mSJKnrojijrfl ilii YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Bought with the income ofthe EDWARD WELLS SOUTHWORTH FUND ¦::.iv.yxu m :':¦: ;i;'.;f :¦-•: ;;!.:! lit ¦sraffli« m m ,iv.'..i.- .!.,li!"M!l #!-!;: : ..:,,: ,.,„.,,,, yyy"" i-A\.\:,:. jijij.: .11 1 1$I INDEX OF THE COUNTRIES, PRINCIPAL PLACES DESCRIBED. Page Africa in General 1 Egypt , 5 Lower Egypt 12 The Nile, 5— The Delta, 12— Alexandria, 15— The- Pha ros, 13 — New Alexandria, 14— Old Alexandria, Cleo patra's Needle, Poinpey's Pillar, Lake Mareotis, 15. Demon's Travels in Lower Egypt, Alexandria, 16 — Reservoirs, House ofSt. Catherine, Baths, Ancient Buildings, 17 — Mosque of St. Athanasius, 18 — Gate of Rosetta, Well of Beda, 19 — Demenbour, the Mirage, 20— Rosetta, 21 — Aboukir, 23 — Canopus, 24. Lake Brulos or Berelos, Butos, Sais or Sah, 26 — Da- mietta, Lake of Menzaleh, 27 — Mansura, Matarea, He- liopolis or On, Land of Goshen and Rameses, Suez^S — Isthmus of Suez, 29. Cairo and the Pyramids 29 Cairo, Streets, 29 — Houses, Reservoirs, Bazars, 30 — Slave- market, Mosques, Castle, Joseph's Hall and Well, 31 — Burying places, Bulac, Fostat or Old Cairo, Joseph's Granary, Aqueduct, the Kalige, 32— Geeza, Island of Rhoda,33— Pyramids,38 — Great Pyramid, 39 — Second Pyramid or Pyramid of Cephrenes, 42 — Third Pyramid 43 — Temples, and Burying Places, the Great Sphinx and the late Discoveries respecting it, 14 — Metrahenny, Memphis, 47 — Pyramids of Sakara and Dashour, Cata combs or Mummy Pits, 48 — Dashour, Meidoun and False Pyramid, 49 — Lake of Moeris or Birket-il-Kerun, Feium, Arsinoe, the Labyrinth, 50. TRAVELS IN AFRICA, FItOM WITH REMARKS AND OBSERVATIONS; EXHIBITING A CONNECTED VIEW OF THE GEOGRAPHY AND PRESENT STATE OF THAT QUARTER OF THE GLOBE. REV. ( WILLIAM BINGLEY, M.A. F.L.S. Late of Petir-kouse, Cambridge, and Autlior of Animal Biography, Sic. Distance for the 3sc of goung persons. LONDON: , PRINTED FOR JOHN SHARPE, at ^ailes'a SSunenile Xihrarn, XorCtson JStusrom, ^iaaUiHo, BV C. WHITTINGHAM, CHISWICK. 1819. PREFACE. In the preparation of this work, it has been the design of the Author, by a detail of anecdotes of extraordinary adventures, connected by illustrative remarks and observations, to allure young persons to a study of Geography, and to the attainment of a knowledge of the character, habits, customs, and productions of foreign nations. The whole is sup posed to be related in a series of daily instructions, from a parent to* his children. The Author has to regret the omission of some narratives of .travels by writers of eminence ; but on the plan which he had laid down for himself, this has been found unavoidable. In one instance, that of Mr. Legh's travels in Nubia, it. has been requisite for him to make a considerable alteration. For the sake of greater' clearness in describing the country, he has been obliged to compress into one current narrative, the remarks of that gentleman in A2 VI , PREFACE. his voyage both up and down the Nile, In a few instances it has been requisite to interrupt the nar ratives of travellers, for the purpose of inserting additional remarks or illustrations ; but wherever this has been done such remarks are noted by brackets at their commencement and conclusion. The Vignette in the title page is a representation of the Sarcophagus, or stone coffin, described in page 18, as that probably which once enclosed the remains of Alexander the Great. Charlotte Street, Bloomsbury., London, July 1, 1819. INDEX OF THE COUNTRIES, HO PRINCIPAL PLACES DESCRIBED. Page Africa in General , 1 Egypt , 5 Lower Egypt 12 The Nile, 5— The Delta, 12— Alexandria, 15— The- Pha ros, 13 — New Alexandria, 14 — Old Alexandria, Cleo patra's Needle, Pompey "s Pillar, Lake Mareotis, 15. Derwn's Travels in Lower Egypt. Alexandria, 16 — Reservoirs, House ofSt. Catherine, Baths, Ancient Buildings, 17 — Mosque of St. A thanasius, 18— Gate of Rosetta, Well of Beda, 19 — Demenhour, the Mirage, 20 — Rosetta, 21— Aboukir, 23 — Canopus, 24. Lake Brulos or Berelos, Butos, Sais or Sah, 26 — Da- mietta, Lake of Menzaleh, 27 — Mansura, Matarea, He- liopolis or On, Land of Goshen and Rameses, Suez, 28 — Isthmus of Suez, 29. Cairo and the Pyramids 29 Cairo, Streets, 29 — Houses, Reservoirs, Bazars, 30 — Slave- market, Mosques, Castle, Joseph's Hall and Well, 31 — Burying places, Bulac, Fostat or Old Cairo, Joseph's Granary, Aqueduct, the Kalige, 32— Geeza, Island of Rhoda, 33— Pyramids, 38 — Great Pyramid, 39 — Second Pyramid or Pyramid of Cephrenes, 42 — Third Pyramid 43 — Temples, and Burying Places, the Great Sphinx and the late Discoveries respecting it, 44 — Metrahenny, Memphis, 47 — Pyramids of Sakara aud Dashour, Cata combs or Mummy Pits, 48 — Dashour, Meidoun and False Pyramid, 49 — Lake of Moeris or Birket-il-Kerun, Feium, Arsinoe, the Labyrinth, 50. INDEX. Page Upper Egypt , 51 Denon's Travels in Upper Egypt. Zaoyeh, Meimund, 52 — Sacred Tree, 53 — Sediman, Bene- suef, 54 — Benesech anciently Oxyrinchus, Minieh, 55 — Hermopolis, Melaui, Antinoe or Antinoopolis, 56 — Monfalout, and Mummy Pits ; Assifit or Siut, anciently Lycopolis, 52 — Gawa Shergieh, anciently An taeopolis *, Achmin, anciently Panopolis, 58 — Girgeh, Abydus, 59 — How, anciently Diospolis Parva; Dendera, Tentyra, 60 — Keneh or Ghenne, Coptos or Keft, Rous or Cus, anciently Apollinopolis Parva, 62 — Thebes, 63. Description of Thebes. Karnac, 64 — Luxor or Aksor, Kourna, 66 — Memnonium, Medinet Abu, 67 — Tomb of Osymandyas, 68 — Sepul chres ofthe Kings, 69 — Erment, anciently Hennon tis, 7 ] . Continuation of Denon's Travels in Upper Egypt. Esneh, or Latopolis ; Etfu, anciently Hieraconpolis ; Apollinopolis MagDa, 72 — Silsilis, Ombos or Koum Ombu, 73 — Assnan or Syene^ 74 — Island of Elephan- tina or Keziret-el-Sag, 75 — First Cataract of the Nile, 76— Island of Philae, 77. Nubia 79 Description of remarkable Objects near the Banks cf the Nile, between the First and Second Cataracts. From the Travels of Thomas Legh, Esq. M. P. Debode, Sardab, El Umbarakat, 80 — Kalaptshi, Dondour, 81 — Guerfeh-Hassan, 82 — Costhambi, Dakki, 83 — Sib- hoi, Amada, Dehr, 84 — Ibrim, anciently Premis, 87 — Great Desert of Nubia, Ipsambnl, 88 — Moscho, Don- gola, 89. Abyssinia 89 Brute's Travels to the Source of the Nile. Cosseir, Island of Emeralds, 91 — Island of Massuati, 92— Arkeeko, 95 — Dixan, 96— Adowa, 97 — Frempna, Ax.- * Erroneously printed AutaepoliB. INDEX. Page um, Province of Sir6, 98— Sire, 99 — District of Wog- gora, 100 — Mountain of Lamalmon, 101 — Gondar, 102 — Emfras, 106, Lake of Dembea, 107 — Saccala, Springs or Source of the Nile, Geesh, 113 — Country of the Agows, 116— Gondar, 117 — Tcherkin, 118 — Hor ca ca- moot, Ras el Feel, 119 — Teawa, 120— Basbock, Sen- naar, 122 — Shandi or Chendi, 126 — River Tacazze, Goos, 127— Chiggre, Terfowey, 128— Assuan, Cairo, 129. Abyssinia in general, 130. Eastern Nigritia, Soudan or Negroland.. 132 Browne's Journey from Cairo to Dar Fur. Cairo, Assiut, Oasis, 133 — Charge, Bulak, Mughess, Sheb, Selime, Bir-el-Malha, 134 — Medwa, Dar Fur, Sweini, 135, Cobbe, El Fasher, 137, 138. Kordofan, Ilbeit, Bornou, 143 — Baghermi, Kouka or Cau- ga, Bergoo, 146 — Warra, Kassina or Cashna, Gana, 147 — River Niger, tVangara, Houssa, 148. Barbary States 148 Tripoli, 149 — Libya, Barca, Desert of Barca, Siwah, 149 — Aguela, 150— Gulf of Sidra, anciently Syrtis Major, 151. Description of Tripoli and its Inhabitants, from a Narrative written by a Sister of the late Richard Tully, Esq. the British Consul. Tripoli, Mosques, Shops, Houses, 152 — Walls and Castle, Harem, Bazars, 154 — Country Residences, 156 — Gou- riana, 157 — Gadamis, 158. Fezzan, Mourzook, 158. Tunis, 160 — Gabes or Cabs, 160 — Lake of Lowedab, Kafza or Cafsa, Spaitla, Gemme, Kairwan, Susa, 161 — Tunis, Walls, Streets, Shops, Palace, Mosques, Lake, adjacent Country, 162— Carthage, El Mersa, 163— Utica, Stacor, Bizerta, 166. Algiers, 167 — Numidia, and Mauritania, 167 — Bona, 169 — Tebess, Constantina, anciently Cirta ; Setif or Sitifi, 170 — Bescara, Bugia, Algiers, 171— Streets, Shops, Houses, Walls, and Forts, Palace, Baths, 172— Country Seats, 173— Mettijah, 174— Mustiganum, Oran, Tlem- sen, 175. INDEX. Page ' Jackson's Account of the Empire of Morocco. Morocco, 176— Tetuan, Ceuta, 176— Ape's Mountain, Tan gier, Cape Spartel, Sia or Salee, 177 — Rabat, Mogador or Suerrah, 178 — Agadeer or Santa Cruz, 179— Cape Bojador, Wedinoon or Noon, Terodant, River Suse, 180 — Morocco, Plain around the City, Waljs, Houses, Palace and Gardens, 181 — Mosques, Kasseria, 182 — Markets, Streets, 183 — Fez or Fas, Houses, Mosques, Caravanseras, Gardens, Schools, 184— Mequinas, 185 — Atlas Mountains, 186. Sahara, or Great Desert 189 Adventures of Robert Adams, during Three Years Slavery in the Great Desert. Cape Blanco, 191— Soudenny, 192, Tombuctoo, 193— River of La Mar Zara, 194 — Tudenny or Taudeny, 196— Woled D'leim, 197— Hilla Gibla or El Kabla, Wedinoon, 199 — Mogador, 200. General account of the Great Desert, 200. Western Nigritia, or Negroland 202 Park's First Journey into the Interior of Africa. Jillifree, Kingdom of Barra, Vintain, Pisania, 203-^-River Gambia, 204 — Kingdom of Woolli, Medina, 205 — Kolor, Tambacunda, Kooniakary, 206 — Tallika, King dom of Bondou, Koorkarany, River Faleme, 207 — Fatteconda, 208 — Joag, Kingdom of Kajaaga, 210 — Kasson, Kayee, River Senegal, Teesee, 211 — Jumbo, Kooniakary, 212 — Kingdom of Kaarta, Kemmoo, 213 — Funningkedy, Jarra Deena, 214 — Sampaka, Dalli, 215— Benown, 216— Bubaker, 219— Jarra, 220— Shril- la,222 — Wawra,Dingyee, 223 — Wassiboo,Moorja, Sego, River Niger or Joliba, 224 — Sansanding, Modiboo, 226 — SilIa,Modiboo,Song, 228 — Banimakoo, 229 — Sibidoo- loo, Wonda, 230— Kamalia^ 231 — Kinytakooroo, 232 — Jallouka, Manna, Malacotta, Banserile, Tenda Wilder ness, Tambacunda, 233— Medina, Pisania, Goree, 234. Park's Last Mission into the Interior of Africa. Goree, Kayee, Le Main, 236 — Pisania — Medina, Kingdom of Wooli, 237 — Simbani Woods, Bondou, River Gam bia, 238— Jallacotta, Bady, 239— Julifunda, 240— Ma- INDEX. . I'.'iie dina, 241— Shrondo, 242— Fankia, Toombin, 243— Fa- gemmia, Dooggikotta, 244 — Wonda, 247— Keminoou or Maniakorro, 249 — Bengassi, 251, Kingdom of Bam- barra, 253 — Koomikoomi, 255 — River Niger or Joliba, Bambakoo, 256— Marraboo, 257— Sansanding, 258 — Country of Houssa, Boussa, 261. Upper Guinea 26L Sierra Leoni, 261 — River Nunez, Cape Mesurado, Foulab, Foota Jallo, 262. Winterbottom's Account of Sierra LeonS and the adjacent Country. Free Town, 263, Teembo, 267. Grain Coast, River Mesurado, 267 — Ivory Coast, 268 — Quagua, Gold Coast, Rio Volta, 269 — Apollonia, Axim, Cape Coast Castle, 270, Ashuntee, 271. Narrative of Mr. Bowdich' s Mission from Cape Coast Castle, to Ashantee. Doorapassee, 274 — Coomassie, 275, 289. Slave Coast, Rio Lagos, Whydali, 290 — Ardrah, Dahomy, 291. Account of Dahomy, and its Inhabitants. From a History of that Country by Archibald Dalzel, Esq. Governor at Whydah, and afterwards at Cape Coast Castle. Calmina, 293— Abomey, 300 — Eyeo, Benin, 301 — River Formosa, Benio, 302 — Waree or Aweri, Cutbari, 303 — Biqfra, Calbonga, Gaboon, Kaylee, 304. Lower Guinea 305 Loango, Boori, 305 — Loango Bay, Congo, River Danda, 306. — River Zaire or Congo, 309. Captain Tuchey's Expedition to explore the River Zaire or Congo. Malemba, 309— Shark Point, 311— Fetiche Rock, 315— Lombee, Embomma, 316 — Noki, 322— Casan Yellala, 323— Banza Cooloo, 324 — Ranza Inga, 325. INDEX. Angola or Dongo, Melamba, River Coanza, Paul de Loan- da, 332 — Benguela, Cape Negro, 333.' Southern.Africa, Caffraria, or Country ofthe Hottentots 333 Country of Namaquas, Great, or Orange River, 333 — Country of Boqesmans, or Bushmen, 334 — Country of Boshuanas, Leetakoo, 335. Cape of Good Hope, 338— Saldanha Bay, Table Bay, Robben Island, Cape Town, 338 — Cape District, 340 — Censtantia, Stellenbosch District, Drosdy of Stellen- bosch, Paarl, Zwellendam District, 341 — Village of Zwellendam, Graaf Reynet District, Village of Graaf Reynet, 342 — Country of Hottentots, 343 — Country of Kaffers or KaflFerland, 344 — Country of Ghonaquas, 345. Eastern Coast of Africa 345 Iniiambana, Sabia, Sqfala, anciently Ophir, Monomotapa or Mocaranga, Mosambique, 345 — Zanguebar, Quiloa, Ajan, Jnba, Brava, Magadoxa, Cape Guaidafui, Strait of Babelmandel, 346. TRAVELLERS IN AFRICA, GEOGRAPHY OF THAT CONTINENT. Jftrst Bag'g instruction. AFRICA IN GENERAL, AND EGYPT. In the course of Geographical Instruction which I am about to commence, I propose to conduct you in imagination, personally and progressively, through all the principal parts of the world. For this purpose I will, at present, request that you place before you a map of Africa, and that you consider yourselves as accom panying me on a journey through that great conti nent. In our progress we will take advantage of such travellers as happen to have gone the same road; and, for the sake of variety, and to render the subject some what more amusing than it otherwise might be, we will adopt abstracts of some of their narratives as our guide. This plan, I have numerous reasons for preferring to the invention of fictitious travels ; and it will yield to you many important advantages even over the real traveller. You will be able, in a comparatively short B 2 AFRICA IN GENERAL. period of time, to attain a much more extensive know ledge of the countries, than any traveller could possibly do. You will suffer no inconveniencies from change of climate and exposure to the weather. You will have no arid deserts to cross, no burning sands to encounter ; the rainy seasons, the tornadoes and storms, that have proved so injurious to others, will not reach you. You will not suffer from fatigue, from hunger or thirst; from the attack of ferocious men, or destructive animals. These are advantages, which you will better know how to appreciate, when I shall have read to you a detail of the hardships and sufferings that several travellers through this interesting continent have had to encoun ter. But it will first be requisite that I give you some idea of the country generally. Africa was a quarter of the globe, the interior of which was little known to Europeans in the early ages of the world ; yet some parts of it, particularly Egypt, Libya, and Carthage, are as familiar in classic story, as even Greece and Rome : for these were at various times overrun by the armies of Europe, or peopled by its colonies. The ancients, in traversing such parts of the country as were accessible to them, saw numerous objects which acted powerfully on their exalted and poetical imaginations. They were particularly sur prised and delighted by those oases, as they are called, those insulated, verdant, and fertile spots, that are there situated in the midst of sandy deserts. Hence origi nated the brilliant pictures of the Hesperian Gardens, aud Islands of the Blest, which are painted iu such glowing colours in the heathen mythology. But the interior of Africa was not unknown to the ancients only: even at this day, a great portion of it exhibits almost a blank in our maps ; or, what is still worse, large spaces are filled with sketches of rivers, lakes, and mountains, that have no other existence than what the fancy of the map-maker has given to them on his paper. AFRICA IN GENERAL. 3 With the outline ofthe coast we are better acquainted. Indeed the ancients boasted that they had attained a considerable knowledge of it. We are informed that, upwards of six hundred years before the birth of Christ, Necho king of Egypt, the same who in the Sacred Writings is called Pharaoh Necho, fitted out a fleet in the Red Sea, for the purpose of circumnavi gating the country; and that the persons who were employed asierted that they had succeeded in the ad venturous undertaking. It is, however, scarcely credi ble that, in the imperfect state of the art of navigation at that period, and without the least previous know ledge or experience, any fleet should have been able to traverse such an unknown extent of ocean, and to have passed in safety round so many stormy, capes as this quarter of the world presents. Yet there are persons who believe that the voyage was performed. These assert that the fleet sailed southward, down the Red Sea, passed through the Strait of Babelmandel, dou bled the Cape of Good Hope, and returned to Egypt through the Strait of Gibraltar. Somewhat more than thirty years after the supposed period of Necho's expedition, the Carthaginians, an active and enterprizing people, fitted out a fleet for the purpose of making discoveries. The command of it was given to one of their-generals named Hanno ; and notwithstanding all the difficulties he had to encounter, he is believed to have sailed out of the Strait of Gibraltar, and along the western coast, nearly to the Tropic of Cancer. The account of this voyage has been preserved, and its authenticity has been esta blished ; but widely different opinions are maintained, both as to the extent of the coast along which he sailed, and the places and objects to which his descriptions refer. After the dissolution of the Roman empire, Africa was scarcely known to Europeans till the fourteenth cen tury, when the Portuguese sailed along the western coast, passed round the Cape of Good Hope, and explored the b2 4 AFRICA IN GENERAL. eastern shore as far as Zanguebar. This people suc-~ cessively planted colonies, and erected forts in Guinea, Congo, and other places. Although the natural position of Africa is extremely favourable to commerce ; although even in very remote periods the northern parts of it contained several king- - doms and states, eminent for the liberal arts, for power, and for wealth ; although it abounds in many valuable productions, and has upwards of twelve thousand miles of sea coast, with many large rivers, some of vvhich are navigable far inland : yet its inhabitants continue, even to this day, a rude and barbarous people, u|acquaintcd with arts and sciences, and indifferent not only to the elegancies, but even to the common comforts of life. They have no laws to restrain, nor governments to pro tect them ; and they have long been not only the prey. of senseless superstitions, but the victims of a foreign, infamous, and' rapacious commerce. Little other inter course has hitherto subsisted between them and the people of more enlightened nations, than what has been disgraceful to humanity ; and it will remain an indelible reproach on the name of Europeans, that, for more than three centuries, their intercourse with Africa, instead of imparting .to the natives the blessings of religion, of in dustry, and civilization, has tended only to destroy their happiness, and to debase their character. The trade in slaves has excited their detestation against Christians ; while the infamous arts of the slave merchants, have inflamed the hostility of the various tribes, and heightened their ferocity against each other. Happily, however, this shameful traffic has at length been wholly abolished. The natives of Africa, generally, may be divided into two great classes, of Moors and Negroes : the former intolerant, perfidious, and sanguinary ; and the latter, generally a simple, mild, and harmless race ; who, if enlightened and directed by the gentle spirit of the Gospel, might be rendered among the most amiable and happy of mankind. EGYPT IN GENERAL. EGYPT. In our survey of this great continent, our attention must first be directed to Egypt ; a country with the very name of which are associated many proud ideas of remote antiquity, and colossal grandeur: a country which, if not the birth-place, was at least the early pro tector of the sciences, and which at this day affords the most stupendous monuments of civilized society- that exist on thl earth. It will enable you to form a general idea of this sin gular country if you represent to yourselves an immense valley, six hundred miles in length, descending from the heights of Assuan, between two great ridges of moun tains, till, towards the sea it terminates in a vast plain, more than three hundred miles in extent. Through this valley flow's the calm and majestic river Nile ; which, rising; in Abyssinia, many degrees south of the Tropic of Cancer, passes through Sennaar, Nu bia and Egypt, and at length, after a course of more than two thousand miles, empties itself, by several mouths or outlets, into the Mediterranean sea. This river is subject to a regular annual inundation, which is thus accounted for. The trade winds that always blow from west to north in the months of June, July and August, convey the vapours that are exhaled from the Mediterranean, and the south-west parts of Europe, into Abyssinia and Ethiopia. Here, being rarified, tbey descend in torrents, and enter, by innumerable channels into the Nile, which diffuses them throughout Egypt, together with the slimy mud that is collected by the waters in their course. The inundation commences about the 17th. of June, and is at its greatest height in the middle of September. From the waters of the Nile the soil of the land, over which they .pass, not only imbibes a portion of moisture that is necessary for ve- 6 EGYPT IN GENERAL. getation, but is richly manured by the sediment of col lected mud and sand which they deposit. Were it not for this regular periodical supply of water; only a very small portion of the land of Egypt could be cultivated ; for rain seldom falls in this country. In the Delta it occurs only in winter, and in Upper Egypt it is considered a species of miracle. The phenomena of thunder and lightning are more uncommon than rain, and are here divested of all their terrific qualities. Owing to its naked and unsheltered surface, Egypt is a wanner country than many others in the same latitude : the hot season commences in March, and continues till November ; and, during this period, while the sun remains above the horizon, the atmosphere is inflamed, the sky is cloudless, and the heat is rendered supportable only by the profuse perspiration which it excites. The production of ice is so extremely unusual, that once, during a few days frost in Lower Egypt, the inhabitants collected considerable quantities of it from the ditches, and carried" it for sale to the European merchants. In this country the winds are regularly periodical. The north wind prevails during near three months in the year ; and continues, with little intermission, from the end T>f May till the end of September. About the end of February, the wind' assumes a southerly di rection, and fluctuates much till the close of April, when the easterly wind begins to predominate. The southerly winds are extremely pernicious. Traversing the arid sands of Africa, they arrive in Egypt fraught with all the noxious exhalations of the desert. At their approach, the sky becomes dark and heavy ; the sun loses its splendour, and appears .of a dim violet hue ; a light warm breeze' is perceived, which gradually increases in heat, till it almost equals that of an oven. Though, no vapour whatever darkens the air, it be comes so grey and thick with floating clouds of light sand, that the inhabitants are sometimes obliged to light EGYPT IN GENERAL. 7 candles at noonday. Every green leaf is soon shrivelled, and every thing formed of wood becomes warped and cracked. The effect of these winds on animated bodies is equally pernicious. , Respiration -becomes quick and difficult; the pores of the skin are closed, and a feverish habit is brought on by suppressed perspiration. The ardent heat pervades every substance ; and even the element of water, divested of its coolness, is ren dered incapable of mitigating the intolerable sensation excited. Dead silence reigns in the towns and villages. The inhabitants, by confining themselves to their houses, vainly attempt to elude the showers of fine penetrating dust, which, according to the Oriental expression, " will penetrate an egg even through the pores of the shell I" These are the hot winds of the desert, and are termed by the Arabs Simoom, and by the Turks Samiel : they are called in Arabia Sirocco, and are sometimes deno minated " the winds of fifty days," because they chiefly prevail between Easter and Whitsunday ; or during the fifty days at the period of the vernal equinox. The present inhabitants of Egypt are a mixture of Copts, Arabs, Turks, Mamelukes, and Jews. The Copts are Christians, descended from the original inha bitants of the country; and they have a chief or patriarch resident at Alexandria, who is head of the whole Coptic church, and is said to have no fewer than one hundred and fifty bishoprics subject to him in Egypt, Syria, Nubia, and other countries. The Arabs constitute the great mass of the population. They consist of 1. Shepherds, 2. Bedouins, or the indepen dent restless freebooters of the desert ; and 3. Fellahs, or cultivators of the soil. The Turks at this day lord it over all the others, being distributed through the country, to garrison the different towns, and to levy contributions for the Grand Signior. The Mamelukes are military slaves, which have chiefly been imported from Georgia, Circassia, and Mingrelia ; a few of them have been prisoners taken in war from the Austrians and Russians, and who have forsaken the Christian for 8 EGYPT IN GENERAL. the Mahometan faith. The Jews in Egypt are similar to the same race of people in all other parts of the world. The usual dress of the Egyptians consists of a long shirt with wide sleeves, fastened round the waist by a kind of girdle; they also wear linen drawers, and a loose woollen upper garment. In winter they have a blanket, and in summer a cotton sheet to wrap round them. Their head is covered with a turban, and their feet with slippers. The dress of the females differs little from that of the males, except that it is shorter, and is generally made of silk. On their heads they wear an embroidered handkerchief, over which their hair is plaited. A narrow black veil conceals the whole of their face, except the eyes, and descends nearly to the ground. They are fond of ornaments, and women even of the lowest rank use them in their noses and ears. The Egyptian females are considered beautiful in pro portion to their corpulence; and various artificial means are adopted to increase their size. Black eyes are also much admired, and females of all ranks stain their eyelashes, eyebrows, and even their eyelids, of a dark colour, by a preparation of. antimony. They also dye their hands and nails yellow. Smoking and drinking coffee are the general amuse ments in this and other Mahometan countries; and whether he be at home or abroad, the Turk keeps his pipe lighted, aud his bag of tobacco hung at his waist. In Egypt, many ofthe laborious offices are performed in a sitting attitude ; the blacksmith beats his iron, and the mason builds his house with his legs folded under him. The Egyptian never even walks, unless there be an absolute necessity for his doing so. These people cannot be said to know any thing of exercise, except on horseback ; and an European walking about, either in a room or in the open air, is an object to them equally curious and incomprehensible. They consider his mo tions either as the result of insanity, or as a compliance with the dictates of his medical ad-visers, who have EGYPT IN GENERAL. 9 prescribed to him such an imcommon exercise for the cure of some extraordinary disorder. In the principal towns, the coffee-house is an important place of amuse ment. Here the wealthy and indolent Turk sits in solemn state, with his pipe in his hand' whilst mounte banks, female dancers and" story-tellers, endeavour by turns to occupy his attention. The generality of Maho metans pass much of their time at the baths. These, iu Egypt, are frequently magnificent structures, paved with marble, richly decorated, and supported at a great ex pense. The Turks are at present the masters of Egypt ; and the Grand Signior governs this country by a pasha or viceroy, who resides at Cairo. The country is divided into two provinces, of Lower and Upper Egypt, of which the parallel of Cairo is the common boundary ; and each of these provinces is subdivided into several sangialics or districts. Tlie whole number of inhabitants has been estimated at about two millions and a half; and the revenue is considered to amount to about one million sterling. As there are numerous races of people in Egypt, the religion is various, but Mahometanism is the esta blished religion of the country. The Coptic is a cor ruption of the Christian Religion, which was early established,, and which still prevails in some parts of Egypt and throughout Abyssinia. Among the Mahometans the ceremony of marriage is a mere civil institution, entirely detached from their religion. The parties present themselves before a magistrate, who draws up and signs the contract be-? t EH o a's Travels in Lower Egypt. ' This well-known traveller accompanied the expedition commanded by General Buonaparte, which, ill the month of May, 1798, sailed from France for the con- qdest and subjugation of Egypt. The French troops besieged and took possession of Alexandria; and, a few days afterwards, M. Denon landed and walked towards the city. On reaching it, he saw no one either to receive him, or to prevent him from advancing ; and it was not without some difficulty he could disco ver where the French head quarters were fixed. The houses were all shut up ; and those persons who had been afraid to fight, had either fled from the place, or had concealed themselves, lest they should be put to death by the victors. All was new to him : the soil, the buildings, the dress and the language; and, in his progress through this long and melancholy city, he found nothing that resembled Europe and its cheer fulness, except the noise and activity of the sparrows. A few days after this, M. Denon accompanied Buo naparte, in his survey ofthe city. Passing by Pompey 's Pillar, of which. M. Denon gives a somewhat detailed TRAVELS IN LOWER EGYPT. J7 account, they entered through one of the gates. The greater part of the space, even within the walls, was either desert, or occupied by gardens or other inclo- sures. At the doors of these were reservoirs, furnished with pumps, by which the thirsty passenger was sup plied with a means of alleviating that which, iu this burning climate, is ranked amongst the most urgent wants of nature. These reservoirs, or cisterns, were dug to a certain depth in the ground, and lined so as to prevent the water from draining through them ; and they were annually filled by the waters of the Nile. The French officers next visited a large reservoir, which contained water for the general supply ofthe city. M. Denon describes it to have been one of the most extra ordinary productions of the middle ages ; and says that, although it was at that time considerably out of repair, it still contained a supply of water sufficient for two years consumption. Their attention was subsequently attracted by a ruin of a reddish hue, denominated by the Catholics, the House of St. Catherine. It was a Roman structure, and appeared to have originally been a hot bath. From this edifice they were conducted to the obelisk called Cleo patra's Needle ; and then towards the sea shore. At the bottom of the harbour, M. Denon remarked the ruins of buildings of all ag*, partly injured by the ocean, and partly by the effects of time and weather. He here distinguished the remains of baths, several chambers of which still existed, and had been built in walls more ancient than themselves. These fabrics ap peared to have been of Arabian structure ; and there had been raised around them, for their preservation, a sort of palisade of columns, the immense number of which testified the magnificence of the palaces they had once decorated. * After passing the bottom of the harbour, some large and ancient buildings, of very singular architecture, were seen. The doors of these afforded a proof of the indestructibility of the Wood ofthe sycamore ; for it had ' 18 denon's remained entire, while the iron that bound it together, had yielded to the effects of time, and had wholly dis appeared. Behind this species of fortress, for such it seemed to have been, were some Arabian hot baths, that exhibited the remains of magnificent decorations. The French soldiers, found the waters very hot, and they made use of these baths, instead of coppers, to boil their linen in. Not far from the hot baths was the Mosque of St. Athanasius, one of the principal buildings in the city. It had originally been a Christian church ; and, though now in a state of great dilapidation, it exhibited the re mains of a superb edifice. Its condition, when M. Denon saw it, served to convey some idea of the care lessness of the Turks' with regard even to objects of which they were particularly jealous. Before the arrival ofthe French army, this people would not. suffer a Christian to approach it, yet they preferred the placing of. a guard at the gates, to the expense of repairing the structure ; for the doors would neither close nor turn on their hinges. This mosque had a covered portico, supported by arches on four rows of columns formed of various kinds of marble ; and the walls and pavement were covered with mosaic work in marble. The portico opened into a square court, which was likewise paved with marble, and was sur rounded by a gallery, raised on columns similar to the others. In the centre of this court was a little oc tagonal temple, that inclosed a sarcophagus, or stone coffin, of Egyptian workmanship, and incomparable beauty, covered with innumerable hieroglyphics, both within and without. [It is necessary to interrupt the narrative of M. Denon's travels, for the purpose of stating a few parti culars concerning this extraordinary relic of antiquity, which is now deposited in the British Museum, and is considered by many intelligent persons to have been the tomb or external coffin of Alexander the Great. [Aucient historians relate that, after his death, the TRAVELS IN LOWER EGYPT. 19 body of Alexander was enshrined in a golden chase- work, fitted to the skin; this, it is said, was covered with a garment also of gold, over which were put a pur ple vestment, and then his armour. Two years were occupied in preparations for the funeral of this great conqueror ; after whicli the body was conveyed from Babylon to Alexandria, with unequalled magnificence, and there deposited in a tomb that had been prepared for it. Some writers assert, that his body was placed in a coffin of gold ; and that this having subsequently been taken away, it was put into a~coffin formed of glass. Three centuries after the death of Alexander, Augustus, the Roman emperor, visited his tomb, and saw the body, which was still entire. At a period, however, now unknown, it was removed, but the sarco phagus continued, and was held sacred by the Turks ; and they guarded it with so much jealousy that, during several centuries, few persons, except Mahometans, had been permitted even to see it. Buonaparte ordered it to be taken away and carried on board one of the French ships. In the hold of this vessel it was disco vered by the English ; and it was one of the antiquities which, in the year 1801, was included in the surrender of the French forces and plunder at Alexandria.] From the Mosque of St. Athanasius, M. Denon and Buonaparte proceeded to the Gate of Rosetta, which at this time was fortified. A row of houses here formed a kind of suburb, which left a vacant space betwixt the city and the port. After Buonaparte had secured the possession of Alex andria, he caused several divisions of the French array to march into the interior of Egypt. Their first station was at a well called Beda, filled with stones, through which issued a small quantity of muddy and brackish water, which the thirsty soldiers collected in cups, and distributed in little rations, as though it had been brandy. This was the main body of the army. During its march, the Arabs not only attacked the advanced guards, but at the same time- harassed the rear ; so 20 denon's that death was the forfeit of all those who did not keep up with their columns. General Desaix, having fallen only fifty paces behind, was on the point of being taken: another officer was killed at the distance only of a hundred paces from the advanced guard ; and a third was taken prisoner at a still less distance. A price was offered for the ransom of the last ; the Arabs quarrelled about the sharing of it, and, to settle the dispute, they blew out his brains. The main army of Mamelukes was in front. These troops were first observed in the neighbourhood of Demenhour. They there reconnoitred the French ; and, observing them to consist only of infantry, a species of troops for which they had hitherto entertained a sovereign contempt, they were impressed with an opi nion that they should obtain a certain and easy con quest over them ; and, therefore, no longer harassed them on their march, This had already become extremely painful by its length, and by the heat of the climate ; it had been performed under the united sufferings of heat and thirst. Though in the midst of a corn country, the soldiers wanted bread ; and, although they had before them the appearance of the waters pf a vast lake, they were almost expiring with thirst. The latter calamity was occasioned by a very extraordinary kind of illusion, 1 not uncommon in Egypt ; and was produced by what the French call the mirage, or the reflection of projecting objects on the oblique rays ofthe sun, refracted by the heat of the burning earth. This phenomenon affords so complete a resemblance of water, that the traveller is as much deceived the tenth time he sees it, as the firs,t : and it tantalizes a thirst the more ardent, as it always occurs in the hottest part of the day. [We are informed by M. Monge, that the mirage is peculiar to the desert, and that it presents the distant appearance of water with such an air of truth and reality, that the shadows of camels which are in advance, seem to be reflected on the apparent watery surface ; TRAVELS IN LOWER EGYPT. 