Chapter XX: Appendix (2)

After having passed two hours, a prey to the most cruel reflections, the master gunner of the frigate, wishing to go to the front of the raft, went out from below the tent. Scarcely had he put out his head, when he turned to us, uttering a piercing cry. Joy was painted upon his face; his hands were stretched towards the sea; he breathed with difficulty. All he was able to say was: "SAVED! SEE THE BRIG UPON US!" and in fact it was not more than half a league distant, having every sail set, and steering right upon us. We rushed from our tent; even those whom enormous wounds in their inferior extremities had confined for many days, dragged themselves to the back of the raft, to enjoy a sight of the ship which had come to save us from certain death. We embraced one another with a transport which looked much like madness, and tears of joy trickled down our cheeks, withered by the most cruel privations. Each seized handkerchiefs, or some pieces of linen, to make signals to the brig, which was rapidly approaching us. Some fell on their knees, and fervently returned thanks to Providence for this miraculous preservation of their lives. Our joy redoubled when we saw at the top of the fore-mast a large white flag, and we cried, "It is then to Frenchmen we will owe our deliverance." We instantly recognised the brig to be the Argus; it was then about two gun-shots from us. We were terribly impatient to see her reef her sails, which at last she did, and fresh cries of joy arose from our raft. The Argus came and lay-to on our starboard, about half a pistol-shot from us. The crew, ranged upon the deck and on the shrouds, announced to us, by the waving of their hands and hats, the pleasure they felt at coming to the assistance of their unfortunate countrymen. In a short time we were all transported on board the brig, where we found the lieutenant of the frigate, and some others who had been wrecked with us. Compassion was painted on every face; and pity drew tears from every eye which beheld us.

We found some excellent broth on board the brig, which they had prepared, and when they had perceived us they added to it some wine, and thus restored our nearly exhausted strength. They bestowed on us the most generous care and attention; our wounds were dressed, and on the morrow many of our sick began to revive. Some, however, still suffered much, for they were placed between decks, very near the kitchen, which augmented the almost insupportable heat of these latitudes. This want of space arose from the small size of the vessel. The number of the shipwrecked was indeed very considerable. Those who did not belong to the navy were laid upon cables, wrapped in flags, and placed under the fire of the kitchen. Here they had almost perished during the course of the night, fire having broken out between decks about ten in the evening; but timely assistance being rendered, we were saved for the second time. We had scarcely escaped when some of us became again delirious. An officer of infantry wished to throw himself into the sea, to look for his pocket-book, and would have done it had he not been prevented. Others were seized in a manner not less frenzied.

The commander and officers of the brig watched over us, and kindly anticipated our wants. They snatched us from death, by saving us from our raft; their unremitting care revived within us the spark of life. The surgeon of the ship, M. Renaud, distinguished himself for his indefatigable zeal. He was obliged to spend the whole of the day in dressing our wounds; and during the two days we were on the brig, he bestowed on us all the aid of his art, with an attention and gentleness which merit our eternal gratitude.

In truth, it was time we should find an end of our sufferings; they had lasted thirteen days, in the most cruel manner. The strongest among us might have lived forty-eight hours, or so, longer. M. Correard felt that he must die in the course of the day; he had, however, a presentiment we would be saved. He said, that a series of events so unheard of would not be buried in oblivion; that Providence would at least preserve some of us to tell to the world the melancholy story of our misfortunes.

Such is the faithful history of those who were left upon the memorable raft. Of one hundred and fifty, fifteen only were saved. Five of that number never recovered their fatigue, and died at St Louis. Those who yet live are covered with scars; and the cruel sufferings to which they have been exposed, have materially shaken their constitution.--Naufrage de la Fregate la Meduse; par A. Correard et J. B. H. Savigny. Seconde Edition. Paris, 8vo. 1818.

NOTES.

NOTE A, p. 100.

In preparing their corn for food, the natives use a large wooden mortar called a _paloon_, in which they bruise the seed until it parts with the outer covering, or husk, which is then separated from the clean corn, by exposing it to the wind, nearly in the same manner as wheat is cleaned from the chaff in England. The corn thus freed from the husk, is returned to the mortar, and beaten into meal; which is dressed variously in different countries; but the most common preparation of it among the nations of the Gambia, 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 adheres together in small granules, resembling sago. It is then put into an earthen pot, whose bottom is perforated with a number of holes; and this pot being placed upon another, the two vessels are luted together, either with a paste of meal and water, or cow-dung, and placed upon the fire. In the lower vessel is commonly some animal food and water, the steam or vapour of which ascends through the perforations in the bottom of the upper vessel, and softens and prepares the kouskous, which is very much esteemed throughout all the countries that I visited. I am informed, that the same manner of preparing flour is very generally used on the Barbary coast, and that the dish so prepared is there so called by the same name. It is therefore probable, that the Negroes borrowed the practise from the Moors.

