Travels in the Great Desert of Sahara, in the Years of 1845 and 1846 Part 23

Travels in the Great Desert of Sahara, in the Years of 1845 and 1846 Part 23

CHAPTER XV.

FROM GHADAMES TO GHAT.

End of the Sandy Region.--No Birds of Prey in The Sahara.--Progress of the French in the Algerian Oases.--Slave Trade of The Desert supported by European Merchants.--Desolations of Sahara.--System of Living of our People.--Various Tours through Central Africa.--The Desert tenanted by harmless and Domesticated Animals.--Horribly dreary Day's March.--A Fall from my Camel.--Well of Nijberten, and its delicious Water.--Moral Character of the People of our Caravan.--Well of Tababothteen.--Camel knocked up and killed.--Mode of Killing Camels.--Pretty Aspect of The Sahara.--Some of the Ghafalah go on before the rest.--The Plain and Well of Tadoghseen.--Encounter and Adventure with the _quasi_ Bandit Sheik, Ouweek.--Enter the region of the _Jenoun_ or Genii.--Mountain Range of Wareerat.

_6th._--ROSE at day-break but did not start until after sun-rise.

Continued through the sand. Scenery as yesterday, hills heaped upon heap, group around group, and sometimes a plain of sand, furrowed in pretty tesselated squares like the sands of the sea-sh.o.r.e. I walked about three hours to ease the nagah. The camels continued to flounder in the sand, throwing over their necks their heavy burdens.

The ascents extremely difficult: people employed in scooping an inclined path for the animals. But, in the afternoon, about three, we saw through an opening of the shining heaps, a blue and black waste of contiguous desert. I could not help crying out for joy, like a man at the prow who descries the port, after having been buffeted about many a stormy day by contrary winds and currents.

Much fatigued with the walking over the sands, and sick with drinking the brackish water of Mislah. Nothing _en route_ to-day except four crows, and a skeleton of a camel. This is the small crow of The Sahara (????? ???????). People pretend it does not drink water. It may live on the flesh of the few camels which drop down and die from exhaustion, and on lizards. There are, however, no vultures and ravenous birds of huge dimensions in this region of Sahara. So that,

"Where the body is, there also collect the eagles," is not applicable to this part of The Desert, although the vulture, pouncing voraciously upon the dead man and dying camel, is an appropriate feature in Saharan landscapes. The large birds of prey do not find, as the lion, water to drink in these regions. When we got fairly upon the firm ground of Stony Sahara, I was refreshed with the sight of seven small acacia trees. This seems to be the only tree which will not surrender to the iron sceptre of Saharan desolation, for it strikes its roots into the sterility itself. A white b.u.t.terfly also, to my amazement, pa.s.sed my camel's head! Where does the little fluttering thing get its food in this region of desolation?

Another of the Souf Arabs said to me this morning, "This sand is the country of the Souafah and the Shanbah." If so, indeed, it would be a troublesome country for a military expedition. "However," said a merchant, "the maharee can pursue the Shanbah to the last heap of their sands." Speaking of the Shanbah last evening when we were in the midst of the sands, the Souafah said:--"When the enemy will come, we shall cover ourselves in the sand, and fire off our matchlocks. They will feel our bullets, and hear our report, and look about and see no person. We shall be covered up in the sand." This, the Souf Arab repeated several times, and the Ghadamsee traders thought it astonishingly clever and courageous.

