Chapter VII: Appendix: Historical Fragments in Elucidation of the foregoing pages. 519 (1)

First Expedition on Record to Timbuctoo--Timbuctoo and Guago captured by Muley Hamed (Son of Muley Abdelmelk, commonly called Muley Melk, or Muley Moluck) in the Sixteenth Century (about the Year 1580). 519

A Library of 3000 Arabic Manuscripts taken by the Spaniards.--Contests among Christians reprimanded. 520

Muley El Arsheed (a Second Expedition to Timbuctoo and Sudan). 521

Third Expedition to Timbuctoo and Sudan. 523

* * * * *

DIRECTIONS TO THE BINDER.

Map of the Tracks across the Sahara to Timbuctoo, _to face_. 1

Map of the Empire of Marocco. 55

1

AN
ACCOUNT OF A JOURNEY
FROM
FAS TO TIMBUCTOO,
PERFORMED IN OR ABOUT THE YEAR 1787, A.C.
BY
_EL HAGE ABD SALAM SHABEENY_.

The Moors always prefer the spring and summer for travelling,
because they suffer very much from the severe cold of the mornings
in winter. They generally leave Fas in the beginning of April to
proceed to Timbuctoo, and they leave Timbuctoo to return to Fas in
the month of January.

The Mecca caravan takes its departure from Fas the beginning of
March.

In travelling, the Moors hire their camels from stage to stage.
Shabeeny's first stage was from Fas[1] to Tafilelt, which is
generally performed in about twenty days.

[Footnote 1: This is a journey of crooked and rugged roads
across the Atlas mountains, where they often sojourn in spots
which invite the traveller, so that it takes a longer time to
perform it than the distance would indicate.]
2
The hire of every camel was from ten to twelve ducats, at five
shillings sterling per ducat; as this route is through a very
mountainous country, and the travelling is very bad, the charges
were proportionally high; the weight which every camel carried was
between four and five quintals, the camels in this country being
strong and very large.[2]

Tafilelt is the place of general meeting of all the merchants who
go to Timbuctoo.[3]

The territory of Tafilelt contains no towns, but abounds in
fortresses with mud-walls[4], which the natives call El Kassar, and
which contain from three to four hundred families; in these
fortresses there is a public market (in Arabic, _soke_) every week,
where the inhabitants purchase provisions, &c.

The natives of Tafilelt are descendants of the shereefs[5] or
princes of Marocco, and are therefore of the Imperial family.

[Footnote 2: This charge of carriage by the camels from Fas to
Tafilelt, is equal to 55s., sterling per camel; to 1-1/2d. per
mile for each camel, and to one farthing and one third per
quintal of merchandise per mile.]

[Footnote 3: That is for all who go from the Emperor of
Marocco's dominions, north of the river Morbeya, which is
called El Garb, or the North Western Division.]

[Footnote 4: These mud walls are made in cases, and the mode of
erecting them is called _tabia_. See Jackson's Account of the
Empire of Marocco, &c. &c. 2d or 3d edition, page 298.]

[Footnote 5: Hence it is called _Bled Shereef_, i.e. the
Country of Princes.]
3
Shabeeny's next stage was to Draha[6], which he reached in six
days. The expense per camel was about six ducats, or thirty
shillings sterling. The district of Draha abounds in the small hard
date[7], which is very fine; from four to six drahems[8] (equal to
two to three shillings sterling) is the price of a camel load of
these dates.

The province of Draha is larger than that of Tafilelt, its
circumference being about four or five days' journey. The
natives[9] of Draha are very dark, approaching to black, in their
complexion: this province abounds in fortresses, like those of
Tafilelt.

[Footnote 6: A province at the foot of the mountains of Atlas,
south of Marocco, for which see the Map of West Barbary, in
Jackson's Account of the Empire of Marocco, &c. &c. p. 1.]

[Footnote 7: This date is called by the natives _bouskree:_ it
contains a larger quantity of saccharine juice than any other
date. This province also produces a date called _bûtube_, which
is the best that grows, and is called _sultan de timmar_, i.e.
the king of dates. It is not used as an article of commerce,
but is sent as presents to the great, and costs nearly double
the price of those of any other quality: the quality mostly
used for foreign commerce, is the Tafilelt date, called _timmar
adamoh_, which is sold by the grocers in London. This species
is, however, considered very unwholesome food, and accordingly
is never eaten by the Filellies, or inhabitants of Tafilelt,
but is food for the camels. The district of Tafilelt abounds in
dates of all kinds: there are not less than thirty different
kinds; and the plantations of dates belonging to the princes of
Tafilelt are very extensive, insomuch that the annual produce
of one plantation is often sold for a thousand dollars, or 220£
sterling. Half a dollar, or five drahems per camel load of
three quintals.]

[Footnote 8: A drahem is a silver coin, ten of which are equal
to a Mexico dollar.]

[Footnote 9: Their colour is darker than new copper, but not
black, It may be compared to the colour of _old_ mahogany, with
a black hue. The natives of Draha are proverbially stupid.]
4
The caravans have not, as in the journey to Mecca, their sheiks[10]
or commanders. From Fas to Tafilelt they had no chief, but as there
are generally a few old, rich, and respectable men in the caravan,
its direction and government are committed to their care.

[Footnote 10: The _sheik akkabar_, or chief of the accumulated
caravan, is generally a _shereef_ or prince.]

