Another parley now took place, but in a minute or two he returned, and we were ushered into the presence of this Sheikh of Spears. We found him in a small dark room, sitting on a carpet, plainly dressed in a blue tobe of Soudan and a shawl turban. Two negroes were on each side of him, armed with pistols, and on his carpet lay a brace of these instruments. Fire-arms were hanging in different parts of the room, presents from the bashaw and Mustapha L’Achmar, the sultan of Fezzan, which are here considered as invaluable. His personal appearance was prepossessing, apparently not more than forty-five or forty-six, with an expressive countenance, and a benevolent smile. We delivered our letter from the bashaw; and after he had read it, he inquired “what was our object in coming?” We answered, “to see the country merely, and to give an account of its inhabitants, produce, and appearance; as our sultan was desirous of knowing every part of the globe.” His reply was, “that we were welcome! and whatever he could show us would give him pleasure: that he had ordered huts to be built for us in the town; and that we might then go, accompanied by one of his people, to see them; and that when we were recovered from the fatigue of our long journey, he would be happy to see us.” With this we took our leave.
Our huts were little round mud buildings, placed within a wall, at no great distance from the residence of the sheikh: the inclosure was quadrangular, and had several divisions formed by partitions of straw mats, where nests of huts were built, and occupied by the stranger merchants who accompanied the kafila: one of these divisions was assigned to us, and we crept into the shade of our earthy dwellings, not a little fatigued with our entré and presentation.
FOOTNOTES:
[9]The surface is of a dark colour, with here and there patches and streaks of a snowy white. It is uneven from the heaping, as it were, of large flat clods on each other: these are all hollow underneath, and have a very uneven surface, from the number of projections. What I have remarked was observed in all the salt fields we have seen. The heaping of the salty clods, and the circulation of air underneath, are phenonema attending this formation which it is difficult to explain—Are they the production of art, or of nature alone? In the numerous gardens at Traghan, and other places left fallow, we observe, on the small scale, an appearance like this, and the earthy clods soon became strongly impregnated with salt: the degree is not comparable to what is seen in the large salt plain. The salt is of two kinds; one a white snowy-looking efflorescence, that is often several inches thick, the other with an earthy-coloured shining surface.—W. O.
[10]The sand of a fine cream colour: yesterday it had many particles of a black substance mixed with it.
Exposed rocks, sandstone of different kinds, mostly red, and a black kind like basalt from iron; fine specimens of petrified wood; the centre, sap, vessels and knots filled with a calcareous matter, the woody fibre changed into a siliceous substance; beautiful conical layers, and lines running like rays, from the centre to the circumference. Many columnar mounds of clay in the first basin, about ten feet high—the clay as if semi-baked: many are round, and the one we went to about thirty feet in circumference; these were probably the original height of the surface: the present form arises from the other part being washed away.
The depth of the well at Meshroo is from sixteen to twenty feet: the water good, and free from saline impregnations: the ground around is strewed with human skeletons, the slaves who have arrived exhausted with thirst and fatigue. The horrid consequences of the slave trade were strongly brought to our mind; and, although its horrors are not equal to those of the European trade, still they are sufficient to call up every sympathy, and rouse up every spark of humanity. They are dragged over deserts, water often fails, and provisions scarcely provided for the long and dreary journey. The Moors ascribe the numbers to the cruelty of the Tibboo traders: there is, perhaps, too much truth in the accusation. Every few miles a skeleton was seen through the whole day; some were partially covered with sand, others with only a small mound, formed by the wind: one hand often lay under the head, and frequently both, as if in the act of compressing the head. The skin and membranous substance all shrivel up, and dry from the state of the air: the thick muscular and internal parts only decay.
Course through basins, having low, rugged, conical hills to the eastward. The hills have a great similarity of geological structure to those of western Fezzan and Ghraat.
| a b | Sandstone of fine texture, of a black colour, giving it the appearance of basalt. |
| c | Aluminous shistus. |
| d | Clay iron stone, with here and there strata of bluish clay. |
| e | Fine white sandstone, mixed with a large quantity of lime. |