotdd have
been stoned, nnd so the end of
bringing them to (Joshen wotdd
have been frustrated, which was
to nurse them in a plentiful
Innd in peace and security, till
they should attain to be a
mighty people, capable of sub-
duing and filling the land, to
which at the end of their cap-
tivity, (lod was to lead them.

The Abyssinians neither eat
nor drink with strangers, though
they have no reason for this ;
and it is now a mere prejudice,
because the old occasion for this
regulation is lost. They break,
or purify, however, every vessel
a stianger of any kind shall have

. I

TfT^^I iM

: pi

■ -K -^ - - ff ■^^

ftfl

ill'' &I

22S

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

\ ',-.3

1 ^^ I'J'- V

eaten or drunk out of. The
custom then is copied from the
Egyptians ; and they have pre-
served it, though the Egyptian
reason does no longer hold.

The Egyptians made no ac-
count of the mother what her
state was ; if the father was free,
the child followed the condition
of the father. This is strictly
so in Abyssinia. The king's
child by a negro slave, bought
with money, or taken in war, is as
near in succeeding to the crown
as any one of twenty children
that he has older than that one,
and born of the noblest women
of the country.

The men in Egypt neither
bought nor sold ; the same is
the case in Abyssinia at this
day. It is infamy for a man to
go to market to buy anything.
He cannot carry water or bake
bread ; but he must wash the
clothes belonging to both sexes,
and in this function the women
cannot help him. In Abyssinia
the men carried their burdens
on their heads, the women on
their shoulders ; and this differ-
ence, we are told, obtained in
Egypt. It is plain, that this
buying, in the public market,
by women, must have ended
whenever jealousy or sequestra-
tion of that sex began. For this
reason it ended early in Egypt ;
but, for the opposite reason, it
subsists in Abyssinia to this
day. It was a sort of impiety
in Egypt to eat a calf; and the
reason was plain, — they wor-
shipped the cow. In Abyssinia,
to this day, no man eats veal,

although everyone very willingly
eats beef. The Egyptian rea-
son no longer subsists, as in the
former case, but the prejudice
remains, though they have for-
gotten their reason.

The Abyssinians eat no wild
or water-fowl, not even the
goose, which was a great delicacy
in Egypt. The reason of this
is, that, upon their conversion
to Judaism, they were forced to
relinquish their ancient muni-
cipal customs, as far as they
were contrary to the Mosaical
law ; and the animals in their
country, not corresponding in
form, kind, or name, with those
mentioned in the Septuagint,
or original Hebrew, it has fol-
lowed that there are many of
each class that know not
whether they are clean or not ;
and a wonuerful confusion and
uncertainty has followed through
ignorance or mistake, being un-
willing to violate the law in any
one instance, though not under-
standing it.

It must be from prejudice
alone we condemn the eating of
raw flesh; no precept, divine
or human, forbids it ; and if it
be true, as later travellers have
discovered, that there are na-
tions ignorant of the use of
fire, any law against eating raw
flesh could never have been
intended by God as obligatory
upon mankind in general. At
any rate it is certainly not
clearly known whether the eat-
ing raw flesh was not an earlier
and more general practice than
by preparing it with fire ; many

BRUGES TRAVELS.

229

wise and learned men have
doubted whether it was at
first permitted to man to eat
animal food at all. God, the
author of life, and the best
judge of what was proper to
maintain it, gave this regimen
to our first parents — 'Behold,
I have given you every herb
bearing seed, which is upon
the face of all the earth, and
every tree in the which is the
fruit of a tree yielding seed :
to you it shall be for meat'
And though, immediately after,
he mentions both beast and
fowls, and everything that creep-
eth upon the earth, he does
not say that he has designed
any of these as meat for man.
On the contrary, he seems to
have intended the vegetable
creation as food for both man
and beast — * And to every beast
of the earth, and to every fowl
of the air, and to everything
that creepeth upon the earth,
wherein there is life^ I have
given every green herb for
meat: and it was so.' After the
flood, when mankind began to
repossess the earth, God gave
Noah a much more extensive
permission : — * Every moving
thing that liveth shall be meat
for you; even as the green
herb have I given you all
things.'

Saul's army, after a battle,
slew^ that is, fell voraciously
upon, the cattle they had taken,
and threw them upon the
ground to cut off their flesh,
and ate ihem raw, so that the
army was denied by eating

blood, or living animals. To
prevent this, Saul caused to be
rolled to him a great stone, and
ordered those that killed their
oxen to cut their throats upon
that stone. This was the only
lawful way of killing animals for
food ; the tying of the ox and
throwing it upon the ground was
not permitted as equivalent.
The Israelites did probably in
that case, as the Abyssinian s
do at this day ; they cut a part
of its throat, so that blood might
be seen upon the ground, but
nothing mortal to the animal
followed from that wound.
But, after laying the head upon
a large stone, and cutting his
throat, the blood fell from on
high, or was poured on the
ground like water, and sufficient
evidence appeared that the
creature was dead, before it was
attempted to eat it. The
Abyssinians came from Pales-
tine a very few years after this ;
and there is no doubt that they
then carried with them this,
with many other Jewish cus-
toms, which they have con-
tinued to this day.

Consistent with the plan of
this work, which is to describe
the manners of the several na-
tions through which I have
passed, good and bad, as I
observed them, I cannot avoid
giving some account of a Poly-
phemus banquet, as far as
decency will permit me : it
is part of the history of a bar-
barous people, and, however I
might wish it, I cannot decline
the task.

i" i 1

230

T/rn: ENGUSH EXPLORERS.

IJHI.

I u'k

In the capital, where one is
safe from surprise at all times,
or in the country or villages,
when the rains have become so
constant that the valleys will
not bear a horse to pass them,
or that men cannot venture far
from home, through fear of be-
ing surrounded and swept away
by temporary torrents, occa-
sioned by sudden showers on
the mountains ; in a word, when
a man can say he is safe at
home, and the spear and shield
is hung up in the hall, a num-
ber of people of the best fashion
in the villages, of both sexes,
courtiers in the palace, or citi-
zens in the town, meet together
to dine between twelve and one
o'clock. A long table is set in
the middle of a large room, and
benches beside it for a number
of guests who are invited.
Tables and benches the Portu-
guese introduced amongst them ;
but bull hides, spread upon the
ground, served them before, as
they now do in the camp and
country. A cow or bull, one
or more, as the company is
numerous, is brought close to
the door, and his feet strongly
tied. The dewlap is cut only
so deep as to arrive at the fat,
of which it totally consists : and,
by the separation of a few small
blood-vessels, six or seven drops
of blood only fall upon the
ground. They have no stone,
bench, or altar upon which the
cruel assassin lays the animal's
head in this operation. I
must beg pardon indeed for
calling this butcher an assassin.

as he is not so merciful as to
aim at the life, but, on the con-
trary, to keep the beast alive
till he be nearly eaten up.
Having satisfied the Mosaical
law, according to his concep-
tion, by pouring these six or
seven drops upon the ground,
two or more of them fall to
work ; on the back of the
beast, and on each side of the
spine they cut skin deep ; then
putting their fingers between the
flesh and the skin, they begin
to strip the hide of the animal
halfway down his ribs, and so on
to the J3Uttock, cutting the skin
wherever it hinders them com-
modiously to strip the poor
animal bare. All the flesh on
the buttocks is then cut off, and
in solid square pieces, without
bones, or much eff"usion of
blood ; and the prodigious noise
the animal makes is a signal
for the company to sit down to
table. There are then laid be-
fore every guest, instead of
plates, round cakes, if they may
be so called, about twice as large
as a pan-cake, and something
thicker and tougher. It is un-
leavened bread of a sourish
taste, far from being disagree-
able, and very easily digested,
and made of a grain called teff.
It is of different colours, from
black to the colour of the
whitest wheat-bread. Three or
four of these cakes are gener-
ally put uppermost, for the food
of the person opposite to whose
seat they are placed. Beneath
these are four or five of ordinary
bread, and of a blackish kind.

D RUCK'S TRAVELS.

231

lli

These serve the master to wipe
his fingers upon, an(i afterwards
the servant for bread to his
dinner. Two or three servants
then come, each with a square
piece of beef in his bare hands,
laying it upon the cakes of teff,
placed like dishes down the
table, without cloth or anything
else beneath them. By this
time all the guests have taken
up their knives, and their men
have the large crooked ones,
which they put to all sorts of
uses during the time of war.
The women have small clasped
knives, such as the worst of the
kind made at Birmingham, sold
for a penny each. The com-
pany are so ranged, that one
man sits between two women ;
the man with his long knife cuts
a thin piece, which would be
thought a good beefsteak in
England, while you see the mo-
tion of the fibres yet perfectly
distinct, and alive in the flesh.
No man in Abyssinia, of any
fashion whatever, feeds him-
self, or touches his own meat.
The women take the steak, and
cut it lengthways like strings,
about the thickness oi a little
finger, then crossways into
square pieces, something smaller
than dice. This they lay upon
a piece of the teff bread, strongly
powdered with black pepper,
or Cayenne pepper, and fossil
salt ; they then wrap it up in
teff bread like a cartridge. In
the meantime, the man having
put up his knife, with each hand
resting upon his neighbour's
knee, his body stooping, his

head low and fonvard, and
mouth open very like an idiot, he
turns to the one whose cartridge
is first ready, who stuffs the
whole of it into his mouth, which
is so full that he is in constant
danger of being choked. This
is a mark of grandeur. The
greater the man would seem to
be, the larger piece he takes in
his mouth, and the more noise
he makes in chewing it, the
more polite he is thought to be.
They have, indeed, a proverb
that says, * Beggars and thieves
only eat small pieces, or with-
out making a noise.' Having
despatched this morsel, which
he does very expeditiously, his
next female neighbour holds
forth another cartridge, which
goes the same way, and so on
till he is satisfied. He never
drinks till he has finished
eating ; and before he begins,
in gratitude to the fair one that
fed him, he makes up two
small rolls of the same kind and
form : each of his neighbours
open their mouths at the same
time, while with each hand he
puts their portion into their
mouth. He then falls to drink-
ing out of a large handsome
horn ; the ladies eat till they
are satisfied, and then all drink
together. A great deal of mirth
and joke goes round, very sel-
dom with any mixture of acri-
mony or ill-humour. During all
this time, the unfortunate victim
at the door is bleeding indeed,
but bleeding little. As long as
they can cut off the flesh from his
bones, they do not meddle with

«3«

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

i ' t

the thighs, or the parts where the
great arteries are. At last, they
fall upon the thighs likewise ;
and soon after, the animal bleed-
ing to death, becomes so tough,
that the cannibals, who have the
rest of it to eat, find very hard
work to separate the flesh from
the bones with their teeth like
dogs. Meanwhile, those with-
in are very much elevated ; love
lights all its fires, and everything
is permitted with absolute free-
dom.

Although we read from the
Jesuits a great deal about mar-
riage and polygamy ; yet there
is nothing which may be averred
more truly, than that there is no
such thing as marriage in Abys-
sinia, unless that which is con-
tracted by mutual consent, with-
out othei form, subsisting only
till dissolved by dissent of one
or other, and to be renewed or
repeated as often as it is agree-
able to both parties, who, when
they please, cohabit together
again as man and wife, after
having been divorced, had chil-
dren by others, or whether they
have been married, or had chil-
dren with others or not. Mr.
Bruce remembers to have once
been at Koscam in presence of
the Iteghd, when, in the circle,
there was a woman of great
quality, and seven men who had
all been her husbands, none of
whom was the happy spouse at
that time.

Upon separation they divide
the children. The eldest son
falls to the mother's first choice,
and the eldest daughter to the

father. If there be but one
daughter, and all the rest sons,
she is assigned to the father
If there be but one son, and all
the rest daughters, he is the
right of the mother. If the
numbers are equal after the
first election, the rest are divided
by lot. There is no such dis-
tinction as legitimate and ille-
gitimate children, from the king
to the beggar; for supposing
any one of their marriages valid,
all the issue of the rest must be
bastards.

The king in his marriage uses
no other ceremony than this:
he sends an Azage to the house
where the lady lives, where the
officer announces to her, it is
the king's pleasure, that she
should remove instantly to the
palace. She then dresses her-
self in the best manner, and
immediately obeys. Thence-
forward he assigns her an apart-
ment in the palace, and givcs
her a house elsewhere in any
part she chooses. Then, when
he makes her Itegh^, it seems
to be the nearest resemblance
to marriage ; for, whether in the
court or the camp, he orders
one of the judges to pronounce
in his presence, that he, the
king, has chosen his hand-
maid, naming her for his queer
upon which the crown is put
upon her head, but she is not
anointed.

The crown being hereditary
in one family, but elective in
the person, and polygamy jeing
permitted, must have multiplied
these heirs very much, and pro*

BRUCE S TRAVELS,

233

tuced constant disputes, so that
t was found necessary to pro-
/ide a remedy for the anarchy
and effusion of royal blood,
which was otherwise inevitably
to follow. The remedy was a
humane and gentle one; they
ire confined in a good climate
upon a high mountain, and
maintained there at the public
expense. They are taught to
read and write, but nothing else;
750 cloths for wrapping round
them, 3000 ounces of gold,
which is 30,000 dollars, or
crowns, are allowed by the state
for their maintenance. These
princes are hardly used; and,
in troublesome times, often put
to death upon the smallest mis-
information. During the time I
was in Abyssinia, their revenue
was so grossly misapplied, that
some of them were said to have
died with hunger and of cold,
by the avarice and hard-hearted-
ness of Michael neglecting to
fumish them necessaries. Nor
had the king, as far as ever Mr.
Bruce could discern, that fel-
low-feeling one would have ex-
pected from a prince, rescued
from that very situation him-
self; however that be, and how-
ever distressing the situation of
those princes, we cannot but be
satisfied with it, when we look
to the neighbouring kingdom of
Sennaar, or Nubia. There no
mountain is trusted with the
confinement of their princes;
but, as soon as the father dies,
the throats of all the collaterals,
and all their descendants that
can be laid hold of, are cut;

and this is the case with all the
black states in the desert west
of Sennaar, Dar Fowr, SeltJ,
and Bagirma.*

In speaking of the military
forces of this kingdom great
exaggerations have been used.
The largest army that ever was
in the field, was that in the re-
bellion before the battle of Ser-
braxos. When they first en-
camped upon the lake Tzana,
the rebel army altogether might
amount to about 50,000 men.
In about a fortnight afterwards
many had deserted ; and Mr.
Bruce does not think (for he
speaks only by hearsay) that,
when the king marched out of
Gondar, they were then above
30,000. When Gojam joined,
and it was known that Michael
and his army increased to above
60,000 men; cowards and brave,
old and young, veteran soldiers
and blackguards, all came to
be spectators of that desirable
event, which many of the wisest
had despaired of living to see.
The king's army, perhaps, never

1 Dr. Johnson's beautiful tale of Rasselas,
Prince of Abyssinia, where war.nth of ima-
gination, correct reasoning, and extensive
Knowledge of the general manners of
mankind, and of the various appearances
of human life, are so eminently displayed,
has already rendered this custom of the
Abyssinian empire very generally known
to English readers. He has converted the
dreary mountain into a happy valley. He
has excluded the real evils to which the
confined princes are exposed ; but has a
sufficient resource in ennui to embitter their
enjoyments. The translation of 7 ,obo's voy-
age was among Dr. Johnson's first literary
efforts; but the information communicated
by the Jesuit appears to have made a deep
impression on his mind. The story of Rasse-
las, and the account of Seguid's vain resolu-
tion to dedicate a few days to happiness, in
an island in the lake Dembea, are striking
and noble proofs of this.

i IS

L~:t. .:

'tm

Li . _.

-feil
III

if:

234

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

amounted to 26,000 men ; and
by desertion and other causes,
when they retreated to Gondar,
and I would not suppose the
army was 16,000, mostly from
the province of Tigrd Fasil,
indeed, had not joined; and
putting his army at 1 2,000 men,
it does not appear that any king
of Abyssinia ever commanded
40,000 effective men at any
time, or upon any cause what-
ever, exclusive of his household
troops.

Their standards are ' large
staves surmounted at the top
with a hollow ball ; below this
is a tube in which the staff is
fixed ; and immediately below
the ball, a narrow stripe of silk
made forked, or swallow-tailed,
like a vane, and seldom much
broader. The standards of the
infantry have their flags painted
two colours crossways — yellow,
white, red, or green. The horse
have all a lion upon their flag,
some a red, some a green, and
some a white lion. The black
horse have a yellow lion, and
over it a white star upon a red
flag, alluding to two prophecies,
the one, * Judah is a young lion,'
and the other, 'There shall
come a star out of Judah.'
This had been discontinued for
want of cloth, till the war of
BegemdfT, when a large piece
was found in Joas's wardrobe,
and was thought a certain omen
of his victory, and of a long and
vigorous reign. This piece of
cloth was said to have been
brought from Cairo by Yasous
II. for the campaign of Sen-

naar \ and, with the other stan-
dards and colours, was surren-
dered to the rebels when the
king was made prisoner.

The king's household troops
should consist of about 8000
infantry, 2000 of which carry
firelocks, and supply the place
of archers ; bows have been laid
aside for near a hundred years
and are now only used by the
Waito Shangalla, and some
other barbarous inconsiderable
nations. These troops are
divided into four companies,
each under an officer called
Shalaka, which answers to our
colonel. Every twenty men
have an officer; every fifty a
second, and every hundred a
third; that is, every twenty
have one officer who commands
them, but is commanded like-
wise by an officer, who com-
mands the fifty; so that there
are three officers who command
fifty men, six command a hun-
dred, and thirty command five
hundred, over whom is the
Shalaka ; and this body they
call Bet, which signifies a home^
or apartment^ because each of
them goes by the name of one
of the king's apartments. For
example, there is an apartment
called Anbasa Bet, or the lioiis
house^ and a regiment carrying
that name has the charge of it,
and their duty is at that apart-
ment, or that part of the palace
where it is; there is another
called Jan Bet, br the elephanfs
house, that gives the name to
another called Work Sacala, or
the gold house, which gives its

BRUGES TRAVELS.

235

name to another corps ; and so
on with the rest.

There are four regiments that
seldom, if ever, amounted to
1600 men, which depend alone
upon the king, and are all
foreigners, at least the officers ;
these have the charge of his
person while in the field. In
times, when the king is out of
leading-strings, they amount to
four or five thousand, and then
oppress the country, for they
have great privileges. At times,
when the king's hands are weak,
they are kept incomplete out of
fear and jealousy.

Before the king marches, three
proclamations are made. The
first is, *Buy your mules, get
ready your provision, and pay
your servants; for, after such
a day, they that seek me here
shall not find me.' The second
is about a week after, or accord-
ing as the exigency is pressing ;
this is, * Cut down the kantuffa
in the four quarters of the world,
for I do not know where I am
going.' This kantuffa is a terri-
ble thorn which very much mo-
lest the king and nobility in
their march, by taking hold of
their long hair, and the cotton
cloth they are wrapped in. The
third and last proclamation is,
* I am encamped upon the An-
grab, or Kahha; he that does
not join me there, I will chas-
tise him for seven years.' I
was long in a doubt what
this term of seven years meant,
till I recollected the jubilee-
year of the Jews, with whom
seven years was a prescription

of offences, debts, and all tres-
passes.

The rains generally cease
about the 8th of September ; a
sickly season follows till they be-
gin again about the 20th of Octo-
ber ; they then continue pretty
constant, but moderate in quan-
tity, till Hedar St. Michael, the
eighth of November. All epi-
demic diseases cease with the
end of these rains, and it is then
the armies begin to march.

In Abyssinia there are more
churches than in any other
country ; and, though it is very
mountainous, and consequently
the view much obstructed, it is
very seldom you see less than
five or six ; and, if you are on
a commanding ground, five
times that number. Every
great man that dies thinks he
has atoned for all his wicked-
ness, if he leaves a fund to build
a church, or has built one in his
lifetime. The king builds many.
Wherever a victory is gained,
there a church is erected in
the very field stinking with the
putrid bodies of the slain.
Formerly this was only the case
when the enemy was Pagan or
Infidel; now the same is ob-
served when the victories are
over Christians. The situation of
a church is always chosen near
running water, for the conveni-
ence of their purifications and
ablutions, in which they strictly
observe the Levitical law. They
are always placed upon the top
of some beautiful round hill,
which is surrounded entirely with
rows of the oxycedrus, or Virgin

. i

T* v-l' ,.„

kit -11

236

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

cedar, which grows here in great
beauty and perfection, and is
called Arz. Nothing adds so
much to the beauty of the
country as these churches, and
the plantations about them. In
the middle of this plantation of
cedars is interpersed, at proper
distances, a number of those
beautiful trees called Cuffo,
which grow very high, and are
all extremely picturesque.

The churches are all round,
with thatched roofs ; their sum-
mits are perfect cones ; the out-
side is surrounded by a number
of wooden pillars, which are
nothing else than the trunks of
the cedar-tree, and are placed
to support the edifice, about
eight feet of the roof projecting
beyond the wall of the church,
which forms an agreeable walk
or colonnade around it in hot
weather or in rain. The inside
of the church is in several di-
visions, according as is pre-
scribed by the law of Moses.
The first is a circle somewhat
wider than the inner one;
here the congregation sit and
pray. Within this is a square,
and that square is divided by a
veil or curtain, in which is an-
other very small division answer-
ing to the holy of holies. This
is so narrow, that none but the
priests can go into it. You are
barefooted whenever you enter
the church, and, if barefooted,
you may go through every part
of it, if you have any such curio-
sity, provided you are pure, that
is, have not had connexion with
woman for twenty-four hours

before, or touched carrion 01
dead bodies (a curious assem-
blage of ideas), for in that case
you are not to go within the
precincts, or outer circumfer-
ence, of the church, but stand
and say your prayers at an awful
distance among the cedars.

Every person of both sexes,
under Jewish disqualifications,
is obliged to observe this dis-
tance ; and this is always a place
belongmg to the church, where,
except in Lent, you see the
greatest part of the congrega-
tion; but this is left to your
own conscience ; and, if there
was either great inconvenience
in the one situation, or great
satisfaction in the other, the
case would be otherwise.

On your first entering the
church you put off your shoes ;
but you must leave a servant
there with them, or else they
will be stolen, if good for any-
thing, by the priests and monks,
before you come out of the
church. At entering you kiss
the; threshold and the two door-
posts, go in and say what prayer
you please; that finished you
come out again, and your duty
is over. The churches are full
of pictures painted on parch-
ment, and nailed upon the walls
in a manner little less slovenly
than you see paltry prints in
beggarly country ale-houses.
There has been always a sort
of painting known among the
scribes, a daubing much infe-
rior to the worst of our sign-
painters. Sometimes, for a
particular church, they get »

BRUGES TRAVELS,

237

Dumber of pictures of saints,
on skins of parchment, ready
finished from Cairo, in a style
very little superior to these per-
formances of their own. They
are placed like a frise, and hung
in the upper part of the wall.
St. George is generally there
with his dragon, and St. Deme-
trius fighting a lion. There is
no choice in their saints ; they
are both of the Old and New
Testament, and those that might
be dispensed with from both.
There is St. Pontius Pilate and
his wife; there is St. Balaam
and his ass; Samson and his
jaw-bone; and so of the rest.
But the thing that always sur-
prised me most was a kind of
square-miniature upon the head-
piece, or mitre, of the priest,
administering the sacrament at
Adowa, representing Pharaoh
on a white horse plunging in
the Red Sea, with many guns
and pistols swimming upon the
surface of it around him.

Nothing embossed, or in re-
lief, ever appears in any of
their churches. All this would
be reckoned idolatry, so much
so that they do not a wear a
cross, as has been represented,
on the top of the ball of the
sendick, or standard, because
it casts a shade, but there is no
doubt that pictures have been
used in their churches from the
very earliest ages of Chris-
tianity.

The primate or patriarch of
the Abyssinian Church is styled
Abuna. The first of these pre-
lates mentioned in history is

Tecla Haimanout, who distin-
guished himself by the restora-
tion of the royal family, and the
regulations which he made both
in church and state. A wise
ordinance was then enacted,
that the Abvssinians should not
have it in cneir power to raise
one of their own countrymen
to the dignity of Abuna. As
this dignitary of the church very
seldom understands the lan-
guage of the country, he has no
share in the government. His
chief employment is in ordina-
tions, which ceremony is thus
performed : A number of men
and children present themselves
at a distance, and there stand
from humility, not daring to
approach him. He then asks
whose these are, and they tell
him that they wish to be dea-
cons. On this he makes two
or three signs with a small cross
in his hand, and blows with his
mouth twice or thrice upon
them, saying, * Let them be
deacons.* At one time I saw
the whole army of Begemder,
when just returned from shed-
ding the blood of 10,000 men,
made deacons by the Abuna,
who stood about a quarter of a
mile distant from them. With
these were mingled about 1000
women, who, having part of the
same blast and blandishment
of the cross, were consequently
as good deacons as the rest.

The Itchegud, the chief of
the monks, is a man in trouble-
some times of much greater
importance than the Abuna.
There are, after the monks.

f:;*«Sl-lll

238

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

chief priests and scribes, as in
the Jewish Church, the lowest
of whom are the ignorant, care-
less copiers of the Holy Scrip-
tures. The monks do not live
in convents, as in Europe, but
in separate habitations round
their church, and each cultivate
a portion of the land belonging
to them. The priests have their
maintenance assigned to them
in kind, and do not labour. A
steward, being a layman, is
placed among them by the king,
who receives all rents belonging
to the churches, and distributes
among the priests the portion
that is their due; but neither
the Abuna, nor any other
churchman, has a right to in-
terfere, or to touch the revenues
of the church.

The articles of the faith of
the Abyssinians having been in-
quired into, and discussed with so
much keenness in the beginning
of last century, I am afraid I
might disoblige some of my
readers if I had passed this
subject without notice.

Their first bishop, Frumen-
tius, being ordained about the
year 333, and instructed in the
religion of the Greeks of the
church of Alexandria by St.
Athanasius, then sitting in the
chair of St. Mark, it follows
that the true religion of the
Abyssinians, which they re-
ceived on their conversion to
Christianity, is that of the Greek
Church ; and every rite or cere-
mony in the Abyssinian church
may be found and traced up to
its origin in the Greek churches.

while both of them were ortho
dox. Frumentius preserved
Abyssinia untainted with heresy
till the day of his death. We
find from a letter preserved in
the works of St. A hanasius, that
Constantius, the heretical Greek
emperor, wished St. Athanasius
to deliver him up, which that
patriarch refused to do \ it was
not in his power.

Soon after this Arianism, and
a number of other heresies,
each in turn, were brought by
the monks from Egypt, and in-
fected the church of Abyssinia.
A great part of these heresies,
in the beginning, were certainly
owing to the difference of the
language in those times, and
especially the two words Nature
and Person ; than which no two
words were ever more equivocal
in every language in which they
have been translated.

It was settled by the first
general council, that one bap-
tism only was necessary for the
regeneration of man, for freeing
him from the sin of our first
parents, and listing him under
the banner of Christ. — " I con-
fess one baptism for the remis-
sion of sins," says the Symbol.
It was maintained by the Jesuits
that in Abyssinia once every
year they baptized all grown
people, or adults. Mr. Bruce
here relates what he himself
saw on the spot, and what is
nothing more than the celebra-
tion of our Saviour's baptism.

The small river running be-
tween the town of Adowa and
the church, had been dammed

BRUGES TRAVELS.

230

up for several days ; the stream
was scanty, so tiiat it scarcely
overflowed. It was in places
three feet deep, in some per-
haps four, or little more. Three
large tents were pitched the
morning before the feast of the
Epiphany; one on the north
for the priests to repose in dur-
ing intervals of the service, and,
besides this, one to communicate
in: on the south there was a
tent for the monks and priests
of another church to rest them-
selves in their turn. About
twelve o'clock at night, the
monks and priests met together,
and began their prayers and
psalms at the water-side, one
party relieving each other. At
dawn of day, the governor,
Welleta Michael, came thither
with some soldiers to raise men
for Ras Michael, then on his
march against Waragna Fasil,
and sat down on a small hill by
the water-side, the troops all
skirmishing on loot and on
horseback around them.

As soon as the sun began to
appear, three large crosses of
wood were carried by three
priests dressed in their sacer-
dotal vestments, and who, com-
ing to the side of the river,
dipped the cross into the water,
and all this time the firing,
skirmishing, and praying went
on together. The priests with
their crosses returned, one of
their number before them carry-
ing something less than an
English quart of water in a
silver cup or chalice ; when
they were about fifty yards from

Welleta Michael, that general
stood up, and the priest took
as much water as he could hold
in his hands and sprinkled it
upon his head, holding the cup
at the same time to Welleta
Michael's mouth to taste ; after
which the priest received it back
again, saying, at the same time,
* Gzier y'barak,' which is simply,
' May God bless you.' Each of
the three crosses were then
brought forward to Welleta
Michael, and he kissed them.
The ceremony of sprinkling the
water was then repeated to all
the great men in the tent, all
cleanly dressed as in gala.
Some of them, not contented
with aspersion, received it in
the palms of their hands joined,
and drank it there ; more water
was brought for those that had
not partaken of the first ; and
after the whole of the governors
company was sprinkled, the
crosses returned to the river,
their bearers singing hallelujahs^
and the skirmishing and firing
continuing.

I also observed, that, a
very little time after the gover-
nor had been sprinkled, two
horses and two mules, belong-
ing to Ras Michael and Ozoro
Esther, came and were washed.
Afterwards the soldiers went
in and bathed their horses and
guns ; those who had wounds
bathed them also. Heaps of
platters and pots, that had been
used by Mahometans or Jews,
were brought thither likewise
to be purified; and thus the
whole ended.

it
I

iill'-iJ

•J .'

24'0

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

\ = %.

Mr. Bruce saw this ceremony
performed afterwards at Kahha,
near Gondar, in presence of
the king, who drank some of
the water, and was sprinkled
by the priests; then took the
cup in his hand, and threw
the rest that was left upon
Amha Yasous, saying, * I will
be your deacon ; ' and this was
thought a high compliment, the
priest giving him his blessing at
the same time, but offering him
no more water.

The Abyssinians receive the
holy sacrament in both kinds,
in unleavened bread, and in the
grape bruised with the husk to-
gether as it grows, so that it is a
kind of marmalade, and is given
in a flat spoon ; whatever they
may pretend, some mixture
seems necessary to keep it from
fermentation in the state that it
is in, unless the dried cluster is
fresh bruised just before it is
used, for it is little inore fluid
than the common marmalade of
confectioners, but it is perfectly
the grape as it grew, bruised
stones and skin together. Some
means, however, have been
used, as I should suppose, to
prevent fermentation, and make
it keep ; and though this is con-
stantly denied, I have often
thought I had tasted a flavour
that was not natural to the
grape itself.

It is a mistake that there is
no wine in Abyssinia; for a
quantity of excellent strong
wine is made at Dreeda, south-
west from Gondar, about thirty
miles, which would more than

supply the quantity necessary
for the celebration of the
eucharist in all Abyssinia twenty
times over. The people them-
selves are not fond of wine, and
plant the vine in one place only
and in this they have been imi.
tated by the Egyptians, their
colony; but a small black
grape of an excellent flavour,
grows plentifully wild in every
wood in Tigr^.

Large pieces of bread are
given to the communicants in
proportion to their quality ; and
I have often seen great men
who, though they opened their
mouths as wide as a man
conveniently can do, yet from
the respect the priest bore them,
such a portion of the loaf was
put into their mouths that water
ran from their eyes, from the
incapacity of chewing it; which
however, they do as indecently,
and with full as much noise, as
they eat at table.

After receiving the sacrament
of the eucharist, in both kinds,
a pitcher of water is brought, of
which the communicant drinks
a large draught: and well he
needs it, to- wash down the
quantity of bread he has just
swallowed. He then retires
from the steps of the inner
division upon which the ad-
ministering priest stands; and
turning his face to the wall of
the church, in pri/ate says some
prayer with seeming decency
and attention.

I will now finish this sub-
ject with the relation of a cir-
cumstance that happened a few

BRUGES TRAVELS,

?4T

months before my coming into
Abyssinia, as it was accidentally
told me by the priest of Adowa,
the very day of the Epiphany,
and which Janni vouched to be
true, and to have seen.

The Sunday after Ras Mi-
chael's departure for Gondar
from Adowa, he went to the
church in great pomp, and there
received the sacrament. There
happened to be such a crowd to
see him that the wine, part of
the consecrated elements, was
thrown down and spilt upon
the steps whereon the communi-
cants stood receiving it. Some
straw or hay was instantly
gathered and sprinkled upon it
to cover it, and the communi-
cants continued the service to
the end, treading that grass
under foot. This giving great
offence to Janni, and some few
priests that lived with him, it
was told to Michael, who, with-
out explaining himself, said
only, * As to the fact of throwing
the hay, they were a parcel of
hogs, and know no better.'
These few words had stuck in
the stomach of the priest of
Adowa, who, with great secrecy,
and as a mark of friendship,
begged that I would give him
his opinion what he should
have done, or rather what would
have been done in his country?
I then told him, that the
answer to his question depended
upon two things, which being
known, his difficulties would be
very easily solved. * If you do
believe that the wine spilt by
the mob upon the steps, and

trodden under foot afterwards,
was really the blood of Jesus
Christ, then you were guilty of
a most horrid crime, and you
should cry upon the mountains
to cover you; and ages of
atonement are not sufficient to
expiate it. You should, in the
meantime, have railed tLj place
roundjWith non,or built it round
with stone, that no foot or any-
thing else but the dew of heaven,
could have fallen upon it ; or
you should have brought in the
river upon the place that would
have washed it all to the sea,
and covered it ever after from
sacrilegious profanation. But
if, on the contrary, you believe
(as many Christian churches
do), that the \ wine (notwith-
standing consecration) remained
in the cup nothing more than
wine, but was only the symbol
or type of Christ's blood of the
New Testament, then the spill-
ing it upon the steps, and the
treading upon it afterwards,
having been merely accidental,
and out of your power to pre-
vent, being so far from your
wish that you are heartily sorry
that it happened, I do not
reckon that you are further
liable in the crime of sacrilege,
than if the wine had not been
consecrated at all. You are to
humble yourself, and sincerely
regret that so irreverent an acci-
dent happened in your hands,
and in your time ; but, as you
did not intend it, and could not
prevent it, the consequence of
an accident, where inatten-
tion is exceedingly culpable,

ii-

242

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

will be imputed to you, and
nothing further.' The priest
declared to me with the greatest
earnestness, that he never did
believe that the elements in
the eucharist were converted
by consecration into the real
body and blood of Christ.
He said, however, that he be-
lieved this to be the Roman
Catholic faith, but it never was
his ; and that he conceived
the bread was bread, and the
wine was wine, even after con-
secration. From this example,
which occurred merely acci-
dentally, and was not the fruit
of interrogation or curiosity,
it appears to me, whatever
the Jesuits say, that some at
least among the Abyssinians
do not believe the real pre-
sence in the eucharist; but
further I am not well enough
informed to give a positive
opinion.

The Abyssinians are not all
agreed about the state of souls
before the resurrection of the
body. The opinion which
generally prevails is, that there
is no third state ; but that, after
the example of the thief, the
souls of good men enjoy the
beatific vision immediately upon
the separation from the body.
But their practice and books
both contradict this ; for as
often as any person dies, alms
are given, and prayers are
offered for the souls of those de-
parted, which would be vain did
they believe they were already
in the presence of God, and in
possession of the greatest bliss

possible, wanting nothing to
complete it.

The Abyssinians practise
circumcision, which is per-
formed with a sharp knife or
razor. There is no laceration
with the nails, no formula or
repetition of words, nor any
religious ceremony at the time
of the operation ; nor is it done
at any particular age ; and gen-
erally it is a woman that is the
surgeon. The Falasha say
they perform it sometimes with
the edge of a sharp stone, some-
times with a knife or razor, and
at other times with the nails of
their fingers ; and for this pur-
pose they have the nails of their
little finger of an immoderate
length : at the time of the opera-
tion the priest chants a hymn
or verse, importing, 'Blessed
art thou, O Lord, who hast
ordained circumcision !' This
is performed on the eighth day,
and is a religious rite, accord-
ing to the first institution by
God to Abraham.

There is another ceremony,
which regards the women also,
and which I may call inci-
sion. This is a usage frequent,
and still retained among the
Jews, though positively pro-
hibited by the law. 'Thou
shalt not cut thy face for the
sake of, or on account of, the
dead.* As soon as a near re-
lation dies in Abyssinia, a
brother or parent, cousin-ger-
man or lover, every woman in
that relation, with the nail of
her little finger, which she
leaves long on purpose, cuts

BRUCE' S TRAVELS.

243

the skin of both her temples,
about the size of a sixpence ;
and therefore you see either a
wound or a scar in every fair
face in Abyssinia; and in the
dry season, when the camp is
out, from the loss of friends,
they seldom have liberty to heal,
till peace and the army return
with the rains.

The Abyssinians, like the
ancient Egyptians, their first
colony, in computing their time,
have continued the use of the
solar year. Diodorus Siculus
says, ' They do not reckon their
time by the moon, but accord-
ing to the sun ; that thirty days
constitute their month, to which
they add five days and the fourth
part of a day, and this com-
pletes their year.'

It is uncertain whence they
derived the names of their
months ; they have no signifi-
cation in any of the languages
of Abyssinia. The name of the
first month among the old
Egyptians has continued to this
day. It is Tot, probably so
called from the first division of
time among the Egyptians, from
observation of the heliacal
rising of the dog-star. The
n lies of the months retained
in Abyssinia are possibly in
antiquity prior to this ; they are
probably those given them by
the Cushite, before the Kalen-
dars at Thebes and Meroe,
their colony, were formed.

The Abyssinians have another
way of describing time peculiar
to themselves. They read the
whole of the four evangelists

every year in their churches.
They begin with Matthew, then
proceed to Mark, Luke, and
John, in order ; and when they
speak of an event, they write
and say it happened in the days
of Matthew — that is, in the first
quarter of the year, while the
Gospel of St. Matthew was yet
reading in the churches. They
compute the time of the day in
a very arbitrary irregular man-
ner. The twilight is very short,
almost imperceptible, and was
still more so when the court
was removed farther to the
southward in Shoa. As soon
5s the sun falls below the hori-
2on night comes on, and all the
stars appear. This term, then,
the twilight, they choose for the
beginning of their day, and call
it Nagg^, which is the very time
the twilight of the morning lasts.
The same is observed at night,
and Meset is m«'ant to signify
the instant of beginning the
twilight, between the sun's fall-
ing below the horizon and the
star.s appearing. Mid-day is by
them called Kater, a very old
word, which signifies culmina-
tion^ or a thing's being arrived
or placed at the middle or
highest part of an arch. All
other times, in conversation,
they describe by pointing at the
place in the heavens where the
sun was, when what they are
describing happened.

Nothing can be more inaccu-
rate than all Abyssinian calcu-
lations. Besides their absolute
ignorance in arithmetic, their
excessive idleness and aversion

244

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

to study, and a number of fanci-
ful, whimsical combinations, by
which every particular scribe
or monk distinguishes himself,
tliere are obvious reasons why
there should be a variation be-
tween their chronology and
ours. The beginning of our
year differs from theirs; ours
begins on the ist of January,
and theirs on the ist day of
September, so that there are
eight months' difference be-
tween us. The last day of
August may be the year 1780
with us, and 1779 only with the
Abyssinians. And in the reign
of their kings, they very seldom
mention either month or day
beyond an even number of
years. Supposing, then, it is
known that the reign of ten
kings extended from such to
such a period, where all the
months and days are compre-
hended, when we come to as-
sign to each of these an equal
number of years, without the
correspondent months and days,
it is plain that when all these
separate reigns come to be
added together, the one sum-
total will not agree with the
other, but will be more or less
than the just time which that
prince reigned. This, indeed,
as errors compensate full as
frequently as they accumulate,
will seldom amount to a differ-
ence of above three years, a
space of time too trivial to be
of any consequence in the his-
tory of barbarous nations.

CHAPTER X.

Made Governor of Ras el Feel— Skirmish
between the army of Fasil and Ras
Michael.

I SOON received an instance
of kindness from Ayto Confu,
which gave me great pleasure
on several accounts. On the
south part of Abyssinia, on the
frontiers of SennL^r, is a hot,
unwholesome, low stripe of
country, inhabited entirely by
Mahometans, divided into se-
veral small districts, known by
the general name of Mazaga.
Ayto Confu had many districts
of land from his father, and be-
longing to his mother, Ozoro
Esther, which lay on this fron-
tier. He intended to displace
the Mahometan deputy-gover-
nor for inefficiency and cow-
ardice. One day I was informed
that Yasine, whom I had brought
with me, had a chance of the
appointment. I exerted my in-
fluence in his favour with Confu
and Ozoro Esther, when, among
the crowd, I met Tecla Mariara,
who informed me tha^ the ap-
pointment had been conferred
on myself.

* Pardon me, Tecla Mariam,'
said I, * if I do not understand
you. I came here to solicit for
Yasine.'

' It is no great affair,' says he,
* and I hope you will never see
it. It is a hot, unwholesome
country, full of Mahometans;
but its gold is as good as any
Christian gold whatever. I

BRUGES TRAVELS.

245

v^-ish it had been Begcmder
with all my heart, but there is
a good time coming.'

After having recovered my-
self a little from my surprise, I
went to Ayto Confu to kiss his
hand as my superior, but this
he would by no means suffer
me to do. A great dinner was
provided us by the Itegh^, and
Yasine being sent for, was
appointed, clothed, that is, in-
vested, and ordered imme-
diately to Ras el Feel to his
government. I, for the first
time since my arrival in Abys-
sinia, abandoned myself to joy,
having, as I thought, secured
to myself a retreat to Sennaar.
My constitution was, however,
too much weakened to- bear
any excesses. The day after I
found myself attacked with a
slow fever, and, thinking that
it was the prelude of an ague,
I fell to taking bark, and shut
myself up in the house, upon
my constant regimen of boiled
rice, with abundant draughts of
cold water.

About this time a piece of
bad news was circulated at
Gondar, that Kasmati Boro,
whom the Ras had left gover-
nor of Damot, had been beaten
by Fasil, and obliged to retire
to his own country in Gojam,
to Hadis Amba, near the pass-
age of the Nile, at Mine ; and
that Fasil, with a larger army
of stranger Galla than that he
had brought to Fagitta, had
taken possession of Bure, the
usual place of his residence.
Upon its being confirmed, I

could not disguise my sorrow,
as I conceived that unexpected
turn of affairs to be an invinci-
ble obstacle to my reaching the
source of the Nile. *You are
mistaken,* says Kefla Yasous
to me ; * it is the best thing
can happen to you. Why you
desire to see those places I do
not know, but this I am sure of,
you never will arrive there with
any degree of safety while Fasil
commands. He is as perfect a
Galla as ever forded tihe Nile ;
he has neither word, nor oath,
nor faith that can bind him ;
he does mischief for mischief's
sake, and then laughs at it.

* At Hydar Michael (that is,
in November next), all Abys-
sinia will march against him,
and he will not stay for us, and
this time we shall not leave his
country till we have eaten it
bare; and then, at your ease,
you will see everything, defend
yourself by your own force, and
be beholden to nobody; and
remember what I say, peace
with Fasil there never will be,
for he does not desire it ; nor,
till you see his bead upon a
pole, or Michael's army en-
camped at Bure, will you (if
you are wise) ever attempt to
pass Maitsha.' Memorable
words ! often afterwards re-
flected upon, though they were
not strictly verified in the ex-
tent they were meant when
spoken.

A council was called, where
it was resolved, that, though
the rainy season was at hand,
the utmost expedition should

1 m

k (

'i h

^^i

246

T/f£ ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

be made to take the field ; that
Gusho and Powussen should
return to their provinces, and
increase their army to the ut-
most of their power ; that the
king should take the low road
by Foggora and Dara, there to
join the troops of Begemder
and Amhara, cross the Nile at
the mouth of the lake, above
the second cataract, as it is
called, and march thence
straight to Bure, which, by
speedy marches, might be done
in five or six days. No resolu-
tion was ever embraced with
more alacrity ; the cause of the
Agovvs was the cause of Gon-
dar, or famine would else im-
mediately follow. The king's
troops and those of Michael
were all ready, and had just
refreshed themselves by a week's
festivity.

Gusho and Powussen, after
having sworn to Michael that
lliey never would return with-
out Fasil's head, decamped
next morning with very differ-
ent intentions in their hearts ;
for no sooner had they reached
Begemder, than they entered
into a conspiracy, in form,
against Michael, which they
had meditated and digested i.i
their minds ever since theaffronr
they had received from Michael,
about Woosheka, after the battle
of Fagitta : they had resolved
to make peace with Fasil, and
swear with him a solemn league,
that they were but to have one
cause, one council, and one in-
terest, till they had deprived
Michael of his life and dignity.

All this time I found myself
declining in health, to which
the irregularities of the last
week had greatly contributed.
The King and Ras had suffi.
ciently provided tents and con-
veniences for me, yet I wanted
to construct for myself a tent,
with a large slit m the roof,
that I might have an oppor-
tunity of taking observations
with my quadrant, without be-
ing inquieted by troublesome or
curious visitors. I therefore
obtained leave from the king
to go to Emfras, a town about
twenty miles south from Gon-
dar. Gusho had a house there,
and a pleasant garden, which
he very willingly gave me the
use of; with this advice, how-
ever, which at the time I did
not understand, rather to go on
to Amhara with him, for I
should there sooner recover
my health, and be more in quiet
than with the king or Michael.
After taking leave of the king
and the Ras I paid the same
compliment t6thelteghdat Kos-
cam. That excellent princess
tried to dissuade me from leav-
ing Gondar ; treated the inten-
tion of going to the source of
the Nile as a fantastical folly,
unworthy of any man of sense
or understanding.

I excused myself the best I
could. * See ! see !' says she,
• how every day of our life fur-
nishes us with proofs of the
perverseness and contradiction
of human nature ; you are come
from Jerusalem, through vile
Turkish governments, and hot

BRUGES TRAVELS.

247

I are come

unwholesome climates, to see a
river and a bog, no part of
which you can carry away were
it ever so valuable, and of which
you have in your own country
a thousand larger, better, and
cleaner; and you take it ill
when I discourage you from
the pursuit of this fancy, in
which you are likely to perish,
without your friends at home
ever hearing when or where
the accident happened. While
I, on the other hand, the mother
of kings, who have sat upon the
throne of this country more
than thirty years, have for my
only wish, night and day, that,
after giving up everything in
the world, I could be conveyed
to the church of the Holy
Sepulchre in Jerusalem, and
beg alms for my subsistence all
my life after, if I could only be
buried at last in the street with-
in sight of the gate of that
temple where our blessed Savi-
our once lay.' This was said
in the most melancholy tone
possible ; an unusual gloom
hanging upon her countenance.
I confess I left the queen very
much affected with the disposi-
tion I had found her in; but
the prodigious bustle and pre-
paration which I found was
daily making in Gondar, and
the assurances everybody gave
me that, safe in the middle of a
victorious army, I should see,
at my leisure, that famous spot,
made me resume my former re-
solutions.

Gondar, the metropolis of
Abyssinia, is situated upon a

hill of considerable height, the
top of it nearly plain, on which
the town is placed. It consists
of about ten thousand families
in times of peace ; the houses
are chiefly of clay, the roofs
thatched in the form of cones,
which is always the construc-
tion within the tropical raii.s.
On the west end of the town is
the king's house, formerly a
structure of considerable conse-
quence ; it was a square build-
ing flanked with square towers ;
it was formerly four stories high,
and, from the top of it, had a
magnificent view of all the coun-
try southward to the lake Tzana.

The palace, and all its conti-
guous buildings, are surrounded
by a substantial stone wall thirty
feet high. There appears to
have never been any embra-
sures for cannon, and the four
sides of this wall are above an
English mile and a half in
length.

Immediately upon the bank
opposite to Gondar, on the
other side of the river, is a
large town of Mahometans of
about a thousand houses. These
are all active and laborious
people ; great part of them are
employed in taking care of the
king's and nobility's baggage
and field-equipage, both when
they take the field and when
they return from it.

It was on the 4th of April
1770 when I set out from
Gondar for Emfras, which we
reached on the 5th. The town
is situated on a steep hill, and
the way up to it is almost per-

243

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

pendicular, like the ascent of
a ladder. The houses are all
placed about the middle of the
hill fronting the west, in number
about 300. Above these houses
are gardens, or rather fields.
Emfras commands a view of
the whole lake, and part of the
country on the other side. It
was once a royal residence.

The lake of Tzana is the
largest expanse of water known
in that country. Its greatest
breadth is thirty-five miles, and
greatest length forty-nine miles.
According to the Abyssinians,
there are forty-five inhabited
islands in the lake.

On May 13th the king had
made a forced march from
Zedda, and was that night to
encamp near Lamgue. The
consequence was, Emfras was
left empty in a few hours, every
one hiding what was best in
the house, or flying to the moun-
tains with it. Ras Michael, ad-
vancing at the head of an army,
spread as much terror as would
the day of judgment. Strict
and just as he was in times of
peace, he was most licentious
and cruel the moment he took
the field, especially if that coun-
try he had entered had shown
the least enmity against him.

On the morning of the 14th
I repaired to the camp at
Lamgue. Although my place
in the household gave me free
access to wherever the king was,
I rather thought it better to go
to the tent of Ozoro Esther,
where I was sure at least of
getting a good breakfast.

As soon as I showed myself
at the door of the tent of that
princess, who was lying upon a
sofa, the moment she cast her
eyes upon me she cried out,
' There is Yagoube ! There is
the man I wanted 1' The tent
was cleared of all but her
women, and she then began to
enumerate several complaints,
which she thought, before the
end of the campaign, would
carry her to her grave. It was
easy to see they were of the
slightest kind, though it would
not have been agreeable to have
told her so, for she loved to be
thofight ill, to be attended, con-
doled with, and flattered. She
was, however, in these circum-
stances, so perfectly good, so
conversable, so elegant in all
her manners, that her physician
would have been tempted to
wish never to see her well.

She was then with child by
Ras Michael ; and the late fes-
tival, upon her niece's marriage
with Powussen of Begemder,
had been much too hard for
her constitution, always weak
and delicate since her first mis-
fortunes, and the death of Ma-
riam Barea. After giving her
my advice, and directing her
women how to administer what
I was to send her, the doors of
the tent were thrown open ; all
our friends came flocking round
us, when we presently saw that
the interval, employed in con-
sultation, had not been spent
uselessly, for a most abundant
breakfast was produced in
wooden platters upon the car-

BRUGES TRAVELS.

249

pet. There were excellent
stewed fowls, but so inflamed
with Cayenne pepper as almost
to blister the mouth ; fowls
dressed with boiled wheat, just
once broken in the middle, in
the manner they are prepared in
India, with rice called pillaw —
this, too, abundantly charged
with pepper ; Guinea hens,
roasted hard without butter, or
any sort of sauce, very white,
but as tough as leather ; above
ail, the never-failing brind^ for
so they call the collops of raw
beef, without which nobody
could have been satisfied ; but,
what was more agreeable to me,
a large quantity of wheat-bread,
of Dembea flour, equal in all
its qualities to the best in Lon-
don or Paris.

The Abyssinians say, you
must plant first and then water ;
nobody, therefore, drinks till
they have finished eating ; after
this, the glass went cheerfully
about ; there was excellent red
wine, but strong, of the nature
ofcote-roti, brought from Ka-
roota, which is the wine country,
about six miles south-east from
the place where we then were ;
good new brandy ; honey wine,
or hydromel, and a species of
beer called bouza, both of which
were fermented with herbs, or
leaves of trees, and made very
heady ; they are disagreeable
liquors to strangers. Our kind
landlady, who never had quitted
her sofa, pressed about the
glass in the very briskest man-
ner, reminding us that our time
was short, and that the drum

would presently give the signal
for striking the tents. For my
part, this weighed exceedingly
with me the contrary way to
her intentions, for I began to
fear I should not be able to go
home, and I was not prepared
to go on with the army ; besides
it was indispensably necessary
to see both the king and Ras
Michael, and that I by no
means chose to do when my
prepence of mind had left me ;
I therefore made my apology
to Ozoro Esther, by a message
delivered by one of her women,
and slipt out of the tent to wait
upon the king.

I thought to put on my most
sedate appearance, that none of
my companions in the king's
tent should see that I was
affected with liquor ; though
intoxication in Abyssinia is
neither uncommon nor a re-
proach, when you are not en-
gaged in business or attendance.
I therefore went on as com-
posedly as possible, without
recollecting that I had already
advanced near a hundred yards
walking on that forbidden pre-
cinct or avenue between the
king's tent and Ras Michael's,
where nobody interrupted me.
The ease with which I pro-
ceeded, among such a crowd
and bustle, soon brought my
transgression to my mind, and
I hurried out of the forbidden
place in an instant.

I met several of my acquaint-
ance, who accompanied me to
the king's tent. It was now
noonj a plentiful dinner or

•. IJi!,

250

T//£ ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

breakfast was waiting, which I
had absolutely refused to par-
take of till I had seen the king.
Thinking all was a secret that
had passed at O^oro Esther's,
I lifted the curtain behind the
king's chair, and coming round
till nearly opposite to him, I
was about to perform the usual
prostration, when, in the very
instant, the young prince,
George, who was standing op-
posite to me on the king his
brother's right hand, stept for-
ward and laid his hand across
my breast, as if to prevent me
from kneeling ; then turning to
the king, who was sitting as
usual in his chair in the alcove,
* Sir,' says he, * before you allow
Yagoube to kneel, you should
first provide two men to lift
him up again ; for Ozoro Esther
has given him so much win^,
that he will never be able to do
it himself.*

A messenger now came for-
ward from Ras Michael, bear-
ing news from Begemder, that
Powussen and his troops were
ready to march, and that two
of Gusho's nephews had rebelled,
and whom it had taken some
time to subdue. Also that Fasil
upon hearing Ras Michael's
march, was preparing to repass ,
the Nile into the country of the
Galla. This occasioned very
great doubts, because de-
spatches had arrived fromNanna
Georgis's son, the day before,
at Tedda, which declared that
Fasil had decamped from Bur^
that very day the messenger
caine away, advancing north-

wards towards Gondar, but
with what intention he could
not say j and this was well
known to be intelligence that
might be strictly and certainly
relied upon.

On the 15th the king de-
camped early in the morning,
and, as Prince George had said
the night before, led the van in
person, a flattering mark of
confidence that Ras Michael
had put in him now for the
first time, of which the king was
very sensible. The Ras, how-
ever, had given him (Maguzet) a
dry-nurse, as it is called, in Bil-
letana Gueta Welleta Michael,
an old and approved officer,
trained to war from his infancy,
and surrounded with the most
tried of the troops of Tigr^.
The king halted at the river
Gomara, but advanced that
same night to the passage where
the Nile comes out of the lake
Tzana, and resumes again the
appearance of a river.

The kingonthe 15th and i6th
remained encamped upon the
Nile. Several things that should
have given umbrage, and begot-
ten suspicion, happened while
they were in this situation. Aylo,
governor of Gojam, had been
summoned to assist Ras Michael
when Powussen and Gusho
should march to join him with
their forces of Begemder and
Amhara, and his mother Ozoro
Welleta Israel, then at Gondar,
had promised he should not
fail. This lady was younger
sister to Ozoro Esther; both
were daughters of the Iteghd

BRUCBS TRAVELS,

251

She was as beautiful as Oeoro
Esther, but very much her in-
ferior in behaviour, character,
and conduct : she had refused
the old Ras, who asked her in
marriage before he was called
from Tigr^ to Gondar, and a
mortal hatred had followed her
refusal. It was therefore re-
ported that he was heard to
say he would order the eyes of
Welleta Israel to be pulled out
if Aylo, her son, did not join
him. It must have been a man
such as Ras Michael that could
form such a resolution, for
Welleta Israel's eyes were most
captivating. She was then in
the camp with her sister.

A single small tent had ap-
pearedinthe evening of the 15th
on the other side of the Nile,
and, on the morning of the
1 6th, Welleta Israel and the
tent were missing ; she boldly
made her escape in the night.
All the camp had trembled for
Welleta Israel; and every one
now rejoiced that so bold an
attempt had been attended
with the success it merited.
It was necessary, however, to
dissemble before Michael.

On the 17 th, after sunrise.
the king passed the Nile, and
encamped at a small village
called Tsoomwa, where his
Fit-Auraris had previously taken
up their post. The Fit-Auraris
is an officer depending im-
mediately upon the Commander-
in-chief, and is always one of
the bravest and most ex-
perienced men in the service.
The king's passage of the Nile

was the signal given for me to
join him. Accordingly, I left
Emfra on the i8th, and halted
that night at Lamgue. Leav-
ing Lamgue we came to the river
Reb, which falls into Lake
Tzana near this place. On the
20th, I sent the baggage and
tents we had with us forward
with Strates. £ Greek, and an
avowed enemy to scientific
inquiries or botanical research,
telling him to encamp at Dara.
When we reached the village of
Dara in the afternoon we found
Strates in a great passion, hav-
ing been robbed of everything,
save one of the mules which we
picked up on the way. He had
been stripped naked. I tried
to appease him by telling him
that I should have him dressed
from head to foot by Negade
Ras Mahomet, at the expense
of the king.

I had an interview with Ne-
gade Ras Mahomet, and when
alone, I interrogated him if
he knew anything of the re-
bellion in Begemder. He told
me after, under the seal of
secrecy, that Ras Michael had
halted two days at Derdera ;
that, upon a message he had
received from Begemder, he had
broken out into violent passions
against Gusho and Powussen,
calling them liars and traitors
in the openest manner ; that a
council had been held at Der-
dera, in presence of the king,
where it was in deliberation
whether the army should not
turn short into Begemder, to
force that province to join them,

»!>»

THE KXGLlSff EXPT.OREl^S.

\\\K lh;U it was (>;tnioi1, lov the

s;\ko of the AgONVS, to RtMul

rowvisscn rt sununons to join
\\\\\\ tor the Inst time ; thnt, in
the ine;\n\v]\iU\ thoy shouM
tunix h slmight, with tlie greatest
ilih^jenre, to meet l-nsil, nml
give him Imttle, then return,
nnd rethiec to proper snhonli-
n;Uionboth Hegrnulernml An»-

Tins wns the very worst news
I eouKl possibly receive, mc-
1 onhng to the resohitioiis that
1 had then taken ; lor I was
within al)ont lourteen miles of
the great < ataraet, and it wa»
l>rol>able 1 shouKI never again
]>e so near, were it evei\ always
aeeessiMe; ti) ]>ass, therefore,
without seeing it, was worse, in
my own thoughts, than any
tianger that oouhl ilnxaten me.
iNegatle Ras Mahomet was a
svibor, plain inan, of excellent
vnulerstaniling, aiul universal
gooil character for tnuh auvl
integrity ; antl, as .such, very
much in the favour both of the
king and Kas Michael. I
opened my intetUions to hin\
without reserve, desiring; his ad-
vice how to manage this excur-
sion to the cata' <ct. ' Unless
you had told ww ;0U was re-
solved,' says he. with a grave
air, though full of openness and
canilour, • I would, in the first
]>lace, have atlvisetl you not to
think of such an undertaking ;
these are unsettled times ; all
the country is bushy, wild, and
uninhabited, quite to Alata ;
and though A[ahomct,the Shunv
is a good man, my friend and

relation, ami the king reposon
trust in him, as he docs ii\ nu\
yet Alata itself is at any time
b\»t a bad straggling pl.u o ,
there are now many slranmis
and wild people there, wliom
Mahomet has brought to lm
assistance, siiu:e (lUebra Mo-
hcdin made the attack iip^n
him. If, then, anvthing was to
befall you, what should 1 aiiHwcr
to the king and the llegluM It
would be said, the 'I'nrk l);is
betrayed him ; though, ('u),|
knows, I never was canahlo ol
betraying your dog, and ratlui
wouM be poor all my life, \\\\\\
the richest man of the pn)vinro
by(U)it^g the like wn)ng, even
if the bad action was ncvrr t<)
be revealed, or known, unless
to n\y own heart.'

' Ntahomet,' said t, * yo\i nooil
not dwell on these professions ;
I have lived twelve years with
people of your religit>n, my lilo
alwav: in their power, and 1 am
now \i\ your house, in prclcrciuc
to being in a tent out of doors,
with Netdu) and his Christians.
1 do t\ot ask yoti whether I am
to go or not, for that is rcsolvol
on ; and, though you are a Ma
hometan and I a ('hrislian, no
religion teaches a man to do
evil. We both agree in this,
that God, who has ])rotc((al
me thus far, is capable to pnv
tect me likewise at the catarart.
aiid farther, if he has not dclor-
miiKHl otherwise, for my good ;
I only ask you, as a man wlio
knows the country, to give mo
your best advice, how I may
satisfy my curiosity in this

PK trends Tf^ArKis,

•5:1

point, with ns little (Itiiigcr, and
an much cxpeditiun nB poRsibtc,
leaving the rest to heftvcn.'

' Well/ Rnys he, • 1 almll do
m). I lliitik, likewise, for your
lomfort, that, bnrring unforeseen
aaidents, yon nuiy do it nt this
lime, without grr.it danger.
(\w\)\'A Mehedin will not eon»e
liolween this town and Alnta,
lurausc we are all one people,
mid the killing two men, and
wounding Mahomet's son,
iii.ikcs him a tiimffictini} At
Alalii he knows the Slunn is
iciuly to receive him as he de-
serves ; nud he is himself
aliaid of K.ismnti Ayahdar, with
whom he is as deep in guilt as
with us, and hcre,he well knows,
lie dare not venture for mniiy
reasons.'

' Ayahdar,' said I, ' passed the
Karoola three days ago.'

' Well, well,' re|)lied Ma-
homet, *so much the better.
Ayahdar has the leprosy, and
goes every year once, sometimes
twice, to the hot wells at JiCbec ;
lliey uiust jmss nearonc another,
iiiHi that is the reason (Juebra
Mchcdin has assembled all
lliesc banditti of horse about
iiim. Me is a beggar and a
si'cmlthrifl ; a fortnight ago he
sent to me to borrow twenty
ounces of gold. You may be
sure 1 did not lend it him ;
he is loo much in my debt
ahcady ; and I hope Ras
Michael will give you his head
in your hantl before winter, for
the sluuneful action he has been

' (iuiliy ..r (Mir l)looi1, nnd subject to the
Mvvs of rcl.iliuiion.

guilty of to you and yours this
iliiy.

• Woodage Asnhel,* said I,
' what say you of himi'

' Why, you know,' replied
Mahomet, 'nobody can inform
you about his motions, as he is
j»erpelually (m horseback, nml
never rests night nor day ; how-
ever, he has no business on this
side of the water, the rather
that he must be sure Ras Mi-
chael, when fte j)asse(l here,
took with him all the king's
money that T had in my hands.
When daylight is fairly come,
for we do not know the changes
a night may |)roduce in tliis
cotinliy, take naif a dozen of
your servants ; 1 will send with
you my son, and four of my
servants ; you will (all at Alata,
go down and sec the cataract,
but do not stay, return im-
mediately, ar.d, U/hh Keriuiy
— (lod is merciful.'

I thanked my kind landlord,
and let him go ; but, recollect-
ing, called him again,and asked,
•What shall 1 do with Netcho*
How shall I rejoin him'J my
t:ompany is too small to jiass
Maitsha without him.'

'Sleep it) peace,' says he, ' f
will provide for that ; 1 tell you
in confidence, the king's money
is in my hands, and was not
ready when the Ras [)assed ; my
son is but just arrived with the
last of it this evening, tired to
death ; I send the money by
Nctcho, and my son too, with
forty stout fellows, well armed,
who will die in your service,
and not run away like those

254

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

vagabond Christians, in whom
you must place no confidence
if danger presents itself, but
imnietliately throw yourself
among the Mahometans. Be-
sides, there are about fifty
soldiers, most of them from
'I'igre, Michael's men, that have
been loitering here these two
days. It was one of these that
fired the gun just before you
came, which alarmed Netcho ;
so that, when you are come
back in safety from the cataract,
they shall be, by that time, all
on their march to the passage.
My son shall mount with you ;
I fear the Nile will be too deep,
but when once you are at
Tsoomwa, you may set your
mind at rest, and bid defiance
to Woodage Asahel, who knows
his enemy always before he
engages him, and at this time
will not venture to interrupt
your march.'

As I have mentioned the
name of this person so often, it
will be necessary to observe,
that he was, by origin, a Galla,
but born in Damot, of the clan
Elmana or Densa, two tribes
settled there in the time of
Yasous I. ; that he was the most
intrepid and active partisan in
his time, and had an invincible
hatred to Ras Michael ; nor
was there any love lost betwixt
them. It is impossible to con-
ceive with what velocity he
moved, sometimes with 200
horse, sometimes with half that
number. He was constantly
failing upon some part of Mi-
chael's army, whether march-

ing or encamped ; the blow
once struck, he disappeared in
a minute. When he wanted to
attempt something great, he had
only to summon his friends and
acquaintances in the country,
and he had then a little aniiy,
which dispersed as soon as the
business was done. It was
Ras Michael's first question to
the spies ; ' Where was Woodage
Asahel last night?' a question
they very seldom could answer
with certainty. He was in his
person too tall for a good horse-
man, yet he was expert in this
qualification by constant prac-
tice. His face was yellow, as
if he had the jaundice, and
much pitted with the small-pox ;
his eyes small, staring, and fiery ,
his nose as if it were broken,
his mouth large, his chin long
and turned up at the end ; he
spoke very fast, but not much ;
and had a very shy, but ill-
designing look. In his char-
acter he was avaricious, treach-
erous, inexorable, and cruel to
a proverb ; in short, he was
allowed to be the most merci-
less robber and murderer that
age had produced in all Abys-
sinia.

Wearied with thinking, and
better reconciled to my expedi-
tion, I fell into a sound sleep.
I was awakened by Strates in
the morning (the 2rst of May),
who, from the next room, had
heard all the conversation be-
tween me and Negade Ras, and
began now to think that there
was no safety but in the camp
of the king. I will not repeat

BRUGES TRAVELS,

255

his wise expostulations against
going to the cataract. We were
rather late, and I paid little re-
gard to them. After coffee I
mounted my horse, with five
servants on horseback, all re-
solute, active, young fellows,
armed with lances in the fashion
of their country. I was joined
that moment by a son of Ma-
homet on a good horse, armed
with a short gun and pistols at
his belt, with four of his ser-
vants, Mahometans, stout men,
each having his gun and pistols
at his girdle, and a sword hung
over his shoulder, mounted upon
four good mules, swifter and
stronger than ordinary horses.
We galloped all away, and were
out of sight in a short time.
We then pursued our journey
with diligence, but not in a
hurry. We went first to a hilly
and rocky country, full of trees,
mostly of unknown kinds, and
all of the greatest beauty possi-
ble, having flowers of a hundred
different colours and forms upon
them. Many of the trees were
loaded with fruit, and many
with both fruit and flowers.

I happened to be upon a
very steep part of the hill, full
of bushes ; and one of the ser-
vants, dressed in the Arabian
fashion, in a bumoose, and
turban striped white and green,
led my horse, for fear of slipping,
till it got into the path leading
to the Shum's door. I heard
the fellow exclaiming in Arabic,
as he led the horse, — * Good

! to see you here ! Good

! to see you here ! '

I asked him who he was
speaking of, and what reason
he had to wonder to see me
there.

* What, do you not know
mel'

I said I did not.

* Why,' replied he, * I was
several times with you at Jidda.
I saw you often with Captain
Price and Captain Scott, with
the Moor Yasine, and Mahomet
Gibberti. I was the man that
brought your letters from Meti-
cal Aga at Mecca, and was to
come over with you to Masuah,
if you had gone directly there,
and had not proceeded to Ye-
men or Arabia Felix. I was on
board the Lion, when your
little vessel, all covered with
sail, passed with such briskness
through the English ships, which
all fired their cannon ; and
evei:ybody said there is a poor
man making a great haste to
be assassinated among those
wild people in Habbesh; and
so we all thought.' He
concluded, * Drink 1 no force I

Englishman very goodl

drink!'

The man continued repeating
the same words, crying as loud
as he could, with an air of
triumph ; while I was reflecting
how shameful it was for us to
make these profligate expres-
sions, by frequent repedtion, so
easily acquired by strangers
that knew nothing else of our
language.

The Shum and all about him
were in equal astonishment at
seeing the man, to all appear-

25^

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

ance in a passion, bawling out
words they did not understand ;
but he, holding a horn in his
hand, began louder than before,
' Drink ! very good ! English-
man!' shaking the horn in the
Shuni his master's fece.

Mahomet of Alata was a very
grave, composed man. * I do
declare,' says he, * Ali is become
mad. Does anybody know what
he says or means?'

* That I do,' says I, * and will
tell you by and bye ; he is an
old acquaintance of mine, and
is speaking English. Let us
make a hasty meal, however,
with anything you have to give
us.'

Our horses were immediately
fed ; bread, honey, and butter
served. Ali had no occasion to
cry. Drink ; it went about plenti-
fully, and I would stay no longer,
but mounted my horse, think-
ing every minute that I tarried
might be better spent at the
cataract. The first thing they
carried us to was the bridge,
which consists of one arch of
about twenty-five feet broad,
the extremities of which were
strongly let into, and rested on,
the solid rock on both sides;
but fragments of the parapets
remained, and the bridge itself
seemed to bear the appearance
of frequent repairs, and many
attempts to ruin it ; otherwise,
in its construction, it was ex-
ceedingly commodious. The
Nile here is confined between
two rocks, and runs in a deep
trough, with great roaring and
impetuous velocity. We were

told no crocodiles were ever
seen so high. The cataract
itself was the most magnificent
sight that ever I beheld ; the
height nearly forty feet. The
river had been considerably in-
creased by rains, and fell in one
sheet of water, without any in-
terval, above half an English
mile in breadth, with a force
and noise that was truly terri-
ble, and which stunned and
made me for a time perfectly
di£z>. A thick fume, or haze,
covered the fall all round, and
hung over the course of the
stream both above and below,
marking its track, though the
water was not seen. The river,
though swelled with rain, pre-
served its natural clearness, and
fell, as far as I could discern,
into a deep pool, or basin, in
the solid rock, which was full,
and in twenty different eddies
to the very foot of the precipice ;
the stream, when it fell, seem-
ing part of it to run back with
great fury upon the rock, as
well as forward in the line of
its course, raising a wave, or
violent ebullition, by chafing
against each other. Jerome
Lobo pretends that he has sat
under the curve, or arch, made
by the projectile force of the
water rushing over the precipice.
He says he sat calmly at the
foot of it, and, looking through
the curve of the stream as it
was falling, saw a number of rain-
bows of inconceivable beauty in
this extraordinary prism. This,
however, I, without hesitation,
aver to be a downright false-

BRUGES TRAVELS.

257

hood. A deep pool of water,
as I mentioned, reaches to the
very foot of the rock, and is in
perpetual agitation. Now, al-
lowing that there was a seat or
bencii, which there is not, in
the middle of the pool, I do
believe it absolutely impossi-
ble, by any exertion of human
strength, to have arrived at it.
Although a very robust man, in
the prime and vigour of life,
and a hardy, practised, inde-
fatigable swimmer, I am per-
fectly confident I could not
have got to that seat from the
shore through the quietest part
of that basin ; and, supposing
the friar placed in his imaginary
seat, under the curve of that
immense arch of water, he must
nave had a portion of firmness
more than falls to the share of
ordinary men, and which is not
likely to be acquired in a mo-
nastic life, to philosophize upon
optics in such a situation, where
everything would seem, to his
dazzled eyes, to be in motion,
and the stream, in a noise like
the loudest thunder, to make
the solid rock (at least as to
sense) shake to its very founda-
tion, and threaten to tear every
nerve to pieces, and to deprive
one of other senses besides that
of hearing. It was a most
magnificent sight, that ages,
added to the greatest length of
human life, would not efface or
eradicate from my memory ; it
struck me with a kind of stupor,
and a total oblivion of where I
was, and of every other sub-
lunary concern.

I was awakened from one of
the most profound reveries that
ever I fell into, by Mahomet,
and by my friend Drink, who
now put to me a thousand im-
pertinent questions. It was
after this I measured the fall,
and believe, within a few feet,
it was the height I have men-
tioned; but I confess I could
at no time in my life less pro-
mise upon precision ; my reflec-
tion was suspended, or subdued,
and, while in sight of the fall, I
think I was under a temporary
alienation of mind. It seemed
to me as if one element had
broken loose from, and becopie
superior to, all laws of subordi-
nation ; that the fountains of the
great deep were again extraor-
dinarily opened, and the destruc-
tion of a world was once more
begun by the agency of water.

It was now half an hour past
one o'clock, the weather per-
fectly good. I peremptorily
refused returning to Alata, which
our landlord importuned us to
do. It was past five when we
arrived at Dara, where we
partook of Mahomet's hospi-
tality. On the 2 2d our journey
was resumed. Ras Michael had
burnt nothing at Tsoomwa,
though there was a house of
Powussen's in the place, built
by his father. From the pas-
sage to Tsoomwa, all the
country was forsaken ; the
houses uninhabited, the grass
trodden doA^n, and the fields
without cattle. Everything that
had life and strength fled before
that terrible leader, and his no

1 «-i

;-f'H

,.1 « . ;

1^1

2S8

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

|,».

■' V-

less terrible army ; a profound
silence was in the fields around
us, but no marks as yet of
desolation. We kept strict
watch in this solitude all that
night. I took my turn till
twelve, as I was the least
fatigued of any. Netcho had
pickets about a quarter of a
mile on every side of us, with
fire-arms to give the alarm.

On the 23d, about three in
the morning, a gun was heard
on the side towards the passage.
This did not much alarm us,
though we all turned out. In
a few minutes came Ayto Adi-
go (not the Shum of Karoota,
already mentioned, who left us
at the Gomara), but a young
nobleman of Begemder, of great
hopes, one of the gentlemen of
the king's bed-chamber, and
consequently my colleague. He
intended to have brought four
horses to the king, one of which
he had drowned, or rather, as I
afterwards understood, throttled
in passing the Nile at the mouth
of the lake; and two men. the
king's servants, had perished
there likewise. He came in
great hurry, full of the news
from Begemder, and of the par-
ticulars of the conspiracy, such
as have been already stated.
With Ayto Adigo came the
king's cook, Sebastos, an old
Greek, nearly seventy, who had
fallen sick from fatigue. After
naving satisfied his inquiries,
and given him what refreshment
we could spare, he left Sebastos
with us, and pursued his jour-
ney to the camp.

On the 24th, at our ordinary
time, when the sun began to be
hot, we continued our route due
south, through a very plain flat
country, which, by the constant
fains that now fell, began to
stand in large pools, and threat-
ened to turn all into a lake.
We had hitherto lost none of
our beasts of carriage, but we
were now so impeded by streams,
brooks, and quagmires, that \\t
desi)aired of ever bringing one
of them to join the camp.
The horses and beasts of bur-
then that carried the baggage
of the army, and which had
passed before us, had spoiled
every ford, and we saw to-day
a number of dead mules lying
about the fields, the houses all
reduced to ruins, and smoking
like so many kilns ; even the
grass, or wild oats, which were
grown very high, were burnt
in large plots of a hundred
acres together ; everything bore
the marks that Ras Michael
was gone before, whilst not a
living creature appeared in
those extensive, fruitful, and
once well-inhabited plains. An
awful silence reigned every-
where around, interrupted only
at times by thunder, now be-
come daily, and the rolling of
torrents, produced by local
showers in the hills, which
ceased with the rain, and were
but the children of an hour.
Amidst this universal silence
that prevailed all over this
scene of extensive desolation,
I could not help remembering
how finely Mr. Gray paints the

BI^UCES TRAVELS.

»59

|)assage of such an army, under
a leader like Ras Michael :

< ConfuMon in his van with Flight combined,
And Sorrow'i faded form, and Solitude be-
hind.'

At Derdera we saw the church
of St. Michael, the only build-
ing which, in favour of his own
name, the Ras had spared. It
served us then for a very con-
venient lodging, as much rain
had fallen in the night, and the
priests had all fled or been
murdered. We had this even-
ing, when it was clear, seen the
mountain of Samseen. Our
next stage from Derdera was
Karcagna, a small village near
the banks of the jemma, about
two miles from Samseen. We
knew the king had resolved to
bum it, and we expected to
have seen the clouds of smoke
arising from its ruins, but all
was perfectly cool and clear;
and this very much surprised
us, considering the time he had
to do this, and the great punc-
tuality and expedition with which
his army used to execute orders
of this kind. As we advanced,
we had seen a great number of
dead mules and horses, and the
hyaenas so bold as only to leave
the carcase for a moment, and
snarl, as if they had regretted
at seeing any of us pass alive.

Since passing the Nile, I
found myself more than ordin-
arily depressed ; my spirits were
sunk almost to a degree of des-
pondency, and yet nothing had
happened since that period,
more than what was expected
before. This disagreeable situa-

tion of mind continued at night
while I was in bed. The rash-
ness and imprudence with which
I had engaged myself in so
many dangers, without any
necessity for so doing ; the
little prospect of my being ever
able to extricate myself out of
them, or, even if I lost my life,
of the account being conveyed
to my friends at home; the
great and unreasonable pre-
sumption which had led me to
think that, after every one that
had attempted this voyage had
miscarried in it, I was the only
person that was to succeed ;
all these reflections upon my
mind, when relaxed, dozing,
and half oppressed with sleep,
filled my imagination with what
I have heard other people call
the horrors^ the most disagree-
able sensation I ever was con-
scious of, and which I then
felt for the first time. Impa-
tient of suffering any longer, I
leaped out of bed, and went to
the door of the tent, where the
outward air perfectly awakened
me, and restored my strength
and courage. All was still, and
at a distance I saw several
bright fires, but lower down,
and more to the right than I
expected, which made me think
I was mistaken in the situation
of Karcagna. It was then near
four in the morning of the 25th.
I called up my companions,
happily buried in deep sleep,
as I was desirous, if possible,
to join the king that day. We
accordingly w^re three or four
miles from Derdera when the

26o

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

ji
jl

sun rose ; there had been little
rain that night, and we found
very few torrents on our way ;
but it was slippery and uneasy
walking, the rich soil being
trodden into a consistence like
paste.

We saw a number of people
this day, chiefly straggling sol-
diers, who, in parties of threes
and fours, had been seeking in
all the bushes and concealed
parts of the river, for the miser-
able natives, who had hid
themselves thereabouts ; in this
they had many of them been
successful. They had some of
them three, some of them
four women, boys, and girls,
who, though Christians like
themselves, they nevertheless
were carrying away into slavery,
to sell them to the Turks for a
very small price.

A little before nine we heard
a general firing to left and right
of us, which continued inter-
mittently for some time. We
had not gone far in the plain
before we had a sight of the
enemy, to our very great sur-
prise, and no small comfort
A multitude of deer, buffaloes,
boars, and various other wild
beasts had been alarmed by
the noise and daily advancing
of the army, and gradually
driven before them. The sol-
diers, happy in an occasion of
procuring animal food, pre-
sently fell to firing wherever the
beasts appeared ; every loaded
gun was discharged upon them,
and this continued for very nearly
an hour. A numerous flock of

the largest deer met us just in
the face, and seemed so desper
ate that they had every appear
ance of running us down ; and
part of them forced themselves
through, regardless of us all,
whilst others turned south to
escape across the plain. The
king and Ras Michael were in
the most violent agitation of
mind, the word having went
about that Woodage Asahel had
attacked the army, and this
occasioned a great panic and
disorder. I am convinced that
if he or Fasil had attacked
Michael just before our arrival,
our whole army had fled with-
out resistance, and dispersed
all over the country. Here 1
left Kasmati Netcho, and was
making my way towards the
king's tent, when I was met by
a servant of Kefla Yasous. He
seiit to desire that I would come
to him, alone, or that I would
send one of the Greeks that
followed me. I promised to
do so, after having searched
for Strates and Sebastos, who
had been sick upon the road.
Strates I found bleeding at a
large wound in his forehead,
speaking Greek to himself,
and crying out his leg was
broken, whilst he pressed it
with both his hands below the
knee, seemingly regardless of
the gash in his head, which
appeared to me a very ugly one.
Sebastos was lying stretched
along the ground, scarcely say-
ing anything, but sighing loudly.
Upon my asking him, whether
his arm was broken? he an-

BRUCE'S TRAVELS.

«
361

swered feebly, that he was a
dying man, and that his legs,
his arms, and his ribs, were
broken to pieces. I could not,
for my life, conceive how this
calamity had happened so sud-
denly ; for I had not been half
an hour absent, and, what
seemed to me still stranger,
everybody around them were
bursting out into fits of laughter.

Ali, Mahomet's servant, who
was the only person that I saw
concerned, upon my asking,
told me that it was all owing
to prince George, who had
frightened their mules. I have
already hinted, that this prince
was fond of horsemanship, and
rode with saddle, bridle, and
stirrups, like an Arab; and,
though young, was become an
excellent horseman, superior to
any in Abyssinia. The manner
that two Arabs salute one an-
other, when they meet, is, the
person inferior in rank, or age,
presents his gun at the other,
about 500 yards distance,
charged with powder only ; he
then, keeping his gun always
presented, gallops these 500
yards as fast as he can, and,
being arrived close, lowers the
muzzle of his gun, and pours
the explosion just under the
other's stirrups, or horse's belly.
This they do, sometimes twenty
at a time, and you would often
think it was impossible some-
body should escape being
bruised or burnt.

The prince had been out after
the deer all the morning; and
hearing that I was arrived, and

seeing the two Greeks riding on
their mules, he came galloping
furiously with his gun presented,
and, not seeing me, he fired a
shot under the belly of Strates's
mule, upon the ground, and
wheeling as quick as lightning
to the left, regardless of the
mischief he had occasioned,
was out of sight in a moment,
before he knew the conse-
quences.

Never was compliment worse
timed or relished. Strates had
two panniers upon his mule con-
taining two great earthen jars of
hydromel; Sebastos had also
some jars and pots, and three
or four dozen of dr in king-
glasses ; each of the mules was
covered with a carpet, and also
the panniers; and upon the
pack-saddle, between these
panniers, rode Strates and Se-
bastos. The mules, as well as
the loading, belonged to the
king, and they only were per-
mitted to ride them because
they were sick. Strates went
first, and, to save trouble, the
halter of Sebastos's nmle was
tied to Strates's saddle, so the
mules were fastened to and fol-
lowed one another. Upon fir-
ing the gun so near it, Strates's
mule, not used to compliments
of this kind, started, and threw
him to the ground; it then
trampled upon him, began to
run off, and wound the halter
around Sebastos behind, who
fell to the ground likewise
amongst some stones. Both
the mules then began kicking
at each other, till they had

•ii^-:^fii---

262

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

thrown off the panniers and
pack-saddles, and broken every-
thing that was brittle in them.
The mischief did not end here ;
for, in struggling to get loose,
they fell foul of the mule of old
Azagd Tecla Haimanout, one
of the king's criminal judges, a
very old feeble man, and threw
him upon the ground, and broke
his foot, so that he could not
walk alone for several months
afterwards. As soon as I had
pitched a tent for the wounded,
and likewise dressed Tecla Hai-
manout's foot, I went to Kefla
Yasous.

The moment I came into the
tent, Kefla Yasous rose up and
embraced me. He was sitting
alone, but with rather a cheer-
ful than a dejected countenance.
He said, the rebellion of Gusho
and Powussen was certain ; and
named the place which Fasil
had appointed to cut them off.
As soon as the news of the
conspiracy were known, it was
agreed to march briskly forv/ard,
and attack Fasil alone at Burd,
then turn to Gondar to meet
the other two, but that great rain
had fallen to the southward;
the rivers were mostly impass-
able, and there would be great
danger in meeting Fasil with an
army when spent and fatigi^d
with the difficulty of the roads.
The Ras was decidedly of
opinion, that they should keep
their army entire for a better
day, and we were immediately
to cross the Nile and march
back to Gondar.

On the 26th May we marched

towards the Nile, and on the
27 th took possession of a line
of about 600 yards of ground
and prepared to cross. The
rain poured incessantly, and
violent claps of thunder fol-
lowed one upon another. The
presence of such a monstrous
mass of water as the Nile now
presented terrified me, and made
me think the idea of crossing
would be laid aside. The Greeks
crowded around me, cursing
the hour they had first entered
that country. Netcho, Ras
Michael's Fit-auraris with about
400 men, had crossed in the
morning, the next to attempt it
was a young man, a relation of
the king. The king followed
him immediately, and after him
the old Ras on his mule, sur-
rounded with several of his
friends with and without their
horses. As soon as these were
safely on shore, the king's
household and black troops,
and I with them, swam happily
over, in a deep stream of red-
dish-coloured water. The Ras
caused Ozoro Esther to pass
over in the same manner as he
had crossed himself, without
allowing her to use the two
rafts prepared for her by the
Fit-auraris. She crossed, how-
ever, safely, though almost dead
with fright. The river had
abated towards midnight, when
all the Tigrd infantry, and many
mules lightly loaded, passed
with less difficulty than any of
the rest had done. Kefla Ya-
sous with the rear and all the
baggage of the army remained

BRUGES TRAVELS,

2Ci

until the dawn of the morning,
on the other side, when they
crossed at another and a better

ford.

On the 28th an account
reached us that there had been
some fighting between the king's
army and Fasil's Fit-auraris. A
skirmish afterwards took place,
when Fasil, who saw the for-
ward countenance of the king's
troops, and that a few minutes
would lay him under the neces-
sity of risking a battle which we
did not intend, withdrew his
troops, retiring to Boskon Abbo.
This was called the battle of
Limjour, after a town of that
name which had been burnt in
the last campaign.

As a mark of confidence in
Kefla Yasous, for his diligence
and activity shown in the recent
engagement, the Ras gave him
command of the rear. There
was great rejoicings throughout
the camp, every one recovered
their baggage and provisions.

Next day the army marched
to Dingleber, where the king
insisted upon treating Ras
Michael and all the people of
consideration. Just as the
king sat down to dinner, an
accident happened that occa-
sioned great trepidation among
all his servants. A black eagle
was chased into the king's tent
by some of the birds of prey
that hover about the camp ;
and it was afterwards in the
mouth of every one, the king
would be dethroned by a man
of inferior birth and condition.
Everybody at that time looked

to Fasil : the event proved the
application false, though the
omen was true. Powussen of
Begemder was as low-born as
Fasil, as great a traitor, but
more successful, to whom the
ominous presage pointed ; and,
though we cannot but look upon
the whole as accident, it was
but too soon fulfilled.

In the evening of the 29th
two horsemen arrived from
Fasil clad in habits of peace
and without arms. Fasil de-
clared his resolution through
them never again to appear in
arms against the king, and pay
the accustomed taxes punctu-
al ' y . He promised to renounce
all connexion with Gusho and
Powussen, and concluded by
desiring the Ras to give Fasil
his grand-daughter, Welleta
Selasse, in marriage ; all of
which was agreed to. To our
very great surprise therefore
we heard it proclaimed, that,
* Fasil is governor of the Agow,
Maitsha, Gojam, knd Damot ;
prosperity to him, and long
may he live a faithful servant
to the king our master.* Though
scarce forty-three hours since
Fasil had laid a scheme for
drowning the greater part of
the array in the Nile, and cut-
ting the threats of the residue
on both sides of it, at this news
the whole camp abandoned it-
self to joy.

On the 30th of May nothing
material happened, and, in a
few days we arrived at Gondar.
The day before we entered,
being encamped on the river

264

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

Kemona, two messengers came
from Gusho and Powussen, with
various excuses why they had
not joined. They were very ill
received by the Ras, and refused
an audience of the king. Their
present, which is always new
clothes to some value, was a
small piece of dark-blue Surat
cloth, value about half-a-crown,
intended as an affront; they
were not suffered to sleep in the
camp, but forwarded to Fasil,
where they were going.

The 3d of June the army en-
camped on the river Kahha,
under Gondar. From the time
we left Dingleber, some one or
other of the Ras's confidential
friends had arrived every day.
Several of the great officers of
state reached us at the Kemona,
many others met us at Abba
Samuel. I did not perceive the
news they brought increased the
spirits either of the king or the
Ras ; the soldiers, however,
were all contented, because
they were at home; but the
officers, who saw farther, wore
very different countenances,
especially those that v ^ of
Amhara. I, in particular, had
very little reason to be pleased ;
for, after having undergone a
constant series of fatigues, dan-
gers, and expenses, I was re-
turned to Gondar disappointed
of my views in arriving at the
source of the Nile, without any
other acquisition than a violent
ague.

The king had heard that
Gusho and Powussen, with
Gojam under Ay to Aylo, and

all the troops of Belessen and
Lasta, were ready to fall upon
him in Gondar as soon as the
rains should have swelled the
Tacazzd, so that the army could
not retire into Tigr^; and it
was now thought to be the in-
stant this might happen, as the
king's proclamation in favour of
Fasil, especially the giving him
Gojam, it was not doubted,
would hasten the motion of the
rebels. Accordingly that very
morning, after the king arrived,
the proclamation was made at
Gondar, giving Fasil Gojam,
Damot, the Agow, and Maitsha ;
after which his two servants
were again magnificently clothed
and sent back with honour.

As I had never despaired,
some way or other, of arriving
at the fountains of the Nile,
from which we were not fifty
miles distant when we turned
back at Karcagna, so I never
neglected to improve every
means that held out to me the
least probability of accomplish-
ing this end. I had been ve7
attentive and serviceable to
Fasil's servants while in the
camp. I spoke greatly of their
master, and, when they went
away, gave each of them a small
present for himself, and a trifle
also for Fasil. They had, on
the other hand, been very im-
portunate with me, as a physi-
cian, to prescribe something for
a cancer on the lip, as I under-
stood it to be, with which Wel-
leta Yasous, Fasil's principal
general, was afflicted.

I had been advised, by some

BRUGES TRAVELS.

265

of my medical friends, to cany
along with me a preparation
of hemlock, or cicuta, recom-
mended by Dr. Stork, a physi-
cian at Vienna. I prescribed
small doses to Welleta Yasous,
being much more anxious to
preserve myself from reproach,
than warmly solicitous about
the cure of my unknown patient.
They were ovegoyed at having
succeeded so well in their com-
mission, and declared before
the king, * That Fasil, their
master, would be more pleased
with receiving a medicine that
would restore Welleta Yasous
to health, than with the magni-
ficent appointments the king's
goodness had bestowed upon
him.'

' If it is so/ said I, * in this
day of grace I will ask two
favours.'

' And that 's a rarity,* says
the king. * Come, out with
them. I don't believe anybody
is desirous you should be re-
fused ; I certainly am not ; only
I bar one of them- -you are not
to relapse into your usual de-
spondency, and talk of going
home.'

* Well, sir,' said I, * I obey,
and that is not one of them.
They are these : You shall give
me, and oblige Fasil to ratify
it, the village of Geesh, and the
source where the Nile rises, that
I may be from thence furnished
with money for myself and ser-
vants ; it shall stand me instead
of Tangouri, near Emfras, and
in value it is not worth so much.
Tiie second is, that when I shall

see that it is in his power to
carry me to Geesh, and show
me those sources, Fasil shall do
it upon my request, without fee
or reward, and witlwut excuse
or evasion.'

They all laughed at the easi-
ness of the request ; all declared
that this was nothing, and wished
to do ten times as much. The
king said, * Tell Fasil I do give
the village of Geesh, and those
fountains he is so fond of, to
Yagoube and his posterity for
ever, never to appear under
another name in the deftar, and
never to be taken from him or
exchanged, either in peace or
war.'

The king's secretary and his-
torian being then present, the
king ordered him to enter the
gift in the deftar, or revenue-
book, where the taxes and
revenue of the king's lands are
registered.

* I will write it,* says the old
man, * in letters of gold ; and,
poor as I am, will give him a
village four times better than
either Geesh or Tangouri, if he
will take a wife and stay amongst
us, at least till my eyes are
closed.'

The next morning the whole
army was in motion, it being re-
solved by the king and Michael
to retire into Tigr^. I had the
evening before taken leave of
the king, in an interview which
cost me more than almost any
one in my life. The substance
was, * That I was ill in my
health, and quite unprepared to
attend him into Tigr^ ; that my

266

THh ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

SI,

\ts

heart was set upon completing
the only purpose of my coming
into Abyssinia, without which I
should return into my own coun-
try with disgrace ; that I hoped,
through his majesty's influence,
Fasil might find some way for
me to accomplish it; if not, I
trusted soon to see him return,
when I hoped it would be easy ;
but, if I then went to Tigr^, I
was fully persuaded I should
never have the resolution to
come again to Gondar.'

He seemed to take heart at
the confidence with which I
spoke of his return, and, after
a confidential, friendly talk on
the matter, advised me to live
entirely at Koscam with the
Iteghd

On the 5th of June, while
Powussen, Adero, and the con-
spirators, were waiting his pas-
sage through Belessen, the
king's army marched towards
Koscam, so that the distance
between them increased every
day. Michael, when he arrived
in his government, set himself
seriously to unite every part
under his jurisdiction. He took
possession of the mountain Ha-
ramat, ordered the whole moun-
tain to be surrounded with
barracks, or huts, for his sol-
diers, erecting houses for him-
self, his principal officers, and
the king. The country people
were called in to plough and sow
the ground in the neighbour-
hood. The king and Michael,
by their wise behaviour, had
reconciled Tigre as one man,
and the Ras had issued a pro-

clamation remitting to that pro-
vince their taxes for a whole
year, in consideration of their
fidelity and services.

In the meantime Gusho and
Powussen entered Gondar on
the loth of June, and their will
was law while they remained in
Gondar. I waited upon them
and had an unpleasant inter-
view with them, and I felt, on
leaving, that my Importance was
now gone with the king. I was
fallen, and they were resolved,
I saw, to make me sensible of
it. A council of the principal
officers that remained at Gondar
was held, and the result was,
they fixed on a young man,
about twenty-four years of age,
reputed to be a son of Yasous,
for their king, under the name
of Socinios.

I v/as resolved once more to
try and continue my journey to
the head of the Nile. The news
that Ras Michael with 30,000
men, was approaching Gondar,
inspired me with a degree of
confidence and composure of
mind to which I had long been
a stranger. I looked upon this
news as a good omen, slept
soundly that night, and in the
morning I was ready for the
journey.

CHAPTER XI.

Arrival at the fountains of the Nile.

On the morning of the 28th of
October 1770 we left Gondar,
and in the course of two days

BRUGES TRAVELS.

267

:e more to

we reached Bamba, a collection
of villages, where P'asil was en-
camped. Fasil's tentwas pitched
a little below us, and I imme-
diately sent Ayto Aylo's servant
to present my compliments and
acquaint him of my being on
the road to visit him. I thought
now all my difficulties were
over, for I knew it was in lis
power to forward us to ou.-
journey's end. On the night of
the 30th I received a message
to attend him, when I re-
paired immediately to his tent.
After announcing myself, I
waited about a quarter of an
hour before I was admitted ; he
was sitting upon a cushion, with
a lion's skin upon it, and
another stretched like a carpet
before his feet, and had a cot
ton cloth, something like a
dirty towel, wrapped about his
head; his upper clcak or gar-
ment was drawn tight about
him over his neck and shoul-
ders, so as to cover his hands ;
I bowed, and went forward to
kiss one of them, but it was so
entangled in the cloth, that I
was obliged to kiss the cloth
instead of the hand. This was
done either as not expecting I
should pay him that compliment
(as I certainly should not have
done, being one of the king's
servants, if the king had been
at Gondar) or else it was in-
tended for a mark of disrespect,
which was very much of a piece
with the rest of his behaviour
afterwards.

There was no carpet or
cushions in the tent, and only

a little straw, as if accidentally,
thrown thinly about it. I sat
down upon the ground, think-
ing him sick, not knowing what
all this meant ; he looked stead-
fastly at me, saying, half under
his breath, ' Endett nawi % bogo
nawi ? ' which, in Amharic, is,
* How do you do ] Are you
very well V I made the usual
answer, ' Well, thank God.'
He again stopt, as for me to
speak ; there was only one old
man present, who was sitting
on the floor mending a mule's
bridle. I took him at first for
an attendant, but observing
that a servant, uncovered, held
a candle to him, I thought he
was one of his Gal) • but then
I saw a blue silk ttir jad, which
he had about his neck, which
is a badge of Christianity all
over Abyssinia, and which a
Galla would not wear. What
he was, T could not make out ;
he seemed, however, to be a
very bad cobbler, and took no
notice of us.

Ayto Aylo's servant, who
stood behind me, pushed me
with his knee, as a sign that I
should speak, which I accord-
ingly began to do with some
difficulty. ' I am come,' said
I, * by your invitation, and the
king's leave, to pay my respects
to you in your own government,
begging that you would favour
my curiosity so far as to suffer
me to see the country of the
Agows, and the source of the
Abay (or Nile) part of which I
have seen in Egypt.' * The
source of the Abay ! ' exclaimed

268

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

he, with a pretended surprise,
*do you know what you are
saying % Why, it is God knows
where, in the country of the
Galla, wild, terrible people.
The source of the Abay ! Are
you raving % ' repeats he again :

* Are you to get there, do you
think, in a twelvemonth, or
more, or when % * * Sir,* said I,
'the king told rae it was near
Sacala, and still nearer Geesh :
both villages of the Agows, and
both in your government.'

* And so you know Sacala and
Geesh 1 ' says he, whistling and
half angry. * I can repeat the
names that I hear,' said I ;

* all Abyssinia knows the head
of the Nile.' *Ay,' says he,
imitating my voice and manner,
*but all Abyssinia won't carry
you there, that I promise you.'

* If you are resolved to the
contrary,' said I, * they will not ;
I wish you had told the king so
in time, then I should not have
attempted it; it was relying
upon you alone I came so far,
conftdent if all the rest of
Abyssinia could not protect me
t)iere, that your word singly
could do it.'

He now put on a look of
more complacency. * Look you,
Yagoube,' says he, * it is true I
can do it ; and, for the king's
sake, who recommended it to
me, I would do it ; but the
Acab Saat, Abba Salama, has
sent to me, to desire me not to
let you pass further ; he says it
is against the law of the land
to permit Franks like you to go
about the country, and that he

has dreamed something ill win
befall me if you go into Maitsha.'
I was as much irritated as I
thought it possible for me to be.
' So, so,' said I, * the time of
priests, prophets, and dreamers
is coming on again.* * I under-
stand you,' says he, laughing
for the first time; *I care as
little for priests as Michael does
and for prophets too, but I
would have you consider the
men of this country are not
like yours; a boy of these
Galla would think nothing of
killing a man of your country.
You white people are all eflem-
inate; you are like so many
women ; you are not fit for
going into a province where all
is war, and inhabited by men,
warriors from their cradle.'

I saw he intended to pro-
voke me, and he had succeeded
so effectually that I should have
died, I believe, if I had not,
imprudent as it was, told him
my mind in f^ly. * Sir,' said
I, * I have passed through raanj
of the most barbarous nations
in the world ; all of them, ex-
cepting this clan of yours, have
some great men among them,
above using a defenceless stran-
ger ill. But the worst and
lowest individual among the
most uncivilized people, never
treated me as you have done
to-day, under your own roof,
where I have come so far for
protection.* He asked, ' Howl'
'You have, in the first place,'
said I, 'publicly called me
Frank, the most odious name
in this country, and sufficient

BRUGES TRAVELS.

269

to occasion me to be stoned to
death without further ceremony,
by any set of men, wherever I
may present myself. By Frank,
you mean one of the Romish
religion, to which my nation is
as adverse as yours ; and again,
without having ever seen any
of my countrymen but myself,
you have discovered, from that
specimen, that we are all
cowards and effeminate people
like, or inferior to, your boys
or women. Look you. Sir,
you never heard that I gave
myself out as more than an
ordinary man in my own coun-
try, far less to be a pattern of
what is excellent in it. I am
no soldier, though I know
enough of war to see yours
are poor proficients in that
trade. But there are soldiers,
friends and countrymen ot mine
(one presents himself to my
mind at this instant*) who
would not think it an action
in his life to vaunt of, that
with 500 men he had trampled
all you naked savages into
dust.' On this Fasil made a
feigned laugh, and seemed
rather to take my freedom
amiss. It was, doubtless, a
passionate and rash Sj^ eech.
'As to myself,' continued I,
'unskilled in war as I am,
could it be now without further
consequence, let me but be
armed in my own country
fashion, on horseback, as I was
yesterday, I should, without

1 It is with pleasure I confess the man in
my mind was my brave friend, Sir William

Erskiue.

thinking myself overmatched,
fight the two best horsemen
you shall choose from this your
army of famous men, who are
warriors from their cradle ; and
if, when the king arrives, you
are not returned to your duty,
and we meet again, as we did
at Limjour, I will pledge my-
self, with his permission, to put
you in mind of this promise,
and leave the choice of these
men in your option.' This did
not make things better.

He repeated the word duty
after me, and would have re-
plied, but my nose burst out in
a stream of blood ; and, that
instant, Aylo's servant took
hold of me by the shoulder, to
hurry me out of the tent.
Fasil seemed to be a good deal
deal concerned, for the blood
streamed out upon my clothes.
The old man likewise assisted
me when out of the tent; I
found he was Guebra Ehud,
Ay to Aylo's brother, whose ser-
vant we had met on the road.
I returned then to my tent, and
the blood was soon stanched
by washing my face with cold
water. I sat down to recollect
myself, and the more I calmed,
the more I was dissatisfied at
being put off my guard ; but it
is impossible to conceive the
provocation without having
proved it. I have felt but too
often how much the love of
our native soil increases by our
absence from it ; and how
jealous we are of comparisons
made to the disadvantage of
our countrymen by people who,

It ■

•■m

270

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

all proper allowances being
made, are generally not their
equals, when they would boast
themselves their superiors. I
will confess further, in gratifi-
cation to my critics, that I was
from my infancy of a sanguine,
passionate disposition ; very
sensible of injuries that I had
neither provoked nor deserved;
but much reflection from very
early life, continual habits of
suffering in long and dangerous
travels, where nothing but
patience would do, had, I
flattered myself, abundantly
subdued my natural proneness
to feel off"ences which common
sense might teach me I could
only revenge upon myself.

However, upon further con-
sulting my own breast, I found
there was another cause had
v'^o-operated strongly with the
former in making me lose my
temper at this time, which,
upon much greater provoca-
tion, I had never done before.
I found now, as I thought,
that it was decreed decisively
my hopes of arriving at the
source of the Nile were for ever
ended ; all my trouble, all my
expenses, all my time, and all
my sufferings for so many years
were thrown away, from no
greater obstacle than the whim-
sies of one barbarian, whose
good inclinations I thought I
had long before sufficiently
secured ; and, what was worse,
I was now got within less than
forty miles of the place I so
much wished to see ; and my
hopes were shipwrecked upon

the last as well as the most
unexpected difficulty I had to
encounter.

I was just going to bed,
when Ayto Welleta Michael
Ras Michael's r^ephew, taken
at Limjour, and a prisoner with
Fasil, though now at large,
came into the tent. I need not
repeat the discourse that passed
between us ; it was all con-
dolence upon the ill-usage I
had met with. He cursed
Fasil, called him a thousand
opprobrious names, and said
Ras Michael one day would
show me his head upon a
pole ; he hinted that he thought
Fasil expected a present, and
imagined that I intended to
pass the king's recommenda-
tion 0.1 him in the place of
it. * I have a present,' said I,
' and a very handsome one ;
but I never thought that, while
his nagareet was still beating,
and when he had scarcely
pitched his tent, when he was
tired, and I no less so, that
it was then a time to open
baggage for this purpose; if
he had waited till to-morrow,
he should have had a gratifi-
cation which would have con-
tented him.'

Welleta Michael assured me
that Fasil would not deny me
the required permission, and
that he expected no present.
This assurance composed my
mind, and falling into a deep
sleep I was awakened about
midnight by two of Fasil's
servants, who brought two
lean sheep as a present, and

BRUGES TRAVELS,

171

stayed all night to watch the

house.

Next morning another ser-
vant of Fasil's came leading
twelve horses, all saddled and
bridled, from which I might
choose one as a present. None
of them in this country would
have brought over £1. The
servant pitched on a bright bay
pony, fat, and apparently strong
enough to carry me. He pre-
tended that he was a great
favourite of Fasil's, but too dull
and quiet for him. I consented
to try him, having my own
saddle and bridle put on the
horse. For the first two minutes
after I mounted, I do not know
whether I was most on the
earth or in the air ; he kicked
behind, reared before, leaped
like a deer all four off the
ground ; he then attempted to
gallop, but got a check which
staggered him.

Finding I slacked the bridle
on his neck, he set- off and ran
away, flinging out behind every
ten yards ; afterwards between
the two hills, half up the one
and half up the other, I wrought
him so, that he had no longer
either breath or strength, and
I began to think he would
scarce carry me to the camp.
The poor beast made a sad
figure, cut in the side to pieces,
and bleeding at the jaws ; and
the seis, the rascal that put me
upon him, being there when I
dismounted, he held up his
hands upon seeing the horse so
mangled, and began to testify
great surprise upon the sup-

posed harm I had done. I took
no notice of this, only said,
* Carry that horse to your
master ; he may venture to ride
him now, which is more than
either he or you dared to have
done in the morning.

As rny own horse was bridled
and saddled, and I found my-
self violently irritated, I mount-
ed, taking my short double-bar-
relled gun, and galloped and trot-
ted, making my horse perform
everything he was capable of.
This the Galla beheld with
astonishment and admiration,
and all the more as I shot two
kites flying. Fasil now sent
for me, and on hearing the
whole story appeared to be in
a terrible fury, and protested by
every oath he could devise
that he knew nothing of the
matter. He repeated his pro-
testations that he was innocent,
and heartily sorry for the acci-
dent, which, indeed, he ap-
peared to be ; he told me the
groom was in irons, and that,
before many hours passed, he
would put him to death. I was
perfectly satisfied with his sin-
cerity. I wished to put an
end to this disagreeable con-
versation : *Sir,' said I, * as this
man has attempted my life,
according to the laws of the
country, it is I that should
name the punishment.'

* It is very true,' replied Fasil,
' take him, Yagoube, and cut
him in a thousand pieces, if
you please, and give his body
to the kites.'

* Are you really sincere in

-* . I ^ N

m^t

272

T//E ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

and

ex-

what you say]' said I,
will you have no after
cuses V

He swore solenanly he would
not.

'Then/ said I, *I am a
Christian : the way my religion
teaches me to punish my ene-
mies is by doing good for evil ;
and therefore I keep you to the
oath you have sworn, and desire
my friend, the Fit-Auraris, to
set the man at liberty, and put
him in the place he held before,
for he has not been undutiful
to you.'

I need not say what were the
sentiments of the company upon
the occasion ; they seemed to
be most favourable to me : old
Guebra Ehud could not con-
tain himself, but got out of the
dark corner, and squeezed both
of my hands in his ; and turn-
ing to Fasil, said, * Did not I
tell you what my brother A^lo
thought about this man 1 '
Welleta Michael said, * He was
just the same all through Tigrd'
Fasil, in a low voice, replied,
* A man that behaves as he
does may go through any
country.'

On bringing my present he
showed some scruples at first as
to receiving it. * I will not take
them from you, Yagoube ; this
is downright robbery ; I have
done nothing for this, which is
a present for a king.'

* If you will not receive them,'
continued I, ' such as they are
offered, it is the greatest affront
ever was put upon me ; I can
never, you know, receive them

and

again.' This convinced
satisfied him.

* Friend Yagoube,' said he
afterwards, * I go to Gondar in
peace, and to keep peace there
for the king on this side the
Tacazz^ has no other friend
than me. I have nothing to
return you for the present you
have given me, for I did not
expect to meet a man like you
in the fields ; but you will
quickly be back ; we shall meet
on better terms at Gondar ; the
head of the Nile is near at
hand ; a horseman express will
arrive there in a day. He will
go to Geesh with you, and re-
turn you to a friend of Ayto
Aylo, Shalaka Welled Amlac:
he has the dangerous part of
the country wholly in his hands,
and will carry you safe to Gon-
dar.

I replied, with many thanks
for his kindness, * That I wished
to proceed immediately, and
that my servants were already
far off on the way.'

*You are very much in the
right,' said Fasil. 'But throw
off these bloody clothes, they
are not decent \ I must give
you new ones.'

A number of his servants
hurried me out, and replaced
my soiled garments with a fine
loose muslin under garment,
which reached to my feet
Upon my coming back to his
tent, he took the garment which
he had newly put upon himself
that morning, and put it over
my shoulders with his own hand,
saying at the same time, * Bear

BRUGES TRAVELS.

»73

witness, I give to you, Yagoube,
the Agow Geesh, as fully and
freely as the king has given it
to me.' I bowed and kissed his
hand, as is customary for feu-
datories, and he then pointed
to me to sit down.

•Hear what I say to you,'
continued Fasil ; * I think it
right for you to make the best
of your way now; for you will
be the sooner back at Gondar.
You need not be alarmed at the
wild people you speak of, who
are going after you, though it is
better to meet them coming
this way, than when they are
going to their homes ; they are
commanded by Welleta Ya-
sous, who is your friend.* I
bowed, and he continued —
' Hear me what I say ; you see
those seven people (I never saw
more thief-like fellows in my
life),— these are all leaders and
chiefs of the Galla— savages, if
you please; they are all your
brethren.' I bowed. He then
jabbered something to them in
Galla, which I did not under-
stand. They all answered by
the wildest howl I ever heard,
and struck themselves upon the
breast, apparently assenting.

After some further conversa-
tion, in which he alluded to my
previous kindness to his ser-
vants, and to some of his friends,
he said, * Now before all these
men, ask me anything you have
at heart, and, be it what it may,
they know I cannot deny it
you.'

'Why then,' said I, «by all
those obligations you are pleased

to mention, of which you have
made a recital so truly honour-
able to me, I ask you the great-
est favour that man can bestow
upon me — send me, as con-
veniently as possible, to the
head of the Nile, and return
me and my attendants in safety,
after having despatched me
quickly, and put me under no
constraint that may prevent me
from satisfying my curiosity in
my own way.'

'This,' says he, *is no re-
quest, I have granted it already ;
besides, I owe it to the com-
mands of the king, whose ser-
vant I am. Since, however, ?t
is so much at your heart, go in
peace, I will provide you with
all necessaries. If I am alive,
and governor of Damot, as you
are, we all know, a prudent and
sensible man, unsettled as the
state of the country is, nothing
disagreeable can befall you.'

He then turned again to his
seven chiefs, who aii got up,
himself and I, Guebra Ehud,
Welleta Michael, and the Pit-
Auraris ; we all stood round in
a circle, and raised the palm of
our hands, while he and his
Galla together repeated a
prayer about a minute long;
the Galla seemingly with great
devotion. * Now,' says Fasil,
*go in peace, you are a Galla;
this is a curse upon them, and
their children, their com, grass,
and cattle, if ever they lift their
hand against you or yours,
or do not defend you to the
utmost, if attacked by others,
or endeavour to defeat any de-

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274

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

I '[III!'

sign they may hear is intended
against you.' Upon this I
offered to kiss his hand before I
took my leave, and we all went
to the door of the tent, where
there was a very handsome grey
horse bridled and saddled.
* Take this horse,' says Fasil,
*as a present from me; it is
not so good as your own, but
depend upon it, it is not of
the kind that rascal gave you in
the morning; it is the horse
which I rode upon yesterday,
when I came here to encamp ;
but do not mount it yourself,
drive it before you, saddled and
bridled as it is : no man of
Maitsha will touch you when he
sees that horse ; it is the people
of Maitsha, whose houses Mi-
chael has burnt, that you have
to fear, and not your friends the
Galla.' I then took the most
humble and respectful leave of
him possible, and also of
my new-acquired brethren the
Galla, praying inwardly I might
never see them again. I recom-
mended myself familarly and
affectionately to the remem-
brance of Welleta Michael, the
Ras's nephew, as well as Guebra
Ehud ; and, turning to Fasil,
according to the custom of the
country to superiors, asked him
leave to mount on horseback
before him, and was speedily
out of sight. Shalaka Woldo
(the name of my guide) did not
set out with me, being employed
about some affairs of his own ;
but he presently after followed,
driving Fasil's horse before
him.

At Dingleber^ I overtook my
servants, who were disposed to
stop there for that night. They
had been not a little annoyed
and terrified by the troops of
wild Galla, but I was now under
no apprehension, for I perceived
Fasil's horse, driven before us,
commanded all necessary re-
spect. Next day we passed the
Kelti, a tributary of the Nile,
and encamped beside a troop
of the Galla, commanded by a
notorious robber, called the
Jumper. When I waited upon
him the following morning, he
seemed very much embarrassed
at the visit, was quite naked,
saving a towel round the loins,
and was busy rubbing his arms
and body with melted tallow,
an attendant being busy at the
same time plaiting his hair with
the long and thin guts of an ox.
Round his neck were also coiled
two rounds of the latter. Our
conversation was neither long
nor interesting; I was over-
come with the disagreeable
smell of blood and carrion, and
on giving him my small present
I took my leave. The Jumper
was tall and lean, very sharp-
faced, with a long nose, small
eyes, and prodigious large ears.

When we had passed the river
Kelti, we entered into the teni-
tory of the Aroussi, inhabited
not by Galla, but by Abyssinians,
a kindred of the Agows. This
territory is by much the most
pleasant that we had seen in
Abyssinia, perhaps it is equal to
anything the East can produce.

1 The pass of the Virgin Mary.

BRUGES TRAVELS.

275

The whole is finely shaded with
acacia trees, or Egyptian thorn,
the tree which produces the
gum-arabic. The ground be-
low these trees is thick covered
with lupines and also wild oats,
which here grow spontaneously
to a prodigious height and size,
some of the stalks being little
less than an inch round about.
The inhabitants made no sort
of use of this grain, but I often
made the meal into cakes, in
remembrance of Scotland. The
Abyssinians never could relish
these cakes, which they said
made them thirsty, and burnt
their stomachs. I believe this
is the oat in its original state,
and that it is degenerated every-
where with us. All Aroussi is
finely watered with small streams,
the Assar being the next largest
river to the Nile. The strength
of vegetation which the mois-
ture of this river produces, sup-
ported by the action of a very
warm sun, is such as might be
expected. We find trees and
shrubs of every colour, all new
and extraordinary in their
shapes, crowded with birds of
many uncouth forms, all of them
richly adorned with variety of
plumage, but not one songster
among them all. Birds and
flowers may both be considered
liable to the observation, that
the flowers are destitute of
odour, and the birds of song.

After passing the Assar, and
several villages belonging to
Goutto, our course being south-
east, we had, for the first time,
a distinct view of the high moun-

tain of Geesh, the long-wished-
for end of our dangerous and
troublesome journey. Under
this mountain are the x'ountains
of the Nile; it bore from us
s.E. by s. about thirty miles, as
near as we could conjecture, in
a straight line, without count-
ing the deviations or crooked-
ness of the road.

Ever since we had passed the
Assar we had been descending
gently through very uneven
ground, covered thick with
trees, and torn up by the gullies
and courses of torrents. At
two o'clock in the afternoon of
the second of November, we
came to the banks of the Nile ;
the passage here is very difllicult
and dangerous, the bottom be-
ing full of holes made by con-
siderable springs, and light sink-
ing sand. The veneration paid
by the Agows for the Nile be-
came here very marked. They
crowded to us at the ford, and
protested with much vehemence
against any man's riding across
the stream, mounted either upon
horse or mule. Without any
ceremony they unloaded our
mules, laid our baggage on the
grass, and insisted on our taking
off our shoes. We were now
conducted across, when Waldo,
the guide whom Fasil had given
me, sat down on a green hUlock
in the presence of tihe company,
with a small stick in one hand
and a lighted pipe in the other.
He now began gravely to ex-
hort the Agows to lose no time
in carrying over our baggage on
their shoulders. This proposal

'i'H

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<a>B

'mm

276

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

they treated with a kind of ridi-
cule, and hinted that he should
first settle about a price for
their trouble. This word was
no sooner uttered, when, appar-
ently in a most violent passion,
he leapt up, laid by his pipe, took
his stick, and ran into the midst
of them, crying out, with violent
execrations, *And who am I?
and who am I, then ? a girl, a
woman, or a Pagan dog like
yourselves? and who is War-
agna Fasil? are you not his
slaves ? or to whom else do you
belong, that you are to make
me pay for the consequences
of your devilish idolatries and
superstitions? But you want
payment, do ye? here is your
payment' He then tucked his
clothes tight about his girdle,
began leaping two or three feet
high, and laying about him with
his stick over their heads and
faces, or wherever he could
strike them.

After this Woldo wrested a
lance from a long awkward
fellow that was next him, stand-
ing amazed, and levelled the
point at him in a manner, that
I thought to see the poor pea-
sant fall dead in an instant.
The fellow fled in a trice; so
did they all to a man ; and no
wonder, for in my life I never
saw any one play the furious
devil so naturally. Upon one
man's running off, he cried out
to my people to give him a
gun ; which made these poor
wretches run faster, and hide
themselves among the bushes.
Lucky, indeed, was it for Woldo,

that my servants did not put
him to the trial, by giving him
the gun as he demanded, for he
would not have ventured to fire
it, perhaps to have touched it,
if it had been to have made him
master of the province.

I sat as a spectator on the
other side, trying to settle in
my mind how my baggage could
be conveyed across. It was
with some surprise too that I ob-
served Woldo cross, my servants
along with him, leaving the bag-
gage on the other side without
any guard whatever. He then
desired us to get on horseback,
and drive the mules before us,
which we did accordingly. We
had not advanced above a hun-
dred yards, when we saw a
greater number of people than
formerly, run down to where our
baggage was lying, all of which
they brought across in an in-
stant. This did not apparently
satisfy our guide, making them
take the baggage upon their
shoulders again, and convey it
to the very place where our
mules had halted. He now pre-
tended that he had been robbed,
and the Agows, to prevent fur-
ther prosecution, made up the
sum which he declared he had
lost. Arriving pretty late at
the village of Goutto, and find-
ing Fasil's horse still fresh, I
paid a visit to what is called the
First Cataract of the Nile. It
did not come up to the appear-
ance I had formed of it, being
scarcely sixteen feet in height,
and sixty yards broad.

Tninking it was now proper

BRUGES TRAVELS.

277

time to give Woldo a lesson as
to how I meant to behave
among the Agows, I told him,
that since the king had given
me the small territory of Geesh,
it was my intention to discharge
them for that year of any taxes
due to the king, or Fasil whom
I represented. Woldo tried to
show me I was wrong in this
intention, but afterwards unwill-
ingly acquiesced.

On November 3d we left
the village of Goutto, passing
through a pJain country full of
acacia- trees, and thence de-
scending into a large plain full
of marshes, bounded on the
west by the Nile. In this plain
the Nile winds more in the
space of four miles than I be-
lieve any river in the world. It
was here not above twenty feet
broad, and not above a foot
deep. The sun had been very
hot all along the plain of Goutto,
and here so excessively that
we were almost overpowered,
Woldo declaring he felt so ill
that he doubted if he could go
any farther. We pushed on,
however, and entered the plain
of Abola, from thence reaching
the mountains, in which, a little
to the westward, lay the village
of Geesh, and where were the
long-expected fountains of the
Nile.

The river Abola comes out
of the valley between these two
ridges of mountains of Litch-
ambara and Aformasha, but
does not rise there. It has two
branches, one of which has its
source in the western side of

Litchambara, near the centre
of the curve where the moun-
tains turn south ; the other
branch rises on the mountain
of Aformasha, and the east side
of our road as we ascended to
the church of Mariam. Still
behind these are the mountains
of Amid-amid, another ridge
which begin behind Samseen,
in the s.w. part of the province
of Maitsha, though they become
high only from the mountain of
Adama ; but they are in shape
exactly like the former ridges,
embracing them in a large curve
in the shape of a crescent. Be-
tween Amid-amid and the ridge
of Litchambara is the deep val-
ley now known by the name of
St. George; what was its an-
cient, or Pagan name, I coalc|
not learn. Through the middle
of this valley runs the Jemma,
a river equal to the Nile, if not
larger, but infinitely more rapid.
After leaving the valley, it
crosses that part of Maitsha,
on the east of the Nile, and
loses itself in that river iDelow
Samseen, near the ford where
our army passed in the unfor-
tunate retreat of the month of
May. Its sources or fountains
are three ; they rise in the
mountains of Amid-amid, and
keep on close to the east side
of them, till the river issues out
of the valley into Maitsha. This
triple ridge of mountains, dis-
posed one range behind the
other, nearly in form of por-
tions of three concentric circles,
seems to suggest an idea that
they are the Mountains of the

.•,>!"y

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« it?*.

•.Hi'

278

THE ENGLI5;H EXPLORERS.

; '>:T

|ii5 ;i

Moon, or the Monies Lunce of
antiquity, at the foot of which
the Nile was said to rise ; in
fact there are no others. Amid-
amid may perhaps exceed half
a mile in height ; they certainly
do not arrive at three quarters,
and are greatly short of that
fabulous height given them by
Kircher. These mountains are
all of them excellent soil, and
everywhere covered with fine
pasture ; but as this unfortunate
country had been for ages the
seat of war, the inhabitants have
only ploughed and sown the top
of them, out of the reach of
enemies or marching armies.
On the middle of the mountain
are villages built of a white sort
of grass, which makes them con-
spicuous at a great distance ;
the bottom is all grass, where
their cattle feed continually
under their eye; these, upon
any alarm, they drive up to the
top of the mountains out of
danger. The hail lies often
upon the top of Amid-amid for
hours, but snow was never seen
in this country, nor have they a
word * in their language for it.
It is also remarkable, though
we had often violent hail at
Gondar, and, when the sun was
vertical, it never came but with
the wind blowing directly from
Amid-amid.

At ten minutes past three
o'clock we crossed the small
river Iworra, in the valley of
Abola ; it comes from the east,

* By this is meant the Amharic, for in
G^^z the word for snow is Tilze. This may
have been invented for translating the Scrip-
tures.

and runs westward into that
river. At a quarter after four
we halted at a house in the
middle of the plain, or valley.
This valley is not above a mile
broad, the river being distant
about a quarter, and runs at
the foot of the mountains. This
village, as indeed were all the
others we had seen since our
crossing the Nile at Goutto,
was surrounded by large, thick
plantations, of that singular
plant the Ensete, one of the
most beautiful productions of
nature, as well as most agree-
able and wholesome food of
man.

We were but seldom lucky
enough to get the people of the
villages to wait our arrival. The
fears of the march of the Galla,
and the uncertainty of their
destination, made them believe
always we were detachments of
that army, to which the pre-
sence of Fasil's horse, driven
constantly before us, very much
contributed. I was determined
to try whether, by taking away
that scarecrow, Fasil's horse,
from before us, and riding him
myself, things would change for
the better. This 1 distinctly
saw that Woldo would have
wished the horse to have gone
rather without a rider, and this
I observed the night I went to
the cataract from Goutto. Sit-
ting on the king's saddle, or in
his seat at Gondar, is high trea-
son ; and Woldo thought at all
times, but now especially, that
his master was inferior to no
king upon earth. I com-

BRUGES TRAVELS.

279

pounded, as I conceived, with
Woldo's scruples, by laying
aside Fasil's saddle, which was
a very uneasy one ; besides,
that it had iron rings instead of
stirrups ; in short, as this horse
was very beautiful (as many of
the Galla horses are), and all of
one colour, which was that of
lead, without any spot of white,
I hoped to make him an ac-
ceptable present to the king,
who was passionately fond of
horses. Here it may not be
improper to observe, that all
very great men in Abyssinia
choose to ride horses of one
colour only, which have no dis-
tinguishing mark whereby they
may be traced in retreats, flights,
or such unlucky expeditions. It
is the king alone, in battle, who
rides upon a horse distinguished
by his marks, and that on pur-
pose that he may be known.
The present king, however, was
too brave to owe his safety to
any such expedient.

After coasting some little time
along the side of the valley, we
began to ascend a mountain on
the right. The climate seemed
here most agreeably mild, the
country covered with the most
lively verdure, the mountains
with beautiful trees and shrubs,
loaded with extraordinary fruits
and flowers. I found my spirits
very much raised with these
pleasing scenes, as were those
of all my servants, who were,
by our conversation, made geo-
graphers enough to know we
were approaching to the end of
our journey. Both Strates and

I, out of the Lamb's hearing,
had shot a variety of curious
birds and beasts. All but Woldo
seemed to have acquired new
strength and vigour. He con-
tinued in his air of despondency,
and seemed every day to grow
more and more weak. At a
quarter past eleven we arrived
at the top of the mountain,
where we, for the first time,
came in sight of Sacala, which
extends in the plain below from
west to the point of south, and
there joins with the village of
Geesh, built on a similar oc-
casion.

Sacala, full of small low vil-
lages, which, however, had es-
caped the ravages of the late
war, is the eastermost branch
of the Agows, and famous for
the best honey. The small
river Kebezza, running from the
east, serves as a boundary be-
tween Sacala and Aformasha;
after joining two other rivers,
the Gometti and Googueri,
which we presently came to,
after a short course nearly from
s.E. to N.W., it falls into the
Nile a little above its junction
with the Abola.

At three-quarters past eleven,
we crossed the river Kebezza,
and descended into the plain of
Sacala; in a few minutes, we
also passed the Googueri, a
more considerable stream than
the former; it is about sixty
feet broad, and perhaps eigh-
teen inches deep, very cleai
and rapid, running over a rug'
ged, uneven bottom of black
rock. At a quarter past twelve,

^^^:&

28o

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

1 '

1 si m

we halted on a small eminence,
where the market of Sacala is
held every Saturday. Horned
cattle, many of the greatest
beauty possible, with which all
this country abounds ; large
asses, the most useful of all
beasts for riding or carriage ;
honey, butter, ensete for food,
and a manufacture of the leaf
of that plant, painted with dif-
ferent colours like mosaic work,
for mats, are here exposed for
sale in great plenty ; the butter
and honey, indeed, are chiefly
carried to Gondar, or to Bur^ ;
but Damot, Maitsha, and Go-
jam likewise take a consider-
able quantity of all these com-
modities.

We had no other path but a
road made by the sheep or the
goats, broken and full of holes,
while we were also everywhere
stopt and entangled by that
execrable thorn the Kantuffa.
When we arrived at the top of
this mountain, we had a distinct
view of all the remaining terri-
tory of Sacala, the mountain of
Geesh, and church of St. Michael
Geesh, about a mile and a half
distant from St. Michael Sacala,
where we then were. We saw,
immediately below us, the Nile
itself, strangely diminished in
size, and now only a mere
brook that had scarcely water
to turn a mill. I could not sa-
tiate myself with the sight, re-
volving in my mind all those
classical prophecies that had
given up the Nile to perpetual
obscurity and concealment. I
was awakened out of this de-

Hghlful reverie by an alarm that
we had lost Woldo our guide.
The servants could not agree
when they last saw him, but
conjectured, that as he had
been in the woods shooting,
some of the apes or baboons
had killed him. Sending Ayto
Aylo's servant back to seek
him, they met him, apparently
decrepit and ill-looking. He
said he would go no further
than the church, where he had
resolved to take up his abode
that night Without losing my
temper, I told him that he was
an impostor and that nothing
ailed him.

I soon discovered that he had
taken a great fancy to a crim-
son-silk sash which I wore.
The sash was a handsome one,
but it must have been fine in-
deed to stand for a minute be-
tween me and the accomplish-
ment of my wishes, and I ac-
cordingly gave it to him.

