permission to pass through Iris country. I t is eight days distant from Aghadis, twenty-four from Kashna, and, by good travelling by the nearest road, twenty-seven from Bornou*. The sultan had neither much majesty nor cleanliness of appearance: he came to Boo- Khaloom’s tent accompanied by six or seven Tibboos, some of them really hideous. They take a quantity of snuff both in their mouths and noses; their teeth were of a deep yellow; the nose resembles nothing so much as a round lump of flesh stuck on the face; and the nostrils are so large, that their fingers go up as far as they will reach, in order to ensure the snuff an admission into the head. My watch, compass, and musical snuff-box, created but little astonishment ; they looked at their own faces in the bright covers, and were most stupidly inattentive to what would have excited the wonder of almost any imagination, however savage: here was the “ os sublime, but the “ spiritus intus,” the “ mens divinior,” was scarcely discoverable. Boo-Khaloom gave the sultan a fine scarlet bornouse, which seemed a little to animate his stupid features. We had a dance by Tibboo-men performed in front of our tents, in the evening: it is graceful and slow, but not so well adapted to the male as the female it was succeeded by one performed by some free slaves from Soudan, who were living with the Tibboos, enjoying their liberty, as they said. I t appears most violent exertion : one man is placed m the middle of a circle, which he endeavours to break, and each one whom he approaches throws him off, while he adds to the impetus by a leap, and ascends several feet from the ground:—when one has completed the round, another takes his place. An Arab returned this evening, whom I had sent the night before for the purpose of finding a poodle dog which had accompanied me from Malta, and had remained behind from fatigue, the day we * The Tibboos were positive as to this distance, which we could scarcely credit: they must mean, however, Tuarick days, or a maherhy, equal to forty miles at least. left Ikbar: he was unsuccessful, and said that some of the wandering Tibboos must have eaten him; he had found marks in the sand of the footsteps of these people, and the remains of the two camels we had left on the road were carried off: he traced their steps to the east, but was afraid to follow them. I t is from these wanderers that small kafilas, or single merchants, have to dread attack. Generally speaking, the regular sheikhs are satisfied by levying a tax, while these are contented with nothing short of the whole. Jan. 6.—At seven the thermometer was 42° in the tent About five miles from Kisbee we left a wadey called Kilboo, by the Tibboos Trona to our left, and coming close under the ridge of hills at a point called Ametrigamma, we proceeded to Ashenumma, which is about four miles beyond, with the high hills to the east, and a very pleasing wadey to the west, producing palm and other trees. A violent disturbance arose this morning on the road among our Arabs; one of them having shot a ball through the shirt of another of the Magarha tribe: the sheikh of the Magarha took up the quarrel, and the man saved himself from being punished, by hanging to the stirrup leather of my saddle. The Arab sheikh made use of some expressions in defending his man, which displeased Boo-Khaloom, who instantly knocked him off his horse, and his slaves soundly bastinadoed him. - - Tiggema, near which we halted, is one of the highest points in the range, and hangs over the mud houses of the town : this point stands at the south extremity of the recess, which the hills here form, and is about four hundred feet high ; the sides- are nearly perpendicular, and it is detached from the other hills by a chasm. On the approach of the Tuaricks the whole population flock to the top of these heights, with all their property, and make the best defence they can. The insides of some of the houses are neat and tidy; the men are generally travelling merchants, or rather pedlers, and probably do not pass more than four months in the year with their d 2
27f 24
To see the actual publication please follow the link above