21 and what gives to the illusion a still more extraordinary effect is, that the bodies of these animals appear to be narrowed and elongated upward, so as to resemble the trunks of trees. The most elevated and distant sand hills resemble light clouds ; while the smaller ones ap pear like-ships under a press of sail, in the midst of a lake.] General Menou had been charged with the govern ment of Rosetta, and had also been directed to make a survey of the Delta. M. Denon did not accompany the main body of the French army, but embarked,, in an advice-boat, from the New Port of Alexandria, in com pany with this general. They coasted the flat shore of the Delta, and experienced considerable difficulty before they could reach the mouth of the western branch of the Nile. On entering the river, they observed on the right a fort, and on the left a battery. These had been con structed for defence of the mouth of tlie Nile ; but they were now nearly a league from its bank. The in crease of the soil had been occasioned by successive depositions of mud from the overflowing of the river. About au hour after M. Denon and the general had passed the fort, they discovered the town of Rosetta, (or Raschid, as it is here called) seated on the western bank of the Nile ; and so close to the river, that, every year at the time of the inundation, the water flows up even to the walls of the houses. Rosetta is a populous trading town, of an oblong irregular form, and about three miles in length. The houses are in general better built than those of Alex andria, but they are so constructed that each succeeding story upward, projects farther into the street than that beneath. Hence, at the top, the two sides ofthe street nearly touch each other ; and the streets are thus ren dered both dark and melancholy. The houses that have been built along the bank of the Nile, have not, however, this inconvenience. These chiefly belong to foreign merchants, and command a delightful view 22 denon's .pver an island, which forms one continued garden, a league in extent. The country adjacent to Rosettajs peculiarly fertile and pleasant. It is level, well cultivated, and adorned with curious plants and flowers, groves of orange trees, and thin groves of palms and sycamores. While General Menou was in the Delta an enter tainment was given to the French officers, at a house that had formerly belonged to one of the Mameluke chiefs. The room in which the company assembled was spread with mats, carpets, and cushions. Several servants entered, bringing cold and perfumed water, pipes and coffee. Half an hour afterwards a carpet was spread; and round it was formed a border of three or four kinds of loaves and cakes, while the centre was covered with little plates of fruit, sweet meats, creams, and different productions of the dairy, of which the greater part were exceedingly agreeable and highly perfumed. All this, however, was intended only as a kind of stimulus ; for, in a few minutes, the repast was finished, and at the end of two hours, the same carpet was covered again. Other loaves were' brought, and immense dishes of rice boiled with milk, half sheep badly roasted, large quarters of veal, boiled beads of sheep and calves, and sixty other dishes piled one upon another, and containing spiced ragouts, vegetables, jellies, confectionaries, and honey. The company had no chairs, no plates, no spoons nor forks, no goblets nor napkins. They sate with their legs crossed under them, helped themselves to rice with their fingers, and tore the meat with their nails. They dipped bread into the ragouts, and used it to wipe their hands and mouth with; and they all drank water from the same vessel. After dinner napkins were pre sented, and water was brought for the company to wash their hands. Rose-water was then sprinkled on every person present; and the entertainment con cluded with pipes and coffee. From the tower of a convent near Rosetta, M. Denon, TRAVELS IN LOWER EGYPT. 23 in the night of the 31st of July and the morning of the 1st of August, had a distant view of the celebrated Battle, of the Nile, in which the English fleet, com manded by Lord Nelson, totally defeated and destroyed that which had conveyed the French troops to Egypt. By this defeat the French were deprived of the tem porary superiority they had obtained in the Mediter ranean. It consequently became necessary for them to fortify themselves against the attack ofthe English in this their newly acquired country. A battery was erected on one of the islands of the Nile, and the entrance of the river was fortified. On examining the castle of Rosetta, with a view towards strengthening and rendering it capable of defence, M. Denon remarked,' that one part of it had been constructed of fine free stone from Upper Egypt, the remains of ancient build ings ; and that it was still covered with hieroglyphics. The French officers discovered, in the subterraneous parts of this building, a kind of magazine that con tained a great quantity of ancient weapons and armour; consisting of cross-bows, bows and arrows, with many helmets and swords formed like those which had an ciently been used in the crusades. From Rosetta M. Denon made an excursion by land to Aboukir, for the purpose of ascertaining what remains of antiquity existed there, and in the adjacent country. [Aboukir is a mean village, consisting of about forty houses, and situated between Rosetta and Alex andria, near the point of a cape that projects to some distance into the sea. It was in the bay adjacent to this place that Lord Nelson attacked and destroyed the French fleet on the 1st of August, 1798. There is a castle near the extremity of the cape, but it is in an extremely dilapidated state.] M. Denon visited three ancient cisterns about half a league from Aboukir. They were square wells, ap parently of Arabian construction, and were surrounded by heights which contained several remains of anti- 24 denon's quity. On the following day ne proceeded in a westerly direction from the town, examining every little eminence as he proceeded ; for, in Lower Egypt, such eminences frequently contain antiquities. At the end of three quarters of an hour he found, at the bottom of a creek, a small bank, formed of colossal ruins. Among these he remarked the fragment of a hand, the fore-finger of which was fourteen inches in length. It was of granite, and had belonged ap parently to a statue of Isis, which must have been near thirty-six feet high. Near it were several archi tectural remains, that appeared to have belonged to a large and beautiful Grecian edifice of the Doric order. The waves had • covered, and raged against these ruins for several ages, but many parts of them were still undefaced. Farther on, towards tbe sea, M. Denon observed the remains of a sphinx, from thirteen to fourteen feet high, and formed of a free stone somewhat resembling white marble. At a little distance, among some architectural ruins, resembling those already mentioned, was another figure of Isis, sufficiently perfect to show the attitude in which it had originally stood. It was of granite, about ten feet high, and its legs were broken, but the pieces were lying on one side. From these, and other ruins of Grecian architecture in the same neighbourhood, M. Denon was convinced that they were the remains of an ancient city called Canopus, and of a celebrated temple built by the Greeks, in which it was believed the aged recovered their youth, aud the sick their health. After he had completed his examination of these antiquities, he returned to Rosetta. As Egypt was at this time occupied by a foreign enemy, infidels to the Mahometan faith, it bad been the design of the Turks not to celebrate, according to tlieir usual custom, the anniversary of the birth pf Mahomet, with a festival. General Menou, fearing that such an omission might tend to injure the French TRAVELS IN EGYPT. 25 army in the minds of the people, threatened to put the mufti, or chief magistrate, in irons,, if the festival W:ere not celebrated as it had been in former years. The operation of this- threat was so rapid, that, in a quarter of an hour, not only the festival was pro claimed, but, says M. Denon, " the city was illumi nated, and songs of piety were united with those of gratitude and joy !" The French officers were invited to the feast. The street was converted into an assem bly-room, which, by means of awnings stretched across from the houses, admitted of being lengthened ' or contracted according to the will of the directors. An 'alcove was fitted up for persons of distinction. Bonfires, lamps, and torches, formed a brilliant illu mination. On one side was warlike music, produced by short and shrill hautboys, small kettle-drums, and large Albanese tambourines : on the other, were singers and violins; and, in the midst were the dancers, and waiters with sweetmeats, coffee, syrups, rose-water, and pipes,' which completed the apparatus of the fes« tival. On the 10th of September, Generals Menou and Marmont, accompanied by M. Denon and several other persons, and attended by a detachment of two hun dred soldiers as an escort, crossed the Nile in bOats, on an excursion to explore the Delta, a country hitherto httle known to Europeans. It will afford some proof of the numerous population of this part of Egypt, when it is stated that, in the first four leagues of their journey, they passed through fourteen villages. On the following day they rested for some hours at a village, where they witnessed the exhibition of a party of almehs, or dancing girls. These were seven in number, and had two instruments, a bagpipe and a kind of tambourine; the latter made of an earthen pot. TWo of them began to dauce while the others sang, accompanying themselves with castanets, in the form of little cymbals, each about the size of a crown-piece; c 26 LOWER EGYPT. and their mode of dancing was exceedingly gross and indecent. The searches of M. Denon and his associates, for remains of antiquity in the Delta, do not appear to have been attended with much success; and, after a few days, having been suddenly attacked by a strong party of Arabs, they thought it. advisable to make the best of their way back to Rosetta. The soldiers, however, indemnified themselves for the fatigue they had undergone in this expedition, by loading two hundred asses with twd or three thousand chickens and pigeons, and bringing away seven or eight hun dred sheep. " But," says M. Denon, " there remained nothing to indemnify us amateurs for the unfortunate event that had deprived our curiosity, deceived our hopes, and rendered our expedition abortive." On their return to Rosetta, M. Denon, and some of the other officer's, received orders from Buonaparte to proceed, without delay, to Upper Egypt. They consequently embarked on the Nile the next morning, and a few days afterwards arrived at Cairo. It is necessary once more to interrupt the narrative of M. Denon, for the purpose of speaking of a few places in Lower Egypt, which he had not an oppor tunity of visiting. By a reference tp the map of Egypt it will be seen that, at a little distance eastward of Rosetta, there is an extensive lake, communicating with the sea, and called the Lake of Brulos, or Berelos; between this lake and the shore stands Butos, now an inconsiderable village, but once a city which contained a temple remarkable for its magnificence, and for having an oracle of Latona, that was resorted to from nearly all parts of Egypt. Proceeding from Butos, in a southerly direction Mor about forty miles, we arrive at the ruins of Sais. or Sah, anciently the metropolis of Lower Egypt, and LOWER EGYPT. 27 celebrated for having had a temple of Minerva, in which there was a very extraordinary sanctuary cut out of a single block of granite. This stone, which was thirty feet long, twenty broad, and twelve high, is said to have been hewn from a quarry in the island of Philae, near the first cataract of the Nile. Historians relate that it was conveyed down that river on rafts, and that the preparation and carriage of it, occupied the labour of two thousand men for three years. Near the mouth of the eastern branch of the Nile, and between that river and the lake of Menzaleh, stands the city of Dumietta. It is of a semicircular form, and from one end of the crescent the whole ex tent of it may be seen. The houses, particularly those on the banks of the Nile, are very high, and most of them have handsome saloons built upon their terraces. The principal ornaments of this town are the squares, the mosques, the public baths, and the bazars ; the latter are filled with a great variety of merchandize. Damietta is a place of considerable trade, being a. depot for commodities between Egypt and Syria ; and one of the marts for the productions of the Delta. The principal exports are rice, corn, and Sal ammoniac In several of the adjacent villages, a beautiful kind of linen, and particularly a kind of napkins fringed with silk, are fabricated. The country near Damietta is beautiful and fertile^ The villages are surrounded with groves, where the cassia abundantly displays its yellow flowers, asso ciated with sycamore, date, and tamarind trees. The gardens abound in orange-grpves, and produce various kinds of delicious fruit. In descending the Nile from Damietta, the houses on its banks have an appear ance peculiarly beautiful ; stages are, in many places, stretched across the river, on which vines are planted, and where seats are erected under the shade. A few miles east of this town is the Lake of Men- zaleh, an expanse of water, near twenty leagues in length and eight m width, but in general "So shallow c2 28 LOWER EGYPT. as not to be navigable even during the inundation of the Nile, though at that season it overflows its banks, and its waters fall into the sea by three dif ferent mouths. It contains numerous islands, which are frequented by vast numbers of aquatic birds. Its only separation from the sea is formed by a narrow bank of sand several miles in length. On the borders of this lake are the ruins of several ancient towns. Pursuing the eastern branch of the Nile upward towards Cairo, at the distance of about forty miles from the sea, we arrive at a handsome but decayed town called Mansura, situated amidst gardens and cultivated fields, and nearly as large as Damietta. Several Christian traders from Syria have settled here; and their principal articles of traffic are rice, sal ammo niac, and fowls. Advancing within about ten miles of Cairo, and then turning a little towards the east, we observe a village called Matarea, the site, as it is supposed, of the an cient city of Heliopolis, or On of the Old Testament. This city was famous for a temple of the Sun, which was destroyed by the Persians, in tlieir invasion of Egypt, more than five hundred years before the Chris tian era. There are still some ruins of Heliopolis, particularly an obelisk sixty feet high, and the remains of a sphinx in yellow marble, which appears to have been twenty-two feet in length. A large mound en compasses the whole. The priests of Heliopolis were the most famous of all the priests of Egypt, for the study of philosophy and astronomy; and they are said to have been the first who computed time by years, each consisting of three hundred and sixty-five days. There is reason to suppose that the country around Heliopolis was the Land of Goshen, and that Heliopolis was the Rameses of scripture. From Heliopolis we take our departure eastward across a desert near seventy miles in extent, to the town of Suez, situated near the north-western extremity of the Red Sea. This is a small place, and built chiefly CAIRO. 29 of unburnt bricks. It contains twelve mosques, some of which are of stone ; but most of them are mean and ill constructed buildings. The sea near Suez is so shallow, that, at low water, it can safely be forded both by horses and camels ; yet there is a small yard near the town for the building of ships. The chief article of trade is coffee, which is brought from Jedda, on the coast of Arabia. The population of this place consists chiefly of Mahometans, and a few Greeks. From Suez the isthmus, or neck of land betwixt the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, is little more than fifty-six miles in width; and it was in the contempla tion of the French, when they were in Egypt, to cut a canal of communication betwixt the two seas. ©ftttb' Bag's 3Jngimcttott. CAIRO AND THE PYRAMIDS. ' We now arrive at Cairo, or Kahira, as it is pronounced by the inhabitants, the capital of Egypt and of Africa. It stands on the right or eastern bank of the Nile, and consists of three different towns : a suburb called Fostat: another called Bulac; and the city of Grand Cairo, situated on a plain, distant about half a league from the river. It is sometimes called Misr ; and the inhabitants, in the figurative language ofthe east, style it, " Misr without an equal, Misr, the mother of the world." Notwithstanding these pompous appellations, the streets of Cairo are crooked and narrow ; and, as they are not paved/ the crowds of men, camels, horses, asses, and dogs, which are continually bustling through them, occasion an incessant atmosphere of dust. The main street, which runs from, north to south, is lined on both sides with shops, that are crammed from top to bottom with all kinds of merchandize. The 30 CAIRO. principal houses are built of stone or brick, are two or three stories high, and have flat roofs or terraces : the ground-floor is either a shop, or has no windows towards the street. The upper windows, and those which look into the courts behind, are latticed : some are to be seen covered with paper; and a few of the rich indulge in the luxury of glass. The houses of the grandees are usually in the form of a square, hav ing a court or garden in the centre. Within some of them there are many arrangements both for con venience and for luxury. They are adorned with hand some marble baths and vapour stoves, with mosaic saloons, in the middle of which are basons and foun tains of water; and with large divans, composed of tufted carpets, and raised beds, covered with rich stuffs, and surrounded with magnificent cushions. These divans generally fill three sides of each room. The windows, however, where there are any, are never opened; and the daylight which they admit, is dark ened by coloured glass and a close lattice-work ; for the light principally enters through a dome in the middle of the ceiling. The houses of the lower class of inhabitants are either built of mud or of unburnt bricks, and are only one story high. The whole place is considered to be about ten miles iu circuit, and to contain near three hundred thousand inhabitants. Large and sumptuous reservoirs have becu formed in various parts of Cairo, for supplying passengers with water ; and, for the number and elegance of its baths, this city can scarcely be surpassed. There are nu merous okals, or warehouses, in which wholesale com modities are kept ; and the bazars, or retail market places, are extensive buildings, containing many stalls or shops for different commodities. In these each trade has a separate quarter, and the display of superb Turkish dresses, costly Damascus swords, ataghaus, and every species of eastern luxury and magnificence.. and forms a most brilliant and interesting spectacle. CAIRO. 3t In Cairo there is a slave-market, where, to say no thing of the moral reflections that are suggested by this horrible traffic, the senses are offended in the most disgusting manner, by the excessive state of filthiness in which the wretched beings that are here brought for sale are compelled to exist. They are crowded together in in'closures not unlike the sheep-pens in Smithfield market, and the stench and uncleanness, the consequence of such confinement, are indescriba bly nauseous. With respect to the buildings of Cairo, all travellers remark, that its greatest ornaments are the mosques, of which there are upwards of three hundred within the walls. All these edifices are adorned with" minarets, or lofty steeples, of the lightest architecture imagina ble, each surrounded, at a great elevation, with a pro jecting gallery, in which public criers are stationed to announce the stated times of prayer, prescribed by the Mahometan law; and several hundred voices may sometimes be heard at once from these lofty sta tions. The interior of the mosques is generally fitted up with great simplicity; the pavement is usually covered with mats ; and the walls have scarcely any other ornaments than passages of the Koran, painted in letters of gold, and a vast number of lamps sus pended in horizontal rows. The castle, or citadel of Cairo, forms a noble object. It stands on a rock of considerable elevation, and is nearly three miles in circumference. It is the resi dence of the pasha or viceroy; but though it was once splendidly ornamented, it has now little to re commend it to notice except its great size, and its containing some extraordinary remains of antiquity. Of these the principal are the Well and the Hall of Joseph. The former is an enormous pit, sunk through the solid rock to the depth of two hundred and seventy- six feet; and the latter a fine building, which still exhibits some interesting specimens of ancient eastern magnificence. Common tradition erroneously ascribes , 32 CAIRO. the construction of these to the patriarch Joseph; but they are more correctly to be attributed to a Turkish vizier of that name, who died many years before the commencement of the Christian era. _ A little to the east of Cairo are tbe bury ing-places of the city. Here the tombs of the Sultans and of the Mamelukes are of white marble ; and these extensive cemeteries, crowned- with domes, minarets, and gilt pavilions, are much more magnificent than the abodes of the living. All the different races of people resident in Cairo have distinct burying grounds. Distant about a mile west of the city, and on the bank of the Nile, stands the once flourishing and po pulous suburb of Bulac. Being the principal port of Cairo, in which all the various commodities from. Rosetta and Damietta, as well as from Upper Egypt, were brought, it formerly presented a scene of inces sant bustle and activity. It however now exhibits a melancholy monument of French barbarity. Having joined Cairo iu an insurrection against these op pressors, this unfortunate place was entered by storm, given up to be pillaged for three days by the French, soldiers, and finally bunit to the ground. Fostat, sometimes called Old Cairo, though greatly decayed, and now destitute of nearly all its ancient grandeur, is still a considerable town. Its ruinous citadel, chiefly inhabited by Christians, has within it a large convent of Greek monks. Fostat contains three custom-houses, and a famous magazine, called Joseph's granary. In the latter building corn, arriving from Upper Egypt, is deposited for the use of the Turkish troops. At the entrance of Fostat commences a great aque duct, supported by three hundred arches. This struc ture was built by the»Arabs in the sixteenth century. Water is raised /into it from the Nile by means of machinery worked by oxen, and is conveyed by it into a reservoir near the castle, for the palace of the pasha and the supply of the garrison. Near this place begins the Kalige, or canal, which CAIRO. 33^ proceeds from the. Nile towards Cairo, and divides that city into two parts. This canal is of great utility - to Cairo and its neighbourhood. By means of it all the reservoirs within and without the walls are annually filled, and thus an ample supply of water is obtained. At the period of the inundation of the Nile every year, the Kalige is opened with a certain degree of cere mony; and, instead of being, as it always is in the months 'immediately preceding, a general receptacle and deposit of filth, in the highest degree disgusting, it is at once changed into a canal covered with light boats and gilt barges, filled with parties of pleasure. During the months of August, September, and October, when the inundation is at its height, the Kalige con tinues full of water, after which it gradually reverts to its former state. , ' Between Fostat, on the eastern bank of the Nile, and Geeza, a village on the opposite side, is the island of Rhoda, a delightful spot, about a mile in length, and nearly covered with large sycamores. At the south end of this island is a small building, covered with a magnificent dome, and containing the Mikias or Nilo- meter, a celebrated marble column, by which the height of the Nile is measured. This column is in a deep basin, the bottom of which is on a level with the bed of the river. The water enters on one side and passes out at the other ; and the column is divided into measures, by which the gradual rise of the Nile is ascertained. As soon as the river begins to swell, its daily increase is watched by an officer, who from time to time transmits his report to Cairo, where it is proclaimed and received with the utmost eagerness. The common people have a tradition that it was near this place that Moses was found, after he had been exposed on the banks of the river. The inhabitants of Cairo are of very various de scription, and copsist, among others, of Arabs, Copts, Turks, Albanians, Greeks, Syrians, Jews, and Arma- c3 34 CAIRO. nians. The dress of the common people is simple,- and well adapted to the warmth of the climate. The men wear a shirt of coarse calico, whjch hangs down to the knees ; above this they have another wider and longer, of blue or rather of black colour, and round their Waist a broad leathern girdle. Their heads are covered with a red cap, wound round with a piece of calico. Their legs are naked, and their feet are some times protected by coarse shoes of untanned leather. The women are dressed much in the same style, but without the girdle and shoes ; and a thick veil covers their face and breast, having in it two holes opposite to the eyes. They usually marry when only fourteen or fifteen years of age ; and at twenty they are con sidered past their prime. The heat of the climate, during at least nine months. of the year, is here so oppressive as to occasion great languor. Hence, every where in Cairo,, are to be seen sofas, cushions, and other conveniences for repose{ In every garden there are arbours and seats, but no walks ; and tobacco, coffee, and sherbet, aid iu passing a con siderable portion of the day. After the wealthy- inha bitant of this city has risen in the morning, and has performed his ablutions and devotions, he reposes ou his cushion, and receives his pipe and coffee. He draes about noon. The dinner, which consists chiefly of rice and poultry, with melons, cucumbers, and other re freshing fruits, is served in a large tray. After dinner,, he retires to the apartments of his women and children,' or passes the time in sleep ; and about an hour after sunset, supper appears, which consists chiefly of rice and fruit. Cairo is the metropolis of the commerce of eastern Africa, and the chief mart for the 6ale of slaves that are brought from Abyssinia, Sennaar, Dar Fur, and other countries of the interior. The police of this city is peculiarly strict. All the streets are closed at night by gates at each end ; and every person who goes out CAIRO. 35 after it is dark, is obliged to carry a light, which greatly contributes to the security and tranquillity of the place. In Cairo, camels are the general substitutes for carts. They bring in all the provisions, and carry away all the filth. Saddle-horses, and asses, are used for tbe con veyance of passengers from place to place ; and they are to be seen in every street saddled, bridled, and al ways ready to start. The ass, which in northern coun tries is a heavy, dull, and inactive beast; seems, in Egypt, to enjoy the plenitude of his existence. He is healthy, active, and cheerful; the mildest and safest animal to mount that any one can have. His natural pace is a canter or gallop, and without fatiguing the rider, he carries him rapidly through the streets, or over the plains. We must not omit to state, that jt is customary in this and some other towns of Egypt, to produce chick ens by the artificial process of hatching the eggs in ovens heated by means of dung. The eggs are placed on mats, and arranged in tiers ; and many thousands o£ chickens are annually brought to life by this process. We will conclude our account of Cairo, with an ab stract of M. Denon's description of the psylli, or charmers of serpents ; many of whom have attained great celebrity in this part of Egypt. He says that, when Buonaparte was here, a party of psylli were in troduced to him, in company with other French officers. Several- questions were put to them relative to the mys teries of their sect, and tbe command over serpents which they are supposed to possess. They answered the questions with a degree of assurance which induced Buonaparte to ask, " if they could tell whether^any serpents were at that time in the palace where he resided ; and, if there were, whether they could oblige them to come from their retreats V To each of these questions they replied in the affirmative, and were put to the proof. They were permitted to search all the rooms ; and when this was done, they declared that 36 CAIRO. there was a serpent in the house. They renewed their search, to discover where it was concealed ; and they iiiidei went strange apparent convulsions in passing a jar that stood in a corner of one of the rooms. The animal they said was in that jar : the jar was examined, and a serpent was found in it. There had evidently been some deception practised, but no one had disco vered in what manner. Buonaparte and Denon looked at each other in astonishment, and acknowledged that the men had been very adroit. After this, M. Denon, addressing himself to the chief of the psylli, complimented him on the success of his skill, and requested permission to witness the ceremony of initiation of the psylli. The man imagined that M. Denon was desirous of becoming a proselyte, and pro posed to initiate him. The latter assented ; but, when- he was informed that, in one part of the ceremony it was requisite for the teacher to spit into the mouth of his pupil, he declined the honour; and gave the chief a sum of money for permission to see the ceremony performed on some other person. At a time appointed, the man and his associates brought with them some serpents. These they let loose from a leather bag, in which they were kept ; and, by irritation, made them erect their bodies and hiss. The creatures had the peculiar quality, when angry, df dilating the neck below the head, to the breadth of five or six inches. It was soon apparent to M. Denon, that he bad no greater reason to dread the bite of these ser pents, than their masters ; and, having attentively re marked that the psylli, while they were threatening the? animals with one hand, seized them on the back ofthe neck with the other, he did the same with one of the serpents, and with equal success. The psylli next proceeded to the grand mystery. One of them took a snake, which he had previously dis abled by breaking its under jaw, and rubbing away the- giims till the whole palate was destroyed. He the'ri grasped it with the appearance of passion, and ap- CAIRO. 37 proached the chief, who, with an affected gravity, gave him " the spirit," that is to say, after uttering some mysterious words, he blew into his mouth. At that instant, the other was apparently seized with a strong convulsion : his arms and legs were distorted, his eyes seemed to start from his head, and he began to tear the animal with his teeth. Two attendants, appearing to commiserate his sufferings, with difficulty restrained him, and snatched from his hand the serpent which he was unwilling to resign. As soon as it was removed, he remained as if stupid ; but the chief approached him, muttered some words to him, retook from him the spirit by aspiration, and he returned to his natural state. The person, however, who had seized the snake, begin ning to be tormented with the same apparently mystical ardour, came up to the chief to demand the spirit; and as he was stronger and more active than the first, his cries and convulsions were still more violent and ridi culous. M. Denon had now seen enough of the ini tiation : and this absurd juggling was consequently ter minated. Mr. Browne, who was several times witness to the ceremonies of the psylli, asserts that the serpents are really poisonous ; that they neither have their venemous fangs extracted, nor their jaws broken, and yet that the psylli have them so much under command, that they never receive any injury from them. The traveller, after having passed through Cairo, enters the district of Upper Egypt, and approaches the nar rowest part of the valley of the Nile. Here, the Ara bian and Libyan mountains seem closing, to prevent his further progress. The low lands adjacent to the banks of the river, exhibit a luxuriant vegetation. Sy camore, palm, and date trees, grow around the different towns and villages ; while the intermediate spaces are occupied with crops of maize, wheat, and sometimes with sugar-canes. Melons and gourds here grow to great perfection, and are highly esteemed for food; 38 THE PYRAMIDS OF GEEZA, and the fig, the orange, pomegranate and peach, are, in some places, very abundant. Beyond the rocks which approach the river, is seen a sandy, arid, and solitary desert, that extends to an immense distance. In the midst of this, on the western side ofthe Nile, the traveller, as he advances, beholds the pyramids. They are visible to a vast distance, and their stupendous height, prodigious surface, and enormous solidity, ex cite in him emotions of admiration and awe. These astonishing monuments of ancient labour and magnifi cence, are numerous, and are usually distiuguishcd by the names of the villages that are in their imme diate vicinity, as Geeza, Sakara, and Dashour. They commence at the distance of about twelve miles from Cairo, and extend, at intervals, along the sand-hills, which skirt the banks of the Nile, from Geeza to Meidoun, over a space of twenty-six miles. On approaching them, their angular and inclined form diminishes the appearance of their height, and so deceives the eye, that the traveller is astonished at feeling an abatement of that impression which they had produced while at a distance. But as soon as he begins to measure them by some known scale, they re cover all their immensity. A hundred men seen near the door or opening of the great pyramid, were appa rently so diminished by their situation, that they did not seem to be of human stature. Concerning the origin of these structures, there is a> great diversity of opinion ; and no satisfactory account has hitherto been given either of the dates of their foundation, or of their founders. It is obvious that tbey could not all have been erected at the same period, as the quantity of materials, and the number of work men necessary for their construction, must have been immense. They are, however, undoubtedly of the re motest antiquity, for the time when they were built was not known even to the most ancient of the Greek historians. Herodotus, who lived two thousand two hundred and sixty-four years ago, attributes the struc- THE PYRAMIDS OF GEEZA. 