He took the sash, and began
to make apologies. * Come,
come,' said I, 'we understand
each other; no more words;
it is now late; lose no more
time, but carry me to Geesh,
and the head of the Nile,
directly, and show me the hill
that separates me from it. He
then carried me round to the
south side of the church, out
of the grove of trees that sur-
rounded it. * This is the hill,'
says he, looking archly, 'that,
when you was on the other
side of it, was between you and
the fountains of the Nile ; there
is no other. Look at that hill-

BRUGES TRAVELS.

281

ock of green sod in the middle
of that watery spot ; it is in that
the two fountains of the Nile
are to be found : Geesh is on
the face of the rock where yon
green trees are. If you go the
length of the fountainc, pull off
your shoes, as you did the other
day, for these people are all
Pagans, worse than those that
were at the ford ; and they be-
lieve in nothing that you be-
lieve, but only in this river, to
which they pray every day, as
if it were God ; but this per-
haps you may do likewise.'

Half undressed as I was by
loss of my sash, and throwing
my shoes off, I ran down the
hill, towards the little island of
green sods, which was about
two hundred yards distant ; the
whole side of the hill was thick
grown over with flowers, the
large bulbous roots of which
appearing above the surface of
the ground, and their skins
coming off on treading upon
them, occasioned me two very
severe falls before I reached
the brink of the marsh ; I after
this came to the island of green
turf, which was in form of an
altar, apparently the work of
art, and I stood in rapture over
the principal fountain which
rises in the middle of it.

It is easier to guess than to
describe the situation of my
mind at that moment — stand-
ing in that spot which had
baffled the genius, industry, and
inquiry of both ancients and
modems, for the course of near
three thousand years. Kings

had attempted this discovery at
the head of armies, and each
expedition was distinguished
from the last, only by the dif-
ference of the numbers which
had perished, and agreed alone
in the disappointment which
had uniformly, and without ex-
ception, followed them all.
Fame, riches, and honour, had
been held out for a series of
ages to every individual of
those myriads these princes
commanded, without having
produced one man capable of
gratifying the curiosity of his
sovereign, or wiping off this
stain upon the enterprise and
abilities of mankind, or adding
this desideratum for the encour-
agement of geography. Though
a mere private Briton, I tri-
umphed here, in my own mind,
over kings and their armies ;
and every comparison was lead-
ing nearer and nearer to pre-
sumption, when the place itself
where I stood, the object of my
vain-glory, suggested what de-
pressed my short-lived tnumph.
I was but a few minutes arrived
at the sources of the Nile,
through numbe *c;ss dangers
and sufferings, tL . ast of which
would have overvvnelmed me,
but for the continual goodness
and protection of Providence;
I was, however, but then half
through my journey, and all
those dangers which I had
already passed, awaited me
again on my return. I found
a despondency gaining ground
fast upon me, and blasting the
crown of laurels I had too rashly

P .-'I

^I'l

i i

2^2

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

woven for myself. I resolved,
therefore, to divert, till I could,
on more solid reflection, over-
come its progress.

I saw Strates expecting me
on the side of the hill. * Strates,'
said I, * faithful squire I come
and triumph with your Don
Quixote, at that island of Bara-
taria, where we have most
wisely and fortunately brought
ourselves ! come, and triumph
with me over all the kings of the
earth, all their armies, all their
philosophers, and all their
heroes !' * Sir,' says Strates, * I
do not understand a word of what
you say, and as little what you
mean : you very well know I am
no scholar. But you had much
better leave that bog; come
into the house, and look after
Woldo; I fear he has some-
thing further to seek than your
sash, for he has been talking with
the old devil-worshipper ever
since we arrived.' * Did they
speak secretly together?' said I.
*Yes, sir, they did, I assure
you.' * And in whispers, Strates?'
' Every syllable ; but for that,'
replied he, * they need not have
been at the pains ; they under-
stand one another, I suppose,
and the devil, their master,
understands them both ; but as
for me, I comprehend their dis-
course no more than if it was
Greek, as they say, Greek !'
says he, * I am an ass ; I should
know well enough what they
said if they spoke Greek.'
* Come,' said I, ' take a draught
of this excellent water, and drink
with me a health to his majesty

King George iii. and a lom^
line of princes.' I had in mv
hand a large cup made of a
cocoa-nut shell, which I pro-
cured in Arabia, and which was
brim-full.* He drank to the
king speedily and cheerfully,
with the addition of ' Confusion
to his enemies,' and tossed up
his cap with a loud huzza.
* Now, friend,' said I, * here is
to a more humble, but still a
sacred name, here is to — Maria I'
He asked if that was the Virgin
Mary ? I answered, ' In faith,
I believe so, Strates.' He di(l
not speak, but only gave a
humph of disapprobation.

The day had been very hot,
and the altercation I had with
Woldo had occasioned me to
speak so much, that my thirst,
without any help from curiosity,
led me to these frequent liba-
tions at this long-sought-for
spring, the most ancient of all
altars. 'Strates,' said I, 'here
is to our happy return. Come,
friend, you are yet two toasts
behind me ; can you ever be
satiated with this excellent
water ? ' * Look you, sir,' says
he very gravely, *as for King
George, I drank to him with
all my heart, to his wife, to
his children, to his brothers
and sisters — God bless them all!
Amen; but as for the Virgin
Mary, as I am no Papist, I
beg to be excused from drink-
ing healths which my church
does not drink. As for our
happy return, God knows there

1 This shell was brought home by Mr.
Bruce, and is still preserved.

Ti r

BRUGES TRAVELS,

283

home by Mr.

is no one wishes it more
sincerely than I do, for I have
been long weary of this beg-
garly country. But you Tiust
forgive me if I refuse to drink
any more water. They say
these savages pray over that
hole every morning to the
devil, and I am afraid I feel
his horns in my belly already,
from the great draught of that
water I drank first.* It was,
indeed, as cold water as ever I
tasted. ' Come, come,' said I,
* don't be peevish, I have but
one toast more to drink.'
♦Peevish or not peevish,' re-
plied Strates, 'a drop of it
never again shall cross my
throat ; there is no humour in
this, no joke ; show us some-
thing pleasant as you used to
do; but there is no jest in
meddling with devil-worship-
pers, witchcraft, and enchant-
ments, to bring some disease
upon one's-self here, so far
from home in the fields. No,
no, as many toasts in wine as
you please, or, better, in brandy,
but no more water for Strates.
I am sure I have done myself
harm already with these follies
—God forgive me 1 ' * Then,'
said I, * I will drink it alone,
and you are henceforward un-
worthy of the name of Greek ;
you do not even deserve that
of a Christian.' Holding the
full cup then to my head, ' Here
is to Catherine, empress of all
the Russias, and success to her
heroes at ParOo ; and hear my
prediction from this altar to-
day: Ages shall not pass, be-

fore this ground, whereon I now
stand, shall become a flourish-
ing part of her dominions.'

He leaped on this a yard
from the ground. * If the old
gentleman has whispered you
this,' says he, ' out of the well,
he has not kept you long wait-
ing ; tell truth and shame the
devil, is indeed the proverb, but
truth is truth, wherever it comes
from ; give me the cup ; I Avill
drink that health though I
should die.' He then held out
both his hands. ' Strates,' said
I, * be in no such haste ; re-
member the water is enchanted
by devil-worshippers ; there is
no jesting with these, and you
are far from home, and in the
fields you may catch some
disease, especially if you drink
the Virgin Mary ; God forgive
you. Remember the horns the
first draught produced ; they
may with this come entirely
through and through.' *The
cup, the cup,' says he, * and
fill it full ; I defy the devil ;
and trust in St. George and the
dragon. Here is to Catherine,
empress of all the Russias ;
confusion to her enemies, and

to all at Paros.' * Well,

friend,' said I, 'you was long
in resolving, but you have
done it at last to some purpose ;
I am sure I did not drink

to all at Paros.' * Ah ! '

says he, *but I did, and will

do it again — to all at

Paros, and Cyprus, and Rhodes,
Crete, and Mitylene into the
bargain : here it goes with all
my heart. Amen, so be it.'

.^U '-;*^t : F. -i i

284

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

W '■

'■'A

• And who do you think,* said
I, ' are at Paros 1 ' * Pray, who
slioiild be there,' says he, * but
Turks and devils, the worst
race of monsters and oppressors
in the Levant. I have been at
Paros myself; was you ever
there ? ' ' Whether I was ever
there or not is no matter,' said
I ; * the empress's fleet, and an
army of Russians, are now pos-
sibly there ; and here you,
without provocation, have drunk
damnation to the Russian fleet
and army, who have come so
far from home, and are at this
moment sword in hand, to
restore you to your liberty and
the free exercise of your reli-
gion; did not 1 tell you, you
was no Greek, and scarcely
deserved the name ofChristian]'

* No, no, sir,' cries Strates, * for
God's sake do not say so ; I
would rather die. I did not
understand you about Paros;
there was no malice in my heart
against the Russians. God will
bless them, and my folly can
do them no harm — Huzza I
Catherine and victory ! * whilst
he tossed his cap into the air.

A number of the Agows had
appeared upon the hill, just be-
fore the valley, in silent wonder
what Strates and I were doing
at the altar. Two or three
only had come down to the
edge of the swamp, had seen
the grimaces and action of
Strates, and heard him huzza ;
on which they had asked Woldo,
as he entered into the village,
what was the meaning of all
this? Woldo told them, that

the man was out of his senses
and had been bit by a mad dog'
which reconciled them imme-
diately to us. They, moreover,
said he would be infallibly
cured by the Nile ; but the cus-
tom, after meeting with such a
misfortune, was to drink the
water in the morning fasting.
I was very well pleased both
with this turn Woldo gave the
action, and the remedy we
stumbled upon by mere acci-
dent, which discovered a con-
nexion, believed to subsist at
this day, between this river
and its ancient governor the
dog-star.

The Agows of Damot pay
divine honour to the Nile ; they
worship the river, and thousands
of cattle have been offered, and
are still offiered, to the spirit
supposed to reside at its source.
They are divided into clans, or
tribes ; and it is worthy of ob-
servation, that it is said there
never was a feud or hereditary
animosity between any two ol
these clans ; or if the seeds ot
any such were sown, they did
not vegetate longer than till the
next general convocation of all
the tribes, who meet annually
at the source of the river, to
which they sacrifice, calling it by
the name of the God of Peace.

From the edge of the cliff of
Geesh, above where the village
is situated, the ground slopes
with a very easy descent due
north, and lands you at the
edge of a triangular marsh above
eighty-six yards broad, in the
line of the fountains, and two

BRUGES TRAVELS,

«8S

hundred and eighty-six yards
two feet from tlie edge of the
cliff, above the house of the
priest of the river, where I re-
sided. In the middle of this
marsh arises a hillock of a cir-
cular form, about three feet
from the surfiice of the marsh
itself, though apparently founded
much deeper in it. The dia-
meter of this is something short
of twelve feet ; it is surrounded
by a shallow trench, which col-
lects the water and voids it east-
ward ; it is firmly built with sod
or earthen turf brought from the
sides, and constantly kept in re-
pair ; and this is the altar upon
which all their religious cere-
monies are performed. In the
middle of this altar is a hole,
obviously made, or at least en-
larged, by the hand of man. It
is kept clear of grass, or other
aquatic plants, and the water in
it is perfectly pure and limpid,
but has no ebullition or motion
of any kind discernible upon its
surface. This mouth, or open-
ing of the source, is some parts
of an inch less than three feet
diameter, and the water stood
at that time, the 5th of Novem-
ber, about two inches from the
lip or brim; nor did it either
increase or diminish during all
the time of my stay at Geesh,
though we made plentiful use
of it.

Ten feet from this spring is
the second fountain, about ele-
ven inches in diameter, and
eight feet three inches deep ;
and, about twenty feet from the
first is a third, its moufh being

something more than two feet
large, and five feet eight inches
deep. Both of these latter stand
in the middle of small altars,
made, like the former, of firm
sod, neither of them above three
feet in diameter. The water
from these fountains is very
light and good, and perfectly
tasteless. At the foot of each
appeared a clear and brisk run-
ning rill, uniting with each other
and flowing eastward, in quan-
tity that would have filled a pipe
of about two inches diameter.

Between the 5th and the 7th
November I made thirty-five
observations, by which I deter-
mined the precise latitude, 10°
59' 25" north latitude, of the
principal fountain. From obser-
vation I did also precisely con-
clude the chief fountain to be
36° 55' 30" east longitude.

The night of my arrival, me-
lancholy reflections upon my
present state, the doubtfulness
of my return in safety, were I
permitted to make the attempt,
the consciousness of the pain
that I was then occasioning to
many worthy individuals, ex-
pecting daily that information
concerning my situation which
it was not in my power to give
them; some other thoughts, per-
haps, still nearer the heart than
those, crowded upon my mind,
and forbade all approach of
sleep. I was, at that very mo-
ment, in possession of what had
for many^ years been the prin-
cipal object of my ambition
and wishes : indifference, which,
from the usual infirmity of hu-

\.l

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286

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

^■m

man nature, follows, at least for
a time, complete enjoyment,
had taken the place of it. The
marsh and the fountains, upon
comparison with the rise of
many of our rivers, became now
a trifling object in my sight. I
remembered that magnificent
scene in my own native coun-
try, where the Tweed, Clyde,
and Annan rise in one hill —
three rivers, as I now thought,
not inferior to the Nile in beauty,
preferable to it in the cultiva-
tion of those countries through
which they flow ; superior, vastly
superior, to it in the virtues and
qualities of the inhabitants, and
in the beauty of its flocks crowd-
ing its pastures in peace, with-
out fear of violence from man
or beast. I had seen the rise of
the Rhine and Rhone, and the
more magnificent sources of the
Soane ; I began, in my sorrow,
to treat the inquiry about the
source of the Nile as a violent
effort of a distempered fancy : —

' What's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba,
That he should weep for her }'—

Grief, or despondency, now roll-
ing upon me like a torrent, re-
laxed, not refreshed, by unquiet
and imperfect sleep, I started
from my bed in the utmost
agony. I went to the door of
my tent ; everything was still ;
the Nile, at whose head I stood,
was not capable either to pro-
mote or to interrupt my slum-
bers, but the coolness and
serenity of the night braced my
nerves, and chased away those
phantoms that, while in bed,

had oppressed and tormented
me.

It was true that numerous
dangers, hardships, and sorrows
had beset me through this half
of my excursion, but it was still
as true that another Guide, more
powerful than my own courage,
health, or understanding, if any
of these can be called man's
own, had uniformly protected
me in all that tedious half; I
found my confidence m^t abated,
that still the same Guide was
able to conduct me to my now
wished -for home. I imme-
diately resumed my former for-
titude, considering the Nile
indeed as no more than rising
from springs, as all other rivers
do, but widely different in this,
that it was the palm for three
thousand years held out to all
the nations in the world as a
deiur dignissimo, which, in my
cool hours, I had thought was
worth the attempting at the
risk of my life, which I had
long either resolved to lose, or
lay this discovery, a trophy in
which I couid have no com-
petitor, for the honour of my
country, at the feet of my Sove-
reign.

Nothing can be more beauti-
ful than this spot ; the small
rising hills about us were all
thickly covered with verdure,
especially with clover, the largest
and finest I ever saw ; the tops
of the heights crowned with
trees of a prodigious size ; the
stream, at the banks of which
we were sitting, was limpid
and pure as the finest crystal;

brucf:s tfavels.

287

the ford, covered thick with a
bushy kind of tree, that seemed
to affect to grow to no height,
but thick with foUage and young
branches, rather to court the
surface of the water, whilst it
bore in prodigious quantities
a beautiful yellow flower, not
unlike a single wild rose of that
colour, but without thorns ; and,
indeed, upon examination, we
found that it was not a species
of the rose, but of hypericum.
From the source to this beauti-
ful ford, below the church of St.
Michael Geesh, I enjoyed my
second victory over this coy
river, after the first obtained at
the fountains themselves.

It is time now to go back
to Woldo, whom we left settling
our reception with the chief of
the village of Geesh. The
miserable Agows, assembled all
around him, were too much in-
terested in the appearance we
made, not to be exceedingly
inquisitive how long oar stay
was to be among them. They
saw, by the horse driven before
us, that we belonged to Fasil,
and suspected, for the same
reason, that they were to main-
tain us, or, in other words that
we should live at discretion
upon them as long as we chose
to tarry there ; but Woldo, with
great address, had dispelled
these fears almost as soon as
they were formed. He informed
them of the king's grant to me
of the village of Geesh ; that
Fasil's tyranny and avarice
would end that day ; and an-
other master like Negade Ras

Georgis was come to pass a
cheerful time among them, with
a resolution to pay for every
labour they were ordered to
perform, and purchase all things
for ready money : he added,
moreover, that no military ser-
vice was farther to be exacted
from them either by the king
or Governor of Damot, nor
from their present master, as he
had no enemies. We found
these news had circulated with
great rapidity, and we met with
a hearty welcome upon our ar-
rival at the village.

Woldo had asked a house
from the Shum, who veiy civilly
had granted me his own ; it was
just large enough to serve me,
but we were obliged to take
possession of four or five others;
and we were scarcely settled in
these when a servant arrived from
Fasil, to intimate to the Shum
his surrender of the property and
sovereignty of Geesh to me in
consequence of a grant from
the king : he brought with him
a fine large milk-white cow,
two sheep, and two goats ; the
sheep and goats I understood
were from Welleta Yasous.
Fasil also sent us six jars of
hydromel, fifty wheat loaves of
very excellent bread, and to this
Welleta Yasous had added two
middle-sized horns of excellent
strong spirits. Our hearts were
now perfectly at ease, and we
passed a very merry evening.
Strates, above all, endeavoured
with many a bumper of the
good hydromel of Bur^, to sub-
due the devil which he had

'i-^

28R

7 HE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

swallowed in the enchanted
water. Woldo, who had done
his part to great perfection, and
had reconciled the minds of all
the people of the village to us,
had a little apprehension for
himself; he thought he had lost
credit with me, and therefore
employed the servant of Ayto
Aylo to desire me not to speak
of the sash to Fasil's servant.
I assured him, that, as long as
I saw him acting properly, as
he now did, it was much more
probable I should give him
another sash on our return,
than complain of the means he
had used to get this last. This
entirely removed all his fears,
and indeed as long after as he
was with us, he every day de-
served more and more our com-
mendations.

Before we went to bed I sat-
isfied Fasil's servant, who had
orders from Welleta Yasous to
return immediately; and, as
he saw we did not spare the
liquor that he brought us, he
promised to send a fresh supply
as soon as he returned home,
which he did not fail to perform
the day after.

Woldo being now perfectly
happy, explained to the Shum
that we should want some one
to take the management of our
house. He accordingly sent
for three of his daughters in an
instant, and we delivered them
their charge.

The eldest took it upon her
readily. She was about six-
teen years of age, of a stature
above the middle size, remark-

ably genteel, and, colour apart
her features would have made
her a beauty in any country in
Europe. She was, besides
very sprightly ; and although we
understood not one word of her
language, she comprehended
very easily the signs we made.
Next morning we had a pubHc
breakfast out of doors, the white
cow, the gift from Fasil, was
killed, and every one invited to
his share of her. The Shum,
priest of the river, should like-
wise have been of the party,
but he declined either sitting or
eating with us, though his sons
were not so scrupulous. Once
a year in the principal foun-
tain and altar on the first ap-
pearance of the dog-star, the
priest assembles the heads of
the clans, and having sacrificed
a black heifer that never bore a
calf, they plunge the head of it
into this fountain. They then
wrap it up in its own hide, and
the carcase split in half, and
cleaned with extraordinary care,
is laid upon the hillock over
the first fountain, and washed
all over with its water, while
the elders carry water in their
hands joined from the two other
fountains. The carcase is then
at a little distance, divided into
pieces corresponding to the
number- of the tribes, and eaten
on the spot raw, and with the
Nile water, to the exclusion of
any other liquor. They then
pile up the bones on the place
where they sit, and burn them
to ashes. After they have
finished this bloody banquet,

BRUGES TRAVELS.

289

they carry the head into a
cavern, which they say reaches
below the fountains, but no one
could tell me what afterwards
became of it.

From our landlord the Shum
I gained some information re-
garding the religion of the
Agows. His name was Kefla
Abay, 'Servant of the River.'
He was a man about seventy,
with a long white beard, an
ornament rare in Abyssinia.
He had round his body a skin
wrapped and tied with a broad
belt, and above this . he wore
a cloak with the hood up and
covering his head. He was bare-
legged, but had sandals, which
he put off whenever he ap-
proached the bog where the
Nile rises. I found that they
prayed to the spirit residing
in the river, whom they call
the Everlasting God, Light
of the World, Eye of the
World, God of Peace, their
Saviour, and Father of the
Universe.

The Agows, in whose country
the Nile rises, are in point of
number one of the most con-
siderable nations in Abyssinia.
Gondar, and indeed the neigh-
bouring country, depend for
their necessaries of life on them.
They come 1000 or 1500 at a
time to the capital, laden with
cattle, honey, butter, wheat,
hides, and wax. They prevent
the melting of the butter in its
long carriage of about 100 miles,
by mixing it with the root of an
herb, yellow in colour, called
Moc-nwco, a very small quan-

tity preserving it fresh for a con-
siderable time.

Though fortunate as regards
climate, these Agows are not
long livers. We saw a number
of women, wrinkled and sun-
burnt so as scarcely to appear
human, wandering about under
a burning sun, gathering the
seeds of bent grass to make a
kind of bread. The young
women are marriageable at
eleven; The women are like
the men, generally thin and be-
low the middle size. On the
9th of November, having fin-
ished my memoranda relating
to these remarkable places, ''I
traced again on foot the. whole
course of this river, from its
source to the plain of Goutto.

Our business being now done,
nothing remained but to de-
part. We had passed our time
in perfect harmony ; the ad-
dress of Woldo, and the great
attachment of our friend Ire-
pone, had kept our house in a
cheerful abundance. We had
lived, it is true, too magnifi-
cently for philosophers, but
neither idly nor riotously : and,
I believe, never will any sove-
reign of Geesh be again so
popular, or reign over his sub-
jects with greater mildness. I
had practised medicine gratis,
and killed, for three days suc-
cessively, a cow each day, for
the poor and the neighbours.
I had clothed the high priest of
the Nile from head to foot, as
also his two sons, and had de-
corated two of his daughters
with beads of all the colours of

290

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

the rainbow, adding every other
little present they seemed fond
of, or what we thought would
be agreeable. As for our ami-
able Irepone, we had reserved
for her the choicest of our pre-
sents, the most valuable of every
article we had with us, and a
large proportion of every one
of them ; we gave her, besides,
some gold ; but she, more gener-
ous and noble in her sentiments
than us, seemed to pay little at-
tention to these that announced
to her the separation from her
friends ; she tore her fine hair,
which she had every day before
braided in a newer and more
graceful manner; she threw
herself upon the ground in the
house, and refused to see us
mount on horseback, or take
our leave, and came not to the
door till we were already set
out, then followed us with her
good wishes and her eyes, as
far as she could see or be
heard.

I took my leave of Kefla
Abay, the venerable priest of
the most famous river in the
world, who recommended me,
with great earnestness, to the
care of his god, which, as
Strates humorously enough
observed, meant nothing else
than that he hoped the devil
would take me. All the young
men in the village, with lances
and shields, attended us to
Saint Michael Sacala, that is,
to the borders of their coun-
try, and end of my little sove-
reignty.

CHAPTER XII.

The Return from Geesh to Gondar.

On the loth November 1770
we left Geesh on our return to
Gondar, and passed the Abay
as before, under the church of
St. Michael Sacala. On the
evening of the nth we halted
at the house of Shalaka Welled
Amlac, with whom I was well
acquainted at Gondar. I had
cured him of the small- pox at
Koscam, and dressed him and
his servant in a new suit of
clothes on their leaving me.
We were here well entertained
according to the customs of the
Maitsha and the Galla by Welled
Amlac, his sisters and mother,
and Fasil's wife, who at my first
request gave me a lock of her
fine hair from the root, which
has ever since been used to
suspend a plummet of an ounce
and a half at the index of my
three-feet quadrant. A melan-
choly gloom often returned to
her beautiful face, which seemed
to indicate a mind ill at ease.
I wondered that Fasil her hus-
band had hot carried her to
Gondar. She said her husband
had twenty other wives beside
her, but took none of them to
Gondar; which was a place of
war, where it was the custom
to marry the wives of their
enemies that they had forced
to fly : Fasil will be married
therefore to Michael's wife
Ozoro Esther.

In the afternoon we distri-
buted our presents among the

BRUGES TRAVELS,

291

ih to Gondar.

ladies. On the morning of the
13th wc settled our account
with our host, and set out on
our journey. We had previ-
ously heard the noise of the
falls in the river Jemma, and
this morning we came to the
ford of the Jemma, which is
strong, rugged, and uneven.
We crossed the Nile near the
small town of Delakus, which
is inhabited by Mahometans
only, a frugal, intelligent, and
industrious people. Pursuing
our journey north, we passed
the small town of Delakus, and
alighted at Googue, a consider-
able village. We found the
people of Googue the most
savage and inhospitable we had
yet met with. Upon no account
would they suffer us to enter
their houses, and we were
obliged to remain without the
greatest part of the night. They
refused absolutely to give us
meat for ourselves or horses.
We contented ourselves with
lighting a large fire in the middle
of the house, which we kept
burning all night, as well for
guard as for drying ourselves,
though we little knew at the
time that it was probably the
means of saving our lives, for in
the morning we found the whole
village sick of a fever, and two
familieshad died out of thehouse
where these people had put us.
This fever prevailed in Abys-
sinia, in all low grounds. Begin-
ning immediately with the sun-
shine after the first rains, it
ceases upon the earth being
thoroughly soaked in July and

August, and begins again in
September ; but now, at the be-
ginning of November, it finally
ceases everywhere.

I took the precaution of in-
fusing a dose of bark in a glass
of aquavita and fumigating the
place. Whether the bark pre-
vented the disease or not, the
aquavitcB certainly strengthened
the spirits, and was a medicine
to the imagination. Nothing
remarkable occurred on the
remainder of our journey, and
my servants with the baggage
reached Gondar on the 19th
November.

Two things chiefly occupied
my mind, and prevented me
from accompanying my servants
and baggage into Gondar. The
first was my desire of instantly
knowing the state of Ozoro
Esther's health: the second was
to avoid Fasil, till I knew a
little more about Ras Michael
and the king. Taking one ser-
vant along with me, I left my
people at Azazo, and turning
to the left, up a very craggy
steep mountain, I made the
utmost diligence I could till I
arrived at the gate of Kos-
cam, near two o'clock, without
having met any one from
Fasil, who was encamped oppo-
site to Gondar, on the Kahha,
on the side of the hill, so that
I had passed obliquely behind
him. He had, however, seen
or heard of the arrival of my
servants at Gondar, and had
sent for me to wait upon him in
his camp; and, when he was
informed I had gone forward to

> %

I 'fm

•i^K

■m

293

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

9' ':■

"A ■'

Koscam, it was said he had ut-
tered some words of discontent.

I went straight to the Iteghd's
apartment, but was not ad-
mitted, as she was at her devo-
tions. In crossing one of the
courts, however, I met a slave
of Ozoro Esther, who, instead
of answering the question I put
to her, gave a loud shriek, and
went to inform her mistress. I
found that princess greatly re-
covered, as her anxiety about
Fasil had ceased.

Fasil had been raised by
Socinios, who had mounted the
throne when king Tecla Haim-
anout and Ras Michael retired
from Gondar to the dignity of
Ras, in the hope that thus his
powerful assistance might be
secured in the coming contest.
He dissembled for a while, but
at length the usurper, having
been informed of a secret com-
pact existing between ^him and
Michael, and having sent Po-
wussen, one of his generals, to
surprise him at Gondar, where
he was attended by only about
1000 men, he threw off the
mask, and publicly avowed
that it was his intention to re-
store Tecla Haimanout to the
throne. He declared that,
rather than fail in it, he would
replace Michael Suhul in all his
posts and dignities. Powussen
of Begemder, meanwhile, did
not disregard the orders of
Socinios. Marching to surprise
Fasil, he fell in with the troops
of Aylo, dispersing them with
little resistance. The news of
this conflict however put Fasil

upon his guard. He at once pro-
claimed Tecla Haimanout king-
and, encamping within two
miles of Gondar, he invited all
who wished to escape the ven-
geance of Michael to join his
standard. He then retreated
to Dingleber, on the side of the
lake, where he cut off the sup-
plies of Socinios from that side,
occasioning a great famine in
Gondar, where many poor
people perished. Hitherto I
had no intercourse with So-
cinios, never having been in
his presence, nor had I any
reason to think he knew me, or
cared for me more than any
Greek that was in Gondar. On
the morning of the 6th Decem-
ber, however, I had a message
from him to come to the palace.
Socinios was sitting, his eyes
half closed, and red with his
last night's debauch; he was
apparently at that momentmuch
in liquor; his mouth full of
tobacco, and squirting his spittle
over the floor, so that it was
with difficulty I could get a
clean place on which to kneel.
He was dressed like the late
king ; but, in everything else,
how unlike ! My mind was filled
with horror and detestation to
see the throne on which he sat
so unworthily occupied. I re-
garded him as I advanced with
the most perfect contempt.
Hamlet's lines described him
exactly : —

' A murtherer and a villain : '
A slave, that is not twentieth part the tithe
Of your preceding lord ; a vice of kings ;
A cutpurse of the empire, and the rule,

BRUCE' S TRAVELS,

293

That from a shelf the precious diadem stole,

And put it in his pocket ;

A king of shreds and patches.'

When I got up and stood before
him, he seemed to be rather
disconcerted.

'Wherefore is it,* said So-
cinios, * that you, who are 2, great
man, do not attend the palace %
You were constantly with Tecla
Haimanout, the exile, or usurper,
in peace and war; you used to
ride with him, and divert him
with your tricks on horseback,
and, I believe, ate and drank
with him/

' I am no great man, even in
my own country ; one proof of
this is my being here in yours.
I anived in the time of the late
king, and I was recommended
to him by his friends in Arabia.
You are perfectly well informed
as to the great kindness he did
all along show me, but this was
entirely from his goodness, and
no merit of mine. I never did
eat or drink with him ; it was
an honour I could not have
been capable of aspiring to.
Custom has established the
contrary ; and for me, I saw no
pleasure or temptation to trans-
gress this custom, though it had
been in my option, as it was not.
I have, for the most part, seen
him eat and drink, an honour I
enjoyed in common with his
confidential servants, as being
an officer of his household.
The gold you mention, which
I have several times got from
the late king and Ras el Feel,
I constantly spent for his ser-
vice, and for my own honour.

The profession of arms is my
birthright, derived from my
ancestors; and with these, at
his desire, I have often diverted
the king, as an amusement worthy
of him, and by no means below
me.' * The king I ' says he in
a violent passion, *and who
then am I ? a slave ! Do you
know, with a stamp of my
foot I can order you to be
hewn to pieces in an instant?
You are a Frank, a dog, a liar,
and a slave ! Why did you tell
the Iteghd that your house was
robbed of 50 ounces of gold?
Any other king but myself
would order your eyes to be
pulled out in a moment, and
your carcase to be thrown to
the dogs.*

What he said was true ; bad
kings have most executioners.
I was not, however, dismayed.
I was in my own mind, stranger
and alone, superior to such a
beast upon the throne.

At this time an old man, of a
noble appearance, who sat in a
corner of the room, said, * I can
bear this no longer ; we shall be-
come a proverb, and the hatred
of all mankind. What have you
to do with Yagoube, or why did
you send for him ?'

This person, I understood
afterwards, was Ras Senuda,
nephew to the Itegh^.

When Senuda stopped, he
began with an air of drunken
drollery, * You are very angr)»
to-day, Baba;' and, turning to
me, said, * To-morrow see you
bring me that horse which
Yasine sent you to Koscam, or

IjA.

■#?!<

il|

Wu.. i

■1

U*<

IS' '9.,'

■1

294

TUB ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

you will hear of it. Slave and
Frank as you are, bring me the
horse ! '

Senuda took me by the hand,
saying, in a whisper, * Don't
fear him, I am here ; but go
home. Next time you come
here you will have horses enough
along with you.'

The intelligence soon after-
wards came to me that Michael
was approaching with a large
army, and that Socinios had
fled, and his followers, afraid
that his presence with them
might get them into trouble,
stripped him naked, and giving
him only a rag to cover him,
put him on a good horse, and
dismissed him to seek his for-
tune.

On the aist of December a
message came to me from Ozoro
Esther, desiring I would attend
her son Confu to meet the king.
She presented me at the same
time with a magnificent dagger
mounted with gold, and assured
me, as my former kindness to
her and her son had been re-
ported to Michael, I might
expect a good reception. I
accordingly repaired next day
to Mariam-Ohha, where the
king was encamped. My first
business was to wait on Ras
Michael, who admitted me im-
mediately upon being an-
nounced. I approached near
him to kiss the ground ; this
he prevented by stretching out
his hand. As soon as I arose,
without desiring me to sit down,
he asked aloud. Have you seen
the king? I said. Not yet. Have

you any complaint to make
against any one, or grace to
ask? I answered, None, but the
continuance of your favour. He
answered. That I am sure I
owe you; go to the king. \
took my leave. I had been
jostled and almost squeezed to
death attempting to enter, but
large room was made me for
retiring.

The reception I had met with
was the infallible rule according
to which the courtiers were to
speak to me from that time for-
ward. Man is the same creature
everywhere, although different
in colour ; the court of London
and that of Abyssinia are, in
their principles, one. I then
went immediately to the king
in the presence-chamber. His
largest tent was crowded to a
degree of suffocation. I re-
solved, therefore, to wait till
this throng was over, and was
going to my own tent, which
my servants pitched near that
of Kefla Yasous, by that gene-
ral's own desire, but, before I
could reach it, I was called by a
servant from the king. Though
the throng had greatly de-
creased, there was still a very
crowded circle.

The king was sitting upon an
ivory stool, such as are repre-
sented upon ancient medals;
he had got this as a present
from Arabia since he went to
Tigrd ; he was plainly, but very
neatly, dressed, and his hair
combed and perfumed. When
I kissed the ground before him,
* There,' says he, * is an arch

BRUGES TRAVELS.

295

rebel; what punishment shall
we inflict upon him V

' Your majesty's justice/ said
I^ < will not suffer you to inflict
any punishment upon me that
can possibly equal the pleasure
1 feel this day at seeing you
sitting there.'

He smiled with great good
nature, giving me first the back,
and then the palm of his hand
to kiss. He then made me a
sign to stand in my place, which
I immediately did for a mo-
ment, and, seeing he was then
upon business, which I knew
nothing of, I took leave of him,
and could not help reflecting,
as I went, that of all the vast
multitude then in my sight, I
was, perhaps, the only one des-
titute either of hope or fear.

All Gondar, and the neigh-
bouring towns and villages, had
poured out their inhabitants to
meet the king upon his return.
The fear of Ras Michael was
the cause of all this ; and every
one trembled, lest, by being ab-
sent, he should be thought a
favourer of Socinios.

The side of the hill, which
slopes gently from Belessen, is
here very beautiful ; it is covered
thick with herbage down to near
the foot, where it ends in broken
rocks. The face of this hill is
of great extent, exposed to the
w. and S.W., a small, but clear-
running stream, rising in Beles-
sen, mns thiough the middle of
it, and falls into the Mogetch.
It is not considerable, being but
a brook, called Mariam-Ohha
(/>. the water of Mariam), from

a church dedicated to the Virgin,
near where it rises in Belessen.
An infinite number of people
spread themselves all over the
hill, covered with cotton gar-
ments as white as snow. The
number could not be less than
50 or 60,000 men and women,
all strewed upon the grass pro-
miscuously. Most of these had
brought their victuals with them,
others trusted to their friends
and acquaintances in the army.
The soldiers had plenty of meat.
As soon as the king had crossed
the Tacazz^ all was lawful prize,
and though they did not murder
or burn, as was Michael's cus-
tom in his former marches, yet
they drove away all the cattle
they could seize either in Be-
gemder or Belessen. Besides
this, a great quantity of provi-
sions of every sort poured in
from the neighbourhood of
Gondar, in presents to the king
and great men, though there
was really famine in that capi-
tal, by the roads being every
way obstructed. There was
plenty, however, in the camp.

It was then the month of
December, the fairest time of
the year, when the sun was in
the southern tropic, and no
danger from rain in the day,
nor in the night from dew, so
that if the remembrance of the
past had not hung heavy on
some hearts, it was a party of
pleasure, of the most agreeable
kind, to convoy the king to his
capital. The priests from all
the convents for many miles
, round, in dresses of yellow and

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THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

If;

iiii

white cotton, came, with their
crosses and drums, in proces-
sion, and greatly added to the
variety of the scene. Among
these were 300 of the monks
of Koscam, with their large
crosses, and kettle-drums of
silver, the gift of the Iteghd in
the days of her splendour. At
present it was very doubtful
what their future fate was to
be, after their patroness had
fled from Koscam. But what
most drew the attention of all
tanks of people, was the ap-
pearance of the Abuna and
Itchegue, whose character, rank,
and dignity exempted them from
leaving Gondar to meet the king
himself ; but they were then in
great fear, and in the form of
criminals, and were treated with
very little respect or ceremony
by the soldiers, who considered
them as enemies.

It will be remembered, upon
a report being spread just after
the election of Socinios, that
Ras Michael's affairs were taking
an adverse turn while besieging
the mountain Haramat, that
the Abuna, Itchegue, and Acab
Saat had solemnly excommuni-
cated the king, Ras Michael,
and all their adherents, de-
claring them accursed, and ab-
solving iall people from their
allegiance to Tecla Haimanout.
But as soon as the king began
his march from Tigr^, appli-
cation for pardon was made
through every channel possible,
and it was not without diffi-
culty that Ras Michael could
be brought to pardon them,

chiefly by the entreaty of Ozoro
Esther. But this mortification
was prescribed to them as a
condition of forgiveness, that
they should meet the king at
Mariam-Ohha, not with drums
and crosses, or a retinue, but
in the habit and appearance of
supplicants. Accordingly, thty
both came by the time the king
had alighted ; but they brought
no tent with them, nor was
any pitched for them, nor any
honour shown them.

The Abuna bad with him a
priest or monk on a mule, and
two beggarly looking servant^;
on foot ; the Itchegue two
monks, that looked like ser-
vants, distinguished by a cowl
only on their heads ; they were
both kept waiting till pait three
o'clock, and then were admitted,
and sharply rebuked by the
Ras; they after went to the
king, who presently dismissed
them, without saying a word to
either, or without allowing them
to be seated in his presence,
which both of them, by their
rank, were entitled to do. I
asked the Abuna to make use
of my tent to avoid the sun;
this he willingly accepted of,
was crest-fallen a littlej spoke
very lowly and familiarly ; said
he had always a regard for me,
which I had no reason to be-
lieve ; desired me to speak
favourably of him before the
king and the Ras, which I pro-
mised faithfully to do. I or-
dered coffee, which he drank
with great pleasure, during
which he gave me several hints,

BRUGES TRAVELS.

297

as if he thought his pardon was
not completed ; and at last
asked me directly what were
my sentiments, and what I had
heartl ? I said I believed every-
thing was favourable as to him
and the Itchegue, but I did not
know how much farther the
king's forgiveness would extend.
I know, says he, what you mean ;
that Abba Salama (curse upon
him !) he is the author of it all.
What do I know of these black
people, who am a stranger, so
lately come into the country 1
And indeed he seemed to know
very little ; for, besides his na-
tive Arabic, which he spoke
like a peasant, he had not
learned one word of any of the
various languages used in the
country in which he was to live
and die. Having finished coffee,
I left him speaking to some of
his own people; about half an
hour afterwards he went away.

Ras Michael had brought
with him from Tigr^ about
20,000 men, the best soldiers of
the empire ; about 6000 of them
were musketeers, about 12,000
armed with lances and shields,
and about 6000 men had joined
them from Gondar ; a large pro-
portion of these were horsemen,
who were ai'^ouring the country
in all directioi?s, bringing with
them such unhappy people as
deserved to be, and were
therefore destined for public
example.

The short way from Tigrd
to Gondar was by Lamalmon
(that is, the mountain of Samen),
and by Woggora. Ayto Tesfos

had maintained himself in the
government of Samen since
Joas's time, by whom he was
appointed ; he had continued
constantly in enmity with Ras
Michael, and had now taken
possession of the passes near
the Tacazzd, so as to cut off
all communication between
Gondar and Tigrd On the
side of Belessen, between Lasta
and Begemder, was Ras Michael
and his army. Powussen and
the Begemder troops cut off the
road to Gojam by Foggora
and Dara. Ayto Engedan, who
was to be considered as an ad-
vanced post of Fasil, was at
Tshemmera, in the way of the
Agow and Maitsha, and Coque
Abou Barea on the north-west
side, towards Kuara; so that
Gondar was so completely in-
vested, that several of the people
died with hunger.

Ras Michael had ordered
his own nephew, Tecla, and
Welleta Michael, the King's
master of the household, to en-
deavour to force their way from
Tigrd to Woggora, and open
that communication, if possible,
with Gondar ; and for that pur-
pose had left him 4000 men in
the province of Sir^, on the
other side of the Tacazzd ; and
now scarce was his tent pitched
at Mariam-Ohha, when he de-
tached Kefla Yasous with 6000
men, to force a junction with
Welleta Michael and Tecla from
the Woggora side. Their orders
were, if possible, to draw Tesfos
to an engagement, but not to
venture to storm him in the

.iun;«

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298

TJrE KNGUSH EXPLORERS,

.! i^' ^

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mountain ; for Tcsfos's princi-
pal post, the Jews' Rock, was
inaccessible, where he had
ploughed and sowed plentifully
for his subsistence, and had a
quantity of the purest running
water at all seasons of the year :
to irritate Kesfos more, Kefla
Yasous was then named gover-
nor of Samen in his place. This
brave and active oflicer had set
out immediately for his com-
mand, and it was to me the
greatest disappointment pos-
sible that I did not see him.

Although Ras Michael had
been in council all night, the
signal was made to strike the
tents at the first dawn of day,
and soon after, the whole army
was in motion ; the council had
been in the Ras's tent, not in
presence of the king, with whom
I had stayed the most part of
the evening, indeed, till late in
the night ; he seemed to have
lost all his former gaiety, and to
be greatly troubled in mind ;
inquired much about the Iteghd,
and Fasil ; told me he had sent
his assurance of peace to the
Iteghd and desired her not to
leave Koscam ; but she had re-
turned for answer, that she
could not trust Michael, after
the threatenings he had sent
against her from Tigrd. It was
observed also, in this day's
march, that, contrary to his cus-
tom before crossing the Tacazzd,
he received all that came out
to meet him with a sullen coun-
tenance, and scarce ever an-
swered or spake to them. Mi-
chael also, every day since

the same date, had put on a
behaviour more and more se-
vere and brutal. He had
enough of this at all times.

It was the 23d of December
when we encamped on the Mo-
getch, just below Gondar. This
behaviour was so conspicuous
to the whole people, that no
sooner were the tents pitched
(it being about eleven o'clock),
than they all stole home to
Gondar in small parties without
their dinner, and presently a
report was spread that the king
and Ras Michael came deter-
mined to burn the town, and put
the inhabitants all to the sword.
This occasioned the utmost con-
sternation, and caused many to
fly to Fasil.

As forme, theking's behaviour
showed me plainly all was not
right, and an accident in the
way confirmed it. He had de-
sired me to ride before him, and
show him the horse I had got
from Fasil, which was then in
great beauty and order, and
which I had kept purposely for
him. It happened that, cross-
ing the deep bed of a brook, a
plant of the kantuffa hung
across it. I had upon my shoul-
ders a white goat-skin, of which
it did not take hold ; but the
king, who was dressed in the
habit of peace, his long hair
floating all around his face,
wrapt up in his mantle, or thin
cotton cloak, so that nothing
but his eyes could be seen, was
paying more attention to the
horse than to the branch of
kantuffa beside him; it took

BRUCFS TRAVELS.

299

first hold of his hair, and the
fold of the cloak that covered
his head, then spread itself over
his whole shoulder in such a
manner, that, notwithstanding
all the help that could be given
him, and that I had, (it first
seeing it, cut tho princip; 1
bough asunder with my knife, no
remedy remained hut he must
throw off the upper g/irment,
and appear in the under one, or
waistcoat, with his head and face
bare before all the spectators.

This is accounted great dis-
grace to a king, who always
appears covered in public,
liowever, he did not seem to be
ruffled, nor was there anything
particular in his countenance
more than before, but with great
composure, and in rather a low
voice, he called twice, Who is
the Shum of this district ? Un-
happily he was not far off. A
thin old man of sixty, and his
son about thirty, came trotting,
as their custom is, naked to
their girdle, and stood before
the king, who was by this time
quite clothed again. What had
struck the old man's fancy, I
know not, but he passed my
horse laughing, and seemingly
wonderfully content with him-
self. I could not help consider-
ing him as a type of mankind
in general, never more confident
and careless than when on the
brink of destruction. The king
asked if he was Shum of that
place ? He answered in the
affirmative, and added, which
was not asked oi him, that the
other was his son.

There is always near the
king, when he marches, an
officer called Kanitz Kitzera,
the executioner of the camp ;
he carried upon his saddle
a quantity of thongs made
of bull-hide, rolled uj) very arti-
'irially ; this is called the tarade.
ITip king made a sign with his
heaii, and another with his
hand, without speaking ; and
two loops of the tarade were
instantly thrown round the Shum
and his son's neck, and they
were both hoisted upon the
same tree, the tarade cut, and
the end made fast to a branch.
They were both left hanging,
but I thought so awkwardly,
that they would not die for some
minutes, and might surely have
been saved had any one dared
to cut them down ; but fear had
fallen upon every person who
had not attended the king to
Tigrd

This cmel beginning seemed
to me an omen that violent
resolutions had been taken, the
execution of which was im-
mediately to follow ; for though
the king had certainly a delight
in the shedding of human blood
in the field, yet till that time I
never saw him order an execu-
tion by the hands of the hang-
man ; on the contrary, I have
often seen him shudder and ex-
press disgust, lowly, and in half
words, at such executions ordered
every day by Ras Michael. In
this instance he seemed to have
lost that feeling ; and rode on,
sometimes conversing about
Fasil's horse, or other indifferent

T^'-pr

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300

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

'iV|

subjects, to those who were
around him.

In the evening of the 23d,
when encamped upon Mo-
getch, came Sanuda, the person
who had made Socinios king,
and who had been Ras under
him ; he was received with great
marks of favour, in reward of
the treacherous part he had
acted. He brought with him
prisoners, Guebra Denghel, the
Ras's son-in-law, one of the
best and most amiable men in
Abyssinia, but who had unfor-
tunately embraced the wrong
side of the question ; and with
him Sebaat Laab and Kefla
Mariam, both men of great
fiimilies in Tigrd. These were,
one after the other, thrown
violently on their faces before
the king. I was exceedingly
distressed for Guebra Denghel ;
he prayed the king, with the
greatest earnestness, to order
him to be put to death before
the door of his tent, and not
delivered to his cruel father-in-
law. To this the king waved
his hand, as a sign to carry
them to Ras Michael, where
they were put in custody and
loaded with irons.

About two hours later came
Ayto Aylo, son of Kasmati
Eshte, whom the king had
named governor of Begemder ;
he brought with him Chrema-
tion, brother to Socinios, and
Abba Salama the Acab Saat,
who had excommunicated his
father, and been instrumental
in his murder by Fasil. I had
a great curiosity to see how they

would treat the Acab Saat ; for
my head was full of what I had
read in the European books, of
exemption that churchmen had
in this country from the juris-
diction of the civil power.

Aylo had made his legs to be
tied under the mule's belly, his
hands behind his back, and a
rope made fast to them, which
a man held in his hand on one
side, while another held the
halter of the mule on the other,
both of them with lances in
their hands. Chremadon had
his hands bound, but his legs
were not tied, nor was there any
rope made fast to his hands by
which he was held. While
they were untying Abba Salama,
I went into the presence-cham-
ber, and stood behind the king's
chair. Very soon after Aylo's
men brought in their prisoners,
and, as is usual, threw them
down violently with their faces
to the ground ; their hands
being bound behind them, they
had a very rude fall upon their
faces.

The Acab Saat rose in a
violent passion. He struggled
to get loose his hands, that he
might be free to use the act of
denouncing excommunication,
which is by lifting the right hand
and extending the fore-finger;
finding that impossible, he cried
out, * Unloose my hands, or
you are all excommunicated.'
It was with difficulty he could
be prevailed upon to hear the
king, who, with great compo-
sure, or rather indifference,
said to him, * You are the first

B RUCK'S TRAVELS.

. ;]■

301

:l I

ecclesiastical officer in my house-
hold ; you are the third in the
whole kingdom ; but I have not
yet learned you ever had power
to curse your sovereign, or ex-
hort his subjects to murder him.
You are to be tried for this
crime by the judges to-morrow,
so prepare to show in your de-
fence upon what precepts of
Christ, or his apostles, or upon
what part of the general coun-
cils, you found your title to do
this.'

* Let my hands be unloosed,'
cried Salama, violently ; * I am
a priest, a servant of God ; and
they have power, says David,
to put kings in chains, and
nobles in irons. And did not
Samuel hew king Agag to pieces
before the Lord ? I excommu-
nicate you, Tecla Haimanout.'
And he was going on, when
Tecla Mariam, son of the king's
secretary, a young man, struck
the Acab Saat so violently on
the face, that it made his mouth
gush out with blood, saying, at
the same time, * What I suffer
this in the king's presence V
Upon which both Chremation
and the Acab Saat were hurried
out of the tent without being suf-
fered to say more ; indeed, the
blow seemed to have so much
disconcerted Abba Salama, that
it deprived him for a time of
the power of speaking.

In Abyssinia it is death to
strike, or lift the hand to strike,
before the king ; but in this case
the provocation was so great,
so sudden and unexpected, and
the youth's worth and the inso-

lence of the offender so appa-
rent to everybody, that a slight
reproof only was ordered to be
given to Tecla Mariam.

When the two prisoners were
carried before the Ras he re-
fused to see them, but loaded
them with irons and committed
them to close custody. That
night a council was held in the
king's tent, but it broke early
up j afterwards another before
the Ras, which sat much later.
The reason was, that the first,
where the king was, only ar-
ranged the business of to-mor-
row, while that before the Ras
considered all that was to be
done or likely to happen at any
time.

On the 24th the drum beat,
and the army was on their
march by dawn of day. They
halted a little after passing the
rough ground, and then doubled
their ranks, and formed into
close order of battle, the king
leading the centre. A few of
his black horse were in two
lines immediately before him,
their spears pointed upwards,
his officers and nobility on each
side, and behind him the rest
of the horse distributed in the
wings, excepting Prince George
and Ayto Confu, who, with two
small bodies, not exceeding a
hundred, scoured the country,
sometimes in the front, and
sometimes in the flank. I do
not remember who commanded
the rest of the army ; my mind
was otherwise engaged. They
marched close and in great
order, and every one trembled

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302

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

for the fate of Gondar. We
passed the Mahometan town
and encamped upon the river
Kahha, in front of the market-
place. As soon as we had
turned our faces to the town,
our kettle-drums were brought
to the front, and, after beating
some time, two proclamations
were made. The first was, —
' That all those who had flour
or barley in quantities, should
bring it that very day to a fair
market, on pain of having their
houses plundered ; and that all
people, soldiers, or others, who
attempted by force to take any
provisions without having first
paid for them in ready money,
should be hanged upon the
spot.' A bench was quickly
brought, and set under a tree
in the middle of the market ; a
judge appointed to sit there ; a
strong guard, and several offi-
cers placed round him ; behind
him an executioner, and a large
coil of ropes laid at his feet.
The second proclamation was,
— * That everybody should re-
main at home in their houses,
otherwise the person flying, or
deserting the town, should be
reputed a rebel, his goods con-
fiscated, his house burnt, and
his family chastised at the king's
pleasure for seven years.' So
far all was well and politic.

There was at Gondar a sort
of mummers, being a mixture
of buflbons and ballad-singers,
and posture -masters. These
people, upon all public occa-
sions, run about the streets;
and on private ones, such as

marriages, come to the court-
yards before the houses, where
they dance, and sing songs of
their own composing in honour
of the day, and perform all sorts
of antics. Many a time, on his
return from the field with vic-
tory, they had met Ras Michael
and received his bounty for
singing his praises. The day
the Abuna excommunicated the
king, this set of vagrants made
part of the solemnity. They
abused, ridiculed, and traduced
Michael in lampoons and scur-
rilous rhymes, calling him
crooked, lame, old, and impo-
tent, and several other oppro-
brious names, which did not
aff"ect him nearly so much as
the ridicule of his person. It
happened that these wretches,
men and women, to the num-
ber of about thirty and upwards,
were then, with very different
songs, celebrating Ras Michael's
return to Gondar. The king
and Ras, after the proclama-
tion, had just turned to the
right to Aylo Meidan, below
the palace, a large field where
the troops exercise. Confu and
the king's household troops
were before, and about 200 of
the Sird horse were behind;
on a signal made by the Ras,
these horse turned short and
fell upon the singers, and cut
them all to pieces. In less
than two minutes they were all
laid dead upon the field, ex-
cepting one young man, who,
mortally wounded, had just
strength enough to arrive within
twenty yards of the king's horse.

BRUGES TRAVELS,

303

and there
speaking a

fell dead without
word. All the
people present, most of them
veteran soldiers, and conse-
quently inured to blood, ap-
peared shocked and disgusted
at this wanton piece of cruelty.
For my part, a kind of faintish-
ness, or feebleness, had taken
possession of my heart, ever
since the execution of the two
men on our rharch, about the
kantuffa; and this second act
of cruelty occasioned such a
horror, joined with an absence
of mind, that I found myself
unable to give an immediate
answer, though the king had
spoken twice to me.

It was about nine o'clock in
the morning when we entered
Gondar ; every person we met
on the street wore the counte-
nance of a condemned malefac-
tor. The Ras went immediately
to the palace with the king, who
retired, as usual, to a kind of
cage or lattice-window, where
he always sits unseen when in
council. Abba Salama was
brought to the foot of the table
without irons, at perfect liberty.
The accuser for the king (it is
a post in this country in no
great estimation) began the
charge against him with great
force and eloquence. He
stated, one by one, the crimes
committed by him at different
periods; the sum of which
amounted to prove Salama to
be the greatest monster upon
earth. He concluded this black,
horrid list, with the charge of
high treason, or cursing the

king, and absolving his subjects
from their allegiance, the great-
est crime human nature was
capable of, as involving in its
consequences all sorts of other
crimes. Abba Salama, though
he seemed under very great
impatience, did not often inter-
rupt him further than, *You
lie,' and, ' It is a lie,' which he
repeated at every new charge.

Abba Salama being desired
to answer in his own defence,
he entered upon it with great
dignity, and an air of superior-
ity. He made light of the
charges of immorality, which he
neither confessed nor denied \
but said these might be crimes
among the Franks (looking at
me) or other Christians, but not
the Christians of that country,
who lived under a double dis-
pensation, the law of Moses
and the law of Christ. The
Abyssinians were Beni Israel^
that is, children of Israel ; and
in every age the patriarchs
acted as he did. He went
roundly into the murder of Joas,
and of his two brothers, Adigo
and Aylo, on the mountain of
Wechne, and charged Michael
directly with it, as also with
the poisoning the late Hatze
Hannes, father of the present
king.

The Ras seemed to avoid
hearing, sometimes by speaking
to people standing behind him,
sometimes by readmg a paper :
in particular, he asked me,
standing directly behind his
chair, in a low voice, ' What is
the punishment in your country

i^'

^\b

304

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

till

for such a crime % ' I said, in the
same low tone of voice he had
spoken to me, 'High treason
is punished with death in all
the countries I have ever
known.' This I owed to Abba
Salama, and it was not long
before I had my return.

This calmness of the Ras
seemed to disconcert the Acab
Saat; he lost all method; he
warned the Ras, that it was
owing to his excommunicating
Kasmati Eshte that room was
made for him to come to Gon-
dar; without that event, this king
would never have been upon
the throne ; so that he had still
done them as much good by
his excommunications as he had
done them harm. He told the
Ras, and the judges, that they
were all doubly under a curse,
if they offered either to pull
out his eyes, or cut out his
tongue ; and prayed them,
bursting into tears, not so much
as to think of either, if it was
only for old fellowship, or
friendship, which had long sub-
sisted between them.

The judges gave a unanimous
opinion: *He is guilty, and
should die.' The last voice
remained with the king, who
sent Kal Hatze to the Board
with his sentence: * He is guilty,
and shall die the death. The
hangman shall hang him upon
a tree to-day! The unfortunate
Acab Saat wa^ immediately
hurried away by the guards to
the place of execution^ where,
uttering curses to the very last
moment against the king, he

was hanged in the very vest-
ment in which he used to sit
before the king.

Chremation, Socinios's bro-
ther, was next called; he seemed
half dead with fear, and denied
having any concern in his
brother being elected king.
After a very summary examina-
tion, he was sentenced to be
immediately hanged. All this
had passed in less than two
hours ; it was not quite eleven
o'clock when all was over, and
as I went home I saw the two
unfortunate people hanging on
the same branch.

The next morning came on
the trial of the unfortunate
Guebra Denghel, Sebaat Laab,
and Kefla Mariam; the Ras
claimed his right of trying these
three at his own house, as they
were all three subjects of his
government of Tigr^. Guebra
Denghel bore his hard fortune
with great unconcern, declaring
that his only reason of taking
up arms against the king was
that he saw no other way of
preventing Michael's tyranny
and monstrous thirst of money
and of power. He wished the
king might know this was his
only motive for rebellion, and
that, unless it had been to
make this declaration, he would
not have opened his mouth be-
fore so partial and unjust a
judge as he considered Michael
to be.

But Welleta Selasse, his
daughter, hearing the danger
her father was in, broke sud-
denly out of Ozoro Esther's

BRUGES TRAVELS,

30s

apartment, which was contigu-
ous, and, coming into the
council-room at the instant her
father was condemned to die,
threw herself at the Ras's feet
with every mark and expression
of the most extreme sorrow.
I cannot, indeed, repeat what
her expressions were, as I was
not present, and I thank God
that I was not ; I believe they
are ineffable by any mouth but
her own ; but they were per-
fectly unsuccessful. The old
tyrant spurned her away with his
foot, and ordered her father to
be immediately hanged. Wel-
leta Selasse fell speechless to
the ground. The father, for-
getful of his own situation, flew
to his daughter's assistance, and
they were both dragged out at
separate doors, the one to
death, the other to after-suffer-
ings greater than death itself.

Welleta Selasse afterwards
took poison. I saw her in her
last moments, but when too
late to give her any assistance.
Kefla Mariam's eyes were pulled
out, Sebaat Laab's eyelids were
cut off by the roots, and both of
them were exposed in the mar-
ket-place to the burning sun,
without any covering whatever.
Sebaat Laab died of a fever in
a few days ; Kefla Mariam
lived, if not to see, at least to
hear, that he was revenged,
after the battle of Serbraxos, by
the disgrace and captivity of
Michael.

I will spare myself the dis-
agreeable task of shocking my
readers with any further account

of these horrid cruelties ; enough
has been said to give an idea of
the character of these times and
people. Blood continued to be
spilt as water, day after day, till
the Epiphany ; priests, laymen,
young men and old, noble and
vile, daily found their end by
the knife or the cord. Fifty-
seven people died publicly by
the hand of the executioner in
the course of a very few days ;
many disappeared, and were
either murdered privately, or
sent to prisons, no one knew
where. The bodies of those
killed by the sword were hewn
to pieces and scattered about
the streets, being denied burial.
I was miserable, and almost
driven to despair, at seeing my
hunting dogs, twice let loose by
the carelessness of my servants,
bringing into the court-yard the
head and arms of slaughtered
men, and which I could no way
prevent but by the destruction
of the dogs themselves j the
quantity of carrion, and the
stench of it, brought down the
hyaenas in hundreds from the
neighbouring mountains ; and,
as few people in Gondar go out
after it is dark, they enjoyed
the streets by themselves, and
seemed ready to dispute the
possession of the city with the
inhabitants. Often when I
went home late from the palace,
I heard them grunting by twos
and threes so near me as to be
afraid they would take some
opportunity of seizing me by
the leg ; a pistol would have
them, and made
u

'\'\<

- H,

Ti^T

^ -'i

frightened

3o6

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

them speedily run, and I con-
stantly carried two loaded at
my girdle ; but the discharging
a pistol in the night would have
alarmed every one that heard it
in the town, and it was not now
the time to add anything to
people's fears. 1 at last scarce
ever went out, and nothing
occupied my thoughts but how
to escape from this bloody
country by way of Sennaar.

The king missing me for some
days, at the palace, sent for me to
come to him. He immediately
remarked that I looked very ill,
which, indeed, I felt to be the
case, as I had scarcely eaten or
slept since I saw him last. He
said that besides being sick I
seemed as if something had put
me out of humour. I mentioned
some of my grievances, which he
made light of * The men you
saw suffer,' said he, * were those
who cut off the provisions from
coming into the city ; they have
occasioned the death of many
poor people ; as for the hyaena,
he never meddles with living
people, he seeks camon, and
will soon clear the streets of
those incumbrances which so
muchoffenH you.' I represented
to him how unpleasant and un-
seemly it was to have dead
bodies hanging near the palace-
gate, and heaped up near the
houses in the town.

' The Ras has given orders,'
says he, gravely, * to remove all
the dead bodies before the
Epiphany, when we go down
to keep that festival, and wash
away all this pollution in the

clear-running water of the Kah-
ha : but, tell me, Yagoube, is it
really possible that you can
take such things as these so
much to heart? You are a
brave man; we all know you
are, and have seen it : we have
all blamed you, stranger as you
are in this country, for the little
care you take of yourself; and
yet about these things you are
as much affected as the most
cowardly woman, girl, or child
could be.' 'Sir,' said I, *I do
not know if I am brave or not •
but if to see men tortured, or
murdered, or to live among
dead bodies without concern,
be courage, I have it not, nor
desire to have it.'

Ras Michael was now an-
nounced, and we made haste
to get away. He turned to
me and said, * My son is ill;
Ozoro Esther has just sent to
me, and complains you visit
her now no more. Go see the
boy, and don't neglect Ozoro
Esther ; she is one of your best
friends.'

I inquired if she was at Gon-
dar, and was answered, *No;
she is at Koscam.'

We parted. Engedan went
to Koscam to Ozoro Esther's,
and I went home to plan my
route to Sennaar, and to pre-
pare letters for Hagi Belal, a
merchant there, to whom I
was recommended from Arabia
Felix.

It was the 31st of December
that we were ai^ Koscam, and
the next niglit, the ist of Janu-
ary 1 77 1, according to order, I

BRUGES TRAVELS.

307

ave or not ;

waited upon the king, who, not
without great dispute and al-
tercation, would allow me the
permission to send letters to
Sennaar — arranging my return
home that way. At last, seeing
he could do no better, it was
agreed that, as an immediate
engagement between Powussen,
Gusho, and Ras Michael was
inevitable, I should swear not
to attempt to leave him till that
affair was settled some way or
other; but the king insisted I
should also take an oath, that,
should he be victorious over, or
reconciled to the rebels, if the
engagement I was under in my
own country was not fulfilled,
and I recovered my health, I
should bring as many of my
brethren and family as possible,
with their horses, muskets, and
bayonets. I cannot but hope
the impossibility of performing
this oath extinguished the sin
of breaking it ; at any rate it
was personal, and the subse-
quent death of the king must
have freed me from it.

While the king was at the
Kahha keeping the festival of
the Epiphany, he received a
very extraordinary visit from
Araha Yasous, son of the go-
vernor of Shoa, offering his per-
sonal service and assistance to
the king, and brought with him,
as a present, 500 ounces of gold,
and a thousand excellent horse-
men, ready equipt at all points.

Amha Yasous heard, while
at Shoa, from some priests of
Debra Libanos, that there was
a strange white man in favour

with the king at Gondar, who
could do everything but raise
the dead. It was among his
first requests to the king to
make him acquainted with me.
The king, therefore, ordered
me to wait upon him every
morning, and 1, on my part,
did not let slip that opportu-
nity. Insensibly we came to be
inseparable companions. Talk-
ing one day of the Abyssinian
kings who first lived at Shoa,
he said that a book containing
their history was in some of the
churches at Shoa, and promised
to procure it for me. Accord-
ingly, he sent 300 miles for the
purpose of getting it. It arrived
punctually from Shoa, and was
a fair and fine copy written upon
parchment, in a large quarto
size, in the pure ancient lan-
guage of Geez.

On the 1 7 th of February came
messengers from Fasil, with the
old language of proposals of
submission and peace, and a
repetition of his demand, that
Walleta Selasse should be given
him for a wife, and sent to him,
at least as far as Dingleber,
where he would advance to
meet her ; excusing himself from
coming to Gondar, because the
Ras had already broken his
promise to him ; for the condi-
tion of peace made with the
Ras, when he was besieging the
mountain, was, That if Michael
should bring the king to the
Tacazze, and surrender him
there, and then return and con-
tent himself with the govern-
ment of Tigre, without proceed-

.'■*

■ 1 ■

3oS

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

}

ing to Gondar, that Fasil should
receive the king and conduct
him to the capital, and be
created Ras and governor in
place of MichaeL Fasil had
punctually performed his part,
and of this Michael had taken
advantage, and had violated
every article which he had sti-
pulated on the other side ; and
this was at least the alleged
reason why Fasil had refused to
come to Gondar. The same
evening arrived also messengers
from Gusho and Powussen, de-
claring to Ras Michael, that if
he did not leave Gondar and
return to Tigrd, they would
come and burn the town. They
professed great duty to the king,
but charged the Ras with every
sort of enormity, and upon his
refusal sent him a defiance.

Gentle showers of rain began
now to fall, and to announce
the approach of winter ; nay,
some unusually severe and
copious had already fallen.
Gusho and Powussen, of Am-
hara and Begemder, Kasmati
Ayabder, governor of Foggoro,
and others, were all ready to
marcli, and cut off Michael's
retreat to Tigrd, provided the
rain did not make the Tacazze
impassable. Fasil alone kept
them in suspense, who, with
about 12,000 men, remained at
Ibaba, professing to be at peace
with Michael, in the meantime
keeping all Maitsha quiet, and
waiting for tlie coming of Wel-
leta Yasous, and 20,000 Galla,
who he had sent for from the
other side of the Nile. Al-

though Michael had, for these
last months, done everything in
his power to bring back to the
king such people of considera-
tion as possessed the lands and
estates about Gondar, yet his
cruelty and insatiable greed had
terrified them from putting
themselves into his hand. A
great desertion had likewise
happened since his coming
among his old troops of Tigre
both of officers and soldiers!
The execution of Guebra Den-
ghel and other two noblemen,
had greatly alienated the minds
of many of their countrymen,
and especially his breach of
promise made before the moun-
tain of Haramat, that he was
to levy no taxes for seven years,
but which he was now doing.
The return of Welleta Michael
and Kefla Yasous, with 8000
picked men, had strengthened
his position, as there was nothing
like them in the army.

Ever since the middle of
February, Ras Michael had re-
solved to march out, and give
battle to the rebels, who were
committing every sort of vio-
lence, and burning all the vil-
lages, houses, and barns in
Dembea. At last the cries of
the people flying into Gondar,
seeking protection from the
cruelties of the rebels, deter-
mined the Ras to march out
and set his all upon the fortune
of a battle. Accorc'ingly in the
T3th of May he marched out of
Gondar, taking with him the
king and Abuna, as also Ozoro
Esther, Ozoro Altash, her sister,

BRUGES TRAVELS,

309

and all the other ladies about
court. In round numbers the
army consisted of about 40,000
men. Of those, about 7500 were
horsemen, and nearly 7000
musketeers. Such is the con-
fusion of barbarous enemies on
these occasions, that I believe
it is not possible to arrive at
the result with greaterprecis^ion.
The army was furnished with a
number of excellent officers,
veterans of noble families, who
had spent their whole life in
war. The principal was Ras
Michael, who, arrived at the
age of 74, had passed the last
fifty years of his life in a course
of continued victories. It is
impossible to guess accurately
at the number of the enemy,
they were so continually chang-
ing. It was said at one time
that Begemder and Lasta had
30,000 horsemen. Another
time they were magnified to
50 and 60,000. They were,
however, mostly very bad troops,
and continually deserting. The
front, centre, and rear were
understood to march in order,
but it was often impossible to
discern any such divisions.
We were often all in confusion,
sometimes we were in the
middle of the front, sometimes
joined and mixed with the rear.
All our officers had left their
command, and were crowding
about Ras Michael and the
king; women bearing provisions,
horns of liquor, and mills for
grinding corn upon their backs ;
idle women of all sorts half-
dead with fear, crying and

roaring, mounted upon mules,
and men driving mules loaded
with baggage, presented an
appearance that surpassed all
description. There were above
10,000 women accompanying
the army : the Ras had about
fifty loaded with bouza, and the
king, I suppose, nearly as many.

The sight threw me for a
moment into low spirits. I
know not if the king saw it. I
was perfectly silent, when he
cried, ' Well, what do you say to
us now, Yagoube ? ' I answered,
* Is this the order in which your
majesty means to engage V He
laughed, and said, ' Ay ; why
not % you will see.' * If this is
so,' I replied, 'I only hope it is
the enemy's custom, as well as
your majesty's, to be in no better
order.'

A slight engagement ensued,
in which Ayto Confu, who had,
contrary to orders^ charged a
body of cavalry under Woodage
Asahely was severely wounded:
Notwithstanding the natural
hardness of his heart, and that
the misfortune which had hap-
pened was in immediate dis-
obedience of orders, Ras Mi-
chael showed great sensibility
at hearing Confu was wounded,.
and came immediately to see
him, and gave him a slighter
reproof than was expected for
leaving his post in the town, as
well as for his fighting without
orders. Ozoro Esther, in the
deepest concern, was in attend-
ance on her son from the first
moment of her arrival, and had
seen his wound dressed and

■'4^

s ' - £

.■i ■

310

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

swathed up. She inquired of
me with the deepest apprehen-
sion if I thought it was possible
he could recover. I advised
him to be carried in a litter to
Gondar, and she urged me to
accompany him and see him
safely there. We started and
arrived at Koscam without any
adventure, when Confu was left
now without any fear, then I
returned to the camp.

Ras Michael now passed
through a long valley towards
Begemder, expecting if once
there that he should occasion a
revolt among the troops of
Powussen, and likewise that he
should be met and reinforced
by many powerful noblemen
and friends to the king. By
this means he conceived his
army would be so much in-
creased, that he should soon
bring the rebels to reason.
Michael had no sooner got
from between the hills into the
open plain, than he was attacked
by Powussen with the whole
force of Begemder, who cut off
the troops of his Fit-Auraris to
a man, he and two or three
common soldiers only escap-
ing. A sharp fire from Michael's
musketry soon obliged Powus-
sen to shelter himself in the
plain from the violent effect of
the shot. After a severe strug-
gle, Powussen was obliged to
retreat, leaving 900 of his best
troops slain on the field. On
the part of Michael about 300
men, all of the cavalry, were
said to have perished that day.
This was the first battle of

Serbraxos, which, though it con-
tained nothing decisive, had
still the effect of daunting the
spirit of the Begemder horse,
that many chiefs of that country
withdrew their troops and went
home, whilst such discord was
sown among the leaders, that
I believe they never sincerely
trusted one another afterwards.

On the morrow after the
battle, three messengers arrived
from Gusho, Powussen, and
Ayabdar, and each had a sep-
arate audience of the king and
Ras, before whom they all
three severally declared, that
their masters desired to con-
tinue in allegiance to him their
king, Tecla Haimanout; but
under this condition only, that
Ras Michael should be sent to
his government of Tigre', never
more to return. If Michael
should agree to return to Tigre',
they offered to carry the king to
Gondar, place him in his palace,
and allow him to choose his
own ministers, and govern for
the future after his own ideas.
This, indeed, was the universal
wish, and I did not see what
Ras Michael could have done,
had he adopted it ; but fear, or
gratitude, or both, restrained
the young king from such a
measure ; and the messengers
left him after a plain declara-
tion, 'That they had endeav-
oured all in their power to save
him, and he must now abide
the consequences, for they
washed their hands of them.'

On the 19th of May, word
was brought that the whole

BRUGES TRAVELS.

rebel army was in motion ; and
soon after we heard, we saw
the whole troops of Begemder
appear. Michael prepared to
give battle immediately. We
here encountered a violent
storm of thunder, lightning, and
rain, with such a heavy shower
that I scarce ever saw the like
even in the rainy season. This
This was the signal for retiring
back to the camp. The whole
evening was spent in festivity
and joy. Ras Michael, who
knew the value of the morrow,
spared nothing that might re-
fresh the troops this day, and
the soldiers were all in good
spirits. All the young nobility
were as usual at Ozoro Esther's.
It was with infinite pity I heard
them thoughtlessly praying for a
warm and fair day on the mor-
row, the evening of which many
of them were never to see.

It was full half an hour after
the king had formed, before
the army of Begemder made
any motion. The Ras first saw
them from the hill, and made a
signal, by beating his drums,
and blowing his trumpets ; this
was immediately answered by
all the drums and trumpets
of the left wing ; and for the
space of a minute a thick cloud
of dust, occasioned by the Be-
gemder troops mounting on
horseback, by such a number
of men and horse passing over
it so often, and now raised by
the motion of the horses feet,
was whirled round by a very
moderate breeze, that blew
steadily ; it every minute in-

creased in ^
sumed varioii
of towers, c.
ments, as fane
the middle of
we began to
tinctly part of
then a much

ikness, and as-

.ha[^ s anH forms

'es and ^attle-

buggesl J. In

Jiis great cloud

perceive indis

the horsemen,

greater number,

and the figure of the horses
more accurately defined, which
came moving majestically upon
us, sometimes partially seen,
at other times concealed by
being wrapt up in clouds and
darkness; the whole made a
most extraordinary, but truly
picturesque, appearance.

Omitting the details of this
second battle of Serbraxos, the
result was, the king's troops fell
back under the hill of Serbrax-
os, where Michael was, and,
though followed by Gusho, were
no further attacked by him, but
on the right the rebels were
forced, after a very obstinate
and bloody engagement, across
the river Mogetch, where, hav-
ing rallied and posted them-
selves strongly, it was not
thought proper to force them.
Nearly 3000 men perished on
the king's side, while the enemy
lost above 9000 men, 7000 of
whom were from the troops of
Begemder and Lasta, with which
the king was engaged.

The king being washed and
dressed, and having dined, re-
ceived a compliment from Ras
Michael, who sent him a pre-
sent of fruit and a thousand
ounces of gold.

At the end of a day of battle
each chief is obliged to sit at

. i.

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*.!? d

312

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

the door of his tent, and each
of his followers, who has slain
a man, presents himself in his
turn, armed as in fight, with a
part of the body of the man
whom he has slain hanging
upon the wrist of his right hand.
In this, too, he holds his lance,
brandishing it over his master
or mistress, as if he intended
to strike, and repeating, in a
seeming rage, a rant of non-
sense, — * I am John, the son of
George, the son of William, the
son of Thomas ; I am the rider
upon the brown horse ; I saved
your father's life at such a battle.
Vvhere would you have been if
I had not fought for you to-day ?
You give me no encouragement,
no clothes, nor money ; you do
not deserve such a servant as
I ;* and with that he throws his
bloody spoils upon the ground
before his superior. I believe
there was a heap of above 400
that day before Ozoro Esther,
and it was monstrous to see the
young and beautiful Tecla Ma-
riam sitting upon a stool pre-
siding at so filthy a ceremony ;
nor was she without surprise
that no compliment of that kind
was paid by me.

For my own part, tired to
death, low in spirits, and cursing
the hour that brought me to
such a country, I almost regret-
ted I had not died that day in
the field of Serbraxos. I went
to bed in Ayto Engedan's tent,
refusing to go to Ozoro Esther,
who had sent for me. I could
not help lamenting how well
my apprehensions had been

verified, that some of our com-
panions at last night's supper
so anxious for the appearance
of morning, should never see
its evening. Four of them, all
young men, and of great hopes,
were then lying dead and
mangled on the field ; two
others, besides Engedan, had
been also wounded. I had,
however, a sound and refresh-
ing sleep. I think madness
would have been the conse-
quence, if this necessary re-
freshment had failed me ; such
was the horror I had conceivetl
of my present situation.

Next day I received an order
from the Ras to attend him.
When my turn came to kneel
before the king, he had a large
chain of gold, with very massy
links, which he doubled twice,
and then put it over my neck,
while t) e secretary said, ' Ya-
goube, the king does you this
great honour, not as payment
of past services, but as a pledge
that he will reward them if you
put it in his power.' Upon this
I kissed the ground, and we
were both reconducted to the
Ras with our insignia, and, hav-
ing kissed the ground before
him, and then his hands, we
both had leave to retire. He
seemed very busy with people
arrived from without; he only
lifted up his head, smiled, and
said, ' Well, are you friends
now?' We both bowed with-
out answer, and left the tent.

The chain consisted of 184
links, each of them weighing
3^\j- dwts. of fine gold. It

BRUGES TRAVELS.

Z^Z

*as with the utmost reluctance
that, being in want of every-
thing, I s( 1(1 a great part of
this honoii able distinction at
Sennaar, in my return home ;
the remaining part is still in
my posses on. It is hoped my
successors will never have the
same excuse I had for further
diminishi? g this honourable
monumei which I have left
them.

Another skirmish took place
on May 23d, which, in its re-
sults, was as indecisive as any of
the previous contests had been.

On the 26th, we received
advice, that the Edjow Galla,
and some other horse of the
same district, had massacred all
the people they met on their
way to and from Gondar, and
that a body of troops had
marched into the town, which
threatened to set it on fire if any
more provisions were sent to
the camp. We were now with-
out food or water ; a great
council was therefore held, in
which it was agreed to decamp
on the 28th, in the night, and re-
turn to Gondar on the 29th, in
the morning. Soon the soldiers
were in motion, and a confusion
never to be iforgotten or de-
scribed, presently followed,
everybody making the best of
their way to get safe down the
hill. The descent of the hill had
become very slippery, and men,
horses, and mules were rolling
promiscuously over one another.

The whole road was now as
smooth as a carpet on the plain
we had now reached, when

Ras Michael's mule fell flat on
the ground, and threw him upon
his face in a small puddle of
water. He was quickly lifted
up unhurt, and set upon his
mule again. We passed the
Mogotch, and at about 200
yards from the bridge, ui)on
ground equally plain as the
former, the mule fell again, and
threw the Ras another time in
the dirt; on which a general
murmur and groan was heard
from all his attendants, for
everybody interpreted this as
an omen that his power and
fortune were gone from him for
ever. I could not, however,
help reflecting how justly the
Ras was now punished for the
murder of the singers in that
very spot, when he returned
from Mariam Ohha, and entered
Gondar. The king went di-
rectly to the palace, the Ras to
his own house; and by the
secretary's advice, I went with
him to that of the Abuna ; and
although many a night I have
wanted rest upon less dangerous
occasions, I scarcely ever slept
more soundly. About eight
o'clock in the morning of the
29th of May came Gusho's
Fit-Auraris, and marked out
the camp for his master between
the Mahometan town and the
church of Ledeta, so that by
nine o'clock the town was com-
pletely invested, as if a wall
had been built round it.

The same day the kettle-
drums were brought to the
brink of the Kahha, and a pro-'
clamation made, *That all

i->i

314

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

soldiers of the province of Tigrd,
or who had borne arms under
Ras Michael, should, on the
morrow before mid-day, bring
their arms, offensive and defen-
sive, and deliver them up, on a
spot fixed upon near the church
of Ledeta, to commissaries ap-
pointed for the purpose of re-
ceiving them ; ' with further in-
timation to the inhabitants of
Gondar, ' That any arms found
in any house in that town, after
noon of the day of proclama-
tion, should subject the owner
of such house and arms to
death, and the house or houses
to be razed to their founda-
tion.'

The first of the Tigrd troops,
who set an example of this, was
Guebra Mascal ; he carried
down to the place appointed,
and surrendered about 6000
muskets, belonging to the Ras
and his family. All the rest of
the principal officers followed;
for the inhabitants of Gondar
were willing inquisitors, so that
the whole arms were delivered
before the hour appointed, and
locked up in the church of
Ledeta, under a strong guard
both without and within the
church.

As for the Ras, he had con-
tinued in the house belonging
to his office, visited only by some
private friends, but had sent
Ozoro Esther to the Iteghd's at
Koscam, as soon as he entered
Gondar. He ate, drank, and
slept as usual, and reasoned
upon the event that had hap-
pened, with great equanimity «»

and seeming indifference. There
was no appearance of guards
set upon him ; but every mo-
tion and look were privately,
but strictly, watched. The next
day, when he heard how ill his
disarmed men we -e treated by
the populace, when they were
dismissed to Tigr^, he burst
into tears, and cried out in great
agony, * Had I died before this,
I had been happy 1'

The king behaved with the
greatest firmness and com-
posure ; he was, indeed, graver
than usual, and talked less, but
was not at all dejected. Scarcely
anybody came near him the
first day, or even the second,
excepting the priests, some of
the judges, and old inhabitants
of the town who had taken no
part. Some of the priests and
monks, as is their custom, used
certain liberties, and mixed a
considerable degree of imper-
tinence in their conversations,
hinting it as doubtful whether
he should remain on the throne,
and mentioning it, as on tlie
part of the people, that he had
imbibed from Michael a pro-
pensity towards cruelty and
bloodshed ; what, some months
ago, no man in Gondar dared
to have surmised for his life.
These he only answered with a
severe look, but said nothing.
One of these speeches being
reported to Gusho, not as a
complaint from the king, but
through a bystander, who heard
it, that nobleman ordered the
offender (a priest of ErbaTensa,
ft church in Woggora) to be

BRUGES TRAVELS.

315

stript naked to his waist, and
tthipt with thongs, till his back
was bloody.

On the first of June, Gusho
and Powussen came both to
the house of the Ras, where
they interrogated him very
roughly as to all his past con-
duct. He clothed himself
plainly, and constantly in white,
with a cowl of the same colour
on his head, like the monks,
a sign he had retired from the
world. Nothing remarkable
happened at this interview, at
least as far as was known.
From thence Gusho and Po-
wussen went to the king's
palace, where they did homage,
and took the oaths of allegiance.
It was there resolved that Gusho
should be Ras, and the other
places were all disposed of
Powussen, on the 4th of June,
without any previous notice
given to Gusho, marched into
Gondar with a thousand horse,
and, without further ceremony,
ordered Ras Michael ^ to be
placed upon a mule, and, join-
ing the rest of his army, who had
all struck their tents, marched
away suddenly to Begemder.
Gusho took possession of the
Ras's house and office ; the
king's officers and servants re-
turned to the palace ; the places
of those that had fallen in
battle were filled, and the whole
town began to resume an ap-
pearance of peace.

Then was the season for mis-
chief, had not Fasil been hover-

^Ras Michael died in 1780, in the^SSth
year of his age.

ing with his army, without de-
claring his approbation. He
came about the end of June
and paid a short visit to the
Iteght5 and the king, giving in
a list of servants whom he
wished to make his own. After
these appointments, which the
king dare not dispute, though
otherwise much against his in-
clination, Fasil retired with his
army to Maitsha.

In the meantime, Gusho set up
everything for sale, content with
the money the offices produced,
and what he could squeeze
from people who had crimes,
real or alleged, to compound
for. He did not perceive that
steps were taking by his ene-
mies, which would soon deprive
him of all the advantages he
enjoyed. This caused great
dissatisfaction, and a reaction
took place. The king fomented
all these complaints by sending
a person of consequence to
Powussen, who advised him to
arrest Gusho immediately. Ac-
cordingly he was arrested, and
confined a close prisoner in
irons, in a high, damp, unin-
habited tower of the king's
house.

On the 6th of August mes-
sengers came from Fasil, and
the day after from Powussen,
Begemder, Gojam, Damot, and
Maitsha, which provinces, by
their deputies, desired that
Gusho might be set at liberty.
This the king agreed to, but
upon condition that the Ras
should instantly pay him looo
ounces of gold, and 500 mus-

II!:,.,,;,.

I ,"-: J]

, v,'

'Ml

3i6

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

kcts, which, on the other side,
was as positively refused. Upon
this Gusho was put into closer
confinement, and heavier irons
than before : and, what was the
most unjust, his two sons, who
had left their own country to
assist their father in distress,
were confined in chains with
him.

On the other hand, Adera
Tacca Georgis (the king's Fit-
Auraris), and Guebra Welleta
Yasous, principal people in
Maitsha, and whom Fasil had
put about the king, desired
leave to retire to their own
country, from which it is pro-
bable they will! never again
return to Gondar^ unless as
enemies.

Although the king still ob-
stinately insisted that the Ras
should pay him his thousand
ounces of gold, and five hun-
dred muskets, as a price for his
being set at liberty, this was
refused by Gusho, in terms that
showed he was not now, as
formerly, afraid of the king's
power. On the other hand,
the king proclaimed Kefla Ya-
sous governor of the province
of Tigr^, with the same extent
of command as Ras Michael
had enjoyed it ; and he was
already there, and had taken
upon him the government of
that province. At the same
time the king superseded Gusho,
and deprived him of his pro-
vince of Amhara, which was
given to- his nephew Ayto Adi-
go, son of Palambaras Durrie,
a man ot very great interest

and property in the province •
after which he immediately left
Gondar, and took his way
through Begemder ; but at the
very entrance into Amhara, he
was defeated by a son of Gusho
who was expecting him ; his
troops were dispersed, and his
brother, Ayto Aderesson (the
man who lost Gusho's horse at
the battle of Tedda), wounded
and taken prisoner.

To a message from Fasil de-
manding that Gusho should be
set at liberty, the king returned
a positive refusal. On the 12th
of November, Fasil marched
with a considerable army from
Ibaba, burnt every church and
village between Dingleber antl
Sar Okha, destroying the in-
habitants without regard to age
or sex. Fasil having thus given
the king a sample of what he
was capable of doing, sent
another peremptory demand by
a crooked diminutive dwarf, for
the liberation of Gusho. This
request was again refused. At
this, Fasil continued his march
till within two miles of Gondar,
and issued a proclamation which
caused the city to be deserted
in an instant. On the 15 th the
king released Gusho from his
confinement, who went imme-
diately to the camp of Fasil,
and next day returned to the
palace, where he had an
audience with the king. Fasil
also came to the palace on the
17th, and announced, among
other things, that he had given
his daughter to Gusho in mar-
riage j the king therefore gave

BRUGES TRAVELS.

317

himGojam,and also restored the
province of Amhara. To Fasil
were given Damot, Maitsha,
and Agow ; and, for the greater
solemnity, the king and Fasil
took a formal oath to ratify all
these articles, and to remain
in friendship for ever. After
which, the Abuna, in pontificals,
heing called to be present, pro-
nounced a formal curse and
sentence of excommunication,
upon whichever of the parties
should first break the vow they
had taken.

It is here a proper period to
finish the history of Abyssinia ;
as I was no further present at,
or informed of, the public trans-
actions which followed. My
whole attention was now taken
up in preparations for my re-
turn through the kingdom of
Sennaar and the desert. Neither
shall I take up the reader's time
with a long narrative of leave-
taking, or what passed between
me and those illustrious per-
sonages with whom I had lived
so long in the mo:jt perfect and
cordial friendship. Men of
little and envious mind would
perhaps think I was composing
a panegyric upon myself, from
which, therefore, I most will-
ingly refrain. But the several
marks of goodness, friendship,
and esteem which I received at
parting are confined within my
own breast, where they never
shall be effaced, but continue
to furnish me with the most
agreeable reflections, since they
were the fruit alone of personal
merit, and of honest, steady,

and upright behaviour. All who
had attempted the same journey
hitherto had met with disap-
pointment, disgrace, or death ;
for my part, although I under-
went every sort of toil, danger,
and all manner of hardship, yet
th€se were not confined to my-
self. I suffered always honour-
ably, and in common with the
rest of the state; and when
sunshiny days happened (for
sunshiny days there were, and
very brilliant ones too), of these
I was permitted freely to par-
take ; and the most distin-
guished characters, both at
court and in the army, were
always ready to contribute, as
far as possible, to promote what
they thought or saw was the
object of my pursuits or enter-
tainment.

I shall only here mention
what passed at the last inter-
view I had with the Itegh^, two
days before my departure.
Tensa Christos, who was one
of the chief priests of Gondar,
was a native of Gojam, and con-
sequently of the low church, or
a follower of Abba Eustathius,
in other words, as great an
enemy as possible to the Catho-
lic, or, as they call it, the reli-
gion of the Franks.

This priest came often to the
Iteghd's and Ayto Aylo's, with
both of whom he was much in
favour, and here I now hap-
pened to meet him, when I was
taking my leave in the evening.
' I beg of you,' says he,
'Yagoube, as a favour, to tell
me, now you are immediately

3i8

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

going away from this country,
and you can answer me with-
out fear, Are you really a
Frank, or are you not ? ' * Sir,'
said I, ' I do not know what
you mean by fear ; I should
as little decline answering you
any question you have to ask
had I ten years to stay, as
now I am to quit this country
to-morrow.'

We then entered on the
merits of our different forms
of faith, he defending the
Greek Church with considerable
energy and vigour. After this
conversation, I stood by Tensa
Christos, saying, * And now^,
holy father, I have one last
favour to ask you, which is
your forgiveness, if I have at
any time offended you ; your
blessing, now that I am im-
mediately to depart, if I have
it not ; and your prayers while
on my long and dangerous
journey, through countries of
infidels and pagans.'

A hum of applause jounded
all throughout the room. The
Iteghd said something, but what,
I did not hear. Tensa Christos
was surprised apparently at my
humility, which he had not ex-
pected, and cried out, with
tears in his eyes, * Is it pos-
sible, Yagoube, that you believe
my prayers can do you any
good V 'I should not be a
Christian, as I profess to be,
father,' replied I, * if I had
any doubt of the effect of good
men's prayers.' So saying I
stooped to kiss his hand, when
he laid a small iron cross upon

my head, and, to my great
surprise, instead of a benedic-
tion, repeated the Lord's prayer.
I was afraid he would have
kept me stooping till he should
add the ten commandments
likewise, when he concluded,
' Gzier y' Baracuc,' May God
bless you. After which, I made
my obeisance to the Iteghe,
and immediately withdrew ; it
not being the custom, at public
audience, to salute any one in
the presence of the sovereign.

Twenty greasy monks, how-
ever, had placed themselves in
my way as I went out, that
they might have the credit of
giving me the blessing likewise
after Tensa Christos. As I had
very little faith in the prayers
of these drones, so I had some
reluctance to kiss their greasy
hands and sleeves ; however,
in running this disagreeable
gauntlet, I gave them my bless-
ing in English, — Lord send
you all a halter, as he did to
Abba Salama (meaning the
Acab Saat). But they, think-
ing I was recommending them
to the patriarch Abba Salama,
pronounced at random, with
great seeming devotion, their
Amen, — So be it.

CHAPTER XIIL

From Gondar to Sennaar.

It was the 26th of December
1 7 7 1, at one o'clock in the after-
noon, that I left Gondar. I had

BRVCES TRAVELS.

319

purposed to set out early in the
morning, but was detained by
the importunity of my friends.
The king had delayed my set-
ting out, by several orders sent
me in the evening each day;
and I plainly saw there was
some meaning in this, and that
he was wishing to throw diffi-
culties in the way till some
accident or sudden emergency
(never wanting in that country)
should make it absolutely im-
possible for me to leave Abys-
sinia. When, therefore, the last
message came to Koscam on
the 27th, at night, I returned
my respectful duty to his ma-
jesty, put him in mind of his pro-
mise, and, somewhat peevishly,
I believe, entreated him to leave
me to my fortune ; that my ser-
vants were already gone, and I
was resolved to set out next
morning.

In continuing our journey,
we entered a thick wood wind-
ing round a hill, in a south-
east direction, to get into the
plain below, where we were sur-
rounded by a great multitude
of men armed with lances,
shields, slings, and large clubs,
or sticks, who rained a shower
of stones towards us, as I may
say, for they were at such a dis-
tance that all of them fell greatly
short of us. I, therefore, or-
dered two shots to be fired over
their heads, not with any inten-
tion to hurt them, but to let
them hear, by the balls whistling
among the leaves of the trees,
that our guns carried farther
than any of their slings ; and

that, distant as they then were,
they were not in safety, if we
had a disposition to do them
harm. They seemed to under-
stand our meaning by gliding
through among the bushes, and
appearing at the top of a hill
farther off, where they conti-
nued hooping and crying, and
making divers signs, which we
could not, neither did we en-
deavour to understand. My
message sent to them was, that
if they showed the smallest ap-
pearance of further insolence,
either by approaching the tent
or slinging stones that night,
the next morning, when the
horse I expected were come up,
I would burn their town and
put every man of them to the
sword. A very submissive an-
swer was sent back, with a heap
of lies in excuse of what they
called their mistake. My two
servants coming soon after, both
of whom, hereafter, were to be
in the service of Ayto Confu,
went boldly one to each village
to bring two goats, some jars of
bouza, and to prepare fifty loaves
of bread for next morning. The
goats were despatched instantly,
so was the bouza ; but when the
morning came, the people had
all fled from their houses with-
out preparing any bread. These
villages were called Gimbaar.

This was the only extraordi-
nary incident which happened
on our way to Tcherkin. I was
met by a servant of Ayto Confu,
who proposed that I should set
out with him alone the next
morning for Tcherkin, where I

320

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

fist; i .

should find Ayto Confu, and
my baggage should follow me.
I told him that it was a fixed
resolution of mine never to
separate from my servants and
company, who were strangers,
and without any other protec-
tion than that of being with me.
On the 2d of January 1772, I
reached Tcherkin, and pitched
my tent in the market-place,
which seemed a beautiful lawn
laid out for pleasure, shaded with
fine old trees of an enormous
height and size, and watered
by a small, but very limpid
brook, running over beds of
pebbles as white as snow. The
impatient Welleta Yasous, who
had met me, would scarcely
give me time to see my quad-
rant and other instruments
safely stowed. He hurried me
on to an outer court, where I
met many of my old acquaint-
ances whom I had known at
Ozoro Esther's at Gondar. I
was then taken to an inner
apartment, where, to my great
surprise, instead of Ayto Confu,
I saw his mother, Ozoro Esther,
sitting on a couch, and at her
feet the secretary's daughter,
the beautiful Tecla Mariam.

After having made a profound
obeisance, * Ozoro Esther,' said
I, ' I cannot speak for surprise.
What is the meaning of your
having left Gondar to come into
this wilderness? As for Tecia
Mariam, I am not surprised at
seeing her ; I know she at any
time would rather die than leave
you ; but that you have both
come hither without Ayto Confu,

and in so short a time, is what
I cannot comprehend.'

* There is nothing so strange
in this,' replied Ozoro Esther •
* the troops of Begemder have
taken away my husband, Ras
Michael, God knows where •
and therefore, being now a
single woman, I am resolved
to go to Jerusalem to pray for
my husband, and to die there
and be buried in the Holy
Sepulchre. You would not stay
with us, so we are going with
you. Is there anything sur-
prising in all this ?'

* But tell me truly,' says Tecla
Mariam, * you that know every,
thing, while peeping and porint^
through these long glasses, did
not you learn by the stars that
we were to meet you here V—
' Madam,' answered I, ' if there
was one star in the firmament
that had announced to me such
agreeable news, I should have
relapsed into the idolatry of this
country, and worshipped that
star for the rest of my life.'
Breakfast now came in; the
conversation took a very lively
turn, and from the secretary I
learned that the matter stood
thus: The king, restoring the
villages to the Iteghd, according
to the stipulation of his last treaty
with Powussen, thought that he
might so far infringe upon it,
from gratitude to Ras Michael,
as to give part of the number
to Ozoro Esther, the Iteghe's
daughter ; and Ayto Confu,
going to Tcherkin to hunt, he
took his mother along with him
to put her in possession; for

BRUCE' S TRAVELS,

321

the Itegh^'s people were not
lambs, nor did they pay much
regard to the orders of the
king, nor to those of the Iteghd
their mistress, at all times, far-
ther than suited their own con-
venience.

We now wanted only the pre-
sence of Ayto Confu to make
our happiness complete; he
came about four, and with him
Ayto Engedan, and a great
company. There was nothing
but rej oicing on all sides. Seven
ladies, relations and companions
of Ozoro Esther, came with
Ayto Confu ; and I confess this
to have been one of the hap-
piest moments of my life. I
quite forgot the disastrous
journey I had before me, and
all the dangers that awaited me.
I began even to regret being so
far in my way to leave Abys-
sinia for ever.

There is great plenty of game
of every sort about Tcherkin ;
elephants, rhinoceroses, and a
great number of buffaloes.

Though we were all happy to
our wish in this enchanted
mountain, the active spirit of
Ayto Confu could not rest. He
was come to hunt the elephant,
and hunt him he would. All
those that understood anything
of this exercise had assembled
from a great distance, to meet
Ayto Confu at Tcherkin. And
the manner in which they kill
the elephant is shortly as fol-
lows : — Two men, absolutely
naked, without any rag or cover-
ing at all about them, get on
horseback ; this precaution is

from fear of being laid hold of
by the trees or bushes, in
making their escape from a
very watchful enemy. One of
these riders sits upon the back
of the horse, sometimes with a
saddle, and sometimes without
one, with only a switch or short
stick in one hand, carefully
managing the bridle with the
other ; behind him sits his com-
panion, who has no other arms
but a broadsword, such as is
used by Sclavonians, and which
is brought from Trieste.

As soon as the elephant is
found feeding, the horseman
rides before him as near his
face as possible ; or, if he flies,
crosses him in all directions,
crying out, * I am such a man
and such a man; this is my
horse, that has such a name ; I
killed your father in such a
place, and your grandfather in
such another place, and I am
now come to kill you ; you are
but an ass in comparison of
them/ After having made him
turn once or twice in pursuit of
the horse, the horseman rides
close up alongside of him, and
drops his companion just be-
hind on the off side ; and while
he engages the elephant's atten-
tion upon the horse, the foot-
man behind gives him a drawn
stroke just above the heel, or
what in man is called the ten-
don of Achilles. This is the
critical moment ; the horseman
immediately wheels round, and
takes his companion up behind
him, and rides off full speed
after the rest of the herd, if

! ill

" i

32«

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

K*!

i!f:

they have started more than
one ; and sometimes an expert
Agageer will kill three out of
one herd. If the sword is good,
and the man not afraid, the
tendon is commonly entirely
separated ; and if it is not cut
through, it is generally so far
divided, that the animal, with
the stress he puts upon it,
breaks the remaining part asun-
der. In either case, he remains
incapable of advancing a step,
till the horseman return, or his
companions coming up, pierce
him through with javelins and
lances; he then falls to the
ground, and expires with the
loss of blood. The elephant
once slain, they cut the whole
flesh off his bones into thongs,
and hang these on the branches
of trees, till they become per-
fectly dry.

On the 6th, we had succeeded
in thus killing several elephants,
when there remained but two
of those that had been dis-
covered, a female with a calf.
She was very soon found, and
lamed by the Agageers; but
when they came to wound
with the darts, as every one
did in turn, to our very
great surprise, the young one,
which had been suffered to
escape unheeded and unpur-
sued, came out from the thicket
apparently in great anger, run-
ning upon the horses and men
with all the violence it was mas-
ter of. I was amazed, and
afflicted at seeing the great
affection of the little animal
defending its wounded mother,

heedless of its own life or safety.
I therefore cried to them to
spare the mother, though it was
then too late. Making one of
its attacks upon Ayto Engedan
it hurt him a little on the leg-
upon which he thrust it through
with his lance, and it then
fell dead before its wounded
mother.

The next morning we were
again on horseback, in search
of the rhinoceros. We had
killed a rhinoceros and several
wild boars, when our horses
were considerably blown, not
tired, and though we were beat-
ing homewards, still we were
looking very keenly for more
game. Ammonios was on tlie
left among the bushes, and
some large, beautiful, tall,
spreading trees, close on the
banks of the river Bedowi,
which stands there in pools.
Whether the buffalo found Am-
monios, or Ammonios the buf-
falo, is what we could never get
him to explain to us ; but he
had wounded the beast slightly
in the buttock, which, in return,
had gored his horse, and thrown
both him and it to the ground.
Luckily, however, his cloak had
fallen off, which the buffalo tore
to pieces, and employed himself
for a minute with that and with
the horse, but then left them,
and followed the man as soon
as he saw him rise and run.
Ammonios got behind one large
tree, and from that to another
still larger. The buffalo turned
very awkwardly, but kept close
in pursuit; and there is no

BRUCE S TRAVELS,

323

lan as soon

doubt he would have worn our
friend out, who was not used to
such quick motion. Ayto En-
gedan, who was near him, and
might have assisted him, was
laughing, ready to die at the
droll figure a man of Am-
monios's grave carriage made,
running and skipping about
naked, with a swiftness he had
never before practised; and
Engedan continued calling to
Confu to partake of the diver-
sion.

The moment I heard his re-
peated cries, I galloped out of
the bushes to the place where
he was, and could not help
laughing at the ridiculous fig-
ure of our friend, very attentive
to the beast's motions, which
seemed to dodge with great
address, and keep to his adver-
sary with the utmost obstinacy.
As soon as Engedan saw me,
he cried, * Yagoube ! for the love
of the blessed Virgin ! don't in-
terfere till Confu comes up.'
Confu immediately arrived, and
laughed more than Engedan,
but did not offer to interfere ;
on the contrary, he clapped his
hands, and cried, *Well done,
Ammonios,' swearing he never
saw so equal a match in his
life. The unfortunate Am-
monios had been driven from
tree to tree, till he had got be-
hind one within a few yards of
the water ; but the brush-wood
upon the banks, and his atten-
tion to the buffalo, hindered
him from seeing how far it was
below him. Nothing could be
irore ridiculous than to see

him holding the tree with both
his hands, peeping first one
way, and then another, to see
by which the beast would turn.
And well he might be on his
guard ; for the animal was ab-
solutely mad, tossing up the
ground with his feet both be-
fore and behind. * Sir,' said I,
to Ayto Confu, *this will be
but an ugly joke to-night, if we
bring home that man's corpse,
killed in the very midst of us,
while we were looking on.'
Saying this, I parted at a can-
ter behind the trees, crying to
Ammonios, to throw himself
into the water, when I should
strike the beast ; and, seeing the
buffalo's head turned from me,
at full speed I ran the spear
into the lower part of his belly,
through his whole intestinv<!s,
till it came out above a foot on
the other side, and there I left
it, with a view to hinder the
buffalo from turning. It was a
spear, which, though small in
the head, had a strong, tough,
seasoned shaft, which did not
break by striking it against the
trees and bushes ; and it pained
and impeded the animal's mo-
tions, till Ammonios, quitting
the tree, dashed through the
bushes with some difficulty,
and threw himself into the river.
But here a danger occurred
that I had not foreseen. The
pool was very deep, and Am-
monios could not swim ; so that,
though he escaped from the
buffalo, he would infallibly
have been drowned, had he not
caught hold of some strong

rifm

3*4

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

roots of a tree shooting out of
the bank ; and there he lay in
perfect safety from the enemy,
till our servants went round,
and brought him out of the
pool, on the further side.

In the meantime, the buffalo,
mortally wounded, seeing his
enemy had escaped, kept his
eyes intent upon us, who were
about forty yards from him,

walking

backwards to us, with

intent to turn suddenly upon
the nearest horse; when Ayto
Confu ordered two men, with
guns, to shoot him through the
head, and he instantly fell. The
two we first killed were females .;
this last was a bull, and one of
the largest, confessedly, that had
ever been seen. Though not
fat, I guess that he weighed
nearer fifty than forty stone.
His horns, from the root, follow-
ing the line of their curve,
were about fifty-two inches, and
nearly nine, where thickest, in
circumference. They were flat,
not round. Ayto Confu or-
dered the head to be cut off,
and cleared of its flesh, so that
the horns and skeleton of the
head only remained ; this he
hung up in his great hall among
the trunks of elephants and
horns of the rhinoceros, with this
inscription in his own language,
* Yagoube, the Kipt, killed this
upon the Bedowi.'

On the evening of the day
on which we had set out to hunt,
some men had arrived from Ras
el Feel, sent by Yasine with
camels for our baggage, nothing
but mules being used at Tcher-

kin. Up till the 15th January,
our time had been spent in
mirth and festivity with Ozoro
Esther. On that mornin" I
took my final farewell of the
beautiful and amiable Ozoro
Esther, who was to return the
following day to Gondar. We
proceeded but slowly, the road
being bad and unknown, and
our camels overloaded. We
halted on the 17th at Sancaho,
an old frontierterritory of Abys-
sinia. The town may consist
of about 300 huts or houses,
neatly built of canes, and curi-
ously thatched with leaves of
the same. The inhabitants of
the town are Baasa, a race of
Shangalla, converted to the
Mahometan religion ; it is an
absolute government, yet it is
understood to be inferior to Ras
el Feel.

While we were pitching our
tent, I sent one of Yasine's men
to order provisions for ourselves
and camels, and told him also
that my camels were few in
number and weak ; desiring he
would send two, or one at least,
which should be stated in his
deftar, on account of the rent
for that year. I was astonished
to see Yasine's men return,
bringingwith them onlya woolly-
headed black, the Erbab's son,
as it seemed, who, with great
freedom and pertness, and in
very good Amharic, said, * My
father salutes you ; if ye eat
what he eats, ye shall be very
welcome.' I asked him, ' What
that was % ' He said, * Elephant
killed yesterday; and, as for

BRUGES TRAVELS.

325

camels ye demand, he tells you
he has noiiC ; elephants are his
camels, and rhinoceroses are his
mules.'

Ayto Confu's servants, who
heard this message delivered,
and who were as desirous of get-
ting over this journey to Ras el
Feel as I was, advised me to go
with him up the hill tothe town,
and expostulate with the Erbab,
who, he said, would be ashamed
to refuse. Accordingly, I armed
myself with a pair of pistols at
my girdle, with a fusil and girdle
in my hand ; and took with me
two servants with their pistols
also, each carrying a large ship-
blunderbuss. We mounted the
hill with great difficulty, being
several times obliged to pull up
one another by the hands, and
entered into a large room about
fifty feet long. It was all hung
round with elephants' heads and
trunks, with skeletons of the
heads of some rhinoceroses, and
of monstrous hippopotami, as
also several heads of the giraffe.
Some large lion - skins were
thrown on several parts of the
room, like carpets ; and Gim-
baro stood upright at one end
of it, naked, only a small cloth
about his middle; the largest
man I ever remembered to
have seen, perfectly black, fiat-
nosed, thick-lipped, and woolly-
headed; and seemed to be a
picture of those Cannibal giants,
which we read of, as inhabiting
enchanted castles, in the fairy
tales.

Gimbaro did not seem to take
notice at my first entering the

room, nor till I was very near
him. He then came awkwardly
forward, bowing, endeavouring
to kiss my hand, which I with-
drew from him, and said in a
firm voice, ' I apprehend, sir,
you do not know me.' He
bowed, and said he did, but did
not conceive, at the time, it was
I that encamped at the brook.
The result was, he promised to
give me what we required.

On the 1 8th, about six in the
morning, Erbab Gimbaro, com-
ing down to our tent, brought
thirty loaves of dora as before,
andfourofwheat, for the journey;
and we had already enough of ho-
ney, upon which we breakfasted
with the Erbab, who, to confirm
the friendship, took two or three
glasses of strong spirits, which
put him into excellent humour.
I gave him- a cotton cloth, and
some trifles, which made him
perfectly happy ; and we parted
in the most cordial friendship
possible, after having made a
promise that, at my return, I
should stay a week at Sancaho-
to hunt the elephant and rhino-
ceros.

From the time we left Tokoor
river we had been followed by
a lion, or rather preceded by
one,^ for it was generally a small
gun-shot before us ; and where-
ever it came to a bare spot, it
would sit down and grumble as
if it meant to dispute the way
with us. Our beasts trembled,
and were all covered with sweat,
and could scarcely be kept on
the road. As there seemed to
be but one remedy for this diffi-t

:>f^

.\ '

•J.

ifijjia

326

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

culty, I took a long Turkish
rifled gun, and, crawling under
a bank as near as possible, shot
it in the body, so that it fell
from the bank on the road be-
fore us quite dead, and even
without muscular motion. It
proved to be a large lioness.

On the 2 2d we came to
Mariam-Ohha, and at half-past
three arrived at Hor-Cacamoot.
Hor, in that country, signifies
the dry deep bed of a torrent
which has ceased to run ; and
Cacamoot, the shade of death ;
so that Yasine's village, where
we now took up our quarters,
is called the Valley of the Sha-
dow of Death — a bad omen for
weak and wandering travellers
as we were, surrounded by a
multitude of dangers, and so
far from home, that there seemed
to be but One that could bring
us thither. We trusted in Him,
and He did deliver us.

Some time before I left Gon-
dar I had been threatened with
an attack of the dysentery. At
my arrival at Hor-Cacamoot it
grew worse, and had many un-
promising symptoms, when I
was cured by the advice and
application of a common Shan-
galla, by means of a shrub called
Wooginoos,^ growing very com-
mon in those parts, the manner
of using which he taught me.

Yasine had done everything,
on his part, to secure me a good
reception from Fidele, Shekh of
Atbara. In addition to this, I

< The root of this shrub, when pounded
to powder, was found to be a useful medicine
in cases of dysentery.

had been the means of curing
Mahomet, Shekh of Beyla, of a
troublesome disease, for which
I had some claims on his grati-
tude. I sent a servant of mine
with a letter to the Shekh, men-
tioning my intention of comin<»
to Sennaar by way of Teawa
and Beyla, and desiring him to
forward my servant to Sennaar.
I was now about to quit Ras el
Feel for ever, in the firm per-
suasion that I had done every-
thing man could do to insure a
safe journey and a good recep-
tion at Sennaar. Yasine now
took no further charge of me.
He doubted very much if I
should ever reach Teawa, at
least without suffering some
heavy affront or ill-usage. On
the 17 th of March we set out
from Hor-Cacamoot on our
journey to Teawa, On the fol-
lowing day I took an affection-
ate leave of my friend Yasine,
who, with all his attendants,
showed, at parting, that love
and attachment he had con-
stantly preserved since our first
acquaintance.

Advancing on our journey,
we were annoyed at Quaicha
by the attack of a hyaena, and
a lion carried away one of our
asses. As we now expected to
be instantly devoured, the pre-
sent fear overcame the resolu-
tion we had made, not to use
our fire-arms unless in the ut-
most necessity. I fired two
guns, and ordered my servants
to fire two large ship-blunder-
busses, which presently freed
us from our troublesome guests.

BRUGES TRAVELS,

327

fwo hyaenas were killed, and
a large lion being mortally
wounded, was despatched by
our men in the morning.

On the 20th we reached
Rashid, the villages composing
which are now in ruins. There
are seven or eight wells of good
water here, and the place itself
is beautiful beyond description.
It is a fairyland in the middle
of an inhospitable, uninhabit-
ed desert — full of large, wide-
spreading trees, loaded with
flowers and fruit, and crowded
with an immense number of the
deer kind. We were just two
hours in Rashid before we were
flying for our lives, the simoom,
or hot wind, having struck us
not long after we had set out
from Imserrha; and our little
company, all but myself, fell
mortally sick with the quantity
of poisonous vapour that they
had imbibed.

I apprehend, from Rashid to
Imserrha it is about five miles ;
and, though it is one of the
most dangerous halting-places
between Ras el Feel and Sen-
naar, yet we were so enervated,
our stomachs so weak, and our
headaches so violent, that we
could not pitch our tent, but
each wrapping himself in his
cloak, resigned himself imme-
diately to sleep under the cool
shade of the large trees, invited
by the pleasant breeze from
the north, which seemed tp be
merely local, confined to this
small grove, created probably
by the vicinity of water, and the
agitation we had occasioned in it.

In this helpless state to which
we were reduced, I alone con-
tinued not weakened by the
simoom, nor overcome by sleep.
A Ganjar Arab, who drove an
ass laden with salt, took this
opportunity of stealing one of
the mules, together with a lance
and shield belonging to one of
my servants. The country was
so woody, and he had so much
advantage of us in point of time,
and we were in so weak and
discouraged a state, that it was
thought in vain to pursue him
one step. So he got off with
his booty, unless he was inter-
cepted by some of those wild
beasts, which he would find
everywhere in his way, whether
he returned to Ras el Feel, or
the frontiers of Kuara, his own
country.

This day, being the fifth of
our journey, we had gone about
five hours very diligently, though,
considering the weak state we
were in, I do not think we ad-
vanced more than seven or
eight miles ; and it was to me
very visible that all the animals,
mules, c?,mels, and horses were
affected as much as we were by
the simoom. They drank re-
peatedly, and for a considerable
length of time, but they seemed
to go just so much the vorse
for it.

Upon approaching a pool
that had water in it, though yet
at some distance from it, my
servants sent me word to come
up speedily, and bring fire-arms
with me. A lion had killed one
of the deer, called Ariel, and

\.K-

328

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

had eaten a part of it, but had
retired upon the noise we had
made in alighting. In place of
him, five or six hyaenas had
seized the carcase, and several
others were at the instant ar-
riving to join them, and partake
of the prey the lion had aban-
doned. I hastened upon the
summons, carrying with me a
musket and bayonet, and a
ship-blunderbuss, with about
forty small bullets in it. Hav-
ing set my musket at my hand,
near and ready, I levelled my
blunderbuss at the middle of
the group, which were feeding
voraciously, like as many swine,
with a considerable noise, and
in a civil war with each other ;
two of them fell dead upon
the spot, two more died about
twenty yards distance, but all
the rest that could escape fled
without looking back, or show-
ing any kind of resentment ; I
then took my musket in my
hand, and stood prepared with
my bayonet behind the tree,
but fired no more, not knowing
what their humour or disposi-
tion might be as to a return
upon an accession of new com-
panions.

We observed a variety of
traps and cages, some of them
very ingenious, which the Da-
veina, or other Arabs, had set
to catch birds, several of which
we found dead in these snares,
and some of them had not
yet been touched by beasts ;
and as there was but a small
distance between the traps and
the water's edge, which could

only be answerable to a few
days* evaporation, we, with great
reason, inferred that the Davei-
na, or some other Arabs, had
been there a very short time
before.

Not a little alarmed at this
discovery that the Arabs were
near us, we left Imhanzara at
four o'clock in the evening of the
2 Tst, our journey mostly n.w. ; at
eight we lost our way, and were
obliged to halt in a wood.
Here we were terrified to find
that the water in our girbas was
entirely gone ; whether by eva-
poration of the hot wind, or
otherwise, I know not, but the
skin had the appearance of
water in it, till its lightness in
unloading discovered the con-
trary. Though all the people
were sick, the terror of being
without water gave us some-
thing like alacrity, and desire
to push on. We set out at
eleven, but still wandered in
the wood till three o'clock in
the morning of the 2 2d, when
we were obliged again to alight.
I really then began to think we
were lost, and ordered the girbas
to be examined.

On the sixth day from Ras
el Feel, in the morning we
set off in great despondency,
and were thankful when we
found we were on the road
which led straight to the well.
Shortly afterwards we reached
Imgellalib, where there was
plenty of water. The fear of
dying of thirst made every one
press to drink, and the result
was, two Abyssinian Moors, a

BRUGES TRAVELS.

329

man and woman, died after
drinking.

Having refreshed ourselves
for nearly two hours by the en-
joyment of this water at Im-
gellalib, and raked a sufficient
quantity of sand over the dead
bodies of our two companions,
we set out on our road through
a very extensive plain ; and, at
two in the afternoon, we alighted
at another well, called Garigana,
where the water was bad, and
in small quantity. In this plain
is situated the principal village
of Atbara, called Teawa.

At five o'clock we left Gari-
gana, our journey being still to
the eastward of north ; and, at
a quarter past six in the even-
ing arrived at the village of
that name, whose inhabitants
had all perished with hunger
the year before ; their wretched
bones being all unburied and
scattered upon the surface of
the ground where the village
formerly stood. We encamped
among the bones of the dead ;
no space could be found free
from them; and, on the 23d,
at six in the morning, full of
horror at this miserable spec-
tacle, we set out for Teawa ; this
was the seventh day from Ras
el Feel. At three quarters after
seven in the evening we arrived
at Teawa, the principal village
and residence of the Shekh
of Atbara, between three and
four miles from the ruins of
Garigana.

At the passage of the small
river, about a quarter of a mile
froro Teawa, we were met by

a man on horseback, clothed
with a large, loose gown of
red camlet, or some such stuff,
with a white muslin turban
upon his head, and about
twenty naked, beggarly servants
on foot, with lances, but no
shields ; two small drums were
beating, and a pipe playing be-
fore them. He was a man
about seventy, with a very long
beard, and of a very graceful
appearance. It was with the
utmost difficulty I could pre-
vail upon him to mount his
horse, as he declared his in-
tention was to walk by the
side of my mule till he entered
the town of Teawa.

We passed by a very com-
modious house, where he or-
dered my servants to unload
my baggage, that being the
residence assigned for me by
the Shekh. He and I, with
Soliman on foot by the side of
my mule, crossed an open
space of about 500 yards, where
the market is kept, to the
Shekh's house, or rather a col-
lection of houses, one storey
high, built with canes. The
hall was a very decent one,
covered with straw mats ; and
there was in the middle of it a
chair, understood to be the
place of the grand signior.
The Shekh himself was sitting
on the ground for humility's
sake, reading the Koran, or
pretending to read it. At our
entry he seemed to be surprised,
and made an attempt as if to
rise up, which immediately I
prevented him from doing, hold-

330

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

If f

ing him down by the hand,
which I kissed.

I shall not fatigue the reader
with the uninteresting conversa-
tion that passed at this first in-
terview.

He said that he would detain
me no longer; bid me repose
a day or two in quiet and safety;
and, upon my rising to go away,
he got up likewise, and holding
me by the hand, said, * The
greatest part of the dangers you
have passed in the way are, I
believe, as yet unknown to you.
Your Moor, Yasine, of Ras el
Feel, is a thief worse than any
in Habesh. Several times you
escaped very narrowly, by mere
chance, from being cut off,
especially at Rashid, by the
Arabs Daveina, whom Yasine
had posted there to murder you.
But you have a clean heart, and
clean hands. God saw their
designs, and protected you ;
and I may say also, on my own
part, I was not wanting.'

Being then on my legs for
retiring, I returned no answer,
but the usual one(Ullah Kerim),
i.e. God is merciful. Soliman,
on the other side, echoed * Ul-
lah Kerim r by which I saw
he understood me. We both
went out, and were conducted
to the apartment provided by
the old man in the red cloak,
who met us on our first arrival
at the river, and who now
walked before me till we came
to the house.

We had scarce taken posses-
sion of our lodging, or thrown
off our clothes to put ourselves

at our ease, when several slaves
of both sexes brought us a
quantity of dishes of meat from
the Shekh, with many flattering
compliments and good wishes.
The whole was despatched very
speedily, and some of our poor
companions of the caravan, with
the salt, came and helped us
very thankfully, without cere-
mony, as is the custom of the
country. I was astonished at
one young man, who came and
put his mouth close to my ear,
saying these few words in
Arabic, * Seitan Fidele ! el
Shekh el Atbara Seitan ! ' U
Fidele is a devil ! the Shekh of
Atbara is the devil himself !

After having shut the door,
when my stranger guest had
departed, I asked Soliman what
he thought of the Shekh of At-
bara, and his discourse? He
answered, without hesitation,
* He is a traitor, has deceived
Yasine, and means you ill.'

On the 25 th I waited on the
Shekh accordingly, in his own
house. Soliman the Moor, Hag!
Ismael the Turk, who, besides,
wasasherriffe, and my Greekser-
vant, were along with me. I gave
the Shekh, for a present, a large
piece of blue Indian cotton
cloth, with gold flowers, a silk
and cotton sash, about two
ounces of civet, two pounds of
nutmegs, and ten pounds of
pepper. He received the pre-
sents very graciously to ap-
pearance, and laid all the articles
down beside him. I desired
that he would despatch me as
soon as possible, and, for that

BRUGES TRAVELS.

331

end, be preparing the camels.
He answered, the camels were
fifteen days* journey off, in the
sandy desert, for fear of the flies ;
but that the want of them
should not detain us, if he >'>d
leave from Sennaar, for which he
(vas to write that night He
added, that they always were
exceedingly tedious at Sennaar,
and both the town and road
were, at present, in a very un-
settled state.

After some conversation with
Soliinan,he concluded, * I will do
everything for him and you that
you could wish : stay only this
week, and if my camels do not
arrive, I will send and take
them from the Arabs, wherever
they can be found. They are
for the king's business, and not
mine.' He said this with such
an air of candour and sincerity,
that it was impossible to doubt
him.
We were kept at Teawa for a
much longer time than we had
bargained for. During our stay,
I acted as physician to the
Shekh, his wives, and his beauti-
ful daughter Aiseach, whom he
offered me in marriage on con-
dition that I should settle down
as second governor of Atbara.
In an interview which I had
with him on the 31st, he told
me * that he knew perfectly well,
from Ras el Feel, that when I
set out from thence, I had in
my baggage 2000 ounces of
)ld, besides a variety of cloth
and gold, and that surely I
would not be mad enough to
refuse him 500 piastres, which

was only 50 of these ounces, as
he could easily take the whole
by force, and dispose of me
afterwards as he pleased.'

On the 9th April Fidele re-
commended Soliman to per-
suade me to give him 2000
piastres, without which he swore
I would never go alive out of
Atbara. Soliman, on the other
hand, declared, that I was a
man that set no value upon
money, and therefore carried it
not about with me, otherwise I
should not refuse what he de-
sired, assuring him that with the
exception of the king's present,
all I had was brass, iron, and
glass bottles, of no value to any
but myself. He desired Soli-
man to tell me that he expected
me at the usual hour in the
evening on Friday the loth.

I waited upon the Shekh next
. day at the hour appointed. Fear-
ing the worst, I resolved to go
armed, and took with me a
small Brescian blunderbuss,
about 22 inches in the barrel,
which had a joint in the stock,
so that it folded double. I
likewise took a pair of pistols in
my girdle, and my knife as usual.
Fidele was sitting in a spacious
room, in an alcove, on a board
like a sofa. I saw he either
was, or affected to be, drunk,
and w^hichever was the case, I
knew it would lead to mischief ;
I therefore repented heartily of
havingcomeinto the house alone.

After he had taken two whiffs
of his pipe, and the slave had
left the room, *Are you pre-
pared?' says he. *Have you

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332

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

brought the needful along with
you]' I wished to have occa-
sion to join Soliman, and
answered, * My servants are at
the outer door, and have the
vomit you wanted.' * Curse you
and the vomit too,' says he with
great passion, *I want money,
and not poison. Where are
your piastres r *I am a bad
person,' said I, * Fidele, to fur-
nish you with either. I have
neither money nor poison ; but
I advise you to drink a little
warm water to clear your sto-
mach, cool your head, and then
lie down and compose yourself;
I will see you to-morrow morn-
ing.' I was going out. * Hakim,'
says he, * infidel or devil, or what-
ever is your name, hearken to what
I say. Consider where you are ;
this is the room where MekBaady,
a king, was slain by the hand of
my father : look at his blood,
where it has stained the floor,
which never could be washed
out I am informed you have
2o,ooQ piastres in gold with
you; either give me 2000 before
you go out of this chamber, or
you shall die ; I will put you to
death with my own hand.'
Upon this, he took up his sword,
that was lying at the head of
his sofa^ and, drawing it with a
bravado, threw the scabbard
into the middle of the room ;
and, tucking the sleeve of his
shirt above his elbow, like a
butcher, said, * I wait your
answer.'

I now stept one pace back-
wards, and dropt the burnoose
behind me, holding the little

blunderbuss in my hand, with-
out taking it off the belt. I
said, in a firm tone of voice
* This is my answer : I am not
a man, as I have told you be*
'"ore, to die like a beast by the
hand of a drunkard ; on your
life, I charge you, stir not from
your sofa.' I had no need to
give this injunction; he heard
the noise which the closing the
joint in the stock of the blun-
derbuss made, and thought I
had cocked it, and was instantly
to fire. He let his sword drcp,
and threw himself on his back
on the sofa, crying, * For God's
sake. Hakim, I was but jesting,'
At the same time, with all his
might, he cried, * Brahim ! Ma-
homet ! El coom ! El coom I^'
— ' If one of your servants ap-
proach me,' said I, * that instant
I blow you to pieces ; not one
of them shall enter this room
till they bring in my servants,
with them ; I have a number
of them armed at your gate
who will break in the instant
they hear roe fire.'

The women had come ^0 the
door. My servants were ad-
mitted, each having a blunder-
buss in his hand and pistols at
his girdle. We were now greatly
an overmatch for the Shekh,
who sat far back on the sofa,
and pretended that all he had
done was ia joke.

As no good could be expected
from this expostulation, I stopt
it, and took my leave, desiring
the Shekh to go to bed and
compose himself, and not try

1 £1 coom, that is, all his servants.

BRUGES TRAVELS.

ZZl

ir this room

any more of these experiments,
which would certainly end in
his shame, if not in his punish-
ment. Kc made no answer,
only wished us good-night.

On the 1 3th. of April arrived
a naked Arab of the Jehaina,
with intelligence that a caravan
belonging to Atbara, which had
come to Nara in Abyssinia for
salt, had been all seized by
Ammonios, Ayto Confu's gov-
ernor of Nara, their asses, and
salt taken from them, and the
men put in close prison. The
Shekh of the Jehaina, an old
man of very comely presence,
with ten or twelve of his clan on
camels, came over to Shekh
Fidele that morning before I
went out, and they found the
MouUah sitting with him. The
news struck all of them with a
panic, but none more so than
our Shekh of Atbara. The
Shekh of the Jehaina said he
had not heard the cause of it,
but so violent a procedure had
not happened even when Yasous
II. invaded Sennaar, for the
people of the two frontiers had
all that time been friends. He
begged, however, Shekh Fidele
immediately to interfere, and
send some person to Ras el
Feel to his friend Yasine. When
they had settled thus far, a mes-
sage came for me to attend the
Shekh. I immediately went,
leaving my servants to put up
my quadrant. I had, indeed,
an inclination to observe the
approaching eclipse \ but as I
knew perfectly the situation of
Teawa with regard to Ras el

Feel, I thought I might spare
myself this unnecessary trouble,
and only make use of the eclipse
to frighten Fidele as part of
the punishment he so amply
deserved.

There was a prodigious num-
ber of people assembled at the
Shekh's door. The Jehaina had
all come upon camels ; two or
three of the principal ones were
sitting with him and the Moullah,
one of these, whom I did not
know, but who had seen me at
Ras el Feel, upon my approach-
ing the Shekh, got up, took me
by the hand, and made a very
respectful salutation. As he
was a friend of Yasine, and
Shekh el Nile, I never doubted
fiom that minute that this was
a contrivance of theirs in my
favour.

* Hakim,' said the Moullah,
*have you never sent a com-
plaint to Yasine since you came
to Teawa 1 tell me truly; no
harm shall befall you from it.'

* If I were not to tell you truly,'
said I, 'Shekh, I would not
answer you at all. I am under
no obligation to do it, nor am
I under any fear. You are but
at the beginning of this affair,
and many will suffer before I
do.' * Truly,' says the Moullah,

* but have you sent intelligence
to Ras el FeeU' *No, no,'
said Fidele, *he had it not in
his power ; nor is there a man
in Teawa that durst go on
such an errand ; it is some dis-
turbance about Tchelga.'

