Part 8
All these people who come under the category of tolba, are distinguished by their fair complexion, and do not possess the muscular frame common among the free Ímóshagh. Their fair complexion is the more conspicuous, as the men, with scarcely an exception, wear white shirts and white turbans. All of them took a great interest in me, and looked with extreme curiosity upon the few European articles which I had with me at the time. After some little delay the next morning we left the place, and at that time I little fancied that I was soon to visit this spot again. It is called Ernésse, or Núkkaba el kebíra, the great (sandy) down.
Having this time excellent guides with us who knew the difficult ground thoroughly, after leaving the sandy downs, we struck right across the swampy meadow grounds, so that we reached our encampment on the other side of Amalélle in a much shorter time than on our out journey, while by continual windings we almost entirely avoided the swamps; but, without a good guide, no one can enter these low lands, which constitute a very remarkable feature in the character of the river. One of the Kél- n-Nokúnder, of the name of Ayóba, whom I had occasionally seen in the town, and who was not less distinguished by his loquacity than by his activity, here received a small present from me, as well as some of the Ídenán, who, during my absence, had treated my people hospitably.
Starting in the afternoon, after a march of about eight miles, at first through a low swampy country, afterwards through a sandy wilderness with an undulating surface and with high sandy downs towards the river, we reached an encampment of Kél-úlli, the same people who had repeatedly protected me during my stay in the town, and, on firing a few shots, we were received by our friends with the warlike demonstration of a loud beating of their shields. The hospitable treatment which they exhibited towards us in the course of the evening really filled me with pity on their account, for, having no rice or milk, they slaughtered not less than three oxen and twenty goats, in order to feast our numerous and hungry party, and make a holiday for themselves. Thus, having arrived after sunset, great part of the night was spent in revelling, and the encampment with the many fires, the numbers of people, horses, and beasts of burden, in the midst of the trees, formed a highly interesting scene.
In the course of the evening I received a visit from my protector. I had promised him another handsome present as soon as he should have fairly entered with me upon my home journey, and he now wanted to know what it was. I informed him that it consisted of a pair of richly ornamented pistols, which I had kept expressly for the occasion: but instead of at once taking possession of them, he requested me to keep them for him till another time; for he himself was no doubt fully aware that our journey was not yet fairly begun; and its abortive character became fully apparent the following day, when, after a march of less than seven miles, we encamped near the tents of Téni, or E’ Téni, the first chief of the Tarabanása.
The locality, which is called Téns-aróri, was of so swampy a character that we looked for some time in vain for a tolerably dry spot to pitch our tents, and it had a most unfavourable effect upon my health. Here we remained this and the two following days: and it became evident that as this chief persisted in his disobedience to his liege lord Alkúttabu, the other more powerful chief, Ákhbi, whose mutinous behaviour had been the chief reason of the former not coming to Timbúktu, would certainly follow his example. The fact was, that, irritated against their superior chief, or more probably treating him with contempt on account of his youth and want of energy, after the death of his predecessor, E’ Nábegha, they had fallen upon his mercenaries, especially the Shémman- Ámmas, and deprived them of their whole stock of cattle.
This was the first time that I saw these more easterly Tawárek in their own territory; and I was greatly astonished at their superior bearing in comparison with the Tademékket and Íregenáten, both in their countenance and in their dress. They were also richly ornamented with small metal boxes, made very neatly, and consisting of tin and copper: but it was in vain that I endeavoured to obtain some of them as a curiosity. They wore also a rich profusion of white rings, which are made of the bones of that very remarkable animal the “ayú,” or _Manatus_, which seems to be not less frequent in the western than in the eastern branch of the Niger. As a token of their nobility and liberty, all of them carried iron spears and swords, the degraded tribes not being allowed to make use of these manly weapons.
The encampment consisted of about thirty leathern tents, of great size; and, besides the Tarabanása, a party of the Kél-hekíkan of Zíllikay were encamped. This was a less favourable circumstance; for, while as yet I had been always on the best footing with these Tawárek, the latter proved rather troublesome: and I got involved in a religious dispute with one of their chiefs named Ayúb, or Sínnefel, against my inclination, which might have done me some harm. On his asking me why we did not pray in the same manner as themselves, I replied that our God did not live in the east, but was everywhere, and that therefore we had no occasion to offer up our prayers in that direction. This answer appeared to satisfy him: but he affected to be horrified when he heard that we did not practise circumcision, and endeavoured to excite the fanatical zeal of the whole camp against me. I, however, succeeded in partly effacing the bad impression thus caused, by making use of a Biblical expression, and observing that we circumcised our hearts, and not any other part of our body, having expressly abolished that rite, as it appeared to us to be an emblem of the Jewish creed.