From Tafilelt, which, as before observed, is the country of the
shereefs, they are guided by such of the trading shereefs as
accompany the caravan, and who have always great respect paid them,
till they arrive at Timbuctoo. The caravan increases as it proceeds
in its journey: at Fas it consisted of about thirty or forty; at
Draha, of from 300 to 400 camels. From Draha, at the distance of
three days' travelling, they found water by digging, and on the
next morning they entered the _Sahara_, which, for the first twenty
days is a plain sandy desert resembling the sea. In this desert,
when they pitch their tents at night, they are obliged frequently
to shake the sand from their tops, as they would otherwise be
overwhelmed before the morning.

Some part of this desert is hard, and the camels do not sink deep
into it; in others the sand is very loose, which fatigues the
5 camels exceedingly. In travelling, the caravan is directed by the
stars at night, and by the sun in the day, and occasionally by the
smell of the earth, which they take up in their hands. For the
first twenty days after they enter this wilderness they have no
water; during this period, the caravan is obliged to carry water in
goat-skins[11], as not a drop is to be found by digging. On this
account, about a third part of the camels are employed in carrying
water, and even with this quantity the camels are often left for
three or four days without any. They never use mules in this part
of the journey; they neither find the _sheh_[12], nor the thorny
plant so common in the deserts of Africa.

The country on the borders of this desert, to the right and left,
is inhabited by roving Arabs, at the distance of three or four days
from the track which the caravan pursues; and is said to be partly
plain, and in part hilly, with a little grass, and a few shrubs;
when the cattle of these Arabs have consumed what grows in one
spot, their owners remove to another. The caravan, though it
generally consisted of about 400 men well armed, seeks its route
through the most unfrequented part of the desert, from a dread of
the attacks of the Arabs. The hottest wind is that from the
east-south-east, and is called _Esshume_[13]; the coldest is that
which blows from the west-north-west. To alleviate the great
drought which travellers feel in the desert, they have recourse to
melted butter.[14]

[Footnote 11: These goat-skins, when containing water, are
called by the Arabs _kereb_, or _ghireb_, plur. _kerba_, or
_ghirba_, sing.]

[Footnote 12: The _sheh_ is the wormseed plant, the thorny
plant here alluded to is the wild myrtle.]

[Footnote 13: _Esshume_, or the hot wind. For a particular
description of this extraordinary wind, see Jackson's Account
of the Empire of Marocco, &c. &c. 2d or 3d edition, page 283
and 284.]

[Footnote 14: This is old butter kept several years in a
_matamore_, or subterraneous cavern. It is called by the Arabs
of the desert, _bûdra_; and much virtue is ascribed to it when
it has attained a certain age: a small quantity swallowed,
quickly diffuses itself through the system.]

6 After passing this desert of twenty days, they enter a country
which varies in its appearance, particular spots being fertile[15]
(called El Wah). Here they meet with _sederah_[16], a kind of wild
myrtle, in great quantities. This plant is called by the natives,
_gylan:_ its height is about that of a man; the camels feed upon
it. Between these shrubs there is a very small quantity of grass in
particular spots. In this part of the desert they meet with
extensive strata of stones: though the surface is generally sand,
yet at the depth of eight or ten inches, they meet with a yellow or
reddish earth; and about four feet deeper, with another kind of
earth of various colours, but most commonly of a brownish cast;
7 about five or six feet under this they find water, which springs
up very slowly, and at the bottom of this water you meet with a
light sand. Sometimes the water is sweetish, frequently brackish,
and generally warm. This last desert is about twenty days' journey,
and is a vast plain without any mountains. They meet with no Arabs
in this part, but the country on the right and left of their route,
at the distance of from three to eight days' journey, is inhabited
by Arabs, who are governed by their own (_sheiks_) chiefs, and are
perfectly independent.

[Footnote 15: El Wah. For a full explanation of this term, see
Jackson's Account of the Empire of Marocco, 3d edition, p.
283.]

[Footnote 16: _Sederah_, thorny shrubs of all kinds are so
called.]

From Akka to Timbuctoo, a journey of forty-three days, they meet
with no trees, except the _sederah_, no rivers, towns, or huts.
From Draha, which is a country abounding in camels, to Timbuctoo,
the charge per camel is from sixteen to twenty-one ducats.[17] That
so long a journey is performed at so small[18] an expense, is owing
to the abundance of camels in Draha. The caravan generally contains
from 300 to 400 men, of whom a great part prefer walking to the
uneasy motion of the camels.

[Footnote 17: From Fas to Tafilelt, 20 days, for 11 ducats per
camel.

Tafilelt to Draha, 6 do. 6 do. do.

Draha to Timbuctoo, 48 do. 18-1/2 do. do.

--- ----

69 days, for 35-1/2 ducats per camel
load, which is about the rate of one farthing per quintal per
mile. This does not include the expense of camels for the
conveyance of merchants, servants, &c. or of provisions or
water, but merely of those carrying goods. A full account of
these caravans, and their mode of crossing the Sahara, will be
found in Jackson's Marocco, ch. 13.]

[Footnote 18: The expense is now (A.C. 1818) smaller, as the
ducat, by a coinage which is depreciated, has fallen to 3s. 6d.
sterling.]
8
SITUATION OF THE CITY OF TIMBUCTOO.