I easily perceived that the
Moullah wanted me to confess,

334

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

which I likewise saw the use of
myself. * I sent,' said I, ' mes-
sengers from Teawa two several
times. The first, when Fidele
pretended Yasine was to mur-
der me in the desert; the
second, when he said he had
no camels ; and I also men-
tioned the piastres, and his in-
tention to murder me.' *Am-
monios,' says black Soliman,
' and Yasine, Nara, and Ras el
Feel, all belong to Ayto Confu,
and were given to Yagoube by
him, for his maintenance all
the time he was at Gondar.
Ayto Confu and he are brothers ;
they were together in the camp,
slept together in the same house;
they are brothers, and more
than brothers, for they swore to
each other, when we passed
Tcherkin, upon the heart of the
elephant.* I swear by our holy
faith that Confu will be down
here himself; what does he
care for a journey of two days V
All now with one voice con-
demned Fidele, who had not a
word to say, only that if he
knew the person who carried
that message, he would cut off
his head, if he was his brother.
* But it is impossible,' says the
Shekh ; * should I not have
known of the messenger being
absent % impossible ! ' Then
turning to his servant, said, * Is
Kutcho el Hybari here % I have
not seen him lately.' * Sir,' says
he, * you know you sent Kutcho
to Mendera long before the
Hakim arrived.' *True,' says

1 This is a very horrid oath, full of non-
sense, and vows of friendship and secrecy.

Fidele, 'then it is impossible.'

* Your messengers and mine,'
said I, * Shekh, are not of the
same sort, nor shall I ask your
leave when I am to send to
Ras el Feel or Sennaar, nor
shall you ever cut oflf the head
from any one of them. But
why are you alarmed at these
asses being taken 1 Should you
not be afraid of something simi-
lar happening at Mecca ] Am
not I under the protection of
the sherriflfe? When Metical
Aga hears this, will he not re-
sent it 1 Will Yousef Kabil,
the Christian, the sherriffe's
vizier at Jidda, through whose
hands your people pass, will he
be gentler to them upon this
account V * A curse upon him,'
says the sherrifTc ; * he gentle !
he is a shark.' *Meloun Ibn
Sheitan,' says the Turk Ismael,
/>. accursed wretch, child of
the devil ! ♦ Well then,' said I,

* the difficulty is only to know
if he is informed of this at
Mecca. Friday, the 17 th, is
your festival. If the afternoon
of that shall pass like those of
common days, I am a worthless
man and an impostor ; but if
on that day, after erasser,^ a
sign be seen in the heavens that
shall be thought by all of you
unusual and extraordinary, then
am I an innocent man, and
F'dele's designs against me are
known to the world, at Sennaar,
at Mecca, at Cairo, and at
Gondar, and everywhere else,
and will not be pleasing either
to God or man.' * Yariif el

1 El'asser is four o'clock.

BRUGES TRAVELS.

335

Hakim,* says the sherriffe ;
« Hakim ! ' " says the Shekh of
the Jehaina ; * Ullah Akbar ! '
(God is great) says the Moullah,
lifting his eyes up to heaven,
and counting his beads very
devoutly.

The foretelling the sign
seemed not at all to please the
Shekh, who appeared very
much disconcerted with the
supposed invisibility of my
messengers. I got up, having
pushed my design just far
enough.

On the 14th letters arrived
from Yasine to the Shekh, full
of reproaches for his behaviour
to me; and declaring, with
most solemn oaths, that if those
letters found me at Teawa, or
if I was not gone from thence
in peace, he would commission
the Daveina Arabs to burn every
stalk of com between that and
Beyla as soon as it was in the
ear, and that they should neither
eat bread nor drink water in it,
as long as he was alive, and
governor of Ras el Feel. At
this the Shekh consented to
let us go. The eclipse happen-
ing as I had predicted, a vio-
lent apprehension fell upon them
all ; and the women from their
apartments began to howl, as
they do on all melancholy oc-
casions of misfortune or death.
'Now,' continued I, *I have
kept my word ; it will soon be
clear again, and will do no harm
to man or beast.'

When in the antechamber of

J The Hakim, or wise man, knows.
' He IS indeed wise.

the Shekh's house, I was met
by Aiscach, and two or three
black slaves, who cried out in
great terror, * O Hakim ! what
is this? what are you going to
do 1' * I am going to take leave
of you,' - replied. That night I
sent a present to Aiscach and
the other ladies who were our
friends, and had been kind to
us. I took leave of the Shekh
on the morning of the i8th, and
set out for Beyla.

Our journey, for the first
seven hours, was through a bar-
ren, bare, and sandy plain,
without finding a vestige of any
living creature, without water,
and without grass, a country
that seemed under the immedi-
ate curse of Heaven.

We continued on foot, from
four till the grey of the morn-
ing of the 19th of April. ^

We found Beyla to be about
eleven miles west of Teawa,
and thirty-one and a half miles
due south. We were met by
Mahomet, the Shekh, at the
very entrance of the town. He
said he looked upon us as risen
from the dead ; that we must
be good people, and particularly
under the care of Providence,
to have escaped the many snares
the Shekh of Atbara had laid
for us. Mahomet, the Shekh,
had provided every sort of re-
freshment possible for us ; and,
thinking we could not live with-
out it, he had ordered sugar for
us from Sennaar.

Our whole company was full
of joy, to which the Shekh greatly
encouraged them ; and if there

I i

'9 _i>i

,1 "-^

■Hi

t 4 ri>.«

336

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

was an alloy to the happiness,
it was the seeing that I did not
partake of it. Symptoms of an
aguish disorder had been hang-
ing about me for several days,
ever since the diarrhoea had left
me. I found the greatest re-
pugnance, or nausea, at the
smell of warm meat; and, having
a violent headache, I insisted
upon going to bed supperless,
after having drunk a quantity of
warm water by way of emetic.
Being exceedingly tired, I soon
fell sound asleep, having first
taken some drops of a strong
spirituous tincture of the bark
which I had prepared at Gon-
dar, resolving, if I found any
remission, as I then did, to take
several good doses of the bark
in powder on the morrow, be-
ginning at daybreak, which I
accordingly did, with its usual
success.

On the 20th of April, a little
after the dawn of day, the
Shekh, in great anxiety, came
to the place where I was lying.
His sorrow was soon turned
into joy when he found me quite
recovered from my illness.

In the afternoon we walked
out to see the village, which is
a very pleasant one, situated
upon the bottom of a hill,
covered with wood, all the rest
flat before it. Through this
plain there are many large tim-
ber trees, planted in rows, and
joined with high hedges, as in
Europe, foiming enclosures for
keeping cattle \ but of these we
saw none, as they had been
moved to the Dender for fear

of the flies. There is no water
at Beyla but what is got from
deep wells. Large plantations
of Indian corn are everywhere
about the town. The inhabi-
tants are in continual apprehen-
sion from the Arabs Daveina at
Sim-Sim, about forty miles south-
east from them ; and from an-
other powerful race called Wed
abd el Gin, i.e. Sons of the slaves
of the Devily who live to the
south-west of them, between
the Dender and the Nile. Bey-
la is another frontier town of
Sennaar, on the side of Sim-
Sim ; and between Teawa and
this, on the Sennaar side, and
Ras el Feel, Nara, and Tchelga,
upon the Abyssinian side, all is
desert and waste.

On the 2 1 St of April we left
Beyla at three o'clock in the
afternoon, our direction south-
west, through a very pleasant,
flat country, but without water;
there had been none in our way
nearer than the river Rahad.
About eleven at night we
alighted in a wood. The place
is called Baherie, as near as we
could compute nine miles from
Beyla.

On the 2 2d, at half-past five
o'clock in the morning, we left
Baherie, still continuing west-
ward, and at nine we came to
the banks of the Rahad.

We resumed our journey and
at six o'clock in the evening of
the 24th we set out from a
shady place of repose on the
banks of the Dender, through
a large plain, with not a tree
before us; but we presently

BRUGES TRAVELS.

337

found ourselves encompassed
with a number of villages, nearly
of a size, and placed at equal
distances in form of a semi-
circle, the roofs of the houses
in shape of cones, as are all
those within the rains. The
plain was all of a red, soapy
earth, and the corn just sown.
This whole country is in per-
petual cultivation ; and though
at this time it had a bare look,
would no doubt have a magni-
ficent one when waving with
grain. At nine we halted at a
village of pagan Nuba. These
are all soldiers of the Mek of
Sennaar, cantoned in these vill-
ages, which, at the distance of
four or five miles, surround the
whole capital. Having settle-
ments and provisions given
them, as also arms put in their
hands, they never wish to de-
sert, but live a very domestic
and sober life. Many of them
that I have conversed with
seem a much gentler sort of
negro than those from Bahar el
Aice, that is, than those of
whom the Funge, or govern-
ment of Sennaar, are com-
posed.

These have small features
likewise, but are woolly-headed
andflat-nosed, like other negroes,
and speak a language rather
pleasant and sonorous, but
radically different from any I
have heard.

They pay adoration to the
moon, but I never saw them
pay any attention to the sun.
Their priests seemed to have
great influence over them, but

more through the influence of
fear than affection. They are
immoderately fond of swine's
flesh, and maintain great herds
of them in their possession.
There is no running water in
all that immense plain they in-
habit ; it is all procured from
draw-wells. We saw them
cleaning one, which I measured,
and found nearly eight fathoms
deep. In a climate so violently
hot as this, there is very little
need of fuel ; neither have they
any, there being no turf, or any-
thing resembling it, in the coun-
try, no wood, not even a tree,
since we had passed the river
Dender.

On the 25 th, at four o'clock
in the afternoon, we set out
from the villages of the Nuba,
intending to arrive at Basboch,
where is the ferry over the Nile ;
but we had scarcely advanced
two miles into the plain when
we were enclosed by a violent
v/hirlwind, or, what is called at
sea, the water-spout. After suf-
fering severely, we took refuge
in a Nuba village, where we
were kindly treated.

At nine o'clock, on the 26th,
we arrived at Basbach, which
is a large collection of huts of
these people, and has the ap-
pearance of a town. The go-
vernor, a venerable old man of
about seventy, who was so
feeble that he could scarcely
walk, received us with great
complacency, only saying, when
I took him by the hand, * Oh,
Christian ! what dost thou, at
such a time, in such a coun-

''""^■4'"'*1'^8^3

338

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

try 1' I had here a very clean
and comfortable hut to lodge
in, though we were sparingly
supplied with provisions all the
time we were there.

Basbach is on the eastern
bank of the Nile, not a quarter
of a mile from the ford below.
The river here runs north and
south. Towards the sides it is
shallow, but deep in the middle
of the current, and in this part
it is much infested with croco-
diles. Sennaar is two miles and
a half s.s.w. of it. We heard
the evening drum very dis-
tinctly, and not without anxiety,
when we reflected to what a
brutish people, according to
all accounts, we were about to
trust ourselves.

We stayed here till the 29th,
when leave was sent us to enter
Sennaar. It was not without
some difliculty that we got our
quadrant and heavy baggage
safely carried down the hill, for
the banks are very steep to the
edge of the water. As our boat
was but a very indifferent em-
barkation, it was obliged to
make several turns to and fro
before we got all our several
packages landed on the western
side. This assemblage, and the
passage of our camels, seemed
to have excited the appetite, or
the curiosity, of the crocodiles.
One, in particular, swam several
times backwards and forwards
along the side of the boat, with-
out, however, making any attack
upon any of us ; but, being ex-
ceedingly tired of such com-
pany, upon his second or third

venture over, I fired at him with
a rifle gun, and shot him directly
under his fore-shoulder in the
belly. The wound was un-
doubtedly mortal, and very few
animals could have lived a mo-
ment after receiving it. He,
however, dived to the bottom,
leaving the water deeply tinged
with his blood. Nor did we
see him again at that time ; but
the people at the ferry brought
him to me the day after, having
found him perfectly dead. He
was about twelve feet long, and
the boatmen told me that these
are by much the most danger-
ous, being more fierce and active
than the large ones. The people
of Sennaar eat the crocodile,
especially the Nuba. I never
tasted it myself, but it looks
very much like conger-eel.

CHAPTER XIV.

Four months in Sennaar.

On our arrival we were con-
ducted by Adelan's servant to
a very spacious good house
belonging to the Shekh him-
self, having two storeys, a long
quarter of a mile from the
king's palace. He left a mes-
sage for us to repose ourselves,
and in a day or two to wait
upon the king, and that he
should send to tell us when we
were to come to him. This we
resolved to have complied with |
most exactly ; but the very next
morning, the 30th of April, there
came a servant from the palace

e were con-

to summon us tn «,^:*

Obeyed. I took with me three
.h Tu I' and'' ^"li"^"' ^""^e

prodigious dea, of g^.^r",?

.sanofonestoreyS'fclay
and the floors of earth. Th-
mbers through which we
passed were all unfurnished
and seemed as if a „„'; '
of them had formerl/K'eT
mad as barracks hrZu^^'
whom I did not see above
fifty on guard. The iJng wis
■n a small room, not "wemv
feet square, to Chich wlal
cended by two short flights of
nan-ow steps. The floor of the

ZeX'"^""'. -'■'" broad
Pe^Tn i ' °''*'' " "2' laid a
teian carpet, and the walls
•''"ng with tapestry of the s^ml
country; the whni» '"^ *ame

Jept. a'nd fnVodtr;^!^ .:?^

f ewise ctK-H^^tr
arpet, and round him ,"s "

'large, loose shirt of Surafbh^i
cotton cloth, which seemed i"ot
to differ from the same worn

-dtK;:-,-p-Hat,':s

WK. His head was uncovered
H wore his own short black

Arab. He seemed to be

BRUCE' S TXAVELS.

».

339

we';?: b:?:"bu^'^^^^^'^ ^-^^

Thirf u' ."' covered by his

stmnped no decidedlitc^
lute man A* * ^'"''^' '^reso-

if ""detVrmTneXCrV;

lSern7ed'J^ntS;j''-
erbletJ'f '-S: al^ufd

HonthTd °o^Strm:".^r'-

which he turnerf ,!? ^ ^P""

thatwere withhL , n^ P^°P'*
ArahjJ^ • J ,""' Downrhrht

learn tllf""'' ' ■^°" did fo
!!f?h!^,^"a''g"age in Habeshr
said he to me. I answered, 'No.

in^rrahf " V" ^8yP'' Tirkey,'
h^ril '^,"'''"= I 'earned it-
it n rr ''• ^.'''^^ "ft-^" spoken
i^ in Abyssmia, where Greek
Turkish, and seveml other k„'
guages, were used.' He ,atd"

Impossible- He did nm think
they knew anything ofTn

»nir^''''^"'-°-.t,'

four men dressed in white co?

cover?n?;h""'l ""■'''«' ''-
covering their heads and nart

of their face, by whicH was

'"rn^oTr^'^'^'""'"-

law n 'f """S- Of of the

he ki?I' / i*^"^ answered
tne kings doubt of the Abv<!

smians' knowledge in languaS

\,i]

34°

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

* They have languages enough ;
and you know that Habesh is
called the paradise of asses.'
During this conversation I took
tlie Sherriffe of Mecca's letter;
also one from the King of Abys-
sinia. I gave him the King's
first, and then the Sherriffe's.
He took them both as I gave
them, but. laid aside. the King's
upon a cushion till he had read
the Sherriffe's. After this he
read the King's, and called im-
mediately again for an Abys-
sinian interpreter ; upon which
I said nothing, supposing, .per-
haps, he might choose to make
him deliver some message to
me in private, which he would
not have his people hear. But
it was pure confusion and ab-
sence of mind, for he never
spoke a word to him when he
came. ' You are a physician
and a soldier?' says the king.

* Both, in time of need,' said I.

* But the Sherriffe's letter tells
me also that you are a noble-
man in the service of a great
king that they call Englise-man,
who is master of all the Indies,
and who has Mahometan as
well as Christian subjects, and
allows them all to be governed
by their own laws.' * Though
I never said so to the Sherriffe,'
replied I, * yet it is true. I am
as noble as any individual in
my nation, and am also servant
to the greatest king now reign-
ing upon earth, of whose domi-
nions, it is likewise truly said,
th'^se Indies are but a small
part' * The greatest king !'
says he that spoke about the

asses, * you should not say that
You forgot the Grand Sign lor.
There are four,— Othman, Per-
see, Bornow, and Habesh; ^
* I neither forgot the Grand Si"-
nior, nor do him wrong,' replied
I. ' What I have said, I have
said.' * Kafrs and slaves, all of
them,' says Ismael; 'there is
the Turk, the king of England,
and the king of France ; what
kings are Bornow and the rest I
— Kafrs.' ' How comes it,' says
the king, * you that are so noble
and learned, that you know all
things, all languages, and so
brave that you fear no danger,
but pass, with two or three okl
men, into such countries as this
and Habesh, where Baady, my
father, perished with an army-
how comes it that you do not
stay at home and enjoy your-
self, eat, drink, take pleasure
and rest, and not wander like a
poor man, a prey to every dan-
ger?' 'You, sir,' I replied,
' may know some of this sort of
men; certainly you do know
them ; for there are in your
religion, as well as in mine,
men. of learning, and those too
of great rank and nobility, who,
on account of sins they have
.committed, or vows they have
made, renounce the world, its
.riches and pleasures. They
lay down their nobility, and be-
come humble and poor, so as
often to be insulted by wicked
and low men, not having the
fear of God before their eyes.'
'True, these are Dervish,' said

1 The kings of Turkey, Peniia, Kernoo,
and Abyssinia.

BRUGES TRAVELS.

341

Persia, bernoo,

the other three men. 'I am,
then, one of these Dervish,'
said I, * content with the bread
that is given me, and bound for
j.onie years to travel in hard-
ships and danger, doing all the
^00(1 I can to poor and rich,
serving every man, and hurting
none.' * Tybe ! that is well,'
says the king. * And how long
have you been travelling about?'
adds one of the others. * Near
twenty years,' said I. * You
must be very young,' says the
king, *to have committed so
many sins, and so early.' ' But,'
replied J, * I did not say
that I was one of those who
travelled on account of their
sins, but there were some Der-
vishes that did so on account
of their vows, and some to learn
wisdom.' He now made a sign,
and a slave brought a cushion,
which I would have refused, but
he forced me to sit down up-
on it.

I found afterwards who the
three men were who'had joined^
in our conversation. The first
was Ali Mogrebi, a native of
Morocco, who was- Cadi, or
chief judge at Sennaar, and
was then fallen into disgrace
with the two brothers, Mahomet
Abou Kalec, governor of Kor-
dofan, and Shekh Adelan, prime
minister at Sennaar, then en-
camped at Aira, at the head
of the horse and Nuba, levy-
ing the tax upon the Arabs as
they went down, out of the
limits of the rains, into the
sandy countries below Atbara,
to protect their cattle from the

fly. Another of these three
was Cadi of Kordofan, in the
interest of Mahomet Abou
Kalec, and spy upon the king.
The third was a saint in the
neighbourhood, conservator of
a large extent of ground, where
great crops of dora not only
grow, but wiien thrashed out
arc likewise kept in large exca-
vations called Matamores ; the
place they call Shaddly. This
man was esteemed another
Joseph among the Funge, who
accumulated grain in years of
plenty, that he might distribute
it at small prices among the
poor when scarcity came. He
was held in very great reverence
in the neighbourhood of Sen-
naar.

The Cadi then asked me,
* If' I knew when Hagiuge
Magiuge was to comer Re-
membering my old learned
friend at Teawa, I scarce could
forbear laughing. *I have no
wish to know anything about
him,' said I; *I hope those
day 9 are far off, and will not
happen in ray time.' 'What
do your books say concerning
him ? ' says he, aflfecting a look
of great wisdom-: * do they
agree with ours?' 'I don't
know that,' said I, * till I hear
what is written in your books.'
'Hagiuge Magiuge,' says he,
' are little people, not so big as
bees, or like the zimb, or fly of
Sennaar, that come in great
swarms out of the earth, ay, in
multitudes that cannot be
counted ; two of their chiefs are
to ride upon an ass, and every

'1 1'

X .'

34*

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

hair of that ass is to be a pipe,
and every pipe is to play a
different kind of music, and all
that hear and follow them are
carried to hell.' * I know them
not,' said I, ' and, in the name
of the Lord, I fear them not,
were they twice as little as you
say they are, and twice as
numerous. I trust in God I
shall never be so fond of music
as to go to hell after an ass, for
all the tunes that he or they
can play.' The king laughed
violently. I rose to go away,
for I was heartily tired of the
conversation. I whispered the
Abyssinian servant in Amharic,
to ask when I should luring a
triiie J had to oA'er the king.
He -said, mot that night, as I
should be tired, but desired that
I should now go home, and he
would send me notice when to
come. il accordingly went
away, and found a number of
people in the street, all having
some taunt or affronting matter
to say. I passed through the
great square before the palace,
and could not help shuddering,
upon reflection, at what had
happened in that spot to the
unfortunate M. du Roule and
his companions, though under
a protection which should have
secured them from all danger,
every part of which I was then
unprovided with.

The drum beat a little after
six o'clock in the evening. We
tlien had a very comfortable
dinner sent us, camel's flesh
stewed with an herb of a viscous
slimy substance, called bammia.

After having dined, and finished
the journal of the day, I fell to
unpacking my instruments, the
barometer and thermometer
first, and, after having hung
them up, was conversing with
Adelan's servant when I should
pay my visit to his master.
About eight o'clock came a
servant from the palace, telling
me now was the time to bring
the present to the king. I
sorted the separate articles with
all the speed I could, and we
went directly to the palace,
The king was then sitting in
a large apartment, as far as I
coiid guess, at some distance
from the former. He was
naked, but had several clothes
lying upon his knee, and about
him, and a servant was rub-
bing him over with very stink-
ing butter or grease, with which
his hair was dripping, as if
wet with water. Large as the
room was, it could be smelt
through the whole of it. The
king asked me, if ever I greased
myself as he did ? I said, very
seldom, but fancied it would be
very expensive. He then told
me that it was elephant's grease,
which made people strong, and
preserved the skin very smooth.
His toilet being finished, I
then produced my present,
which I told him the king of
Abyssinia had sent him, hoping
that, according to the faith and
custom of nations, he would
not only protect me while here,
but send me safely and speedily
out of his dominions into Egypt.
He answered, There was a time

BRUCE'S TRAVELS.

343

when he could have have done
all this, and more, but those
times were changed. Sennaar
was in ruin, and was not like
what it once was. He then
ordered some perfumed sorbet
to be brought for me to drink
in his presence, which is a
pledge that your person is in
safety. I thereupon withdrew,
and he went to his ladies.

It was not till the 8th of May
I had my audience of Shekh
Adelan at Aira, which is three
miles and a half from Sennaar ;
we walked out early in the
morning, for the greatest part
of the way along the side of
the Nile, which had no beauty,
being totally divested of trees,
the bottom foul and muddy,
and the edges of water white
with small concretions of cal-
careous earth, which, with the
bright sun upon them, dazzled
and affected our eyes very much.

Some time afterwards I was
again sent for to the palace,
when the king told me that
several of his wives were ill,
and desired that I would give
them my advice, which I pro-
mised to do without difficulty,
as all acquaintance with the fair
sex had hitherto been much to
my advantage. I was admitted
into a large square apartment,
very ill-lighted, in which were
about fifty women, all perfectly
black, without any covering but
a very narrow piece of cotton
rag about their waists. While
I was musing whether or not
these all might be queens, or
v/hether there was any queen

among them, one of them took
me by the hand and led me
rudely enough into another
apartment. This was much
better lighted than the first.
Upon a large bench, or sofa,
covered with blue Surat cloth,
sat three persons clothed from
the neck to the feet with blue
cotton shirts.

One of these, who, I found,
was the favourite, was about six
feet high, and corpulent beyond
all proportion. She seemed to
me, next to the elephant and
rhinoceros, the largest living
creature I had met with. — Her
features were perfectly like those
of a Negro; a ring of gold
passed through her under lip,
and weighed it down, till, like
a flap, it covered her chin, and
left her teeth bare, which were
very small and fine. — The inside
of her lip she had made black
with antimony. Her ears
reached down to her shoulders,
and had the appearance of
wings ; she had in each of them
a large ring of gold, somewhat
smaller than a man's little finger,
and about five inches diameter.
The weight of these had drawn
down the hole where her ear
was pierced so much, that three
fingers might easily pass above
the ring. She had a gold neck-
lace, like what we used to call
esclavage^ of several rows, one
below another, to which were
hung rows of sequins pierced.
She had on her ankles two
manacles of gold, larger than
any I had ever seen upon the
feet of felons, with which I

t »!

344

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

could not conceive it was pos-
sible for her to walk, but after-
wards I found they were hol-
low. — The others were dressed
pretty much in the same man-
ner; only there was one that
had chains, which came from
her ears to the outside of each
nostril, where they were fastened.
Therewasalsoa ring put through
the gristle of her nose, and which
hung down to the opening of her
mouth. I think she must have
breathed with great difficulty.
It had altogether something of
the appearance of a horse's
bridle. Upon my coming near
them, the eldest put her hand
to her mouth, and kissed it,
saying, at the same time, in
very vulgar Arabic, 'Kifhalek
howajal' (how do you do, mer-
chantl)— I never in my life was
more pleased w' th distant salu-
tations than db this time. I
answered, * Peace be among
you ! I am a physician, and not
a merchant.'

I shall not entertain the
reader with the multitude of
their complaints ; being a lady's
physician, discretion and silence
are my first duties. The three
queens insisted upon being
blooded, which desire I com-
plied with, as it was an opera-
tion that required short attend-
ance. The room was over-
flowed with an effusion of
royal blood, and the whole
ended with their insisting upon
my giving them the instrument
itself, which I was obliged to
do, after cupping two of their
slaves before them, who had no

complaints, merely to shew
them how the operation was to
be performed.

Another night I was obliged
to attend them, and gave the
queens, and two or three of the
great ladies, vomits. I will
spare my reader the recital of
so, nauseous a scene. It was
not without great astonishment
that I heard the queen desire
to see me in the like dishabille
in which she had spontaneously
put herself. The whole court
of female attendants flocked to
the spectacle. Refusal, or re-
sistance, were in vain. I was
surrounded with fifty or sixty
women, all equal in stature and
strength to myself. The whole
of my clothing was, like theirs,
a long loose shirt of blue Surat
cotton cloth, reaching from the
neck down to the feet. The
only terms I could possibly,
and that with great difficulty,
make for myself were, that they
should be contented to strip
me no farther than the shoulders
and breast. Upon seeing the
whiteness of my skin, they gave
all a loud cry in token of dis-
like, and shuddered, seeming
to consider it rather the effects
of disease than natural. I think
in my life I never felt so dis-
agreeably. I have been in
more than one battle, but surely
I would joyfully have taken my
chance again in any of them to
have been freed from that exa-
mination.

Kittou, brother to Shekh
Adelan, proved very serviceable
to me at Gondar, giving me both

BRUCE'S TRAVELS.

145

his advice and protection. I
resolved to await the arrival of
Abou Kalic, to whom I looked
up as to the means Providence
was to use to free me from the
designs the king was apparently
meditating against me. I re-
solved therefore to keep close
at home, and to put into some
form the observations that i
had made upon this extraordi-
nary government and monarchy
that had started up, as it were,
in our days, and of which no
traveller has as yet given the
smallest account.

Upon the death of a king of
Scnnaar, his eldest son succeeds
by right ; and immediately after-
wards, as many of the brothers
of the reigning prince aa can be
apprehended are put to death*
by the Sid el Coom.

As in Abyssinia, so neither
in Sennaar do women succeed'
to sovereignty. No historical
reason is given for this exclu-
sion. With regard to their
women, they are so brutal, not
to say indelicate, as to sell their
slaves after having livecf with,
and even had children by them.
The king himself, it is said, is
often guilty of this unnatural
practice, utterly unknown in
any other Mahometan country.
Once in his reign the king is
obliged, with his own hand, to-
plough and sow a piece of land.
From this operation he is called
Baady, the countryman, or pea-
sant ; it is a name common to
the whole race of kings, as
Caesar was among the Roman
emperors, though they have-

generally another name peculiar
to each person, and this, not
attended to, has occasioned con-
fusion in the narrative given by
strangers, writing concerning
them.

Sennaar is in lat. 13° 34' 36"
north, and in long. 33° 30' 30''
east from the meridian of Green-
wich. It is on the west side of
the Nile, and close upon the
banks of it. The ground where-
on it stands rises just enough to
prevent the river from entering
the town, even in the height of
the inundation, when it comes
to be even with the street. The
town of Sennaar is very popul-
ous, there being in it many good
houses after the fashion of the
country. They have parapet
roofs, which is a singular con-
struction ;' for, in other places,
within the rains, the roofs are
all conical. The houses are all
built of clay, with very little
straw mixed with it, which suffi-
ciently shows the rains here
must be less violent than to the
southward; probably from the
distance of the mountains.
• The soil of Sennaar, as I have
already said, is very unfavour-
able both to man and beast,
and particularly adverse to their
propagation; But however un-
favourable this soil may be for
the propagation of animals, it
contributesveryabundantlyboth
to the nourishment of man
and beast. This remarkable
quality ceases upon removing
from the fertile country to the
sands.
Nothing is more pleasant than

I '

34^

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

the country around Sennaar in
the end of August and begin-
ning of September, I mean so
far as the eye is concerned.
Instead of that barren, bare
waste, which it appeared on
our arrival in May, the corn
now sprung up, and, covering
the ground, made the whole of
this immense plain appear a
level, green land, interspersed
with great lakes of water, and
.ornamented at certain intervals
with groups of villages, the
conical tops of the houses pre-
senting, at a distance, the ap-
pearance of small encampments.
Through this immense, exten-
sive plain, winds the Nile, a
delightful river there, above a
mile broad, full to the very
brim, but never overflowing.
Everywhere on these banks are
seen numerous herds of the
most beautiful cattle of various
kinds, the tribute recently ex-
torted from the Arabs, who,
freed from all their vexations,
return home with the remainc^er
of their flocks in peace, at as
great a distance from the town,
country, and their oppressors,
as they possibly can.

The banks of the Nile about
Sennaar resemble the plea-
santest parts of Holland in the
summer season ; but soon after,
when the rains cease, and the
sun exerts his utmost influence,
the dora begins to ripen, the
leaves to turn yellow and to
rot, the lakes to putrify, smell,
and be full of vermin, all this
beauty suddenly disappears ;
bare scorched Nubia returns,

and all its terrors of poisonous
winds and moving sands, glow-
ing and ventilated with sultry
blasts, which are followed by a
troop of terrible attendants,
epilepsies, apoplexies, violent
fevers, obstinate agues, and
lingering, painful dysenteries,
still more obstinate and mortal.

War and treason seem to be
the only employment of this
horrid people, whom Heaven
has separated, by almost im-
passable deserts, from the rest
of mankind, confining them to
an accursed spot, seemingly to
give them earnest, in time, of
the only other worse, which he
has reserved to them for an
eternal hereafter.

The dress of Sennaar is very
simple. It consists of a long
shirt of blue Surat cloth, called
Marowty, which covers them
from the lower part of the neck
down to their feet, but does not
conceal the neck itself; and
this is the only difference be-
tween the men's and the
women's dress ; that of the
women covers their neck alto-
gether, being buttoned like ours.
Both men and women anoint
themselves, at least once a day,
with camel's grease mixed with
civet, which, they imagine, soft-
ens their skin, and preserves
them from cutaneous eruptions.

The principal diet of the
poorer sort is millet made into
bread or flour. The rich make
a pudding of this, toasting the
flour before the fire, and pour-
ing milk and butter into it ; be-
sides which, they eat beef, partly

BRUGES TRAVELS.

347

roasted and partly raw. Their
horned cattle are the largest and
fattest in the world, and are
exceedingly fine ; but the com-
mon meat sold in the market is
camel's flesh. The liver of the
animal, and the spare rib, are
always eaten raw through the
whole country.

The forces at Sennaar, im-
mediately around the capital,
consist of about 14,000 Nuba,
who fight naked, having no
other armour but a short jave-
lin and a round shield — very
bad troops, as I suppose ; about
1800 horse, all black, mounted
by black slaves, armed with
coats of mail, and without any
other weapon but a broad
Sclavonian sword.

After what I have said of the
latitude of Sennaar, it will
scarcely be necessary to repeat,
that the heats are excessive.
The thermometer rises in the
shade to 119°, but as I have
observed of the heats of Arabia,
so now I do in respect to those
of Sennaar ; the degrees of the
thermometer do not convey any
idea of the effect the sun has
upon the sensations of the body
or the colour of the skin. Cold
and hot are terms merely rela-
tive, not determined by the
latitude, but elevation of the
place ; when, therefore, we say
hot, some other explanation is
necessary concerning the place
where we are, in order to give
an adequate idea of the sensa-
tions of that heat upon the
body, and the effects of it upon
the lungs. The degree of the

thermometer conveys this very
imperfectly ; 90° is excessively
hot at Loheir in Arabia Felix,
and yet the latitude of Loheia
is but T 5°, whereas 90° at Sen-
naar k, as lo sense, only warm,
although Sennaar, as we have
said, is in lat. 13°.

At Sennaar, then, I call it
cold^ when one, fully clothed
and at rest, feels himself in want
of ifire. I call it cool^ when one,
fully clothed and at rest, feels
he could bear more covering
all over, or in part, more than
he has then on. I call it tem-
perate^ when a man, so clothed
and at rest, feels no such want,
and can take moderate exer-
cise, such as walking about a
room without sweating. I call
it warm^ when a man so clothed,
does not sweat when at rest,
but, upon moderate motion,
sweats, and again cools. I call
it hot^ when a man sweats at
rest, and excessively on mode-
rate motion. I call it very hot,
when a man, with thin or little
clothing, sweats much, though
at rest. I call it excessively hot,
when a man, in his shirt, at
rest sweats excessively, when
all motion is painful, and the
knees feel feeble as if after a
fever. I call it extremely hot^
when the strength fails, a dis-
position to faint comes on, a
straitnessis found in the temples,
as if a small oord was drawn
tight around the head, the voice
impaired, tfthe skin dry, and the
head seems more than ordinarily
large and light. This, I appre-
hend, denotes death at hand,

.■.•fc-i

348

THE ENGLISH LXPLOHERS,

;■ ^■

ns \vc have soon in the instance
of Inil\an/.ara, in our journey lo
Teawa ; but this is rarely or
i\ever etVected by tlie sun alone,
without the a(Uiitioi\ ot" that
poisonous wind which pursued
us ihrougli Atlmra, antl will be
more ])articularly described in
our journey down tlie desert, to
which Heaven, in pity to man-
kind, has conOned it, and where
it has, no tloid>t, contributed to
the total extini tion of every-
thing tliat hath the breath of
bfc. A thermometer graduatetl
upon tins scale would exhibit a
figure very dilVercnt from the
connnon one ; for I am con-
vinced, by experiment, that a
web of the linest muslin, wrapt
round the body at Scnnaar, will
occasion at mitl-day a greater
sensation of heat in the body
than the rise of 5'' in the ther-
mometer of Fahrenheit. At
Sennaar, from 70'' to 78" in Fah-
renheit's thermometer is cool ;
from 79** to 92*' temperate; at
93" begins warm. Although
the degree of the thermometer
marks a greater heat than is
felt by the boily of us strangers,
it seems to me that the sensa-
tions of llie native* bear still a
less proportioj\ to that degree
than ours. On the ad of Au-
gust, while I was lying perfectly
enervated on a carpet, in a
room deluged with water, at
twelve o'clock, the thermometer
at 116*^, 1 saw several black
labourers pulling down a house,
working with great vigour, with-
out any symptoms of being at
all incomiiioded;

After many delays previous to
my leaving ISennaar I was do-
termined to leave my instru-
ments and papers with Kiiton,
Adeian's l)rother, or with tho
Sid el Coom, while I went to
Shaddly to see Adelan. Hut
first I thought it necessary to
apply to Uagi Helal to try wlmt
fumis we couhl raise to proviiK"
the necessaries for our journey.
I showed him the letter of 11).
rahim, the Fnglish broker of
Jidda, of which before he hnd
received a ct>py ami repcntod
advices, and told him I shouKl
want aoo se(]uins at least, tor
my camels and provisions, as
well as for some presents that
I should have occasion for, to
make my way to the great men
in Atbara. Never was surprise
better counterfeited than by
this man. Me heUl up his
hands in the utmost astonisii-
ment, repeating, aoo sequins!
over twenty times, and askcil
me if 1 thought money grew
upon trees at Sennaar ; that it
was with the utmost ditlicuhy
he could spare me ao dollars,
part of which he must borrow
from a friend. This was a stroke
that seemed to insure our de-
struction, no other resource
being now left. We were al-
ready indebted to Hagi Relal
twenty dollars for provision ;
we had seven mouths to feed
daily ; and rs we had neither
meat, money, nor credit, to con-
tinue at Sennaar was impossible.
My servants began to murmur;
some of them had known of my
gold chain from the beginning,

BRUCirS TRAVELS,

349

nnd these, in the common
(lai)Kt-''*t imparted what they
knew to the rest. In short, I
resolved, though very unwill-
ingly, not to sacrifice my own
life and that of my servants,
ami the finishing my travels,
now so far advanced, to childish
vanity. I determined therefore
to abandon my gold chain, the
honourable recoir.i)ence of a
(lay full of fatigue and danger.
Whom to intrust it to was the
next consideration ; and, upon
mature deliberation, I found it
could be to nobody but Hagi
llelal, bad as I had reason to
think he was. However, to put
a check upon him, I sent for
the Sid el Coom, in whose pre-
sence I repeated my accusa-
tion against IJelal ; I read the
SeratV's letter i« my favour,
and the several letters that
Belal had written me whilst I
was at Gondar, declaring his
acceptance of the order to fur-
nish me with money when .1
should arrive at Scnnaar ; and
I upbraided him, in the strong-
est terms, with duplicity and
breach of faith. Having settled
my accounts with Hagi Belal, I
received back six links, the
miserable remains of one hun-
dred and eighty-iour, of which
my noble chain once con-
sisted.

This traitor kept me the few
last minutes to write a letter
to the English at Jidda, to re-
commend him for the service
he had done me at Sennaar ;
and this I complied with, that
I might inform the broker Ib-

rahim that I luid received no
money from his correspondent,
and give him a caution never
again to trust Hagi Belal in
similar circumstances.

Kverylhii\g being arranged, I
left Sennaar on the 5lh Septem-
ber 177a.

CHAPTER XV.

From Senna.ir to CItendi.

Although my servants, as well
as Hagi Belal, and every one
at Sennaar but the Fakir and
Soliman, did imagine I was
going to Shaddly, yet their own
fears, or rather good sense, had
convinced them that it was
better to proceed at once for
Atbara, than ever again to be
entangled between Adelan and
the king. Sennaar sat heavy
upon all their spirits, so that
I had scarce dismounted from
.my camel, and beiore I tasted
food, which that day I had not
done, when they all entreated
me with one voice that I would
consider the dangers I had
escaped, and, instead of turning
westward to Shaddly, continue
north through Atbara. I then
•told them my resolution was
perfectly conformable to their
wishes ; and informed them of
the measures I had taken to
insure success and remove dan-
ger as much as possible. I
recommended diligence, sob-
riety, and subordination as the
only means of arriving happily
at the end proposed ; and

35°

THE ENGLISn EXPLORERS,

assured them all wc should
share one common fare, and
one common fortune, till our
journey was terminated by
good or bad success. Never
\vas any discourse more grate-
fully received ; every toil was
welcome in flying from Sennaar,
and they already began to think
themselves at the gates of
Cairo.

On the 8th September we
reached Wed el Tum^cl, three
villages situated upon a pool
of water. Here there is greait
plenty of ebony bushes, and a
species of dwarf acacia, with
very small leaves, and long
pods of a strong saccharine
taste. This is here in great
abundance, and is called Lauts
or Loto, which I suspect to
be the tree on whose fruit, we
are told, the ancient Libyans
fed. For four days after leav-
ing Wed el Tumbel we were
much tormented with the fly,
the very noise of which put our
camels in such a fright, that
they ran violently into the
thickest trees and bushes, en-
deavouring to brush off their
loads. These flies do not bite
at night, nor in the cool of
the morning.

On the 1 6th we arrived at
Herbagi,the seat of Wed Ageeb,
hereditary prince of the Arabs,
now subject to the government
of Sennaar. The village we
found large and pleasant, but
thinly inhabited, and placed on
dry gravelly soil. On my ar-
rival I waited upon Wed Ageeb.
He seemed to be a man of verv

gentle manners, about thirty
years of age, had a thick black
beard and whiskers, large black
eyes, and a long thin face, with
the appearance of a weak con-
stitution. He had never before
seen a FAiropean, and testified
great surprise at my complexion.
He spoke contemptuouslyof the
king of Sennaar, but very re-
spectfully of Adelan and Abou
Kalec, any one of whose little
fingers, he said, was sufficient
to crush the Mek and all who
adhered to him. He sent us
abundance of provisions during;
our stay, and gave me a lettci
to Sittina his sister, which might
be useful to me if I went by
way of Chendi, Barbar, and the
great desert. After Chendi, he
assured me there was no pro-
tection to be relied upon but
that of Heaven.

Our way now lay through a
beautiful country, partly covered
with very pleasant woods, and
partly in lawns, with a few fine
scattered trees. But, as we
neared Gidid, about three miles
from the ferry across the Nile,
the country seemed bare and
barren, and scarcely produces
anything saving grass and bent,
of which the poor people use
the seed for bread. On the
2 1 St we reached this passage
across the Nile.

The manner they pass the
camels at this ferry is by fasten-
ing cords under their hind quar-
ters, and then tying a halter to
their beads. Two men sustain
these cords, anil a third the
halter, so that the camels, by

TRUCES 1 RAVELS,

35 »

swimming, carry the boat on
shore. One is fastened on each
side of the stern, and one along
each side of the stem. These
useful beasts suffer much by this
rude treatment, and many die
in the passage, with all the care
that can be taken, but often
through malice, or out of re-
venge. These boatmen pri-
vately put salt in the camel's
cars, which makes the animal
desperate and ungovernable,
till, by fretting and plunging his
head constantly in the water,
he loses his breath, and is
drowned ; the boatmen then
have gained their end, and
feast u[)on the flesh. But the
Arabs, when they pass their
camels, use a goat's skin, blown
with wind like a bladder, which
they tie to the fore part of the
camel, and this supports him
where he is heaviest, while the
man, sitting behind on his
rump, guides him ; for this
animal is a very bad swimmer,
being heaviest before.

Notwithstanding our boat-
men had a very bad character
at this time, we passed with
our camels and baggage with-
out loss or accident. They
seemed indeed to show a very
indifferent countenance at first,
but good words, and a promise
of recompence,. presently ren-
dered them tractable.

On the 22d we came to
Halfaia, a large, handsome,
and pleasant town, the limit
of the tropical rains. The
people here eat cats, also the
river-horse and the crocodile,

both of which are in great
plenty. Af\er staying a week
here, we continued our journey
on the JQth, when we came to
the village of Wed Hojila.
The river Abiad, which is larj;er
than the Nile, joins it there.
Still the Nile preserves the name
of Bahar el Azergue, or the
lilue River, which it got at
Sennaar. The Abiad is a very
deep river; it runs dead, and
with little inclination, and pre-
serves its stream always un-
diminished, because rising in
latitudes where there are con-
tinual rains. On the 30th we
arrived at the small village 01
Gerri, which is built on a rising
ground consisting of white bar-
ren sand and gravel, intermixed
with white alabaster, like peb-
bles, which, in a bright sun are
extremely disagreeable to the
eye.

At Halfaia and Gerri begins
that noble race of horses justly
celebrated all over the world.
They are the breed that was in-
troduced here at the Saracen
conquest, and have been pre-
served unmixed to this day.
They seem to be a distinct
animal from the Arabian horse,
such as I have seen in the
pllain» of Arabia Deserta, south
of Palmyra and Damascus,
where I take the most excel-
lent of the Arabian breed to
be, in the tribes of Mowalli and
Annecy, which is about lat. 36°;
whilst Dongola and the dry
country near it seem to be the
centre of excellence for this
nobler animal : so that the

352

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

bounds within which the horse
is in its greatest perfection,
seem to be between the degrees
of lat. 20° and 36°, and between
long. 30° east from the meridian
of Greenwich to the banks of
the Euphrates. For this extent
Fahrenheit's thermometer is
never below 50** in the night,
or in the day below 80°, though
it may rise to 120° at noon in
the shade, at which point horses
are not affected by the heat, but
will breed as they do at Halfaia,
Gerri, and Dongola, where the
thermometer rises to these de-
grees. These countries, from
what has been said, must of
course be a dry, sandy desert,
with little water, producing short,
or no grass, but only roots, which
are blanched like our celery,
being always covered with earth,
having no marshes or swamps,
fat soapy earth, or mould.

What figure the Nubian breed
of horses would make in point
of fleetness is very doubtful,
their make being so ^entirely
different from that of the Ara-
bian ; but if beautiful and sym-
metrical parts, great size and
strength, the most agile, ner-
vous, and elastic movements,
great endurance of fatigue, do-
cility of temper, and seeming
attachment to man beyond any
other domestic animal, can pro-
mise anything for a stallion, the
Nubian is aboye all compari-
son the most eligible in the
world. All noble horses in
Nubia are said to be descended
of one of the five upon which
Mahomet and his four imme-

diate successors, Abou Beer,
Omar, Atman, and All, fled
from Mecca to Medina, the
night of the Hegira. The
horses of Halfaia and Gerri do
not arrive at the size of those
in Dongola, where few are
lower than sixteen hands. They
are black or white, but a vast
proportion of the former to the
latter. I never saw the colour
we call grey, that .is, dappled,
but there are some bright l)ays,
or inclining to sorrel. They
are all kept monstrously fat
upon dora, eat nothing green
but the short root€ of grass
that are .to be found by the side
of the Nile, after the sun has
withered it.

•On the evening of the 2d
October we arrived at Wed
Baal a Nagga. The village is a
very large one, belonging to a
Fakir, a saint of the first con-
sidejration in the government of
>Chendi. All this country, ex-
.cept immediately upon the Nile,
is desert and sandy.

Chendi, or Chandi, is a large
village, the capital of its dis-
trict, the government of which
belongs to Sittina (as she is
called), which signifies the Mis-
tress, or the Lady, she being
sister to Wed Ageeb, the prin-
cipal of the Arabs in this coun-
try. She had been married,
but her husband was dead.
She had one son, Idris, Wed el
Faal, who was to succeed to
the government of Chendi upon
his mother's death, and who, in
effect, governed all the affairs
of his kindred already. Chendi

BRUCE S TRAVELS,

353

has in it about 250 houses,
which are not all built contigu-
ous, some of the best of them
being separate, and that of Sit-
tina is half a mile from the town.
There are two or three tolerable
houses, but the rest of them are
miserable hovels, built of clay
and reeds. Sittina gave us one
of these houses, which I used
for keeping my instruments and
baggage from being pilfered or
broken ; I slept abroad in the
tent, and it was even there hot
enough. The women of Chendi
are esteemed the most beauti-
ful in Atbara, and the men
the greatest cowards. This is
the character they bear among
their countrymen, but we had
little opportunity of verifying
either.

On the 12th of October I
waited upon Sittina, who re-
ceived me behind a screen, so
that it was impossible either to
see her figure or face; I ob-
served, however, that there
were apertures so managed in
the screen that she had a per-
fect view of me. She expressed
herself with great politeness,
talked much upon the terms in
which Adelan was with the
king, and wondered exceedingly
how a white man, like me,
should venture so far in such
an ill-governed country. * Allow
me, madam,' said I, *to com-
plain of a breach of hospitality
in you, which no Arab has been
yet guilty of towards me.' * Me ! '
said she, * that would be strange,
indeed, to a man that bears my
brother's letter. How can that

be V * Why, you tell me, ma-
dam, that I am a white man,
by which I know that you see
me, without giving me the like
advantage. The queens of
Sennaar did not use me so
hardly; I had a full sight of
them without having used any
importunity.' On this she
broke out into a great fit of
laughter ; then fell into a con-
versation about medicines to
make her hair grow, or rather
to hinder it from falling off.
She desired me to come to her.
the next day; that her son,
Idris, would be then at home,
and that he very much wished
to see me. She that day sent
us plenty of provisions from her
own table.

On the 13th it was so exces-
sively hot that it was impossible
to suffer the burning sun. The
poisonous simoom blew like-
wise as if it came from an oven.
Our eyes were dim, our lips
cracked, our knees tottering,
our throats perfectly dry, and
no relief was found from drink-
ing an immoderate quantity of
water. The people advised me
to dip a sponge in vinegar and
water, and hold it before my
mouth and nose, and this
greatly relieved me. In the
evening I went to Sittina. Up-
on entering the house, a black
slave laid hold of me by the
hand, and placed me in a pass-
age, at the end of which were
two opposite doors. I did not
well know the reason of this ;
but had stayed only a few min-
utes when I heard one of the

354

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

doors at the end of the passage
open, and Sittina appeared
magnificently dressed, with a
kind of round cap of solid gold
upon the crown of her head,
all beat very thin, and hung
round with sequins; with a
variety of gold chains, soli-
taires, and necklaces of the
same metal about her neck.
Her hair was plaited in ten or
twelve small divisions like tails,
which hung down below her
waist, and over her was thrown
a common cotton white gar-
ment. She had a purple silk
stole, or scarf, hung very grace-
fully upon her back, brought
again round her waist, without
covering her shoulders or arms.
Upon her wrists she had two
bracelets, like handcuffs, about
half an inch thick, and two gold
manacles of the same at her
feet, fully an inch diameter, the
most disagreeable and awkward
part of all her dress. I expected
she would have hurried through
with some affectation of sur-
prise. On the contrary, she
stopped in the middle of the
passage, saying in a very grave
manner, * Kifhalec,' (how are
you?) — I thought this was an
opportunity of kissing her hand,
which I did, without her show-
ing any sort of reluctance.
' Allow me as a physician,' said
I, 'madam, to say one word.'
She bowed with her head, and
said, * Go in at that door, and
I will hear you.' The slave
appeared, and carried me
through a door at the bottom
of the passage into a room,

while her mistress vanisheil in
at another door at the top.

She was a woman scarcely
forty, taller than the middle
size, had a very round, plump
face, her mouth rather large,
very red lips, the finest teeth
and eyes I have seen, hut at
the top of her nose, and be-
tween her eyebrows, she had a
small speck made of cohol, or
antimony, four-cornered, and of
the size of the smallest patches
our women used to wear ; an-
other rather longer upon the
top of her nose, and one on the
middle of her chin. The fol-
lowing dialogue took place be-
tween us.

Sittina. *Tell me what you
would say to me as a physician.'
Ya. * It was, madam, but in
consequence of your discourse
yesterday. That heavy gold
cap, with which you press your
hair, will certainly be the cause
of a great part of it falling oft.'
Sitt. * I believe so ; but I should
catch cold, I am so accustomed
to it, if I was to leave it off.
Are you a man of name and
family in your own country?'
Ya. *0f both, madam.' Sitt,
*Are the women handsome
there?' Ya. * The handsomest
in the world, madam ; but they
are so good, and so excellent in
all other respects, that nobody
thinks at all of their beauty,
nor do they value themselves
upon it.' Sitt. 'And do they
allow you to kiss their hands?
Ya. * I understand you, madam,
though you have mistaken me.
There is no familiarity in kiss-

BRUGES TRAVELS,

355

ing hands ; it is a mark of hom-
age and distant respect paid in
my country to our sovereigns,
and to none earthly besides.'
sat. *0 yes! but the kings.'
I'd. * Yes, and the queens too,
always on the knee, madam ; I
said our sovereigns, meaning
both kin^ and queen. On her
part it is a mark of gracious
condescension, in favour of
rank, merit, and honourable
behaviour; it is a reward for
dangerous and diflicult services,
above all other compensation.'
Sitt. ' But do you know that no
man ever kissed my hand but
your Ya, 'It is impossible I
should know that, nor is it ma-
terial. — Of this I am confident,
it was meant respectfully, can-
not hurt you, and ought not to
offend you.' Sitt, * It certainly
has done neither, but I wish
very much Idris, my son, would
come and see you, as it is on
his account I dressed myself to-
day.' Ya. 'I hope, madam,
when I do see him, he will
think of some way of forward-
ing me safely to Barbar, in my
way to Egypt.' Sitt, * Safely 1
God forgive you I you are
throwing yourself away wan-
tonly. Idris himself, king of
this country, dares not under-
take such a journey. But why
did not you go along with Ma-
homet Towashi He set out
only a few days ago for Cairo,
the same way you are going,
and has, I believe, taken all the
Hybeers with him. — Go call the
porter,' says she to her slave.
When the porter came, *Do

you know if Mahumct Towash
IS gone to Egypt 1' 'I know
he is gone to Barbar,' says the
porter; *the two Mahomets,
Abd-eljeleel, the Bishareen,
are with him.' * Why did he
take all the Hybeers?' says
Sittina. *The men were tired
and discouraged, answered the
porter, by their iate ill-usage
from the Cubba-beesh, and,
being stripped of everything,
they wanted to be at home.'
Sitt, ♦ Somebody else will offer,
but you must not go without a
good man with you ; I will not
suffer you. These Bishareen
are people known here, antl
may be trusted ; but, while you
stay, let me see you every day,
and, if you want anything, send
by a servant of mine.*

This being the first time I
have had occasion to mention
this useful set of men, it will
be necessary I should here ex-
plain their oflice and occupa-
tion. A Hybeer is a guide,
from the Arabic word Hubbar,
to inform, instruct, or direct,
because they are used to do
this office to the caravans tra-
velling through the desert in
all its directions, whether to
Egypt and back again, the coast
of the Red Sea, or the countries
of Sudan, and the western ex-
tremities of Africa. They are
men of great consideration,
knowing perfectly the situation
and properties of all kinds of
water to be met on the route ;
the distance of wells, whether
occupied by enemies or not,
and, if so, the way to avoid

K' <%

W^\

SB'S

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

them with the least inconve-
nience. It is also necessary to
them to know the places occu-
pied by the simoom, and the
seasons of their blowing in those
parts of the desert ; likewise
those occupied by moving sands.
He generally belongs to some
powerful tribe of Arabs inhabit-
ing these deserts, whose protec-
tion he makes use of to assist
his caravans, or protect them
in time of danger, and hand-
some rewards were always in
his power to distribute on such
occasions ; but now that the
Arabs in these deserts are every-
where without government, the
trade between Abyssinia and
Cairo given over, that between
Sudan and that metropolis much
diminished, the importance of
that office of Hybeer, and its
consideration, is fallen in pro-
portion.

One day, sitting in my tent,
musing upon the very unpro-
mising asj ect of my affairs, an
Arab of very ordinary appear-
ance, naked, with only a cotton
cloth around his middle, came
up to me, and offered to con-
duct me to Barbar, and thence
to Egypt He said his house
was at Daroo, on the side of
the Nile, about twenty miles be-
yond Syene, or Assouan, nearer
Cairo. I asked him why he
hrtd not gone with Mahomet
Towash ? He said he did not
like the company, and was very
much mistaken if their journey
ended well. Upon pressing
him further if this was really
the only reason, he then told

me that he had been sick for
some months at Chendi, con-
tracted debt, and had been ob-
liged to pawn his clothes, and
that his camel was detained for
what still remained unpaid.
After much conversation, re-
peated several days, I found
that Idris (for that was his
name) was a man of some sub-
stance in his own country, and
had a daughter married to the
Schourbatchie at Assouan, He
said that this was his last jour-
ney, for he never would cross
the desert again. A bargain
was now soon made. I re-
deemed his camel and cloak ;
he was to show me the way to
Egypt ; and he was there to be
recompensed, according to his
behaviour.

I prepared now to leave
Chendi, but first returned my
benefactress, Sittina, thanks for
all her favours. She had called
for Idris, and given him very
positive instructions, mixed with
threats, if he misbehaved ; and
hearing what I had done for
him, she, too, gave him an
ounce of gold, and said, at part-
ing, that, for knowledge of the
road through the desert, she be-
lieved Idris to be as perfect as
anybody ; but, in case we met
with the Bishareen, they would
neither show to him nor to me
any mercy. She gave me, how-
ever, a letter to Mahomet Abou
Bertran, Shekh of one of the
tribes of Bishareen, on the Ta-
cazz^, near the Magiran, which
she made her son write from
the Howat, it not being usual,

BRUGES TRAVELS,

357

she said, for her to write her-
self. I begged I might be again
allowed to testify my gratitude
by kissing her hand, which she
condescended to in the most
gracious manner, laughing all
the time, and saying, * Well,
you are an odd man ! If Idris,
my son, saw me just now, he
would think me mad/

CHAPTER XVI. .

From Chendi to Syene.

On the 20th of October, in the
evening, we left Chendi, and
rested two miles from the town,
and about a mile from the river ;
and next day, the 21st, at three
quarters past four in the morn-
ing, we continued our journey,
and passed through five or six
villages of the Jaheleen on our
left ; at nine, we alighted to feed
our camels under some trees,
having gone about ten miles.
At this place begins a large
island in the Nile several miles
long, full of villages, trees, and
corn. It is called Curgos. Op-
posite to this is the mountain
Gibbainy, where is the first
scene of ruins I have met with
since that of Axum, in Abys-
sinia. We saw here heaps of
broken pedestals, like those of
Axum, all plainly designed for
the statues of the dog; some
pieces of obelisk, likewise, with
hieroglyphics, almost totally ob-
literated. The Arabs told us
these ruins were very extensive ;

and that many pieces of statues,
both of men and animals, had
been dug up there ; the statues
of the men were mostly of black
stone. It is impossible to avoid
risking a guess that this is the
ancient city of Meroe.

On the 25th we came to the
Tacazzd, a tributary of the Nile,
and the boundary between At-
bara and Barbar. The river is
here about a quarter of a mile
broad, and exceedingly deep.
Its waters are judged by the
Arabs to be lighter, clearer, and
wholesomer than those of the
Nile. It unites with the waters
of the Nile about half a mile
from this ferry. Though the
boats were smaller, the people
more brutish, and less expert
than those at Halifoon, yet the
supposed sanctity of our char-
acters, and liberal payment,
carried us over without any dif-
ficulty. I reflected with much
satisfaction npon the many cir-
cumstances the sight of this
river recalled to my mind ; but
still the greatest was, that the
scenes of these were now far
distant, and that I was by so
much the more advanced to-
wards home.

On the 26th, at six o'clock,
leaving the Nile on our left
about a mile, we continued our
journey over gravel and sand,
through a wood of acacia-trees,
the colour of whose flowers was
now changed to white, whereas
all the rest we had before seen
were yellow. At one o'clock
we left the wood, and at forty
minutes past three we came to

' fa.;

1 'M

3S8

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

6-t.

[III'

Gooz, a small village, which
nevertheless is the capital of
Barbar. The village of Gooz
is a collection of miserable
hovels composed of clay and
canes. There are not in it
above thirty houses, but there
are six or seven different vil-
lages. The heat seemed here
a little abated, but everybody
complained of a disease in their
eyes they call Tishash, which
often terminates in blindness.
I apprehend it to be owing to
the simoom and fine sand blow-
ing through the desert. Here
a misfortune happened to Idris,
our Hybeer, who was arrested
for debt, and carried to prison.
As we were now upon the very
edge of the desert, and to see
no other inhabited place till we
shculd reach Egypt, 1 was not
displeased to have it in my
power to lay him under one
other obligation before we
trusted our lives in his hands,
which we were immediately to
do. I therefore paid his debt,
and reconciled him with his
creditors, vho, on their part,
behaved .^-/ moderately to
him.

It was on the 9th of Novem-
ber, at noon, we left Gooz,
and set out for the sdl'ia, or
watering-place, which is below
a little village called Hassa.
All the west side of the Nile is
full of villages down to Takaki,
but they are all Jaheleen, with-
out government, and perpetually
in rebellion. At half past three
in the afternoon we came to
the Nile to lay in our store of

water. We filled four skins,
which might contain altogether
ai)Out a hogshead and a half.
While the camels were loading,
I bathed myself with infinite
pleasure for a long half hour in
the Nile ; and thus took leave
of my old acquaintance, very
doubtful if we should ever meet
again. We then turned our
face to N.E., leaving the Nile,
and entering into a bare desert
of fixed gravel, without trees,
and of a very disagreeable
whitish colour, mixed with small
pieces of white marble, and
pebbles like alabaster.

Our camels we found were
too heavily loaded, but we com-
forted ourselves that this fault
would be mended every day by
the use we made of our provi-
sions ; however, it was very
much against them that they
were obliged to pass this whole
aight without eating.

Our shoes, that had needed
constant repair, were become
at last absolutely useless, and
the hard ground, from the time
we passed Amour, had worn
the skin off in several places,
so that our feet were very much
inflamed by the burning sand.

On the 13th we saw about a
mile north-west a rock not con-
siderable in size, but, from the
plain country in which it is
situated, has the appearance of
a great lower or castle, and
south of it two hillocks, or little
hills. These are all land-marks
of the utmost consequence to
caravans in their journey, be-
cause they are too considerable

BRUGES TRAVELS,

359

in size to be covered at any
time by the moving sands. At
Assa Nagga, Assiro baybe is
square with us, and with the
turn which the Nile takes east-
ward to Korti and Dongola.
The Takaki are the people
nearest us, west of Assa Nagga,
and Assero baybe upon the
Nile. After these, when the
Nile has turned e. and w., are
the Chaigie, on both sides of
the river, on to Korti, where
the territory called the kingdom
of Dongola begins. As the
Nile no longer remains on our
left, but makes a remarkable
turn, which has been much mis-
represented in the maps, I put
my quadrant in order, and by
a medium of three observations,
one of Procyon, one of Rigel,
and one of the middle star of
the belt of Orion, I found the
latitude of Assa Nagga to be
1 9° 30', which being on a parallel
with the farthest point of the
Nile northward, gives the lati-
tude of that place where the
river turns west by Korti to-
wards Dongola, and this was
of great service to me in fixing
some other material points in
my map.

On the 14th, at seven in the
morning, we left Assa Nagga,
our course being due north.
At one o'clock we alighted
among some acacia-trees at
Waadi el Halboub, having gone
twenty-one miles. We were
here at once surprised and ter-
rified by a sight, surely one of
the most magnificent in the
vorid. In that vast expanse of

desert, from w. and to n.w. of
us, we saw a number of pro-
digious pillars of sand at dif-
ferent distances, at times mov-
ing with great celerity, at
others stalking on with a ma-
jestic slowness ; at intervals we
thought they were coming in a
very few minutes to overwhelm
us ; and small quantities of sand
did actually more than once
reach us. Again they would
retreat so as to be almost out
of sight, their tops reaching to
the very clouds. There the
tops often separated from the
bodies ; and these, once dis-
joined, dispersed in the air, and
did not appear more. Some-
times they were broken near
the middle, as if struck with a
large cannon shot. About noon
they began to advance with
considerable swiftness upon us,
the wind being very strong at
north. Eleven of them ranged
alongside of us about the dis-
tance of three miles. The
greatest diameter of the largest
appeared to me at that distance
as if it would measure ten feet.
They retired from us with a
wind at s.e., leaving an impres-
sion upon my mind to which I
can give no name, though
surely one ingredient in it was
fear, with a considerable deal
of wonder and astonishment.
It was in vain to think of flying ;
the swiftest horse, or fastest
sailing ship, could be of no use
to carry us out of this danger,
and the full persuasion of this
riveted me as if to the spot
where I stood, and let the

' I

360

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

camels gain on me so much in
my state of lameness, that it
was with some difficulty I
could overtake them. The
effect this stupendous sight had
upon Idris was to set him to
his prayers — indeed, rather to
his charms ; for besides the
names of God and Mahomet,
all the rest of the words were
mere gibberish and nonsense.
This created a violent alterca-
tion between him and Ismael
the Turk, who abused him for
not praying in the words of the
Koran, maintaining, with ap-
parent great wisdom at the
same time, that nobody had
charms to stop these moving
sands but the habitants of
Arabia Deserta. I'rom this day,
subordination, though not en-
tirely ceased, was fast on the
decline ; all was discontent,
murmuring, and fear. Our
water was greatly diminished,
and that terrible death by thirst
began to stare us in the face,
and this was owing in a great
measure to our own imprudence.
Ismael, who had been left
sentinel over the skins of water,
had slept so soundly, that this
had given an opportunity to a
Tucorory to open one of the
skins that had not been touched,
and serve himself out of it at
his own discretion. I suppose
that, hearing somebody stir,
and fearing detection, he had
withdrawn himself as speedily
as possible, without taking time
to tie the mouth of the girba,
which we found in the morning
with scarce a quart of water in it.

On the 1 6th, our men, if not
gay, were in better spirits than
I had seen them since we left
Gooz. One of our Barbarins
had even attempted a song-
but Hagi Ismael very gravely
reproved him, by telling him,
that singing in such a situation
was a tempting of Providence.
There is, indeed, nothing more
different than active and pas-
sive courage. Hagi Ismael
would fight, but he had not
strength of mind to suffer. At
elevei o'clock, while we con-
templated with great pleasure
the rugged top of Chiggre, to
which we were fast approaching,
and where we were to solace
ourselves with plenty of good
water, Idris cried out, with a
loud voice, Fall upon your faces,
for here is the simoom ! I saw
from the south-east a haze
come, in colour like the purple
part of the rainbow, but not so
compressed or thick. It did
not occupy twenty yards in
breadth, and was about twelve
feet high from the ground. It
was a kind of blush upon the
air, and it moved very rapidly,
for I scarce could turn to fall
upon the ground with my head
to the northward, when I felt
the heat of its current plainly
upon my face. We all lay flat
on the ground, as if dead, till
Idris told us it was blown over.
The meteor, or purple haze,
which I saw, was indeed passed,
but the light air that still blew
was of heat to threaten suffoca-
tion. For my part, I found
distinctly in my breast that I

PRUCE'S TRAVELS.

361

had imbibed a part of \\, nor
was I free of an asthmatic sen-
sation till I had been some
months in Italy, at the baths of
Poretta, near two years after-
wards.

This phenomenon of the
simoom, unexpected by us,
though foreseen by Idris, caused
us all to relapse into our former
despondency. It still continued
to blow, so as to exhaust us
entirely, though the blast was
so weak as scarcely would have
raised a leaf from the ground.
At twenty minutes before five
the simoom ceased, and a com-
fortable and cooling breeze came
by starts from the north, blow-
ing five or six minutes at a
time, and then falling calm.
We were now come to the
Acaba, the ascent before we
arrived at Chiggre, where we
intended to have stopped that
night, but we all moved on with
tacit consent, nor did one per-
son pretend to say how far
he guessed we were to go.

Chiggre is a small narrow
valley, closely covered up, and
surrounded with barren rocks.
The wells are ten in number,
and the narrow gorge which
opens to them is not ten yards
broad. The springs, however,
are very abundant. Where-
ever a pit is dug five or six feet
deep, it is immediately filled
with water. The principal pool
is about forty yards square and
five feet deep; but the best
tasted water was in the cleft of
a rock, about 30 yards higher,
on the west side of this narrow

outlet. All the water, however,
was very foul, with a number of
animals both aquatic and land.
It was impossible to drink with-
out putting a piece of our cot-
ton girdle over our mouths, to
keep, by filtration, the filth of
dead animals out of it. We
saw a great many partridges
upon the face of the bare rock ;
but what they fed upon I could
not guess, unless upon in-
sects.

Our first attention was to our
camels, to whom we gave that
day a double feed of dora,
that they might drink for the
lestofour journey, should the
wells in the way prove scant of
water. We then washed in a
large pool, the coldest water, I
think, I ever felt, on account of
its being in a cave covered with
rock, and was inaccessible to
the sun in any direction. All
my people seemed to be greatly
recovered by this refrigeration,
but from some cause or other, it
fared otherwise with the Turco-
rory ; one of whom died about
an hour after our arrival, and
another early the next morning.

Subordination, if now not
entirely gone, was expiring, so
that I scarcely expected to have
interest eiiough with my own
servants to help me to set up
my large quadrant ; yet I was
exceedingly curious to know
the situation of this remarkable
place, which Idris the Hybeer
declared to be half way to
Assouan.

On the 17th of November, in
the forenoon, we left the valley

I j f

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362

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

and pool of Chiggre. On the
evening of the next day we
alighted in a wood called Ter-
fowey, full of trees and grass.
On our way thither we had
again been terrified by an army
(as it seemed) of sand pillars,
which at one time seemed to
be coming directly upon us, but
were never nearer than two
miles, though a considerable
quantity of sand fell round us.
Idris pointed out on our way
some sandy hillocks, where one
of the largest caravans which
ever came out of Egypt, was
then covered with sand to the
number of some thousands of
camels. We lighted a large
fire at our halting-place, as the
nights were excessively cold,
though the thermometer was at
53°, and the cold occasioned
me inexpressible pain in my
feet, now swelled to a mon-
strous size, and everywhere
inflamed and excoriated. I
had taken upon me the charge
of the baggage, and Mahomet,
Idris's young man, the care
of the camels; but he too
was gone to the well, though
expected to return immediately.
Our camels were always
chained by the feet, and the
chain, secured by a padlock,
lest they should wander in the
night, or be liable to be stolen
and carried off. Musing then
upon the geographical diffi-
culties just mentioned, and ,
gazing before me, without any
particular intention or suspicion,
I heard the chain of the camels
clink, as if somebody was

unloosing them, and then at
the end of the gleam made by
the fire, I saw distinctly a man
pass swiftly by, stooping as he
went along, his face almost
to the ground. A little time
after this I heard another clink
of the chain, as if from a pretty
sharp blow, and immediately
after a movement among the
camels. I then rose, and cried
in a threatening tone, in Arabic,
* I charge you, on your life,
whoever you are, either come
up to me directly, or keep at a
distance till day, but come that
way no more ; why should you
throw your life awayl' In a
minute after, he repassed in
the shade among the trees,
pretty much in the manner he
had done before. As I was
on guard between the baggage
and the camels, I was conse-
quently armed, and advanced
deliberately some steps, as far
as the light of the fire shone,
on purpose to discover how
many they were, and was ready
to fire upon the next I saw.
*If you are an honest man,'
cried I aloud, * and want any-
thing, come up to the fire and
fear not, I am alone; but if
you approach the camels or
the baggage again, the world
will not be able to save your
life, and your blood be upon
your own head.' Mahomet,
Idris's nephew, who heard me
cry, came running up from the
well to see what was the matter.
We went down together to
where the camels were, and,
upon examination, found that

BRUGES TRAVELS.

363

the links of one of the chains
had been broken, but the open-
ing not large enough to let
the corresponding whole link
through, to separate it A hard
blue stone was driven through
a link of one of the chains of
another camel, and left sticking
there, the chain not being en-
tirely broken through ; we saw,
besides, the print of a man's
feet on the sand. There was
no need to tell us after this that
we were not to sleep that night ;
we made therefore another fire
on the other side of the camels
with branches of the acacia-
tree, which we gathered

On examination we found an
indication of a number of people
being in the neighbourhood, in
which case our present situation
was one of the most desperate
that could be figured. We were
in the middle of the most bar-
ren inhospitable desert in the
world, and it was with the ut-
most difficulty that, from day to
day, we could carry wherewithal
to assuage our thirst. We had
with us the only bread it was
possible to procure for some
hundred miles ; lances and
swords were not necessary to
destroy us ; the bursting or
tearing of a girba, the lameness
or death of a camel, a 'horn or
sprain in the foot, which might
disable us from walking, were
as certain death to us as a
shot from a cannon. There
^vas no staying for one an-
other; to lose time was to
die, because, with the utmost
exertion our camels could make,

we scarce could carry along with
us a scanty provision of bread
and water sufficient to keep us
alive. Our only chance then
remaining was, that their num-
ber might be so small, that, by
our great superiority in fire-
arms and in courage, we might
turn the misfortune upon the
aggressors, deprive them of their
camels and means of carrying
water, and leave them, scattered
in the desert, to that death,
which either they or we, with-
out alternative, must suffer. I
explained myself to this pur-
pose, briefly to the people, on
which a great cry followed,
* God is great ! let them come ! '
Our arms were perfectly in
order, and our old Turk Ismael
seemed to move about and
direct with the vigour of a
young man. As we had no
doubt they would be mounted
on camels, so we placed our-
selves a little within the edge
of the trees.

The day broke; no Arabs
appeared ; all was still. The
danger which occurred to our
minds then was, lest, if they
were few, by tarrying we should
give them time to send off mes-
sengers to bring assistance. I
then took Ismael and two
Barbarins along with me, to see
who these neighbours of ours
could be. We soon traced in
the sand the footsteps of the
man who had been at our
camels ; and following them
behind the point of a rock,
which seemed calculated for
concealing thieves, we saw two

I i

I I

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3^4

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

I ft'

ragged, old, dirty tents, pitched
with grass cords.

The two Barbarins entered
one of them, and found a naked
woman there. Ismael and I
ran briskly into the largest,
where we saw a man and a
woman, both perfectly naked,
frightful, emaciated figures, not
like the inhabitants of this
world. The man was partly
sitting on his hams; a child,
seemingly of the age to suck,
was on a rag at the corner, and
the woman looked as if she
wished to hide herself. I sprung
forward upon the man, and,
taking him by the hair of the
head, pulled him upon his back
on the floor, setting my foot
upon his breast, and j-ointing
my knife to his throat, I said
to him sternly, * If you mean to
pray, pray quickly, for you have
but this moment to live.' The
fellow was so frightened, he
scarce could beg us to spare
his life ; but the woman, as it
afterwards appeared, the mother
of the sucking child, did not
seem to copy the passive dis-
position of her iitisband. She
ran to the corner of the tent,
where was an old lance, with
which, I doubt not, she would
have sufficiently distinguished
herself, hut it happwied to be
entangled with the cloth of the
tent, and Ismael felled her to
the ground with the butt-end
of his blunderbuss, and wrested
the lance from her. A violent
howl was set up by the remain-
ing woman, like the cries of
those in torment. ' Tie them/

said I,'* Ismael; keep them
«eparate, and carry them to the
baggage, till I settle accounts
with this camel -stealer, and
then you shall strike their three
heads off, where they intended
to leave us miserably to perish
with hunger; but keep them
separate.' While the Barbarins
were tying the woman, the one
that was the nurse of the child
turned to her husband and said,
in a most mournful, despairing
tone of voice, * Did I not tell
you, you would never thrive, if
you hurt that good man 1 Did
not I tell you this would hap-
pen for murdering the Agal'

Upon the man's appearing,
all my people declared, with
one general voice, that no time
was to be lost, but that they
should all be put to death as
soon as the camels were loaded,
before we set out on our jour-
ney ; and, indeed, at first view
of the thing, self-preservation,
the first law of nature, seemed
strongly to require it. Hagi
Ismael was so determined on
the execution, that he was
already seeking a knife sharper
than his own. * We will stay,
Hagi Ismael,' said I, * till we
see if this thief is a liar also.
If he prevaricates in the an-
swers he gives to my questions,
you shall then cut his head off,
and we will consign him with
the lie in his mouth, soul and
body to hell, to his master whom
he serves.' Ismael answered,
' The truth is the truth ; if he
lies he can deserve no better.'

' You see,' said I, placing the

BRUGES TRAVELS.

3^5

man upon his knees, * your
time is short ; the sword is now
drawn which is to make an end
of you ; take time, answer dis-
tinctly and deliberately, for the
first trip or lie that you make,
is the last word that you will
utter in this world. Your wife
siiall have her fair chance like-
wist, and your child ; you and
all siidU go together, unless you
tell me the naked truth. — Here,
Ismael, stand by him, and take
my sword ; it is, I believe, the
sharpest in the company.

* Now I ask you, at your
peril, who was the good man
your wife reproached you with
having murdered ? Where was
it, and when, and who were
your accomplices?' He an-
swered trembling, and indis-
tinctly, through fear, * It was a
black, an Aga from Chendi.'
'Mahomet Towash?' says Is-
mael ; * Ullah Kerim ! God is
merciful ! ' * The same,* says
the Bishareen. He then related
the particulars of his death, in
the manner which I shall have
occasion to state afterwards.
* Where are the Bishareen !'
continued I j * where is Abou
Bertran 1 How soon will a light
camel and messenger arrive
where he now is 1' * In less
than two days ; perhaps,' says
he, ' in a day and a half, if he
is very diligent, and the camel
good.' * Take care,' said I,
' you are in danger. Where did
you and your women come from,
and when ?' * From Abou Ber-
tran,' says he ; * we arrived here
at noon on the sth day, but the

camels were all she^amels ; they
are favourite camels of Shekh
Seide ; we drove them softly ;
the two you saw at the tents
are lame ; besides, there were
some others unsound ; there
were also women and children.'
* Where did that party and their
camels go to from thisi And
what number of men was there
with them 1 ' * There were about
three hundred camels of all sorts,
and about thirty men, all of
them servants; some of them
had one lance, and some of
them two ; they had no shields
or other arms.' * What did you
intend last night to do with my
camels 1' ' I intended to have
carried them, with the women
and child, to join the party at
the Nile.' * What must have
become of me in that case?
We must have died.' He did
not answer. * Take care,' said
I, * the thing is now over, and
you are in my hands ; take care
what you say. ' * Why, certainly,*
says he, * you must have died ;
you could not live ; you could
not go anywhere else.' * If an-
other party had found us here,
in that case would they have
slain us ?' He hesitated a little ;
then, as if he recollected him-
self, said, * Yes, surely, they
murdered the Aga, and would
murder anybody that had not a
Bishareen with them.' A vio-
lent cry of condemnation imme-
diately followed. * Now attend
and understand me distinctly,'
said I ; * for upon these two
questions hangs your life : Do
you know of any party of Bish-

Urff

' -

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366

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

• \ I. ^'f

I \ I, T-k'.
If! .i.*jr'

areen wlio are soon to pass
here, or any wells to the north,
and in what number 1 And have
you sent any intelligence, since
last night you saw us herel'
He answered, with more readi-
ness than usual, * We have sent
nobody anywhere ; our camels
are lame j we were to follow, as
soon as they should be able to
travel, to join those at the Nile.
The parties of the Bishareen are
always passing here, sometimes
more, sometimes less ; they will
not come till they hear from the
Nile whether the grass is grown.
They have with them two dro-
medaries, who will carry the
news from the Nile in three
days, or they will come in small
parties like the last, for they
have no fear in these parts.
The wells to the north belong
to the Ababde. When they pass
by them with cattle, they are
always in great numbers, and a
Shekh along with them ; but
those wells are now so scanty,
they have not water for any num-
ber, and they must, therefore,
all pass this way.'

I got up and called on Ismael.
The poor fellow thought he was
to die. Life is sweet, even to
the most miserable. He was
still upon his knees, holding
his hands clasped' round the
back of his neck, and already,
I suppose, thought he felt the
edge of Ismael's knife. He
swore that every word he had
spoken was truth, and if his
wife was brought she could not
tell another story.

I thereupon left him, and

went to his wife, who, when she
saw Hagi Ismael with a drawn
sword in his hand, thought all
was over with her husband, and
fell into a violent fit of despair,
crying out, * That all the men
were liars and murderers, but
that she would have told the
truth if I had asked her first.'
* Then go, Hagi Ismael,' said
I, ' tell them not to put him to
death till I come ; and now you
have your chance, which if you
do not improve by telling the
truth, I will first slay your child
with my own hand before your
face, and then order you all to
be cruelly put to death toge-
ther.* She began with great
earnestness to say, * She could
not tell who killed Mahomet
Towash, for she only heard it
in conversation from her hus-
band, who was there, after he
had come home.' I then, word
for word, put those questions to
her that I had done to her hus-
band, and had precisely the
same answers. The only differ-
ence was, that she believed a
party of the Ababde would pass
Chiggre soon; but seeing me
rise to go away, she burst into
a flood of tears, and tore her
hair in the most violent excess
of passion, shrieking out to have
mercy upon her, and pressing
the little child to her breast, as
if to take leave of it ; then lay-
ing it down before me, in great
agony and bitterness of heart,
she again shrieked out, * If you
are a Turk, make it a slave,
but do not kill my child, and
spare my husband.'

BRUGES TRAVELS,

367

Though I understood Arabic
well, I did not, till that day,
know it had such powers, or
that it contained expressions at
once so forcible and so simple.
I found myself so much moved,
and my tears came so fast, that
it was in vain to endeavour to
carry on a farce under such
tragical appearances. * Woman,'
said I, * I am not a Turk, nor
do I make slaves or kill children.
It is your Arabs that force me
to this ; it was you that attacked
me last night ; it was you that
murdered Mahomet Towash,
one of your own religion, and
busied in his duty. I am a
stranger, seeking my own safety,
but you are all murderers and
thieves.* * It is true,* says she,
'they are all murderers and
liars, and my husband, not
knowing, may have lied too.
Only let me hear what he told
you, and I will tell you whether
it is truth or not.* Day was
now advancing apace, and no
resolution taken, whilst our pre-
sent situation was a very unsafe
one. We carried the three pri-
soners bound, and set George,
the Greek, sentinel over them.
I then called the people to-
gether.

I stated fairly, in a council
held among ourselves, the hor-
ror of slaughtering the women
and child, or even leaving them
to starve with hunger, by killing
their camels, from whom they
got their only sustenance : for,
though we should not stain our
hands with their blood, it was
the same thing to leave them to

perish : that we were strangers,
and had fallen upon them bv acci-
dent, but they were in their own
country. * Since you are differ-
ing in your opinions, and there
is no time to lose,' said I, ' allow
me to give you mine. It has
appeared to me, that often since
we began this journey, we have
been preserved by visible in-
stances of God's protection,
when we should have lost our
lives, if we had gone by the
rules of our own judgment
only.' We are, it is true, of
different religions, but all wor-
ship the same God. Suppose
the present case should be a
trial, whether we trust really in
God's protection, or whether
we believe our safety owing to
our own foresight and courage.
If the man's life be now taken
away, to-morrow we may meet
the Bishareen, and then we shall
all reflect upon the folly of our
precaution. For my own part,
my constant creed is, that I am
in God's hands, whether in the
house or in the desert ; and not
in those of the Bishareen, or of
any lawless spoiler. But this I
declare to you, if ever we meet
these Arabs, if the ground is
such as has been near all the
wells we have come to, I will
fight the Bishareen boldly and
cheerfully, without a doubt of
beating them with ease. I do
not say my feelings would be
the same if my conscience was
loaded with that most heinous
and horrid crime, murder in
cold blood ; and therefore my
determination is to spare the

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368

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

life even of this man, and I will
oppose his being put to death
by every means in my power.'

It was easy to see, that fear
of their own lives only, and not
cruelty, was the reason they
sought that of the Arab. They
answered me, two or three of
them at once, * That it was all
very well ; what should they
do? should they give them-
selves up to the Bishareen, and
be murdered like Mahomet
Towash? was there any other
way of escaping V * I will tell
you, then, since you ask me,
what you should do : You shall
follow the duty of self-defence
and self-preservation, as far as
you can do it without a crime.
You shall leave the women and
the child where they are, and
with them the camels, to give
them and their child milk ; you
shall chain the husband's right
hand to the left of some of
yours, and you shall each of
you take him by turns, till we
shall carry him into Egypt.
Perhaps he knows the desert
and the wells better than Idris ;
and if he should not, still we
have two Hybeers instead of
one ; and who can foretell what
may happen to Idris, more than
to any other of us 1 But as he
knows the stations of his people,
and their courses at particular
seasons, that day we meet one
Bishareen, the man that is
chained with him, and conducts
him, shall instantly stab him to
the heart, so that he shall not
see, much less triumph in, the
success of his treacliery. On

the contrary, if he is faithful,
and informs Idris where the
danger is, and where we are to
avoid it, keeping us rather by-
scanty wells than abundant
ones, on the day I arrive safely
in Egypt, I will clothe him
anew, as also his women, give
him a good camel for himself,
and a load of dora for them all.
As for the camels we leave here,
they are females, and neces-
sary to give the women food.
They are not lame, it is said ;
but we shall lame them in ear-
nest, so that they shall not be
able to carry a messenger to the
Bishareen before they die with
thirst in the way, both they and
their riders, if they should at-
tempt it.'

An universal applause fol-
lowed this speech ; Idris, above
all, declared his warmest appro-
bation. I sent two Barbarins
to lame the camels effectually,
but not so as to make them
past recovery. After which,
for the nurse and the child's
sake, I took twelve handfuls of
the bread which was our only
food, — and indeed we could
scarcely spare it, as we saw
afterwards, — and left it to this
miserable family, with this agree-
able reflection, however, that we
should be to them, in the end, a
much greater blessing than in
the beginning we had been an
affliction, provided only they
kept their faith, and on their
part deserved it.

On the 2oth we left the
well, at Terfowey, after having
warned the women, tliat their

BRUCE'S TRAVELS.

369

H:i!

chance of seeing their husband
again depended wholly upon his
and their faithful conduct. We
took our prisoner with us, his right
hand being chained to the left
of one of the Barbarins. We
had no sooner got into the
plain, than we felt great symp-
toms of the simoom ; and about
a quarter before twelve, our
prisoner first, and then Idris,
cried out, * The simoom ! the
simoom !' My curiosity would
not suffer me to fall down with-
out looking behind me. About
due south, a little to the east, I
saw the coloured haze as before.
It seemed now to be rather less
compressed, and to have with
it a shade of blue. The edges
of it were not defined as those
of the former, but like a very
thin smoke, with about a yard
in the middle tinged with those
colours. We all fell upon our
faces, and the simoom passed
with a gentle ruffling wind. It
continued to blow in this man-
ner till near three o'clock ; so
we were all taken ill that night,
and scarcely strength was left
us to load the camels and ar-
range the baggage. This day
one of our camels died, partly
famished, partly overcome with
extreme fatigue.

At half-past eight in the even-
ing we alighted at a well called
Naibey, in a bare sandy plain,
where there were a few straggling
acacia-trees. We found near the
well the corpse of a man and two
camels upon the ground.

On the 2 2d, one of the Turco-
rory was seized with a frenzy

or madness. At first I took it
for a fit of the epilepsy, by the
distortions of his face ; but it
was soon seen to be of a more
serious nature. I offered to
bleed him^ which he refused;
neither, though we gave him
water, would he drink, but very
moderately. He rolled upon
the ground, and moaned, oflen
repeating two or three words
which I did not understand.
He refused to continue his
journey, or rise from where he
lay, so that we were obliged to
leave him to his fortune. We
went this day very diligently,
not remarkably slow nor fast;
but though our camels, as we
thought, had fared well for
these two nights, another of
them died about four o'clock
this afternoon, when we came
to Umarack.

I here began to provide for
the worst. I saw the fate of our
camels approaching, and that
our men grew weak in propor-
tion ; our bread, too, began to
fail us, although we had plenty
of camel's flesh in its stead;
our water, though in all appear-
ance we were to find it more
frequently than in the begin-
ning of our journey, was never-
theless brackish, and scarcely
served the purpose to quench
our thirst; and, above all, the
dreadful simoom had perfectly
exhausted our strength, and
brought upon us a degree of
cowardice and languor that we
struggled with in vain. I there-
fore, as the last effort, began to
throw away everything weighty

2 A

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370

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

I could spare, or that was not
absolutely necessary, such as
all shells, fossils, minerals, and
petrifactions, that I could get
at, the counter-cases of my qua-
drant, telescopes, and clock,
and several such like things.

Our camels were now re-
duced to five, and it did not
seem that these were capable
of continuing their journey
much longer. In that case, no
remedy remained, but that each
man should carry his own water
and provisions. Now, as no
one man could carry the water
he should use between well and
well, and it was more than pro-
bable that distance would be
doubled by some of the wells
being found dry ; and if that
was not the case, yet, as it was
impossible for a man to carry
his provisions, who could not
walk without any burden at all,
our situation seemed to be
most desperate.

The Bishareen alone seemed
to keep up his strength, and
was in excellent spirits. He
had attached himself, in a par-
ticular manner, to me, and with
a part of that very scanty rag,
which he had round his waist, he
had made a wrapper, very artifi-
cially, according to the manner
his countrymen, the Bishareen,
practise on such occasions.
This had greatly defended my
feet in the day, but the pain
occasioned by the cold in the
night was really scarce suffer-
able. I offered to free him
from the confinement of his
left hand which was chained to

some one of the company night
and day ; but he very sensibly
refused it, saying, 'Unchain
my hands when you load and
unload your camels, I cannot
then run away from you; for,
though you did not shoot me, I
should starve with hunger and
thirst ; but keep me to the end
of the journey as you began
with me; then I cannot mis-
behave, and lose the reward
which you say you are to give
me.'

From Umarack we came to
Umgwat, a large pool of excel-
lent water, sheltered from the
rays of the sun by a large rock.
A bird of the duck kind rose
from the spring as we ap-
proached, and flying straight
west, and rising as he flew, we
thought to be a sure proof that
his journey was a long one. He
vanished from our sight, with-
out descending, or seeking to
approach the earth, from which
I drew an unpleasant inference,
that we were yet far from the
Nile.

We left the well, and con-
tinued along a sandy valley,
which is called Waadi Umgwat.
This night it was told me that
Georgis, and the Turk Ismael,
were both so ill, and so despond-
ing, that they had resolved to
pursue the journey no further,
but submit to their destiny, as
they called it, and stay behind
and die. It was with the utmost
difficulty I could get them to
lay aside this resolution; and
the next morning I promised
they should ride by turns upon

BRUGES TRAVELS.

371

one of the camels, a thing that
none of us had yet attempted.

On the 25 th we aHghted at
El Haimer where we met a
troop of Arabs, all upon camels,
who proved to be Ababdd.
From them I had the direction
from Haimer to Syene, which
I found to be n.n.w., or more
northerly. On the 26th, when
we left Abou Heregi, we had
an unexpected entertainment,
which filled our hearts with a
very short-lived j oy. The whole
plain before us seemed thick
covered with green grass and
yellow daisies. We advanced
to the place with as much speed
as our lame condition would
suffer us ; but how terrible was
our disappointment, when we
found the whole of that verdure
to consist in senna and colo-
quintida, the most nauseous of
plants, and the most incapable
of being substituted as food for
man or beast.

At nine o'clock in the even-
ing we alighted at Saffieha,
which is a ridge of craggy
mountains to the s.E. and n.w.
The night here was immoder-
ately cold, and the wind north.
We were now very near a crisis,
one way or the other. Our
bread was consumed, so that
we had not sufficient for one
day more ; and though we had
camel's flesh, yet, by living so
long on bread and water, an
invincible repugnance arose
either to smell or taste it. As
our camels were at their last
gasp, we had taken so sparingly
of water, that, when we came

to divide it, we found it insuffi-
cient for our necessities, if Syene
was even so near as we con-
ceived it to be.

Georgis had lost one eye,
and was nearly blind in the
other. Ismael and he had both
become so stiff by being carried,
that they could not bear to set
their feet to the ground ; and I
may say for myself, that, though
I had supported the wounds in
my feet with a patience very
uncommon, yet they were ar-
rived at that height as to be
perfectly intolerable, and, as I
apprehended, on the point of
mortification. The bandage,
which the Bishareen had tied
about the hollow of my foot,
was now almost hidden by the
flesh swelling over it. Three
large wounds on the right foot
and two on the left, continued
open, whence a quantity of lymph
oozed continually. It was also
with the utmost difficulty we
could get out the rag, by cut
ting it to shreds with scissors.
The tale is both unpleasant
and irksome. Two soles which
remained from our sandals, the
upper leathers of which had
gone to pieces in the sand near
Gooz, were tied with a cotton
cloth very adroitly by the
Bishareen. But it seemed im-
possible that I could walk
farther, even with this assistance,
and therefore we determined to
throw away the quadrant, tele-
scopes, and timekeeper, and
save our lives by riding the
camels alternately. But Pro-
vidence had already decreed

I
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THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS

if- «■ *

that we should not terminate
this dangerous journey by our
own ordinary foresight and con-
trivance, but owe it entirely to
his visible support and inter-
position.

On the 27th, at half-past
five in the morning, we at-
temi)ted to raise our camels at
Safheha by every method that
we could devise, but all in
vain : only one of them could
get upon his legs, and that one
did not stand two minutes till
he kneeled down, and could
never be raised afterwards.
This the Arabs all declared to
be the effects of cold ; and yet
Fahrenheit's thermometer, an
hour before day, stood at 42°.
Every way we turned ourselves
death now stared us in the foce.
We had neither time nor
strength to waste, nor jirovisions
to support us. We then took
the small skins that had con-
tained our water, and filled
them as far as we thought a
man could carry them with ease;
but after all these shifts, there
was not enough to serve us
three days, at which I had esti-
mated our journey to Syene,
which still however was uncer-
tain. Finding, therefore, the
camels would not rise, we killed
two of them, and took as much
flesh as might serve for the
deficiency of bread, and, from
the stomach of each of the
camels, got about four gallons
of water, which the Bishareen
Arab managed with great dex-
terity. It is known to people
conversant with natural history,

that the camel has within him
reservoirs in which he can pre-
serve drink for any number of
days he is used to. In those
caravans, of long course, which
come from the Niger across the
desert of Selima, it is said that
each camel, by drinking, lays
in a store of water that will
sui)port him for forty days. I
will by no means be a voucher
of this account, which carries
with it an air of exaggeration ;
but fourteen or sixteen days, it
is well known, an ordinary
camel will live, though he hath
no fresh supply of water. When
he chews the cud, or when he
eats, you constantly see him
throw, from this repository,
mouthfuls of water to dilute his
food ; and nature has contrived
this vessel with such properties,
that the water within it never
putrifies nor turns unwhole-
some. It was indeed vapid,
and of a bluish cast, but had
neither taste nor smell.

Nothing but death was be-
fore our eyes ; and in these
dreadful moments of pain, suf-
fering, and despair, honour, in-
stead of relieving me, suggested
still what was to be an augmenta-
tion to my misfortune ; the feel-
ing this produced fell directly
upon me alone, and every other
individual of the company was
unconscious of it. The draw-
ings made at Palmyra and Baal-
bee for the King were, in many
parts of them, not advanced
farther than the outlines, which
I had carried with me, that, if
leisure or confinement should

BRUGES TRAVELS,

373

happen, 1 might finish them
iluring my travels in case of
failure of other employment, so
far at least, that on my return
through Italy they might be in
a state of reciuving further im-
provement, which might carry
them to that perfection 1 have
since been enabled to conduct
them. These were all to be
thrown away, with other not
less valuable papers, and, with
my quadrant, telescopes, and
time keeper, abandoneil to the
rude and ignorant hands of
robbers, or to be buried in the
sands. P>ery memorandum,
every description, sketch, or
observations, since I departed
from Badjoura and passed the
desert to Cosseir, till I reached
the present spot, were left in an
undigested heap, with our car-
rion-camels, at SafReha, while
there remained with me, in lieu
of all my memoranda, but this
mournful consideration, that I
was now to maintain the reality
of these my tedious perils, with
those who either did, or might
affect, from malice and envy, to
doubt ray veracity upon ray ipse
<//!r// alone, or abandon the repu-
tation of the travels which I had
made with so much courage,
labour, danger, and difficulty,
and which had been considered
so desperate and impracticable
to accomplish for more than
2000 years.

I would be understood not
to mean by this that my
thoughts were at such a time in
the least disturbed v/ith any
reflection on the paltry lies that

might be propagated in malig-
nant circles, which has each its
idol, and who, meeting, as they
say, for the advancement of
learning, employ themselves in
blasting the fame of those who
must be allowed to have sur-
passed ti em in every circum-
stance of intrepidity, fore-
thought, and fair achievement.
The censure of these lion-faced
and chicken-hearted critics
never entered as an ingredient
into my sorrows on that occa-
sion, in the sadness of my heart ;
if I had not possessed a share
of spirit enough to despise these,
the smallest trouble that oc-
curred in my travels must have
overcome a mind so feebly
armed. My sorrows were of
another kind ; that I should, of
course, be deprived of a con-
siderable part of an offering I
meant as a mark of duty to my
Sovereign ; that, with those
that knew and esteemed me, I
should be obliged to run in
debt for the credit of a whole
narrative of circumstances which
ought, from their importance to
history and geography, to have
a better foundation than the
mere memory of any man, con-
sidering the time and variety
of events which they embraced ;
and, above all, I may be allowed
to say, I felt for my country
that chance alone, in this age
of discovery, had robbed her
of the fairest garland of this
kind she ever was to wear,
which all her fleets, full of
heroes and men of science, in
all the oceans they might be

vmmk

\\\n

4:^

374

jriE ENcrtsir Exrr.oKERs,

dcRtinod to oxplore, woro in-
capable of rcplaring upon her
brow. These sad relleetions
were mine, and eonlined to
niy.self. We went five hours
anil a half this d;iy, and at
night came ti) W'aadi el AvmIi,
where are the Inst trees we had
seen since we lell I'll Maimer.

On the 2H(h we lelt \V;iadi
el Arab, and entered into a
narrow delile, with rugged but
not high n\ountains on each
side. About twelve o'clock we
came to a few trees in the bed
of a torrent. Ill as 1 was, .after
refreshing myself with my last
bread and water, I set out in
the afternoon to gain a rising
groimd. 1 arrived with great
ditliculty and pain, on the top
of a moderate hill, but was (>x-
ceedingly disappointed at not
seeing the river to the west-
ward ; however, the vicinity of
the Nile was very evident by
the high uniform mountains
that confine its torrent when it
comes out of Nubia. The
evening was still, so that sitting
down and covering my eyes
with my hands, not to be di-
verted by external objects, 1
listened and heard distinctly
the noise of waters, which 1
supposed to be the cataract,
but it seemed to the southward
of us, as if we had i)assed it.
I was, however, fully satisfied
that it was the Nile.

I communicated to them this
joyful news, which was con-
lirmed by Idris. A cry of
joy followed this annunciation.
Christians, Moors, and Turks,

.ill burst into floods of tears
kissing and embracing one
another, and thanking (lodlor
his mercy in this deliverance.

On the 29th we lell Ahou
Seielat ; about nine, we saw
the palnvtrees at Assouan ; and
a (|uarter before ten arrived in
a grove of palm-trees 011 the
north of that city.

ClIAPri'-R xvir.

HcUint hoincwnniR tlirounh V'^yi't, uiid
arttvul (It MnrHcillcN.

Without congratulating one
another on their escape and
sale arrival, as they had the
night before at Abou Seielat,
my comi)anions, with one ac-
cord, ran to the Nile to drink.
I sat my.self down under the
shade of the palm-trees to re-
collect myself. It was very hot,
and I fell into a profound sleep.
Hut Hagi Ismael, who was
neither sleepy nor thirsty, hut
exceedingly hungry, had gone
into the town in search of some-
body that would give him food.
He had not gone far before his
green turban and ragged ap
pearance struck some brethren
janizaries who met him, one of
whom asked him the reason of
his being there, and whenee he
came 1 Ismael, in a violent pas-
sion, and broken Arabic, said
that he was a janizary of Cairo,
was last come from hell, where
there was not one devil, but
thousands, from a country of
Kafrs that called themselves

BRUCE ^ TRAVELS,

)

375

MuRHuliiianH ; tliat he had wnlkcd
(liroiiKh a desert where the earth
was on lire, and the wind wan
fl.imc, and in fear of dying every
(lay willi thirst and hunger.

The soldier, who heard him
talk in this disjointed, raving
manner, desired him to go with
Iiim to tiic Aga. This was the
very thing that Ismael wanted.
He only desired time to ao
(juaint his companions. ' I lave
you companions,' says the sol-
(licr, 'from such a country?'
' Companions I' says Ismael.

' What do you imagine

I came this journey alone?'
' If the journey,' says the man,
' is such as you describe it, 1
do not think many would go
with you ; well, go along with
my companions, and I will seek
yours ; but how shall I find
them V * Go,' says Ismael, * to
the palm-trees, and when you
find the tallest man you ever
saw in your life, more ragged
and dirty than I am, call him
Yagoube, and desire him to
come along with you to the
Aga.'

The soldier accordingly found
me still sitting at the root of the
palm-tree. The servants, who
had now satisfied their thirst,
and were uncertain what was
next to be done, were sitting
together at some distance from
me. They began to feel their
own weariness, and were in-
clined to leave me to a little
repose, which they hoped might
enable me to overcome mine.
For my own part, a dulness
and insensibility, an universal

relaxation of spirits which I
cannot describe, a kind of stu-
por, or palsy of the mind, had
overtaken me, almost to a de-
privation of understanding.

I'Vom this stu|>or I was awa-
kened by the arrival of the
soldier, who cried out to us at
some distance, * Vou nuist come
to the Aga to the castle, all of
you, as fast as you can ; the
'I'urk is gone before you.' * It
will not be very fast, if we even
should do that,' said I ; * the
Turk has ridden two days on a
camel, and I have walked on
foot, and do not know at pre-
sent if I can walk at all.' 1
endeavoured, at the same time,
to rise and stand upright, which
I did not succeed in, after
several attempts, without great
pain and difficulty. I observed
the soldier was in prodigious
astonishment at my ai)pear-
ance, habit, and, above all, at
my distress. ' We shall get
people in town,' says he, • to
assist you, and, if you cannot
walk, the Aga will send you a
mule'

The Turk and the Greeks
made a very '^couth appear-
ance. Ismae and Michael
had in their hands two mon-
strous blunderbusses. The
whole town crowded after us
while we walked to the castle,
and could not satiate them-
selves with admiring a company
of such an extraordinary ap-
pearance. The Aga was struck
dumb upon our entering the
room, and told me afterwards
that he thought me a full foot

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376

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

taller than any man he had ever
seen in his life.

Aga, * Where are those let-
ters and firman V Va. * Where
they may be now I know not ;
we left them at Saffieha with all
the rest of our baggage ; our
camels died, our provisions
and water were exhausted ; we,
therefore, left everything be-
hind us, and made this one
effort to save our lives. It is
the first favour I am to ask of
you, when I shall have rested
myself two days, to allow me
to get fresh camels, to go in
search of my letters and bag-
gage V Aga. ' God forbid I
should ever suffer you to do so
mad an action ! You are come
hither by a thousand miracles,
and after this will you tempt
God and go back? We shall
take it for granted what those
papers contain. You will have
no need of a firman between
this and Cairo.' Ya. * We shall
leave it upon that footing for
the present. Allow me only to
say, I am a servant of the king
of England, travelling, by his
order, and for my own and my
countrymen's information ; that
I had rather risk my life twenty
times than lose the papers I
have left in the desert.' Aga.
* Go in peace, and eat and
sleep.— ^Carry them,' says he,
speaking to his attendants, * to
the house of the Schourbatchie.'
Thus ended our first interview
with the Aga, who put us in pos-
session of a very good house.

Having kept the house five
or six days, and being rested

and refreshed, we set out one
night, after it was dark, for the
recovery of my baggage. We
had the unspeakable satisfac-
tion to find our quadrant and
whole baggage, with which we
loaded five camels; and there
were three camels more, upon
which we rode by turns.

Here then we were to close
our travels through the desert,
by discharging the debts con-
tracted in it. We had now got
our credit and letters, which
furnished us with money. I
began by recompensing Idris
Welled Hamran, the Hybeer,
for his faithful services. The
next thing was to keep our
faith with our prisoner. I made
Idris choose him a good camel,
clothed him anew, and gave
him dresses for his two wives,
with a load of dora. I then
despatched him with the Aga's
protection. The poor fellow,
with tears in his eyes, declared,
if I would permit him, he would
only go back and deliver up
what I had given him to his
family, and return to me at
Syene, and follow me as my
servant wherever I should go.

Although we had wherewithal
to have bought proper dresses,
I thought it better to do this
when we should come to Cairo.
We got each of us a coarse
barracan, for cleanhness only,
aiid a pair of trousers. I fur-
nished Ismael with a new green
turban, to give us some weight
with the vulgar during our voy-
age down the Nile. I then
went to my friend, the Aga, to

BRUGES TRAVELS.

377

concert the measures that re-
mained necessary for leaving
Assouan and beginning our jour-
ney. He testified the [ "eatest
joy at seeing us again. He
had been informed of our whole
expedition by his servants the
night before, and praised us, in
the presence of his attendants,
for our alacrity, steadiness, and
courage, under the great fa-
tigues of travelling. Ismael had
told him of the trees and plants
which I painted, and he ex-
pressed great curiosity to see
them when I should find it con-
venient. From the known dis-
position of those people, that
what they desire must be granted
instantly, I asked him whether
he was at leisure or not to see
them ? He said, ' By all means ;
it was a good time.' I then sent
Michael, my servant, for a book
of trees, and one of fishes.

As Michael had brought the
drawings, I turned to the trees
and flowers. The Aga was
greatly pleased with them, and
laughed, putting them up to his
nose, as if smelling them. They
did not offend him, as they were
not the likeness of anything that
had life. I then showed him a
fish, and reached the book to
an old man with a long beard,
but who had a very cheerful
countenance. He looked at it
with great surprise. The Aga
had several times called him
his father. * Do not be angry,'
says he to me, * if I ask you a
question.' I will answer all
your questions with pleasure,'
said I, * and, in your turn, you

must not take the answer ill.'
' No, no,' said two or three of
them, * Hagi Soliman knows
better.' Soliman. * Do you not
believe,' says he, * that that fish
will rise against you at the day
of judgment V Ya. * I do not
know, but I shall be very much
surprised if it does.' * I assure
you he will,' says Hagi Soliman.
Ya. * Be it so ; it is a matter of
indifference to me.* Sol. ' Do
you know what God will say to
you about that fish? Shall I
tell you V Ya. * I have not the
least idea, and you will oblige
me.* Sol. * God will say to you,
Did you make that fish % What
will you answer V Ya, * I will
answer, I did.* Sol. * He will
say to you again, Make a soul
to it.* Ya. * I will answer, I
cannot* Sol. * He will say.
Why did you make that fish's
body, when you was not capa-
ble to give it a soul? What
can you answer then?' Ya. *I
made that body, because thou
gavest me talents and capacity
to do it. I do not make the
soul, because thou hast denied
me power and ability, and re-
served that to thyself only.'
Sol. ' Do you think he will be
contented with that answer?'
Ya, * I do most certainly think
so. It is truth, and I do not
think a more direct one can be
given.' Sol. * Aha ! the Moul-
lah would tell you that will not
do; painting thmgs that have
life is idolatry, and the punish-
ment is hell-fire.* Ya. * Pa-
tience, then, my case is despe-
rate, for it is not a sin I intend

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378

THE ENG/JS/I EXPLORERS.

to repent of.' 'I'hus ended this
curious discussion, and we went
away in perfect good luimour
one with the other. A number
of the better sort drank coffee
with me in tlie evening. The
Aga sent me two sheep, and,
observing my feet much in-
flamed and wounded, made me
likewise a present of a pair of
slippers of soft Turkey leather,
to defend them from the incle-
mency of tiie weather.

It was the nth of December
when we left Syene — we cannot
say sailed, for our mast being
down, we went with the current
and the oars when tiie wind was
against us. In our voyage down
the Nile we had but very indif-
ferent weather, clear throughout
the day, exceedingly cold in the
night and morning ; but, being
better clothed, better fed than
in the desert, and under cover,
we were not so sensible of it,
though the thermometer showed
the same degrees.

I had given to each of my
servants, to Soliman and to the
Greeks likewise, a common
blanket, called a barracan, of
the warmest and coarsest kind,
with a waistcoat and trousers
of the same ; and all of us, I
believe, had consigned to the
Nile the clothes in which we
passed the desert. The mean-
ness of our appearance did not
at all shock us, since nothing
contributes more to safety in
a country like this. I passed
Shekh Nimmer not without re-
gret, but it was night, and I
was very ill.

On the 191I1 we arrived at
How, where the intermitting
fever, which I had at Syene
again returned with unusual
violence. As we were within a
short distance of Furshout, I
despatched one of the liar-
barins, with a camel to the
monastery of Fursnout, reciuest-
ing the fathers to send me some
wheat bread and rice. Uj)on
his arrival he was treated as an
impostor, the fathers declaring
that they knew on good au-
thority that I was drowned in
the Red Sea, while another
was equally positive that my
death had happened from rob-
bers in Abyssinia. On the
20th we arrived at Fursbout,
when some awkward apologies
]\assed at meeting them. If
these fathers, the sole object
of whose mission was the con-
version of Ethiopia and Nubia,
were averse before to the under-
taking their mission, they did
not seem to increase in keen-
ness from the circumstances
which they learned from me.

On the 20th we arrived at
Furshout, though Hagi Ismael's
invitation, and the unkindness
of the fathers, had strongly
tempted me to take up my
quarters at Badjoura to guard
him against the pleurisy, and
the mistaking again the month
of Ramadan. On the 27th
we sailed for Cairo.

On the loth of January 1773,
we arrived at the convent of St.
George there. If the capuchins
in Furshout received us coldly,
these Caloyeros of St. George

JUa/C/i'S TRAVELS.

379

kept still at a greater distance.
It was by violence that we got
admittance into the convent,
lint this difficulty was to be but
of short duration ; the morn-
ing was to end it, and give us a
sight of our friends, and in the
meantime we were to sleep
soundly.

\\\x\. we forgot that we were
at Cairo, no longer to depend
upon the ordinary or rational
course of events, but upon the
arbitrary oppressive will of irra-
tional tyrants. Accordingly I
had, for about an hour, lost
myself in the very uncommon
enjoyment of a most profound
sleep, when I was awakened by
the noise of a number of strange
tongues; and, before I could
recollect myself sufficiently to
account what this strange tu-
mult might be, eleven or twelve
soldiers, very like the worst of
banditti, surrounded the carpet
whereon I was asleep.

' I was told that Ismael, that
you brought from Habesh, has
been with the Bey, and he wants
to sec you.'

I had no shirt on, nor had I
been master of one for fourteen
months past. I had a waist-
coat of coarse, brown, woollen
blanket, trousers of the same,
and an upper blanket of the
same wrapt about me, and in
these I was lying. I had cut
off my long beard at Furshout,
but still wore a prodigious
mustache. I had a thin, white,
muslin cloth round a red Turk-
ish cap, which served me for a
night-cap, a girdle of coarse

woollen cloth that wrapt round
my waist eight or ten times,
and swaddled me up from the
middle to the pit of my stomach,
but without either shoes or
stockings. In the left of my
girdle I had two Knglish pistols
mounted M'ith silver, and, on
the right hand, a common
crooked Abyssinian knife, with
a handle of a rhinoceros horn.
Thus equipped, I was ushered
by the banditti, in a dark and
very windy night, to the door of
the convent.

The Sarach, or commander
of the party, rode upon a mule,
and, as a mark of extreme con-
sideration, he had brought an
ass for me, with sods, or a car-
saddle upon its back. The
beast had not a light load, but
was strong enough. The diffi-
culty was, its having no saddle,
and there were no stirrups, so
that my feet would have touched
the ground had I not held them
up, which I did with the utmost
pain and difficulty, as they
were all inflamed and sore, and
full of holes from the inflam-
mation in the desert. Nobody
can ever know, from a more
particular description, the hun-
dredth part of the pain I suffered
that night I was happy it was
all external. I had hardened
ray heart ; it was strong, vigor-
ous, and whole, from the near
prospect I had of leaving this
most accursed country, and
being again restored to the
conversation of men.

Few people walk in the streets
of Cairo at night ; some we did

;t.'i '

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38o

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

meet, who made us way, only
observing to each other, when
we passed, that I was some
thief the Janizary Aga had
apprehended. In this most dis-
agreeable manner I had rode
near three miles, when I arrived
at the Bey's palace. There
all was light and all was bustle,
as if it had been noon-day. I
alighted with great difficulty
from my disconsolate ass, but
with much greater pleasure than
ever I mounted the finest horse
in the world.

I was introduced to Ma-
homet Bey Abou Dahab. He
was son-in-law to Ali Bey, my
friend, whom he had betrayed,
and forced to fly into Syria,
where he still was at the head
of a small army, He had been
present with him the day I had
my last audience, when he was
plainly dressed as a soldier. A
large sofa, or rather two large
sofas, furnished with cushions,
lookup a great part of a spacious
saloon. They were of the
richest crimson and gold, ex-
cepting a small yellow and gold
one like a pillow, upon which
he was leaning, supporting his
head with his left hand, and
sitting just in the corner of the
two sofas. Though it was late,
he was in full dress, his girdle,
turban, and handle of his dagger,
all shining with the finest bril-
liants, and a finer sprig of
diamonds upon his turban.
The room was light as day,
with a number of wax-torches
or candles. I found myself
humbled at the sight of so much

greatness and affluence. My
bare feet were so dirty, I had
a scruple to set them upon
the rich Persian carpets with
which the whole floor was
covered, and the pain that
walking at all occasioned gave
me altogether so crouching and
cringing a look, that the Bey
upon seeing me come in, cried
out, * What's that ? Who is that 1
From whence is he come 1 ' His
secretary told him, and imme-
diately upon that I said to him
in Arabic, with a low bow,
* Mahomet Bey, I am Yagoube,
an Englishman; better known
to your father-in-law than to
you, very unfit to appear before
you in the condition I am,
having been forced out of my
bed by your soldiers in the
middle of the only sound sleep
I have had for many years.' He
seemed to be exceedingly
shocked at this, and said to his
attendants in Turkish, 'My
people ! who dares do this \ it
is impossible.' Those that were
privy to the message reminded
him of his sending for me, and
the cause, which he had forgot
They told him what Ismael had
said, and what the Copht, the
tax-gatherer, had mentioned, all
very much in my favour. He
turned himself with great vio-
lence on the sofa, and said, * I
remember the man well, but it
was not a man like this ; this is
bad payment indeed. I was
going to ask you, Yagoube,' says
he, 'who those were that had
brought you out in such distress,
and I find that I have done it

BRUGES TRAVELS.

381

! I

myself; but take my word, as I
am a Mussulman, I did not in-
tend it ; I did not know you

was ill'

My feet, at that time, gave me
such violent pain, that I was
like to faint, and could not
answer \ but as there were two
flowered velvet cushions upon
one of the steps above the
floor, I was obliged to kneel
down upon one of them, as I
did not .know how sitting
might be taken. The Bey im-
mediately saw this, and cried
out, *What nowl what is the
matter r I saw he thought I
had some complaint to make, or
something to ask. I showed
him my feet in a terrible situa-
tion, the effects, I told him, of
my passing through the desert.
He desired me immediately to
sit down on the cushion. * It
is the coldness of the night, and
hanging upon the ass,' said I,
•occasions this; the pain will
be over presently.' * You are an
unfortunate man,' says the Bey ;
'whatever I mean to do for
your good, turns to your mis-
fortune.' * I hope not, sir,' said
I J * the pain is now over, and I
am able to hear what inay be
your commands.' * I have many
questions to ask you,' says the
Bey. *You have been very
kind to poor Ismael, who is a
Sherriffe, and to my Christian
servant likewise ; and I wanted
to see what I could do for you ;
but this is not the time; go
home and sleep, and I will send
for you. Eat and drink, and
fear nothing. My father-in-law

is gone, but by the grace of
God, I am here in his place ;
that is enough.' I bowed and
took my leave.

There was a slave very richly
dressed, who had a small bas-
ket with oranges in his hand,
who came out at another door,
as if from the Bey, and said to
me, *Here, Yagoube, here is
some fruit for you.*

In that country it is not the
value of the present, but the
character and power of the per-
son that sends it, that creates
the value ; the 20,000 men that
slept in Cairo that night would
have thought the day the Bey
gave them, at an audience, the
worst oiange in that basket, the
happiest one in their life. It
is a mark of friendship and pro-
tection, and the best of all
assurances. Well accustomed
to ceremonies of this kind, I
took a single orange, bowing
low to the man that gave it
me, who whispered me, * Put
your hand to the bottom ; the
best fruit is there, the whole is
for you ; it is from the Bey.' A
purse was exceedingly visible.
It was a large crimson one
wrought with gold, not netted,
or transparent as ours are, but
liker a stocking. I lifted it out ;
there were a considerable num-
ber of sequins in it ; I put it in
my mouth and kissed it, in re-
spect from whence it came, and
said to the young man that
held the basket, 'This is, in-
deed, the best fruit, at least
commonly thought so, but it is
forbidden fruit for me. The

!•',

382

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

w^^

Bey's protection and favour is
more agreeable to me than a
thousand such purses would be.'

The servant showed a pro-
digious surprise. In short,
nothing can be more incredible
to a Turk, whatever his quality
may be, than to think that any
man can refuse money offered
him. Although I expressed
myself with the utmost grati-
tude and humility, finding it
impossible to prevail upon me,
the thing appeared so extraor-
dinary, that a beggar in a bar-
racan, dressed like those slaves
who carry water, and wash the
stairs, should refuse a purse of
gold, he could no longer con-
sent to my going away, but
carried me back to where the
Bey was still sitting. He was
looking at a large piece of yel-
low satin. He asked the usual
questions, *How now? What
is the matter 1 ' To which his
slave gave him a long answer
in Turkish. He laid down the
satin, turned to me and said,
* Why, what is this % You must
surely want money ; that is not
your usual dress % What ! does
this proceed from your pride ? '

* Sir,' answered I, * may I beg
leave to say two words to you ?
There is not a man to whom
you ever gave money more
grateful, or more sensible of
your generosity in offering it
me, than I am at present. The
reason of my waiting upon you
in this dress was, because it is
only a few hours ago since I
left the boat. I am not, how-
ever, a needy man, or one that

is distressed for money ; that
being the case, and as you have
already my prayers for your
charity, I would not deprive
you of those of the widow and
the orphan, whom that money
may very naturally relieve.
Julian and Rosa, the first house
in Cairo, will furnish me with
what money I require ; besides
I am in the service of the
greatest King in Europe, who
would not fail to .supply me
abundantly if my necessities re-
quired it, as I am travelling for
his service.' *This being so,'
says the Bey, with great looks
of complacency, * what is in my
power to do for you 1 You are
a stranger now where I com-
mand; you are my father's
stranger likewise, and this is a
double obligation upon me:
What shall I do?' 'There are,'
said I, * things that you could
do, and you only, if it were not
too great presumption - for me
to name them.' * By no means ;
if I can, I will do it ; if not, I
will tell you so.'

I saw, by the Bey's manner of
speaking, that I had risen con-
siderably in character in his
opinion since my refusal of the
money. * I have, sir,' said I, * a
number of countrymen, brave,
rich, and honest, that trade in
India, where my King has great
dominions.' He said, as half to
himself, ' True, we know that.'
* Now there are many of these
that come to Jidda. I left
there eleven large ships belong-
ing to them, who, according to
treaty, pay high duties to the

BRUGES TRAVELS.

)

383

custom-house, and, from the
dictates of their own generosity
and magnificence, give large
presents to the prince and to
his servants for protection ; but
the sherriffe of Mecca has of
late laid duty upon duty, and
extortion upon extortion, till
the English are at the point of
giving up the trade altogether.'
'Why,' says the Bey, *when
they say you are such a brave
nation, why don't you beat
down Jidda about his ears?
Have you no guns in your ships?'
' Our ships, sir,' said I, ' are all
armed for war ; stout vessels,
full of brave officers and skilful
seamen : Jidda, and much
stronger places than Jidda,
could not resist one of them
an hour. But Jidda is no part
of our dominions ; and in
countries belonging to stranger
princes we carry ourselves
humbly, and trade in peace, and
never use force till obliged to it
in our own defence.' * And what
would you have me to do ? '
says he. *Our people,' replied
I, 'have/taken a thing into
their head, which I am satisfied
they are well founded in : They
say, that if you would permit
them to bring their ships and
merchandise to Suez, and not
to Jidda, they might then de-
pend upon your word, that if
they were punctual in fulfilling
their engagements, they should
never find you failing in yours.'
'That they shall never have to
say of me,' says the Bey ; * all
this is to my advantage. But
you do not tell me what I am

to do for you V 'Be steady,
sir,' said I, * in your promise ;
it IS now late, but I will come
to settle the duties with you ;
and be assured, that when it is
known at home what, at my
private desire, you have done
for my country in general, it
will be the greatest honour that
ever a prince conferred on me
in my life.' * Why, let it be so,'
says he ; * bring coffee ; see
you admit him whenever he
calls ; bring a caftan.' * Coffee
was accordingly brought, and I
was clothed in my caftan. I
went down -stairs with my bar-
racan hid under it, and was
received with greater respect
by the bystanders than when
I came up ; the man was the
same, but it was the caftan that
made the difference.

I was twice after this with
Mahoniet Bey, in which time I
concluded the agreement in
favour of the Enghsh merchants.
Instead of 14 per cent, and an
enormous present, the Bey
agreed for 8, and no present
at all ; and, at his own expense,
sent the firman to Mocha, to-
gether with my letter. Mr.
Greig, Captain Thornhill's lieu-
tenant, whom I have mentioned
as having seen at Jidda, was the
first who came down the Gulf
to Suez in the Minerva, and in
the whole voyage behaving in
a manner that did honour to
his country. Not one ship
has ever yet entered the Red
Sea, as 1 am informed, with-
-it is a loose garment like a night-gown ;
it is a gift of ceremony, and mark of favour.

' MA

'Mr

mmm.

■m

384 THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

out a copy of my letter and
finnan.

Mahomet Bey being about
to depart to give battle to his
father-in-law, I thought it was
no longer convenient for me to
stay at Cairo ; I went therefore
the last time to the Bey, who
pressed me very much to go to
the camp with him. I was suf-
ficiently cured, however, of any
more Don Quixote undertak-
ings. I excused myself, with
every mark of gratitude, and
profession of attachment ; and
I shall never forget his last
words, as the handsomest thing
ever said to me, and in the
politest manner. *You won't
go,' says he, * and be a soldier :
What will you do at home?
You are not an India mer-
chant?' I said, * No.' *Have
you no other trade nor occupa-
tion, but that of travelling?' I
said, * That was my occupa-
tion.' * Ali Bey, my father-in-
law,' replied he, * often observed
there was never such a people
as the English j no other nation
on earth could be compared to
them, and none had so many
great men in all professions, by
sea and land : I never under-
stood this till now ; that I see
it must be so, when your King
cannot find other employment
for such a man as you, but
sending him to perish by hun-
ger and thirst in the sands, or
to have his throat cut by the
lawless barbarians of the desert'

I saw that the march of the
Bey was a signal for all Egypt's
being presently in disorder, and

I did not delay a moment to
set out for Alexandria, where I
arrived without anything re-
markable. There I found my
ship ready; and the day after
set sail. Walking on the quay,
I was accosted by a friend of
mine, a Turk, a man of some
consequence. He told me it
was whispered that the Beys
had met, and that Ali Bey had
been totally defeated, wounded,
and taken. * We are friends,' says
he ; ' you are a Christian ; and
this connection of the Bey with
the Russians has exasperated
the lower sort of people greatly
against you all. What is a day
or two to you, now you are going
at any rate? Be advised; go
on board your ship early in the
afternoon, and make your captain
haul out beyond the Diam ond, for
mischief is at hand.' My cap-
tain was as ready as I ; and we
accordingly hauled out beyond
the Diamond. The weather
was so clear, and the wind so
directly fair, that, contrary to
custom, we set sail that very
night, after being witnesses thai
the mischief had begun, by the
number of lights and repeated
firings of muskets we heard
from the town.

Our vessel sprung a leak off
Derna on the coast, where I
was once before shipwrecked.
The wind being contrary, we
put about ship, and stood be-
fore it for Cyprus; our vessel
filled apace, and we were in-
tending to put a cable round
her waist, when the leak was
found. A violent storm over-

BRUGES TRAVELS.

385

took u the night after. I ap-
prehend our ship was old, and the
captain was again much alarmed,
but the wind calmed next day.
I was exceedingly distressed
with the Guinea-worm in my
leg, when the captain came and
sat down by my bed-side.
' Now the matter is over,' says
he, 'will you tell me one thing]
it is mere curiosity ; I will not
let any one know.' * Before I
tell you,' said I, *I dare say
you will not. What is it?'
' How many of those things,
you know,* says he, winking,
' have you on board ?' ' Upon
the word of a man, said I, ' I
do not know what you mean.'
* Ces morts! these dead men !
How many have you in these
trunks] for last night the
crew was going to throw all
your boxes overboard.' * I can
tell you, captain,' said I, 'that
you and they had better been
in bed sick of a fever, than
been guilty of that unprovoked

violence. Brutal comme un
Fravenfaiy is a proverb even
in your own country ; I would
not wish to have such a con-
firmation of the truth of it.
But there are my keys ; in case
another gale should come,
choose out of my trunks the
one that, according to your
idea and theirs, is likeliest to
have a dead man in it, and
then take another; and the
first one you find, throw them
all overboard.' I forced him to
open two of the chests ; and
lucky it was, as I believe ; for
off the island of Malta we had
another violent gale, but which
did us no damage. At last,
after a passage of about three
weeks, we landed happily at
Marseilles.

After all, though we exalt
fortune into a divinity, the true
good luck is prudence :

Nullum nuinen abest si sit prudentkt ; sed te,
Nos facimus, Fortuna, deant, coeloque loca-
mus.

Jl'VENAL

' is

vl?^^

Ik I

2 B

LIFE AND TRAVELS OF
MUNGO PARK.

TRAVELS IN THE INTERIOR OF AFRICA.

CHAPTER I.

Soon after my return from the
East Indies in 1793, having
learned that the noblemen and
gentlemen associated for the
purpose of prosecuting dis-
coveries in the interior of
Africa were desirous of engag-
ing a person to explore that
continent, by the way of the
Gambia river, I took occasion,
through means of the President
of the Royal Society, to whom
I had the honour to be known,
of offering myself for that ser-
vice. I had been informed
that a gentleman of the name
of Houghton, a captain in the
army, and formerly fort-major
at Goree, had already sailed to
the Gambia, under the direc-
tion of the Association, and
that there was reason to appre-
hend he had fallen a sacrifice to
the climate, or perished in some
contest with the natives. But

886

this intelligence, instead of de-
terring me from my purpose,
animated me to persist in the
offer of my services with the
greater solicitude. I had a
passionate desire to examine
into the productions of a country
so little known, and to become
experimentally acquainted with
the modes of life and character
of the natives. I knew that I
was able to bear fatigue, and I re-
lied on my youth and the strength
of my constitution to preserve
me from the effects of the
climate. The salary which the
committee allowed was suffi-
ciently large, and I made no
stipulation for future reward.
If I should perish in my jour-
ney, I was willing that my
hopes and expectations should
perish with me ; and if I should
succeed in rendering the geo-
graphy of Africa more familiar
to my countrymen, and in
opening to their ambition and

PARKS LIFE AND TRA VELS.

387

instead of de-

ambition and

industry new sources of wealth
and new channels of commerce,
I knew that I was in the hands
of men of honour, who would
not fail to bestow that remune-
ration which my successful ser-
vices should appear to them to
merit. The committee of the
Association having made such
inquiries as they thought neces-
sary, declared themselves satis-
fied with the qualifications that
I possessed, and accepted me
for the service ; and, with that
liberality which on all occasions
distinguishes their conduct, gave
me every encouragement which
it was in their power to grant,
or which I could with propriety
ask.

