Mohammed Bey describes the people of Borgoo and Waday as savages of the worst description, abhorring even the sight of a white man. I told him it was my intention to proceed in the direction of Darfoor, if possible: he replied, placing my hand in Boo-Khaloom’s, “Do not leave this good man, Sidi-Rais, if you hope to return.”—But rarely a kafila passes from Dongala to Darfoor; to Bornou, never. The army of Egypt had been repulsed with considerable loss at Darfoor; the people of which country, Mohammed Bey said, could muster one hundred thousand men, armed, in the field, equipped with artillery and mortars. The beys of Egypt had sent the King of Darfoor, many years ago, eight pieces of ordnance; they had made others, and worked them, as well as the people of Egypt themselves. The army had gone south, and meant to over-run all the Kordofan, when it was thought, if they had no reinforcement, that they would return to Egypt: with their present strength, they could do nothing with Darfoor, but the people of Darfoor wished for peace with Mohammed Ali, and feared him; on this account it was that they would not receive the Mamelukes. Affecting my own plans so materially as this information appeared to do, it was listened to by me with the deepest interest.
On Thursday, the 24th of October, we halted at Sebha, and remained there until Saturday the 26th, gathering our escort and collecting our supplies.
On Wednesday, the 30th October, we made our entrée into Mourzuk with all the parade and show that we could muster. By Boo-Khaloom’s presents to the bashaw, but chiefly on account of his having undertaken to conduct us to Bornou, he had not only gained the bashaw’s favour, but had left Tripoli with strong proofs of his master’s consideration. Boo-Khaloom, naturally liberal, had, by successful trade, been enabled early in life to gratify his charitable and benevolent inclinations. This made him so popular in Mourzuk, that nearly half the inhabitants came out to meet him, at a short distance from the town, although not any of the authorities, and we entered the gates amidst the shouts of the people, preceded by singing and dancing women; and the Arabs who formed our escort made such repeated charges upon their jaded and tired animals, that I really expected some of them would “fall to rise no more.” No living creatures can be treated worse than an Arab’s wife and his horse, and if plurality could be transferred from the marriage bed to the stable, both wives and horses would be much benefited by the change.
I could not quite resist a sensation of disappointment that no friends came out to meet me: but as the sun was insufferably powerful, and as I had received a message by Boo-Khaloom’s brother, from Doctor Oudney, that he was unwell, and that Clapperton had the ague, I did not much expect it; I was, however, by no means prepared to see either of them so much reduced as they were. Both my companions and Hillman I found had been confined to their beds with hemma (fever and ague), had been delirious, and the Doctor and Hillman only a little recovered. Clapperton was still on his bed, which for fifteen days he had not quitted. Doctor Oudney was suffering also from a severe complaint in his chest, arising from a cold caught during his excursion to Ghraat, and nothing could be more disheartening than their appearance. The opinion of every body, Arabs, Tripolines, and our predecessors, were unanimous as to the insalubrity of its air. To account physically for the sickliness of the place, was beyond the powers of wiser medical heads than mine, but facts are stubborn things. Mr. Ritchie had fatally felt the baneful influence of the climate of Mourzuk, and Captain Lyon had suffered extremely during his stay there: every one of us, some in a greater or less degree, had been seriously disordered; and amongst the inhabitants themselves, any thing like a healthy looking person was a rarity.
Notwithstanding Boo-Khaloom made every exertion in his power to get away from Mourzuk as early as possible, yet, from the numerous arrangements which it was necessary for him to make, for the provisioning so many persons during a journey through a country possessing no resources, it was the 29th November before those arrangements were complete. Doctor Oudney and Mr. Clapperton, from a most praiseworthy impatience to proceed on their journey, and at the same time, thinking their health might be benefited by the change of air, preceded him to Gatrone by ten days. I had remained behind to urge Boo-Khaloom and expedite his departure, and we thought by these means to obviate any wish which he might have to delay on account of his private affairs, even for a day. Our caution was, however, needless; no man could be more anxious to obey the orders he had received, and forward our views, than himself: indeed so peremptory had been the commands of the bashaw, in consequence of the representations of our consul general, when complaining of former procrastination, that Boo-Khaloom’s personal safety depended on his expedition, and of this he was well aware.
It may not be unacceptable to the reader, if I here give some account of the strength of our party.
I had succeeded in engaging, on my return to Tripoli, as an attendant to accompany me to Bornou, a native of the island of St. Vincent, whose real name was Adolphus Sympkins; but who, in consequence of his having run away from home, and in a merchant vessel traversed half the world over, had acquired the name of Columbus; he had been several years in the service of the bashaw, spoke three European languages, and perfect Arabic. This person was of the greatest service to the mission, and so faithful an attendant, that His Majesty’s government have since employed him to accompany my former companion and colleague, Captain Clapperton, on the arduous service he is now engaged in: we had besides three free negroes, whom we had hired in Tripoli as our private servants; Jacob, a Gibraltar Jew, who was a sort of store-keeper; four men to look after our camels; and these, with Mr. Hillman and ourselves, made up the number of our household to thirteen persons. We were also accompanied by several merchants from Mesurata, Tripoli, Sockna, and Mourzuk, who gladly embraced the protection of our escort to proceed to the interior with their merchandize.
The Arabs in the service of the bashaw of Tripoli, by whom we were to be escorted to Bornou, and on whose good conduct our success almost wholly depended, were now nearly all assembled, and had been chosen from the most obedient tribes; they gained considerably in our good opinion, each day we became better acquainted with them: they were not only a great and most necessary protection to us, breaking the ground as we were for any Europeans who might follow our steps, but enlivened us greatly on our dreary desert way by their infinite wit and sagacity, as well as by their poetry, extempore and traditional. We had several amongst our party who shone as orators in verse, to use the idiom of their own expressive language, particularly one of the tribe of Boo Saiff Marabooteens, or gifted persons, who would sing for an hour together, faithfully describing the whole of our journey for the preceding fortnight, relating the most trifling occurrence that had happened, even to the name of the well, and the colour and taste of the water, with astonishing rapidity and humour, and in very tolerable poetry; while some of his traditionary ballads were beautiful. The names of the chiefs who were to accompany us were as follows:—
Of the tribe of M’Garha, Sheikh Abdi Smud ben Erhoma, from the Syrtis, with seventy men. He often said that his father’s name was renowned in song, for having killed one hundred men with his own hand in battle, and please God! he should exceed him, for he was but thirty-five, and had brought forty to the ground already.
The M’Garhas are at this time in great favour with the bashaw, and entirely exempt from tribute of any sort, from having assisted him very materially in annihilating the Waled Suleyman: I must, therefore, give some account of them.