eating a kail of bruised dates, with a corresponding, quantity of milk, and another eating about a hundred loaves, of about the size of our penny loaves. We had many inquiries respecting our females. A notion prevailed, that they always bore more than one child at a time, and that they went longer than nine calendar months. On being told that they were the same in that respect as other women, they appeared pleased. We were also asked how they were k e p t; if locked up as the Moorfsh woman, or allowed to go freely abroad. The Tuarick women are allowed great liberties that way, and are not a little pleased at having such an advantage. The greater number of Tuaricks follow the nomade life, moving from place to place as they find pasturage. They appear to delight in solitary abodes; and the different mountain recesses in the vicinity appear to have been often the residences of these people. The houses are of the skin of the camel, and have something of the form of the Arab. I had a great many female Tuarick patients to-day. They are free and lively; and there is no more restraint before men than in the females of our own country; and they are greatly noticed by the men. They have a copper complexion ; eyes large, black, and rolling; nose p lain ; but two or three had fine ancient Egyptian shaped noses ; hair long and shedded, not plaited like the Arab women ; neither did. there appear to be any oil. Tuesday, June 25.—There are several roads to Ghraat; and the upper one, where we had to enter the hills, was last night fixed on for us. There is plenty of water, but more rough than the lower, which is said to be a sandy plain, as level as the hand, but no water for five days. I t is not necessary among the Tuaricks that the woman should bring a portion to the husband, although she generally brings something: but it is almost always requisite that the man pay so much to the father for permission to marry his daughter. The price, when the parties are rich, is generally six camels. The customs and manners of our country, which we related to our friends, were so similar to some of theirs, that a n . old Targee exclaimed in a forcible manner, “ That he was sure they had the same origin as us.” We are getting on amazingly well with them, and would, no doubt, soon be great friends. The women here have full round faces, black curling hair, and, from a Negro mixture, inclined to be crispy; eyebrows a little arched, eyes black and large, nose plain and well-formed. The dress a barracan neatly wrapped round, with a cover of dark blue cloth for the head ; sometimes that Comes over the lower part of the face as in the men. They are not very fond of beads, but often have shells suspended to the ears as ear-drops. Thursday, June %/. Hateeta is really so unwell, that he is not able to go ; we in consequence have put off our departure for ten days, and have determined during that time to visit wadey Shiati, &c.; and Mr. Hillman goes up to Mourzuk to send down supplies and take charge of our property. I t would have been unkind to Hateeta to have proceeded o n ; for he is so anxious, that, rather than be left behind, he would have ordered himself to have been bound to a camel. We arranged about the fare for our camels, and prepared ourselves to depart to-morrow morning. We left our spare baggage, which our Tuaricks deposited in one of their mountain recesses. Friday, June 28.—Before we could set out, a guide for the sands was necessary. For that purpose we engaged an old Targee, who professed to know every part of our tract. When all things were ready, it was near eight in the evening; but we were determined to start. Now Mr. Hillman left us for Mourzuk, I felt glad and satisfied, as I had always since our departure been uneasy respecting our property ; but with Hillman every thing would be taken care of, and as safe as if we were all present. The interest he took in the mission, and the important duty in taking care of all our concerns, deserve the highest praise from every one. We travelled by moonlight over a sandy soil, with numerous tufts of grass and mound hillocks, covered with shrubs, the surface in many places hard and crusty, from saline incrustation. The old man told us that the mounds of earth were formed by water, as the wadey, at the times of great rain, was covered With water. He further added, that in former times a large quantity of rain used to fall, information agreeing with what we had before received. Saturday, June 29.—At daylight resumed our journey ; and a little after sunrise entered among the sand hills, which are here two or three hundred feet high. The ascending and descending of these proved very fatiguing to both our camels and ourselves. The precipitous sides obliged us often to make a circuitous course, and rendered it necessary to form with the hands a tract by which the camels might ascend. Beyond this boundary of the sand g 2
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