It was at first proposed that
I should accompany Mr. James
Willis, who was then recently
appointed consul atSenegambia,
and whose countenance in that
capacity, it was thought, might
have served and protected me ;
but Government afterwards re-
scinded his appointment, and I
lost that advantage. The kind-
ness of the committee, however,
supplied all that was necessary.
Being favoured by the secretary
of the Association, the late
Henry Beaufoy, Esq., with a
recommendation to Dr. John
Laidley {a gentleman who had
resided many years at an English
factory on the banks of the
Gambia), and furnished with a
letter of credit on him for £200,
I took my passage in the brig
Endeavour — a small vessel trad-
ing to the Gambia for bees'
wax and ivory, commanded by

Captain Richard Wyatt — and I
became impatient for my de-
parture.

We sailed from Portsmouth
on the 22d day of May 1795.
On the 4th of June we saw
the mountains over Mogadore,
on the coast of Africa ; and on
the 2ist of the same month,
after a pleasant voyage of thirty
days, we anchored at Jillifrey, a
town on the northern bank of
the river Gambia, opposite to
James's Island, where the En-
glish had formerly a small fort.

The kingdom of Barra, in
which the town of Jillifrey is
situated, produces great plenty
of the necessaries of life ; but
the chief trade of the inhabi-
tants is in salt — which com-
modity they carry up the river
in canoes as high as Barra-
conda, and bring down in re-
turn Indian corn, cotton cloths,
elephants' teeth, small quantities
of gold dust, etc. The num-
ber of canoes and people con-
stantly employed in this trade
makes the king of Barra more
formidable to Europeans than
any other chieftain on the river :
and this circumstance probabl)'
encouraged him to establish
those exorbitant duties which
traders of all nations are obliged
to pay at entry, amounting to
nearly ^20 on every vessel,
great and small. These duties
or customs are generally col-
lected in person by the Alkaid,
or governor of Jillifrey, and he
is attended on these occasions
by a numerous train of depend-
ants, among whom are found

^'^k'

\ .<

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•' Hi

388

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

!l!

many who, by their frequent
intercourse with the English,
have acquired a smattering of
our language : but they are
commonly very noisy and very
troublesome — begging for every-
thing they fancy with such
earnestness and importunity,
that traders, in order to get
quit of them, are frequently
obliged to grant their requests.

On the 23d we departed from
Jillifrey, and proceeded to Vin-
tain, a town situated about two
miles up a creek on the
southern side of the river. This
place is much resorted to by
Europeans on account of the
great quantities of bees' wax
which are brought hither for
sale; the wax is collected in
the woods by the Feloops, a
wild and unsociable race of
people. Their country, which
is of considerable extent,
abounds in rice; and the na-
tives supply the traders, both
on the Gambia and Cassamansa
rivers, with that article, and
also with goats and poultry, on
very reasonable terms. The
honey which they collect is
chiefly used by themselves in
making a strong intoxicating
liquor, much the same as the
mead which is produced from
honey in Great Britain.

In their traffic with Euro-
peans, the Feloops generally
employ a factor or agent of the
Mandingo nation, who speaks
a little English, and is acquaint-
ed with the trade of the river.
This broker makes the bargain ;
and, with the connivance of

the European, receives a certain
part only of the payment, which
he gives to his employer as the
whole ; the remainder (which
is very truly called the clieating
money) he receives when the
Feloop is gone, and appro-
priates to himself as a reward
for his trouble.

The language of the Feloops
is appropriate and peculiar;
and as their trade is chiefly
conducted, as hath been ob-
served, by Mandingoes, the
Europeans have no inducement
to learn it.

The numerals are as fol-
low : —

One, Enory.

Two, Sickaba, or Cookaba.

Three, Sisajee.

Four, Sibakeer.

Five, Footuck.

Six, Footuck- Enory.

Seven, Footuck-Cookaba.

Eight, Footuck-Sisajee.

Nine, Footuck-Sibakeer.

Ten, Sibankonyen.

On the 26 th we left Vintain,
and continued our course up
the river, anchoring whenever
the tide failed us, and frequently
towing the vessel with the boat.
The river is deep and muddy ;
the banks are covered with
impenetrable thickets of man-
grove; and the whole of the
adjacent country appears to be
flat and swampy.

The Gambia abounds with
fish, some species of which are
excellent food ; but none of
them that I recollect are known
in Europe. At the entrance

PANICS LIFE AND TEA VELS.

389

from the sea, sharks are found
in great abundance, and, higher
up, alligators and the hippopo-
tamus (or river-horse) are very
numerous.

In six days after leaving Vin-
tain we reached Jonkakonda,
a place of considerable trade,
where our vessel was to take in
part of her lading. The next
morning the several European
traders came from their differ-
ent factories to receive their
letters, and learn the nature
and amount of the cargo ; and
the captain despatched a mes-
senger to Dr. Laid ley to inform
him of my arrival. He came
to Jonkakonda the morning fol-
lowing, when I delivered him
Mr. Beaufoy's letter, and he
gave me a kind invitation to
spend my time at his house
until an opportunity should
offer of prosecuting my journey.
This invitation was too accept-
able to be refused, and being
furnished by the Doctor with a
horse and guide, I set out from
Jonkakonda at daybreak on the
5 th of July, and at eleven o'clock
arrived at Pisania, where I was
accommodated with a room and
other conveniences in the Doc-
tor's house.

Pisania is a small village in
the king of Yany's dominions,
established by British subjects
as a factory for trade, and in-
habited solelv by them and their
black servants. It is situated
the banks of the Gambia,

sixteen miles above Jonkakon-
da. The white residents, at the
time of my arrival there, con-

sisted only of Dr. Laidley, and
two gentlemen who were bro-
thers, of the name of Ainsley ; but
their domestics were numerous.
They enjoyed perfect security
under the king's protection, and
being highly esteemed and re-
spected by the natives at large,
wanted no accommodation or
comfort which the country could
supply, and the greatest part of
the trade in slaves, ivory, and
gold was in their hands.

Being now settled for some
time at my ease, my first ob-
ject was to learn the Mandingo
tongue, being the language in
almost general use throughout
this part of Africa, and without
which I was fully convinced that
I never could acquire an exten-
sive knowledge of the country
or its inhabitants. In this pur-
suit I was greatly assisted by
Dr. Laidley.

In researches of this kind,
and in observing the manners
and customs of the natives, in a
country so little known to the
nations of Europe, and furnished
with so many striking and un-
common objects of nature, my
time passed not unpleasantly,
and I began to flatter myself
that I had escaped the fever, or
seasoning, to which Europeans,
on their first arrival in hot cli-
mates, are generally subject.
But on the 31st of July I im-
prudently exposed myself to
the night-dew in observing an
eclipse of the moon, with a
view to determine the longitude
of the place j the next day I
found myself attacked with a

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390

THE ENCLISH EXPLORERS.

sniiirt fcvor and (Iclirium, ami
such an illnoss lollowcd, as ron-
tnicd luc lo the house (huiiin
the greatest part of August. My
recovery was very slow, hut \
cm! traced every short interval
of convalescence lo walk out,
and make myself actjuainted
with the productions of the
country.

'I'he country itself being an
inunense level, and very gene-
rally covered with wood, i)rc-
sents a tiresome and gloomy
unifornuty to the eye ; but
although nature has denied to
the inhabitants the beauties of
romantic landscapes, she has
bestowed on them, with a libe-
ral hand, the more im|)ortant
blessings of fertility and abun-
dance. A little attention to cul-
tivation procures a sutllciency
of corn, the fields alTord a rich
pasturage for cattle, and the
natives are plentifully supplied
with excellent fish, both from
the Gambia river and the Walli
creek.

The grains which are chiefly
cultivated are, — Indian corn,
zea mays ; two kinds of holcus
spicatus^ called by the natives
sooth) and satiio ; holcus nigcr^
and holcus bico/or^ the former of
which they have named bassi
7(>oo/if/t(iy and the latter lhissi(/ui.
These, together with rice, are
raised in considerable quanti-
ties ; besides which, the inha-
bitants in the vicinity of the
towns and villages have gardens
which produce onions, cala-
vances, yams, cassavi, ground
nuts, pompions, gourds, water-

melons, and some other escu-
lent plants.

I observed likewise, near the
towns, small patches of cotton
anil indigo. 'The fonuer of
these articles supplies thetu with
clothing, and with the latter
they dye their cloth of an ex-
cellent blue colour, in a manner
that will hen-allcr be described.

In preparing their corn for
fooil, the natives use a l.uge
wooden mortar called a paloon^
in which they bruise the seed
until it parts with the oiiter
covering, or husk, which is then
separated from the clean corn
by exposing it to the wind,
nearly in the same manner as
wheal is cleared trom tiie chalT
in England. The coin thus
freed from the husk is returned
to the mortar ami beaten into
meal, which is dressed variously
in dilVerent countries ; but the
most common preparation of it
among the nat ions of the ( lanihia
is a sort of pudding which they
call kouskous. It is made by
first moistening the flour with
water, and then stirring and
shaking it about in a large
calabash, or gourd, till it ad-
heres together in small granules
resembling sago. It is then put
into an earthen pot, whose bot-
tom is perforateil with a number
of small holes ; and this pot
being placed upon another, the
two vessels are luted together
either with a paste of meal and
water, or with cow's dung, and
placed upon the fire. In the
lower vessel is commonly some
animal food and water, the

PARK S TJFE AND TRAVELS,

.19'

stcntti or vapour of which as-
cends throuKh the perforations
in the bottom of the upper ves-
sel, and softens and prepares the
kouskotis^ which is very miicii
esteemed tliroughout all the
countries that I visited. \ am
informed that the same manner
of preparing flour is very gene-
rally used on the Harhary coast,
and that the dish so ])repare(i
is there called by the same
name. It is therefore probable
that the negroes i)orrowe(l the
practice from the Moors.

For gratifying a taste for
variety, another sort of pudding,
called //m//>/.i,s is sometimes i)re-
pared from the meal of corn ;
and they have also adopted
two or three different modes of
dressing their rice. Of vege-
table food, therefore, the na-
tives have no deficiency ; and
although the common class of
peojile are but si)aringly sup-
plied with animal food, yet this
article is not wholly withheld
from them.

Their domestic animals are
nearly the same as in Europe.
Swine are found in the woods,
but their flesh is not esteemed.
Probably the marked abhor-
rence in which this animal is
held by the votaries of Moham-
med, has spread itself among
the pagans. Poultry of all
kinds, the turkey excepted, is
everywhere to be had. The
guinea-fowl and red partridge
abound in the fields, and the
woods furnish a small species of
antelope, of which the venison
is highly and deservedly prized.

Of the other wild animals in
the Mandingo countries, the
most common arc the hytcna,
the panther, and the elephant.
Ccmsidering the use that is made
of the latter in the isiist Indies,
it may be thought extraordinary
that the natives of Africa have
not, in any p^rt of this immense
continent, ac(|uircd the skill of
taming this powerful and docile
creature, and applying his
strength and faculties to the
service of man. When I told
some of the natives that this
was actu.dly done in the coun-
tries of the Mast, my auditors
laughed me to scorn, and ex-
claimed, iobaubo fonnio I — ' a
white man's lie 1 ' The neg»"oes
frequently find means to destroy
the elephant by fire-arms ; they
hunt it principally for the sake
of the teeth, which they transfer
in barter to those who sell them
again to the Europeans. The
flesh they cat, and consider it
as a great delicacy.

The usual beast of burden in
all the negro territories is the
ass. The application of animal
labour to the purposes of agri-
culture is nowhere adopted j
the |)lough, therefore, is wholly
unknown. The chief imple-
ment used in husbandry is the
hoe, which varies in form in
different districts ; and the
labour is universally performed
by slaves.

On the 6th of October, the
waters of the Gambia were at
the greatest height, being fifteen
feet above the high-water mark
of the tide, after which they

Hm,

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' ■ 1' "I ■ •-

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39«

THE ENGLISH EXPi.ORERS,

began to subside — at first slowly,
but afterwards very ranidly,
sometimes sinking more than a
foot in twenty-four hours : by
the beginning of November the
river had sunk to its former
level, and the tide ebbed and
flowed as usual. When the
river had subsided, and the
atmosphere grew dry, I re-
covered apace, and began to
think of my departure — for this
is reckoned the most proper
season for travelling : the na-
tives had completed their har-
vest, and i)rovisions were every-
where cheap and plentiful.

Dr. Laidley was at this time
employed in a trading voyage
at Jonkakonda. I wrote to
him to desire that he would use
his interest with the slatees, or
slave-merchants, to procure me
the company and protection
of the first coftlc (or caravan)
that might leave Gambia for
the interior country ; and, in
the meantime, I requested him
to purchase for me a horse and
two asses. A few days after-
wards the Doctor returned to
Pisania, and informed me that
a coffle would certainly go for
the interior in the course of the
dry season j but that, as many
of the merchants belonging to
it had not yet completed their
assortment of goods, he could
not say at what time they would
set out.

As the characters and dispo-
sitions of the slatees, and
people that composed the cara-
van, were entirely unknown to
me — and as they seemed rather

averse to my purpose, and im.
willing to enter into any posj.
tive engagements on my account
— and the time of their dc-
parlure being with;d very un-
certain, I resolved, on further
deliberation, to avail myself of
the dry season, and proceed
without them.

Dr. Laidley approved my dc-
termination, and ])romiscd me
every assistance in his power,
to enable me to prosecute nn
journey with comfort and safely.

This resolution having been
formed, I made preparations
accordingly.

CHAPTER IT.

The natives of the countries
bordering on the Clambia,
though distributed into a great
many distinct governments,
may, I think, be divided into
four great classes, — the Feloops,
the JalofTs, the Foulahs, and
the Mandingoes. Among all
these nations, the religion of
Mohammed has made, and con-
tinues to make, considerable
progress ; but in most of them,
the body of the people, both
free and enslaved, persevere \v
maintaining the blind bu
harmless superstitions of theii
ancestors, and are called by
the Mohammedans kafirs^ or
infidels.

Of the Feloops, I have little
to add to what has been ob-
served concerning them in the
former chapter. They are of a
gloomy disposition, and are

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS.

393

8U|)i)08cd never to forj^ivc an
injury. 'I'hey are even said to
tnuisinit their (luarrcls as deadly
feuds to their posterity — inso
much that a son considers it as
incumbent on him, Irom a just
sense of filial obligation, to be-
come the avenger of his de
ceased father's wrongs. If a
man loses his life \u one of
those sudden quarrels whi< h
perpetually occur at their feast s,
when the whole i)arty is intoxi-
cated with nieati, his son, or
the eldest of his sons (if he has
more than one), endeavours to
procure his father's sandals,
which he wears once a year, on
the anniversary of his father's
death, until a fit opportunity
offers of revenging his fate,
when the object of his resent-
ment seldom escapes his pur.
suit. This fierce and unrelent-
ing disposition is, however,
counterbalanced by many good
qualities : they display the ut-
most gratitude and affection
towards their benefactors — and
the fidelity with which they
preserve whatever is intrusted
to them is remarkable. Dur-
ing the present war, they have
more than once taken up arms
to defend our merchant vessels
from Trench privateers ; and
English property, of consider-
able value, has frequently been
left at Vintain, for a long time,
entirely under the care of the
Feloops, who have uniformly
manifested, on such occasions,
the strictest honesty and punctu-
ality. How greatly is it to be
wished, that the minds of a

people so determined and faith-
ful could be softened and
civilised by the mild and be-
nevolent spirit of Christianity I

The Jaloffs (or Yaloffs) arc
an active, jjowcrful, and war-
like race, inhabiting great part
ii that tract which lies between
the fiver Senegal and the Man-
dingo states on the Gambia;
yet ihey differ from the Man-
dingoes, not or)ly in language,
but likewise in complexion and
features. The noses of the
Jaloffs are not so much de-
pressed, nor the lips so pro-
tuberant, as among the gene-
rality of Africans; and although
their skin is of the deepest
black, they are considered by
the white traders as the most
sightly negroes on this part of
the continent.

Their language is said to be
copious and significant, and is
often learnt by Europeans trad-
ing to Senegal. 1 cannot say
much of it from my own know-
ledge, but have preserved their
numerals, which are these : —

One, Wean.

Two, Yar.

Three, Yat.

Four, Yanet.

Five, Judom.

Six, Judom Wean. I

Seven, Judom Yar.

Eight, Judom Yat.

Nine, Judom Yanet.

Ten, Fook.

Eleven, Fook aug Wean, etc.

The Foulahs (or Pholeys),
such of them at least as reside
near the Gambia, are chiefly of

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,i;^^

.394

IHE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

a tawny complexion, with soft
silky hair, and pleasing features.
They are much attached to a
pastoral life, and have intro-
duced themselves into all the
kingdoms on the windward coast
as herdsmen and husbandmen,
paying a tribute to the sovereign
of the country for the lands
which they hold. Not having
many opportunities, however,
during my residence at Pisania,
of improving my acquaintance
with these people, I defer enter-
ing at large into their character
until a fitter occasion occurs,
which will present itself when I
come to Bondou.

The Mandingoes, of whom it
remains to speak, constitute, in
truth, the bulk of the inhabi-
tants in all those districts of
Africa which I visited ; and
their language, with a few ex-
ceptions, is universally under-
stood and very generally spoken
in that part of the continent.
Their numerals are these : —

One,

Killin,

Two,

I'oola.

Three,

Sabba.

Four,

Nani.

Five,

Loolo. /

Six,

Woro.

Seven,
Eight,
Nine,

Oronglo.

Sie.

Conunta.

Ten,
Eleven

Tang.
, Tanning Killin, etc.

They are called Mandingoes,
I conceive, as having originally
migrated from the interior state
of Manding, of which some
account will hereafter be given.

In every considerable town
there is a chief magistrate, called
the alkaid^ whose office is here-
ditary, and whose business it is
to preserve order, to levy duties
on travellers, and to preside at
all conferences in the exercise
of local jurisdiction and the
administration of justice. These
courts are composed of the
elders of the town (of free con-
dition), and are i^xva^Ci palavers;
and their proceedings are con-
ducted in the open air with suffi-
cient solemnity. Both sides of
a question are freely canvassed,
witnesses are publicly examined,
and the decisions which follow
generally meet with the approba-
tion of the surroundingaudience.

As the negroes have no writ-
ten language of their own, the
general rule of decision is an
appeal to ancient custom; but
since the system of Mohammed
has made so great progress
among them, the converts to
that faith have gradually intro-
duced, with the religious tenets,
many of the civil institutions of
the prophet ; and where the
Koran is not found sufficiently
explicit, recourse is had to a
commentary called Al Sharra,
containing, as I was told, a
complete exposition or digest
of the Mohammedan laws, both
civil and criminal, properly ar-
ranged and illustrated.

This frequency of appeal to
written laws, with which the
pagan natives are necessarily
unacquainted, has given rise in
their palavers to (what I little
expected to find in Africa) pro-

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS,

395

fessional advocates, or ex[)oiin-
(lers of the law, wlio are allowed
to appear and to plead for
plaintiff or defendant, much in
the same manner as counsel in
the law courts of Great Britain.
They are Mohammedan negroes,
who have made, or affect to
have made, the laws of the
prophet their peculiar study;
and if I may judge from their
harangues, which I frequently
attended, I believe, that in the
forensic qualifications of pro-
crastination and cavil, and the
arts of confounding and per-
plexing a cause, they are not
always surpassed by the ablest
pleaders in Europe. While I
was at Pisania, a cause was
heard which furnished the Mo-
hammedan lawyers with an
admirable opportunity of dis-
playing their professional dex-
terity. The case was this : —
An ass belonging to a Sera-
wooUi negro (a native of an
interior country near the river
Senegal) had broice into a field of
corn belonging to one of the
Mandingo inhabitants, and de-
stroyed great part of it. The
Mandigo having caught the
animal in his field, immediately
drew his knife and cut its throat.
The Serawoolli thereupon called
2i palaver (or in European terms,
brought an actioti) to recover
damages for the loss of his
beast, on which he set a high
value. The defendant con-
fessed he had killed the ass,
but pleaded a set-off, insisting
that the loss he had sustained
by the ravage in his corn was

etjual to the sum demanded for
the animal. To ascertain this
fact was the point at issue, and
the learned advocates contrived
to puzzle the cause in such a
manner that, after a hearing ot
three days, the court broke up
without coming to any deter-
mination upon it ; and a second
palaver was, I suppose, thought
necessary.

The Mandingoes, generally
speaking, are of a mild, sociable,
and obliging disposition. The
men are commonly above the
middle size, well shaped, strong,
and capable of enduring great
labour. The women are good-
natured, sprightly, and agree-
able. The dress of both sexes
is composed of cotton cloth of
their own manufacture t that of
the men is a loose frock, not
unlike a surplice, with drawers
which reach half way down the
leg ; and they wear sandals on
their feet, and white cotton caps
on their heads. The women's
dress consists of two pieces of
cloth, each of which is about
six feet long, and three broad.
One of these they wrap round
the waist, which, hanging down
to the ankles, answers the pur-
pose of a petticoat ; the other
is thrown negligently over the
bosom and shoulders.

This account of their cloth-
ing is indeed nearly applicable
to the natives of all the different
countries in this part of Africa ;
a peculiar national mode is
observable only in the head-
dresses of the women.

Thus, in the countries of the

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ol »;l|lll', f1il»l l»« PlMvllt^ M|)|tf>i^
hi rill Itllllll, liilli'il 111 lll^ nflllip
luniilU'l tlM \\\^ Mhiv^'N Ih ilif
U>*»l |ii»IU"<. 1 ivn*» Ihhl. lum
t»VH< liltti H't.» M;Hlillli|',M )lt!|t(lhl
frtM llhlllir^^ tioi'llv^ lil'i f^lrivr* nl
lill. MMI «1t>ll llllll Im fi t(ll(1|lf»f'(,
wHllOllI n^i l:llH»H> f1 jttllMVfM
Oh lll-l I'tMltlllih HI, 111 Hilu.'l
Mttltli. |tlllH»ltl|» illMI !>♦ r« |illltll^
lllrll, itill llll'< Ht>l»lh>' MJ |ilH
liHlltill l« t^^Vlt'liihMl nlilv Im llih
HtiHvt^Hl ilt»llir«^ll«- «lrM-h. Cllji
|lvi>«< ImIu'M III Wfil-, riti»l llutqh
lililitiltliuilr' vli-lllii^ who fif^'
HiiiiliMiifif^il In mIhvm)' Imi Mlinh*^
m iHaMlviMII-V flHtl, III mIimiI, mII
\\\m\^ lllilirl|«|tv |U't(|i|h vtliM fitr-
hiHil^lii ilnwii liHiii llih IhImImi
MMIIlill^fci l>il '^;ll^ llrlvf' IU1 flf
Miillv nlitilt'Vn, l»ii| inny l'^
lirtiird rtlul »lh(tHsi^(| mI In nil
l-i'^^lir'iN rt« ♦lir' tiiviif^^ llilitkfl

h|M|irl. H SHItl^HllU'q ll;l|t|i^li«,

iiiilr'Hl, n'lit^H lid f^liljtfl flit* HH
llm rtiiifll, llifll rt liilliiriiu' filul
inliMldr-inh' ♦ilfl'^lr'l lllft»l|tHliih'4

Ith jMllt'llflSt'll n\l\\'(^n f1IHM|l(jr lli'i

tlititH'Slli's I rtful lliHi nlTq|itlh^
rtt kmU If iml: lilt' hrtiriili, Ith
t:nit1t' t'nilllr'd In itll lltf |i|lvl
b'ucs mIiIip iihHvi^ iIm^m.

[%' (mIiIIpmI: l';iiH»|t^'iiti f^Strtll
llslimtiii on ililft telebfrtl^d

♦ Iv^^t wrt« rt fjU'lnfv hf ilip Vhf.
Iiin't*:'*'^ H»i»l iH Ifih miit(f |(^

rl«Mliif't| lilh IllllhtllUllHM m(" lim
llMIIIMMtlkl «'MI»j'l hi ||);i| \iih-
|M|fl|ttMill|j llHIhMlHI llHI^it'rlHHdlj:}
illM lU'^HIfl. rilP hill* l(,

I'KMkIi, mihI |i:i((^ll'(li filiMnfifHi

t^lU'f ^^MMlVfly (iftkCthUNHl IIU'IM-

*jhlvh« of »<hlll»'<(n'i(h Mil f|(M
»(ifiMl I Idil llu* lifid^^ hi ll«ft
(liUiildfi li^Miiu\ tiiid ^Hllfll(lfp/l

I'M! MUlllV V^'MlM, fl tihii Hi flMiflM
|)HIv 111 lIU' llMIKh h\ lllh |',(ij4
ll'ill. Ill lllh {iti\hU h\ I'MMHfl
MUMf^ h liff'WMvf'H Mil HH'HHHfc
Mf lilt' Knyfii Afl^Mli J '(t|ij|(Mf(y'f<«
i-'«lfiMl')iiriiM(h 111 llih llv^^ Im
llif yt^m f ;(^'-i I i\\ w\iUU lliMt?
|miii^m'*i ffi»-l»iiv nlhfj*' ^Mnqh(^^|
of ti ftHvt'iiiHf, »lh|Hiiy ja:'»v^Hin^,
Mild hro MiliM |»Hfi< ij(,il olfKhM;

Mild IimmH, wIIIi lli/'lf- <f-f'wi :
Mild llu'ih n-ff^- HO ff"^ft MiMM
f>lfjjU ftiiltofdliifif^ fM'toiK>n Iff

Mllui jlMlIt Mf t()^ Hv^f.

I lir* liMd^ wKli I''iil0|f^, hy

llh|ll(j; MllMWMldt^ lr(i*l Ojipfi, \VM«1
mIhIMhI MlllllllllMl^fl I llP t^flflf^

wlili 11 ll(h «?iild'^(."<« of ICmj/Imo^I
Ml (hh lioK' lioM io If «?(i|i|<oH«^
luil ttiofp llino lw'< Of- ffIf^f»
mhhiimI ^ililjii ; Mod f ntn In
fMliiif>d iIimI Ih^ i^nqt; vmIo^ of
lllllh)K'V|"OHfl Ifl llfld^^ic';^o,^700.
rii^ f'>t'Orli MhH iltifi^*\ sfllf
Oi'iIhImIh ft tjifi/tll «l(nf^, nt\t)
llih Amf'fWMh«< liMv^ InO'ly ntui
« f«=>w Vf"M«fh fo iff*' (httut'm fiy
Wfiy of ^vpffloi^'Of.
'Hie toirifrio(llti<'«» ex[»ofte^1

v *

-* if

ft-**;

398

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

to the Gambia from Kurope
consist chiefly of fire-arms and
ammunition, iron ware, spiritu-
ous liquors, tobacco, cotton
caps, a small quantity of broad
cloth, and a few articles of the
manufacture of Manchester; a
small assortment of India goods,
with some glass beads, amber,
and other trifles : for which are
taken in exchange slaves, gold

dust, ivory, bees'

and

wax,
hides. Slaves are the chief
article, but the whole number
which at this time are annually
exported from the Gambia by
all nations, is supposed to be
under one thousand.

Most of these unfortunate
victims are brought to the
coast in periodical caravans ;
many of them from very remote
inland countries, for the lan-
guage which they speak is not
understood by the inhabitants
of the maritime districts. In
a subsequent part of my work
I shall give the best informa-
tion I have been able to collect
concerning the manner in which
they are obtained. On their
arrival at the coast, if no im-
mediate opportunity offers of
selling them to advantage, they
are distributed among the neigh-
bouring villages, until a slave-
ship arrives, or until they can
be sold to black traders, who
sometimes purchase on specula-
tion. In the meanwhile, the
poor wretches are kept con-
stantly fettered, two and two of
them being chained together,
and employed in the labours of
the field ; and, I am sorry to [

add, are very scantily fed, as
well as harshly treated. The
price of a slave varies accord-
ing to the number of purchasers
from Europe, and the arrival of
caravans from the interior ; but
in general, I reckon that a
young and healthy male, from
sixteen to twenty-five years of
age, may be estimated on the
spot from £iS to £30 ster-
ling.

The negro slave-merchants,
as I have observed in the former
chapter, are called slatees, who,
besides slaves, and the mer-
chandise which they bring for
sale to the whites, supply the
inhabitants of the maritime dis-
tricts with native iron, sweet-
smelling gums and frankincense,
and a commodity called shea-
ioulou^ which, literally translated,
signifies tree-butter.

In payment of these articles,
the maritime states supply the
interior countries with salt — a
scarce and valuable commodity,
as I frequently and painfully ex-
perienced in the course of my
journey. Considerable quan-
tities of this article, however,
are also supplied to the inland
natives by the Moors, who ob-
tain it from the salt pits in the
Great Desert, and receive in
return corn, cotton cloth, and
slaves.

In their early intercourse with
Europeans, the article that at-
tracted most notice was iron.
Its utility, in forming the in-
struments of war and husbandry,
made it preferable to all others,
and iron soon became the mea-

Itercourse with
rticle that at-
|ce was iron.

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS.

399

sure by which the value of all
other commodities was ascer-
tained. Thus, a certain quan-
tity of goods, of whatever deno-
mination, appearing to be equal
in value to a bar of iron, con-
stituted, in the trader's phraseo-
logy, a bar of that particular
merchandise. Twenty leaves
of tobacco, for instance, were
considered as a bar of tobacco ;
and a gallon of spirits (or rather
half spirits and half water) as a
bar of rum — a bar of one com-
modity being reckoned equal in
value to a bar of another com-
modity.

As, however, it must unavoid-
ably happen, that according to
the plenty or scarcity of goods
at market in proportion to the
demand, the relative value
would be subject to continual
fluctuation, greater precision
has been found necessary ; and
at this time, the current value
of a single bar of any kind is
fixed by the whites at two shil-
lings sterling. Thus, a slave
whose price is £15, is said to
be worth 150 bars.

In transactions of this nature
it is obvious that the white
trader has infinitely the advan-
tage over the African, whom,
therefore, it is difficult to satisfy,
for, conscious of his own igno-
rance, he naturally becomes
exceedingly suspicious and
wavering ; and, indeed, so very
unsettled and jealous are the
negroes in their dealings with
the whites, that a bargain is
never considered by the Euro-
pean as concluded until the

purchase money is paid and
the party has taken leave.

CHAPTER III.

On the 2d of December 1795 I
took my departure from the hos-
pitable mansion of Dr. Laidley.
I was fortunately provided with
a negro servant who spoke
both the English and Mandingo
tongues. His name was John-
son. He was a native of this
part of Africa, and having in
his youth been conveyed to
Jamaica as a slave, he had been
made free, and taken to Eng-
land by his master, where he
had resided many years, and at
length found his way back to
his native country. As he was
known to Dr. Laidley, the Doc-
tor recommended him to me,
and I hired him as my inter-
preter, at the rate of ten bars
monthly to be paid to himself,
and five bars a month to be
paid to his wife during his ab-
sence. Dr. Laidley further-
more provided me with a negro
boy of his own, named Demba,
a sprightly youth, who, besides
Mandingo, spoke the language
of the Serawoollies, an inland
people (of whom mention will
hereafter be made), residing on
the banks of the Senegal ; and,
to induce him to behave well,
the Doctor promised him his
freedom on his return, in case
I should report favourably of
his fidelity and services. I was
furnished with a horse for my-

I
I

i \

1 1

■.■1

-I,

-I

'J* I 1 ■' II
■r{ 't.Hf

ISi

400

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

E' '!

self (a small, but very hardy and
spirited beast, which cost me to
the value of £7, los.), and two
asses for my interpreter and
servant. My baggage was light,
consisting chiefly of provisions
for two days ; a small assort-
ment of beads, amber, and to-
bacco, for the purchase of a
fresh supply as I proceeded ; a
few changes of linen, and other
necessary apparel ; an umbrella,
a pocket sextant, a magnetic
compass, and a thermometer ;
together with two fowling-pieces,
two pair of pistols, and some
other small articles.

A free man (a bushreen^ or
Mohammedan) named Madi-
boo, who was travelling- to the
kingdom of Bambara, and two
slatees, or slave -merchants, of
the Serawoolli nation, and of
the same sect, who were going
to Bondou, offered their ser-
vices, as far as they intended
respectively to proceed ; as did
likewise a negro named Tami
(also a Mohammedan), a native
of Kasson, who had been em-
ployed some years by Dr. Laid-
ley as a blacksmith, and was
returning to his native country
with the savings of his labours.
All these men travelled on foot,
driving their asses before them.

Thus I had no less than six
attendants, all of whom had
been taught to regard me with
great respect, and to consider
that their safe return hereafter
to the countries on the Gambia
would depend on my preser-
vation.

Dr. Laidley himself, and

Messrs. Ainsley, with a number
of their domestics, kindly de-
termined to accompany me the
two first days; and I believe
they secretly thought they should
never see me afterwards.

We reached Jindey the same
day, having crossed the Walli
creek, a branch of the Gambia,
and rested at the house of a
black woman, who had formedy
been the paramour of a white
trader named Hewett, and who,
in consequence thereof, was
called, by way of distinction,
seiiiora. In the evening we
walked out to see an adjoining
village, belonging to a slatee
named Jemaffoo Momadoo, the
richest of all the Gambia traders.
We found him at home, and he
thought so highly of the honour
done him by this visit, that he
presented us with a fine bullock,
which was immediately killed,
and part of it dressed for our
evening's repast.

The negroes do not go to
supper till late, and, in order to
amuse ourselves while our beef
was preparing, a Mandingo was
desired to relate some diverting
stories, in listening to which,
and smoking tobacco, we spent
three hours. These stories bear
some resemblance to those in
the Arabian Nights' Entertain-
ments, but, in general, are of a
more ludicrous cast.

About one o'clock in the
afternoon of the 3 ^ of Decem-
ber, I took my leave of Dr.
Laidley and MeLi^rs. Ainsley,
and rode slowly into the
woods. I had now before me

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS.

401

a boundless forest, and a coun-
try, the inhabitants of which
were strangers to civilised life,
and to most of whom a white
man was the object of curiosity
or plunder. I reflected that I
had parted from the last Euro-
pean I might probably behold,
and perhaps quitted for ever
the comforts of Christian society.
Thoughts like these would ne-
cessarily cast a gloom over my
mind ; and I rode musing along
for about three miles, when I
was awakened from my reverie
by a body of people, who came
running up and stopped the
asses, giving me to understand
that I must go with them to
Peckaba, to present myself to
the king of Walli, or pay cus-
toms to them. I endeavoured
to make them comprehend that
the object of my journey not
being traffic, I ought not to be
subjected to a tax like the
slatees, and other merchants,
who travel for gain ; but I rea-
soned to no purpose. They
said it was usual for travellers
of all descriptions to make a
present to the king of Walli,
and without doing so I could
not be permitted to proceed.
As they were tnore numerous
than my attendants, and withal
very noisy, I thought it prudent
to comply with their demand ;
and having presented them with
four bars of tobacco, for the
king's use, I was permitted to
continue my journey, and at
sunset reached a village near
Kootacunda, where we rested
for the night. .

In the morning of Decembei
4th, I passed Kootacunda, the
last town of Walli, and stopped
about an hour at a small ad-
joining village to pay customs
to an officer of the king of
WooUi; we rested the ensuing
night at a village called Taba-
jang; and at noon the next
day (December 5th) we reached
Medina, the capital of the king
of Woolli's dominions.

The kingdom of Woolli is
bounded by Walli on the west,
by the Gambia on the south,
by the small river Walli on the
north-west, by Bondou on the
north-east, and on the east by
the Simbani wilderness.

The inhabitants are Man-
dingoes ; and, like most of the
Mandingo nations, are divided
into two great sects— the Mo-
hammedans, who are called
bushreens, and the Pagans, who
are called indiscriminately
kafirs (unbelievers) and sonaktes
(t\e. men who drink strong
liquors). The pagan natives
are by far the most numerous,
and the government of the
country is in their hands ; for
though the most respectable
among the bushreens are fre-
quently consulted in affairs of
importance, yet they are never
permitted to take any share
in the executive government,
which rests solely in the hands
of the mansaj or sovereign, and
great officers of the state. Of
these, the first in point of rank
is the presumptive heir of the
crown, who is called the far'
banna ; next to him are the

")tt

i.'-*

^t'

IS;

'!•<

. hi

4oa

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS

alkaidsy or provincial gover-
nors, who are more frequently
called keamos. Then follow
the two grand divisions of free-
men and slaves ; of the former,
the slatees, so frequently men-
tioned in the preceding pages,
are considered as the prin-
cipal ; but, in all classes, great
respect is paid to the authority
of aged men.

On the death of the reigning
monarch, his eldest son (if he
has attained the age of man-
hood) succeeds to the regal
authority. If there is no son,
or if the son is under the age
of discretion, a meeting of the
great men is held, and the late
monarch's nearest relation
(commonly his brother) is called
to the government, not as re-
gent, or guardian to the infant
son, but in full right, and to
the exclusion of the minor.
The charges of the government
are defrayed by occasional
tributes from the people, and
by duties on goods transported
across the country. Travellers,
on going from the Gambia
towards the interior, pay cus-
toms in European merchandise.
On returning, they pay in iron
and sheatoulou. These taxes
are paid at every town.

Medina, the capital of the
kingdom, at which I was now
arrived, is a place of consider-
able extent, and may contain
from eight hundred to one
thousand houses. It is fortified
in the common African manner,
by a surrounding high wall
built of clay, and an outward

fence of pointed stakes and
prickly bushes ; but the walls
are neglected, and the outward
fence has suffered considerably
from the active hands of busy
housewives, who pluck up the
stakes for firewood. I obtained
a lodging at one of the king's
near relations, who apprised
me, that at my introduction to
the king, I must not presume
to shake hands with him. • It
was not usual,' he said, 'to
allow this liberty to strangers.'
Thus instructed, I went in the
afternoon to pay my respects
to the sovereign, and ask per-
mission to pass through his
territories to Bondou. The king's
name was Jatta, He was the
same venerable old man of
whom so favourable an account
was transmitted by Major
Houghton. I found him seated
upon a mat before the door of
his hut ; a number of men and
women were arranged on each
side, who were singing and
clapping their hands. I saluted
him respectfully, and informed
him of the purport of my visit.
The king graciously replied,
that he not only gave me leave
to pass through his country, but
would offer up his prayers for
my safety. On this, one of my
attendants, seemingly in return
for the king's condescension,
began to sing, or rather to roar,
an Arabic song ; at every pause
of which the king himself, and
all the people present, struck
their hands against their fore-
heads, and exclaimed, with de-
vout and affecting solemnity,

l-ft

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS.

403

Ametty amen I The king told
me furthermore, that I should
have a guide the day follow-
ing, who would conduct me
safely to the frontier of his king-
dom. I then took my leave,
and in the evening sent the
king an order upon Dr. Laidley
for three gallons of rum, and
received in return great store of
provisions.

December 6. — Early in the
morning I went to the king a
second time, to learn if the
guide was ready. I found his
majesty sitting upon a bullock's
hide, warming himself before a
large fire ; for the Africans are
sensible of the smallest variation
in the temperature of the air,
and frequently complain of
cold when a European is op-
pressed with heat. He received
me with a benevolent counten-
ance, and tenderly entreated
me to desist from my purpose
of travelling into the interior;
telling me that Major Hough-
ton had been killed in his route,
and that if I followed his foot-
steps, I should probably meet
with his fate. He said that I
must not judge of the people
of the eastern country by those
of Woolli : that the latter were
acquainted with white men, and
respected them, whereas the
people of the east had never
seen a white man, and would
certainly destroy me. I thanked
the king for his affectionate
solicitude, but told him that I
had considered the matter, and
was determined, notwithstand-
ing all dangers, to proceed.

The king shook his head, but
desisted from further persuasion,
and told me the guide should
be ready in the afternoon.

About two o'clock, the guide
appearing, I went and took my
last farewell of the good old
king, and in three hours reached
Konjour, a small village, where
we determined to rest for the
night. Here I purchased a fine
sheep for some beads, and my
Sera woolli attendants killed it
with all the ceremonies pre-
scribed by their religion. Part
of it was dressed for supper,
after which a dispute arose be-
tween one of the Serawoolli
negroes and Johnson, my in-
terpreter, about the sheep's
horns. The former claimed the
horns as his perquisite, for
having acted the part of our
butcher, and Johnson contested
the claim. I settled the matter
by giving a hom to each of
them. This trifling incident is
mentioned as introductory to
what follows : for it appeared
on inquiry that these horns
were highly valued, as being
easily convertible into portable
sheaths, or cases, for containing
and keeping secure certain
charms or amulets called saphies^
which the negroes constantly
wear about them. These
saphies are prayers^ or rather
sentences, from the Koran,
which the Mohammedan priests
write on scraps of paper, and
sell to the simple natives, who
consider them to possess very
extraordinary virtues. Some of
the negroes wear them to guard

''..,4-' "■'^ikS'Im

,; 4 m \

404

Tffh: nNGUsn nxn.oKERs,

themRelvcB rtgalnut the !)lte of
HniikcR or alligMtoiR ; ami on
thi.i oriTtnion \\\v. sapliiein roin
inonly cucIorlmI in a snake'R or
alligator'R skin, and tied round
the ankle. ()thcr» have rc( (itirae
to them in tinie of war, to pro
leel their persons against hostile
weaponn ; but the ronnnon nse
to wliirh these atnnlcts are ap
olied, K% to prevent or cure
i)odily diseascH — to preserve
from Iwmger ami thirst — and
generally to eomiliale the favour
of superior i)ower«, under all
the cinun^stancea and oc( ur-
renoes of life.*

Jn this case, it Is inipoBsible
not to admire the wonderful
« DUtagion of superstilitMi ; for,
notwithstanding that the tna-
jorily of the negroes are pagans,
and absolutely rejet^t the doc-
trines of Mohammed, I did tiot
meet with a man, whether a
bushreen or kafir, who was not
fully persuaded of the powerful
efficacy of these anudets. The
truth is, that all the natives of
this part oi Africa consider the
art of writing as bordering on
magic ; and it is not in the dot>
trines of the pro)>het, but in the
arts of the magician^ that their
confidence is .placed. It will
hereafter be seen that I was
myself lucky enough, in circum-
.siances of distrcKB, to turn the
popular credulity in this respect
to good account.

On the 7th 1 departed from
Konjour, and slept at a village

' ! beli«v« iliAt nimllftf chnrntn or nitidlet**,
under the nftrties oC (f<itniHf\ f^i^rt, feiuh^
«ic.. are common in All parts of AfVicA.

railed Malla (or Mallning), nml
fm the 8l!» about not)n I nnjvod
al Kolor, at Dnsiilerable town
near the entrance intt) wind) |
observetl, hanging uptju a trot^,
a sort of m;vs»|ueradc hnhji,
matle of the bark t)f frees, uhu h
J was tt)ld, on intpiiry, bp|t)in)(.,|
tt) Mufnho Jumfh), 'I'liis is .-^
strange bugbear, (Himmon to all
tht> NIandingt) (owns, antl nuuli
empltjyed by the pagan natives
in keeping tlu'ir women \\\ m\\
jectlon ; for as the kafirs .irc
nt)t restricted in the numluM of
their wives, every one mnrrips
as nwiny as he can conveniently
maintain— and as it fre«)ucutly
happens that the ladies tlisagrpc
among themselves, fainily i|iiar-
rels Rometimes ripo to suth a
height, that the authority of ilu;
husband can no lom^er preserve
peace in his household. I n such
cases, the intcrposititm of Muin-
bo Jumbo is -cajllcd in, and is
always decisive.

This Htrangc minister of jus-
tice (wit is supposed to be
either the husband himself, or
some person instructed by him),
disguitscd in the dress that has
been mentionctl, and arincd
with the rod of public authority,
announces his coming (when-
ever his services arc required)
by loud and dismal screams in
the woods near the town. He
begins the pantomime at the
approach of night ; and as soon
as it is dark, he enters the
town, and proceeds to the ben-
tang, at which all the inhabi-
tants immediately assemble.

December 9.— As there was

rARK\S If IE AND TRA\ ''TX

40.1

no wrtler to l»e iMornrpd on the
rood, we ItavclliMl with grcnt
ox|)(Mlitl()n until we nn« h('«|
T(iiiil»n':titi'lfi ; ami <l<«|i(irtinn
fnnn thence ently tlio next
fH()rninfi, the tolhjworcnrhc'l in
IJH' I'vcnini^ Knoninkary, a tnwti
of nearly the sanK? ina^niHith!
iifl Koloi". About flown c)n the
nth we anivoil at Kooj.-ir, the
jntiitirr town ol Woolli^lowanifl
lloiKhai, IVoni which it if? Rcpar-
nU'd hy an inlrfvcnin^ wihicr
nes'i of two dayR' j»anncy.

The guide apjujinted by the
king of Woolli being now to
rrluin, I preRcntoil him with
Romc amber for his trouble :
and having berUi informed that
it waR not pofisible at all times
to prortire water in the wilder
ncHfl, I made inquiry for men
who would Rerve both as guides
and water bearers during my
journey arross it. Throe ne-
groes, elcphant-lnmterH, ofTered
their services for these purpoRes,
which I accepted, and f)aid
thetn three bars each in ad-
vance ; and the day being far
spent, I deterrttined to pa^s the
night in my nrcFient cjiuarters.

The inhabitants of Koojar,
tiiough not wholly unaccUR-
tomcd to the sight of Juiro-
pcans (most of them having
occasionally visited the coun-
tries on the Gambia), beheld
me with a mixture of curiosity
and reverence, and in the even-
ing invited me to sec a mober-
inj^^, or wrestling-match, at the
hcntang. This is an exhibition
very common in all the Man-
dingo countries. The specta-

tors arraii;!
fircl

c, leaviik

lhetMS(dv»'s in rt
the iilr» "diate
space for tl> vsrosth , wlio
were strong, n 'ive, you g men.
full of etindaiion, and mccU'
lomed, L mippose, from the*
infancy to this soil of exertion
lli'ing stripped o4 their ( lothing,
except a/ slmrt pair of diawer^,
and having their skin anointdl
with oil, or s/trit butter, the
cond»atttnts approached each
each other on all fours, parry-
ing with, and o(»asionally ex-
ten<ling a hand for some time,
till at length one of them sprang
hjrward, nnd (aught his rival
by the kfiee. (beat dexterity
and judgment were now dis-
played, but the (ontest was
decided by superior strength ;
and I think that few Europeans
would have been able to cope
with the con(pieror. It must
not be unobserved, ll»at the
combatants were animated bv
the music of a drum, by which
their actions were in s<jme mea-
sure regulated.

The wrestling was succeetled
by a dance, in which many per-
formers assisted, all of whom
were provided with lUtl« bells,
which were fastened to their
legs and arms ; and here, too,
the drum regulated their mo-
tions. It was beaten witli a
crooked stiit;k, which the drum-
mer held in his right hand,
occasiot\ally using his left to
deaden the sound, and thus
vary the music. The drum is
likewise ai)plied on these occa-
sions to keep order among the
spectators, by imitating the

» i I,

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ill

406

THE RNGIJSn KXP LOITERS.

•ounit of certain Mamlingo
Rcntonccs : for example, when
tlie wrestling -match is about to
begin, the dnunnier Ktrikes what
is understootl to aignily ali Ap
set — sit all down, noon which
the spectators innuediately seat
themselves ; and when the com-
batants are to begin, he strikes
<fw//A/, <iw///(i/ "take hold, take
hold !

In the course of the evening
I was presented, by way of re-
freslunent, with a liijuor, which
iasted ko much like the strong
beer of my native country (and
very gooil beer too), as to in-
duce mc to in(|uire into its
composition ; ami I learnt, with
some degree of surprise, that it
was actually made from corn
which had been previously
malted, much in the same man-
ner a« barley is malted in (ireat
Britain : a root yielding a grate-
ful bitter was used in lieu of
hops, the name of which I have
forgotten ; but the corn which
yields the wort is the holcus
spicatus of botanists.

Karly in the morning (the
I ath) I found that one of the
elephant-hunters had absconded
with the money he had received
from me in part of wages ; and
in order to prevent the other
two from following his example,
I made them instantly fill their
calabashes (or gourds) with
water; and as the sun rose, I
entered the wilderness that se-
parates the kingdoms of VVoolli
and Bondou.

We continued our journey
without stopping any more until

noon, when we came to a larj^o
tree, called by the natives tu(nu\
tttlhi. It had a very singular
appearance, being decorated
with innumerable rags or scrai»H
of cloth, which persons travel-
ling across the wilderness had
at different times tied to the
branches — probably at first to
inform the traveller that water
was to be found near it ; but
the custoui has been so greatly
sanctioned by time, that no-
luuly now presumes to pass
without hanging up sotnethiuj^.
I followed the example, ami
suspended a handsome piece
of cloth on one of the boughs ;
and being tokl that either a
well, or pool of water, was at
no great distance, I ordered the
negroes to unload the usses,
that we might give them corn,
and regale ourselves with the
provisions we had brought. In
the meantime, I sent one of
the elephant-hunters to look for
the well, intending, if water was
to be obtained, to rest here for
the night. A pool was fount!,
but the water was thick and
muddy, and the negro dis-
covered near it the remains of
a fire recently extinguished, and
the fragments of provisions,
which atforded a proof that it
had been lately visited, either
by travellers ur banditti. The
fears of my attendants supposed
the latter; and believing that
robbers lurked near us, I was
])ersuaded to change my reso-
lution of resting here all night,
and proceed to another water-
ing-place, which I was assured

PARfPS LIFE AND TRAVELS.

407

wc might reach early in the
evening.

Wc dc|). rtcd accordingly, but
it was eJ! lit o'clock at night
before wc came to the water-
ing-place ; and being now suOt-
cientiy In^gued with so long a
(lay's jouincy, wc kindled a large
lire and lay down, surrounded
by our cattle, on the bare
ground, nore than a gunshot
from a»»y bush — the negroes
agreeing to keep watch by turns
to prevent surprise.

I know not, indeed, that any
danger was justly to be dreaded,
but the negroes were unaccount-
ably a|)prehensivc of banditti
(luring the whole of the journev.
As soon, therefore, as daylight
appeared, we filled our soofroos
(skins) and calabashes at the
pool, and set out for Tallika,
the first town in Uondou, which
we reached about eleven o'clock
in the forenoon (the 13th of
December).

CHAPTER IV.

Tallika, the frontier town of
llondou towards WooUi, is in-
habited chiefly by Foulahs of
the Mohammedan religion, who
live in considerable affluence,
partly by furnishing provisions
to the cofHes, or caravans, that
pass through the town, and
partly by the sale of ivory, ob-
tained by hunting elephants, in
which employment the young
men are generally very success-
ful. Here an officer belonging

to the king of Bondou constantly
resides, whose business it is to
give timely information of the
arrival of the caravans, which
arc taxed ac<:ording to the num-
ber of loaded asses that arrive
at Tallika.

I took up my residence at
this oflicer's house, and agreed
with him to accompany me to
{•'atteconda, the residence of
the king, for which he was to
receive five bars ; and before
my departure I wrote a few
lines to Dr. Laidley, and gave
my letter to the master of a
caravan bound for the Gambia.
This caravan consisted of nine
or ten people, with five asses
loaded with ivory. The large
teeth are conveyed in nets, two
on each side of the ass — the
small ones are wrapped up in
skins, and secured with ropes.

Decemberi^, — We left Tallika,
and rode on very i)eaceably for
about two miles, when a violent
quarrel arose between two of
my fellow-travellers, one of
whom was the blacksmith, in
the course of which they be-
stowed some opprobrious terms
upon each other ; and it is
worthy of remark, that an Afri-
can will sooner forgive a blow
than a term of reproach applied
to his ancestors. ' Strike me,
but do not curse my mother,'
is a common expression even
among the slaves. This sort of
abuse, therefore, so enraged one
of the disputants, that he drew
his cutlass upon the blacksmith,
and would certainly have ended
the dispute in a very serious

'\m^

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408

Tff£ ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

! ;

ii!

Ji:

I i

manner, if the others had not
laid hold of him and wrested
the cutlass from him. I was
obliged to interfere, and put an
end to this disagreeable busi-
ness by desiring the blacksmith
to be silent, and telling the
other, who I thought was in
the wrong, that if he attempted
in future to draw his cutlass, or
molest any of my attendants, I
should look upon him as a robber,
and shoot him without further
ceremony. This threat had the
desired effect, and we marched
sullenly along till the afternoon,
when we arrived at a number
of small villages scattered over
an open and fertile plain. At
one of these, called Ganado,
we took up our residence for
the night ; here an exchange of
presents and a good supper ter-
minated all animosities among
my attendants, and the night
was far advanced before any of
us thought of going to sleep.
We were amused by an itine-
rant singing many who told a
number of diverting stories, and
played some sweet airs by blow-
ing his breath upon a bow-string,
and striking it at the same time
with a stick.

December 15. — At daybreak
my fellow-travellers, the Sera-
woollies, took leave of me, with
many prayers for my safety.
About a mile from Ganado we
crossed a considerable branch
of the Gambia, called Neriko.
The banks were steep and
covered with mimosas ; and I
observed in the mud a number
of large mussels, but the natives

do not eat them. About noon,
the sun being exceedingly hot,
we rested two hours in the
shade of a tree, and purchased
some milk and pounded corn
from some Foulah herdsmen,
and at sunset reach :d a town
called Koorkarany, where the
blacksmith had some relations ;
and here we rested two days.

Koorkarany is a Mohamme-
dan town surrounded by a high
wall, and is provided with a
mosque. Here I was shown a
number of Arabic manuscripts,
particularly a copy of the book
before mentioned, called Al
Shara. The maraboo^ or priest,
in whose possession it was, read
and explained to me in Man-
dingo many of the most remark-
able passages, and, in return, I
showed him Richardson's Ara-
bic Grammar, which he very
much admired.

On the evening of the second
day (December 17) we departed
from Koorkarany. We were
joined by a young man who
was travelling to Fatteconda for
salt ; and as night set in we
reached Dooggi, a small village
about three miles from Koor-
karany.

Provisions were here so cheap
that I purchased a bullock for
six small stones of amber ; for
I found my company increase
or diminish according to the
good fare they met with.

December 18. — Early in the
morning we departed from
Dooggi, and, being joined by
a number of Foulahs and other
people, made a formidable ap-

.•»—

PARK*S LIFE AND TEA VELS,

409

pearance, and were under no
apprehension of being plun-
dered in the woods. About
eleven o'clock, one of the asses
proving very refractory, the
r.egroes took a curious method
to make him tractable. They
cut a forked stick, and putting
the forked part into the ass's
mouth, like the bit of a bridle,
tied the two smaller parts toge-
ther above his head, leaving the
lower part of the stick of suffi-
cient length to strike against
the ground, if the ass should
attempt to put his head down..
After this the ass walked along
quietly and gravely enough,
taking care, after some prac-
tice, to hold his head sufficiently
high to prevent the stones or
roots of trees from striking
against the end of the stick,
which experience had taught
him would give a severe shock
to his teeth. This contrivance
produced a ludicrous appear-
ance, but my fellow-travellers
told me it was constantly
adopted by the slatees, and
always proved effectual.

In the evening we arrived at
a few scattered villages, sur-
rounded with extensive cultiva-
tion; at one of which, called
Buggil, we passed the night in
a miserable hut, having no
other bed than a bundle of corn
stalks, and no provisions but
what we brought with us. The
wells here are dug with great
ingenuity, and are very deep.
I measured one of the bucket-
ropes, and found the depth of the
well to be twenty-eight fathoms.

December 19. — We departed
from Buggil, and travelled along
a dry, stony height, covered
with mimosas, till mid-day, when
the land sloped towards the
east, and we descended into a
deep valley, in which I observed
abundance of whinstone and
white quartz. Pursuing our
course to the eastward, along
this valley, in the bed of an ex-
hausted river course, we came
to a large village, where we
intended to lodge. We found
many of the natives dressed in
a thin French gauze, which
they called by qui ; this being a
light airy dress, and well calcu-
lated to display the shape of
their persons, is much esteemed
by the ladies. The manners of
these females, however, did not
correspond with their dress ;
for they were rude and trouble-
some in the highest degree ;
they surrounded me in numbers,
begging for amber, beads, etc.,
and were so vehement in their
' solicitations, that I found it im-
possible to resist them. They
tore my cloak, cut the buttons
from my boy's clothes ; and
were proceeding to other out-
rages, when I mounted my
horse and rode off, followed for
half a mile by a body of these
harpies.

In the evening we reached
Soobrudooka, and as my com-
pany was numerous (being four-
teen), I purchased a sheep and
abundance of corn for supper ;
after which we lay down by the
bundles, and passed an uncom-
I fortable night in a heavy dew.

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410

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

December 20. — We departed
from Soobrudooka, and at two
o'clock reached a large village
situated on the banks of the
Falem^ river, which is here
rapid and rocky. The natives
were employed in fishing in
various ways. The large fish
were taken in long baskets made
of split cane, and placed in a
strong current, which was
created by walls of stone built
across the stream, certain open
places being left, through which
the water rushed with great
force. Some of these baskets
were more than twenty feet
long, and when once the fish
had entered one of them, the
force of the stream prevented
it from returning. The small
fish were taken in great num-
bers in hand-nets, which the
natives weave of cotton, and
use with great dexterity. The
fish last mentioned are about
the size of sprats, and are pre-
pared for sale in different ways j
the most common is by pounds
ing them entire as they come
from the stream, in a wooden
mortar, and exposing them to
dry in the sun, in large lumps
like sugar loaves. It may be
supposed that the smell is not
very agreeable ; but in the
Moorish countries to the north
of the Senegal, where fish is
scarcely known, this prepara-
tion is esteemed as a luxury, and
sold to considerable advantage.
The manner of using it by the
natives is by dissolving a piece
of this black loaf in boiling water,
and mixing it with \h&\xkouskou5.

On returning to the village,
after an excursion to the river
side to inspect the fishery, an
old Moorish shereeff came to
bestow his blessing upon me,
and beg some paper to write
saphies upon. This man had
seen Major Houghton in the
kingdom of Kaarta, and told
me that he died in the country
of the Moors.

About three in the afternoon
we continued our course along
the bank of the riv^r to the
northward, till eight o'clock,
when we reached Nayemow;
here the hospitable master of
the town received us kindly,
and presented us with a bullock.
In return I gave him some
amber and beads.

December 21. — In the morn-
ing, having agreed for a canoe
to carry over my bundles, I
crossed the river, which came
up to my knees as I sat on my
horse ; but the water is so clear,
that from the high bank the
bottom is visible all the way
over.

About noon we entered Fat-
teconda, the capital of Bondou,
and in a little time received an
invitation to the house of a
respectable slatee : for as there
are no public-houses in Africa,
it is customary for strangers to
stand at the bentang, or some
other place of public resort, till
they are invited to a lodging by
some of the inhabitants. We
accepted the offer; and in an
hour afterwards a person came
and told me that he was sent
on purpose to conduct me to

PARICS LIFE AND TRA VELS.

411

to the village,
on to the river

the fishery, an
lereeff came to
ising upon me,
paper to write

This man had
jughton in the
aarta, and told
I in the country

n the afternoon
ur course along
lie riv^r to the

eight o'clock,
led Nayemow;
able master of
ved us kindly,
s with a bullock.
ive him some
is.

— In the morn-
ed for a canoe
my bundles, I
jr, which came

as I sat on my
vater is so clear,
high bank the

e all the way

re entered Fat-
[ital of Bondou,

le received an
le house of a
le : for as there
[uses in Africa,

)r strangers to
Itang, or some
fblic resort, till
a lodging by
labitants. We

:r; and in an
person c?me
he was sent

mduct me to

the king, who was very desirous
of seeing me immediately, if I
was not too much fatigued.

I took my interpreter with me,
and followed the messenger till
we got quite out of the town,
and crossed some com fields;
when, suspecting some trick,
I stopped, and asked the guide
whither he was going, upon
which he pointed to a man
sitting under a tree at some
littb distance, and told me that
the king frequently gave audi-
ence in that retired manner, in
order to avoid a crowd of
people ; and that nobody but
myself and my interpreter must
approach him. When I ad-
vanced the king desired me to
come and sit by him upon the
mat; and, after hearing my
story, on which he made no
observation, he asked if I wished
to purchase any slaves or gold.
Being answered in the negative,
he seemed rather surprised, but
desired me to come to him in
the evening, and he would give
me some provisions.

This monarch was called
Almami — a Moorish name,
though I was told that he was
not a Mohammedan, but a kafir
or pagan. I had heard that
he had acted towards Major
Houghton with great unkind-
ness, and caused him to be
plundered. His behaviour
therefore towards myself at this
interview, though much more
civil than I expected, was far
from freeing me from uneasi-
ness. I still apprehended some
double de9ling; and as I was

now entirely in his power, I
thought it best to smooth the
way by a present : accordingly,
I took with me in the evening
one canister of gunpowder,
some amber, tobacco, and my
umbrella ; and as I considered
that my bundles would in-
evitably be searched,! concealed
some few articles in the roof of
the hut where I lodged, and I
put on my new blue coat in
order to preserve it.

All the houses belonging to
the king and his family are
surrounded by a lofty mud wall,
which converts the whole into
a kind of citadel. The interior
is subdivided into different
courts. At the first place of
entrance, I observed a man
standing with a musket on his
shoulder ; and I found the
way to the presence very in-
tricate, leading through many
passages, with sentinels placed
at the different doors. When
we came to the entrance of
the court in which the king
resides, both my guide and
interpreter, according to cus-
tom, took off their sandals ; and
the former pronounced the
king's name aloud, repeating it
till he was answered from within.
We found the monarch sitting
upon a mat, and two attendants
with him. I repeated what I
had before told him concerning
the object of my journey, and
my reasons for passing through
his country. He seemed, how-
ever, but half satisfied. When
I offered to show him the con-
tents of my portmanteau, and

!■

,,; ;,.

I'll

. (*? i
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' In^-f,

413

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

h \

everything belonging to me, he
was convinced ; and it was
evident that his suspicion had
arisen from a belief that every
white man must of necessity be
a trader. When I had delivered
my presents, he seemed well
j)leased, and was particularly
delighted with the umbrella,
which he repeatedly furled and
unfurled, to the great admira-
tion of himself and his two
attendants, who could not for
some time comprehend the use
of this wonderful machine.
After this I was about to take
my leave, when the king, de-
siring me to stop a while, be-
gan a long preamble in favour
of the whites, extolling their im-
mense wealth and good disposi-
tions. He next proceeded to
an eulogium on my blue coat, of
which the yellow buttons seemed
particularly to catch his fancy ;
and he concluded by entreating
me to present him with it — as-
suring me, for my consolation
under the loss of it, that he
wc'ild wear it oti all public oc-
casions, and inform every one
who saw it of my great liberality
towards him. The request of
an African prince, in his own
dominions, particularly when
made to a stranger, comes
little short of a command. It
is only a way of obtaining by
gentle means what he can, if
he pleases, take by force ; and
as it was against my interest to
offend him by a refusal, I very
quietly took off my coat, the
only good one in my posses-
sion, and laid it at his feet.

In return for my compliance,
he presented me with gnat
plenty of provisions, and desired
to see me again in the morniri},'.
I accordingly attended, and
found him sitting upon his bed.
He told me he was sick, and
wished to have a little blood
taken from him ; but I had no
sooner tied up his arm and dis-
played the lancet, than his cour-
age failed ; and he begged me
to postpone the ojieration till
the afternoon, as he felt himself,
he said, much better than lie had
been, and thanked me kindly
for my readiness to serve him.
He then observed that his
women were very desirous to
see me, and requested that I
would favour them with a visit.
An attendant was ordered to
conduct me ; and I had no
sooner entered the court appro-
priated to the ladies, than the
whole seraglio surrounded me
— some begging for physic,
some for amber, and all of
them desirous of trying that
great African specific, blood-
letting. They were ten or twelve
in number, most of them young
and handsome, and wearing on
their heads ornaments of gold,
and beads of amber.

They rallied me with a good
deal of gaiety on different sub-
jects; particularly upon the
whiteness of my skin and the
prominency of my nose. They
insisted that both were artificial.
The first, they said, was pro-
duced when I was an infant,
by dipping me in milk; and
they insisted that my nose had

PARJCS LIFE AND TRA VELS.

413

[1 ; but 1 had no

lieen pinched every day, till it
Iiad acquired its present i...-
siglitly and unnatural confor-
mation. On my part, without
(lis|)Uting my own deformity, 1
paid them many compliments
on African beauty. 1 praised
the glossy jet of their skins,
and the lovely depression of
tlieir noses ; but they said that
flattery, or, as they emphatically
termed it, honey-mouthy was not
esteemed in Bondou. In re-
turn, however, for my company
or my compliments (to which,
by the way, they seemed not so
insensible as they affected to be)
they presented me with a jar of
honey and some fish, which
were sent to my lodging; and
I was desired to come again to
the king a little before sunset.

I carried with me some beads
and writing-paper, it being
usual to present some small
offering on taking leave : in
return for which, tne king gave
me five drachms of gold; ob-
serving that it was but a trifle,
and given out of pure friendship,
but would be of use to me in
travelling, for the purchase of
provisions. He seconded this
act of kindness by one still
greater j politely telling me, that
though it was customary to ex-
amine the baggage of every
traveller passing through his
country, yet, in the present
instance, he would dispense
with that ceremony ; adding, I
was at liberty to depart when I
pleased.

Accordingly, on the morning
of the 23d, we left Fatteoonda,

and about eleven o'clock came
to a small village, where we
determined to stop for the rest
of the day.

In the afternoon my fellow-
travellers informed me, that as
this was the boundary between
Bondou and Kajaaga, and dan-
gerous for travellers, it would
be necessary to continue our
journey by night, until we
should reach a more hospitable
part of the country. I agreed
to the proposal, and hired two
people for guides through the
woods ; and as soon as the
people of the village were gone
to sleep (the moon shining
bright) we set out. The still-
ness of the air, the howling of
the wild beasts, and the deep
solitude of the forest, made the
scene solemn and impressive.
Not a w©rd was uttered by any
of us but in a whisper ; all were
attentive, and every one anxious
to show his sagacity by point-
ing out to me the wolves and
hysenas, as they glided like
shadows from one thicket to
another. Towards morning,
we arrived at a village called
Kimmoo, where our guides
awakened one of their acquaint-
ances, and we stopped to give
the asses some corn, and roast
a few ground nuts for ourselves.
At daylight we resumed our
journey ; and in the afternoon
arrived at Joag, in the kingdom
of Kajaaga.

Being now in a country and
among a people differing in
many respects from those that
have as yet fallen under our

4V4

rnr FSr;r)sti aa/Vi'A'A'A'.t.

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\\\s\\\\\\\\ I? l^oni\«U^«j \^\\ \\\\'

*i\s\\\\\ wrM V\ \\\^\\\\\, tM\ \\\v
Wrn! |sy \\^\s\-s '\\\\\:\, ^\\\\ K^w

\\\\\\ svo«sM«i. \s\\\ 1t\r UwA !•?

'^t\'t\\\'\S\\\\\r^% who \\i\\T nv\\\v\\
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tVth^ txVt ^.lh. whiirh !hrv rt.g:in\

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'\\\x\ i»Urlll .iMrVMlillr^ o| ..,,1

H.'lrjtrtl \\\\ \\\ ^\\\\\\\ \s'.\\i\ idii'
l;llMi<ifi rvlrh MJn^nt f1 \sxs\\\\[\
\\\x''^r* \\\\\^\<^, W\\s^ lIutnvM oti
hoi »M\\Jwirt, p»omjt'r» i1 viM
j>trr1nr1hl t^ttoni, hMil tUo \\<^v^
OV ti\>» M!\H«linp,Or"i l«M \\v\\\\\\\

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\\\\\A\r'\\ rtVp VMV i<»»rtvv t \\\
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l>.'iv«t jt Ivw ol |i'nio)M*t»i< »nri

» h:\<\»!h»\ MMlt rtl I'tlMrtiMliI;).

h\«ti:^h b;iO. 01 rt M^n-^ltci. t^ml
««i^ hoOifft of miniwuviifh rtip
r^.ufmt rt-l fh^ rooil\MMl lillMilr
iU- I^W^r\l1«» of llir-^»' ^liMlt"?, ihr
Mnp, »M Uotitln l«< wril «<upnliril

t'iUM\n\«?ff1MrP whirls »MilKr>< Mn^
f*on\\lii!iMr to fl\n nri^MuMuin})

roti^j^tVxion** ''\\\A MrUlontil nt.in
lUM^ ^\^s\\\ \\\r' MrtH»iiii^op« Mini
StM-rt\VO0llir*«<^ Uiih \\\\\s\\\ lIU'V
rtvr fh'»fnrnfly rtf wrth Shi«i'

n-o^Sfil \\\v V"'hlruu< vivrM Willi ;»

!^''vMf !\\nl Mooify riunnilijii,
\\sH\\\ ihMortlt*<l fhr foor"* ol

vS;0>^t>0<V, V\\\p^ of !<;0\lh0Hl(, wlio
Wrt;; ohHatnt \xs n\\^ f'OV iHMir.
:\\^tf «\ntrh»UM fo liliii ml ihr
fo\vi\« !lloO^ fl\r rn«<hMn \\'M\V

h;>«; \svv\\ \<\\^v\\v\\ \\\ rt looilri

t!\rtpfcv) A\^ Of n ftovtn" «'^i<'

/\//PA\V ///^/? .^At> n.iVf'L^.

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.■»|.fl.-.^^x^-.^^^.£:^^..>, .■.■■.^, ..., i^i..^-..w....

MiiNMHHMii4>w.

MMHiilMij;ori, \\\<^\ Mir? tin

r« «nilhltv •♦! Hu^
\\\v^\^\\ iHMHv "Hif'f MM|i»l«i»nt

.(I W fJirrtI i1I»<ImH( r« hoin rMrh
OlllrJ ! H(hl» »»MM|ilr<ylMH, lunv
rvrl Is »it«* pVtuHv Hir^ SMttlr Ift
llu' I'llltiMrHt tll«<llirh j Iti )«mm

^vltlfh rt«r flllUfiin'l Ih iW vI
iIkIIv Mlllir Mntnhh lrMlllnfln«t,

Hlp^l«m llirtH lt< ll«f' wMnilictn

slrtlRH.
thr^ hMMMliw nr MmiwImji fitr»

iitiliUMllv •'♦ rt '»<"•' f''"^ f'/'tlHr*
tilmMwIllMMjMil llu' MiulmHlMlilf
mrtxlin«! Ml llw K»Mfifi lifivr'
mrt»ip II^PMi If'rt't linfl|tllrtl»|p U)
pHtlimrtik mitt <MHtr» Ir^flrHrd
\\\ llirii l»plirtvlnut. Iliriti Hip
MrtMtllii);^^^?. 'I'lirv pvltlpiifly
MMlMde*! rtll llif* Mr'^tM iihHvr'H
m tlirll llirrHtM«i MiuK \\\m\
Itilltlnp Mf ilinbiPiii iimHmii«,
nlwius ituilt llii»inseivr«i nmuiig
lilt' uitllp ppoplpi

TliH) Rtivciiiiup|ihllfl>'i'« IVr»tii
llinl «il Imp MMIulliiRnpw «lilrlly
in \\\\<\, ilml llu'v MiP iiinip liii
nuMllfilrlv iiiultM- Hip IiiIIiipiup
mI Ihp Mnlirmiinptlrtii hws i Uw
nil llir ililpf tiiPin Hip l<iiia ph
irplrti, MiiH rt IrtlftP ♦nrt)niilv '♦f
llip inliMhllMHlrt ol Moinltni, jtrp
MiisRiilmrin«<, rttiH Hip mmIImhHv
mill IrtWH ol Hip l'i(i|ilipt nrp

PVt'l\MvlllMP |(MiIum1 llpllll !)«

Miini'd rtiiH Hprlalvt*. hi IIip
fxi'irise ofHielt IniHi, lunvcvrf,

Hlf'V ^^^ H'** VPfV l»llH|pt'ili(
l»mMM!»< «itlrl« ri( fllPJt ^Mm(ffy
iMPii Ml mIIII ipImIii lllPJf MfU l»'(lf

«tl|ltPlMHHH»|«1 Kp|||f|Mlf«J |»PMP

♦ HHmH h llMl hlHWtl rtlllM»t|r

Hu'lii, titii- In If \uu pt«t»fi»y ) ^|^
H(p •iv'»lf'm ''^ MnhfimiiipH h
iiim'Ip Im pvIpimI IhpW |tv fMprtni

mImIIuImIiHv fflMIP pfli^M^lMHT

\\\ f'llMMlnlilMf^ MHiftll wplHtnh
III Hip Hlftpfpfil Imwii«», tvlipfp
IHMIIV ♦»' Hlf pMKKl rt«« wpII f11

MMluimiiipHMii <'IiIIH^pm riff?
Itiiiplil U) tpMfl (lip kf»frtti, rtti'l
liit«lMH IpH III Hi^ |pMpft« hf Hi'»
I'h»|iIip|, Hip MHlidiniMpHfiM
pi|p«h n<f n hint oil Hip fiilh»l%
rtiul (Iff III Hip < liMiM'fpf, Mf Hipjf
vniin^ «1hrl)t|p«<, wlll^ll mm ner)

HpHI« mI lirp (Mill *^Mt^f f\h^fWf\fiU

♦ fiiunn Mf rtllpf. Mrttiy <»f
llihqp HiHp mi linnh I vhlfpH in
iiivi«tMBi<^N««H)rM(i^|iflm rridiiifv*

Mlltf I nOMPfVpH wifll |»|pf1«^llfp Hip
ttlPftl HmpIHIv MtlH fllll>llll«»'»lv»!

!lp|uMfiiiPiit of Hu' iliilHfPh, rtful
liPrtiHly whliF-H flipy I»mH IimH
I»p1I»m liislmi'lMfN MriH m iiiiipr
fpHjatloti.

WlHi Hip MMlifiifMiiprlMM (miHi
N Hhn IhIniHh'pH Hip AtnMp

IflllgllMfrp, wlHl Wlllfll ftUJflf (if

Hip I'niilrtliN hrtvp m sllgftf ft^--
♦|iirtliilrt»U'p. *('liplr firtHvplohgiip
fili.Miiiulw vpiv imuh In ll'jiilfh,
lull HiPfp h «(»MipHiiti$j iifijilprt-
flrtiif ill Hip mfiiifipf nf pm
tiMHM( Itig II. A ftlffiti^Pr, tm
liPMiin^HiP comiMMM ^0f1vpr«^

linn Mf fWM rnillfll|1< WfKiM

liiui^iiip HiMl, Hipy wpfp N(f>IH
ilia pmpIi (filler. 'I'lipir Miirne-
irtls nfp Hicfip t -

Ofip, (JOi

Twf), hppHHpe.

> )

'11

f I &.

l(SfS

m*l> riil

i^'MiiTiiitiiiiinii

'■111 nn'frilnfiliiUlir'i

^<>i'^ »l»»tthv» t\\\\\ V\\\\S\ t\\\ \h^

^\vM nV\\\ \\\ \\\\^ \\\'M\t\i\v\\\v\\\

tA!^v\m^lv \i,v\\\W \\\ Kinil
yw*'*»» t\\\\\ \\\m\m\\s\ i^w [\\^

N\h\\h rt^v ronMh<rlt^\i \\\ \\\v

th%^ t^»V!^ \\)\uh rt<x» kin\tUM
wNwnvl iho kovuM> \\% iM^\\{^\\

T)w \ i\ulo rt^v twi<k<M h\ tH«»

wwlk »s ovvvUtM\t ; l^m |H<»

*M\o WW is by tK> t\u\\ns so

tin tnlitlM ni <IU*I, tihil (Itrti uni
nnlil ii i^ tptlip *«)Mn h,^

VWtWW \\\\\\\\ il r\l)tMtlM U Vt'lv

<hl«k, Mtnl in tohviilol Ihik

iMtKft )tV MiMina it ViillcMllv

in t\ ltu^t« ttOhltMnh. Ihi^
ImHIi'V, mI^'M ini'll>M| HM'i „

m'nilr \\i\\ M\\\ litM'il lnMO itu
pn\illt'«, iM Hh'«<»Mvr'(l in n\\u\\\
vi\\\\\v\\ (mMaj jMi»I <innv« m jtitii
in ntoqj ol ilu«it i(lMln>q: ii
«»M\m lik»'\vi«i»« lo nntMni ilu«li
lu'ttdii »<n«l ii lM"<hnvn| v»mv
)i)n>(hlly on lln^ii iin-rn miil
io\n«

Mnt rtltlnn^l) ntilk <•« )t)pniinil,
il ifl funni^vhiM h'inioltnlOi' \\\m
l)n> t^'onitOH, iomI in«lt>iM) ttll
tin* iiyh;\)titiO)ti iM tlti^ jttnt ol
Al\int, tOt> toti^Hv nniM <|MttlnltMl
with tin* 1^\^ ol n\itkin^ (-hiM'm>
A l\in» nttrn Innt'iM to [W ruR
tonvH ol ihv»ii ton-(>»(lotR nu«lo^

tlUM\< Vi«»\V with MM PV»» ol pU'
|n>liri» »'\>MVll»it<H tluU looltM

i>k»» innovation. 'I'l^o \\v\\\ ni
tho rlin^wto i\n<l tln» ^\\vM nvtw
ritv ol «i\lt lOv In'M lotlh i«><
nnjMiNWrhiMi* obh'rliot\«( ; {\\\\\
\\w \\\\ysW |nooi»»s m^m'rtVR (0
\\w\\\ (00 lon^ Mn^l lh»nl»lt»sonu'
to W i\\\\'\\\M with unv Rolid

hitViO\tt<}ii*.

IU»Ri«1»'»<h«» V(\{\U\ \\\\'\^\\v^^\\
n\\{\\W tho v\\w\ wenlth ol tlu>
l>onl{U\R, ll\i»v l^osR^nw ftonu'
t^voollottt l\o\Bp«, tlu' Ini'inl ol
whirh Rivnm tt> hi* rt nn\t»niM»l
the* Atuhidu with thc» oiigin.*!
A(\iiiit\.

rJh'f{'\^ ftf^n ,^/vn WAtnfA

4»r

i« tnllK l-ltirllv t1^
U'l, Mhll llml \\n\

I itlliMtlM In \v\\
\ fMhVr4lril \\\Us

\\\\\S, i< \li«ti>lMlv
MlhltMnh. i'liiq

»»U>I|>m| M\t't tl

I OimmI liiMO liu
i'«i»'»v»"il Im i<h«t(ll
Mill <tvni1q t( jtiMI
\\w\\ lil^lh'q j ii

llh'il lt\r»'« itlitl

I Htilk <<< lOrhlinil,

tMt«l \\\\W\\ \\\\

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|Ul\^ (idU l<«o)(M

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'\^m Hl^jMMlR to

M\il th»nl»li»»onu'
with «uv m»li(l

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M \VlM«IU\ 01 tlu>

, tlu» ImimmI oi
I bo rt utivUui'ol

»■

i ■ I illli

(IIAPII'W V.

Tllti'. ItlitMilMMt of KmImmum, ill
whit li I W(i« lutw MiilvftI, h
iitiit'ii liv iiit^ I'lciicli (iiilliiiii.

lull lIlfllillllClllMl I llMVMtl(lH|l|fM

\ti iiitlvrMrilly imcil hv (lie iiti
||\TM. i'liln i-iMliidy in iiniiiiilfMl
Mil iIh' nniilii ciml tiiitl ttniilli
liy |IiIII|ImM|I<, Mil lli«« \\v*k\ I»v
IlilllillMI (Mill I'lMtltl TlHIII, tllul

(III du' luiHli i»V IliM liv«'i H»'ii«»

Hill.
Tli»» nil finil iliiiirtlf* flip. I

jU'lllVi', ItlOlp )MII(« Mild Atlluilli

oiin llliili III fitly nf (lu> nhII)!*
iiuiilfi tiiwiitttfi IliM ('(Mini ] |)i«>
l,i(i> Mi lilt* I'Miitiliy in pvf'iy-

ull('H'llll«'IWp«»t«Hl Willi ll l»llMl«

Inn viiilfly Ml IiIIIn ntnl vMilpyfl i
mill tln' wliiililiMfl mI IIk^ Hciicufii
ilv»'i, wliiili »|pm>«'iuls IImiii (Iu-
101 l(V liilln orilic iiiiciiMi, iiiiilte
ilu» mi'iu'iy Mil ilH l»iiiil<R vt'iy
pitHllrRiJIlp iliut liHfllllKUi.

Tim iitliiiltilMiiln (1(0 (<nll(>tl
SiiiiWMMllii'fl, III (fifl ilm I''h«ii( ll
wilir it) Sft\i,\^ffh, 1'li(»ii (Mill
\s\y\\\\\\ Is Ii, |(?l. Iil.uk s llipy
iii(> lull lo W (li<)liiittiiinliMil ill
this rcM|ifMl IVmiii Hip JiilMflii.

Thr i^MVi'iiinuMtl ifi iiiMiiiiiclii
(III, iiiui lite K^^til ttiitliMiily,
liom wlinl I i?MjK'rifMU'Pil mI it,
Hi'vtiiR IM lip nttiili UMiily rMitiiiil,

lll»ll>. 'Hie |»PM|»IP lIlPIIIRpiVPR

liowrvei, I'Mliiplrtilt of no m|»
|»ivflRiMii, niul wiTiiiiMt fill vpiy

(UIHiMllR IM nttp)H)t( lIlP l^ill^ ill

(I ninli'Rt lio Wdft m»iliw Im I'lilci
into with tlip RMVpi(»lgii mI Kns-
son. 'Tiip iSpirtWMMlllpR HIT lin-
Itilnnlly rt ttiuiitig jirojilp ; llipy
furnkilv rdiiloil on a gt odl ( mhi-

IIIhM'I* Willi lIlP {'"MMll ll ill ^mM
tlllll nlllVPK, ftllll Mllll llltlllllfllM
«Mlll»« (itllDl- ill «I(IV»'« Willi lIlM

tliili^li fill ImiImn mm (lifOfiiiiMfi.
'I'lify fiiP tcikMitpil iMlfifiidy
(ilif tiiul |iiq( ill llici^ ilftiiiii^M^
ImiI flip liii|p|Mli^ril)|p in (lipir
pftPiliMim Im fit t|iiiip wpfillli« fttid
llipy iIpiIvp iM»i«li|p»fil»lp iiimOH
liy llip fillip of null mill (mMmm
I ImIIi ill illnldiil CMiifil^iPS. WlipM

M Hi'IiiwmmIII (IIPII llflllt fPlllMtn
llMIIlP flMlll ll llfl(lill|4 fXtilMliliOII,

liip iipi^liliMiitn iMiiiip(tifilp|y fin^

nP|llll|p|M(Mllglflltllfl|p|lillllliMm

liin tilliviil. ( Ml lilpnp Ml f'fiqlMliii
lltp lifivp||pMli«|ilfiyn liln wpiiilll
find liliPifillly liy iiiiildii)^ a fpw
jilPHPlllN lo liifi ftipiidn ; lilll if
IIP lififl lippii iihNiM-f'pntiriil liin
Ipvpp in niiMii iivpr, find pv»'fy
Miip liMiltn ii|iMii hint im fi iiiMM
Iff iiM iindpintfoidln^, wlio i oiild
|ipiImiiii n Imii^ joiiiMpy nnd (nir
llicv PH|)i(<nn ii) ' ItHiiij Ikii k
iiMliiin^ lull llip lifili ii|ioii liin
lipftd/

'riipif Ifin^tifif^p filioiindn iniMli
in |j|illtiiiiln, find in iimI no liio-
niMiiiMiin nn timi n|iokpn liy llip
I'Mitlftlin. 1 1 in, liowpvpi'^ wpII
WMilli fi(i|iiitiiiM liy llionp who
tmvpl thtoiigh tliifl pfiil of the
AlVlrfiii lonliiipnl, ll lipln^^ vpiy
upiiPKilly iindprnlMMd In I he
kin^donin of Krinnon. Kftiohi,
I .(iiTiiniMi, find llip norlnptn |inHn
mI ItrtiiiliMiiii. In fill Ihpnoi Mini'
liipn llip Mprfiwoollipn nip lh«
rliirl lindctn* 'riieit niinipoih
(IIP J—

llitnK

inilo.

Mil 10,

Niiiirtlo.

Onp,
Two,
Thipp,
l*'utii,

<'<!

'I.

'' a

iMtt-tiMi

4t«

THE RNGLlSn RXPLORRRS.

Five, Krtirago.

Six, Tootno.

Seven, Nero.

Might, Scgo.

Nine, K(U)bo.

Ten, Tamo.

Twenty, Tamo <li I'illo.
Wc arrived at Joag, the fron-
tier town of this kingdom, on
the a4th of December, and took
\\\s our residence at the house
of the chief man, who is here
no longer known by the title of
ry/Z-ff/r/, but is ciilled the r/(V>()'.
He was a rigid Mohammedan,
but distiiwuished for his ho8|ii-
taUty. iTiis town may be sup-
posed, on a gross computation,
to contain two thousand inha-
bitants. It is surrounded by a
high wall, in which arc A num-
ber of port-holes for musketry
to fire through, in case of an
attack. Every man's possession
is likewise surrounded by a wall,
the v;!;ole forming so many dis-
tinct citadels ; and amongst a
people unacquainted with the
use of artillery, these walls an-
swer all the purposes of stronger
fortifications. To the westward
of the town is a small river, on
the banks of which the natives
raise great plenty of tobacco
and onions.

The same evening Madiboo,
the bushreen, who had accom-
junied me from Pisania, went
to |>ay a visit to his father and
mother, who dwelt at a neigh-
bouring town called Dramanct.
He was joined by my other
attendant, the blacksmith. As
soon as it was dark I was in-
vited to see the sports of the

inhabitants, it being their Km,
torn, on the arrival «)f strangers,
to wolcotne then» by diversions
of different kinds. I found n
great crowd s\irrounding a pnrty
who were dancing, by the light
of son\e large fires, to the tnuRii
of four drums, which were l)cat
with great exactness and \\\\\.
I'ormity. The dances, however,
consisted more In wanton gcs
tures than in nniscular exertion
or graceful attitudes. The Ijulics
vied with each other in displ.iy.
ing the most voluptuous tnovc
mcnts imaginable.

Dfcembfr 25. — About t wo
o'clock in the morning a num.
ber of horsemen came into the
town, and, having awakened my
landlord, talked to him for some
time in the Sera wool li tongue ;
after which they dismoiniied
and came to the bcntang, on
which I had matlc my l)C(l.
One of them, thinking that 1
was asleep, attempted to steal
the musket that lay by me on
the mat, but findmg that he
could not effect his purpose un-
discovered, he desisted ; and
the strangers sat down by mc
till dayliglit.

I could now easily perceive,
by the countenance of my in-
terpreter, Johnson, that some-
thing very unpleasant was in
agitation. I was likewise sur-
prised to see Madiboo and the
blacksmith so soon returned.
On inquiring the reason, Madi-
boo informed me that, as they
were dancing at Dramanet, ten
horsemen belonging to Batchcri,
king of the country, witii his

PAR/CS LIFE AND TRA VKLS,

4t9

being tlicir cus-
ival of Htriuigcrs,
[?in by ili versions
hIr. ! foinul II
rrotiniling !i pnrty
ing, by the light
ires, lo the nuiNir
which were boat
u'lnesN nn«l uni-
ilances, however,
I in wanton gcs
nu!)('ulnr exertion
lules. 'I'lie ladies
other in display^
ohiptuous niovc-
l)le.

15. — AluMit two

morning a num-

n came into the

ing awakened my

[I to him for sonic

irawoolli tongue ;

|hcy dismonnld

tlic bcntang, on

made my bed.

thinking that I

emptcd to steal

t lay by me on

finding that he

his nurpose un-

desiatcd ; and

at down by me

easily perceive,
[lance of my in-
9on, that some-
bleasant was in
las likewise sur-
[adiboo and the
I soon returned.

reason, Madi-
|e that, as they

Dranianet, ten
ting to Batrhcri,
imtry, with his

second no at their head, had
arrived there, incpiiring if the
white man had passed, and, on
hcing told that 1 was at Joag,
they rode o(T without stopping.
Mrtdiboo adilcd, that on hear-
ing thiSf he and the blacksmith
hastened back to give mo notice
of their coming?. Whilst 1 was
listening to this narrative, the
ten horsemen mentioned by
Matliboo arrived, ami, coming
to the bentang, dismounted and
seated themselves with those
who had come before — the
whole being about twenty in
number -tbrming a circle round
mc, and each man holding his
musket in his hand. I took this
opportunity to observe to my
landlord, that as I did not un-
derstand the Serawoolli tongue,
1 hoped, whatever the men had
to say, they would speak in
Mandingo. I'o this they agreed ;
and a short man, loaded with a
remarkable number of saphies,
opened the business in a very
long harangue, informing me
that I had entered the king^'s
town without having first paid
the duties, or giving any preeent
to the king ; and that, accord-
ing to the laws of the country,
my people, cattle, and baggage
were forfeited. He added, that
they had received orders from
the king to conduct me to
Maana,* the place of his resi-
dence, and, if I refused to come
with them, their orders were to
bring me by force; upon his

• Maann is within « short tlistntico of the
niins of Foit St. Jt'scjih, on tlio Senegal
river, formerly u French factory

saying which, nil of them rose
tip and asked me if I was ready.
It would have been ctpially vain
and imprudent in me to have
resisted or irritated sucli a body
of men ; I therefore affected to
comply with their commands,
and begged them only to stop
a little until t had given my
horse n feed of corn, and setllnl
matters with my landlord. Tlic
poor blacksmith, who was a
native of Kasson, mistook this
feigned compliance for a real
intention, and, taking mc away
from the company, told mc that
he had always behaved towards
mc as if I had been his father
and master, and he hoped I
would not entirely ruin him by
going to Maana ; adding, that
as there was ^s^ry reason to
believe a war would soon take
place between Kasson and Ka-
jaaga, he should not only lose
his little property, the savings of
four years' industry, but should
certainly be detained and sold
as a slave, unless his friends
had an opportunity of paying
two slaves for his redemption.
I saw this reasoning in its full
force, and determined to do my
utmost to preserve the black-
smith from so dreadful a fate.
I therefore told the king's son
that I was ready to go with
him, upon condition that the
blacksmith, who was an inha-
bitant of a distant kingdom,
and entirely unconnected with
me, should be allowed to stay
at Joag till my return. To this
they all objected, and insisted
that, as wc had all acted con-

1 1'

> !'Ir%#'

430

THE ENGUSn EX PICKERS,

tniry to the lawH, wc were nil
e<|U{illy iimwcrablc lor our con-

1 now took my landlord aside,
and givii\g him a Ninall present
of gunpowder, aNkol his adviec
in KO <'ritie:i1 a Kituation. lie
was iloeidedly of opinion (hat I
ought not to go to the king : he
was lullv eonvineed, he said, that
if the king should discover any-
thing valuable in my possession,
he would not be over scrupu-
lous about the means of obtain-
ing it.

Towards the evening, nji I
was sitting tipon the l)entang
el\e\\'^ng straws, an old temale
slave, passing by with n basket
upon her head, asked me if I
Ihui ^ot my dinner. As I
thought she only laughed at mc,
I gave her no answer ; but my
boy, who was sitting close l)y,
answered for me, and told her
that the kiiig's people had
robbed mc of all my money.
On hearing this, the good old
woman, with a look of<maft'ected
benevolence, immediately took
tiK' basket from her head, and
showing me that it contained
ground nuts, asked nte if 1 could
eat them ; being answered in
the attirmative, she |)resented
mc with a few hantlfuls, and
walked away before I had time
to thank her for tlits seasonable
supply.

The old woman had scarcely
left me, when I received infor-
mation that a nephew of Demba
Sego J alia, the Mandingo king
of Kasson, was coming to pay
me a visit. He had been sent

on an embansy to l>.itchcri,
king of Kajaaga, to cndeiivuur
to settle the disputes which had
arisen bctwi'cn his uncle aiul
the latter ; but, alter dcbiUin|r
the matter four clays wiihout
suci'ess, he was now on his
return -anti heaving that a white
man was at Joag, on his way lo
Kasson, cunosily brxnight him
to see me. I repn'sentetl lo
him my situation and distresses,
when he frankly oH'crcd mc his

1)rotcction, and said he would
)e my guide to Kasson (pro.
vidcd 1 would set out tlu>
next morning), and be answer-
able ior my safety. I readily
and gratelully accepted hin
olVer, ami was ready, with my
attendants, by daylight on the
morning of the a 7th of De-
cember.

My protector, whoso name
was Demba Sego, probably after
his uncle, had a numerous re-
tinue. Our company, at Iciiv-
ing Joag, consisted of thirty per-
sons and six loaded asses ; and
we rode on cheerfully enough
for some hours, without any
remarkable occurrence, until
we came to a species of tree,
for which my interpreter, John-
son, had made frequent inquiry.
On fmding it, he desired us to
stop ; and, producing a white
chicken, which he had pur-
chased at Joag for the pur-
pose, he tied it by the leg to
one of the branches, and then
told us w- might now safely
proceed, for that our journey
would be prosperous.
At noon we had reached

P.IJiK'S LIFE AND TRAVFJ.!^,

43!

iHHy to hatchrri,
liign, to ctulcavuiir
li.sputcH which \\\\\
en his mule and
tit, alter (U'hiitin|r
four (lays wilhont
was now on liis
learinKth.ita white
oaK, on his way to
oKity brought liiiu
I represented lo
lion and distresHcs,
ikly otVcrcd nic his
lul said he would
; to Kasson (pro.
>uld set out iho
;), and I)c answer-
safety. I rciuhly
ly accepted his
!is ready, with my
»y daylight on the
the 27 th of Do-

(in^^adi, a large town where
we stopped about an hour, until
some of the mhnch that had fallen
hchitid came up. Here I ob-
served a number of date-trres,
and a nioH(|ue built of clay,
with six turrets, on the pinnadcH
of which were placed stx ostrich
eggs. A little before sunset we
arrived at the town of Sainee,
on the banks of the Senegal,
which is here abcautiful but shal-
low river, moving slowlv over a
1)0(1 of snml and gravel, 'i'he
banks are high, and covered
with verdure— the country is
open and cultivated — and the
rorky hills of Fellow and H.im-
houk add much to the beauty
of the landsca|)C.

DacmlTtr i^th. — We <)e-
narted from Samee, and arrived
in the afternoon at Kayce, a
large village, part of which is
situated on the north, and ])art
on the south side of the river.

The ferryman then taking
hold of the most steady of the
iiorscs by a rope, led him into
the water, and paddled the
canoe a little from the brink ;
ui)on which a general attack
commenced upon the other
horses, who, finding themselves
pelted and kicked on all sides,
unanimously phmged into the
river, and followed their com-
panion. A few boys swam in
after them ; and, by laving
water upon them when they
attempted to return, urged them
onwards ; and we had the satis-
faction, in about fifteen minutes,
to see them all safe on the
other side. It was a matter of

greater difficulty to manage the
asses ; their n.itural stubitorn-
ncHs of disposition made them
endure a great deal of pHting
and shoving before they w«)uld
V(Miture into the water ; and
when they had reached the
middle of the stream, four of
them turned iKick, in spite of
every exertion to get them for-
wards. Two hours were spent
in getting the whole of them
over ; an hour more was em-
ployed i-n transporting the bag-
gage; and it was near sunset
before the cmnoc returned, when
Demba Sego and myself em-
barked in this dangerous !]>aH-
sage-boat, which the least
motion was like to overset.
The king's nephew thought this
a proper time to have a peep
into a tin box of mine, that
stood in the fore part of the
canoe ; and in stretching out
his hand for it, he unfortunately
destroyed the equilibrium, ami
overset the canoe. J/Uckiiy we
were not far advanced, and got
back to the shore without much
difliculty ; from whence, after
wringing the water from our
clothes, we took a fresh depar-
ture, and were soon afterwards
safely landed in Kasson.

CHAPTER VI.

We no sooner found ourselves
safe in Kasson, than Demba
Sego told me that we were now
in his uncle's dominions, and
he hoped I would consider, be-

'f^ 1;

■ iiai

1'.

4*9

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

h .1

II ^

ing now out of danger, the obli-
gation I owed to him, and make
him a suitable return for the
trouble he had taken on my
account by a handsome present.
This, as he knew how much
liad been pilfered from me at
Joag, was rather an unexpected
proposition, and I began to
fear that I had not much im-
proved my condition by cross-
ing the water ; but as it would
have been folly to complain, I
made no observation upon his
conduct, and gave him seven
bars of amber and some to-
bacco, with which he seemed to
be content.

After a long day's journey, in
the course of which I observed
a number of large loose nodules
of white granite, we arrived at
Teesee on the evening of De-
cember iQth, and were accom-
modated in Demba Sego's hut.
The next morning he intro-
duced me to his father, Tiggity
Sego, brother to the king of
Kasson, chief of Teesee.
The old man viewed me with
great earnestness, having never,
he said, beheld but one white
man before, whom by his de-
scription I immediately knew
to be Major Houghton.

In the afternoon one of his
slaves eloped ; and a general
alarm being given, every person
that had a horse rode into the
woods, in the hopes of appre-
hending him, and Demba Sego
begged the use of my horse for
the same purpose. I readily
consented; and in about an
hour they all returned with the

slave, who was severely flogged,
and afterwards put in irons.
On the day following (Decem-
ber 31st) Demba Sego was
ordered to go with twenty horse-
men to a town In Gedumab, to
adjust some dispute with the
Moors, a party ov whom were
supposed to have stolen three
horses from Teese.e. Demba
begged a second lime the use
of my horse, adding, that the
sight of my bridle and saddle
would give him consequence
among the Moors. This re-
quest also I readily granted,
and he promised to return at
the end of three days. During
his absence I amused myself
with walking about the town,
and conversing with the na-
tives, who attended me every-
where with great kindness and
curiosity, and supplied me with
milk, eggs, and what other
provisions I wanted, on very
easy terms.

Teesee is a large unwalled
town, having no security against
the attack of an enemy except
a sort of citadel, in which
Tiggity and his family con-
stantly reside. This town,
according to the report of the
natives, was formerly inhabited
only by a few Foulah shepherds,
who lived in considerable afflu-
ence by means of the excellent
meadows in the neighbourhood,
in which they reared great herds
of cattle. But their prosperity
attracting the envy of some
Mandingoes, the latter drove
out the shepherds, and took
possession of their lands.

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS,

)

423

; severely flogged,
is put in irons.
)llowing (Decem-
jmba Sego was
vith twenty horse-
1 In Gedumab, to
dispute with the
:y ov whom were
lave stolen three
reesee. Demba
)nd time the use
adding, that the
tridle and saddle

The present inhabitants,
though they possess both cattle
and corn in abundance, are not
over nice in articles of diet ;
rats, moles, squirrels, snakes,
locusts, etc., are eaten without
scruple by the highest and low-
est. My people were one
evening invited to a feast given
by some of the townsmen,
where, after making a hearty
meal of what they thought fish
and kouskous, one of them
found a piece of hard skin in
the dish, and brought it along
with him to shew me what sort
of fish they had been eating.
On examining the skin, I found
they had been feasting on a
large snake. Another custom
still more extraordinary is, that
no woman is allowed to eat an
egg. This prohibition, whether
arising from ancient supersti-
tion, or from the craftiness of
some old bushreen, who loved
eggs himself, is rigidly adhered
to, and nothing will more
affront a woman of Teesee
than to offer her an egg. The
custom is the more singular, as
the men eat eggs without
scruple in the presence of their
wives, and I never observed the
same prohibition in any other
of the Mandingo countries.

The third day after his son's
departure, Tiggity Sego held a
palaver on a very extraordinary
occasion, which I attended ;
and the debates on both sides
of the question displayed much
ingenuity. The case was this :
—A young man, a kafir of con-
siderable affluence, who had

recently married a young and
handsome wife, applied to a
very devout bushreen, or Mus-
sulman priest, of his acquaint-
ance, to procure him saphies
for his protection during the
approaching war. The bush-
reen. complied with the request ;
and in order, as he pretended,
to render the saphies more effi-
cacious, enjoined the young
man to avoid any nuptial in-
tercourse with his bride for the
space of six weeks. Severe as
the injunction was, the kafir
strictly obeyed; and, without
telling his wife the real cause,
absented himself from her com-
pany. In the meantime, it be-
gan to be whispered at Teesee
that the bushreen, who always
performed his evening devotions
at the door of the kafir's hut,
was more intimate with the
young wife than he ought to be.
At first, the good husband was
unwilling to suspect the honour
of his sanctified friend, and one
whole month elapsed before
any jealousy rose in his mind,
but hearing the charge repeated,
he at last interrogated his wif(^
on the subject, who frankly con
fessed that the bushreen had
seduced her. Hereupon the
kafir put her into confine-
ment, and called a palaver upon
the bushreen's conduct. The
fact was clearly proved against
him ; and he was sentenced to
be sold into slavery, or to find
two slaves for his redemption,
according to the pleasure of
the complainant. The injured
husband, however, was unwill*

]TW.<

424

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

,::il

ing to proceed against his friend
to such extremity, and desired
rather to have him publicly
flogged before Tiggity Sego's
gate. This was agreed to, and
the sentence was immediately
executed. The culprit was
tied by the hands to a strong
stake; and a long black rod
being brought forth, the execu-
tioner, after flourishing it round
his head for some time, applied
it with such force and dexterity to
the bushreen's back as to make
him roar until the woods re-
sounded with his screams. The
surrounding multitude, by their
hooting and laughing, mani-
fested how much they enjoyed
the punishment of this old
gallant ; and it is worthy of re-
mark, that the number of stripes
was precisely the same as are
enjoined by the Mosaic law,
forty ^ save one.

As there appeared great pro-
bability that Teesee, from its
being a frontier town, would be
much exposed during the war
to the predatory incursions of
the Moors of Gedumah, Tiggity
Sego had, before my arrival,
sent round to the neighbouring
villages to beg or to purchase
as much provisions as would
afford subsistence to the inha-
bitants for one whole year, in-
dependently of the crop on the
ground, which the Moors might
destroy. This project was well
received by the country people,
and they fixed a day on which
to bring all the provisions they
could spare to Teesee ; and as
my horse was not yet returned, I

went, in the afternoon of Janu-
ary 4th, 1796, to meet the es-
cort with the provisions.

It was composed of about
400 men, marching in good
order, with corn and ground
nuts in large calabashes upon
their head. They were pre-
ceded by a strong guard of
bowmen, and followed by eight
musicians or singing-men. As
soon as they approached the
town, the latter began a song,
every verse of which was an-
swered by the company, and
succeeded by a few strokes on
the large drums. In this man-
ner they proceeded, amidst the
acclamations of the populace,
till they reached the house of
Tiggity Sego, where the loads
were deposited; and in the
evening they all assembled
under the bentang tree, and
spent the night in dancing and
merriment.

On the 5th of January, an
embassy of ten people belong-
ing to Almami Abdulkader,
king of Foota-Torra, a country
to the west of Bondou, arrived
at Teesee ; and, desiring Tiggity
Sego to call an assembly of the
inhabitants, announced publicly
their king's determination to
this effect: — *That unless all
the people of Kasson would
embrace the Mohammedan re-
ligion, and evince their convei-
sion by saying eleven public
prayers, he, the king of Foota-
Torra, could not possibly stand
neuter in the present contest,
but would certainly join his
arms to those of Kajaaga.' A

FARJCS LIFE AND TRA VELS.

425

message of this nature from so
oowerful a prince could not fail
:o create great alarm ; and the
inhabitants of Teesee, after a
long consultation, agreed to
conform to his good plea-^^re,
humiliating as it was to them.
Accordingly, one and all
publicly offered up eleven
prayers, which were considered
a sufficient testimony of their
having renounced paganism,
and embraced the doctrines of
the prophet.

It was the 8th of January
before Demba Sego returned
with my horse ; and being quite
wearied out with the delay, I
went immediately to inform his
father that I should set out 'for
Kooniakary early the next day.
The old man made many frivo-
lous objections, and at length
gave me to understand that I
must not think of departing
without $rst paying him the
same duties he was entitled to
receive from all travellers ; be-
sides which he expected, he
said, some acknowledgment for
his kindness towards me. Ac-
cordingly, on the morning of
the 9th, my friend Demba, with
a number of people, came to me,
and said that they were sent by
Tiggity Sego for my present,
and wished to see what goods
I had appropriated for that pur-
pose. I knew that resistance
was hopeless, and complaint
unavailing ; and being in some
measure prepared, by the inti-
mation I had received the night
before, I quietly offered him
seven bars of amber, and five

of tobacco. After surveying
these articles for some time
very coolly, Demba laid them
down, and told me that this
was not a present for a man of
Tiggity Sego's consequence,
who had it in his power to take
whatever he pleased from me.
He added, that if I did not
consent to make him a larger
offering, he would carry all my
baggage to his father, and let
him choose for himself. I had
no time for reply, for Demba
and his attendants immediately
began to open my bundles, and
spread the different articles
upon the floor, where they
underwent a more strict exami-
nation than they had done at
Joag. Everything that pleased
them they took without scruple;
and amongst other things, Dem-
ba seized the tin box which had
so much attracted his attention
in crossing the river. Upon
collecting the scattered remains
of my little fortune after these
people had left me, I found that,
as at Joag I had been plundered
of half, so here, without even
the shadow of accusation, I was
deprived of half the remainder.
The blacksmith himself, though
a native of Kasson, had also
been compelled to open his
bundles, and take an oath that
the different articles they con-
tained were his own exclusive
property. There was, however,
no remedy; and having been
under some obligation to Dem-
ba Sego for his attention to-
wards me in the journey from
Joag, I did not reproach him

'■'^^i

426

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

Pi
Jil I

i J '

III

•i i

for his rapacity, but determined
to quit Teesce, at all events, the
next morning. In tlie mean-
while, in order to raise the
drooping spirits of my atten-
dants, 1 purchased a flit sheep,
and had it dressed for our
dinner.

Early in the morning of
January loth, therefore, I left
Teesee, and about mid-day as-
cended a ridge, from whence
we had a distant view of the
hills round Kooniakary. In
the evening we reached a small
villag-^, where we slept, and,
departing from thence the next
morning, crossed in a few hours
a narrow but deep stream called
Krieko, a branch of the Sene-
gal. About two miles farther
to the eastward, we passed a
large town called Madina, and
at two o'clock came in sight of
Jumbo, the blacksmith's native
town, from whence he had been
absent more than four years.
Soon after this, his brother, who
had by some means been ap-
prised of his coming, came out
to meet him, accompanied by a
singing man. He brought a
horse for the blacksmith, that
he might enter his native town
in a dignified manner ; and he
desired each of us to put a good
cliarge of powder into our guns.
The singing man now led the
way, followed by the two bro-
thers, and we were presently
joined by a number of people
from the town, all of whom de-
monstrated great joy at seeing
their old acquaintance the
blacksmith, by the most extra-

vagant jumping and singing,
On entering the town the sing.
ing man begpn an extempore
song in praise of the blacksmith,
extolling* his courage in having
overcome so many difficulties,
and concluding with a strict in-
junction to his friends to dress
him plenty of victuals.

When we arrived at the black-
smith's place of residence, we
dismounted, and fired our mus-
kets. The meeting between
him and his relations was very
tender ; for these rude children
of nature, free from restraint,
display their emotions in the
strongest and most expressive
manner. Amidst these trans-
ports the blacksmith's aged
mother was led forth, leaning
upon a staff. Every one made
way for her, and she stretched
out her hand to bid her son
welcome. Being totally blind,
she stroked his hands, arms,
and face, with great care, and
seemed highly delighted that
her latter days were blessed by
his return, and that her ears
once more heard the music of
his voice.

During the tumult of these
congratulations, I had seated
myself apart by the side of one
of the huts, being unwilling to
interrupt the flow of filial and
parental tenderness; and the
attention of the company was
so entirely taken up with the
blacksmith, that I believe none
of his friends had observed me.
When all the people present
had seated themselves, the
blacksmith was desired by his

I'll

PARirS LIFE AND TRA VELS.

427

ng and singing,
he town the sing.
in an extempore
of the blacksniiiji,
jourage in having
many difficulties,
ig with a strict in-
s friends to dross
victuals.

rrived at the black-

of residence, wc

md fired our nnis-

meeting between

relations was very

liese rude children

ee from restraint,

emotions in the

1 most expressive

nidst these trans-

)lacksmith's aged

led forth, leaning

Every one made

and she stretched

i to bid her son

eing totally blind,

his hands, arms,

1 great care, and

y delighted that

s were blessed by

nd that her ears

eard the music of

father to give them some ac-
count of his adventures; and
silence being commanded, he
began — and, after repeatedly
thanking God for the success
that had attended him, related
every material occurrence that
iiatl happened to him from }m
leaving Kasson to his arrival at
the Gambia, his employment
and success in those parts, and
the dangers he had escaped in
returning to his native country.
In the latter part of his narra-
tion, he had frequently occa-
sion to mention me ; and after
many strong expressions con-
cerning my kindness to him, he
pointed to the place where I
sat, and exclaimed, Ajffilie ibi
siring t — (* See him sitting
there r) In a moment all eyes
were turned upon mej I ap-
peared like a being dropped
from the clouds; every one
was surprised that they had not
observed me before ; and a few
women and children expressed
great uneasiness at being so
near a man of such an uncom-
mon appearance. By degrees,
however, their, apprehensions
subsided, and when the black-
smith assured them that I was
perfectly inoffensive, and would
hurt nobody, some of them ven-
tured so far as to examine the
texture of my clothes ; but
many of them were still very
suspicious ; and when by acci-
dent I happened to move my-
self, or look at the young chil-
dren, their mothers would
scamper off with them with the
greatest precipitation. In a

few hours, however, they all
became reconciled to me.

With these worthy people I
spent the remainder of that, and
the whole of the ensuing day,
in feasting and merriment ; and
the blacksmith declared he
would not quit me during my
stay at Kooniakary — for which
place we set out early on the
morning of the 14th of January,
and arrived about the middle
of the day at Soolo, a small
village three miles to the south
of it.

As this place was somewhat
out of the direct road, it is
necessary to observe, that I
went thither to visit a biatee, or
Gambia trader, of great note
and reputation, named Salim
Daucari. He was well known
to Dr. Laidley, who had trusted
him with effects to the value of
five slaves, and had given me
an order for the whole of the
debt. We luckily found him
at home, and he received me
with great kindness and atten-
tion. '

It is remarkable, however,
that the king of Kasson was by
some means immediately ap-
prised of my motions ; for I had
been at Soolo but a few hours,
before Sambo Sego, his second
son, came thither with a party
of horse, to inquire what had
prevented me from proceeding
to Kooniakary, and waiting im-
mediately upon the king, who,
he said, was impatient to see
me. Salim Daucari made my
apology, and prohiised to ac-
company me to Kooniakary the

I ,■'1 « I*!

428

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

s;\iuc evening. \\<i accordingly
(lepailctl from Soolo at sunset,
nml in ftl)out an hour entered
Kooniiiknry. lUit as the king
had gone to sleep, we deferred
the interview till next morning,
and slept at the hut of Sambo
Sego.

CHAPTKR VII.

AnoUT eight o'clock in the
morning of January tsth, 1796.
we went to an audience of the
king (Demha Sego Jalla), but
the crowd of peonle to sec me
was 80 great, that I could
scarcely get admittance. A
passage being at length ob-
tained, 1 made tny bow to the
monarch, whom we found sit-
ting upon a mat, in a large hut.
He appeared to be a man of
about sixty years of age. His
success in war, and the mild-
ness of his behaviour in time of
peace, had much endeared him
to all his subjects. He surveyed
me with great attention ; and
when Salim Daucari exi)laincd
to him the object of my journey,
and my reasons for passing
through his country, the good
old king appeared not only
perfectly satisfied, but promised
me every assistance in his
power. He informed me that
he had seen Major Houghton,
and presented him with a white
horse ; but that, after crossing
the kingdom of Kaarta, he had
lost his life among the Moors,
in what manner he could not

inform me. When this atidicnci'
was ended, we returned to our
lodging, and I made up a sinnll
present for the king out of the
few efTocts that were left nic;
for I had not yet received any.
thing from Sahm Haticari. Tim
jjresent, though inconsidcrahle
in itself, was well received l)y
the king, who sent me in return
a large white bullock. Tho
sight of this animal quite de-
lighted n»y attendants ; not so
much on account of its bulk, as
from its being of a white colour,
which is considered as a par-
ticular mark of favour. \\\\\
although the king himself was
well disposed towards me, and
readily granted me permission
to pass through his territories,
I soon discover'"'! that very
great and unexpected obstacles
were likely to impede my pro-
gress, liesides the war which
was on the point of breaking
out between Kasson and Ka-
jaaga, I was told that the next
kingdom of Kaarta, through
which my route lay, was in
volved in the issue, and was
furthermore threatened with
hostilities on the part of Bam-
barra. The king himself in-
formed me of these circum-
stances, and advised me to stay
in the neighbourhood of Koon-
iakary till such time as he could
procure proper information re-
specting Bambarra, which he
expected to do in the course of
four or five days, as he had
already, he said, sent four mes-
sengers into Kaarta for that
purpose. I readily oubmitted

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS.

439

Vhen this audicnci'
c returned to our
1 ni.iile lip fi Rtnall
le king out of the
Imt were left nic;
: yet received any-
dun Patic'iri. Tim
igh inconsidcral)li«
I well received by
) sent me in return
le bullock. Tlio

animal (juitc dc
ttendants ; not ro
ount of its bulk, as
gofa white colour,
Ksidered as a par-
: of favour. Hut

king himself was
I towards me, and
:ed me permission
ugh his territories,
:over^'! that very
[expected obstacles

to this proposal, and went to
Soolo, to stay there till the re
Uirn of one of those messengers.
Tiiis aflbrdcd me a favourable
opportunity of receiving what
money Salim Daucari could
spare me on Dr. Laidley's ac-
count. I succeeded in receiv-
ing the value of three slaves,
ihielly in gold dust ; and being
anxious to proceed as (juickly
as possible, I begged Daucari
to use his interest with the king
to allow me a guide by the way
of Fooladoo, as I was informed
that the war had already com-
menced between the kings of
hambarraand Kaarta. Daucari
accordingly set out for Koonia-
kary on the morning of the
2olli,'and the same evening
returned with the king's answer,
which was to this purpose — that
the king had, many years ago,
made an agreement with Daisy,
king of Kaarta, to send all
merchants and travellers through
his dominions ; but that if I
wished to take the route through
Fooladoo, I had his permission
so to do ; though he could not,
consistently with his agreement,
lend me a guide. Having felt
lire want of regal protection in
a former part of my journey, I
was unwilling to hazard a re-
petition of the hardships I had
then experienced, especially as
the money I had received was
probably the last supply that I
should obtain. I therefore de-
termined to wait for the return
of the messengers from Kaarta.
In the interim, it began to
be whispered abroad that I had

received plenty of cold from
Salim Daucari, amK on the
morning of the 2y\^ Sambo
Sego paid me a visit, with a
party of horsemen. Me insisted
upon knowing the exact amount
of the r^oney 1 had obtained,
declaring, that whatever the sum
was, one-half of it must go to
the king ; besides which, he in-
timated that he expected a hand-
some jiresent for himself, as
being the king's son, and for
his attendants, as being the
king's relations. I prejiared to
submit; and if Salim Daucari
had not interposed, all my en-
deavours to mitigate this op-
pressive claim would have been
of no avail. Salim at last pre-
vailed upon Sambo to accept
sixteen bars of European mer-
chandise, and some powder and
ball, as a complete payment of
every demand that could be
made upon me in the kingdom
of Kasson.

January 26. — In the fore-
noon, I went to the top of a
high hill to the southward of
Soolo, where I had a most en-
chanting prospect of the coun-
try. The number of towns and
villages, and the extensive culti-
vation around them, surpassed
everything I had yet seen in
Africa. A gross calculation
may be formed of the number
of inhabitants in this delightful
plain, by considering that the
king of Kasson can raise four
thousand fighting men by the
sound of his war-drum. In tra-
versing the rocky eminences of
this hill, which are almost de»-

JR. ,V'

43©

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

titute of vegetation, I observed
a number of large holes in the
crevasses and fissures of the
rocks, where the wolves and
hyaenas take refuge during the
day.

February i. — The messen-
gers arrived from Kaarta, and
brought intelligence that the
war had not yet commenced
between Bambarra and Kaarta,
and that I might probably pass
through Kaarta before the
Bambarra army invaded that
country.

February 3. — Early in the
morning, two guides on horse-
back came from Kooniakary to
conduct me to the frontiers of
Kaarta. I accordingly took
leave of Salim Daucari, and
parted for the last time from
my fellow-traveller the black-
smith, whose kind solicitude
for my welfare had been so
conspicuous, and about ten
o'clock departed from Socio.
We travelled this day through
a rocky and hilly country, along
the banks of the river Krieko,
and at sunset came to the vil-
lage of Soomo, where we slept.

February 4. — We departed
from Soomo, and continued
our route along the banks of
the Krieko, which are every-
where well cultivated, and
swarm with inhabitants. At
this time they were increased
by the number of people that
had flown thither from Kaarta
on account of the Bambarra
war. In the afternoon we
reached Kimo, a large village,
the residence of Madi Konko,

governor of the hilly country of
Kasson, which is called Sor-
roma. From hence the guides
appointed by the kin^ of Kas-
son returned, to join in the ex-
pedition against Kajaaga; and
I waited until the 6th before I
could prevail on Madi Konko
to appoint me a guide to
Kaarta.

February 7. — Departing from
Kimo, with Madi Konko's son
as a guide, we continued our
course along the banks of the
Krieko until the afternoon,
when we arrived at Kangee, a
considerable town. The Krieko
is here but a small rivulet. This
beautiful stream takes its rise a
little to the eastward of this
town, and descends with a rapid
and noisy current until it reaches
the bottom of the high hill called
Tappa, where it becomes more
placid, and winds gently through
the lovely plains of Kooniakary ;
after which, having received an
additional branch from the
north, it is lost in the Senegal,
somewhere near the falls of
Felow.

February 8. — ^This day we
travelled over a rough stony
country, and having passed
Seimpo and a number of other
villages, arrived in the after-
noon at Lackarago, a small
village which stands upon the
ridge of hills that separates the
kingdoms of Kasson and Kaar-
ta. In the course of the day we
passed many hundreds of people
flying from Kaarta with their
families and eff"ects.

February 9. — Early in the

PAHICS LIFE AND TRA VELS.

43 »

morning we departed from Lac-
karago, and a little to the east-
ward came to the brow of a hill
from whence we had an exten-
sive view of the country. To-
wards the south-east were per-
ceived some very distant hills,
which our guide told us were
the mountains of Fooladoo.
We travelled with great diffi-
culty down a stony and abrupt
precipice, and continued our
way m the bed of a dry river
course, where the trees, meet-
ing overhead, made the place
dark and cool. In a little time
we reached the bottom of this
romantic glen, and about ten
o'clock emerged from between
two rocky hills, and found our-
selves on the level and sandy
plains of Kaarta. At noon we
an*ived at a korree^ or watering-
place, where, for a few strings
of beads, I purchased as much
milk and corn-meal as we could
eat; indeed, provisions are here
so cheap, and the shepherds
live in such affluence, that they
seldom ask any return for what
refreshments a traveller receives
from them. From this korree
we reached Feesurah at sunset,
where we took up our lodging
for the night.

February lo. — We continued
at Feesurah all this day, to
have a few clothes washed, and
leam more exactly the situation
of affairs before we ventured
towards the capital.

February ii. — Our landlord,
taking advantage of the un-
settled state of the country, de-
manded so extravagant a sum

for our lodging, that, suspecting
he wished for an opportunity to
quarrel with us, I refused to
submit to his exorbitant de-
mand ; but my attendants were
so much frightened at the re-
ports of approaching war, that
they refused to proceed any
farther unless I could settle
matters with him, and induce
him to accompany us to Kem-
moo, for our protection on the
road. This I accomplished with
some difficulty; and by a pre-
sent of a blanket which I had
brought with me to sleep in,
and for which our landlord had
conceived a very great liking,
matters were at length amicably
adjusted, and he mounted his
horse and led the way. He
was one of those negroes who,
together with the ceremonial
pa't of the Mohammedan reli-
gion, retain all their ancient
superstitions, and even drink
strong liquors. They are called
Johars, or Jowars, and in this
kingdom form a very numerous
and powerful tribe. We had
no sooner got into a dark and
lonely part of the first wood
than he made a sign for us to
stop, and, taking hold of a
hollow piece of bamboo that
hung as an amulet round his
neck, whistled very loud three
times. I confess I was some-
what startled, thinking it was a
signal for some of his compa-
nions to come and attack us;
but he assured me that it was
done merely with a view to
ascertain what success we were
likely to meet with on our pre-

I:;^lfl|

* 4' t" ^ 1

41«

rntf. rxarmr /rA7Yr)A7?A*.v.

iif»nt |oui'nf»v. lit? iIhmi iIIn
tuoiinUnl, Irtid Itin nprnr niiitnR
()io vtmit, rttui tmving nnid n
lunnbcf or shoH mrtV«M«, ron
rhulril with Ihrrr Imul whhllow ;
rtUrv whith he ll«tcnc<l lor boimp
limr, rt« If In exoprtrtlion ol \\\\
nnswov, rtiul rprriving tiono. tohl
u« >vo iniuhl phMfHMl wilhoMl
U'rti, U»i Inoro wn» no <lMngor.
AluMit noon wc tmnnrd a nutn
bcr ol" Irtigt* villrtgos «|«ilc dp
Rpttoti, (he {nh(\ltit(\ntn hnving
Hod into KnsRon to rtv<»i»l the
honovR of w»u-. Wo rrm^hrd
K.'ttnnkitllfi nt nnnnrt. Thin
foinuMly wrtR d lavtfe town, ImiI
hiuing been phniodrcd by the
H(\n\h{inrtnR obout (o^n- vcnvR
^^\ ticrtily one hnlf of it Ir rUII
in vuinn.

frhv^ffy t «. — At drtyli^^ht we

lie

L^^mvtcil fforn Krtrrtnknllrt, rtnc
«R It wrtR hut n nhort ilrty'R jo\if
ney to Kenttnoo, we tirtvellett
rIowcv tht^n urua), ntul nnnined
ouisclvdR by roUe«:tlng RUrh
crttnblo fmllR m grew nettr the
io«d siilc. About noon we Rnw
«t ft iliRtunce the cApitftI of
Kftrtvtft, Rituftteci in the mldille
of an open plrtin— -the covuitty
for tw^ ntiles muntl being
rlcuvil of wood, by the great
consumption of that {mieic for
building and fuel — anil we
entered the town tibout two
o clock in the afternoon.

We preceded, witho\tt stop-
ping, to the court !)eforc the
kitig's rcsidencc : but I war ro
completely surrounded by the
ga?.ing tnuUitvtde. that 1 did
not attempt to (lismount, but
sent in the landlord and Madi

Konki's son, to actiuiditl thp
king of nty nnivnl. lit a liiilo
tinte they returned, Ad (impntiiiil
by a nteRHPUger from the kin|j,
nlgnifying tltAt he wotild Rrr m,.
lit the eveiting : And iu ih,.
tnentttinie, the meRHeimn hmi
ohliMR to prorure n»ea Inilyiiij;^
nud Ree thut the crowd di«l noi
moleRt me. lie conduitni w
into a court, at (he dooi n|
whi(h hentAtionrd AmAit,wt||in
Rt^k In hiR hnnd to keep oi)
lite nutb, And (hen rIiowimI mo
A lArge luit in which I won lo
lodge. I had Renrrely Hcrtiod
ntynelf in this Rpni iotiR nptiri-
men(, wlien (he mob enlernl;
i( WA-^ (ound intpoRRible to kroji
(hem out, aiuI t war Rurrotunlnl
by as many as the tuit ronld
contain. When the firR( pmiy
however, had seen me, niut
aRked a few (pjCRdonH, thpy
retired (o nmke room for nii
o(her con^pAny ; and in tim
manner (he hut was filled mid
cnmtied (hir(een ilKTereiU \\\w\
A li((le before RUURet, the V\%
Bcn( (o inloritt me (hal he wiu
at leisure, and wiRhed to m
me. I followed (he meHRcngcr
through a number of coiiils
surrounded with high walk
where 1 obRcrvetl plenty of
dry graRR, bundled up like by,
(o foilder (he horRes, in wsc
the town should be invcsld.
On entering (he court in wliicli
the king was silting, I wds ;is
tonished nt the number ul his
attendants, and at the k'"^''
order that seemed to prcviiil|
among thctn ; they were ul
sciUcJ—thc fighting men ot

JUAA'S Um AND mAVHLS.

4JJ

women nitt) « liililicii nii [\\v
loll, Inivin^ II N|iit(T l»c(wn>ti
tlii'iii lot my {iimNrt^r. 'I'lir
|(it))r, wlu)Nr inniio wnn t)i(iNV

Kttolftlllllli, \S'M IMll lo bn (li^

liii^ninliiMl liont IiIn AnltjrctN Ity
iinv Nn|iriloiilviii )Hiint ol iIitnn ;
(t It.-mk ofortiili, hIhmiI two f«Tl
lii^l), tijion wliicli wnn N|iirM<l m
lioitinil'N nkin, ((iDNlitnltMl ilir
(inly iiutik of \{\\\\\ (li^nily.
\\\\v\\ \ lwi«) NCdIcd inyNrll upiMt
llir^KMitid li(>l(iiv Itiiii, hikI k^
lulfil llip viuitmw t JH'imiRliuu ON

lIlMl lliul ilulU(;(Ml 11)0 to |II(NH

lliKMigli Itin ronnlry, \\\\{\ my
uimoHN for nolullii)^ liin |ito
Irdion, lip rtpjtointMl poiliMlly
HittiHriod t ImiI Roid il wan itol In
Iii<i powpr Hi lucRonl to n linn I
mo nnuli nNBiBtfimT, for lluil
nil ROil o( i;omnnmi( ittion lie
twocn Ktmitit m\k\ lliunlinrm
IkuI Ikhmi inlcrrnplcd lor munc
(iiuc |inNl ; nml ah MiittRonK, tlic
king of llamlmrrft, with his
Miiny, Imd entered l'"ool(nl<u» in
hin way to Knarin, there wiih
|)Ul little hope of my reac^hinji
llamlmrrrt by nnv of the nRUul
ruutcR, InaRimien tin, (ontinu
Iroin an enemy'R c:onntry, T
HJiuuld ecrtidnly he plimderecl,
or tnkrn lor a spy. If hin
(otinlry had been at peace, he
Hiiid, i might liavc remained
with him mitil a nunc favour
iildc opportunity olfered ; but,
;iR niattcrH Htood at preHcttl, he
(lid not wi«h \\\c to continue in
Kaaiia, lor fear some accident
shoMJtl belall me, In which chhc
my countrymen might way that
lie luui murdered a white num.

lie would Iherefon' ndvhn mo
lo relurn inio KaNmai, and rr-
main there uitlil the war nluMild
(crndnatr, whit h would pio
bably happen in the courHe of
three «u f«Mir innnlhH, nfier
which, if he wan alive, he naid,
he wiMild be glad to Re(> me,
ami if he wan d(*ad, hin noun
would take < are of nu'.

