Part 31

Thus I had again reached this place, where, under ordinary circumstances, all dangers and difficulties might be supposed to have ceased. But such was not the case at the present time; for, in consequence of the oppression of the Turkish government, a very serious revolution had broken out among the more independent tribes of the regency of Tripoli extending from the Jebel over the whole of Ghurián, and spreading farther and farther, cutting off all intercourse and making my retreat very difficult. The instigator of this revolution was a chief of the name of Ghóma, who, having been made prisoner by the Turks many years before, had, through the events of the Crimean war, contrived to make his escape from confinement in Trebizond. This unforeseen circumstance caused me a little longer delay in Múrzuk than I should otherwise have allowed myself, as I was most anxious to proceed on my journey; nevertheless I staid only six days.

Having some preparations to make for this last stage of my march, I had thus full opportunity of becoming aware of the immense difference in the prices of provisions between this outlying oasis of North Africa and Negroland, especially Kúkawa, and for the little supply which I wanted for my journey from here to Tripoli, I had to pay as much as 100 makhbúbs. Besides procuring here my necessary supplies for the road, my chief business was in discharging some of my servants, and more particularly Mohammed el Gatróni, whose fidelity I have mentioned before. I added to the small remainder of his salary which I still owed him, the stipulated present of fifty Spanish dollars, which I would willingly have doubled if I had had the means, as he well deserved it; for it is only with the most straightforward conduct and with a generous reward that a European traveller will be able to make his way in these regions.

As for encountering the dangers of the road, the arrangement of the Bashá, that a party of soldiers whom he had discharged, and who were returning home, should travel in my company, seemed rather of doubtful effect; as such a company, while it afforded a little more security in certain tracts, could not fail to turn against myself the disposition of the native population in those districts where the revolt against the Turkish government was a popular movement; I was obliged therefore to leave it to circumstances to decide how I should make my way out of these difficulties. The Bashá for some time thought that the only safe course for me to pursue would be to turn my steps towards Ben-Gházi, in order to avoid the revolted district altogether. But such a plan seemed very objectionable, as well on account of the greater distance and expense of this road, as with regard to the disposition of the Arabs of that region, who, if the revolution should prove successful, would certainly not lose a moment in following the example of their brethren.

[Sidenote: July 20th.]

I left the town of Múrzuk in the afternoon and encamped in the plantation, and the next day moved on a short distance towards Sheggwa, where Mr. Warrington took leave of me. Halting then for the greater part of the following day near the village of Delém, and making a good stretch in the evening and the early part of the morning, we reached Ghodwa, with its pretty plantation and its many remains of former well- being. Starting again in the afternoon, and making a long stretch during the night, we encamped in the evening of the following day at the border of the plantation of Sebha, some twenty years ago the residence of the chief of the Welád Slímán. Here we staid the following day in order to obtain some rest. The heat all this time was very considerable, and the thermometer at two o’clock in the afternoon, on an average, indicated from 110° to 112°.

[Sidenote: July 26th.]

A march of from eighteen to nineteen miles brought us from Sebha to the small town of Temáhint, and we encamped a little beyond the well, where a numerous herd of camels, belonging to a camp of Arabs, was being watered. I was greatly pestered during my halt by a number of Welád Slímán, who were anxious for information with regard to their relations in Kánem, and greedy for some presents.

Making a short halt in the evening, and starting a little after midnight, we encamped the following day near Zíghen. Here I had to hire fresh camels in order to pursue my journey, and therefore did not set out again till the afternoon of the following day, when, through the barren desert tract by Óm el ʿabíd, and by a very rugged mountainous passage, we reached the important town of Sókna in the morning of the 2nd August.