39^ ture ofthe principal pyramid to a king of Egypt, whose name was Cheops, but the period of whose reign has not been mentioned. Josephus, the Jewish historian, ascribes1 the building of several of them to the Israelites, during their slavery in Egypt. As no hieroglyphical nor emblematical characters are found on them, it should seem that they must h^ve been constructed before the invention of such characters. There can, however, be little doubt that they were intended as the sepulchres of their founders, and the monuments of posthumous vanity. Of the magnitude of the pyramids, some idea may be formed by stating, that St. Paul's cathedral in London, is lower, by upwards of one third, than the great pyramid of Geeza ; and that this pyramid stands upon a piece of ground nearly as large as Lincoln's Inn Fields. Its perpendicular height is four hundred and seventy-seven feet, and each side of its base measures near seven hundred feet. It is built in regular steps, of which there are about two hundred and twelve from the base to fhe summit. Each of these is from two and a half, to four feet high ; and the wliole structure is so regular, that a line stretched from the top to the bottom, would touch the angle of every step. The usual place for commencing the ascent to the summit of this pyramid, is at the north-eastern angle ; and where the steps are high, or where one of them happens to be broken off, the traveller is obliged to look for some more convenient place, at which the steps are entire, or where a high step is a little mouldered away, so as to render the ascent more easy. A hillock of rubbish and sand, accumulated to the height Of fifty feet, against the north side of the pyramid, now serves as an ascent to the aperture that leads into its interior. This aperture, wliich the archi tect had studiously concealed, has been discovered under the third and outermost coating of the fabric ; and from it a long narrow passage or gallery runs down ward in a sloping direction, towards the centre anil 40 THE PYRAMIDS OF GEEZA. base bf the pyramid. At the bottom of this gallery are two immense blocks of granite, which have evi dently "been intended to stop up tbe passage; but an orifice has been cut round them to a second gallery. This is nearly twice the length of1 the former ; it is very narrow, has a steep ascent, and has a flight of steps rudely cut in it. At the top, there is a sort, of landing-place, about fifteen feet square, where three apertures present themselves. One of these, which M. Denon denominates a lofty and magnificent flight of stairs, extends upward; another horizontally; and the third perpendicularly downward ; the latter is called " the well." Of these the first, or principal gallery, has a vaulted roof, and stone benches, or raised ways, along the sides. Its whole width is six feet and a half, and its length about a hundred and forty feet ; and at regular inter vals, along the sides are large holes. This staircase is ascended by modern steps cut in the floor; and at the top there is a small platform, in which is a block of granite, like an immense chest, thirteen feet thick, imbedded in the solid building. With almost incre dible labour, a breach has been effected through this stone, and a low doorway has been discovered be yond it. This is the entrance to a small apartment, lined with granite, called " the Royal Chamber." It contains a sarcophagus or tomb, of the plain figure of a parallelopiped, without any ornament, and cut out of a single block of granite. The sarcophagus is open, and empty, and no vestige whatever of any lid remains. Immediately over this chamber there is another of small dimensions, the access to which can only be had by a ladder from the top of the principal gallery. The sides and roof of the latter chamber are coated with red granite of the finest polish. The horizontal passage is about one hundred and ten feet in length, and not more than three feet high and wide. At its termination, is a chamber seventeen feet long, and fifteen wide, with an angular roof. This, THE PYRAMIDS OF GEEZA. 41 apartment has no ornament nor sarcophagus, and is formed of a fine calcareous stone, of which the masonry is very elaborate. The well has seldom hitherto been examined. In the beginning of the year 1817, however, Captain, Caviglia, the master of a merchant vessel, trading in the Medi terranean, who, for nearly six months, was zealously em ployed in researches among the pyramids, descended into it, being let down by a rope tied round his middle, and carrying a lamp in bis hand. The whole depth was about one hundred and fifty-five feet ; and when he reached the bottom, he found only a collection of loose stones and rubbish. The heat was excessive, and the air so foul, that his lamp was extinguished some time before he could again reach the light of day. Mr. Caviglia was not satisfied with the result of his examination. He thought the ground at the bottom of the well, when struck with the foot, yielded a hollow sound. With a view to further discovery, he pitched a tent in front of the entrance of the pyramid, deter mined, if possible, to excavate a way to the well. He hired several Arabs to assist him, and, after indefati gable perseverance and almost incredible labour, he suc ceeded in discovering a passage which led thither immediately from the main entrance. By this he de scended, and beyond the well he found another passage which led to a spacious chamber, sixty-six feet long, and twenty-seven wide, near the base of the pyramid, and at the centre, directly under the apex. This chamber was nearly filled with loose stones and rubbish, which Mr. Caviglia, with considerable labour, caused to be removed ; but he was unable to conjecture for what purpose it could have been designed. There was no vestige whatever of any sarcophagus. The laborious exertions of Mr. Caviglia, in clearing out the channels, chambers, and passages of this py ramid, do not appear to have been rewarded by any new discovery of antiquities ; nor does he seem to think that any new light has thereby beep tlirown ou theA 42 THE PYRAMIDS OF GEEZA. question, concerning the original intention of these stu pendous fabrics. This gentleman, however, determined to a certain degree, one disputed point, how far the solid rock had been adopted for the "construction of the pyramids. He says, that its highest projection into the body of the principal pyramid, was about eighty feet above the level of the external base. We have now the knowledge of four distinct cham bers in this pyramid, and it is possible that there may be many others yet undiscovered. The second pyramid, usually called the Pyramid of Cephrenes, is. situated about a quarter of a mile south west of the former, and measares four hundred and fifty-six feet in height. It has been externally covered with a fine and close-grained lime-stone, part of which still remains near the top. When Mr. Notden was here, he remarked that there was no appearance what ever of its having been opened ; and it was indeed believed not to have any interior chambers. But, in the spring of 1818, by the extraordinary labours of M. Bel- zoni, a native of Rome, and Mr. Salt, the British con sul at Cairo, some very important discoveries, relative to its interior, were made. Passages were found that led from the outside to two different apartments, one in the base and centre of the pyramid immediately under the apex, and another on one side several feet beneath the base of the present level. The former was about forty-six feet long, sixteen wide, and twenty* three high ; and in tbe midst of it was a sarcophagus of granite, partly buried in the ground, and surrounded by large blocks of granite, placed there apparently to guard it from being taken away. This sarcophagus had already been opened ; and was found to contain only a few bones. One of these, which was brought to London, proves to have been part of the thigh-bone of a cow. It is conjectured that the body of Cephrenes, the founder of this pyramid, may have been deposited here in the same sarcophagus, (under a notion of greater sanctity), with an ox, the representation of Apis or THE PYRAMIDS OF GEEZA. 43 Osiris, the tutelary deity of the Egyptians. On the walls of the chamber, M. Belzoni noticed several in scriptions,- particularly one in Arabic, importing that this pyramid had already been opened and examined in the presence of one of the sultans. Part of the floor had been removed, and evidently for the purpose o'f searching for treasure. The other chamber was some what longer than this, but not much more than half its width : it contained a great number of small blocks of stone, and had some illegible inscriptions on the walls. At a little distance, south-west of this pyramid, stands the third . pyramid, supposed to have been built by Miserinus, a son of Cheops. This, the entrance into which has not yet been discovered, is smaller than either of the others, but is apparently similar to them in construction. Its outside had formerly a casing of red granite, a considerable portion of which is still to be seen scattered round its base. In the year 593, when Al-Malec was governor of Egypt, he was persuaded by his favourites to attempt the destruction of the pyramids. Having engaged a great number of engineers, masons, and labourers, and having convoked for the purpose the grandees of his empire, he issued orders that they should begin with this pyramid. They pitched their tents on the spot, collected their artificers and workmen, and maintained them at an enormous expense. Here they continued for eight months, and were seldom able to pull down more than one or at most two stones in the course of a day, and this with the most painful exertions. The labourers from above forced downward every stone with wedges, levers, and iron crows, while those below pulled it with cables : when it fell the earth was shaken, the noise was heard to a surprising distance, and the stone was buried in the sand. Additional labour and fatigue were requisite to extract it. The " workmen then applied their wedges to it, broke it in pieces, and conveyed these pieces on carriages to the further end of one of the mountains. They spent much time ta 44 THE GREAT SPHINX. little .purpose; their resources failed, their difficulties increased, and they were finally obliged to desit. The projectors of this extraordinary undertaking were con sequently unable to obtain the end they proposed ; and all they accomplished was to deface the pyramid, and to betray the weakness and impotence of their efforts. Near each of these pyramids the remains of temples have been discovered ; and in different parts, adjacent to them, are "innumerable ruined edifices and tumuli, originally constructed for burying places. Mr. Caviglia cleared and examined several of them. They were of stone, -and were generally of an oblong form, having their walls slightly inclining from the perpendicular inward, the peculiar characteristic of ancient Egyptian architecture. The roofs were flat, and had a sort of parapet round the outside. The inside walls of some of them were covered with stucco, and embellished with paintings and fragments of statues, both of marble and granite, were discovered in them. In all that he opened? the remains of mummies were found ; and it was a remarkable circumstance, that in one apartment or other of each of these monumental edifices there was a deep well or shaft, from the bottom of which a narrow passage conducted to a subterranean chamber. One of these shafts, which was cleared out by Mr. Caviglia, was sixty feet deep ; and in the chamber, a little to the south of the lower extremity, was a plain but highly finished sarcophagus, without a cover. Directly in front of the second pyramid, and about a quarter of a mile to the east of it, is the celebrated figure called the Sphinx. Till very lately only the head, neck and upper part of the back of this figure were visible above the surface of the sand. The height of the head and neck is about twenty-seven feet : its breadth across the lower part of the neck is twenty- three feet, and its whole length, from the head' to the tail, one hundred and thirty feet. It has been cut out of the solid rock, the veins of which give it the appear ance of having been artificially constructed of stone. THE GREAT SPHINX. 15 On the back there is a hole, about five feet long, which Dr. Pococke conjectured might be an opening to apart ments beneath. There is said to be another at the top of the head. Although the proportions of this figure are colossal, its outline is extremely graceful, and the expression of the head is mild and elegant. The character indeed is African; but there is a contemplative turn of the eye, and the mouth has a softness and delicacy of execution, that are truly admirable. The engravings that have hitherto been given of the sphinx, are said to be ex tremely inadequate representations of it. Mr. Caviglia, whose labours in examining the pyra mids we have already noticed, entered on the laborious task of clearing away the sand around the sphinx*. He began by digging a trench near the left shoulder. This was made about twenty feet wide at the top. But during the operation, the sand was blown in again so fast as to become dangerous to the workmen ; and, not withstanding all the means they could take to prevent it, the wind at night drove back more than half that which they had dug out in the day. Nothwithstanding this, Mr. Caviglia was enabled to ascertain, that the external and lower surface of the body was composed of irregular shaped stones, built up with much care, and covered with red paint ; but the masonry here dis covered, seemed to be confined to certain projecting ledges, which might have been intended for the lines of the mantle or dress. This attempt not having been satisfactory,' Mr. Caviglia set to work directly in front of the figure, commencing in the early part of March, 1817, and continuing without interruption till the end of June. With the assistance of from sixty to a hun dred persons every day, he succeeded in laying open the whole figure from its base, and in exposing a clear area, extending a hundred feet from its front. It is * In the Conversations on Eminent Travellers, this operation bas, bv mistake, been atributed to M. Belzoni. 4C THE GREAT SPHINX. not easy for any person unused to operations of this kind, to form the smallest idea of the difficulties which this gentleman had to surmount, particularly when work ing near the lower parts ofthe figure. Notwithstanding every precaution, the slightest breath of wind set ah the surrounding particles of sand in 'motion, so that the sloping sides began to crumble away, and mass after mass came tumbling down, till the whole surface bore no unapt resemblance to a cascade of water. This was so much the case in one part, that, in con sequence of the sand rolling down in one continual and regular torrent, the whole of the people were employed for seven days without making any sensible advance in their work. The discoveries, however, which were finally made by these operations, amply compensated for the diffi culties that were encountered in their progress. Nu merous pieces of antiquity, as unexpected as theywere extraordinary, were developed. The whole front was uncovered, aud, among other things, a small but beau tiful temple, cut out of the solid rock, and in a situa tion centrally between the out-stretched paws of the sphinx, was exposed to view. At -the extremity of this temple was a large block of granite, fourteen feet high, seven broad, and two thick, highly embel lished with sculpture in bas relief, the subject repre senting two sphinxes, seated on pedestals, and priests holding out offerings; and beneath this was a long in scription in hieroglyphics beautifully executed. There were two other tablets similarly ornamented, but of calcareous stone; a small lion; some fragments of other lions, rudely carved ; the fore part of a sphinx, and an altar of granite ; and from the effects of fire, that were observable on this altar, it would appear to have been used for burnt-offerings. All these had been ornamented with red paint. On the side of the paw of the great sphinx were several inscriptions in Greek characters, cut into the stone, and addressed to different deities. There was one on the second MEMPHIS. 47 digit or toe of the left paw ; and on the toes of the right paw were a few of the usual dedicatory phrases in homage of Harpocrates, Mars, and Hermes. The names of some of the Roman emperors were also seen inscribed on different -parts. Immediately in front of the sphinx were the remains of what appeared to have been two elevated platforms, each accessible by a sepa rate flight of steps. It has been conjectured that these were originally intended as stations for the em perors, or for the prefects to view the solemn rites performed in the temple, and at the altar in front of the sphinx. The paws of the sphinx stretch out to a distance of about fifty feet ¦ in front of the body. They are con structed of masonry, but the other parts of this asto nishing figure have been Gut out of a projecting angle of the mountain, and are one single piece of rock. If the traveller advance in a southerly direction from the pyramids of Geeza, he will arrive at Metrahenny, the spot on which the city of Memphis, the ancient capital of Egypt, is supposed to have stood. At this place, Mr. Bruce informs us, that he saw great mounds and heaps of rubbish; three granite pillars, and a piece of a broken chest, or cistern of granite. These were shewn to him as the ruins of the ancient city of the Pharaohs, kings of Egypt Strabo, the Greek geo grapher, who visited Egypt more than eighteen hundred years ago, says that, except Alexandria, Memphis was then the most magnificent city in Egypt. He saw there a temple of Osiris, where Apis, the sacred ox, was kept and worshipped. There was likewise, says this geo grapher, an apartment for the mother of that ox ; a temple of Vulcan of great magnificence; a large circus, or space for the fighting of bulls ; and a great colossus, in front of the city. There were also a temple of Ve nus; a serapium (or temple of the Egyptian deity Serapis) and several sphinxes ; of some of the latter, the heads only were visible in the sand, and others Were covered up to the middle of their body. In 48 PYRAMIDS OF SAKARA. front of the city were many palaces, then in ruins. These lay along" the side of a hill, which extended to some lakes and groves, four or five miles distant. After proceeding across a sandy desert, a few miles south of Memphis, the traveller will approach the pyra mids of Sakara, and Dashour. These are nearly all built of unburnt bricks, and are about eighteen in num ber. They extend along the brow of a hill, through a distance of eight or nine miles, the village of Sakara being near the middle of them. The principal of these pyramids seem about the size ofthe third pyramid at Geeza. Three or four of them have been opened, and some are in ruins, but no discoveries of importance have hitherto been made in them. The vicinity of Sakara is more celebrated on account of its numerous catacombs, or sepulchral excavations under the surface of the ground, than for its pyramids. These are entered by wells or shafts, formed through the solid rock, and twenty feet or upwards in depth. The usual mode of visiting them is by means- of a rope ladder, or to be let down by a rope fastened under the arms. Dr. Pococke visited one of them. When he reached the bottom of the well, he proceeded along a passage, nearly choked up with sand, fifty feet long, and about five feet wide. On turning at the end of this passage, he came to several small apartments, appropri ated for the reception of mummies, some of which were still left, standing in niches, and in an upright position. On the floor of these apartments, were the remains of several mummies, which had been pulled in pieces for the purpose of being plundered of the bitumen or balsam, that had been used in the embalmation of them. Dr. Pococke also saw several large earthen vases, con taining a black kind of earth, the remains, as he ima gined, of the bowels of persons whose bodies had been embalmed. In another place he descended into a catacomb, about thirty feet beneath the surface of tbe ground. This had been appropriated to the interment of birds, for, FALSE PYRAMID. 49 in andient Egypt, the ibis was held so sacred, that, whenever it was found dead, it was honoured with pecu liar ceremonies in the interment. The bodies of these birds, and of other animals worshipped by the Egyp tians, were embalmed, deposited in vases of earthen ware, and placed, with great solemnity, in catacombs appropriated for tlieir reception. From the extraordinary sepulchral excavations which have been discovered near all the ancient cities of Egypt, and from the state in which human bodies have been found in them, it is evident that the Egyp tians must have been peculiarly attentive to the pre servation of their dead. But we must not suppose that any except the higher and more wealthy classes could have had such places or such expensive pre parations appropriated to them. All others must have been contented with a much less costly mode of interment than this. Hence, and from the immense number of catacombs, sepulchres, and mummies that have been discovered, we have additional proof of the ancient wealth and splendour of this country. About six leagues beyond the supposed site of the city of Memphis is Dashour, a town anciently cele brated for containing a temple of Osiris. The district in whichi it is situated, is watered by many artificial canals, is extremely fertile, and contains several remains of antiquity. Near Meidoun is the most southerly of the pyramids of Dashour, and probably of all the pyramids of Egypt. At a distance it resembles a large tumulus, but, on a near approach, it appears to be an edifice constructed of large bricks hardened in the sun; whence, by the Arabs and Turks, it is usually named the false pyramid. Herodotus remarks concerning this pyramid, that, in his time, there was the following inscription upon it: '' Do not compare me with the pyramids of stone ; for I excel them,, as much as Jupiter excels the other gods: for those who built me thrust poles into a lake, and, collecting the mud which adhered to them, they Trav. d 50 LAKE OF MCER1S. made bricks of it, and thus they constructed me." Whence it is obvious that this pyramid must have been of more recent date than the pyramids of stone. It is of beautiful form, in good preservation, and does not appear to have ever been opened. At the distance of about fifteen miles west of the false pyramid is the Lake of Mceris, now called Birket- il Kerun. This lake is more than thirty miles in length, and seven miles in breadth, yet the ancient historians considered it to have been the work of human labour, constructed under the directions of a king of Egypt of the same name. But although we are well assured of the gigantic operations of the ancient Egyptians, it is impossible to persuade ourselves that they could have formed a lake of such magnitude as this. Somewhat to the south of it is a little town called Feium, situated on the banks of the principal canal leading from the Nile to the lake, and surrounded with gardens aud highly cultivated lands. It is in habited chiefly by Mahometans, aud was once famous for numerous distilleries of rose-water. At a little distance from if are some heaps of rubbish, the vestiges of the ancient city of Arsino'e. The Egyptians are said to have worshipped the crocodile at this place, to have nourished several of these animals in a splen- ¦ did manner, to have embalmed them after their death, and to have interred them in subterraneous caverns wkh great solemnity. Near the western extremity of the Lake Moeris is a spot which Dr. Pococke conjectures to have been that of the famous Egyptian Labyrinth. This extra ordinary edifice is said by Herodotus to have been constructed by twelve kings of Egypt, when the govern ment of this country was divided into twelve parts. He • describes it as so many palaces for them to meet in for the purpose of transacting affairs of state and religion. Other ancient writers give different accounts of it, but they all agree in asserting that it contained three thou sand apartments, half of which were underground, and DENON'S TRAVELS. 51 cut out of the solid rock : that no wood was used through out the whole building; and that the entrances of the apartments were so contrived that- it would have been impossible for a stranger to find his way out of any of them. So extraordinary was this edifice that Dceda- lus is said to have come into Egypt on purpose to see it ; and that, on the model of it, he subsequently built the labyrinth in Crete, for Minos, the king of thai island. There are remains of small pyramids, obelisks, and other antiquities in different places around the Lak* of Mceris. This appears to have been a part of the country highly esteemed by the ancient Egyptians: it was peculiarly fertile and beautiful, and produced an abundance of olives, corn, and wine. jpourtfi 3Eag's gjnstrutiion. UPPER EGYPT. Omitting the short and unsatisfactory description which M. Denon has given of the pyramids, we will take him for our guide through the remaining parts of Upper Egypt. But, with respect to such objects as he had not an opportunity of visiting, or wherever his ac counts appear to be defective, we must endeavour to supply the deficiency from the writings of other tra vellers.Narrative of the Travels of M. Denon from Cairo through Upper Egypt, in the years 1798 and 1799. He sailed from Cairo, and, proceeding up the Nile, arrived the next morning near Sakara ; having passed several miserable looking villages on each bank of the river, and many small islands covered with wild-ducks, herons, and pelicans. In the evening he saw the D 2 52 denon's travels pyramid of Meidoun, and the same night reached ZaOyeh. Here he found General Belliard, who offered to share with him his dwelling. It was so small that their beds filled the whole space of their principal apartment: they were obliged to remove the beds when they wished to sit at table, and to put away their table when they wanted to go to bed. ' The second night that M. Denon was here, both the kitchen and stable fell down. This accident, however, did not in duce them to quit the house, for it was still the best in the village. In this part of Egypt all the buildings, says M. Denon, are constructed- of mud and chopped straw, dried in the sun : the stairs, apertures of the windows, hearths, utensils, and even some of the fur niture, are of similar materials ; so that if it were possible, that the invariable order of climate which prevails here could, for a moment, be changed, and that unusual storms should arrest and dissolve one of those groups of clouds which, in summer, pass over the country towards tbe mountains of Abyssinia, the towns and villages would, in a few hours, be so com pletely softened arid liquefied, that corn might, imme diately afterwards, be sown on the spot where they had -stood. The day after M. Denon arrived at Zaoyeh, a co lumn of three hundred Frenchmen was sent into the country for the purpose of levying contributions. He accompanied them, expecting that, by so doing, he might be enabled to make some important discoveries, relative to the interior of Egypt. The first journey brought him within half a league of the pyramid of Meidoun, but he had no other opportunity of exa mining this structure than through a telescope. All the country through which he passed was extremely fertile: it was sown with wheat, saint-foin, barley; beans, lentils, and millet. Their second expedition was to Meimund, a rich village, containing ten thousand inhabitants. Like other towns in this part of Egypt, it was surrounded IN UPPER EGYPT. 53 by dunghills aud heaps of rubbish, which had so greatly accumulated as to form hills of considerable height. The tops of these were every evening covered with people, who were accustomed to lie down upon them and smoke their pipes. The numerous heaps of dung and rubbish which surround nearly all the villages of Egypt, produce many inconveniences. They obscure the houses, infect the air, and fill the eyes of the people with an acrid dust, mixed with imperceptible particles of straw, and thus are one of the causes of the ophthalmia or. blindness, with which the people of this country are much afflicted. From Meimund the troops proceeded through a part of the country where gum arabic was obtained. Here M. Denon saw an encampment of Arabs. The tent of the chief was formed of a kind of woollen cloth, and contained all the articles of his household furniture. These consisted of a mat, and a carpet of similar ma terial as the tent; two sacks, one of wheat for the chief, and another of barley for his mare ; a large jar for holding his clothes, a hand-mill to grind his corn, a chicken-pen, and a vase for his hens to lay their eggs in : there were also pots, coffee-pots, and cups. The appearance both of the women and children was hideous. After this M. Denon joined General Desaix, whom he was resolved not to quit, and whose operations con sequently determined the future course of his travels. In the progress of the French troops towards the south, a great alarm was excited among the inhabitants of one of the villages, by the soldiers cutting down a decayed tree for fire wood. It had been held sacred ; for, in many parts of Egypt, similar trees are consi dered by the people to be inhabited by good or bad genii. M. Denon, on inspecting the tree, found locks of hair, teeth, bags of leather, small standards, and numerous other relics, affixed to it by means of nails. Near some tombs adjacent to this tree, he observed jseveral single stones set up, and among them a seat in 54 DENON'S TRAVELS the form of a saddle, under which was a large lamp. These stones had been so many offerings to Mahomet, from persons about to build houses, imploring his pro tection, that they might always be permitted to reside in them : and the saddle-formed chair, was a*seat on wliich, after having lighted the lamp beneath it, people sate when they made vows. General Desaix had been charged with the conquest of Upper Egypt. A battle was fought betwixt his troops and those of the Mamelukes at Sediman ; and though, after great exertion, the French proved vic torious, the Mamelukes had so nearly obtained an important advantage, that M. Denon, who was present, says, there never was "a more unxexpected termina tion ; and he still thought of this battle as a frightful dream, which had left in his mind only a vague and terrific impression." After this the Mamelukes did not venture to oppose their enemy openly in the field, but they carried on a desultory kind of warfare ; which was extremely harassing to the French, and left them neither rest nor security. The general proceeded with his troops to Benesuef, a village near the western bank of the Nile. M. Denon was entrusted by him with an order, which was to be carried to the head of the troops. He galloped on to execute it, and in so doing, a French soldier, imagining him to be an enemy, presented his bayonet, and in an instant unhorsed him. Some money, which M. Denon had in his pocket, turned tbe point of the weapon, and he escaped with torn clothes- He remounted, and his horse ran away with him. It was now quite dark : the horse stopped ; M. Denon spurred him, and the animal leaped over an entrenchment, whicli had that day been made near Benesuef. Here'the traveller found himself with his face against a pallisade, where he could neither advance nor retreat. He was challenged by a sentinel, but he did not hear him, and the man fired. M. Denon now called out in French. The man asked what bu siness he had there, abused him, and turned him out. IN UPPER EGYPT. 55 Thus was the awkward " savant," (as he himself writes) "bayonetted, fired at, chid, and turned away like a truant school-boy." While the French troops were stationed at Benesuef, they obtained considerable reinforcements from Cairo. Here M. Denon considered that the most interesting part of his travels was about to commence. He believed that he should be enabled to explore, as it were, a new country, and to make researches in a part ofthe world, which for two thousand years, had been shut out from the curiosity of Europeans. The army quitted Benesuef on the 19th of Decem ber, the whole column extending nearly a league in length. The Mamelukes were collected in considerable numbers, a few miles in front, but they did not choose to risk an engagement, and only harassed their enemy in little skirmishes, when they could do it with safety to themselves. On the 20th, the French army arrived at Benesech, a village built on the ruins of an ancient city called Oxyrinchus. Nothing, however, was at this time re maining of it, except some fragments of stone pillars, some marble columns in the mosques, and a single column, of the composite order, which was still left standing. Immediately iu front of the place, were the remains of an ancient canal, the verdant banks of which consoled the strangers for the prospect of the boundless desert which lay before their eyes. About noon of the 22d of December, tbey reached Minieh, a town, in wliich there had formerly been a temple of an Egyptian deity, called Anubis. M. De non saw, in One of the mosques of this place, some fine columns of granite, but he could not ascertain whether they had formed part of this temple or not. Minieh was a handsome small town, with good streets, and substantial houses, interspersed with many ancient buildings. The Nile flowed close past it, through a wild and pleasing channel. In the fields the peas and beans were already in pod, and barley was in flower. 58 DENON'S TRAVELS On the ensuing day, M. Denon and some other French officers went to Hermopolis, to view there the remains of a splendid portico. This was a beautiful relic of .the highest antiquity, situated on an eminence, and visible above the horizon, at a considerable dis tance. It was part of a temple, for which Hermopolis Magna, or the Great City of Mercury was celebrated. All its proportions were colossal: the columns, twelve in number, and ranged in two rows, were of fine sand stone, and each nearly nine feet in diameter; and the' portico was one hundred and twenty feet in length, and sixty feet high. It was covered with hieroglyphics ; and the columns and the whole interior had formerly been painted. Among the hillocks, within three or four hundred yards of the portico, enormous blocks of stone were seen half buried in the sand, havingregular architecture beneath them. Late in the evening, M. Deuon entered Melaui, a , larger and more beautiful town than Menieh. Its streets were straight, and its bazar was well built. At this place, he and General Belliard lodged in the same house, and, though it was one of the best in the town, they were both roused in the night by an intolerable itching of their skin : tlieir whole bodies were inflamed, their features were scarcely distinguishable; and, on further examination, they found themselves covered with vermin. M. DenOn remarks that, the mansions in Up per Egypt are nothing but vast pigeon- houses, in which the owner reserves only a room or two for his own use. There he lodges along with poultry of all kinds, and all the vermin that they engender ; the toughness of his skin defying their attack. The inhabitants of many villages' in this part of the country, are chiefly supported by a trade in poultry and eggs. [On the eastern bank of the river Nile, and nearly opposite to Melaui, is Antinoe, or Antinoopolis, '¦' the city of Antinoiis," the favourite of the emperor Adrian. M. Denon did not visit it, but other travellers describe the present ruins of it to be very extensive. They are IN UPPER EGYPT. 57 entirely of Roman architecture. An avenue of granite columns leads from the river to the chief entrance into the city; and, among the most conspicuous of the ruins are, a large triumphal arch, decorated with fluted columns, and the remains of a Roman theatre, and of three temples. M. Denon, being obliged to accompany the army, bad, in general, much less opportunity of examining objects worthy of inspection, than many individuals have since had. . Harassed by the watchful Mamelukes, s he did not dare to make any excursions unguarded ; and the army could not wait for him. Hence, among other objects of curiosity that he was unable to visit, were the mummy pifs, a few leagues west of the town of Monfalout- These are iu the desert, and are men tioned by Mr. Legh. This gentleman entered one of them, by a pit, or circular hole, ten feet in diameter, and about eighteen feet deep. At the bottom, an opening, seven or eight yards in length, and partly choked tip with drifted sand, led to a large chamber, where many fragments of the mummies Of crocodiles were observed. There were galleries leading from this to numerous other apartments ; some of them so low that a person must crawl on his hands and knees to pass them. The heat of the place was so excessive, and the air so foul that, when Mr. Legh visited it, two of the Arabs, who attended him as guides, were suffo cated and died.] On the 26th of December the French army arrived at Assiut, or Siiit, a large and well-peopled town, built. as is conjectured, on the site of ancient Lycopolis, or " City of the Wolf." No antiquities were . found here ; but the Libyan chain of mountains, at the foot of which it stands, contains a vast number of caverns, anciently formed as burying places. Some of these are very spacious, and nearly all of them are adorned with hieroglyphic and emblematical figures. M. Denon says, that, all the elegancies of ornament wliich the Greeks have employed in their architecture, all the un- D3 58 DENON S TRAVELS dtilating scrolls, and other Greek peculiarities, are her* executed with taste and exquisite delicacy. In one of these caverns he found innumerable ^graves, cut in the rock, in regular order. But they had all been rifled, and several fragments of their contents, such as linen, hands, feet, and detached bones, were scattered about the floor. The whole of this part of the rock appeared to have been excavated into innumerable caverns. Iii the neighbourhood of Assiut, the lands were cul-, tivated with greater care and skill than any that M. •Denon had hitherto seen in Egypt. It was now near the end of December, yet the "barley was ripe, and wheat in ear, and the melons, which here were grown in open fields, were in full flower. At the distance of about every half league of the journey,/southward from Assiut, M. Denon says, there were wells, with small buildings, called karavanseras. These, all of which were charitable foundations, gene rally consisted of a cistern, two chambers, an open gallery, a watering trough, and some pots aud mats ; and they were free to all travellers. [On the eastern bank ofthe Nile, a few leagues south of Assiut, is Gawa Shergieh, the Autcepolis of anti quity. There are, at this place, the remains of a curi ous temple, situated in a thick grove of date trees, and so close to the bank of the river, that the waters have Undermined some parts of the masonry. It consists of three rows of massive columns, each built of large stones, and covered with emblematical figures, inter spersed with hieroglyphics. < Some of the stones in this temple are from eighteen to twenty feet in length. Still further south, and on the same side of the river; stands a pleasant village called Achmim, the Panopolis of the ancients. Some fragments of columns are still left at this place; and. in the adjacent mountain are caverns resembling those at Assiut. The hieroglyphics in these caverns have been jiainted in distemper, and the ceilings have been plastered and coloured.] In their progress southward from Assist, the French IN UPPER EGYPT. 