ThlH advh e wan rertaiidy
well meant on the part of Ihe
king, and perhapR I waM lo
blame in not following it : but
i rellected that Ihe hot iiumiIIir
weie approachitig, and t dre>ided
the thoughtH of npending Ihe
rainy Reanon in the interior of
Africa. 'I'heRe <;onRideralionR,
and the averRion 1 felt at tho
idea of returidng without hav-
ing made a greater progrenn in
diHcovery, made mc (hUermino
to g«i forward ; aiut though tho
king cotdd not give me a guide
to llandmrra, I Itegged that ho
wouhl allow a man to accotn-
pany rne an near the frontierH
of luR kingdom an waR coiiRint'
cut with Rafety. Finding that
J waR deternnned to proceed,
the king told mo that one routo
Rlill remained, but that, ho naid,
waa by no meann free from
danger which wan to go Irofii
Kaarta Into the Moorinli king-
dom of Ludamar, from whence
1 might paHR, by a clrcuitoun
route, into llamlmrra. Jf I
wiHhed to follow IIuh route, ho
would appoint people to con-
duct mc to larra, the frontier
town of Lu(lamar. He then
iiupiircd very particularly how
i liad been treated Rincu 1 luul

if»

j't*< ■ ' su ',,1

t « 'If- f\h I

m -I'tr

^ ..».' • ■'is iih

■mt

TiiR rsNGUsn ExrroKP:KS.

Ill

\v\\ the (inml)irt, ninl rtNknl, In
n jtuulnr wny, how many Hlrtvon
1 oNpri'icd to rnrry honic with
Ml" \>\\ \\\y return. lip wan
nb'Mii to proixol, when a 'nan
tnonnlcil on a fnu' Moon<(h
horse, whirh was covrrotl with
Rwcat nml toain, entriod tlic
I'onrt, and niKitiCying that h(*
had Roinothing of iniportancoto
ronnnunicato, the king im-
mediately took \i(> hin nandaln,
whirh iR the signal to utrangerH
to retire. I areordinglv took
leave, l>nt desired my hoy to
stay ftlmut the place, in f)rder
to learn something of the ii\-
telligenoc that this messenger
had bronsht. In nlunit att
hovir the boy rclurncd, and in-
formed mc that the Rimbarra
tirmy had left I'ooladoo, and
was on its march towards
Kaarta; that the man 1 had
Been, who had brought this
intelligence, was one of the
scotits, or watchmen, employed
by the king, each of whom lias
his particular station (commonly
on some rising ground) from
whence he has the best view of
the country, and watches the
motions of tl\e enemy.

Fehtmty 13. — At daylight I
sent my horse-pistols and hol-
sters as a present to the king,
and being very desirous to get
away from a nlace which was
likely soon to become the scat
of war, I begged the messenger
to ijiform the king that I wished
to depart from Kemmoo as soon
as he should find it convenient
to appoint me a guide. In
about an hour the king sent his

n»es«;enger t<» thank me for ihp
present, and eight lutrseuu-n to
rondurt mo to Jarra. Thcv
told me that the king wislud
me to proceed to Jarra with :ill
p«>ssible expedition, that they
might return belbrc anything dc
risive shoulil happen betweoii
the hrmies of Hambarra fnul
Kaarta. We acrordingly dc-
parlecl forthwith from Knii
moo, an ompanied by three ol
Daisy's sons, and about two
lunulred horsetnen, who kindly
undertook to sec mc a liiilo
way on my joutney.

CHAITKR VIII.

On the evening of the day of
our departure from Kemmoo
(the king's eldest son and great
part of the horsemen having
returned) we reat bed a vill.tgc
called Marina, where we slept.
During the night some thievts
broke into the hut where I had
deposited my baggage, and
having cut open one of my
bundles, stole a quantity of
beads, part of my clothes, and
some amber and gold, which
happened to be in one of the
pockets. I complained to my
protectors, but without efTect.
The next day (Fel)ruary 14th)
was far advanced before we
departed from Marina, and we
travelled slowly, on account of
the excessive heat, until four
o'clock in the afternoon, when
two negroes were observed sif-
ting among some thorny Inishcs.

/V/A'A^V //A/r AND TRAVELS.

435

Ihnnk lue (or the
cigiU liorHonu-n to
to Jnrm. 'I'l\rv
: Iho king wisliod
<1 to Jnnfi witl* nil
edition, thnt tlioy
hdorcrtnytlunndo
I hftl'pon brtwcon
of Unnjbftna \\\\\\
c (itronllnnly dc-
iwllli from Kcni
mnicd l»y thrrc ol
<, aiul nbout two
Bcmcn, who kindly
Rcc nic a little
ourncy.

I'TER VIU.

nt n titllo •listrtiuc (n»in the
roftd. 'I'lto kiii^'f* |nM»plr, Ink-
ing it for nrnnliMl tlint thry wcrr
niiMwny Rlnvrs, »o( krd their
nuiskt'tfl, nnd roilo nt lull H)»rril
in (liiforrtit (hrr<'ti«)ns thrcMigh
the hushes, in or<ler to wirroiind
thcin, ntid prevent their esimp
ing. 'I'he nej^rocs, however,
wniletl with grent contptimiro
imtil we came within htiwshot
c»l them, when ench of them
took from his iptiver a handful
of nrrowB, and putting two be-
tween hid teeth and one in his
how, waved to us with his hand
to keep nt a disljincc ; upon
which one of the king's people
ciillcd out to the strangers to
give some ftccotmt of thcm-
HclvcR. They said that 'they
were natives of Toorda, a neigh-
houring village, and had come
to that place to gather torn-
tmwj^s.' These are small fari-
naceous berries, of a yellow
colour and delicious taste,
which I knew to be the fruit of
the rhammts hhis of liinnrcus.

'I'he lotus is very common in
all the kingdoms which 1 visited ;
hut is found in the greatest
plenty on the sandy soil of
K.iarta, Ludamar, and the
northern parts of Bambarra,
where it is one of the most
common shrubs of the country.
I had observed the same species
at Gambia.

As this shrub is found in
Tunis, and also in the negro
kingdoms, and as it furnishes
the natives of the latter with a
food resembling bread, and
also with a sweet liquor, which

iq mtn h relished by thrtn, th.'re
(nil be little doubt of iln bring
tho lotu«* n»rnlionr<l by I'liny
as the fnod of the Libynn l.oto-
phagl. An army mny very well
nave been fetl with the brend f
hrtve Instrd, rnnde of the mrnl
of the fruit, if, i« said by IMIny
to have brrn <lone in Libya:
find n'l tin* tnste of the brond
is sweet and agreenble, it is not
likely that the soldiers would
complain of it.

VVe arrived in the evening at
the village of 'I'oorda ; when
all the rest of the king's people
turned back except two, who
remained with mc as guides to
Jarra.

MrUiiry 15,— \ depprled
from Toorda, and about two
o'clock came to a considerable
town, called Funlngkedy. As
we anproache«l the town, the
inhabitants were much alarme<l ;
for, as one of my guides wore
a turban, they mistook us for
some Moorish banditti. This
misnpi)rehension was soon
cleared up, and we were well
received by a Gambia slatee,
who resides at this town, and
at whose house we lodged.

February 16. — We were in-
formed that a number of people
would go from this town to
Jarra on the day following ; and
as the road was much infested
by the Moors, wc resolved to
stay and accompany the tra-
vellers.

About two o'clock, as I was
lying asleep upon a bullock's
hide behind the door of the
hut, I was awakened by the

f»

!(•"

43<J

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

' \

Bcre.inis of women, ftnd a
penenil clamour aiu! confusion
nniong the inhnbimnls. At
fust I sURpecteil that the Hatu-
l>arrans ha«l actually cntLMcil
the town ; but ohRerving my
boy upon the top of one of the
Imta, I calletl to him to know
wiiat was the lu.Uter. He in-
formed me that the Moors
were come a second time to
steal the cattle, and that they
were now close to the town. 1
mountetl the roof of the hut,
and observed a Inrge herd of
bullocks coming towards the
town, followed by live Moors
on horseback, who drove the
cattle forward with their nuis-
kets. When they liad reached
the wells which are close to the
town, the Moors selected from
the herd sixteen of the finest
beasts, and drove them oft* at
lull gallop. During this trans-
action, the townspeonle, to the
number of five hundred, stood
collected close to the walls of
the town ; and wlien the Moors
drove the cattle away, though
they passed within pistol-shot
oftnem, the inhabitants scart:ely
made a show of resistance. 1
only saw four muskets fired,
which, being loaded with gun-
l^owder of the negroes' own
manufacture, did no execution.
Shortly after this 1 observed a
mmiber of jicoplc supi)orling a
young man ujwn horseback,
and conducting him slowly to-
wards the town. This was one
of the herdsmen, who, attempt-
ing to throw his spear, had
been wounded by a shot from

one of the Moors. His mother
walked on before, quite frantic
with grief, clapping her hands,
and cnunierating the g(nnl
qualities of her son. Kt mi(f\)
fouio / (* lie never told a lioV)
saiil the disconsolate mother,
as her wounded son was cai rial
in at the gate — Ee majf'o Joni\\
abdifii / ('lie never told a lie;
no, never I '^ When they had
conveyed lum to his hut, and
laid him u))on a mat, all the
Rpet'latora joined in lamenting
hi.s fate, l)y screaming and
howling in the most piteous
manner.

After their grief had subsided
a little, I was desired to exandne
the wound. 1 found that the
ball had passed quite through
his leg, having fractured hodi
l>ones a little below the knee :
the poor boy was faint from the
loss of blooil, and his situation
withal so very precarious, that
I could not console his relations
with any great hopes of his
recovery. However, to givt
him a possible chance, 1 oh-
served to them that it was
necessary to cut off his leg
above the knee. This proj)osal
made every one start >vith
horror ; they had never heard
of such a method of cure, and
would by no means give their
consent to it ; indeed, they
evidently considered me a sort
of cannibal for proposing so
cruel and unheanl-of an opera-
tion, which, in their opinion,
would be attended with more
pain and danger than the wound
itself. The patient was tiicre-

>rs. His molher
jie, quite fmntic
piiig licr hands,
lin^ llie mnni
• son. Ke mufi'y)
ever told a lio I ')
jnsolftle mother,
il m\\ WHS can ioil
— He maffofom^
never tohl a lie;
When ll>ey had

I to his luit, and

II ft mat, all the
lied in lamenting

screannng .iiul
he most pitcuus

ffrief had suhsidcd
Tesired to exan\ine
1 found tlmt the
sed quite through
iiff fractured l)odi
below the knee:
was faint from the
and his situation
y precarious, tiiat
nsole his relations
at hopes of his
lowever, to give
|)le chance, 1 oh-
em that it was
cut off his leg
e. This proposal
one start with
had never hcanl
hod of cure, and
means give their
it ; indeed, they
aidcrcd mc a sort
for proposing so
licard-of an opera-
in their oidnion,
nded with more
cr than the woviml
Liticnt was there-

PARK'S rtm ANn TRAvnrs.

fore committed to the cnre of
some old htishreens, who en-
deavoured to seciire him a
passage into paradise, by whis-
pering in his ear some Arabic
sentences, and desiring him to
repeat them. Aller mnny tm-
mtceesHKil attempts, the poor
hcMlhen at Inst pronounced,
!.,i illah rf Alh/u Mafuimet
ntsowl allahi ('There is but
one (iod, nnd Molmmmed in
Ids Prophet') : and the disciples
of the t'ropliet assured his
nmilicr that her son had given
suiricient evidence of his faith,
and would be hnppy in a future
stale. He died the same
evening.

h(bruitry \*]. — My gttides in-
formed me that, in orrler to
avoid the ^Toorish banditti, it
was necessary to travel in the
night ; we accordingly departed
from Funingkedy in the after-
noon, accompanied by about
thirty people, carrying their
effects with them into lAidnmar,
for fear of the war. We
travelled with great silence and
expedition until midnight, when
we stopped in a sort of en-
closure, near a small village ;
hut the thermometer being so
low as 68 degrees, none of the
negroes could sleep on account
of the cold.

At daybreak on the i8th we
resumed our journey, and at
eight o'clock passed Simbing,
d<e frontier village of Ludamar,
situated on a narrow pass be-
tween two rocky hills, and sur-
rounded with a high wall. From
this village Major Houghton

(being dcsertcft by his negro
servants, who refused to follow
him into the Moorish cotmtry)
wrote his last letter with a pen-
cil to Dr. Laidley. This brave
but unforbmate man, imving
surmomited mnny diHlcnlties,
had taken n in)rlherly direction,
and endeavoured toi)ass throtigh
the kingdom of f ,U(lnmar, where
1 afterwards learned the follow-
ing particulars concerning his
melam holy fate : — On his ar-
rival at fn.ra, he got ac(itialnted
with certain Moorish merchants
who were travelling to Tishcet
(a place near the salt pits in
the (Jrcat Desert, ten days'
journey to the northward) to
purchase salt ; and the Major,
at the expense of a musket
and some tolmcco, engaged
them to convey him thither.
It is impossible to form any
other ofjmion on this dctcr-
miimtion than that the Moors
intentioimlly deceived him,
either with regard to the route
that he wished to pursue, or
the state of the interuicdiate
country between Jarra and
Timbuctoo. Thetr intention
probably was to rob and leave
him in the desert. At the end
of two days he suspected their
treachery, and insisted on re-
turning to Jarra. Finding him
l)ersist in this determination,
the Moors robbed him of every-
thing he possessed, and went
off with their camels; the j)oor
Major being thus desertea, re-
turned on foot to a watering-
place in possession of the Moors,
called Tarra. He had been

yi«f!

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438

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

some days without food, and
the unfeeling Moors refusing to
give him any, he sank at last
under his distresses. Whether
he actually perished of hunger,
or was murdered outright by the
savage Mohammedans, is not
certainly known ; his body was
dragged into the woods — and I
was shown at a distance the
spot where his remains were
left to perish.

About four miles to the north
of Simbing, we came to a small
stream of water, where we ob-
served a number of wild horses :
they were all of one colour, and
galloped away from us at an
easy rate, frequently stopping
and looking back. The negroes
hunt them for food, and their
flesh is much esteemed.

About noon we arrived at
Jarra, a large town situated at
the bottom of s ;me rocky hills.

CHAPTER IX.

The town of Jarra is of con-
siderable extent ; the houses are
built of clay and stone inter-
mixed — ^the clay answering the
purpose of mortar. It is situ-
ated in the Moorish kingdom
of Ludamar ; but the major part
of the inhabitants are negroes,
from the borders of the southern
states, who prefer a precarious
protection under the Moors,
which they purchase by a tri-
bute, rather than continue ex-
posed to their predatory hostili-
ties. The tribute they pay is

considerable; and they mani-
fest towards their Moorish su-^
periors the most unlimited obe-*
dience and submission, and are
treated by them with the utmost
indignity and contempt. The
Moors of this, and the other
states adjoining the country of
the negroes, resemble in their
persons the Mulattoes of the
West Indies, to so great a de-
gree as not easily to be distin-
guished from them ; and, in
tnith, the present generation
seem to be a mixed race be-
tween the Moors (properly so
called) of the north and the
negroes of the south, possessing
many of the worst qualities of
both nations.

Of the origin of these Moor-
ish tribes, as distinguished from
the inhabitants of Barbary, from
whom they are divided by the
Great Desert, nothing further
seems to be known than what
is related by John Leo, the
African, whose account may be
abridged as follows : —

Before the Arabian conquest,
about the middle of the seventh
century, all the inhabitants of
Africa, whether they were de-
scended from Numidians, Phoe-
nicians, Carthaginians^ Romans,
Vandals, or Goths, were com-
prehended under the general
name of Mauri, or Moors.
All these nations were con-
verted to the religion of Mo-
hammed during the Arabian
empire under the Kaliphs.
About this time many of the
Numidian tribes, who led a
wandering life in the desert,

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS.

439

md they mani-
eir Moorish su-,
t unlimited obe-
nission, and are

with the utmost
ontempt. The

and the other
; the country of
isemble in their
[ulattoes of the
) so great a de-
jily to be distin-
them; and, in
sent generation

mixed race be-
ors (properly so

north and the
south, possessing
orst qualities of

i of these Moor-

stinguished from

of Barbary, from

divided by the

nothing further

nown than what

John Leo, the

account may be

ows : —

•abian conquest,
lie of the seventh
inhabitants of
they were de-
[umidians, Phce-
[inians, Romans,
iths, were corn-
ier the general
f/-/, or Moors,
pns were con-
[eligion of Mo-
the Arabian
the Kaliphs.
many of the
;, who led a
in the desert,

and supported themselves upon
the produce of their cattle, re-
tired southward across the Great
Desert to avoid the fury of the
Arabians ; and by one of those
tribes, says Leo (that of Zan-
haga), were discovered, and
conquered, the negro nations
on the Niger. By the Niger is
here undoubtedly meant th^^
river of Senegal, which in the
Mandingo language is Bafiiig^
or the Black River.

To what extent these people
are now spread over the African
continent it is difficult to ascer-
tain. There is reason to believe
that their dominion stretches
from west to east, in a narrow
line or belt, from the mouth of
the Senegal (on the northern
side of that river) to the con-
fines of Abyssinia. They are a
subtle and treacherous race of
people, and take every oppor-
tunity of cheating and plunder-
ing the credulous and unsus-
pecting negroes. But their
manners and general habits of
life will be best explained as
incidents occur in the course of
my narrative.

The difficulties we had al-
ready encountered — the un-
settled state of the country —
and, above all, the savage and
overbearing deportment of the
Moors — had so completely
frightened my attendants, that
they declared they would rather
relinquish every claim to reward,
than proceed one step further
to the eastward. Indeed, the
danger they incurred of being
seized by the Moors, and sold

into slavery, became every day
more apparent : and I could
not condemn their apprehen-
sions. In this situation, de-
serted by my attendants, and
reflecting that my retreat was
cut off by the war behind me,
and that a Moorish country of
ten days' journey lay before me,
I applied to Daman to obtain
permission from Ali, the chief
or sovereign of Ludamar, that
I might pass through his coun-
try unmolested into Bambarra ;
and I hired one of Daman's
slaves to accompany me thither,
as soon as such permission
should be obtained. A mes-
senger was despatched to Ali,
who at this time was encamped
near Benown; and as a pre-
sent was necessary in order to
insure success, I sent him five
garments of cotton cloth, which
I purchased of Daman for one
of my fowling-pieces. Four-
teen days elapsed in settling
this affair ; but on the evening
of the 26th of February, one of
All's slaves arrived with direc-
tions, as he pretended, to con-
duct me in safety as far as
Goomba, and told me I was to
pay him one garment of blue
cotton cloth for his attendance.
My faithful boy, observing that
I was about to proceed without
him, resolved to accompany me;
and told me, that though he
wished me to turn back, he
never entertained any serious
thoughts of deserting me, but
had been advised to it by John-
son, with a view to induce me to
return immediately for Gambia.

If™

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!,)«,, j:

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440

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

February 27. — I delivered
most of my papers to Johnson,
to convey them to Gambia as
soon as possible, reserving a
duplicate for myself in case of
accidents. I likewise left in
Daman's possession a bundle
of clothes, and other things
that were not absolutely neces-
sary, for I wished to diminish
my baggage as much as possi-
ble, that the Moors might have
fewer inducements to plun-
der us.

Things being thus adjusted,
we departed from Jarra in the
forenoon, and slept at Troom-
goomba, a small walled vil-
lage, inhabited by a mixture of
negroes and Moors. On the
day following (February 28th)
we reached Quira ; and on the
a9th, after a toilsome journey
over a sandy country, we came
to Compe, a watering-place
belonging to the Moors ; from
whence, on the morning follow-
ing, we proceeded to Deena, a
large town, and, like Jarra, built
of stone and clay. The Moors
are here in greater proportion
to the negroes than at Jarra.
They assembled round the hut
of the negro where I lodged,
and treated me with the greatest
insolence ; they hissed, shouted,
and abused me ; they even spit
in my face, with a view to irri-
tate me, and afford them a pre-
text for seizing my baggage.
But finding such insults had not
the desired effect, they had re-
course to the final and decisive
argument, that I was a Chris-
tian, and of course that my pro-

perty was lawful plunder to the
followers of Mohammed. They
accordingly opened my bundles,
and robbed me of everything
they fancied. My attendants,
finding that everybody- could
rob me with impunity, insisted
on returning to Jarra.

The day following (March
2d), I endeavoured, by all the
means in my power, to prevail
upon my people to go on, but
they still continued obstinate;
and having reason to fear some
further insult from the fanatic
Moors, I resolved to proceed
alone. Accordingly, the next
morning, about two o'clock, I
departed from Deena. It was
moonlight, but the roaring of
the wild beasts made it neces-
sary to proceed with caution.

When I had reached a piece
of rising ground about half a
mile from the town, I heard
somebody halloo, and, looking
b'xck, saw my faithful boy run-
ning after me. He informed
ne that All's man had gone
back to Benowm, and that
Daman's negro was about to
depart for Jarra ; but he said
he had no doubt, if I would
stop a little, that he could per-
suade the latter to accompany
us. I waited accordingly, and
in about an hour the boy re-
turned with the negro ; and we
continuedtravellingover a sandy
country, covered chiefly with the
asclepias gigantea^ until mid-day,
when we came to a number of
deserted huts j and seeing some
appearances of water at a little
distance, I sent the boy to fill a

PAKJCS LIFE AND TRA VELS.

441

soofroo ; but as he was examin-
ing the place for water, the roar-
ing of a lion, that was probably
on the same pursuit, induced
the frightened boy to return in
haste, and we submitted pa-
tiently to the disappointment.
In the afternoon we reached
a town inhabited chiefly by
Foulahs, called Samaming-koos.

Next morning (March 4th)
we set out for Sampaka, which
place we reached about two
o'clock. On the road we ob-
served immense quantities of
locusts: the trees were quite
black with them.

Sampaka is a large town, and
wlion the Moors and Bambar-
rans were at war, was thrice
attacked by the former; but
they were driven off with great
loss, though the king of Bam-
barra was afterwards obliged to
give up this, and all the other
towns as far as Goomba, in
order to obtain a peace. Here
I lodged at the house of a negro
who practised the art of making
gunpowder. He showed me a
bag of nitre, very white, but the
crystals were much smaller than
common. They procure it in
considerable quantities from the
ponds, which are filled in the
rainy season, and to which the
cattle resort for coolness during
the heat of the day. When the
water is evaporated, a white
efflorescence is observed on the
mud, which the natives collect
and purify in such a manner as
to answer their purpose. The
Moors supply them with sulphur
from the Mediterranean ; and

the process is completed by
pounding the different articles
together in a wooden mortar.
The grains are very unequal,
and the sound of its explosion
is by no means so sharp as
that produced by E\iropean gun-
powder.

March 5. — We departed from
Sampaka at daylight. About
noon we stopped a little at a
village called Dangali, and in
the evening arrived at Dalli.
We saw upon the road two
large herds of camels feeding.
When the Moors turn their
camels to feed, they tie up one
of their fore -legs to prevent
their straying. This happened
to be a feast-day at Dalli, and
the people were dancing before
the dooty's house. But when
they were informed that a white
man was come into the town,
they left off dancing and came
to the place where I lodged,
walking in regular order, two
and two, with the music before
them. They play upon a sort
of flute ; but instead of blowing
into a hole in the side, they
blow obliquely over the end,
which is half shut by a thin
piece of wood ; they govern the
holes on the side with their
fingers, and play some simple
and very plaintive airs. They
continued to dance and sing
until midnight, during which
time I was surrounded by so
great a crowd, as made it ne-
cessary for me to satisfy their
curiosity by sitting still.

March 6. — We stopped here
this morning, because some of

44^

7y//C HNGLhSIi EXnOfiKKS.

Iho townNpoopIo, who woro
goin^ for (ittiunliA on tlic titty
iolliiH'iii^, nvIhIumI lo Mt rotitimny
\\H i l»\il ill ohlrr to (tvoiti Ihc
nowil oi' priiplr wltit li uniKtlly
rtRwrml)lc«l in llto rvrninf^, wo
wont U) <i nogio vilhgo to ihc
CfiHl t»r Drtlli, rrtllril Srtiuoo.
whoio wc wcio kimlly icrclvni
by tito lumpilrthlp «looly, who
on thm on ii^iott killed two hno
nhr^p, nnil invited hi« hicndH
lo 1 (Mnc (oul lo^nl wilh hint.

Af,tr,U 7. — Onr hnullord was
wo piond of ihc honoui' ol cw-
loHiuninf^ rt whiln n«un, lluil hp
inHiMtrtl on nty wUvyinj^ wilh him
(ind hiR lYicndn uniil iho rool ol
Ihc cvcninu;. when hr «rtid he
wonld eonmu'l nio lo Iho next
vill.'tfiG. A« 1 wa« now within
two dnys' Journey ol (loond»rt,
1 h;4d no MppvchenHionR ironi
Ihe Mooi«, ttnd readily acieiJted
the inviution, I spenl the lore-
noon very plertNrtntly wilh thoHO
poor negroe« ; Ihcir company
\vti« Ihe njoro ttcceplublc, a«
the genilcne«J4 ol' ihcn* manners
prGsenlcd A striking eonirasl lo
ll'ic nuleness «nil haiUiuiiy ol'
' ti\c Moors. They enliveneil
iheir conversrttion by thinking
u lerntented li(|nor nutde irom
corn -the same sort ol" beer
ihat I have described in a
lornter chanter ; antl l»etler 1
never tasted in tJreat Hriiain.

In the ntidsi of this hannless
fesiiviiy, I llattcrcd myselt that
all vlanucr from the Moors was
over. I'ancy luul already placed
me on the banks ot' the Niger,
and presented to my inuigina-
tion A thousand dclighttul

scones in my fnturo progrcs>i,
when ft parly of Moors uurx'
poctodly cntorctl the hut, md*!
dispelled tho golden drrtitit,
They canto, they said, by Ajj.,
orders, to ctmvey mo to \\\h
camp at llonowm. If I wcitt
peateably, Ihoy l(»ld me, I littil
nothing lo fear ; but if t tr
fused, Ihey luul orders U) biin)/
mo by force. I was slnuk
duntb by surprise nnd tciioi.
which the Moors observiufi, rii
<lravouiv;d to calm nty appir
heusiotts, by repeftlmu the
assurani e that t had nolluug (0
fear. Thrir visit, they added,
was iM'casioucd by the cuiiufdiy
of All's wile I'atinta, who \m\
hoard so much about ChrisliiUiH,
that she was very anxious tn
see one s as soon as her niri
tisity should be satisfied, llicy
had no doubt, they said, thai
Ali woidd give me a handsome
present, and send a person to
coiuhtct mo to Dainluura.
I'intliug entreaty and rcsislamc
ctiually fruitless, I prepared to
Ibllow the messengers, and look
leave of my landlord auvl liis
company with great reluctance.
Accompanied by my faithhil boy
— for Daman's slave nuidc lii^t
escape on seeing the Moors— wc
reached Dalli hi Iho evening;
where wc were strictly watclud
by the Moors during the nlKlil.

jUiifvA 8. — We were cot^
ductetl by a circuitous path
through the wooils to Dangaii,
where wc slept.

AftffrA 9.—WC continued our
journey, and in the aflcinoon
arrived at Sampaka.

PAKK*S UIM AND TNA VK/X

443

i (luring ll»o iukIu.

NcKt tttotinttK (NlMrch loth)
wi' NCl out lor Sf^iniouli)^ kocm,
01) tho ro(t(l wc overlook a
vvonmn niul two hoyH with mm
DHD i nIic iitionnrd tm tlutt hIip
uttN K*>ii*K hir ll(<nilmrr(t, but
luul been Hlopprd im» the roud
|,y u party «»! Moom, who
had Inkoii iuohI ol lirr rhMlim
iitui Ronin gohl Imiiu hrr ; nnd
ihtil pfhc wouhl l)c uutU'r tho
iincMwity oi rrhuning to Dcoiwi
till llic Idiit luooit wnn over.
The Mrtiuo cvrning the new
iiiuuii W(t« neen, wliich UNhercd
111 titc utontii Utunudon. Large
liiCH were nuuh! in diUcrcnl
piirtf* ol the town, ond « grcaler
( ittuttltv or victuals than UBual
dCNHcil upon llic occa«lon.

Manh It.— Hy daylight the
Moorw were In rcwdincM ; but
u \ had nuiVcrcd nnirh front
iltlrNl on the road, I nutdc my
boy lill a woolroo ol water for

own UNC, for the Moorw

tiNHurcd nic that they Nhould not
luNte cither niout or drink until
HiinHcl. However, 1 found that
the cxccrmIvc heat of the Hun,
Htul the duNt we raiwcd in travcl-
ling, overcame their scruplen,
uiul umdc my aoofroo tt very
useful ^)ari of our baggage. On
our furival at Dccna, I went to
pay uiy re»pcctH to one of All's
soiiH. I found him sitting in a
low hut, with live or six more
of his companions, washing
their hands and feet, and fre-
quently taking water into their
mouths, ji^argling and spitting
it out tigam. t was no sooner
scaled, than he luvnde<l me a

nte to {\yv the stot It of a blue
colour, ami rroair one of tha
lot ks. 1 loimo ^rcat dilHcnlty
in persuading him that 1 knew
m>thing about the matter, How-
ever, savs he, if you cannot
repair tiio gun, you shall givo
nte some kitives and scissors
inmiediately ; and whcit my
boy, who a»le<l as interpreter,
aKstired him (hat t had no such
ariiiles, he hastily snatched up
a musket that stood by him,
cocked it, and putting tho
mu/./ilo close to tho boy's car,
would ( crtaiidy havo shot him
dead upoit the spot, had not
the Moors wrested tho musket
from hint, and ntadc signs for
us to reheat.

Afiinh 12, — Wc departed
from Dcetta towards Dcuowm,
aitd about nine o'cloc k camd to
a korree, whence tho Moors
were preparing to depart to tho
southward, on account of tho
scarcity of water ; here wc filled
our soofroo, and continued our
journey over a hot sandy
country, covered with small
stunted shrubs, until about ono
o'clock, when the heat of the
sun obliged us to ston. Hut
our water being expended, wc
could not prudently remain
longer than a few rninutcH to
collect a little gum, which \n
an excellent succcdancum for
water, as it keeps the mouth
moist, and allays for a time the
[)ain in the throat.

About five o'clock wc came
in sight of HcnowiTi, the resi-
dence of Ali. It presented to

;l*

■J '>■'■' 'X

■'■f<

(louble-barrcllcd gun, and told the eye a great number of dirty-

444

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

\ % ■

! (^f

looking tents, scattered without
order over a large space of
ground ; and among the tents
appeared large herds of camels,
cattle, and goats. We reachecl
the skirts of this camp a little
before sunset, and, with much
entreaty, procured a little water.
My arrival was no sooner ob-
served, than the people who
drew water at the wells threw
down their buckets ; those in
the tents mounted theii !:^rses,
and men, women, and children
came running or galloping to-
wards me. I soon found myself
surrounded by such a crowd
that I could scarcely move ;
one pulled my clothes, another
took off my hat, a third stopped
me to examine my waistcoat-
buttons, and a fourth called
out, La illah el Allah Mahamet
ras<nvl allahi — (* There is but
one God, and Mohammed is
his prophet ') — and signified, in
a threatening manner, that I
must repeat those words. We
reached at length the king's
tent, where we found a great
number of people, men and
women, assembled. Ali was
sitting upon a black leather
cushion, clipping a few hairs
from his upper lip, a female
attendant holding up a looking-
glass before him. He appeared
to be an old man of the Arab
cast, with a long white beard ;
and he had a sullen and indig-
nant aspect. He surveyed me
with attention, and inquired of
the Moors if I could speak
Arabic. Being answered in the
negative, he appeared much

surprised, and continued silent.
The surrounding attendants,
and especially the ladies, were
abundantly more inquisitive;
they asked a thousand ques-
tions ; inspected every part of
my apparel, searched my poc.
kets, and obliged me to unbut-
ton my waistcoat, and display
the whiteness of my skin ; they
even counted my toes and
fingers, as if they doubted
whether I was in truth a human
being. In a little time the priest
announced evening prayers; but
before the people departed, the
Moor who had acted as inter-
preter informed me that Ali
was about to present me with
something to eat ; and looking
round, I observed some boys
bringing a wild hog, which they
tied to one of the tent strings,
and Ali made signs to me to
kill and dress it for supper.
Though I was very hungry, I
did not think it prudent to eat
any part of an animal so much
detested by the Moors, and
therefore told him that I never
ate such food. They then untied
the hog, in hopes that it would
run immediately at me— for
they believe that a great enmity
subsists between hogs and
Christians — but in this they
were disappointed, for the ani-
mal no sooner regained his
liberty, than he began to attack
indiscriminately every person
that came in his way, and at
last took shelter under the
couch upon which the king was
sitting. The assembly being
thus dissolved, I was conducted

PARJCS LIFE AND TRA VELS.

445

to the tent of Ali's chief slave,
|)Ut was not permitted to enter,
nor allowed to touch anything
belonging to it. I requested
something to eat, and a little
boiled corn, with salt and water,
was at length sent me in a
wooden bowl ; and a mat was
spread upon the sand before the
tent, on which I passed the night,
surrounded by the curious
multitude.

At sunrise, Ali, with a few
attendants, came on horseback
to visit me, and signified that
he had provided a hut for me,
where I would be sheltered
from the sun. I was accord-
ingly conducted thither, and
found the hut comparatively
cool and pleasant.

I was no sooner seated in
this my new habitation, than
the Moors assembled in crowds
to behold me ; but I found it
rather a troublesome levee, for
I was obliged to take off one of
my stockings, and show them
my foot, and even to take off
my jacket and waistcoat, to
shew them how my clothes
were put on and off; they were
much delighted with the curious
contrivance of buttons. All
this was to be repeated to every
succeeding visitor ; for such as
had already seen these wonders,
insisted on their friends seeing
the same ; and in this manner
I was employed, dressing and
undressing, buttoning and un-
buttoning, from noon till night.
About eight o'clock, Ali sent
me for supper some kouskous
and salt .and water, which was

very acceptable, being the only
victuals I had tasted since
morning.

I observed that in the night
the Moors kept regular watch,
and frequently looked into the
hut, to see if I was asleep ; and
if it was quite dark, they would
light a wisp of grass. About
two o'clock in the morning, a
Moor entered the hut, probably
with a view to steal something,
or perhaps to murder me ; and
groping about, he laid his hand
upon my shoulder. As night
visitors were at best but suspici-
ous characters, I sprang up the
moment he laid his hand upon
me ; and the Moor, in his haste
to get off, stumbled over my
boy, and fell with his face upon
the wild hog, which returned
the attack by biting the Moor's
arm. The screams of this man
alarmed the people in the king's
tent, who immediately conjec-
tured that I had made my
escape, and a number of them
mounted their horses, and pre-
pared to pursue me. I ob-
served upon this occasion that
Ali did not sleep in his own
tent, but came galloping upon
a white horse from a small tent
at a considerable distance : in-
deed, the tyrannical and cruel
behaviour of this man made him
so jealous of every person
around him, that even his own
slaves and domestics knew not
where he slept. When the
Moors had explained to him the
cause of this outcry, they all
went away, and I was permitted
to sleep quietly until morning.

%(*''lM:fi*'' n

f;n. '^

.'1

'M-.

. I^P

4,\n

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

Miirch 13. — With the return-
ing day commenced the Rame
round of insult and irritation —
the l)ovs aRseml)led to beat the
hog, and the men antl women
to plague the Christian. It is
impossible for me to tlescribe
the behaviour of a people who
study mischief as a science, and
exult in the misciics and mis-
fortunes of their fellow-creatures.

CHAPTER X.

The Moors, though very indo-
lent themselves, are rigid task-
masters, and keep every per-
son under them in full employ-
ment. My boy Demba was
sent to the woods to collect
withered grass for Ali's horses ;
and after a variety of projects
concerning myself, they at last
found out an employment for
me : this was no other than the
respectable office of barber, I
was to make my first exhibition
in this capacity in the royal
presence, and to be honoured
with the task of shaving the
head of the young prince of
Ludamar. I accordingly seated
myself upon the sand, and the
boy, with some hesitation, sat
down beside me. A small razor,
about three inches long, was
put into my hand, and I was
ordered to proceed ; but whether
from my own want of skill, or
the improper shape of the in-
strument, I unfortunately made
a slight incision in the boy's
head at the very commence-

ment of the operation ; and tin..
king, observing the awkwnnl
manner in which I held the
razor, concluded that his son's
head was in very impro|)er
hands, and ordered me to re
sign the razor and walk out of
the tent. This I considered as
a very fortunate circumstance;
for I had laid it down as a rule
to make myself as useless and
insignificant as possible, as the
only means of recovering my
liberty.

March 18. — Four Moors ar-
rived from Jarra with Johnson
my interpreter, havinj^ seized
him before he had received any
intimation of my confinement,
and bringing with them a bundle
of clothes that I had left at
Daman Jumma's house, for my
use in case I should return by the
way of Jarra. Johnson was led
into Ali's tent and examined;
the bundle was opened, and I
was sent for to explain the use
of the different articles. I was
happy, however, to find that
Johnson had committed my
papers to the charge of one of
Daman's wives. When I had
satisfied Ali's curiosity respect-
ing the different articles of ap-
parel, the bundle was again
tied up, and put into a large
cow-skin bag that stood in a
corner of the tent. The same
evening Ali sent three of his
people to inform me that there
were many thieves in the neigh-
bourhood, and that to prevent
the rest of my things from being
stolen, it was necessary to con
vey them all into his tent. My

PAKK'S LIFE AND TRA VEUl

447

Inch I held the
al that bis son's
I vcrv improper
rdercil nic lo re
r and walk out o(
is I considered as
ate circumstance ,
it down as a rule
elf as useless and
18 possible, as the
of recovering my

clodicH, instruments, and every-
thing that belonged to me, were
nrrordingly carried away ; and
though the heat and dust made
clean linen very necessary and
rofri'shing, I could not ])rocure
a single shirt out of the small
stock I had brought along with
me. Ali was, however, dis-
appointed by not finding among
my effects the (juantity of goUl
and arnbcr that he expected j
but to make sure of everything,
he sent the same pcojile, on
the morning following, to exa-
mine whether I had anything
concealed about my person.
They, with their usual rudeness,
searched every part of my ap-
parel, and stripped me of all
my gold, amber, my watch, and
one of my pocket compasses;
I had fortunately, in the night,
buried the other compass in the
sand — and this, with the clothes
I had on, was all that the
tyranny of Ali had now left me.
The gold and amber were
highly gratifying to Moorish
avarice, but the pocket com-
pass soon became an object of
superstitious curiosity. Ali was
very desirous to be informed
why that small piece of iron,
the needle, always pointed to
the Great Desert ; and I found
myself somewhat puzzled to
answer ilie question. To have
pleaded my ignorance would
have created a suspicion that I
wished to conceal the real truth
from him ; I therefore told him
that my mother resided far be-
yond the sands of Sahara, and
that whilst she was alive the piece

of iron would alwiiys point that
way, and serve as a guide to
conduct me to her, and that if
she was dead it would point to
her grave. Ali now looked at
the compass with redoubled
amazement; turned it round
and round repeatedly ; but ob-
serving that It always pointed
the same way, he took it up
with great caution and returned
it to me, manifesting that he
thought there was something of
magic in it, and that he was
afraid of keeping so dangerous
an instrument in his possession.

March ao. — This morning a
council of chief men was held in
All's tent respecting me. Their
decisions, though they were all
unfavourable to me, were dif-
ferently related by different
persons. Some said that they
mtended to put me to death ;
others that I was only to lose
my right hand; but the most
probable account was that which
I received from All's own son,
a boy about nine years of age,
who came to me in the evening,
and, with much concern, in-
formed me that his uncle had
persuaded his father to put out
my eyes, which they said re-
sembled those of a cat, and
that all the bushreens had ap-
proved of this measure. His
father, howe/er, he said, would
not put the sentence into exe-
cution until Fatima, the queen,
who was at present in the north,
had seen me.

March 21. — Anxious to know
my destiny, I went to the king
early in the morning ; and as a

..ri<

'Win.':

li III

448

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

Ill'

number of bushreens were as-
sembled, I thought this a favour-
able opportunity of discovering
their intentions. I therefore
began by begging his permis-
sion to return to Jarra, which
was flatly refused. His wife,
he said, had not yet seen me,
and I must stay until she came
to Benowm, after which I should
be at liberty to depart ; and that
my horse, which had been taken
away from me the day after 1
arrived, should be again restored
to me. Unsatisfactory as this
answer was, I was forced to ap-
pear pleased ; and as there was
little hope of making my escape
at this season of the year, on
account of the excessive heat,
and the total want of water in
the woods, I resolved to wait
patiently until the rains had set
in, or until some more favour-
able opportunity should pre-
sent itself. But * hope deferred
maketh the heart sick.' This
tedious procrastination from day
to day, and the thoughts of tra-
velling through the negro king-
doms in the rainy season, which
was now fast approaching, made
me very melancholy ; and hav-
ing passed a restless night, I
found myself attacked in the
morning by a smart fever. I
had wrapped myself close up in
my cloak with a view to induce
perspiration, and was asleep,
when a party of Moors entered
the hut, and, with their usual
rudeness, pulled the cloak from
me. I made signs to them that
I was sick, and wished much to
sleep, but I solicited in vain ;

my distress was matter of sport
to them, and they endeavoured
to heighten it by every means
in their power. In this per-
plexity I left my hut, and walked
to some shady trees at a little
distance from the camp, where
I lay down. But even here per-
secution followed me, and soli-
tude was thought too great
an indulgence for a distressed
Christian. All's son, with a
number of horsemen, came
galloping to the place, and or-
dered me to rise and follow
them. I begged they would
allow me to remain where I
was, if it was only for a few
hours J but they paid little at-
tention to what I said, and,
after a few threatening words,
one of them pulled out a pistol
from a leather bag, that was
fastened to the pommel of his
saddle, and, presenting it to-
wards me, snapped it twice.
He did this with so much in-
difference, that I really doubted
whether the pistol was loaded.
He cocked it a third time, and
was striking the flint with a
piece of steel, when I begged
them to desist, and returned
with them to the camp. When
we entered Ali's tent we found
him much out of humour. He
called for the Moor's pistol, and
amused himself for some time
with opening and shutting the
pan; at length, taking up his
powder-horn, he fresh primed
it, and, turning round to me
with a menacing look, said
something in Arabic which I
did not understand. I desired

RS.

s matter of sport
hey endeavoured
by every means
;r. In this per-
y hut, and walked
Y trees at a little
the camp, where
Jut even here per-
ved me, and soli-
lought too great
; for a distressed
li's son, with a
horsemen, came
the place, and or-
> rise and follow
gged they would
I remain where I
&s only for a few
hey paid little at-
vhat I said, and,
threatening words,
pulled out a pistol
ler bag, that was
he pommel of his
presenting it to-
napped it twice.
with so much in-
lat I really doubted
pistol was loaded.
[t a third time, and
the flint with a
1, when I begged
;ist, and returned
the camp. When
Ai's tent we found
it of humour. He
Moor's pistol, and
ielf for some time
^ and shutting the
[th, taking up his
he fresh primed
ling round to me
lacing look, said
i Arabic which I
irstand. I desired

PARK'S LIFE AND TRAVELS,

449

my boy, who was sitting before
the tent, to inquire what offence
I had committed ; when I was
informed, that having gone out
of the camp witiiout A li's i)er-
niission, they suspected that I
had some design of making my
escape ; and that, in future, if I
was seen without the skirts of
the camp, orders hud been given
that I should be shot by the
first person that observed me.

In the afternoon the horizon
to the eastward was thick and
hazy, and the Moors prognosti-
cated a sand wind, which ac-
cordingly commenced on the
morning following, and lasted,
with slight intermissions, for
two days. The force of the
wind was not in itself very
great; it was what a seaman
would have denominated a stiff
breeze; but the quantity of sand
and dust carried before it was
such as to darken the whole
atmosphere.

About this time all the women
of the camp had their feet and
the ends of their fingers stained
of a dark saffron colour. I could
never ascertain whether this was
done from motives of religion,
or by way of ornament. The
curiosity of the Moorish ladies
had been very troublesome to
me ever since my arrival at
Benowm; and on the evening
of the 25th (whether from the
instigation of others, or im-
j pelled by their own ungovern-
able curiosity, or merely out of
frolic, I cannot affirm), a party
of them came into my hut, and
gave me plainly to understand

that the object of their visit was
to ascertain, by actual inspec-
tion, whether the rite of circum-
ci.sion extended to the Nazarenes
^Ciiristians) as well as to the
followers of Mohammed. The
reader will easily judge of my
surprise at this unexpected de-
clanition ; and in order to avoid
the proposed scrutiny, I thought
it best to treat the business
jocularly. I observed to them
that it Nvas not customary in my
country to give ocular demon-
stration in such cases before
so many beautiful women ; but
that if all of them would retire,
except the young lady to whom
I pointed (selecting the youngest
and handsomest), 1 would satisfy
her curiosity. The ladies en-
joyed the jest, and went away,
laughing heartily ; and the young
damsel herself, to whom I had
given the preference (though she
did not avail herself of the privi-
lege of inspection), seemed no
way displeased at the compli-
ment, for she soon afterwards
sent me some meal and milk
for my supper.

March 28. — This morning a
large herd of cattle arrived from
the eastward, and one of the
drivers, to whom Ali had lent
my horse, came into my hut
with the leg of an antelope as a
present, and told me that my
horse was standing before All's
tent. In a little time Ali sent
one of his slaves to inform me,
that in the afternoon I must be
in readiness to ride out with
him, as he intended to show me
to some of his women.

2 F

J I;

t^§-

3**\ 'i. 'I

tt-d

f :

450

TIf£ ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

About four o'clock, Ali, with
six of his courtiers, came riding
to my hut, and told me to fol-
low them. I readily complied.
But here a new difficulty occur-
red. The Moors, accustomed
to a loose and easy dress, could
not reconcile themselves to the
appearance of my nankeen
breeches^ which they said were
not only inelegant, but, on ac-
count of their tightness, very
indecent; and as this was a
visit to ladies, Ali ordered my
boy to bring out the loose cloak
which I had always worn since
my arrival at Benowm, and told
me to wrap it close round me.
We visited the tents of four dif-
ferent ladies, at every one of
which I was presented with a
bowl of milk and water. All
these ladies were remarkably
corpulent, which is considered
here as the highest mark of
beauty. They were very in-
quisitive, and examined my hair
and skin with great attention,
but affected to consider me as
a sort of inferior being to them-
selves, and would knit their
brows and seem to shudder
when they looked at the white-
ness of my skin.

The Moors areceUdinly very
good horseme:.. They ride
without fear — their saddles be-
ing high before and behind,
afford them a very secure seat ;
and if they chance to fall, the
whole country is so soft and
sandy, that they aro veiy seldom
hurt. Their greatest pride, and
one of their principal amuse-
ments, is to put the horse to its

full speed, and then stop hirs
with a sudden jerk, so as fre-
quently to bring him down
upon his haunches. Ali always
rode upon a milk-white horse,
with its tail dyed red. He
never walked, unless when he
went to say his prayers ; and
even in the night, two or three
horses were always kept ready
saddled, at a little distance from
his own tent. The Moors set
a very high value upon their
horses ; for it is by theii
superior fleetness that they are
enabled to make so many pre-
datory excursions into the negro
countries. They feed them
three or four times a day, and
generally give them a large
quantity of sweet milk in the
evening, which the horses ap-
pear to relish very much.

April 3. — ^This forenoon, a
child, which had been some time
sickly, died in the next tent;
and the mother and relations
immediately began the death-
howl. They were joined by a
"number of female visitors, who
came on purpose to assist at
this melancholy concert. I had
no opportunity of seeing the
burial, which is generally per-
formed secretly, in the dusk of I
the evening, and frequently at
only a few yards' distance from
the tent. Over the grave they
plant one particular shrub, and
no stranger is allowed to pluck
a leaf, or even to touch it— sfl|
great a veneration have tf
for the dead.

April 7.— About four o'clockj
in the afternoon a whirlwind |

RS.

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS.

451

, then stop him
I jerk, so as fre-
ring him down
:hes. Ali always
milk-white horse,
dyed red. He
unless when he
his prayers ; and
ight, two or three
iways kept ready
little distance from
The Moors set
value upon their
it is by theii
:ness that they are
lake so many pre-
iions into the negro
They feed them
r times a day, and
ive them a large
sweet milk in the
ich the horses ap-
1 very much.
-This forenoon, a
had been some tirae
in the next tent;
•ther and relations
began the death-
^ were joined by a
■emale visitors, who
(urpose to assist at
holy concert. I had
[nity of seeing the
\i is generally per-
itly, in the duskol
, and frequently at
'ards' difiUnce from
;ver the grave they
articular shrub, and
is allowed to pluck
en to touch it-so
eration have thejj

-About four o'clock
;rnoon a whir

passed through the camp with
such violence that it overturned
three tents, and blew down one
side of my hut. These whirl-
winds come from the Great
Desert, and at this season of
the year are so common that
I have seen five or six of them
at one time. They carry up
quantities of sand to an amaz-
ing height, which resemble, at
a distance, so many moving
pillars of smoke.

The scorching heat of the
sun, upon a dry and sandy
country, makes the air insuffer-
ably hot. Ali having robbed
me of my thermometer, I had
no means of forming a compar-
ative judgment ; but in the
middle of the day, when the
beams of the vertical sun are
seconded by the scorching wind
from the desert, the ground is
frequently heated to such a de-
gree as not to be borne by the
naked foot. Even the negro
slaves will not run from one
tent to another without their
sandals. At this time of the
day the Moors lie stretched at
length in their tents, either
asleep, or unwilling to move ;
and I have often felt the wind
$9 hot, that I could not hold
niy hand in the current of air
which came through the cre-
vices of my hut without feeling
sensible pain.

April 8. — This day the wind
blew from the south-west ; and
in the night there was a heavy
shower of rain, accompanied
with thunder and lightning.
April 10, — In the evening the

tabaldy or large drum, was beat
to announce a wedding, which
was held at oneof the neighbour-
ing tents. A great number of
people of both sexes assembled,
but without that mirth and
hilarity which take place at a
negro wedding. Here was
neither singing nor dancing, nor
any other amusement that I
could perceive. A woman was
beating the drum, and the other
women joining at times like a
chorus, by setting up a shrill
scream, and at the same time
moving their tongues from one
side of the mouth to the other
with great celerity. I was soon
tired, and had returned into my
hut, where I was sitting almost
asleep, when an old woman
entered with a wooden bowl in
her hand, and signified that she
had brought me a present from
the bride. Before I could re-
cover from the surprise which
this message created, the woman
discharged the contents of the
bowl full in my face. Finding
that it was the same sort of holy
water with which, among the
Hottentots, a priect is said to
sprinkle a newly-married couple,
I began to suspect that the old
lady was actuated by mischief
or malice ; but she gave me
seriously to understand that it
was a nuptial benediction
from the bride's own per-
son, and which, on such occa-
sions, is always received by the
young unmarried Moors as a
mark of distinguished favour.
This being the case, I wiped
my face, and sent my acknow-

■tVi^i

v^**- 'lAil

■I'l :!

452

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

:l!

ledgments to the lady. The
wedding drum continued to
beat, and the women to sing, or
rather whistle, all night. About
nine in the morning, the bride
was brought in state from her
mother's tent, attended by a
number of women, who carried
her tent (a present from the
husband), some bearing up the
poles, others holding by the
strings ; and in this manner they
marched, whistling as formerly,
until they came to the place
appointed for her residence,
where they pitched the tent.
The husband followed, with a
number of men, leading four
bullocks, which they tied to the
tent strings ; and having killed
another, and distributed the
beef among the people, the
ceremony was concluded.

CHAPTER XI.

One whole month had now
elapsed since I was led into
captivity, during^ which time each
returning da ought me fresh
distresses. I watched the ling-
ering course of the sun with
anxiety, and blessed his evening
beams as they shed a yellow
lustre along the sandy floor of
my hut ; for it was then that
my oppressors left me, and
allowed me to pass the sultry
night in solitude and reflection.
About midnight a bowl of
kouskoas, with some salt and
water, were brought for me and
my two attendants. This was

our common fare, and it was
all that was allowed us to allay
the cravings of hunger and
support nature for the whole of
the following day ; for it is to
be observed that this was the
Mohammedan Lent, and as the
Moors keep the fast with a re-
ligious strictness, they thought
it proper to compel me, though
a Christian, to a similar observ-
ance. Time, however, some-
what reconciled me to my situa-
tion. I found that I could bear
hunger and thirst better than I
expected; and at length I en-
deavoured to beguile the tedi-
ous hours by learning to write
Arabic.

April 14. — As Queen Fatirna
had not yet arrived, Ali pro-
posed to go to the north and
bring her back with him ; but
as the place was two days'
journey from Benowm, it was
necessary to have some refresh-
ment on the road; and Ali,
suspicious of those about hira,
was so afraid of being poisoned,
that he never ate anything but
what was dressed under his
own immediate inspection. A
fine bullock was therefore killed,
and the flesh being cut up into
thin slices, was dried in the
sun ; and this, with two bags of
dry kouskous, formed his tra-
velling provisions.

Previous to his departure, the
black people of the town of
Benowm came, according to
their annual custom, to show
their arms, and bring their
stipulated tribute of corn and
cloth. They were but badly

PARK'S LIFE AND TEA VELS.

453

fare, and it was
owed us to allay
of hunger and
for the whole of
3ay; for it is to
hat this was the
Lent, and as the
be fast with a re-
;ss, they thought
mpel me, though
a similar observ-
however, some-
d me to my situa-
that I could bear
irst better than I
i at length I en-
beguile the tedi-
learning to write

armed — twenty-two with mus-
kets, forty or fifty with bows
and arrows, and nearly the same
number of men and boys with
spears only. They arranged
themselves before the tent,
where they waited nntil their
arms were examined, and some
little disputes settled.

About midnight on the i6th,
Ali departed quietly from Be-
nowm, accompanied by a few
attendants. He was expected
to return in the course of nine
or ten days.

April 1 8. — Two days after
the departure of Ali, a shereef
arrived with salt and some other
articles from Walet, the capital
of the kingdom of Biroo. As
there was no tent appropriated
for him, he took up his abode
in the same hut with me. He
seemed to be a well-informed
man, and his acquaintance both
with the Arabic and Bambarra
tongues enabled him to travel
with ease and safety through
a number of kingdoms; for
though his place of residence
was Walet, he had visited
Housga, and had lived some
years at Timbuctoo. Upon
my inquiring so particularly
about the distance from Walet
to Timbuctoo, he asked me if
I intended to travel that way ;
and being answered in the affir-
mative, he shook his head, and
said, it would not do ; for that
Christians were looked upon
there as the devil's children,
and enemies to the Prophet.
From him I learned the follow-
ing particulars : — That Houssa

was the largest town he had ever
seen : that Walet was larger
than Timbuctoo, but being re-
mote from the Niger, and its
trade consisting chiefly of salt,
it was not so much resorted to
by strangers : that between Be-
nowm and Walet was ten days'
journey ; but the road did not
lead through any remarkable
towns, and travellers supported
themselves by purchasing milk
from the Arabs, who keep their
herds by the watering-places :
two of the days' journeys was
over a sandy country, without
water. From Walet to Tim-
buctoo was eleven days more ;
but water was more plentiful,
and the journey was usually
performed upon bullocks. He
said there were many Jews at
Timbuctoo, but they all spoke
Arabic, and used the same
prayers as the Moors. He fre-
quently pointed his hand to the
south-east quarter, or rather the
east by south, observing that
Timbuctoo was situated in that
direction ; and though I made
him repeat this information
again and again, I never found
him to vary more than half a
point, which was to the south-
ward.

April 24. — This morning
Shereef Sidi Mahomed Moora
Abdalla, a native of Morocco,
arrived with five bullocks loaded
with salt. He had formerly re-
sided some months at Gibraltar,
where he had picked up as much
English as enabled him to make
himself understood. He in-
i formed me that he had been

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454

TffB ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

five months in coming from
Santa Craz; but that great
part of the time had been spent
in trading. When I requested
him to enumerate the days em-
ployed in travelling from Mo-
rocco to Benowm, he gave
them as follows: — To Swera,
three days ; to Agadier, three ;
to Jinikin, ten ; to Wadenoon,
four ; to Lakeneig, five ; to
Zeeriwin-zerimani, five; to Ti-
sheet, ten ; to Benowm, ten — in
all, fifty days : but travellers
usually rest a long while at
Jinikin and Tisheet — at the
latter of which places they dig
the rock salt, which is so great
an article of commerce with the
negroes.

In conversing with these she-
reefs, and the different strangers
that resorted to the camp, I
passed my time with rather less
uneasiness than formerly. On
the other hand, as the dressing
of my victuals was now left en-
tirely to the care of All's slaves,
over whom I had not the
smallest control, I found my-
self but ill supplied, worse even
than in the fast month : for two
successive nights they neglected
to send us our accustomed
meal ; and though my boy went
to a small negro town near the
camp, and begged with great
diligence from hut to hut, he
could only procure a few hand-
fuls of ground nuts, which he
readily shared with me.

We had been for some days
in daily expectation of Ali's re-
turn from Saheel (or the north
countrj') with his wife Fatima.

In the meanwhile, Mansong,
king of Bambarra, as I have
related in Chapter viir., had
sent to Ali for a party of horse
to assist in storming Gedin-
gooma. With this demand Ali
had not .only refused to comply,
but had treated the messengers
with great haughtiness and con-
tempt; upon which Mansong
gave up all thoughts of taking
the town, and prepared to chas-
tise Ali for his contumacy.

Things were in this situation
when, on the 29th of April, a
messenger arrived at Benowm
with the disagreeable intelli-
gence that the Bambarra army
was approaching the frontiers
of Ludamar. This threw the
whole country into confusion,
and in the afternoon All's son,
with about twenty horsemen,
arrived at Benowm. He ordered
all the cattle to be driven away
immediately, all the tents to be
struck, and the people to hold
themselves in readiness to de-
part at daylight the next morn-
ing.

April 30. — At daybreak the
whole camp was in motion.
The baggage was carried upon
bullocks — the two tent poles
being placed one on each side,
and the different wooden articles
of the tent distributed in like
manner; the tent cloth was
thrown over all, and upon this
was commonly placed one or
two women; for the Moorish
women are very bad walkers.
The king's favourite concubines
rode upon camels, with a saddle
of a particular construction, and

mwhile, Mansong,
nbarra, as I have
Dhapter viir., had
or a party of horse

storming Gedin-
th this demand Ali
refused to comply,
:ed the messengers
ughtiness and con-
1 which Mansong
thoughts of taking
i prepared to chas-
is contumacy,
re in this situation
i 29th of April, a
-rived at Benowm
isagreeable intelli-
he Bambarra army
hing the frontiers
, This threw the
ry into confusion,
ftemoon Ali's son,
twenty horsemen,
owm. He ordered
to be driven away
all the tents to be
ie people to hold

readiness to de-
It the next mom-

-At daybreak the

was in motion.

was carried upon

two tent poles
one on each side,
:nt wooden articles
istributed in like

tent cloth was
11, and upon this
y placed one or
for the Moorish
ery bad walkers.
ourite concubines
lels, with a saddle
construction, and

PARK'S LIFE AND TEA VELS.

455

a canopy to shelter them from
the sun. We proceeded to the
northward until noon, when the
king's son ordered the whole
company, except two tents, to
enter a thick low wood which
was upon our right. I was sent
along with the two tents, and
arrived in the evening at a
negro town called Farani : here
we pitched the tents in an open
place at no great distance from
the town.

May I. — As I had some rea-
son to suspect that this day was
also to be considered as a fast,
I went in the morning to the
negro town of Farani, and
begged some provisions from
the dooty, who readily supplied
my wants, and desired me to
come to his house every day
during my stay in the neighbour-
hood. These hospitable people
are looked upon by the Moors
as an abject race of slaves, and
are treated accordingly.

May 3. — We departed from
the vicinity of Farani, and after
a circuitous route through the
woods, arrived at Ali's camp in
the afternoon. This encamp-
ment was larger than that of
Benowm, and was situated in
the middle of a thick wood,
about two miles distant from a
negro town called Bubaker. I
immediately waited upon Ali,
in order to pay my respects to
Queen Fatima, who had come
with him from Saheel. He
seemed much pleased with my
coming, shook hands with me,
and informed his wife that I
was the Christian. She was a

woman of the Arab caste, with
long black hair, and remark-
ably corpulent. She appeared
at first rather shocked at the
thought of having a Christian
so near her; but when I had,
by means of a negro boy who
spoke the Mandingo and Arabic
tongues, answered a great many
questions which her curiosity
suggested respecting the country
of the Christians, she seemed
more at ease, and presented me
with a bowl of milk, which I
considered as a very favourable
omen.

The heat was now almost in-
suflferable — all nature seemed
sinking under it. The distant
country presented to the eye a
dreary expanse of sand, with a
few stunted trees and prickly
bushes, in the shade of which
the hungry cattle licked up the
withered grass, while the camels
and goats picked off the scanty
foliage. The scarcity of water
was greater here than at Be-
nowm. Day and night the
wells were crowded with cattle,
lowing and fighting with each
other to come at the troughs.
Excessive thirst made many of
them furious; others, being
too weak to contend for the
water, endeavoured to quench
their thirst by devouring the
black mud from the gutters
near the wells, which they did
with great avidity, though it
was commonly fatal to them.

One night, having solicited
in vain for water at the camp,
and been quite feverish, I re-
solved to try my fortune at the

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4S6

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

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wells, which were about half a
mile distant from the camp.
Accordingly I set out about
midnight, and being guided by
the lowing of the cattle, soon
arrived at the place, where I
found the Moors very busy
drawing water. I requested
permission to drink, but was
driven away with outrageous
abuse. Passing, however, from
one well to another, I came at
last to one where there was only
an old man and two boys. I
made the same request to this
man, and he immediately drew
me up a bucket of water ; but,
as I was about to take hold of
it, he recollected that I was a
Christian, and fearing that his
bucket might be polluted by
my lips, he dashed the water
into the trough, and told me to
drink from thence. Though
this trough was none of the
largest, and three cows were
already drinking from it, I re-
solved to come in for my share ;
and kneeling down, thrust my
head between two of the cows,
and drank with great pleasure,
until the water was nearly ex-
hausted, and the cows began to
contend with each other for the
last mouthful.

In adventures of this nature
I passed the sultry month of
May, during which no material
change took place in my situa-
tion. All still considered me
as a lawful prisoner; and Fatima,
though she allowed me a larger
quantity of victuals than I had
been accustomed to receive at
Benowm, had as yet said no-

thing on the subject of my
release. In the meantime, the
frequent changes of the wind,
the gathering clouds, and dis-
tant lightning, with other ap-
pearances of approaching rain,
indicated that the wet season
was at hand, when the Moors
annually evacuate the country
of the negroes, and return to
the skirts of the Great Desert.
This made me consider that
my fate was drawing towards a
crisis, and I resolved to wait
for the event without any seem-
ing uneasiness; but circum-
stances occurred which pro-
duced a change in my favour
more suddenly than I had fore-
seen or had reason to expect.
The case was this : — The fugi-
tive Kaartans, who had taken
refuge in Ludamar, as I have
related in Chapter viii., finding
that the Moors were about to
leave them, and dreading the
resentment of their own sove-
reign, whom they had so basely
deserted, offered to treat with
Ali for two hundred Moorish
horsemen, to co-operate with
them in an effort to expel Daisy
from Gedingooma ; for until
Daisy should be vanquished or
humbled, they considered that
they could neither return to
their native towns, nor live in
security in any of the neigh-
bouring kingdoms. With a
view to extort money from
these people by means of this
treaty, Ali despatched his son
to Jarra, and prepared to follow
him in the course of a few days.
This was an opportunity of loo

PARK'S LIFE AND TEA VELS,

457

great consequence to me to be
neglected. I immediately ap-
plied to Fatima, who, I found,
had the chief direction in all
affairs of state, and begged her
interest with Ali to give me
permission to accompany him
to Jarra. This request, after
some hesitation, was favourably
received. Fatima looked kindly
on me, and, I believe, was at
length moved with compassion
towards me. My bundles were
brought from the large cow-skin
bag that stood in the corner of
Ali's tent, and I was ordered to
explain the use of the different
articles, and show the method
of putting on the boots, stock-
ings, etc. — with all which I
cheerfully complied, and was
told that in the course of a few
days I should be at liberty to
depart.

Believingj therefore, that I
should certainly find the means
of escaping from Jarra, if I
should once get thither, I now
freely indulged the pleasing
hope that my captivity would
soon terminate ; and happily
not having been disappointed
in this idea, I shall pause in
this place to collect and bring
into one point of view, such
observations on the Moorish
cl aracter and country as I had
no fair opportunity of intro-
ducing into the preceding nar-
rative.

CHAPTER XII.

The Moors of this part of Africa
are divided into many separate
tribes, of which the most formid-
able, according to what was re-
ported to me, are those of Tra-
sart and II Braken, which in-
habit the northern bank of the
Senegal river. The tribes of
Gedumah, Jaffnoo, and Luda-
mar, though not so numerous
as the former, are nevertheless
very powerful and warlike, and
are each governed by a chief, or
king, who exercises absolute
jurisdiction over his own horde,
without acknowledging allegi-
ance to a common sovereign.
In time of peace, the employ-
ment of the people is pastur-
age. The Moors, indeed, sub-
sist chiefly on the flesh of their
cattle, and are always in the
extreme of either gluttony or
abstinence. In consequence of
the frequent and severe fasts
which their religion enjoins,
and the toilsome journeys which
they sometimes undertake across
the desert, they are enabled to
bear both hunger and thirst
with surprising fortitude ; but
whenever opportunities occur
of satisfying their appetite, they
generally devour more at one
meal than would serve a Euro-
pean for three. They pay but
little attention to agriculture,
purchasing their corn, cotton
cloth, and other necessaries
from the negroes, in exchange
for salt, which they dig from the
pits in the Great Desert.

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Tff£ ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

The natural barrenness of the
country is such, that it furnishes
but few materials for manufac-
ture. The Moors, however,
contrive to weave a strong cloth,
with which they cover their
tents ; the thread is spun by
their women from the hair of
goats, and they prepare the
hides of their cattle so as to
furnish saddles, bridles, pouches,
and other articles of leather.
They are likewise sufficiently
skilful to convert the native
iron, which they procure from
the negroes, into spears and
knives, and also into pots for
boiling their food ; but their
sabres, and other weapons, as
well as their fire-arms and an
munition, they purchase from
the Europeans, in exchange for
the negro slaves which they ob-
.tain in their predatory excur-
sions. Their chief commerce of
this kind is with the French
traders on the Senegal river.

The Moors are rigid Moham-
medans, and possess, with the
bigotry and superstition, all the
intolerance of their sect. They
have no mosques at Benowm,
but perform their devotions in
a sort of open shed, or enclo-
sure, made of mats. The priest
is, at the same time, school-
master to the juniors. His
pupils assemble every evening
before his tent ; where, by the
light of a large fire, made of
brushwood and cow's dung,
they are taught a few sentences
from the Koran, and are initiat-
ed into the principles of their
creed. Their alphabet differs

but little from that in Richard-
son's Arabic Grammar. They
always write with the vowel
points. Their priests even
affect to know something of
foreign literature. The priest
of Benowm assured me that he
could read the writings of the
Christians : he showed me a
number of barbarous characters,
which he asserted were the
Roman alphabet ; and he pro-
duced another specimen, equally
unintelligible, which he declared
to be the Kallam il Indi^ or
Persian. His library consisted
of nine volumes in quarto;
most of them, I believe, were
books of religion — for the name
of Mohammed appeared, in red
letters, in almost every page of
each; His scholars wrote their
lessons upon thin boards ; paper
being too expensive for general
use. The boys were diligent
enough, and appeared to pos-
sess aconsiderable share of emu-
lation — carrying their boards
slung over their shoulders, when
about their common employ-
ments. When a boy has com-
mitted to memory a few of their
prayers, and can read and write
certain parts of the Koran, he is
reckoned sufficiently instructed ;
and, with this slender stock of
learning, commences his career
of life. Proud of his acquire-
ments, he surveys with contempt
the unlettered negro ; and em-
braces every opportunity of dis-
playing his superiority over such
of his countrymen as are not
distinguished by the same ac-
complishments.

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS.

459

The education of the girls is
neglected altogether : mental
accomplishments are but little
attended to by the women;
nor is the want of them con-
sidered by the men as a defect
in the female character. They
are regarded, I believe, as an
inferior species of animals ; and
seem to be brought up for no
other purpose than that of
administering to the sensual
pleasures of their imperious
masters. Voluptuousness is
therefore considered aS their
chief accomplishment, and
slavish submission as their in-
dispensable duty.

The Moors have singular
ideas of feminine perfection. The
gracefulness of figure and mo-
tion, and a countenance en-
livened by expression, are by
no means essential points in
their standard. With them cor-
pulence and beauty appear to
be terms nearly synonymous.
A woman of even moderate
pretensions must be one who
cannot walk without a slave
under each arm to support her ;
and a perfect beauty is a load
for a camel. In consequence
of this prevalent taste for un-
wieldiness of bulk, the Moorish
ladies take great pains to ac-
quire it early in life ; and for
this purpose many of the young
girls are compelled by their
mothers to devour a great quan-
tity of kouskous, and drink a
large bowl of camel's milk every
moming. It is of no import-
ance whether the girl has an
appetite or not ; the kouskous

and milk must be swallowed,
and obedience is frequently
enforced by blows. I have
seen a poor girl sit crying, with
the bowl at her lips, for more
than an hour, and her mother,
with a stick in her hand, watch-
ing her all the while, and using
the stick without mercy when-
ever she observed that her
daughter was not swallowing.
This singular practice, instead
of producing indigestion and
disease, soon covers the young
lady with that degree of plump-
ness which, in the eye of a
Moor, is perfection itself.

As the Moors purchase all
their clothing from the negroes,
the women are forced to be
very economical in the article
of dress. In general ihey con-
tent themselves with a broad
piece of cotton cloth, which is
wrapped round the middle, and
hangs down like a petticoat
almost to the ground. To the
upper part of this are sewed
two square pieces, one before
and the other behind, which
are fastened together over the
shoulders. The head-dress is
commonly a bandage of cotton
cloth, with some parts of it
broader than others, which
serve to conceal the face when
they walk in the sun. Fre-
quently, however, when they go
abroad, they veil themselves
from head to foot.

The emplo3mient of the wo-
men varies according to their
degrees of opulence. Queen
Fatima, and a few others of
high rank, like the great ladies

'Vrn^rn

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460

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

in some parts of Europe, pass
their time chiefly in conversing
with their visitors, performing
their devotions, or admiring
their charms in a looking-glass.
The women of inferior class
employ themselves in different
domestic duties. They are
very vain and talkative ; and
when anything puts them out
of humour, they commonly vent
their anger upon their female
slaves, over whom they rule
with severe and despotic autho-
rity, which leads me to observe
that the condition of these poor
captives is deplorably wretched.
At daybreak they are compelled
to fetch water from the wells in
large skins, called girbas; and
as soon as they have brought
water enough to serve the family
for the day, as well as the horses
(for the floors seldom give their
horses the trouble of going to
the wells), they are then em-
ployed in pounding the com
and dressing the victuals. This
being always done in the open
air, the slaves are exposed to
the combined heat of the sun,
the sand, and the fire. In the
intervals, it is their business to
sweep the tent, churn the milk,
and perform other domestic
offices. With all this they are
badly fed, and oftentimes cruelly
punished.

The men's dress, among the
Moors of Ludamar, differs but
little from that of the negroes,
which has been already de-
scribed, except that they have
all adopted that characteristic
of the Mohammedan sect, the

turbaUy which is here universally
made of white cotton cloth.
Such of the Moors as have long
beards display them with a
mixture of pride and satisfaction,
as denoting an Arab ancestry.
Of this number was Ali himself ;
but among the generality of the
people the hair is short and
bushy, and universally black.
And here I may be permitted
to observe, that if any one cir-
cumstance excited among them
favourable thoughts towards my
own person, it was my beard,
which was now grown to ah
enormous length, and was
always beheld with approbation
or envy. I believe, in my
conscience, they thought it too
good a beard for a Christian.

The only diseases which I
observed to prevail among the
Moors, were the intermittent
fever and dysentery — for the
cure of which nostrums are
sometimes administered by
their old women, but in general
nature is left to her own opera-
tions. Mention was made to
me of the small-pox as being
sometimes very destructive ;
but it had not, to my know-
ledge, made its appeararce in
Ludamar while I was in
captivity. That it prevails,
however, among some tribes of
the Moors, and that it is fre-
quently conveyed by them to
the negroes in the southern
states, I was assured on the
authority of Dr. Laidley, who
also informed me that the ne-
groes on the Gambia practise
inoculation.

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS,

461

le intermittent

The administration of crimi-
nal justice, as far as I had op-
portunities of observing, was
prompt and decisive ; for al-
though civil rights were but
little regarded in Ludamar, it
was necessary, when crimes
were committed, that examples
should sometimes be made.
On such occasions, the offender
was brought before Ali, who pro-
nounced, of his sole authority,
what judgment he thought pro-
per. But I understood that
capital punishment was seldom
or never inflicted, except on the
negroes.

Although the wealth of the
Moors consists chiefly in their
numerous herds of cattle, yet,
as the pastoral life does not
afford full employment, the
majority of the people are per-
fecwly idle, and spend the day
in trifling conversation about
their horses, or inlaying schemes
of depredation on the negro
villages.

Of the number of All's Moor-
ish subjects, I had no means of
forming a correct estimate.
The military strength of Luda-
mar consists in cavalry. They
are well mounted, and appear
to be very expert in skirmishing
and attacking by surprise.
Every soldier furnishes his own
horse, and finds his accoutre-
ments, consisting of a large
sabre, a double-barrelled gun,
a small red leather bag for
holding his balls, and a pow-
der-horn slung over the shoul-
der. He has no pay, nor any
remuneration but what arises

from plunder. This body is
not very numerous ; for when
Ali made war upon Bambarra,
I was informed that his whole
force did not exceed two thou-
sand cavalry. They constitute,
however, by what I could learn,
but a very small proportion of
his Moorish subjects. The
horses are very beautiful, and
so highly esteemed, that the
negro princes will sometimes
give from twelve to fourteen
slaves for one horse.

Ludamar has for its northern
boundary the great desert of
Sahara. From the best inquiries
I could make, this vast ocean
of sand, which occupies so large
a space in northern Africa, may
be pronounced almost destitute
of inhabitants, except where
the scanty vegetation which ap-
pears in certain spots affords
pasturage for the flocks of a
few miserable Arabs, who wan-
der from one well to another.
In other places, where the sup-
ply of water and pasturage is
more abundant, small parties
of the Moors have taken up
their residence. Here they
live, in independent poverty,
secure from the tyrannical
government of Barbary. But
the greater part of the desert,
being totally destitute of water,
is seldom visited by any human
being, unless where the trading
caravans trace out their toil-
some and dangerous route
across it. In some parts of this
extensive waste, the ground is
covered with low stunted shrubi:,
which serve as landmarks for

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Photographic

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'V-

46:

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

the caravans, and furnish the
camels with a scanty forage.
In other parts the disconsolate
wanderer, wherever he turns,
sees nothing around him but a
vast interminable expanse of
sand and sky — a gloomy and
barren void, where the eye finds
no particular object to rest
upon, and the mind is filled
with painful apprehensions of
perishing with thirst.

The few wild animals which
inhabit these melancholy re-
gions are the antelope and the
ostrich ; their swiftness of foot
enabling them to reach the dis-
tant watering-places. On the
skirts of the desert, where water
is more plentiful, are found
lions, panthers, elephants, and
wild boars.

Of domestic animals, the
only one that can endure the
fatigue of crossing the desert
is the camel. By the particu-
lar con formation of the stomach,
he is enabled to carry a supply
of water sufficient for ten or
twelve days ; his broad and
yielding foot is well adapted for
a sandy country ; and, by a
singular motion of his upper
lip, he picks the smallest leaves
from the thorny shrubs of the
desert as he passes along. The
camel is, therefore, the only
beast of burden employed by
the trading caravans, which tra-
verse the desert in different
directions, from Barbary to
Nigritia. As this useful and
docile creature has been suffi-
ciently described by systemati-
cal writers, it is unnecessary for

me to enlarge upon his pro-
perties. I shall only add, that
his flesh, though to my own
taste dry and unsavoury, is pre-
ferred by the Moors to any
other; and that the milk of
the female is in universal
esteem, and is indeed sweet,
pleasant, and nutritive.

I have observed that the
Moors, in their complexion,
resemble the mulattoes of the
West Indies; but they have
something unpleasant in their
aspect, which the mulattoes
have not. I fancied that I
discovered in the features of
most of them a disposition to-
wards cruelty and low cunning ;
and I could never contemplate
their physiognomy without feel-
ing sensible uneasiness. From
the staring wildness of their
eyes, a stranger would imme-
diately set them down as a
nation of lunatics. The treachery
and malevolence of their char-
acter are manifested in their
plundering excursions against
the negro villages. Oftentimes
without the smallest provoca-
tion, and sometimes under the
fairest professions of friendship,
they will suddenly seize upon
the negroes' cattle, and even
on the inhabitants themselves.
The negroes very seldom re-
taliate.

Like the roving Arabs, the
Moors frequently remove from
one place to another, according
to the season of the year or the
convenience of pasturage. In
the month of February, when
the heat of the sun scorches up

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS.

463

every sort of vegetation in the
desert, they strike their tents
and approach the negro country
to the south, where they reside
until the rains commence, in
the month of July. At this time,
having purchased corn and other
necessaries from the negroes, in
exchange for salt, they again de-
part to the northward, and con-
tinue in the desert until the rains
are over, and that part of the
country becomes burnt 'p and
barren.

This wandering and restless
way of life, while it inures them
to hardships, strengthens at the
same time the bonds of their
httle society, and creates in them
an aversion towards strangers
which is almost insurmountable.
Cut off from all intercourse with
civilized nations, and boasting
an advantage over the negroes,
by possessing, though in a very
limited degree, the knowledge
of letters, they are at once the
vainest and proudest, and per-
haps the most bigoted, fero-
cious, and intolerant of all the
nations on the earth — combin-
ing in their character the blind
superstition of the negro with
the savage cruelty and treach-
ery of the Arab.

CHAPTER XIII.

Having, as hath been related,
obtained permission to accom-
pany Ali to Jarra, I took leave
of Queen Fatima, who, with
much grace and civility, returned

me part of my apparel ; and the
evening before my departure,
my horse, with the saddle and
bridle, were sent me by AU's
order.

Early on the morning of the
26th of May I departed from
the camp of Bubaker, accom-
panied by my two attendants,
Johnson and Demba, and a
number of Moors on horseback,
Ali, with about fifty horsemen,
having gone privately from the
camp during the night. We
stopped about noon at Farani,
and were there joined by twelve
Moors riding upon camels, and
with them we proceeded to a
watering-place in the woods,
where we overtook Ali and
his fifty horsemen. They were
lodged in some low shepherds'
tents near the wells.

May 28. — Early in the morn-
ing the Moors saddled their
horses, and All's chief slave
ordered me to get in readiness.
In a little time the same mes-
senger returned, and, taking my
boy by the shoulder, told him,
in the Mandingo language, that

* Ali was to be his master in
future ;' and then turning to me,

* The business is settled at last,'
said he ; * the boy, and every-
thing but your horse, goes back
to Bubaker, but you may take
the old fool' (meaning Johnson
the interpreter) * with you to
Jarra.' I made him no answer ;
but being shocked beyond de-
scription at the idea of losing
the poor boy, I hastened to Ali,
who was at breakfast before his
tent, surrounded by many of his

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464

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

1 1!

courtiers. I told him (perhaps
in rather too passionate a strain),
that whatever imprudence I had
been guilty of in coming into
his country, I thought I had
already been sufficiently pun-
ished for it by being so long
detained, and then plundered
of all my little property ; which,
however, gave me no uneasiness
when compared with what he
had just now done to me. I
observed that the boy whom he
had now seized upon was not a
slave, and had been accused of
no offence ; he was, indeed, one
of my attendants, and his faith-
ful services in that station had
procured him his freedom. His
fidelity and attachment had
made him follow me into my
present situation, and, as he
looked up to me for protection,
I could not see him deprived of
his liberty without remonstrating
against such an act as the height
of cruelty and injustice. Ali
made no reply, but, with a
haughty air and malignant smile,
told his interpreter that if I did
not mount my horse immediately
he would send me back likewise.
There is something in the frown
of a tyrant which rouses the
most secret emotions of the
heart : I could not suppress
my feelings, and for once enter-
tained an indignant wish to rid
the world of such a monster.

Poor Demba was not less
affected than myself. He had
formed a strong attachment to-
wards me, and had a cheerful-
ness of disposition which often
beguiled the tedious hours of

captivity. He was likewise
a proficient in the Bambarra
tongue, and promised on that
account to be of great utility to
me in future. But it was in
vain to expect anything favour-
able to humanity from people
who are strangers to its dic-
tates. So, having shaken hands
with this unfortunate boy, and
blended my tears with his, as-
suring him, however, that I
would do my utmost to redeem
him, I saw him led off by three
of All's slaves towards the camp
at Bubaker.

When the Moors had mounted
their horses I was ordered to
follow them, and, after a toil-
some journey through the woods
in a very sultry day, we arrived
in the afternoon at a walled
village called Doombani, where
we remained two days, waiting
for the arrival of some horse-
men from the northward.

On the I St of June we de-
parted from Doombani to-
wards Jarra. Our company now
amounted to two hundred men,
all on horseback, for the Moors
never use infantry in their wars.
They appeared capable of en-
during great fatigue ; but from
their total want of discipline,
our journey to Jarra was more
like a fox-chase than the march
of an army.

At Jarra I took up my lodging
at the house of my old acquaint-
ance, Daman Jumma, and in-
formed him of everything that
had befallen me. I particularly
requested him to use his interest
with Ali to redeem my boy, and

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PACK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS.

465

; was likewise
1 the Bambarra
romised on that
3f great utility to
But it was in
anything favour-
lity from people
igers to its dic-
ing shaken hands
rtunate boy, and
;ars with his, as-
liowever, that I
itmost to redeem
1 led off by three
towards the camp

ok up my lodging
my old acquaint-
Jumma, and in-
f everything that
le. I particularly
JO use his interest
eem my boy, and

promised him a bill upon Dr.
Laidley for the value of two
slaves the moment he brought
him to Jarra. Daman very
readily undertook to negotiate
the business, but found that Ali
considered the boy as my prin-
cipal interpreter, and was un-
willing to part with him, lest he
should fall a second time into
my hands, and be instrumental
in conducting me to Bambarra.
Ali, therefore, put off the matter
from day to day, but withal told
Daman, that if he wished to
purchase the boy for himself,
he should have him thereafter
at the common price of a slave,
which Daman agreed to pay for
him whenever All should send
him to Jarra.

The chief object of Ali, in
this journey to Jarra, as I have
already related, was to procure
money from such of the Kaar-
tans as had taken refuge in his
country. Some of these had
solicited his protection to avoid
the horrors of war, but by far the
greatest number of them were
dissatisfied men, who wished
the ruin of their own sovereign.
These people no sooner heard
that the Bambarra army had re-
turned to Sego without subduing
Daisy, as was generally ex-
pected, than they resolved to
make a sudden attack them-
selves upon him before he could
recruit his forces, which were
now known to be much dimi-
nished by a bloody campaign,
and in great want of provisions.
With this view they solicited the
Moors to join them, and offered

to hire of Ali two hundred
horsemen, which Ali, with the
warmest professions of friend-
ship, agreed to furnish, upon
condition that they should pre-
viously supply him with four
hundred head of cattle, two
hundred garments of blue cloth,
and a considerable quantity of
beads and ornaments.

June 8. — In the afternoon
Ali sent his chief slave to inform
me that he was about to return to
Bubaker ; but as he would only
stay there a few days to keep
the approaching festival {banna
salee)i and then return to Jarra,
I had permission to remain
with Daman until his return.
This was joyful news to me ;
but I had experienced so many
disappointments, that I was un-
willing to indulge the hope of
its being true, until Johnson
came and told me that Ali, with
part of the horsemen, were
actually gone from the town,
and that the rest were to follow
him in the morning.

June 9. — Early in the morn-
ing the remainder of the Moors
departed from the town. They
had, during their stay, com-
mitted many acts of robbery;
and this morning, with the
most unparalleled audacity, they
seized upon three girls, who
were bringing water from the
wells, and carried them away
into slavery.

June 12. — Two people, dread-
fully wounded, were discover«d
at a watering-place in the woods;
one of them had just breathed
his last, but the other was

2 G

466

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

II i

brought alive to Jarra. On re-
covering a little, he informed
the people that he had fled
through the woods from Kas-
son ; that Daisy had made war
upon Sambo, the king of that
country ; had surprised three
of his towns, and put all the
inhabitants to the sword. He
enumerated by name many of
the friends of the Jarra people
who had been murdered in
Kasson. This intelligence made
the death-howl universal in Jarra
for the space of two days.

This piece of bad news was
followed by another not less
distressing. A number of run-
away slaves arrived from Kaarta
on the 14th, and reported that
Daisy, having received informa-
tion concerning the intended
attack upon him, was about to
visit Jarra. This made the
negroes call upon Ali for the
two hundred horsemen, which
he was to furnish them accord-
ing to engagement. But Ali
paid very little attention to their
remonstrances, and at last
plainly told them that his
cavalry were otherwise em-
ployed. The negroes, thus de-
serted by the Moors, and fully
apprised that the king of Kaar-
ta would show them as little
clemency as he had shown the
inhabitants of Kasson, resolved
to collect all their forces, and
hazard a battle before the king,
who was now in great distress
for want of provisions, should
become too powerful for them.
They therefore assembled about
eight hundred effective men in

the whole, and with these they
entered Kaarta on the evening
of the 1 8th of June.

June 19. — This morning the
wind shifted to the south-west •
and about two o'clock in the
afternoon we had a heavy
tornado, or thunder-squall, ac-
companied with rain, which
greatly revived the face of
nature, and gave a pleasant
coolness to the air. This was
the first rain that had fallen for
many months.

As every attempt to redeem
my boy had hitherto been un-
successful, and in all probability
would continue to prove so
whilst I remained in the country,
I found that it was necessary
for me to come to some deter-
mination concerning my own
safety before the rains should
be fully set in ; for my land-
lord, seeing no likelihood of
being paid for his trouble, be-
gan to wish me away — and
Johnson, my interpreter, refus-
ing to proceed, my situation be-
came very perplexing. I de-
termined to avail myself of the
first opportunity of escaping,
and to proceed directly for
Bambarra, as soon as the rains
had set in for a few days, so as
to afford me the certainty of
finding water in the woods.

Such was my situation, when,
on the evening of the 24th of
June, I was startled by the
report of some muskets close to
the town, and, inquiring the
reason, was informed that the
Jarra army had returned from
fighting Daisy, and that this

RS.

PARKS LIFE AND TRA VELS,

467

. with these they

I on the evening

June.

rhis morning the

3 the south-west ;

o'clock in the
; had a heavy
lunder-squall, ac-
/ith rain, which
ed the face of
gave a pleasant
he air. This was
that had fallen for

•

ttempt to redeem
hitherto been un-
d in all probability
nue to prove so
ined in the country,
; it was necessary
me to some deter-
ticeming my own
^ the rains should
in ; for my land-
no likelihood of
or his trouble, be-

1 me away — and
r interpreter, refus-
d, my situation be-
perplexing. I de-
ivail myself of the
inity of escaping,
ceed directly for
J soon as the rains
r a few days, so as
e the certainty of
• in the woods,
my situation, when,
ing of the 24th of
J startled by the
le muskets close to
,nd, inquiring the
informed that the

ad returned from
isy, and that this

firing was by way of rejoicing.
However, when the chief men
of the town had assembled, and
heard a full detail of the ex-
pedition, they were by no means
relieved from their uneasiness
on Daisy's account. The de-
ceitful Moors having drawn
back from the confederacy,
after being hired by the negroes,
greatly dispirited the insurgents,
who, instead of finding Daisy
with a few friends concealed in
the strong fortress tf Gedin-
gooma, had found him at a
town near Joka, in the open
country, surrounded by so
numerous an army that every
attempt to attack him was at
once given up; and the con-
federates only thought of en-
riching themselves by the plun-
der of the small towns in the
neighbourhood. They accord-
ingly fell upon one of Daisy's
towns, and carried off the whole
of the inhabitants; but lest
intelligence of this might reach
Daisy, and induce him to cut
off their retreat, they returned
through the woods by night,
bringing with them the slaves
and cattle which they had
captured.

June 26. — This afternoon a
spy from Kaarta brought the
alarming intelligence that Daisy
liad taken Simbing in the morn-
ing, and would be in Jarra
some time in the course of the
ensuing day. Early in the
morning nearly one-half of the
townspeople took the road for
Bambarra, by the way of Deena.
Their departure was very

affecting — the women and chil-
dren crying — the men sullen
and dejected — and all of them
looking back with regret on
their native town, and on the
wells and rocks beyond which
their ambition had never tempted
them to stray, and where they
had laid all their plans of future
happiness — all of which they
were now forced to abandon,
and to seek shelter among
strangers.

June 27. — About eleven
o'clock in the forenoon we were
alarmed by the sentinels, who
brought information that Daisy
was on his march towards Jarra,
and that the confederate army
had fled before him without
firing a gun. The terror of the
townspeople on this occasion is
not easily to be described.
Indeed, the screams of the
women and children, and the
great hurry and confusion that
everywhere prevailed, made me
suspect that the Kaartans had
already entered the town ; and
although I had every reason to
be pleased with Daisy's be-
haviour to me when I was at
Kemmoo, I had no wish to
expose myself to the mercy of
his army, who might, in the
general confusion, mistake me
for a Moor. I therefore mounted
my horse, and taking a large
bag of com before me, rode
slowly along with the towns-
people, until we reached the
loot of a rocky hill, where I dis-
mounted and drove my horse up
before me. When I had reached
the summit I sat down, and

4. -%|m

^, >*'i Mj]

468

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

'•n "I

!t!ll|

•ill"

having a full view of the town
and ihc nci^libourinj; country,
could not help lanKMiling the
situation of the poor inhabitants,
who were thronging after me,
driving their sheep, cows, goats,
etc., ami carrying a scanty por-
tion of provisions and a few
clothes. There was a great
noise and crying everywhere
ui)on the road ; for many aged
people and children were unable
to walk, and these, with the
sick, were obliged to be carried,
otherwise they must have been
left to certain destruction.

About five o'clock we arrived
at a small farm belonging to the
Jarra people, called Kadeeja;
and here 1 found Daman and
Johnson employed in filling
Urge bags of corn, to be car-
ried upon bullocks, to serve as
provisions for Daman's family
on the road.

/inie 28. — At daybreak we
departed from Kadeeja, and,
having passed Troongoomba
without stopping, arrived in
the afternoon at Queira. I re-
mained here two days in order
to recruit my horse, which the
Moors had reduced to a perfect
Rosinante, and to wait for the
arrival of some Mandingo ne-
groes, who were going for Bam-
barra in the course of a few
days.

On the afternoon of the ist
of July, as I was tending my
horse in the fields, All's chief
slave and four Moors arrived
at Queira, and took up their
lodging at the dooty's house.
My interpreter, Johnson, who

suspected the nature of this
visit, sent two boys to overhear
their conversation, from which
he learnt that they were sent to
convey me back to JUihaker.
The same evening two of the
Moors came privately to look
at my horse, and one of them
proposed taking it to the dooly's
hut, but the other observed that
sucli a precaution was unneces-
sary, as I could never escape
upon such an animal. They
then incjuired where I slept, and
returned to their companions.

All this was like a stroke of
thunder to me, for I dreaded
nothing so much as confinement
again among the Moors, from
whose barbarity I had nothing
but death to expect. I there-
fore determined to set off im-
mediately forBambarra — a mea-
sure which I thought offered
almost the only chance of saving
my life and gaining the object
of my mission. I communicated
the design to Johnson, who, al-
though he applauded my reso-
lution, was so far from showing
any inclination to accompany
me, that he solemnly protested
he would rather forfeit his wages
than go any farther. He told
me that Daman had agreed to
give him half the price of a slave
for his service to assist in con-
ducting a cotfle of slaves to
Gambia, and that he was deter-
mined to embrace the oppor-
tunity of returning to his wife
and family.

Having no hopes, therefore,
of persuading him to accom-
pany me, I resolved to proceed

. : :»

/^s.

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS.

460

L' nature of this

\ boys to overhear

utioii, from wliidi

they were sent tu

);ick to Jhihakcr.

/ening two of the

privately to h)ok

and one of them

ng it to the dooly's

»tlier observed that

ition was unneccs-

)uld never escape

in animal. Tiicy

where I slept, and

leir companions.

IS like a stroke of

ne, for I dreaded

ich as confinement

the Moors, from

rity I had nothing

expect. I thcre-

led to set off im-

Bambarra — a niea-

I thought offered

ly chance of saving

gaining the object

. I communicated

Johnson, who, al-

)plauded my reso-

I far from showing

)n to accompany

olemnly protested

er forfeit his wages

farther. He told

lan had agreed to

he price of a slave

to assist in con-

file of slaves to

that he was deter-

brace the oppor-

rning to his wife

hopes, therefore,
him to acconi-
solved to proceed

by myself. About midnight I
got my clothes in readiness,
which consisted of two shirts,
two pair of trousers, two pocket-
handkerchiefs, an upper and
under waistcoat, a hat, and a
pair of half-boots; these, with
a cloak, constituted my whole
wardrobe. And I had not one
single bead, nor any other
article of value in my posses-
sion, to purchase victuals for
myself or corn for my horse.

About daybreak, Johnson,
who had been listening to the
Moors all night, came and
whispered to me that they were
asleep. The awful crisis was
now arrived when I was again
either to taste the blessing of
freedom, or languish out my
days in captivity. A cold sweat
moistened my forehead as I
thought on the dreadful alter-
native, and reflected that, one
way or another, my fate must
be decided in the course of the
ensuing day. But to deliberate
was to lose the only chance of
escaping. So, taking up my
bundle, I stepped gently ovc^r
the negroes, who were sleeping
in the open air, and having
mounted my horse, I bade John-
son farewell, desiring him to
take particular care of the pa-
pers I had intrusted him with,
and inform my friends in Gam-
bia that he had left me in
good health, on my way to
Bambarra.

I proceeded with great cau-
tion, surveying each bush, and
frequently listening and look-
ing behind me for the Moorish

horsemen, until I was about a
mile from the town, when I
was sur])rised to find myself in
the neighbourhood of a korree
belonging to the Moors. The
shepherds followed me for about
a mile, hooting and throwing
stones after me ; and when I
was out of their reach, and had
begun to indulge the pleasing
hopes of escaping, I was again
greatly alarmed to hear some-
body holloa behind me, and,
looking back, I saw three Moors
on horseback, coming after me
at full speed, whooping and
brandishing their double-bar-
relled guns. I knew it was in
vain td think of escaping, and
therefore turned back and met
them, when two of them caught
hold of my bridle, one on each
side, and the third, presenting
his musket, told me I must go
back to Ali. When the human
mind has for some time been
fluctuating between hope and
despair, tortured with anxiety,
and hurried from one extreme
to another, it affords a sort of
gloomy relief to know the wor^f.
that can possibly happen. S'. ;^
was my situation. An indiffc. -
ence about life and all its en-
joyments had completely be-
numbed my faculties, and I rode
back with the Moors with ap-
parent unconcern. But a change
took place much sooner than I
had any reason to expect. In
passing through some thick
bushes, one of the Moors or-
dered me to untie my bundle
and show them the contents.
Having examined the different

'«■: .'"

KSu

470

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

'Sri '

l-.lll

til!

articles, they found nothing
worth taking except my cloak,
which they considered as a very
valuable acquisition, and one of
them pulling it from me, wrap-
ped it about himself, and, with
one of his companions, rode off
with their prize. When I at-
tempted to follow them, the
third, who had remained with
me, struck my horse over the
head, and, presenting his mus-
ket, told me I should proceed
no farther. I now perceived
that these men had not been
sent by any authority to appre-
hend me, but had pursued me
solely with the view to rob
and plunder me. Turning my
horse's head, therefore, once
more towards the east, and ob-
serving the Moor follow the
track of his confederates, I con-
gratulated myself on having
escaped with my life, though
in great distress, from such a
horde of barbarians.

I was no sooner out of sight
of the Moor, than I struck into
the woods to prevent being pur-
sued, and kept pushing on with
all possible speed, until I found
myself near some high rocks,
which I remembered to have
seen in my former route from
Queira to Deena, and, directing
my course a little to the north-
ward, I fortunately fell in with
the path.

CHAPTER XIV.

It is impossible to describe
the joy that arose in my mind,

when I looked around and con-
cluded that I was out of danger.
I felt like one recovered from
sickness ; I breathed freer ; I
found unusual lightness in my
limbs; even the desert looked
pleasant; and I dreaded nothing
so much as falling in with some
wandering parties of Moors, who
might convey me back to the
land of thieves and murderers
from which I had just escaped.

I soon became sensible, how-
ever, that my situation was very
deplorable, for I had no means
of procuring food, nor prospect
of finding water. About ten
o'clock, perceiving a herd of
goats feeding close to the road,
I took a circuitous route to
avoid being seen ; and con-
tinued travelling through the
wilderness, directing my course
by compass nearly east-south-
east, in order to reach as soon
as possible some town or village
of the kingdom of Bambarra.

A little after noon, when the
burning heat of the sun was
reflected with double violence
from the hot sand, and the
distant ridges of the hills, seen
through the ascending vapour,
seemed to wave and fluctuate
like the unsettled sea, I became
faint with thirst, and climbed a
tree in hopes of seeing distant
smoke, or some other appear-
ance of a human habitation—
but in vain : nothing appeared
all around but thick underwood
and hillocks of white sand.

About four o'clock I came
suddenly upon a large herd of
goats, and pulling my horse into

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS.

471

a bush, I watched to observe if
the keepers were Moors or
negroes. In a little time I per-
ceived two Moorish boys, and
with some difficulty persuaded
them to approach me. They
informed me that the herd be-
long to Ali, and that they were
going to Deena, where the
water was more plentiful, and
where they intended to stay until
the rain had filled the pools
in the desert. They showed
me their empty water-skins,
and told me that they had seen
no water in the woods. This
account afforded me but little
consolation ; however, it was in
vain to repine, and I pushed on
as fast as possible, in hopes of
reaching some watering-place
in the course of the night. My
thirst was by this time become
insufferable ; my mouth was
parched and inflamed; a sud-
den dimness would frequently
come over my eyes, with other
symptoms of fainting ; and my
horse being very much fatigued,
I began seriously to apprehend
that I should perish of thirst.
To relieve the burning pain in
my mouth and throat, I chewed
the leaves of different shrubs,
but found them all bitter, and
of no service to me.

A little before sunset, having
reached the top of a gentle
rising, I climbed a high tree,
from the topmost branches of
which I cast a melancholy look
over the barren wilderness, but
without discovering the most
distant trace of a human dwell-
ing. The same dismal uni-

formity of shrubs and sand
everywhere presented itself, and
the 'orizon was as level and
uninterrupted as that of the
sea.

Descending from the tree, I
found my horse devouring the
stubble and brushwood with
great avidity; and as I was
now too faint to attempt walk-
ing, and my horse too much
fatigued to carry me, I thought
it but an act of humanity, and
perhaps the last I should ever
have it in my power to perform,
to take off his bridle and let
him shift for himself ; in doing
which I was suddenly affected
with sickness and giddiness,
and, falling upon the sand, felt as
if the hour of death was fast ap-
proaching. Here then, thought
I, after a short but ineffectual
struggle, terminate all my hopes
of being useful in my day and
generation : here must the short
span of my life come to an end.
I cast (as I believed) a last
look on the surrounding scene,
and whilst I reflected on the
awful change that was about to
take place, this world with its
enjoyment seemed to vanish
from my recollection. Nature,
however, at length resumed its
functions, and on recovering
my senses, I found myself
stretched upon the sand, with
the bridle still in my hand, and
the sun just sinking behind the
trees. I now summoned all my .
resolution, and determined to
make another effort to prolong
my existence ; and as the even-
ing was somewhat cool, I re-

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47a

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

solved to travel as far as my
limbs would carry me, in hopes
of reaching (my only resource)
a watering-place. With this
view I put the bridle on my
horse, and driving him before
me, went slowly along for about
an hour, when I perceived some
lightning from the north-east —
a most delightful sight, for it
promised rain. The darkness
and lightning increased very
rapidly, and in less than an
hour I heard the wind roaring
among the bushes. I had al-
ready opened my mouth to
receive the refreshing drops
which I expected, but I was
instantly covered with a cloud
of sand, driven with such force
by the wind as to give a very
disagreeable sensation to my
face and arms, and I was ob-
liged to mount my horse and
stop under a bush, to prevent
being suffocated. The sand
continued to fly in amazing
quantities for. nearly an hour,
after which I again set forward,
and travelled with difficulty
until ten o'clock. About this
time I was agreeably surprised
by some very vivid flashes of
lightning, followed by a few
heavy drops of rain. In a little
time the sand ceased to fly, and
I alighted and spread out all
my clean clothes to collect the
rain, which at length I saw
would certainly fall. For more
than an hour it rained plenti-
fully, and I quenched my thirst
by wringing and sucking my
clothes.
There being no moon, it was

remarkably dark, so that I was
obliged to lead my horse, and
direct my way by the compass,
which the lightning enabled me
to observe. In this manner I
travelled with tolerable exi)ecli.
tion until past midnight, when,
the lightning becoming more
distant, I was under the neces-
sity of groping along, to the no
small danger of my hands and
eyes. About two o'clock my
horse started at something, and
looking round, I was not a
little surprised to see a light at
a short ;distance among the
trees ; and supposing it to be a
town, I groped along the sand
in hopes of finding corn-stalks,
cotton, or other appearances of
cultivation, but found none.
As I approached I perceived a
number of other lights in dif-
ferent places, and began to
suspect that I had fallen upon
a party of Moors. However,
in my present situation, I was
resolved to see who they were,
if I could do it with safety. I
accordingly led my horse
cautiously towards the light,
and heard, by the lowing of the
cattle and the clamorous tongues
of the herdsmen, that it was a
watering-place, and most likely
belonged to the Moors. De-
lightful as the sound of the
human voice was to me, I re-
solved once more to strike into
the woods, and rather run the
risk of perishing of hunger than
trust myself again in their hands;
but being still thirsty, and
dreadhig the approach of the
burning day, I thought it pru-

PARKS LIFE AND TRA VELS.

473

dt'iU to search for the wells,
which I expected to find at no
great distance. In this pur-
suit I inadvertently approached
so near to one of the tents as
to be perceived by a woman,
who immediately screamed out.
Two people came running to
her assistance from some of the
neighbouring tents, and passed
so very near to me that I
thought I was discovered, and
hastened again into the woods.
About a mile from this place
I heard a loud and confused
noise somewhere to the right of
my course, and in a short time
was happy to find it was the
croaking of frogs, which was
heavenly music to my ears. I
followed the sound, and at day-
break arrived at some shallow
muddy pools, so full of frogs
that it was difficult to discern
the water. The noise they
made frightened my horse, and
I was obliged to keep them
quiet, by beating the water with
a branch, until he had drunk.
Having here quenched my thirst,
I ascended a tree, and the morn-
ing being calm, I soon perceived
the smoke of the watering-place
which I had passed in the night,
and observed another pillar of
smoke east-south-east, distant
twelve or fourteen miles. To-
wards this I directed my route,
and reached the cultivated
ground a little before eleven
o'clock, where, seeing a number
of negroes at work planting
com, I inquired the name of
the town, and was informed
that it was a Foulah village be-

longing to Ali, called Shrilla.
I had now some doubts about
entering it ; but my horse being
very much fatigued, and the
day growing hot, — not to men-
tion the pangs of hunger which
began to assail me, — I resolved
to venture ; and accordingly
rode up to the dooty's house,
where I was unfortunately denied
admittance, and could not obtain
even a handful of corn either
for myself or horse. Turning
from this inhospitable door, 1
rode slowly out of the town,
and, perceiving some low scat-
tered huts without the walls, I
directed my route towards them,
knowing that in Africa, as well
as in Europe, hospitality does
not always prefer the highest
dwellings. At the door of one
of these huts an old motherly-
looking woman sat, spinning
cotton. I made signs to her
that I was hungry, and inquired
if she had any victuals with her
in the hut. She immediately
laid down her distaff, and desired
me, in Arabic, tocome in. When
I had seated myself upon the
floor, she set before me a dish
of kouskous that had been left
the preceding night, of which
I made a tolerable meal; and
in return for this kindness I
gave her one of my pocket-hand-
kerchiefs, begging at the same
time a little com for my horse,
which she readily brought me.

Whilst my horse was feeding
the people began to assemble,
and one of them whispered
something to my hostess which
very much excited her surprise.

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THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

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f I

Though I was not well ac-
quainted with the Foulah lan-
guage, I soon discovered that
some of the men wished to
apprehend and carry me back
to Ali, in hopes, I suppose, of
receiving a reward. I there-
fore tied up the corn ; and lest
any one should suspect I had
run away from the Moors, I
took a northerly direction, and
went cheerfully along, driving
my horse before me, followed
by all the boys and girls of the
town. When I had travelled
about two miles, and got quit
of all my troublesome atten-
dants, I struck again into the
woods, and took shelter under
a large tree, where 1 found it
necessary to rest myself— a
bundle of twigs serving me for
a bed, and my saddle for a
pillow.

July 4.— At daybreak I pur-
sued my course through the
woods as formerly ; saw num-
bers of antelopes, wild hogs,
and ostriches, but the soil was
more hilly, and not so fertile as
I had found it the preceding
day. About eleven o'clock I
ascended an eminence, where I
climbed a tree, and d'scovered,
at about eight miles' distance,
an open part of the country,
with several red spots, which I
concluded were cultivated land,
and, directing my course that
way, came to the precincts of
a watering-place about one
o'clock. From the appearance
of the place, I judged it to be-
long to the Foulahs, and was
hopeful that I should meet a

better reception than I had ex-
perienced at Shrilla. In this I
was not deceived, for one of the
shepherds invited me to come
into his tent and partake of
some dates. This was one of
those low Foulah tents in which
there is room just sufficient to
sit upright, and in which the
family, the furniture, etc., seem
huddled together like so many
articles in a chest. When I had
crept upon my hands and knees
into this humble habitation, i
found that it contained a wo-
man and three children, who,
together with the shepherd and
myself, completely occupied the
floor. A dish of boiled com
and dates was produced, and
the master of the family, as is
customary in this part of the
country, first tasted it himself,
and then desired me to follow
his example. Whilst I was eat-
ing, the children kept their eyes
fixed upon me, and no sooner
did the shepherd pronounce the
word Nazarani^ than they be-
gan to cry, and their mother
crept slowly towards the door,
out of which she sprang like a
greyhound, and was instantly
followed by her children. So
frightened were they at the very
name of a Christian, that no
entreaties could induce them
to approach the tent. Here I
purchased some corn for my
horse, in exchange for some
brass buttons, and having
thanked the shepherd for his
hospitality, struck again into
the woods. At sunset I came
to a road that wok the direction

on than I had ex-
Shrilla. In this I
vQd, for one of the
ited me to come
and partake of
This was one of
iah tents in which
just sufficient to
nd in which the
rniture, etc., seem
:her like so many
est. When I had
'• hands and knees
ible habitation, I
contained a wo-
26 children, who,
the shepherd and
2tely occupied the
1 of boiled com
s produced, and
the family, as is
this part of the
tasted it himself,
red me to follow
Whilst I was eat-
n kept their eyes
and no sooner
rd pronounce the
than they he-
ld their mother
wards the door,
le sprang like a
d was instantly
sr children. So
they at the very
ristian, that no
induce them
tent. Here I
corn for my
ange for some
and having
lepherd for his
ick again into
sunset I came
ok the direction

PARKS LIFE AND TRA VELS.

475

'5*

for Bambarra, and resolved to
follow it for the night; but
about eight o'clock, hearing
some people coming from the
southward, I thought it prudent
to hide myself among some
thick bushes near the road.
As these thickets are generally
full of wild beasts, I found my
sit'iation rather unpleasant —
.itting in the dark, holding my
horse by the nose with both
hands, to prevent him from
neighing, and equally afraid of
the natives without and the
wild beasts within. My fears,
however, were soon dissipated ;
for the people, after looking
round the thicket, and perceiv-
ing nothing, went away, and I
hastened to the more open
parts of the wood, where I pur-
sued my journey east-south-
east, until past midnight, when
the joyful cry of frogs induced
me once more to deviate a
little from my route, in order
to quench my thirst. Having
accomplished this from a large
pool of rain-water, I sought for
an open place, with a single
tree in the midst, under which
I made my bed for the night.
I was disturbed by some wolves
towards morning, which induced
me to set forward a little before
day ; and having passed a small
village called Wassalita, I came
about ten o'clock (July 5th) to
a negro town called Wawra,
which properly belongs to
Kaarta, but was at this time
tributary to Mansong, king of
Bambarra.

CHAPTER XV.

Wawra is a small town sur-
rounded with high walls, and
inhabited by a mixture of Man-
dingoes and Foulahs. The in-
habitants employ themselves
chiefly in cultivating com, which
they exchange with the Moors
for salt. Here, being in security
from the Moors, and very much
fatigued, I resolved to rest my-
self; and meeting with a hearty
welcome from the dooty, whose
name was Flancharee, I laid
myself down upon a bullock's
hide, and slept soundly for-
about two hours. The curiosity
of the people would not allow
me to sleep any longer. They
had seen my saddle and bridle,
and were assembled in great
numbers to learn who I was,
and whence I came. Some
were cf opinion that I was an
Arab ; others insisted that I
was some Moorish sultan, and
they continued to debate the
matter with such warmth that
the noise awoke me. The
dooty (who had formerly been
at Gam.bia) at last interposed
in my behalf, and assured them
that I was certainly a white
man ; but he was convinced,
from my appearance, that I was
a poor one:

July 6. — It rained very much
in the night, and at daylight I
departed, in company with a
negro who was going to a town
called Dingyee for com ; but
we had not proceeded above a
mile before the ass upon which

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476

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

I ?■

he rode threw him off, and he
returned, leaving me to prose-
cute the journey by myself.

I reached Dingyee about
noon ; but the dooty and most
of the inhabitants had gone
into the fields to cultivate corn.
An old Foulah, observing me
v/andering about the town, de-
sired me to come to his hut,
where I was well entertained :
andthedooty, when he returned,
sent me some victuals for my-
self and corn for my horse.

July 7. — In the morning,
when I was about to depart,
my landlord, with a great deal
of diffidence, begged me to
give him a lock of my hair.
He had been told, he said, that
white men's hair made a saphie,
that would give to the posses-
sor all the knowledge of white
men. I had never before heard
of so simple a mode of educa-
tion, but instantly complied
with the request.

I reached a small town called
Wassiboo, about twelve o'clock,
where I was obliged to stop
until an opportunity should
offer of procuring a guide to
Satile, which is distant a very
long day's journey, through
woods without any beaten path.
I accordingly took up my resi-
dence at the dooty's house,
where I stayed four days, dur-
ing which time I amused myself
by going to the fields with the
family to plant corn. Cultiva-
tion is carried on here on a
very extensive scale ; and, as
the natives themselves express
it. * Hunger is never known.'

In cultivating the soil the men
and women work together.
They use a large sharp hoe,
much superior to that used in
Gambia, but they are obliged,
for fear of the Moors, to carry
their arms with them to the
field. The master, with the
handle of his spear, marks the
field into regular plats, one of
which is assigned to every three
slaves.

On the evening of the nth
eight of the fugitive Kaartans
arrived at Wassiboo. They
had found it impossible to live
under the tyrannical govern-
ment of the Moors, and were
now going to transfer their al-
legiance to the king of Bam-
barra. They offered to take
me along with them as far as
Satii^, and I accepted the
offer.

July T2. — At daybreak we
set out, and travelled with un-
common expedition until sun-
set. We stopped only twice
in the course of the day ; once
at a watering-place in the woods,
and another time at the ruins
of a town formerly belonging
to Daisy, called Illa-compe (the
corn-town). When we arrived
in the neighbourhood of Satile,
the people who were employed
in the corn-fields, seeing so
many horsemen, took us for a
party of Moors, and ran scream-
ing away from us. The whole
town was instantly alarmed,
and the slaves were seen in
every direction driving the cattle
and horses towards the town.
It was in vain that one of our

^s.

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS,

477

the soil the men
work together,
arge sharp hoe,

to that used in
hey are obhged,

Moors, to carry
th them to the
laster, with the
ipear, marks the
ar plats, one of
2d to every three

ling of the nth
-tgitive Kaartans
issiboo. They
ipossible to live
■annical govem-
loors, and were
Tansfer their al-
2 king of Barn-
offered to take
them as far as
accepted the

daybreak we

ivelled with un-

ition until sun-

)ed only twice

f the day; once

Lce in the woods,

le at the ruins

lerly belonging

Illa-compe (the

hen we arrived

rhood of Satil^,

were employed

ds, seeing so

, took us for a

md ran scream-

s. The whole

mtly alarmed,

were seen in
riving the cattle
irds the town,
liat one of our

company galloped up to unde-
ceive them ; it only frightened
them the more ; and when we
arrived at the town we found
the gates shut, and the people
all under arms. After a long
parley we were permitted to
enter ; and, as there was every
appearance of a heavy tornado,
the dooty allowed us to sleep
in his balooUj and gave us each
a bullock's hide for a bed.

July 13. — Early in the morn-
ing we again set forward. The
roads were wet and slippery,
but the country was very beauti-
ful, abounding with rivulets,
which were increased by the
rain into rapid streams. About
ten o'clock we came to the
mins of a village which had
been destroyed by war about
six months before.

About noon my horse was
so much fatigued that I could
not keep up with my com-
panions; I therefore dismounted,
and desired them to ride on,
telling them that I would follow
as soon as my horse had rested
a little. But I found them
unwilling to leave me; the lions,
they said, were very* numerous
in those parts, and though they
might not so readily attack a
body of people, they would
soon find out an individual ; it
was therefore agreed that one
of the company should stay
with me to assist in driving my
liorse, while the others passed
on to Gallooto procure lodgings,
and collect grass for the horses
before night. Accompanied by
this worthy negro, I drove my

horse before me until about four
o'clock, when we came in sight
of Galloo, a considerable town,
standing in a fertile and beauti-
ful valley surrounded with high
rocks.

Early next morning (July
14th), having first returned
many thanks to our landlord
for his hospitality, while my
fellow-travellers offered up their
prayers that he might never
want, we set forward, and about
three o'clock arrived at Moorja,
a large town, famous for its
trade in salt, which the Moors
bring here in great quantities,
to exchange for com and cotton
cloth. As most of the people
here are Mohammedans, it is not
allowed to the kafirs to drink
beer, which they call neodoUo
(corn spirit), except in certain
houses. In one of these I saw
about twenty people sitting
round large vessels of this beer
with the greatest conviviality,
many of them in a state of in-
toxication.

On the morning of the i6th
we again set forward, accom-
panied by a coffle of fourteen
asses, loaded with salt, bound
for Sansanding. The road was
particularly romantic, between
two rocky hills ; but the Moors
sometimes lie in wait here to
plunder strangers. As soon as
we had reached the open
country the master of the salt
cofile thanked us for having
stayed with him so long, and
now desired us to ride on. The
sun was almost set before we
reached Datliboo. In the

■■'» 'C

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478

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

;:i

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evening we had a most tre-
mendous tornado. The house
in which we lodged, being flat-
roofed, admitted the rain in
streams ; the floor was soon
ankle-deep, the fire extinguished,
and we were left to pass the
night upon some bundles of
firewood that happened to lie
in a corner.

July 1 7. — We departed from
Datliboo, and about ten o'clock
passed a large coffle returning
from Sego with corn-hoes, mats,
and other household utensils.
At five o'clock we came to a
large village where we intended
to pass the night, but the dooty
would not receive us. When we
departed from this place my
horse was so much fatigued that
I was under the necessity of
driving him, and it was dark
before we reached Fanimboo, a
small village, the dooty of which
no sooner heard that I was a
white man, than he brought out
three old muskets, and was
much disappointed when he
was told that I could not repair
them.

July 18. — We continued our
journey, but, owing to a light
supper the preceding night, we
felt ourselves rather hungry this
morning, and endeavoured to
procure some corn at a village,
but without success.

My horse becoming weaker
and weaker every day, was now
of very little service to me ; I
was obliged to drive him before
me for the greater part of the
day, and did not reach Geosorro
until eight o'clock in the even-

ing. I found my companions
wrangling with the dooty, who
had absolutely refused to give
or sell them any provisions,
and, as none of us had tasted
victuals for the last twenty-four
hours, we were by no means
disposed to fast another day if
we could help it. But finding
our entreaties without efiect, and
being very much fatigued, I fell
asleep, from which I was awak-
ened about midnight with the
joyful information, Kinne natal
(* The victuals are come!') This
made the remainder of the night
pass away pleasantly, and at
daybreak, July 19th, we resumed
our journey, proposing to stop
at a village called Doolinkeaboo
for the night following. My
fellow-travellers, having better
horses than myself, soon left
me, and I was walking bare-
foot, driving my horse, when I
was met by a cofile of slaves,
about seventy in number, coming
from Sego. They were tied to-
gether by their necks with thongs
of a bullock's hide, twisted like
a rope — seven slaves upon a
thong, and a man with a musket
between every seven. Many of
the slaves were ill-conditioned,
and a great number of them
women. In the rear came Sidi
Mahomed's servant, whom I
remembered to have seen at
the camp of Benowm. He pre-
sently knew me, and told me
that these slaves were going to
Morocco by the way of Luda-
mar and the Great Desert.

In the afternoon, as I ap-
proached Doolinkeaboo, I met

'.■^i^

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS.

479

I my companions
h the dooty, who
y refused to give
I any provisions,
of us had tasted
le last twenty-four
:re by no means
ist another day if
p it. But finding
without effect, and
ich fatigued, I fell
vhich 1 was awak-
nidnight with the
Ltion, Kinue natal
i are come!') This
ainderofthe night
leasantly, and at
HQth, we resumed
proposing to stop
lied Doolinkeaboo
t following. My
rs, having better
myself, soon left
as walking bare-
my horse, when I
\ coffle of slaves,
in number, coming
i'hey were tied to-
■ necks with thongs
hide, twisted like
n slaves upon a
nan with a musket
r seven. Many of
re ill-conditioned,
number of them
he rear came Sidi
servant, whom I
to have seen at
lenowm. He pre-
me, and told me
res were going to
the way of Luda-
jreat Desert,
irnoon, as I ap-
)linkeaboo, I met

about twenty Moors on horse-
back, the owners of the slaves
I had seen in the morning.
They were well armed with
muskets, and were very inqui-
sitive concerning me, but not
so rude as their countrymen
generally are. From them I
learned that Sidi Mahomed was
not at Sego, but had gone to
Kancaba for gold dust.

When I arrived at Doolin-
keaboo I was informed that my
fellow-travellers had gone on,
but my horse was so much
fatigued that I could not possi-
bly proceed after them. The
dooty of the town, at my re-
quest, gave me a draught of
water, which is generally looked
upon as an earnest of greater
hospitality, and I had no doubt
of making up for the toils of
the day by a good supper and
a sound sleep ; unfortunately, I
had neither the one nor the
other. The night was rainy
and tempestuous, and the dooty
limited his hospitality to the
draught of the water.

July 20. — In the morning I
endeavoured, both by entreaties
and threats, to procure some
victuals from the dooty, but in
vain. I even begged some corn
from one of his female slaves,
as she was washing it at the
well, and had the mortification
to be refused. However, when
the dooty was gone to the fields,
his wife sent me a handful of
meal, which I mixed with water
and drank for breakfast. About
eight o'clock I departed from
Doolinkeaboo, and at noon

stopped a few minutes at a
large korree, where I had some
milk given me by the Foulahs ;
and hearing that two negroes
were going from thence to Sego,
I was happy to have their com-
pany, and we set out imme-
diately. About four o'clock we
stopped at a small village, where
one of the negroes met with an
acquaintance, who invited us to
a sort of public entertainment,
which was conducted with more
than common propriety. A dish,
made of sour milk and meal,
called sinkatoOy and beer made
from their corn, was distributed
with great liberality, and the
women were admitted into the
society — a circumstance I had
never before observed in Africa.
There was no compulsion —
every one was at liberty to drink
as he pleased — they nodded to
each other when about to drink,
and on setting down the cala-
bash commonly said Berka
(* Thank you'). Both men and
women appeared to be some-
what intoxicated, but they were
far from being quarrelsome.

Departing from thence, we
passed several large villages,
where I was constantly taken
for a Moor, and became the
subject of much merriment to
the Bambarrans, who, seeing
me drive my horse before me,
laughed heartily at my appear-
ance. Hfi has been at Mecca,
says one, you may see that by
his clothes ; another asked me
if my horse was sick ; a third
wished to purchase it, etc. — so
that, I believe, the very slaves

48o

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

were ashamed to be seen in my
company. Just before it was
dark we took up our lodging
for the night at a small village,
where I procured some victuals
for myself and some com for
my horse, at the moderate price
of a button ; and was told that
I should see the Niger (which
the negroes call Joliba, or the
Great Water) early the next day.
The lions are here very numer-
ous ; the gates are shut a little
after sunset, and nobody allowed
to go out. The thoughts of
seeing the Niger in the morning,
and the troublesome buzzing of
musquitoes, prevented me from
shutting my eyes during the
night ; and I had saddled my
horse, and was in readiness
before daylight, but, on account
of the wild beasts, we were ob-
liged to wait until the people
were stirring and the gates
opened. This happened to be
a market day at Sego, and the
roads were everywhere filled
with people carrying different
articles to sell. We passed
four large villages, and at eight
o'clock saw the smoke over
Sego.

As we approached the town,
I was fortunate enough to over-
take the fugitive Kaartans, to
whose kindness I had been so
much indebted in my jour-
ney through Bambarra. They
readily agreed to introduce me
to the king; and we rode to-
gether through some marshy
ground, where, as I was anxi-
ously looking around for the
river, one of them called out,

Geo affillil (* See the water !'),
and, looking forwards, I saw
with infinite pleasure the great
object of my mission — the long,
sought-for majestic Niger, gUt-
tering to the morning sun, as
broad as the Thames at West-
minster, and flowing slowly to
the eastward. I hastened to
the brink, and having drunk of
the water, lifted up my fervent
thanks in prayer to the Great
Ruler of all things, for having
thus far crowned my endeavours
with success.

The circumstance of the
Niger's flowing towards the east,
and its collateral points, did not,
however, excite my surprise, for,
although I had left Europe in
great hesitation on this subject,
and rather believed that it ran
in the contrary direction, I had
made such frequent inquiries
during my progress concerning
this river, and received from
negroes of different nations such
clear and decisive assurances
that its general course was to-
wards the rising sun^ as scarce
left any doubt on my mind, and
more especially as I knew that
Major Houghton had collected
similar information in the same
manner.

Sego, the capital of Bambarra,
at which I had now arrived,
consists, properly speaking, of
four distinct towns — two on the
northern bank of the Niger,
called Sego Korro, and Sego
Boo ; and two on the southern
bank, called Sego Soo Korro,
and Sego See Korro. They are
all surro mded with high mud

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS.

481

walls. The houses are built of
clay, of a square form with flat
roofs — some of them have two
stories, and many of them are
whitewashed. Besides these
buildings, Moorish mosques
are seen in every quarter ; and
the streets, though narrow, are
broad enough for every useful
purpose, in a country where
wheel- carriages are entirely
unknown. From the best in-
quiries I could make, I have
reason to believe that Sego
contains altogether about thirty
thousand inhabitants. The king
of Bambarra constantly resides
at Sego See Korro. He em-
ploys a great many slaves in
conveying people over the river,
and the money they receive
(though the fare is only ten
kowrie shells for each
dual) furnishes a
revenue to the
course of a year.
are of a singular construction,
each of them being formed of
the trunks of two large trees
rendered concave, and joined
together, not side by side, but
endways — the junction being
exactly across the middle of the
canoe : they are therefore very
long, and disproportionably
narrow, and have neither decks
nor masts : they are however
very roomy, for I observed in
one of them four horses and
several people crossing over the
river. When we arrived at this
ferry, with a view to pass over
to that part of the town in
which the king resides, we
found a great number waiting

indivi-

considerable

king in the

The canoes

for a passage : they looked at
me with silent wonder, and I
distinguished with concern
many Moors among them.
There were three different places
of embarkation, and the ferry-
men were very diligent and ex-
peditious ; but from the crowd
of people, I could not immedi-
ately obtain a passage, and sat
down upon the bank of the
river to wait for a more favour-
able opportunity. The view of
this extensive city — the numer-
ous canoes upon the river — the
crowded population, and the
cultivated state of the surround-
ing country — formed altogether
a prospect of civilisation and
magnificence which I little ex-
pected to find in the bosom of
Africa.

I waited more than two hours
without having an opportunity
of crossing the river, during
which time the people who had
crossed carried information to
Mansong, the king, that a white
man was waiting for a passage,
and was coming to see him.
He immediately sent over one
of his chief men, who informed
me that the king could not
possibly see me until he knew
what had brought me into his
country; and that I must not
presume to cross the river with-
, out the king's permission. He
therefore advised me to lodge
at a distant village, to which he
pointed, for the night, and said
that in the morning he would
give me further instructions how
to conduct myself. This was
very discouraging. However,

2 H

M r; :f|

!iK

482

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

1'. -'.A

as there was no remedy, I set
off for the village, where I
found, to my great mortifica-
tion, that no person would ad-
mit me into his house. I was
regarded with astonishment and
fear, and was obliged to sit all
day without victuals in the shade
of a tree ; and the night
threatened to be very uncom-
fortable — for the wind rose,
and there was great appearance
of a heavy rain — and the wild
beasts are so very numerous in
the neighbourhood, that I
should have been under the
necessity of climbing up a tree
and resting amongst the
branches. About sunset, how-
ever, as I was preparing to pass
the night in this manner, and
had turned my horse loose that
he might graze at liberty, a
woman, returning from the
labours of the field, stopped
to observe me, and perceiving
that I was weary and dejected,
inquired into my situation,
which I briefly explained to
her ; whereupon, with looks of
great compassion, she took up
my saddle and bridle, and told
me to follow her. Having con-
ducted me into her hut, she
lighted up a lamp, spread a
mat on the floor, and told me
I might remain there for the
night. Finding that I was very
hungry, she said she would pro-
cure me something to eat. She
accordingly went out, and re-
turned in a short time with a
very fine fish, which, having
caused to be half broiled upon
some embers, she gave me for

supper. The rites of hospital ity
being thus performed towards a
stranger in distress, my worthy
benefactress (pointing to the
mat, and telling me I might
sleep there without apprehen-
sion) called to the female part
of her family, who had stood
gazing on me all the while in
fixed astonishment, to resume
their task of spinning cotton, in
which they continued to employ
themselves great part of the
night. They lightened their
labour by songs, one of which
was composed extempore, for I
was myself the subject of it
It was sung by one of the young
women, the rest joining in a
sort of chorus. The air was
sweet and plaintive, and the
words, literally translated, were
these :— * The winds roared, and
the rains fell. The poor white
man, faint and weary, came and
sat under our tree. He has no
mother to bring him milk — no
wife to grind his com. Chorus.
— Let us pity the white man-
no mother has he,' etc. etc.
Trifling as this recital may ap-
pear to the reader, to a person
in my situation the circumstance
was affecting in the highest
degree. I was oppressed by
such unexpected kindness, and
sleep fled from my eyes. In
the morning I presented my
compassionate landlady with
two of the four brass buttons
which remained on my waist-
coat — the only recompense I
could make her.

July 21. — I continued in the
village all this day in conversa-

PARICS LIFE AND TRA VELS.