It is reported five hundred Touaricks are soon to pursue the Shanbah into the Algerian territory. It is said also, French Arabs will support the Shanbah bandits against both Touaricks and Souafah. Such is the silly talk of our caravan. Still the French have got far south, and my Souafah companions acknowledge that some of their districts pay tribute to the Algerian authorities. This is something like _progress_, and we ought not to deceive ourselves about their movements southwards. Nothing is worse than self-deception. The Romans struggled long before they made any sensible progress in Africa, nay, several centuries. In fifteen years the French have induced a whole line of Saharan oases, more or less, to acknowledge their authority. And the thing is done cleverly enough; they do not appoint a local governor, or dispatch a single soldier, and yet they manage to get some money from these distant Saharan oases. However, this tribute must be very trifling; and were all this line of Algerian oases to pay their tribute regularly, it would be as a drop in the bucket compared with the thousands of millions of francs which have been spent, and will be spent in Algeria. Such a colony as Algeria will not only not pay, but will ruin the finances of a score of kingdoms as large as France. The politics of our moving Saharan city are mostly confined to the Pasha of Tripoli and the French in Algeria. "When will the Pasha go, soon or late? Will another come after him? Will he be better? Will he fleece us as this despot, of all our money? Have the French many troops in Algeria? Have they more than Muley Abd-Errahman? Could they conquer Morocco? Why don't the English drive out the French from Algeria? The Mussulmans of Algeria are now corrupted by the money of the Christians.

The Bey of Tunis is the friend of the French. The Sultan of Constantinople, Mehemet Ali, and the English are against the Bey of Tunis and the French. Now, the Christians have great power in the world, but they will soon be cut off, when shall appear the new warrior of the faithful. Is the Sultan of Stamboul strong? Has he more soldiers than Moskou (Russia)? Have the French more soldiers than the English? Is Mehemet Ali to have Tripoli given him, and is he to march on to Tunis and against the French?" &c. All these, and a thousand other questions and opinions similar, agitate the sage politicians of our ghafalah: so true it is, that when we change the heavens above, we do not change our thoughts on the things below, which are left behind us.

My friend, Zalea, of Seenawan, did not come with us, he having contracted for the building of the caravansary of Emjessem, but his brother, a rough bold Arab, accompanied us, who a.s.sured me to-day,--"That all the goods of the ghafalah were the property of Christians and Jews in Tripoli, and the Ghadamseeah merchants were only their commission agents. These goods were to be exchanged for Soudan merchandise, including slaves, which latter, after being sold in Tripoli, the money of their sale would be given up to the merchants under European protection." This is a strong confirmation of the opinion which I have expressed in my reports, "_That the slave-traffic of Tripoli is supported by the money and goods of Europeans_." My informant wished to know and put the question:--"If I take you (the writer) to Soudan, and bring you back safe, will you get me free from paying taxes to the Pasha?" Another observed on this,--"That's ridiculous, Yakob; if you say that Mahomet is the prophet of G.o.d, you can go safe to Soudan without the protection of any body." I made answer to this impertinence, that such language was not proper, and if they continued to pester me with their religion, I should report them to Rais Mustapha. This at once silenced them.

Felt very sick this evening with drinking the water of Mislah. It is purging all the people like genuine Epsom.

_7th._--Started a little before sun-rise, when a clear mist was spread like a mantle of gauze over old Sahara, and lost the sight of the sand-hills in the course of the morning. I joyfully bid them adieu, though it may be very fine and Desert-like to talk and write of regions of sand and sandy billows, furrowing the bosom of Sahara. Winding about, but always making south. Wind now from the west; the sky mostly overcast, but no signs of rain. No living things _en route_, but a solitary crow, and another solitary b.u.t.terfly. The mirage again visible. Very little herbage for the camels, and no wood for the fire. On our right long ranges of low hills, dull and drear outlines of The Desert. In some ma.s.ses, the stone and earth and chalk are thrown together in confusion, as so many materials for creating a new world. Those who traverse these Saharan desolations, cannot but receive the impression, that old mother earth, slung on her balance, and revolving on her axis, has performed eternal cycles of decay and reproduction. Time was, when these heaps of desolation were fruitful fields of waving corn and smiling meadows, and fair branching woods, meandered about with running rills of silvery streams, where cattle pastured lowing, and birds sang on the trees. Now, heap upon heap, and pile upon pile of the ruins of nature deform the dreadful landscape, one feature being more hideous to look upon than the other: and the whole is a ma.s.s of blank existence, having no apparent object but to daunt and terrify the hapless wayfarer, who with his faithful camel, slowly and mournfully winds his weary way through the scene of wasteful destruction. . . . . In the sand, the pebbles are as bright and smooth as those washed by the sea-spray, or chafed by a running brook.