59 troops passed two Coptic monasteries, that had been set on tire by the Mamelukes, and were still burning; and after some skirmishes with the Mamelukes, they" arrived at Girgeh. This town, which is situated in a fertile country, and close to the bank of the Nile, was formerly the capital of Upper Egypt, but it has, for many years, been on the decline, and now contains nothing deserving of observation. Its name is derived from a large monastery, built anterior to the town, and dedicated to St. George, or Girgeh, as the name is pronounced by the Egyptians. When M. Denon was here, provisions of all kinds were extremely cheap : bread was about a halfpenny, English, per pound, twelve eggs could be bought for a penny ; two pigeons for three halfpence ; and a goose, weighing fifteen pounds, for sixpence. The French troops were, at this time, so much in want of shoes, ammunition, and biscuit, that they were compelled to remain at Girgeh nearly three weeks, until the arrival of these articles from Cairo, During their residence here, the officers were frequently enter tained by listening to tales related by the Arabs. These, which, in style, somewhat resembled the Arabian Nights Entertainments, were related so slowly, that the Interpreter could explain them almost without inter rupting the narrative. They also passed much of their time in the baths, which, were extremely magnificent, supported by colonnades, paved with marble,, and deco rated with Mosaic, work. [It is remarked, by most of the travellers in Upper Egypt, that the Nile near Girgeh, is now the limit, below which crocodiles seldom descend. From this place upward, these animals are frequently to be seen, basking on the sand-banks of the river, and many of them from twenty to thirty feet in length.] In the march of the army southward from Girgeh, M. Denon noticed a few old walls and heaps of rubbish, the remains of the ancient city of Abydus, once the residence of Memnon, King of Ethiopia. The Mame- 60 DENON'S TRAVELS lukes were attacked and defeated, at a little distance from this place; and Murat Bey, their commander, fled, to collect his broken forces, and to harass the French troops in some other part of their progress. They next passed through How, the ancient Dios- polis Parva, a fine military station, but destitute of any remains of antiquity. Not long after this, they arrived at Dendera, a small town, situated about half a mile from the Nile. M. Denon went from this place, about three quarters of a league westward, to view the re mains of Tentyra, a city that had been built on the border of the desert, and at fne foot of the Libyan mountains. It exhibited little more than ruins, but they were ruins of the most majestic kind imaginable. Among them, were the remains of an Egyptian tem ple, one of the most perfect that now exists, and of indescribable magnificence. It is constructed of enor mous blocks of stone; and its style of architecture is simple, but all its walls and columns are enriched by innumerable hieroglyphical sculptures ; and it is splendidly crowned by a large cornice that encircles it, and adds still further to the air of solidity that is given by the slope of its walls. While standing under the portico of this temple, M. Denon says, that he was unable to express the sensations which he felt: he thought himself in the sanctuary of the arts and sciences. "How many periods," he exclaims, "pre sented themselves to my imagination, at the sight of such an edifice ! How many ages were requisite to bring a. nation to such a degree of perfection and sub limity in the arts, as were" here observed! And how many more of oblivion, to cause these mighty produc tions to be forgotten, and to reduce the human race to the state of ignorance and barbarity, in which they are now found on this soil, once so famous ! What con tinued power, what riches, what abundance, what superfluity of means must a^government have possessed, which could erect such "ah edifice, and have found within itself, artists capable of conceiving and exe- IN UPPER EGYPT. 61 cuting the design, of decorating and enriching it with every thing that could attract the eye and the under standing ! -Never before," continues this writer, " did the labour of man show me the human race in so splendid a point of view. In the ruins of Tentyra, the Egyptians appeared to me like giants." With respect to the ornamental parts of the temples, M. Denon says, that he was confused by the multiplicity of objects, astonished by their novelty, and tormented by the fear of never again being permitted to behold them. On the ceilings were the representations of zodiacs, planetary systems, and celestial planispheres, designed iu a tasteful arrangement. The walls were covered with groups of figures, exhibiting the religious rites of this people, tlieir moral precepts, and their labours in agriculture and the arts ; the Supreme Being, the first cause, was every where depicted by the em blems of his attributes : every thing was important, and every thing deserving of minute examination. Unfor tunately, however, M. Denon had only a few hours, during which he could examine and copy, what it had been the labour of ages to conceivej»to construct, and to decorate. There were two smaller temples at this place, also enriched with a profusion of sculptures, in a style of purity and delicacy wliich the Egyptians have probably never excelled. [The ancient inhabitants of Tentyra were famous for. their enmity to the crocodile, over which animal they ex hibited, or pretended to exhibit, a power similar to that of the modern psylli over serpents. Pliny, the Roman naturalist, relates that, " the hardy Tentyrite was ac customed to pursue the crocodile into the recesses of the Nile, to mount on his scaly back, fix a spur of wood between his jaws, and with this rude bridle, to conduct him to the shore, where the monster, terrified by the voice of his rider, disgorged for burial, the bodies of such persons as he had just before devoured! Thus it is," continues this credulous writer, " that the 62 DENON'S TRAVELS crocodiles would not approach that part of the Nile near Tentyra, and that even the smell of a Tentyrite Would put them to flight !" Opposite to Dendera, and on the eastern bank of the Nile, is Keneh, or Ghenne. The ruins of this city occupy an eminence nearly two miles in circumference, but are now marked only by a few fragments of gra nite, and mutilated sarcophagi or stone tombs, sunk in the :elevated 'soil. In the reigns of the Ptolemies, Keneh was the mart of Indian commerce, imported from Cosseir, on the bank of the Red Sea. It was watered by a canal from the Nile, and it retained the opulence "derived from ifs trade until the reign of the Roman empetor Dioclesian, who rased it to the ground, and extirpated the inhabitants on account of their adherence to Christianity. A few leagues south of Keneh is Coptos, or Keft, a city also celebrated for the calamities which it under went in the persecutions by Dioclesian. The ancient part of this city still remains, nearly in the state in which it was left by the conflagration that destroyed it. Several of its monuments are still in good preser vation ; aud among them are distinguishable the re mains of two temples, of great antiquity, and the ruins of a Christian church. The fragments of porphyry and granite columns, and other architectural orna ments, scattered here over a vast space of ground, attest the opulence of these early believers. Still further south than Coptos is Kous, or Cus, anciently called Apollinopolis Parva. This place is chiefly inhabited by Copts, and is surrounded by gar- ' dens, and immense plantations of melons. In the mid dle of a square within the town, is the summit of a large and well-proportioned gate, buried in the sand as far as the cornice. This must evidently have belonged to a great edifice : its bulk and magnitude present a singular contrast with all the objects that surround it. If a search were made no doubt the remains of the temple, of which it forms a part, would be discovered IN UPPER EGYPT. 63 beneath the surface of the ground. The elevation of the soil has been occasioned by the successive build ing, decay, and rebuilding of Arab barracks, founded upon these ancient ruins.] On the 26th of January, M. Denon left Tentyra, and, with the French troops, proceeded on his route, in a southerly direction, and still on the west bank of the Nile, The country now presented a new and interest ing scenery to their view. They saw palm trees larger than any they had before observed, gigantic tamarisk trees, and villages half a league in length ; yet the land, though benefitted by the inundation of the river, was uncultivaied. In the afternoon of this day, as General Desaix and M. Denon were in conversation, near the bank of the Nile, they observed something long and brown lying among a number of ducks, upon one of ihe low sand islands in the river. It was a crocodile, apparently about eighteen feet long, lying asleep. They fired at it, and the animal gently entered the water. Some minutes afterward it came out again ; a second shot made it once more disappear, but it subsequently re turned. At nine o'clock in the morning of the ensuing day, wh^n the troops were on their march, M. Denon, on passing round the point of a projecting chain of moun tains, suddenly discovered, in its whole extent, the site of the ancient Thebes. This city, the size of which Homer has characterized, by the expresssion of "Thebes with a hundred gates," was still, says M. Denon, such a gigantic phantom to the imagination, " that the whole French army, suddenly, and with one accord, stood in amazement at the sight" of its scat tered ruins, and clapped their hands "with delight, as if at the end of their glorious toils, and as if the conquest of Egypt were accomplished,' by taking possession of these splendid ruins." The progress of the French troops was continued, without interruption, so as to leave M. Denon but little 64 DESCRIPTION OF THEBES. time to examine these magnificent remains. He indeed contrived to make a few hasty sketches, "the knees of the enthusiastic soldiers serving him for a table, and their bodies as a shade from the rays of the burning sun !" But his descriptions, both on this occasion and afterwards, are so defective, that it is requisite for us to have recourse to the accounts of other travellers, who had more leisure, and less vanity than this lively Frenchman. jptfth Bag's instruction. UPPER EGYPT. Description of Thebes. The remains of this wonderful city, the ancient capi tal of Egypt, lfthe Great City of Jupiter," as it is styled by Ptolemy, overwhelm the mind with astonish ment, both by their grandeur and magnitude.. They are dispersed on each side of the Nile, through a space of nearly nine miles, through four villages, and as many hamlets. On the cast and west they -reach to the mountains, a width of more than seven miles, so that their whole circumference must be near twenty-seven miles. This extent of country is now covered with pros trate columns of immense magnitude, colossal statues, lofty colonnades, avenues formed by rows of obelisks and sphinxes, and the remains of porticos of prodigious elevation. In speaking of these ruins, we will begin with the eastern bank of the "Nile, at Karnac. At this place there was an Egyptian temple, so large that it is said to have measured nearly half a mile in length, and a mile- and half in circuit. It is described to have had no fewer than eight graud entrances, to three of which were long avenues of sphinxes, two of them with DESCRIPTION OF THEBES. 65 sixty statues on each side. No description can give an adequate idea of the enormous masses and gigantic columns and colonnades covered with hieroglyphics, which, here, still defy the ravages of time. There are innumerable remains of the statues of sphinxes, which once formed the avenues ; and there are many headless statues of human figures, lying prostrate in different parts pf the ruius. Not long' ago, Mr. Belzoni, the Italian, whose extraordinary discoveries among the py ramids we have already mentioned, cleared away the sand from one part of this temple, and uncovered a row of statues about forty in number: these were of black granite, and had the figures of women, with heads of lions ; but among them was one of white marble, and in perfect preservation ; which he conjectured to be a statue of Jupiter Ammon, holding a ram's head on his knees. He subsequently discovered a colossal head of Orus, the Egyptian Apollo. It measured ten feet from the neck to the topof the mitre, and was sculp tured out of fine granite, in an exquisite style of work manship. The entrance to the great portico of this temple, is through a mass of masonry partly in ruins. Beyoud'this, the eye rests on an avenue of fourteen co- lumns, the diameter of each of which is more than eleven feet, and the height upwards of sixty. On each side of this avenue, are seven rows of immense columns, and the portico contains an hundred columns. » The blocks of masonry employed in the construction of this temple have, on an average, been about five feet long, and four feet deep; and there are still left several obelisks, near eighty feet high, each cut out of a single block of granite. It is said to be wholly impossible to form a competent notion of so much gigantic magnifi cence as this edifice must have presented, when it was perfect. The village of Karnac, which is situated among some ruins to the south of the great temple, consists of miserable cottages ; and, like most of the villages of this district, is inhabited by a ferocious race of people, 66 DESCRIPTION OF THEBES. ' dark in their complexion, and different in their fea tures from other Egyptians. Betwixt Karnac and Luxor, a village about half a league distant, there was, anciently, an avenue formed by rows of sphinxes ; and there are still many of these figures scattered to the right and left, together with numerous fragments of stone walls, small columns, and statues. Luxor, or Aksor as it is now called, is the most beautifully situated village in. this part of Egypt. It is close to the Nile, and chiefly built among the ruins of a temple, not indeed so large as that of Karnac, but iu a better state of preservation. The most colossal parts of this temple consist of fourteen columns, each ten feet in diameter ; and of two statues of granite, at the outer gate, buried np to the middle of the arms in sand, and having, in front of them, the two largest and best preserved obelisks in the whole country. Two enormous masses, which form the gate, are covered with sculpture, representing battles between chariots. The obelisks are of rose-coloured granite, and still se venty feet above the surface of the ground; and, judging by the depth to which the statues are covered, we may suppose that about thirty feet more are con cealed from the eye, making- in all a hundred feet for the height of these monuments. Their preservation is perfect; and the hieroglyphics with wliich they are covered, are admirably executed. The village of Luxor exhibits a striking mixture of beggary and magnificence ; and cannot fail to im press the contemplative spectator with an awful idea of the gradation of ages in Egypt. Its population consists of two or three thousand souls, who have taken up their abodes on the roof's; and beneath the galleries of the temple. Many of the inhabitants of this part of Egypt, like the Troglodytes of old, dwell in caverns of ' the mountains. On the western bank ofthe Nile, the ruins of Thebes are found to commence at the village of Kourna. The DESCRIPTION OF THEBES. 67* buildings at this place appear to have been executed on a plan different from that of the edifices already men tioned. The roofs are vaulted in a peculiar manner; and some ofthe columns are forty feet high, and nearly ten feet in diameter. The hieroglyphics are remarkably well engraved. In general, the ruins on the western side of the Nile, are not only less entire, but are in a state of greater dilapidation than those on the opposite bank. The remains that are most entire, are the Memnonium, a palace at the village of Medinet Abu ; and two colossal statues. The columns and walls of the palace of Mem- non, were all of immense thickness and solidity, and every visible part of the building appears to have been covered with hieroglyphics. The remains of tbe an cient colours and gilding that had been used in deco rating them, are still visible. In several 'parts there are gigantic representations of human figures cut in stoue. From these ruins, Mr. Belzoni removed, an im mense bust, cut in granite, which weighed nearly ten tons and a half. He caused it to be conveyed by the labour of the Arab peasantry, and with the aid of a very simple kind of machinery, for nearly two miles, to the bank of the Nile, and then to be placed on board a small boat, and conveyed down the river. At Ro setta, it was transferred to a larger vessel ; and, after having been landed at Alexandria, was shipped for England ; and it is now deposited in the British Mu seum. This extraordinary head is the finest specimen of Egyptian sculpture which has yet been brought into Europe. The French army, unable to remove it, at tempted to blow off, with gunpowder, the large mass of hair behind the head, but fortunately the face has sus tained no injury. Medinet Abu, is a village at a little distance south of Memnonium. Contiguous to this village, and betwixt the foot of the Libyan mountains and the Nile, are the re mains of a magnificent portal, and of other buildings which have been constructed with stones ,of enormous 68 DESCRIPTION OF THEBES. size. Many parts of these are covered with hierogly phics ; and several of the columns, and their capitals, are still encrusted with paint. The execution of the sculpture is superior to that of the palace of Memnon ; and the smaller hieroglyphics are hollowed in the stone from the depth of one to six inches, while the larger figures are nearly two inches in relief. Between Medinet Abu, and Memnonium, and on a sandy plain, about three miles distant from the Nile, are two colossal statues, in a sitting attitude, and each about fifty feet in height. They are the figures, appa rently, of a man and woman, and are generally called Shaama and Taama. The stones on which they are seated, are about eleven feet high, and are immersed nearly six feet in the sand ; and the sides and back of these immense blocks are covered with hieroglyphical figures. The southern statue is entire, but the other is mutilated. On its base and legs are numerous Greek and Latin inscriptions, recording the names of several persons who imagined they had heard the emission of sound from the statue of Memnon. In explanation of this it is necessary to remark, that the Ethiopians, over whom Memnon reigned, erected in honour of him a statue, which is said to have had the property of uttering every day at sun-rising, a melodious sound, like the breaking ofthe string of a harp when wound up; and; at the setting of the sun, a dull and lugubrious sound. On the same plain in which the statues are found, are the ruins of several magnificent edifices. The sculptures on these represent battles and sieges, and seem to in dicate the remains of the tomb of Osymandyas, one of the early kings of Egypt. The historian, Diodorus Siculus, who flourished about fifty years before the Christian era, has left us a description of this astonish ing edifice. The vestibule, he says, was of coloured stone, two hundred feet long, and sixty-eight feet high ; and the portico was four hundred feet long, and sup ported by columns sculptured in the form of animals. Among numerous other ornaments, there were, in the DESCRIPTION OF THEBES. 69 interior, three statues formed out of one stone, and not more remarkable for tlieir gigantic size than for their exquisite workmanship. On the largest of them was this inscription : "I am Osymandyas, king of kings. Let him who would know how great I am, and where I repose, surpass my works !" According to the same author, the sculpture on the walls of this monument commemorated the triumph of Osymandyas over the insurgents of Bactria. In the side of one of the Libyan mountains, about a mile from Karnac, are numerous caverns, or excavations in the solid rock, called The Sepulchres of the Kings. These are formed on one general plan, though they differ in some particulars oftheir interior arrangement. To each there is, first, a passage of considerable length, then a chamber: a continuation ofthe passage afterwards turns abruptly to the right, to a large sepulchral apart ment, containing a sarcophagus, or stone coffin, formed of granite. Several of these caverns are highly orna mented. In those least decorated, are represented the arts which flourished, and the trades which were prac tised, at the time of their construction. The subjects that relate to funeral ceremonies, the occupations of the hunter and the fisher, the duties and the punishments of military life, the employments ofthe husbandman, tbe potter, and the artisan, which first appear in the pro gress of civilization, are, in these caverns, either sculp tured in bas-relief, or painted in fresco. The sepulchres of the kings are carved through their whole extent, with pictures and hieroglyphics, and exhibit many spe cimens of grotesque ornament. The unintelligible cha racters inscribed on the walls, are supposed to conceal the history of a very obscure period of the reigns of the ancient Theban monarchs. In many of these subterra nean recesses, the sculptures represent human sacrifices. Strabo relates that these sepulchres were forty in number, but Diodorus Siculus, from the ancient Egyp tian records, enumerates forty-seven. Till very lately only nine were accessible; and the mouths even of these 70 DESCRIPTION OF THEBES< were nearly choked up with sand. Mr. Belzoni, how ever, has opened some others, which are said to convey a more correct idea of Egyptian magnificence, and posthumous splendour, than any of their works that have hitherto been described. The passage from the front entrance to the innermost chamber of one of them, measured three hundred and nine feet; and, through its whole extent, was cut out of the solid rock. The chambers were numerous, and the sides of the rock were every where as white as snow, covered with paint ings of well-shaped figures, and with hieroglyphics, quite perfect. The colours of the paintings were as fresh as if they had been laid on the day before the opening was made. In one of the chambers of this sepulchre, Mr. Belzoni discovered an exquisitely beau tiful sarcophagus of large size, carved out of a single block of alabaster, and as translucent as ice : it was covered with hieroglyphics, both within and without, very elegantly executed ; and was in so perfect a state, that, on being struck, it sounded like a bell. From the extraordinary magnificence of this sarcophagus, and from the circumstance of his having found, in the in nermost room, the carcass of a bull embalmed with asphalt, Mr. Belzoni was led to imagine, that it must have been the depository of the remains of Apis, or one of the sacred oxen of Egypt. This matchless sarcophagus has since been taken from the cave in which it was deposited, and is now on its way to the British Museum. Besides these royal sepulchres, there are, in the adjacent mountains, numerous other caverns, which have been appropriated to the interment of the dead. When Mr. Legh was at Thebes, in the year 1813, he was induced to descend into one of these; and, he says, that it would be difficult to convey an ade quate idea of the disgusting scene of horror he had to encounter. The entrance was a narrow hole, nearly filled up with rubbish. Through this he made his way into a small chamber, about fifteen feet long, and six DESCRIPTION OF THEBES. 71 feet wide ; beyond which he reached another apartment, somewhat larger," and containing two rows of columns. The walls were covered with paintings, and, at the fur ther end, stood two full-length stalues, male and female, represented in very gay apparel, and having, on one side the figures of two boys, and on the other those of two girls. The whole of this chamber was strewed with pieces of cloth, and the legs, arms, and heads of mummies, left in this condition by the Arabs, who occa sionally visit these places for the purpose of rifling the bodies, and carrying off the bituminous substances with vvhich they have been embalmed. From the last-men tioned chamber, two passages led to the interior and lower part of the mountain, and Mr. Legh penetrated about a hundred yards into that which appeared the longest, slipping and crawling among various fragments of mutilated bodies. Besides these, he says, there were many mummies still remaining in the niches where they had originally been placed. The origin of Thebes ascends to a period of unfa thomable antiquity; even the destruction of this ancient city took place before the era of authentic history, and its power and magnificence are described by authors who only beheld its ruins. These, at present, exhibit a melancholy picture ofthe instability of human great ness. If ever a nation aimed at the immortality of fame, and sought to astonish and eclipse succeeding generations by monuments of grandeur, it was the na tion which built this city. Yet, not only is its antiquity buried in the obscurity of ages, but its history, its man ners, and its laws, are all now forgotten. About six miles in a southerly direction from Me dinet Abu, is the village of Erment, anciently a city called Hermontis, in which Apollo and Jupiter were worshipped. There are at this place the remains of two temples, one of which, in the early ages of Christianity, was converted, by the Copts, into a church. Many crosses appeaj- to have been cut on the stones, and there 72 denon's travels are Coptic paintings and inscriptions on many parts of the walls. Continuation ofM. Denon's Travels in Upper Egypt. Having left Medinet Abu, the French troops arrived, on the 29th of January, at Esneh, a town which the Mamelukes had evacuated only a few hours before. Esneh was a city known to the ancients by the name of Latopolis. Some remains are still visible of its port or quay, on the bank of the Nile ; and, M. Denon, ob served here the ruins of a temple, which appeared to have once been an admirable' monument of Egyptian architecture. It was situated near the Bazar, in the great square. The portico was well preserved, and possessed great richness of sculpture : it was composed of eighteen columns, with broad capitals : but was so encumbered with dunghills, and the mean huts- and hovels which the inhabitants had built around it, as to be deprived of nearly all its dignity. The French offi cers ordered the rubbish to be cleared away, and shops to be built on each side ; after which it was formed into a handsome bazar. The hieroglyphics with which the portico of this temple is covered within and without, have been executed with great care : they contain; among other subjects, a zodiac, and several large figures of men with crocodiles' heads. On the ensuing day, after a march of several hours, M. Denon arrived at Etfu, where he observed the ruins of an ancient city called Hieraconpolis. These con sisted of the remains of a gate belonging to an edifice once of considerable magnitude; the ruins of another building, in a state of great decay ; aud a few heaps of highly burnt bricks, and some blocks of granite. Shortly after this, on proceeding southward, he was astonished and delighted at the fine and advantageous site of Apollinopolis Magna, now a desolate village called Etfu. It commanded a view of the river, and IN UPPER EGYPT. 73 of the whole valley of Egypt ; and its magnificent tem ple, dedicated to Orus, the Egyptian Apollo, towered like an immense citadel over the other buildings. The extent, the majesty, magnificence, and high preservation Of this edifice, surpassed all that M. Denon had hitherto seen. It comprizes a long suite of pyramidal gates, of courts decorated with galleries, of porticoes and co vered buildings, constructed not with common stones, but with such gigantic masses, that they might almost be considered entire rocks. The undecayed state of this temple formed a wonderful contrast with the grey- coloured ruins of the modern habitations that are now contained within it. On the ' 31st, at three in the morning, the French troops resumed their march towards the south. After passing, for about an hour, through a cultivated coun try, they again entered the desert. They now began to suffer from heat and thirst : the provisions also began to fail. The horses were so much weakened by want of food, that they could no longer support tlieir riders, and the soldiers were obliged to lead them, In this state the troops passed through Silsilis, where they saw some ruins, the remains of a temple, but so deeply buried in the sand, that they were not more than three feet above the surface ofthe ground. [On the eastern side of the Nile, and somewhat south of Silsilis, is the village of Ombos, or Kowm Ombu, where there are some structures) formed of materials so massive, that they seem as if they had sunk into the earth by their enormous weight. The remains also of two temples, which, from their sculptures, appear to have been devoted to the united worship of Osiris and the Crocodile, still display, in Ombos, the faded aspect of ancient grandeur.] The rocks of this part of Egypt) are chiefly of granite, intermixed with flints of almost every colour and species. M. Denon also • found here cornelian, jasper, and serpentine. From an elevated plain on one of the mountains, he beheld a vast extent of country, TRAV. e 74 denon's travels through which the Nile flowed in a winding course. On the 1st of February, the army had to cross an extensive tract of desert. The rocks over which they passed, were chiefly of granite ; and in the vallies, the surface of the sand was as smooth as that of snow. The soldiers marched slowly and painfully on, stopping every minute to pull off their shoes, and take breath. At length they were so much fatigued, that, when they quitted the desert, and arrived at a green and fertile part of the country, all the men lay down, and it was almost impossible to drag the horses away from the place. M. Denon himself, was so wearied and ex hausted, that he remained all night as if he had been fixed to the ground. On the ensuing day they arrived within sight of Assuan, a town on the opposite bank of the Nile, and , the place of their farthest destination. At this spot, the river, in its course from south-east to north-west, turns due north, and passes a ledge of granite, which it has worn into a number of rugged rocks, and by which its current is much divided. Several circumstances here combine to render this a country as diversified as it is singular. Two long chains of mountains, the Libyan on the west, and the Arabian on the east, which are arid, yellow, scorched and sandy, form a striking contrast with the black and pointed summits of the rocks of granite. The latter, again, being washed by the current of the river, break into islands watered by the stream, and covered, either with verdant crops, or with lofty trees, through which appear the splendid ruins of unnumbered ages. On the 3d of February, the French troops crossed the Nile in boats, and took possession of Assuan, or Syene, as it was anciently called. The Mamelukes had previ ously passed the cataracts ofthe Nile, and divided their force over a considerable tract of country, in order to find subsistence ; and the French were obliged to do the same. Assuan must once have been a considerable city, IN UPPER EGYPT. to tiud its ruins are of high antiquity, though few in num ber. They consist partly of Arabic, and partly of Roman edifices. The streets are straighter than in the generality of villages of Upper. Egypt ; and in the mid dle of the place there is a strong Turkish fortress. The first object' of the French in Assuan was to establish themselves with security and convenience. This they proceeded to do ; and they had been but two days here, when the streets were filled with tailors, shoe makers, jewellers, French barbers with their poles, ale houses, and restaurateurs. [The resident population is numerous ; and the inha bitants are chiefly supported by a trade in senna and dates. The adjacent country is fertile and healthy ; aud is said to enjoy the singular advantage of never being visited by the plague, an advantage for whicli it is indebted to the mildness of its temperature, and the prevalence of strong northerly winds.] In the middle of the Nile, nearly opposite to Assuan, is the island of Elephantina, now called Keziret-el-Sag, or the "Verdant Isle." M. Denon made this island the place of bis residence for a considerable time. At its southern extremity, he says, there are the remains of an Egyptian town, and also of several Roman habita tions. Amidst a vast mass of bricks and other pieces of baked earth, near the middle of the island, an an tient temple is still perceptible. It is highly interesting by its state of preservation, and by the beauty of the hieroglyphical sculptures that it contains. M. Denon copied a whole side of the figures, the corresponding side appearing to be nearly a repetition of the same. At the distance of about six hundred paces towards the north, is another temple of similar form and size, but more in ruins ; all the ornaments of this edifice are accompanied by the serpent, the emblem of wisdom and eternity. In the middle of the island, there are two frames of a large outer door, which have, doubt less, formerly belonged to some monument of great magnificence ; and which are constructed of blocks of E2 76 , denon's travels granite, and covered with hieroglyphics. To the east is a fragment of a small but highly finished edifice. The whole of these buildings are founded upon masses of rock that had been previously covered with hiero glyphics: The island of Elephantina, though not more than six hundred yards long, is one of the most delightful places imaginable. Its soil is extremely fertile; and its lands, when watered by means of wheels and buckets from the Nile, produce four or five crops every year. In this little space there are islets, rocks, deserts, plains, meadows, garden ground, groves, remarkable plants, a river, canals, mills, and sublime ruins. And it is a spot the more enchanting, because, like the gardens of Armida, it is surrounded by all the horrors of nature. [The inhabitants are nearly of black colour, and in their features, hair, and person, exhibit consider able resemblance to the negro race ; but they are much more humane and civilized than most of their neigh bours.] M. Denon, accompanied by some other French officers, ascended the Nile in a boat, to visit the cata ract of this celebrated river. In their way they saw several immense quarries of granite, from which the ancient Egyptians had obtained the stones for the forma tion of those temples, obelisks, and colossal statues that, for so many ages, have been the objects of admi ration; and the ruins of which still excite our astonish ment. It seems as if the artists of those days had been desirous of preserving here the memorial of their labours, for they have left on the place numerous hie roglyphical inscriptions. The operation by which these blocks were detached, must have been nearly the same as that which is employed in modern times : that is to say, a cleft appears to have been first cut out, and then the whole mass was split off by wedges of different sizes, all struck in at once. The marks of these opera tions are preserved so fresh, that to look at them, one would imagine the work had been suspended only yes terday. IN UPPPER EGYPT. 