On the east side of the city of Timbuctoo, there is a large forest,
in which are a great many elephants. The timber here is very large.
The trees on the outside of the forest are remarkable for having
two different colours; that side which is exposed to the morning
sun is black, and the opposite side is yellow. The body of the tree
has neither branches nor leaves, but the leaves, which are
remarkably large, grow upon the top only: so that one of these
trees appears, at a distance, like the mast and round top of a
ship. Shabeeny has seen trees in England much taller than these:
within the forest the trees are smaller than on its skirts. There
are no trees resembling these in the Emperor of Marocco's
dominions. They are of such a size that the largest cannot be
girded by two men. They bear a kind of berry about the size of a
walnut, in clusters consisting of from ten to twenty berries.
Shabeeny cannot say what is the extent of this forest, but it is
very large. Close to the town of Timbuctoo, on the south, is a
small rivulet in which the inhabitants wash their clothes, and
which is about two feet deep. It runs in the great forest on the
east, and does not communicate with the Nile, but is lost in the
sands west of the town. Its water is brackish; that of the Nile is
9 good and pleasant. The town of Timbuctoo is surrounded by a
mud-wall: the walls are built tabia-wise[19] as in Barbary,
viz. they make large wooden cases, which they fill with mud, and
when that dries they remove the cases higher up till they have
finished the wall. They never use stone or brick; they do not know
how to make bricks. The wall is about twelve feet high, and
sufficiently strong to defend the town against the wild Arabs, who
come frequently to demand money from them. It has three gates; one
called Bab Sahara, or the gate of the desert, on the north:
opposite to this, on the other side of the town, a second, called
Bab Neel, or the gate of the Nile: the third gate leads to the
forest on the east, and is called Beb El Kibla.[20] The gates are
hung on very large hinges, and when shut at night, are locked, as
in Barbary; and are farther secured by a large prop of wood placed
in the inside slopingly against them. There is a dry ditch, or
excavation, which circumscribes the town, (except at those places
which are opposite the gates,) about twelve feet deep, and too wide
10 for any man to leap it. The three gates of the town are shut
every evening soon after sun-set: they are made of folding doors,
of which there is only one pair. The doors are lined on the outside
with untanned hides of camels, and are so full of nails that no
hatchet can penetrate them; the front appears like one piece of
iron.

[Footnote 19: The tabia walls are thus built: They put boards
on each side of the wall supported by stakes driven in the
ground, or attached to other stakes laid transversely across
the wall; the intermediate space is then filled with sand and
mud, and beat down with large wooden mallets, (as they beat the
terraces) till it becomes hard and compact; the cases are left
on for a day or two; they then take them off, and move them
higher up, repeating this operation till the wall is finished.]

[Footnote 20: El Kibla signifies the tomb of Muhamed: in most
African towns there is a Kibla-gate, which faces Medina in
Arabia.]

POPULATION.

The town is once and a half the size of Tetuan[21], and contains,
besides natives, about 10,000[22] of the people of Fas and Marocco.
The native inhabitants of the town of Timbuctoo may be computed at
40,000, exclusive of slaves and foreigners. Many of the merchants
who visit Timbuctoo are so much attached to the place that they
cannot leave it, but continue there for life. The natives are all
blacks: almost every stranger marries a female of the town, who are
so beautiful that travellers often fall in love with them at first
sight.

[Footnote 21: That is about four miles in circumference. Tetuan
contains 16,000 inhabitants; but, according to this account,
Timbuctoo contains 50,000, besides slaves, a population above
three times that of Tetuan: now, as the houses of Timbuctoo are
more spacious than those of Tetuan, it is to be apprehended
that Shabeeny has committed an error in describing the size of
Timbuctoo.]

[Footnote 22: Who go there for the purposes of trade.]

INNS, OR CARAVANSERAS.

When strangers arrive they deposit their merchandise in large
warehouses called fondacs; and hire as many rooms as they choose,
11 having stables for their camels, &c. in the same place. These
fondacs[23] are private property, and are called either by the
owner's name, or by that of the person who built them. The fondac,
in which Shabeeny and his father lived, had forty apartments for
men, exclusive of stables; twenty below and twenty above, the place
having two stories. The staircase was within the inclosure, and was
composed of rough boards; while he staid, the rooms were constantly
occupied by natives and strangers; they hired rooms for three
months, for which they paid thirty okiat, or fifteen shillings
sterling per month. These fondacs are called Woal[24] by the
negroes. The money was paid to the owner's agent, who always lives
in the fondac for this purpose, and to accommodate strangers with
provisions, &c. At their arrival, porters assisted them and
procured every thing they wanted; but when they were settled they
hired a man and a woman slave to cook and to clean their rooms, and
to do every menial office. Slaves are to be bought at all hours:
the slave-merchants keep a great number ready for sale.

[Footnote 23: It is probable that Adams, the American sailor,
(if he ever was at Timbuctoo,) saw one of these fondacs that
belonged to the king, and mistook it for his palace.]

[Footnote 24: Ten okiat, or drahems, make a Mexico dollar. The
name of the king of Timbuctoo, in 1800 A.C. was Woolo. Many of
the fondacs are rented of him.]

HOUSES.

In the houses little furniture is seen; the principal articles
12 (those of the kitchen excepted) are beds, mats on the floor, and
the carpets; which cover the whole room. The rooms are about
fourteen feet by ten; the kitchen and wash-house are generally to
the right and to the left of the passage; the necessary is next the
wash-house.[25]

[Footnote 25: Being more convenient for the Muhamedan
ablutions.]

GOVERNMENT.