I also told them that if they thought that circumcision was a privilege and an emblem of Islám, they were greatly mistaken, as many of the pagan tribes around them, whom they treated with so much contempt, practised this rite. This latter observation especially made a great impression upon them; and they did not fail to remark that I always knew how to parry any attack made against my creed. But, in other respects, I was very cautious in avoiding any dispute, and I was extremely lucky in not having anything to do with an arrogant relative of the Sheikh, of the name of ʿAbd e’ Rahmán Weled Síd, who had lately come from Ázawád to stay some time with his uncle, and obtain from him some present.
With the small presents which I made to each of the Tarabanása, I got on very well with them; but as for their women, who, as was always the case at these encampments, came in the evening to have a look at me, and, if possible, to obtain a small present, I left them without the least acknowledgment. Among the whole tribe I did not observe one distinguished in any manner by her beauty or becoming manners.
The chief behaved so inhospitably that my companions were almost starved to death, and I had to treat several of them; but, in acknowledgment, I received some useful information.[25]
[Sidenote: Tuesday, April 25th.]
At length we left this uncomfortable and unhealthy camping-ground, and had some difficulty in turning round the swamp which is here formed, and further on in traversing a dense forest which almost precluded any progress. Having then passed along a rising sandy ground, we had again to cross a most difficult swampy tract, overgrown with dense forest, which at times obliged us to ascend the high sandy downs that bordered the great river on our right, and afforded a splendid view over the surrounding scenery.
Gradually we emerged from the dense forest upon the green border of a backwater which stretched out behind the sandy downs, which were enlivened by cattle. Marching along this low verdant ground, we reached a place called Taútilt at eleven o’clock. Here Wóghda, the father-in-law of Wóghdugu, had just pitched his tents, and part of his luggage was, at the moment of our arrival, being carried over from the island of Kóra, where the chief Sául had encamped, and the shores of which were enlivened by numerous herds of horned cattle.
Such is the remarkable mode of life adopted by these southern sections of the mysterious veiled rovers of the desert. Totally metamorphosed as they are by the character of the new region of which they have taken possession, they wander about and remove their encampments from one island to the other, and from one shore to the other, swimming their cattle across the river. They have almost renounced the use of the camel, that hardy animal, which afforded their only means of existence in those desert regions which had formerly been their home.
It was a highly interesting camping-ground. This branch of the river, which was about two hundred yards broad, and at present from six to eight feet deep, was enlivened by several boats, together with a good number of cattle, apparently rather averse to entering the water, which in summer usually dries up; the Tawárek busily arranging their little property and pitching their tents, or erecting their little boothlike huts of matting; then behind us the dense forest, closely enveloped by climbing plants. The principal branch of the river is from two to three miles distant.
We had scarcely arrived, when the cheerful little Wóghda started from his tent with a sudden bound, worthy of a public exhibition, in order to receive his friend the Sheikh El Bakáy. We encamped in the shade of the large trees, close to the border of the water, where we were soon visited by several Songhay people, who inhabit a small hamlet on the island of Kóra, where they cultivate tobacco. This article constituted in former times the chief branch of cultivation all along the river, but at present, since the conquest of the country by the Fúlbe, it has become a contraband article, so that the people from Timbúktu come stealthily hither, in order to buy from these people their produce with cotton strips or tári.
This chief, Wóghda, had been present, when quite a boy, at the attack which the Igwádaren at Égedesh made upon Mungo Park, whom all the old men along the river know very well, from his large strange-looking boat, with his white sail, his long coat, his straw hat, and large gloves. He had stopped at Bámba in order to buy fowls, of which he appears to have endeavoured to obtain a supply at every large place along the river. Wóghda further asserted that it was on this occasion that the Tawárek killed two of the Christians in the boat; but this seems to be a mistake, as it appears evident that two of the four valiant men, who, solitary and abandoned, in their boat, like a little fortress, navigated this river for so many hundred miles in the midst of these hostile tribes, were killed much lower down.
The people have plenty of asses, and a sword-blade of the commonest German or Solingen manufacture fetches every where two of these animals, which are sold for at least 6000 shells each in the town. But the more conscientious Arabs do not trade with the Tawárek, whose property they well know, for the greatest part, to be “harám,” or forbidden, because taken by violent means.
