An Arab returned this evening, whom I had sent the night before for the purpose of finding a poodle dog which had accompanied me from Malta, and had remained behind from fatigue, the day we left Ikbar: he was unsuccessful, and said that some of the wandering Tibboos must have eaten him; he had found marks in the sand of the footsteps of these people, and the remains of the two camels we had left on the road were carried off: he traced their steps to the east, but was afraid to follow them. It is from these wanderers that small kafilas, or single merchants, have to dread attack. Generally speaking, the regular sheikhs are satisfied by levying a tax, while these are contented with nothing short of the whole.
Jan. 6.—At seven the thermometer was 42° in the tent.—About five miles from Kisbee we left a wadey called Kilboo, by the Tibboos Trona to our left, and coming close under the ridge of hills at a point called Ametrigamma, we proceeded to Ashenumma, which is about four miles beyond, with the high hills to the east, and a very pleasing wadey to the west, producing palm and other trees. A violent disturbance arose this morning on the road among our Arabs; one of them having shot a ball through the shirt of another of the Magarha tribe: the sheikh of the Magarha took up the quarrel, and the man saved himself from being punished, by hanging to the stirrup leather of my saddle. The Arab sheikh made use of some expressions in defending his man, which displeased Boo-Khaloom, who instantly knocked him off his horse, and his slaves soundly bastinadoed him.
Tiggema, near which we halted, is one of the highest points in the range, and hangs over the mud houses of the town: this point stands at the south extremity of the recess, which the hills here form, and is about four hundred feet high; the sides are nearly perpendicular, and it is detached from the other hills by a chasm. On the approach of the Tuaricks the whole population flock to the top of these heights, with all their property, and make the best defence they can. The insides of some of the houses are neat and tidy; the men are generally travelling merchants, or rather pedlers, and probably do not pass more than four months in the year with their families, for the Tibboos rarely go beyond Bornou to the south, or Mourzuk to the north; they appeared light-hearted, and happy as people constantly in dread of such visitors as the Tuaricks can be, who spare neither age nor sex. A wadey, comparatively fertile, extends several miles parallel to the heights under which the village stands, producing dates and grass in abundance, and a salt water or trona lake is within two miles of them, in which are wild fowl. Mr. Clapperton shot two of the plover species, with spurs on their wings. A general caution was given for no person to go out of the circle after sunset.
Jan. 8[15].—Our course was still under the range of hills, and at five miles distance we came to another town called Alighi, and two miles beyond that another called Tukumani: these towns were built to the south of, and sheltered by slight projections from, the hills under which they were placed. The people always came out to meet us, and when within about fifty paces of the horses, fell on their knees singing and beating a sort of drum, which always accompanies their rejoicing. To the west of both these towns is a salt lake resembling the one near Ashenumma, but rather smaller. We proceeded from hence nearly south-west, leaving the hills, and while resting under the shade of some gourd trees, which are here abundant, we had the agreeable, and to us very novel, sight of a drove of oxen: the bare idea of once more being in a country that afforded beef and pasture was consoling in the extreme, and the luxurious thought of fresh milk, wholesome food, and plenty, was most exhilarating to us all. At two we came to a halt at Dirkee. A good deal of powder was here expended in honour of the sultan, who again met us on our approach: his new scarlet bornouse was thrown over a filthy checked shirt, and his turban and cap, though once white, were rapidly approaching to the colour of the head they covered; when, however, the next morning his majesty condescended to ask me for a small piece of soap, these little negligences in his outward appearance were more easily accounted for.
We had rather a numerous assembly of females, who danced for some hours before the tents: some of their movements were not inelegant, and not unlike the Greek dances as they are represented. The sultan regaled us with cheese, and ground nuts from Soudan, the former of a pleasant flavour, but so hard that we were obliged to moisten it with water previous to eating. Dirkee is of a different description from the Tibboo towns we had seen: it stands in a wadey, is a mile in circumference, and it has two trona lakes, one to the east, and the other to the west. Of this saline substance an account will be found in the Appendix.—It is generally supposed that these lakes were originally caused by taking from the spot they now occupy the earth which was required for building the town, and its surrounding walls. Water, as we have before observed, is found in many parts of this country, at the depth of from six inches to six feet, and the soil near the surface, particularly in the neighbourhood of these Tibboo towns, is very powerfully impregnated by saline substances; so much so, that incrustations of pure, or nearly pure, trona are found sometimes extending several miles. The borders of these lakes have the same appearance: they are composed of a black mud, which almost as soon as exposed to the sun and air becomes crisp like fresh dug earth in a frosty morning. In the centre of each of these lakes is a solid body or island of trona, which the inhabitants say increases in size annually: the one in the lake to the east is probably fourteen or fifteen feet in height, and one hundred in circumference: the edges quite close to the water are solid, nor is there any appearance of mud or slime; it breaks off in firm pieces, but is easily reduced to powder[16]. There are several wells in the town of tolerably good water very slightly impregnated with the trona taste.