77 A league and half beyond the quarries the rocks' in crease, and form a long and irregular bar across the river. Here the party quitted their boat, and after walking by the side of the stream for about a quarter of an hour, they came to what is called the Cataract. This is nothing more than a range of rocks, over which the river flows, and forms, in some places, cascades a few inches high ; but these are so insignificant, that they cannot be represented with any effect in a drawing, and are passable in boats during the greatest part of the year. At that season, however, when the waters are low, the bed of the river, for four or five miles, appears to be interrupted by irregular ledges of granite, aud the stream is so much confined, and rushes with so much rapidity between the rocks, as to present insur mountable obstacles to the progress of vessels, either up or down the river. After the officers had passed the cataract, the rocks became more lofty, rugged, and irregular than before. On looking across them, M. Denon suddenly discovered the magnificent remains of ancient architecture on the island of Philce. Here the Nile takes a turn to en circle this enchanting spot, where the monuments it contains are partly concealed from sight by groups of palm trees, or rocks that appear to exist only for the purpose of contrasting the forms of nature with the magnificence of art. This island was anciently the centre of a general commerce between Egypt and Ethiopia; and it was probably with a view to give the Ethiopians an elevated idea of their resources and mag nificence, that the Egyptians here, on their frontier, constructed many sumptuous and splendid edifices, On the arrival of the French officers opposite to the island, the inhabitants assembled, with a determination to resist their landing. They were consequently obliged to retire. Ou the ensuing day, however, they returned with a force of about two hundred men, and, after some difficulty, succeeded in reaching the island ; the inhabitants at the same time quitting it, by throwing 78 i denon's travels. themselves into the Nile, and swimming to the oppo site shore. Many of the women, in despair, were seen to drown their children, whom they could not carry off; and to mutilate their daughters^in order to secure them against the violence of the French soldiers. This island, which does not exceed three hundred yards in length, and one hundred and forty yards in width, and is little more than a rock of granite, is nearly covered with the most splendid monuments of antiquity. The south-west shore is occupied by a fine and pictu resque rock, the rough and wild aspect of which adds a great degree of magnificence to the surrounding scene, and forms a delightful contrast with the regularity of the vast lines of architecture which appear in the tem ples and monuments. The latter have evidently been constructed at various periods, by different nations, and have belonged to several religions ; M. Denon distin guished uo fewer than eight They did not appear to him to have been built with any attention to symmetry, and were. of various dimensions. Their exterior walls were adorned with colossal sculpture ; and the orna ments and the capitals of the columns, were, in many instances, exquisitely finished. M. Denon in particular, notices one little temple, the most beautiful (he says) that can be imagined, in perfect preservation, and so diminutive, that he began to entertain a desire that the French army might carry it away with them. He found within it some interesting sculptures, particularly one which represented the history of Joseph and Mary, in their flight into Egypt, ,in a style of the utmost truth and interest. He was of opinion that it was practicable to transport this little temple into Europe ; and he says, that it would there afford a proof of the noble simplicity of Egyptian architecture; and would show, in a convincing manner, that it is character, and not extent, that gives majesty to an edifice. Besides Egyptian monuments, some Greek and Roman antiqui ties are found in the south-east part ofthe island. [It is conjectured by Mr. Norden, that Philae was v NUBIA. 79 excavated into subterraneous recesses and passages. Whether such were the case or not, it has not yet been ascertained ; but it is known that this island was once the exclusive habitation of the priests, and that every other Egyptian was prohibited from entering it, under the penalty of death.] The boundary of the French expedition in Egypt is marked on a granite rock, a little distance above the cataract. Here we must take our leaVe of M. Denon and the French army, and proceed on a journey into Nubia, along the course of the Nile. Sbtxtfi Bag's ^instruction. NUBIA. Travellers haye, in general, been permitted to pass in safety through most parts of Egypt ; but, till very lately, few persons have ventured to proceed beyond the boundaries of that country towards the south. Some have been intimidated by the different tribes being at war : others, by a fear of encountering the predatory Arabs which infest the deserts ; and others, by a dread of the inhospitable disposition of the resi dent inhabitants. About eighty years ago, Captain Norden, a Danish officer, surmounted all these difficul ties, and proceeded as far as Dehr; and of late years, some travellers have ventured even further than this. Thomas Legh, Esq. M. P. for Newton, in Lancashire, and the Rev. Charles Smelt, having been at Assuan, in the beginning of the year 1813, unexpectedly found that there would be little danger in continuing their voyage along the Nile upward into Nubia. They accordingly proceeded,' and were successful in reaching a village called Ibrim, not far distant from the second cataract. 80 legh's travels A Description of Remarkable Objects near the Banks of the Nile, between the First and Second Cataracts. From the Travels of Thomas Legh, Esq. M. p. Mr. Legh, and Mr. Smelt, having hired a small one- masted vessel, embarked in it, on the 13th of February, 1813, and proceeded from the upper part of the first cataract, towards the village of Debode. This, which is on the western bank ofthe river, and about ten miles from the place of their embarkation, they soon reached. They found at Debode, the ruins of a small temple with three gateways,,and a portico of , four columns, to • which an iuclosed pavement had formerly led from the water side. Out of the first and second chambers of this temple they passed into four or five smaller ones. In one of these were two large blocks of granite, with niches cut into them, each about eighteen inches deep ; they are supposed to have been designed for the recep tion ofthe sacred birds, and are what some writers have denominated Monolithie temples, or temples formed of a single stone. On the ensuing day, they passed a village called Sardab, situated on the same side of the river. Here they saw a square iuclosure of considerable size ; and, at the distance of about four hundred yards from it, a small but elegant temple of Isis. Six beautiful columns, each three feet in diameter, were still remaining ; and on one of these was 'a representation, in hieroglyphics, of the offering ofthe lotus, or sacred flower ofthe Nile, to that goddess. Four miles beyond Sardab, was El Umbarakat. The whole plain adjacent to this village was covered with ruins, chiefly of enclosures about fifty feet square, the design of which Mr. Legh could not conjecture. He counted ten or twelve ; and, among the fragments lying about, he observed several stones richly ornamented with carved work. There were likewise two small tem ples, one of which had been converted into a house. IN NUBIA. 81 Within the latter were four beautiful columns with rich capitals, aud other ornaments well carved. Of the second temple, which had been used as a church, only two columns were left. A few miles farther on, near the village of Kalaptshi, the travellers observed some extensive ruins. At the water's edge was a quay or landing-place, from which an elevated pavement, about eighteen feet wide, led to a temple. A part of the building which they first ap proached, measured one hundred and twenty feet in width, and about twenty-four feet in depth at the base. Jt had been connected to the temple by two colonnades; but of these only one column was standing. In front of the temple yvas a portico of four beautiful columns, each with a different capital ; and the porch had two columns on each side. Beyond this they found three chambers. The entrance to the first was ornamented with a large square slab, containing hieroglyphics beau tifully wrought. The hieroglyphics in the second and third chamber had been painted; and wherever the plaster by which they had been concealed by the early Christians (who had used the building as a church) had fallen off, the hieroglyphics were found to be in a state of excellent preservation. Many smaller, apart ments were connected with these three principal cham bers, and there were several others above them. The quarries from which the stone for this temple had been obtained, were close to it ; and were of a fine sand stone. Early on the following morning, Mr. Legh and his friend reached the village of Dondour, opposite to which, near the western bank of the Nile, was a small temple in good preservation. Two columns formed the entrance, and these were ornamented with figures of serpents. The inner temple consisted, as usual, of three apartments. On the exterior of the building, were representations of winged globes supported by serpents. The hieroglyphics exhibited the usual sub*. jects of priests wilh jugs, making offerings to Isis ami es 82 legh's travels Osiris ; the latter of whom is represented with a hawk's head, and carrying in his hand a crosier. Behind the temple was a grotto, but apparently of later date. The weather was now so hot that the travellers could scarcely bear to keep their feet on the burning sand. Mr. Legh plunged into it his thermometer, and it imme diately rose to one hundred and twenty-five degrees, or twenty-seven degrees above blood heat. They next arrived at the magnificent remains of Guerfeh-Hassan, on the western bank of the river. Here they found an excavated temple that far surpassed any thing they had before seen : it was indeed a stu pendous monument of the labour bestowed by tbe an cients on tlieir places of devotion. The outer court was formed by an angle of six columns on each side, attached to which were statues of priests rudely sculp tured. The area of this temple was sixty-four feet in length, and thirty-six in breadth ; and the passage to it was betwixt six immense columns, to which were at tached colossal statues of priests. These stood on pedestals three feet three inches high, and were them selves eighteen feet and a half high. They were in good preservation, were ornamented with girdles; each had in his hand a crosier ; and their gigantic propor tions, and rich dress, formerly covered with paint and gold, had a most imposing appearance. On entering the first chamber of this temple, the travellers found, in each of the side walls, four niches, each containing three figures, that had formerly been painted : all these had some reference to the attributes of Isis and Osiris. Though somewhat mutilated, they were, on the whole, in good preservation. In the first chamber, the hiero glyphics were much .defaced. From the second cham ber, the travellers passed into, four smaller apartments. At the ends of the two largest of these they observed blocks of stone standing in recesses in the walls. The stones, on being struck, yielded a hollow sound. The travellers endeavoured to raise them, but, from their inadequate means, they were obliged to give up the IN NUBIA. 83 attempt. Mr. Legh conjectures that these places must have been sepulchres. At the end of the third cham ber was an altar, three feet three inches high, and three feet broad ; and immediately behind it were four sta tues, seated on a kind of bench eleven feet long, wliich, like the figures themselves, was cut out of the solid rock. No inscription was found in this temple, which was an astonishing monument of labour and ancient magnificence. The various apartments which the tra vellers explored, as well as the numerous statues that ornamented them, had all been hewn out of tfie solid rock. Five miles beyond this place, they anchored for the night near a village called Costhambi. Here the river turned towards the south-west, and near an angle of its western bank stood the ruins of Dakki. At this place the travellers saw a temple quite perfect, containing hieroglyphics in a much better state of preservation than any they had observed in the country beyond Assuan. This temple consisted of four apartments, two of which seemed to be of more recent date than the others. ' At their junction, on the outside of the western wall, was an inscription relating to Adria, but wliich the travellers were not able to decypher. Two columns formed the entrance into the temple, and in the farthest apartment, where the hieroglyphics were peculiarly beautiful, there was a pedestal of red granite. On the walls were many Greek inscriptions, which seemed to record the devotion of persons who had visited these sacred buildings. Some miles beyond Dakki, the travellers again landed on the western bank, to visit a ruin, which, from the river, had the appearance of a temple ; but which, on nearer approach, proved to be the remains of a Chris tian church, built probably from the ruins of some temple in the neighbourhood. Part of the wall was standing, and covered with hieroglyphics : there was an inscription in it, but, from want of a ladder, this could not be copied. The whole was in bad taste; 84 legh's travels and the capitals of many ofthe columns had never been finished. An immense quantity of fragments of terra cotta vessels were scattered about, whence Mr. Legh was led to conjecture that this must have been the site of some considerable town. About a hundred yards from the church, was a fine pedestal, nearly fourteen feet square, of three steps, and made of three large blocks of red granite. The travellers next arrived at Sibkoi, on the same side of the river. Here they saw a temple, and lauded to examine it. At the distance of fifty yards in front, were two statues, each about ten feet' high, placed ap parently on each side of an ancient gateway. From this an avenue of two rows of sphinxes, had formerly led to the temple : six only of the figures were now vi sible, the rest being buried in tbe sand. On each side of the entrance, there had. anciently been a statue cut out of a single block of sand stone, and fourteen feet high. These had poth been thrown down ; one had been broken by its fall, and the other appeared quite perfect, but the head and shoulders were buried in the sand. Within the entrance to the building, was an avenue of square columns, attached to each of which were statues of priests. About thirty miles south-west of Sibhoi, is a village called Amada, where there are remains of a fine Egyp tian temple, which appears to have been converted by the early Christians into a church. The hieroglyphics have been covered with stucco ; but, where that has fallen off, the painted figures beneath it are still to be seen in a state of excellent preservation. A considerable part of the building is now buried in sand ; not more than the height of six feet of it remaining visible above the surface of the ground. Mr. Legh describes, at considerable length, his re ception at Dehr. He remarks that, in this country, the appellations of places are rather applicable to the districts in which they are situated, than to any parti cular collection of houses. This he says was the case. IN NUBIA. 85 with respect to Dehr ; and he was only apprized of his approach to this principal town of Nubia, by observing a somewhat greater population, and a greater number of mud cottages than in other places. After having passed many huts, scattered among the date trees, the travellers reached the house of the cacheff, or governor, distinguished by its being built of brick, and being two stories high. They arrived during the celebration of a marriage of the cacheff, in honour of which he was giving a fes tival that was to last ten days. The appearance ofthe strangers drew together a great number of the inhabi tants ; who viewed them, the first Europeans they had ever seen, with the utmost astonishment. Though, in consequence of the festival, many of these were in a state of intoxication, they offered no incivility ; and the travellers were permitted to .sit down under a rude sort of arcade made of bricks, and to wait there till they could be admitted to an interview with the cacheff. About an hour afterwards, a large mess was brought to them, consisting of bad paste, on which had been placed a piece of boiled goat's flesh, swimming in hot butter. They invited the people afound to partake of it: these seemed much pleased, and showed to them every indication of hospitality and good will. After they had waited about four hours, the cacheff came to them, attended by five or six of his chief officers, and a body of negro guards, to keep off the mob. He was about six feet high, twenty-five years of age, and of a handsome person ; but evidently half intoxicated. He boisterously enquired ofthe travellers what they wanted, and why they had come to Dehr ? They replied, that they were come to pay their respects to him, and to see the remains of antiquity, with which his country abounded ; and asked permission to proceed to lbrim. This he positively refused. They knew not what to expect from so rude a reception. They were how ever entirely in his power, and had no alternative but to submit. The persons around began to examine; 86 legh's travels the arms, and unshcath the swords of the strangers; and they appeared to be particularly delighted with the latter. A little while afterwards the cacheff de parted; and his secretary conducted the travellers to a miserable hut built of mud, the walls of which were about twelve feet high, and without a roof. Instead of a roof there were, at each end, a few date branches, form ing a kind of shed. Wretched as this habitation was, it seemed, next to the house of the cacheff, the best in the place. An armed negro was placed at the door. Be fore night a mess, similar to that with whicli they had already been treated, was sent for their supper, from the house of the cacheff. On the next morning they were informed that the cacheff expected from them a present, and a time was appointed for them again to see him. On this occasion, being sober, he behaved with great civility. He was seated, smoking, at the end of a long chamber. Coffee and pipes were brought for the visitors. Through the medium of an interpre ter, Mr. Legh stated their object in visiting this part of the country, and requested the cacheff's acceptance of a watch. This he declined accepting, as he could not understand'its use ; but he requested to have a sword. Mr. Legh took off his own, and placed it, by the belt, over the shoulders of the cacheff. The effect of this present was instantaneous. He gave them a favourite negro slave, about ten years of age, who afterwards accompanied them to England ; and not only permitted them to proceed on their journey, but, as a contrary wind prevented the boat from ascending the river any farther, he furnished them with asses and dromedaries to pursue their journey by land. The only monument of antiquity which the travellers observed at Dehr, yvas a temple or grotto, excavated in the solid rock. The area that led to it was open at the top, and had once consisted of ten columns, all of which, however, had fallen down. Withui the first chamber of the grotto were two rows of pillars, three in each row. These led to an inner temple, on each IN NUBIA. 87 side of which were two chambers, that seemed to have been used for burying places : in one of them was a sar cophagus, cut out ofthe solid rock. In the portico were hieroglyphics, representing the exploits of some hero ; for the wheels of chariots, and the figures of captives, were plainly to be discovered. In the interior ofthe grotto, the hieroglyphics exhibited offerings to Osiris, who was represented with a hawk's head and a globe. Early in the morning Mr. Legh and his friend set out for Ibrim, where they arrived in about five hours. This was a town situated on the eastern slope of a mountain near the Nile, and overlooked by a citadel built on the summit. The river washed the foot *of the rock, and was here about a quarter of a mile broad. The walls that had enclosed the citadel and the ruins of the house of the governor, were still to be traced, but not a single human being was seen. About two years before Mr. Legh was here, Ibrim had been de stroyed by the Mamelukes, and the whole population had deserted the place. The travellers remained at Ibrim a few hours, after which they determined to retrace their steps to the vessel. They were tearful of penetrating any farther into a country where money began to be of little use, and where they had been led to believe; that provi sions were very scarce. The prospect of farther dis covery was doubtful; and it was difficult to ascertain how far they might proceed in safety, without falling into the hands of the Mamelukes. This place, the farthest which Mr. Legh and his friend reached to the south, was known to the ancients by the name of Premis. It was formerly the capital of Nubia, and had been ce lebrated for producing a great abundance of dates. In describing the inhabitants of this part of Africa, Mr. Legh observes, that the features of the men were lively ; that their skin, though dark coloured, was sleek and fine ; and that their teeth were beautifully white. Their hair, in some instances, was frizzled at the sides, and so stiffened with grease, as to resemble the extra- 88 GREAT DESERT OF NUBIA. ordinary projection which is figured on the head c the sphinx. They were of remarkably slender forni attributable, probably, to their scanty means of sub sistence, and to the great heat of the climate. Th women were, in general, ill featured ; and, in no jr stance that the travellers noticed, had they the appeal ance of youth; but they seemed to pass immediate! from childhood into decrepitude. Both the men am women wore nearly the same kind of dress as thei Egyptian neighbours. Beyond the second cataract of the Nile commence the Great Desert of Nubia. The antiquities in thj part of Africa are little known to Europeans, for fei have ventured to proceed so far. Mr. Bruce indee crossed the desert, but at a considerable distance eas of the Nile, and along an arid and desolate plain That there are remains of antiquity still existing ii places adjacent to the Nile, and that these remains ar of a very extraordinary kind, has been proved by th recent discoveries of Mr. Belzoni. At Ipsambul, a village beyond the second cataract this gentleman discovered a grand temple ; and, in th adjacent mountains, he found some large and extensiv excavations. Mor^ than two-thirds of the front of th temple were buried in sand, which, in some places covered it to the height of fifty feet. Its site, howevei was marked by four colossal figures. One of thes has been thrown down, and now lies on the sand, b which it is partially covered. It is of such ini mense size, that the length of the head, from the chii upwards, measures twelve feet ; and the breadth acros the shoulders, twenty-one feet. In this extraordinar temple were found fourteen excavated chambers, and i great hall. The hall contains eight erect colossal figures each thirty feet high; the walls and pilasters are co vered with hieroglyphics, and with groups of largi figures beautifully wrought in bas relief, and in th< highest state of preservation. At the end of the sane ABYSSINIA. 89s tuary are four figures, each- about twelve feet high, sculptured out of the solid rock, and well preserved. After indefatigable exertions, Mr. Belzoni cleared away an immense mass of sand from the ihterior of the tem ple, and the opening of it has proved, in many respects, peculiarly interesting. It tends to show that the arts, as practised in Egypt, descended from Ethiopia; for the style of sculpture is here superior, in many respects, to any that has yet been discovered in Egypt. Beyond this place we know little either of the Nile, or of the towns and villages that are scattered along its banks. On the left bank, and at the most westerly part of its course, we are indeed informed, that there is a large village called Moscho; and, on the opposite bank, and farther south, is Dongola, the capital of a province, tributary to the kingdom of Sennaar : the latter was formerly a large and populous town, but is. now an inconsiderable place. Jbebenth Uag's ^nstroction. ABYSSINIA. It is now requisite for us to return down the Nile as far as Keneh, in Upper Egypt, for the purpose of pro ceeding in company with a traveller whose name, as connected with Egypt and Abyssinia, is familiar to every one. I allude to Mr. Bruce, one of the most enterprising travellers of modern times, but whose writings have been the subject of more illiberal attacks than those of almost any other person. Not merely has their general authenticity been questioned, but some persons have had the temerity to assert, that they are, from beginning- to end, a fabrication. The pro gress of discovery in subsequent years has, however, served to confirm nearly all his statements ; and the 90 bruce's TRAVELS authenticity of his work, in every respect that is rea important, has been fully and satisfactorily establishe Mr. Bruce landed in Egypt in the month of Ju 1768, with the intention of proceeding up the Nile possible, to its source. He was perfectly acquaini with several of the eastern languages, and yvore I dress of an Arab, hoping in that disguise, that he mi; pass for a native of Africa, and thus escape 'many tr blesome explanations that would otherwise have b< expected from him relative to himself and his intentio After ascending the Nile, into Upper Egypt, he y induced to change his original design, and to taki different route, for the purpose of more easily accc plishing the end he had in view. We have aires given an account of Egypt ; it will consequently be i quisite for us to omit such parts of the travels of I Bruce as relate to the country adjacent to the Nile, j to commence with his journey to Cosseir. Narrative of Mr. Bruce's Travels from Keneh t Cosseir, and Gondar. On Friday the 17th of February, 1769, he set outfr Keneh, in Upper Egypt, with a caravan which was ab toxross the desert to the western shore ofthe Red £ He and his servants were mounted on horseback, : their luggage was conveyed on camels. The cara yvas accompanied by about two hundred men am with muskets. The road lay over an open plain, bounded by hillo of sand and fine gravel. There were no trees, shn nor herbs ; nor any traces whatever of living creatui and the sun yvas intensely hot. The next day's jour was through a sandy plain, bounded on each side distant hills, and still destitute of vegetation. In forenoon of this day the caravan passed a mountaii green and red marble, and afterwards entered a p] covered with dark red sand. While they were traversing some rocks of porph; IN ABYSSINIA. 91 an alarm was given that a party of Arabs had attacked the rear of the caravan. Mr. Bruce collected together his servants, and stationed them as advantageously as possible for defence ; but it was soon explained that the alarm had been occasioned by. a few thieves, who had merely attempted to pilfer some of the corn from the hindmost camels. On the 31st the caravan arrived at Cosseir. This is a small mud-walled village, built on the shore of the Red Sea, and among hillocks of sand. Miserable as it is, Mr. Bruce describes it to be one ofthe principal ports on the African bank of the Red Sea. It yvas at this time defended by a square fort of hewn stone, on yvhich were mounted four small and useless guns: and it contained a large inclosure of shops and warehouses, surrounded by a high mud wall. While Mr. Bruce was at Cosseir, a caravan arrived from Assuan, escorted by four hundred men, mounted on camels, and each armed with two short javelins. Their mode of riding yvas somewhat whimsical: they had' two small saddles on each camel, and sat back to back. Mr. Bruce had heard many strange stories respecting a mountain or Island of Emeralds in the Red Sea, at some distance from Cosseir ; and he was extremely de sirous of visiting it. Taking with him as a guide,' a man well acquainted with the island, he embarked before day-break of the 14th of March, and the next morning saw the island, an high rock, appearing almost like a pillar rising out of the sea. Having landed near the foot of the rock, he was shown five or six pits, from which the ancients are said to have obtained emeralds; but he had no means of descending into any of them. He picked up the nozzels, and some other pieces of earthen lamps; arid some fragments of beau tiful green crystals. These we're a kind of spar, the smaragdus, probably, of the ancients, but not at all allied to the true emerald. As soon as his curiosity was satisfied, he returned to Cosseir. 92 bruce's travels On the 5th of April, Mr. Bruce and his servants sailed from Cosseir ,to the opposite shore of the Red Sea. Thence they proceeded along the Arabian coast, till they reached the island of Babelmandel. Not long after this, they again approached the African shore, and, on the 19th of September, arrived at Masuah, a small island near the coast of Abyssinia. The voyage oc cupied in the whole more than five months ; but, as it was entirely beyond the confines of Africa, the parti culars of it are here omitted. The Island of Masuah, is not more than three quar ters of a mile long, and half a mile broad ; and when Mr. Bruce was here, one third of it was occupied by bouses, one third by cisterns for rain water, and the remaining third was reserved as a burial place for the dead. Masuah had formerly been a place of much re sort for commercial purposes ; but, owing chiefly to the oppressive conduct of the Turks, it had of late been little frequented. The naybe, or governor, had received information that a great prince, the son or brother of a king, would soon arrive at Masuah. In consequence of this infor mation, he held a council, to deliberate whether he and his people should not murder this illustrious stranger on his landing. In this divan, Achmet, the nephew of the naybe, firmly opposed the measure, as both cruel and impolitic. It was improbable, he observed, that a man of so much consequence should be unprovided with powerful protection, and entreated that they would be ware how they ventured to injure him. The fear of personal danger yvas that alone which prevented the execution of so barbarous a design. Mr. Bruce had been informed of the character of the naybe, and he brought with him a letter of introduction to Achmet, whose friendship and influence he was re commended to secure. When Mr. Bruce arrived, the naybe was at Arkeeko, on the Abyssinian shore ; and Achmet came to receive the duties that were payable for the merchandise of the vessel in which Mr. Bruce IN ABYSSINIA. 03 had arrived. Two elbow chairs were placed in the middle of the market-place. One of these was left empty; and Achmet sate on the other, while the se veral officers opened the bales and packages before him. He was dressed in a long white muslin habit, and a close-bodied frock, reaching to his ancles, much like the white frock and petticoat which children wear in En' gland. Mr. Bruce, hastened towards him ; and, on his approach, Achmet stood up. They touched each other's hands, carried their fingers to their lips, and. laid their hands across their breasts. Mr. Bruce pro nounced the salutation of " Salam Alicum !" Peace be between us ! to which Achmet immediately replied : " Alicum Salam!" There is peace between us ! After this Mr. Bruce yvas requested to sit in the other chair. Achmet made a sign that coffee should immediately be brought ; for, in these countries, the offering of meat or drink, is considered an assurance that a person's life is not in danger. After this Achmet promised him his friendship and protection. When Mr. Bruce rose to take his leave, he was wetted to the skin by showers of orange flower water; which were thrown upon him from the right and left, by the prince's attendants. A house had been provided at Masuah for him and his servants. This he had no sooner entered, than a dinner, consisting of a great number of dishes, was sent to him by Achmet ; and, immediately afterwards, his baggage was delivered to him unopened. On the ensuing day, the naybe arrived from Arkeeko. He was dressed in an old Turkish habit; and was at tended by three or four miserable looking servants on horseback, and by about forty naked savages on foot, armed yvith short lances. and crooked knives. At his arrival, drums were beaten in what was called the castle of Masuah. This was nothing more than a clay- built hut, having in it one swivel gun, which lay on the ground, and was never fired but with great trepidation and some danger. The drums were earthen jars, the 94 ' bruce's travels mouths of which were covered with skins, so that a stranger, on seeing two or three of them together, might easily have mistaken them for jars of butter, or of pickles. In the afternoon Mr. Bruce was admitted to an au dience. He found the naybe sitting on a large wooden elbow chair, and guarded by two files of savages, who made an avenue from his chair to the door. He yvore no other dress than a coarse cotton shirt, so short that it scarcely reached to his knees, and so dirty, ithat its original colour was scarcely discernible, lu person, he was1 tall and lean ; his colour was black, and his mouth and nose were large. At the point of his chin was a tuft of grey hairs ; and his countenance was expressive both of malice and stupidity. In fact he was a man of mean abilities; he was a great drunkard, cruel, and avaricious. Mr. Bruce presented to him a firman, or official re commendation, which he had brought from the Grand Signior. The naybe rudely pushed it away, desiring Mr. Bruce to read it. Mr. Bruce told him it was writ ten in Turkish, and that he had never learned to read. that language : " Nor I neither," said the naybe, " and 1 believe 1 never shall." Mr. Bruce then gave him the other letters he had brought. The naybe took them in both his hands, and laid them unopened beside him, saying, " You should have brought a uioutlah along , with you. Do you think I shall read all these letters? Why it would take a month !" He then stared at the traveller, with his mouth wide open, looking so like an ideot, that it was with the utmost difficulty Mr. Bruce could keep his gravity, while he answered,'" Just as you please ; you know best !" After this he departed, not much gratified by his reception. About three weeks afterward, the naybe demanded an enormous present, which Mr. Bruce refused to give, stating, that he had considered himself exempted from paying tribute within the dominions of the Grand Sig uier. The naybe endeavoured to terrify him into com- IN\ABYSSINIA. 95 pliance by threats of imprisonment ; but, finding these unsuccessful, he summoned a council of his officers, in which he accused the stranger of several absurd of fences. Among others, he declared that Mr. Bruce had been observed to converse with a comet which was then visible at Masuah ; and for the purpose, as it was imagined, of bringing diseases upon the country. He alluded to Mr. Bruce having been seen to look at the comet through his telescope. And had it not been for his undaunted conduct, and for the interference of one ofthe officers of state, a friend of Achmet, Mr. Bruce would probably on this occasion have fallen a sacrifice to the avarice of the naybe. He, however, escaped to his house. There he was informed' that Achmet, being sick at Arkeeko, had been prevented from attending the council. At night, the naybe sent a party of men to murder Mr. Bruce ; but, terrified by his fire-arms, they had not tbe courage to attack him. ' Soon after this, Mr. Bruce found an opportunity of communicating with Achmet, who expressed the utmost abhorrence at the behaviour of his uncle ; and pro mised to furnish him with necessaries for his future jour ney. Mr. Bruce about the same time was gratified by the arrival of three messengers from Abyssinia. They brought especial orders to the naybe to supply him with every thing that was requisite for his journey, and to forward him yvithout delay. One of these messen gers was from Ras Michael, the governor of Tigre, and prime minister and commander in chief of the armies of the kiug of Abyssinia ; to whom letters, recommend ing Mr. Bruce to his protection, had been forwarded from Egypt. These orders were so peremptory, that the naybe was compelled to let his prey escape, Mr. Bruce was permitted to land at Arkeeko, on the shore of Abyssi nia; and he set out with a small caravan from that place on the 15th of November. At parting, Achmet told him that the naybe intended to embarrass, or per haps even to murder him, in the road to Dobarwa. He, '96 bruce's travels therefore, advised him to proceed by a path, over the mountains ; through a conntry of which he was the master, and in which he knew that his orders would.be obeyed. This advice was not to be neglected, and Mr. Bruce commenced his journey according to Achmet's directions. [Respecting Arkeeko, it is necessary to say, that it is an assemblage of about four hundred miserable huts of clay, among which are two stone houses, with walled yards, belonging to the naybe. To the south of the town are several gardens, that are cultivated with great care, and near them is an extensive burying ground. This place is scantily supplied with water, from six wells situated about a mile and half from the town. The inhabitants are described to be of the most defes* table character imaginable. They are half-civilized savages, who appear to have lost all the virtues of the rude tribes to which they belonged, without having ac quired, from their more refined neighbours, any thing except vices.] Soon after the caravan had left Arkeeko, it began to ascend the stupendous range of mountains which sepa rates Abyssinia from the Red Sea. These Alpine bar riers exhibited to the travellers all the singular appear ances which are produced by a vertical sun, and by the heavy rains wliich fall on them at certain seasons. After excessive toil and fatigue, they arrived at Dixun, a fron tier town, one division of which belonged to the naybe, and the other to the Abyssians. This part of the journey had occupied nearly eight days. ¦ Dixan is built on the top of a steep hill, formed almost like a sugar-loaf; and the road winds spirally round it, till it reaches the houses. Some of its inha bitants are Moors, and some Christians; aud almost the only trade carried on by either people is a very extra' ordinary one, that of selling children. These are stolen from different parts of Abyssinia, and are con veyed to Dixan as a place of deposit, where they are purchased to be sent as slaves into Arabia, or India, IN ABYSSINIA. 