I have observed minutely the system of living amongst our people, and really believe they have not enough to eat. When they invite me to supper, and give me a share of _bazeen_, I always require another supper on my return, before going to bed. Besides, I always make a slight repast in the morning, which they do not. Then I eat dates and a piece of cake during the day's riding, for we never stop during the day's march. They also munch a few dates themselves. But, altogether, though I'm a moderate eater, I believe I eat every day twice, and sometimes thrice, as much as they eat. With respect to clothing, I wear double the quant.i.ty they do, and, nevertheless, feel cold at night. I may say with truth, they are poorly fed and badly clothed. It is this miserable system of living which makes them such lanky bare-boned objects. I observe, also, they feel the fatigue very much, as much as I myself, though unwell with drinking the water and serving a hard apprenticeship to Desert-travelling.

I believe Europeans, in this season of the year, would travel these Saharan wilds with less fatigue, and in far superior style. I now walk two hours first thing every morning. Most of the merchants do the same.

Zalea said to me, "Yakob, we (pointing to three or four of his people) are the only true men here, and understand affairs; the rest are all good-for-nothing." Indeed, the Seenawanee Arabs are generally very excellent camel-drivers, and know the routes perfectly. We have with us a young Touarick, who never covers his head winter or summer. His hair grows long, unlike other Mohammedans, who shave the head. This Targhee tells me he is never unwell. We're encamped in a valley. As the sun sets, the sky is encharged with clouds. But usually the wind goes down a little after dark, and rises an hour or two after day-break. Fortunately, this is not a month of winds, so say the people.

As the camel moves slowly, but surely[64], on to Ghat, I still revolve in mind the various routes of the interior. I'm still as much at a loss as ever to determine which route I shall take, and have only Providence for my guide. There are various routes before me:--

1st.--To go to Soudan, _via_ Aheer, and return with the ghafalah of Ghadames, with which I proceed. This is easy and simple, but does not offer much variety.

2nd.--To proceed to Soudan, _via_ Aheer, as in the first, and return _via_ Bornou and Fezzan. This offers both variety and security.

3rd.--To proceed as before to Soudan, then Bornou, then Darfour, Kordofan, Nubia, and Egypt. This is various, new, and attended with danger, but I don't know what extent of danger.

4th.--To proceed to Soudan, Kanou, and Noufee, and then descend the Niger to the Bight of Benin. This would be a fine journey, and perhaps not attended with any very great difficulties.

5th.--To proceed to Soudan, as above, thence along the upper banks of the Niger to Timbuctoo, and return _via_ Mogador in Morocco. This I believe the most perilous of all the routes.

Any of these routes, however, could not fail to be useful to commerce, geography, and discovery. Those who take the route of descending the Niger to the ocean, will avoid a three or four months' journey over The Desert. Noufee, on the Niger, is only fifteen days from Kanou, and seven to the Atlantic.

To-day pa.s.sed several tumuli of stones, more than eight feet high, evidently placed to direct the caravans over the trackless portions of Sahara. I wonder what the people of Europe will say when I tell them, that The Desert--pictured in such frightful colours by the ancients, as teeming with monsters and wild beasts, and every unearthly and uncouth thing and being, not forgetting the dragons, salamanders, vampyres, c.o.c.katrices, and fiery-flying serpents, and as such believed in these our enlightened days--is a very harmless place, its menagerie being reduced to a few small crows, and now and then a stray b.u.t.terfly, and a few common house and cheese-and-bacon and fruit flies! these poor little domestic everyday creatures! Nay, there is not found here the wild ox, or the oudad, or the antelope, or ostrich, or the wild boar, or any other animal which inhabit and mark the Saharan regions near the north coast of Africa. It is, indeed, impossible to conceive of a country so devoid of living creatures as the route which we have traversed these last twelve days. To this must be added, that now is the favourable season for animals, and we should certainly see them if there were any to be seen.

