On the 29th, Haggi-Le-Mekke gave me notice that I must hold myself in readiness to set out for Fez. Unable, from the state of my health, to undertake so long a journey on foot, I made inquiries concerning the means of riding; I was in fact swelled and weak. I was asked if I had dragmes sufficient to pay for a mule: I could have done so, but thinking it not prudent to confess it, I preferred pleading poverty, and hoped that the sale of my two blue pagnes of Soudan would produce enough. Three days previously I had confided them to a son of my host’s for the purpose of sale, but I was now advised to carry them to the market of Boheim, whence the caravan was to set out; I repaired thither with the intention of seeing the bacha or governor, to ask assistance from him.
On quitting Ghourland, I was accompanied by a muleteer mounted upon an ass; this man was charged by Haggi-Le-Mekke to conduct me to Sidi-Habib-Benani, who resided at Boheim and was chief of the caravan going to Fez, to whom he gave me particular recommendations. On the road I was stopped by the Berbers going to the market, who, perceiving that I was a stranger, surrounded me to the number of twenty or thirty, saying all together, “Who are you? Whither are you going?” They all pulled me by my dress and gave me no time to answer: at length they carried off my pagne and would have stolen my bag also, had I not on setting out intrusted it to my guide, who, mounted upon an ass, with a Berber behind him, had gone on before me, without troubling himself whether I was able to follow or not. The thieves, not content with my pagne, were about to take my coussabe also, when Haggi-Lemedan, (my guide,) to whom the Moors of his acquaintance had given notice of my situation, returned at full gallop with his Berber; and the latter made the plunderers restore all they had stolen from me. Soon after this vexatious accident, we reached the market, which I found as well supplied as the first time I visited it. On the road I had met two mounted Berbers pursuing at full speed, with loaded guns, two Arab horsemen, who were galloping off with the utmost precipitation. When the market was over, I went, accompanied by my guide, to Sidi-Habib-Benani’s, who sent me to take a lodging in the loft of the mosque; about ten in the evening he supplied me with a very good couscous.
On the morning of the 30th of July, I seated myself modestly on the ground at my host’s door, being well aware that he would not have the complaisance to send my breakfast to this public lodging; as soon as he perceived me at prayers with my chaplet in my hand, he sent me some wheaten gruel but without dates. At ten o’clock, I requested a Moor to conduct me to the residence of Sidi-Habib-Bacha, at the small town of Ressant, two gun-shots north of Boheim. This man obligingly complied, and we set out; but we learned on arrival that the Bacha, who was indisposed, would not come thither that day, and that he seemed to intend spending it at his private house at Sosso, a village situated about a mile and a half S. E. of Boheim. As I expressed a strong desire to repair thither, my honest Moor procured a man of the village, in the service of the Bacha, to accompany me to the latter. On my arrival I was conducted through a large court, tolerably clean, into another and smaller one, at the gate of which two sentinels were sitting upon the ground, with their muskets resting against a wall. My arrival was announced to the Bacha, who gave orders for my being shewn in I found this Arab grandee seated, without ostentation, on a mat, upon the ground, under a shed, near the wells, which diffused a pleasant coolness. There were two Moors in attendance, playing as it were, the part of courtiers. The Bacha gave me a favourable reception and inquired the cause which had brought me into his presence. I shortly recapitulated to him the various circumstances which had occasioned me to take so long and arduous a journey across the Soudan and the desert; informing him that I was from Alexandria, whither I was anxious to return, but that from poverty I had no means of conveyance thither; and being in ill-health in consequence of the fatigues, which I had undergone, I could not travel so great a distance on foot. Amongst the numerous questions which he put to me, he asked how I had defrayed the expenses of my route since I had quitted the negro countries: to which I replied, flattering Musulman generosity, that every one had contributed a small donation to the relief of my wants. He afterwards turned the conversation to the Europeans, ridiculing their faith. One of his Moors, a very corpulent man, hereupon sneeringly observed, “Why, as Jesus is the Son of God, did he suffer himself to be crucified by the Jews?” As this question was pointed at me, I replied, that I was in no way concerned to support a cause the merits of which I did not understand, and that the Christians must discuss his objection. The Bacha then sent for his steward and commanded him to give me some dates, which were brought in a small straw basket, but of which I declined eating though I was politely pressed. By order of this chief, I was reconducted by one of his sentinels to my host at Boheim, with an invitation to repeat my visit on the following day at his government residence; he also sent instructions to Sidi-Mohammed, the sherif who had accompanied me in the morning, to repair thither with me.