For gratifying a taste for variety, another sort of pudding, called _realing_, is sometimes prepared from the meal of corn; and they have also adopted two or three different modes of dressing their rice. Of vegetable food, therefore, the natives have no want; and although the common class of people are but sparingly supplied with animal food, yet this article is not wholly withheld from them.--Park's Travels, in 1795, 1796, and 1797, pp. 10, 11. Lond. 1799, 4to.

NOTE B, p. 103.

I cannot withhold the following notice of the worthy Major's death, extracted from a work lately published, entitled Travels, in Western Africa, in the years 1818, 1819, 1820 and 1821, by Major William Gray. Lond. 1825, 8vo.

"On that day (24th December) Major Peddie was attacked with a violent fever, from which he experienced little relief until the morning of the 1st of January 1817, when, thinking himself better, he left his bed, but was soon obliged to resume it, and in a few hours breathed his last.

"This was a sad commencement of the new year, and the melancholy event cast a heavy gloom on the minds of every individual connected with the expedition. It made so deep an impression on some, that it was with much difficulty they could be prevailed on not to abandon the enterprise. Never was a man more sincerely beloved, nor more truly regretted, by all who knew him. His remains were deposited, amidst the heartfelt regrets of his friends and companions, on the following day, in the court-yard of Mr Beatman, under the shade of two orange-trees; and an appropriate epitaph, written by Captain Campbell, and carved on a slab of native mahogany, was placed on his grave." pp. 67.

NOTE C, p. 108.

When we had reached the other side of the river, they drew the piroque on land. This is the only way that the people of the country have to secure their little boats, which the surge would instantly fill, when they cannot cast anchor at a sufficient distance from the shore.

This manoeuvre did not occupy a long time, and I bent my steps to the village of Sor. I was kindly welcomed as usual; and I requested them to point out to me the best place for hunting; for I had that day left my interpreter, because I had gained a sufficient knowledge of the language of the country to understand all that the negroes said to me, and to make myself understood by them. They led me in a direction whence I had seen a troop of antelopes scamper off; but I thought no more of the chase after I had seen a tree, the enormous dimensions of which completely rivetted my attention. It was a calabash tree, otherwise called the monkey-bread tree, which the Woloffs call _goui_ in their language. Its height was nothing extraordinary, being but about sixty feet; but its trunk was of prodigious dimensions. I spanned it thirteen times with my arms stretched out, but it was more; and, for greater exactness, I at last measured it with twine, and found its circumference to be sixty-five feet, its diameter consequently nearly twenty-two feet. I believe there has never been any thing seen equal to it in any country; and, I am persuaded that, had our ancient travellers known it, they would not have failed to have included it among the wonders of the world. It is also very astonishing that this tree has been totally neglected by those who have given us the history of Senegal, especially as there are but few common to the country.

The trunk of the one which I saw was twenty-two feet in diameter, about eight or twelve feet in height, with many branches, some of which stretched out horizontally, and touched the ground with their tops. These were very large, some being about forty-five or fifty-five feet in length. Each branch would have made one of the largest trees in Europe; and the tout ensemble of the monkey-bread tree looked less like a single tree than a forest. This was not all. The negro who conducted me took me to a second, which was sixty-three feet in circumference, that is twenty-one feet in diameter, and appeared to be about one hundred and ten feet in length, without counting the root which was concealed under the waters of a neighbouring river, the depth of which I had no means of ascertaining. The same negro told me of a third which was not far from the place where we were, and added that, without leaving the island, I would see a great many more which were not much inferior in size, pp. 54, 55.--Histoire Naturelle du Senegal; avec le Relation abregee d'un Voyage fait en ce Pays, pendant les annees, 1749, 1750, 1751, 1752 and 1753. Par M. Adanson, Correspondant de l'Academie Royale des Sciences, Paris, 1757, 4to.

It was night before we reached Cogne. Our route was bordered with gum-trees, the yellow flowers of which, arranged in circular bunches, spread a delicious perfume. We also saw some _rates_. The bark of this tree yields a yellow dye; its leaf is without indentation, and of a beautiful green; it is not very high; the wood is white, and the bark is easily reduced to powder. This was the first time that I saw the baobab, that enormous tree which has been described by Adanson, and which bears his name. I measured one, and found it to be forty feet in circumference. Stripped at this time of its foliage, it resembled an immense wooden tower. This majestic mass is the only monument of antiquity to be met with in Africa. I am astonished that the negroes have not paid to this tree the same honours that the Druids did to the oak; for to them the baobab is perhaps the most valuable of vegetables. Its leaves are used for leaven, its bark furnishes indistructible cordage; and the bees form their hives in the cavities of its trunk. The negroes, too, often shelter themselves from storms in its time-worn caverns. The baobab is indisputably the monarch of African trees, p. 41.--Travels in the interior of Africa, to the sources of the Senegal and Gambia, by G. Mollien. Lond. 1820, 4to.

