Was much amused this afternoon in seeing physic administered to camels. The camel is made to lie down, and its knee joints are tied round so that it cannot get up. One person then seizes hold of the skin and cartilage of the nose, and that of the under jaw, and wrests with all his force the mouth wide open, whilst another seizes hold of the tongue and pulls it over one side of the mouth; this done, another pours the medicine down the throat of the animal, and, when the mouth is too full, they shut the jaws and rub and work the medicine down its throat. The disease was the falling off of the hair; and the medicine consisted of the stones of dates split into pieces and mixed with dried herbs, simple hay or grass herbs, powdered as small as snuff, the mixture being made with water. People told me it would fatten the camel as well as restore its hair. Camels frequently have the mange, and then they are tarred over. For unknown incomprehensible diseases, the Moors burn the camel on the head with hot irons, and call this physic. Men are treated in the same way, and the Moors are very fond of these analogies between men and brutes. What is good for a camel is good for a man, and what is good for man is good for a camel. Whilst the camel was being drugged, a Touarick came up and said, "Salām âleikom" to me. They always use this primitive mode of salutation. When they swear oaths they also say, "Allah Akbar," (God is Greatest!) the famous war-cry of the Saracennic conquerors of olden times. They are primitive in all their ideas and words; their manners are equally stiff, and slow or courtly, "stately and dignified;" they fully understand the doctrine that, "Great bodies move slow."
A man is said sometimes not to be worth "a pinch of snuff;" and yet a pinch of snuff will knock a man down, as it knocked me down this evening. My value then does not quite reach to a pinch of snuff standard. To come to explanation: a merchant offered me a pinch of snuff, and to please him, I took a large pinch, pushing a portion of it up my nostrils. Immediately I fell dizzy and sick, and in a short time, vomited violently. The people stared at me with astonishment, and were terrified out of their wits, and thought I was about to give up the ghost. They never saw snuff before produce such terrible effects. After some time, I got a little better and returned home. This snuff was that from Souf, and what people call wâr ("difficult"). I had been warned of it, and therefore richly paid for my folly. Moreover, it was a violation of my usual abstinence from this not very elegant habit. The Souf snuff is extremely powerful; it is constantly imported here, and for the satisfaction of snuff-takers and snuff-taking tourists, I am bound to inform them that they will find snuff much cheaper in Ghadames than in Tripoli. People call snuff hot and cold, according to its stimulating, irritating, and tickling power. It is prohibited to drink wine and spirits amongst Moslemites, but, nevertheless, many of them do not fail to intoxicate themselves with everything besides which comes in their way: they snuff most horribly all the live-long day. In the season the Arabs drink their leghma, and the Mahometan Negroes their bouza, the Soudanic merchants chew their ghour, nuts, and kouda, as our jolly tars their tobacco, and others munch the trona. My taleb came to me to see if I were dead. He had heard such a horrible report in the town. I embraced the opportunity of lecturing him upon the absurdity of the prohibition from drinking wine, when he and others intoxicated themselves with snuff. But man will have his stimulant, and the tee-totaller, who protests against all stimulants, seeks his in his tea and coffee. There is no harm in this, and the question only remains to seek as harmless a stimulant, as consistent with health as possible. In justice to the Marabout city of Ghadames, I must mention that some of the more strict Mohammedans consider snuffing, as well as smoking, prohibited by their religion, and opium (ععيون), and keef, an intoxicating herb, sometimes called takrounee, تكروني, are not smoked in this place. In general, few of the Moors of this place smoke at all.
21st.—Weather fine, no rain. The merchants begin to bake biscuits for their journey to Ghat, which looks like preparation. My friend Abu Beker called and gave me two letters written to him from Timbuctoo by his brother, who is established there. Since my return, I have given one of these letters to the Royal Asiatic Society, and the other to the British Museum, considering them a great curiosity, so long as this city shall remain separated from us Europeans by such impassable barriers.
The following is the translation of the letter presented to the Royal Asiatic Society:—
Letter from a Brother in Timbuctoo to a Brother in Ghadames.