It had been announced that we were to start in the afternoon, but there was no reason for hurrying our departure, and we quietly encamped here for the night, when we were visited by a great number of the Welád Molúk, whose encampment was at no great distance from ours. They were short, thick-set men, with fair complexions, and expressive prepossessing features, but some of them were suffering dreadfully from a disgusting disease, which they attributed to the bad quality of the water. One or two of them, at least, had their nose and part of their face entirely eaten away by cancers, and formed altogether a horrible spectacle.
Much more agreeable was a visit which I received from the Tawárek chief, Sául, the leader of the Kél-Támuláit, a very stately personage, who remained the greater part of the night with us, engaged in animated conversation with the Sheikh. The following morning, while we were arranging our luggage, he, and another chief of the name of Khasíb, came to pay me their compliments, and sat for a long time near me, in order to observe my habits.
At length we were again on our march, following the windings of the river, which at times spread out to a fine sheet of water, but at others became hid behind sandy downs. On our left we had a well-wooded country, now and then changing into a low swampy ground, and enlivened by guinea- fowls. In this place we met a fine tall Tárki, mounted upon one of the highest “mehára” I had ever seen. It was Wóghdugu, the most valiant of all the southern Tawárek, Awelímmiden, Igwádaren, and Tademékket taken together, and a sincere and faithful friend of the Sheikh El Bakáy. He was a fine, tall, broad-shouldered man, of six feet four or five inches, and evidently possessing immense muscular strength, although he was by no means fat at the time, and even pretended not to be in the enjoyment of good health.
Numerous deeds of valour are related of this man, which remind one of the best age of European or Arab chivalry. He is said, at the time when the Tawárek conquered the town of Gúndam from the Fúlbe, to have jumped from his horse upon the wall of that place, and catching upon his shield the spears of all the enemy who were posted there, to have opened a way for his comrades. A few days before, he had been surprised, when quite alone, by a party of from ten to twelve of his private enemies, the followers of E’ Téni, but he succeeded in defending himself against them, and catching upon his shield all their iron spears, he reached the river, and made good his retreat in a boat.
Led on by this interesting man, and by a brother of his of the name of Mohammed, we soon reached a place named Izéberen, so called from two sandy downs rising from a flat shore, and at times entirely insulated. Inland, a large swampy backwater leaves only a narrow neck of land dry.
[Footnote 25: A complete list of all the tribes and sections of the Ímóshagh or Tawárek will be given in Appendix II. Here I will communicate the family relations of these chiefs of the Igwádaren, which are of importance for understanding clearly the political state of things in this part of the Niger, and which may be of some use to any future expedition. First, Ákhbi, the principal chief of this tribe, is a son of Sálem, son of Hemme, son of Akhéum. His rival is Sadáktu, the nephew of Simsim, who is a son of El Ámmer (the name of Sadáktu’s father I do not know), son of Walaswaríslar, son of Akhéum. Associated with Ákhbi is El Wóghdugu, a chief of a section of the Tarabanása, a very chivalrous man, and a great friend of the Sheikh El Bakáy, and son of Ég el Henne, son of Mansúr; El Wóghdugu’s brothers are Míni, Mohammed, Aníti, and Lubéd. Another chief of the Tarabanása, and a deadly enemy of El Wóghdugu, although allied with Ákhbi, is E’ Téni son of Agánte, son of Kháwi, son of Mansúr, son of Ag e’ Saʿade, son of Awédha. E’ Téni’s sons are: Umbúnge, Imbékke or Bába, Asátil, and Innósara; sons of a brother of E’ Téni are: Babaye and Bubákkeri. Another great man related to E’ Téni is Úgast, son of Shét, son of Kháwi.]
CHAP. LXXIV.
RETROGRADE MOVEMENT TOWARDS TIMBÚKTU.
The locality of Izéberen, where we had encamped, was not at all inviting, as it was but scantily provided with trees. Here we gave up our journey eastward, and again commenced our retrograde movement towards Timbúktu. I was now filled with the saddest forebodings; for after three or four days spent in vain dispute between the Sheikh and Ákhbi, the chief of the Igwádaren, who was encamped here, the latter persisted in his rebellious conduct against his liege lord Alkúttabu; and, instead of restoring what he had taken from the tribes placed under the protection of the latter, he made up his mind to follow the instigations of the Sheikh’s enemy and rival, Hammádi, and to throw himself into the arms of the Fúlbe and of the chief of Hamda-Alláhi. He thus caused an immense disturbance in this whole region; and in fact a bloody war broke out soon after my safe departure.
