Leaving their camping ground on the 24th of August, they travelled on without molestation; but, soon after their tents had been pitched the next evening in a valley full of talha trees and oat-grass, the marauders again made their appearance, mounted on camels, and, dismounting within pistol-shot of the tents, discussed, with wild, ferocious laughter, their projects with their Azkar confederates in the caravan. Some of these soon afterwards came and told them that they might sleep with perfect security; others, however, warned them that they must on no account rest during the night. Preparations for an attack were therefore made, and their camels were brought close to the tents; but the Kel-owi left theirs outside.
In the morning it was found that all the camels had been carried off. On this, Boro led on the more warlike members of the caravan in pursuit. The enemy were overtaken, and, alarmed by the appearance of the bayonets, which they saw would place the Europeans on an equality even after the guns had been fired, offered to come to terms. They declared that they had only come against the white men because they were Christians, and immediately all sympathy for the travellers ceased in the caravan. The rebels were allowed to retain their booty and were treated besides with an enormous quantity of mohamsa.
They now hoped to proceed without further molestation; and the Merabet chief, who had accompanied and sanctioned the expedition against them, was allowed to join their party, as it was thought to be the best means of preventing any further molestation. Boro, who passed the evening with Mr Richardson’s interpreter, in reading the Koran, treated him hospitably.
They were expecting to reach Selufiet, where they hoped to be in safety. When about eight miles from it, the chiefs insisted on encamping, and a number of Merabetin, a fanatical tribe, insisted that they should turn Mohammedans. Their friends and servants urged them to do so, as the only means of saving their lives. They were kept seated in their tent while the fanatics discussed the subject. The travellers sat in silence. At last Mr Richardson exclaimed: “Let us talk a little. We must die. What is the use of sitting so mute?” For some minutes death seemed really to hover over their heads. Mr Richardson proposed trying to escape for their lives, when the kind-hearted Sliman rushed into the tent, exclaiming in a tone of sincere sympathy: “You are not to die.” The Merabetin were content instead to receive a heavy tribute. Unfortunately, the merchandise they carried, instead of consisting of a few valuable things, was composed of worthless, bulky objects; and, as they had also ten iron cases filled with dry biscuits, the ignorant people supposed that they carried enormous wealth. In consequence, when all the claims had been settled, the rebels threatened to fall upon the rest of the baggage. Their friendly chief on this declared that some of it was his own, and also dashed to pieces one of the iron cases, when, to the astonishment of the simple people, instead of beholding heaps of dollars, they saw a dry and tasteless sort of bread!
Meanwhile, the persecuted Christians made off under the escort of the Kel-owi, and the whole caravan was once more collected together.
On the 4th of September they encamped on the summit of a sand-hill, in a broad valley, near the village of Tintellust, the residence of the chief Amur, under whose protection they were now to proceed. The chief received them in a friendly way, and assured them that, even though Christians, the dangers and difficulties they had gone through would suffice to wash off their sins, and that they had nothing to fear but the climate and the thieves. He told them that they were welcome to proceed to Soudan at their own risk; but that if they wished for his protection, they must pay him handsomely.
While the camp remained here, Dr Barth paid a visit to the town of Agades, a place once of great importance, and still containing about seven thousand inhabitants, a large number engaged as tradesmen or in commerce. It is situated on the borders of the desert, surrounded by lawless tribes. He performed his journey on the back of a bullock, with his luggage behind him. He was received in a very friendly way by the sultan, who told him that he had never before heard of the English—not suspecting from whom the gunpowder he used was obtained. The doctor, after placing the treaty before the sultan, said that the English wished to enter into friendly relations with all the chiefs and great men of the earth, in order to establish commercial intercourse with them. He then told him that they had been deprived of nearly all the presents they were bringing for himself and the other princes of Soudan. At this he expressed the greatest indignation.
After spending two months at Agades, the doctor returned to Tintellust. Here the expedition was detained six months waiting for an escort, without which they could not proceed with any degree of safety to Soudan. At length, on the 5th of December, the first body of the salt-caravan, for which they had been waiting, arrived from Bilma, and on the 12th of December, 1850, they began to move. The caravan looked like a whole nation in motion: the men on camels or on foot; the women on bullocks or asses, with all the necessaries of the little household, as well as the houses themselves; a herd of cattle, another of milk-goats, and a number of young camels running playfully alongside, and sometimes getting between the regular lines of the laden animals. The old
chief walked ahead like a young man, leading his mahary by the nose-cord.