"From the poor servant of his Lord, Muhammad ben Ali ben Talib, to our respected brethren, Abu Bekr and Muhammad, and Abdallah, and Fatimah, and Ayshah, and our Aunt Aminah; God prosper their conditions, Amen!
"After a thousand salutations and respects to you, and the mercy of God, and his blessings on you, should you indeed inquire concerning us, we are well, and you, please God, are so likewise; and we desire no further favour from God than the sight of your precious countenance; may God unite us with you before long, for He is the Hearer (of petitions)! As to this country there is in it neither buying nor selling. By G—d, O my brother! this day we are six months in Timbuctoo, and truly in the whole time I have received but 15 mithcals. There is not a single farthing (or kirat) in this town, nor commerce at all, except in salt, &c., (some other commodities, whose names I cannot discover.) And our minds are in continual fear here from the scarcity of the times. I am desirous of going to Arawan, if we can find something to sell there, when the people of Kiblah (the South) come; but they are not yet arrived, up to the present moment, and we do not think they will come. And thou, O my brother, beware of sending us any thing! as in this country there is no commerce, (neither buying nor selling); and whatever has been sent us, we have received for it neither far nor near. And truly, from the day in which we entered Timbuctoo, we have given 600 louats (some measure) to the Touaricks and the Fullans. But do you pray with us that we may be delivered from this land; and we have no more news after the letter which we have written to you. Convey our salutation to our aunt and to our brothers, many thousand salutations; and to Muhammad ben al Tayil, and his brother and his sons, many thousand salutations; and to Muhammad Ibn Ibrahim Taraki, many thousand salutations. Salute also the Hajj al Beshir, and his brother the Hajj Yusuff, if he is arrived; and salute also Hajj Abdallah. The people (caravan) of Touat have not yet come to us. Our salutation to Al Mustafa and his brother Abdal Cadir, and tell the Hajj al Behir, for God's sake not to send us any thing. Of a truth, we sincerely hope to fulfil your commissions, but in this land there is neither buying nor selling. By G—d, neither in Arawan nor in Timbuctoo, have we seen any one who will buy of you for a mithcal, nor for a kirat. Tell the Hajj al Beshir, the Sheikh has not yet arrived. And of all the (——?) I brought to Timbuctoo, I have not sold a single thing, and I sent them back to Arawan. Know, that there is no dealing here except by cowries, and the cowrie is 3,500 to a mithcal. Convey my salutation to the Hajj Abdal Kerim Ben Aun Allah, and his brother Abdarrahman, and to their sons; many thousand salutations, and say to them, For God's sake take care how you send us any thing, for this land is a vexation to us. May God not visit you with vexation, and may he open to us a way of deliverance! And our salutation to the Hajj Muhammad Sahh, if he is arrived, and tell him not to forget us in the Fátihah (1st. chap. of the Koran, used in prayer,) and in the prayer called Salihah (the Beneficial.) And also to his son and to his mother, many thousand salutations. And our salutation to the Hajj Muhammad ben Ali, and his brother, and their father, many thousand salutations. And salutation to our cousin (the daughter of our uncle) Miriam, many thousand salutations, and to our aunt Sultánah, and to her brothers, and to (some other female name) and her sons, many thousand salutations. And our salutation to our cousins (the children of our uncle) and say to them, For God's sake do not forget us in the Fátihah and the prayer Salihah, that God may deliver us from this land; and the people ("or caravan") of Touat are not yet come to us. O my brethren! we anxiously and most earnestly do desire news of you; the Lord give us news of your welfare before long. And do thou, O my brother! send us some cinnamon and some black pepper, and some grains of جلاو. And when thou writest, give us all the news, and take care not to leave your letter unclosed, for the people here read it, and be sure to seal it. Salute the inhabitants of our street, all of them, without exception, each one by name.
"And so farewell: at the date of Rajab the 25th, in the year 1246; and again farewell, from this poor (servant of God,) and many thousand salutations, as also from Ibrahim and from the Hajj al Mansur and the Hajj al Mansur's son, who is still with him. Farewell.
"(Postscript below.)—Convey our salutation to Hajj Hamad, and tell him Muhammad ben Canab is doing well, and he is in Arawan; and in like manner salute from us his brother Ali.