483

ites of hospitality
ormed towards a
itress, my worthy
pointing to the
ing me I might
ithout apprehen-
I the female part
who had stood
all the while in
ncient, to resume
winning cotton, in
itinued to employ
eat part of the

lightened their
igs, one of which
I extempore, for I
tie subject of it
J one of the young
rest joining in a
IS. The air was
laintive, and the
y translated, were
winds roared, and

The poor white
J weary, came and
tree. He has no
ng him milk— no
lis com. Chonis,
the white man-
ias he,' etc. etc.
lis recital may ap-
eader, to a person
1 the circumstance
r in the highest
ras oppressed by
ted kindness, and
om my eyes. In

I presented my
;e landlady with
bur brass buttons
led on my waist-
ily recompense I

ler.

I continued in the

is day in conversa-

tion with the natives, who came
in crowds to see me, but was
rather uneasy towards evening
to find that no message had
arrived from the king ; the more
so as the people began to whis-
per that Mansong had received
some very unfavourable accounts
of me from the Moors and
slatees residing at Sego, who, it
seems, were exceedingly suspi-
cious concerning the motives of
my journey. I learned that
many consultations had been
held with the king concerning
my reception and disposal ;
and some of the villagers
frankly told me that I had many
enemies, and must expect no
favour.

July 22. — About eleven
o'clock a messenger arrived
from the king, but he gave me
very little satisfaction. He in-
quired particularly if I had
brought any present, and seemed
much disappointed when he
was told that I had been robbed
of everything by the Moors.
When I proposed to go along
with him, he told me to stop
until the afternoon, when the
king would send for me.

July 23. — In the afternoon
another messenger arrived from
Mansong, with a bag in his
hands. Ke told me it was the
king's pleasure that I should
depart forthwith from the vici-
nage of Sego; but that Man-
song, wishing to relieve a white
man in distress, had sent me
five thousand kowries, to en-
able me to purchase provisions
in the course of my journey :

the messenger added, that if
my intentions were really to
proceed to Jennd, he had orders
to accompany me as a guide to
Sansanding. I was at first
puzzled to account for this be-
haviour of the king; but from
the conversation I had with the
guide, I had afterwards reason
to believe that Mansong would
willingly have admitted me into
his presence at Sego, but was
apprehensive he might not be
able to protect me against the
blind and inveterate malice of
the Moorish inhabitants. His
conduct, therefore, was at once
prudent and liberal. The cir-
cumstances under which I made
my appearance at Sego were
undoubtedly such as might
create in the mind of the king
a well-warranted suspicion that
I wished to conceal the true
object of my journey. He
argued, probably, as my guide
argued, who, when he was told
that I had come from a great
distance, and through many
dangers, to behold the Joliba
river, naturally inquired if there
were no rivers in my own coun-
try, and whether one river was
not like another. Notwith-
standing this, and in spite of
the jealous machinations of
the Moors, this benevolent
prince thought it suflficient that
a white man was found in his
dominions, in a condition of
extreme wretchedness, and that
no other plea was necessary
to entitle the sufferer to his
bounty.

¥f

'1* »f ,

" (1

'I,

It -

484

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

!!■

1 i

Ij:

CHAPTER XVI.

Being, in the manner that has
been related, compelled to leave
Sego, 1 was conducted the
same evening to a village about
seven miles to the eastward,
with some of the inhabitants of
which my guide was acquainted,
and by whom we were well
received. ^ H e was very friendly
and communicative, and spoke
highly of the hospitality of his
countrymen, but withal told me
that if Jennd was the place of
my destination, which he seemed
to have hitherto doubted, I had
undertaken an enterprise of
greater danger than probably I
was apprised of; for, although
the town of Jennd was nominally
a part of the king of Bambarra's
dominions, it was in fact, he
said, a city of the Moors — the
leading part of the inhabitants
being bushreens, and even the
governor himself, though ap-
pointed by Mansong, of the
same sect. Thus was I in dan-
ger of falling a second time into
the hands of men who would
consider it not only justifiable,
but meritorious, to.destroy me —
and this reflection was aggra-
vated by the circumstance that
the danger increased as I ad-
vanced in my journey, for I
learned that the places beyond
Jenn^ were under the Moorish
influence in a still greater de-
gree than Jenn^ itself, and Tim-

* I should have before observed that I
found the language of Bambarra a sort of
corrupted Mandingo. After a little practice,
I understood and spoke it without difficulty.

buctoo, the great object of my
search, altogether in possession
of that savage and merciless
people, who allow no Christian
to live there. But I had now
advanced too far to think of
returning to the westward on
such vague and uncertain in-
formation, and determined to
proceed ; and being accom-
panied by the guide, I departed
from the village on the morning
of the 24th. About eight o'clock
we passed a large town called
Kabba, situated in the midst of
a beautiful and highly cultivated
country, bearing a greater re-
semblance to the centre of
Ekagland than to what I should
have supposed had been the
middle of Africa. The people
were everywhere employed in
collecting the fruit of the shea
trees, from which they prepare
the vegetable butter mentioned
in former parts of this work.
These trees grow in great
abundance all over this part of
Bambarra. They are not planted
by the natives, but are found
growing naturally in the woods;
and in clearing woodland for
cultivation, every tree is cut
down but the shea. The tree
itself very much resembles the
American oak, and the fruit—
from the kernel of which, being
first dried in the sun, the butter
is prepared by boiling the ker-
nel in water — has somewhat the
appearance of a Spanish olive.
The kernel is enveloped in a
sweet pulp, under a thin green
rind ; and the butter produced
from it, besides the advantage

^^m

PARJCS LIFE AND TRA VELS.

485

resembles the
and the fruit—
of which, being
; sun, the butter
soiling the ker-
as somewhat the

Spanish olive,
enveloped in a
er a thin green
)utter produced

the advantage

of its keeping the whole year
without salt, is whiter, firmer,
and, to my palate, of a richer
flavour, than the best butter I
ever tasted made from cow's
milk. The growth and pre-
paration of this commodity
seem to be among the first
objects of African industry in
this and the neighbouring states,
and it constitutes a main article
of their inland commerce.

We passed in the course of
the day a great many villages
inhabited chiefly by fishermen,
and in the evening about five
o'clock arrived at Sansanding —
a very large town, containing,
as I was told, from eight to
ten thousand inhabitants. This
place is much resorted to by
the Moors, who bring salt from
Beeroo, and beads and coral
from the Mediterranean, to
exchange here for gold dust and
cotton cloth. This cloth they
sell to great advantage in
Beeroo, and other Moorish
countries, where, on account of
the want of rain, no cotton is
cultivated.

I desired my guide to con-
duct me to the house in which
we were to lodge, by the most
private way possible. We ac-
cordingly rode along between
the town and the river, passing
by a creek or harbour, in which
I observed twenty large canoes,
most of them fully loaded, and
covered with mats to prevent
the rain from injuring the goods.
As we proceeded, three other
canoes arrived, two with pas-
sengers, and one with goods.

I was happy to find that all the
negro inhabitants took me for
a Moor, under which charactei
I should probably have passed
unmolested, had not a Moor,
who was sitting by the river-
side, discovered the mistake,
and, setting up a loud exclama-
tion, brought together a number
of his countrymen.

When I arrived at the house
of Counti Mamadi, the dooty
of the to\vn, I was surrounded
with hundreds of people speak-
ing a variety of different dia-
lects, all equally unintelligible
to me. At length, by the assist-
ance of my guide, who acted
as interpreter, I understood
that one of the spectators pre-
tended to have seen me at one
place, and another at some
other place ; and a Moorish
woman absolutely swore that
she had kept my house three
years at Gallam, on the river
Senegal. It was plain that they
mistook me for some other
person, and I desired two of
the most confident to point
towards the place where they
had seen me. They pointed
due south ; hence I think it
probable that they came from
Cape Coast, where they might
have seen many white men.
Their language was different
from any I had yet heard. The
Moors now assembled in great
number, with their usual arro-
gance, compelling the negroes
to stand at a distance. They
immediately began to question
me concerning my religion, but
finding that I was not master ot

%\ . (■:

1 (

!W -i-si

486

THE ENGLISH EXPLORER:^

J ;i'

Arabic, they sent for two men,
whom they call Ilhuidi (Jews),
in hopes that they may be able
to converse with me. These
Jews, in dress and appearance,
very much resemble the Arabs ;
but though they so far conform
to the religion of Mohammed as
to recite in public prayers from
the Koran, they are but little
respected by the negroes ; and
even the Moors themselves al-
lowed that, though I was a Chris-
tian, I was a better man than a
Jew. They however insisted
that, like the Jews, I must con-
form so far as to repeat the Mo-
hammedan prayers ; and when
I attempted to wave the subject
by telling them that I could not
speak Arabic, one of them, a
shereef from Tuat, in the Great
Desert, started up and swore by
the Prophet, that if I refused to
go to the mosque, he would be
one that would assist in carry-
ing me thither ; and there is no
doubt but this threat would
have been immediately executed
had not my landlord interposed
in my behalf. He told them
that I was the king's stranger,
and he could not see me ill
treated whilst I was under his
protection. He therefore ad-
vised them to let me alone for
the night, assuring them that in
the mOming I should be sent
about my business. This some-
what appeased their clamour,
but they compelled me to ascend
a high seat by the door of the
mosque, in order that everybody
might see me, for the people
had assembled in such numbers

as to be quite ungovernable-
climbing upon the houses, and
squeezing each other, like the
spectators at an execution.
Upon this seat I remained until
sunset, when I was conducted
into a neat little hut, with a
small court before it, the door
of which Counti Mamadi shut,
to prevent any person from dis-
turbing me. But this precaution
could not exclude the Moors.
They climbed over the top of the
mud wall, and came in crowds
into the court, * in order,' they
said, * to see me perfor?n my
evening devotions^ and eat egj:^s.*
The former of these ceremonies
I did not think proper to com-
ply with, but I told them I had
no objection to eat eggs, pro-
vided they would bring me eggs
to eat. My landlord imme-
diately brought me seven hen's
eggs, and was much surprised
to find that I could not eat
them raw ; for it seems to be a
prevalent opinion among the
inhabitants of the interior that
Europeans subsist almost en-
tirely on this diet. When I had
succeeded in persuading my
landlord that this opinion was
without foundation, and that I
would gladly partake of any
victuals which he might think
proper to send me, he ordered
a sheep to be killed, and part of
it to be dressed for my supper.
About midnight, when the
Moors had left me, he paid me
a visit, and with much earnest-
ness desired me to write him a
saphie. * If a Moor's saphie is
good,' said this hospitable old

l'^

PARICS LIFE AND TRA VELS.

487

ungovernable—

the houses, and
1 other, like the

an execution.
I remained until
'. was conducted
:tle hut, with a
fore it, the door
ti Mamadi shut,
person from dis-
.it this precaution
lude the Moors.
>ver the top of the

came in crowds

' in order,' they
me perform my
iSf and eat eggs.'
these ceremonies
: proper to corn-
told them I had
3 eat eggs, pro-
Id bring me eggs
landlord imme-

me seven hen's
much surprised

could not eat
it seems to be a
ion among the
the interior that
»sist almost en-
;t. When I had
persuading my
his opinion was
tion, and that I
partake of any
he might think

me, he ordered
lied, and part of

for my supper,
ht, when the
me, he paid me
1 much earnest-

to write him a
VIoor's saphie is

hospitable old

man, ' a white man's must needs
be better.' I readily furnished
him with one, possessed of all
the virtues I could concentrate,
for it contained the Lord's
Prayer. The pen with which
it was written was made of a
reed ; a little charcoal and gum-
water made very tolerable ink,
and a thin board answered the
purpose of paper.

/u/y 25. — Early in the morn-
ing, before the Moors were as-
sembled, I departed from San-
sanding, and slept the ensuing
night at a small town called
Sibili, from whence on the day
following, I reached Nyara, a
large town at some distance
from the river, where I halted
the 27 th, to have my clothes
washed, and recruit my horse.
The dooty there has a very
commodious house, flat-roofed,
and two storeys high. He
showed me some gunpowder of
his own manufacturing ; and
pointed out, as a great curiosity,
a little brown monkey that was
tied to a stake by the door,
telling me that it came from a
far distant country called Kong.

/u/y 28. — I departed from
Nyara, and reached Nyamee
about noon. This town is
inhabited chiefly by Foulahs
from the kingdom of Masina.
The dooty, I know not why,
would not receive me, but
civilly sent his son on horse-
back to conduct me to Modi-
boo, which he assured me was
at no great distance.

We rode nearly in a direct
line through the woods, but in

general went forwards with
great circumspection. I ob-
served that my guide frequently
stopped and looked under the
bushes. On inquiring the rea-
son of tlus caution, he told me
that lions were verv numerous
in that part of the nuntry, and
frequpntly attacked people tra-
velling ihrough ♦hp woods.
While he was speaking, my
horse started, and looking
round, I observed a large ani-
mal of the camelopard kind
standing at a little distance.
The neck and forelegs were
very long; the head was fur-
nished with two short black
horns, turning backwards ; the
tail, which reached down to the
ham joint, had a tuft of hair at
the end. The animal was of a
mouse colour, and it trotted
away from us in a very sluggish
manner — moving its head from
side to side, to see if we were pur-
suing it. Shortly after this, as
we were crossing a large open
plain, where there were a few
scattered bushes, my guide,
who was a little way before me,
wheeled his horse round in a
moment, calling out something
in the Foulah language which I
did not understand. I inquired
in Mandingo what he meant;
IVara billi billil (* A very large
lion ! ') said he, and made signs
for me to ride away. But my
horse was too much fatigued ;
so we rode slowly past the bush
from which the animal had
given us the alarm. Not seeing
anything myself, however, I
thought my guide had been

488

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

mistaken, when the Foulah
suddenly put his hand to his
mouth, exclaiming Soubah an
allahi I (' God preserve us ! ')
and, to my great surprise, I then
perceived a large red lion, at a
short distance from the bush,
with his head couched between
his forepaws. I expected he
would instantly spring upon
me, and instinctively pulled my
feet from my stirrups to throw
myself on the ground, that my
horse might become the victim
rather than myself. But it is
probable the lion was not hungry;
for he quietly suffered us to
pass, though we were fairly
within his reach. My eyes
were so riveted upon this sove-
reign of the beasts, that I found
it impossible to remove them
until we were at a considerable
distance. We now took a cir-
cuitous route through some
swampy ground, to avoid any
more of these disagreeable ren-
counters. At sunset we arrived
at Modiboo — ^a delightful vilhge
on the banks of the Niger,
commanding a view of the
river for many miles, both to
the east and west. The small
green islands (the peaceful re-
treat of some industrious
Foulahs, whose cattle are here
secure from the depredations of
wild beasts) and the majestic
breadth of the river, which is
here much larger than at Sego,
render the situation one of the
most enchanting in the world-
Here are caught great plenty
offish, by means of long cotton
nets, which the natives make

themselves, and use nearly in
the same manner as nets are
used in Europe. I observed
the head of a crocodile lyinw
upon one of the houses, which
they told me had been killed
by the shepherds in a swamp
near the town. These animals
are not uncommon in the
Niger, but I believe they are
not oftentimes found dangerous.
They are of little account to the
traveller when compared with
the amazing swarms of mosqui-
toes, which rise from the swamps
and creeks in such numbers as
to harass even the most torpid
of the natives ; and as my
clothes were now almost worn
to rags, I was but ill prepared
to resist their attacks. I usually
passed the night without shut-
ting my eyes, walking back-
wards and forwards, fanning
myself with my hat ; their stings
raised numerous blisters on my
legs and arms, which, together
with the want of rest, made me
very feverish and uneasy.

July 29. — Early in the morn-
ing, my landloid, observing that
I was sickly, hurried me away,
sending a servant with me as a
guide to Kea. But though I
was little able to walk, my horse
was still less able to carry me j
and about six miles to the east
of Modiboo, in crossing some
rough clayey ground, he fell,
and the united strength of the
guide and myself could not
place him again upon his legs.
I sat down for some time be-
side this worn-out associate of
my adventures, but finding him

I^S,

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS.

489

nd use nearly in

.nner as nets are

>pe. I observed

a crocodile lying

the houses, which

had been killed

erds in a swamp

. These animals

:ommon in the

believe they are

; found dangerous.

ttle account to the

n compared with

warms of mosqui-

i from the swamps

such numbers as

1 the most torpid

es ; and as my

now almost worn

I but ill prepared

attacks. I usually

^ht without shut-

5, walking back-

brwards, fanning

hat ; their stings

us blisters on my

1, which, together

of rest, made me

ind uneasy.

^arly in the mom-

d, observing that

urried me away,

ant with me as a

But though I

to walk, my horse

ble to carry me ;

miles to the east

n crossing some

ground, he fell,

i strength of the

yself could not

n upon his legs.

some time be-

-out associate of

but finding him

still unable to rise, I took off
the saddle and bridle, and
placed a quantity of grass be-
fore him. I surveyed the poor
animal, as he lay panting on
the ground, with sympathetic
emotion, for I could not sup-
press the sad apprehension that
I should myself, in a short time,
lie down and perish in the same
manner, of fatigue and hunger.
With this foreboding I left my
poor horse, and with great re-
luctance followed my guide on
foot along the bank of the
river until about noon, when
we reached Kea, which I found
to be nothing more than a small
fishing village. The dooty, a
surly old man, who was sitting
by the gate, received me very
coolly; and when I informed
him of my situation, and begged
his protection, told me with
great indifference that he paid
very little attention to fine
speeches, and that I should not
enter his house. My guide re-
monstrated in my favour, but
to no purpose, for the dooty
remained inflexible in his de-
termination. I knew not where
to rest my wearied limbs, but
was happily relieved by a fish-
ing canoe belonging to Silla,
which was at that moment
coming down the river. The
dooty waved to the fisherman
to come near, and desired him
to take charge of me as far as
Moorzan. The fisherman, after
some hesitation, consented to
carry me, and I embarked in
the canoe in company with the
fisherman, his wife, and a boy.

The negro who had conducted
me from Modiboo now left me.
I requested him to look to my
horse on his return, and take
care of him if he was still alive,
which he promised to do.

Departing from Kea, we
proceeded about a mile down
the liver, when the fisherman
paddled' the canoe to the bank
and desired me to jump out.
Having tied the canoe to a
stake, he stripped off his clothes,
and dived for such a length of
time that I thought he had
actually drowned himself, and
was surprised to see his wife
behave with so much indiffer-
ence upon the occasion ; but
my fears were over when he
raised up his head astern of the
canoe and called for a rope.
With this rope he dived a se-
cond time, and then got into
the canoe and ordered the boy
to assist him in pulling. At
length they brought up a large
b'sket, about ten feet in dia-
meter, containing two fine fish,
which the fisherman — after re-
turning the basket into the wa-
ter — unmediately carried ashore
and hid in the grass. We then
went a little farther down and
took up another basket, in
which was one fish. The fisher-
man now left us to carry his
prizes to some neighbouring
market, and the woman and
boy proceeded with me in the
canoe down the river.

About four o'clock we arrived
at Moorzan, a fishing town on
the northern bank, from whence
I was conveyed across the river

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490

TIfi: ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

( I-

1:1

to Silla, a large town, where I
remained until it was quite dark,
under a tree, surrounded by
hundreds of people.

With a great deal of entreaty
the dooty allowed me to come
into his baloon to avoid the
rain, but the place was very
damp, and I had a smart
paroxysm of fever during the
night. Worn down by sick-
ness, exhausted with hunger
and fatigue, half- naked, and
without any article of value by
which I might procure provi-
sions, clothes, or lodging, I
began to reflect seriously on
my situation. I was now con-
vinced, by painful experience,
that the obstacles to my further
progress were insurmountable.
The tropical rains were already
set in with all their violence —
the rice-grounds and swamps
were everywhere overflowed —
and, in a few days more, travel-
ling of every kind, unless by
water, would be completely ob-
structed. The kowries, which
remained of the king of Bam-
barra's present, were not suffi-
cient to enable me to hire a
canoe for any great distance,
and I had but little hopes of
subsisting by charity in a coun-
try where the Moors have such
influence. But, above all, I
perceived that I was advancing
more and more within the power
ot those merciless fanatics, and,
from my reception both at Sego
and Sansanding, I was appre-
hensive that, in attempting to
reach even Jennd (unless under
the protection of some man

of consequence amongst them
which I had no means of ob-
taining), I should sacrifice my
life to no purpose, for my dis-
coveries would perish with me.
The prospect either way was
gloomy. In returning to the
Gambia, a journey on foot of
many hundred miles presented
itself to my contemplation,
through regions and countries
unknown. Nevertheless, this
seemed to be the only alterna-
tive, for I saw inevitable de-
struction in attempting to pro-
ceed to the eastward. With this
conviction on my mind, I hope
my readers will acknowledge
that I did right in going no
farther.

Having thus brought my
mind, after much doubt and
perplexity, to a determination
to. return westward, I thought
it incumbent on me, before I
left Silla, to collect from the
Moorish and negro traders all
the information I could con-
cerning the farther course of
the Niger eastward, and the
situation and extent of the king-
doms in its vicinage ; and the
following few notices I received
from such various quarters as
induce me to think they are
authentic : — »

Two short days* journey to
the eastward of Silla is the town
of Jennd, which is situated on a
small island in the river, and is
said to contain a greater num-
ber of inhabitants than Sego
itself, or any other town in
Bambarra. At the distance of
two days more, the river spreads

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS.

491

:e amongst them
no means of ob-
)uld sacrifice my
)Ose, for my dis-
i perish with me.

either way was
returning to the
jmey on foot of

miles presented
contemplation,
tis and countries
evertheless, this
the only alterna-
w inevitable de-
tempting to pro-
tward. With this
my mind, I hope
^ill acknowledge
ght in going no

days' journey to
Silla is the town
1 is situated on a
the river, and is
I a greater num-
:ants than Sego
other town in
; the distance of
the river spreads

into a considerable lake, called
Dibbie (or the Dark Lake),
concerning the extent of which,
all the information I could ob-
tain was, that in crossing it from
west to east the canoes lose
sight of land one whole day.
From this lake the water issues
in many different streams, which
terminate in two large branches,
one whereof flows towards the
north-east, and the other to the
east; but these branches join
at Kabra, which is one day's
journey to the southward of
Timbuctoo, and is the port or
shipping-place of that city. The
tract of land which the two
streams encircle is called Jin-
bala, and is inhabited by ne-
groes ; and the whole distance
by land from Jennd to Tim-
buctoo is twelve days' journey.
From Kabra, at the distance
of eleven days' journey down
the stream, the river passes to
the southward of Houssa, which
is two days' journey distant from
the river. Of the farther pro-
gress of this great river, and its
final exit, all the natives with
whom I conversed seem to be
entirely ignorant. Their com-
mercial pursuits seldom induce
them to travel farther than the
cities of Timbuctoo and Houssa,
and as the sole object of those
journeys is the acquirement of
wealth, they pay but little at-
tention to the course of rivers
or the geography of countries.
It is, however, highly probable
that the Niger affords a safe
and easy communication be-
tween very remote nations. All

my informants agreed, that
many of the negro merchants
who arrive at Timbuctoo and
Houssa from the eastward speak
a different language from that
of Bambarra, or any other
kingdom with which they are
acquainted. But even these
merchants, it would seem, are
ignorant of the termination of
the river, for such of them as
can speak Arabic describe the
amazing length of its course in
very general terms, saying only
that they believe it runs to the
world's end.

The names of many king-
doms to the eastward of Houssa
are familiar to the inhabitants
of Bambarra. I was shown
quivers and arrows of very
curious workmanship, which I
was informed came from the
kingdom of Kassina.

On the northern bank of the
Niger, at a short distance from
Silla, is the kingdom of Masina,
which is inhabited by Foulahs.
They employ themselves there,
as in other places, chiefly in
pasturage, and pay an annual
tribute to the king of Bambarra
for the lands which they
occupy.

To the north-east of Masina
is situated the kingdom of Tim-
buctoo, the great object of
European research — the capital
of this kingdom being one of
the principal marts for that ex-
tensive commerce which the
Moors carry on with the negroes.
The hopes of acquiring wealth
in this pursuit, and zeal for pro-
pagating their religion, have

492

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

filled this extensive city with
Moors and Mohammedan con-
verts. The king himself, and
all the chief officers of state,
are Moors ; and they are said
to be more severe and intolerant
in their principles than any
other of the Moorish tribes in
this part of Africa. I was in-
formed by a venerable old
negro, that when he first visited
Timbuctoo, he took up his
lodging at a sort of public inn,
the landlord of which, when he
conducted him into his hut,
spread a mat on the floor, and
laid a rope upon it, saying, ' If
you are a Mussulman, you are
my friend — sit down ; but if
you are a kafir, you are my slave,
and with this rope I will lead
you to market.' The present
kiig of Timbuctoo is named
Abu Abrahi ma. He is reported
to possess immense riches. His
M'ives and concubines are said
to be clothed in silk, and the
chief officers of state live in
considerable splendour. The
whole expense of his govern-
ment is defrayed, as I was told,
by a tax upon merchandise,
which is collected at the gates
of the city.

The city of Houssa (the capi-
tal of a large kingdom of the
same name, situated to the
eastward of Timbuctoo) is an-
other great mart for Moorish
commerce. I conversed with
many merchants who had
visited that city, and they all
agreed that it is larger and
morepopulous than Timbuctoo.
The trade, police, and govern-

ment are nearly the same in
both ; but in Houssa the ne-
groes are in greater proportion
to the Moors, and have some
share in the government.

Concerning the small king-
dom of Jinbala I was not able
to collect much information.
The soil is said to be remark-
ably fertile, and the whole
country so full of creeks and
swamps that the Moors have
hitherto been baffled in every
attempt to subdue it. The in-
habitants are negroes, and some
of them are said to live in con-
siderable affluence, particularly
those near the capital, which is
a resting-place for such mer-
chants as transport goods from
Timbuctoo to the western parts
of Africa.

To the southward of Jinbala
is situated the negro kingdom
of Gotto, which is said to be of
great extent. It was formerly
divided kito a number of petty
states,, which were governed by
their own chiefs; but their
private q:uarrels invited inva-
sion from the neighbouring
kingdoms. At length a politic
chief of the name of Moossee,
had address enough to make
them unite in hostilities against
Bambarra ; and on this occa-
sion he was unanimously chosen
general — the different chiefs
consenting for a time to act
under his command. Moossee
immediately despatched a fleet
of canoes, loaded with provi-
sions, from the banks of the
lake Dibbie up the Niger to-
wards Jenn^, and with the

PARK'S LIFE AND TEA VELS.

493

rly the same in
Houssa the ne-
eater proportion
and have some
vernment.
the small king-
1 1 was not able
ich information.
(1 to be remark-
and the whole
1 of creeks and
:he Moors have
baffled in every
due it. The in-
egroes, and some
d to live in con-
mce, particularly
capital, which is
J for such mer-
port goods from
;he western parts

whole of his army pushed for-
wards into Bambarra. He ar-
rived on the bank of the Niger
opposite to Jenn^, before the
townspeople Jiad the smallest
intimation of his approach.
His fleet of canoes joined him
the same day, and having landed
the provisions, he embarked part
of his army, and in the night took
Jennd by storm. This event
so terrified the king of Bam-
barra, that he sent messengers
to sue for peace ; and in order
to obtain it, consented to de-
liver to Moossee a certain num-
ber of slaves every year, and
return everything that had been
taken from the inhabitants of
Gotto. Moossee, thus trium-
phant, returned to Gotto, where
he was declared king, and the
capital of the country is called
by his name.

On the west of Gotto is the
kingdom of Baedoo, which was
conquered by the present king
of Bambarra about seven years
ago, and has continued tribu-
tary to him ever since.

West of Baedoo is Maniana,
the inhabitants of which, ac-
cording to the best information
I was able to collect, are cruel
and ferocious — carrying their
resentment towards their ene-
mies so far as never to give
quarter, and even to indulge
themselves with unnatural and
disgusting banquets of human
flesh.

CHAPTER XVH.

Having, for the reasons as-
signed in the last chapter, de-
termined to proceed no farther
eastward than Silla, I acquainted
the dooty with my intention of
returning to Sego, proposing to
travel along the southern side
of the river ; but he informed
me that, from the number of
creeks and swamps on that side,
it was impossible to travel by
any other route than along the
northern bank, and even that
route, he said, would soon be
impassable, on account of the
overflowing of the river. How-
ever, as he commended my
determination to return west-
ward, he agreed to speak to
some one of the fishermen to
carry me over to Moorzan. I
accordingly stepped into a
canoe about eight o'clock in
the morning of July 30th, and
in about an hour was landed at
Moorzan. At this place I hired
a canoe for sixty kowries, and
in the afternoon arrived at Kea,
where, for forty kowries more,
the dooty permitted me to sleep
in the same hut with one of his
slaves. This poor negro, per-
ceiving that I was sickly, and
that my clothes were very
ragged, humanely lent me a
large cloth to cover me for the
night.

July 3 1 . — The dooty's brother
being going to Modiboo, I em-
braced the opportunity of accom-
panying him thither, there being
no beaten road. He promised

!,L

LJlWll

494

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

to carry my saddle, which I had
left at Kea when my horse fell
down in the woods, as I now
proposed to present it to the
king of Bambarra,

We departed from Kea at
eight o'clock, and about a mile
to the westward observed on
the bank of the river a great
number of earthen jars piled up
together. They were very
neatly formed, but not glazed,
and were evidently of that sort
of pottery which is manufactured
at Downie (a town to the west
of Timbuctoo), and sold to
great advantage in different
parts of Bambarra. As we ap-
proached towards the jars, my
companion plucked up a large
handful of herbage, and threw
it upon them, making signs for
me to do the same, which I did.
He then, with great seriousness,
told me that these jars belonged
to some supernatural power ;
that they were found in their
present situation about two
years ago ; and as no person
had claimed them, every tra-
veller as he passed 'them, from
respect to the invisible proprie-
tor, threw some grass, or the
branch of a tree, upon the heap,
to defend the jars from the
rain.

Thus conversing, we travelled
in the most friendly manner,
until unfortunately we perceived
the footsteps of a lion, quite
fresh in the mud, near the river-
side. My companion now pro-
ceeded with great circumspec-
tion ; and at last, coming to
some thick underwood, he in-

sisted that I should walk before
him. I endeavoured to excuse
myself, by alleging that I did
not know the road ; but he ob-
stinately persisted, and, after a
few high words and menacing
looks, threw down the saddle
and went away. This very
much disconcerted me ; but as
I had given up all hopes of
obtaining a horse, I could not
think of encumbering myself
with the saddle, and, taking off
the stirrups and girths, I threw
the saddle into the river. The
negro no sooner saw me throw
the saddle into the water, than
he came running from among
the bushes where he had con-
cealed himself, jumped into the
river, and, by help of his spear,
brought out the saddle and ran
away with it. I continued my
course along the bank ; but as
the wood was remarkably thick,
and I had reason to believe
that a lion was at no great dis-
tance, I became much alarmed,
and took a long circuit through
the bushes to avoid him.

About four in the afternoon
I reached Modiboo, where I
found my saddle. The guide,
who had got there before me,
being afraid that I should inform
the king of his conduct, had
brought the saddle with him in
a canoe. '

While I was conversing with
the dooty, and remonstrating
against the guide for having
left me in such a situation,
I heard a horse neigh in one
of the huts ; and the dooty in-
quired with a smile, if I knew

PARICS LIFE AND TRA VELS.

495

who was speaking to me ? He
explained himself by telling me
that my horse was still alive,
and somewhat recovered from
his fatigue ; but he insisted that
I should take him along with
me, adding, that he had once
kept a Moor's horse for four
months, and when the horse
had recovered and got into
good condition, the Moor re-
turned and claimed it, and
refused to give him any reward
for his trouble.

August I. — I departed from
Modiboo, driving my horse be-
fore me, and in the afternoon
reached Nyamee; where I re-
mained three days, during which
time it rained without intermis-
sion, and with such violence
that no person could venture
out of doors.

August 5. — I departed from
Nyamee; but the country was
so deluged that I was frequently
in danger of losing the road,
and had to wade across the
savannas for miles together,
knee-deep in water. Even the
corn ground, which is the driest
land in the country, was so
completely flooded that my
horse twice stuck fast in the
mud, and was not got out with-
out the greatest difficulty.

In the evening of the same
day I arrived at Nyara, where
I was well received by the
Jooty; and as the 6th was
'-^'"V, I did not depart until the
iiioming of the 7th; but the
water had swelled to such a
height, that in many places the
road was scarcely passable, and

though I waded breast-deep
across the swamps, I could only
reach a small village called
Nemaboo» where however, for
a hundred kowries, I procured
from some Foulahs plenty of
corn for my horse and milk for
myself.

August 8. — The difficulties I
had experienced the day before
made me anxious to engage a
fellow-traveller, particularly as
I was assured that, in the course
of a few days, the country would
be so completely overflowed as
to render the road utterly im-
passable ; but though I offered
two hundred kowries lor a
guide, nobody would accom-
pany me. However, on the
morning following (August 9th),
a Moor and his wife, riding
upon two bullocks, and bound
for Sego with salt, passed the
village, and agreed to take me
along with them ; but I found
them of little service, for they
were wholly unacquainted with
the road, and being accustomed
to a sandy soil, were very bad
travellers. Instead of wading
before the bullocks to feel if
the ground was solid, the woman
boldly entered the first swamp,
riding upon the top of the load ;
but when she had proceeded
about two hundred yards, the
bullock sunk into a hole, and
threw both the load and herself
among the reeds. The fright-
ened husband stood for some
time seemingly petrified with
horror, and suffered his wife to
be almost drowned before he
//ent to her assistance.

490

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

1 I

It v

1 1: if

i|l1i

if "M

About sunset we reached
Sibity, but the dooty received
me very coolly; and when I
solicited for a guide to Sansand-
ing, he told me his people were
otherwise employed. I was
shown into a damp old hut,
where I passed a very uncom-
fortable night ; for when the
walls of the huts are softened
by the rain, they frequently
become too weak to support
the weight of the roof. I heard
three huts fall during the night,
and was apprehensive that the
, hut I lodged in would be the
fourth. In the morning, as I
went to pull some grass for
my horse, I counted fourteen
huts which had fallen in this
manner since the commence-
ment of the rainy season.

It continued to rain with great
violence all the loth; and as the
dooty refused to give me any
provisions, I purchased some
corn, whidi i divided with my
horse. - "^ ^

August 1 1. — The dooty com-
pelled me to depart from the
town, and I set out for San-
sanding, without any great
hopes of faring better than I
had done at Sibity ; for I
learned, from people who came
to visit me, that a report pre-
:, vailed, and was universally be-
lieved, that I had come to
Bambarra as a spy; and as
Mansong had not admitted me
r into his presence, the dooties
of the different towns were at
liberty to treat me in what
manner they pleased. From
repeatedly hearing the same

story, I had no doubt of the
truth of it; but as there was
no alternative, I determined to
proceed, and a little before
sunset I arrived at Sansanding.
My reception was what I ex-
pected. Count! Mamadi, who
had been so kind to me for-
merly, scarcely gave me wel-
come. Every one wished to
shun me ; and my landlord
sent a person to inform me
that a very unfavourable report
was received from Sego con-
cerning me, and that he wished
me to depart early in the morn-
ing. About ten o'clock at
night Counti Mamadi himself
came privately to me, and in-
formed me that Mansong had
despatched a canoe to Jennd
to bring me back ; and he was
afraid I should find great dif-
ficulty in going to the west
country. He advised me there-
fore to depart fi-om Sansanding
before daybreak, and cautioned
me against stopping at Diggani,
or any town near Sego.

August 12. — I departed from
Sansanding, and reached Kabba
in the afternoon. As I ap-
proached the town I was sur-
prised to see several people
assembled at the gate ; one of
whom, as I advanced, came
running towards me, and taking
my horse by the bridle, led me
round the walls of the town,
and then, pointing to the west,
told me to go along, or it would
fare worse with me. It was in
vain that I represented the
danger of being benighted in
the woods, exposed to the in-

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS.

497

clemency of the weather and
the fury of wild beasts. * Go
along ! * was all the answer ;
and a number of people coming
up and urging me in the same
manner, with great earnestness,
I suspected that some of the
king's messengers, who were
sent in search of me, were iw
the town, and that these negroes,
from mere kindness, conducted
me past it, with a view to facili-
tate my escape. I accordingly
took the road for Sego, with the
uncomfortable prospect, of pass-
ing the night on the branches
of a tree. After travelling
about three miles, I came to
a small village nean the road.
The dooty was splitting sticks
bythe''gate,butIfound I could
have no admittance ; and when
I attempted to^nter, he jumped
up, and with the stick he held
in his hand, threatened to strike
me off the horse, if I presumed
to advance another step.

At a little distance from this
village (and further from the
road) is another small one. I
conjectured that, being rather
out of the common route, the
inhabitants might have fewer
objections to give me house-
room for the night ; and having
crossed some corn-fields, I sat
down under a tree by the well.
Two or three women came to
draw water, and one of them
perceiving I was a stranger, in-
quired whether I was going. I
told her I was going for Sego,
but being benighted on the
road, I wished to stay at the vil-
lage until ^oming, and begged

she would act^uaint the dooty
with my situation. In a little
time the dooty sent for me,
and permitted me to sleep in a
large baloom

August 1 3. — About ten o'clock
I reached a small village within
half a mile of Sego, where I en-
deavoured, but in vain, to pro-
cure some provisions. Every
one seemed anxious to avoid
me; and I could plainlyperceive,
by I the looks and behaviour of
the inhabitants, that some very
unfavourable accounts had been
circulated concerning me. I
was again informed that Man-
song had sent people to appre-
hend me; and the dooty's son
told me I had no time to lose,
if I wished to get safe out of
Bambarra. I now fully saw
the danger of my situation, and
determined to avoid / Sego alto-
gether. I accordingly mounted
my horse, and taking the road
for Diganni, travelled as fast as
I could till I was out of sight
of the villagers, when I struck
to the westward, through high
grass and swampy ground.
About noon I stopped under a
tree to consider what course to
take, for I had now no doubt
that the Moors and slatees had
misinformed the king respecting
the object of/ my mission, and
that people were absolutely in
search of me to convey me a
prisoner to Sego. Sometimes
I had thoughts of swimming
my horse across the Niger, and
going to the southward for Cape
Coast ; but reflecting that I
had ten days to travel before I

2 I

498

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

should reach Kong, and after-
wards an extensive country to
traverse, inhabited by various
nations with whose language
and manners I was totally un-
acquainted, I relinquished this
scheme, and judged that I
should better answer the pur-
pose of my mission by proceed-
ing to the westward along the
Niger, endeavouring to ascer-
tain how far the river was navi-
gable in that direction. Having
resolved upon this course, I pro-
ceeded accordingly, and a little
before sunset arrived at aFoulah
village called Sooboo, where,
for two hundred kowries, I pro-
cured lodging for the night.

August 14. — I continued my
course along the bank of the
river, through a populous and
well-cultivated country. I
passed a walled town called
Kamalia,* without stopping ;
and at noon rode through a
large town called Samee, where
there happened to be a market,
and a number of people assem^
bled in an open place in the
middle of the town, selling
cattle, cloth, com, etc. I rode
through the midst of them
without being much observed,
every one taking me for a
Moor. In the afternoon I ar-
rived at a small village called
Binni, where I agreed with the
dooty's son, for one hundred
kowries, to allow roe to stay for
the night ; but when the dooty
returned, he insisted that II
should instantly leave the iplace ; j

1 There is another town of this name here- ■
after to be mentioned. \

and if his wife and son had not
interceded for me, I must have
complied.

August 15. — About nine
o'clock I passed a large town
called Sai, which very much
excited my curiosity. It is
completely surrounded by two
very deep trenches, at about
two hundred yards distant
from the walls. On the top of
the trenches are a number of
square towers, and the whole
has the appearance of a regular
fortification.

About noon I came to the
village of Kaimoo, situated upon
the bank of the river; and as
the corn I had purchased at
Sibili was exhausted, I endea-
voured to purchase a fresh
supply, but was informed that
com was become very scarce
all over the country, and though
I offered fifty kowries for a small
quantity, no person would sell
me any. As I was about .'>
depart, however, one of the
villagers (who probably mistook
me for some Moorish shereef)
brought me some as a present^
only desiring me to bestow my
blessing upon him, which I
did in plain English, and he re-
ceived itwithathousandacknow-
ledgments. Of 'this present I
made my dinner ; and it was the
third successive day that I had
subsisted entirelyupon raw com.

In the evening I arrived at
a small village -called Song,
the surly 'inhabitants of which
would not receive me, nor so
much as permit me to enter the
gate; but as iions were very

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS.

499

river; and as

numerous in this neighbourhood,
and I had frequently, in the
course of the day, observed the
impression of their feet on the
road, I resolved to stay in the
vicinity of the village. Having
collected some grass for my
horse, I accordingly lay down
under a tree by the gate.
About ten o'clock I heard the
hollow roar of a lion at no great
distance, and attempted to'open
the gate, but the people fvom
within told me that no person
mu3t attempt to enter the gate
without the dooty's permission.
I begged them to inform the
(looty that a lion was approach-'
ing the village, and I hoped he
woujd allow me to come with-
in the gate. I waited for an
ans;ver to this message with
great anxiety, for the lion kept
prowling round the village, and
once advanced «o vwy near me
that I heard him nistting among
the grass, and climbed the tree
for safety. About midnight the
dooty, with some of his people,
opened the gate, and desired
me to come in. They were
convinced, they said, that I was
not a Moor, for no Moor ever
waited any time at the gate of
a village without ^cursing the
inhabitants.

Augu^ r6. — ^Abofutten o'clock
I passed a considerable town,
with a mosque, called Jabbee<
Here the country -begins to rise
into hills, and I could see the
sunmiits of high mountains to
the westward. About noon I
stopped at a small village near
Yamina, where I purchased

some com, and dried my papers
and clothes.

The town of Yamina, at a
distance, has a very fine appear-
ance. It covers nearly the
same extent of ground as San-
sanding, but having been plun-
dered by Daisy, king of Kaarta,
about four years ago, it has not
yet resumed its former pros-
perity — nearly one-half of the
town being nothing but a heap of
rums. However, it is still a con-
siderable place, and is so much
frequented by the Moors that I
did not think it safe to lodge in
it.; but in order to satisfy myself
respectmg its population and
extent,! resolved to ride through
it, in doing which I observed a
great many Moors sitting upon
the bentangs, and other places
of public resort. Everybody
>iocdced at me with astonishment,
but as I rode briskly along,
they had no time to ask ques-
tions.

I arrived in the evening at
Fasra, a walled village, where,
without much difficulty, I pro-
cured a lodging for the night.

Attgust ij. — Early in the
movning I pursued my journey,
and at eight o'clock passed a
considerable town called Balaba,
after which the road quits the
plain, and stretches along the
side of the hUL I passed in
tiie course of this day the ruins
of three towns, the inhabitants
'Of which were all carried away
by Daisy, king of Kaarta, on
the same day that he took and
plundered Yamina. Near one
of these niins I climbed a tama-

'"ft

500

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

rind-tree, but found the fruit
quite green and sour, and the
prospect of the country was by
no means inviting — for the high
grass and bushes seemed com-
pletely to obstruct the road, and
the low lands were all so flooded
by the river, that the Niger had
the appearance of an extensive
lake. In the evening I arrived
at Kanika, where the dooty,
who was sitting upon an ele-
phant's hide at the gate, re-
ceived me kindly, and gave me
for supper some milk and meal,
which I considered (as to a
person in my situation it really
was) a very great luxury.

August i8. — By mistake I
took the wrong road, and did
not discover my error until I
had travelled nearly four miles,
when, coming to an eminence,
I observed the Niger consider-
ably to the left. Directing my
course towards it, I travelled
through long grass and bushes
with great difficulty, until two
o'clock in the afternoon, when
I came to a comparatively
small but very rapid river, which
I took at first for a creek, or
one of the streams of the Nigen
However, after I had examined
it with more attention, I was
convinced that it was a distinct
river j and as the road evidently
crossed it (for I could see the
pathway on the opposite side),
I sat down upon the bank, in
hopes that some traveller might
arrive who would give me the
necessary information concern-
ing the fording-place — ^for the
banks were so covered with

reeds and bushes that it would
have been almost impossible to
land on the other side, except
at the pathway, which, on ac-
count of the rapidity of the
stream, it seemed very difficult
to reach. No traveller how-
ever arriving, and there being a
great appearance of rain, I
examined the grass and bushes
for some way up the bank, and
determined upon entering the
river considerably above the
pathway, in order to reach the
other side before the stream had
swept me too far down. With
this view I fastened my clothes
upon the saddle, and was stand-
ing up to the neck in water,
pulling my horse by the bridle
to make him follow me, when a
man came accidentally to the
place, and seeing me in the
water, called to me with great
vehemence to come out. The
alligators, he said, would de-
vour both me and my horse, if
we attempted to swim over.
When I had got out, the
stranger, who had never before
seen a European, seemed won-
derfully surprised. He twice
put his hand to his mouth, ex-
claiming, in a low tone of voice,
* God preserve me ! who is thisl'
but when he heard me speak
the Bambarra tongue, and found
that I was going the same way
as himself, he promised to as-
sist me in crossing the river, the
name of which he told me was
Frina. He then went a little
way along the bank, and called
to some person, who answered
from the other side. In a short

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS.

501

time a canoe with two boys
ame paddling from among
the reeds. These boys agreed
for fifty kowries to transport me
and my horse over the river,
which was effected without
much difficulty; and I arrived
in the evening at Taffara, a
walled town, and soon dis-
covered that the language of
the natives was improved, from
the corrupted dialect of Bam-
barra, to the pure Mandingo.

CHAPTER XVIII.

On my arrival at Taffara I in-
quired for the dooty, but was
informed that he had died a
few days before my arrival, and
that there was at that moment
a meeting of the chief men for
electing another, there being
some dispute about the succes-
sion. It was probably owing
to this unsettled state of the
town that I experienced such a
want of hospitality in it, for,
though I informed the inhabit-
ants that I should only remain
with them for one night, and
assured them that Mansong
had given me some kowries to
pay for my lodging, yet no per-
son invited me to come in, and
I was forced to sit alone under
the bentang-tree, exposed to
the rain and wind of a tornado,
which lasted with great violence
until midnight. At this time
the stranger who had assisted
me in crossing the river paid
Jne a visit, and observing that

I had not found a lodging, in-
viti d me to take part of his
sui per, which he had brought
to the door of his hut; for,
being a guest himself, he could
n' c, without his landlord's con-
sent, invite me to come in.
After this I slept upon some
\ 3t grass in the comer of a
< urt. My horse fared still
Aurse than myself, the corn I
purchased l?eing all expended,
and I could not procure a
supply.

August 20. — I passed the
town of Jaba, and stopped a
few minutes at a village called
Somino, where I begged and
obtained some coarse food,
which the natives prepare from
the husks of corn, and call boo.
About two o'clock I came to
the village of Sooha, and en-
deavoured to purchase some
corn from the dooty, who was
sitting by the gate, but without
success. I then requested a
little food by way of charity,
but was told he had none to
spare. Whilst I was examining
the countenance of this inhos-
pitable old man, and endea-
vouring to find out the cause
of the sullen discontent which
was visible in his eye, he called
to a slave who was working in
the corn-field at a little distance,
and ordered him to bring his
hoe along' with him. The dooty
then told him to dig a hole in
the ground, pointing to a spot
at no great distance. The slave,
with his hoe, began to dig a pit
in the earth, and the dooty, who
appeared to be a man of a very

-■ R

\ I

S02

run MNGUSJf liXrWKJCKS,

\
<

j|m|k

( IHk

;

: 11

fretful tlisposition, kept nuitter-
ing and talking to hii\)sclf until
the pit was almost ftnishccl, when
he repeatedly pronounecil the
words t/iwktiho (' good for no-
thing') —/jiz/X'/vi ftmm (' a real
plague') — vvhieh expressions 1
thought couUl ho appiietl to
nobody l>ut njyself ; and as the
pit luul very much the appear-
ance of a grave, I thought it
j^rudent to mount my l\orse,
and was about to ilecamp, when
the slave, who had before gone
into the village, to niy sui prise
returned with the corpse of a
boy about nine or ten years of
age, unite nakeil. 'J'he negro
carried the body by a leg and
an arm, and threw it into the
pit with a savage inditVerence,
which 1 had never before seen.
As he covered the body with
earth, the dooty often ex-
pressed Iiimself, //(///////<! attini-
<!/<! (* money lost') — whence 1
concluded that the boy had
been one of his slaves.

Departing from this shocking
scene, 1 travelled by the side of
the river until sunset, when I
came to Koolikono, a consider-
able town, and a great market
for salt. Here 1 took up my
lodging at the house of a Bam-
barran, who had formerly been
the slave of a Moor, and in
that character had travelled to
Aroan, Towdinni, and many
other places in the Great Desert ;
but turning iMussulman, ar. I his
master dying at Jennd, he ob-
tained his freedom and settled
at this |)lace, where he carries
on a considerable trade in salt,

cotton clolh, etc. His know-
ledge of the world had not
lessened that superstitious con-
fulencc in saphies and charim
which he hatl imbibed in his
earlier yeirs ; for when he heard
that 1 was a Christian, he im-
mediately thought of procurin)*
a saphie, and tor this purpose
brought out his 7^W//*i, or writ-
ingboard, assuring me that he
would dress me a supper of rice
if 1 would write him a saphie to
protect him from wicked nun.
The proposal was of loo giiu
consequence to me to he ro
fused. 1 therefore wrote the
board full, fron» top to bottom,
on both sides ; and my land-
lord, to be certain of having
the whole lorce of the charm,
washed the writing from the
board into a calabash with u
little water, and having suida
lew prayers over it, drank this
powerful draught; after which.
lest a single word should escape,
he licked the board until it was
(|uite dry. A saphie-writer was
a man of too great conse()uence
to be long concealed - the im-
portant information was carried
to the dooty, who sent his son
with half a sheet of writing-
paper, tlesiring me to write him
a naphiiia saj>hie (a charn» to
procure wealth). He brougiit
me, as a present, some meal
and milk ; and when I had
finished the saphie, and read it
to him with an audible voice,
he seemed highly satisfied with
his bargain, and promised to
bring me in the morning some
milk for my breakfast. When 1

/V/A'A"^ IIFE AND TRAVELS,

503

hftd finished my supper ul" rice
ami suit, I laid niyNelf down
upon A l)iill()(^k'H hide, and slept
very quietly until morning -this
being tlio first good meal and
refreshing sleep that I hud cn-
joyetl lor a long time.

///«'//>>"/ 91.- -At daybreak I
departed from Koolikorro, and
iibout noon passed the villages
of Kayoo and Toolumbo. Jn
the afternoon I arrived at Mar-
mhoo, a large town, anil, like
Koolikorro, famous for its trade
in Halt. 1 was conducted to the
house of a Kaartan, of the tribe
of Jower, by whom I was well
received. This man had ac-
quired a considerable property
in the slave-trade, and, from
his hospitality to strangers, was
railed, by way of pre-eminence,
ptft (the landlord), and his
house was a sort of public inn
for all travellers. Those who
had money were well lodged,
for they always made him some
return for his kindness, but
those who had nothing to give
were content to acri'pt what-
ever he thought proper ; and as
I could not rank myself among
the moneyed men, I was happy
to lake up my lodging in the
same hut with seven poor fel-
lows who had come from Kan-
cjiba in a canoe, lint our land-
lord sent us some victuals.

////(,'7Av/ 22. — One of the land-
lord's servants went with me a
little way from the town to show
me what road to take ; but,
whether from ignorance or de-
sign I know not, he directed
me wrong, and I did not dis-

cover my mistake until the day
was far advanced, when, coming
to a deep creek, 1 had some
thoughts of turning back ; but
as, by that means, 1 foresaw
that 1 coulil not possibly reach
Jiammakoo before night, I re-
solved to cross it, an(l, leading
my horse close to the brink, I
went behind him and pushed
him headlong into the water,
and then taking the bridle in
my teeth, swam over to the
other side. About four o'clock
in the afternoon, having altered
my course fronj the river to-
wards the mountains, I came to
a small pathway which led to a
village called I'rookaboo, where
I slept.

Au):^i4st 23. — l^'.arly in the
morning) r set out for Uammakoo,
at which |)lace I arrived about
five o'clock in the afternoon.
I hml heard Ihimmakoo much
talked of as a great market for
salt, and \ felt rather disap-
pointed to find it only a mid-
dling town, not (]uite ko large as
Marraboo ; however, tlie small-
ness of its size is more than
compensated by the richness of
its inluibitants ; for when the
Moors bring their salt through
Kaarla or IJambarra, they con-
stantly rest a few days at this
place, and the negro merchants
here, who are well acquainted
with the value of salt in dilTer-
ent kingdoms, frequently pur-
chase by wholesale, and retail
it to great advantage. Here I
lodged at the house of a Sera-
wooUi negro, and was visited
by a number of Moors. They

i Mia

I*, i .

504

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

M A

If:

\ fl

spoke very good Mandingo, and
were more civil to me than their
countrymen had been. One
of them had travelled to Rio
Grande, and spoke very highly
of the Christians. He sent me
in the evening some boiled rice
and milk. I now endeavoured
to procure information concern-
ing my route to the westward
from a slave-merchant who had
resided some years on the
Gambia. He gave me some
imperfect account of the dis-
tance, and enumerated the
names of a great many places
that lay in the way, but withal
told me that the road was im-
passable at this season of the
year : he, was even afraid, he
said, that I should find great
difficulty in proceeding any
farther ; as the road crossed the
Joliba at a town about half a
day's journey to the westward
of Bammakoo, and there being
no canoes at that place large
enough to receive my horse, I
could not possibly get him over
for some months to come.
This was an obstruction of a
very serious nature; but as I
had no money to maintain my-
self even for a few days, I re-
solved to push on, and if I
. could not convey my horse
across the river, to abandon
him, and swim over myself.
In thoughts of this nature I
passed the night, and in the
morning consulted with my
landlord how I should sur-
mount the present difficulty.
He informed me that one road
still remained, which was indeed

very rocky, and scarcely pass.
able for horses ; but that if I
had a proper guide over the
hills to a town called Sibidoo-
loo, he had no doubt but with
patience and caution I might
travel forwards through Man-
ding. I immediately applied
to the dooty, and was informed
that a /////' kea (singing man)
was about to depart for Sibi-
dooloo, and would show me
the road over the hills. With
this man, who undertook to be
my conductor, I travelled up a
rocky glen about two miles,
when we came to a small vil-
lage ; and here my musical
fellow-traveller found out that
he had brought me the wrong
road. He told me that the
horse-road lay on the other
side of the hill, and throwing
his drum on his back, mounted
up the rocks, where indeed no
horse could follow him, leaving
me to admire his agility, and
trace out a road for myself.
As I found it impossible to
proceed, I rode back to the
level ground, and directing my
course to the eastward, came
about noon to another glen, and
discovered a path on which I
observed the marks of horses'
feet i following this path I came
in a short time to some shep-
herds' huts, where I was in-
formed that I was in the right
road, but that I could not pos-
sibly reach Sibidooloo before
night.

A little before sunset I de-
scended on the north-west side
of this ridge of hills, and as I

PARJCS LIFE AND TRA VELS.

505

d scarcely pass.
3 ; but that if I

vas looking about for a con-
venient tree under which to
pass the night (for I had no
hopes of reaching any town) I
descended into a delightful val-
ley, and soon afterwards ar-
rived at a romantic village
called Kooma. This village is
surrounded by a high wall, and
is the sole property of a Man-
dingo merchant, who fled hither
with his family during a former
war. The adjacent fields yield
him plenty of corn, his cattle
roam at large in the valley, and
the rocky hills secure him from
the depredations of war. In
this obscure retreat he is seldom
visited by strangers, but when-
ever this happens, he makes
the weary traveller welcome.
I soon found myself surrounded
by a circle of the harmless vil-
lagers. They asked a thousand
questions about my country;
and, in return for my informa-
tion, brought corn and milk for
myself, and grass for my horse,
kindled a fire in the hut where
I was to sleep, and appeared
very anxious to serve me. ^
August 25. — I departed from
Kooma, accompanied - by two
shepherds who were going to-
wards Sibidooloo. The road
was very steep and rocky, and
as my horse had hurt his feet
much in coming from Bamma-
koo, he travelled slowly and
with great difficulty; for in
many places the ascent was so
sharp, and the declivities so
great, that if he had made one
talse step, he must inevitably
have been dashed to pieces.

The shepherds being anxious to
proceed, gave themselves little
trouble about me or my horse,
and kept walking on at a con-
siderable distance. It was
about eleven o'clock, as I
stopped to drink a little water
at a rivulet (my companions
being near a quarter of a mile
before me), that I heard some
people calling to each other,
and presently a loud screaming,
as from a person in great dis-
tress. I immediately conjec-
tured that a lion had taken one
of the shepherds, and mounted
my horse to have a better view
of what had happened. The
noise, however, ceased, and I
rode slowly towards the place
from whence I thought it had
proceeded, calling out, but
without receiving any answer.
In a little time, however, I per-
ceived one of the shepherds
lying among the long grass near
the road, and though I could
see no blood upon him, I con-
cluded he was dead. But when
I came close to him, he whis-
pered to me to stop, telling me
that a party of armed men had
seized upon his companion, and
shot two arrows at himself as
he was making his escape. I
stopped to consider what course
to take, and looking round,
saw at a little distance a man
sitting upon the stump of a tree :
I distinguished also the heads
of six or seven more, sitting
among the grass, with muskets
in their hands. I had now
no hopes of escaping, and there-
fore determined to ride forward

M ' .^-IH-

5o6

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

ill

i I

towards them. As I approached
them, I was in hopes they were
elephant-hunters ; and by way
of opening the conversation, in-
quired if they had shot any-
thing, but, without returning an
answer, one of them ordered
me to dismount, and then, as
if recollecting himself, waved
with his hand for me to proceed.
I accordingly rode past, and
had with some difficulty crossed
a deep rivulet, when I heard
somebody holloa, and looking
behind, saw those I had taken
for elephant-hunters running
after me, and calling out to me
to turn back. I stopped until
they were all come up, when
they informed me that the king
of the Foulahs had sent them
on purpose to bring me, my
horse, and everything that be-
longed to me, ta Fooladoo, and
that therefore I must turn back
and go along with them. With-
out hesitating a moment, I
turned round andfollov-ed them^
and we travelled together nearly
a quarter of a mile without ex-
changing a word ; when coming
to a dark place in the wood,
one of them said in the Man-
dingo language,' *This place
will do,' and immediately
snatched my hat from my
head. Though I was by no
means free of apprehension, yet
I resolved to show as few signs
of fear as possible, and there-
fore told them that unless my
hat was returned to me I should
proceed no farther. But before
I had time to receive an answer
anotb«^r drew his knife, and seiz-

ing upon a metal button which
remained upon my waistcoat,
cut it off and put it into his
pocket. Their intentions were
now obvious, and I thought
that the easier they were per-
mitted to rob me of everything,
the less I had to fear. I there-
fore allowed them to search mv
pockets without resistance, and
examine every part of my ap-
parel, which they did with the
most scrupulous exactness.
But observing that I had one
waistcoat under another, they
insisted that I should cast them
both off; and at l^ist, to make
sure work, they stripped me
quite naked. Even my half-
boots (though the sole of one
of them was tied on to my foot
with a broken bridle-rein) were
minutely inspected. Whilst
they were examining the plun-
der, I begged them, with great
earnestness, to return my pock-
et-compass; b'lt when I pointed
it out to them, as it was lying on
the ground, one of the banditti,
thinking I was about to take it up,
cocked his musket, and swore
that he would lay me dead upon
the spot if I presumed to put
my hand upon it. After this,
some of them went away with
my horse, and the remainder
stood considering whether they
should leave me quite naked,
or allow me something to shel-
ter me from the sun. Humanity
at last prevailed : they returned
me the worst of the two shirts,
and a pair of trousers ; and, as
they went away, one of them
threw back my hat, in the

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS.

5*^7

:■/<' in

crown of which I kept my
memorandums, and this was
probably the reason they did
not wish to keep it. After they
were gone, I sat for some titne
looking around me with amaze-
ment and terror. Whichever
way I turned, nothing appeared
but danger and difficulty. I
saw myself in the midst of a
vast wilderness, in the depth of
the rainy season — naked and
alone, surrounded by savage
animals, and men still more
savage. I was five hundred
miles from the nearest Euro-
pean settlement. All these
circumstances crowded at once
on my recollection, and I con-
fess that my spirits began to
fail me. I considered my fate
as certain, and that I had no
alternative but to lie down and
perish. The influence of re-
ligion, however, aided and sup-
ported me. I reflected that no
human prudence or foresight
could possibly have averted my
present sufferings. I was in-
deed a stranger in a strange
land, yet I was still under the
protecting eye of that Provi-
dence who has condescended
to call Himself the stranger's
Friend. At this moment, pain-
ful as my reflections were, the
extraordinary beauty of a small
moss in fructification irresisti-
bly caught my eye. I mention
this to show from what trifling
circumstances the mind will
sometimes derive consolation ;
for though the whole plant was
not larger than the top of one
of my fingers, I could not con-

template the delicate conforma-
tion of its roots, leaves, and
capsula, without admiration.
Can that Being, thought I, who
planted, watered, and brought
to perfection, in this obscure
part of the world, a thing which
appears of so small importance,
look with unconcern upon the
situation and sufferings of crea-
tures formed after His own im-
age 1 Surely not I Reflections
like these would not allow me
to despair. I started up, and,
disregarding both hunger and
fatigue, travelled forwards, as-
sured that relief was at hand ;
and I was not disappointed.
In a short time I came to a
small village, at the entrance of
which I overtook the two shep-
herds who had come with me
from Kooma. They were much
surprised to see me; for they
said they never doubted that
the Foulahs, when they had
robbed, had murdered me. De-
parting from this village, we
travelled over several rocky
ridges, and at sunset arrived at
Sibidooloo, the frontier town of
the kingdom of Manding.

CHAPTER XIX.

The town of Sibidooloo is
situated in a fertile valley,
surrounded with high rocky
hills. It is scarcely accessible
for horses, and during the fre-
quent wars between the Bam-
barrans, Foulahs, and Mandin-
goes, has never once been plun-

So8

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

dcred by an enemy. When I
entered the town, the people
gathered round me, and followed
me into the baloon, where I
was presented to the dooty or
chief man, who is here called
mansa, which usually signifies
king. Nevertheless, it appeared
to me that the government of
Manding was a sort of republic,
or rather an oligarchy — every
town having a particular mansa,
and the chief power of the state,
in the last resort, being lodged
in the assembly of the whole
body. I related to the mansa
the circumstances of my having
been robbed of my horse and
apparel ; and my story was con-
firmed by the two shepherds.
He continued smoking his pipe
all the time I was speaking;
but I had no sooner finished,
than, taking his pipe from his
mouth, and tossing up the sleeve
of his cloak with an indignant
air — * Sit down,' said he ; ' you
shall have everything restored
to you ; I have sworn it :' — and
then, turning to an attendant,
' Give the white man,' said he,
* a draught of water ; and with
the first light of the morning go
over the hills, and inform the
dooty of Bammakoo that a poor
white man, the king of Bam-
barra's stranger, has been robbed
by the king of Fooladoo's
people.'

I little expected, in my for-
lorn condition, to meet with a
man who could thus feel for
my suiierings. I heartily
thanked the mansa for his kind-
ness, and accepted his invita-

tion to remain with him until
the return of the messenger. I
was conducted into a hut, and
had some victuals sent me, but
the crowd of people which
assembled to see me — all of
whom commiserated my mis-
fortunes, and vented impreca-
tions against the Foulahs — pre-
vented me from sleeping until
past midnight. Two days I
remained without hearing any
intelligence of my horse or
clothes; and as there was at
this time a great scarcity of
provisions, approaching even
to famine, all over this part of
the country, 1 was unwilling to
trespass any farther on the
mansa's generosity, and begged
permission to depart to the
next village. Finding me very
anxious to proceed, he told me
that I might go as far as a town
called Won da, where he hoped
I would remain a few days
until I heard some account of
my horse, etc.

I departed accordingly on
the next morning, the 28th,
and stopped at some small
villages for refreshment. I was
presented at one of them with
a dish which I had never before
seen. It was composed of the
blossoms or anthera of the
maize, stewed in milk and water.
It is eaten only in time of great
scarcity. On the 30th, about
noon, I arrived at Wonda, a
small town with a mosque, and
surrounded by a high wall
The mansa, who was a Moham-
medan, acted in two capacities
— as chief magistrate of the

PARICS LIFE AND TRA VELS,

509

town, and schoolmaster to the
children. He kept his school
in an open shed, where I was
desired to take up my lodging
until some account should
arrive from Sibidooloo concern-
ing my horse and clothes ; for
though the horse was of little
use to me, yet the few clothes
were essential. The little rai-
ment upon me could neither
protect me from the sun by
day, nor the dews and mosqui-
toes by night : indeed, my shirt
was not only worn thin like a
piece of muslin, but withal so
very dirty that I was happy to
embrace an opportunity of
washing it, which having done,
and spread it upon a bush, I
sat down naked in the shade
until it was dry.

Ever since the commence-
ment of the rainy season, my
health had been greatly on the
decline. I had often been
affected with slight paroxysms
of fever ; and from the time of
leaving Bammakoo, the symp-
toms had considerably in-
creased. As I was sitting in
the manner described, the fever
returned with such violence
that it very much alarmed me ;
the more so, as I had no medi-
cine to stop its progress, nor
any hope of obtaining that care
and attention which my situa
tion required.

I remained at Wonda nine
days, during which time I ex-
perienced the regidar return of
the fever every day. And
though I endeavoured as much
as possible to conceal my dis-

tress from my landlord, and
frequently lay down the whole
day out of his sight, in a field
of corn,— conscious how bur-
densome I was to him and his
family, in a time of such great
scarcity, — yet I found that he
was apprised of my situation ;
and one morning, as I feigned
to be asleep by the fire, he
observed to his wife that they
were likely to find me a
very troublesome and charge-
able guest ; for that, in my pre-
sent sickly state, they should be
obliged, for the sake of their
good name, to maintain me
until I recovered or died.

The scarcity of provisions was
certainly felt at this time most
severely by the poor people, as
the following circumstance most
painfully convinced me : —
Every evening during my stay
I observed five or six women
come to the mansa's house, and
receive each of them a certain
quantity of com. As I knew
how valuable this article was at
this juncture, I inquired of the
mansa whether he maintained
these poor women from pure
bounty, or expected a return
when the harvest should be
gathered in. * Observe that
boy,' said he (pointing to a
fine child, about five years of
age) ; ' his mother has sold him
to me for forty days' provision
for herself and the rest of her
family. I have bought another
boy in the same manner.' Good
God I thought I, what must a
mother suffer before she sells
her own child ! I could not

""1

I 111 H:

%
iii'i'jl

41, i

ll ■■.»■ '•

iK-

5IO

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

get this melancholy subject out
of my mind ; and the next
night, when the women returned
for their allowance, I desired
the boy to point out to me his
mother, which he did. She
was much emaciated, but had
nothing cruel or savage in her
countenance ; and when she
had received her corn, she
came and talked to her son
with as much cheerfulness as
if he had still been under her
care.

September 6. — Two people
arrived from Sibidooloo, bring-
ing with them my horse and
clothes; but I found that my
pocket-compass was broken to
pieces. This was a great loss,
which I could not repair.

September 7. — As my horse
was grazing near the brink of a
well, the ground gave way and
he fell in. The well was about
ten feet in diameter, and so
very deep that when I saw my
horse snorting in the water I
thought it was impossible to
save him. The inhabitants of
the village, however, imme-
diately assembled, ;and having
tied together a number of
withes,^ they lowered a man
down into the well, who fastened
those withes round the body of
the horse ; and the people hav-
ing first drawn up the man,
took hold of the withes, and to
my surprise, pulled the horse
out with the greatest facility.
The poor animal was now re-
duced to a mere skeleton, and

i From a plant called kalba^ that climbs
like a vine upon the trees.

the roads were scarcely pass-
able, being either very rocky,
or else full of mud and water.
I therefore found it impracti-
cable to travel with him any
farther, and was happy to leave
him in the hands of one who, I
thought, would take care of him.
I accordingly presented him to
my landlord, and desired him
to send my saddle and bridle,
as a present, to the mansa of
Sibidooloo, being the only re-
turn I could make him for hav-
ing taken so much trouble in
procuring my horse and clothes.

I now thought it necessary,
sick as I was, to take leave of
my hospitable landlord. On
the morning of September 8th,
when I was about .to depart, he
presented me with liis spear, as
a token of remembrance, and
a leather bag to contain my
clothes. Having converted my
half-boots into sandals, I tra-
velled with more ease, and slept
that night at a village called
Ballanti. ^On the 9th I reached
Nemacoo ; but ithe mansa
of the ^village thought fit to
make me sup upon the chame-
leon's dish. By way -of apology,
however, he assured ime the
next morning that the scarcity
of corn was such that he could
not possibly allow me any. I
could not accuse him of unkind-
ness, as all the people actually
appeared to be starving.

September 10. — It rained hard
all day, and the people kept
themselves in their huts. In
the afteooon I was visited by
a negro, named Modi Lemina

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS. 5 1 1

Xaura, a great trader, who,
suspecting my distress, brought
roe some victuals, and promised
to conduct me to his own house
at Kinyeto the day following.

September 11. — I departed
from Nemacoo, and arrived at
Kinyeto in the evening ; but
having hurt my ankle in the
way, it swelled and inflamed so
much that I could neither walk
nor set my foot to the ground
the next day, without great
pain. My landlord observing
this, kindly invited me to stop
with him a few days, and I
accordingly remained at his
house until the 14th, by which
time I felt much relieved, and
could walk with the help >of a
staff. I now set out, thanking
ray landlord for his great care
and attention; and being accom-
panied by a young man who
was travelling the same way, I
proceeded for Jerijang, a beauti-
ful and well-cultivated district,
the mansa of which is reckoned
the most powerful chief of any
in Manding.

On the 1 5 th I reached Dosita,
a large town, where I stayed one
day on account of the rain ; but
I continued very sickly, and was
slightly delirious in the night On
the 17th I set out for Mansia, a
considerable town, where small
quantities of gold are collected.
The road led over a high rocky
hill, and my strength and spirits
were so much ^e^diausted, that
before I could reach .the top
of the hill I <was forced to lie
down three times, being very
faint and sickly. 1 reached

Mansia in the afternoon. The
mansa of this town had the
character of being very inhos-
pitable ; he, however, sent me
a little com for my supper, but
demanded something in return ;
and when I assured him that
I had nothing of value in my
possession, he told me (as if in
jest) that my white skin should
not defend me if I told him
lies. He then showed me the
hut wherein I was to sleep,
but took away my spear, saying
that it should be returned to
me [in the morning. This trif-
ling circumstance, when joined
to the character I had heard of
the man, made me rather sus-
picious of him, and I privately
desired one of the inhabitants
of the place, who had a bow
and a quiver, to sleep in the
same hut with me. About mid-
night I heard somebody ap-
proach the door, and observing
the moonlight strike suddenly
into the hut, I started up, and
saw a man s' epping cautiously
over the threshold. I immedi-
ately snatched up the negro's
bow and quiver, the rattling of
which made the man withdraw ;
and my companion looking out,
assured me that it was tthe mansa
himself, and advised me to keep
awake until the morning. I
closed the door, and placed a
large piece of wood behind it,
and was wondering at this un-
expected visit, when somebody
pressed so hard against the
door that the negro could
scarcely keep it shut ; but when
I called to him to opan the

5^2

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

door, the intruder ran oflF as
before.

September 16. — As soon as it
was light, the negro, at my
request, went to the mansa's
house and brought away my
spear. He told me that the
mansa was asleep, and lest
this inhospitable chief should
devise means to detain me, he
advised me to set out before he
was awake, which I immedi-
ately did, and about two o'clock
reached Kamalia, a small town,
situated at the bottom of some
rocky hills, where the inhabi-
tants collect gold in consider-
able quantities.

On my arrival at Kamalia, I
was conducted to the house of
a bushreen named Kafra Taura,
the brother of him to whose
hospitality I was indebted at
Kinyeto. He was collecting
a coffle of slaves, with a view
to sell them to the Europeans
on the Gambia as soon as the
rains should be over. I found
him sitting in his baloon, sur-
rounded by several slatees who
proposed to join the coffle.
He was reading to them from
an Arabic book, and inquired
with a smile, if I understood it %
Being answered in the negative,
he desired one of the slatees to
fetch the little curious book
which had been brought from
the west country. On opening
this small volume, I was sur-
prised and delighted to find it
our Book of Common Prayer,
and Karfa expressed great joy
to hear that I could read it ;
for some of the slatees, who

had seen the Europeans upon
the coast, observing the colour
of my skin (which was now be-
come very yellow from sick-
ness), my long beard, ragged
clothes, and extreme poverty,
were unwilling to admit that I
was a white man, and told
Karfa that they suspected I
was some Arab in disguise.
Karfa, however, perceiving that
I could read this book, had
no doubt concerning me, and
kindly promised me every as-
sistance in his power. At the
same time he informed me that
it was impossible to cross the
Jallonka wilderness for many
months yet to come, as no less
than eight rapid rivers, he said,
lay in the way. He added,
that he intended to set out
himself for Gambia as soon as
the rivers were fordable and
the grass burnt, and advised me
to stay and accompany him.
He remarked, that when a
caravan of the natives could
not travel through the country,
it was idle for a single white
man to attempt it. I readily
admitted that such an attempt
was an act of rashness, but I
assured him that I had no alter-
native — for having no money
to support myself, I must either
beg ray subsistence, by travel-
ling from place to place, or
perish for want. Karfa now
looked at me with great ear-
nestness, and inquired if I could
eat the common victuals of the
country, assuring me he had
never before seen a white man.
He added, that if I would re-

PARKS LIFE AND TKA VELS.

5if3

main with him until the rains
were over, he would give me
plenty of victuals in the mean-
time, and a hut to sleep in;
and that after he had conducted
me in safety to the Gambia, I
might then make him what re-
turn I thought proper. I asked
him if the value of one prime
slave would satisfy him. He
answered in the affirmative,
and immediately ordered one
of the huts to be swept for my
accommodation. Thus was I
delivered, by the friendly care
of this benevolent negro, from
a situation truly deplorable.
Distress and famine pressed
hard upon me. I had before
me the gloomy wilds of Jallon-
kadoo, where the traveller sees
no habitation for five successive
days. I had observed at a dis-
tance the rapid course of the
river Kokoro. I had almost
marked out the place where I
was doomed, I thought, to
perish, when this friendly negro
stretched out his hospitable
hand for my relief.

In the hut which was appro-
priated for me, I was provided
with a mat to sleep on, an
earthen jar for holding water,
and a small calabash to drink
out of— and Karfa sent me,
from his own dwelling, two
meals a day, and ordered his
slaves to supply me with fire-
wood and water. But I found
that neither the kindness of
Karfa, nor any sort of accom-
modation, could put a stop to
the fever which weakened me,
and which became every day

more alarming. I endeavoured
as much as possible to conceal
my distress; but on the third
day after my arrival, as I was
going with Kaifa to visit some
of his friends, I found myself
so faint that I could scarcely
walk, and before we reached
the place, I staggered find fell
into a pit from which the clay
had been taken to build one of
the huts. Karfa endeavoured
to console me with the hopes
of a speedy recovery, assuring
me that, if I would not walk out
in the wet, I should soon be well.
I determined to follow his ad-
vice, and confine myself to my
hut, but was st'U tormented
with the fever, and my health
continued to be in a very pre-
carious state for five ensuing
weeks. Sometimes I could
crawl out of the hut, and sit a
few hours in the open air ; at
other times I was unable to rise,
and passed the lingering hours
in a very gloomy and solitary
manner. I was seldom visited
by any person except my be-
nevolent landlord, who came
daily to inquire after my health.
When the rains became less fre-
quent, and the country began
to grow dry, the fever left
me, but in so debilitated a
condition that I could scarcely
stand upright ; and it was with
great difficulty that I could
carry my mat to the shade of a
tamarind-tree, at a short dis-
tance, to enjoy the refreshing
smell of the corn-fields, and
delight my eyes with a prospect
of the country. I had the plea-

2 K

ViS

514

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

sure at length to find myself
in a state of convalescence,
towards which the benevolent
and simple manners of the ne-
groes, and the perusal of Karfa's
little volume, greatly contri-
buted.

In the meantime, many of
the slatees who reside at Ka-
malia having spent all their
money, and become in a great
measure dependent upon Kar-
fa's hospitality, beheld me with
an eye of envy, and invented
many ridiculous and trifling
stories to lessen me in Karfa's
esteem. And in the beginning
of December a Serawoolli slatee,
with five slaves, arrived from
Sego ; this man, too, spread a
number of mancious reports
concerning me, but Karfa paid
no attention to them, and con-
tinued to show me the same
kindness as formerly. As I was
one day conversing with the
slaves which this slatee had
brought, one of them begged
me to give him some victuals.
I told him I was a stranger,
and had none to give. He re-
plied, * I gave you victuals when
you were hungry. Have you
forgot the man who brought
you milk at Karrankalla % But,'
added he, with a sigh^ * the irons
were not then upon my legs V
I immediately recollected him,
and begged some ground nuts
from Karfa to give him, as a
return for his former kindness.

In the beginning of Decem-
ber, Karfa proposed to com-
plete his purchase of slaves,
and for this purpose collected

all the debts which were owing
to him in his own country ; and
on the 19th, being accompanied
by three slatees, he departed
for Kancaba, a large town on
the banks of the Niger, and a
great slave -market. Most of
the slaves who are sold at Kan-
caba come from Bambarra ; for
Mansong, to avoid the expense
and danger of keeping all his
prisoners at Sego, commonly
sends them in small parties to
be sold at the different trading
towns ; and as Kancaba is much
resorted to by merchants, it is
always well supplied with slaves,
which are sent thither up the
Niger in canoes. When Karfa
departed from Kamalia he pro-
posed to return in the course
of a month, and during his ab-
sence I was left to the care of a
good old bushreen, who acted
as schoolmaster to the young
people of Kamalia.

CHAPTER XX.

The whole of my route, both
in going and returning, having
been confined to a tract of
country bounded nearly by the
1 2 th and 15 th parallels of lati-
tude, the reader must imagine
that I found the climate in most
places extremely hot, but no-
where did I feel the heat so
intense and oppressive as in
the camp at Benowm, of which
mention has been made in a
former place. In some parts,
where the country ascends into

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS,

515

hills, the air is at all times com-
paratively cool, yet none of the
districts which I traversed could
properly be called mountainous.
About the middle of June, the
hot and sultry atmosphere is
agitated by violent gusts of
wind (called tornadoes), accom-
panied with thunder and rain.
These usher in what is denomi-
nated * the rainy season,' which
continues until the month of
November. During this time
the diurnal rains are very heavy,
and the prevailing winds are
from the south-west. The ter-
mination of the rainy season is
likewise attended with violent
tomadoes, after which the wind
shifts to the north-east, and
continues to blow from that
quarter during the rest of the
year.

When the wind sets in from
t'e north-east, it produces a
wonderful change in the face of
the country. The grass soon
becomes dry and withered, the
rivers subside very rapidly, and
many of the trees shed their
leaves. About this period is
commonly felt the harmaitan^
a dry and parching wind, blow-
ing from the north-east, and
accompanied by a thick smoky
bze, through which the sun
appears of a dull red colour.
This wind, in passing over the
great desert of Sahara, acquires
a very strong attraction for
humidity, and parches up every-
thing exposed to its current. It
is, however, reckoned very salu-
tary, particularly to Europeans,
who generally recover their

health during its continuance.
I experienced immediate relief
from sickness, both at Dr. I aid-
ley's and at Kamalia, during
the harmattan. Indeed, the air
during the rainy season is so
loaded with moisture, that
clothes, shoes, trunks, and
everything that is not close to
the fire, becomes damp and
mouldy, and the inhabitants
may be said to live in a sort of
vapour bath ; but this dry wind
braces up the solids, which
were before relaxed, gives a
cheerful flow of spirits, and is
even pleasant to respiration. Its
ill effects are, that it produces
chaps in the lips, and afflicts
many of the natives with sore
eyes.

Whenever the grass is suffi-
ciently dry, the negroes set it
on fire; but in Ludamar, and
other Moorish countries, this
practice is not allowed, for it is
upon the withered stubble that
the Moors feed their cattle until
the return of the rains. The
burning the grass in Manding
exhibits a scene of terrific gran-
deur. In the middle of the
night I could see the plains
and mountains, as far as my
eye could reach, variegated with
lines of fire, and the light re-
flected on the sky made the
heavens appear in a blaze. In
the daytime pillars of smoke
were seen in every direction,
while the birds of prey were ob-
served hovering round the con-
flagration, and pouncing down
upon the snakes, lizards, and
other reptiles which attempted

5i6

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

to escape from the flames. This
annual burning is soon followed
by a fresh and sweet verdure,
and the country is thereby ren-
dered more healthful and plea-
sant.

Of the most remarkable and
important of the vegetable pro-
ductions, mention has already
been made ; and they are nearly
the same in all the districts
through which I passed. It is
observable, however, that al-
though many species of the
edible roots which grow in the
West India Islands are found
in Africa, yet I never saw, in
any part of my journey, either
the sugar-cane, the coffee, or
the cocoa-tree, nor could I
learn, on inquiry, that they were
known to the natives. The
pine-apple, and the thousand
other delicious fruits, which
the industry of civilised man
(improving the bounties of
nature) has brought to sq. great
perfection in the tropical clim-
ates of America, are here
equally unknown. I observed,
indeed, a few orange and ban-
ana trees near the mouth of the
Gambia, but whether they were
indigenous, or were formerly
planted there by some of the
white traders, I could not posi-
tively learn. I suspect that
they were originally introduced
by the Portuguese.

Concerning property in the
soil, it appeared to me that the
lands in native woods were con-
sidered as belonging to the king,
or (where the government was
not monarchical) to the state.

When any individual of free con-
dition had the means of cuhi-
vating more land than he actu-
ally possessed, he applied to
the chief man of the district,
who allowed him an extension
of territory, on condition of for-
feiture if the lands were not
brought into cultivation by a
given period. The condition
being fulfilled, the soil became
vested in the possessor, and, for
aught that appeared to me, de-
scended to his heirs.

The population, however,
considering the extent and fer-
tility of the soil, and the ease
with which lands are obtained,
is not very great in the coun-
tries which I visited. I found
many extensive and beautiful
districts entirely destitute of in-
habitants, and, in general, the
borders of the different king-
doms were either very thinly
peopled or entirely deserted
Many places are likewise un-
favourable to population from
being unhealthful. The swampy
banks of the Gambia, the Sene-
gal, and other rivers towards
the coast, are of this descrip-
tion. Perhaps it is on this
account chiefly that the interior
countries abound more with in-
habitants than the maritime
districts; for all the negro na-
tions that fell under my obser-
vation, though divided into a
number of petty independent
states, subsist chiefly by the
same means, live nearly in the
same temperature, and possess
a wonderful similarity of dispo-
sition. The Mandingoes, in

PARK'S LIFE AND TEA VELS.

517

particular, are a very gentle
race, cheerful in their disposi-
tions, inquisitive, credulous,
simple, and fond of flattery.
Perl>aps the most prominent
defect in their character was
that insurmountable propensity,
which the reader must have ob-
served to prevail in all classes
of them, to steal from me the
few eflfects I was possessed of.
For this part of their conduct
no complete justification can be
offered, because theft is a crime
in their own estimation ; and it
must be observed, that they are
not habitually and generally
guilty of it towards each other.
On the other hand, as some
counterbalance to this depravity
in their nature, allowing it to be
such, it is impossible for me to
forget the disinterested charity
and tender solicitude with which
many of these poor heathens
(from the sovereign of Sego to
the poor women who received
me at different times into their
cottages when I was perishing
of hunger) sympathised with me
in my sufferings, relieved my
distresses, and contributed to
my safety. This acknowledg-
ment, however, is perhaps more
particularly due to the female
part of the nation. Among the
men, as the reader must have
seen, my reception, though
generally kind, was sometimes
otherwise. It varied accord-
ing to the various tempers of
those to whom I made applica-
tion. The hardness of avarice
in some, and the blindness of
bigotry in others, had closed up

the avenues to compassion j but
I do not recollect a single in-
stance of hard-heartedness to-
wards me in the women. In
all my wanderings and wretched-
ness, I found them uniformly
kind and compassionate; and
I can truly say, as my prede-
cessor Mr. Ledyard has elo-
quently said before me, * To a
woman I never addressed my-
self in the language of decency
and friendship, without receiv-
ing a decent and friendly an-
swer. If I was hungry or thirsty,
wet or sick, they did not hesi-
tate, like the men, to perform
a generous action. In so free
and so kind a manner did they
contribute to my relief, that if
I was dry, I drank the sweetest
draught, and if hungry, I ate
the coarsest morsel, with a
double relish.'

It is surely reasonable to sup-
pose that the soft and amiable
sympathy of nature, which was
thus spontaneously manifested
towards me in my distress, is
displayed by these poor people,
as occasion requires, much more
strongly towards persons of their
own nation and neighbourhood,
and especially when the objects
of their compassion are en-
deared to them by the ties of
consanguinity. Accordingly
the maternal affection (neither
suppressed by the restraints, nor
diverted by the solicitudes of
civilised life) is everywhere
conspicuous among them, and
creates a correspondent return
of tenderness in the child. An
illustration of this has been

5i8

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

already given. * Strike me/
said my attendant, * but do not
curse my mother.* The same
sentiment I found universally
to prevail, and observed in all
parts of Africa, that the greatest
affront which could be offered
to a negro was to reflect on her
who gave him birth.

It is not strange that this
sense of filial duty and affec-
tion among the negroes should
be less ardent towards the
father than the mother. The
system of polygamy, while it
weakens the father's attach-
ment by dividing it among the
children of different wives, con-
centrates all the mother's jeal-
ous tenderness to one point —
the protection of her own off-
spring. I perceived with great
satisfaction, too, that the ma-
ternal solicitude extended not
only to the growth and security
of the person, but also, in a
certain degree, to the improve-
ment of the mind of the infant ;
for one of the first lessons in
which the Mandingo women
instruct their children is the
practice of truth. The reader
will probably recollect the case
of the unhappy mother, whose
son was murdered by the Moor-
ish banditti at Funingkedy.
Her only consolation in her
uttermost distress was the re-
flection that the poor boy, in
the course of his blameless life,
had never told a lie. Such testi-
mony fi:om a fond mother on
such an occasion, must have
operated powerfully on the
youthful part of the surround-

ing spectators. It was at once
a tribute of praise to the de-
ceased, and a lesson to the
living.

The negro women suckle
their children until they are
able to walk of themselves.
Three years' nursing is not un-
common, and during this period
the husband devotes his whole
attention to his other wives.
To this practice, it is owing, I
presume, that the family of each
wife is seldom very numerous.
Few women have more than
five or six children. As soon
as an infant is able to walk, it
is permitted to run about with
great freedom. The mother is
not over solicitous to preserve
it from slight falls, and other
trifling accidents. A little
practice soon enables a child
to take care of itself, and ex-
perience acts the part of a
nurse. As they advance in life,
the girls are taught to spin cot-
ton and to beat corn, and are
instructed in other domestic
duties, and the boys are em-
ployed in the labours of the
field. Both sexes, whether
bushreens or kafirs, on attain-
ing the age of puberty, are cir-
cumcised. This painful opera-
tion is not considered by the
kafirs so much in the light of a
religious ceremony as a matter
of convenience and utility.
They have, indeed, a superstiti-
ous notion that it contributes
to render the marriage state
prolific. The operation is per-
formed upon several young
people at the same time, all of

PARKS LIFE AND TRA VELS.

519

sexes, whether

whom are exempted from every
sort of labour for two months
afterwards. During this period
they form a society called soli-
mana. They visit the towns
and villages in the neighbour-
hood, where they dance and
sing, and are well treated by
the inhabitants. I had fre-
quently, in the course of my
joumey, observed parties of
this description, but they were
all males. I had, however, an
opportunity of seeing a female
solimana at Kamalia.

In the course of this celebra-
tion, it frequently happens that
some of the young women get
married. If a man takes a
fancy to any one of them, it is
not considered as absolutely
necessary that he should make
an overture to the girl herself.
The first object is to agree with
the parents concerning the
recompence to be given them
for the loss of the company and
services of their daughter. The
value of two slaves is a com-
mon price, unless the girl is
thought very handsome, in
which case the parents will
rai^'e their demand very con-
siderably. If the lover is rich
enough, and willing to give the
sum demanded, he then com-
municates his wishes to the
damsel ; but her consent is by
no means necessary to the
match, for if the parents agree
to it, and eat a few kolla-rmiSy
which are represented by the
suitor as an earnest of the bar-
gain, the young lady must either
have the man of their choice,

or continue unmarried, for she
cannot afterwards be given to
another. If the parents should
attempt it, the lover is then
authorised, by the ^aws of the
country, to seize upon the girl
as his slave. When the day for
celebrating the nuptials is fixed
on, a select number of people
are invited to be present at the
wedding — a bullock or goat is
killed, and great plenty of
victuals is dressed for the oc-
casion. As soon as it is dark,
the bride is conducted into a
hut, where a company of ma-
trons assist in arranging the
wedding-dress, which is always
white cotton, and is put on in
such a manner as to conceal
the bride from head to foot.
Thus arrayed, she is seated
upon a mat in the middle of the
floor, and the old women place
themselves in a circle round
her. They then give her a
series of instructions, and point
out, with great propriety, what
ought to be her future conduct
in life. This scene of instruc-
tion, however, is frequently in-
terrupted by girls, who amuse
the company with songs and
dances, which are rather more
remarkable for their gaiety than
delicacy. While the bride re-
mains within the hut with the
women, the bridegroom devotes
his attention to the guests of
both sexes, who assemble with-
out doors, and by distributing
among them small presents of
koUa-nuts, and seeing that every
one partakes of the good cheer
which is provided, he contri-

■'%m

520

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

butes much to the general
hilarity of the evening. When
supper is ended, the company
spend the remainder of the
night in singing and dancing,
and seldom separate until day-
break. About midnight the
bride is privately conducted by
the women into the hut which
is to be her future residence,
and the bridegroom, upon a
signal given, retires from his
company. The newly-married
couple, however, are always
disturbed towards morning by
the women, who assemble to
inspect the nuptial sheet (ac-
cording to the manners of the
ancient Hebrews, as recorded
in Scripture) and dance round
it. This ceremony is thought
indispensably necessary, nor is
the marriage considered as valid
without it.

The negroes, as hath been
frequently observed, whether
Mohammedan or pagan, allow
a plurality of wives. The Mo-
hammedans alone are by their
religion confined to four, and
as the husband commonly pays
a great price for each, he re-
quires from all of them the ut-
most deference and submission,
and treats them more like
hired servants than companions.
They have, however, the man-
agement of domestic affairs, and
each in rotation is mistress of
the household, and has the
care of dressing the victuals,
overlooking the female slaves,
etc. But though the African
husbands are possessed of great
authority over their wives, 1 1

did not observe that in general
they treat them with cruelty,
neither did I perceive that
mean jealousy in their di: Posi-
tions which is so prevalent
among the Moors. They per-
mit their wives to partake of
all public diversions, and this
indulgence is seldom abused,
for though the negro women are
very cheerful and frank in their
behaviour, they are by no
means given to intrigue — I be-
lieve that instances of conjugal
infidelity are not common.
When the wives quarrel among
themselves, — a circumstance
which, from the nature of their
situation, must frequently hap-
pen, — the husband decides be-
tween them, and sometimes
finds it necessary to administer
a little corporal chastisement
before tranquillity can be re-
stored. But if any one of the
ladies complains to the chief of
the tovvTi that her husband has
unjustly punished her, and
shown an undue partiality to
some other of his wives, the
affair is brought to a public
trial. In these palavers, how-
ever, which are conducted
chiefly by married men, I was
informed that the complaint of
the wife is not always con-
sidered in a very serious light,
and the complainant herself is
sometimes convicted of strife
and contention, and left with-
out remedy. If she murmurs
at the decision of the court, the
magic rod of Mumbo Jumbo
soon puts an end to the business.
The children of the Man-

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS.

521

dingoes are not always named
after their relations, but fre-
quently in consequence of some
remarkable occurrence. Thus
my landlord at Kamalia was
called Karfa^ a word signifying
\ij replace^ because he was born
shortly after the death of one
of his brothers. Other names
are descriptive of good or bad
qualities — as Modi, a. good man;
Fadibba, father of the town, etc.:
indeed, the very names of their
towns have something descrip-
tive in them — as Sibidooloo, the
town of ciboa-trees ; Kenneyeto,
victuals here; Dosita, lift your
spoon. Others appear to be
given by way of reproach — as
BammakoOj wash a crocodile;
Karrankallat no cup to drink
from, etc. A child is named
when it is seven or eight days
old. The ceremony commences
by shaving the infant's head ;
and a dish called dega, made of
pounded com and sour milk, is
prepared for the guests. If the
parents are rich, a sheep or goat
is commonly added. This feast
is called ding koon lee (the child's
head-shaving). During my stay
at Kamalia I was present at
four different feasts of this kind,
and the ceremony was the same
in each, whether the child be-
longed to a bushreen or a kafir.
The schoolmaster, who officiated
as priest on those occasions,
and who is necessarily a bush-
reen, first said a long prayer
over the dega, during which
every person present took hold
of the brim of the calabash
with his right hand. After this,

the schoolmaster took the child
in his arms and said a second
prayer, in which he repeatedly
solicited the blessing of God
upon the child and upon all the
company. When this prayer
was ended, he whispered a few
sentences in the child's ear, and
spat three times in its face,
after which he pronounced its
name aloud, and returned the
infant to the mother.^ This
part of the ceremony being
ended, the father of the child
divided the dega into a number
of balls, one of which he dis-
tributed to every person present;
and inquiry was then made if
any person in the town was
dangerously sick, it being usual
in such cases to send the party
a large portion of the dega,
which is thought to possess
great medical virtues.

Among the negroes every in-
dividual, besides his own proper
name, has likewise a kontong^ or
surname, to denote the family
or clan to which he belongs.
Some of these families are very
numerous and powerful. It is
impossible to enumerate the
various kontongs which are
found in different parts of the
country, though the knowledge
of many of them is of great
service to the traveller ; for as
every negio plumes himself
upon the importance or the anti-
quity of his clan, he is much
flattered when he is addressed
by his kontong.

1 Soon after baptism the children are
marked in different pnrts of the skin, in a
manner resembling what is called tattooing
in the South Sea Islands.

< '!

; •-- ;:< -1 ■; *

.:>: ' %

522

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

Salutations among the negroes
to each other, when they meet,
are always observed, but those
in most general use among the
kafirs are, Abbe haeretto^ E ning
seni^ Anawari^ etc., all of which
have nearly the same meaning,
and signify *Are you well?'
or to that effect. There are
likewise salutations which are
used at different times of the
day — as E ning somo (* Good
morning'), etc. The general
answer to all salutations is to
repeat the kontong of the per-
son who salutes, or else to re-
peat the salutation itself, first
pronouncing the word Marhaba
('My friend').

CHAPTER XXI.

The Mandingoes, and, I be-
lieve, the negroes in general,
have no artificial method of
dividing time. They calculate
the years by the number of
rainy seasons. They portion
the year into inoons^ and reckon
the days by so many suns. The
day they divide into morning,
mid-day, and evening ; and far-
ther subdivide it, when neces-
sary, by pointing to the sun's
place in the heavens. I fre-
quently inquired of some of
them what became of the sun
during the night, and whether
we should see the same sun,
or a different one, in the morn-
ing ; but I found that they con-
sidered the question as very
childish. The subject appeared

to them as placed beyond the
reach of human investigation—
they had never indulged a con-
jecture, nor formed any hypo-
thesis, about the matter. The
moon, by varying her form, has
more attracted their attention.
On the first appearance of the
new moon, which they look
upon to be newly created, the
pagan natives, as well as Mo-
hammedans, say a short prayer-
and this seems to be the only
visible adoration n^hich the
kafirs offer up to the Supreme
Being. This prayer is pro-
nounced in a whisper— the
party holding up his hands
before his face : its purport
(as I have been assured by
many different people) is to
return thanks to God for His
kindness through the existence
of the past moon, and to solicit
a continuation of His favour
during that of the new one. At
the conclusion they spit upon
their hands, and rub them over
their faces. This seems to
be nearly the same ceremony
which prevailed among the hea-
thens in the days of Job.^

Great attention, however, is
paid to the changes of this
luminary in its monthly course,
and it is thought very unlucky
to begin a journey, or any other
work of consequence, in the 'ast
quarter. An eclipse, whether
of the sun or moon, is supposed
to be effected by witchcraft.
The stars are very little re-
garded; and the whole study
of astronomy appears to them

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS.

523

same ceremony
d among the hea-
lys of Job.^
tion, however, is
changes of this
monthly course,
ht very unludy
aey, or any other
uence, in the ^ast
eclipse, whether
loon, is supposed
by witchcraft.
I very little re-
the whole study
appears to them

as a useless pursuit, and at-
tended to by such persons only
as deal in magic.

Their notions of geography
are equally puerile. They ima-
gine that the world is an ex-
tended plain, the termination
of which no eye has discovered
-it being, they say, overhung
with clouds and darkness.
They describe the sea as a
large river of salt water, on the
fartiier shore of which is situated
a country called Tobaubo doo
(the land of the white people).
At a distance from Tobaubo
doo, they describe another
country, which they allege as
inhabited by cannibals of gi-
gantic size, called komi. This
countr> they caliyi?«^ sang doo
(the land where the slaves are
sold). But of all countries in
the world their own appears to
them as the best, and their
own people as the happiest;
and they pity the fate of other
nations, who have been placed
by Providence in less fertile
and less fortunate districts.

Some of the religious opinions
of the negroes, though blended
with the weakest credulity and
superstition, are not unworthy
attention. I have conversed
with all ranks and conditions
upon the subject of their faith,
and can pronounce, without the
smallest shadow of doubt, that
the belief of one God, and of a
future state of reward and pun-
ishment, is entire and universal
among them. It is remarkable,
however, that except on the ap-
pearance of a new moon, as be-

fore related, the pagan natives
do not think it necessary to
offer up prayers and supplica-
tions to the Almighty. They
represent the Deity, indeed, as
the creator and preserver of all
things ; but in genc'al they
consider Him as a being so
remote, and of so exalted a
nature, that \% is idle to ima-
gine the feeble supplications
of wretched mortals can reverse
the decrees and change the
purposes of unerring wisdom.
If they are asked, for what
reason then do they offer up a
prayer on the appearance of
the new moon, the answer is,
that custom has made it neces-
sary — they do it because their
fathers did it before them.
Such is the blindness of unas-
sisted nature! The concerns
of this world, they believe, are
committed by the Almighty to
the superintendence and direc-
tion of subordinate spirits, over
whom they suppose that certain
magical ceremonies have great
influence. A white fowl, sus-
pended to the branch of a par-
ticular tree, a snake's head, or
a few handfuls of fruit, are offer-
ings which ignorance and super-
stition frequently present, to
deprecate the wrath, or to con-
ciliate the favour, of these tute-
lary agents. But it is not often
that the negroes make their
religious opinions the subject
of conversation : when interro-
gated, in particular, concerning
their ideas of a future state,
they express themselves with
great reverence, but endeavour

ill .,

'U\

:i.''il

524

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

to shorten the discussion by
observing, Mo o mo inta alio
(* No man knows anything
about it'). They are content,
they say, to follow the precepts
and examples of their fore-
fathers, through the various
vicissitudes of life ; and when
this world presents no objects
of enjoyment or of comfort,
they seem to look with anxiety
towards another, which they
believe will be better suited to
their natures, but concerning
which they are far from indulg-
ing vain and delusive conjec-
tures.

The Mandingoes seldom at-
tain extreme old age. At
forty, most of them become
grey-haired and covered with
wrinkles, and but few of them
survive the age of fifty-five or
sixty. They calculate the years
of their lives, as I have already
observed, by the number of
rainy seasons (there being but
one such in the year), and dis-
tinguish each year by a parti-
cular name, founded on some
remarkable occurrence which
happened in that year. Thus,
they say, the year of the Far-
bamia war — the year of the
Kaarta war — the year on which
Gadou was -^hmderedf etc. etc. ;
and I have no doubt that the
year 1796 will in many places
be distinguished by the name
of tobaubo tambi sang (the year
the white man passed), as such
an occurrence would naturally
form an epoch in their tradi-
tional history.

But notwithstanding that

longevity is uncommon among
them, it appeared to me that
their diseases are but few in
number. Their simple diet
and active way of life, preserve
them from many of those dis-
orders which embitter the days
of luxury and idleness. Fevers
and fluxes are the most com-
mon and the most fatal. For
these they generally apply
saphies to different parts of the
body, and perform a great many
other superstitious ceremonies
— some of which are indeed well
calculated to inspire the patient
with the hope of recovery, and
divert his mind from brooding
over his own danger — but I
have sometimes observed among
them a more systematic mode
of treatment. On the first at-
tack of a fever, when the patient
complains of cold, he is fre-
quently placed in a sort of
vapour bath. This is done by
spreading branches of the mu-
ilea orientalis upon hot wood
embers, and laying the patient
upon them wrapped up in a large
cotton cloth. Water is then
sprinkled upon the branches,
which descending to the hot
embers, soon covers the pa-
tient with a cloud of vapour, in
which he is allowed to remain
until the embers are almost
extinguished. This practice
commonly produces a profuse
perspiration, and wonderfully
relieves the sufferer.

For the dysentery, they use
the bark of different trees re-
duced to powder, and mixed
with the patient's food; but

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS.

525

this practice is in general very
unsuccessful.

The other diseases which
prevail among the negroes are
the^'tfWJ, the elephantiasis^ and
a leprosy of the very worst kind.
This last-mentioned complaint
appears at the beginning in
scurfy spots upon different parts
of the body, which finally settle
upon the hands or feet, where
the skin becomes withered, and
cracks in many places. At
length the ends of the fingers
swell and ulcerate, the discharge
is acrid and fetid, the nails drop
off, and the bones of the fingers
become carious, and separate at
the joints. In this manner the
disease continues to spread, fre-
quently until the patient loses
all his fingers and toes. Even
the hands and feet are some-
times destroyed by this inve-
terate malady, to which the
negroes give the name of balla
ou (incurable).

The guif tea worm As likewise
very common in certain places,
especially at the commence-
ment of the rainy season. The
negroes attribute this disease,
which has been described by
many writers, to bad water, and
allege that the people who drink
from wells are more subject to
it than those who drink from
streams. To the same cause
they attribute the swelling of
the glands of the neck {goitres),
which are very common in some
parts of Bambarra. I observed
also, in the interior countries, a
few instances of simple gonor-
rksa. but never the confirmed

iues. On the whole, it appeared
to me that the negroes are better
surgeons than physicians. I
found them very successful in
their management of fractures
and dislocations, and their
splints and bandages are simple
and easily removed. The pa-
tient is laid upon a soft mat,
and the fractured limb is fre-
quently bathed with cold wa-
ter. AH abscesses they open
with the actual cautery, and
the dressings are composed of
either soft leaves, shea butter,
or cow's dung, as the case seems,
in their judgment, to require.
Towards the coast, where a
supply of European lancets can
be procured, they sometimes
perform phlebotomy, and in
cases of local inflammation a
curious sort of cuppin;* is prac-
tised. This operation is per-
forined by making incisions in
the part, and applying to it a
bullock's horn, with a small
hole in the end. The operator
then takes a piece of bees' wax
in his mouth, and putting his
lips to the hole, extracts the air
from the horn, and, by a dexter-
ous use of his tongue, stops up
the hole with the wax. This
method is found to answer the
purpose, and in general pro-
duces a plentiful discharge.

When a person of conse-
quence dies, the relations and
neighbours meet together, and
manifest their sorrow by loud
and dismal bowlings. A bullock
or goat is killed for such per-
sons as come to assist at the
funeral, which generally takes

iiRltl ii 1 ^2 ■.!

526

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

place in the evening of the same
day on which the party died.
The negroes have no appro-
priate burial-places, and fre-
quently dig the grave in the
floor of the deceased's hut, or
in the shade of a favourite tree.
The body is dressed in white
cotton, and wrapped up in a
mat. It is carried to the grave,
in the dusk of the evening, by
the relations. If the grave is
without the walls of the town,
a number of prickly bushes are
laid upon it to prevent the
wolves from digging up the
body; but I never observed
that any stone was placed over
the grave as a monument or
memorial.

Of their music and dances,
some account has incidentally
been given in different parts of
my journal. On the first of
these heads, I have now to add
a list of their musical instru-
ments, the principal of which
are — the koonting^ a sort of
guitar with three strings; the
korro^ a large harp with eighteen
strings ; the simbing^ a small
harp with seven strings ; the
balafou^ an instrument com-
posed of twenty pieces of hard
wood of different lengths, with
the shells of gourds hung under-
neath to increase the sound ;
the tangiangi a drum, open at
the lower end ; and, lastly, the
tabala^ a large drum, commonly
used to spread an alarm through
the country. Besides these,
they make use of small flutes,
bow-strings, elephants' teeth,
and bells ; and at all their

dances and concerts, clappimx
of hands appears to consti-
tute a necessary part of the'
chorus.

With the love of music is I
naturally connected a taste for
poetry ; and fortunately for the I
poets of Africa, they are in a I
great measure exempted from
that neglect and indigence
which in more polished countries
commonly attend the votaries
of the Muses. They consist of |
two classes ; the most numerous
are the singing tnen^ calkd Jii/i
kea^ mentioned in a former part
of my narrative. One or more
of these may be found in every
town. They sing extempore
songs in honour of their chief
men, or any other persons who
are willing to give * solid pud-
ding for empty praise.' But a
nobler part of their office is to
recite the historical events of
their, country: hence, in war
they accompany the soldiers to
the field, in order, by reciting
the great actions of their an-
cestors, to awaken in them a
spirit of glorious emulation.
The other class are devotees of
the Mohammedan faith, who
travel about the country sing-
ing devout hymns, and perform-
ing religious ceremonies, to
conciliate the favour of the
Almighty, either in averting
calamity or insuring success to
any enterprise. Both descrip-
tions of these itinerant bards
are much employed and re-
spected by the people, and very
liberal contributions are made
for them.

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS.

527

The usual diet of the negroes
issomewhat different in different
districts ; in general, the people
of free condition breakfast about
daybreak upon gruel made of
meal and water, with a little of
the fruit of the tamarind to give
it an acid taste. About two
o'clock in the afternoon, a sort
of hasty-pudding, with a little
shea butter, is the common
meal; but the supper consti-
tutes the principal repast, and
is seldom ready before mid-
night. This consists almost
universally of kouskous, with a
small portion of animal food or
shea butter mixed with it In
eating, the kafirs, as well as
Mohammedans, use the right
hand only.

The beverages of the pagan ne-
groes are beer and mead, of each
of which they frequently drink
to excess. The Mohammedan
convert drinks nothing but
water. The natives of all de-
scriptions take snuff and smoke
tobacco ; their pipes are made
of wood, with an earthen bowl
of curious workmanship. But
in the interior countries the
greatest of all luxuries is salt.
It would appear strange to a
European to see a child suck a
piece of rock-salt as if it were
sugar. This, however, I have
frequently seen, although, in
the inland parts, the poorer
class of inhabitants are so very
rarely indulged with this pre-
cious article, that to say a man
eats salt with his victuals^ is the
same as saying, he is a rich man.
I have myself suffered great in-

convenience from the scarcity
of this article. The long use
of vegetable food creates so
painful a longing for salt, that
no words can sufficiently de-
sdribe it.

The negroes in general, and
the Mandingoes in particular,
are considered by the whites on
the coast as an indolent and
inactive people, I think, with-
out reason. The nature of the
climate is, indeed, unfavourable
to great exertion ; but surely a
people cannot justly be denomi-
nated habitually indolent whose
wants are supplied, not by the
spontaneous productions of
nature, but by their own exer-
tions. Few people work harder,
when occasion requires, than
the Mandingoes ; but not hav-
ing many opportunities of turn-
ing to advantage the super-
fluous produce of their labour,
they are content with cultivat-
ing as much ground only as is
necessary for their own support.
The labours of the field give
them pretty full employment
during the rains ; and in the
dry season, the people who
live in the vicinity of large
rivers employ themselves in
fishing. The fish are taken in
wicker baskets, or with small
cotton nets, and are preserved
by being first dried in the sun,
and afterwards rubbed with
shea butter, to prevent them
from contracting fresh moisture.
Others of the natives employ
themselves in hunting. Their
weapons are bows and arrows ;
but the arrows in common use

1. >; k ■

528

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

are not poisoned.^ They are
very dexterous marksmen, and
will hit a lizard on a tree,
or any otiicr small olject, at
an amazing distance. They
likewise kill guinea-fowls, par-
tridges, and pigeons, but never
on the wing. While the men
are occupied in these pursuits,
the women are very diligent in
manufacturing cotton cloth.
They prepare the cotton for
spinning by laying it in small
quantities at a time upon a
smooth stone or piece of wood,
and rolling the seeds out with
a thick iron spindle ; and they
spin it with the distaff. The
thread is not fine, but well
twisted, and makes a very dur-
able cloth. A woman with
common diligence will spin
from six to nine garments of
this cloth in one year, which,
according to its fineness, will
sell for a minkalli and a-half,
or two minkallies each." The
weaving is performed by the
men. The loom is made ex-
actly upon the same principle
as that of Europe, but so small
and narrow, that the web is
seldom more than four inches
broad. The shuttle is of the

^ Poisoned arrows are used chiefly in war.
The poison, which is said to be very deadly,
is prepared from a shrub called koona (a
species of echites), which is very common
in the woods. The leaves of this shrub,
when boiled with a small quantity of water,
yield a thick black juice, into which the
negroes dip a cotton thread : this thread
^ey fasten round the iron of the arrow in
sucn a manner that it is almost impossible
to extract the arrow when it has sunk be-
yond the barbs, without leaving the iron
point and the poisoned thread in the
wound.

' A minkalli is a quantity of gold nearly
equal in value to ten shillings sterling.

common construction, but as
the thread is coarse, the cham-
ber is somewhat larger than
the European.

The women dye this cloth of
a rich and lasting blue colour,
by the following simple pro-
cess: — The leaves of the in-
digo, when fresh gathered, are
pounded in a wooden mortar,
and mixed in a large earthen
jar, with a strong ley of wood
ashes ; chamber-ley is some-
times added. The cloth is
steeped in this mixture, and
allowed to remain until it has
acquired the proper shade. In
Kaarta and Ludamar, where
the indigo is not plentiful, they
collect the leaves and dry them
in the sun ; and when they
wish to use them, they reduce a
sufficient quantity to powder,
and mix it with the ley as be-
fore mentioned. Either way
the colour is very beautiful,
with a fine purple gloss, and
equal, in my opinion, to the
best Indian or European blue.
This cloth is cut into various
pieces, and sewed into gar-
ments with needles of the na-
tives' own making.

As the arts of weaving, dye-
ing, sewing, etc., may easily be
acquired, those who exercise
them are not considered in
Africa as following any parti-
cular profession, for almost
every slave can weave, and
every boy can sew. The only
artists who are distinctly ac-
knowledged as such by the
negroes, and who value them-
selves on exercising appropriate

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS,

5*9

ami peculiar trades, are the ma-
nufacturers of leather and of
iron. The first of these arc
called karrankea (or, as the
word is sometimes pronounced,
^aungay). They are to be found
in almost every town, and they
frequently travel through the
country in the exercise of their
ailing. They tan and dress
leather with very great expedi-
tion, by steeping the hide first
in a mixture of wood-ashes and
water until it parts with the
hair, and afterwards by using
the pounded leaves of a tree
called goo as an astringent.
They are at great pains to
render the hide as soft and
pliant as possible, by rubbing it
frequently between their hands,
and beating it upon a stone.
The hides of bullocks are con-
verted chiefly into sandals, and
therefore require less care in
dressing than the skins of sheep
and goats, which are used for
covering quivers and saphies,
and in making sheaths for
swords and knives, belts, pock-
ets, and a variety of ornaments.
These skins commonly are dyed
of a red or yellow colour — the
red, by means of millet stalks
reduced to powder, and the
yellow, by the root of a plant
the name of which I have for-
gotten.

The manufacturers in iron
are not so numerous as the
krrankeaSf but they appear to
have studied their business with
equal diligence. The negroes
on the ccast being cheaply sup-
plied with iron from the Euro-

pean traders, never attempt the
manufacturing of this article
themselves ; but in the inland
parts, the natives smelt this
useful metal in such quantities,
as not only to supply them-
selves from it with all necessary
weapons and instruments, but
even to make it an article of
commerce with some of the
neighbouring states. During
my stay at Kamalia, there was
a smelting furnace at a short
distance from the hut where I
lodged, and the owner and his
workmen made no secret about
the manner of conducting the
operation, and readily allowed
me to examine the furnace, and
assist them in breaking the iron-
stone. The furnace was a circu-
lar tower of clay, about ten feet
high and three feet in diameter,
surrounded in two places with
withes, to prevent the clay from
cracking and falling to pieces
by the violence of the heat.
Round the lower part, on a
level with the ground (but not
so low as the bottom of the
furnace, which was somewhat
concave), were made seven
openings, into every one of
which were placed three tubes
of clay, and the openings again
plastered up in such a manner
that no air could enter the
furnace but through the tubes,
by the opening and shutting of
which they regulated the fire. ^
These tubes were formed by
plastering a mixture of clay and
grass round a smooth roller of
wood, which, as soon as the
clay began to harden, was with-

2 L

.it-

■J

530

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

drawn, and the tube left to dry
in the sun. The ironstone which
I saw was very heavy, of a dull
red colour, with greyish specks ;
it was broken into pieces about
the size ofa hen's egg. A bundle
of dry wood was first put into
the furnace, and covered with
a considerable quantity of char-
coal, which was brought, ready
burnt, from the woods. Over
this was laid a stratum of iron-
stone, and then another of
charcoal, and so on, until the
furnace was quite foil. The
fire was applied through one
of the tubes, and blown for
some time with -'bellows made
of goats' skins. The operation
went on very slowly at first,
and it was some hours before
the flame appeared above the
fornace ; but after this, it burnt
with great violence all the first
night, and the people who at-
tended put in at times more
charcoal. On > the day follow-
ing the fire was not so fierce,
and on the second night some
of the tubes were withdrawn,
and the air allowed to have
freer access to the furnace ; but
the heat was still very great, and
a bluish flame rose some feet
above the top of the furnace.
On the third day from the com-
mencement of the operation,
all the tubes were taken out,
the ends of many of them being
vitrified with the heat ; but the
metal \ /as not removed until
some days afterwards, when the
whole was perfectly cool. Part
of the furnace was then taken
down, and the iron appeared in

the form of a large irregular
mass, with pieces of charcoal
adhering to it. It was sonor-
ous ; and when any portion was
broken off, the fracture exhibited
a granulated appearance, like I
broken steel. The owner in-
formed me that many parts ofl
this cake were useless, but still f
there was good iron enough to
repay him for his trouble. This
iron, or rather steel, is formed I
into various instruments by be-
ing repeatedly heated in a forge,!
the heat of which is urged by a
pair of double bellows of a very!
simple construction, being made
of two goats' skins, the tubes
from which unite before they
enter the forge, and supply al
constant and very regular blast.
The hammer, forceps, and anvil I
are all very simple, and the
workmanship (particularly in I
the formation of knives and
spears) is not destitute of merit.
The iron, indeed, is hard and
brittle, and requires much la-
bour before it can be made to I
answer the purpose.

Most of the African black- 1
smiths are acquainted also with
the method of smelting gold, in|
which process they use an alka-
line salt obtained from a ley ofl
burnt corn-stalks evaporated to]
dryness. They likewise draw
the gold into wire, and form it|
into a variety of ornaments,
some of which are executed i
with a great deal of taste andj
ingenuity.

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS.

531

I large irregular I
ices of charcoal!
It was sonor-
lany portion was I
fracture exhibited
appearance, like!

The owner in-
at many parts ofl

useless, butstilll
d iron enough to
his trouble. This
: steel, is formed]
istruments bybe-
heatedinaforgeJ
lich is urged by a
bellows of a very
iction, being made

skins, the tubes
unite before they
ge, and supply a|
very regular blast.
forceps, and anvil I
simple, and the

(particularly in
of knives and
destitute of merit,
leed, is hard and
equires much la-
t can be made to

CHAPTER XXII.

A STATE of subordination, and
certain inequalities of rank and
condition, are inevitable in
every stage of civil society ;
but when the subordination is
carried to so great a length that
the persons and services of one
part of the community are en-
tirely at the disposal of another
part, it may then be denomi-
nated a state of slavery, and in
this condition of life, a great
body of the negro inhabitants
of Africa have continued from
the most early period of their
history, with this aggravation,
that their children are bom to
no other inheritance.

The slaves in Africa, I sup-
pose, are nearly in the proportion
of three to one to the freemen.
They claim no reward for their
services except food and cloth-
ing, and are treated with kind-
ness or severity, according to
the good or bad disposition of
their masters. Custom, how-
ever, has established certain rules
with regard to the treatment of
slaves, which it is thought dis-
honourable to violate. Thus,
the domestic slaves, or such as
are bom in a man's own house,
are treated with more lenity
than those which are purchased
with money. The authority of
the master over the domestic
slave, as I have elsewhere ob-
served, extends only to reason-
able correction ; for the master
cannot sell his domestic, with-
out having first brought him to

a public trial before the chief
men of the place. But these
restrictions on the power of the
master extend not to the case
of prisoners taken in war, nor
to that of slaves purchased with
money. All these unfortunate
beings are considered as stran-
gers and foreigners, who have
no right to the protection of the
law, and may be treated with
severity, or sold to a stranger,
according to the pleasure of
their owners. There are, in
deed, regular markets, where
slaves of this description are
bought and sold, and the value
of a slave, in the eye of an
African purchaser, increases in
proportion to his distance from
his native kingdom; for when
slaves are only a few days' jour-
ney from the place of their na-
tivity, they frequently effect
their escape, but when one or
more kingdoms intervene, es-
cape being more difficult, they
are more readily reconciled to
their situation. On this account,
the unhappy slave is frequently
transferred from one dealer to
another, until he has lost all
hopes of returning to his native
kingdom. The slaves which
are purchased by the Europeans
on the coast are chiefly of this
description. A few of them are
collected in the petty wars,
hereafter to be described, which
take place near the coast, but
by far the greater number are
brought down in large caravans
from the inland countries, of
which many are unknown, even
by name, to the Europeans.

ill

■III

M^m

it i,

53^

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

The slaves which are thus
brought from the interior may
be divided into two distinct
classes — first, such as were
slaves from their birth, having
been born of enslaved mothers ;
secondly, such as were born
free, but who afterwards, by
whatever means, became slaves.
Those of the first description
are by far the most numerous,
for prisoners taken in war (at
least such as are taken in open
and declared war, when one
kingdom avows hostilities
against another) are generally
of this description. The com-
paratively small proportion of
free people to the enslaved
throughout Africa has already
been noticed ; and it must be
observed, that men of free con-
dition have many advantages
over the slaves, even in war
time. They are in general
better armed, and well mounted,
and can either fight or escape
with some hopes of success;
but the slaves, who have only
their spears and bows, and of
whom great numbers are loaded
with baggage, become an easy
prey. Thus, when Mansong,
king of Bambarra, made war
upon Kaarta (as I have related
in a former chapter), he took in
one day nine hundred prisoners,
of which number not more than
seventy were freemen. This
account I received from Daman
Jumma, who had thirty slaves
at Kemmoo, all of whom were
made prisoners by Mansong.
Again, when a freeman is taken
prisoner, his friends will some-

times ransom him, by givini,'
two slaves in exchange ; but
when a slave is taken, he has
no hopes of such redemption.
To these disadvantages, it is to
be added, that the slatees, who
purchase slaves in the interior
countries, and carry them down
to the coast for sale, constantly
prefer such as have been in
that condition of life from their
infancy, well knowing that these
have been accustomed to hun-
ger and fatigue, and are better
able to sustain the hardships of
a long and painful journey than
freemen ; and on their reachint;
the coast, if no opportunitv
offers of selling them to ad-
vantage, they can easily be
made to maintain themselves
by their labour; neither are
they so apt to attempt making
their escape, as those who have
once tasted the blessings of
freedom.

Slaves of the second descrip-
tion generally become such by
one or other of the following
causes: — i. captivity; 2. fa-
mine ; 3. insolvency ; 4. crimes.
A freeman may, by the estab-
lished customs of Africa, become
a slave, by being taken in war.
War is of all others the most
productive source, and was pro-
bably the origin, of slavery, for
when one nation had taken from
another a greater number of
captives than could be ex-
changed on equal terms, it is
natural to suppose that the con-
querors, finding it inconveni-
ent to maintain their prisoners,
would compel them to labour

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS.

533

-at first, perhaps, only for their
own support, but afterwards to
support their masters. Be this
as It may, it is a known fact,
that prisoners of war in Africa
are the slaves of the conquerors ;
and when the weak or unsuc
cessful warrior begs for mercy
beneath the uplifted spear of
his opponent, he gives up at
the same time his claim to
liberty, and purchases his life
at the expense of his freedom.

In a country divided into a
thousand petty states, mostly
independent and jealous of each
other, where every freeman is
accustomed to arms, and fond
of military achievements, where
the youth who has practised
the bow and spear from his
infancy, longs for nothing so
much as an opportunity to dis-
play his valour, it is natural to
imagine that wars frequently
originate from very frivolous
provocation. When one nation
is more powerful than another,
a pretext is seldom wanting for
commencing hostilities. Thus,
the war between Kajaaga and
Kasson was occasioned by the
detention of a fugitive slave;
that between Bambarra and
Kaarta by the loss of a few
cattle. Other cases of the same
nature perpetually occur, in
which the folly or mad ambition
of their princes, and the zeal of
their religious enthusiasts, give
full employment to the scythe
of desolation.

The wars of Africa are of
two kinds, which are distin-
guished by different appella-

tions : that species which bears
the greatest resemblance to our
European contests is denomi-
natecl killiy a word signifying * to
call out,* because such wars are
openly avowed and previously
declared. Wars of this descrip-
tion in Africa commonly ter-
minate, however, in the course
of a single campa'^n . A battle
is fought — the vaii^aished sel-
dom think of rallymg again —
the whole inhabitants become
panic-struck — and the conquer-
ors have only to bind the slaves,
and carry off their plunder and
their victims. Such of the
prisoners as, through age or
infirmity, are unable to endure
fatigue, or are found unfit for
sale, are considered as useless,
and, I have no doubt, are
frequently put to death. The
s-^me fate commonly awaits a
chief, or any other person who
has taken a very distinguished
part in the war. And here it
may be observed that, notwith-
standing this exterminating sys-
tem, it is surprising to behold
how soon an African town is
rebuilt and repeopled. The
circumstance arises probably
from this : that their pitched
battles are few — the weakest
know their own situation, and
seek safety in flight. When
their country has been desolated,
and their ruined towns and vil-
lages deserted by the enemy,
such of the inhabitants as have
escaped the s7vordand the c/tatA.
generally return, though with
cautious steps, to the place of
their nativity —for it seems to be

■iifi

i¥p-

! wfr.

hi i

534

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

the universal wish of mankind to
spend the evening of their days
where they passed their infancy.
The poor negro feels this de-
sire in its full force. To him no
water is sweet but what is drawn
from his own well, and no tree
has so cool and pleasant a shade
as the tabba tree* of his native
village. When war compels
him to abandon the delightful
spot in which he first drew his
breath, and seek for safety in
some other kingdom, his time
is spent in talking about the
country of his ancestors ; and
no sooner is peace restored
than he turns his back upon
the land of strangers, rebuilds
with haste his fallen walls, and
exults to see the smoke ascend
from his native village.

The other species of African
warfare is distinguished by the
appellation oiiegria (plundering
or stealing). It arises from a
sort of hereditary feud, which
the inhabitants of one nation or
district bear towards another.
No immediate cause of hostility
is assigned, or notice of attack
given, but the inhabitants of
each watch every opportunity
to plunder and distress the
objects of their animosity by
predatory excursions. These
are very common, particularly
about the beginning of the
dry season, when the labour of
the harvest is over, and provi-
sions are plentiful. Schemes of
vengeance are then meditated.
The chief man surveys the

1 This is a large spreading tree (a species
of sterculid] under which the bentang is
commonly placed.

number and activity of his
vassals, as they brandish their
spears at festivals, and, elated
with his own importance, turns
his whole thoughts towards re-
venging some depredation or
insult, which either he or his
ancestors may have received
from a neighbouring state.

Wars of this description are
generally conducted with great
secrecy. A few resolute indi-
viduals, headed by some person
of enterprise and courage, march
quietly through the woods, sur-
prise JO. the night some unpro-
tected village, and carry off the
inhabitants and their effects,
before their neighbours can
come to their assistance. One
morning during my stay at
Kamalia, we were all much
alarmed by a party of this kind.
The king of Fooladoo's son,
with five; hundred horsemen,
passed secre*:ly through the
woods, u little to the southward
of Kamalia and on the morn-
ing following plundered three
towns belonging to Madigai,
a powerful chief in Jallonka-
doo.

The success of this expedi-
toin encouraged the governor of
Bangassi, a town in Fooladoo,
to make a second inroad upon
another part of the same
country. Having assembled
about two hundred of his
people, he passed the river
Kokoro in the night, and car-
ried off a great number of|
prisoners. Several of the in-
habitants who had escaped
these attacks were afterwards

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS,

535

H("i

activity of his
ley brandish their
tivals, and, elated
importance, turns
oughts towards re-
e depredation or
either he or his
ly have received
Douring state,
lis description are
ducted with great
few resolute indi-
ed by some person
ind courage, march
^h the woods, sur-
light some unpro-
, and carry off the
and their effects,

neighbours can
: assistance. One
ring my stay at
; were all much
, party of this kind,
f Fooladoo's son,
undred horsemen,
s^^^ly through the
e to the southward
and on the mora-
; plundered three
iging to Madigai,
chief in Jallonka-

seized by the Mandingoes, as
they wandered about in the
woods, or concealed themselves
in the glens and strong places
of the mountains.

These plundering excursions
always produced speedy retalia-
tion; and when large parties
cannot be collected for this
purpose, a few friends will com-
bine together and advance into
the enemy's country, with a
view to plunder or carry ©ff the
inhabitants. A single indi-
vidual has been known to take
his bow and quiver and pro-
ceed in like manner. Such an
attempt is doubtless in him an
act of rashness ; but when it is
considered that in one of these
predatory wars he has probably
been deprived of his child or
his nearest relation, his situa-
tion will rather call for pity
than censure. The poor suf-
ferer, urged on by the feelings
of domestic or paternal attach-
ment, and the ardour of re-
venge, conceals himself among
the bushes, until some young or
unarmed person passes by. He
then, tiger-like, springs upon
his prey, drags his victim into
the thicket, and in the night
carries him off as a slave.