Of the four routes to Ghat, the next to us on the west, is the shortest.

People say the route which we are now travelling is only frequented in this season, and mostly by large caravans, or scarcely ever in the summer.

_8th._--Rose at day-break and started at sunrise: as usual, the sky overcast and in an hour the wind got up and blew a strong gale awhile from the south-east. To-day Sahara looked unusually dark and drear; night as a dread pall seemed to hang on the day and all visible things--all life and animation was extinct but our lone, solitary, melancholy caravan! We moved on in deep and weary silence, not a noise, a cry, a murmur, the grumbling of the camels was even hushed. Nothing broke the horrid silence of The Desert. We wound round long-long winding valleys--

"Through many a dark and dreary vale [We] pa.s.s'd, and many a region dolorous--"


"Where all life dies."

Most of the stone scattered _en route_ was black shingle, and all the region had a volcanic look. In one wady through which we pa.s.sed were found several stones rounded into (shall I call them?) cannon-b.a.l.l.s, scattered about, and some were of prodigious size.

They were as round as if artificially made. There were also a great many halves, or half b.a.l.l.s. Our people to divert their minds from the gloom hanging around them dismounted and amused themselves with these cannon-b.a.l.l.s of nature. Some would say that nature furnishes a type of every thing in art. Our Touaricks a.s.sured us, "These b.a.l.l.s were made by the Jenoun, who on occasion of quarrels, pelted one another with them. A traveller was once killed with some of these b.a.l.l.s during the night, although a friend of the Jenoun." In a former period, I imagine the action of water produced these specimens of stony rotundity, for they were embedded in a deep wady.

On leaving this valley, I had also something else to relieve me from the gloom of this day's march. On mounting a small ridge of rock, abrupt, and full of sharp stones, I was pitched off in a summerset style from the back of the camel, and if I had not been caught in my fall by a slave of the caravan, I should have fallen once and for ever in this world; as it was, I felt stunned and considerably hurt.

This was my first and last fall from the camel. I learnt caution at a great risk. The people all crowded round to a.s.sist me, terribly frightened. My thick woollen clothes saved my bones. I could not help remarking the coincidence of being saved by a slave, for the benefit of whom I had chiefly undertaken this perilous journey. In general, the camel goes extremely steady, it is only in mounting and descending that they become unsteady, unwieldy, and dangerous. At other times, you may sleep, eat and drink, read and write, on the back of a camel. But as our days are short and nights long, we require no sleep, and my eyes are too bad for reading. Our people call camels by the Arabic term _baeer_ (??????), the male camel is called _jemel_ (?????), and the female _nagah_ (??????). As the she-camel is most valuable for the sustenance of the tribes, the Touaricks sometimes call the whole race of camels nagah. "We," say they, "have nothing but the _nagah_ (she-camel)," thereby meaning, our property alone consists in camels. But the nagah is a great favourite with the Mussulmans of all nations. Mahomet mounted a milk-white nagah, when he ascended to paradise. The camels have all public and private marks, the former for their country, and the latter for their owner, and, strange enough, the public mark of the Ghadames camels is the English broad R. So when a camel is stolen, a man claims his camel by his mark. The marking is done by branding with a hot iron.

I can't help observing the habits of the camels, for our continued marching affords us ample leisure. When these melancholy creatures can find no other occupation _en route_, or when there is nothing _en route_, or after a full belly, they set to work, like men, and bite one another.