Here the difficulties of my journey, in consequence of the revolutionary state of the province, increased, and, after a long consultation with some friends to whom I had been recommended, the only possible way of proceeding was found to be that of leaving the usual track by way of Bónjem altogether, and taking an entirely different road by a series of valleys lying further west, the road by Ben-Gházi also having been found impracticable. Sókna, even at the present time, is a very interesting place, as well on account of its mercantile activity and of its fine plantations of date and other fruit trees, as owing to the peculiar character of its inhabitants, who still retain a distinct idiom of the Berber language[57]; but at the present moment, on account of the total interruption of the communication with the coast, the price of provisions was very high, and the natives scarcely knew what political course to pursue. There was especially a merchant of the name of Beshála, who showed me an extraordinary degree of kindness and attention.

Having therefore waited until the arrival of the “rekás,” or courier, in order to obtain the most recent news, and having in consequence of their unfavourable tenor been induced to increase the wages of my camel drivers, whom I had hired previously, I at length got off on the 12th of August. Pursuing the track called Trík el Merhóma, which was never before traversed by a European, and, passing by the wells El Hammám, El Maráti, Ershidíye, and Gedafíye, and then by the narrow Wádí Ghirza (the place once the great object of African research for Lieutenant now Admiral Smyth), with its interesting ancient sepulchres in the form of obelisks, we reached Wádí Zemzem on the 19th. Here there was a considerable encampment of Arabs, and some of the ringleaders of the revolution residing here at the time, I found myself in a serious dilemma. But the English were too much respected by these tribes for them to oppose my passage, although they told me plainly, that if they suspected that the English were opposed to the revolution, they would cut my throat, as well as that of any European traveller who might fall into their hands. However, after some quiet explanations with them as to what was most conducive to their own interests, and about the probability of their succeeding in making themselves independent of the Turkish sway; and after having promised a handsome present to one of the more influential men among them, they allowed me to pass on. I had also great difficulty in hiring some fresh camels, the safety of which I guaranteed, to take me to Tripoli. I thus pursued my journey to Bení- Ulíd with its deep valley overtowered by the ruins of many a middle-age castle, and adorned by numbers of beautiful olive trees, besides being enlivened by many small villages consisting of stone dwellings half in decay. On approaching the place, I fell in with a messenger, sent very kindly to meet me by Mr. Reade, Her Majesty’s Vice-Consul in Tripoli, who, besides a few letters, brought me what was most gratifying to me in my exhausted state, a bottle of wine, a luxury of which I had been deprived for so many years.

I had some little trouble in this place, as there was residing here at the time a brother of Ghóma, the rebel chief himself, who had sent an express messenger on my account; and differences of interest between the various chiefs of the place, caused me at the same time some difficulties, though, in other respects, they facilitated my proceedings. Altogether I was very glad when I had left this turbulent little community behind me, which appeared to be the last difficulty that opposed itself to my return home.

In the evening of the fourth day after leaving Bení-Ulíd, I reached the little oasis of ʿAín Zára, the same place where I had stayed several days preparatory to my setting out on my long African wanderings, and was here most kindly received by Mr. Reade, who had come out of the town with his tent, and provided with sundry articles of European comfort, to receive me again at the threshold of civilization.

Having spent a cheerful evening in his company, I set out the following morning on my last march on the African soil, in order to enter the town of Tripoli, and although the impression made upon my mind by the rich vegetation of the gardens which surround the town, after the long journey through the desert waste, was very great, yet infinitely greater was the effect produced upon me by the wide expanse of the sea, which, in the bright sunshine of this intermediate zone, spread out with a tint of the darkest blue. I felt so grateful to Providence for having again reached in safety the border of this Mediterranean basin, the cradle of European civilization, which from an early period had formed the object of my earnest longings and most serious course of studies, that I would fain have alighted from my horse on the sea beach, to offer up a prayer of thanksgiving to the Almighty, who, with the most conspicuous mercy, had led me through the many dangers which surrounded my path, both from fanatical men and an unhealthy climate.

It was market day, and the open place intervening between the plantation of the Meshíah and the town was full of life and bustle. The soldiers who had recently arrived from Europe to quell the revolution, were drawn up on the beach in order to make an impression on the natives, and I observed a good many fine sturdy men among them. Amidst this busy scene, in the most dazzling sunshine, with the open sea and the ships on my right, I entered the snow-white walls of the town, and was most kindly received by all my former friends.

