For three days the wind had blown hard from the east; the pastures were nearly bare, and messengers had been dispatched to the north to see if they were more abundant in that direction. In the evening a tremendous storm came on, the thunder rolled awfully, and the rain fell in torrents; all the tents were blown over, and the utmost confusion pervaded the camp. The storm had taken every body by surprise; there had been no time to take down the tents; the very huts themselves were carried away, the briars which had been used for fences were likewise torn up, and many persons were hurt. The Moors, though accustomed to scenes of this sort, seemed very much frightened. Nothing was to be heard but men and women recommending themselves to God: the tumult was increased by the doleful lowing of the cattle, which had been torn by the briars which the wind carried off, and were now wandering about at random. This was the first storm that I had witnessed in the desert, and the general consternation which I remarked, made me suppose that there was some imminent danger; for a moment I shared the terror of the Musulmans, but the wind subsided in about three quarters of an hour, and the rain ceased soon afterwards. The people then bestirred themselves to set up the tents again, and to collect the scattered cattle; the fires which the wind had extinguished were re-lighted, and every one dried his clothes, for it is the Moorish custom to have only one suit. I had a dry pagne with which I covered myself, and more than ten people asked me for it to change themselves; but I had too urgent occasion for it myself, to lend it, which drew upon me their abuse. I observed that the king himself had been exposed to the rain like the rest of us, and that he had no more change of apparel than his subjects, for he remained all night in his wet clothes.
I have already mentioned that this storm took every body by surprise; in a general way the Moors strike their tents when they are threatened by a storm, leaving only a few small ones, which almost always resist its force, and serve to shelter the king and the royal family; all the rest remain outside exposed to the rain. On this occasion the wind was so high, that the very smallest tents were thrown down, and the princes and princesses shared the common fate.
On the 21st of September, a Trarzas marabout, from Portendik, arrived at the camp: I was called to see some articles which he brought with him from that place: he showed me a pair of pantaloons, which I thought I recognized as having belonged to M. Lacaby, who was wrecked in the Rose Virginie, on the bank of Arquin; he had also a handsome little dressing-case, and seaman’s boots, which he used to protect himself from the thorns and khakhames. I should have liked to ask him a few questions, but I dared not for fear of exciting suspicions. The particulars of this shipwreck I had been acquainted with before I left Saint Louis, and I had even seen some of the sufferers.
On the 23d of September, the messengers who had been sent to look for pasture returned, and said that they had found no water in the direction in which they had been: it was then determined to move to the N.E., where we hoped for better success.
On the 24th, the camp broke up. My marabout’s camel was ill, so I travelled on foot. We crossed the hills; about six miles from the place which we had left we came to a lake, called Lakhadou, surrounded by a fine plain of argillaceous soil, covered with vegetation: here we halted for several days. This lake is pleasantly shaded by grewias.
For the last three days, Fatmé-Anted-Moctar had omitted to send me a meal of sangleh, as she had been accustomed to do; I received nothing from her but a little milk morning and night, and was tormented with hunger. The king had told me, it is true, to ask him for every thing I wanted; but I got no more for that; and the milk, instead of satisfying me, gave me the colic, and impaired my strength.
This evening a Moor, called Moxé, arrived at the camp; he is the interpreter in ordinary to the king when he goes to the coast, and speaks French perfectly well. Hamet-Dou sent for me to question me again, and I gave him the same replies as before. Moxé told me that he was come from Galam, where the agent of the commercial society had given him a piece of Guinea cloth and a gun, and that he should return very soon; he proposed that I should accompany him, adding that four or five days would be sufficient for the journey. I should have been very glad to take this trip, and alleged, as a pretext for it, the great need I had of some new clothes. I asked the king if he would lend me a camel for the journey, and he promised he would when the waters had subsided; for, he said, the roads are impassable at this season. At night he sent me a piece of mutton for supper.