Timbuctoo is governed by a native black, who has the title of
sultan. He is tributary to the sultan of Housa, and is chosen by
the inhabitants of Timbuctoo, who write to the king of Housa for
his approbation. Upon the death of a sultan, his eldest son is most
commonly chosen. The son of a concubine cannot inherit the throne;
if the king has no lawful son (son of his wife) at his decease, the
people choose his successor from among his relations. The sultan
has only one lawful wife, but keeps many concubines: the wife has a
separate house for herself, children, and slaves. He has no
particular establishment for his concubines, but takes any girl he
likes from among his slaves. His wife has the principal management
of his house. The sultan's palace is built in a corner of the city,
on the east; it occupies a large extent of ground within an
inclosure, which has a gate. Within this square are many buildings;
some for the officers of state. The king often sits in the gate to
administer justice, and to converse with his friends. There is a
13 small garden within it, furnishing a few flowers and vegetables for
his table; there is also a well, from which the water is drawn by a
wheel.[26] Many female slaves are musicians. The king has several
sons, who are appointed to administer justice to the natives.
Except the king's relations, there are no nobles nor any privileged
class of men as in Barbary[27]: those of the blood-royal are much
respected. The officers of state are distinguished by titles like
those of Marocco; one that answers to an Alkaid, _i. e._ a captain
of 700, of 500, or of 100 men; another like that of Bashaw. The
king, if he does not choose to marry one of his own relations,
takes a wife from the family of the chiefs of his council; his
daughters marry among the great men. The queen-dowager has
generally an independent provision, but cannot marry. The
concubines of a deceased king cannot marry, but are handsomely
provided for by his successor.

[Footnote 26: A wheel similar to the Persian wheel, worked by a
mule or an ass, having pots, which throw the water into a
trough as they pass round, which trough discharges the water
into the garden, and immerges the plants.]

[Footnote 27: The privileged class of men in Barbary, are the
Fakeers; but no one in Barbary is noble but the King's
relations, who are denominated shereefs.]

REVENUE.

The revenue arises partly from land and partly from duties upon all
articles exposed to sale. The king has lands cultivated by farmers
14 who are obliged to supply his household and troops; the surplus
after the support of their own families is deposited in
matamores[28], these are stores to be used in time of scarcity: the
matamores are about six feet deep. The king often gives gold-dust,
slaves, &c. to his favorites, but the royal domains are never
given. Lands not very fruitful are common pastures. Moors pay no
duties; they say they will not bring goods if compelled to pay
duty, but the natives must pay; the duties are collected by the
king's officers, they are four per cent. upon each article _ad
valorem_. At the gate of the desert, goods brought by foreigners
pay nothing, but goods brought in by the gate of the Nile, (which
is the gate of the Negroes,) pay a tax: another part of the revenue
is two per cent, in kind on the produce of the land; but the people
of Barbary do not pay even this for what land they cultivate. The
property of those who die without heirs goes to the king, but when
a foreigner dies the king takes no part of his property; it is kept
for his relations. Timbuctoo being a frontier town remits no
revenue to Housa; the king of Housa sends money to Timbuctoo to pay
the garrison.

[Footnote 28: Subterraneous excavations, or rooms in the form
of a cone, which have a small opening like a trap-door; when
these matamores are full of grain, they are shut, and the air
being excluded, the grain deposited in them will keep sound
twenty or thirty years. I have been in matamores in West and in
South Barbary, that would contain 1000 saas of wheat, or nearly
2000 bushels Winchester measure. They are from six to sixteen
feet deep, and of various conical forms.]
15
ARMY.

The troops are paid by the king of Housa, and are armed with pikes,
swords, cutlasses, sabres, and muskets; the other natives use the
bow and arrow. At Timbuctoo, in time of war, there are about 12,000
or 15,000 troops, 5000 of which receive constant daily pay in time
of peace, and are clothed every year; they are all infantry except
a few of the king's household. Sometimes he subsidises the friendly
Arabs, and makes occasional presents to their chiefs[29]; these
Arabs can furnish him with from 80,000 to 40,000 men.

[Footnote 29: Of the Brabeesh clan; see the Map.]

ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.

Punishments are the bastinado, imprisonment, and fine. He
recollects but one prison. If a native stabs another, he is obliged
to attend the wounded man until he recovers; if he dies, the
offender is put to death. The offender must pay a daily allowance
to the wounded man for his support; if the wound appears dangerous,
the culprit is immediately imprisoned; if the wounded man recovers,
the offender must pay a fine and suffer the bastinado. There are
four capital punishments: beheading, hanging, strangling and
bastinadoing to death. Beheading is preferred; it is thus
performed: the criminal sits down, and a person behind gives him a
blow or push on the back or shoulder, which makes him turn his
head, and while his attention is thus employed, the executioner
16 strikes it off. Hanging and strangling are seldom used; and
bastinadoing to death, is only inflicted when the crime is highly
aggravated. Capital crimes are murder, robbery with violence, and
stealing cattle. Small offences, as stealing slaves and other
articles, are punished by the bastinado. The landed estates of
criminals are never forfeited.[30] The police is so good, that
merchants reside there in perfect safety. There are no exactions or
extortions practised by government, as in Barbary, nor even any
presents asked for the king. A debtor proving his inability, cannot
be molested[31]; but to the extent of his means he is always
liable; on refusing to pay, he may be imprisoned; but upon proving
his insolvency before the judge, he is discharged, though always
liable if he should have means at any future time. Watchmen patrole
17 in the night with their dogs; others are stationed in particular
places, as the market-place and the _kasserea_, or square, where
the merchants have their shops. Guards are placed at the king's
palace. Capital crimes are tried by the king: smaller offences by
inferior magistrates. The council sit with the king, every man
according to his rank; it consists of the principal officers of his
household; he asks _their_ opinion, but unless they are unanimous,
decides according to his own. There are always five or six judges
sitting in the king's court for the general administration of
justice. The king is understood to have no power of altering the
laws: if the council are unanimous, the king never decides against
them.[32]

[Footnote 30: But go to the next heir.]

[Footnote 31: This is the written Muhamedan law: the insolvent
is always liable, but cannot be arrested or imprisoned whilst
he remains insolvent, but continues always liable for the debt
if he afterwards becomes solvent. The present Emperor of
Marocco has lately published an edict. Hearing that his Jew
subjects in London frequently became bankrupts, or made
compositions with their creditors, has enacted, that all,
persons in his dominions who live by buying and selling, shall
pay their just debts; but if unable, their brethren, or
relations shall pay their creditors for them. If _they_ are
unable, the insolvent is to receive a beating every morning at
sunrise, to remind him of his defalcation. This law was enacted
at Fas in 1817, and since then, I am informed, no bankruptcy
has happened in that great commercial city.]

