o f the Emperor o f Marocco, have been filled by Moors o f Ma- roquin origin ;* but the military appointments, since the above period, have been entirely among negroes o f Bambarra, ap pointed by the K in gW o o lo ; the inhabitants are also for the most part Negroes, who possess much o f the Arab hospitality, and pride themselves in being attentive to strangers. The various costumes exhibited in the market-places and streets, indicate the va rie ty and extent o f the commercial intercourse with the different nations o f central A f r ic a ; the individuals being each habited in the dress o f his respective country, ex-, hibit a va rie ty both pleasing and interesting to eve ry stranger who goes there. T h e toleration in a country like this is particularly deserving o f notice. T he Diwan, or L ’Alemma, never interfere with the tenets o f the various religions professed b y the different people, who resort to Timbucloo for commercial ,or other purposes; eve ry one is allowed to worship the great A u tho r of. his being without restraint, and according to the religion o f his father, or in the way wherein he may have been initiated. T h e police o f this extraordinary place is extolled, as surpass: ing any thing o f the kind on this side o f the D e s e r t ; robberies and house-breaking are scarcely known ; the peaceable inhabitants o f the town each following their respective avocation, interfere with nothing but what concerns them, T h e govern- * SeedAbd Allah ben Amgar, the person who was Cadi in 1800, was a principal trader a t Mogodor, and son-in-law to the Governor of that place, who being unsuccessful in his commercial affairs, crossed the Desert, and soon obtained the appointment of Cadi; he was a shrewd clever man, about thirty-five years old : he is lately dead. ment o f the city is entrusted to a Diwan o f twe lve Alemma, or men learned in the Koran, and an umpire, who retain their ap-. pointments, which they receive from the king o f Bambarra, three years. T h e power o f the Alemma is great, and their falling into the mass o f citizens after the expiration o f the above period, obliges them to act uprightly, as their .good or bad administration o f justice either acquits or condemns them after the expiration o f their temporary power T h e c iv il j u risprudence is directed by a Cadi, who decides all ju d ic ia l proceedings according to the spirit o f the Ko ran ; he has twe lve talbs o f the law, or attornies, attending him, each o f whom has a separate department o f justice to engage his d a ily attention. Daggers and stillettos are generally w orn : i f any one disputes with his comrade, and becomes irritated, the daggers are drawn, and one stabs the other, without premeditation, whilst under the influence of passion. Revenge, or retaliation for injuries, is so precise, and so eagerly followed, as to become hereditary in a family. Thus i f a man be k illed or stabbed, it d e volves on the next o f kin to him to seek retaliation, and to obtain satisfaction, who accordingly seeks every opportunity o f destroying the man who killed his brother or relation ; when he dies the charge devolves on his next o f kin. In the mean time, i f the officers o f police discover that any sanguinary assault has been committed, the y pursue the aggressor, and oblige him to atteud the wounded man, at his own expense, till he recovers ; but i f he dies, the aggressor is condemned, b y law, to death, unless the next o f kin to the deceased chooses to grant him a pardon, in consideration o f some pecuniary
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