| From a Sketch by Major Denham’s. | Engraved by E. Finden. |
| KANEMBOO MARKET WOMAN. | UNMARRIED WOMAN OF SOUDAN. |
Published Feb. 1826, by John Murray, London.
The soil near the edges of the lake was a firm dark mud; and, in proof of the great overflowings and recedings of the waters, even in this advanced dry season, the stalks of the gussub, of the preceding year, were standing in the lake, more than forty yards from the shore. The water is sweet and pleasant, and abounds with fish; which the natives have a curious way of catching. Some thirty or forty women go into the lake, with their wrappers brought up between their legs, and tied round their middles, as I should say, by single files, and forming a line at some distance in the water, fronting the land, for it is very shallow near the edges, and absolutely charge the fish before them so close, that they are caught by the hand, or leap upon the shore. We purchased some, and the best flavoured was a sort of bream.
A circumstance happened whilst I was on the margin of the lake, which was a further proof that the little kindnesses I had shown the Arabs were not lost upon them; and which supported my favourite position, that no people on earth are so savage, but that gentle kind treatment, with a frank and liberal manner, will gain their confidence and regard. A lamb, the most harmless thing that breathes, alarms a child who for the first time sees such an animal. I had suffered my horse to go loose, in order to approach close to the flights of birds around me, and he probably thinking the tents might afford him better fare than where I left him, first rubbed off his bridle, and then quietly returned to the encampment. About the same time one of the freed women found my bornouse, which had fallen from the saddle, and brought it to Boo Khaloom. All this created an alarm, and it was then found out, that two boats or canoes had been seen coming from the south-east, in which direction are islands inhabited by the Biddoomah, a people who live by plundering on the main land, and carry off any thing they can pick up. This was quite enough to make Boo Khaloom think I was already gone, or in great danger; and not only several Arab chiefs armed themselves, and mounted, to seek me, but some of the merchants also. They found me, after a long search, on the lake among the gussub stalks, loaded with more birds than I could carry, and would scarcely believe that I had seen neither enemies nor boats. The dread which the natives appear to have of these koorie, or islanders, is almost equal to their fear of the Tuaricks; but the former are less rapacious and bloody in their visits. Their habitations are three or four days distant to the southward of east, towards the centre of the lake.
In the evening I visited the town of Lari: it stands on an eminence, and may probably contain two thousand inhabitants. The huts are built of the rush which grows by the sides of the lake, have conical tops, and look very like well thatched stacks of corn in England. They have neat inclosures round them, made with fences of the same reed, and passages leading to them like labyrinths. In the inclosure is a goat or two, poultry, and sometimes a cow. The women were almost all spinning cotton, which grows well, though not abundantly, near the town and lake. The interior of the huts is neat: they are completely circular, with no admission for air or light, except at the door, which has a mat, by way of safeguard. I entered one of the best appearance, although the owner gave me no smiles of encouragement, and followed close at my heels, with his spear and dagger in his hand. In one corner stood the bed, a sofa of rushes lashed together, and supported by six poles, fixed strongly in the ground. This was covered by the skins of the tiger-cat and wild bull; round the sides were hung the wooden bowls, used for water and milk: his tall shield rested against the wall. The hut had a division of mat-work, one half being allotted to the female part of the family. My host, however, continued to look at me with so much suspicion, and seemed so little pleased with my visit, notwithstanding all my endeavours to assure him I was a friend, that I hurried from the inhospitable door, and resumed my walk through the town.