Mollien was one of the shipwrecked in the Medusa, and who got to the shores of the desert in the boats.--_Trans._

NOTE D, p. 110.

The kingdom of Kajaaga, in which I was now arrived, is called by the French Gallam; but the name that I have adopted is universally used by the natives.--Park's Travels, c. v. p. 1.

NOTE E, p. 111.

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 resemblance to the centre of England, than 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 a former part of this work. These trees grow in great abundance all over this part of Bambaraa. They are not planted by the natives, but are found growing naturally in the woods; and, in clearing wood-land 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 kernel 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 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 cows' milk. The growth and preparation 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.--Park's Travels, pp. 202, 203.

II.

NARRATIVE OF THE CAPTIVITY OF M. DE BRISSON IN THE DESERTS OF AFRICA, IN THE YEAR 1785.

TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH.

After making several voyages to Africa, which had been attended with much difficulty, trouble and loss, I received orders, in the month of June 1785, from Mons. le Marechal de Castries, Minister and Secretary of the Marine Department, to embark for the island of St Louis, in Senegal, in the Ship St Catherine, Captain le Turc commander, the same officer who gained so great a character last war, when commander of the Flessinguois.

Having examined all the coasts from France to the Canary Islands, on the 10th of July following, we passed between these isles and that of Palma, about three o'clock in the afternoon.

Previous to our leaving France, I had taken care to apprise the Captain of the danger to which we should be exposed, in these latitudes, from the violence of the currents. I remarked to him, that every time I had passed that way, I found cause to fear our being windbound on the coasts of Barbary. This advice, the result of experience, should have met with attention from Captain le Turc; I therefore again repeated it, the moment I perceived the sea began to assume a clearer tinge, and inquired if he did not intend to sound. _What are you afraid of?_ said he, _the land! we are more than eighty leagues from it._

Allow me here to express my disapprobation of that immoderate self-conceit and confidence, for which the captains of trading vessels, especially those who visit these coasts, are so remarkable. However important an advice may be, they are not disposed to pay any regard to it; and of whatever kind the impending dangers appear, so much confidence have they in their own abilities, that they are better pleased to repair damage than prevent it.

The under captain made me a very similar reply with his superior. Alas! too soon they experimentally found my fears were far from groundless!

At midnight, I was awakened by a violent motion of the ship, and, thinking we were aground, I immediately leaped on deck. Judge my surprise, when I observed a kind of creek formed by the rocks. The mariners were all sound asleep. I quickly awaked them:--_Save yourselves_, cried I, _we are near the shore!_ The captain got up in great consternation; and in his alarm, in which his officers partook, ordered them to steer towards the rocks. The vessel thus directed, and hurried at the same time by the force of contending currents, struck thrice on the sands, and remained immoveable.

Suddenly a horrid cry was heard; the masts were shaken; and the sails being violently shattered, were torn to pieces. The terror became universal, and the cries of the mariners were blended with the horrid noise of the roaring waves, enraged as it were that their course should be stopped by the rocks and the vessel, between which they were to pass. So great was the consternation that no one thought of doing any thing for his preservation. O, my wife!--O, my children!--they cry to one another, raising their hands to heaven. Meantime, they cut the masts by the board, in order, if possible, to right the ship. Vain trouble--the cabin is already filled with water.

In this dismal situation, I made up to the Captain, who, in his perplexity, could pay attention to nothing. It was but eighteen months before, that Captain Cassin had experienced a similar accident near Cape Blanc. In his desperation, he had occasioned the loss of many unhappy wretches by blowing out his own brains. I began to fear that Captain le Turc might act in the same manner, and that we should lose him too. I therefore besought him to have patience, and endeavoured to raise his spirits and courage, but in vain. We had without doubt perished, if M. Yan, his first lieutenant, M. Suret, a passenger, three English sailors and some others, encouraged by my example, had not assisted in throwing over the long boat into the sea, and preventing it afterwards from being broken to pieces against the ship, or sunk. We were compelled to struggle the whole night with a boisterous sea, in hopes that, when day appeared, we might effect a landing on the coast, and shun the rocks which surrounded us on every side.

Having taken every precaution, I went into the boat with a few of the sailors, and desired they would throw to us some ropes from the ship, to moor our boat, by which means they might pull the boat again to the vessel, in case we were lucky enough to get a safe landing. This was the only method we could think of for preserving the Captain, his mate, and about three-fourths of the hands, who did not incline to hazard themselves in the boat, for the first trial.

Scarcely had we made two strokes with the oars, when the ebbing and flowing of the waves tore them from the hands of the rowers, and the boat was overset; the waves parted us, and cast us all on the shore, except the Sieur Devoise, brother of the Consul of Tripoli, in Syria. I plunged again into the sea, and was lucky enough, at that instant, to snatch him from the grave.