On the 25th of September, while I was at prayer, I felt myself ill from exhaustion: Moxé asked me if I had a fever, and I told him the cause of my illness, adding, that I had great difficulty to support this way of living; but I hoped, nevertheless, that I should become used to it in time. After prayer the king offered me a sheep, advising me to cook it myself, because, if I trusted to the Moors, they would devour it all. I accepted the offer; but, no doubt, fearful lest I should not take his advice, and with a view to save me from the rapacity of his subjects, he took care not to send me the sheep! It is probable that I owed this good turn to Moxé; for I was told by Fatmé-Anted-Moctar, that Moxé had endeavoured to prejudice the king against me: he insinuated, as I found, that it was not the love of God, but curiosity, which had brought me among them, and that I should not be likely to remain very long. Fortunately, some of the marabouts took my part, and the king said himself, that he could not believe that curiosity alone would have induced me to come amongst them to suffer such privations, and that God must have wrought a miracle in my behalf in operating my conversion. I thought I could perceive a little jealousy in Moxé’s conduct with respect to me, and he probably feared that my presence, when I should have learned Arabic, would render his own needless. No doubt this was what also induced the negro, whom I mentioned as my interpreter in the first conversation I had with the king, to tell him I had not been shipwrecked, but that I had committed some atrocious crime among the whites, who had expelled me for it. Although the king laughed at all this, it did not fail to diminish his confidence, and I could perceive from day to day that I lost something of the esteem with which I had at first inspired him. I was extremely desirous to leave the camp, not only on this account, but because I could learn nothing; it consisted entirely of warriors, who did not trouble their heads about study, and my marabout was too much engaged to give me lessons. I opened my mind to the marabout, who entered entirely into my views, and persuaded me to ask the king for a beast of some sort to convey me to his camp, where his son, he assured me, would undertake to instruct me. Hamet-Dou told me to wait a few days and he would send me thither.
On the 30th of September, the camp broke up, and we advanced nine miles to the north, over a sandy soil covered with khakham. As I wore sandals only, after the Moorish fashion, I suffered extremely from the prickles of this plant, and my feet and legs were covered with blood. I asked several of the Moors to take me up behind them on their camels, but they said that their beasts were weary, and I must apply to the king who would furnish me with one. The king was gone on before, and I had lost sight of my marabout, so I had no hope except from the pity of those who were near me. I tried again to persuade them, for I was exhausted with pain and fatigue, but in vain; I got nothing but raillery in answer to my entreaties; and I was told that I should win heaven by suffering with patience. They spoke the truth; but I am sure not one of them would have taken my place to earn heaven at this price. If they had even left me alone in my misery, it would have been more bearable; but the young princes, mounted upon their fine horses, came bounding about me, running against me, and rallying me upon my dress, which consisted only of a coussabe[19] made of coarse blue pagne, and falling to pieces. I found on the road some water-melons, which I ate to quench my thirst, and when it became still more intolerable I was forced to beg some water, with my beads in my hand, and then I sometimes succeeded in obtaining a little.
At last, about eleven o’clock we stopped near a lake called Tobaïti. I perceived the tent of the king, which was pitched, and thither I went to rest myself. Several marabouts came and took out the numerous thorns which had run into my feet, and the king appeared sorry to see me suffer; he assured me that if he had fallen in with me by the way, he would have ordered a beast for me, and he sent me some milk and some water to refresh me. When I had rested a little, I went to the tent of Fatmé-Anted-Moctar, the residence which had been assigned me. In the evening, at the usual hour, milk was distributed among us for supper, and as soon as I had received my portion, I inquired if there was any body to be found who would exchange a little sangleh for milk; upon which I was referred to an old female slave who was seldom without it. She accepted my proposition and gave me a little at the time, promising me the same quantity every day. I, on my side, promised her a reward. This poor creature was in the habit of going, when her master could spare her, to pick up haze for her subsistence; she only received the milk of one cow for her share, and care had been taken to allot her one of those that gave the least; nevertheless, in her forlorn state, she found means to soften my lot; so true it is that the wretched are the most compassionate. During the whole week that I remained after this time in the camp, she did not fail once to bring me a little calabash of sangleh.