97 When the caravan arrived here, some of the inhabitants were busy at their wheat-harvest; others had finished, and were employed in treading out the corn by means of oxen. [All the labours of agriculture devolve upon the females, who are obliged to go out and work in the fields, even with their children upon their backs.] Mr. Bruce and his party left Dixan on the 25th of November, and that night slept under a tree, so large that its trunk measured seven feet and a half in dia meter. He says, that this station yvas ever afterwards memorable to him : it was the first, where, out of the power of the naybe, he recovered a portion of that tranquillity of mind to which he -had been a stranger ever since his arrival at Masuah. In their journey from Dixan, they were met' by an Abyssinian nobleman. Of this person Mr. Bruce pur chased a horse, on which he performed many feats of dexterity that greatly surprised all the people yvho witnessed them. Indeed, it was to his great skill in horsemanship, that he owed much of the favour which he afterwards obtained in this country. On the 6th of December the caravan arrived at the town of Adowa, situated on the declivity of a hill, and in the midst of hedges and trees. This place was ¦considered the capital of Tigre, and was the residence of a deputy governor, a venerable old man, named, Janni. He was clad in a white cotton garment, girt round the waist with a red sash embroidered with gold : his head was covered with a turban of white muslin, and his thick white beard descended to his waist. The kindness of this old man was very great ; Mr. Bruce and his servants were permitted to reside in his house, and were treated by him with the utmost hospitality for nearly six weeks. The houses of Adowa are all built of rough stones, and have roofs in the form of cones, thatched with a reedy sort of grass. At this town there is a manufac tory of coarse cotton cloth, yvhich is circulated Ihrough TRAV. F 98 bruce's travels all parts of Abyssinia, and given in exchange for other commodities, instead of silver money. From Adowa Mr. Bruce visited the ruins of a con vent of Jesuits that had formerly been established at Fremona. The caravan then went to Axum, a town which was anciently the metropolis of Abyssinia. The ruins of this place were very extensive, and exhibited the remains of numerous public buildings. In one square, which Mr. Bruce imagined was formerly, in the centre of the town, he counted no fewer than forty obelisks. The present town consisted of about six hundred houses. It yvas watered by a small stream that floyved from a fountain in the valley where the obelisks stood. At Axum, Mr. Bruce had an oppor tunity of seeing the monks perform an annual ceremony at the Epiphany, of blessing the waters. He was shown several manufactories of coarse cotton cloth, and of parchment. The caravan left Axum on the morning of the 20th of January, 1770, and in the journey, Mr. Bruce ob served a remarkable instance of the barbarism of the Abyssiuians. A party of soldiers cut pieces of flesh from a Jiving cow, and ate them raw, covering up the wound with the skin, which was kept entire for that purpose, and placing on it a kind of cataplasm of clay, to enable the place to heal. This, he says, was a strange but frequent practice in several parts of Abys sinia. The travellers proceeded through Sire, a province which borders on the kingdom of Tigre. In their way they passed the hut of a peasant, encompassed by a neat little garden. The owner of this hut, imagining from their weapons and horses, that the strangers were hunters, brought them a present of fruit from his garden; and entreated that they would assist him in killing 6ome wild boars, which had carried havoc and devastation through all his labours. Mr. Bruce sent two of his servants with the man into a neighbouring wood ; and IN ABYSSINIA. 99 he accompanied them on horseback. In the course of tyvo hours they killed five boars, one of which mea sured six feet nine inches in length ; but they did not dare to partake of the game they had slain, for the Abyssinians hold pork of all kinds in abhorrence. In the course of the journey, Mr. Bruce heard a cry from his servants, " Robbers ! Robbers !" He imme diately mounted a mule to learn the cause of the alarm, and saw, to his great surprise, part of his bag gage strewed on the ground, the servants running, some leading the mules, and others driving such as were unloaded before them. On inquiry, it appeared that some of the Moors of the caravan, had taken a heap of straw wliich did not belong to them; and Ihe owner of it, having roused the inhabitants of an adjacent village, they had risen in mass to resent the injury. When the subject was explained, Mr. Bruce soon appeased the clamour, and restored tranquillity. On the 22d, they arrived at Sire, and pitched their tent in as deep valley at the western extremity of the town. The road was so bad as to be almost impassable. The houses yvere of clay, and thatched ; and the roofs, like those of all the houses in Abyssinia, were in the form of cones. A considerable quantity of coarse cot ton cloth was made at this place. The power of Ras Michael extended over the whole district in which Mr. Bruce was now travelling ; but he was much disliked- on account of his tyrannical aud overbearing disposition. For some time past, he had been engaged in suppressing a rebellion, headed by a powerful chief named Fasil. A rumour was in circula tion, that the Ras had been defeated ; and, as Mr. Bruce was travelling under his protection, he would have had every thing to dread if the rumour had proved correct. The contrary, however, was the fact ; and Mr. Bruce yvas treated with the greatest respect by all those yvho feared the vengeance of the Ras. The caravan remained at Sire only one day : then, crossing the Tacazze, the largest river in Upper Abys- F2 100 BRUCE S TRAVELS sinia, it entered the district of Woggora. Here the hardships of a perilous road were increased by the fac tious spirit of the inhabitants, and by the extortions that were practised at the different custom houses. On the 30tb, the caravan encamped near a small ri vulet, in a plain scarcely a mile square, surrounded by a thick wood, in the form of an amphitheatre ; and full of lemon and citron trees. The mountains above it were bare, rugged and barren. During the night, the hyenas devoured one of the best mules. Both hyenas and lions were here in great numbers. The roaring and growling of the latter, in the part of the wood nearest to the tent, so alarmed the animals attached to the caravan, as to prevent them from eating their provender. Mr. Bruce lengthened the cords of the tent, and placed both the mules and horses between them. The tremulous motion of the white ropes, and the incessant noise of two small bells which he had attached to them, are supposed to have deterred the lions from approaching ; but the hyenas were not so easy to be alarmed. Mr. Bruce shot two of them, and another yvas killed with a spear ; and such was their determined coolness, that they sfalked around the travellers with the familiarity of dogs. But these were not all the annoyances the travellers experienced in their present encampment. They were still more incommoded by a kind of black ants, of such size, as to measure little less than an inch in length. These came out, from under the ground, in myriads, and cut the carpets into shreds: they also destroyed part of the lining of the tent, and every bag or sack they could find. Their bite caused considerable in flammation ; and the pain which followed it was greater than even that from the bite of a scorpion. While tbe travellers were making ready for their de parture, a hyena, unnoticed by any of the people, fastened upon one of the asses, and had almost pulled the animal's tail away, when a musket was fired at him. This made him let go the ass; but he stood ready to IN ABYSSINIA. 101 defend himself against any one who should attack him' A man with a tent-pole knocked him down, and others' armed with pikes, put an end to his life. In the morning of the 8th of February, the caravan began to ascend the mountain of Lamalmon, along a road which, in some parts, was scarcely two feet wide. It yvas a spiral path, winding up the side of the moun tain, on the very brink of a precipice. The vieyv which the travellers had, doyvn the steep, yvas such as few heads could have borne to look upon. They had been obliged to unload their baggage, and by slow degrees, to crawl up the hill, carrying the different packages, by little and little, upon their shoulders. The mules, though unloaded, were scarcely able to scramble up. At length, hoyvever, they arrived in safety at a small plain, where there was a church and a village. The west side of the mountain terminated in a" cliff, per pendicular as a wall. Over this precipice flowed two streams of water, which fell into a wood at the bottom of the cliff, and preserved it in continual verdure during the whole year; though the plain below was rent in chasms, and cracked in all parts by the heat of the sun. On this mountain was a custom house, where an ac count was taken of all the baggage and merchandize belonging to the caravan ; and this account was trans mitted to the Negade lias, or chief officer of the customs at Gondar. Although Mr. Bruce had nothing that could be considered as merchandize, and consequently that could become subject to the payment of duty, yet, in order to avoid disputes, he submitted implicitly to all the demands that were made o'f him. While be was at Lamalmon be astonished the peo ple by exertions of dexterity in managing and ma noeuvring his horse: among other things, he went through the whole Arab exercise yvith a long spear, and a short javelin ; and yvith his double barrelled gun, from the back of his horse, he shot several birds on the wing. The air of Lamalmon was pltasant and temperate. Here the travellers found their appetite return, and ex- 102 bruce's travels perienced a cheerfulness and lightness of spirits, to which they had been utter strangers, in the low, poi sonous and sultry air on the coast of the Red Sea. In some parts of this mountain, which abounds in streams, the husbandmen, says Mr. Bruce, plough and sow at all seasons ; and sometimes reap even three harvests in the year. In one place he sayv people busy cutting down wheat; next to them were others at the plough; and the adjoining field had green corn in the ear : a little further on, the corn was not an inch above the ground. In traversing the other parts of the mountain, the- persons composing the caravan experienced the mbst laborious and painful difficulties. These, however, with infinite patience and perseverance, they overcame ; and, on the 10th of February, they arrived at Gondar, the metropolis of Abyssinia. <, CMpjjtfj Hag's ^Instruction. ABYSSINIA CONTINUED. Narrative of Mr. Bruce's residence at Gondar, and of his Journey thence to the Source of the Nile. Gondar is a large town, consisting, in time of peace, of about ten thousand families. The houses are chiefly built of clay, and the roofs are thatched in the form of cones. At the west end of the town is the king's house, a square building, flanked with square towers. It had formerly been four stories high, but great part of it yvas now in ruins ; there was still, however, ample space for dwellings in the two lowest floors. The audience chamber yvas more than one hundred and twenty feet long. The next morning, Mr. Bruce, having dressed him self in a Moorish habit, yvent to pay his respects to one of the chief men of the place : he yvas introduced as a IN ABYSSINIA. 103 physician. Here he saw several of the principal per sons of Gondar, both male and female ; and, in conse quence of the smallpox being at this time prevalent among the inhabitants, he was requested to undertake the recovery of several of them, particularly'of some of the royal family. This he reluctantly did, and was suc cessful in his practice. About a month after Mr. Bruce had been at Gondar, the Ras Michael marched in triumph into the city, at the head of the troops of Tigi'6. He was bareheaded : over his shoulders, and down his back, hung a cloak of black velvet, with a silver fringe. A boy, at his right stirrup, held a silver wand, about five feet and a half long. Behind him marched all such soldiers as had personally slain one or more of the enemy. Each had his lance and firelock ornamented with small shreds of scarlet cloth, one piece for every man whom he had slain. Remarkable among all thisfmultitude, yvas Hagos, the door-keeper of the Ras. This man, always well armed, and well mounted, had followed the wars ofthe Ras from his infancy ; and had been so successful in combat, that his whole lance and javelin, his horse and person, were covered with scarlet shreds. In this cavalcade the head-dress of the governors of provinces was particularly remarkable. A broad fillet was bound upon their forehead, and tied behind the head: in the middle of this yvas a horn, or conical piece of silver, gilt, about four inches long, and much in shape r of our candle extinguishers. This was called kirn, or horn, and was only worn in reviews or parades after victory. Mr. Bruce was of opinion that the practice of wearing these horns was derived from, and was similar to, that which is often alluded to in the Old Testament ; and particularly in the book of Psalms, as in the passages — "I said unto the fools, deal not so foolishly, and to the wicked, lift not up the horn." — " Lift not up your horn on high, speak not with a stiff neck." — "And the horn of the righteous shall be exalted with honour." 104 BRUCE'S TRAVELS Next to these came the king, with a fillet of white muslin, about three inches broad, bound across his fore head, and tied behind, so as to hang down his back, to the length of about two feet. Around him were the great officers of state, and some of the young nobility. After these followed the household troops, then the executioner of the camp and his attendants ; and, last of all, amidst the king's and the ras's baggage, came a man bearing, upon a pole, the stuffed skin of one ofthe rebel chiefs, whom the ras had caused to be flayed alive. A few days after this, the recommendatory letters which Mr. Bruce had brought with him were presented. The ras sent for him. At the door of the palace he met Ayto Aylo, an Abyssinian nobleman, of great in fluence, yvho had already exhibited a particular regard for Mr. Bruce. This nobleman squeezed him by the hand, and said to him, as he entered, " Refuse nothing ; it can all be altered afterwards. It is necessary, on account of the priests and the populace, that you should have a place of some authority, othenvise you will be robbed and murdered the first time you go half a mile from home. The people imagine that you have chests filled with gold, and that you can make gold, or bring what quantity of it you please from the Indies." Mr. Bruce weut in and saw the ras, yvho was sitting on a sofa. He was an old man, with a lean face, quick and vivid eyes, and had his white hair dressed in many short curls. According to the custom in Abyssinia, Mr. Bruce offered to kiss the ground before him ; but the ras stretched out his hand and prevented it. Mr. Bruce sate down with Aylo, and some other officers of state. The ras then addressing him by the name of " Yagoube," that by which he was known in Abyssinia, " Hear," said he, '' what I have to say, and mark what I recommend to you. You are a man, I am told, yvho make it your business to wander in the fields iu search after trees and grass, in solitary places, and sit up all night alone, looking at the heavens. Other countries are not like this, though this yvas never so bad as it is IN ABYSSINIA. 105 now. These wretches here are enemies to strangers. If they saw you alone in your parlour, their first thought would be how to murder you ; even though they knew they were to get nothing by it : they would murder you for mere mischief." The ras then told Mr.Bruce that the king had appointed him to one of the high offices of state, and, on account of his skill in horse manship, had also made him a commander of horse. " Go to the king," continued the ras, " and kiss the ground on your appointment. I see you have learned this ceremony of ours. Ayto Aylo, and Heikel, the queen's chamberlain, and Teda Mariam,, the king's secretary, will accompany you. The king expressed to me last night his surprise that he had not seen you." Mr. Bruce after this went to the king's palace. He was met at the door of the presence-chamber, by Ayto and Heikel; and Tecla Mariam walked before them to the foot of the throne. Mr. Bruce advanced, and prostrated himself upon the ground. After the usual ceremonies, the. king askedhim innumerable questions, respecting Jerusalem, and the holy places: — Where his country was : — Why he came so far : — Whether the moon and stars, but especially the moon, was the same in his country as in Abyssinia; and many others equally idle and troublesome. Mr. Bruce several times attempted to take the present he had brought yvith him from the man who held it, that he might offer it to his majesty and go away ; but the king always made a sign to put it off. After a while, being excessively wearied yvith standing, Mr. Bruce leaned against the wall. Here he stood so long that, at length, he was scarcely able to speak : he inwardly lamented the hardness of his fate in this his first preferment ; and sincerely prayed.it might be his last promotion in the court of Abyssinia. Ozoro Esther, the daughter of the queen dowager, yvas the wife of the Has Michael. She had been mar ried twice before, and had children by all her husbands. Her son, Ayto Confu, a promising youth, who afterwards became extremely attached to Mr. Bruce, caught the F3 106 bruce's travels smallpox, and recovered very slowly. Mr. Bruce at-. tended him with the most assiduous care; and the princess' was so anxious for his safety, that she could neither eat nor sleep, but watched him in fear and anxiety, for many successive nights. Heuce also ori ginated a friendship between Mr. Bruce and the prin cess, which tended greatly to advance the interest of Mr. Bruce at court. By his situation at court, Mr. Bruce had an oppor tunity of observing the extremely gross conduct of the people of Abyssinia. At the marriage of the governor of an adjacent province, yvith a granddaughter of the ras, all Gondar was a scene of festivity and riot. Great numbers of cattle were distributed among the populace, and liquor was given in proportion. The dissipation which prevailed for several yveeks, can neither be described nor imagined. The married women ate rayv beef, cut from the living animals ; drank " spirits, and smoked like the men; and Mr. Bruce, though dejected, much out of health, and shocked at the grossness of such society, yvas often obliged to be present at it. During the time that Mr. Brrfce yvas at Gondar, Fasil, the rebel general, had collected together addi tional forces, and had invaded one of the provinces be longing to the king. The Ras Michael, consequently, again took the field against him. Mr. Bruce was now so ill, that he obtained permission to retire to a place called Emfras, near the Lake of Dembea; and about twenty miles from the capital. Here he continued some time, paying occasional visits to Gondar ; enjoying a relaxation from the excesses of the court, and devoting a considerable part of his time to study. Subsequently to this, Mr. Bruce obtained additional promotion. He was appointed the governor of a pro vince called Ras el-Feel, and was also made one of the gentlemen of the king's bed-chamber. The deputy governor of Ras el-Feel had usually been a Mahometan, and Mr. Bruce procured this appointment for a brave and faithful adherent, named Yasine, yvho had ac- IN ABYSSINIA. 107 companied him in all his perils since his landing at Masuah. Emfras, yvhere Mr. Bruce now chiefly resided, was a pleasant town, situated on a hill so steep that the road to it yvas almost perpendicular. The houses were about three hundred in number, had conical roofs, and were placed in the midst of gardens, trees, and bushes. This place, which had once been a royal residence, com manded a view of the Lake of Dembea% an expanse of water about thirty-five miles in its greatest width, and near fifty miles long. While Mr. Bruce was at Emfras, the king's troops passed through that place in their. expedition against the rebels. He was requested to join the army ; but, not being then prepared, he promised, in a little while, to overtake it. Accordingly, he and his servants set out two days afterwards. On the 22d of May they crossed the Nile, near the south-eastern extremity ofthe Lake of Dembea ; and proceeded tlirough a country wasted with fire and sword, and deluged with rains ; for the rainy season had just commenced. Mr. Bruce now found himself in a state of extreme depression : his spirits were sunk almost to despondency. The rash ness and imprudence with which he had unnecessarily engaged in so many dangers ; the little prospect there was of his ever being able to extricate himself from them, even if he lost his life ; the improbability that the account of what he had hitherto effected, should be conveyed to his friends in Britain ; the unreasonable presumption which had led him to think that, after every one who had attempted the discovery in which he was engaged, had miscarried in it, he alone should be able to succeed : all these reflections filled his mind with a degree of alarm, of which he had never before been conscious. This yvas particularly the case one night, when his mind was relaxed, and he was half oppressed yvith sleep. Impatient of his sufferings, he leaped out of bed, and went to the door of the tent, where the air perfectly awakened him, and' restored 108 bruce's travels his strength and courage. All was still, and at a dis tance he saw several bright fires. He roused his com panions ; and, before the sun arose, they were three or four miles on their journey. About nine o'clock they heard a gun fired. This gave them" some joy, as the army seemed to be not far distant. Shortly afterwards, there was a general firing around them. The latter yvas occasioned, not, as they had imagined, by the approach of the rebel troops, but by a great multitude of deer, buffaloes, wild boars, and other beasts, which the soldiers ofthe king's army had driven from their shelter, and were attacking for the purpose of supplying the army with food. When Mr. Bruce arrived at the head-quarters, he found the king and Ras Michael in the most violent agi tation of mind imaginable. The disaffection yvas much greater than they had supposed ; and the enemy was at hand. A firing was heard, and soon afterwards, musket balls flew about in every direction. Ras Mi chael, who was at the door of his tent, calling aloud to his men, threatening, and tearing his grey locks, found, for a few minutes, that the army was not under his com mand. In consequence of the danger with which they were threatened, it was resolved to march back to Gondar, yvhere a more efficacious resistance could be made than in their present situation. The army retreated ; aud in the afternoon ofthe 27th of May, it again reached the banks ofthe Nile. During nearly the yvhole of this day, the torrents of rain had been incessant, and such as Mr. Bruce bad never before seen ; violent claps of thunder followed close upon one another, almost without intermission, accompanied by sheets of lightning, that appeared to run upon the ground like' water. The day yvas excessively dark; every hollow, and every foot-path, collected a quantity of rain which was poured into the Nile in torrents. The Abyssinian armies are accustomed to cross the Nile at almost all seasons ; but the sight of it now yvas truly terrific. An universal dejection prevailed; every IN ABYSSINIA. 109 one spemed to give himself up for lost. In the after noon, however, the rain ceased ; and, dangerous as the attempt was, orders were given that the cavalry, of which Mr. Bruce had the command, should cross the river by swimming. The king and the ras first went over, accompanied by other persons swimming on each side. As soon as these had passed, the king's household and black. troops, and Mr. Bruce with them, advanced cau tiously into the water, and syvarn safely over. It is impossible, says this gentleman, to describe the confu sion that followed. Night was hard upon them; and, though it increased their loss, it in a great measure concealed it. A thousand men, had not yet passed, Many on landing fell back into the stream and were drowned. Among the missing were the queen's chamber lain, and another officer of state, yvho were never after wards heard of. Two rafts had been made for Ozoro Esther, and tyvo other females, but the ras insisted that the former should syvirn over on her mule. She was dread fully terrified, was desirous of continuing till morning, ard fainted several times ; but it was in vain to resist the orders of the ras ; and she crossed in safety, though almost dead with alarm. Before daylight, the van and centre of the army had all joined the king. The remainder crossed at another place; and the number that perished was never distinctly known. Fasil, with his troops, appeared in the way to Gon dar; and, after a short, skirmish, made proposals of peace. From the general character of this man, the ras knew the futility of his overture ; yet, desirous of seeing Fasil assume the form of allegiance, he accepted the proffered terms, gave him his granddaughter in mar riage, and caused him . to be appointed governor of one of the provinces belonging to the king. In the beginning of June the Abyssinian army again arrived at Gondar; and Fasil sent some of his officers thither to receive his investiture in the government to which he had been appointed. Mr. Bruce yvas intro duced to these officers, and gained their friendship by 110 BRUCE'S, TRAVELS presents. He likewise endeavoured -to obtain the fa vour of Fasil, by sending some medicines to one of his principal generals. For these acts of kindness, the strangers seemed willing to grant him a suitable com pensation. This induced him to solicit from the king a gift ofthe village of Geesh, and of the ground that con tained the fountains of Abay, or the Sources of the Nile. He also asked of these representatives of Fasil, a pro mise that he should be conducted to Geesh in safety, and free of expense. The king made the gift ; and Fasil's servants confirmed it by oath, in the name of their master. Not long after this, it yvas requisite for the king and his general to lead the army into another part of his dominions. The king was desirous of persuading Mr. Bruce to accompany him ; but the latter excused him self by urging the ill state of his health ; the disgrace that would atlend him iu his own country, if he did not accomplish his visit to the head of the Nile, and the probability of liis majesty's speedy return to Gondar. Finding Mr. Bruce inflexible, the king advised him to go to his country palace at Koscam, near Gondar ; and to reside there with the queen. As soon as the army had left Gondar, all subordi nation in the city was at an end ; and Mr. Bruce fled to Koscam, where Ozoro Esther, and her attendants had also taken refuge. The queen was now his only pro tector ; and he was confined almost within the verge of her palace. Two powerful insurgents, one of whom had married a granddaughter of the ras, approached the city. They persuaded the queen to aid them in overthrowing the present government, and raising another person to the throne. Accordingly, in the beginning of August, a new king, a man addicted to the grossest vices, was pro claimed. It was during his usurpation that Mr- Bruce, accompanied only by a few servants and a guide, set out, on the 28th of October, on his journey to the Nile. Fasil was on his march towards Gondar, whither he IN ABYSSINIA. Ill was now proceeding for the purpose of acting against the insurgents, and keeping the peace for the king during his •absence ; and Mr. Bruce expected to meet him in a few days. His army yvas composed chiefly of the people of Galla, one of the most savage nations on earth. He had brought several hordes of these people across the Nile, and, now unable to command them, was preparing to dismiss them in the vicinity of Gondar. To an unprotected and friendless stranger, the intelli gence of such neighbours was not very agreeable. After Mr. Bruce had left Gondar, he proceeded, in a south-yvesterly direction, till he arrived at the Lake of Dembea ; and, two days subsequently to his departure, he reached the van of Fasil's army. He was admitted • into the tent of this commander, who was sitting on a cushion covered with a lion's skin : a similar skin was stretched like a carpet before his feet. He had a cotton cloth, somewhat like a dirty towel, wrapped round his head ; and his upper garment yvas drayvn tight about him, over his neck and shoulders, so as to cover his hands. His reception of Mr. Bruce was, in the highest degree, insulting. He affected to know little of Geesh, the place to. which Mr. Bruce wished to be conducted; endeavoured to excuse himself from any trouble in fur nishing him with au escort, and made so many observa tions on the effeminate and cowardly character of white men, that Mr. Bruce's temper got the better of his dis cretion. He asserted, that notwithstanding the unfa vourable opinion of this chief, five hundred of his own countrymen, would trample him and his whole army of naked savages into the dust; and that, unskilled as himself was in war, he would, on horseback, fight any two ofthe most able warriors that Fasil possessed.. His anger was so strongly roused, that, suddenly, a stream ' of blood burst from his nose, and he was conducted out , of the tent. A reconciliation, however, took place on the ensuing morning. Mr. Bruce made the savage chief a handsome present, and the latter appointed him an escort, aud a person of considerable authority as a 112 BRUCE'S TRAVELS guide. He told him not to be alarmed respecting the Galla, who were travelling in the same direction ; intro duced him to seven of the chiefs of these people, (a most disgusting and terrific looking set of men) and ad ministered an oath of brotherhood to them and Mr. Bruce. "Now," said Fasil, "go in peace, you are a Galla: this is a curse upon them and their children, their corn, grass, and cattle, if ever they lift tlieir hand against you or yours, or do not defend you to the ut most if attacked by others, or endeavour to defeat any design they may hear is intended, against you." On leaving the tent, Mr. Bruce found there a handsome grey horse bridled and saddled. " Take this horse," continued Fasil, " as a present from me: it is the horse ou which J. rode yesterday, when I came here to en camp ; but do not mount it yourself, drive it before you saddled and bridled as it is. The people of Maitsha, through whose country you must pass, may be inclined to injure you ; but no man of Maitsha will touch you when he sees that horse." Mr. Bruce then respectfully took his leave, both of Fasil, and of his newly-acquired brethren the Galla, secretly hoping that he might never see them again. On the second of November, he and his party pur sued their journey in a direction southward, passing tlirough some beautiful but wild countries, finely shaded with Acacia trees. His. guide, whose name was Shalaka Waldo, was a man of designing character, a perfect master ofthe deepest dissimulation ; and such a singular compound of rage, oddity, and artifice, that although he was a troublesome guide, he proved a diverting com panion. When they arrived at the Nile, a people called Agows, who reside on its banks, and have a re ligious veneration for tlie river, made many objections to the liberties that some of Mr. Bruce's people had taken, in riding across it. The Nile was here about two hundred and sixty feet broad, and in the middle four feet deep: and Woldo, yvith much solemn buf foonery, not only compelled this miserable people lo IN ABYSSINIA. 113 carry over all the baggage, but made them pay him a considerable sum of money, which he declared they had stolen from him. Mr. Bruce continued his journey southward during the two following days. The ground -rose insensibly as he advanced, till he reached an edifice called the Church of St. Michael, situated on a small hill in a dis trict called Saccala~. From this place he saw, imme diately below him, the river Nile, but here dwindled into a scanty brook, having scarcely yvater enough to turn a mill. The reverie excited by this interesting object was interrupted by his servants, who came to tell him they had lost their guide. Various were the conjectures respecting his absence : some thought that he yvas about to betray and rob them : some, that it might have been part of Fasil's instruction to him, to lead them into a snare, and cause them to be murdered : others imagined that he had been destroyed by wild beasts. Mr. Bruce, hoyvever, sent in search of him, and this singular character was found at some distance behind, complaining of indisposition, and apparently unable to walk. But this was soon found to be a mere pretence, an artifice to obtain a crimson silk sash, which Mr. Bruce wore round his waist, and to which he had taken a great fancy. To keep this man in good humour, Mr. Bruce gave it to him. Woldo now pointed with his finger to a marsh that yvas before them, and that con tained the Springs of the Nile. He also shoyved them Geesh, situated on a rock in the midst of trees in front. "If," said he, "you go to the fountains, pull off your shoes, for the people around are all Pagans, and thej believe in nothing that you believe, but only in this river, to which they every day pray as if it were a god: but this perhaps you may do likewise." Mr. Bruce, now throwing off his shoes, ran down the hill towards a little island of green sods, formed some what into the shape of an altar, and about two hundred yards distant. The whole side of the hill was thickly groivn over with flowers, the large bulbous roots of 114 BRUCE'S TRAVELS which appeared above the surface of the ground : the skins of these, coming off as he trod upon them, occa sioned him two very severe falls before tie reached the brink of the marsh. When Mr. Bruqe came opposite to the island of turf, he stood in rapture over the prin cipal fountain. At the distance of about ten feet was a second fountain, eleven inches in diameter, but more than eight feet deep. There was a third, somewhat more than two feet wide, and near six feet deep. Each of the latter springs had around it a kind of altar formed of sods, and about three feet in diameter. The 'water was clear, tasteless, and intensely cold. The delight that Mr. Bruce experienced in contem plating these objects, which had not only been unknown to the ancients, but which it had hitherto, as he con ceived, baffled the genius, industry, and inquiry both of ancients and moderns to reaeh, was momentary and transient. The dangers and the sufferings that he had already undergone, and those that were likely to befal him in the remaining part of this journey, presented themselves to his mind. He was, at that moment, in possession of yvhat, for many years, had been the prin cipal object of his ambition and his wishes. He had nothing now to look forward to but his own safety, in a return to his native country. The marsh and the springs, when compared with the rise even of many of our own rivers, became trifling objects in his sight ; he began, in sorrow, to treat his late anxious inquiry respecting the Source of the Nile as little more than the effort of a distempered imagination; and at length was almost overwhelmed with despair. After a while, however, he began to reflect that he had hitherto had a protector, more powerful than his own courage, health, or understanding; who-had rescued him from in numerable dangers : his confidence in this protector was not abated, for, if he had hitherto conducted him in safety, he could also conduct him to his now wished-for home. This recollection enabled him to resume all his former fortitude. IN ABYSSINIA. 