About midnight on the 16th, Ali departed quietly from Be- nowm, accompanied by a few attendants. He was expected to return in the course of nine or ten days. April 18th. Two days after the departure of Ali, a Shereef arrived with salt, and some other articles, from Walet, the capital of the kingdom of Biroo. As there was no tent appropriated for him, he took up his abode in the same hut with me. He seemed to be a well informed man, and his acquaintance both with the Arabic and Bambarra tongues, enabled him to travel, with ease and safety, through a number of kingdoms ; for though his place of residence was Walet, he had visited Houssa, and had lived some years at Tombuctoo. Upon my inquiring so particularly about the distance, from Walet to Tombuctoo, he asked me if I intended to travel that way ; and being answered in the affirmative, he shook his head, and said, it would not do ; for that Christians were looked upon there as the devil's children, and enemies to the prophet. From him I learned the following particulars ; that Houssa was the largest town he had ever seen : that Walet was larger than Tombuctoo ; but being remote from the Niger, and its trade consisting chiefly of salt, it was not so much resorted to by strangers: that between Be- nowm and Walet was ten days' journey ; but the road did not lead through any remarkable towns, and travellers supported themselves by purchasing milk from the Arabs, who keep their herds by the watering-places : two of the days' journies, was over a sandy country, without water. From Walet to Tombuctoo was, eleven days more; but water was more plentiful, and the journey was usually performed upon bullocks. He said there were many Jews at Tombuctoo, but they all spoke Arabic, and used the same prayers as the Moors. He frequently pointed his hand to the south-east quarter, or rather the east by south; observing, that Tombuctoo was situated in that direction ; and though I made him repeat this information, again and again, I never found him to vary more than half a point, which was to the southward. April 24th. This morning Shereef Sidi Mahomed. Moora Abdalla, a native of Morocco, arrived with five bullocks loaded with salt. He had formerly resided some months at Gibraltar, where he had picked up as much English, as enabled him to make himself understood. He informed me, that he had been five months in coming from Santa Cruz ; but that great part of the time had been spent in trading. When I requested him to enumerate the days employed in travelling, from Morocco to Benowm, he gave them as follows:— to Swera, three days ; to Agadier, three; toJiniken,ten; to Wadenoon,four; toLakeneig, five y to Zeeriwin-zeriman, five ; to Tisheet, ten; to Benowm, ten ; in all fifty days: but travellers usually rest a long while at Jiniken and Tisheet; at the latter of which places they dig the rock salt, which is so great an article of commerce with the Negroes. In conversing with these Shereefs, and the different strangers that resorted to the camp, I passed my time with rather less uneasiness than formerly. On the other hand, as the dressing of my victuals was now left entirely to the care of Ali’s slaves, over whom I had not the smallest control, I found myself but ill supplied, worse even than in the fast month: for ¡two sue
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