Having stayed four days in Tripoli, I embarked in a Turkish steamer which had brought the troops and was returning to Malta, and having made only a short stay in that island, I again embarked in a steamer for Marseilles, in order to reach England by the most direct route. Without making any stay in Paris, I arrived in London on the 6th September, and was most kindly received by Lord Palmerston as well as by Lord Clarendon, who took the greatest interest in the remarkable success which had accompanied my proceedings.

Thus I closed my long and exhausting career as an African explorer, of which these volumes endeavour to incorporate the results. Having previously gained a good deal of experience of African travelling during an extensive journey through Barbary, I had embarked on this undertaking as a volunteer, under the most unfavourable circumstances for myself. The scale and the means of the mission seemed to be extremely limited; and it was only in consequence of the success which accompanied our proceedings, that a wider extent was given to the range and objects of the expedition[58]; and after its original leader had succumbed in his arduous task, instead of giving way to despair, I had continued in my career amid great embarrassment, carrying on the exploration of extensive regions almost without any means. And when the leadership of the mission, in consequence of the confidence of Her Majesty’s government, was intrusted to me, and I had been deprived of the only European companion who remained with me, I resolved upon undertaking, with a very limited supply of means, a journey to the far west, in order to endeavour to reach Timbúktu, and to explore that part of the Niger which, through the untimely fate of Mungo Park, had remained unknown to the scientific world. In this enterprise I succeeded to my utmost expectation, and not only made known the whole of that vast region, which even to the Arab merchants in general had remained more unknown than any other part of Africa[59], but I succeeded also in establishing friendly relations with all the most powerful chiefs along the river up to that mysterious city itself. The whole of this was achieved, including the payment of the debts left by the former expedition, and 200_l._, which I contributed myself, with the sum of about 1600_l._ No doubt, even in the track which I myself pursued I have left a good deal for my successors in this career to improve upon; but I have the satisfaction to feel that I have opened to the view of the scientific public of Europe a most extensive tract of the secluded African world, and not only made it tolerably known, but rendered the opening of a regular intercourse between Europeans and those regions possible.

[Footnote 54: See Vol. II. p. 654.]

[Footnote 55: Vol. I. p. 504.]

[Footnote 56: Denham and Clapperton’s Travels, p. 17.]

[Footnote 57: Also in El Fok-ha, distant three days from Sókna, on the road to Ben-Gházi, the same idiom is spoken.]

[Footnote 58: This greater success was especially due to the journey which I undertook to the Sultan of Ágades, thus restoring confidence in our little band which had been entirely shaken by great reverses.]

[Footnote 59: “It appears singular that the country immediately to the eastward of Timbuctoo, as far as Kashna, should be more imperfectly known to the Moorish traders, than the rest of Central Africa.”—_Quarterly Review_, May, 1820, p. 234. Compare what Clapperton says about the dangers of the road from Sókoto to Timbúktu. Sec. Exped., p. 235.]

APPENDIX.

[Illustration: DR. BARTH’S TRAVELS IN NORTH AND CENTRAL AFRICA Sheet No. 15.

MAP OF PART OF AFRICA (EASTERN SHEET) showing DR. BARTH’S ROUTES, 1850-1855 between and native itineraries collected by him.

Constructed and drawn by A. Petermann.

Engraved by E. Weller, _Duke Strt. Bloomsbury._

_London, Longman & Co._]

APPENDIX I.

COLLECTION OF ITINERARIES ILLUSTRATING THE WESTERN HALF OF THE DESERT, ITS DISTRICTS, AND ITS INHABITANTS, AND THE COURSE OF THE UPPER NIGER.

A.—_Eastern Route from Tawát to Mabrúk, and thence to Timbúktu._

N.B.—The route proceeds from Aúlef in Tidíkelt, which is situated one short day from Ákabli (this is the right accent), and three days from Ínsala or ʿAín Sálah, the distance between Ákabli and the latter place being about the same.