When a negro has, by means
like these, once fallen into the
hands of his enemies, he is
either retained as the slave of
his conqueror, or bartered into
a distant kingdom ; for an Afri-
can, when he has once subdued
his enemy, will seldom give
him an opportunity of lifting
up his hand against him at a

future period. A conqueror
commonly disposes of his cap-
tives according to the rank
which they held in their native
kingdom. Such of the domes-
tic slaves as appear to be of a
mild disposition, and particu-
larly the young women, are re-
tained as his own slaves.
Others that display marks of
discontent, arc disposed of in a
distant country; and such of
the freemen or slaves as have
taken an active part in the war,
are either sold to the slatees,
or put to death. War, there-
fore, is certainly the most
general and most productive
source of slavery, and the de-
solations of war often (Jjut not
always) produce the second
cause of slavery, famine ; in
which case a fre^nan becomes
a slave to avoid a greater
calamity.

Perhaps, by a philosophic
and reflecting mind, death it-
self would scarcely be con-
sidered as a greater calamity
than slavery ; but the poor
negro, when fainting with hun-
ger, thinks like Esau of old,
* Behold, I am at the point to
die, and what profit shall this
birthright do to mel' There
are many instances of freemen
voluntarily surrendering up their
liberty to save their lives.
During a great scarcity which
lasted for three years, in the
countries of the Gambia, great
numbers of people became
slaves in this manner. Dr.
Laidley assured me that at that
time many free men came and

^1 >i

S3<5

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

begged, with great earnestness,
to be put upon his slave-chain, to
save them from perishing of
hunger. Large families are
very often exposed to absolute
want ; and as the parents have
almost unlimited authority over
their children, it frequently
happens, in all parts of Africa,
that some of the latter are sold
to purchase provisions for the
rest of the family. When I was
at Jarra, Daman Jumma pointed
out to me three young slaves
whom he had purchased in this
manner. I have already related
another instance which I saw
at Wonda ; and I was informed
that in Fooladoo, at that time,
it was a very common prac-
tice.

The third cause of slavery is
insolvency. Of all the offences
(if insolvency may be so called)
to which the laws of Africa
have affixed the punishment of
slavery, this is the most com-
mon. A negro trader com-
monly contracts debts on some
mercantile speculation, either
from his neighbours, to pur-
chase such articles as will sell
to advantage in a distant mar-
ket, or from the European
traders on the coast — payment
to be made in a given time.
In both cases, the situation of
the adventurer is exactly the
same. If he succeeds, he may
secure an independency : if he
is unsuccessful, his person and
services are at the disposal of
another ; for in Africa, not only
the effects of the insolvent, but
even the insolvent himself, is

sold to satisfy the lawful de-
mands of his creditors .1

The fourth cause above enu-
merated is, the commission of
crimes on which the laws of the
country affix slavery as a punish-
ment. In Africa, the only
offences of this class are mur-
der, adultery, and witchcraft,
and I am happy to say that
they did not appear to me to be
common. In cases of murder,
I was informed that the nearest
relation of the deceased had it
in his power, after conviction,
either to kill the offender with
his own hand, or sell him into
slavery. When adultery occurs,
it is generally left to the option
of the person injured either to
sell the culprit, or accept such
a ransom for him as he may
think equivalent to the injury
he has sustained. By witch-
craft is meant pretended magic,
by which the lives or healths of
persons are affected ; in other
words, it is the administering
of poison. No trial for this
offence, however, came under

1 When a neero takes up goods on credit
from any of the Europeans on the coast,
and does not make payment at the time
appointed, the European is authorised by the
laws of the country to seize upon the debtor
himself, if he can find him, or, if he cannot
be found, on any person of his family ; or, in
the last resort, on any native of tht iami
kingdom. The person thus seized on. is
detained, while his friends are sent in quest
of the debtor. When he is found, a meeting
is called of the chief people of the place, and
the debtor is compelled to ransom his friend
by fulfilling his engagements.^ If he is
unable to do this, his person is immediately
secured and sent down to the coast, and the
other released. If the debtor cannot be
found, the person seized on is obliged to

Eay double the amount of the debt, or is
imself sold into slavery. I was given to
understand, however, that this part of the
law is seldom enforced.

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELSi

537

my observation while I was in
Africa, and I therefore suppose
that the crime and its punish -
irent occur but very seldom.

When a free man has become
aslave by any one of the causes
before mentioned, he generally
continues so for life, and his
children (if they are born
of an enslaved mother) are
brought up in the same state
of servitude. There are, how-
ever, a few instances of slaves
obtaining their freedom, and
sometimes even with the con-
sent of their masters, as by
performing some singular piece
of service, or by going to battle
and bringing home two slaves
as a ransom ; but the common
way of regaining freedom is by
escape, and when slaves have
once set their minds on
running away, they often suc-
ceed. Some of them will wait
for years before an opportunity
presents itself, and during that
period show no signs of discon-
tent. In general, it may be
remarked, that slaves who come
from a hilly country, and have
been much accustomed to hunt-
ing and travel, are more apt to
attempt to make their escape
than such as are bom in a flat
country, and have been em-
ployed in cultivating the land.

Such are the general outlines
of that system of slavery which
prevails in Africa, and it is evi-
dent, from its nature and extent,
that it is a system of no modern
date. It probably had its origin
in the remote ages of antiquity,
before the Mohammedans ex-

plored a path across the desert.
How far it is maintained and
supported by the slave traffic,
which, for two hundred years,
the nations of Europe have
carried on with the natives of
the coast, it is neither within
my province nor in my power
to explain. If my sentiments
should be required concerning
the effect which a discontinu-
ance of that commerce would
produce on the manners of the
natives, I should have no hesi-
tation in observing that, in the
present unenlightened state of
their minds, my opinion is, the
effect would neither be so ex-
tensive nor beneficial as many
wise and worthy persons fondly
expect.

CHAPTER XXIII.

Those valuable commodities,
gold and ivory (the next ob-
jects of our inquiry), have pro-
bably been found in Africa from
the first ages of the world. They
are reckoned among its most
important productions in the
earliest records of its history.

It has been observed that
gold is seldom or never dis-
covered, except in mountainous
and barren countries — nature, it
is said, thus making amends in
one way for her penuriousness
in the other. This, however,
is not wholly true. Gold is
found in considerable quantities
throughout every part of Man-
ding, a country which is indeed
hilly, but cannot properly be

S'^it

. V'
(I ri

538

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

called mountainous^ much less
^arrm. It is also found in great
plenty in Jallonkadoo (particu-
larly about Boori), another hilly,
but by no means an unfertile,
country. It is remarkable that
in the place last mentioned
(Boori), which is situated about
four days' journey to the south-
west of Kamalia, the salt market
is often supplied at the same
time with rock-salt from the
Great Desert, and sea-splt ^rom
the Rio Grande ; the price ot
each, at this distance from its
source, being nearly the same.
And the dealers in each, whether
Moors from the north or negroes
from the west, are invited thither
by the same motives — that of
bartering their salt for gold.

The gold of Manding, so far
as I could learn, is never found
in any matrix or vein, but al-
ways in small grains nearly in a
pure state, from the size of a
pin's head to that of a pea,
scattered through a large body
of sand or clay, and in this
state it is called by the Mand-
ingoes sanoo munko (gold
powder). It 4S, however, ex-
tremely probable, by what I
could learn of the situation of
the ground, that most of it has
originally been washed down
by repeated torrents from the
neighbouring hills. The man-
ner in which it is collected is
nearly as follows : —

About the beginning of De-
cember^ when the harvest is
over, and the streams and tor-
rents have greatly subsided, the
mansa or chief of the town ap-

points a day to begin sanoo kco
(gold-washing), and the women
are sure to have themselves in
readiness by the time appointed.
A hoe or spade for digging up
the sand, two or three cala-
bashes for washing it in, and a
few quills for containing the
gold dust, are all the imple-
ments necessary for the pur-
pose. On the morning of their
departure a bullock is killed
for the first day's entertainment,
and a number of prayers and
charms are used to insure suc-
cess, for a failure on that day
is thought a bad omen.

The mansa of Kamalia, with
fourteen of his people, were, I
remember, so much disap-
pointed in their first day's wash-
ing, that very few of them had
resolution to persevere, and the
few that did had but very in-
different success ; which indeed
is not much to be wondered at,
for instead of opening some
untried place, tjjey continued
to dig and wash in the same
spot where they had dug and
washed for years, and where,
of course, but few large grains
could be left.

The washing the sands of
the streams is by far the easiest
way of obtaining the gold dust ;
but in most places the sands
have been so narrowly searched
before, that unless the stream
takes some new course, the
gold is found but in small
quantities. While some of the
party are busied in washing the
sands, others employ themselves
farther up the torrent, where

PARKS LIFE AND TEA VELS.

539

the rapidity of the stream has
carried away all the clay, sand,
etc., and left nothing but small
pebbles. The search among
these is a very troublesome
task. I have seen women who
have had the skin worn off the
tops of their fingers in this
employment. Sometimes, how-
ever, they are rewarded by
finding pieces of gold, which
they call sanoo birro (gold
stones), that amply repay them
for their trouble. A woman
and her daughter, inhabitants
ofKamalia, found in one day
two pieces of this kind ; one of
five drachms, and the other of
three drachms weight. But
the most certain and profitable
mode of washing is practised
in the height of the dry season,
by digging a deep pit, like a
draw-well, near some hill which
has previously been discovered
to contain gold. The pit is
dug with small spades or corn-
hoes, and the earth is drawn
up in large calabashes. As the
negroes dig through the dif-
ferent strata of clay or sand, a
calabash or two of each is
washed by way of experiment ;
and in this manner the labourers
proceed, until they come to a
stratum containing gold, or un-
til they are obstructed by rocks,
or inundated by water. In
general, when they come to a
stratum of fine reddish sand,
with small black specks therein,
they find gold in some propor-
tion or other, and send up large
calabashes full of the sand for
the women to wash ; for though

the pit is dug by the men, the
gold is always washed by the
women, who are accustomed
from their infancy to a similar
operation in separating the
husks of com from the meal.

As I never descended into
any one of these pits,* I cannot
say in what manner they are
worked underground. Indeed,
the situation in which I was
placed made it necessary for
me to be cautious not to incur
the suspicion of the natives, by
examining too far into the
riches of their country; but
the manner of separating the
gold from the sand is very
simple, and is frequently per-
formed by the women in the
middle of the town j for when
the searchers return from the
valleys in the evening, they
commonly bring with them
each a calabash or two of sand,
to be washed by such of the
females as remain at home.
The operation is simply as fol-
lows : —

A portion of sand or clay
(for the gold is sometimes found
in a brown-coloured clay) is put
into a large calabash, and
mixed with a sufficient quantity
of water. The woman whose
office it is, then shakes the
calabash in such a manner as
to mix the sand and water to-
gether, and give the whole a
rotatory motion — at first gently,
but afterwards more quickly,
until a small portion of sand
and water, at every revolution,
flies over the brim of the cala-
bash. The sand thus separated

< 'i;£

ill I

540

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

is only the coarsest particles
mixed with a little muddy
water. After the operation has
been continued for some time,
the sand is allowed to subside,
and the water poured off; a
portion of coarse sand, which
is now uppermost in the cala-
bash, is removed by the hand,
and fresh water being added,
the operation is repeated until
the water comes off almost pure.
The woman now takes a second
calabash, and shakes the sand
and water gently from the one to
the other, reserving that portion
of sand which is next the bot-
tom of the calabash, and which
is most likely to contain the
gold. This small quantity is
mixed with some pure water,
and being moved about in the
calabash, is carefully examined.
If a few particles of gold are
picked out, the contents of the
other calabash are examined in
the same manner ; but in gene-
ral the party is well contented
if she can obtain three or four
grains from the contents of both
calabashes. Some women, how-
ever, by long practice, become
so well acquainted with the
nature of the sand, and the
mode of washing it, that they
will collect gold where others
cannot find a single particle.
The gold dust is kep) in quills
stopped up with cotton; and
the washers are fond of display-
ing a number of these quills in
their hair. Generally speaking,
if a person uses common dili-
gence, in a proper soil it is
supposed that as much gold

may be collected by him in the
course of the dry season as is
equal to the value of two
slaves.

Thus simple is the process
by which the negroes obtain
gold in Manding; and it is
evident from this account that
the country contains a con-
siderable portion of this pre-
cious metal, for many of the
smaller particles must neces-
sarily escape the observation of
the naked eye ; and as the na-
tives generally search the sands
of streams at a considerable
distance from the hills, and
consequently far removed from
the mines where the gold was
originally produced, the la-
bourers are sometimes but ill
paid for their trouble. Minute
particles only of this heavy
metal can be carried by the
current to any considerable dis-
tance ; the larger must remain
deposited near the original
source from whence they came.
Were the gold-bearing streams
to be traced to their fountains,
and the hills from whence they
spring properly examined, the
sand in which the gold is there
deposited would no doubt be
found to contain particles of a
much larger size ; and even the
small grains might be collected
to considerable advantage by
the use of quicksilver and other
improvements, with which the
natives are at present un-
acquainted.

Part of this gold is converted
into ornaments for the women,
but in general these ornaments

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS.

541

account that

are more to be admired for
their weight than their work-
manship. They are massy and
inconvenient, particularly the
ear-rings, which are commonly
so heavy as to pull down and
lacerate the lobe of the ear ;
to avoid which, they are sup-
ported by a thong of red leather,
which passes over the crown of
the head from one ear to the
other. The necklace displays
greater fancy, and the proper
arrangement of the different
beads and plates of gold is the
great criterion of taste and
elegance. When a lady of
consequence is in full dress,
her gold ornaments may be
worth altogether from fifty to
eighty pounds sterling.

A small quantity of gold is
likewise employed by the slatees
in defraying the expenses of
their journeys to and from the
coast, 'but by far the greater
proportion is annually carried
away by the Moors in exchange
for salt and other merchandise.
During my stay at Kamalia,
the gold collected by the differ-
ent traders at that place for
salt alone was nearly equal to
one hundred and ninety-eight
pounds sterling ; and as Ka-
malia is but a small town, and
not much resorted to by the
trading Moors, this quantity
must have borne a very small
proportion to the gold collected
at Kancaba, Kimkaree, and
some other large towns. The
value of salt in this part of
Africa is very great. One
slab, about two feet and a half

in length, fourteen inches in
breadth, and two inches in
thickness, will sometimes sell
for about two pounds ten shil-
lings sterling; and from one
pound fifteen shillings to two
pounds may be considered as
the common price. Four of
these slabs are considered as a
load for an ass, and six for a
bullock. The value of Euro-
pean merchandise in Manding
varies very much, according to
the supply from the coast, or
the dread of war in the country ;
but the return for such articles
is commonly made in slaves.
The price of a prime slave,
when I was at Kamalia, was
from twelve to nine minkallies,
and European commodities had
then nearly the following value :

>■ \

jwder, C

i8 gun-flints,

48 leaves of tobacco,

so charges of gunpowdc

A cutlass,

A musket, from three to four minkallies.

one
minkalli.

The produce of the country,
and the different necessaries of
life, when exchanged for gold,
sold as follows : —

Common provisions for one
day, the weight of one ieeleekissi
(a black bean, six of which make
the weight of one minkalli) —
a chicken, one teeleekissi — a
sheep, three teeleekissi — a bul-
lock, one minkalli — a horse,
from ten to seventeen min-
kallies.

The negroes weigh the gold
in small balances, which they
always carry about them. They
make no difference, in point of
value, between gold dust and

•I

'!^r^

?;li

'H'

f- \ 4 ;

It '}■

\Vd

54»

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

wrought gold. In bartering one
article for another, the person
who receives the gold always
weighs it with his own teelee-
kissi. These beans are some-
times fraudulently soaked in
shea-butter to make them heavy,
and I once saw a pebble ground
exactly into the form of one of
them ; but such practices are
not very common.

Having now related the
substance of what occurs to
my recollection concerning the
African mode of obtaining gold
from the earth, and its value in
barter, I proceed to the next
article of which I proposed to
treat, — namely, ivory.

Nothing creates a greater sur-
prise among the negroes on the
sea- coast than the eagerness dis-
played by the European traders
to procure elephants' teeth, it
being exceedingly difficult to
make them comprehend to what
use it is applied. Although they
are shown knives with ivory
hafts, combs, and toys of the
same material, and are con-
vinced that the ivory thus manu-
factured was originally parts of
a tooth, they are not satisfied.
They suspect that this commo-
dity is more frequently con-
verted in Europe to purposes
of far greater importance, the
true nature of which is studi-
ously concealed from them, lest
the price of ivory should be en-
hanced. They caimot, they say,
easily persuade themselves that
ships would be built, and voy-
ages undertaken, to procure an
article which had no other value

than that of furnishing handles
to knives, etc., when pieces of
wood would answer the purpose
equally well.

Elephants are very numer-
ous in the interior of Africa,
but they appear to be a dis-
tinct species from those found
in Asia. Blumenbach, in his
figures of objects of natural his-
tory, has given good drawings
of a finder of each, and the
variation is evident. M. Cuvier
also has given, in the Magazin
Encyclopedique^ a clear account
of the difference between them.
As I never examined the Asiatic
elephant, I have chosen rather
to refer to those writers than
advance this as an opinion of
my own. It has been said that
the African elephant is of a less
docile nature than the Asiatic,
and incapable of being tamed.
The negroes certainly do not at
present tame them; but when
we consider that the Cartha-
ginians had always tame ele-
phants in their armies, and
actually transported some of
them to Italy in the course of
the Punic wars, it seems more
iikcly that they should have
possessed the art of taming
their own elephants than have
submitted to the expense of
bringing such vast animals from
Asia. Perhaps the barbarous
practice of hunting the African
elephants for the sake of their
teeth has rendered them more
untractable and savage than
they were found to be in former
times.

The greater part of the ivory

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS.

543

which is sold on the Gambia
and Senegal rivers is brought
from the interior country. The
lands towards the coast are too
swampy, and too much inter-
sected with creeks and rivers,
for so bulky an animal as the
elephant to travel through with-
out being discovered ; and when
once the natives discern the
marks of his feet in the earth,
the whole village is up in arms.
The thoughts of feasting on
his flesh, making sandals of his
hide, and selling the teeth to
the Europeans, inspire every
one with courage, and the ani-
mal seldom escapes from his
pursuers ; but in the plains of
Bambarra and Kaarta, and the
extensive wilds of Jallonkadoo,
the elephants are very numer-
ous, and, from/the great scarcity
of gunpowder in those districts,
they are less annoyed by the
natives.

Scattered teeth are frequently
picked up in the woods, and
travellers are very diligent in
looking for them. It is a com-
mon practice with the elephant
to thrust his teeth under the
roots of such shrubs and bushes
as grow in the more dry and
elevated parts of the country,
where the soil is shallow. These
bushes he easily overturns, and
feeds on the roots, which are in
general more tender and juicy
than the hard woody- branches
or the foliage; but when the
teeth are partly decayed by age,
and the roots more fomly fixed,
the great exertions of the animal
in this practice frequently cause

them to break short. At Ka-
malia I saw two teeth, one a
very large one, which were found
in the woods, and which were
evidently broken off in this man-
ner. Indeed, it is difficult other-
wise to account for such a large
proportion of broken ivory as is
daily offered for sale at the dif-
ferent factories, for, when the
elephant is killed in hunting,
unless he dashes himself over a
precipice, the teeth are always
extracted entire.

There are certain seasons of
the year when the elephants
collect into large herds, and
traverse the country in quest of
food or water ; and as all that
part of the country to the north
of the Niger is destitute of
rivers, whenever the pools in
the woods are dried up, the
elephants approach towards the
banks of that river. Here they
continue until the commence-
ment of the rainy season, in
the months of June or July,
and during this time they are
much hunted by such of the
Bambarrans as have gunpowder
to spare. The elephant-hunters
seldom go out singly — a party
of four or five join together, and
having each furnished himself
with powder and ball, and a
quantity of corn-meal in a
leather bag sufficient for five or
six days' provision, they enter
the most unfrequented parts of
the wood, and examine with
great care everything that can
lead to the discovery of the
elephants. In this pursuit,
notwithstanding the bulk of the

111 ::llf!

;)

Uii
r'li

'< . .'■ •

544

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

animal, very great nicety of
observation is required. The
broken branches, the scattered
dung of the animal, and the
marks of his feet, are carefully
inspected ; and many of the
hunters have, by long experi-
ence and attentive observation,
become so expert in their
search, that as soon as they
observe the footmarks of an
elephant, they will tell almost
to a certainty at what time it
passed, and at what distance it
will be found.

When they discover a herd
of elephants, they follow them
at a distance, until they per-
ceive some one stray from the
rest, and come into such a situa-
tion as to be fired at with
advantage. The hunters then
approach with great caution,
creeping amongst the long
grass, until they have got near
enough to be sure of their aim.
They then discharge all thpir
pieces at once, and throw them-
selves on their faces among the
grass. The wounded elephant
immediately applies his trunk
to the different wounds, but
being unable to extract the
balls, and seeing nobody near
him, he becomes quite furious,
and runs about amongst the
bushes, until by fatigue and
loss of blood he has exhausted
himself, and affords the hunters
an opportunity of firing a second
time at him, by which he is gene-
rally brought to the ground.

The skin is now taken off,
and extended on the ground
with pegs to dry ; and such

parts of the flesh as are most
esteemed are cut up into thin
slices, and dried in the sun, to
serve for provisions on some
future occasion. The teeth are
struck out with a light hatchet,
which the hunters always carry
along with them, not only for
that purpose, but also to enable
them to cut down such trees as
contain honey; for though they
carry with them only five or six
days' provisions, they will re-
maii in the woods for months
if they are successful, and sup-
port themselves upon the flesh
of such elephants as they kill,
and wild honey.

The ivory thus collected is
seldom brought down to the
coast by the hunters them-
selves. They dispose of it to
the itinerant merchants, who
come annually from the coast
with arms and ammunition to
purchase this valuable com-
modity. Some of these mer-
chants will collect ivory in the
course of one season sufficient
to load four or five asses. A
great quantity of ivory is like-
wise brought from the interior
by the slave coffles ; there are,
however, some slatees of the
Mohammedan persuasion, who,
I'rom motives of religion, will
not deal in ivory, nor eat of
the flesh of the elephant, unless
it has been killed with a spear.

The quantity of ivory col-
lected in this part of Africa is
not so great, nor are the teeth
in general so large, as in tne
countries nearer the line : few
of them weigh more than eighty

PARICS LIFE AND TEA VELS.

S4S

arge, as in tne
the line: few
lorc than eighty

or one hundred pounds, and
upon an average, a bar of
European merchandise may be
reckoned as the price of a
pound of ivory,

I have now, I trust, in this
and the preceding chapters, ex-
plained with sufficient minute-
ness the nature and extent
of the commercial connection
which at present prevails, and
has long subsisted, between the
negro natives of those parts of
Africa which I visited, and the
nations of Europe ; and it ap-
pears that slaves, gold, and
ivory, together with the few
articles enumerated in the be-
ginning of my work, — viz.,
bees' wax and honey, hides,
gums, and dye-woods, — consti-
tute the whole catalogue of ex-
portable commodities. Other
productions, however, have
been incidentally noticed as
the growth of Africa, such as
grain of different kinds, tobac-
co, indigo, cotton-wool, and
perhaps a few others; but of
all these (which can only be
obtained by cultivation and
labour), the natives raise suffi-
cient only for their own immedi-
ate expenditure, nor, under the
present system of their laws,
manners, trade, and govern-
ment, can anything further be
expected from them. It can-
not, however, admit of a doubt,
that all the rich and valuable
productions both of the East
and West Indies might easily
be naturaliced, and brought to
the utmost perfection, in the
tropical parts of this immense

continent. Nothing is wanting
to this end but example to
enlighten the minds of the
natives, and instruction to
enable them to direct their
industry to proper objects. It
was not possible for me to be-
hold the wonderful fertility of
the soil, the vast herds of cattle,
proper both for labour "xnd food,
and a variety of other circum-
stances favourable to colonisa-
tion and agriculture,— and re-
flect, withal, on the means
which presented themselves of
a vast inland navigation,— with-
out lamenting that a country so
abundantly gifted and favoured
by nature should remain in its
present savage and neglected
state. Much more did I lament
that a people of manners and
disposition so gentle and bene-
volent, should either be left as
they now are, immersed in the
gross and uncomfortable blind-
ness of pagan superstition, or
permitted to become converts
to a system of bigotry and fana-
ticism, which, without enlight-
ening the mind, often debases
the heart. On this subject
many observations might be
made, but the reader will pro-
bably think that I have already
digressed too largely; and I
now, therefore, return to my
situation at Kamalia.

CHAPTER XXIV.

The schoolmaster to whose
care I was intrusted during the

2 M

Wif

." •; !• I*

* ,i i;.

"If

546

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

absence of Karfa, was a man of
a mild disposition and gentle
manners; his name was Fan-
kooma, and .although he him-
self adhered strictly to the re-
ligion of Mohammed, he was
by no means intolerant in his
principles towaids others who
differed from him. He spent
much of his time in reading,
and teaching appeared to be his
pleasure as well as employment.
His school consisted of seven-
teen boys, most of whom were
sons of kafirs, and two girls, one
of whom was Karfa's own
daughter. The girls received
their instruction in the daytime,
but the boys always had their
lessons, by the light of a large
fire, before daybreak, and again
late in the evening ; for being
considered, during their scholar-
ship, as the domestic slaves of
the master, they were employed
ir planting corn, bringing fire-
wood, and in other servile
offices, through the day.

Exclusive of the Koran, and
a book or two of commentaries
thereon, the schoolmaster pos-
sessed a variety of manuscripts,
which had partly been pur-
chased from the trading Moors,
and partly borrowed from bush-
reens in the neighbourhood,
and copied with great care.
Other Mss. had been produced
to me at different places in
the course of my journey ; and
on recounting those I had be-
fore seen, and those whicli were
now shown to me, and interro-
gating the schoolmaster on the
subject, I discovered that the

negroes are in possession (among
others) of an Arabic version of
the Pentateuch of Moses, which
they call Taurda la Moosa.
This is so highly esteemed that
it is often sold for the value of
one prime slave. They have
likewise a version of the Psalms
of David (Zabora Dawidi);
and, lastly, the Book of Isaiah,
which they call Lingeeli la Isa^
and it is in very high esteem.
I suspect, indeed, that in all
these copies there are interpola-
tions of some of the peculiar
tenets of Mohammed, for I
could distinguish in many pas-
sages the name of the Prophet.
It is possible, however, that this
circumstance might otherwise
have been accounted for, if my
knowledge of the Arabic had
been more extensive. By means
of those books many of the
converted negroes have acquired
an acquaintance with some of
the remarkable events recorded
in the Old Testament. The
account of our first parents, the
death of Abel, the deluge, the
lives of Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob, the story of Joseph and
his brethren, the history of
Moses, David, Solomon, etc.,
all these have been related to
me, in the Maiulingo language,
with tolerable exactness by dif-
ferent people, and my surprise
was not greater on hearing
these accounts from the lips
of the negroes, than theirs on
finding that I was already ac-
quainted with them ; for al-
though the negroes in general
have a very great idea of the

PARK'S LIFE AND TEA VELS.

547

wealth and power of the Euro-
peans, I am afraid that the
Mohammedan converts among
them think but very lightly of
our superior attainments in re-
ligious knowledge. The white
traders in the maritime districts
take no pains to counteract this
unhappy prejudice, always per-
forming their own devotions in
secret, and seldom condescend-
ing to converse with the negroes
in a friendly and instructive
manner. To me, therefore, it
was not so much the subject of
wonder as matter of regret, to
observe that, while the super-
stition of Mohammed has in
this manner scattered a few
faint beams of learning among
these poor people, the precious
light of Christianity is alto-
gether excluded. I could not
but lament that, although the
coast of Africa has now been
known and frequented by the
Europeans for more than two
hundred years, yet the negroes
still remain entire strangers to
the doctrines of our holy re-
ligion. We are anxious to draw
from obscurity the opinions and
records of antiquity, the beau-
ties of Arabian and Asiatic
literature, etc. ; but while our
libraries are thus stored with
the learning of various countries,
we distribute with a parsimoni-
ous hand the blessings of re-
ligious truth to the benighted
nations of the earth. The
nati\ cs of Asia derive but little
advantage in this respect from
an intercourse with us ; and
even the poor Africans, whom

we affect to consider as bar-
barians, look upon us, I fear, as
little better than a race of for-
midable but ignorant heathens.
When I produced Richard-
son's Arabic Grammar to some
slatees on the Gambia, they
were astonished to think that
any European should under-
stand and write the sacred
language of their religion. At
first, they suspected that it
might have been written by
some of the slaves canied from
the coast, but on a closer ex-
amination, they were satisfied
that no bushreen could write
such beautiful Arabic, and one
of them offered to give me an
ass, and sixteen bars of goods,
if I would part with the book.
Perhaps a short and easy intro-
duction to Christianity, such as
is found in some of the cate-
chisms for children, elegantly
printed in Arabic, and distri-
buted on different parts of the
coast, might have a wonderful
effect. The expense would be
but trifling j curiosity would in-
duce many to read it ; and the
evident superiority which it
would possess over their present
manuscripts, both in point of
elegance and cheap?iess, might
at last obtain it a piace among
the school-books of Africa.

The reflections which I have
thus ventured to submit to my
readers on this important sub-
ject, naturally suggested them-
selves to my mind on perceiving
the encouragement which was
thus given to learning (such as
it is) in many parts of Africa.

•f-n-l«

548

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

I have observed that the pupils
at Kamalia were most of them
the children of pagans — their
jjarents, therefore, could have
had no predilection for the doc-
trines of Mohammed. Their
aim was their children's im-
provement ; and if a more en-
lightened system had presented
itself, it would probably have
been preferred. The children,
too, wanted not a spirit of
emulation, which it is the aim
of the tutor to encourage. When
any one of them has read through
the Koran, and performed a
certain number of public prayers,
a feast is prepared by the
schoolmaster, and the scholar
undergoes an examination, or
(in European terms) takes out
his degree. I attended at three
different inaugurations of this
sort, and heard with pleasure
the distinct and intelligent an-
swers which the scholars fre-
quently gave to the bushreens,
who assembled on those occa-
sions and acted as examiners.
When the bushreens had satis-
fied themselves respecting the
learning and abilities of the
scholar, the last page of the
Koran was put into his hand,
and he v/as desired to read it
aloud : after the boy had
finished this lesson, he pressed
the paper against his forehead
and pronounced the word Amen^
upon which all the bushreens
rose, and shaking him cordially
by the hand, bestowed upon
him the title of bushreen.

When a scholar has under-
gone tins examination, his pa-

rents are informed that he has
completed his education, and
that it is incumbent uu them to
redeem their son, by giving to
the schoolmaster a slave, or the
price of a slave, in exchange,
which is always done, if the
parents can afford to do it j if
not, the boy remains the domes-
tic slave of the schoolmaster
until he can, by his own industry,
collect goods sufficient to ran-
som himself.

About a week after the de-
parture of Karfa, three Moors
arrived at Kamalia with a con-
siderable quantity of salt and
other merchandise, which they
h obtained on credit from
a merchant of Fezzan, who
had lately arrived at Kancaba.
Their engagement was to pay
him his price when the goods
were sold, which they expected
would be in the course of a
month. Being rigid bushreens,
they were accommodated with
two of Karfa's huts, and sold
their goods to very great ad-
vantage.

On the 24th of January,
Karfa returned to Kamalia with
a number of people, and thir-
teen prime slaves whom he had
purchased. He likewise brought
with him a young girl whom
he had maixied at Kancaba,
as his fourth wife, and had given
her parents three prime slaves
for her. She was kindly re-
ceived at the door of the baloon
by Karfa's other wives, who
conducted their new acquaint-
ance and copartner into one of
the best huts, which they had

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS.

549

caused to be swept and white-
washed on purpose to receive
her.

My clothes were by this time
become so very ragged that I
was almost ashamed to appear
out of doors, but Karfa, on the
day after his arrival, generously
presented me with such a gar-
ment and trousers as are com-
monly worn in the country.

The slaves which Karfa had
brought with him were all of
them prisoners of war; they
had been taken by the Bam-
barra army in the kingdoms of
Wassela and Kaarta, and carried
to Sego, where some of them
had remained three years in
irons. From Sego they were
sent, in company with a num-
ber of other captives, up the
Niger in two large canoes, and
offered for sale at Yamina,
Bammakoo, and Kancaba; at
which places the greater num-
ber of the captives were bar-
tered for gold dust, and the
remainder sent forward to Kan-
karee.

Eleven of them confessed to
me that they had been slaves
from their infancy, but the other
two refused to give any account
of their former condition. They
were all very inquisitive, but
they viewed me at first with
looks of horror, and repeatedly
asked if my countrymen were
cannibals. They were very de-
sirous to know what became of
the slaves after they had crossed
the salt water. I told them that
they were employed in cultivat-
ing the land; but they would

not believe me, and one of
them putting his hand upon
the ground, said, with great
simplicity, * Have you really
got such ground as this to set
your feet upon?' A deeply-
rooted idea that the whites pur-
chase negroes for the purpose
of devouring them, or of selling
them to others, that they may
be devoured hereafter, naturally
makes the slaves contemplate
a journey towards the coast
with great terror, insomuch that
the slatees are forced to keep
them constantly in irons, and
watch them very closely, to pre-
vent their escape. They are
commonly secured by putting
the right leg of one and the
left of another into the same
pair of fetters. By supporting
the fetters with a string, they
can walk, though very slowly.
Every four slaves are likewise
fastened together by the necks
with a strong rope of twisted
thongs, and in the night an
additional pair of fetters is put
on their hands, and sometimes
a light iron chain passed round
their necks.

Such of them as evince marks
of discontent are secured in a
different manner. A thick
billet of wood is cut about
three feet long, and a smooth
notch being made upon one
side of it, the ankle of the slave
is bolted to the smooth part by
means of a strong iron staple,
one prong of which passes on
each side of the ankle. All
these fetters and bolts are made
from native iron; in the pre-

■< .■ ;

550

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

sent case, they were put on
by the blacksmith as soon as
the slaves arrived from Kan-
caba, and were not taken off
until the morning on which the
coffle departed for Gambia.

In other respects, the treat-
ment of the slaves during their
stay at Kamalia was far from
being harsh or cruel. They
were led out in their fetters
every morning to the shade of
the tamarind-tree, where they
were encouraged to play at
games of hazard, and sing
diverting songs, to keep up
their spirits; for, though some
of them sustained the hardships
of their situation with amazing
fortitude, the greater part were
very much dejected, and would
sit all day in a sort of sullen
melancholy, with their eyes
fixed upon the ground. In the
evening their irons were ex-
amined, and their hand-fetters
jut on, after which they were
conducted into two large huts,
wl.ere they were guarded dur-
ing the night by Karfa's domes-
tic slaves. But notwithstanding
all this, about a week after their
arrival, one of the slaves had
the address to procure a small
knife, with which he opened
the rings of his fetters, cut the
rope, and made his escape :
more of them would probably
have got off had they assisted
each other, but the slave no
sooner found himself at liberty,
than he refused to stop and
assist in breaking the chain
which was fastened round the
necks of his companions.

As all the slatees and slaves
belonging to the coffle were
now assembled, either at Ka-
malia, or at some of the neigh-
bouring villages, it might have
been expected that we should
set out immediately for Gambia;
but though the day of our de-
parture was frequently fixed, it
was always found expedient to
change it. Some of the people
had not prepared their dry pro-
visions; others had gone to
visit their relations, or collect
some trifling debts ; and, last
of all, it was necessary to con-
sult whether the day would be a
i ucky one. On account of on e of
these, or other such causes, our
departure was put off, day after
day, until the month of Feb-
ruary was far advanced, after
which, all the slatees agreed to
remain in their present quarters
until the fast moon was oi'cr.
And here I may remark that
loss of time is an object of no
great importance in the eyes of
a negro. If he has anything of
consequence to perform, it is a
matter of indifference to him
whether he does it to-day or to-
morrow, or a month or two
hence ; so long as he can spend
the present moment with any
degree of comfort, he gives
himself very little concern about
the future.

The fast of Ramadan was
observed with great strictness
by all the bushreens; but in-
stead of compelling me to fol-
low their example, as the Moors
did on a similar occasion, Karfa
frankly told me that I was at

PARJCS LIFE AND TRA VELS.

l^^

liberty to pursue my own in-
clination. In order, however,
to manifest a respect for their
religious opinions, I voluntarily
fasted three days, which was
thought sufficient to screen me
from the reproachful epithet of
kafir. During the fast all the
slatees belonging to the coffle
assembled every morning in
Karfa's house, where the school-
master read to them some
religious lessons from a large
folio volume, the author of
which was an Arab of the name
of Sheiffa. In the evening such
of the women as had embraced
Mohammedanism assembled,
and said their prayers publicly
at the missura. They were all
dressed in white, and went
through the different prostra-
tions prescribed by their religion
with becoming solemnity. In-
deed, during the whole fast of
Ramadan the negroes behaved
themselves with the greatest
meekness and humility, forming
a striking contrast to the savage
intolerance and brutal bigotry
which at this period characterise
the Moors.

When the fast month was
almost at an end, the bushreens
assembled at the missura to
watch for the appearance of
the new moon, but the evening
being rather cloudy, they were
for some time disappointed,
and a number of them had
gone home with a resolution to
fast another day, when on a
sudden this delightful object
showed her sharp horns from
behind a cloud, and was wel-

comed with the clapping of
hands, beating of drums, firing
of muskets, and other marks
of rejoicing. As this moon
is reckoned extremely lucky,
Karfa gave orders that all the
people belonging to the coffle
should immediately pack up
their dry provisions, and hold
themselves in readiness ; and
on the 1 6th of April the sla-
tees, held a consultation, and
fixed on the 19th of the same
month as the day on which the
coffle should depart from Ka-
malia. This resolution freed me
from much uneasiness, for our
departure had already been so
long deferred, that I was ap-
prehensive it might still be put
off until the commencement of
the rainy season ; and although
Karfa behaved towards me with
the greatest kindness, I found my
situation very unpleasant. The
slatees were unfriendly to me,
and the trading Moors who
were at this time at Kamalia
continued to plot mischief
against me from the first day
of their arrival. Under these
circumstances, I reflected that
my life in a great measure de-
pended on the good opinion of
an individual who was daily
hearing malicious stories con-
cerning the Europeans, and I
could hardly expect that he
would always judge with im-
partiality between me and his
countrymen. Time had, in-
deed, reconciled me in some
degree to their mode of life,
and a smoky hut, or a scanty
supper, gave me no great un-

1:11

552 THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

easiness ; but I became at last
wearied out with a constant state
of alarm and anxiety, and felt a
painful longing for the manifold
ulessings of civilised society.

April 19. — ^The long-wished-
for day of our departure was at
length arrived ; and the slatees
having taken the irons from
their slaves, assembled with
them at the door of Karfa's
house, where the bundles were
all tied up, and every one had
his load assigned him. The
coffle, on itb departure from
Kamalia, consisted of twenty-
seven slaves for sale, the pro-
perty of Karfa and four other
slatees ; but we were afterwards
joined by five at Maraboo, and
three at Bala — making in all
thirty-five slaves. The freemen
were fourteen in number, but
most of them had one or two
wives and some domestic
slaves ; and the schoolmaster,
who was now upon his return
for Woradoo, the place of his
nativity, took with him eight of
his scholars, so that the num-
ber of free people and domestic
slaves amounted to thirty- eight,
and the whole amount of the
cofile was seventy-three. Among
the free men were six jillikeas
(singing men), whose musical
talents were frequently exerted
either to divert our fatigue or
obtain us a welcome from
strangers. When we departed
from Kamalia, we were followed
for about half a mile by most
of the inhabitants of the town,
some of them crying, and others
shaking hands with their rela-

tions who were now about
to leave them; and when we
had gained a piece of rising
ground, from which we had
a view of Kamalia, all the
people belonging to the coffle
were ordered to sit down in
one place, with their faces to-
wards the west, and the towns-
people were desired to sit down
in another place with their faces
towards Kamalia. In this
situation, the schoolmaster, with
two of the principal slatees,
having taken their places be-
tween the two parties, pro-
nounced a long and solemn
prayer, after which they walked
three times round the coffle,
making an impression in the
ground with the ends of their
spears, and muttering some-
thing by way of charm. When
this ceremony was ended, all
the people belonging to the
cofile sprang up, and without
taking a formal farewell of their
friends, set forwards. As many
of the slaves had remained for
years in irons, the sudden ex-
ertion of walking quick with
heavy loads upon their heads
occasioned spasmodic contrac-
tions of their legs ; and we
had not proceeded above a
mile before it was found neces-
sary to take two of them from
the rope, and allow them to
walk more slowly until we
reached Maraboo, a walled
village, where some people were
waiting to join the coffle.
Here we stopped about two
hours, to allow the strangers
time to pack up their provisions,

PARJCS LIFE AND TEA VELS.

553

vW,

and then continued our route
to Bala, which town we reached
tbout four in the afternoon.
The inhabitants of Bala at this
season of the year subsist
chiefly on fish, which they take
in great plenty from the streams
in the neighbourhood. We re-
mained here until the afternoon
of the next day, the 20th, when
we proceeded to Worumbang,
the frontier village of Manding,
towards Jallonkadoo. As we
proposed shortly to enter the
Jallonka Wilderness, the people
of this village furnished us with
great plenty of provisions, and
on the morning of the 21st we
entered the woods to the west-
ward of Worumbang. After
having travelled some little way,
a consultation was held whether
we should continue our route
through the wilderness, or save
one day's provisions by going
to Kinytakooro, a town in Jal-
lonkadoo. After debating the
matter for some time, it was
agreed that we should take the
road for Kinytakooro ; but as
that town was a long day's
journey distant, it was neces-
sary to take some refreshment.
Accordingly every person
opened his provision-bag, and
brought a handful or two of
meal to the place where Karfa
and the slatees were sitting.
When every one had brought
his quota, and the whole was
properly arranged in small
gourd-shells, the schoolmaster
offered up a short prayer, the
substance of which was, that
God and the holy Prophet

might preserve us from robbers
and all bad people, that our
provisions might never fail us,
nor our limbs become fatigued.
This ceremony being ended,
every one partook of the meal,
and drank a little water ; after
which we set forward (rather
running than walking) until
we came to the river Kokoro,
a branch of the Senegal, where
we halted about ten minutes.
The banks of this river are
very high, and from the grass
and brushwood which had been
left by the stream, it was evi-
dent that at this place the
water had risen more than
twenty feet perpendicular dur-
ing the rainy season. At this
time it was only a small stream,
such as would turn a mill,
swarming with fish ; and on
account of the number of
crocodiles, and the danger of
being carried past the ford by
the force of the stream in the
rainy season, it is called Kokoro
(dangerous). From this place
we continued to travel with the
greatest expedition, and in the
afternoon crossed two small
branches of the Kokoro. About
sunset we came in sight of
Kinytakooro, a considerable
town, nearly square, situated
in the middle of a large and
well-cultivated plain : before we
entered the town, we halted
until the people who had fallen
behind came up. During this
day's travel, two slaves, a
woman and a girl, belonging to
a slatee of Bala, were so much
fatigued that they could not

V.'

554

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

keep up with the coffle; they
were severely whipped, and
dragged along until about three
o'clock in the afternoon, when
they were both affected with
vomiting, by which it was dis-
covered that they had eaten
clay. This practice is by no
means uncommon amongst the
negroes ; but whether it arises
from a vitiated appetite, or
from a settled intention to de-
stroy themselves, I cannot affirm.
They were permitted to lie
down in the woods, and three
people remained with them un-
til they had rested themselves ;
but they did not arrive at the
town until past midnight, and
were then so much exhausted
that the slatee gave up all
thoughts of taking them across
the woods in their present con-
dition, and determined to return
with them to Bala, and wait
for another opportunity.

As this was the first town
beyond the limits of Handing,
greater etiquette than usual
was observed. Every person
was ordered to keep in his
proper station, and we marched
towards the town in a sort of
procession nearly as follows : —
In front five or six singing men,
all of them belonging to the
coffle J these were followed by
the other free people ; then
came the slaves, fastened in
the usual way by a rope round
their necks, four of them to a
rope, and a man with a spear
between each four ; after them
came the domestic slaves, and
in the rear the women of free

condition, wives of the slatees
etc In this manner we pro-
ceeded until we came within
a hundred yards of the gate
when the singing men began a
loud song, well calculated to
flatter the vanity of the inhabi-
tants, by extolling their known
hospitality to strangers, and
their particular friendship for
the Mandingoes. When we
entered the town we proceeded
to the bentang, where the
people gathered round us to
hear our dentegi (history) ; this
was related publicly by two of
the singing men — they enumer-
ated every little circumstance
which had happened to the
coffle, beginning with the events
of the present day, and relating
everything in a backward series
until they reached Kamalia.
When this history was ended,
the master of the town gave
them a small present, and all
the people of the coffle, both
free and enslaved, were invited
by some person or other, and
accommodated with lodging and
provisions for the night.

CHAPTER XXV.

We continued at Kinytakooro
until noon of the 2 2d of April,
when we removed to a village
about seven miles to the west-
ward, the inhabitants of which,
being apprehensive of hostili-
ties from the Foulahs of Foola-
doo, were at this time employed
in constructing small temporary

PARirS LIFE AND TRA VELS.

555

huts among the rocks, on the
side of a high hill dose to the
village. The situation was al-
most impregnable, being every-
where surrounded with high pre-
ci|)ices, except on the eastern
side, where the natives had left
a pathway sufficient to allow
one person at a time to ascend.
Upon the brow of the hill, im-
mediately over this path, I ob-
served several heaps of large
loose stones, which the people
told me were intended to be
thrown down upon the Foulahs
a they should attempt the hill.
At daybreak on the 23d we
departed from this village, and
entered the Jallonka Wilder-
ness. We passed, in the course
of the morning, the ruins of two
small towns which had lately
been burnt by the Foulahs.
The fire must have been very
intense, for I observed that
the walls of many of the huts
were slightly vitrified, and ap-
peared at a distance as if
covered with a red varnish.
About ten o'clock we came to the
river Wonda, which is somewhat
larger than the river Kokoro;
but the stream was at this time
rather muddy, which Karfa as-
sured me was occasioned by
amazing shoals of fish. They
were indeed seen in all direc-
tions, and in such abundance
that I fancied the water itself
tasted and smelt fishy. As
soon as we had crossed the
river, Karfa gave orders that
all the people of the coffle
should in future keep close
together, and travel in their

proper station. The guides
and young men were accord-
ingly placed in the van, the
women and slaves in the centre,
and the freemen in the rear.
In this order we travelled with
uncommon expedition through
a woody but beautiful country,
interspersed with a pleasing
variety of hill and dale, and
abounding with partridges, gui-
nea-fowl, and deer, until sunset,
when we arrived at a most
romantic stream called Co-meis-
sang. My arms and neck hav-
ing been exposed to the sun
during the whole day, and irri-
tated by the rubbing of my
dress in walking, were now very
much inflamed and covered
with blisters, and I was happy
to embrace the opportunity,
while the coffle rested on the
bank of the river, to bathe
myself in the stream. This
practice, together with the cool
of the evening, much diminished
the inflammation. About three
miles to the westward of the
Co-meissang we halted in a
thick wood, and kindled our
fires for the night. We were
all by this time very much
fatigued, having, as I judged,
travelled this day thirty miles,
but no person was heard to com-
plain. Whilst supper was pre-
paring, Karfa made one of the
slaves break some branches from
the trees for my bed. When we
had finished our supper of kous-
kous moistened with some boil-
ing water, and put the slaves in
irons, we all lay down to sleep;
but we were frequently disturbed

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556

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

in thenightbythehowlingofwild
beasts, and we found the small
brown ants very troublesome.

April 24. — Before daybreak
the bushreens said their morn-
ing prayers, and most of the
free people drank a little moen-
ing (a sort of gruel), part of
which was likewise given to
such of the slaves as appeared
least able to sustain the fatigues
of the day. One of Karfa's
female slaves was very sulky,
and when some gruel was
offered to her she refused to
drink it. As soon as day
dawned we set out, and tra-
velled the whole morning over
a wild and rocky country, by
which my feet were much
bruised, and I was sadly ap-
prehensive that I should not
be able to keep up with the
coffle during the day; but I
was in a great measure relieved
from this anxiety when I ob-
served that others were more
exhausted than myself. In
particular, the woman slave
who had refused victuals in
the morning, began now to lag
behind, and complain dread-
fully of pains in her legs. Her
load was taken from her and
given to another slave, and she
was ordered to keep in the front
of the coffle. About eleven
o'clock, as we were resting by
a small rivulet, some of the
people discovered a hive of
bees in a hollow tree, and they
were proceeding to obtain the
honey, when the largest swarm
I ever beheld flew out, and,
attacking the people of the

coffle, made us fly in all direc-
tions. I took the alarm first,
and I believe was the only
person who escaped with im-
punity. When our enemies
thought fit to desist from pur-
suing us, and every person was
employ.d in picking out the
stings he had received, it was
discovered that the poor woman
above mentioned, whose name
was Nealee, was not come up \
and as many of the slaves in
their retreat had left their
bundles behind them, it be-
came necessary for some per-
sons to return and bring them.
In order to do this with safety,
fire was set to the grass a con-
siderable way to the eastward
of the hive, and the wind driv-
ing the fire furiously along, the
party pushed through the smoke
and recovered the bundles.
They likewise brought with them
poor Nealee, whom they found
lying by the rivulet. She was
very much exhausted, and had
crept to the stream in hopes to
defend herself from the bees, by
throwing water over her body j
but this proved ineffectual, for
she was stung in the most dread-
ful manner.

When the slatees had picked
out the stings as far as they
could, she was washed with
water, and then rubbed with
bruised leaves ; but the wretched
woman obstinately refused to
proceed any farther, declaring
that she would rather die than
walk another step. As entreaties
and threats were used in vain,
the whip was at length applied ;

PARK'S LIFE AND TRAVELS,

557

and after bearing patiently a
few strokes, she started up, and
walked with tolerable expedi-
tion for four or five hours longer,
when she made an attempt to
run away from the coffle, but
was so very weak that she fell
down in the grass. Though she
was unable to rise, the whip was
a second time applied, but with-
out effect, upon which Karfa
desired two of the slatees to
place her upon the ass which
carried our dry provisions ; but
she could not sit erect, and the
ass being very refractory, it was
found impossible to carry her
forward in that manner. The
slatees, however, were unwilling
to abandon her, the day's jour-
ney being nearly ended; they
therefore made a sort of litter
of bamboo-canes, upon which
she was placed, and tied on it
with slips of bark. This litter
was carried upon the heads of
two slaves, one walking before
the other, and they were fol-
lowed by two others, who re-
lieved them occasionally. In
this manner the woman was
carried forward until it was dark,
when we reached a stream of
water at the foot of a high hill
called Gankaran-Kooro, and
here we stoppedYor the night and
set about preparing our supper.
As we had only ate one hand-
ful of meal since the preceding
night, and travelled all day in a
hot sun, many of the slaves who
had loads upon their heads were
very much fatigued, and some of
^tva snapped their finger 5 f which
among the negroes is a sure sign

of desperation. The slatees im-
mediately put them all in irons';
and such of them as had evinced
signs of great despondency were
kept apart from the rest, and
had their hands tied. In the
morning they were found greatly
recovered.

April 2^. — At daybreak poor
Nealee was awakened, but her
limbs were now become so stiff
and painful that she could
neither walk nor stand ; she
was therefore lifted, like a
corpse, upon the back of the
ass, and the slatees endeavoured
to secure her in that situation
by fastening her hands together
under the ass's neck, and her
feet under the belly, with long
slips of bark ; but the ass was
so very unruly that no sort of
treatment could induce him to
proceed with his load, and as
Nealee made no exertion to
prevent herself from falling, she
was quickly thrown off, and had
one of her legs much bruised.
Every attempt to carry her for-
ward being thus found ineffec-
tual, the general cry of the coffle
was Kang-tegif kang-tegi (*Cut
her throat, cut her throat*) ! —
an operation I did not wish to
see performed, and therefore
marched onwards with the fore-
most of the coffle. I had not
walked above a mile, when one
of Karfa's domestic slaves came
up to me, with poor Nealee's
garment upon the end of his
bow, and exclaimed, Nealee
affeeleeta (' Nealee is lost') I I
asked him whether the slatees
had given him the garment as

-I M^4

558

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

a reward for cutting her throat.
He replied, that Karfa and the
schoolmaster would not consent
to that measure, but had left her
on the road, where undoubtedly
she soon perished, and was pro-
bably devoured by wild beasts.

The sad fate of this wretched
woman, notwithstanding the out-
cry before mentioned, made a
strong impression on the minds
of the whole coffle, and the
schoolmaster fasted the whole
of the ensuing day in conse-
quence of it. We proceeded in
deep silence, and soon after-
wards crossed the river Fur-
koomah, which was about as
large as the river Wonda. We
now travelled with great expe-
dition, every one being appre-
hensive he might otherwise meet
with the fate of poor Nealee. It
was, however, with great diffi-
culty that I could keep up, al-
though I threw away my spear
and everything that could in
the least obstruct me. About
noon we saw a large herd of
elephants, but they suffered us
to pass unmolested ; and in the
evening we halted near a thicket
of bamboo, but found no water,
so that we were forced to pro-
ceed four miles farther, to a
small stream, where we stopped
for the night. We had marched
thij day, as I judged, about
twenty-six miles.

April 26. — This morning two
of the schoolmaster's pupils
complained much of pains in
their legs, and one of the slaves
walked lame, the soles of his
feet being very much blistered

and inflamed; we proceeded,
notwithstanding, and about
eleven o'clock began to ascend
a rocky hill called Boki-Kooro,
and it was past two in the after-
noon before we reached the level
ground on the other side. This
was the most rocky road we had
yet encountered, and it hurt our
feet much. In a short time we
arrived at a pretty large river
called Boki, which we forded ;
it ran smooth and clear over a
bed of whinstone. About a mile
to the westward of the river, we
came to a road which leads to
the north-east towards Gadou,
and seeing the marks of many
horses' feet upon the soft sand,
the slatees conjectured that a
party of plunderers had lately
rode that way to fall upon soroe
town of Gadou ; and lest they
should discover upon their re-
turn that we had passed, and
attempt to pursue us by the
marks of our feet, the coffle
was ordered to disperse, and
travel in a loose manner through
the high grass and bushes. A
little before it was dark, having
crossed the ridge of hills to the
westward of the river Boki, we
came to a well called cullong
qui (white sand well), and here
we rested for the night.

April 2 7. — We departed from
the well early in the morn-
ing, and walked on with the
greatest alacrity, in hopes of
reaching a town before night.
The road, during the forenoon,
led through extensive thickets
of drv bamboos. About two
o'clock we came to a stream

■ 'H

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS.

559

called Nunkolo, where we were
each of us regaled with a hand-
ful of meal, which, according
to a superstitious custom, was
not to be eaten until it was
first moistened with water from
this stream. About four o'clock
we reached Sooseeta, a small
Jallonka village, situated in the
district of Kullo, which com-
prehends all that tract of coun-
try lying along the banks of
the Black River, or main branch
of the Senegal. These were
the first human habitations we
had seen since we left the
village to the westv/ard of Kiny-
takooro, having travelled in the
course of the last five days up-
wards of one hundred miles.
Here, after a great deal of
entreaty, we were provided with
huts to sleep in, but the master
of the village plainly told us
that he could not give us any
provisions, as there had lately
been a great scarcity in this
part of the country. He as-
sured us that, before they had
gathered in their present crops,
the whole inhabitants of Kullo
had been for twenty-nine days
without tasting corn, during
which time they supported them-
selves entirely upon the yellow
powder which is found in the
pods of the nitta^ so called by
the natives, a species of mimosa,
and upon the seeds of the bam-
boo-cane, which, when properly
pounded and dressed, taste
very much like rice. As our
dry provisions were not yet ex-
hausted, a considerable quan-
tity of kouskous was dressed

for supper, and many of the
villagers were invited to take
part of the repast ; but they
made a very bad return for this
kindness, for in the night they
seized upon one of the school-
master's boys, who had fallen
asleep under the bentang-tree,
and carried him away. The
boy fortunately awoke before
he was far from the village, and
setting up a loud scream, the
man who carried him put his
hand upon his mouth, and ran
with him into the woods ; but
afterwards understanding that
he belonged to the schoolmas-
ter, whose place of residence is
only three days' journey distant,
he thought, I suppose, that he
could not retain hiiii as a slave
withoutthe schoolmaster's know-
ledge, and therefore stripped
off the boy's clothes, and per-
mitted him to return.

Aprih^. — Early in the morn-
ing we departed from Sooseeta,
and about ten o'clock came to
an unwalled town called Manna,
the inhabitants of which were
employed in collecting the fruit
of the nitta-trees, which are very
numerous in this neighbour-
hood. The pods are long and
narrow, and contain a few black
seeds enveloped in the fine
mealy powder before mentioned;
the meal itself is of a bright
yellow colour, resembling the
flour of sulphur, and has a sweet
mucilaginous taste. When eaten
by itself it is clammy, but when
mixed with milk or water, it
constitutes a very pleasant and
nourishing article of diet.

K I

56o

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

'I'b.e language of the people
of Manna is the same that is
spoken all over that extensive
and hilly country called Jallon-
kadoo. Some of the words have
a great affinity to the Mandingo,
but the natives nemselves con-
sider it as a distinct language.
Their numerals are these : —

One,

Kidding.

Two,

Fidding,

Three,

Sarra.

Four,

Nani.

Five,

Soolo.

Six,

Seni.

Seven,

Soolo ma fidding.

Eight,

Soolo ma sarra.

Nine,

Soolo ma nani.

Ten,

Nuflf.

The Jallonkas, like the Man-
dingoes, are governed by a
number of petty chiefs, who
are in a great measure indepen-
dent of each other. They have
no common sovereign, and the
chiefs are seldom upon such
terms of friendship as to assist
each other even in war-time.
The chief of Manna, with a
number of his people, accom-
panied us to the banks of the
Bafing, or Black River (a prin-
cipal branch of the Senegal),
which we crossed upon a bridge
of bamboos of a very singular
construction. The river at this
place is smooth and deep, and
has very little current. Two
tall trees, when tied together
by the tops, are sufficiently long
to reach from one side to the
other — the roots resting upon
the rocks, and the tops floating
in the water. When a few trees

have been placed in this direc-
tion, they are covered with dry
bamboos, so as to form a float-
ing bridge, with a sloping gang-
way at each end, where the
trees rest upon the rocks. Th's
bridge is carried away ever/
year by the swelling of the
river in the rainy season, and
is constantly rebuilt by the in-
habitants of Manna, who, on
that account, expect a small
tribute from every passenger.

In the afternoon we passed
several villages, at none of
which we could procure a lodg-
ing; and in the twilight we
received information that two
hundred Jallonkas had as-
sembled near a town called
Melo, with a view to plunder
the coffle. This induced us to
alter our course, and we tra-
velled with great secrecy until
midnight, when we approached
a town called Koba. Before
we entered the town the names
of all the people belonging to
the coffle were called over, and
a freeman and three slaves
were found to be missing.
Every person immediately con-
cluded that the slaves had
murdered the freeman and made
their escape. It was therefore
agreed that six people should
go back as far as the last village,
and endeavour to find his body,
or collect some information
concerning the slaves. In the
meantime the coffle was ordered
to lie concealed in a cotton -
field near a large nitta-tree, and
nobody to speak except in a
whisper. It was towards morn-

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS.

56«

ing before the six men re-
turned, having heard nothing
of the man or the slaves. As
none of us had tasted victuals
for the last twenty-four hours,
it was agreed that we should go
into Koba, and endeavour to
procure some provisions. We
accordingly entered the town
before it was quite day, and
Karfa purchased from the chief
man, for three strings of beads,
a considerable quantity of
ground nuts, which we roasted
and ate for breakfast. We were
afterwards provided with huts,
and rested here for the day.

About eleven o'clock, to our
great joy and surprise, the free-
man and slaves who had parted
from the coffle the preceding
night, entered the town. One
of the slaves, it seems, had
hurt his foot, and the night
being .very dark, they soon lost
sight of the coffle. The free-
man, as soon as he found him-
self alone with the slaves, was
aware of his own danger, and
insisted on putting them in
irons. The slaves were at first
rather unwilling' to submit, but
when he threatened to stab
them one by one with his spear,
they made no farther resistance ;
and he remained with them
among the bushes until morning,
when he let them out of irons,
and came to the town in hopes
of hearing which route the
coffle had taken . The informa-
tion that we received concern-
ing the Jallonkas, who intended
io rob the coffle, was this day
contirmed, and we were forced

to remain here until the after-
noon of the 30th, when Karfa
hired a number of people to
protect us, and we proceeded
to a village called Tinkingtang.
Departing from this village on
the day following, we crossed a
high ridge of mountains to the
west of the Black River, and
travelled over a rough stony
country until sunset, when we
arrived at Lingicotta, a small
village in the district of Wora-
doo. Here we shook out the
last handful of meal from our
dry provision-bags, this being
the second day (since we crossed
the Black River) that we had
travelled from morning until
night without tasting one morsel
of food.

May 2. — We departed from
Lingicotta ; but the slaves being
very much fatigued, we halted
for the night at a village about
nine miles to the westward,
and procured some provisions
through the interest of the
schoolmaster, who now sent
forward a messenger to Mala-
cotta, his native town, to in-
form his friends of his arrival
in the country, and to desire
them to provide the necessary
quantity of victuals to entertain
the coffle for two or three days.

May 3. — We set out for Ma-
lacotta, and about noon arrived
at a village near a considerable
stream of water which flows to
the westward. Here we detei-
mined to stop for the return of
the messenger who had been
sent to Malacotta the day be-
fore ; and as the natives assured

2 N

Sfta

TTTE F.NClJSn rXPl.OKF.RS.

WW there were no cnuMHlilos in
this sticani, I wnU .'ind hathi'd
niyscir. Very low pcopii' Iumv
can Nwini, lor they canu* in
numbers to dissuade me iVouj
venturing into a pool wiiere
they saiil the water would come
over my head. About two
o'eloek the messenger returned
from Malaeolta, and the school-
master's ehler brother being im-
]iatient to sec hinj, came along
with the messenger to meet hiju
at this village. The iuterview
l)etween the two brothers, who
had not seen eaeh other lor
niito years, was very natural and
nlVeeting. They fell upon eaeh
Other's neck, and it was some
lime before cither of them
could speak. At lengtii, when
the schoolmaster had a little
recovered himself, he took his
l)rother by the hand, and turn-
ing roimd, * This is the man,'
saul he, pointing to Karla, 'who
has been my father in Manding.
1 would have pointed him out
sooner to you, but my heart
was too full.*

\Ve reacheil Malacotta in tlic
evening, where we were well
received. This is an unwalled
town. The huts for the most
l)art are made of si)lit cane,
twisted into a sort of wicker-
work, and plasiered over with
mud. Here we remained three
days, and were each day \)xq-
sented with a bullock from the
schoolmaster. \\q were like-
wise well entertained by the
townspeople, who aj^pear to be
very active and industrious.
They make very good soap by

boiling ground ntits in water,
and then adding a ley of wood
ashes. They likewise manufac
ture excellent iron, which tluy
carry to Mondou to barter lor
salt. A party of the towns-
people had lately returned iVom
a. tradingexpedition of this kind,
and brought information ron
cerning a war between Alinnini
Abdulkader, king of l«'oota-
Torra, and Damel, king ol the
Jalolfs. The events of this war
soon became a favourite subjct t
with the singing men, and ilu-
conn\u)n topi** of conversation
in all the kingdoms bordeiin^
upon the Senegal and (lanihia ;
and as the account is somewli.it
singular, I shall here ahri«]m:
it for the reader's information.
The king ol 3«'oota-Torra, in-
flamed with a zeal for propa-
gating his religion, had sent ;in
embassy to Damel similar to that
which he had sent to Kasson,
as has been previously related.
The ambassador, on the i)re-
sent occasion, was accompanied
by two of the ])rincipal hiish-
reens, who carried each a large
knife fixed on the top of a long
pole. As soon as he had pro-
cured admission into the ihc-
sence of Damel, and announced
the i)leasure of his sovereign,
he ordered the bushreens to
))resent the emblems of his
mission. The two knives were
accordingly laid before Daniel,
and the ambassador explained
himself as follows : — ' With this
knife,' said he, ' Abdulkader will
condescend to shave the head
of Damel, if Damel will embrace

r.tAWCS r.II'F. AND TRAVELS,

5 ^'3

'11

lUtH in water,
a ley of wood
•wise luaimrac
m, wliieli tluy
I to barter lor
of Iho towiis-
retunu'd IVom
ion oltliis kind,
formation ton
•Iween Alnianu
njj; of I'\)()ta
iol, king ol tlio
lmUs of this war
Lvoiirite subjici
\ nu'M, and tlu-
;)f conversati()i\
lonis borderini;
il and (^ianil)ia ;
int is sonu wlial
I here al)rid);c
r's information.
'oota-Torra, in-
/cal ft)r propa-
)n, had sent an
el similar to that
icnt to Kasson,
!viously related.
)r, on the i»re-
as acc;omi)anied
in'incipai Imsh-
ed each a large
10 top of a lonj?
as he had i)ro-
n into the i^e-
and announced
his sovereign,
; bushrcens to
nblems of liis
two knives were
before Darnel,
ador explained
vs : — * With this
Abdulkader will
shave the head
nel will embrace

the Mohammedan Tiith ; and
with Ihi.s other knife, Abdul
kader will (Mit the throat of
Darnel, if Damel reluses to em
brace it : take your <:hoi(:e.'
Daniel coolly told the andias
sador that he had no choice to
make he neither chose to have
his head shaved nor his throat
cut ; and with this answer the
aud)assador was civilly (lis
nussed. Abdulkader took his
measures accordingly, and with
a powerful army invaded Da-
niel's country. The inhabitants
of the towns and villages Idled
up their wells, destroytnl their
jirovisions, carried off tlu-ir
effects, and abandoned their
dwellings, as he approached,
lly this means he was led on
from place to place, until he
had advanced three days' jour-
ney into the coimtry of the
Jalofls. He had, indeed, met
with no opposition, but his
army had suffered so much from
tile scarcity of water that several
of his men had died by the way.
This induced him to direct his
march towards a watering-place
in the woods, where his men,
having quenched their thirst,
and being overcome with fatigue,
lay down carelessly to sleep
among the bushes. In this
situation they were attacked
by Darnel before daybreak, and
completely routed. Many of
them were trampled to death,
as they lay asleep, by the Jaloff
horses ; others were killed in at-
teiTii)ting to make their escape ;
and a still greater number were
taken prisoners. Among the

lat((!r was Abdulkader liiniHelf.
This ambitious, or rather frantic
prince, who but a month before
liad sent the threatening mes-
sage to Dainel, was now him-
self led into his presence as a
miserable captive. The beha-
viour of 1 )amel on this occasion
is never mentioned by the sing-
ing men but in terms of the
highest a|)prol)ati()n ; and it was
indeed so extraordinary in an
African prince, that the reader
may fmd it dil)i( ult to give
credit to the recital. When
his roy.d prisoner was brought
before him in irons, and thrown
upon the ground, the magnani
nious Daniel, instead of setting
his foot upon his neck and
stabbing hiin with his spear,
according to custom in such
cases, addressed him as foJ-
l(jws : — * Abdulkader, answer
nie thisijueslion. If the chance
of war had placed me in your
situation, and you in mine, how
would you have treated nief
' 1 would have thrust my si)ear
into your heart,' returned Ab-
dulkader, with great firmness ;
* and I know that a similar
fate awaits me.' * Not so,' said
Darnel ; ' my spear is indeed
red with the blood of your sub-
jects killed in battle, and \
could now give it a deeper stain
by dipping it in your own, but
this would not build up my
towns, nor bring to life the
thousands who fell in the woods.
I will not, therefore, kill you in
cold blood, but I will retain
you as my slave, until I per-
ceive that your presence in

5^>4

THE ENGUSU EXPLORERS,

your own kinf^dotu will he no
longer dangerous to your neigh-
bours ; and tlien 1 will consitler
of the proper way of disposing
of you.' Abdulkader was ac-
cordingly retained, and worked
as a slave for three months ; at
the end of which period Darnel
listened to the solicitations of
the inhabitants of Foota-Torra,
and restored to them their king.
Strange as this story ujay ap-
pear, I have no doubt of the
truth of it. It was told mc at
Malacotta by the negroes ; it
was afterwards related to mc
by the Europeans on the Gam-
bia, by some of the French at
(loree, and confirmed by nine
slaves who were taken prisoners
along with Abdulkader by the
watering-place in the woods,
and carried in the same ship
with me to the West Indies.

CHAPTER XXVI.

On the 7th of May we departed
from Malacotta, and having
crossed the Ba Lee (Honey
River), a branch of the Senegal,
we arrived in the evening at a
walled town called Bintingala,
where we rested two days.
From thence, in one day more,
we proceeded to Dindikoo, a
small town situated at the bot-
tom of a high ridge of hills,
from which this district is
named Konkodoo (the country
of mountains^. These hills are
very productive of gold. I was
shown a small quantity of this

metal, which had been lately
collected : thegrains were about
the usual size, but nuuh flatter
than tho.se of Manding, and
were founil in white (|uartz,
which had been broken to
pieces by hanuners. At this
town I met with a negro whoso
hair and skin were of a dull
white colour. He was of that
sort which are called in the
Spanish West Indies albinos^
or white negroes. The skin is
cadaverous and unsightly, and
the natives considered this com-
plexion (1 believe truly) as the
ertect of disease.

May II. — At daybreak we
departed from Dindikoo, and,
after a toilsome day's travel,
arrived in the evening at Sata-
doo, the capital of a district of
the same name. This town
was formerly of considerable
extent, but many families had
left it in consequence of the
predatory incursions of the
Foulahs of Foota-Jalla, who
made it a practice to come
secretly through the woods and
carry off people from the corn-
fields, and even from the wells
near the town. In the after-
noon of the 1 2 th we crossed the
Falemti River, the same which
I had formerly crossed at Bondou
in my journey eastward. This
river, at this season of the year,
is easily forded at this place, the
stream being only about two
feet deep. The water is very
pure, and flows rapidly over
a bed of sand and gravel. We
lodged for the night at a small
village called Medina, the sole

PAKK'S LIFE AND TRA VKLS,

56s

])roj)c'rty of a Mandingo incr-
clmiU, who, by ti long inter-
course with luiropcans, lins
been induced to adopt some of
their customs. llis victuals
were served up in pewter dislies,
and even his houses were built
alter the fashion of the JMiglish
houses on the (Jlauibia.

May 13. — In the niorninj^, as
we were preparing to depart, a
coflle of slaves belonging to
some Seravvoolli traders crossed
the river, and agreed to proceed
with us to Haniserile, the capi-
tal of Dentila — a very long day's
journey from this place. We
accordingly set out together,
and travelled with great expedi-
tion through the wootls until
noon, when one of the Sera-
woolll slaves dropped the load
from his head, for which he
was smartly whipped. The
load was replaced, but he had
not proceeded above a mile
before he let it fall a second
time, for which he received the
same punishment. After this he
travelled in great pain until
about two o'clock, when we
8toi)ped to breathe a little by a
pool of water, the day being
remarkably hot. The poor slave
was now so completely ex-
hausted that his master was
obliged to release him from the
rope, for he lay motionless on
the ground. A Serawoolli,
therefore, undertook to remain
with him, and endeavour to
bnng him to the town during
the cool of the night ; in the
meanwhile we continued our
route, and after a very hard

day's travel, arrived at lianiscrilc
late in the cvcf ng.

One of our slatces was a
native of this j)lacc, from which
he had been absent three
years. This man invited me
to go with him to his house, at
the gate of which his friends
met him with many expressions
of joy, shaking hands with him,
embracing him, and singing and
ilancing before him. As soon
as he had seated himself upon
a mat, by the threshold of his
door, a young woman (his in-
tended bride) brought a little
water in a calabash, and kneel-
ing down before him, desired
him to wash his hands ; when
he had done this, the girl with
a tear of joy sparkling in her
eyes, drank the water — this
being considered as the great-
est proof she could possibly
give him of her fidelity and at-
tachment. About eight o'clock
the same evening, the Sera-
woolli, who had been left in
the woods to take care of
the fatigued slave, returned and
told us that he was dead ; the
general opinion, however, was
that he himself had killed him
or left him to perish on the
road, for the Serawoollies are
said to be infinitely more cruel
in their treatment of slaves than
the Mandingoes. We remained
at Baniserile two days, in order
to purchase native iron, shea-
butL r, and some other articles
for sale on the Gambia; and
here the slatee who had invited
me to his house, and who pos-
sessed three slaves, part of the

566

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

coftle, having ol)tained informa-
tion that the price on the coast
was very low, determined to
separate from us, and remain
with his slaves where he was,
until an opportunity should offer
of disposing of them to advan-
tage — giving us to understand
that he should complete his nup-
tials with the young woman l)e-
fore mentioned in the meantime.
May 1 6. — We departed from
Raniserile,and travelled through
thick woods until noon, when
we saw at a distance the town
of Julifunda, but did not ap-
jiroach it, as we proposed to
rest for the night at a large
town called Kirwani, which we
reached about four o'clock in
the afternoon. This town
stands in a valley, and the
country, for more than a mile
round it, is cleared of wood and
well cultivated. The inhabi-
tants appear to be very active
and industrious, and seem to
have carried the system of
agriculture to some degree of
perfection, for they collect the
dung of their cattle into large
heaps during the dry season,
for the purpose of manuring
their land with it at the proper
time. I saw nothing like this
in any other part of Africa.
Near the town are several
smelting furnaces, from which
the natives obtain very good
iron. They afterwards hammer
the metal into small bars, about
a foot in length and two inches
in breadth, one of which bars is
sufficient to make two Man-
dingo corn-hoes. On the morn-

ing after our arrival we were
visited by a slatee of this place,
who informed Karfa, that auionL'
some slaves he had lately pur-
chased was a native of I'oota-
Jalla, and as that country was
at no great distance, he could
not safely employ him in the
labours of the field, lest he
should effect his escape. The
slatee was therefore desirous of
exchanging this slave for one of
Karfa's, and oftered some cloth
and shea-butter to induce Karfa
to comply with the proposal,
which was accepted. The
slatee thereupon sent a boy
to order the slave in question
to bring him a few ground-nuts.
The poor creature soon after-
wards entered the court in
which we were sitting, having
no suspicion of what was nego-
tiating, until the master caused
the gate to be shut, and told
him to sit down. The slave
now saw his danger, and per-
ceiving the gate to be shut upon
him, threw down the nuts and
jumped over the fence. He
was immediately pursued and
overtaken by the slatees, who
brought him back and secured
him in irons, after which one of
Karfa's slaves was released and
delivered in exchange. The
unfortunate captive was at first
very much dejected, but in the
course of a few days his melan-
choly gradually subsided, and
he became at length as cheerful
as any of his companions.

Departing from Kirwani on
the morning of the 20th, we
entered the Tenda Wilderness

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS.

/I
567

of two days' journey. The
woods were very thick, and the
country shelved towards the
south-west. About ten o'clock
we met a coffle of twenty-six
people, and seven loaded asses,
returning from the Gambia.
Most of the men were armed with
muskets, and had broad belts
of scarlet cloth over their shoul-
ders, and European hats upon
their heads. They informed us
that there was very little de-
mand for slaves on the coast,
as no vessel had arrived for
some months past. On hear-
ing this, the SerawooUies, who
liad travelled with us from the
Falemd River, separated them-
selves and their slaves from the
coffle. They had not, they
said, the means of maintaining
their slaves in Gambia until a
vessel should arrive, and were
unwilling to sell them to dis-
advantage j they therefore de-
parted to the northward for
Kajaaga. We continued our
route through the wilderness,
and travelled all day through a
rugged country, covered with
extensive thickets of bamboo.
,At sunset, to our great joy, we
arrived at a pool of water near
a large tabba-tree, whence the
place is called Tabbagee, and
here we rested a few hours.
The water at this season of the
year is by no means plenti-
ful in these woods, and as the
days were insufferably hot,
Karfa proposed to travel in
the night. Accordingly, about
eleven o'clock the slaves were
taken out of their irons, and

the people of the coffle received
orders to keep close together,
as well to prevent the slaves
from attempting to escape as
on account of the wild beasts.
We travelled with great alacrity
until daybreak, when it was
discovered that a free woman
had parted from the coffle in
the night : her name was called
until the woods resounded, but
no answer being given, we con-
jectured that she had either
mistaken the road, or that a
lion had seized her unperceived.
At lengtli it was agreed that
four people should go back a
few miles to a small rivulet,
where some of the coffle had
stopped to drink as we passed
it in the night, and that the
coffle should wait for their re-
turn. The sun was about an
hour high before the people
came back with the woman,
whom they found lying fast
asleep by the stream. We new
resumed our journey, and about
eleven o'clock reached a walled
town called Tambacunda, where
we were well received. Here
we remained four days, on
account of a palaver which was
held on the following occasion :
— Modi Lemina, one of the sla-
tees belonging to the coffle, had
formerly married a woman of
this town, who had borne him
two children ; he afterwards
went to Manding, and remained
there eight years without send-
ing any account of himself dur-
ing all that time to his deserted
wife, who, seeing no prospect
of his return, at the end of

"I ■;■?(
ill -'i»,

!i:.,., -.lil

568

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

three years had married another
man, to whom she had likewise
borne two children. Lemina
now claimed his wife ; but the
second husband refused to de-
liver her up, insisting that by
the laws of Africa, when a man
has been three years absent
from his wife without giving
her notice of his being alive,
the woman is at liberty to
marry again. After all the cir-
cumstanr.°s had been fully in-
vestigateu in an assembly of
the chief men, it was deter-
mined that the wife should
make her choice, and be at
liberty either to return to the
first husband, or continue with
the second, as she alone should
think proper. Favourable as
this determination was to the
lady, she found it a difficult
matter to make up her mind,
and requested time for con-
sideration ; but I think I could
perceive that first love would
carry the day. Lemina was in-
deed somewhat older than his
rival, but he was also much
richer. What weight this cir-
cumstance had in the scale of
his wife's affections I pretend
"ot to say.

About one o'clock on the
morning of the 26th we reached
Sibikillin, a walled village ; but
the inhabitants having the
character of inhospitality to-
wards strangers, and of being
much addicted to theft, we did
not think proper to enter the
gate. We rested a short time
under a tree, and then con-
tinued our route until it was

dark, when we halted for the
night by a small stream run-
ning towards the Gambia.
Next day the road led over a
wild and rocky country, every-
where rising into hills, and
abounding with monkeys and
wild beasts. In the rivulets
among the hills we found great
plenty of fish. This was a very
hard day's journey ; and it was
not until sunset that we reached
the village of Koomboo, near
to which are the ruins of a
large town formerly destroyed
by war. The inhabitants of
Koomboo, like those of Sibi-
killin, have so bad a reputa-
tion, that strangers seldom
lodge in the village ; we ac-
cordingly rested for the night
in the fields, where we erected
temporary huts for our protec-
tion, there being great appear-
ance of rain.

May 28. — We departed from
Koomboo, and slept at a Fou-
lah town about seven miles to
the westward ; from which, on
the day following, having
crossed a considerable branch
of the Gambia, called Neola
Koba, we reached a well-inha-
bited part of the country. Here
are several towns within sight
of each other, collectively called
Tenda, but each is distinguished
also by its particular name.
We lodged at one of them
called Koba Tenda, where we
remained the day following, in
order to procure provisions for
our support in crossing the Sim-
bani woods. On the 30th we
reached Jallacotta, a consider-

PARICS LIFE AND TRA VELS.

5^9

able town, but much infested
by Foulah banditti, who come
through the woods from Bor.-
dou, and steal everything they
can lay their hands on. A few
days before our arrival they
had stolen twenty head of
cattle, and on the day follow-
ing made a second attempt,
but were beaten off, and one
of them tiken prisoner. Here
one of the slaves belonging to
the coffle, who had travelled
with great difficulty for the last
three days, was found unable
to proceed any further: his
master (a singing man) pro-
posed therefore to exchange
him for a young slave girl
belonging to one of the towns-
people. The poor girl was
ignorant of her fate until the
bundles were all tied up in the
morning, and the coffle ready
to depart, when, coming with
some other young women to
see the coffle set out, her mas-
ter took her by the hand, and
delivered her to the singing
man. Never was a face of
serenity more suddenly changed
into one of the deepest dis-
tress ; the terror she manifested
on having the load put upon
her head, and the rope fastened
round her neck, and the sorrow
with which she bade adieu to
her companions, were truly
affecting. About nine o'clock
we crossed a large plain covered
with ciboa-Xxt.^^ (a species of
palm), and came to the river
Nerico, a branch of the Gam-
bia. This was but a small
river at this time, but in the

rainy season it is often danger-
ous to travellers. As soon as
we had crossed this river, the
singing men began to vocifer-
ate a particular song, expres-
sive of their joy at having got
safe into the west country, or,
as they expressed it, the land of
the setting sun. The country
was found to be very level, and
the soil a mixture of clay and
sand. In the afternoon it
rained hard, and we had re-
course to the common negro
umbrella, a large ciboa-leaf,
which, being placed upon the
head, completely defends the
whole body from the rain. We
lodged for the night under the
shade of a large tabba-tree,
near the ruins of a village. On
the morning following we
crossed a stream called Nou-
lico, and about two o'clock, to
my infinite joy, I saw myself
once more on the banks of the
Gambia, which at this place
being deep and smooth, is
navigable ; but the people told
me, that a little lower down
the stream is so shallow that
the coffles frequently cross it
on foot.

/um 2. — We departed from
Seesukunda, and passed a num-
ber of villages, at none of which
was the coffle permitted to stop,
although we were all very much
fatigued ; it was four o'clock in
the afternoon before we reached
Baraconda, where we rested one
day. Departing from Bara-
conda on the morning of the
4th, we reached in a few hours
Medina, the capital of the king

iii'i

\ •

570

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

of WooUi's dominions, from
whom the reader may recollect
I received an hospitable recep-
tion in the beginning of Decem-
ber 179s, in my journey east-
ward (see p. 402). I immediately
inquired concerning the health
of my good old benefactor, and
learned with great concern that
he was dangerously ill. As
Karfa would not allow the
coffle to stop, I could not
present my respects to the king
in person, but I sent him word,
by the officer to whom we paid
customs, that his prayers for
my safety had not been un-
availing. We continued our
route until sunset, when we
lodged at a small village a little
to the westward of Kootacunda,
and on the day following ar-
rived at Jindey, where, eighteen
months before, I had parted
from my friend Dr Laidley —
an interval during which I had
not beheld the face of a Chris-
tian, nor once heard the delight-
ful sound of my native language.
Being now arrived within a
short distance of Pisania, from
whence my journey originally
commenced, and learning that
my friend Karfa was not likely
to meet with an immediate op-
portunity of selling his slaves
on the Gambia, it occurred to
me to suggest to him that he
would find it for his interest to
leave them at Jindey until a
market should offer. Karfa
agreed with me in this opinion,
md hired from the chief man
of the town huts for their ac-
commodation, and a piece of

land on which to employ them
in raising corn and other pro-
visions for their maintenance.
With regard to himself, he de-
clared that he would not quit
me until my departure from
Africa. We set out accordingly,
Karfa, myself, and one of the
Foulahs belonging to the coffle,
early on the morning of the
9th; but although I was now
approaching the end of my
tedious and toilsome journey,
and expected in another day
to meet with countrymen and
friends, I could not part, for
the last time, with my unfortu-
nate fellow-travellers— doomed,
as I knew most of them to
be, to a life of captivity and
slavery in a foreign land-
without great emotion. During
a wearisome peregrination of
more than five hundred British
miles, exposed to the burning
rays of a tropical sun, these
poor slaves, amidst their own
infinitely greater sufferings,
would commiserate mine, and
frequently, of their own accord,
bring water to quench my
thirst, and at night collect
branches and leaves to prepare
me a bed in the wilderness.
We parted with reciprocal ex-
pressions of regret and bene-
diction. My good wishes and
prayers were all I could bestow
upon them, and it afforded me
some consolation to be told
that they were sensible I had
no more to give.

My anxiety to get forward
admitting of no delay on the
road, we reached Tendacunda

PARJCS LIFE AND TRA VELS.

571

in the evening, and were hospi-
tably received at the house of
an aged black female called
Seniora Camilla, a person who
resided many years at the Eng-
lish factory, and spoke our
language. I was known to her
before I had left the Gambia,
at the outset of my journey,
but my dress and figure were
now so different from the usual
appearance of a European, that
she was very excusable in mis-
taking me for a Moor. When I
told her my name and country,
she surveyed me with great
astonishment, and seemed un-
willing to give credit to the
testimony of her senses. She
assured me that none of the
traders on the Gambia ever
expected to see me again, hav-
ing been informed long ago
that the Moors of Ludamar
had murdered me, as they had
murdered Major Houghton. I
inquired for my two attendants,
J ohnson and Demba, and learnt,
with great sorrow, that neither
of them was returned. Karfa,
who had never before heard
people converse in English,
listened to us with great atten-
tion. Everything he saw seemed
wonderful. The furniture of
the house, the chairs, etc., and
particularly beds with curtains,
were objects of his great ad-
miration, and he asked me a
thousand questions concerning
the utility and necessity of dif^
ferent articles, to some of which
I found it difficult to give satis
factory answers.
On the morning of the loth,

Mr Robert Ainsley having learnt
that I was at Tendacunda, came
to meet me, and politely offered
me the use of his horse. He
informed me that Dr Laidley
had removed all his property
to a place called Kayee, a little
further down the river, and that
he was then gone to Dooma-
sansa with his vessel to pur-
chase rice, but would return in
a day or two. He therefore
invited me to stay with him at
Pisania, until the doctor's re-
turn. I accepted the invitation,
and being accompanied by my
friend Karfa, reached Pisania
about ten o'clock. Mr. Ains-
ley's schooner was lying at
anchor before the place. This
was the most surprising object
which Karfa had yet seen. He
could not easily comprehend
the use of the masts, sails, and
rigging, nor did he conceive
that it was possible, by any
sort of contrivance, to make so
large a body move forwards by
the common force of the wind.
The manner of fastening to-
gether the different planks
which composed the vessel,
and filling up the seams so as
to exclude the water, was per-
fectly new to him ; and I found
that the schooner, with her
cable and anchor, kept Karfa
in deep meditation the greater
part of the day.

About noon on the 1 2th, Dr.
Laidley returned from Dooma-
sansa, and received me with
great joy and satisfaction, as
one risen from the dead. Find-
ing that the wearing apparel

i I

r'^"

\W'f tf

57*

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

which I had left under his care
was not sold or sent to Eng-
land, I lost no time in resuming
the English dress, and disrobing
my chin of its venerable encum-
brance. Karfa surveyed me in
my British apparel with great
delight, but regretted exceed-
ingly that I had taken off my
beard, the loss of which, he
said, had converted me from a
man into a boy. Dr. Laidley
readily undertook to discharge
all the pecuniary engagements
which I had entered into since
my departure from the Gambia,
and took my draft upon the
Association for the amount.
My agreement with Karfa (as
I have already related) was to
pay him the value of one prime
slave, for which I had given
him my bill upon Dr. Laidley
before we departed from Ka-
malia ; for in case of my death
on the road, I was unwilling
that my benefactor should be a
loser. But this good creature
had continued to manifest to-
wards me so much kindness,
that I thought I made him but
an inadequate recompence when
I told him that he was now to
receive double the sum I had
originally promised ; and Dr.
Laidley assured him that he
was ready to deliver the goods
to that amount whenever he
thought proper to send for them.
Karfa was overpowered by this
unexpected token of my grati-
tude, and, still more so, when
he heard that .1 intended to
send a handsome present to
the good old schoolmaster, Fan-

kooma, at Malacotta. He pro-
mised to carry up the goods
along with his own; and Dr.
Laidley assured him that he
would exert himself in assisting
him to dispose of his slaves to
the best advantage the moment
a slave vessel should arrive.
These, and other instances of
attention and kindness shown
him by Dr. Laidley, were not
lost upon Karfa. He would
often say to me, ' My journey
has indeed been prosperous !'
But observing the improved
state of our manufactures, and
our manifest superiority in the
arts of civilised life, he would
sometimes appear pensive, and
exclaim, with an involuntary
sigh, Fato fing inta feng (' Black
men are nothing') ! At other
times he would ask me, with
great seriousness, what could
possibly have induced me, who
was no trader, to think of ex-
ploring so miserable a country
as Africa? He meant by this
to signify that, after what 1
must have witnessed in my
own country, nothing in Africa
could in his opinion deserve a
moment's attention. I have
preserved these little traits of
character in this worthy negro,
not only from regard to the
man, but also because they ap-
pear to me to demonstrate that
he possessed a mind above his
condition. And to such of my
readers as love to contemplate
human nature in all its varieties,
and to trace its progress from
rudeness to refinement, I hope
the account I have given of

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS,

573

this poor African will not be
unacceptable. '

No European vessel had ar-
rived at Gambia for many
months previous to my return
from the interior, and, as the
rainy season was now setting
in, I persuaded Karfa to return
to his people at Jindey. He
parted with me on the 14th
with great tenderness; but as
I had little hopes of being able
to quit Africa for the remainder
of the year, I told him, as the
fact was, that I expected to see
him again before my departure.
In this, however, I was luckily
disappointed, and my narrative
now hastens to its conclusion ;
for, on the isth, the ship
Charlestown, an American ves-
sel, commanded by Mr. Charles
Harris, entered the river. She
came for slaves, intending to
touch at Goree to fill up, and
to proceed from thence to South 1
Carolina. As the European
merchants on the Gambia had
at this time a great many slaves
on hand, they agreed with the
captain to purchase the whole
of his cargo, consisting chiefly
of rum and tobacco, and deliver
him slaves to the amount, in
the course of two days. This
afforded me such an oppor-
tunity of returning, though by a
circuitous route, to my native
country, as I thought was not
to be neglected. I therefore
immediately engaged my pas-
sage in this vessel for America ;
and having taken leave of Dr.
Laidley, to whose kindness I
was so largely indebted, and

my other friends on the river,
I embarked at Kayee on the
17th day of June.

Our passage down the river
was tedious and fatiguing ; and
the weather was so hot, moist,
and unhealthy, that before our
arrival at Goree four of the sea-
men, the surgeon, and three of
the slaves, had died of fevers.
At Goree we were detained, for
want of provisions, until the be-
ginning of October.

The number of slaves received
on board this vessel, both on
the Gambia and at Goree, was
one hundred and thirty, of whom
about twenty-five had been, I
suppose, of free condition in
Africa, ar. most of those, being
bushreenij, could write a little
Arabic. Nine of them had be-
come captives in the religious
war between Abdulkader and
Damel, mentioned in the latter
part of the preceding chapter.
Two of the others had seen me
as I passed through Bondou,
and many of them had heard
of me in the interior countries.
My conversation with them, in
their native language, gave them
great comfort ; and as the sur-
geon was dead, I consented to
act in a medical capacity in his
room for the remainder of the
voyage. They had in truth need
of every consolation in my power
to bestow ; not that I observed
any wanton acts of cruelty prac-
tised either by the master or the
seamen towards them, but the
mode of confining and securing
negroes in the American slave
ships (owing chiefly to the weak-

574

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

ness of their crews) being abun-
dantly more rigid and severe
than in British vessels employed
in the same traffic, made these
poor creatures to suffer greatly,
and a general sickness prevailed
amongst them. Besides the
three who died on the Gambia,
and six or eight while we re-
mained at Goree, eleven per-
ished at sea, and many of the
survivors were reduced to a
very weak and emaciated con-
dition.

In the midst of these dis-
tresses, the vessel, after having
been three weeks at sea, be-
came so extremely leaky as to
require constant exertion at the
pumps. It was found neces-
sary, therefore, to take some of
the ablest of the negro men out
of irons and employ them in this
labour, in which they were often
worked beyond their strength.
This produced a complication
of miseries not easily to be de-
scribed. We were, however,
relieved much sooner than I
expected, for the leak continu-
ing to gain upon us, notwith-
standing our utmost exertions
to clear the vessel, the seamen
insisted on bearing away for the
West Indies, as affording the
only chance of saving our lives*
Accordingly, after some objec-
tions on the part of the master,

we directed our course for
Antigua, and fortunately made
that island in about thirty-five
days after our departure from
Goree. Yet even at this junc-
ture we narrowly escaped de-
struction ; for, on approaching
the north-west side of the island,
we struck on the Diamond Rock,
and got into St. John's Harbour
witli great difficulty. The vessel
was afterwards condemned as
unfit for sea, and the slaves, as
I have heard, were ordered to
be sold for the benefit of the
owners.

At this island I remained ten
days, when the Chesterfield
packet, homeward bound from
the Leeward Islands, touching
at St. John's for the Antigua
mail, I took my passage in that
vessel. We sailed on the 24th
of November, and after a short
but tempestuous voyage, arrived
at Falmouth on the 2 2d of
December, from whence I im-
mediately set out for London ;
having been absent from Eng-
land two years and seven
months. . f

[Here terminates the account
of Mr. Park's first travels in
Africa, as written by himself,
and we continue the narrative
of his life and second expedi-
tion as follows.] r:

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS.

575

■ I,.

NARRATIVE OF SECOND TRAVELS IN AFRICA.

All the requisite preparations
for the enterprise were com-
pleted before the end of Janu-
ary, and on the 30th of that
month, 1805, Park set sail from
Portsmouth, in the Crescent
transport, taking on board with
him from the dockyards of
that place four or five artificers,
besides his two friends, Mr.
Anderson and Mr. Scott, whose
appointments, of course, took
place by his desire. The re-
mainder of the party was to be
supplied by the British garrison
of Goree.

On the 9th of April the
transport reached Jillifrey on
the Gambia, and in a few days
afterwards continued its voyage
up the river to Kayee. From
this town he sent several letters
to his friends. By delays, for
which he was not responsible,
he was necessitated to enter
upon his route into the interior
at a season of the year when
travelling becomes extremely
difficult from the heats, hurri-
canes, and rains incidental to
the climate. The period, in-
deed, for these tropical casual-
ties was not yet arrived, but it
was close at hand. Park fore-
saw clearly the chance of hav-
ing to combat these disadvan-
tages, but he flattered himself
with the hope of reaching the
Niger before the tempestuous
season set in. At Kayee he

was able, for the first time,
to perfect his preparations for
the route by attaching a few of
the natives to his party. Isaaco,
a Man dingo priest and mer-
chant, and one well inured to
long inland journeys, engaged
himself to act as guide to the
expedition, and to give it the
assistance of several negroes,
his own personal attendants.
On the 27th of April, with this
addition to his company. Park
left Kayee, and commenced his
land journey, under a salute
from the Crescent, which had
thus far escorted the party up
the Gambia. On the evening
of the 28th they reached Pis-
ania, after a march rendered ex-
tremely fatiguing by the heat
and by the difficulty of getting
the asses to advance. At
Pisania, Park was again enter-
tained by Mr. Ainsley, the
kind friend to whom he owed
so much on his former journey.
The party did not leave this
place till the 4th of May, when
they set out in the following
order : — The asses, loaded with
the baggage, and marked with
red paint to prevent their being
stolen, were divided among the
soldiers, a certain number to
each of the six messes into
which the men were arranged.
Mr. Scott went with the front
party. Lieutenant Martyn m
the centre, and Park and Mr

576

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

Anderson took charge of the
rear. For several days the
party travelled nearly in this
order, in a parallel line with the
Gambia — the line which their
leader had formerly traversed
alone. They had tents, which
they pitched and slept in by
night. On the nth of May
they reached Medina, the cap-
ital of WooUi, where the king
exacted a heavy cess of amber
and coral bars for himself and
his relatives and great men.
On the 20th of May, Park had
pursued his journey as far as a
town called Tambico, where
the guide Isaaco was robbed of
his arms, cruelly flogged, and
detained. He had been sent
to remonstrate against the
seizure of his own horse by
some of the natives, as a boy
was watering it at a well. It
was with considerable difficulty,
and only after the payment of
some articles of value, that the
guide could be released and
the journey continued. On the
26th, when the party had come
up to a place called Bee Creek,
a curious accident befell them.
Some of Isaaco's people, being
in search of honey, disturbed a
large swarm of bees, which
attacked the men and beasts of
the company with such violence
as to send them flying in every
direction for safety. The se-
verity of this assault may be
conceived from the fact that
six asses and one horse were
lost on the occasion — two, if
not three, of the asses being
literally stung to death, and

the other animals being never
recovered after their dispersion.
Many of the people were
seriously stung about the face
and hands.

Continuing his route at no
great distance from the Gambia,
Park was subjected to rather
heavy impositions by the chiefs
of Badoo and Jillifinda, at which
latter place the party arrived
on the ist of June. Their
route now lay straight east,
leaving the neighbourhood of
the Gambia. The weather at
this time began to be broken,
and the men to suffer accord-
ingly. On the 8th of June one
of the party, a carpenter, died
of dysentery. On the loth,
while they were at a place
called Shrondo, several very
heavy tornadoes occurred, and
the ground was covered with
water about three inches deep.
This tempest had an instant
effect on the health of the
soldiers, and proved, says Park,
to be the beginning of sorroiv.
On the following day twelve of
the soldiers were ill with a
dysenteric affection, the same
by which the carpenter had
been cut off. Park visited the
gold mines of Shrondo, and
saw a female go through the
operation of washing the gravel
in which the gold grains are
found. This gravel was taken
out of pits dug in a meadow
and washed . in small basins
(calabashes) by pounds or so
at a time. The woman referred
to extracted no less than twenty-
three particles of gold (about a

PARJCS LIFE AND TEA VELS.

577

grain weight each) from about
two pounds of gravel in a few
minutes. Pieces of gold as
large as a fist, she informed
the traveller, were occasionally
found. Other spots around are
not less rich in gold than this,
and altogether a great quantity
of the metal is procured from
the district annually.

From this period the troubles
of Park increased rapidly.
Fever, as well as dysentery,
spread among the men, and
the leader of the party suf-
fered from it also, though not
so severely as Lieutenant Mar-
tyn and some of the others.
Before the end of June, the
numbers of the company had
thinned lamentably. Several
of the soldiers had been left
behind at their own request,
under the charge of the natives,
being totally unable to proceed.
Park did all he could for them
under the circumstances, by
paying persons to show them
every necessary care and atten-
tion, but none of them ever
recovered. Others of the men
strayed from their companions,
and were never again heard of.
The majority of the rest of the
party, at the same time, con-
tinued for the most part so ill,
that they could scarcely be kept
on the backs of the asses by all
the exertions of their more
healthy friends. Several of the
sick begged again and again to
be left by the wayside to die.
But not even then could a
peaceful death have been hoped
for, for wolves and lions prowled

around the party by night and
by day. On the night of the
2d of July the asses were
attacked at midnight by several
young lions, and one of these
animals passed so riear one of
the sentries that he cut at it
with his sword.

On the 4th of July the guide
Isaaco made a narrow escape
from a crocodile in passing a
river called the Wonda, one of
the feeders of the Senegal.
Isaaco was engaged in driving
some of the asses through the
stream, when the crocodile rose
close to him, and seizing him
by the left thigh, pulled him
under water. With wonderful
presence of mind, he thrust his
finger into the monster's eye,
on which it quitted its hold,
and Isaaco made for the bank,
crying for a knife ; but the
crocodile followed, and again
seized him by the other thigh,
when Isaaco had recourse to
the same expedient, and thrust
his fingers into both eyes with
such violence that the creature
was compelled a second time
to let go its hold, after which it
flounced about for a moment in
stupid blindness, and then went
down the river. Isaaco's wounds
were so serious, however, as to
compel Park to remain near the
same spot for several days — a
vlelay which was not so much
to be regretted, as on the 6th
of July every man of the party
was unwell but one. Mr. An-
derson and Mr. Scott, on whom
Park chiefly rested for counsel
and assistance, had been very

2 o

I't

P
I

^1.3f?

•1-

578

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

ill for several preceding days.
The rains and storms continued
to rage at intervals, and with
increasing violence.

On the loth the party re-
sumed their march, and on the
following evening reached a con-
siderable town called Keminoon,
a place remarkable only for the
thieving spirit which pervades
all classes in and around it.

On the 19th the party,
thinned by the loss of one or
two more men, and with sick-
ness still pressing on the sur-
vivors, reached the banks of the
Ba Woolima, another feeder of
the Senegal, and a stream at
this season twenty feet deep,
being swelled by the rains.
After much difficulty, the party
got their baggage across the
river, which was about sixty
feet in width, by means of a
bridge, constructed for the oc-
casion by some negroes in a
very ingenious way. On the
2ist the party were all safely
over the Ba Woolima, and con-
tinued their route.

The 30th was marked by the
death of the last of the St. Jago
asses, the whole forty having
either died or been abandoned
on the road at different places.
Park had been forced in conse-
quence to buy or to hire new
ones as he went along. The
route was still continued by
daily marches; but before the
1 9th of August more than three-
fourths of the party of travellers
had died, or had been left be-
hind to die. Among the latter
was Mr. Scott, whom Park saw

on the 1 6th for the last time.
Whether or not the negroes
used those well who fell behind
it is difficult to tell ; but Park
seldom gave up his exertions
to re-unite them to his party
until he heard of their fate.
Indeed, the personal toils which
the leader of this ill-fated band
voluntarily and cheerfully under-
went for the sake of his poor
companions, are almost beyond
belief. His kindness to them,
his unwearied patience, his pru-
dence, his encouraging hope-
fulness — were such, perhaps, as
man never evinced in the like
circumstances. Poor Anderson
was a little more fortunate than
his friend Scott, for the former
lived at least to see the great
river which was one of the chief
objects of their journey. After
leaving a place called Toniba
on the 19th of August, * coming,'
says Park, *to the brow of a
hill, I once more saw the Niger
rolling its immense stream along
the plain ! ' Heavy as the cost
was by which the sight had been
purchased, the river was a
pleasant spectacle to the party,
as it promised an alleviation of
their toils for the future. On
the 2 2d (after a loss of several
more men by the fever) Park
embarked from Bammakoo on
the Niger (or Joliba) in a canoe
which he had purchased. On
the 26th he sent Isaaco forward
to the large town of Sego, in
order to make some presents
to the king or chief, Mansong,
and to obtain his permission to
pass. Mansong sent six canoes

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS.

579

to carry the party on to Sego.
The king showed considerable
kindness to them ; yet Park did
not remain long at Sego, but
moved down the river to a
smaller town called Sansanding,
where he resolved to wait for a
canoe which Mansong promised
to sell to him. In this canoe
he proposed to move down the
Niger to its termination. After
much labour, he did get a ves-
sel of the desired kind fitted
up, and named it His Britannic
Majesty's schooner ^ the Joliba.
At Sansanding, on the 28th of
October, Mr. Anderson under-
went the fate of so many of his
companions, and regarding his
death, Park observes — * No
event that took place during
the journey ever threw the
smallest gloom over my mind
till I laid Mr. Anderson in the
grave. I then felt myself as if
left a second time lonely and
friendless amidst the wilds of
Africa.'

At this point the authentic
account of Mungo Park's second
journey ends. Isaaco's engage-
ment here terminated, and the
papers given to him by the
traveller, and carried back to the
coast, constitute the only records
of the expedition which came
from Park's own pen. These
papers (the matter of which has
been now abridged) were ac-
companied by several letters,
the most interesting of which is
one (dated Sansanding, Novem-
ber 17th) addressed to Lord
Camden. In this letter Park

says — 'I am sorry to say that
of forty-four Europeans who
left the Gambia in perfect health,
five only are at present alive —
namely, three soldiers (one de-
ranged in bis mind). Lieutenant
Martyn, and myself. From
this account I am afraid that
your lordship will be apt to
consider matters as in a very
hopeless state ; but I assure you
I am far from despairing. With
the assistance of one of the
soldiers, I have changed a large
canoe into a tolerably good
schooner, on board of which I
this day hoisted the British flag,
and shall set sail to the east,
with the fixed resolution to dis-
cover the termination of the Niger ^
or perish in the attempt. I have
heard nothing that I can de-
pend on respecting the remote
course of this mighty stream,
but I am more and more in-
clined to think that it can end
nowhere but in the sea.

* My dear friend Mr Ander-
son, and likewise Mr Scott, are
both dead ; but though all the
Europeans who are with me
should die, and though I were
myself half dead, I would still
persevere, and if I could not
succeed in the object of my
journey, I would at last die on
the Niger^

A source of perpetual regret
it must be to all who sympia-
thise with what is noble and
lofty in human doings, that the
hopes of so dauntless a spirit as
this should have been doomed
to disappointment. His other
letters from Sansanding (ad-

:^^^i

II it-

^^l

58o

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

dressed to Sir Joseph Banks, to
Mrs. Park, and to his father-in-
law) are written in the same
hopeful and resolute tone. He
concludes his communication
to his wife in these words : — • I
think it not unlikely but I shall
be in England before you re-
ceive this. You may be sure
that I feel happy at turning my
face towards home. We this
morning have done with all
intercourse with the natives,
and the sails are now hoisting
for our departure /?r the coast.*
But, alas ! these were the last
tidings that were heard for a
long time of the fate of His
Majesty's schooner the Joliba,
and of those whom she bore
with her down the mysterious
current of the Niger. In the
following year (1806), unfavour-
able accounts were brought by
the native traders from the in-
terior of Africa to the British
settlements on the coast, and
rumours spread abroad that
Park and his companions had
perished. No authentic infor-
mation, however, could be ob-
tained on the subject ; and the
British people, who felt a deep
interest in the traveller's fate,
were long, long reluctant to be-
lieve in the report of his death.
It was hoped that he and his
friends were only retained in
slavery. Four years passed
away, and the same -doubt hung
over the matter. At length, in
18 10, the British governor of
Senegal, Colonel Maxwell, with
the concurrence of the home
authorities, despatched Park's

former guide, Isaaco, to the
interior, to ascertain the truth
if possible. In the beginning
of the year mentioned, Isaaco,
set out for the Niger, and, after
an absence of twenty months,
returned to the coast with a full
confirmation of the reports con-
cerning Park's death. Isaaco,
who was a trustworthy and in-
telligent man, kept a journal of
his proceedings for the satisfac-
tion of his employers. No part
of this journal relates to the
missing travellers, but Isaaco
was fortunate enough to procure
another journal, written by the
very native who had succeeded
him at Sansanding as guide to
the traveller. Isaaco relates
that he met this native, whose
name was Araadi Fatouma, at
Madina, a town a little further
down the Niger than Sansand-
ing. Amadi Fatouma, when
he first saw Isaaco, burst into
tears, and said, *They are all
dead !' Afterwards, at the re-
quest of the other, Amadi pro-
duced a journal written in Ara-
bic, and containing an account
of all he knew relative to the
closing scenes of Park's career.
The following are the leading
facts in this document : —

After sailing from Sansanding,
with Park, Marty n, the other
three surviving Europeans, and
three negro assistants, besides
the guide, Amadi Fatouma, on
board, the little schooner passed
Jennd and Timbuctoo in safety,
though not without daily attacks
from the natives in canoes.
Having laid in a good stock of

PARK'S LIFE AND TRA VELS.

581

provisions, the party had at first
no occasion to go on shore . But
the news apparently spread that
white men were passing down
the river, and canoes came to
attack them in great numbers.
At one time the schooner had
to beat off no less than sixty
canoes. Nevertheless, the party
made their way in safety to
Yaour (or Yaourie), in the king-
dom of Haoussa (or Houssa)i,
where Amadi's engagement as
guide terminated ; but, before
separating from the party, he
went on shore and bought
provisions for them, besides
making some conciliatory pre-
sents to the chief of Yaour.
This same chief was also in-
trusted with some presents for
the king of Yaour, who was not
present. The chief put a ques-
tion to Park through Amadi as
to 'the intention of the white
men to return to that place.'
Park answered, * that he could
not return any more j* and this
reply seems to have had a fatal
effect, for it induced the trea-
cherous chief to> retain for his
own use the presents intended
for the king. Amadi witnessed
the consequences so far as to
put this beyond douibt. After
separating from the party, and
seeing the schooner continue
her course, he spent the night
on shore, and in the morning
called to pay his respects to the
king. On entering the royal
residence, he found two mes-
sengers newly arrived there
from the deceitful chief, with
information that the white men

had passed without making any
presents to the king or to the
chief himself, and that Amadi
Fatouma (of whose story the
wily chief wa» afraid) was a bad
man, and ini Ie»lgMe with the
whites. Amadi was immedi-
ately thrown into irons; aiulon
the follow ui;4 morning the irri-
tated king sent a, large army to
a place further down the river,
called Boussa. There is before
Boussa a rock extending across
the river, with only one open-
ing in it, in the form of a door,
for the water to pass through.
The king's men took posses-
sion of the top of this rock,
until Park came up to it and
attempted to pass. The natives
attacked him and his friends
with lances, pikes, arrows, and
other missiles. Park defended
himself vigorously for a long
time, but at last, after throwing
everything in the canoe over-
board, being overpowered by
numbers, and seeing no chance
of getting the canoe past, he
took hold of one of the white
men, and jumped into the
river. Martyn did the same ;
and the whole were drowned
in. their attempt to escape by
swimming. One black re-
mained in the canoe (the other
two being killed), and he cried
for mercy. The canoe fell in-
to- the hands of the natives.
Amadi Fatouima, oa being freed
from his irons, three months
afterwards, ascertained these
facts from the native who had
survived the catastrophe.
Twenty-one years from the

Ittt'

""4

582

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

period of Park's journey, and
sixteen from tlie time of Isaaco's
discoveries, passed away, ere
satisfactory evidence was re-
ceived in confirmation of Amadi
Fatouraa's account of the tra-
veller's death, and the manner
of his death. In 1826 Captain
Clapperton visited Boussa, and
saw the very part of the river
where the party perished. In
1830 John and Richard Lander
were at the same spot, and
their description must convince
every one of Amadi Fatouma's
veracity. * On our arrival,' say
the Landers, ' at this formidable
place, we discovered a range
of black rocks running directly
across the stream, and the
water, finding only one narrow
passage, rushed through it with
great impetuosity, overturning
and carrying away everything
in its course.' If further evi-
dence were required, the state-
ments of the natives to Clap-
perton and the Landers, and
the discovery by the latter tra-
vellers of a mantle, a gun, a
book, and an invitation card,
that had belonged to Park, put
the truth of Amadi's narrative
beyond doubt, as far as regards
the scene and the manner of
the ill-fated party's destruction.
The Landers and Clapperton
entertained hopes for some time
of recovering the journals and
papers of Park, but they be-
came ultimately convinced that
all memorials of this kind had
been lost in the Niger.

It may be held, therefore, as
has been said, that Mungo
Park closed his career in the
manner described by Amadi
Fatouma. The character of
the lamented traveller it would
be a waste of words to ex-
patiate on. His deeds, the
soundest test by which man
can be tried, sufficiently prove
his claim to the possession of
all the highest qualifications of
a traveller; and as a man, — a
son, a husband, a father, and a
friend, — he was a rare example
to his kind. The distinguish-
ing feature of his mind and
acts was plain, solid, practical
usefulness. In person Mungo
Park was above the middle
size, and was possessed of great
hardihood and muscular vigour
of frame. He left three sons
and one daughter. The eldest
of his sons, named after him-
self, died in India, in the situa-
tion of an assistant-surgeon to
the forces there. Thomas, the
second son, inherited much of
his father's enterprising spirit,
and almost from childhood
cherished the resolve of pene-
trating the mystery that hung
over his parent's fate. After
patiently and laboriously quali-
fying himself for the task, he
set out in 1827 for Africa,
but arrived on the Guinea
coast only to die there — though
not before he had showed
powers of observation whicli
made his fate the more to be
deplored.

Id, therefore, as
, that Mungo
J career in the
)ed by Amadi
e character of
aveller it would
words to ex-
lis deeds, the
by which man
jfficiently prove
e possession of
qualifications of
1 as a man, — a
, a father, and a
a rare example
The distinguish-
his mind and
solid, practical
person Mungo
ve the middle
assessed of great
muscular vigour
left three sons
:er. The eldest
imed after him-
dia, in the situa-
stant-surgeon to
i. Thomas, the
herited much of
:erprising spirit,
rom childhood
•esolve of pene-
stery that hung
It's fate. After
iboriously quali-
or the task, he
J27 for Africa,
m the Guinea
e there— though
had showed
servation which
the more to be

DISCOVERIES IN AFRICA

SUBSEQUENT TO PARK, AND DOWN

TO DR. LIVINGSTONE'S DEATH.

The fate of Park, however much
regretted, did not destroy the
hope of future success in the
exploration of Africa, still held
to be the country of wonders ;
and there were some problems,
such as that of the course of
the Ni^er, and the source of
the White Nile, the solution of
which was looked forward to
with great curiosity. It was
accordingly determined by the
Government that an expedition
should be fitted out, divided
into two parties, one to descend
the Niger, and the other to
ascend the Congo, with a view
to ascertain the relation of these
two rivers to each other. The
former of these divisions was
intrusted to Major Peddie, the
latter to Captain Tuckey ; and
the expedition, which sailed in
i8i6, arrived at its two destina-
tions under favourable auspices;
but they had scarcely entered
the country when they met with
opposition and misadventure;
death soon began to thin their

ranks; powerful chiefs took
advantage of their calamities,
and matters came to such a
pass that the enterprise was
abandoned. Little better can
be said of the spirited under-
taking of Major Gray in 1818 ;
and a subsequent mission of
Major Laing in 1821 afforded
us not much more than some
acute conjectures as to the
sou'ce of the Niger, which he
thought lay much farther to the
south than Park had supposed.
Other missions were under-
taken, but nothing accom-
plished of any interest till the
time of Denham and Clapper-
ton, who took their course to
Central Africa by the medium
of Tripoli. These parties were
>o far successful, that they were
enabled, through great persever-
ance, toil, and danger, to give
us interesting accounts of that
country, occupied by the people
called Fellatahs, with the im-
portant kingdoms of Houssa
and Bomou, and the great

•as

584

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

towns of Soccatoo and Kouka.
We are also put in possession
of the most interesting details
regarding the great interior sea
of Africa, lake Tschad, along
the shores of which the mission
travelled for days, surveying its
darkening crowds of wild fowl ;
and a further journey from the
banks of the lake down the
country of Mandara opened up
to our knowledge a great dis-
trict hitherto unexplored. We
have notices of the rivers Yeou
and Shary, in regard to which
various speculations were then
entertained ; accounts of vari-
ous negro towns, the customs
of the people, and their never-
ceasing wars, all which go to
form a narrative which made a
useful sequel to that of Park.

But no circumstance con-
nected with this expedition was
of greater importance than the
fact that it furnished Richard
Lander, who was servant to
Clapperton, and was present at
his death at Soccatoo, with cer-
tain ideas, from which he drew
a conclusion as to the probable
course of the Niger. Impressed
with these, he, on his return to
England, contrived to obtain a
commission for the purpose of
exploring the course of the still
mysterious river> and, accom-
panied by his brother John, he
set forth on his enterprise in
January 1830. Having arrived
at Badagry, they made their
way to the great town of Eyeo,
where Clapperton had resided
for a time, and they then pro-
ceeded to Keeshee, situated in

a hilly region frequented by the
lion and the leopard. They
next got to Kiama, a territory
also diversified with mountains
and forests; and after passing
through other towns, they came
to Boussa on the Niger, from
whence they sailed in a canoe
to Youri, a large city with a
fertile country around it. They
here made inquiry for Park's
papers without any success.
The travellers next embarked
on the Cubbie, a tributary of
the Niger, and soon arrived
again at Boussa, from whence,
on the 20th September, they
set sail. In their voyage down-
wards they passed many towns,
some of large size, and contain-
ing numerous inhabitants, all
seeming to live a life of light-
hearted gaiety, only menaced
by the intestine wars continu-
ally breaking out in all this as
well as in other parts of Africa.
After passing Leschee, they
found the Niger bordered by
ranges of rocky hills, part, pro-
bably, of the great chain which
reaches across the African con-
tinent. From the very centre
of the stream rises a majestic
rock, almost perpendicular,
called Mount Kesa, its base
fringed by venerable trees.
They next came to a remark-
able island, a sort of minia-
ture Holland in the heart of
Africa, about 15 miles long and
3 broad, surrounded by the
Niger, and scarcely rising above
the level of the river. Here
the numerous natives are busily
engaged in making cotton tobci

RECENT AFRICAN DISCO VERIES.

5»S

Lesa, its base

and trousers with a skill which
would not disgrace European
workmen. Rabba, to which
they next came, is only inferior
to Soccatoo, the largest city in
the Fellatah dominions. At
Zagoshe they exchanged their
canoes for one larger, and were
thence carried down the river
at the rate of 3 or 4 miles an
hour. The Niger here varied
from 2 to 6 miles broad — in
many parts swarming with
crowds of hippopotami. At
length they came to Eggo, a
town 4 miles in length and 2
in breadth, where they were
received as strange- looking
people, well worth seeing.
They were here told that if
they proceeded further down
the river they would be mur-
dered or sold as slaves; but
these stories were not con-
firmed by their arrival at Ka-
cunda, where they were treated
with much kindness. Yet here
too they got the same account
of the lower towns, whose com-
munities were described as
ferocious outlaws, and they
went their way with fear and
apprehension. Soon afterwards
they came to the spot where
the Tschadda enters the great
river, and where they found a
large town, the seat of a very
extensive commerce.

The Landers had now per-
formed a great part of their
famous voyage with compara-
tively little opposition, and it
was not till after leaving Da-
mugoo that they experienced
danger from the inhabitants

nearer the coast. At length
reaching the Eboe country, they
were taken charge of for a ran-
som by a petty chief with the
name of King Boy, who under-
took to carry them to Brass-
Town. On the 17 th November
Richard Lander embarked on
his final navigation. The branch
of the Niger, which here enters
the sea, is divided into two
smaller sections called the first
and second Brass Rivers, but
Brass-Town is not built upon
either; it stands upon a large
creek connected with the main
stream by numerous rivulets
winding through the alluvial
district. In the evening they
reached the second, and next
morning the first Brass River,
called sometimes the Nun, and,
in a quarter of an hour after.
Lander, with inexpressible de-
light, saw two European vessels "
at anchor.

Such was the issue of this
important voyage, whereby one
of the most important problems
of African geography was solved
after efforts which lasted for
forty years. Park, in his first
journey, reached the banks of
the Niger, and saw it running
towards the interior of the con-
tinent ; in the second he em-
barked at Bammakoo, and by
sailing down to Boussa, marked
its continuous progress for 1000
miles. It was reserved for Lan-
der to trace its windings about
800 miles more, and to see it
finally emptying itself into the
Atlantic.

If we proceed in geographical

586

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

order, and thus keep by the west
coast, we might mention several
modem travellers who have not
added much to our knowledge.
This certainly cannot be said of
Paul B. du Chaillu, who, by his
recent travels, has passed into
regions of which previously we
had scarcely any knowledge.
After giving us an account of
the mouth of the Gaboon river,
he proceeds, principally for the
sake of hunting, up the river
Muni, which empties its waters
in the Bay of Corisco. This
river, some of whose tributaries
rise in the range of mountains
called Sierra del Crystal, is of
considerable size, but it did not
suffice to bear the traveller far
in the direction he wished. After
crossing the Noonday, and tra-
veUiiig ten miles in a north-east
direction, the traveller reached
a range of granite hills, which
are a part of the Sierra del
Crystal. This range is about
600 feet high, the summit form-
ing a tableland three miles long.
Proceeding onwards, and still
rising with the elevation of ulte-
rior ranges, he attained a height
of 5000 feet, from which he
could see to the east the furthest
range of the Sierra del Crystal,
which was the goal of his wishes.
It was here that Chaillu first
found traces of the gorilla. After
a chase, he and his companions
failed in their attempt to get
possession of a specimen ; but,
as the pursuit of this animal
was the object of his enterprise,
he persevered till, by his own
account, he effected his purpose.

The traveller next got among
the people called the Fans,
who are described as cannibals'.
For some reason not explained,
Chaillu returned to the coast,
and determined upon going up
the Moondah and cross over to
the Gaboon. This he effected,
and subsequently we find him
flitting from one place to an-
other—now on the river Ogobai,
again on the Ovenga, and many
places not hitherto described,
but all noticed after the manner
of a hunter, with so few preten-
sions to geographical delinea-
tion, that we fail to perceive the
advantages of his journeys, ex-
cept as means of gratifying his
main object. Yet his book is
filled with marvellous exploits
and extraordinary accounts of
pecuHar people and manners, so
as to render it one of the most
interesting of modern travels.
Perhaps the most useful part
of his narrative is the evidence
he offers, that an important
mountain-range divides the con-
tinent of Africa nearly along the
line of the equator, starting on
the west from the range which
runs along the coast north and
south, and ending in the east,
probably in the country south
of Abyssinia, or perhaps termi-
nating abruptly to the north of
the lake Tanganyika of Captains
Burton and Speke.

Eastern Africa has also come
in for its share in the modern
progress of discovery. It was
soon found that a more peculiar
interest attached to its geogra-
phical, as well as natural history

RECENT AFRICAN DISCOVERIES.

587

features, than to those of the
western coast ; and it was also
found that travellers could pro-
ceed onwards with comparative
safety from the natives, while
the climate was at least not
more trying to Europeans than
other regions of that continent.
The coast-line had been sur-
veyed by several French and
English savafis at intervals from
1822 to 1844, but the inland
explorations may be dated from
the time when Dr. Krapf of
the Church Missionary Society
established himself at a place
near Mombaz in 1844. This
place soon became famous as a
starting-point for journeys into
the interior, undertaken by him-
self and his fellow-labourers ;
and from these desultory begin-
nings we may date the great
discoveries which have since
been made in Eastern Africa.
No point could have been better
chosen than Mombaz. It lies
2° or 3° below the equator, and
is thus only a little to the south-
east of the lake Nyanza, and
those hills which, under the
name of Mountains of the Moon,
have so long been a problem in
geography. Dr. Krapf visited
the district of Ukambani as well
asUsambara, two very important
regions scarcely before known ;
but the most useful fact de-
rived from these journeys, and
also others undertaken in other
neighbouring parts by Messrs.
Rebmann and Erdhart, was,
that there existed under the
equator certain mountains co-
hered with snow. When this

discovery was announced, the
missionaries were attacked by
many European geographers,
who asserted that the supposed
snow was merely calcareous
earth or white bleached rocks ;
but the fact was soon estab-
lished. In 1848 Mr. Rebmann
saw Kilimandjaro, or Ndsharo,
as the people call the mountain,
and in subsequent journeys he
saw it again. In 1849 Dr. Krapf
also saw it ; in addition to all
which Mr. Rebmann slept at
the bottom of it, and even by
moonlight could easily make
out snow. Then the natives
told him that the white matter
visible upon the dome-like sum-
mit, when brought down, proved
to be nothing b''t water, and
that many who ascended the
mountain perished from cold —
the influence oidshins^ or spirits,
as they thought. The second
mountain is calle:^ by various
names, but is now best known
by that of Regnia, and that it
is also snow-capped there is
now no reason to doubt. Nor
are these the only mountains
bearing snow in these regions,
one more, called Kimaja Keg-
nia, much further to the west,
being distinctly spoken to. But
what settles the question of the
snow is the many rivers which
flow from these mountains, one
of which goes to form the great
lake Baringu, not far to the
eastward of Victoria Nyanza.

The maps of the missionaries,
containing these and other new
features of a country all but un-
known, attracted the attention

ill

m 1
]% if

*••!■ T

588

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

of the Royal Geographical So-
ciety, and the consequence was
that that body, aided by Govern-
ment, sent out Major Burton
and Captain Speke to Zanzibar,
where they arrived in Decem-
ber 1857. In the beginning of
next year, these gentlemen,
after visiting Usambara and
some other places, set out for
the interior. During the first
month they traversed the mari-
time region, nearly flat, infested
by myriads of reptiles, and the
home of fever. This flat country
terminates at a place called
Zungomero, where the land
begins to rise rapidly, and to be
diversified by defiles and ra-
vines. The great interior table-
land here begins, marked at
the eastern extremity by a bold
escarpment — a region stated to
be watered by numerous streams,,
having a temperate, healthy cli-
mate, and whichy on these ac-
counts, may become, in Euro-
pean views of colonisation,
one of the richest parts of
Africa. This region is occu-
pied by a negro race called the
Usagara, who construct huts of
osier-wands, rear cattle, and
cultivate the soil — occupations
too often interrupted by the
slave-hunters of the coast. The
height here arrived at was
generally about 2000 or 3000
feet, though one mountain,
called Robeho, is 5697 feet
above the level of the sea. On
descending from this plateau
the travellers saw a series of
plains stretching away to the
west as far as the horizon, parts

burnt up by the sun, and others
rejoicing in a dense and almost
impenetrable vegetation ; but,
making a general estimate, it
may be said that there was
more of virgin forest than of
culture, more desert than forest,
and a great many more wild
animals than human beings.
Going a little to the west and
north, the travellers crossed
the countries called Ugogo and
Macgunda. These are mostly
desert, but the fertile country
Unyamwesi soon opened upon
their vision, with its hills covered
with tall slender trees, and fre-
quented by the antelope and
zebra, and its rich plains
covered by domestic cattle.
This cannot be said to be only
now made known to Europeans :
it was known to the Portuguese
of the sixteenth century as be-
longing to a negro nation who
trafficked with Europeans. Its
name means Country of the
Moon, or Moonland, which
many have very fancifully sup-
posed to have some connection
with Ptolemy's appellation. It
is said to be the garden of
Easteim Africa, where all the
quadrupeds are to be met with,
including the zebra and giraffe,
which are peculiar to this con-
tinent The natives, too, are
a superior race, following an
ingenious industry. Kasd, the
capital, is about 400 miles from
the coast.

On the west of the capital
the country again descends to
the level of the interior, with
a soil well-watered, and con

RECENT AFRICAN DISCOVERIES.

589

tinuous culture of all the pro-
ductions to be found in India.
Marching 200 miles across a
country where the rivers all flow
to the west, the travellers
reached a series of heights, on
the summit of which the cara-
van rested. It was here they
first got a sight of the great
lake. On advancing a few
paces they were seized with
astonishment — ^all fatigue was
forgot — the great end was at-
tained — the vision of that lake
about which Europeans had
been tantalised for three hun-
dred years. And how easy was
the discovery in comparison of
the toil required to solve many
other geographical problems.
The lake is called by the ne-
groes Tanganyika; by the
Arabs, Ujiji, from a place on
its banks. In a frail fishing
bark the travellers contrived to
navigate its northern half, but
without getting to the extreme
point. They were told that a
great river flows into its north-
em extremity, and that it is
surrounded there by lofty
mountains. It lies between the
parallels of 3° to 8° south, at
a distance of about 600 miles
from Zanzibar, and so about
1250 from the mouth of the
Congo on the western coast.
It is about 300 miles long, 30

40 broad, and 1800 feet
a^ove the sea-level. With ele-

aled shores and sweet water,
it abounds in fish. It is the
reservoir of many surrounding
streams, and divides two races
exceedingly unlike — that on the

east, cultivating the finest of
soils ; and that on the west,
the Ubembe, living on vermin
and human flesh.

