His madness took a very unhappy turn. In the midst of a paroxysm, he would constantly call out that he should go to hell, for having put so many good Mussulmen to death. The Arabs used to take advantage of this, and tell him he was sure to be damned, unless he made amends by giving them presents to assuage the manes of their friends. Not so with the Fellatas. These people had so great a veneration for their chief that, when his head was shaving, the hairs were carefully collected, and preserved by them in cases of gold and silver, and they used to come from all parts of the interior to get a sight of him, negroes as well as Fellatas.
After his death, his son Mohamed Bello, the present sultan, governed the kingdom which his father had conquered; but that part of the country to the westward of Houssa he left to his brother’s son, Mohamed Ben Abdallah, while the eldest, Mohammed Bello, had Haussa, with all the countries to the south and east. Atego, the brother of Mohammed Bello, both by father and mother, attempted to usurp the government of the latter, at the death of the Sheik Othman; but his brother put him down, and confined him to his house for twelve months; and they are now as good friends as before.
Bello extended the walls of Soccatoo, which is now the largest and most populous town in the interior that I have seen. Within these walls live all the children which Danfodio had by his different wives and concubines, very quietly and without splendour, except Atego, who is a mean fellow, but keeps a large establishment. At the death of Danfodio, in the year of the Hegira 1232 (in 1816 of ours), the province of the Goobur, Zamfra, part of Kashna, and Zegzeg, threw off the yoke of the Fellatas, and put the whole of them to death that they could lay their hands on. Since that time, Bello has retaken the greater part of Goobur; part of Zamfra, and Guari, the southern part of Kashna, have made their peace, as also part of Cubbé; but on this condition, that they shall be ruled by their native chiefs, and the Fellatas not to interfere with them. Since my arrival, he has also got back the greater part of Nyffé. Youri has, since 1822, joined in the rebellion, being forced by the people of Zamfra, who at all times can command that province, if not supported by Cubbé or Soccatoo. The governor is to be hereditary, not like most of the other provinces and kingdoms in the interior, where the oldest relation always succeeds.
The city of Soccatoo stands on the top of a low hill, or rising ground, having a river passing at a short distance from the northern wall. It is formed of the united branches of the several streams, which take their rise to the south of Kashna, and flow past Zirmie. Having passed Soccatoo, it crosses the district of Cubbé in a south-westerly direction, and at the distance of four days’ journey enters the Quorra. It is well stored with fish, which afford the poor people of Soccatoo a very considerable part of their food. The city is surrounded by a wall, about twenty-four feet high, and a dry ditch. The wall is kept in good repair, and there are eleven gates; seven having been built up at the breaking out of the rebellion. The clay walls which surround all African towns, clusters of huts, and even single coozies, give a deadly dull appearance to them all, whether negro or Mahometan. The only appearance of animation is given by the great number of slaves and others moving to and fro, or lounging, or lying in the shade at the doors of great men. A great part of the town within the walls might be taken for a number of ill-enclosed gardens.
The house of the sultan is surrounded by a clay wall, about twenty feet high, having two low tower-like entrances, one on the east, the other on the west. The eastern one is entirely guarded by eunuchs, of whom he has a great number, I suppose because the harem is on the eastern side. The whole of his house forms, as it were, a little town of itself; for in it there are five square towers, a small mosque, a great number of huts, and a garden, besides a house, which consists of one single room, used as the place for his receiving and hearing complaints, receiving visitors, and giving audiences to strangers. This room or house is nothing more than what we should call in our country a shed. Two large pillars support a beam, or bundle of long rods, plastered over with clay. These support the rafters, which are of the branches of the palm-tree; on the back part is an imitation of a fire-place, with a fire-screen before it; and on each side are two chairs, which are also plastered with clay, and coloured like mahogany. The ornament or figure on the back of these is the same as those seen on a number of chairs in England, and corresponds with that on the fire-screen. The walls are ornamented partly in the European and partly in the African fashion. There are two doors, one in the front towards the right, and the other in the left end of the house, and which leads through a small street of huts to a large hut, with two doors: passing through and within a few yards of it stands a large square clay tower, with an entrance in the west side. The interior of this is common in most of the great men’s houses in Houssa. It is in the shape of a dome, formed of eight arches springing from the ground; in the centre of which is a large bright brass basin, acting as it were in the place of a key-stone to the arches, which are turned by branches plastered over with clay. If I had not seen them constructing the arches and pillars of a mosque, I should have supposed them to be formed entirely of clay, as the wood in no part appears. The clay serves to keep the white ants from destroying the wood; they are ornamented in their fashion while the clay is wet, an operation performed with the fingers and a small square stick. From the arches, about one-third up, runs a gallery quite round the interior building, having a railing with pillars of wood, covered and ornamented with clay. There are three steps leading up to this gallery, from which every thing in the dome may be seen or heard. Passages also lead from it into small rooms, having each one small window, or square hole, some appearing to be used as store-rooms, and others as sleeping-rooms. The floor of the dome was covered with clean white sand. The height might be, from the floor to the brass basin in the centre of the arches, from thirty-five to forty feet. The air inside of this dome was cool and pleasant; and Bello told me he often used it as a place to read in during the heat of the day. These two apartments are the only two I have seen deserving remark within his enclosure. One night that he sent for me, when it was rather late, I was led by the hand by an old woman through several apartments before I arrived at the one in which he was. As there was no light, I could only judge by the stooping, and ascending and descending through doors and galleries, that I passed through some large rooms, out of one into another.