2nd day. Teríshumín, a well.

4th. Derím.

7th. Ínzíze, a well. As far as this point, the route follows a course a little E. of S. (evidently in the direction of Gógó), but from this point onwards S.W.—The syllable “ín,” or “ʿin,” seems to be the old Berber-Semitic form for “ʿaín.”

14th. Índenán, a well, having crossed the desert tract called Tanezrúfet.

17th. Ín-tabórak; the last stage is only half a day’s march.

19th. Moila.

22nd. Taunant; the last stage is half a day’s march.

24th. Mabrúk.

The ordinary and general road from Mabrúk to Timbúktu leads by Árawán:—

2 days. Mʿamún. } } 2. Bú-Jebéha. } I shall speak about these places in the general } account of Ázawád. 2. Árawán. }

4. Tenég el haye, or Tenég el háj.

1½. Timbúktu.

Between Tenég el háj and the town there are the following localities:—El Áriye, El Ghába, El Meréra, Áthelet el Megíl, Éllib el Ághebe, Tiyáre el Jefál, Tiyáret el Wása.

Route from the hillet e’ Sheikh el Mukhtár, generally called “el hilleh,” (see the itinerary from Timbúktu to the hilleh, Vol. IV. p. 454) to Tósaye, in long days’ marches; direction, as my informant supposes, exactly S.:—

1st day. Núr, a mountain without water.

2nd. A locality on this side of a place called Dergel.

3rd. Kazúft, a large pond of water in the rainy season.

5th. Tósaye, or Tósé, the great narrowing of the river, (see the journal).

From the hilleh to Gógó is reckoned a distance of eight days.

B.—_Route from Ínzíze to Gógó._

4th day. Tímmísau (hasi Músa? I think, it cannot be the well of that name on the direct road from Tawát to Mabrúk, which would give this whole route a far more westerly direction). Near the well is a rocky eminence like a castle, and famous on account of the tale of the footprint of Moses’ horse, a story also attaching to the other well which I mentioned. It appears, from this route, that the arid desert, the Tanezrúfet, becomes narrower and more contracted towards the east.

7th. Ín-azál; the last march but half a day.

9th. Súk, or “e’ Súk” (Essúk), the ancient dwelling-place of the Kél e’ Súk, now without settled inhabitants, situated between two “kódia,” or hilly eminences, one lying towards the E. and the other towards the W., just as the ancient city of Tademékka is described, with which it was evidently identical (see the journal). The town was destroyed by the Songhay conqueror, Sonni ʿAlí, in the latter half of the fifteenth century. The vale is said to be rich in trees.

11th. Gúnhan, another site of an ancient dwelling-place, and once the residence of the Kel-gúnhan, with a hilly eminence.

13th. Takerénnat, another site.

14th. Tel-ákkevín (or Tin-ákkevín), a well.

16th. Tin-óker; the last stage half a day’s march.

18th. Gógó, or Gágho, the last day again a short one.

C.—_Western Road from Aúlef to Mabrúk._

1st day. Dháhar el hamár, a hilly chain called the ass’s backbone.

3rd. El Immerághen.

5th. Wallen, a well.

12th. Ám-rannán, a well, two days W. from Ín-denán, having crossed the arid desert Tanezrúfet. In summer you travel here by night. In winter, travelling night and day, with only short halts, you may accomplish this march in four days.

17th. Ín-asserér, perhaps “the well of the stony tract,” or hammáda, “serír,” being the proper term for such a region.

20th. Tin-hekíkan, a well, in former times the common settlement of the tribe, which thence has received the name Kel-hekíkan. It is W. or S.W. of the well, called Taunant (see p. 457).

22nd. Mabrúk; the last day’s march a short one.