Our unfortunate friends on board the ship, had now no prospect of assistance from us; but I speedily endeavoured to refresh them with hope; and for this end again threw myself into the water, accompanied by Sieur Yan, who always zealously supported me. He soon engaged the rest to assist us in attempting to recover the boat, which we did with much difficulty. Our labour was however abundantly repaid, when we had brought the whole crew safe to land.--Thus did we escape this first danger, only to fall victims to a second vastly more terrible.

I inquired at the Captain, at what distance he supposed we were from Senegal; but his answer was not satisfactory. Ignorant to what hand we should turn, I informed my companions in misfortune, that I could not flatter myself with the hopes of conducting them to any village of the tribe of Trargia, where I might perhaps have been known by some Arab who had relations at the island of St Louis. "In this case," said I, "our captivity would have been shorter and less rigorous; but I am afraid we may fall in with some hordes of the tribe of the Ouadelims and Labdesseba, a ferocious people, who live in a manner truly savage, who always wander through the deserts, and subsist on the milk of their camels."

We had no sooner landed, than I persuaded my companions to ascend the rocks to discover upon what country Providence had cast us. When we reached the summit, we perceived a vast plain, covered with white sand, and interspersed with certain plants, resembling branches of coral. These plants carry a small grain, of the same colour, and almost the same shape, with mustard. The Arabians call it Avezoud: they gather it and make it up into a paste, on which they feast. We observed that the distant hills were covered with a species of wild fern, which bore the appearance of an extensive forest.

In proceeding towards the hills, I found some camel's dung under my feet, and soon after observed the animals pasturing here and there. There remained therefore no doubt of the country being inhabited, a discovery which was very agreeable to us; for although we were entirely ignorant what sort of people they were into whose hands we had fallen, we were very happy in the thoughts of approaching some inhabited village, as hunger began to press very hard. I knew better than any of them, from former experience, what we had to fear from hunger, and still more from thirst.

I was occupied with these dismal reflections, when I observed at a distance some children eagerly gathering together their herds of goats, and driving them away before them. I instantly concluded that we were discovered, and that our presence had occasioned some terror amongst them. The cries of the children spread the alarm to the neighbouring camps, and the inhabitants very soon appeared coming out to meet us. When they had observed us a little, they separated from one another, skipping and bouncing about upon the sand; they covered their faces with their hands, and screamed out with horrid cries. We had now every reason to believe these people were acquainted with Europeans. Their gestures, and operations in order to surround us, bore no favourable aspect. I therefore charged my unfortunate companions, by all means to keep together, and to proceed in order, till I should be within hearing of the natives. In my former voyages to Senegal, I had acquired a few Arabian words, which I hoped would prove useful on this occasion. First, then, I fastened a white handkerchief to the top of my cane, in the manner of a flag. Perhaps, thought I, they may have some acquaintance with this signal, the rather, if any of them may have seen it at Senegal, or if they have observed any vessel on their coasts, they may perhaps conceive that we are unhappy Frenchmen whom shipwreck has thrown on their coasts.

When we drew near to the savages, some of our people, among whom were the first and second lieutenants, went apart from the rest; they were immediately beset and seized by the collar. It was not till this moment, that, by the reflection of the sun upon the polished steel of their poignards, we observed they were armed. Ignorant of this, I had consequently advanced without fear. As the two unhappy men who had been seized did not appear again, I did what I could to compose my companions; but my attempts were vain; terror seized them, and they all began to cry out in despair, and disperse from one another. The Arabs, armed with great cutlasses and small clubs, fell upon them with incredible ferocity; and I soon saw some of them lying wounded, and others stript and naked, stretched out expiring on the sand.

Amidst this horrid massacre, I observed an unarmed Arab. From his appearance, I conceived he was one of those who had accompanied Prince Allicoury, in a former visit which he made to the Isle of St Louis. I immediately ran up to him, and threw myself into his arms. After examining me some time, he cast a disdainful look on me, on the Sieur Devoise, the mate of the ship, and five others of my companions who never would leave me, sufficient to convince us our situation was not more favourable than our neighbours. He then took my hand, examined it attentively, counted my fingers, slipped his hand into mine, and, after making several motions with his head, he inquired at me, Who are you? What are you doing here? How came you hither? I traced upon the sand, the figure of a ship, and by means of a few Arabic words with which I was acquainted, and my gestures, I succeeded so far as to make him understand, that I entreated his assistance to conduct us to the place appointed for us. I also informed him, that I had about me what would abundantly repay him for his trouble--an argument which I found he more readily understood, and much more weighty in his mind than any other; for he immediately entwisted his fingers with mine, to show me that, from that moment, we became closely united, and upon the spot desired me to give him the effects of which I had spoken. I then delivered to him two very elegant watches, one of which was a repeater, with their chains, a gold buckle for the neckcloth, two pair of silver buckles, a ring set with diamonds, a goblet and silver cover, and the sum of two hundred and twenty livres in specie. I easily observed that if the jewels were acceptable, the silver was much more so. He concealed his treasure with great care and secrecy in his shirt, which was blue, promising me at the same time, that he would not forsake me. The precaution which I had taken to preserve these jewels, in the hope of gaining, by their means, the good will of any person into whose hands I should fall, proved in the end a cause of very great regret to me.