On the morning of the 31st, I did not fail to wait with the sherif for the Bacha, on his road to the town. We stood up immediately upon perceiving him. He rode a fine grey horse, and was escorted by two soldiers, each armed with a musket. He halted for a moment before us: the sherif, in accosting him, respectfully kissed his white tunic; the Bacha spoke a few words to him in a low tone, after which, raising his voice a little, he informed me that I must remain at Ghourland till further orders, I readily concluded that I had nothing to hope from his highness; and, returning to my village, Mohammed confirmed me in my opinion. Sidi-Habib-Benani had set out in the morning for Fez; having refused to give me a mule or any other conveyance for three mitkhals of silver, the produce of the sale of my two pagnes: thus I found myself at Boheim, without knowing how to leave it. I had a very good coussabe, which Abdallah-Chebir had given me at Timbuctoo; and I determined, at the risk of going away without clothing, to sell it in the market, and endeavour to hire an ass, so that I might be able to set out the day after the morrow with a caravan going to Fez: the eldest son of Benani, a merchant by profession, sold my coussabe for two mitkhals, which, with the three others, sufficed to hire an ass. At ten at night, I went as usual to present myself at the gate of my host’s son, from whom, during the day, I had received as a present some bread and a bunch of grapes: he also sent me a supper and I went to bed under the sacred roof of the mosque. The court of this structure was locked and the inmates could not open it during the night; a circumstance which had nearly drawn me into grievous trouble. This court enclosed the tomb of a holy sherif, long since deceased: the following morning, my fellow-lodgers were scandalized to perceive that this revered sepulchre had been soiled during the night; a universal cry of indignation arose, and all eyes were turned upon me. Amazed and confounded, I had not courage to assert my innocence; my only excuse was ignorance of the localities, and I protested, with perfect truth, that the profanation was not wilful but purely accidental. This sincere allegation was, however, far from calming the tumult, and I know not how serious the consequences might have been, had not some old men fortunately determined to intercede in my favour. They represented that my situation as a stranger should be taken into consideration; that I was undoubtedly ignorant of the existence of a tomb in this place; but that, supposing me even acquainted with the fact, it was impossible I could have learned amongst christians to respect that which is the object of homage to all good Musulmans; that some indulgence should, therefore, be shewn to my want of knowledge. This plea made an impression and the matter dropped.
On the 1st of August, I repaired in the morning to the gate of my host to seek my breakfast; but I waited till two in the afternoon without obtaining any thing. At this time several Moors were collected and beginning to question me; but I told them that I was suffering too much from hunger to be in a condition to answer them, having eaten nothing the whole day. A zealous Musulman offered to give me a loaf for the love of God, if I would accept it; and I was too much famished to refuse it, hard as it was.
On the 2nd; the caravan prepared to depart for Fez; the man whose ass I had hired had received my earnest, and I waited for him in the village where he had engaged to take me up. Before taking leave of this country I will give a succinct description of it.
CHAPTER XXVI.
Description of Tafilet and its commerce — Flourishing state of agriculture and industry — Miserable condition of the Jews; their habits and customs — Afilé — Gardens — Tanneyara, Marca, M’Dayara, Rahaba — Chains of granite mountains — Small river of Guigo — L’Eyarac, Tamaroc, Kars, Ain-Zeland, L’Eksebi — Very high mountains covered with cork-trees — L’Ouin — Guigo — Town of Soforo — Town of el-Fez, or Fez, the ancient capital of Morocco.
The Tafilet is a small district forming, like el-Drah, part of the dominions of the Emperor of Morocco. Its inhabitants pay some imposts to this monarch, who maintains a bacha or governor, resident at Ressant, a town distinguished by a magnificent gateway, surrounded with various coloured Dutch tiles, symmetrically arranged in a diamond pattern.
The villages of Ghourland, L’Eksebi, Sosso, and Boheim, in the same line, all S. E. of Ressant, are pretty near each other: those which I have had an opportunity of examining, are nearly of equal size, and contain about eleven or twelve hundred inhabitants, all land-holders or merchants. The soil of Tafilet is level, composed of sand of an ash grey, and very productive; much corn, and all sorts of European fruits and vegetables, are cultivated here; lucern thrives well, and when dry is stored for winter provender.