The Foulahs who live in the neighbourhood of the river are not kept in subjection by these savages. The Foulahs are very superior to the pure negro race; they are full of energy, and are too brave to submit to the degrading yoke of the Tooariks. These Foulahs do not speak the Poulh language of the Fouta-Dhialon. I addressed to them some words in that dialect which they did not understand. They speak the language of Timbuctoo; but they have also a particular dialect which they use among themselves. All those whom I saw on the banks of the river were rovers.
I sometimes saw the camels of the Tooariks employed in transporting merchandise from Cabra to Timbuctoo; but only the poorest among them would condescend to earn any thing by this sort of labour. The rich are too proud to work. They sell at Timbuctoo oxen and sheep for the usual consumption of the town. Milk is very dear and not so good as on the banks of the river.
The Tooariks have, like all Mahometans, several wives. The largest and the fattest are the most admired. To be a real beauty with them, a woman must have such a degree of obesity as will render her unable to walk without two assistants.
They are dressed like the Moorish women on the banks of the Senegal; but instead of blue Guinea stuffs they wear blue pagnes, which are brought from Jenné, and which the merchants of Timbuctoo procure for them. Those I saw in passing the chief’s camp were very dirty, and the men did not appear to be very careful about their dress. Like the negroes of Timbuctoo, they wore a white or blue coussabe, and trowsers reaching to the ancle, such as are worn at Jenné and Timbuctoo. The slaves have breeches, like the Moors who inhabit the banks of the Senegal. The dress of the Tooariks, except as to the head, resembles that of the Moors. They wear, both night and day, a band of cotton cloth, which passing over the forehead hangs down over the eyes and even upon the nose, for they are obliged to throw back the head a little to enable them to see. After two or three turns round the head the band is passed under the nose, and made to descend a little below the chin, so that only the point of the nose is visible. They do not take it off either to eat, to drink, or to smoke. On these occasions they merely lift up this bandage, which the negroes call fatara.
The Tooariks are great smokers. They have all fine horses, which they manage ably. They are as cruel as they are warlike. Their weapons consist of three or four pikes and a poniard which they wear on the left arm; the blade pointing upward and the hilt touching the back of the hand. To the sheath of these poniards is attached a kind of muff, through which the hand is passed; they are straight and very well made. This weapon is brought from the banks of the Mediterranean. These men also carry bucklers, of tanned ox-hide, the workmanship of which is elegant. In their form they resemble the shields of the ancient knights, except that they are square at the extremities.[5] They are adorned with handsome designs, and are large enough to cover the whole body. Some negroes of Timbuctoo have likewise bucklers of the same form, but smaller. The only weapons of the Tooariks, who are always on horseback, are the lance and the poniard. They do not use the bow, as the management of their bucklers would prevent them from employing that weapon advantageously. The people who compose this wandering tribe have long hair and a very swarthy complexion, like the Moors. The nose is aquiline, the eyes large, the mouth finely formed, the face long, and the forehead rather elevated. The expression of their countenance is, however, savage and barbarous. They are supposed to be of Arab origin, and in fact, in some of their customs they resemble that race; but they speak a particular dialect. They assemble in force to attack the caravans from Tripoli, but the Morocco caravans are less exposed to their depredations because their haunts are more northerly. They keep many slaves, whom they partly employ in collecting gum on the banks of the river. This gum, and also considerable quantities of ivory, they sell to the merchants of Timbuctoo.
It is astonishing that such a number of different tribes submit quietly to the yoke of these Tooariks, when, were they to come to an understanding, they could so easily rid themselves of their troublesome enemy. The Dirimans, the Ginbalas, the Kissoors, and the Moors of Zawâ and Salah, if united, would be greatly superior to the Tooariks, and could soon deliver themselves from their oppression. The Tooariks dread fire-arms, of which they make no use, while the negroes of Timbuctoo and the Moors are armed with double-barrel guns.