As soon as my Arab had secured his booty, he inquired upon what coast we had been shipwrecked. I pointed it out to him, and he immediately called upon some of his people, whom he desired to follow him. From the manner in which they approached him, I perceived that my protector was a man of some note; indeed he proved to be their priest, whom they called Talbe.

Having reached the sea-shore, they began to raise a great shout of joy; but the jealousy which was visible on their countenances, speedily damped their spirits. They wished that we would swim to the ship, and recover all that possibly could be saved; but we excused ourselves, alleging that we could not swim; and they were thus obliged to go themselves. It was impossible for those who remained on the shore to conceal their fear, lest their neighbours who swam should be greater sharers in the spoil than they. The women, in particular, showed excessive uneasiness on this head.

Meanwhile, the news of our shipwreck spread quickly through the country, and the covetous savages flocked from all quarters, in such numbers, as could not fail to excite suspicion: they soon came to blows, and several of them lost their lives. The furious women who could not reach the ship to pillage, fell upon us, and tore from our backs the few remaining clothes: they attached themselves particularly to me, because mine had been better preserved, and therefore merited the preference.

My master, who was a very great warrior, and who perceived that the number of Arabs was continually increasing, called two of his friends, whom he had, very craftily, made sharers with him, in the property of twelve of the shipwrecked people, who had surrendered themselves to him. This was the best expedient to form a party, and to preserve the share which he had in reserve for himself. After having made the necessary arrangement, for securing his share of the booty taken from the ship, and the slaves which he had acquired, he separated us from the crowd, putting us under shelter to prevent our being insulted. This was a miserable hut covered with moss, and situated more than a league from the sea, where we were all lodged, or rather crammed together.

The first care of our patron was to visit us frequently, fearing that we should conceal any thing from him. Unhappily for my comrades, they could get nothing preserved, from the harsh manner in which he treated them. He stripped them even to their shirt and handkerchief; and gave them to understand, if he did it not himself, others would. He seemed inclined to come to the same extremities with me, but I observed to him that I had already given him enough; so he left me undisturbed.

I had not yet learned into what tribe we had fallen. In order therefore to get information, I addressed myself to our master, with whom I had the following conversation, partly by words, and partly by signs. "What is your name, and to what tribe do you belong? and why have you fled from the companies which are more advanced upon the sea-coast?"--"My name is Sidy Mahammet del Zouze; my tribe is that of Labdesseba; and I fled from the Ouadelims, because we could not live on good terms with them. But as to you, what is your name? and are you brother to these people?" (pointing to my companions). I answered all his questions; but was not a little distressed to learn, that we had fallen into the hands of the fiercest of all the inhabitants of the Arabian Deserts. I foresaw, from this hour, what distress and uneasiness we were to suffer, till the time we should be delivered.--Well, then! how shall that be? Alas, I durst not any longer flatter myself with this idea.

My fears were too well founded. My master, after having secreted in the sand the little treasure with which I had enriched him, returned to the sea-coast, to see what further accrued to him from the pillage of the ship. During his absence, a troop of the Ouadelims came to attack our retreat. They plundered, pillaged and ransacked the whole; they seized us, some by the neck, and others by the hair. Two of them turned to me, took hold of me by the arms, and threw me sometimes on the one side, and sometimes on the other. The few clothes I had remaining, seemed to be the object of their jealous fury. Others at the same time running up to me, surrounded me, lifted me up, and dragged me to a lonely place, and after having pulled off my shirt and neckcloth, they threw me behind some heaps of sand. There they committed every sort of outrage on my person. I thought I was now in my last moments, and expected I should expire under their blows. The ropes they had prepared to bind me, seemed to announce death to me. I was thus cruelly perplexed, when one of my master's associates came running up to us quite out of breath. "Stop," cried he, "you have committed unheard of enormities in the hut of Sidy Mahammet, our Talbe. Not satisfied with carrying off his slave, you have trampled under foot, in your fury, the sacred books of our religion. The priest enraged at your sacrilegious conduct, has required the old men of the two parties to assemble, and judge the culprits in open council. Believe me, returning the slave is the only way you have to appease his rage, and to prevent the consequences."[20] This threatening produced the effect intended by the messenger of Mahammet. I was delivered back into his hands, by those who had treated me so cruelly after separating me from my companions. And he carried me immediately away, to deliver me up to fresh torments.

[Footnote 20: I was not at this time so well acquainted with
Arabic as to understand this conversation, and several others
which I will recite; but after I acquired some knowledge of the
language, my master caused me repeat them to him.]