The encampment at Izéberen, to which this sad remembrance attaches, was tolerably enlivened with some interesting people, including as well some kinsmen of Ákhbi, as more especially the sons of Ég el Henne, Wóghdugu, and his brethren, Mohammed, Aníti, and Míni, all of whom are of a very cheerful disposition, and (as far as it is possible for a Tárki to be so) even amiable men. Among the former there was a boy named Kúngu, whose arrogance at first was a little troublesome, but eventually he became one of my best friends, and even now occupies a foremost place in my remembrance. He was a nephew of Ákhbi’s, and his father had been distinguished for his valour and warlike enterprise, but had been killed in battle at an early age, like most of the kinsfolk of this chief, so that the boy was brought up and educated by his mother, Tatináta, who was a daughter of Áwáb, the chief of the Tademékket whom I have repeatedly mentioned on former occasions.
Ákhbi himself was a man of about forty years of age, good-looking, but of an overbearing character. His father, Sálem, who had died a few months before at a very advanced age, had been distinguished by his intelligence, while Ákhbi, as soon as he acceded to power, had broken his allegiance to his liege lord, and entered into open hostilities with him. He had allowed his own small tribe, which scarcely numbered more than two hundred fighting men, to be divided into two hostile encampments, and in consequence of that feud had sustained a very heavy loss amongst his own followers. His quarrel with Alkúttabu was evidently a consequence of the intrigues of the Fúlbe and Hammádi, who, seeing that the political power of the Sheikh El Bakáy was based upon his friendship with the chief of the Awelímmiden, used all his endeavours to raise up an adversary to the latter; and the progress of this struggle, of which I did not see the end, may have been productive of great changes in the political relations of Timbúktu.
The endeavour to preserve the unity of the whole tribe of the Awelímmiden, which my protector had sincerely at heart, and thus to keep up the friendly relation of this tribe with that of the Igwádaren, induced him to postpone my interests, and to return once more westward, in order to exert his utmost to settle this serious affair. For the very tribe of the Igwádaren, from the first, when they were settled in Ázawád, had been the protectors of the Kunta, the tribe to which the family of Mukhtár belonged, and had especially defended them against the hostilities of the Ígelád, by whose subjection the former had founded their power. El Bakáy could not but see with the most heartfelt sorrow his former supporters likely to become the auxiliaries of his enemies; and his brother, Sídi Mohammed, whom he had left to fill his place in Timbúktu during his absence, had sent an express messenger from the town, requesting him to come, in order that he might consult with him upon the state of affairs.
As for myself, being anxious about my own interest, and fearing even for my life, which I was convinced was seriously threatened by another return towards Timbúktu, I employed every means in my power to persuade my friend to allow me to pursue my journey eastward, in the company of those pupils and followers of his whom he had promised to send along with me. But he would not consent to this, and I felt extremely dejected at the time, and could not but regard this retrograde journey to Timbúktu as a most unfortunate event.
Just at this time the news was brought, by way of Ghadámes, of the French having completely vanquished the Shaamba, and made an expedition to Wárgelá and Metlíli. In consequence of this report, the fear of the progress of these foreign and hated intruders into the interior of these regions became very general, and caused suspicion to attach to me, as these people could not but think that my journey to their country had some connection with the expedition of the French. But, taking all the circumstances into account, I found afterwards that my friend was altogether right in postponing for the time my journey eastward.
[Sidenote: Sunday, April 30th.]
This was the sad day when, with the most gloomy forebodings, I began my return journey towards the west. There had been the most evident signs of the approach of the rainy season, which in the zone further to the south had already set in, when, after so many reiterated delays, I was obliged once more to return towards that very place which I had felt so happy in having at length left behind me.
My protector was well aware of the state of my feelings, and while the people were loading the camels he came to me, and once more excused himself on account of this retrograde movement. There were, besides myself, some Arabs of the tribe of Gwanín, who wanted to go on to Ghérgo, in order to buy tobacco, and who now likewise were obliged to return once more to the westward, as they had no guarantee for their security in making the journey alone.
The splendid river along the banks of which lay our road, and which here was about half a mile across, afforded the only consolation in my cheerless mood. The junction of the two branches, as seen from this spot, presented a very fine spectacle. The gerredh trees also, which were in full blossom, attracted my attention.
Keeping a little nearer to the sandy downs, we soon reached the place of our former encampment in Taútilt. Having then passed along the small backwater of Barkánge, the volume of which had greatly decreased in these few days, we encamped about four miles beyond, in the open swampy ground which we had had such difficulty in crossing on our outward journey. It is called Erásar. In this low ground, between two swamps and about 800 yards from the bank of the river, without the shade of the smallest tree, the Igwádaren had encamped. It was owing to these swampy sites that I was afflicted with those severe rheumatic pains, from which I afterwards suffered so much in Bórnu, and which I occasionally feel even now.