[Footnote 32: This is a custom derived from Muhamedan
governments.]

A slave is entirely at his master's disposal, who may put him to
death without trial; yet the slave may complain to the council of
ill-usage, and if the complaint be well-founded, his master is
ordered to sell him. The slaves are always foreign; a native cannot
be made a slave. There are three reasons for which a slave may be
entitled to freedom: _want of food, want of clothes, and want of
shoes_: an old slave is frequently set at liberty, and returns to
his own country. The children of slaves are the property of their
master. Slaves cannot marry without the consent of their masters.
The master of the female slave generally endeavours to buy the male
to whom she is attached.[33]

[Footnote 33: Many conscientious Muhamedans, in purchasing
slaves, calculate how many years' service their purchase money
is equal to. Thus, if a man pays a servant twenty dollars
a-year for wages, and he gives 100 dollars for a slave, he
retains the slave five years, when, if his conduct has been
approved, he often discharges him from servitude. The period
for liberating slaves in this manner is however quite optional,
and admits of great latitude; neither is there any compulsion
in the master. I have known instances of a slave being
liberated after a few years of servitude; and his master's
confidence has been such that he has advanced him money to
trade with, and has allowed him to cross the desert to
Timbuctoo, waiting for the repayment of his money till his
return. This is often the treatment of Muhamedans to slaves!
how different from that practised by the Planters in the West
India Islands!!!]
18
SUCCESSION TO PROPERTY.

Upon the decease of a native, the first claim is that of his
creditors; the next is that of his widow, who is entitled to the
dower[34] promised by her husband to her father, if, not already
paid, and to one-eighth of the remainder; the rest is divided among
the children. A son's share is double that of a daughter. If they
agree, the land may be sold, if not, it must be divided as above.
Of lands and houses, nothing is sold till the children arrive at
the age of discretion; when each is entitled to his share, the rest
being unsold till the others are of age in turn. This age is not
19 fixed at so many years, but the period of discretion is determined
by the relations, upon oath, before a magistrate: there is hardly
any man that knows his own age. The father may dispose of his
property by will, as far as regards the property of his children,
but he cannot divest his wife of her rights; if a wife dies without
a will, her children succeed. Wills are not written; the guardian
appointed by the father takes care of the property of the deceased,
and employs in trade, and lends out the money for the benefit of
his children. Relations succeed if there are no children; and if
there are no relations, the king takes all but the wife's share.
The wife's relations are not considered as the husband's relations.
Children of concubines inherit equally with those of the wife. If a
man have two children by a concubine, she becomes free at his
death, otherwise she remains a slave. She is entitled, having
children, to an eighth of the property.

[Footnote 34: The husband always stipulates to pay the father
of his wife a certain sum: this is the Muhamedan dower.]

MARRIAGE.

A man agrees to pay a certain price to the father of his wife, and
witnesses are called to support the proof of the contract: the girl
is sent home, and at night a feast is made by the husband for his
male friends; by the wife for her female friends.

Rape is punished by death. Adultery is not punishable by the law,
nor is it a ground for divorce. A husband may always put away his
20 wife, but if without sufficient legal ground, he must pay her
stipulated dower. Abusive language is a sufficient ground of
divorce, but adultery is not. The dower is the price originally
agreed upon with the father; and if it has been already paid (which
it seldom is), she has no further claim upon the husband, though
put away without sufficient ground. Her clothes, jewels, &c. given
to her by her relations are her own property. A father generally
gives the daughter in jewels, &c. a present double the value of
that given him by the husband. A man can have but one wife, but may
keep concubines. Seduction and adultery are not cognisable by law.
The law says, "a woman's flesh is her own, she may do with it what
she pleases." Prostitutes are common. A man may marry his niece,
but not his daughter.

The people of Timbuctoo are not circumcised.

TRADE.

Timbuctoo is the great emporium for all the country of the blacks,
and even for Marocco and Alexandria.

