I received a visit this morning from the Jew Ibrahim. After a good deal of wrangling I exchanged three handkerchiefs for three beads of silver, but one of the beads I made him a present of. I was much surprised to hear from him that the aloe wood, aoud el-Komari, sold in Bornou for its equal weight in silver. He also stated that twelve rubtas of raw silk sold for one real in Mourzuk and Zinder, whilst fifteen could be purchased in Kauou for the same money. What will become of the goods of the Germans?
En-Noor's wife, Fatia, sent this morning for medicine to enable her to bring forth a child. I maliciously recommended to her a younger husband. A Tibboo has continued to pester me to death for a medicine to make him profit in his mercantile transactions. To get rid of him, being in a merry mood, I scribbled over a piece of paper, and he swallowed it. A great number of people come for medicines who are not sick. I generally content myself with a bare refusal, explaining that there is no necessity; but there is nothing so difficult as to convince a man that he is well when once he has persuaded himself of the contrary.
The Sarkee went out this morning to his razzia and does not return for some days, so I shall not be able to take leave of his highness. The gossips persist in saying that he is dreadfully in want of money, and must go out to bring in some slaves to pay his debts. He was attended by about one thousand cavalry, and a good number of maharees. He is gone southwards. They report that he is indeed gone to Daura, but nothing is known positively as to whether he will capture the Sheikh's subjects or those of the Fellatahs. The Sarkee, on a former occasion, captured a great many people belonging to Germal, one of the Sheikh's provinces, and an order was forthwith sent to him to restore them to their homes and lands. He was compelled to comply. Besides slaves, the Sarkee will bring in bullocks and horses; but the sheep taken are eaten by the troops of the razzia. His highness is expected to gather an army of 2000 horse, and 10,000 on foot, besides camels for provisions and water, when completed. The plan and route of the expedition are kept a profound secret, so that the army will fall upon the unsuspecting population by surprise.
After about three or four hours' ride the Sarkee usually encamps, and a souk, or market, is opened at the camp for provisions. "There are no women with the yaki (or army of razzia), the men cook and do all the work," says my informant. At night the Sultan calls round him his chosen troops, and distributes gour-nuts, and makes presents of provisions. He then sleeps a few hours, and probably starts at midnight, or as soon as the moon rises. A slave, a soldier of the Sarkee, who has been to a hundred razzias, tells me, that three years ago this Sarkee went to attack him of Daura in his capital. On arriving before the town the army of Zinder set fire to all the ghaseb stubble and the garden-trees around it. This done, they commenced a regular battle with the besieged. The fight continued till night, when the Sarkee of Daura fled. The Zinder people carried off a large booty: the share of the Sultan alone was nine hundred.
This freebooting prince does not fight himself, but sits down at a distance from his troops and overlooks their conduct and manoeuvres; his generals command and lead on the attack, whilst a body-guard surrounds the sacred person of the monarch. On the occasion referred to, this body-guard was covered with mattrass-stuffing to shield off the terrible arrows of the Daura people. The greater part of the troops of Zinder have only a spear; a few have shields and swords, but none have muskets. All the Daura people have bows and arrows. There are numbers of petty traders here waiting for the booty of this razzia, and some of the creditors of the Sarkee went this morning to wish him God speed. I am glad I did not go out to see him start on such a nefarious expedition. It appears, however, that we are not to leave for Kuka until the return of the army. They intimate that a portion of the spoil will be sent with us to the great Sheikh of Bornou: so that after all, however unwilling, we shall seem to countenance this bloody work.
26th, Sunday.—We have still to remain here another week at least, so I must make what use I can of the time of this delay, caused by the nefarious razzia, now in course of operation. In the extravagant manner that this government of Zinder conducts its affairs, it can only support itself by periodical expeditions of this kind. There is one Fez merchant here, to whom the Sarkee owes four millions of wadâs, or about two thousand reals of Fezzan; and other creditors claim in a like proportion. Now, indeed, we begin to understand how the slave-markets of quasi-civilised countries are supplied by the surplus produce of these expeditions.
The route from Aghadez to the country of Sidi Hashem, now governed by his son, is three days' journey, and from the country of Sidi Hashem to Wadnoun, three days: there is also a route of five days, a little more direct; and the route direct from Aghadez to Wadnoun is four days' journey.
The story of the Tibboo is going the round of the town, and becoming the daily gossip. This story has now assumed a substantial historical shape. The facts are, as I have already intimated, that the Tibboo persecuted me to give him a medicine to enable him to trade with profit. I scribbled over a bit of paper, cut in the shape of a dollar, the number 10,000 dollars, and told him to swallow it, and afterwards to bring it me in the same state. The price for this was a fowl. He swallowed the paper, and went off to get the fowl. Not succeeding in the souk, he went to the Shereef Kebir, and requested him to give him a fowl for a sick person. The Shereef gave him what he asked, and the Tibboo brought it to me. This story since has been greatly embellished at the expense of the Tibboo, and affords infinite amusement to the Moorish and Arabic merchants of Zinder.
I have just noticed some sable ladies, with their hair all twisted into three or four great points—vain attempts at curls. The back parts are all covered with a paste of indigo. The hair is well dressed, and free from any woolly appearance.