The Foulahs in the neighbourhood of Jenné, led by their chief Sego-Ahmadoo, attacked the Tooariks; the Foulahs were few in number, on account of their distance from their country, and the difficulty of procuring supplies of provisions; nevertheless, they defeated the Tooariks, made a number of prisoners, whom they put to death, and carried off a multitude of slaves and cattle, which were valuable prizes to the victors. This defeat proves, that there is no good reason for the dread with which the Tooariks are regarded, and that they are really formidable to those only who fear them. Were these tributaries, supported by the Moors, to attempt to throw off their yoke, they would quickly succeed; but, in general, the negroes are indolent, and the Moors, being addicted to commerce, have no martial character. Sego-Ahmadoo, indignant at seeing these Tooariks, who are Mahometans, although certainly not very zealous disciples of that creed, imposing a tax on the vessels from his country, has determined to make war upon them; but he is too distant to maintain a long war. I conjecture that Mungo Park was murdered by these barbarians.
After residing four years at Jenné, or Timbuctoo, the Moors return to their own country with a little fortune; they carry with them a number of slaves; the greater part, however, prefer trading with Sansanding and Yamina, on account of the vicinity of the gold mines of Bouré, whence they obtain considerable supplies of this precious metal. The Arabs, who come from Tafilet, Adrar, Tripoli, and other countries, bring wheat to Timbuctoo: of the flour of this wheat small leavened loaves are made; they are round, and weigh about half a pound each; the bread is good, and a loaf may be purchased for about forty cowries, (equal to four sous French money). The rich merchants, as I believe I have already observed, eat this bread at breakfast, with tea; they have tea services which are brought from Morocco; those which I saw were made of tin, and the cups were small, like Sidi-Ulad-Marmoo’s, at Jenné. All the negroes of Timbuctoo are able to read the Koran, and even know it by heart; they make their children begin to learn it very early, whether they take upon themselves the task of instructing them, or confide their education to the Moors, of whose abilities they have a high opinion. They employ writing in their correspondence with Jenné.
Provisions are very dear in Timbuctoo, and I should have been greatly embarrassed if, as at Timé, I had been obliged to maintain myself, for my means would have been soon exhausted. To the worthy and generous Sidi-Abdallahi-Chebir, I was therefore indebted for my return through the great desert. I had only merchandise to the value of thirty-five piastres, which I reserved to buy a camel, to carry me to the sea-coast, either through the great desert, or by directing my course westerly. I confess that the idea of crossing the Sahara in so dry a season was accompanied by not a little alarm; I was afraid that, with my slight resources, I should not be able to support the privations and fatigues of such a journey, augmented, as they must be, by a scorching wind, which blows unceasingly and renders the heat intolerable. However, after mature reflection, I resolved to encounter the dangers to which the great drought could not fail to expose me, and to venture with a caravan among the moving sands of the desert. I reflected that if I should return by the way of Sego, Sansanding, and our establishments at Galam, those who might envy the success of my enterprise, the very undertaking of which had created for me many enemies, would pretend to doubt the fact of my journey and of my residence at Timbuctoo, whereas, by returning through the Barbary states, the mere mention of the point at which I had arrived would reduce the most malignant to silence.
Sidi-Abdallahi daily lavished on me marks of his kindness; he even went so far as to urge me to remain in Timbuctoo. He said he would give me merchandise to trade on my own account; and, observed, that when I should have accumulated sufficient profit, I might return to my own country without assistance from any one. However, the fear of being discovered, joined to a strong wish to re-visit my native land, induced me to decline his generous offers. I considered, moreover that, as my departure for the interior of Africa was not authentically known, even that circumstance would be buried in oblivion, were I to perish, and the observations I had made would be lost to my country. Influenced by these considerations, I resolved to endeavour to return as speedily as possible. As the opportunity on which I relied, was likely to occur soon, I did not neglect to take advantage of the short time which would probably be at my disposal. I visited the great mosque on the west side of the town; it is larger than that on the east, but is built in the same style. The walls are in bad repair, their facing being damaged by the rains, which fall in the months of August and September, and which are always brought on by easterly winds, accompanied by violent storms. Several buttresses are raised against the wall to support them; I ascended the tower, though its staircase, which is internal, is almost demolished. I returned several times to make my notes, for in this little frequented spot I was not afraid of being observed. During these travels, I always endeavoured to conceal myself while writing, lest I should awaken the suspicion of the Moslems: I always endeavoured to get into a wood, or placed myself under the shade of a bush or a rock, when I wished to commit what I thought worthy of remark to writing.[6]