The principal articles of merchandise are tobacco, kameemas[35],
beads of all colours for necklaces, and cowries, which are bought
21 at Fas by the pound.[36] Small Dutch looking glasses, some of which
are convex, set in gilt paper frames. They carry neither swords,
muskets, nor knives, except such as are wanted in the caravan. At
the entrance of the desert they buy rock-salt[37] of the Arabs, who
bring it to them in loads ready packed, which they carry as an
article of trade. In their caravan there were about 500 camels, of
which about 150 or 200 were laden with salt. The camels carry less
of salt than of any other article, because (being rock-salt) it
wears their sides. They pay these Arabs from twenty to fifteen
ounces[38] of Barbary money per load. An ounce of Barbary is worth
about _6d._, and a ducat is worth about _5s._ sterling. They sell
this salt at Timbuctoo upon an average at 50 per cent. profit; it
is more profitable than linen. They take no oil from Barbary to
Timbuctoo as they are supplied from other places with fish-oil used
for lamps but not for food; they make soap with the oil. The
returns are made in gold-dust, slaves, ivory, and pepper; gold-dust
is preferred and is brought to Timbuctoo from Housa in small
leather bags. He bought one of these bags of gold-dust and pieces
of rings for 90 Mexican dollars, and sold it at Fas for 150. The
merchants bring their gold from Timbuctoo in the saddle-bags, in
22 small purses of different sizes one within the other. The bag which
Shabeeny purchased was bought at Housa, where it sells for seven or
eight ducats cheaper than at Timbuctoo. On articles from Marocco
they make from thirty to fifty per cent. clear profit. Cowries and
gold-dust are the medium of traffic. The shereefs and other
merchants generally sell their goods to some of the principal
native merchants, and immediately send off the slaves, taking their
gold-dust with them into other countries. The merchants residing at
Timbuctoo have agents or correspondents in other countries; and are
themselves agents in return. Timbuctoo is visited by merchants from
all the neighbouring black countries. Some of its inhabitants are
amazingly rich. The dress of common women has been often worth 1000
dollars. A principal source of their wealth is lending gold-dust
and slaves at high interest to foreign merchants, which is repaid
by goods from Marocco and other countries, to which the gold-dust
and slaves are carried. They commonly trade in the public market,
but often send to the merchant or go to his house. Cowries in the
least damaged are bad coin, and go for less than those that are
perfect. There are no particular market days; the public market for
provisions is an open place fifty feet square, and is surrounded by
shops.[39] The Arabs sit down on their goods in the middle, till
23 they have sold them. The pound weight of Timbuctoo is about two
ounces heavier than the small pound of Barbary, which weighs twenty
Spanish dollars; they have also half and quarter pounds; by these
weights is sold milk, rice, butter, &c. as well as by the measure.
The weights are of wood or iron under the inspection of a
magistrate called in Barbary _m'tasseb, i.e._ inspector of weights
and measures, and if the weights are found deficient, he punishes
the offender immediately; they have also a quintal or cwt. They
have a wooden measure called a _m'hoad_[40], equal to the small
_m'hoad_ of Barbary, where a _m'hoad_ of wheat weighs about 24 lb.
Both the weights and measures are divided into 1/2, 1/4, 1/8 and
1/16.

[Footnote 35: _Kameema_ is the Arabic word for the linen called
_plattilias_. They are worth 50 Mexico dollars each, at
Timbuctoo.]

[Footnote 36: Called, in Amsterdam, _Velt Spiegels_, and in
Timbuctoo, _Murrâih de juah_.]

[Footnote 37: This salt is bought at Tishet, at Shangareen, and
at Arawan, in the south part of Sahara; for which see the Map
of Northern and Central Africa, in the new Supplement to the
Encyclopædia Britannica, Article _Africa_.]

[Footnote 38: _Okia_ is the Arabic name for this piece of
money.]

[Footnote 39: Similar to the corn-market at Mogodor.]

[Footnote 40: The _m'hoad_ is no longer used in Barbary. There
is a _krube_, of which sixteen are equal to a _saa_, which,
when filled with good wheat, weighs 100 lbs. equal to 119 lbs.
English weight.]

MANUFACTURES.

The black natives are smiths, carpenters, shoemakers, tailors, and
masons, but not weavers. The Arabs in the neighbourhood are
weavers, and make carpets resembling those of Fas and of Mesurata,
where they are called telisse[41]; they are of wool, from their own
sheep, and camels' hair. The bags for goods, and the tents, are of
goats' and camels' hair; there are no palmetto trees in that
country. Their thread[42], needles, scissors, &c. come from Fas:
24 most of their ploughs they buy of the Arabs near the town, who are
subject to it. Some are made in the town. These Arabs manufacture
iron from ore found in the country, and are good smiths. They make
iron bars of an excellent quality. They tan leather for soles of
shoes very well, but know nothing of dressing leather in oil: the
upper leather comes from Fas[43]; their wooden combs[44] and spoons
come from Barbary; they have none of ivory or horn. No lead is
brought from Barbary; he thinks they have lead of their own. The
best shoes are brought from Fas.

[Footnote 41: _Telissa_, sing.; _Telisse_, plur.]

[Footnote 42: To Fas they are brought from England through
Gibraltar and Mogodor.]

[Footnote 43: Leather is also imported from Marocco, and from
Terodant in South Barbary.]

[Footnote 44: Wooden combs are imported from Marseilles to
Mogodor.]

HUSBANDRY.

The country is well cultivated, except on the side of the desert.
They have rice, _el bishna_[45], and a corn which _they_ call
_allila_[46], but in Barbary it is called _drâh_: this requires
very rich ground. They make bread of _el bishna_: they have no
wheat or barley. Property is fenced by a bank and a ditch. Dews are
very heavy. Lands are watered by canals cut from the Nile; high
lands by wells, the water of which is raised by wheels[47] worked
25 by cattle, as in Egypt. They have violent thunder-storms in summer,
but no rains: the mornings and evenings, during winter, are cold;
the coldest wind is from the west, when it is as cold as at Fas.
The winter lasts about two months, though the weather is cool from
September to April. They begin to sow rice in August and September,
but they can sow it at any time, having water at hand: he saw some
sowing rice while others were reaping it. _El bishna_ and other
corn is sown before December. _El bishna_ is ripe in June and July;
as are beans. _Allila_ may be sown at all seasons; it requires
water only every eight or ten days. Their beans are like the small
Mazagan beans, and are sown in March; the stalk is short, but full
of pods. The _allila_ produces a small, white, flattish grain.

[Footnote 45: _El Bishna_. This is the Arabic name for Indian
corn.]

[Footnote 46: _Allila_, a species of millet.]

[Footnote 47: A wheel similar to the Persian wheel, as before
described in the note, page 13.]

PROVISIONS.

Rice is their principal food, but the rich have wheaten flour from
Fas[48], and make very fine bread, which is considered a luxury.
Bread is also made from the _allila_. They roast, boil, bake, and
stew, but make no _cuscasoe_. Their meals are breakfast, dinner,
and supper. They commonly breakfast about eight, dine about three,
and sup soon after sunset. They drink only water or milk with their
meals, have no palm wine or any fermented liquor; when they wish to
26 be exhilarated after dinner, they provide a plant of an
intoxicating quality called _el hashisha_[49], of which they take a
handful before a draught of water.