Often one of the camels falls, or throws its load, in a regular encounter. The Moors and Arabs are bad loaders of the camels, and there is always some camel with its load falling off. In fact, the people do nothing neat and well. Even the little gear required for these animals is continually breaking and getting out of order. People look to the immediate hour before them: not excepting even the necessary articles of fodder and water, and food for themselves, of which they often neglect to take a sufficient supply. And yet if anything could teach a man to be provident it is The Desert. If this Saharan travelling were placed under the management of Europeans, it would be infinitely more secure. Our camels are nearly all coast-camels, we shall soon have to speak of the maharee. The Touarghee uses quite a different style of address when he coaxes along the camels; it is bolder and quicker in its intonations, suited to the language of the Touaricks. A frequent address of encouragement is, "_Bok, bok bok, bokka bokka_." The Arabs usually command the movement of the camels by "Tza;" and when they are to stop, by "Ush;" and, to kneel down, it is a prolonged p.r.o.nunciation of the guttural ??? or Kh-h-h. We may well suppose, however, that the camels which travel this route are expert linguists in the Touarghee and Arabic.

We continued all day till the last dull departing solar ray of the west had left us. A long dark, dismal, dreary day it has been. We encamped amidst two long ranges of Saharan mountains as a shelter from the wind.

Our people detest the wind, they prefer burning heat to wind. The mountains only deserve the name from their frightfully gloomy aspect, not from their consistence or magnitude, for in reality they are so much stony and earthy rubbish shovelled up into long ridges. There is nothing in shape or consistence of granite. I picked up several pieces of petrified wood, but none of them pretty or remarkable. So far as I can judge, there are no minerals or rare stones to repay the researches of the geologist in these regions of desolation. Noticed a quant.i.ty of soft grey stone, as also of slate stone: observed some lime-stone gradually acquiring the consistence and colour of fine streaky marble.

_9th._--Rose as the day broke, and started with the first rays of the sun. Continued through the same kind of country, with an addition of a little sand here and there, for five hours, until we arrived at the well of Nijberten, to our great joy, for it is a well of deliciously sweet water. Around the well, I was pleased with the sight of several dark bushes scattered upon the small sand-hills. Anything in the shape of a tree now gladdens the heart. I observe again, that vegetation often springs out of the sand in preference to the hard or even softer earth in The Sahara. A little sand, scattered over the hard earth, and oftener solid rock, enables vegetation to spring up, when the mould of Sahara produces nothing. But there is little or no herbage for camels. Give my nagah the barley which I provided for my own use. People ridicule the choice of Rais Mustapha in the purchase of the camel, and say she will never carry me to Soudan.

I'm now writing the journal of yesterday. I can't write every day.

Sometimes several days elapse. Often wonder how Denham could write his journal every day, as he a.s.serts. The wind is high and is scattering sand in every direction. Certainly I require no supply of sand when turning over my sheet wet with the ink.

Before we get to the water, we are obliged to scoop out the sand as at Mislah. Many pits in Sahara are in this predicament. But we are infinitely more repaid for our pains, for we find most refreshing nectar-like water, as good as the last was bad. I imagine I drank off a full gallon at once. I was praying night and day for this water, and was obliged to go from tent to tent, begging a drop of the water which was left of Nather well, until all the skins were empty of that water. Some of the merchants kept a little in a small skin as a luxury. But I must do our people justice, for seeing I could not drink the Mislah water, they gave me often their sweet water and themselves drank the brackish. I must add, I see no striking moral difference between the people of this Desert caravan, and the people who fill an English mail-coach or a French diligence. Mankind are morally much the same everywhere. The last sixteen centuries have added little or nothing to discovery and amendment in morals, however orthodox we may all have become. Our Christendom has been chiefly occupied in resisting the worst features of the Mosaic economy as engrafted by the corruptions of the Church on the Christian system. The commission to Moses, "to extirpate the Canaanitish tribes," has been the universal war-cry of the dominant party in the Church to burn and empale heretics. There are still many divinity professors who think it right to kill heretics and infidels. The society of the nineteenth century is still eaten up by the most rancorous bigotry, and morality is proportionably at a low ebb. Nevertheless, with all our present Desert hardships, we are an easy journeying caravan; the patience of no one is particularly tried, and there is no event to draw out the real pa.s.sions of the soul. We are now five days from Ghat; to-morrow being the Ayed Kebir, we shall make but a short day. Had a little private conversation with a Souf Arab. There are some fifty families of Jews in Souf, occupied in commerce. Speaking of the eternal quarrel of the Shanbah and Souafah, I found him a strong partisan of the Shanbah. "Fine fellows are the Shanbah, like us the Souafah; one Shanbah would kill five Touaricks," he exclaimed. Souf is a rich country. This Souf Arab has thirty fine dughla date-trees, one of finest species. Riches are estimated by the number of date-trees. He has two brothers now returning from Soudan, bringing slaves and elephants' teeth for the markets of Algeria.

