Negro town of Farani, and begged some provisions from the Dooti, who readily supplied my wants, and desired me to come to his house every day during my stay in the neighbourhood. These hospitable people are.looked upon by the Moors as an abject race of slaves, and are treated accordingly. Tw o of Ali’s household slaves, a man and a woman, who had come along with the two tents, went this morning to water the cattle from the town wells, at which there began to be a great scarcity. When the Negro women observed the cattle approaching, they took up their pitchers and ran with all possible haste towards the town, but before they could enter the gate, they were stopped by the slaves, who compelled them to bring back the water they had drawn for their own families, and empty it into the troughs for the cattle. When this was exhausted, they Were ordered to draw water until such time as the cattle had all drank ; and the woman slave actually broke two wooden bowls over the heads of the black girls, because they were somewhat dilatory in obeying her commands. May 3d. We departed from the vicinity of Farani, and after a circuitous route through the woods, arrived at Ali s camp in the afternoon. This encampment was larger than that of Benowm, and was situated in the middle of a thick wood about two miles distant from a Negro town, called Bubaker. I immediately waited upon Ali, in order to pay my respects to Queen Fatima, who had come with him from Saheel. He seemed much pleased with my coming ; shook hands with me, and informed his wife that I was the Christian. She was a w’oman of the Arab cast, with long black hair, and remarkably corpulent. She appeared at first rather shocked at the thought of having a Christian so near her : but when I had (by means of a Negro boy, who spoke the Mandingo and Arabic tongues) answered a great tnany questions, which her curiosity suggested, respecting the country of the Christians, she seemed more at ease, and presented me with a bowl of milk ; which :I considered as a very favourable omen. The heat was now almost insufferable; all nature seemed sinking under it. The distant country presented to the eye a dreary expanse of sand, with a few stunted trees and prickly bushes, in the shade of which the hungry cattle licked up the withered grass, while the camels and goats picked off the scanty foliage. The scarcity of water was greater here than at Benowm. Day and night the wells were crowded with cattle, lowing and fighting with each other to come at the troughs: excessive thirst made many of them furious ; others, being too Weak to contend for the water, endeavoured to quench their thirst by devouring the black mud from the gutters near the wells.; which they did with great; avidity, though it was commonly fatal to them. This great scarcity of water was felt severely by all.the people of the camp, and by none more than myself; for though Ali allowed me. a skin for containing water, and Fatima, once or twice, gave me a small supply, when I was in distress, yet such was the barbarous disposition of the Moors at the wells, that,, when my boy attempted to fill the skin, he commonly received a sound drubbing for his presumption. Every one was astonished that the slave of a Christian should attempt to draw U
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