[Footnote 48: And also from Marocco.]

[Footnote 49: _El Hashisha_. This is the African hemp plant: it
is esteemed for the extraordinary and pleasing voluptuous
vacuity of mind which it produces on those who smoke it: unlike
the intoxication from wine, a fascinating stupor pervades the
mind, and the dreams are agreeable. The _kief_ is the flower
and seeds of the plant: it is a strong narcotic, so that those
who use it cannot do without it. For a further description of
this plant, see Jackson's Marocco, 2d or 3d edit. p. 131 &
132.]

ANIMALS.

Goats are very large, as big as the calves in England, and very
plentiful; sheep are also very large. Cattle are small; many are
oxen. Milk of camels and goats is preferred to that of cows. Horses
are small, and are principally fed upon camels' milk; they are of
the greyhound[50] shape, and will travel three days without rest.
They have dromedaries[51] which travel from Timbuctoo[52] to
Tafilelt in the short period of five or six days.

[Footnote 50: These horses are the desert horse, or the
_shrubat er'reeh_. See Jackson's Marocco, 2d or 3d edition, p.
94. to 96.]

[Footnote 51: These are _El Heirie_, (or _Erragual_), for a
particular description of which see Jackson's Marocco, p. 91.
to 93.]

[Footnote 52: A distance of upwards of 1200 British miles.]
27
BIRDS.

They have common fowls, ostriches, and a bird larger than our
blackbird[53]; also storks, which latter are birds of passage, and
arrive in the spring and disappear at the approach of winter;
swallows, &c.

[Footnote 53: The starling.]

FISH.

They have many extremely good in the Nile; one of the shape and
size of our salmon[54]; the largest of these are about four feet
long. They use lines and hooks brought from Barbary, and nets, like
our casting nets, made by themselves. They strike large fish with
spears and fish-gigs.

[Footnote 54: The _shebbel_, a species of salmon, a very
delicate fish, but so rich that it is best roasted, which the
Arabs do in a superior manner.]

PRICES OF DIFFERENT ARTICLES.

Sheep from ten to sixteen cowries. Cowries[55] are much valued, and
form an ornament of head-dress even for the richest women; they are
highly valued as ornaments. Goats are cheaper than sheep; the best
from eight to twelve cowries. Fowls from four to six cowries each.
Antelopes are very scarce and dear. Camels from thirty to sixty
cowries, according to their size and condition. Ostriches, of which
vast numbers are brought to market, are very cheap; the
fore-feathers[56] are often carried to Tafilelt and Marocco, the
28 inferiors are thrown away. A good slave is worth ten, fifteen, or
twenty ducats of five shillings each; at Fas, they are worth from
sixty to a hundred ducats: females are the dearest. Slaves are most
valuable about twelve years old. They have fish-oil for lamps, but
use neither wax nor tallow for candles. The fish-oil is a great
article of trade, and is brought from the neighbourhood[57] of the
sea by Genawa[58] to Housa, and thence to Timbuctoo; dearer at
Timbuctoo than at Housa, and dearer at Housa than at Genawa.

[Footnote 55: Cowries are called _El Uda_, and are sold in
Santa Cruz and in South Barbary, at twenty Mexico dollars per
quintal.]

[Footnote 56: Called _Ujuh_.]

[Footnote 57: Probably from the coast of Guinea, with which
Housa carries on an extensive trade.]

[Footnote 58: _i.e._ Guinea; Genawa being the Arabic name for
the coast of Guinea.]

DRESS.

The sultan wears a white turban of very fine muslin, the ends of
which are embroidered with gold, and brought to the front; this
29 turban comes from Bengala.[59] He wears a loose white cotton shirt,
with sleeves long and wide, open at the breast; unlike that of the
Arabs, it reaches to the small of the leg; over this a _caftan_[60]
of red woollen cloth, of the same length; red is generally
esteemed. The shirt (_kumja_) is made at Timbuctoo, but the caftan
comes from Fas, ready made; over the caftan is worn a short cotton
waistcoat, striped white, red, and blue; this comes from Bengala,
and is called _juliba_.[61] The sleeves of the caftan are as wide
as those of the shirt; the breast of it is fastened with buttons,
in the Moorish style, but larger. The _juliba_ has sleeves as wide
as the caftan. When he is seated, all the sleeves are turned up
over the shoulder[62], so that his arms are bare, and the air is
admitted to his body.

[Footnote 59: _i.e._ Bengal.]

[Footnote 60: A _caftan_, or coat, with wide sleeves, no
collar, but that buttons all down before.]

[Footnote 61: It is not the cotton cloth which comes from
Bengal that is named _Juliba_, but the fashion or the cut of
it.]

[Footnote 62: The Moorish fashion.]

Upon his turban, on the forehead, is a ball of silk, like a pear;
one of the distinctions of royalty. He wears, also, a close red
skull-cap, like the Moors of Tetuan, and two sashes, one over each
shoulder, such as the Moors wear round the waist; they are rather
cords than sashes, and are very large; half a pound of silk is used
in one of them. The subjects wear but one; they are either red,
yellow, or blue, made at Fas. He wears, like his subjects, a sash
round the waist, also made at Fas; of these there are two
kinds,--one of leather, with a gold buckle in front, like those of
the soldiers in Barbary; the other of silk, like those of the
Moorish merchants. He wears (as do the subjects) breeches made in
the Moorish fashion, of cotton in summer, made at Timbuctoo, and of
woollen in winter, brought ready made from Fas. His shoes are
distinguished by a piece of red leather, in front of the leg, about
three inches wide, and eight long, embroidered with silk and gold.
30
When he sits in his apartment, he wears a dagger with a gold hilt,
which hangs on his right side: when he goes out, his attendants
carry his musket, bow, arrows, and lance.