Nouegem (this was the name of my deliverer) conducted me straight to the place where the council sat, and when he had presented me, he thus addressed them. "Behold the slave of Mahammet, I have followed him the whole day, not to lose sight of him; and after many fatigues and dangers, I have delivered him from the hands of those who had carried him away. I demand, as a reward for my trouble, that he shall be numbered with my slaves. I have a better right to him, as I have seen him deliver to his master a great many articles, which appeared to me to be very valuable." I immediately saw a multitude of women and children, who assembled around me. They examined me attentively, and cried aloud all at once, "Es Rey!"

Sidy Mahammet, enraged at what Nouegem had revealed concerning the treasure, as well as the pretensions which he had so boldly advanced, cast upon him a contemptuous look, a dreadful frown of rage, and immediately replied, "Whether this Christian be Rey (King) or not, he is mine; he threw himself into my arms of his own accord; I have promised to protect him, and conduct him to Allicoury. I have pledged my word, and I hope this tribunal will know how to make a distinction in favour of my rights, between a man of my character and a man like Nouegem, who deserves the severest punishment from me." One may form some idea, from this discourse, of the pride of Arabian priests.

"Since you make such pretensions," the Arab quickly replied, "and he cannot be mine, he shall perish by my hand!" So saying, he lifted his poignard to strike me. I stood trembling under the threatening sword of this barbarian; but my master, without loss of time, threw upon me a kind of chapelet[21] of incredible length; and then took up a little book, which hung by his girdle; at the same instant, the women, rushing towards me, drew me from under the hand of Nouegem, and put me under those of the enraged priest, as they all dreaded, he was to pronounce an anathema on his opponent. The council in a body approved of this act of authority of the Talbe. They laughed very much at the women's behaviour, of which they at the same time approved.

[Footnote 21: The Talbes cord, on which are strung 115 small black
beads. These they keep as the Catholics do their chapelets.]

At some distance from the place where this scene had been transacted, I found my comrades, who never expected to see me again. But, Great God! in what situation did I find them!--they now began to feel the first horrors of famine. They had eaten nothing for two days; nor was my own case better; but the awful dilemma, into which I had been thrown, so agitated my spirits, that I had even ceased to feel the hunger which preyed on me.

In a little time, when I became somewhat calmer, I reflected on the danger, which I had so fortunately escaped and my mind was so much affected that I could not refrain from tears. I endeavoured to conceal from those around me, this evidence of my sensibility and distress; but some of the women beside me, observed it, and in place of being affected with my situation, they threw sand into my eyes, to dry, as they said, my eyelids. Happily the night, that screened me from their view, saved me from the rage of these monsters.

We had been now three days in slavery, and had as yet got nothing to support us, but a little meal, not more corrupted by sea-water, than by a mixture of barley meal, which had been long kept in goats skins; but even this wretched repast was interrupted by alarming cries, which we overheard at a distance.

One of Sidy Mahammet's friends ran up to him, and advised him to hide himself very quickly, because the Ouadelims were arming from every quarter to carry off their seizure. "Fly with your slaves," said he, "whilst I gather together some of ours, and at break of day we will proceed on our march to regain our habitation." I have since learned that the tribe of Labdesseba, had only come to the sea-coast about three days before our shipwreck, to gather together the wild grain for the support of their families. They appointed the place of rendezvous; meantime, we were to conceal ourselves behind the hillocks of sand, where we should remain, till some Arabs of another tribe, but equally interested in preserving their booty, should come to join us, and reinforce our troop. A guide, who should go before us, was to place at little distances, small pyramids of stones, to point out to us the road which we should keep, and to prevent our falling into the midst of some hostile village, more especially of the Ouadelims. The fact was, these people are so avaricious, whether friends or enemies, there is equal cause to be suspicious of either. At break of day, all those who had Christian slaves joined us, and we all proceeded on our march for the interior parts of the country, where the families of our respective masters resided.

It is impossible to describe our sufferings on this journey, especially from thirst. We had such difficulty to move our tongue, that we trembled to ask the smallest question. We were obliged to follow the track of the camels, by which our march was hastened; and dreading our being carried off, our masters caused us to make so many different counter-marches, that we were fifteen days in reaching their habitations--a journey, which we could have accomplished in five, had we followed the direct road.

After having climbed over mountains of a prodigious height, which are wholly covered with small pebbles of a greyish colour, as sharp as flint-stones, we descended into a sandy plain, overspread with thorns and thistles. There we slackened our pace; the soles of my feet were bleeding so much, that it was not in my power to walk any further. My master then desired me to mount behind him on his camel, but this attention on his part was far from giving any ease to me, but on the contrary proved a source of inexpressible torture. The camel is naturally a very dull animal, with a very hard trot. As I was naked, I could not defend myself from the rubbing of the hair of the animal upon me, in such a manner as quite flead me in a very short time. The blood ran copiously down the flanks of the animal--a spectacle which, so far from exciting the compassion, or moving the pity of these barbarians, only contributed to their diversion. They made game of my sufferings, and to heighten the jest, pushed forward their animals. It would certainly have issued in incurable wounds, if I had not adopted a scheme, very violent though necessary, to slip off and walk on the sand. I received no other damage in dismounting, than my body being universally jagged with the thistles and thorns with which I have already mentioned the ground was covered.