Feb. 6.—A gratifying scene took place this morning, in the departure of nearly thirty freed slaves, natives of Kanem, who here left us for their homes, three days’ journey to the eastward. I had been applied to, the night before, to intercede with Boo Khaloom for this indulgence; for as he had heard that the sheikh was at war with some of the chiefs of Kanem, he had determined on first taking them to Bornou, for fear of their being plundered on the road of the little they had saved in slavery. These poor creatures had, however, found one or two of their countrymen at the market of Lari, who assured them of their safety on the road between that place and their homes. The good man complied with evident reluctance on their own account, and they took leave, kissing his hand, with tears and blessings. They had most of them been in the service of the bashaw, some for a term of years, and were returning to die at home at last. One poor deaf and dumb woman, whom the rapacity of Mukni, the former sultan of Fezzan, who spared neither age, sex, nor infirmity, had induced him to march to Tripoli, had shed torrents of tears ever since she had been made acquainted, by signs, that she was to go to Bornou. She had left two children behind her; and the third, which was in her arms when she was taken by the Arabs, had been torn from her breast after the first ten days of her journey across the desert, in order that she might keep up with the camels. Her expressive motions in describing the manner in which the child was forced from her, and thrown on the sand, where it was left to perish, while whips were applied to her, lame and worn out as she was, to quicken her tottering steps, were highly eloquent and interesting. They had all been my friends for more than five months, and to some I had rendered little services by carrying their bag of zumeeta, or salt. They were not ungrateful, and our parting had something in it affecting, which, considering negroes in the degraded light they do, seemed greatly to astonish the Arabs.
On quitting Lari, we immediately plunged into a thickly-planted forest of acacias, with high underwood; and at the distance of only a few hundred yards from the town, we came upon large heaps of the elephants’ dung, forming hillocks three and four feet in height, and marks of their footsteps: the tracks of these animals increased as we proceeded. Part of the day our road lay along the banks of the Tchad, and the elephants’ footmarks, of an immense size, and only a few hours old, were in abundance. Whole trees were broken down, where they had fed: and where they had reposed their ponderous bodies, young trees, shrubs, and underwood, had been crushed beneath their weight. We also killed this day an enormous snake, a species of coluber; it was a most disgusting, horrible animal, but not however venomous. It measured eighteen feet from the mouth to the tail; it was shot by five balls, and was still moving off, when two Arabs, with each a sword, nearly severed the head from the body. On opening the belly, several pounds of fat were found, and carefully taken off by the two native guides who accompanied us. This they pronounced a sovereign remedy for sick and diseased cattle, and much prized amongst them. Scarcely a mile further, a drove of wild red cattle, which I at first took for deer, were seen bounding to the west. I had no gun, but got extremely close to them, and found they were what the Arabs call “bugra-hammar-wahash” (red cow wild). They appeared to partake of the bullock and buffalo, with a tuft or lump on the shoulder.
We bivouacked near a small parcel of huts, called Nyagami, in a beautiful spot, so thick of wood, that we could scarcely find a clear place for our encampment. While the tents were fixing, an alarm was given of wild boars: one of our party followed the scent, and, on his return, said he had seen a lion, and near him seven gazelles. I could not, however, find from the natives, that lions were ever seen here: numerous other animals appeared to abound, and that confirmed the opinion.
Feb. 7.—We moved for Woodie about eight, accompanied by two Arabs of Boo-Saif. I left the kafila, and proceeded a little to the westward, making a parallel movement with the camels. Birds of the most beautiful plumage were perched on every tree. Guinea fowls were in flocks of eighty or one hundred; and several monkeys chattered at us so impudently, that, separating one from the rest, we chased him for nearly half an hour: he did not run very fast, or straight forward, but was constantly doubling and turning, with his head over his shoulder, to see who was close to him. He was a handsome fellow, of a light brown colour, and black about the muzzle. About noon we came on a village of huts, called Barrah; and although only three in number, the natives flew in all directions. On our approaching the town, we beckoned to them, and got off our horses, for the purpose of giving them confidence, and sat down under the shade of a large tamarind tree. An old negro, who spoke a little Arabic, was the first who ventured to approach: seeing that he was not ill-treated, the others soon followed his example. I begged a little leban (sour milk), a most refreshing beverage after a hot ride, but none was to be found, until they were assured that I should pay for it; and at the sight of the dollar they all jumped and skipped like so many monkeys. Some biscuit, which I carried in my saddle-cloth pocket, and now began to eat, created much astonishment, and the first to whom I gave some, refused to eat it. One, rather bolder than the rest, put a small piece into his mouth, and pronounced it good, with such extravagant gestures, that my visitors all became so clamorous, that my stock was speedily demolished. I refused for a long time the man who had been suspicious at first, to the great amusement of the rest, who seemed to like the joke amazingly.