His subjects dress in the same manner, excepting the distinctions
of royalty; viz. the pear, the sashes on the shoulders, and the
embroidered leather on the shoes.

The sultana wears a caftan, open in front from top to bottom, under
this a slip of cotton like the kings, an Indian shawl over the
shoulders, which ties behind, and a silk handkerchief about her
head. Other women dress in the same manner. They wear no drawers.
The poorest women are always clothed. They never show their bosom.
The men and women wear ear-rings. The general expense of a woman's
dress is from two ducats to thirty.[63] Their shoes are red, and
are brought from Marocco.[64] Their arms and ankles are adorned
with bracelets. The poor have them of brass; the rich, of gold. The
rich ornament their heads with cowries. The poor have but one
bracelet on the leg, and one on the arm; the rich, two. They also
wear gold rings upon their fingers. They have no pearls or precious
stones. The women do not wear veils.

[Footnote 63: Equal to from two to thirty Mexico dollars.]

[Footnote 64: They are manufactured at Marocco.]
31
DIVERSIONS.

The king has 500 or 600 horses; his stables are in the inclosure;
the saddles have a peak before, but none behind. He frequently
hunts the antelope, wild ass, ostrich, and an animal, which, from
Shabeeny's description, appears to be the wild cow[65] of Africa.
The wild ass is very fleet, and when closely pursued kicks back the
earth and sand in the eyes of his pursuers. They have the finest
greyhounds in the world, with which they hunt only the
antelope[66]; for the dogs are not able to overtake the ostrich.
Shabeeny has often hunted with the king; any person may accompany
him. Sometimes he does not return for three or four days: he sets
out always after sunrise. Whatever is killed in the chace is
divided among the strangers and other company present; but those
animals which are taken alive are sent to the king's palace. He
goes to hunt towards the desert, and does not begin till distant
ten miles from the town. The antelopes are found in herds of from
thirty to sixty. He never saw an antelope, wild ass, or ostrich
alone, but generally in large droves. The ostriches, like the
storks, place centinels upon the watch: thirty yards are reckoned a
distance for a secure shot with the bow. The king always shoots on
32 horseback, as do many of his courtiers, sometimes with muskets, but
oftener with bows. The king takes a great many tents with him.
There are no lions, tigers, or wild boars near Timbuctoo. They play
at chess and draughts, and are very expert at those games: they
have no cards; but they have tumblers, jugglers, and
ventriloquists, whose voice appears to come from under the armpits.
He was much pleased with their music, of which they have
twenty-four different sorts. They have dances of different kinds,
some of which are very indecent.

[Footnote 65: The _Aoudad_; for a particular description of
which, see Jackson's Marocco, Chapter V., Zoology, p. 84.]

[Footnote 66: The Gazel, or Antelope, outruns at first the
greyhound; but after running about an hour the greyhound gains
on him.]

TIME.

They measure time[67] by days, weeks, lunar months, and lunar
years; yet few can ascertain their age.

[Footnote 67: The hour is an indefinite term, and assimilates to
our expression of a good while; it is from half an hour by the dial
to six hours, and the difference is expressed by the word _wahad
saa kabeer_, a long hour; and _wahad saa sereer_, a little hour;
also by the elongation of the last syllable of the last word.]

RELIGION.

They have no temples, churches, or mosques, no regular worship or
sabbath; but once in three months they have a great festival, which
lasts two or three days, sometimes a week, and is spent in eating
and drinking. He does not know the cause; but thinks it, perhaps, a
commemoration of the king's birth-day; no work is done. They
33 believe in a Supreme Being and another state of existence, and have
saints and men whom they revere as holy. Some of them are
sorcerers, and some ideots, as in Barbary and Turkey; and though
physicians are numerous, they expect more effectual aid in sickness
from the prayers of the saints, especially in the rheumatism. Music
is employed to excite ecstasy in the saint, who, when in a state of
inspiration, tells (on the authority of some departed saint,
generally of Seedy Muhamed Seef,) what animal must be sacrificed
for the recovery of the patient: a white cock, a red cock, a hen,
an ostrich, an antelope, or a goat. The animal is then killed in
the presence of the sick, and dressed; the blood, feathers, and
bones are preserved in a shell and carried to some retired spot,
where they are covered and marked as a sacrifice. No salt or
seasoning is used in the meat, but incense is used previous to its
preparation. The sick man eats as much as he can of the meat, and
all present partake; the rice, or what else is dressed with it,
must be the produce of charitable contributions from others, not of
the house or family; and every contributor prays for the patient.

DISEASES.

The winds of the desert produce complaints in the stomach, cured by
34 medicine. They have professed surgeons and physicians. The bite of
a snake is cured by sucking the wound. They have the jlob[68]
violently, for which sulphur from Terodant in Suse is taken
internally and externally. This disorder is sometimes fatal. They
are afflicted also with fevers and agues. Bleeding is often
successful; the physicians prescribe also purgatives and emetics.
Ruptures are frequent and dangerous; seldom cured, and often fatal.
They tap for the dropsy. He never heard of the venereal disease
there. Head-aches and consumptions also prevail. The physicians[69]
collect herbs and use them in medicine.

[Footnote 68: Probably the itch, called El Hack in Barbary.]

[Footnote 69: The physicians have a very superior and general
knowledge of the virtues of herbs and plants.]

MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.