After spending nearly three
months in laborious researches,
the travellers returned to Kazd,
where it was determined that
Burton, who was ill, should re-
main in the town ; and Speke
should go to verify certain
reports as to the existence of a
great lake further to the north.
Speke, with a part of his escort,
accordingly set out ; and after
a, march of twenty-five days,
over a country presenting no
serious obstacles, he came to
the shores of a great lake, called
by the natives simply Nyanza,
or the Water, to which he pre-
fixed the name Victoria, in
honour of the Queen, a useful
addition as distinguishing this
lake from that of Nyassa to the
south— a name which also
means the Water. He did not
go further than the southern
point, which he found to be in
latitude 2° 44' south ; longitude,
33° east, and 3552 feet above
file sea-level — ^bemg thus about
450 miles south of the highest
point of the Nile that had been
reached by Miani. Nothing as
to its extent northward could
be told by the natives, except-
ing the statement that it reached
to the end of the world. Arab
merchants, however, asserted
that it was the source of some
great river ; but Speke made
up his mind to the conclusion
that that river was the White
Nile. In all these countries

.'1

iiil

59©

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

through which he had gone,
cultivation appeared more gene-
ral than in others he had tra-
versed, the climate was healthy
and generally mild, with a heat
never exceeding 85° Fahren-
heit.

Thus a great progress had
been made in solving the pro-
blems of the lakes ; but the
Snowy Mountains were so far
still an enigma till Baron C.
von Decken, accompanied by
Mr. Thornton, ascended, in
1861, Kilimi Njaro to the
height of 13,000 feet, where
they were met by avalanches.
They calculated its elevation
to be 20,000 feet, the upper
portions being covered with
perpetual snow. This moun-
tain is described as being of
volcanic origin. South of it
is a lake called Yibd, 30 miles
long, 2 or 3 broad, and 1900
feet above the sea-level. An
Alpine region, diversified with
rising peaks, extends to the
north.

The great object, in so far as
concerned the source of the
Nile, was still unattained ; and
Speke having found friends
in England, set out again from
Zanzibar, this time accom-
panied by Captain Grant, a
former companion in arms, by
the same route he had tra-
velled in 1857. A caravan of
natives were sent to form a de-
pot at Kazd, and the travellers
were escorted by sixty armed
men from Zanzibar, engaged to
carry their baggage, with a host
of porters, bearing beads, calico,

and other articles for exchange.
The journey began under great
discouragements : they were
obliged to march on foot, in
consequence of mules and
donkeys having been found
unsuitable, the country was
parched, the tribes were at
war, there was a threatening of
famine, guides and bearers
went off; and when they reached
Kaz^, their progress was ar-
rested for want of interpreters
and carriers. Having over-
come some of these difficulties,
the expedition was again on its
march in October — the new
route being at north-west, lead-
ing through the kingdom of
Ukinza, a cultivated country.
We next trace them to the
kingdom of Karagwd, a territory
on the western shore of the
Nyanza, and occupying the
eastern slopes of a mountainous
region, stretching 200 miles to
the west, and 5000 feet above
the sea-level. These are again
said to be part of the Moun-
tains of the Moon. There are
two rivers in this territory — one
flowing from the west into the
lake, and the other going to
join lake Liita N'Zige to the
north-west. Here is a fine
climate, said to equal that of
England; and the whole country
is refreshed by streams; tall
grass grows upon the slopes,
pease, beans, the sugar-cane,
bananas, and tobacco are
abundant, and fat cattle pasture
in the valleys — all signs that
the negroes here are of a
superior order, which they were

RECENT AFRICAN DISCO VERIES.

591

found to be. Having made
favour with the king, Speke
got recommendations to the
ruler of the neighbouring
country. They next reached
Uganda, called the paradise of
Equatorial Africa, where every-
thing grows in luxuriance. The
king, who had heard of -he
navigation of the Nile by white
men, and was anxious for com-
merce in that direction, received
the travellers with great kind-
ness, and detained them five
months almost as prisoners, yet
with every attention he could
bestow. The natives of Uganda
are called the French of Africa,
in consequence of their vivacity
and good taste in dress and
dwellings. The country ex-
hibits the greatest luxuriance, —
abounding in coffee, the banana,
and date-palm, and the climate
is mild and general.

Proceeding to the north-west,
the travellers reached Unyoro,
which stretches to the little
LUta N'Zige lake. This, which
is the ancient kingdom of Kit-
tara, harbours the elephant and
rhinoceros amongst its dark
forests and rank grass. The
people differ considerably from
those of Uganda, being com-
posed of inferior tribes of
negroes belonging to a peculiar
race called the Wahuma, who
do not eat fleshmeats, but live
on the sweet potato and grain.
Kamrasi, the king, is morose
and cruil, occupied chiefly in
fattening his wives and children
till they can scarcely stand up-
right, a d in acts of despotism.

For the first time Speke found
savages entirely naked. Beyond
Unyoro, the dialects of the
north come in use — those of the
south ceasing, as it were, at once.
An entire year was expended
in passing through these king-
doms, where white men were
now for the first time seen. In
all of them there was a strong
desire to detain the strangers ;
nor would they have effected
their escape perhaps for years,
had they not been able to deal
largely in presents, and still
more in promises to introduce
commerce between the kings
and the Queen of England.
Turning to the north side of the
lake, where the great secret was
concealed, we find that some
rivers flow into the lake, and
some out of it. Of the former,
there are the Mworango and
the Luyere. East of these, and
at about the middle of the north
line of the lake, flows the main
branch of the White Nile, leav-
ing * Napoleon Channel,' with a
breadth of 150 yards, by certain
runs called the Ripon falls,
over rocks supposed to be of
igneous origin, 12 feet in height.
This northern shore runs east
and west, and is about 20
miles to the north of the
equator. The extent of the
lake is supposed to be about
150 miles either way ; the water
is sweet and of no great depth.
The surface is 3553 feet above
the sea-level. It is covered
with whole fleets of canoes, be-
longing to the diflferent nations
on its shores ; and yet, with

U' "f.l

r, f

m-m

592

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

this simple mode of communi-
cation with each other, the
peoples have no other inter-
course, if they are not almost
entirely unknown to each other.
Lake Baringa, which we have
already noticed as being known
to the missionaries, lies at the
north-east verge of Nyanza, de-
scribed by the natives as a long
narrow basin, and supposed
to be connected in some way
with the greater lake. There
is less doubt that the Baringa
gives issue to the Asua, a river
which falls into the White Nile
on the east, about 80 miles from
Gondokoro on the north. Little
is yet known of the inhabitants
of the region between the Asua
and the Nile except their names
— the Usoga, Uvuma, Ukori,
and Avama.

It is interesting to note the
manner in which Speke made
his discovery. Arriving at
Murchison Firth, he went north-
ward some fifty miles to a town
called Kari ; there he crossed
the Luyere river already men-
tioned, and finding his way to
the White Nile, he followed it
till he came to the point of
debouchure at the Ripon falls.
Returning to Kari, he rejoined
the expedition, and followed
the downward course of the
main stream to the Karuma
Falls, where the river makes a
bend to join the little Liita
N'Zige lake on the west. This
junction is made at the north
end of the lake. With its
southern end resting on the
equator, it extends, like a nar-

row reservoir, 150 miles in a
northern direction, having with-
in it, towards the northern end,
an island containing deposits
of salt. It is about 2200 feet
above the sea, with a fall of
surface-level to the extent of
13 53 feet in the space of 120
miles which intervene between
it and the Nyanza. The sup-
position is (for it is not yet
properly ascertained) that the
Nile, after passing through the
north-western extremity of the
lake, returns again to the east,
where it is met by the Asua.
From the Karuma Falls it rushes
towards the west — all at this
point that the travellers could
ascertain, in consequence of
being prohibited by the wars
then raging about the lake from
going in that direction.

Passing from these falls into
the Ukidi country, the travellers
again met the river in tl|e Madi
kingdom, near the junctio i of
the Asua, in latitude 5* 35'
north. They had no doubt of
its being the same Nile which
they parted with at the Karuma
Falls, though the reason assigned
for this certainty — the occur-
rence of *the long flats and
long rapids ' for which the river
is distinguished — does not of
itself seem very convincing.
Continuing their journey, they
came to De Bono's station, in
latitude 3° north, where they
met a great many Turks, traders
in ivory, the only occupants of
the place. Some days after-
wards they set out, accompanied
by the traders, for Gondokoro,

RECENT AFRICAN DISCO VERIES.

59:

50 miles in a
1, having with-
northern end,
ining deposits
>out 2200 feet
kvith a fall of
the extent of
; space of 120
rvene between
za. The sup-
it is not yet
ined) that the
ig through the
:tremity of the
in to the east,
by the Asua.
la Falls it rushes
ist — all at this
:ravellers could
;onsequence of
d by the wars
it the lake from
ection.

these falls into
•y, the travellers
ver in tl^e Madi
the junctio I of
atitude 5* 35'
id no doubt of
me Nile which
at the Karuma
reason assigned
ty — the occur-
ong flats and
which the river
—does not of
y convincing,
r journey, they
►no's station, in
th, where they
y Turks, traders
ly occupants of
me days aft«r-
it, accompanied
"or Gondokoro,

where they arrived on the 15th
of February. The latitude was
ascertained to be 4" 54' 5*
north; longitude, 31° 46' 9*
east, a determination which will
regulate the itineraries of tra-
vellers from a point so central.
Here they met, to their great
joy, their friend Mr. S. W.
Baker, well known for his bold
adventures in those parts of
Africa, and who had come up
the Nile to meet them. This
gentleman, on learning that a
part of the White River had
been left unexplored, deter-
mined with prompt decision to
set out for the lake Liita N'Zige ;
but it has since been learned
that after organising a^arty of
Khartum men, and paying them
in advance, they mutinied and
deserted him, leaving him to
prosecute an adventure to the
upper streams of the Sobat
Another peculiar incident con-
nected with this part of the
main expedition, was the ap-
pearance of the ladies Tinnd
and Madame van Capellan,
sisters, with the daughter of the
former, who, having a swift
steamer on the Nile, came up
to succour the travellers, and
afterwards, accompanied by M.
de Heuglin and Dr. Steudner,
intended to steer westward, by
lake No and the Bahr-el-Gazal,
the first and only great affluent
of the Nile, which joins it on
the west bank. This river
meets the main stream in the
parallel of 9° north, having at
first the appearance of a small
marshy lake, round the entrance

of which the Nile winds with
considerable velocity. The
second tributary is the Giraffe,
which joins the Nile on the
right or east, falling with a
swirl into the main stream, with
a volume of water equal to a
third of that of the Nile. The
source of the Giraffe is quite
unknown. The third on the
same side is the South Sobat,
a full stream, but not so rapid
as the Giraffe. The North
Sobat was passed unobserved.
The fourth is the Blue River,
which joins the Nile at Khartum,
in latitude 15** 30' north. As
to this last river, Speke de-
scribes it as the Blue Nile, a
mountain stream rising in the
country beyond the rainy zone,
and subject to the influence of
tropical rains and droughts.
The suspicion so long enter-
tained that it was the true Nile
was, in his opinion, absurd ;
for all the waters it is able
to send would be absorbed
long before it reached the sea.
The fifth and last tributary of
the Nile is the Atbara, a river
very like the Blue River, only
smaller. Beyond this the Nile
flows on through Nubia and
Egypt without a single tributary,
a distance of 1000 miles, to the
Mediterranean, which it enters
by the Damietta and Rosetta
mouths, the only two remaining
of the seven terminal outlets by
which it escaped from the delta.
Among the most useful re-
sults of these journeys, are the
facts recorded in the tables of
temperature. We have hitherto

2 p

v"\;.

594

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

been led to suppose that Equa-
torial Africa was subjected to
great heat, suited to the nature
of its inhabitants, and so un-
favourable to the health of the
European as to forbid the hope
of successful colonisation. Yet
in Karagw^, only i* south of
the equator, the temperature,
during five months, was on one
occasion only so high as 85° of
Fahrenheit. At nine in the
morning it ranged from 60" to
71°; and the nights were in-
variably cool. At Uganda, 1 700
feet lower, the temperature is
only a little higher. At Un-
yoro it is hotter, the maximum
being 86°, and the minimum
61° to 72°. The mean temper-
ature for the whole year is 68°;
maximum 82°, minimum 51°;
the extreme range 49°. Com-
pare these with the mean of
Funchal, in Madeira, Bermuda,
Gibraltar, and Cape Town, show-
ing 67° and 68°, while the maxi-
mum above given corresponds
with the summer temperature
of New Orleans and Canton,
and the minimum, 51°, is nearly
the same as that of London
and Vienna. These equatorial
figures are doubtless due to
the elevation of the table-land.
There is nothing remarkable in
the rain-fall, or the direction or
intensity of the winds. But not-
withstanding of all these facts,
it is too clear that Equatorial
Africa, however it may be bene-
fited by Christianity, must still
be held as set apart for itself —
the people peculiar to it, its
wild animals, and plagues.

All these discoveries, as has
been observed, owed their be-
ginnings to the missionaries at
Mombaz. In like manner the
researches in South-east Africa,
which have resulted in the open-
ing up of the lake regions of
that country, originated in the
missionaries connected with the
Cape. The exertions of those
who preceded David Living-
stone, however useful, were
mostly limited to the Kaffir re-
gions; and it was not till the
time of Livingstone that any
attempt was made to pass what
is called the desert of Kalahari,
comprehending the space from
the Orange River, in south
latitude 29°, to Lake Ngami in
the north, and from about 24"
east longitude, to near the west
coast. Dr. Livingstone formed
the resolution to pass this desert ;
and from 1849 he was en-
gaged in carrying that resolu-
tion into effect The region of
the desert is occupied by the
Bakalahari and the Bushmen,
who prey upon the game, chiefly
antelopes, which require only a
scanty supply of water, and feed
upon the grass and numerous
tuberculous plants. The start
was made in June, and the party
proceeded without interruption.
They came on the second day
to Serotli, where the country
is fiat, and composed of white
sand. After passing the salt-pan
district of Ncho-kotsa, where
the play of the mirage on the
salt incrustations deceived them
into the belief that the reservoirs
were lakes, they came to the

RECENT AFRICAN DISCO VERIES.

595

river Zouga, running to tl e
north-east, and described by t' e
people as coming out of the lake
Ngami. The people of this dis-
trict possess a language wh' h
shows that they are connecicd
by lineage with the north. On
ascending this river, descri' ed
as beautifully wooded, i :y
found a large stream flo\ mg
into it called the Tamunak'le.
The information received that
this stream came from a country
of rivers, first suggested to Dr.
Livingstone that there might be
a highway capable of being tra-
versed by boats to an unex-
plored region ; and when the
party came to the lake, this
idea became so predominant
that it seemed to diminish the
value of the actual discovery.
The lake, supposed to be about
seventy miles in circumference,
is shallow, and never can be of
much commercial importance.
Dr. Livingstone returned to
Kolobeng. His next purpose
was to go up the Tamunak'le
and visit Sebituane, the chief
of the Makololo, who live in
the swamps between the Chobe
and the Zambesi. In June 185 1
he saw, in the centre of the con-
tinent, the Zambesi itself, which
was not previously known to
exist there at all; and having
come to a resolution to ascend
it from Sesheke, he subsequently
made the necessary prepara-
tions. He collected canoes to
the number of thirty -three,
with about one hundred and
sixty men. They went rapidly
along, admiring the beauty of

the banks, a mile asunder, and
the many islands finely wooded.
The occurrence of cataracts
forced them at times to carry
their canoes ; but they soon
made their way to the Barotse
valley, 100 miles in length, and
bearing a resemblance to that
of the Nile, with its capital,
Naliele, erected on an emi-
nence. Up to Libonta the
river presents the appearance
of low banks without trees ; but
twenty miles beyond that the
forest comes down to the
water's edge, and along with it
the plague of Africa — the tsetse,
a fly whose bite is fatal to
domestic oxen, and to no other,
animals. Having at length ar-
rived at Ma-Sekeletu, the chief
who accompanied the expedi-
tion resolved to return, and the
party accordingly made again
for Sesheke. The doctor hav-
ing failed to discover a healthy
place for a settlement, now de-
termined on endeavouring to
open a path to the west coast.
This he put into execution by
what may be called his third
journey. In this he reached
the junction of the Loeti and
the Zambesi, and having re-
turned to Linyanti, he started
for the west coast. Reaching
the confluence of the Leeba
with the Zambesi, he crossed
the Quango, and arrived at
Loanda. On his return to Liny-
anti, once more he visited the
falls called Victoria, arrived at
Tete, and finally at Quilimane,
on the east coast.

Dr. Livingstone had thus laid

596

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

open a wide zone, comprehend-
ing the country of rivers ; but
as the Zambesi was fed by large
streams from the north, it was
necessary that these should be
explored. One of these, the
Shirt^, he ascended by means of
a small steamer in 1859. He
found it a stream with a breadth
of 160 yards, and a depth of
10 or 12 feet. By this means
he was led to the Shirwah, a
lake 200 miles long and 50
broad, with an elevation above
the sea level of 1500 or 2000
feet, and, like the Tanganyika,
surrounded by verdant moun-
tains, whereof one, Mount Zom
ba, is 8000 feet high. In the
vicinity of this the members of
the mission were located. Fish,
leeches, alligators, and sea-cows
abound in the hke, the water
of which is brackish.

In August 1 86 1 Dr. Living-
stone and Jiis party proceeded
to explore another lake called
Nyassa, by ascending further
the Shir^, and passing through
a valley with many villages and
plantations. Coming to a series
of rapids called Murchison
Cataracts, they were obliged to
carry a four-oared boat for a
period of three weeks to get
again to the navigable part of
the river. These cataracts ex-
tend over 35 miles of latitude,
with a total fall, from the first
to the last, of 1 200 feet. These
obstacles having been sur-
mounted, the travellers again
launched their- boat in the up-
per parts of the Shird, and soon
thereafter they found themselves

floating on the Nyassa lake, or,
as it is sometimes called, the
Star lake, the western shores of
which they explored for 200
miles, partly by the banks on
foot, and partly by the boat.

This lake they found to be
exposed to frequent storms, so
violent that the party could not
venture far from the shore ; yet
they got some rou^h measure-
ments by triangulation at those
places where the opposite bank
could be seen. The lake is
represented as having something
of the boot shape of Italy, be-
ing narrowest at the ankle,
where it is 20 miles across, and
increasing gradually to 50 or
60. It is estimated as lying
1200 feet above the sea-level,
and being about 350 miles from
the coast of Mozambique. The
party could learn nothing as to
its northern extremity, but it is
supposed to extend beyond the
parallel of the tenth degree
south; its southern extremity
being in the fourteenth degree.
It is surrounded by low marshy
plains, frequented by water
fowl, and forming a haunt for
the elephant and other wild
beasts. Beyond, at the distance
of 8 miles, were seen ranges of
granite hills covered with wood.
The party estimated the depth
of the lake by the colour of the
water ; near the shore it is
bright green, and towards the
centre a deep blue, like the
colour of the sea. Within a
mile of the shore a sounding-
line of 200 fathoms failed to
reach the bottom. The tern-

RECENT AFRICAN DISCO VERIES.

f^A

597

perature of the water was ']2^
of Fahrenheit, and fish were
plentiful. It was further ob-
served that the lake is fed by
many streams, no fewer than
ti/elve having been crossed by
the party as they proceeded on
the west side j and the conse-
quence is, that during the rainy
season the waters rise sometimes
to the extent of 3 feet.

The natives inhabiting the
country to the south of the lake
are of one tribe and one lan-
guage, rearing their villages so
close together that they form a
continuous line. They are of
a superior class of negroes;
good cultivators of the soil, and
hardy fishermen. Like most of
the people in the countries tra-
versed by the party, those in this
region were civil to the strangers,
and exacted no tribute. The
slave trade, which seems to em-
brace all regions occupied by
the negro, was found here to
be carried on with- activity;
there being even a boat, called a
dhow^ ready for carrying the vic-
tims from one side to the other.
Thus was another of the
African problem* solved ; for
although Portuguese travellers
had mentioned that there was
a lake in the quarter, and even
given it a name, Maravi, ac-
cording to which it figures in
some old maps, yet the accounts
were so vague and valueless
that the lake did not appear in
the more modern maps. Other
problems remained, such as the
origin of the Rovuma River,
which fell into the Indian Ocean

about the tenth degree of
southern latitude. At this time
Dr. Livingstone and a party
went up it 30 miles, but the
waters began to fall so rapidly
that they were obliged to return.

In the Nyassa district traces
of the odious slave-trade were
everywhere met with in the
shape of ruined villages, broken
utensils, and human skeletons.
The extent of the slave-trade
in this district was borne out by
the fact that 19,000 slaves alone
pass through the custom-house
of the island of Zanzibar.

On the 27 th April 1862, Mrs.
Livingstone died from the effects
of climate at Shupanga, on the
Zambesi, where she was buried.
The Rev. James Stewart of the
Free Church of Scotland read
the service over the grave.
Livingstone now emplbyed him-
self in exploring the Rovuma,
which he found to- have two
feeders, one from the south-
west, rising in- the mountain
Nyassa, the other from the west-
north-west. He next continued*
his researches on the Zambesi
and Shir^. In January 1863-,
the Pioneer steamed up the
Shir^, with the Lady Nyassa in
tow. Traces of the dreadful
results of a slave raid were
everywhere visible. The miser-
able inhabitants who had been
spared were in a state of semi-
starvation. Dead bodies were
frequently met in the huts * with
the poor rags round the loins,
the skull fallen off the pillow j
the little skeleton of the child,
that had perished first, rolled

\: ■: 4

■ i -it]

I'm

;■ 'IS'

598

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

up in a mat between two large
skeletons.' Mr. Thornton, geo-
logist of the expedition, after
assisting Baron Vanderdecken
in a survey of the Kilimanjaro
Mountains, proving the height
of the highest member of the
range to be 14,000, and the
height of the highest peak above
the level of the sea to be 20,000
feet, was attacked with fever
and died on the 21st April.

While engaged in making a
road through the forest to con-
nect the lower Shird with the
upper, the Rev. Charles Living-
stone, and Dr. John Kirk, after
having been repeatedly seized
with fever and dysentery, were
obliged to part from Living-
stone on the 19th of May 1863
and return home. Only two
months later he received a des-
patch from Lord John Russell,
Minister for Foreign Affairs,
withdrawing the expedition. In
accordance with these instruc-
tions, he proceeded to the
mouth of the Zambesi and to
Zanzibar, and navigating the
vessel himself, sailed for Bom-
bay, a distance of over 2500
miles. He then disposed of
his vessel the Lady Nyassa for
;£"20oo. Unfortunately, soon
after this money was committed
to the hands of a Bombay
banker, he became bankrupt,
and the whole sum was lost.

Early in 1865, with recruited
health, and after having super-
intended the publication of his
explorations on the Zambesi,
the Shird, the Rovuma, and
Lake Nyassa, he began to make

preparations for a new expedi-
tion. Sir Roderick Murchison,
President of the Geographical
Society, requested him this time
to undertake the exploration of
the intermediate country lying
between Northern Nyassa and
Tanganyika. Earl Russell re-
newed Livingstone's appoint-
ment as H.M. Consul to the
tribes in the interior. Mr. James
Young of Kelly, one of his
oldest friends, subscribed ;^iooo
to further this expedition, and
;^5oo was given by Govern-
ment, and another ;^5oo by the
Royal Geographical Society for
a like purpose.

He set out from England on
the 14th August 1865, accom-
panied by his daughter Agnes
as far as Paris, thence proceed-
ing alone direct to Bombay.
The Government of that Pre-
sidency assisted him with a
supply of arms and other
necessaries for the expedition.
He also secured the services
of Chuma, Wakatani, Edward
Gardner, Simon Price, and
other Zambesi liberated slaves
who were being educated in a
Nassick school there. Having
supplied the other necessary
requirements for his explora-
tions, he sailed from Bombay
to Zanzibar. At Zanzibar the
British Consul, Dr. G. E. Se-
ward, did all in his power to
further the expedition.

»0n the 19th March 1866,

* For the remainder of the narrative we
are partly indebted to the L^e and Labours
of Dr. Livingstone by H. M. Stanlev, now
given by permission ; supplemented by ad-
ditional facts brought to light in Living*
stone's Last JoumaU.

RECENT AFRICAN DISCO VERIES.

599

a new expedi-
rick Murchison,
B Geographical
id him this time
e exploration of
e country lying
:m Nyassa and
Larl Russell re-
tone's appoint-

Consul to the
rior. Mr. James
ily, one of his
[bscribed;£iooo
expedition, and
/en by Govem-
tier ;£5oo by the
hical Society for

rom England on
ist 1865, accom-
daughter Agnes
thence proceed-
2Ct to Bombay.
;nt of that Pre-
id him with a
ms and other
the expedition,
■ed the services
akatani, Edward
on Price, and
liberated slaves
g educated in a
there. Having
other necessary
for his explora-
d from Bombay
At Zanzibar the
, Dr. G. E. Se-
in his power to
edition.
ith March 1866,

ler of the narrative we
o the Life and Labours
by H. M. Stanley, now

the Life and Labours

y H. M. Stanley, now

, supplemented by ad-

ht to light in Living-

'tis.

he sailed from Zanzibar for
Mikindany Bay, a deep inden-
tation in the East African coast,
about twenty miles north of the
river Rovuma, and about five
degrees of latitude south of the
island of Zanzibar. His expedi-
tion consisted of Dr. Livingstone
himself, ten natives of Johanna,
engaged by Mr. Sunley, the
English Consul, thirteen na-
tives of the 2^mbesi, whom
tiie Doctor had formerly left at
Zanzibar as he was proceeding
homeward from the Zanzibar
Expedition, and thirteen Sepoys
of the Bombay Marine, alto-
gether thirty-six souls. The
only European of the party was
Dr. Livingstone. The animals
taken with him were six camels,
four buffaloes, four asses, and
two mules, with which he had
resolved he should experiment,
as to their adaptability for
African travelling. On the 24th
of March the British man-of-
war Penguin deposited the ex-
pedition at Mikindany Bay.

A few days afterwards Living-
stone and his party started for
the interior in a south-westerly
direction, with the intention of
crossing the Rovuma to reach
the north end of Lake Nyassa.

A few letters reached the
coast for friends at home, in-
forming them how he was suc-
ceeding in his journey. Then
there came a long pause, to be
broken, however, in December
1866, by the sad intelligence of
his murder by a predatory band
of the Mazitu, which inhabit
the unexplored lands through

which the western feeders of
the Rovuma flow. This griev-
ous tale was borne to Zanzibar
by a Johanna man named
Musa.

The summary of the infor-
mation received from this man
was to the effect that after
leaving the southern bank of
the Rovuma, Livingstone had
discharged the Bombay Sepoys,
and had left them on the route
to return to Zanzibar. One by
one each of the Sepoys had
fallen ill. The expedition had
then gone on, had crossed the
Lake Nyassa, and begun their
journey westward, when they
were suddenly attacked by a
band of the Mazitu, who slew
Livingstone with a blow from
a war hatchet, and killed and
dispersed his followers.

From the fatal scene, which
he said was between Marenga
and Mukliosowa, Musa had es-
caped with a few other mem-
bers of the unfortunate expedi-
tion.

After some deliberation, Sir
Roderick Murchison and the
Geographical Society entreated
the Government to equip a
boat expedition to proceed to
Lake Nyassa, to discover the
truth of the report, as there
were a great many influential
people in England, who, like
Sir Roderick, doubted, for
several reasons, the veracity of
Musa.

This boAt expedition was en-
trusted to Mr. E. D. Young, a
warrant officer of the Royal
Navy, and Lieutenant Faulk-

i:> ■ I

)00

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

ner, of the 17 th Lancers, and
departed from England on the
nth of June, for the Zambesi.
Arriving at that river, a port-
able steel boat, built in sections,
was put together, and the first
Search Expedition after Living-
stone started for the Shird

At Chibisa's, below the Mur-
chison Cataracts of the Shird,
the steel boat was disconnected,
thence carried overland a dis-
tance of forty miles, then
launched on the quiet waters
of the Upper Shir^, up which
the party sailed for the Nyassa
Lake. Mr. Young proved con-
clusively that though no mem-
ber of the expedition saw the
traveller, Dr. Livingstone was
not murdered anywhere near
- the locality mentioned by Musa.
The natives round about so-
lemnly averred that he had
gone to the West in good con-
dition and health. At Mar-
enga the people said that the
Johanna men had returned to
their village, but two days after
they had departed from the
lake in company with the Doc-
tor, and that when they were
asked why they had returned,
they replied that they had sim-
ply agreed to take him so far,
and therefore were at liberty to
return. This was, at least, con-
firmatory evidence that the Jo-
hanna men had lied ; that they
had only concocted their tragic
tale after theu departure from
Nyassa, in order to obtain their
pay from the Consul

In 1868, however, letters
came firom Livingstone himself,

dated at Bemba, February 1867,
wherein he explained that he
had been unable to send des-
patches before, owing to the
absence of caravans in the new
lands he had traversed.

We continue the narrative,
with little alteration, in the
words of a leading journalist,
in reviewing Livingstone's Last
Journals : —

* On the 1 8th of July 1868,
Livingstone saw, for the first
time, the shores of Lake Bemba,
or Bangweolo, which had never
before been visited by a Euro-
pean. The country around the
lake, we learn from his diary,
is all flat, and very much de-
nuded of trees except the mot-
sikiri or mosikisi, which has fine
dark, dense foliage, and is spared
for its shade and the fatty oil
yielded by its seeds. The fat
was used by the people to lubri-
cate their hair. The bottom of
the lake consists of fine white
sand, and a broad belt of strong
rushes, say 100 yards wide,
shows shallow water. In the
afternoons quite a crowd of
canoes anchor at its outer edge
to angle. The hooks are like
ours, but without barbs. The
fish are chiefly perch, but there
are two kinds, which reach the
large size of 4 feet by \\ in
thickness. The climate in the
region of the lake is extremely
moist, as is shown by the num-
ber of sponges or oozes in the
earth (something in the nature
of a bog) that are there met
with. In travelling thirty miles
of latitude, Livingstone had

RECENT AFRICAN DISCO VERIES.

60 1

to cross twenty-one of these
sponges. Bums are literally in-
numerable, rising on the ridges.
The Doctor said they were un-
doubtedly the primary or ulti-
mate sources of the Zambesi,
Congo, and Nile. By their
union are formed streams of
from thirty to eighty or a hun-
dred yards broad. These he
proposed to call the secondary
sources, and, as in the case of
the Nile, they are drawn off by
three lines of drainage, they be-
come the head waters of the
river of Egypt. We now know
that Dr. Livingstone was mis-
taken in supposing them to be
the head waters of the Nile.

* Livingstone, in October of
the same year, had made his
way north to the Kalongosi.
In November he wrote on the
subject of the discovery of the
sources of the Nile. After enu-
merating the labours of others
in this direction, and paying a
high compliment to the Dutch
lady. Miss Tinnd, he concluded
his observations thus : —

* " Dr. Beke, in his guess, came
nearer the sources than most
others, but after all he pointed
out where they would not be
found. Old Nile played the
theorists a pretty prank by hav-
ing his springs 500 miles south
of them all ! I call mine a
contribution, because it is just
a hundred years (1769) since
Bruce, a greater traveller than
any of us, visited Abyssinia, and
having discovered the sources
of the Blue Nile, he thought
that he had then solved the

ancient problcn. Am I to be
cut out by some one discover-
ing southern fountains of the
river of Egypt, of which I have
now no conception ?"

* This was written in the days
when Livingstone still believed
that he was the discoverer of
the sources of the Nile. The
entries in his Journal are full
of buoyancy and strong play-
ful humour. At Kabwabwata,
many of his old servants who
had refused to accompany their
master to Lake Bangweolo
returned to him, and were
taken back into his service.
An outbreak of war among the
various tribes delayed Living-
stone here for a considerable
time. He was now trying to
reach Ujiji. Early in 1869 he
was attacked by a dangerous
illness, which left evils behind
from which he never quite re-
covered. In crossing the Lo-
fuko, which was here waist deep,
he caught a severe cold which
affected his chest and lungs.
On the 8th and 9th January he
had to be carried. He was at
this time so ill that he could
not raise himself to the sitting
posture. He lost count of the
days of the week and month at
this time. On the 14th of Feb-
ruary he had a^ain arrived at
Lake Tanganyika. On the 1 5 th
the cough and chest pain, from
which he had been suffering,
had diminished, but his body
was greatly emaciated. On the
2Sthhe extracted twenty /^/wy^j,
an insect like a maggot, from
his body. On the application

I" ■. if

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6o3

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

of a poultice they seem obliged
to come out for want of air.
The large pimple in which they
live is painful. We learn from
the following entry made at this
time that Livingstone had come
to the conclusion that Tangan-
yika was a river : —

* " Tanganyika has encroached
on the Ujiji side upwards of a
mile ; and the bank, which was
in the memory of men now
living garden-ground, is covered
with about two fathoms of water.
In this, Tanganyika resembles
most other rivers in this country,
as the Upper Zambesi, for in-
stance, which, in the Barotsd
country, has been wearing east-
wards for the last thirty years ;
this lake, or river, has worn
eastwards too."

* In some of the villages he
visited he found the people were
civil, but at others they were low
and disagreeable. The country
here is swarming with villages.
On the 17 th November the Lua-
mo River (200 yards wide) was
reached. In January of the next
year, 1870, Livingstone was
again suffering from sickness,
with choleraic symptoms, pro-
bably brought on by the water.
In July irritable eating ulcers
fastened on his feet, causing the
traveller to return. If the foot
were put to the ground, a dis-
charge of bloody ichor flowed,
and the same discharge hap-
pened every night with con-
siderable pain, that prevented
sleep. ... A great amount of
superstition exists in Manyuema
and Bambarrd. In the Metamba

country, adjacent to the Lua-
laba, a quarrel with a wife often
ends in the husband killing her
and eating her heart, mixed up
with a huge mess of goat's flesh :
this has the charm character.
Fingers are taken as charms in
other parts, but in Bambarrd
alone is the depraved taste the
motive for cannibalism. He
notes the following in his jour-
nal at Bambarr^ on the i8th
August : —

* " I learn from Josut and
Moenepemb^, who have been
to Katanga and beyond, that
there is a Lake n.n.w. of the
copper mines, and twelve days
distant. It is called Chibungo,
and is said to be large. Seven
days west of Katanga flows an-
other Lualaba, the dividing line
between Rra and Lunda or
Londa. It is very large, and,
as the Lufira flows into Chi-
bungo, it is probable that the
Lualaba West and the Lufira
form the Lake. Lualaba West
and Luflra rise by fountains
south of Katanga, three or four
days off. Luambai and Lunga
fountains are only about ten
miles distant from Lualaba West
and Lufira fountains : a mound
rises between them, the most
remarkable in Africa. Were
this spot in Armenia, it would
serve exactly the description of
the garden of Eden in Genesis,
with its four rivers, the Gihon,
Pison, Hiddekel, and Euphrates.
As it is, it possibly gave oc-
casion to the story told to
Herodotus by the Secretary
of Minerva in the City of Sais,

RECENT AFRICAN DISCOVERIES.

603

about two hills with conical
tops, Crophi and Mophi. * Mid-
way between them,' said he,
* are the fountains of the Nile,
fountains which it is impossible
to fathom ; half the water runs
northward into Egypt, half to
the south towards Ethiopia/

* " Four fountains rising so
near to each other would readily
be supposed to have one source,
and half the water flowing into
the Nile, and the other half to
the Zambesi, required but little
imagination to originate, seeing
the actual visitor would not feel
bound to say how the division
was effected. He could only
know the fact of waters rising
at one spot, and separating to
flow north and south. The
conical tops to the mound look
like invention, as also do the
names.

* " A slave, bought on Lualaba
East, came from Lualaba West
in about twelve days. These
two Lualabas may form the loop
depicted by Ptolemy, and upper
and lower Tanganyika be a third
arm of the Nile."

* The ulcers from which the
Doctor was suffering were now
becoming worse. They fastened
on any part abraded by acci-
dent. It seemed to be a
spreading fungus, for the mat-
ter settling on any part near,
became a fresh centre of pro-
pagation. In October they had
commenced to heal, but for
eighty days he had been com-
pletely laid up with them. In
January 187 1 we find him still
detained at Bambarrd. He re-

marks about the Manyuema
people, that they are the most
callous, bloody savages he
knows. One puts a scarlet
feather from a parrot's tail on
the ground, and challenges
those near to stick it in the
hair. He who does so must
kill a man or woman. An-
other custom is that none dare
wear the skin of the musk
cat unless he has murdered
somebody. Guns alone (he
continues) prevent them from
killing us all, and for no reason
either. On the 4th of February
187 1, the men from the coast,
for v.hom he had been waiting
so long, arrived. Their first de-
mand was for more money, and
they swore that the consul told
them not to go forward, but to
force Livingstone back. On the
31st of March he came to the
Lualaba, which was here 3000
yards broad. His ink and
writing paper had by this time
failed him, and he was driven
to writing with the juice of a
plant across old newspapers.
While waiting for a canoe to
take them across the Lualaba,
a mutiny broke out among the
men, and they were heard by
Abed, a faithful servant, plotting
the destruction of their master.
They also did everything in
their power to prevent him get-
ting a canoe. In the end
Livingstone came to the con-
clusion that there was nothing
for it but to go back to Ujiji for
other men. Livingstone had
several narrow escapes from
I death, from unfriendly natives ;

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6o4

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

they came across on their way
back. Ujiji was reached on
the 23d of October, and on
the 28th Mr. H. M. Stanley
arrived.

* ''The great traveller," says
Mr. Stanley, " was reduced to a
skeleton by illness and fatigue ;
he was sick, destitute, and for-
lorn. All his men except four
had either deserted or had
died, and there seemed to be
no hope for him. His piteous
appeals for help to his friends
at Zanzibar were either ne-
glected or his letters were lost.
There was no prospect but that
of lingering illness and death
before him. Under the influ-
ence, however, of good cheer
and nourishing food, and, per-
haps, social fellowship with
another of his race, he speedily
recovered, and in six or seven
days after his rescue was en-
abled to accompany a portion
of the American Expedition in
a boat to the north end of Lake
Tanganyika, where both Liv-
ingstone and the author saw a
river nmning through a broad
gorge enclosed by lofty moun-
tains into the lake, with no
possible outlet whatever at any
part in the firmly connected
mountain-walls which surround
the entire northern half of the
Tanganyika. After a journey of
750 miles, and a residence of
over four months together, Liv-
ingstone and the American
Expedition became parted for
ever at Unyanyembd on March
14, 1872."
' Before the sad end came, the

resolution to go on with his
explorations, to satisfy himself
and the world that the Nile
really did spring up where he
believed, could not be daunted.
He was weak, and Stanley
urged him to press on no fur-
ther ; but writes Livingstone : —
* " My judgment said, * All
your friends will wish you to
make a complete work of the
exploration of the sources of
the Nile before you retire.'
My daughter Agnes says,

* Much as I wish you to come
home, I would rather that you
finished your work to your
own satisfaction, than return
merely to gratify me.* Rightly
and nobly said, my darling
Nannie. Vanity whispers loudly,

* She is a chip of the old block ! '
My blessing on her and on all
the rest."

* And therefore he went on,
confident that he would show
the world the sources of the
Nile. He got to Unyanyemb^,
and there had to remain, wait-
ing for the promised help. The
journals during his stay are
filled with reflections and with
observations, many of them of
high scientific value. Through
all that he says may be seen
tender, earnest, manly piety.
He was growing weary with
waiting, sick in mind, and weak
in body, and he prayed that he
might be spared to finish his
task. Here is a touching
entry (1872) : —

^i^th March. — Birthday. My
Jesus, my King, my life, my
all ; I again dedicate my whole

RECENT AFRICAN DISCOVERIES.

60s

1, than return

re he went on,
he would show
sources of the
;o Unyanyemb^,
to remain, wait-
lised help. The
; his stay are
ctions and with
lany of them of
alue. Through
rs may be seen
, manly piety,
ng weary with
mind, and weak
prayed that he
id to finish his
is a touching

—Birthday. My
g, my life, my
Sicate my whole

self tb Thee. Accept me, and
grant, O Gracious Father, that
ere this year is gone I may
finish my task. In Jesus' name
I ask it Amen, so let it be.
' David Livingstone.

'Many times he urges the
necessity for missionaries. They
must not, he says, stay on the
coast, but go into the interior ;
and he sketches for them their
duties, and their difficulties, and
their delights. His pictures of
parts of the country are most
attractive. In all his writing,
however, he never loses sight of
the great object of his journey-
ing in that region. An entry
on May 31, 1873, he says : —

* " In reference to this Nile
source, I have been kept in
perpetual doubt and perplexity.
I know too much to be positive.
Great Lualaba, or Lualubba, as
Manuyema say, may turn out to
be the Congo or the Nile, a
shorter river after all — the foun-
tains flowing north and south
seem in favour of its being the
Nile. Great Westing is in
favour of the Congo. It would
be comfortable to be positive
like Baker. * Every drop, from the
passing shower to the roaring
mountain torrent, must fall into
Albert Lake, a giant at its birth.'
How soothing to be positive ! "

* These doubts about the Nile
sources grew stronger, but they
never overcame his confidence.
He died in the faith that the
Nile rose between ic° and 12°
south latitude.'

Livingstone's death, took

place, on the ist of May 1873,
at Ilala, in Central Africa. For
some time previous, as related,
he had been very weak. Forcing
his feeble strength, however, he
pushed on, riding on a donkey.
Then he had to be carried on
a kitanda or bedstead ; but
soon after passing Ilala, he
gave up travelling, and the boys
erected a hut, in which he lay
for a few days, gradually grow-
ing weaker, and at last, on the
day mentioned, he expired.

In his Last Journals^ the
now familiar death scene is
given thus: — *The lad's evident
alarm made Susi run to arouse
Chuma, Chowperd, Matthew,
and Muanyasdr^, and the six
men went immediately to the
hut. Passing inside they looked
towards the bed. Dr. Living-
stone was not lying on it, but
appeared to be engaged in
prayer, and they instinctively
drew backwards for the instant.
Pointing to him, Majwara said.
When I lay down be was just
as he is now, and it is because
I find that he does not move
that I fear he is dead. They
asked the lad how long he had
slept. Majwara said he could
not tell, but he was sure that it
was some considerable time.
The men drew nearer. A candle
stuck by its own wax to the
top of the box shed a light
sufficient for them to see his
form. Dr. Livingstone was
kneeling by the side of his bed
— ^his body stretched forward,
his head buried in his hands,
, upon the pillow. For a minute

•^8

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6o6

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

they watched him. He did not
stir. There was no sign of
breathing. Then one of them
(Matthew) advanced softly to
him, and placed his hands to
his cheeks. It was sufficient —
life had been extinct some time,
and the body was almost cold.
Livingstone was dead. His
sad-hearted servants raised him
tenderly up, and laid him full
length on the bed ; then, care-
fully covering him, they went
out into the damp night air
to consult together. It was not
long before the cocks crew, and
it is from this circumstance,
coupled with the fact that Susi
spoke to him sometime shortly
before midnight, that we are
able to state with tolerable cer-
tainty that he expired early on
the I St of May.'

* About the period,' says Mr.
Stanley, when * Livingstone must
have been toiling through the
oozy marshes, bounding a portion
of the Lake Bangweolo on the
north, the fourth Search and
Relief Expedition arrived at
Zanzibar, in February 1873.
This party was commanded by
Lieutenants Cameron and Mur-
phy and a Dr. Dillon, and was
sent to Africa under the auspices
of the Geographical Society, and
was assisted by Sir Bartle Frere,
who was then at Zanzibar, en-
deavouring to obtain the first
results which Livingstone's ener-
getic denunciation of the slave
trade had caused his Govern-
ment and nation to desire. The
expedition arrived at Unyan-
yembd in the latter part of August

1873. In October the leaders
were startled at the appearance
of Chuma in their midst, who
had come from the south, and
who informed them that Living-
stone's body was but twenty
days behind, being brought by
Livingstone's followers.

* In the beginning of Novem-
ber, the faithful followers of
Livingstone, seventy-nine in
number, appeared at Unyan-
yembd with the mournful bur-
den they had carried over
1,000 miles. Soon after, Dr.
Dillon, who was sick, and
Lieutenant Murphy, who had
resigned his share in the expedi-
tion, started from Unyanyemb^.
At Kasegdra, Dr. Dillon, who
was blind and temporarily de-
ranged, committed suicide. In
February 1874, the body of
Livingstone arrived at Zanzibar,
and was shipped in care of Mr.
Arthur Laing, as well as all his
books, papers, and personal
effects to England, where the
steamer to which all had been
transhipped at Aden arrived
on the 1 6th of April 1874, eight
years and eighteen days since
Livingstone had departed from
England.

* After the arrival of the
steamer Malwa, which con-
tained the body, in the dock at
Southampton, the coffin was
borne to the Royal Pier, and
then carried through a sympa-
thetic and reverent population,
who had gathered en masse io
pay a mute but impressive
tribute of respect for all that
Livingstone had done through

RECENT AFRICAN DISCO VERIES.

607

life, to the lasting glory of the
English name. Then taken to
London, the body was formally
examined by Sir William Fer-
gusson and the friends of
Livingstone, and by the left
arm-bone, which the lion's jaws
had splintered nearly thirty
years ago, was recognised in-
stantly,and all doubt of his death
was finally and fully dissipated
for ever. On Saturday, April
18, 1874, the body of the great
explorer was borne, amid testi-
monies of profound respect from
great numbers of people, to its
final home inWestminsterAbbey.
Amongst the tributes to his
memory few are more correct
and appropriate than that by
Sir Samuel W. Baker:— * The
life of Dr. Livingstone is well
known, but although his char-
acter as an explorer has been
established for many years,
there are few persons beyond
scientific geographers who truly
appreciate his enormous labours.
When we examine the maps of
all his published works, we
must be struck with amazement
that any one man should have
been able to support the bodily
fatigue of travelling over the
many thousand miles in Africa
marked by that thin and wan-
dering line of red which denotes
his track. The world knows
but little of such fatigues — the
toil of body in unhealthy
climates ; the lack of food ;
constant exposure to both sun
and rain ; perpetual anxiety ;
delays and passive hostility that
wear out the brain with over-

taxed patience ; hopes deferred,
followed by that sickness of
heart which is a greater strain
upon the nervous system than
the heaviest physical work.
These are the trials that Living-
stone sustained throughout his
life of exploration ; and still he
endured until he dropped upon
his road worn out in his great
work ; and in solitude he died
upon his knees by his bedside,
far from the world, but in com-
munion at the last|with Him who
had been his guide and pro-
tector through a life of difficul-
ties and perils.

* His geographical opinions
may or may not be accepted
on all points, but there can
only be one opinion concerning
the man : he was the greatest
of all explorers of this century ;
he was one of a noble army of
martyrs who have devoted their
lives to the holy cause of free-
dom; and he has laid down
his life as a sacrifice upon a
wild and unknown path, upon
which he has printed the first
footsteps of civilisation.'

By way of appropriate con-
clusion, some extracts follow
from interesting letters written
from time to time by Dr. Living-
stone. The first conveys his
thanks to Mr. James Gordon
Bennett, proprietor of the New
York Heraldf and gives an idea
of his circumstances previous to
the arrival of Mr. Stanley : —

* If I explain the forlorn con-
dition in which he found me,
you will easily perceive that J ,

"'hi

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THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

have good reason to use very
strong expressions of gratitude.
I came to Ujiji off a tramp of
between 400 and 500 miles be-
neath a blazing vertical sun,
havi'^q; been baffled, worried,
del'^ d, and forced to return,
when ' Tiost in sight of the end
of the geographical part of my
mission, by a number of half-
caste Moslem slaves sent to me
from Zanzibar instead of men.
The sore heart, made still sorer
by the truly woful sights I had
seen of " man's inhumanity to
man," reacted on the bodily
frame, and depressed it beyond
measure. I thought that I wad
dying on my feet. It is not too
much to say, that almost every
step of the weary sultry way I
was in pain, and I reached Ujiji
a mere ruckle of bones. Here
I found that some ;£'5oo worth
of goods I had ordered from
Zanzibar had unaccountably
been intrusted to a drunken
half-caste Moslem tailor, who,
after squandering them for six-
teen months on the way to Ujiji,
finished up by selling off all that
remained for slaves and ivory
for himself. He had divined
on the Koran, and found that
I was dead. He had also writ-
ten to the governor of Unyan-
yembd that he had sent slaves
after me to Manyema, who re-
turned and reported my decease,
and begged permission to sell off
the few goods that his drunken
appetite had spared. He, how-
ever, knew perfectly well from
men who had seen me, that I
was alive, and waiting for the

goods and men ; but as for
morality, he is evidently an
idiot; and there being no law
here except that of the dagger
or musket, I had to sit down
in great weakness, destitute of
everything save a few barter
cloths and beads I had taken
the precaution to leave here in
case of extreme need. The
near prospect of beggary among
Ujijians made me miserable. I
could not despair, because I
laughed so much at a friend,
who, on reaching the mouth of
the Zambesi, said " that he was
tempted to despair on breaking
the photograph of his wife : we
could have no success after
that." After that, the idea of
despair has to me such a strong
smack of the ludicrous, it is out
of the question.

'Well, when I had got to
about the lowest verge, vague
rumours of an English visitor
reached me. I thought of my-
self as the man who went down
from Jerusalem to Jericho ; but
neither priest, Levite, nor Sa-
maritan could possibly pass my
way. Yet the good Samaritan
was close at hand, and one of
my people rushed up at the
top of his speed, and in great
excitement gasped out, "An
Englishmanlcoming ! I see him !"
And off he darted to meet him.
An American flag, the first ever
seen in these parts, at the heau
of a caravan, told me the na-
tionality of the stranger. I Lin
as cold and non-demonstrative
as we islanders are usually re-
puted to be, but your kinc ness

RECENT AFRICAN DISCOVERIES.

609

made my frame thrill. It was
indeed overwhelming, and I said
in my soul, " Let the richest
blessings descend from the
Highest on you and yours."

* The news Mr. Stanley had
to tell me was thrilling : the
mighty political changes on the
Continent, the success of the
Atlantic cables, the election of
General Grant, and many topics
riveted my attention for days
together, and had an immediate
and beneficial effect on my health.
I had been without news from
home for years, save what I
could glean from a few Saturday
Reviews and copies of Punch
for 1868. The appetite re-
vived, and in a week I began
to feel strong again. Mr. Stan-
ley brought a most kind and
encouraging despatch from Lord
Clarendon, whose loss I sin-
cerely deplore — the first I have
received from the Foreign Office
since 1866 — and information
that Her Majesty's Govern-
ment had kindly sent ;£iooo
to my aid. Up to his arrival
I was not aware of any pecu-
niary aid. I came unsalaried,
but this want is now happily
repaired ; and I am anxious that
you and all my friends should
know that, though uncheered
by letters, I have stuck to the
task which my friend Sir Roder-
ick Murchison set me, with
John-Bullish tenacity, believing
that all will come right at last.'

To the Earl of Clarendon he
gave the following summary of
his geographical conclusions : —

* I wrote a very hurried letter

on the a8th ultimo, and sent
it by a few men who had
resolved to run the risk of pass-
ing through contending parties
of Banyamwezi and mainland
Arabs at Unyanyembd, which
is some twenty days east of
this. I had just come off a
tramp of more than 400 miles
beneath a vertical torrid sun,
and was so jaded in body and
mind by being forced back by
faithless, cowardly attendants,
that I could have written little
more though the messengers had
not been in such a hurry to
depart as they were. I have
now the prospect of sending
this safely to the coast by a
friend; but so many of m^
letters have disappeared at Un-
yanyemb^, when intrusted to
the care of the Lewale or
Governor, who is merely the
trade agent of certain Banians,
that I shall consider that of the
28th as one of the unfortunates,
and give in this as much as I
can recall.

'• I have ascertained thac the
watershed of the Nile is a broad
upland between 10° and 12"
south latitude, and from 4000
to 5000 feet above the level of
the sea. Mountains stand on
it at various points, which,
though not apparently very
high, are between 6000 and
7000 feet of actual altitude.
The watershed is over 700
miles in length from west to
east. The springs that rise on
it are almost innumerable \ that
is, it would take a large part of
a man's life to count them. A

2 Q

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6io

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

bird's-eye view of some parts of
he watershed would resemble
the frost vegetation on window-
panes. They all begin in an
ooze at the head of a slightly
depressed valley. A few hun-
dred yards down, the quantity
of water from oozing earthen
sponge forms a brisk perennial
bum or brook a few feet broad,
and deep enough to require a
bridge. These are the ultimate
or primary sources of the great
rivers that flow to the north in
in the great Nile valley. The
primaries unite and form streams
in general larger than the Isis
at Oxford or Avon at Hamilton,
and may be called secondary
sources. They never dry, but
unite again into four large lines
of drainage, the head waters or
mains of the river of Egypt
These four are each called by
the natives Lualaba, which, if
not too pedantic, may be spoken
of as lacustrine rivers, extant
specimens of those which in
prehistoric times abounded in
Africa, and which in the south
are still called by Bechuanas
** Melapo ; " in the north, by
Arabs, " Wadys ; " both words
meaning the same thing — river-
beds in which no water ever
now flows. Two of the four
great rivers mentioned fall into
the central Lualaba, or Webb's
Lake River, and then we have
but two main lines of drainage
as depicted nearly by Ptolemy.
* The prevailing winds on the
watershed are from the south-
east. This is easily observed
by the direction of the branches;

and the humidity of the climate
is apparent in the numbers of
lichens, which make the upland
forest look like the mangrove
swamps on the coast

• In passing over sixty miles
of latitude, I waded thirty-two
primary sources from calf to
waist deep, and requiring from
twenty minutes to an hour and
a quarter to cross stream and
sponge ; this would give about
one source to every two miles.

* A Suaheli friend, in passing
along part of the Lake Bang-
weolo, during six days counted
twenty-two from thigh to waist
deep. This lake is on the
watershed, for the village at
which I observed on its north-
west shore was a few seconds
into 1 1° south, and its southem
shores and springs and rivulets
are certainly in 12° south. I
tried to cross it in order to
measure the breadth accurately.
The first stage to an inhabited
island was about twenty-four
miles. From the highest point
here, the tops of the trees,
evidently lifted by the mirage,
could be seen on the second
stage and the third stage ; the
mainland was said to be as far
as this beyond it But my
canoe men had stolen the canoe,
and got a hint that the real
owners were in pursuit, and got
into a flurry to return home.
"They would come back for
me in a few days truly," but I
had only my coverlet left to
hire another craft if they should
leave me in this wide expanse
of water ; and being 4000 feet

RECENT AFRICAN DISCO VERIES.

6ii

)f the climate
; numbers of
«e the upland
;he mangrove
ast

IX sixty miles
led thirty-two
from calf to
requiring from
o an hour and
ss stream and
aid give about
ery two miles.
;nd, in passing
le Lake Bang-
c days counted
thigh to waist
ike is on the
the village at
d on its north-
; a few seconds
md its southem
ngs and rivulets
12° south. I
it in order to
ad[th accurately.
;o an inhabited
lut twenty-four
lc highest point
of the trees,
by the mirage,
on the second
lird stage ; the
id to be as far
. it But my
ftolen the canoe,
that the real
lursuit, and got
return home,
[come back for
;s truly," but I
:overlet left to
\ if they should
^s wide expanse
leing 4000 feet

above the sea, it was very cold :
so I returned.

* The length of this lake is,
at a very moderate estimate,
150 miles. It gives fwth a
large body of water in the
Luapula; yet lakes are in no
sense sources, for no large river
begins in a lake. But this and
others serve an important pur-
pose in the phenomena of the
Nile. It is one large lake» and,
unlike the Okara, — which, ac-
cording to Suabeli, who travelled
long in our company^ is three
or four lakes run into one huge
Victoria NyanKi, — ogives out a
large river, which, on departing
out of Moero, is still larger.
These men had spent many
years east of Okara, and could
scarcely be mistaken in saying
that, of the three or four lakes
there, only one, the Okara,
gives oflf its watei to the north.

* Tbe '' White Nile'' of Speke,
less by a lull half than the Shir^
out of Nyassa (for it is only
eighty or ninety yards lM*oad),
can scarcely be named in com-
parison with the central or
Webb's Lualaba, of firora 2000
to 6000 yards, in relation to the
phenomena of the Nile. The
structirre and economy of the
watershed answer very much
the same end as the great lacus-
trine rivers, but I cannot at pre-
sent copy a lost despatch which
explained that. The mountains
on the watershed are probably
what Ptolemy, for reasons now
unknown, called the Mountains
of the Moon. From their bases
I found that the springs of the

Nile do unquestionably arise.
This is just what Ptolemy put
down, and is true geography.
We must accept the fountains,
and nobody but Philistines will
reject the mountains, though
we cannot conjecture the rea-
son for the name.

* Mounts Kenia and Kiliman-
jaro are said to be snow-capped ;
but they are so far from the
sources, and send no water to
any part of the Nile, they could
iiever have been meant by the
correct ancient explorers, from
whom Ptolemy and his prede-
cessors gleaned their true geo-
graphy, so different from the
trash that passes current in
modem times.

* Before leaving the subject
of the watershed, I may add
that I know about 600 miles of
it, but am not yet satisfied, for
unfortunately the seventh hun-
dred is the most interesting of
the whole. I have a very strong
impression, that in the last hun-
dred miles the fountains of the
Nile mentioned to Herodotus
by the Secretary of Minerva in
the city of Sais do arise, not,
like all the rest, from oozing
earthen spcMiges, but from an
earthen mound; and half the
water flows northward to Egypt,
the other half south to Inner
Ethiopia. These fountains, at
no great distance oflf, become
large rivers, though at the
mound they are not more thafi
ten miles apart. That is, one
fountain rising on the north-
east of the mound becomes
Bartle Frere's Lualaba, and it

«" -111

vcl

(■■t

6l3

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

flows into one of the lakes pro-
per, Kamolondo, of the central
line of drainage ; Webb's Lua-
laba, the second fountain, rising
on the north-west, becomes
(Sir Paraffin) Young's Lualaba,
which, passing through Lake
Lincoln and becoming Loeki
or Lomame, and joining the
central line too, goes north to
Egypt. The third fountain on
the south-west, Palmerston's,
becomes the Liambia or Upper
Zambesi ; while the fourth, Os-
well's fountain, becomes the
Kafue, and falls into Zambesi
in Inner Ethiopia.

' More time has been spent
in the exploration than I ever
anticipated. My bare expenses
were paid for two years; but
had I left when the money was
expended, I could have given
little more information about
the country than the Portuguese,
who, in their three slave-trading
expeditions to Cazembe, asked
for slaves and ivory alone, and
heard of nothing else. From
one of the subordinates of their
last so-called expedition, I learnt
that it was believed that the
Luapula went to Angola ! I
asked about the waters till I
was ashamed, and almost afraid
of being set down as afllicted
with hydrocephalus. I had to
feel my way, and every step of
the way, and was generally
groping in the dark; for who
cared where the rivers ran?
Many a weary foot I trod ere I
got a clear idea of the drainage
of the great Nile valley. The
most intelligent natives and

traders thought that all the
rivers of the upper part of that
valley flowed into Tanganyika.
But the barometers told me
that to do so the water must
flow up-hill. The great rivers
and the great lakes all make
their waters converge into the
deep trough of the valley, which
is a full inch of the barometer
lower than the Upper Tangan-
yika. It is only a sense of
duty, which I trust your Lord-
ship will approve, that makes
me remain, and, if possible,
finish the geographical question
of my mission. After being
thwarted, baffled, robbed, wor-
ried almost to death in follow-
ing the central line of drainage
down, I have a sore longing
for home; have had a perfect
surfeit of seeing strange new
lands and people, grand moun-
tains, lovely valleys, the glorious
vegetation of primeval forests,
wild beasts, and an endless suc-
cession of beautiful man; be-
sides great rivers and vast lakes
— the last most interesting from
their huge outflowings, which
explain some of the phenomena
of the grand old Nile.

* Let me explain, but in no
boastful style, the mistakes of
others who have bravely striven
to solve the ancient problem,
and it will be seen that I have
cogent reasons for following the
painful, plodding investigation
to its conclusion. Poor Speke's
mistake was a foregone conclu-
sion. When he discovered the
Victoria Nyanza, he at once
leaped to the conclusion that

RECENT AFRICAN DISCOVERIES,

613

>'in

that all the
)er part of that
to Tanganyika,
sters told me
lie water must
l*e great rivers
akes all make
iverge into the
le valley, which
: the barometer
Upper Tangan-
ily a sense of
ust your Lord-
ve, that makes
id, if possible,
iphical question
I. After being
d, robbed, wor-
death in foUow-
line of drainage
a sore longing
e had a perfect
ig strange new
le, grand moun-
eys, the glorious
trimeval forests,
an endless suc-
itiful man; be-
_ and vast lakes
interesting from
iowings, which
the phenomena
Nile,
jlain, but in no
[the mistakes of
bravely striven
xient problem,
,een that I have
[for following the
ig investigation
.. Poor Speke's
foregone conclu-
discovered the
he at once
conclusion that

therein lay the sources of the
river of Egypt, " 20,000 square
miles of water,'' confused by
sheer immensity,

* Ptolemy's small kke **Co-
loc " is a more correct represen-
tation of the actual size of that
one of three or four lakes which
alone sends its outflow to the
north ; its name is Okara. Lake
Kavirondo is three days distant
from it, but connected by a
narow arm. I^ke Naibash or
Neibash is four day» from Kavi-
rondo. Baringo is ten days dis-
tant, and discharges by a river,
the Nagardabash, to the north-
east.

* These three or four lakes,

which have been described by

several intelligent Suaheli, who

have lived for many years oi>

their shores, were run into one

huge Victoria Nyanza. But no

sooner did Speke and Grant

turn their faces to this lake to

prove that k contained the Nile

fountains^ than* they turned their

backs to the springs of the viver

of Egypt, whicli are between

400 and 500 miles south of the

most southerly portion of the

Victoria Lake. Every step of

their heroic and real4y splendid

achievement of following the

river down, took them farther

and £Eurther from the sources

they sought. But for devotion

to the foregone conclusion^ the

sight of the little "White Nile,"

as unable to* account for the

great river, they must have

turned off to the west, down

into the deep trough of the

great valley, and there found

lacustrine rivers amply sufficient
to account for the Nile and all
its phenomena.

* The next explorer, Baker,
believed as .onestly as Speke
and Grant, that in the Lake
River Albert he had a second
source of the Nile to that of
Speke. He came farther up
the Nile than any other in mo-
dern times, but turned when
between 600 and 700 miles
shwt of the caput Nili. He is
now employed in a more noble
work than the discovery of Nile
sources ; and if, as all must
earnestly wish, he succeeds in
suppressing the Nile slave-trade,
the boon he will bestow on hu-
manity will be of far higher value
than all my sources together.

* When intelligent men like
these and Bruce have been
mistaken, I have naturally felt
anxious that no one should
come after me and find sources
south of mine, which I now
think can only be possible by
water running up the southern

, slope of the watersheds

* But all that can ii» modem
' times, and in; common modesty,

be fairly claimed, is, the re-
discovevy of what had sunk
into oblivion, like the circunv-
navigation of Africa by the
Phoenician admiral of one of
the Pharaohs, about b.c. 60a.
He was not believed^ because
he leported that in passing
round Libya he had the sun
on his right hand. This, to us
who had gone round the Cape
from east to west, stamps his
tale as genuine.

■'■II

6i4

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

* The predecessors of Ptolemy
probably gained their informa-
tion from men who visited this
very region ; for in the second
century of our area he gave, in
substance, what we now find
to be genuine geography.

*The springs of the Nile,
rising in io° to 12° south lati-
tude, and their water collecting
into two large lacustrine rivers,
and other facts, could have
been leamed only from primi-
tive travellers or traders, — the
true discoverers of what em-
perors, kings, philosophers, all
the great minds of antiquity,
longed to know, and longed in
vain.

* The geographical results of
four arduous trips in different
directions in the Manyema
country are briefly as follows :
— ^The great river, Webb's
Liaalaba, in the centre of the
Nile valley, makes a great bend
to the west, soon after leaving
Lake Moero, of at least 180
miles ^ then, turning to the
noTtJi for some distance, it
makes another large sweep
west, of about 120 miles, in
the courseof which about thirty
miles of southing are made ; it
then draws round to north-east,
receives the Lomame, or Loeki,
a large river v/hich flows through
Lake Lincoln. After the union
a large lake is formed, with
many inhabited islands in it;
but this has still to be explored.
It is the fourth large lake in
the central line of drainage,
and cannot be Lake Albert;
for, assuming Speke's longitude

of Ujiji to be pretty correct,
and my reckoning not enor-
mously wrong, the great central
lacustrine river is about five
degrees west of U^per and
Lower Tanganyika.

*The mean of many baro-
metric and boiling-point obser-
vations made Upper Tangan-
yika 2880 feet high. Respect
for Speke's memory made me
hazard the conjecture that he
found it to be nearly the same ;
but from the habit of writing
the Annum Domini^ a mere slip
of the pen made him say 1844
feet. But I have more con-
fidence in the barometers than
in the boiling-points ; and they
make Tanganyika over 3000
feet, and the lower part of
Central Lualaba one inch lower,
or about the altitude ascribed
to Gondokoro.

* Beyond the fourth lake the
water passes, it is said, into
large reedy lakes, and is in all
probability Petherick's branch
— the main stream of the Nile
— in distinction from the smaller
easter arm, which Speke, Grant,
and Baker took to be the river
of Egypt.

* In my attempts to penetrate
farther and farther I had but
little hope of ultimate success ;
for the great amount of westing
led to a continual effort to sus-
pend the judgment, lest, after
all, I might be exploring the
Congo instead of the Nile; and
it was only after the two great
western drains fell into the cen-
tral main, and left but the two
great lacustrine rivers of Ptol-

RECENT AFRICAN DISCOVERIES.

615

emy, that I felt pretty sure of
being on the right track.

* The great bends west pro-
bably form one side of the
great rivers above that geo-
graphical loop, the other side
being Upper Tanganyika and
the Lake River Albert. A water-
fall is reported to exist between
Tanganyika and Albert Nyanza,
but I could not go to it ; nor
have I seen the connecting link
between the two — the upper
side of the loop — though I be-
lieve it exists.

* The Manyema are certainly
cannibals, but it was long ere
I could get evidence more posi-
tive than would have led a
Scotch jury to give a verdict of
"not proven." They eat only
enemies killed in war; they
seem as if instigated by revenge
in their man-eating orgies, and
on these occasions they do not
like a stranger to see them. I
offered a large reward in vain to
any one who would call me to
witness a cannibal feast. Some
intelligent men have told me
that the meat is not nice, and
made them dream of the dead.
The women never partake, and
I am glad of it, for many of
them far down Lualaba are
very pretty ; they bathe three
or four times a day, and are
expert divers for oysters.

*' The terror that guns inspire
generally among the Manyema,
seems to 'arise among the Ba-
kuss from an idea that they are
supernatural. The effect of
gun-shot on a goat was shown,
in order to convince them that

the traders had power, and that
the instruments they carried were
not, as they imagined, the mere
insignia of chieftainship : they
looked up to the skies, and
offered to bring ivory to pur-
chase the charm by which
lightning was drawn down ;
and afterwards, when the traders
tried to force a passage which
was refused, they darted aside
when seeing Banyamwezi's fol-
lowers place the arrows in the
bow-strings, but stood in mute
amazement while the guns
mowed them down in great
numbers. They use long spears
in the thick vegetation of their
country with great dexterity;
and they have told me frankly,
what was self-evident, that but
for the fire-arms, not one of the
Zanzibar slaves or half-castes
would ever leave their country.

^ There is not a single great
chief in all Manyema. No
matter what name the different
divisions of people bear, —
Manyema, Balegga, Babire,
Bazire, Bakoos, — there is no
political cohesion ; not one
king or kingdom. Each head
man is independent of every
other. The people are indus-
trious, and most of them culti-
vate the soil largely. We found
them everyv/heie very honest.
When detained at Bambarr^,
we had to send our goats and
fowls to the Manyema villages,
to prevent them being all stolen
by the Zanzibar slaves; the
slave-owners had to do the
same.

< Manyema land is the only

6i6

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

country in Central Africa I have
seen where cotton is not culti-
vated, spun, and woven. The
clothing is that known in Mada-
gascar as 'Mambas" or grass
cloth, made from the leaves of
the " Muale " palm.

*They call the good spirit
above "Ngulu," or the Great
One ; and the spirit of evil, who
resides in the deep, "Mulambu."
A hot fountain near Bambarrd is
supposed to belong to this being,
the author of death by drowning
and other misfortunes.*

The following is an account
of travel in Manyema-land,
which occurs in a despatch to
Lord Granville : —

*The country is extremely
beautiful, but difficult to travel
over. The mountains of light
grey granite stand like islands
in new red sandstone, and
mountain and valley are all
clad in a mantle of different
shades of green. The vege-
tation is indescribably rank.
Through the grass — if grass it
can be called, which is over
half an inch in diameter in the
stalk, and from ten to twelve
feet high — nothing but ele-
phants can walk. The leaves
of this megatherium grass are
armed with minute spikes,
which, as we worm our way
along elephant-walks, rub dis-
agreeably on the side of the
face where the gun is held, and
the hand is made sore by fend-
ing it off the other side for
hours. The rains were fairly
set in bv November; and in
the mommgs, or after a shower,

these leaves were loaded with
moisture, which wet us to the
bone. The valleys are deeply
undulating, and in each in-
numerable dells have to be
crossed. There may be only a
thread of water at the bottom ;
but the mud, mire, or {Scotice)
" glaur " is grievous ; thirty or
forty yards of the path on each
side of the stream are worked
by the feet of passengers into
an adhesive compound. By
placing a foot ou each side of
the narrow way, one may waddle
a little distance along ; but the
rank crop of grasses, gingers,
and bushes cannot spare the
few inches of soil required for
the side of the foot, and down
he comes into the slough. The
path often runs along the bed
of the rivulet for sixty or more
yards, as if he who first cut it
out went that distance seeking
for a part of the forest less
dense for his axe. In other
cases, the Muale palm, from
which here, as in Madagascar,
grass-cloth is woven, and called
by the same name, "lamba,"
has taken possession of the
valley. The leaf-stalks, as thick
as a strong man's arm, fall off
and block up all passage, save
by a path made and mixed up
by the feet of elephants and
buffaloes ; the slough tl. erein is
groan-compelling and deep.

* Every now and then the
traders, with rueful faces, stand
panting; the sweat trickles down
my face ; and I suppose that I
look as grim as they, though I try
to cheer them with the hope that

RECENT AFRICAN DISCO VERIES.

617

good prices will reward them at
the coast for ivory obtained
with so much toil. In some
cases the subsoil has given way
beneath the elephant's enor-
mous weight ; the deep hole is
filled with mud ; and one,
taking it all to be about calf
deep, steps in to the top of the
thigh, and flaps on to a seat
soft enough, but not luxurious ;
a meny laugh relaxes the facial
muscles, though I have no other
reason for it than that it is
better to laugh than to cry.

* Some of the numerous rivers
which in this region flow into
Lualaba are covered with living
vegetable bridges : a species of
dark glossy-leaved grass, with
its roots and leaves, felts itself
into a mat that covers the
whole stream. When stepped
upon it jdelds twelve or fifteen
inches, and that amount of
water rises up on the leg. At
every step the foot has to be
raised high enough to place it
on the unbent mass in front.
This high stepping fatigues like
walking on deep snow. Here
and there holes appear which
we could not sound with a
stick six feet long; they give
the impression that anywhere
one might plump through and
finish the chapter. Where the
water is shallow, the lotus, or
sacred lily, sends its roots to
the bottom, and spreads its
broad leaves over the floating
bridge, so as to make believe
that the mat is its own ; but
the grass referred to is the real
felting and supporting agent,

for it often performs duty as
bridge where no lilies grow.
The bridge is called by Man-
yema * kintefwetefwe,' as if he
who first coined it was gasping
for breath after plunging over a
mile of it.

* Between each district of
Manyema large belts of the
primeval forest still stand. Into
these the sun, though vertical,
cannot penetrate, except by
sending down at mid-day thin
pencils of rays into the gloom.
The rain-water stands for months
in stagnant pools made by the
feet of elephants ; and the dead
leaves decay on the damp soil,
and make the water of the
numerous rivulets of the colour
of strong tea. The climbing
plants, from the size of whip-
cord to that of a man-of-war's
hawsers, are so numerous, the
ancient path is the only pas-
sage. When one of the giant
trees falls across the road, it
forms a wall breast-high to be
climbed over, and the mass of
tangled ropes brought down
makes cutting a path round it
a work of time which travellers
never undertake.

*The shelter of the forest
from the sun makes it pleasant,
but the roots of trees high out
of the soil across the path keep
the eyes, ox-like, on the ground.
The trees are so high, that a
good shot-gun does no harm to
parrots or guinea-fowls on their
tops ; and they are often so
closely planted, that I have
heard gorillas, here called
"sokos," growling about fifty

'life

6i8

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

yards off, without getting a
glimpse of them. His nest is
a poor contrivance ; it exhibits
no more architectural skill than
the nest of our cushat dove.
Here the " soko " sits in pelting
rain, with his hands over his
head. The natives give him a
good character, and from what
I have seen he deserves it ; but
they call his nest his house, and
laugh at him for being such a
fool as to build a house, and
not go beneath it for shelter.'

Livingstone remarks on the
personal appearance of the fe-
male slaves thus : —

* Many of the women were
very pretty, and, like all iadies,
would have been much prettier
if they had only let themselves
alone. Fortunately, the dears
could not change their charm-
ing black eyes, beautiful fore-
heads, nicely rounded limbs,
well-shaped forms, and small
hands and feet. But they must
adorn themselves ; and this they
do — oh, the hussies ! — by filing
their splendid teeth to points
like cats' teeth. It was distress-
ing, for it made their smile,
which has generally so much
power over us great he-donkeys,
rather crocodile-like. Orna-
ments are scarce. What would
our ladies do, if they had none,
but pout and lecture us on
" women's rights 1 " But these
specimens of the fair sex make
shift by adorning their fine warm
brown skins, tattooing them with
various pretty devices without
colours, that, besides purposes
of beauty, serve the heraldic

uses of our Highland tartans.
They are not black, but of a
light warm brown colour ; and
so very sisterish — if I may use
the new coinage — it feels an
injury done to one's-self to see a
bit of grass stuck through the
cartilage of the nose, so as to
bulge out the ala nasi (wings
of the nose of anatomists).
Cazembe's Queen — a Ngombe,
Moari by name — would be es-
teemed a real beauty in London,
Paris, or New York, and yet
she had a small hole through
the cartilage near the top
of her fine slightly aquiline
nose. But she had only filed
one side of the two fronts of
her superb snow-white teeth;
and then what a laugh she had !
Let those who wish to know go
and see her carried to her farm
in her pony phaeton, which is
a sort of throne fastened on
two very long poles, and carried
by twelve stalwart citizens. If
they take Punch's motto for
Cazembe, * Niggers don't re-
quire to be shot here,' as their
own, they may show themselves
to be men ; but whether they
do or not, Cazembe will show
himself a man of sterling good
sense. Now these people, so
like ourselves externally, have
genuine human souls. Rua, a
very large section of country
north and west of Cazembe's,
but still in the same inland re-
gion, is peopled by men very like
those of Insama and Cazembe.
* An Arab, Said-bin-habib,
went to trade in Rua two years
ago, and as the Arabs usually

RECENT AFRICAN DISCO VERIES.

619

do when the natives have no
guns, Said-bin-Habib's elder
brother carried matters with a
high hand. The Rua men ob-
served that the elder brother
slept in a white tent, and pitch-
ing their spears into it by night,
killed him. As Moslems never
forgive bloodshed, the younger
brother forthwith ran at all indis-
criminately in a large district.
Let it not be supposed that any
of these people are, like the
American Indians, insatiable,
bloodthirsty savages, who will
not be reclaimed, or enter into
terms of lasting friendship with
fair-dealing strangers. Had the
actual murderers been de-
manded, and a little time been
granted, I feel morally certain,
from many other instances
among tribes who, like the Ra
Rua, have not been spoiled by
Arab traders, they would all
have been given up. The chiefs
of the country would, first of
all, have specified the crime of
which the elder brother was
guilty, and who had been led
to avenge it. It is very likely
that they would stipulaite that
no other should be punished
but the actual perpetrator. Do-
mestic slaves acting under his
orders, would be considered
free from blame. I know of
nothing that distinguishes the
uncontaminated Africans from
other degraded peoples more
than their entire reasonableness
and good sense. It is different
after they have had wives,
children, and relations kid-
napped ; but that is more than

human nature, civilised or sa-
vage, can bear. In the case in
question, indiscriminate slaugh-
ter, capture, and plunder took
place. A very large number of
very fine young men were cap-
tured, and secured in chains
and wooden yokes. I came
near the party of Said-bin-Habib, .
close to the point where a
huge rent in the mountains of
Rua allows the escape of the
river Lualaba out of Lake
Moero ; and here I had for the
first time ^n opportunity of ob-
serving the , differences between
slaves and freemen made cap-
tives. When fairly across Lua-
laba, Said thought his captives
safe, and got rid of the trouble
of attending to and watching
the chained gang by taking off
both chains ap.d yokes. All
declared their ^oy and perfect
willingness to follow Said to
the end of the world or else-
where ; but next morning twenty-
two made clear off to the moun-
tains. Many more, in seeing
the broad Lualaba roll between
them and the homes of their in-
fancy, lost all heart, and in
three days eight of them died.
They had no complaint but
pain in the heart.'

The following is part of a
letter sent to Mr. James Gordon
Bennett, proprietor of the New
York Herald^ and gives his views
on the slave-trade, with a real-
istic picture of daily family life
in Central Africa : —

* I fear that a portion at least
of the sympathy in England for

'' J

:>■'

620

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS. •

what simple folks called the
"Southern cause" during the
American civil war was a lurk-
ing liking to be slaveholders
themselves. One Englishman
at least tried to put into prac-
tice his theory of getting the in-
ferior race to work for nothing.
He was brother to a member
of Parliament for a large and
rich constituency, and when his
motherdied she left him ^^2000.
With this he bought a waggon
and oxen at the Cape of Good
Hope, and an outfit composed
chiefly of papier-mach^ snuff-
boxes, each of which had a
looking-glass outside and an-
other inside the lid. These,
he concluded, were the '* sinews
of war." He made his way to
my mission station, more than
a thousand miles inland, and
then he found that his snuff-
boxes would not even buy food.
On asking the reason for invest-
ing in that trash, he replied
that, in reading a book of
travels, he saw that the natives
were fond of peering into look-
ing-glasses, and liked snuff,, and
he thought that he might ob-
tain ivory in abundance for
these luxuries. I gathered from
his conversation that he had
even speculated on being made
a chief. He said that he knew
a young man who had so specu-
lated ; and I took it to be him-
self. We supported him for
about a couple of months, but
our stores were fast drawing to
a close. We were then recently
married, and the young house-
keeper could not bear to appear

inhospitable to a fellow-country-
man. I relieved her by feeling
an inward call to visit another
tribe. " Oh," said our depen-
dant, " I shall go too." " You
had better not," was the reply,
and no reason assigned. He
civilly left some scores of his
snuff-boxes, but I could never
use them either. He frequently
reiterated, " People think these
blacks stupid and ignoiant ; but,
by George^ they would sell any
Englishman."

* I may now give an idea of
the state of supreme bliss, for
the attainment of which all the
atrocities of the so-called Arabs
are committed in Central Africa.
In conversing with a half-caste
Arab prince, he advanced the
opinion, which I believe is
general among them, that all
women were utterly and irre-
trievably bad. I admitted that
some were no better than they
should be, but the majority
were unmistakeably good and
trustworthy. He insisted that
the reason why we English
allowed our wives so much
liberty was because we did not
know them so well as Arabs
did. " No, no," he added, " no
woman can be good — ^no Arab
womaik — no English woman can
be good; all must be bad;"
and then he praised his own
and countrymen's wisdom and
cunning in keeping their wives
from ever seeing other men. A
rough joke as to making them-
selves turnkeys, or, like the in-
ferior animals, bulls over herds,
turned the edge of his invec-

RECENT AFRICAN DISCO VERIES.

631

ir, like the in-

tives, and he ended by an in-
vitation to his harem to show
that he could be as liberal as

the English. Captain S ,

of H.M.S. Corvette, accepted
the invitation also to be made
everlasting friends by eating
bread with the prince's im-
prisoned wives. The prince's
mother, a stout lady of about
forty-five, came first into the
room where we sat with her
son. When young she roust
have been very pretty, and she
still retained many of her for-
mer good looks. She shook
hands, inquired for our welfare,
and to please us sat on a chair,
though It would have been more
agreeable for her to squat on a
mat. She then asked the cap-
tain if he knew Admiral Wyvil,
who formerly, as Commodore,
commanded at the Cape Sta-
tion.

'It turned out that, many
years before, an English ship
was wrecked at the island on
which she lived, and this good
lady had received all the lady
passengers into her house, and
lodged them courteously. The
Admiral had called to thank
her, and gave her a written
testimonial acknowledging her
kindness. She now wished to
write to him for old acquaint-
ance sake, and the Captain
promised to convey the letter.
She did not seem to confirm
her son's low opinion of women.
A red cloth screen was lifted
firom a door in front of where
we sat, and the prince's chief
wife entered in gorgeous ap-

parel. She came forward with
a pretty, jaunty step, and with
a pleasant smile held out a neat
little sweet cake, off which we
each broke a morsel and ate it.
She had a fine frank address,
and talked and looked just as a
fair English lady does who wishes
her husband's friends to feel
themselves perfectly at home.
Her large, beautiful jet black
eyes riveted the attention for
some time before we could
notice the adornments, on
which great care had evidently
been bestowed. Her head was
crowned with a tall scarlet hat
of nearly the same shape as
that of a Jewish high priest, or
that of some of the lower ranks
of Catholic clergymen. A tight-
fitting red jacket, profusely
decked with gold lace, reached
to the waist, and allowed about
a finger's breadth of the skin
to appear between it and the
upper edge of the skirt, which
was of white Indian muslin,
dotted over with tambourine
spots of crimson silk. The
drawers came nearly to the
ankles, on which were thick
silver bangles, and the feet
were shod with greenish yellow
slippers, turned up at the toes,
and roomy enough to make it
probable she had neither corns
nor bunions. Around her neck
were many gold and silverchains;
and she had ear-rings not only in
the lobes of the ears, but others
in holes made all round the rims.
Gold and silver bracelets of pretty
Indian workmanship decked the
arms, and rings of the same ma-

i«i»

632

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

terial set with precious stones
graced every finger and each
thumb. A lady alone could de-
scribe the rich and rare attire,
80 I leave it. The only flaw in
the get-up was short hair. It is
so kept for the convenience of
drying soon after the bath. To
our northern eyes, it had a tinge
too much of the masculine.
While talking with this chief
lady of the harem, a second en-
tered and performed the cere-
mony of breaking bread too.
She was quite as gaily dressed,
about eighteen years of age, of
perfect form, and taller than the
chief lady. Her short hair was
oiled and smoothed down, and
a little curl cultivated in front
of each ear. This was plea-
santly feminine. She spoke
little, but her really resplendent
eyes did all save talk. They
were of a brownish shade, and
lustrous, like the ** een o' Jeanie
Deans filled wi' tears ; they
glanced like lamour beads" —
"lamour," Scotich for amber.
The lectures of Mr. Hancock
at Charing Cross Hospital, Lon-
don, long ago, have made me
look critically on eyes ever since.
A third lady entered, and broke
bread also. She was plain as
compared with her sister houris,
but the child of the chief man of
those parts. Their complexion
was fair brunette. The prince
remarked that he had only three
wives, though his rank entitled
him to twelve.

* A dark slave woman, dressed
like, but less gaudily than her
superior, now entered with a

tray and tumblers of sweet
sherbet. Having drunk there-
of, flowers were presented, ami
then betel-nut for chewing. The
head lady wrapped up enough
for a quid in a leaf, and handed
it to each of us, and to please
her we chewed a little. It is
slightly bitter and astringent,
and like a Kola-nut of West
Africa, and was probably intro-
duced as a tonic and preven-
tive of fever. The lady superior
mixed lime with her own and
sister's — good large quids. This
made the saliva flow freely, and
it being of a brick-red colour,
stained their pretty teeth and
lipS) and by no means improved
their looks^ It was the fashion,
and to them nothing uncomely,
when they squirted the red saliva
quite artistically all over the
floor. On asking the reason
why the mother took no lime in
her quid, and kept her teeth
quite clean, she replied that the
reason was, she had been on a
pilgrimage to Mecca, and was
a Hajee. The whole scene of
the visit was like a gorgeous
picture. The ladies had tried
to please us, and were thoroughly
successful. We were delighted
with a sight of the life in a
harem ; but whether from want
of wit, wisdom, or something
else, I should still vote for the
one-wife system, having tried it
for some eighteen years. I
would not exchange a mono-
gamic harem, with some merry,
laughing, noisy children, for
any polygamous gathering in
Africa or the world. It scarcely

RECENT AFRICAN DISCO VERIES.

623

belongs to the picture, which I
have attempted to draw as
favourably as possible, in order
to show the supreme good for
the sake of the possible attain-
ment of which the half-caste
Arabs perpetrate all the atroci-
ties of the slave-trade ; but a
short time after this visit, the
prince fled on board our steamer
for protection from creditors.
He was misled by one calling
himself Colonel Aboo, who
went about the world saying he
was a persecuted Christian.
He had no more Christianity in
him than a door-nail. At a
spot some eighty miles south-
west of the south end of Tan-
ganyika, stands the stockaded
village of the chief Chitimbwa.
A war had commenced between
a party of Arabs numbering 600
guns and the chief of the dis-
trict situated west of Chitimbwa,
while I was at the south end of
the lake.

* The Arabs hearing that an
Englishman was in the country,
naturally inquired where he was,
and the natives, fearing that
mischief was intended, denied
positively that they had ever
seen him. They then strongly
advised me to take refuge on
an inhabited island \ but, not
explaining their reasons, I am
sorry to think that I suspected
them of a design to make me a
prisoner, which they could easily
have done by removing the
canoes, the island being a mile
from the land. They afterwards
told me how nicely they had
cheated the Arabs, and saved

me from harm. The end of
the lake is in a deep cup-shaped
cavity, with sides running sheer
down at some parts 2000 feet
into the water. The rocks of
red clay schist crop out among
the sylvan vegetation, and here
and there pretty cascades leap
down the precipices, forming a
landscape of surpassing beauty.
Herds of elephants, buffaloes,
and antelopes enliven the scene,
and with the stockaded villages
embowered in palms along the
shores of the peaceful water,
realise the idea of Xenophon's
Paradise. When about to leave
the village of Mbette, or Pam-
bette, down there, and climb up
the steep path by which we had
descended, the wife of the chief
came forward, and said to her
husband and the crowd looking
at us packing up our things,
*■ Why do you allow this man to
go awayl He will certainly
fall into the hands of the Mazitu
[here called Batubal, and you
know it, and are silent." On
inquiry, it appeared certain that
these marauders were then actu-
ally plundering the villages up
above the precipices at the foot
of which we sat. We waited
six days, and the villagers kept
watch on an ant-hill outside the
stockade, all the time looking
up for the enemy. When we
did at last ascend, we saw the
well-known lines of march of
the Mazitu — straight as arrows
through the country, without
any regard to the native paths ;
their object was simply plunder,
for in this case there was no

624

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

bloodshed. We found that the
really benevolent lady had pos-
sessed accurate information.
On going thence round the end
of the lake, we came to the
village of Karambo, at the con-
fluence of a large river, and the
head man refused us a passage
across; "because," said he, "the
Arabs have been fighting with
the people west of us ; and two
of their people have since been
killed, though only in search of
ivory. You wish to go round
by the west of the lake, andjthe
people may suppose that you
are Arabs; and I dare not
allow you to run the risk of
being killed by mistake." On
seeming to disbelieve, Karamba
drew his finger across his throat,
and said, " If at any time you
discover that I have spoken
falsely, I give you leave to cue
my throat" That same after-
noon two Arab slaves came to
the village in search of ivory,
and confirmed every word Ka-
ramba had spoken.

' Having previously been
much plagued by fever, and
without a particle of medicine,
it may have been the irritability
produced by that disease that
made me so absurdly pig-headed
in doubting the intentions of
my really kind benefactors three
several times. The same cause
may be in operation when
modem travellers are unable to
say a civil word about the
natives; or if it must be ad-
mitted, for instance, that savages
will seldom deceive you if placed
on their honour, why must we

turn up the whites of our eyes,
and say it is an instance of the
anomalous character of the
Africans ) Being heaps of ano-
malies ourselves, , it would be
just as easy to s^f that it is in-
teresting to find other people
like us. The tone which we
modem travellers use is that of
infinite superiority, and it is
utterly nauseous to see at every
step our great and noble ele-
vation cropping out in low
cunning. Unable to go north-
west, we tumed off to go due
south 150 miles or so; then
proceeded west till past the
disturbed district, and again
resumed our northing. But on
going some sixty miles we heard
that the Arab camp was some
twenty miles farther south, and
we went to hear the news. The
reception was extremely kind,
for the party consisted of gentle-
men from Zanzibar, and of a
very different stamp from the
murderers we afterwards saw
at Manyema. They were afraid
that the chief with whom they
had been fighting might flee
southwards, and that in going
that way I might fall into his
hands. Being now recovered,
I could readily believe them;
and they, being eager ivory
traders, as readily believed me
when I asserted that a con-
tinuance of hostilities meant
shutting up the ivory market.
No one would like to sell if he
stood a chance of being shot.
Peace, therefore, was to be
made; but the process of "mix-
ing blood," forming a matri*

RECENT AFRICAN DISCOVERIES.

625

of our eyes,
tance of the
ter of the
leaps of ano-
it would be
tfiat it is in-
other people
le which we
use is that of
)r, and it is
) see at every
id noble ele-
out in low
I to go north-
jff to go due
or so; then
till past the
t, and again
hing. But on
miles we heard
imp was some
ler south, and
le news. The
Ltremely kind,
isted of gentle-
jar, and of a
|amp from the

terwards saw

jey were afraid
,th whom they

ig might flee

that in going
[t fall into his
[ow recovered,

lelieve them;
eager ivory

y believed me
that a con-

itilities meant

ivory market.

e to sell if he

if being shot.

was to be

locess of "mix-
ing a matri-

monial alliance with the chiefs
daughter, etc., required three
and a half months, and during
long intervals of that time I
remained at Chitimbwa's. The
stockade was situated by a
rivulet, and had a dense grove
of high, damp-loving trees round
a spring on one side, and open
country, pretty well cultivated,
on the oUier. It was cold, and
over 4700 feet above the sea,
with a good deal of forest land
and ranges of hills in the dis-
tance. The Arabs were on the
west side of the stockade, and
one of Chitimbwa's wives at
once vacated her house on the
east side for my convenience.

* Chitimbwa was an elderly
man with grey hair and beard,
of quiet self-possessed manners.
He had five wives ; and my hut
being one of the circle which
their houses formed, I often sat
reading or writing outside, and
had a good opportunity of see-
ing the domestic life in this
Central African harem without
appearing to be prying. The
chief wife, the mother of Chi-
timbwa's son and heir, was
somewhat aged, but was the
matron in authority over the
establishment. The rest were
young, with fine shapes, plea-
sant countenances, and nothing
of the West Coast African about
them. Three of them had each
a child, making, with the eldest
son, a family of four children
to Chitimbwa. The matron
seemed to reverence her hus-
band, for, when she saw him ap-
proaching, she invariably went

out of the way, and knelt down
till he had passed. It was the
time of year for planting and
weeding the plantations, and
the regular routine work of all
the families in the town was
nearly as follows : — Between
three and four o'clock in the
morning, when the howling of
the hyaenas and growling of the
lions or leopards told that they
had spent ^e night fasting, the
first human sounds heard were
those of the good-wives knock-
ing o£f the red coals from the
ends of the sticks in the fire,
and raising up a blaze to which
young and old crowded for
warmth from the cold, which
at this time is the most intense
of the twenty-four hours. Some
Psange smoker lights his pipe,
and makes the place ring with
his nasty screaming, stridulous
coughing. Then the cocks be-
gin to crow (about four a.m.),
and the women call to each
other to make ready to march.

' They go off to Uieir gardens
in companies, and keep up a
brisk, loud conversation, with a
view to frighten away any lion
or buffalo that may not yet have
retu-ed, and for this the human
voice is believed to be effica-
cious. The gardens, or planta-
tions, are usually a couple of
miles from the village. This is
often for the purpose of securing
safety for the crops from their
own goats or cattle, but more
frequently for the sake of the
black loamy soil near the banks
of rivulets. This they prefer
for maize and dura (holcus

2 R

i i>P

• •■St I

ilil

, "1

626

7'HE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

sorghum), while, for a small
species of millet, called mileza,
they select a patch in the forest,
which they manure by burning
the branches of trees. The
distance which the good-wives
willingly go to get the soil best
adapted for different plants
makes their arrival just about
dawn. Fire has been brought
from home, and a little pot is
set on with beans or pulse —
something that requires long
simmering — and the whole fa-
mily begins to work at what
seems to give them real plea-
sure. The husband, who had
marched in front of each little
squad with a spear and little
axe over his shoulder, at once
begins to cut off all the sprouts
on the stumps left in clearing
the ground. All the bushes
also fall to his share, and all
the branches of tall trees too
hard to be cut down are filed
round the root, to be fired when
dry. He must also cut branches
to make a low fence round the
plantation, for few wild beasts
like to cross over anything hav-
ing the appearance of human
workmanship. The wart-hog
having a great weakness for
ground-nuts, otherwise called
pig- nuts {Arachis hypogaa),
must be circumvented by a
series of pitfalls, or a deep ditch
and earthen dike all round the
nut plot. If any other animal
has made free with the food of
the family, papa carefully exa-
mines the trail of the intruder,
makes a deep pitfall in it, covers
it carefully over ; and every day

it is a most interesting matter
to see whether the thief has
been taken for the pot The
mother works away vigorously
with her hoe, often adding new
patches of virgin land to that
already under cultivation. The
children help by removing the
weeds and grass which she has
uprooted into heaps to be dried
and burned. They seem to
know and watch every plant in
the field. It is all their own ;
no one is stinted as to the land
he may cultivate ; the more they
plant, the more they have to eat
and to spare. In some parts of
Africa the labour falls almost
exclusively on the women, and
the males are represented as
atrociously cruel to them. It
was not so here, nor is it so in
Central Afiica generally. In-
deed, the women have often
decidedly the upper hand. The
clearances by law and custom
were the work of the men ; the
weeding was the work of the
whole family, and so was the
reaping. The little girls were
nursing baby under the shade
of a watch-house perched on
the tops of a number of stakes
about twelve feet or fourteen
feet high ; and to this the family
adjourn when the dura is in ear,
to scare away birds by day, and
antelopes by night.

* About II A.M. the sun be-
comes too hot for comfortable
work, and all come under the
shade of the lofty watch-tower,
or a tree left for the purpose.
Mamma serves out the pottage,
now thoroughly cooked by

RECENT AFRICAN DISCO VERIES.

637

placing a portion in each pair
of hands. It is bad manners
here to receive any gift with but
one hand They eat it with
keen appetites, and with so
much relish, that for ever after-
wards they think that to eat with
the hand is far nicer than with
a spoon. Mamma takes and
nurses baby while she eats her
own share. Baby seems a gene-
ral favourite, and is not ex-
hibited till he is quite a little
ball of fat Every one then takes
off beads to ornament him. He
is not born with a silver spoon
in his mouth, and one may see
poor mothers who have no milk
muc a little flour and water in
the palm of the hand, and the
sisters look on with intense in-
terest to see the little stranger
making a milk-bottle of the side
of the mother's hand, the crease
therein just allowing enough to
pass down. They are wide-
awake little creatures, and I
thought that my own little ones
imbibed a good deal of this
quality. I never saw such un-
wearied energy as they display
the livelong day, and that, too,
in the hot season. The meal
over, the wife, and perhaps
daughter, goes a little way into
the forest and collects a bundle
of dry wood, and with the baby
slung on her back in a way that
suggests the flattening of the
noses of many Africans. Placing
the wood on her head, and the
boy carrying her hoe, the party
wends home. Each wife has
her own granary in which the
produce of the garden is stowed.

It is of the beehive shape of the
huts, only the wdls are about
13 feet high, and it is built on
a stage about 18 inches from
the ground. It is about 5 feet
in diameter, and roofed with
wood and grass. The door is
near the ro6f ; and a ladder,
made by nc'ches being cut in
a tree, is used to enable the
owner to climb into it. The
first thing the good-wife does
on coming home is to get the
ladder, climb up, and bring
down millet or dura grain suffi-
cient for her family. She spreads
it in the sun ; and while this is
drying or made crisp, occurs
the only idle time I have seen
in the day's employment. Some
rested, others dressed their hus-
band's or neighbour's hair,
others strung beads. I should
have liked to see them take
life more easily, for it is as
pleasant to see the negro re-
clining under his palm as it is
to look at the white man lolling
on his ottoman. But the great
matter is, they enjoy their la-
bour, and the children enjoy
life as human beings ought, and
have not the sap of life squeezed
out of them by their own parents,
as is the case with nailers, glass-
blowers, stockingers, fustian-cut-
ters, brick-makers, etc., in Eng-
land. At other periods of the
year, when harvest is home, they
enjoy more leisure and jollifica-
tion with their native beer called
" pombe." But in no case of free
people, living in their own free
land under their own free laws,
are they like what slaves become.

I''- 1'

628

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

* When the grain is dry, it is
pounded in a large wooden
mortar. To separate the scales
from the seed, a dexterous toss
of the hand drives all the chaff
to one corner of the vessel.
This is lifted out, and then the
dust is tossed oat by another
peculiar up-and-down half-hori-
zontal motion of the vessel, diffi-
cult to describe or do, which
leaves the grain quite clean.
It is then ground'into fine meal
by a horizontal motion of the
upper millstone, to which the
whole weight is applied, and at
each stroke the flower is shoved
off the farther end of the nether
millstone, and the flour is fin-
ished. They have meat but
seldom, and make relishes from
the ponidge into which the
flour is cooked, of the leaves
of certain wild and cultivated
plants; or they roast some
ground nuts, grind them fine,
and make a curry. They seem
to know that oily matter, such
as the iiuts contain, is requisite
to modify their otherwise farin-
aceous food, and some even
grind a handful of castor-oil
nuts with the grain for the same
purpose. The husband having
employed himself in the after-
noon in making mats for sleep-
ing on, in preparing skins for
clothing, or in making new
handles for hoes, or cutting out
wooden bowls, joins the family
in the evening, and all partake
abundantly of the chief meal of
the day before going off to sleep.
They have considerable skill in
agriculture, and great shrewd-

ness in selecting the sorts pro*
per for different kinds of pro-
duce. When Bishop Mackenzie
witnessed their operations in the
field, he said to me, " When I
was in England and spoke in
public meetings about our mis-
sion, I mentioned that, among
other things, I meant to teach
them agriculture ; but now I see
that the Africans know a great
deal more aibout it than I do."
One of his associates, earnestly
deshing to benefit the people
to whom he was going, took
lessons in basket-mdcing before
he left England ; but the speci-
mens of native workmanship he
met with<ever3rwhere led him to
conclude that he had better say
nothing about his acquisition,
— in fact, Ihe could ** not hold a
candle to them." The foregoing
is as fair an example of the
everyday life of the majority of
the people in Central Africa as
I can give. It as truly repre-
sents surface life in African vil-
lages as the other case does the
surface condition in an Arab
harem. In other parts the
people appear to travellers in
much worse light. The tribes
lying more towards the east
coast, who have been much
visited by Arab slaves, are said
to be in a state of chronic war-
fare, the men always ready to
rob and plunder, and the women
scarcely ever cultivating enough
of food for the year. That is
the condition to which all Arab
slavery tends. Captain Speke
revealed a state of savageism
and brutality in Uganda of

RECENT AFRICAN DISCOVERIES.

629

which I have no experience.
The murdering by wholesale of
the chief Mteza, or Mtesa,
would not be tolerated among
the tribes I have visited. The
slaughterof headmen's daughters
would elsewhere than in Uganda
insure speedy assassination. I
have no reason to suppose that
Speke was mistaken in his
statements as to the numbers
of women led away to execu-
tion — two hundred Baganda.
People now here assert that
many were led away to become
field-labourers; and one seen
by Grant with her hoe on her
head seems to countenance the
idea. But their statements are
of small account as compared
with those of Speke and Grant,
for they now all know that cold-
blooded murder like that of
Mteza is detested by all the
civilised world, and they natur-
ally wish to smooth the matter
over.

* The remedy open to all
other tribes in Central Africa
is desertion. The tyrant soon
finds himself powerless His
people have quietly removed to
other chiefs, and never return.
The tribes subjected by the
Makololo had hard times of it,,
but nothing like the butchery
of Mteza. A large body went
off to the north. Another sent
to Tete refused to return ;. and
seventeen, sent with me to the
Shird for medicine for the chief,
did the same thing. When the
chief died, the tribes broke up
and scattered. Mteza seems to
be an unwhipped fooL We all

know rich men who would have
been much better fellows if they
had ever got bloody noses and
sound thrashings at school. The
200 of his people here have
been detained many months,
and have become thoroughly
used to the country, but not
one of them wishes to remain.
The apparent willingness to be
trampled in the dust by Mteza
is surprising. The whole of my
experience in Central Africa
says, that the negroes not yet
spoiled by contact with the
slave-trade are distinguished for
friendliness and good sound
sense. Some can be guilty of
great wickedness, and seem to
think little about it. Others
perform actions as unmistake-
ably good, with no great self-
complacency ; and if one cata-
logued all the good deeds or
all the bad ones he came across,,
he might think the men ex-
tremely good or extremely bad,
instead of calling them, like our-
selveS) curious compounds of
good and evil. In one point they
are remarkable — they are honest
even among the cannibal Man-
yema. A slave-trader at Bam-
barr^ and I had to send our
goats and fowls up to the Man-
yema villages, to prevent their
being all stolen by my friend's
own slaves. Another wide-
spread trait of character is a
trusting disposition. The Cen-
tral AMcan tribes are the anti-
podes of some of the North
American Indians, and very un-
like many of their own country-
men who have come into con-

'63©

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

tact with Mohammedans and
Portuguese and Dutch Chris-
tians. They at once perceive
the superiority of the strangers
in power of mischief, and readily
listen to and ponder over friendly
advice.

* After the cruel massacre of
Nyangwe, which I unfortunately
witnessed, the fourteen chiefs
whose villages had been de-
stroyed, and many of their
people killed, fled to my house,
and begged me to make peace
for them. The Arabs then came
over to their side of the great
river Lualaba, dividing their
country anew, and pointing out
where each should build a new
village and cultivate other plan-
tations. The peace was easily
made, for the Arabs had no
excuse for their senseless mur-
ders, and each blamed the other
for the guilt. Both parties
pressed me to remain at the
peace-making ceremonies ; and
had I not known the African
trusting disposition, I might
have set down the native appeal
to great personal influence. All
I had in my favour was com-
mon decency and fairness of
behavioiu:, and perhaps a little
credit for goodness awarded by
the Zanzibar slaves. The Man-
yema could easily see the Arab
religion was disjoined from mo-
rality. Their immorality, in
fact, has always proved an effec-
tual barrier to the spread of
Islamism in Eastern Africa. It
is a sad pity that our good
" Bishop of Central Africa,"
albeit ordained in Westminster

Abbey, preferred the advice of
a colonel in the army to remain
at Zanzibar rather than proceed
into his diocese and take ad-
vantage of the friendliness of the
still unspoiled interior tribes to
spread our faith. The Catholic
missionaries lately sent from
England to Maryland to con-
vert the negroes might have
obtained the advice of half a
dozen army colonels to remain
at New York, or even at Lon-
don ; but the answer, if they
have any Irish blood in them,
might have been, " Take your
advice ana yourselves off" to the
battle of Dorking ; we will fight
our owii fight" The venerable
Archbishop of Baltimore told
these brethren that they would
get " chills and fever ;" but he
did not add, " When you do
get the shivers, then take to
your heels, my hearties." When
any of the missionaries at Zanzi-
bar get " chills and fever," they
have a nice pleasure trip in a
man-of-war to the Seychelles
Islands. The good men de-
serve it of course, and no one
grudges to save their precious
lives. But human nature is
frail! Zanzibar is much more
unhealthy than the mainland;
and the Government, by placing
men-of-war at the disposal of
these brethren, though mean-
ing to help them in their work„
virtually aids them to keep out
of it.

* Some eight years have rolled
on, and good Christian people
have contributed the money
annually for Central Africa, and

RECENT AFRICAN DISCOVERIES,

631

le advice of

the "Central African Diocese"
is occupied only by the lord of
all evil. It is with a sore heart
I say it, but recent events have
shown to those who have so long
been playing at being mission-
aries, and peeping across from
the sickly island to their dio-
cese on Uie mainland with tele-
scopes, that their time might
have been turned to far better
account. About 1868 there were
twelve congregations of native
Christians at the capital of
Madagascar. These were the
results of the labours of inde-
pendent missionaries. For some
fifty years the Malagasse Chris-
tians showed their faith to be
genuine by enduring the most
bitter persecutions ; and scores,
if not hundreds, submitted to
cruel public executions rather
than deny the blessed Saviour.
The first missionaries had to
leave the island; but the con-
verts, having the Bible in their
own tongue, continued to meet
and worship and increase in
secret, though certain death
was the penalty on discovery.
A change in the Government
allowed the return of the mis-
sionaries, and a personal en-
treaty of Queen Victoria to the
successor of the old persecuting
Queen of Madagascar obtained
freedom of worship for the
Christians, and peace and joy
prevailed. The Society for the
Propagation of the Gospel in
Foreign Parts thereafter sent
some missionaries to Tamatave,
which may be called the chief
seaport for the capital, where

many heathen lived, and the
energetic Cape Bishop slyly said
that they were not to interfere
with churches already formed ;
but the good pious man at once
sent the touching cry back to
London, **Let us go up to
the capital." Sheer want of
charity makes me conjecture,
that if we had twelve native
churches at Unyanyembd or
Ujiji, or the Tanganyika, the
"Bishop of Central Africa"
would eight years ago have been
in here like a shot, and no
colonel's advice, however fool-
ish, would have prevented him.
It is not to be supposed that the
managers of the Society named
felt that they were guilty of un-
christian meanness in introduc-
ing themselves into other men's
labours, while tens of millions
of wholly untaught heathen
were equally within their reach.
These things are due from want
of kind consideration. A simi-
lar instance of bad manners oc-
curred at Honolulu a few years
ago. Mr. Ellis, the venerable
apostle of the Malagassie, was
was working at Honolulu to-
wards the beginning of this
century, when some American
Presbyterian missionaries ap-
peared searching for a sphere
of labour. Mr. Ellis at once
gave up his dwelling, church,
school, and printing press to
them, and went to work else-
where. The Americans have
laboured most devotedly and
successfully in Owyhee, as Cap-
tain Cook called it, and by
them education and Christianity

^39

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS,

were diffused over the whole
Sandwich group ; but it lately
appeared that the converted
islanders wanted an Episco-
palian bishop, and bishop they
got, who, in sheer lack of good
breeding, went about Honolulu
with a great paper cap on his
head, ignoring his American
brethren, whose success showed
them to be of the true apostolic
stamp, and declaring that he,
the novice, was the only bishop,
the only true bishop, and no
mistake.

*■ Of all mortal men, mission-
aries and missionary bishops
ought manifestly to be true
gentlemen ; and it does feel
uncomfortably strange to see
our dearly-beloved brethren
entering into their neighbours'
folds, built up by the toil of
half a century, and being guilty
of conduct through mere non-
consideration that has an affinity
to sheep-stealing. It may seem
harsh to say so ; but sitting up
here in Unyanyemb^ in weari-
some waiting for Mr. Stanley to
send men from the coast, two
full months' march or 500 miles
distant, and all Central Africa
behind me, the thought will rise
up that the Church of England
and Universities have, in in-
tention at least, provided the
gospel for the perishing popula-
tion, and why does it not come %
Then, again, the scene rises up
of undoubtedly good men de-
scending to draw away stray
sheep from those who have
borne the burden and heat
of the day at Tananarivo. the

capital of Madagascar, rather
than preach to Uie Bamabake
heathen, or to the thousands of
Malagasse in Bembatook Bay,
who, though Sakalavas, are
quite as friendly and politically
one with Thovas at the seat
of Government. And then the
unseemly spectacle at Hono-
lulu. It is a proceeding of the
same nature as that in Mada-
gascar^ but each process has
something in its favour. " The
native Christians wanted a
bishop." Well, all who know
natives understand exactly what
that means, if we want to cavil.
"An intelligent Zulu" soon
comes to the front I over-
heard an intelligent, educated
negro aver that the Bible was
wrong, because an elephant was
stronger than a lion, and the
Bible says, "What is sweeter
than honey? what is stronger
than a lionl" But I did not
wish to attack the precious old
documents, the "Scriptures of
truth," and his intelligence, such
as it was, shall remain unsung.
The excellent bishops of the
Church of England, who all
take an interest in the " Central
African Mission," will, in their
kind and gracious way, make
every allowance for the de-
generacy of the noble effort of
the Universities into a mere
chaplaincy of the Zanzibar Con^
sulate. One of them even de-
fended a lapsus which no one
else dared to face ; but whatever
in their kindheartedness they
may say, every man of them
would reuoice to hear that the

RECENT AFRICAN DISCOVERIES.

633

car, rather
Bamabake
lousands of
latook Bay,
atlavas, are
d politically
It the seat
nd then the
at Hono-
iding of the
it in Mada-
process has
our. "The
wanted a
who know
exactly what
ant to cavil.
Julu " soon
t I over-
it, educated
e Bible was
jlephant was
in, and the
is sweeter
is stronger
I did not
precious old
criptures of
igence, such
ain unsung,
ops of the
id, who all
e " Central
ill, in their
way, make
ir the de-
ile effort of
to a mere
Inzibar Con-
m even de-
ich no one
lUt whatever

dness they
tn of them
ar that the

Central African had gone into
Central Africa. If I must ad-
dress those who hold back, I
should say : Come on, brethren ;
you have no idea how brave
you are till you try. The real
brethren who are waiting for you
have many faults, but also much
that you can esteem and love.
The Arabs never saw mothers
selling their offspring, nor have
I, though one author made a
broad statement to that effect,
as a nice setting to a nice little
story about " A Mother Bear."
He may have seen an infant
sold who had the misfortune to
cut its upper teeth before the
lower, because it was called
unlucky, and likely ta bring
death into the family. We
have had foundlings among us,
but that does not mean that
English mothers are no better
than she-bears. If you ga into
other men's labours, you need
not tell at home who reared
the converts you have secured ;
but you will feel awfully uncom-
fortable, even in heaven, till you
have made abject apologies to
your brethren who, like your-
selves, are heavenward bound.
* Having now been some

six years out of the world, and
most of my friends having
apparently determined b^ their
silence, to impress me with the
truth of the adage, " Out of
sight, out of mind," the dark
scenes of the slave-trade had
a most distressing and depress-
ing influence. The power of
the Prince of Darkness seemed
enormous. It was only with a
heavy heart I said, " Thy king-
dom come ! " In one point of
view, the evils that brood over
this beautiful country are in-
superable. When I dropped
among the Makololo and others
in the central region, I saw a
fair prospect of the regeneration
of Africa. More could have
been done in the Makololo
country than was done by St.
Patrick in Ireland; but I did
not know that I was surrounded
by the Portuguese slave-trade,
a blight like a curse from
heaven, that proved a barrier
to all improvement Now I
am not so hopeful. I don't
know how the wrong will be-
come right, but the great and
loving Father of all knows,
and He will do it according
to His infinite wisdom.'

634

THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.

COMMANDER CAMERON'S WALK
ACROSS AFRICA.

The first 'Livingstone Search
Expedition' was despatched
by the Royal Geographical
Society under Lieutenant Daw-
son, with the view of canying
food and supplies to Dr. Living-
stone. They had only reached
BagamoyOi on the African coast,
when a message was received
from Mr. Stanley to the effect
that he had discovered Living-
stone, and that the great tra-
veller objected to any * slave'
expedition being sent to him.
Lieut. Dawson therewith re-
signed the command of the
expedition, which in turn was
taken up by Mr. New, who
died shortly afterwards, then by
Lieut Henn, R.N., and lastly
by Mr. Oswell Livingstone, a
son of Dr. Livingstone. The
latter also gave up the idea of
reaching his father, and the ex-
pedition was abandoned. When
the Geographical Society re-
solved on utilising theremainder
of their funds in another ex-
pedition, Lieut. Cameron was
chosen commander. He drew
up his scheme of exploration
by way of Victoria Nyanza,
Mounts Kenia and Kilima
Njaro, and the Albert Nyanza,
and thence through Ulegga and
Nyangwe down the Congo to
the west coast When he had
reached Unyanyembe, two-
thirds on the way to Tangan-
yika, on the 2oth October 1873,
while lying in bed blind and
almost lifeless, the news was

brought to him of Living-
stone's death. On February
1 8th, 1874, his eye rested on
the blue expanse of Lake Tan-
ganyika, which had been dis-
covered by Captain Burton
fifteen years previously. After
three years of unheard-of diffi-
culties, in November 1875 ^^
emerged at Benguela,onthewest
coast, to which he had made his
way 2000 miles as the crow flies,
from Bagamoyo on the east coast
Some of the results of his journey
are his exploration of the south-
em water-parting of the Congo ;
the fixing of ihe latitude and
longitude of all the places at
which he halted ; and in all
probability in determining the
sources of the Congo as from
Lake Tanganyika and Lake
Bemba, with an accurate survey
of the shores of the Tanganyika.
Missionary effort is quickly fol-
lowing in the footsteps of all our
great explorers, and is having a
due effect upon the odious slave
traffic. Ten thousand slaves
were formerly carried away every
year from the district around
Lake Nyassa, but since the
organisation of the Free Church
Mission settlement there, only
forty were taken during 1876.
The English Universities Mis-
sion is at the northern ex-
tremity of Lake Nyassa; the
Established Church of Scotland
at Blantyre (after the birth-
place of Livingstone); the Lon-
don Missionary Society at Lake
Tanganyika; and the Church
Missionary Society at Lake
Victoria Nyanza.

INDEX.

Ababde Arabs, the, 138; surrounded

by, 139-

Adam's apple*tree, 49.

Adowa described by Bruce, 181 ; Pa«
lace of Michael at, 181 ; interview
with Michael at, 182.

African trade with Europe, 397.

woman's kindness to Park, 482.

Agageer, the, 322.

Agows, manners and customs of the,
284 ; religion of the, 289.

Alexandria described by Bruce, 1 10 ;
traditions about, ill.

Algiers, 99 ; the Greek priest of, 99.

Arab salutation, a, 261 ; thieves, 302.

Arctic Explorations, 17-41.

Arctic Miscellanies, the, 37; ex-
ploration, pleasures and perils of,
41.

Arkeeko, the village of, 169.

Assouan, Brace's arrival at, 374 ; in-
terview with the Aga, 376.

Austin, Captain, C.B., expedition in
search of Franklin, 37 ; locked in
the ice, 37.

Austro-Hungarian Polar Expedition,
40 ; discovery of Franz Joseph
Land, 40.

Axum, the ruins of, 184-185.

Baalbec visited by Brace, 107.
Babelmandeb, Straits of, 153.
Babylon, the city of, 48.
Babylonia, the lancl of, 46.
Baffin's voyages, 26.
Baker, Sir S. W., on the White Nile,

593 ; Livingstone's remarks on his
discoveries, 605-613 ; his tribute
to David Livingstone, 607.

Bangweolo Lake, 600.

Banquet, an Abyssinian, 210, 211,
212, 230 ; manners at table, 231.

Barentz, William, 22 ; life and suf-
ferings at Spitzbergen, 23,24; death
of, 24.

Barra, the kingdom of, 387 ; trade of
the natives in salt, 387.

Bethlehem, 53 ; birthplace of our
Lord at, 53.

Bey, the, of Cairo, 113 ; his absolute
power, 115; conduct during ill-
ness, 116.

Brace's travels in Abyssinia, 97-385.

Burrough's voyage to Nova Zembla,
18.

Burton, Captain : his mission to South
Africa, 588 ; first sight of Lake Tan-
ganyika, 589 ; illness at Kaz^, 589.

Button, Sir Thomas, at Hudson's
Bay, 26.

Cabot, John, 17 ; Sebastian, 17.

Cairo described, 112 ; bad government
of, 112 ; Bey of, interviewed, 381.

Cathay, the land of, 81 ; the great
Chan of, 81.

Carnac, rains at, 128.

Carthage, rains of, 100.

Chaillu, Paul B., travels in Africa,
586.

Chancellor's voyage to the north-
west, 29.

I ,

636

INDEX.

Chatham, Lord, makes propouls to

Bruce, and resigns office, 97.
Chendi, the village of, 353.
Clapperton and Denham's African
* Expedition, 583.

Convent of Mount Sinai, 51.
Cosseir, marbles of, 137.
Cow, raw flesh of, eaten, 186.
Crocodile, killing a, 338 ; bitten by

a, 577.
Cyprus, storm off, 384.

Damascus, 63.

Dangerous predicament, a, 323.

Daroc tree, under a, 177.

Dead Sea, the, 60.

Dendera, 12a ; ruins of temples, 122;

crocodile at, 123; the Saint of,

123, 124.
Denham and Clapperton's African

Explorations, 583.
Desert of Sennaar crossed by Bruce,

373-
Difficulties of Nile Explorations, 268.

Dixan, the village of, described by

Bruce, 175.
Dragon, the, of Cos, 45.
Drawings made in Abyssinia by

Bruce, 377.
Drinking of healths strange, 283.
Dutch Expedition to the North,

22.

Eggs, the hatching of, at Cairo, 49.
Egypt described by Mandeville, 48 ;

Bruce's arrival in, no.
Elephant hunting in Abyssinia, 321.
Etna, 49.

Fasil, Bruc^'s interview with, 267 ;

present from, 271.
Favour, granted a, 265.
Feloops, the language of, 388.
Flute, an African, 441.
Ford on the Nile, a, 275 ; ferry, a,

350-
Foulahs, the, 393, 414, 416.

Fountains of the Blue Nile, Brace's
arrival at, 281 ; described, 285.

Franklin, Lieutenant, explorations
on Coppermine River, 27 ; suf-
ferings of Explorers, 28.

Sir John, sails for the north,

36 ; letter to Colonel Sabine, 36 ;
fate of, 38.

Frobisher, Martin x his endeavours to
find a north-west passage, 18, 19,
20.

Furshout described by Bruce, 135.

Galilre, plains of, 61.
Galla blessing, a, 273.
Gambia, the, 391 ; manners and
customs of the natives on the,

391.

Game, great quantity of, 260.

German Polar Expedition, 39.

Ghost on board ship, 156 ; how to
lay a ghost, 157.

Gilbert, Sir Humphrey, voyages of,
20; death of, 21.

Gold, African, 537, 542.

Gondar, entered by JSruce, 198 ; de-
scribed by, 247.

Goree, Park's departure from, 574.

Greek priest of Cyprus, 99 ; his pro-
motion, 99.

Halifax, Lord, proposes a journey

to Bruce, 98.
Hamhamoou, 172.
Harem, interior of a, 343.
Hayes, Dr., his discovery of open

Polar Sea, 39.
Hi^ime's Explorations at Hudson's

Bay, 26.
Heliopolis, or City of the Sun, 48.
Horse, a wild, 271 ; the present of,

274; noble breed of, 351.
Horseback, feats on, 271.
Housekeeper, a young, 288.
Hudson, Henry, 25 ; voyage to the

north, 25; sent adrift in a boat,

26.

INDEX,

637

ey, voyages of,

)08es a journey

IS at Hudson's

Hyaena, a troublesome, 326.
Hybeer, or guide, the, 355.

Ilala, Livingstone's death at, 605.
India, described by Mandeville, 73.
Iteghe, the : Brace's interview with,

at Gondar, aoi, ao2.
Ivory, African, 537, 54a.

Jalla, DbmbaSbgo, interview with,

428.
JaloflTs, the, 393.
Jericho, 59.
Jerusalem, the way to, 44 ; described

by Mandeville, 54-59.
Jidda, the harbour of, 146.
Jillifrey, Park's first arrival at, 387 j

his second arrival at, 575.
Job, the land of, 7a
Jumper, the, a notorious robber, 374.

Kalahari Desert crossed by Livhig*

stone, 594.
Kantuffa thorn, the, 335, 280, 398.
Kaz^, Burton's illness at, 589.
Kenn^ visited by Bruce, 133.
Krapf, Dr. : hisexplorations in Eastern

Africa, 587.

Landbr, Richard: his explorations
on the Niger, 584, 585.

Lango, dragon of, 45.

Latitudeand longitude of the fountains
of the Blue Nile, 385.

Lion, frightened by a, 488.

Livingstone, David, crosses the Kala-
hari Desert, 594; explorations on
the Zambesi, 595 ; on lake Nyassa,
596; on the Rovuma River, 597 ;
death of Mrs. Livingstone, 597 ;
further researches on the Zambesi
and Shir^, 597, 598; return to Eng-
land, 598 ; departure for Zanzibar,
599; expedition equipped by the
Royal Geographical Society, 599;
rumour of Livingstone's death, 599 ;

letters from, 600; first sight of lake
Bemba, 600; speculations as to the
real sources of the Nile, 601 ; ar-
rival at Tanganyika, 603; at Ujiji,
and arrival of H. M. Stanley, 604 ;
illness and death>scene at Ilala,
605; body brought to England,
and interment in Westminster, 607;
letters on slave-trade, etc., 607-633.

Lotus, the, 435.

Luxor, Brace at, 138.

Mandbvillb, Sir John: his travels,

43.96.
Mandingoes, the, 394, 395, 401;

stories told by, 40a
Masuah, the port of, 159; the Naybe

of, 162.
Mecca, 48.
Medina, 403.
Mocha, the town of, 152.
Mohammed, the life of, 66.
Mombaz, missionaries at, 594.
Monkish blessing, a, 318.
Moors, the, 446, 447, 450, 457,

463; Park's captivity among, 446;

escape from the, 47a
Moss, hope derived from sight of, by

Park, 507.
Mother, an African, grief of, 436.
Mount Tabor, 63.

Sinai, 51 ; convent of, 51.

Murchison, Sir Roderick, and Liv-
ingstone Search Expedition, 599.

Nazareth, 62.

Negro slave, burial of a, 502 ; bridal
customs, 519; baptism of children,
521; division of time, 522; reli-
gious opi.:ions, 523 ; diseases and
medicmes, 5^4 » music, love of,
526 J art of weaving, etc., 530.

Niger, the, Park's arrival at, 480;
towns on the, 490-493 ; Park's death
in the, 581.

Nile, an army crossing the, 262 ; a

638

INDEX.

ford on the, 275 ; a terry on the,
350 ; Bruce at the Blue NUe, 281 ;
the White Nile explored by Captain
Speke, 592 J Livingstone's specula-
tions as to the true sources of, 601 •
609.

Norseman, the, 17.

Nuba, natives of, 337.

Nyassa, lake, 589 ; explored by Liv-
ingstone, 596 ; slave-trade in the
vicinity of, 596.

OzoRO Esther's kindness to Bruce,

248 ; present to Bruce, 294.
Oats, Wild, 275.

Palmyra described by Bruce, 106.

Paradise, terrestrial, 90.

Park, Mungo, travels in Africa, 386-
582 ; his arrival at Jillifrey, 387 ;
his captivity among the Moors,
446 ; escape from the, 470 ; death
of, 581 ; discoveries subsequent to,

583-633.
Parry, Lieutenant, Arctic Expedi-

- tion, 29, 33 ; second expedition, 34.
Peddie and Tuckey's African expedi-
tion, 583.
Physician, duties of a, 265.
Fisania, the village of, 389; native

customs of, 389.
Plucking out the eyes of criminals, 226.
Polar expeditions, number of, 40;

English expedition of 1875, 40> 4'^'
Polaris expedition, the, 39; results

of the, 40.
Prester, John's land, 76.
Priest's family sold into slavery,

176.
Proclamation as governor, a, 263.
Purple fish of Tyre, 108.
Pyramids, the, 49, 116, 118.

Rae, Dr., finds traces of the Franklin

expedition, 37.
Ras, Michael, palace of, 181 ; Brace's

meeting with, 205.

Raw flesh, the eating of, 186.
Red Sea, the, 5a
Religion in Abyssinia, 238.
Rhodes, Knight of, 45.
Rosetta described by Brace, 112.
Ross, Captain, joins Arctic expedi-
tion, 29 ; second expedition, 35.
Runic inscriptions, 17.

Saphie, writing of a, 502.

Scene of blood, a, 305-309.

Sebaste, city of, 61.

Sego, the town of, described, 48a

Sennaar, Brace's reception in, 339 ;

position of women in, 345 ; soil of,

34S ; the Nile, at, 346 j dress, 346 ;

temperature, 347 ; sufferings in the

desert of, 373.
Shaw's travels, remarks on, 102.
Shekh Nimmer visited by Brace,

129.
Shiho tribes, the, 171.
Shir^ river, the, 596.
Shooting extraordinary, 224.
Simoon, a, 359.
Sittina, interview with, at Chendi,

3S4.
Slave coffle, a, 478, 555, 565.

Slave trade, the African, 398; Living-
stone's letters on, 607-633.

Slavery, some of the causes of, 535.

Small-ftox, Abyssinian, remedies for,
201 ; remedies adopted by Brace,
203.

Socinios, bratality of, 293.

Speke, Captain, journey to South
Africa, 588 ; first sight of L?ke Tan-
ganyika, 58i9.

Stoning to death, 225.

Storm near Ptolemais, 104.

Sultan of Babylonia, the, 46.

Summary execution, a, 299.

Syen^, Brace's arrival at, 131 ; inter-
view with the Aga of, 131.

Tacazze River, the, 189, 357.
Tanganyika, disc* .ery of lake, 589.

i86.

j8.

ttce, in.
xctic expcdi-
dition, 35*

33.

JO9.

ribed, 4Sa
)tion in, 339 »

, 345 ; ^^ o^»
^6; dress, 346;

ifferings in the

INDEX,

639

Taranta, the mountain of, 173; diffi*

cult ascent of, 174.
Tempting offer, a, 265, 331.
Tensa ChristAs, Brace's interview

with, 317.
Terfowey, 368 ; simoon near, 369.
Thebes, remains of temples at, 126 ;

visit to the sepulchres, 127.
Tyre, the fishermen of, 108.

Ujui, discovery of lake, 589.-

Vale of Devils, the, 87.

Vale of Tears, the, 52.

Victoria Nyanza, naming of lake,

589.
Vizir of Jidda, 149.

Wars in Africa described by Park,

533 ; wars of plunder, 534.
Whirlwind, a violent, 337.
Willoughby's voyage to the North, 18.
Wines of Cyprus, 46.
Wounded Greek, a, 26a

Young, Mr. E. D., and Livingstone

Search Expeditions, 599.
Mr. James, of Kelly, 598.

Zambesi, Livingstone's explorations

on the, 595, 597.
Zanzibar, arrival of Burton and Speke

at, 588 ; Livingstone's arrival at,

598.
Zeni Brothers, the, 17.

s on, 102.
ed by Bruce,

r, 224.

at Chendi,

;5> 565-

398; Living-

>7-633.

ittses of, 535.
I, remedies for,
Ipted by Bruce,

293.

ley to South
thtofLekeTan-

L 104.
Ihe, 46.

,299.

at, 131 ; int«'^'
|of, I3>'

189, 357-
of lake, 589-

KDINBURGH ! T. AND A. CONSTABLK.
I'MIMTBRS TO THE QUBBN, AND TO THB UNIVERSITY.