115 While Mr. Bruce was occupied in examining the springs of the Nile, Woldo yvent to Geesh, about six hundred yards distant, to secure him a favourable re ception among the inhabitants. Mr. Bruce says that nothing can be more beautiful than some parts of this country. The rising grounds were thickly clad with verdure, especially yvith a kind of clover, the largest and finest he had ever seen. The summits of the heights were croyvned with trees of prodigious size. The stream of the Nile yvas limpid, and pure as the finest, crystal ; and, on its banks, were innumerable rose trees, which bore, in prodigious quan tities, beautiful yelloyv flowers. When Mr. Bruce arrived at Geesh, he found that Woldo had assembled the inhabitants, and had assured them that their new governor, unlike the man by whom they had lately been ruled, would not plunder, but would pass his time cheerfully with them, and pay, in ready moiiey, for every thing he -wanted. On their arrival at the village, the strangers were consequently received yvith a hearty welcome. A venerable old man, one of the lineal descendants of those priests who had been accustomed to officiate in the worship of the Nile, readily gave up his house for the accommodation of Mr. Bruce. Cattle and provisions were sent to him by the direction of Fasil ; aud, by means of these, he was enabled to make the five days that he remained at Geesh a continual feast. Mr. Bruce remarks that, once a year, on a certain day, it is customary to sacrifice a heifer on the hillock or altar, over the principal spring of the Nile. This is done with peculiar ceremonies. The body is afterwards divided on an adjacent hill, into a certain number of parts: the people of each adjacent tribe claim a part, which they eat raw; drinking at the same time the water of the Nile, and afterwards piling up the bones and burning them to ashes. These people are accus tomed to pray to a spirit which they imagine to reside in the river, for seasonable Weather, prosperous seasons, 116 BRUCE S TRAVELS for their grass and bees, and for preservation from the poison of serpents, aud other benefits. The few Christians who live in this neighbourhood are a cor rupted sect of the Greek church. The Agows, the inhabitants of the country in which the Sources ofthe Nile are situated, constitute, in point of numbers, one of the most considerable nations of Abyssinia; and their district produces an abundance of cattle^ honey, butter, wheat, hides, and wax. Rock salt, in the form of wedges or small bricks, is circulated instead of money, and given in exchange for different commodities. The clothing of the Agows consists chiefly of hides, softened and manufactured by a method peculiar to themselves. Ninth. Bag's instruction. ABYSSINIA CONCLUDED. Mr. Bruce's Journey from the Source of the Nile to Cairo. On the 19th of November Mr. Bruce left Geesb, and the Springs of the Nile, to return to Gondar. In the course of his journey he halted at the houses of two principal persons of ihe country, yvhere he yvas received yvith rude hospitality; and where he yvas obliged to overcome his European dislike to raw meat, cut from the body of living animals. On his arrival at Gondar, he sent his servants into the city, whilst he went by a private road to Koscam, yvhere he found Ozoro Esther, and his other friends. He had not long been there before the Abyssinian army returned. As soon as it had entered Gondar, the king and the ras began by inflicting signal vengeance on tlieir enemies. Innumerable executions took place IN ABYSSINIA. 117 every day for many successive weeks. Hundreds of persons were hanged in the public square, and their bodies were left unburied, to be devoured by the dogs and hyenas. The courts were filled with carcasses, which the natives neither wished nor dared to re move. Mr. Bruce, sickened with the horrible sight, and complained of it to the king; but it was the custom of the country, and was 'treated by him with perfect indif ference. Mr. Bruce shut himself up in his house, and revolved in his mind every possible means by which he might escape from the country. This, however, it was ex cessively difficult to do, as it is here an ancient and national maxim, " not to permit any stranger to leave Abyssinia." In the beginning of May, 1771, he was compelled to join the army, in another expedition against the rebels ; and he conducted himself so much to the satisfaction ofthe king and the ras, that he was rewarded, for his ser vices, by a massive gold chain, and a splendid suit of clothes. At length, however, the royal troops were totally defeated ; the toyvn of Gondar yvas given up to the insurgents, aud the king and the ras were both made prisoners. It was not long after this that Mr. Bruce obtained permission to leave the country ; but he yvas previously compelled to make an oath, " that he would return as soon as possible, yvith a body of his relations and friends, armed in the English manner." He set out from Kos cam on the 26th of December, 1771, accompanied by three Greeks, one of whom had been his servant since his departure from .Cairo ; an old Turkish Janisary ; a Copt ; and a few servants who had the charge of the mules. On the 28th they entered a thick yvood, where they were surrounded by a great number of men armed with lances, shields, slings, and clubs. These attacked the travellers by a shoyver of stones from their slings. Mr. Bruce, to intimidate them from any further assault, or- 118 BRUCE'S TRAVELS dered two shots to be fired among the trees, over their heads. On this the whole party glided away through the bushes. Soon afterwards they Were seen on the top of an adjacent hill, where they hooped, called out, and made signs, which the travellers neither understood nor - attempted to understand. Two of Mr. Bruce's ser vants, however, went fearlessly into the villages of these people with a threatening message from their master, of the punishment which would be inflicted upou them in case of further molestation, as he intended to pitch his tent in their neighbourhood for the night. The servants brought back with them two goats. They had requested of the people to prepare fifty loaves of bread against the morning; but in the morning; on going for these, the villages were found to be deserted. In their further progress, Mr. Bruce and his party passed through other villages ; and through a part of the country where, along the banks of a river, they saw whole thickets of lemon trees. The branches were loaded with such a profusion of fruit, in-- all stages of ripeness, that the trees seemed scarcely capable of sus taining their load. There were also multitudes of blossoms, which sent forth the most delicious odour imaginable. On the 2d of January, 1772, they arrived at Tcherkin, a town on the frontiers of Abyssinia, belonging to Ayto Confu, the son of Ozoro Esther. Mr. Bruce pitched his tent in the market-place, which seemed a beautiful lawn laid out as a pleasure ground, shaded with fine old trees, of enormous height and size, and watered by a limpid brook, which ran over beds of pebbles as white as snow. He was conducted to the principal house of the place, situated on the side of a mountain. Here, in an inner apartment, he was astonished to find Ayto Confu, Ozoro Esther, Tecla Mariam, and other friends. Ozoro Esther told him that the rebels had taken away her husband, and that she was resolved to go to Jeru salem, to pray for him, to die there, and be buried in the Holy Sepulchre. After a little while the conver- , IN ABYSSINIA. lip sation took a cheerful turn, and Mr. Bruce says that this was one of the happiest moments of his life. Ayto Confu's house yvas built on the edge of a pre cipice ; and was formed with cane in a very artificial manner. The outer wall was composed of fascines of canes, so neatly joined together as not to be penetrable by rain or wind. The entrance to it yvas situated half way up the rock, and was very difficult of access. In the neighbourhood of Tcherkin there yvas an abundance of game of almost every description ; and Mr. Bruce yvas here gratified by a species of diver sion with whicli he had hitherto been unacquainted, the hunting of the elephant, rhinoceros, buffalo, and wild boar. A friend of Mr. Bruce had forwarded to him some camels to convey his baggage; and on the 15th of January he took a last fareweU of Abyssinia, and of those friends who had so often contributed to his hap piness. Immediately on 'leaving the place, he entered into thick woods. His escort proceeded very slowly, for the road was bad, and the camels were overloaded. In their progress they passed through several villages, interspersed with small woods and beautiful lawns They saw a great variety of game, particularly of ' G uinea-foyvls ; and on every tree were parroquets of different kinds and colours. A. gun was fired, and there yvas such a screaming of birds on all sides, some flying to the place whence the noise came, and some escaping from it, that for a few minutes it yvas impos sible to-hear distinctly any other sound. After about a week's journey the party arrived at Hor ca camoot, a priucipal village of Ras el Fee, of which Mr. Bruce had formerly been appointed the governor. The deputy governor had been indebted to Mr. Bruce for his situation ; and he received the travellers with the utmost hospitality. This village, the name of which signifies " tlie Valley of the Shadow of Death," con sisted of miserable huts, situated on a plain, in the midst of a wood. The inhabitants subsisted chiefly on 120 BRUCE'S TRAVELS bread made of maize, and on the flesh of the elephant and rhinoceros. . The' climate of Hor ca camoot yvas so unhealthy, that, during nearly two months in which Mr. Bruce continued there, he yvas scarcely ever free from illness. On the 17th of March he set out for Teawa, the capital of Atbara. During their journey the travellers suffered severely from the "Simoom," or hot-wind ofthe desert. All, except Mr. Bruce, became ill from the quantity of poisonous vapour they had breathed ; and they were so much enervated, and their heads ached so violently, that, although they had encountered this yvind in one of the most dangerous halting places of the vvhole coun try, they were not able to pitch their tent at night ; but each, wrapping himself in his cloak, resigned himself to sleep under the cool shade of a small grove of trees. Au Arab, who happened 'to pass, taking advantage of their weakened state, stole one of the mules, a lance, and shield. On the 23d, they arrived at Teawa. Here Mr. Bruce was in imminent danger. The shekh or chief of this district was a man of infamous character. He at first detained the travellers on a pretence that he could not supply them with camels for their journey ; and then absolutely refused to let them pass, unless he were paid a considerable sum of money. The shekh sent for Mr. Bruce to his house. Our traveller went, attended by his ser vants, but none except himself was allowed to enter. After some conversation, the shekh, who either was in toxicated, or affected to be so, insisted on Mr. Bruce paying him two thousand piastres in gold. The latter told him he had no money. The ferocious chief drew his sword, and, throwing the scabbard into the middle of the room, declared that Mr. Bruce should not leave the room alive Unless the money yvere produced. He seemed about to inflict a blow, yvhen Mr. Bruce step ping back, drew a small blunderbuss from beneath his cloak. "This," said the traveller, "is my answer: I am not a man to die by the hand of a drunkard ; on IN ABYSSINIA. 121 your life, I charge you not te approach me." The cowardly shekh, who imagined that he had cocked the blunderbuss and would instantly fire, dropped his sword, threw himself back, and declared that he was only in jest ; but immediately afterwards he called out to his servants. " If one of them approach," said Mr. Bruce, "that instant I will blow you to pieces : not one of them shall enter this room till they bring my ser vants with them. I have several armed at your gate, and they will break in the instant they hear me fire." Mt. Bruce's servants were admitted, each having a blunderbuss in his hand, and pistols at his girdle. They were greatly an overmatch for the shekh, who pre tended that all he had done was in jest. Mr. Bruce, on taking his leave, desired the shekh to go to bed and compose himself; and not in future to try any similar experiment. This cowardly and avaricious chief contrived, on va rious pretences, to detain the travellers more than three weeks. At length, finding that Mr. Bruce had powerful friends in Abyssinia, he was compelled to let him go. Mr. Bruce consequently resumed his journey on the 18th of April. For several hours after he had left Teawa, he passed through a sandy plain, destitute of vegetation and water, and without the appearance of any living creature upon it. Pursuing his way, he crossed two rivers j and on the 24th, being overtaken by a storm, he was compelled to lodge all night in a village of negroes. ' These were Pagans, who worship ped the moon. They treated Mr. Bruce and his ser vants with great kindness, dried their clothes, and supplied them with huts and provisions. After leaving the negro village, the travellers crossed an immense plain. During the whole morning there were terrible storms of thunder and lightning, accom panied by rain, the drops of which were so large as to wet them to the skin in an instant. The day was calm, close and hot. Every drop fell perpendicularly; and Tray. arrival, he was admitted to an audience of the prime minister Adelan, at a place distant about three miles and a half from Sen naar. Near the gate of his habitation was a great number of the largest and finest horses Mr. Bruce had ever seen. They were all picketed or fastened in ranks, with their heads toward a barrack inhabited by soldiers. A steel shirt of mail was hung against each man's quar ters, opposite to his horse ; and a head-piece of copper, without crest or plumage, was suspended above tbe shirt of mail. To these was added an enormous broad sword, in a red leather scabbard, on the pummel of which hung two thick gloves, but not divided into- fin gers like ours. These horses and the soldiers, four G2 124 BRUCE'S TRAVELS hundred in number, were all the private property of Adelan: every horseman being his slave, and having been bought with his money. When Mr. Bruce arrived at the camp, Adelan was sitting on the trunk of a palm tree, contemplating his people, and dressed in a long drab-coloured camlet gown, with a camlet cap on his head. He conducted Mr. Bruce into a large saloon, hung round with mirrors and scarlet damask. Against one of the sides of this saloon were two large sofas, covered with crimson and yellow damask, and with large cushions of cloth of gold. Adelan now pulled off his camlet gown and cap, and ap peared in a crimson satin vest, which reached below his knees, was lapped over at tbe breast, and girt round his waist with a sash : in the latter he had a short dagger,' in an ivory sheath, mounted with gold. He wore a beautiful amethyst in a ring upon his finger, and a small gold ring in one of his ears. In the conversation which fol lowed, Adelan told Mr. Bruce that he would give him every protection in his power; and that the kjug was a weak and violent man, who neither knew how to go vern, nor would suffer others to govern for him. After his return to the town, Mr. Bruce was visited by Hagi Belal, a merchant, and native of Morocco, who had been recommended to him by the English agent at Jidda. Mr. Bruce had been told that he could obtain from this person whatever money he should need at Sennaar, and in his journey to Egypt ; but Hagi not only refused to assist him, but subse quently conspired even to take away his life. The king one day sent for Mr. Bruce, told him that several of his wives were ill, and, having been informed that he was a skilful physician, desired that he would give them his advice. Mr. Bruce was conducted into a large square apartment ill lighted. Here he saw about fifty women all perfectly black, and without any covering except a narrow piece Of cotton cloth round their waists. While he was musing whether these might all be queens, or whether there was any queen IN ABYSSINIA. 125 among them, one of them took him by the hand, and led him into another apartment. This was better lighted, and upon a large sofa, covered with blue cotton cloth, sate three persons clad from the neck to the feet yvith blue cotton shirts. One of these, who Mr. Bruce found was the favourite, was about six feet high, and corpu lent beyond all proportion. She appeared to him, next to the elephant, and rhinoceros, to be the largest living creature he had ever seen. Her features yvere perfectly like those of a negro. A ring of gold passed through her under lip, and weighed it down, till, like a flap, it covered her chin, and left her teeth bare. The inside of her lips she bad made black with a preparation of antimony- Her ears reached down to her shoulders, and had almost the appearance of wings. She had in each of them a large gold ring, about five inches in diameter,- the weight of which had made the hole where her ear was pierced so large, that three fingers might easily have been passed through above the ring. She had a gold necklace of several rows, and some other ornaments round her neck. On her ankles were two manacles of gold, larger than any Mr. Bruce had ever seen upon the feet of felons in England, but he' afterwards found that they were hollow. The other females were dressed much in the same manner; only one of them had chains which came from her ears to the outside of each nostril, where they were fastened. A ring was also put through the gristle of her nose, and hung down to the opening of her mouth. The com plaints of these sable princesses were so various and fan ciful, that Mr. Bruce has omitted to enumerate them. The inhabitants of Sennaar are a warlike and trea cherous people. Their dress is very simple, and con sists chiefly of a long shirt of blue cotton cloth, tied round the middle with a sash. In the higher classes, both men and women anoint themselves every day with camel's grease mixed with civet. They sleep upon bull's hides, and in shirts dipped in grease, for the pur- 126 bruce's Travels pose of softening their skin, and preserving them from cutaneous eruptions. The poorer people live on mil let bread, or on preparations of millet flour. The rich eat this grain made into puddings : they also eat beef and camel's flesh, partly roasted and partly raw. Mr. Bruce was detained four months in Sennaar. The king had been informed that he was laden with money, and possessed many articles of great value ; and every artifice was adopted to prevent his departure, and extort presents from him. On the contrary, Mr. Bruce was destitute both of money and credit. He, how ever, still possessed the gold chain that had been given to him by the' king of Abyssinia : this he now disposed of, and with the money obtained for it, he purchased camels and provisions. On the 5th of September, he and his servants stole out of the town, under a pretence that they were going to the camp of Adelan, on a com mission from the king ; but, instead of visiting that mi nister, they hastened, with all possible speed out of the country, in a direction towards Egypt. On the 4th of October they arrived at a town, con sisting of about two hundred and forty houses, and called Shandi, or Chendi. This was the capital of a district, governed by a female named Settina. When Mr. Bruce arrived, he found the people in a state of great alarm, at a phenomenon, which, though it often happens, they had never before observed. The planet Venus, appeared shining yvith undiminished light all day, in defiance of the brilliancy of the sun, from which she was but little distant. When the people saw Mr. Bruce using his telescopes and quadrant, in viewing this* planet, they flocked in crowds around him, to be satis fied what it meant; for they believed that the star had become visible by some correspondence with him, and for his use. They imagined that it imported something disastrous to the country, and some of them began to threaten him as a cause of the unfavourable omen : he, however, insinuated that it might be the harbinger of IN ABYSSINIA. 127 good fortune, plenty and peace; and tbe clamour soon subsided. The queen of Shandi behaved to the tra vellers with great kindness. While they were here, the weather was so excessively hot, that it was impossible to walk abroad at mid-day. The poisonous simoom, or hot wind, likewise blew, as if from an oven. Their eyes were dim, their hps cracked, their knees tottered; their throats became per fectly dry, and no relief was found from drinking even an immoderate quantity of water. The inhabitants ad vised Mr. Bruce to dip a sponge in vinegar and water, and to hold it before his mouth and nose ; and by so doing, he experienced great relief. Shandi is situated on the border of an extensive desert, which reaches as far as Assuan. This desert Mr. Bruce had to cross ; and, to the dangers of tra velling more than five hundred miles over a country which afforded little water, and no provisions, was added the chance of encountering some of the Bishareen Arabs, who were accustomed to murder every stranger whom they met. At Shandi he had the good fortune to obtain as a guide a man who had been left there a short tjmc before by a small caravan of about ninety persons, that yvas proceeding towards Egypt. Having made every possible preparation for the dreary journey he had to perform, Mr. Bruce, his ser vants, and guide, nine in number, set out from 'Shandi on the 20th of October. After having travelled four days, they reached the Tacazze, a great river which falls into the Nile. They crossed it, and arrived at a village called Goos. Here they. laid in an additional stock of water aud provisions ; and, having repeated the prayer of peace, they committed themselves to the wilderness. They left Goos on the 9th of November. The desert opened on all sides, oovered with rocks and burning sands. Four days after their departure from Goos, they were surprized and alarmed by a sight the most magnificent, and at the same time the most terrific. 128 bruce's travels that can well be imagined. Vast numbers of prodigious pillars of sand, raised in the air to a great height, and illuminated by the rays of the sun, so as to appear like columns of fire, yvere seen at different distances. They were all in motion, some of them proceeding with great celerity, and others stalking on with majsstic slowness. At intervals, these extraordinary columns seemed to approach, as if, in a few minutes, they would ovenvhehn the travellers; and sometimes they retreated so as to be almost out of sight, their tops at the same time extend ing upward even to the clouds. Sometimes they sepa rated, and were gradually dispersed in the air, and sometimes they were suddenly broken, in the middle, as if struck by a cannon shot- In one part of the journey, eleven of these prodigious columns ranged alongside of the travellers, at the apparent distance of about three miles. There was no possibility of fleeing from the danger, for the fleetest horse, or the fastest sailing ship, could have been of no avail against it. They con sequently had no alternative but to proceed. Their throats yvere parched, and they suffered so much from thirst, that their stock of water yvas soon greatly dimi nished. Subordination was nearly at an end. Discon tent, murmuring and fear, were expressed by most; and despondency was visible in the countenances of all. They, however, persevered in their journey, and, in a few days afterwards, were, in some degree, relieved by obtaining an additional supply of water at a well called Chiggre. Betwixt Chiggre and Terfowey, they encountered in numerable difficulties. Beyond Terfowey, when in the midst of the desert, a Bishareen Arab, and two women, attempted, in the night, to steal the camels ; and had they succeeded in this design, Mr. Bruce and all his companions must have perished. After this they were again involved in the purple haze of the poisonous Simoom. The camels became exhausted, and silence and despair were the immediate effects upon the men ; Mr. Bruce himself, the most courageous of the com- IN ABYSSINIA. 129 pany, became indifferent about life, and began to expect, with resignation, a sandy grave. Their bread was nearly expended, and their water scarcely fit to drink. In this dreadful condition they held out four days longer; in the course of which they found the dead bodies of several men. These had formed part of the caravan to which Mr. Bruce's guide had belonged, and all of whom had perished in the desert. Not long afterwards, they met a party of Arabs, yvho informed them respecting their distance from Egypt. When not more than forty miles from Assuan, the camels, overcome with hunger and fatigue, could ad vance no farther. Every method to rouse them, that could be devised, was resorted to, but in vain. Death now appeared to be inevitable. As a last resource, they killed two of the camels, and cut up the principal parts of their flesh for food. They also obtained from the stomachs of these animals about four gallons of water. Having loaded themselves with the camels' flesh, with as much water as they could collect, and with such other things as they were able to carry, the wretched party made a last effort to save their lives. All Mr. Bruce's papers, his quadrant, telescopes, and time-keeper, to his indescribable mortification, were abandoned, to be buried in the sands of the desert. After great exertion, they arrived among the palm trees of Assuan, in the evening of the 29th of November. Here Mr. Bruce continued several days, till his strength" yvas gradually recovered. The aga, or gover nor of Assuan, supplied him with money and necessaries for his journey to Cairo. He also furnished him yvith four servants, mounted on dromedaries, to accompany him into the desert, in order, if possible, to recover his baggage. They proceeded thither, and were fortunate enough to find it all, and to bring it off with them un damaged.! Mr. Bruce left Assuau on the 11th of December, 1772 ; and, about a month afterwards, arrived in safety at Cairo, after an absence of about four years. G3 130 ABYSSINIA IN GENERAL. Before we take our final departure from Abyssinia, it is requisite that we should give a short but general account of this country. Abyssinia, or Upper Ethiopia, is called by the inha bitants Habbesh. It was known to the Jews by the name of Cush, from its having been peopled by the Cushites, the immediate descendants ofthe grandson of Noah, of that name. It was formerly a district of great extent, but many provinces have been separated from it, and erected into independent principalities. Its present length, from north to south, is six hundred miles "; and its breadth, from east to west, about five hundred. The face of the country is varied. Some parts are mountainous, some plain, and some occupied by saudy and burning deserts. Many of the vallies are covered with trees, and are well watered ; and some of the level districts are fertile and well cultivated, yielding plentiful crops of wheat, barley, and other grain. Several consi derable rivers, particularly the Nile, and the Tacazze, have their sources in Abyssinia, and the mountains ad jacent to it. Among the natural productions of this country, are to be enumerated the elephant, rhinoceros, and giraffe, or' cainelopard. The lion, leopard, and panther, are found in the less cultivated districts; and all the large rivers abound in hippopotami, or river horses, and cro codiles. Hyaenas are common eveiy yvhere. The fer tile plains abound in oxen and buffaloes; and the mountains aud vallies are inhabited by prodigious num bers of antelopes. Feathered game of various kinds is very abundant; and several species of carnivorous birds, particularly eagles, vultures and hawks. Mr. Bruce did not observe any very remarkable kinds of serpents, except the large boa snakes, which are some times more than twenty teet in length, and as thick as a ABYSSINIA IN GENERAL. 131 man's thigh ; these, he says, are occasionally seen near grassy stagnant pools, in the neighbourhood of rivers. With respect to insects, it must be remarked, that besides a species of ants, which are exceedingly troublesome and pernicious ; and vast swarms of locusts which, in some years, devour all the vegetation of the districts yvhere they alight, Abyssinia is infested by an extraordinary. kind of fly, called tsaltsalya. This insect, whicli is not much larger than a bee, is more formidable than even the strongest or mosf savage of wild beasts. It has no sting, but, by means of its proboscis, it is able to pene trate even through the thick hides of the camel and the elephant ; and wherever this is done, the places swell and putrefy, and often occasion the death of the animals. The plants of Abyssinia are numerous, and many of them important in domestic economy, in medicine, and for other purposes. The inhabitants, as we have seen from Mr. Bruce's account, are' a tali, well-shaped people, of dark com plexion ; and, though in many respects barbarous, they are more refined than those of most other parts of Africa. The government is despotic, and the throne hereditary ; but it is requisite that the election should be made from the members of the royal family. The king is considered the exclusive proprietor of the land ; private property being restricted solely to moveable goods. The established religion of Abyssinia is Christian ; and the general tenets are those of the Greek church. The first conversion of the inhabitants is stated to have taken place about three hundred and thirty years after the Christian era, and in consequence ofthe wreck of a vessel, containing some Christians, near one ofthe Abys sinian ports on the shore of the Red Sea. The king was first converted, and his example was followed by the greater portion of his subjects. The present Abys- sinians have liturgies and canons: they retain many Jewish ceremonies; use purifications, and abstain from pork, things strangled, and blood. If a man die with- 132 BROWNE'S TRAVELS out male issue, his brother is obliged to marry his widow. These people believe in the doctrine of the Trinity, and that Jesus Christ shall judge the world. From the accounts that have been given by different travellers, Abyssinia appears to be divided into about .thirteen distinct provinces, of which Tigre, Dembea, Begemder, and Amhara, appear to be the principal. Sent!) iUag's instruction. EASTERN NIGRITIA, OR NEGROLAND. Dar-Fur, Kordofdn, Bornou, Baghermi, Bergoo, Cashna, Wangara, and Houssa. Westward ofthe river Nile is a tract of country called Nigritia, or Negroland ; and by the Arabs, Soudan- It extends nearly two thousand five hundred miles from east to west : and, as its name implies, is chiefly inha bited by negroes, some of which are Mahometans, and others Pagans. Several parts of this immense district are fertile and cultivated ; but by far the greater portion of it.is desert : towards the north it is sandy and barren, and towards the south rugged, mountainous, and co vered with forests. Its principal rivers are the Niger, or Joliba, toyvards the west; and the White River, towards the south-east : but the course and termination of each of these are hitherto involved in much obscurity. It contains several extensive and populous kingdoms, the chief of thpse are Bornou, Dar-Fur, and Krishna ; but so great are the difficulties which Europeans have to encounter in traversing this wild and inhospitable tract, that only a small part of it has hitherto been ex plored. The travels of Mr. Browne have made us acquainted with Dar-fur; and, before we speak of the other parts of Nigritia, we will accompany this gen tleman on his journey into that kingdom. TO DAR-FUR. 133 His original design yvas to travel under the pro tection of a caravan to Dar-Fur, and, if possible, to proceed thence to Sennaar and Abyssinia. If this project failed, he yvould attempt to travel southward, from Dar-FAr to the White River, for the purpose of ascertaining some important circumstances relative to that river; and, perhaps, of tracing it to its source. His third project was to travel from Dar-Fur in a course directly westward, in the hope either of being able to trace the course of the Niger, or to penetrate through the kingdoms of Bornou, and Fezzan, to Tri poli. Narrative of MR. Browne's Journey to Dar-Fur, in the Years 1793, 1794, and 1795. He left Cairo on the 21st of April, 1793 ; sailed up the Nile as far as Assiut, and there joined a caravan of Jelabs, or slave merchants, which was about to pro ceed through Dar-Fur, towards the central parts of Africa. At Asshit he purchased five camels, at the rate of about thirteen pounds sterling each ; and, when every thing was ready, the caravan set out" on the ' 25th of May. It consisted of ten or twelve different compa nies. They soon lost sight of the Nile, and entered an arid and inhospitable country. At night, each company placed its camels in a circle, with the goods in the centre. The camels, in general, were heavily laden, and the jelabs travelled very slowly. On the 31st they came to a high rocky mountain, which constitutes the eastern boundary of the low desert, containing the Oasis. This mountain they descended. The road was so rug ged and bad,.that the camels had much difficulty in car rying their loads down the steep. From the summit of the rock, the view, westward, was over an expansive valley, consisting chiefly of rocks and sand ; but diversified by small groups of date trees, 134 browne's travels and other marks of vegetation, near a spring, where the travellers afterwards rested and refreshed themselves. In approaching Charge, a village about eight hours journey from this spring, the leader of the caravan chose to notify their arrival, by the beating of drums, and other demonstrations of joy. Beyond Charge, they occupied six hours in passing another desert space. They then arrived at Bulak, one of the most wretched villages that can be imagined. The houses consisted only of exterior walls of clay, or unburnt bricks, and yvere generally yvithout a roof. Here the caravan halted one day. On the 13th they arrived at Mughess, the last vil lage of the Oasis, toward the Southern desert ; and, a week afterwards, at Sheb, a place remarkable for the production of alum. The character of the country beyond Sheb was simi lar to that which they bad already passed. It was chiefly a dreary plain, of undulating surface, and som- brous colour, interspersed with low rocks. Selime, the place they next reached, yvas a small verdant spot, at the foot of a low ridge of rocks. In crossing the desert so many camels had died, that several merchants of the caravan were obliged to bury their goods in the sand near Selime, whither they afterwards sent for them. At this place there was a small building, which had, apparently, been raised by some of the roving tribes of Arabs, lt consisted only of loose stones, bnt the jelabs related many strange fables concerning it. Among. others, they said that it had anciently been inhabited by a princess named Selime, who, like the Amazons of old, drew the bow, and wielded the battle-axe ; and that she was attended by a great number of followers, yvho spread terror and devastation over all Nubia, and the adjacent countries. On the 8th of July, after a hot, severe, and toilsome march, the caravan reached the Bir-el-Malha, or " Salt- spring." Here a company of people from Zehawa, a village distant nearly tyvo hundred miles south, met the TO DAR-FUR. 135 caravan. It is the practice of the Zehawans to station a small party at this place, when caravans are expected'; and these remunerate themselves for the fatigue of a ten day's journey, by supplying to travellers provisions and other articles at an exorbitant rate. Maify persons of the present company had great need of such assistance, as their original stock of necessaries had been insufficient, and many of the camels had perished on the road. After leaving Bir-el-Malha the caravan travelled, with little interruption, for eight days, when they came to a spot called Medwa ; soon after which they entered the kingdom of Fur. Near a village named Sweini, the tents were put up. Here, says Mr. Browne, the white ants, (a species of termes) yvere exceedingly