Dirkee, from its situation in the wadey, is more exposed to the attacks of the Tuaricks than the towns nearer the hills, and on this account, they say, it is so thinly peopled. The houses have literally nothing within them, not even a mat; and a few women and old men are the only inhabitants: the men, they said, were all on journeys, or at Kisbee, Ashenumma, or Bilma, where they go themselves after the date season. During the time we halted here, the women brought us dates fancifully strung on rushes in the shape of hearts with much ingenuity, and a few pots of honey and fat.
We halted two days. So many of Boo-Khaloom’s camels had fallen on the road, that notwithstanding all their peaceable professions, a marauding party was sent out to plunder some maherhies, and bring them in; an excursion that was sanctioned by the sultan, who gave them instructions as to the route they were to take. The former deeds of the Arabs are, however, still in the memory of the Tibboos, and they had increased the distance between their huts and the high road by a timely striking of their tents. But nine camels of the maherhy species were brought in, yet not without a skirmish: a fresh party was despatched, and did not return at night. We were all ordered to remain loaded, and no one was allowed to quit the circle in which the tents were pitched.
On the 11th we proceeded along the wadey. The thickly scattered mimosa trees afforded some very delightful varieties of shade. Our course was nearly two miles distant from the hills[17], which are all here called Tiggema. After our march, while waiting for the coming up of the camels, the Tibboos tried their skill with the spear, and were far more expert than I expected to see them; the arm is bent, and the hand not higher than the right shoulder, when they discharge the spear: as it leaves the hand, they give it a strong twist with the fingers, and as it flies it spins in the air. An old man of sixty struck a tree twice at twenty yards; and another, a powerful young man, threw the spear full eighty yards: when it strikes the ground, it sometimes bends nearly double: all who travel on foot carry two. Another weapon, which a Tibboo carries, is a sword of a very peculiar form, called hungamunga; of these they sometimes carry three or four. The Arabs, who had been out foraging, returned with thirteen camels, which they had much difficulty in bringing: the Tibboos had followed them several miles. We had patroles the whole night, who, to awaken us for the purpose of assuring us they were awake themselves, were constantly exclaiming Balek-ho, the watchword of the Arabs. We had near us a well of very good water amidst high grass and agoul. On the surface was a saline incrustation of several inches in thickness; below, a sandstone rock, and at a depth of two feet, water clear and good. We had also this day a dish of venison, one of the Arabs having succeeded in shooting two gazelles; many of which had crossed our path for the last three days. On finding a young one, only a few days old, the tawny, wily rogue instantly lay down in the grass, imitated the cry of the young one, and as the mother came bounding towards the spot, he shot her in the throat.
On the 12th we reached Bilma[18], the capital of the Tibboos, and the residence of their sultan, who, having always managed to get before and receive us, advanced a mile from the town attended by some fifty of his men at arms, and double the number of the sex we call fair. The men had most of them bows and arrows, and all carried spears: they approached Boo Khaloom, shaking them in the air over their heads; and after this salutation we all moved on towards the town, the females dancing, and throwing themselves about with screams and songs in a manner to us quite original. They were of a superior class to those of the minor towns; some having extremely pleasing features, while the pearly white of their regular teeth was beautifully contrasted with the glossy black of their skin, and the triangular flaps of plaited hair, which hung down on each side of their faces, streaming with oil, with the addition of the coral in the nose, and large amber necklaces, gave them a very seducing appearance. Some of them carried a sheish, a fan made of soft grass, or hair, for the purpose of keeping off the flies; others a branch of a tree, and some fans of ostrich feathers, or a bunch of keys: all had something in their hands, which they wave over their heads as they advance. One wrapper of Soudan tied on the top of the left shoulder, leaving the right breast bare, formed their covering, while a smaller one was thrown over the head, which hung down to their shoulders, or was thrown back at pleasure: notwithstanding the apparent scantiness of their habiliments, nothing could be farther from indelicate than was their appearance or deportment.
On arriving at Bilma, we halted under the shade of a large tulloh tree while the tents were pitching; and the women danced with great taste, and, as I was assured by the sultan’s nephew, with skill also. As they approach each other, accompanied by the slow beat of an instrument formed out of a gourd, covered with goat’s skin, for a long time their movements are confined to the head, hands, and body, which they throw from one side to the other, flourish in the air, and bend without moving the feet; suddenly, however, the music becomes quicker and louder, when they start into the most violent gestures, rolling their heads round, gnashing their teeth, and shaking their hands at each other, leaping up, and on each side, until one or both are so exhausted that they fall to the ground: another pair then take their place.