As night approached, we observed a very thick smoke. I supposed we were drawing near to some village, where we might procure something to eat, or rather to drink; but was soon convinced it was only some thick bushes, where our guide had taken up lodgings. I therefore stretched myself out behind a bush to wait for death; and had scarcely lain down, when an Arab of our company came to me, ordering me to get up, and assist him in unloading his camel. I was very much enraged at this order, and answered him accordingly without ceremony. He immediately drew from under my head, a little old sailor's hat, which had been given me in place of my own. He spit upon it as a mark of contempt, and, seizing me violently by the arms, he drew me towards the camels. When he thus laid hands on my body, I could no longer command myself. I immediately struck him a blow on the face; then, having disengaged myself from his hands, I seized a baton which he had armed with a lance, and run up to strike him; but, running away, he escaped from my rage.

I at the same time observed my master advancing to my assistance; but as I did not know his design, I cried out to him, that if he intended to avenge his comrade, he would find me determined to resist, rather than suffer myself to be beat any more. My determination and threatenings made him laugh; notwithstanding, he relieved me of my uneasiness, assuring me that I had nothing to fear. This adventure served likewise to convince me, that by firm behaviour, I might shun much of that bad treatment to which I would be exposed by showing any timidity; and I experienced in the sequel that this idea was well founded. The Arabs show their courage most when they meet with no opposition.

Meantime I observed they were making preparations which very much alarmed me. They made red hot some stones in a great fire, then, raising up a great stone which lay at the side of a bush, they dug a hole in the earth, and the Arabs, repeating my name, raised great bursts of laughter. At last they called upon me, and desired me to approach the hole which they had digged. The man I had stuck, made several different signs with his hand. He crossed and recrossed himself on the neck, as if he meant to cut it, hereby signifying to me, that I would be cut there myself. Notwithstanding my resolution to defend myself, all these gestures displeased me not a little. But what was my surprise, when I saw them draw up out of the the ditch, as I approached it, a goat's skin bottle full of water, a small leather bag, which was full of barley meal, and a goat just killed! The sight of these provisions perfectly restored my tranquillity, though I remained ignorant to what purposes the stones which were on the fire were to be applied. At length I saw them fill with water a great wooden vessel, into which they turned the barley meal, while the red hot stones thrown into the water served to make it boil. It was thus our masters dressed a sort of broth, which they then kneaded with their hands, and eat unchewed. As for us slaves, we had nothing to eat but the same kind of paste. The Arabs threw it to us upon a kind of carpet, which our patron generally spread below his feet, when he repeated his prayers, and which he employed as a mattress during the night. After having kneaded this leaven a long time, he gave it to me, that I might divide it among my companions. One can hardly conceive how disagreeable this leaven was to the taste. The water with which it was mixed had been procured upon the sea-shore, and had been preserved afterwards in the skin of a goat newly killed. To prevent it from corrupting, they had mixed a kind of pitch with it, which rendered the smell of it doubly noxious. The same water was given us to drink, and, bad as it was, our allowance of it was extremely small.

The Arab whom I had struck, observing that I was complaining, gave me the remainder of his broth, and told me that to-morrow we should eat the goat that had been killed for us. This he made me understand by signs. I informed him, partly by signs and partly by words, how much I was surprised to have found these provisions. He took the same method of telling me, that the guide, who went before us, had procured them for us from a village in the country, and that he had concealed them under ground, to keep them from the sight of the Moors, in case they should pass that way. These particulars surprised me, though I confess, it was still more astonishing to me, to find the resentment of this Arab turned into acts of kindness and complaisance. Our repast being ended, each of us lay down to sleep behind a bush.

At break of day, we heard the voice of our masters, ordering us to gather together the camels and load them. After doing as desired, we pursued our journey, carrying with us the small remainder of our provisions. It was nearly mid-day when we stopped in a great plain, where we did not find so much as a single tree to screen us from the sun, which darted right upon our heads. There we were employed in unloading the camels, and in pulling up roots to make a fire, which was a very painful operation, as all the trees, roots and herbs, were thorny. When the fire had thoroughly heated the sand, the goat was wholly covered with it; and we were employed in keeping fuel to the fire, while our masters regaled themselves with the raw fat of the goat: they appeared to consider this as a very great rarity. So soon as the meat was baked, and withdrawn from the fire, our Arabians, without allowing us time to clean it from the sand, devoured it with incredible voracity. After having thoroughly gnawed the bones, they made use of their nails for scraping off any flesh which remained upon them; they then threw them to us, with orders to eat expeditiously, and reload our camels, so that our journey might not be hindered.

