On the 10th of September, the king left us to carry a present to his brother Sidy Aibi, chief of a tribe of Braknas; he took my marabout along with him. At his departure he directed that I should lodge with his aunt Fatmé-Anted-Moctar, to whom he recommended me. I had not seen her before, but she treated me with great kindness, as did also two of her nieces who lived with her. They were considerate enough to send away all the curious who were incessantly besetting me.
At noon, they gave me some sangleh, the first I had eaten since I arrived at the king’s camp. I was indebted no doubt to the protection of Hamet-Dou for the peace I enjoyed here; the women also were less annoying than I had found them in the districts I had lately traversed; their curiosity was sometimes vexatious, but I was no longer tormented as I had been elsewhere. The wind was high, and it raised a prodigious quantity of sand, which fell like rain on our heads, and incommoded us for half an hour, so that we could not stir out of doors. In the evening we had a shower of rain, and I could breathe more freely again. On the 12th, the king returned; and on the 15th, we made our arrangements for proceeding on our journey, for we had only stopped to give Hamet-Dou the opportunity of visiting his brother.
We advanced nine miles E. ¼ N.E. on a stony ground covered with briars and abounding in pasturage. At noon we encamped in the vicinity of a range of mountains which they told me were called Zirih, but, as I afterwards learnt, Zirih signifies mountain.
CHAPTER II.
The author is forced to turn physician. — Distrust of the Moors. — Description of the camp of King Lam Khaté. — Schools. — Amusement of the women.
On the 16th the king was indisposed; he sent for me and inquired if I could tell him of any herb which would ease him. I promised to make an excursion to look for some; and accordingly I ranged the neighbourhood, and found abundance of sweet basil, a plant which grows spontaneously in a rich soil; I gathered also a number of seeds, which I concealed with care in a corner of my pagne. When I returned, I gave the sweet basil to the king, and advised him to make tea of it; he drank it and found himself better. The properties of this plant are entirely unknown to the Moors, and the circumstance made a great noise in the camp. All the princes sent for me to their tents, to consult me on their various complaints, and to ask me for remedies. A quack would have taken advantage of this event to levy contributions upon their credulity, and I do not doubt that one of their own marabouts would have played them this game; but I gave them simply the most innocent remedies, things indeed which I knew to be harmless, whenever I was compelled to prescribe. I was not ill-pleased with this transient celebrity, for it procured me the advantage of rambling about in the country without exciting suspicion, under pretence of collecting medicinal herbs.
On the 20th of September, before sun-rise, I set off to visit the chain of hills two miles east of our camp. I crossed, on my way, a plain of rich black sand, intersected by ravines covered with luxuriant vegetation. I made my way to the summit of the loftiest of this chain, which may be about three hundred feet high, and is sprinkled with detached rocks of granite. Having reached the top of this, I discovered that the chain extends far to the N.E.; the width from north to south being about three miles. The other hills of which it consists are much less considerable than that which I ascended; among the rocks I found a quantity of cotton trees, with deeply indented leaves; the husks and seeds also being smaller than those of the cotton tree cultivated in our establishments in Wâlo. I took some of the seeds of these and of many other shrubs which happened to be ripe, and hid them in the corner of my pagne; I also collected some plants. In descending the hill I was met by two Moorish hunters; they looked surprised to see me, and asked me what I came to look for so far from the camp; I shewed them my plants, and told them that I came to fetch medicines for Hamet-Dou, who was ill; they appeared satisfied, shewed me some young Guinea-fowl which they had caught and left me. I climbed another of these hills, composed of flesh-coloured quartz rocks, in smaller masses than those which I had remarked on the former. I found many resembling marble; the intermediate spaces are covered with pure reddish sand.
On my return I searched the plain for cotton trees, like those I had discovered on the hill; but I could not find a single plant. The two Moors whom I had met, had arrived at the camp before me, and given an account of my excursion: the news had come to the ears of the king and awakened his suspicions. As soon as he was aware that I had returned, he sent for me, and I had not time to dispose of my seeds. When I entered, he asked me, with an air of dissatisfaction, whence I came, and why I went to a distance from the camp by myself. There were plenty of herbs, he told me, close by, without my going so far to look for them. Some of the Moors who were present, perceived that I had a knot in my pagne, and catching hold of it, they asked me what I had got there; and then, without giving me time to reply, they untied it themselves. “What do you want with these?” said they. “These are to take to the white men when you go back to them;” and, without waiting for an explanation, they threw away the seeds. I tried to persuade them that these seeds had medicinal virtues, and that I had gathered them for the benefit of more than one of themselves; but, not succeeding, I assured them that when I came to them, my connexion with whites had ceased, and that I could never return to their country.
In the evening, being in the tent of a marabout, who gave instruction, I took advantage of a moment when I could procure some ink, and fell to work upon my journal: I had written about a page, when the Koont sherif came in and caught me; he took the paper from me, and, amazed to see no Arabic characters, asked me what I was writing. I thought at first of saying that I had set down some prayers that I wanted to remember, but recollecting that I had not learnt prayers enough to take up a page, I told him it was a song, and I began to sing to convince him. The incredulous sherif did not appear to believe it, and he accused me of coming to spy out their ways, that I might give an account of them to the christians. It was of importance to me to drive this idea out of his head, and I succeeded, by pretending the utmost indifference as to what I had written. I put the paper into his hands again with a smile, and said, “Go to the factory and get this paper read; you will see whether I have deserved the affront you have offered me.” This stratagem had the effect I expected; he gave me back my paper, and asked me to read another verse. I sung another couplet; the sherif appeared convinced, and left me, to my great joy, for his surmises alarmed me exceedingly. I thanked God that I had come off so well, and resolved to be more prudent in future. From that time forward, when I wanted to write, I took care to get behind a bush, and at the least noise I hid my notes and took up my beads, pretending to be saying my prayers. This feigned devotion procured me much commendation from those who surprised me; but it was painful to me to perform such a part.