D.—_A few particulars with regard to the region called Ázawád, and the adjoining districts._

The name Ázawád is a corruption due to the Arabs of the Berber name Ázawágh (pronounced Ázawár), which is common to many desert tracts. But the district which has become known to the Europeans under the name Ázawád, comprises an extensive tract of country to the N. of Timbúktu, stretching north-westward as far as “El Júf,” the great sink or “belly” of the desert, full of rock-salt, and to the N.N.E., a little to the N. of Mabrúk, while its southern part, extending from the distance of one day’s march from Timbúktu, to about three days northward, is more properly called _Tagánet_. I will only add, that Caillié mistook the name Ázawád, which he writes Zawát, for that of a tribe. (Vol. II. p. 97, and elsewhere.)

The tract of Ázawád, although appearing to us a most sterile tract of country, and thus characterized already by Arab travellers from the N., as Ébn Batúta and Leo Africanus, is a sort of paradise to the wandering Moorish Arab born in these climes. For in the more favoured localities of this district he finds plenty of food for his camels, and even for a few heads of cattle, while the transport of the salt of Taödénni to Árawán and Timbúktu affords him the means of obtaining corn, and anything else he may be in want of. There are four small towns or villages in Ázawád, the most considerable of which is Árawán, a town small in extent, such as described by Caillié[60], the number of its inhabitants scarcely exceeding 1500, but a very important place for this part of the world, and where a great deal of business is transacted, principally in gold, as I have described on a former occasion (p. 22 et seq.). On account of this trade, several Ghadámsíye merchants are established here. It is a fact which was unknown before, but which is indisputable, that the original inhabitants of this place, as well as of the whole of Ázawád, belong to the Songhay nation, the Songhay-kiní, even at the present day, being the favoured idiom of which all the inhabitants, including the Arab residents, make use. The present chief or headman of the town is Sídi Mohammed, a younger son of the notorious chief El Habíb Weled Sídi Áhmed Agáde, who died the year previous to my arrival in Timbúktu. The younger son gained the precedence over his elder brother Óba, who has performed a pilgrimage to Mekka, solely on account of his mother being the sister of Hámed Weled ʿAbéda Weled Rehál, the chief of the Bérabísh, and the murderer of Major Laing. The family of El Habíb belongs to the Ígelád, forming at present a small section of the large group of the Áwelímmiden. They are now only distinguished by their learning, but formerly they were very powerful, and, together with the Imedídderen, were the most ancient inhabitants of the locality of Timbúktu. The inhabitants of Árawán pay an annual tribute of sixty mithkál of gold to the Hogár, in order not to be molested by their continual predatory incursions.

The three other small towns, or permanent dwelling-places in Ázawád, viz. Bú-Jebéha, Mʿamún and Mabrúk, all lying in a line N.N.E. from Árawán, almost at the equal distance from each other of two days’ easy travelling with camels, are much smaller and less considerable than Árawán. Of rather more importance at present than the two others is Bú- Jebéha, which is principally inhabited by Kél e’ Súk, and has a little commerce; but Mabrúk seems to have been of great importance in former times, when it was inhabited by Songhay people, had a Songhay name,—Mabrúk being a comparatively modern name given to it by the Arabs,—and was the market of Waláta. In some respects this place might seem to have a right to be identified with the ancient Aúdaghost; and there are certainly the sites of some former dwelling-places in the neighbourhood, especially Tel-Aröást, two days N.E. either from Mabrúk or from the hilleh, but in another place I have explained (Vol. IV. p. 581) why we have to seek the site of Aúdaghost in quite a different locality. There are some valleys clad with palm-trees to the east of Mabrúk (see Vol. I. Appendix, p. 570), especially the valley called Tesillíte, which produces two different kinds of dates, viz. the tíssagín and the tin-áser. The names of the respective chiefs of the three places are—Mohammed Weled Sídi ʿOmár, the chief of the tribe of the Ergágeda in Mʿamún; Najíb Weled el Mústapha el Kél e’ Súki (the same who signed the letter of Áwáb, the chief of the Tademékket, giving a complete imána to the English in the territory comprised between Gúndam, Bamba, Timbúktu, Árawán, and Bú-Jebéha), together with ʿAzízi in Bú- Jebéha, and Méni Weled Sídi ʿOmár in Mabrúk.[61]