The sun was just about setting, when, by the reflection of its rays (for in this country the sun sets every day in a red sky), we discovered tents scattered up and down upon a little eminence, and flocks which had come there for pasturage.

The inhabitants of the village came out in throngs to meet us; but in place of showing us any of the pleasant duties of hospitality, they loaded us with injuries, and made us suffer very inhuman treatment. Two of my comrades were brought into a very pitiable situation. The women particularly, much more fierce than the men, took delight in tormenting us. Our masters could not make any great resistance; they appeared; on the contrary, much better pleased that they should teaze us, than meddle with the lading of the camels.

While I was at some little distance from mine, I suddenly noticed a man, who aimed a blow at me with a double-barrelled gun.[22] I presented him my breast, and desired him to strike. The firmness of my countenance, with which he had been doubtless little accustomed, astonished him. This served the more to strengthen my opinion, that one might impose on these people, by assuming an undaunted appearance. As I approached to this man, a stone thrown from an unknown hand, but which I supposed to be that of a woman, struck me on the head. I lost recollection for a little; but when I recovered, I exclaimed in a very violent rage, and demanded satisfaction with vehement cries. I found this method very serviceable in striking terror among these _children_. The savages who were gathered around us, not knowing the cause of my exclamations, began to run away. Meantime one of them, before he went off, gave me a blow with the butt-end of a gun, which made me vomit blood. If I could have discovered the fellow who struck me, I should certainly have avenged myself. Reduced to complaining, I did it with such vehemence that I raised the curiosity of many of the monsters. They inquired of my master who I was? "He is," answered he, "a very rich Christian, and possessed of a great quantity of guns, balls, flint-stones and scarlet cloth.[23] That you may understand, what a man of consequence he is, we had access to see that he was very richly clothed, and that his linen was perfumed with a very agreeable odour;[24] and to know, that Prince Allicoury and all his retinue had paid him a visit."

[Footnote 22: Several years since, some vessels were lost upon
this coast, which were engaged in a treaty with the Negroes. The
Arabs carried off the cargoes, so that we need not be surprised
that they had guns of different kinds among them.]

[Footnote 23: He believed that all the provisions which were in
the King's magazine belonged to me.]

[Footnote 24: This odour was nothing more than lavender-water,
with which my linen had been sprinkled.]

I believe I escaped much bad usage from his saying that Prince Allicoury had paid me a visit. To enforce this idea still more, I counterfeited his buffoons, whom they called _Egeums_. This kind of farce so much pleased my master, that he made me repeat it as often as he found opportunity. He made use of this stratagem to divert those among them, whom he suspected as inclined to pilfer, and thus cunningly occupied their attention. No sooner did he make known my talent for imitating the _Egeums_, than I was surrounded by men, women, and children, who constantly bawled out to me _ganne_, (sing then). I had no sooner finished, than I was obliged to begin again; and this I was constrained to do, not only to amuse them, but (why should I not own it?) to procure a tasting of camel's milk--as a reward for this my mean buffoonery.

We rested one day in this village, where the inhabitants, however ill they behaved at first, did not fail to give us provisions for three or four days. The plains which we passed over in proceeding towards the east country, were covered with small stones as white as snow, round and flat as a lentil. As we proceeded, we perceived a dull sound under our feet, as if the earth had been dug out below us. This country presented no variety to us; the ground was a continued plain, without producing even the smallest plant. The atmosphere was loaded with a reddish vapour. The whole country appeared as if filled with flaming volcanoes. The small stones pricked us, as if they had been sparks of fire. Neither birds nor insects were to be seen in the air. The profound silence which reigned was something frightful. If at any time a gentle breeze arose, the traveller immediately found himself affected with an extreme languor, the lips with chopping, the skin with a burning heat, and the whole body covered with small pimples, which occasioned a very sharp and disagreeable smarting. Our guides, who had gone far up into the country, to shun some tribes whom they had much cause to fear, were not luckier than we in escaping these disagreeable inconveniences, which we suffered in this part of our journey, where the fiercer animals would not enter. The rays of the sun darted upon the stones, and I feared, every minute, that their scorching reflection would have finished me.

We passed through this vast plain into a second, where the winds had furrowed the sand, which was of a reddish colour, at little distances. A few sweet smelling plants grew on the top of the furrows, which were immediately devoured by our camels: they were no less famished than ourselves. We had the happiness, on quitting this sandy plain, to enter into a valley surrounded with mountains, where the soil was white and slimy. At the foot of some tall shrubs, of which the branches were artfully formed into an arbour, we found some water, of which we stood in great need. We therefore drank of it with much pleasure, although it was very bitter, covered with green moss, and of a noxious smell.