The notorious Mohammed Sagheer, who slaughtered thirty Frenchmen in cold blood at Biscara, is now at Tozer, in Tunis. This flight of fugitives will continue as long as France is in North Africa. It is inevitable.

When a political refugee is quiet his person should be held sacred; and it was very dastardly on the part of the French to demand to have this Arab Sheikh given up. But the French mind is incapable of comprehending what is a political asylum, or even what is const.i.tutional freedom. Local politics still stick close to our ghafalah, and the people have such faith in my power and influence, that they really believe I could, if I would, get Ghadames freed from paying tribute to the Porte. An Arab of Derge said, "If you return from Soudan, and speak to the English Consul and English Sultan, you will then serve us in Derge and Ghadames, but if you don't come back we are all lost." The British Consul of Tripoli might, indeed, do something for these oppressed people, and save the Saharan commerce from impending ruin. I quiet the people by telling them, (and which is the fact,) I have repeatedly written to the English Consul of Tripoli about their affairs, and to obtain some mitigation of the oppression of their Government.

The bushes springing out of the sand are but a couple of feet high, and their dark foliage is covered with crystallized salt. They are a stinted species of acacia. Nijberten is the first Touarghee name _en route_, and now we are fairly in the Ghat territory. On our right, a day's journey over some ranges of hills, are tents and flocks and inhabited districts.

Pa.s.sed several tumuli of stones raised in the shape of graves. To-day the stone had a better appearance, a good deal of grey and red marble, and some isolated blocks of granite. No birds, insects, or animals. Course south.

_10th._--Strong wind all day, and cold. The Ayed Kebir. But our travellers only prayed a little longer in the morning. Travellers are exempt from the ordinary religious ceremonies and festivals. This feast is usually kept up three days. A camel knocked up to-day, and unloaded this morning. After two hours and half, pa.s.sed on the right the well of _Tababothteen_. People say its water is still sweeter than that of Nijberten. Indeed, we shall find the Ghat water to be usually sweet and delicious. Scenery as usual, broken in valleys, hills, and high ground.

Some of the hills, covered partly with sand, looked very pretty at a distance, shrouded as if in a sheet of snow, and dazzling in the sun-beams. Encamped early in the afternoon. The knocked-up camel difficult to be got on. A Divan of camel-drivers was held, and the question discussed, "Whether the camel should be killed?" It was decided that it should be doctored and left to graze until a Targhee was sent from Ghat for it. A most piteous sight it was to look upon the poor camel, prostrate and moaning, as if pleading the excuse of its malady for not moving on. I could not stop to look at the wretched animal.

Nevertheless, I returned again, and found the camel tied down, with its mouth pulled open, and its jaws lashed back with cords, to prevent the poor creature from groaning too loud. The hot iron was being applied to the shoulder, where there were some festering or dislocation; meanwhile, the creature groaned in dreadful but silent agonies. At length, this doctoring finished, it was left to graze; but being actually nearly burnt to death, it could not get up, and was killed during the night, _to prevent it from dying_, in order that our orthodox people might eat the flesh like good Mussulmans.