The houses of the other great men, and those of his brothers, are nearly the same, but on a much smaller scale. A great number of the poorer sort are fenced round with matting, or the stalk of dourra or millet. Before the west front of the sultan’s enclosure is a large open space, of an irregular form, on the west side of which stands the principal mosque. In this space is also the prison, a building of about eighty feet long, and nearly the same in breadth, covered at top with a flat clay roof, overlaid with boughs. Inside is a deep pit, where those who have committed the greatest crimes are confined. No person is put in prison for debt; only thieves, prisoners of war (taken singly), such as spies, and disobedient slaves, who, on a complaint to the sultan that they will not work, are sent to prison. Their only food is the bran or husks of millet and dourra, with water; but their friends are allowed to give them food, if they have any. It is a filthy place, and the terror of the men-slaves of Soccatoo. The prisoners are taken out, two and two, every day to work at the walls, or any laborious work which may occur.
Another house and the tomb of the sultan is further to the west of the mosque, on the north side of a broad street, which leads to the western gate. It is occupied by his widows, concubines, and youngest son, called Abedelgader, who is not arrived at a proper age to have a house for himself. The sheik’s tent is inside of the square enclosure, behind the room he generally occupied when living. It is visited as a holy place by all Mahometan strangers, from which they afterwards hope to enjoy the good things of this world, and that of their world to come.
The ordinary occupations of the higher, and indeed I may say of all classes of the Fellatas is, they rise at day-break, wash and say their prayers, count their beads for about half an hour, and then chew a gora nut, if they have any; which done, they sip a quantity of senkie, or furro-furrocoo. These articles are a preparation of half-boiled dourra flowers, made into balls of about one pound, mixed up with dry flour. Senkie is one of these balls, bruised and mixed with milk; furro-furrocoo is the same kind of ball mixed with water. About 10 A.M. they have rice boiled, which they eat with a little melted butter. After this they pay visits, or lounge in the shade, hear the news, say prayers, count their beads, which employ them till sunset, when they have a meal of pudding, with a little stewed meat and gravy, or a few small fish; they then retire to rest.
During the spring and harvest the proprietors of estates ride out to their different slave villages to look after their grain, cotton, indigo, &c.; or to the place where they have their cattle. The occupations of the poorer class, who are not engaged in trade, are much the same as those of their superiors; their food is somewhat different, being principally confined to furro-furrocoo. The wives of the principal people, of whom they all appear to keep up the number allowed by the Koran, which is four, with concubines as many as they can get or are able to keep, are occupied in directing the female slaves in their work, cooking their husband’s food, cleaning and spinning cotton, and dressing their hair, teeth, eye-brows and eye-lashes, which take up no little time. They also take charge of sending the female slaves to market to sell their spare cotton, grain, furro-furrocoo, millet, cakes fried in butter, fried fish, which are usually caught by the younger male slaves; in receiving or paying visits, for they are great gossips. They are allowed more liberty than the generality of Mahometan women.
The dress of the men is a red cap, with a blue tassel of silk, a white turban, part of which, or a fold, shades the brow and eyes; another fold is taken over the nose, which covers mouth and chin, hanging down on the breast; a white shirt, close at the breast and short in the skirts, a large white tobe, and white trousers, trimmed with red or green silk, and a pair of sandals or boots: this is the dress of the greater part of the wealthy inhabitants. When travelling, they wear, over the turban, a broad-brimmed straw hat, with a round low crown. Some who do not affect great sanctity or learning wear check tobes and blue turbans over the forehead, with the end hanging down behind; the poorer, a white check tobe, white cap and trousers, and sandals. Some are content with the straw hat only, but all wear a sword, which is carried over the left shoulder. The women have a cloth striped with blue, white, and red, falling as low as the ankles; silver rings in the ear, about an inch and a half in diameter, bracelets of horn, glass, brass, copper, and silver, according to the quality of the wearer; round the neck, beads, and strings of glass, or coral; round the ankles, brass, copper, or silver, and sometimes rings on the toes as well as fingers. The fashionable ornament is a Spanish dollar soldered fast to a ring. The poor women have pewter, brass, and copper rings. The hair is generally turned up like a crest on the top of the head, with something like a pig’s tail hanging down from each extremity, a little before the ears.