Rais Mustapha amused me by telling how that the Arabs watched the signs of immediate death, and just stuck the camel in the last agony of dissolution, in order that they might eat the flesh with an orthodox conscience. Camels are killed differently from other animals. Sheep and bullocks and fowls have their throats cut from side to side, with "hideous gash," for they are the most slashing throat-cutters; camels, on the contrary, are stuck in the throat at the bottom of the neck, and the top of the chest-bones. Next morning (_11th_), was held a Divan of the whole ghafalah to decide upon the value of the slaughtered camel, for the owner was in Ghadames. Its worth was estimated at four dollars. I purchased a quarter of a dollar's worth. The camel was young, but the meat not very good. Our people soon devoured the meat.

_11th._--Rose early, but did not start till near noon, to give the camels more rest. Old Sahara looks absolutely pretty with the dark shrubs bespotting and besprinkling his white shining sand-hills. The heavens are strewn with soft flaky light clouds; the blue above is clear and profound, and what other colours there are, look fresh and fair. Our people catch the lighter and more exhilarating influence, and are more talkative to-day. Descending to grosser matters, they are joking about how much of the camel's meat they are to swallow for supper. A part of the ghafalah left us, as the main body would not start early, thinking to arrive a couple of days before us in Ghat. I loaded and wished to go on with them, despising my friend Fletcher's advice. They insisted I should not accompany them, but come on with the larger body of people. I was obliged to return, and it happened for the best. This was a short day's march, but wrote no journal. The advanced party excused themselves for not letting me go with them, by saying, "We are going amongst the Touaricks our friends for a few days, and you will arrive first." I mentioned this to our party, who say, "_They're liars._ Are you so foolish, Yakob, as to believe every thing a _Mussulman_ tells you?"

_12th._--Rose and started with the earliest rays of the Saharan sun.

Scenery as usual; but the ranges of Saharan hills a.s.suming a more battlemental shape, and darker, blacker colour. Fast approaching the inhabited districts; saw the traces of a route to Fezzan, on which the foot-prints of sheep were visible. Saw some inhabited mountains at a considerable distance, but no peculiar feelings started in the mind, and I grow weary of the journey. A dull drear and long day. Overtook the advanced portion of our ghafalah, and had the laugh at them. We asked them, whether they had seen their good friends the Touaricks? whether they had brought us fresh eggs, milk, and a whole sheep? We, of course, begging our portion of the rich spoil. The people now told me to place my tent within the circle of the encampment, as we were getting near the inhabited districts. I usually encamped at a short distance from the centre of confusion in the ghafalah, and found it more quiet. As to fear, I had none, and slept more soundly in the open Desert than in any part of the world where I had travelled before.

_13th._--Rose at day-break, and, after a few hours' riding, came in full view of the Touarick camel-grazing country. We descended into a beautiful plain. After such Desert, how lovely it was! the plain of the Paradise of Sahara! This plain afforded many a taste of freshest herbage for the camels, almost approaching to English gra.s.s. They cropped it with rapacious greediness. Every person's eyes sparkled with delight at seeing the famished camels devour the herbage. We stopped half an hour to let them graze. Here were b.u.t.terflies in quant.i.ties fluttering about, in dress of silver white, and gorgeous hues of rubies, and labouring beetles and industrious ants covering the small turf-hills, all which were to us "signs of life," and living in the world. We had already seen, before entering the fair plain, a small flight of larks, and now we feasted our eyes on a few swallows skimming this "flowery mead," for here and there were pretty blue and red and yellow wild flowers. A moment I forgot being in The Desert. The abundance of the herbage arises from there having recently fallen copious showers of rain--quite unusual in this thirsty country. But our route is the worst and most desolate of all the routes from Ghadames to Ghat. The other parallel routes always afford more herbage, besides having some inhabited tracts, with flocks of sheep and herds of camels feeding. Indeed, with the exception of a few people at the well of _Tadoghseen_, which we shall soon mention, we found no inhabitants in this the most easterly route. Whilst pa.s.sing through the plain I espied a little black something moving about. In getting up to it, to my astonishment it was a little child stark naked! Our people were as much amazed as myself. I thought within myself, if this be the way in which the Touaricks bring up their children, exposed to cold and heat, rain and wind, in such terrible plight in open desert! no wonder then they can bear all the hardship of The Sahara, as we a spring-day in Europe. It is impossible for an European to contend with a nature like that of the Touarick; we can never expect to adopt their habits of Saharan travelling. The little wretched urchin had been left by some of the shepherds, for camels, goats, and donkeys were feeding about. The child was very merry, but not old enough to speak much. Our people gave the boy a piece of bread, which he put at once to his mouth, and grinned "a thank you." From the plain rises a huge block of rock in the shape of a sugar-loaf, a frequent form of blocks of rock in this desert. As we neared the well, I was greatly rejoiced at the arrival of two slaves, one of which had been dispatched by the Sheikh Jabour from Ghat, to tell me, "I was to come with all confidence to Ghat, to fear nothing; no Touarghee should say an untoward word to me." I augured well of all things on the receipt of such news. Our people were as pleased as myself on the arrival of Jabour's slave. They called out to me to take the handkerchief from off my face, to let the messenger see "the face of a Christian."

After riding further, three or four Touaricks showed themselves. I saluted them. They asked our people what I said, and did not seem very friendly. I began to have suspicions[65]. The advanced portion of the ghafalah had disposed of their camels and baggage before I got up to the well. Said and myself went up amongst the people encamping, but, looking on my left about fifty yards' distant, I saw a group of people and a quarrel going on between our people, four or five Touaricks, and two slaves. Our people were violently pulling a slave one way, and Ouweek, a Touarghee chief, tearing him as savagely the other way. At length the slave, struggling stoutly, got free, and went further off to a horse.

Ouweek thought the slave intended to mount the horse and ride off to Ghat; so the chief followed the slave and again seized hold of him, and unsheathing his sword, began beating him with its sides. The Ghadamsee people and Arabs again interfered and rescued the slave. In the meanwhile Haj Mafoul Zulea pa.s.sed me, and said, "Go up, go up." I replied, "Why? I shall stop here, where I am." He answered something; but, being hard of hearing, I could not catch what he said. I determined not to move.

Afterwards, thinking that Zulea wished me not to be mixed up with the quarrel, I went further on towards Ghat. I imagined the slave had been overriding his master's horse, and was being beaten for that. After staying some time up the road, I returned to my camel, tired of waiting, and sat down, telling Said to unpack. But it seems Said had heard something which I had not, and said, "Not yet, not yet." I insisted upon his unloading the camel, and took out some dates and biscuits, and lay myself down to eat them. The scuffle and uproar was now going on about a hundred yards from me, and I saw the sword of Ouweek flourishing and flashing about. This was succeeded by a calm, and a whole circle of people squatted down around Ouweek. Meanwhile, the three followers of the Sheikh went a short distance off, spread their heiks upon the ground with great and solemn parade, and performed the afternoon prayer, as if about to sanctify some impending act of their Sheikh. I watched them anxiously.

When I had waited half an hour or so, several of our people, with Zulea, returned, and not a little surprised me by making to me the following announcement:--"Ouweek, the Touarghee Sheikh of this district, wants to kill you, because you are a Christian and an infidel. He has just been beating one of the slaves for going to meet you, accompanying the messenger of Ghat. He wished you to come up to him, that he might dispatch you at once." To say the truth, I had such confidence in the Touaricks of Ghat, and had been so confirmed in my confidence by the arrival of the messenger from Ghat, that I could not believe this speech of our people, and was disposed to think it a joke. I was perfectly cool, and myself. But as they most seriously reiterated this story, and let out a hint, or I gave the hint, I'm sure I now forget in the confusion, that perhaps the business could be compromised for money, I said to the spokesman, Zulea, "Oh! for G.o.d's sake, go, go; yes, yes, make a bargain."