vexatious ; they formed their covered ways to every thing within his tent, and destroyed all within their reach. These tormenting insects, together yvith the rains, which be gan to pour in a torrent through the valley, compelled the people to abandon their tents, and seek for shelter in the village. Mr. Broyvne obtained an apartment in the house of a merchant; and continued to occupy it nearly ten days. This house consisted of numerous apairtments. ' It was built of clay, and covered with a slanting thatched roof, but not closed yvith doors. The hospitality of the oyvner yvas such, that he accommo dated every one who could find room iu it. At 'Sweini, a melek, or governor, appointed by the sultan of Dar-Fur, resides ; and here all strangers, as well as merchants of the country, accompanying a cara van, are obliged to yvait until the pleasure ofthe monarch in disposing of them is known. An officer of the sultan, named Seradg, on his return from a pilgrimage to Mecca, had accompanied the cara van, and had become known to Mr. Broyvne at Assiut. This man, noted for his strict observance ofthe Maho metan ritual,\and at the same time for his "utter neglect of moral obligations, yvas officiously exact in his visits and compliments to Mr. Browne. During the whole journey, he endeavoured to amuse this gentleman with 136 BROWNE S TRAVELS accounts of the gracious behaviour of the sultan, over whom he did not fail to add, that he possessed great influence. He promised to accompany Mr. Browne without delay, into the presence of the monarch, and to secure him a favourable reception. One morning Seradg came to Mr. Browne, and, after a repetition of his former promises, began to question him concerning the articles he had brought. After much artful circumlocution, he expressed a desire that the traveller would supply him with some ornaments for his women. This was objected to, and Seradg, dissem bling his emotion, turned the conversation to other sub jects, and in a short time withdrew. The following morning he came as usual, but made a long apology for not being able to accompany Mr. Browne to the sultan. Several days passed, during which many frivolous ex cuses yvere made for not complying with his wishes; and he at last found, that there was no probability of being able to advance on his journey, till the rest of the caravan had obtained permission to do the same. He therefore determined to follow their example, and pa tiently to wait the event. At the expiration of about ten days, an order from the sultan arrived, directing that all the jelabs, after they had paid the duties assessed on them, should be allowed to proceed. It must here be remarked, that Mr. Broyvne, before he left Cairo, had employed as his agent, an inhabitant of Da-Fur, who was to accompany the caravan. This man, so long as he yvas under the control of another government, conducted himself with the most submissive acquiescence to the will of his employer ; but no sooner had the caravan commenced its march, than his whole behaviour was marked by disobedience and insult. Mr. Browne had brought with him letters of recommendation to different merchants in Dar-Fur ; but, according to the established custom of the country, these could be of no avail, until he had been introduced to the sultan. It was therefore the study of this man to prevent Mr. Browne from' being introduced. Among other means TO DAR-FUR. 137 devised by him for this purpose, he caused the sultan to be informed that the stranger yvas a Frank, or Roman Catholic, and an infidel to the Mahometan faith, against whose designs it behoved the monarch to be carefully on his guard. Not long afterwards a letter, impressed with the seal of the sultan, was brought to Mr. Browne : it directed that he should be conducted to the house of Ibrahim-el- Wohaiski, (an agent of his enemy) at Cobbe; and that he should remain there until further orders were given concerning him. Mr. Browne noyv began to suspect that some insidious conduct had been practised against him. He could not, however, even conjecture what it was, and had no alternative but to submit. He arrived at the house of Ibrahim ; and the jelabs, whom he had accompanied, separated in different directions, as tlieir respective businesses required. The people of Cobbe, were not disposed to form any communication yvhatever with Mr. Browne, for they were filled yvith religious horror at one whom they considered an infidel; and whose colour, variously regarded by them as the sign of disease, the mark of Divine displeasure, or at least the unequivocal proof of inferiority of spe cies, had averted their hospitality, closed their compas sion, and inflamed their personal pride, and their reli gious fury. Excessive anxiety now began to prey upon his mind, and to injure his health. On the fourteenth day after his arrival, he was attacked by a fever, and during his sufferings under it, was for some time delirious. When he was so far recovered as to be able to walk out, he anxiously solicited permission to visit El-Fasher, the residence of the sultan, thinking that, if he were once there, he could induce some of the persons connected with the court, to introduce him into the royal presence. This permissiorj was at last obtained. At El-Fasher he vtas introduced to Melek Misellim, one of the princi pal ministers. This person, having never before seen a white man, received Mr. Browne yvith a stare of sur- 138 BROWNE'STRAVELS prize, followed by a mingled smile of contempt and aversion. He was seated with some others of the royal attendants, on a mat spread upon the sand, and under a kind of awning of cotton cloth. After answering many questions respecting the cause of his visit, Mr. Browne complained of the injuries he had sustained ; and en treated that he might be removed out of the power of his enemies. He particularly, requested that he might be allowed to go to Sennaar, in order thence to pro ceed into Abyssinia ; and hoped that the sultan would appoint three or four persons to conduct and guard him to the frontiers of the neighbouring kingdom of Kor- dofun. The melek replied that the sultan was kind to strangers, and yvas willing to favour him in every thing he wished; but that, at this time, all communication yvith Kordofau was suspended, in consequence of a war that was carrying on upon the frontiers. When that was terminated, he said, that Mr. Browne should be allowed to proceed. A little while after this, the melek, with some of his attendants, went to Mr. Browne, and desired to see what articles he had brought for commerce or presents. Mr. Broyvne opened some of the packages, and these people broke open all the others, and plundered them of every thing they thought worth carrying away. They told him that the chief part would be taken to the sultan, and that he should be paid for the whole; but they fixed an arbitrary valuation on them, infinitely below the real worth of the goods. Mr. Browne, thus robbed of the greater part of his property, and again extremely ill, was compelled to re turn to Cobbe, without having in any respect effected his wishes. He continued at this place during the re mainder of the summer/ and all the ensuing winter; during which time he obtained much information re specting the topography, manners, and customs of Dar- Fur. The houses, he says, consist in general of little more than a light roof, to shelter the inhabitants from the TO DAR-FUR. 139 sun and rain ; some of them, however, have walls of clay. The town is upyvards of two miles in length, but very narrow ; and each house stands in a separate in- closure. These inclosurcs are planted with trees of different kinds, but principally yvith palms, which give the town a pleasant appearance. The only water yvith wliich the inhabitants are supplied, is from wells, and these, in dry seasons, sometimes entirely fail. ' The people of Dar-Fur are described by Mr. Broyvne to be more cheerful in disposition than the Egyptians. They are much inclined to inebriation, yvith a fermented liquor called " buza ;" and often sit drinking from sun rise to sun-set. They are expert in every species of fraud ; and, in buying and selling, even parents and children glory in deceiving each other. A kind of tin rings are used instead of money ; aud, in some places, beads, salt, and other articles answer the same purpose. They are negroesrbut, in their persons, they differ con siderably from the negroes- of Guinea. The dress of the men consists of a loose cotton shirt, of blue or white colour, yvhich descends below the knees; and some of them yvear drawers of the same material. . A white muslin turban is worn by such as have performed the pilgrimage to Mecca ; but most of the inhabitants wear only small cotton caps. A straight double edged knife, in a sheath made of crocodiles skin, is sometimes at tached, by a leathern loop, to the elbow of the left arm. ' The inhabitants of Dar-Fur are permitted to have as many wives as they can support. These are not allowed to eat with the men; and, when they approach the apartments of their husbands, they always do it creep ing on their knees, and with every other indication of timidity and respect. The women are peculiarly fond of ornaments, particularly of different kinds of coins, aud of silver chains, which they fasten round their necks and arms. On their legs they have rings of sil ver or brass, which are sometimes so large as to yveigh 140 BROWNE'S TRAVELS four or five pounds each, and to be very inconvenient to them in walking. Nearly every description of labour, both agricultural and domestic, is performed by the women. They pre pare the soil, sow the corn, and reap the harvest: they also grind the corn, and convert it into bread. They prepare the food, wash the apparel, cleanse the apart ments ; and even build the houses. These people have no knoyvledge of the use of soap; and they polish their skin with unguents, instead of washing it. They also use a kind of paste, wliich they apply to the skin with butter, and rub till it becomes quite dry. So much are tbe inhabitants of Dar-Fur prejudiced in favour of their own country, that they consider it a kind of region of enchantment, on which, if a traveller once set his foot, he becomes unmindful of his own home, his kindred, and friends. But to Mr. Browne, it presented no charms, and none but negative advantages. The town in which he chiefly resided had indeed- trees of majestic size and with lofty summits ; but they de nied the traveller his noon-tide repose, for the ground they overshadowed was carpeted with thorns. The sight of the acacia trees, which produced in abundance the gum arabic, relieved the mind indeed from the fear of perishing by hunger; but no rice nor corn fields ex hilarated it with the prospect of a salubrious repast. There was water, but it was concealed from the sight, and was every where precariously or parsimoniously supplied. Few cattle or sheep were seen feeding in the inclosures ; and either the climate or the soil appeared to mock the toil of man. Among the useful animals produced in this country, camels seemed to be the most abundant ; and these are 'bred both as beasts of burthen and for food. The wild aud ferocious animals are numerous. They are prin cipally lions, leopards, hyenas, wolfs, and jackals. The hyenas are accustomed to enter the villages by night ; TO DAR-FUR. 141 to prowl about in herds of six, eight, or more, and to carry off with them whatever they are able to overcome. They frequently kill dogs and asses, even within the inclosures of the houses. In some parts of the coun try herds of elephants, four or five hundred in number, are occasionally seen; and antelopes and ostriches are extremely common in every part of the empire. In the inhabited parts of Dar-Ftir there are many ' thousands of vultures ; aud such carrion and offal as the hyenas leave at night, the vultures devour in the day. Chameleons and other lizards are very numerous; but Mr. Browne saw only three kinds of serpents during the whole time of his residence here. During the winter of 1793, Mr. Browne had little to occupy his attention, except a regard to his health, and observations on the country and inhabitants. In -the ensuing summer of 1794, having, in some degree, reco vered his strength, he determined again to go to El Fasher. He did so, and continued there nearly three months. During this time he obtained an introduction to the sultan, and was solicitous to attend regularly the levees, but he could seldom obtain admittance; and when he did so, he had no opportunity of exciting the attention of the monarch to his wants. At his first audience he was too ill to make mucb observation. He was placed at a distance from the sultan; and the visit was short. The sultan was seated at the door of his tent. Some person mentioned that Mr. Browne had a watch, and an Arabic grammar. He asked to see them both; but after casting his eyes on each he returned them. The present that Mr. Browne had brought was shown, the sultan thanked him for it and retired. Mr. Browne next obtained admission, at a time when the sultan was holding a divan, in the outer court of his palace. He was mounted on a white mule, was clad in a scarlet garment, and had on his head a white turban ; which, together with part of his face, was covered with a kind of thick muslin veil. His saddle was of crimson velvet, and his sword, which was broad 142 BROWNE'S TRAVELS. and straight, and had an hilt of massy gold, was held horizontally in his right hand. A small canopy of muslin was supported over his head. On one occasion Mr. Browne obtained admission into the interior court of the palace by a bribe. The sultan was occupied in hearing a cause of a private na ture. He was seated on a kind of chair, covered with a Turkey carpet, and wore a red silk turban. His face was uncovered; and the imperial sword was placed across his knees. Being now near him, Mr. Browne (who was short-sighted, and had been fearful of giving offence by using a glass) had for the first time an oppor tunity of ascertaining, that he was a man somewhat under the middle size, with brilliant eyes, and features abounding with expression . His beard was short but full, and his countenance perfectly black. He appeared to be fifty or fifty-five years of age. In one instance Mr. Browne saw this monarch seated on his throne, under a lofty canopy hung with various stuffs of Syrian and Indian fabric. The ground was spread over with small Turkey carpets. At some dis tance on the right and left were the officers of state, seated in a posture of respect, bending down their heads. Behind them was a line of guards dressed in cotton shirts, armed with spears and targets, and having on their heads caps, each ornamented yvith a small piece of copper and a black ostrich feather. The space in front of the throne yvas filled with suitors and spectators, to the number of more than fifteen hundred. ' From this audience, as from those which had preceded*, it, Mr. Browne was obliged to retire, without effecting this wishes. While he was at El Fasher he had only an open shed for his habitation. This greatly exposed him to the impertinence and obstrusive curiosity of the inhabi tants ; and he was often annoyed by as many as twenty or thirty visitors at a time, who came with no other view than to gaze upon him as an object of wonder. After having long waited at El Fasher to uo purpose, BORNOU. 143 an accidental occurrence, though in itself of a very unpleasant nature, procured for Mr. Browne the audi ence with the sultan that he had long and in vain soli cited. He was unjustly accused of misconduct towards a female slave ; and tbe master ofthe girl also suborned witnesses to prove that he was indebted to him a large sum of money. The matter was brought before the sultan, for judicial decision; and though this monarch was an avowed enemy to every infidel to the Maho metan faith, the charge was evidently so unjust, that he directed the whole affair to be minutely examined into, and Mr. Browne received an honourable acquittal. Still, however, he could not obtain permission to pursue his jouruey. All his projects of penetration into the districts be yond Dar-Fur, seemed now' at an end, and one of the principal officers of the court strongly recommended him to seize the first opportunity that offered, of re turning to Egypt. At length, after a further lapse of many months, he was permitted to accompany a cara van into that country, and he once more arrived at Cairo, in the summer of 1796, after an absence of more than three years. Eastward of Dar-Fur, and betwixt that kingdom and Sennaar, lies a country called Kordofan, now subject to the Sultan of Dar-Fur, by whom it was conquered in the year 1795. Its principal town, called Ilbeit, is dis tant about fifteen days journey from Cobb6. An inve terate animosity has, from time immemorial, subsisted between the natives of Kordofan and those of Dar-Fur. One of the causes of this appears to be the relative position of the two countries ; the former lying in the direct road between Dar-Ftir and Sennaar, the most practicable line of communication with the Red Sea and Mecca. If we proceed in a direction north-west from Dar- Fur, we enter the extensive empire of Bornou. This 144 bornou. includes a considerable portion of Nigritia ; and, by the Mahometans of Sennaar, is reckoned one of the four most, powerful monarchies in the world : the other three are Turkey, Persia, and Abyssinia. The capital is called Bornou. It is larger than Tri poli, and is surrounded by a ditch and wall. In the formation of the houses, four walls, inclosing a square, are first erected : within these, and parallel to them, are built four other walls ; and tbe intervening space is divided into different apartments and covered with a roof. The walls are constructed of clay, and the roofs of branches of the palm tree, intermixed with brush wood, and covered with layers of earth. The streets are wide and irregular, the generality of the houses being built without any regard to regular arrangement. The royal palace, surrounded by a high wall, and form ing a kind of citadel, stands in one corher of the town. Less attention is paid to the furniture of the houses of Bornou than to their structure. Among the lower classes, the only articles of furniture are mats covered with sheep-skin, on which they sleep ; an earthern pot and pan, two or three wooden .dishes, two wooden bowls, a carpet, a lamp, and sometimes a copper kettle. Besides these, the more wealthy inhabitants have leather cushions stuffed with wool, brass and copper vessels, and a sort of candlestick ; for they burn a kind of can dles manufactured from bees-wax and tallow. The dominions of Bornou are in some parts ex tremely populous. The inhabitants are all blacks, and are represented to be of a character singularly cour teous and humane. . They will not pass a stranger on the road without stopping to salute him ; and their houses are ever open to the reception of visitants. Their dress consists of a loose robe of coloured cotton girt round their waist, and a turban consisting of a red woollen cap, surrounded by several folds of cotton. The sove reign and his court profess the Mahometan faith; but the majority of the people adhere to the idolatrous superstitions of their ancestors. BORNOU. 145 The monarchy of Bornou is elective, but the election is confined to the royal family. As soon as the people have fixed their choice, they conduct the new sovereign, in silence, to the corpse of his unburied predecessor. Here, pointing out to him, dn forcible language, the vir tues and the defects which marked the character ofthe preceding monarch, they thus conclude : " You see be fore you the end of your mortal career; that eternal life which succeeds to it will be miserable or happy in proportion as your reign shall be a blessing or a curse to your people !" The new sovereign is then brought back to the palace, amidst the acclamations of the mul titude. This species of election, however, is often the cause of fatal contests, in consequence of the claims of different branches of the family. The military force of Bornou, consists chiefly of cavalry ; and these are armed with a sabre, lance, bow, and shield. Fire-arms are not unknown, but they are too difficult to be procured for common use. When the sultan levies an army for the purpose of taking the field, he is said to cause a date tree to be placed as a threshold to one of the gates of his capital ; and, com manding his horsemen to enter the city one by one, he determines the levy to be complete, yvhen the tree is yvorn through the middle by their hoofs in crossing it. As Bornou lies for the most part yvithin about twenty degrees of the equator, the cbmate is excessively, though not uniformly, hot. Tfie year is divided by two seasons, one of which commences in April, and the other in Octo ber. The former of these is introduced by violent winds, from the south-east and south ; and by deluges of sultry rain, and tempests of thunder and lightning, which destroy multitudes of cattle, and not a few of the peo ple. Serene yveather commences in October. The general aspect of the country is level and flat ; a'nd the soil, in many places, is extremely fertile. It produces an abundance of rice, maize, beans, cotton, hemp, and indigo. The principal fruits of Bornou are grapes, apricots, lemons, pomegranates, and melons. TRAV. H 146 BAGHERMI. — BERGOO. Innumerable flocks of sheep, aud herds of oxen, are here produced and fed ; and vast numbers of horses, buffaloes and camels, browze in the vales, and on the mountains. Among the wild animals are enume rated the lion, leopard, elephant, wolf, fox, giraffe or cameleopard, and several species of antelopes. Ostriches are also numerous ; and, like all countries in similar latitudes, Bornou is much infested by serpents, scor pions, centipedes, and toads. A considerable traffic is carried on betwixt Bornou and other parts of Africa, by means of caravans. The principal articles of export are gold-dust, slaves, horses, salt, and civet. One of the southern districts of Bornou, is called Baghermi, the extent of which is said to be about fif teen days journey from north to south, and twelve from east to west. Some parts of it are populous ; the inhabi tants are negroes, pagans in religion, and savage in their manners. They frequently invade the neighbouring states, and carry off great numbers of captives, whom they sell as slaves. In Baghermi is Kouka or Cauga, anciently an inde pendent state, but now a country subject to the sove reign of Bornou. It is inhabited by a miserable race of people, whose only clothing consists of a leathern girdle, whose wealth consists of cattle, and whose huts are formed of clay, and covered with leaves. Their principal settlement is on the border of a lake, that was anciently supposed to have a communication yvith the Nile. On the east of Baghermi is an independent state called Bergoo, which extends nearly two hundred miles from east to west; and two hundred and fifty from north to south. It is governed by a sultan, who is said to recruit his army from the inhabitants of eight large mountains ; those of each mountain speaking a language different from the rest. They are all zealous Mahometans, and are considered to be more humane KASS1NA. 147 than most of their neighbours; yet they are said to devour the flesh of their prisoners taken in war, and to preserve parts of their skins as tokens of bravery. They are courageous warriors, and fight with poisoned arrows. "The capital of Bergoo is called Warra. At the south-western angle of Bornou is Kassina, or Cashna, a kingdom wliich was formerly more poyv- erful than Bornou, but is now greatly inferior to it. The sultan, hoyvever, still reckons a thousand towns and villages within bis vast dominions. The inhabitants are negroes, and, for the most part, adhere to their ancient worship; although the sovereign and the principal peo ple are Mahometans. They are said to be a less po lished race than the inhabitants of Bornou ; but the circumstances of chief discrimination between the two kingdoms are those of language, currency, and certain articles of commerce. Among the last are salt, senna, slaves, cotton-cloths, goats'-skins, and the hides of oxen and buffalos: in return they receive cowries, a small kind of shells, which are used instead of money ; horses, woollen cloths, carpets, sacks, and cutlery ware. A considerable portion of the land of Kassina is extremely fertile ; but this is interspersed with arid wastes, where the rays of the sun, reflected from the sand, glow, like a furnace, with intense and suffocating heat. The surface of the country is generally level, though, in some places, it is interrupted by naked rocks, or mountains of considerable elevation. In the fertile parts the soil is sandy, but intermixed, in various pro portions, yvith a rich, black vegetable mould ; which, in some degree, is insalubrious to animal life. Monkevs and parrots, animals seldom seen in Bornou, are here extremely numerous, and of various species. The capital is called Cashna. In the general style of its buildings, this place resembles Bornou ; but it is neither so large nor so populous as that city. The town next in importance is Gana, situated in a province of the same name, near the northern bank of a large H2 148 BARBARY states. river, which by most writers is considered to be the Niger. This river is described to be here of great width, and to run with a current so rapid that no v«ssel can ascend its stream. It is crossed, at a ferry near Gana, by means of an ill-constructed raft, the planks of whicli are fastened to the timbers by ropes, and the seams of which are closed, both within and without, by a plaster^of tough clay. On the south of thexNile is the Wang ara of modern geographers, once famous for its gold trade. It is intersected by several branches of the Niger, and has a capital of the same name, a large walled city, on the southern bank of the river.. " Further west is the kingdom of Houssa, the capital of which, also of the same name, is situated about two days journey north of the Niger. This city is repre sented to be almost equal to London in population ; and we are informed that the inhabitants are acquainted with the art of writing, and with other1 civilized attain ments. The country of Houssa, along the banks of the Niger, is fertile and well inhabited. dlefaEKtS Bag's instruction. BARBARY STATES. Tripoli and Fezzan. We must now return to the coast of the Mediterranean, for the purpose of examining the countries yyhich lie along that coast from Egypt westward. These have the general appellation of the Barbary States ; an ap^ pellatioh, the origin and import of which are not cor rectly known. Some persons imagine it to have been derived from " barbarian," and that it implied the pe- DESERT OF BARCA. — SIWAH. 149 culiarly savage and uncivilized condition of the inhabi tants: others derive it from the Arabic word "bar," which signifies " a desert ;'" and others from " Bereb- bers," or " shepherds," and conjecture that if originally denoted "the country of shepherds." Of these states, which are four in number, namely, Tripoli, (including Fezzan) Tunis, Algiers, and Mo rocco, the first that we enter from Lower Egypt, is Tripoli. This extends as far as the tenth degree of east longitude, and is the same country that was an ciently called Libya. After the conquest of Carthage, the Romans obtained possession of it; but since that period it has several times changed its masters. About two hundred and eighty years ago, it became subject to the Turks, who governed it by a bashaw, or vice-roy ; and it continued tributary to them till 1714, when it was freed from the Turkish yoke. It is now an inde pendent state, the government of which is a cruel and despotic monarchy, but the monarch still retains the title of bashaw. The eastern division of Tripoli has the name of Barca. This is a dry, barren, and sandy country, nearly destitute of vegetation, and, for the most part, incapable of culture. At long and dreary intervals are found some fertile spots, called Oases, where there are towns or villages, and where millet, maize, and dates, are pro duced. On the sea-coast there are several small towns. The Desert of Barca is separated from that- of Libya on the south, by a chain of rocky mountains, among which are some considerable villages. Of these the chief are Siwah and Aguela. Siwah is situated in a well-watered valley, about fifty miles in circuit, and hemmed in on every side by barren rocks. The soil is a sandy loam, producing corn, olives, pomegranates, figs, apricots, plantains, wheat and rice ; but dates constitute the chief product and wealth ofthe district. Almost every inhabitant possesses a date gar den, well inclosed, and carefully yvatered ; and baskets of dates are here the standard by which all commodities 150 AGUELA.— BARCA. are valued. A few sheep, goats^ asses, oxen, and camels> are kept; but, for want of pasture, many of them are' fed on the produce of the date tree. The inhabitants are, in general, remarkably indigent and dirty. Their dress consists of little more than a large wrapper of coarse woollen cloth ; and they subsist chiefly on dates, rice, flat cakes of unleavened bread, or thin sheets of paste fried in the oil of the palm tree. Near Siwah there are some ruins, but in such a state of dilapidation, that they afford no traces whatever of the edifice to which they have belonged. This, how ever, is believed to have been an oracular temple of Jupiter Ammon, the object of unbounded veneration in the ancient world. On the stones are still left numerous hieroglyphic characters and emblematical figures ; and in the adjacent mountains there are catacombs contain ing human bones. Aguela has, for many centuries, been noted for pro ducing a great abundance of dates. The houses, both of Siwah and -Aguela are, for the most part, situated on the sides of the mountains, and have much the appear ance of caves. Those of Siwah are huddled together so close, and in such confusion, that many of them want ligh,t, and the whole form a labyrinth, through which no stranger can penetrate without a guide. They may, in some degree, be compared to a bee-hive : and the general aspect, the crowded population, and the confused hum which issues from them, all tend to justify the comparison. Betwixt Siwah and Cairo, on a limestone ridge that bounds the desert of Libya to the north, Mr. Horne- mah discovered a plain that consisted of a mass of rock salt, spread over so large a tract of surface, that, in one direction, no eye could reach its termination, and he computed its width to be several miles. Of the more central parts of Barca little is known. The few wandering tribes yvho traverse these dismal re- 'gions, are described to be peculiarly hideous in their aspect, ferocious iu their manners, and meagre and GULF OF SIDRA. 151 ravenous in tlieir whole appearance. They chiefly sub sist by plundering the date villages, and levying contri butions from the caravans that, pass along the coast of the Mediterranean, or by the borders of Libya; and they are said to commit the most atrocious acts of cruelty upon such persons as unhappily fall into their hands. Proceeding westward of Barca, we pass the Gulf of Sidra, anciently called Syrtis Major, and enter the western district of Tripoli. Near the bottom of this gulf, there is an interesting spot on which a monu ment was erected to two patriotic Carthaginian bro thers. A contest had arisen between the Carthagi nians and the Cyreneans, respecting the extent of their territories ; and it was agreed that, at a stated hour, two men should depart from Carthage,- (near the present town of Tunis) and two others from Cyrene (now Curin, on the sea-coast of Barca) and that wherever they met, there the boundaries of their respec tive countries should be fixed. Two brothers, named Philaeni, departed from Carthage, and had advanced considerably more than half the distance betwixt the citiesj before they met the Cyreneans. This occasioned a quarrel. The Cyreneans asserted that the Philzeni had left Carthage before the appointed hour, and in- - sisted on their retiring. The Philaeni refused to do so : and, in resisting the attempt that was made to drive them back, they were slain. Their bodies were buried on the spot where they fell ; and the Carthaginians, to comme morate the patriotic conduct of these hrothers, raised there two altars ; and denominated them " the altars of the Philaeni !" These altars were, subsequently, esta blished to be the boundary of the Carthaginian domi nions towards the east: their dominions extended west ward as far as the Strait of Gibraltar. We continue our progress still along the coast, to the distance of about four hundred miles from Barca, and arrive at the city of Tripoli. 152 DESCRIPTION OF TRIPOLI Description of Tripoli and its Inhabitants. From a Narrative of a Ten Year's residence there, written by a Sisfer of the late Richard Tully, Esq. the British Consul. This city is built on a white and sandy soil, near the sea-shore, and forms a, semicircle at the bottom of an extensive and commodious harbour. On the land side it is surrounded by numerous date trees, which spread like a forest to some distance into the interior, and ren der the scene a peculiarly interesting one. These trees are planted in regular rows, and are kept in fine order; but, on approaching them, they have a straggling appear ance, and afford neither shade from the sun, nor shelter from the burning atmosphere, which every where sur rounds them. The buildings of Tripoli are, in general, flat-roofed, square, and whited with lime. Clusters of eight or ten cupolas crowded together, and situated in different parts ofthe town, mark the places of the public baths. Several of the mosques have around them small plantations of Indian figs and date trees. These, at a distance, appear to be rich gardens, and give to the place an air of great neatness ; but, on entering the walls, the whole town is seen to be in an extremely irregular and dilapidated state. Large hills of rubbish, the re mains of ancient edifices, are still left in different parts ; and on these, many of the present houses, which are low and ill built, have been erected. The streets are nar row, crooked, and sandy; and, in consequence of nearly all the merchandize of the place being carried on the backs of camels, the dust that is raised in them is into lerable. The shops are numerous ; but, in general, they are little better in appearance than booths. In some parts of the town there are the remains of ancient edifices of great magnificence. The houses even of the principal inhabitants of Tri^- poli never exceed one story in height. Their entrance is through a sort of hall, with benches of stone on each AND ITS INHABITANTS. X$3 side. From this a staircase leads to a grand apartment, the only one that has windows facing the street. This is appropriated to the master of the house: here he holds his levees, transacts business, and enjoys his con vivial parties : and no one, even of his own family, dare enter it without his permission. The females have a privilege somewhat similar. No man can go even into his wife's apartments, if he find, at the outside of the door, a pair of lady's slippers : before he can enter he must wait till these are removed. Beyond the hall is the court-yard, paved and ornamented according to the fortune of the owner : this is used for the reception of large female companies, entertained by the mistress of the house, at the celebration of a marriage, or some other great feast ; and, in case of death, for funeral ceremonies, performed before the deceased is removed to the grave. On these occasions the floor is covered with mats and Turkey carpets ; and the company are sheltered from the inclemency or heat of the weather, by an awning stretched across from one side of the building to the other* Rich silk cushions are laid round for seats, the walls are hung with tapestry, and the whole court is converted into a grand saloon. Around the court is a cloister, supported by pillars ; and over this a gallery of the same dimensions, inclosed by a lat tice work of wood. From the. cloisters and the gallery, doors open into large chambers, which receive light only from this yard. The windows have no glass, but the apartments are lighted through a kind of trellice work, the open spaces of yvhich are not more than a quarter of an inch in width. The tops of all the houses are flat; they are co vered with plaster or cement, and surrounded by a parapet about a foot high. On these terraces the Moors dry and prepare their figs, raisins, and dates. They enjoy on them the refreshing breezes from the sea ; and they are here to be constantly seen at sun-set, offering their devotions to Mahomet. Tripoli is surrounded by strong walls and formidable H3 154 DESCRIPTION OF TRIPOLI ramparts ; and has only two gates, one northward to wards the sea, and the other on the south, towards the country. At the east end of the city is the castle or royal palace. This is a large and ancient edifice, but it has bad numerous additions made to it at different times. It is inclosed by a strong1 wall, forty feet high ; and all the royal family, down to the bashaw's great grand children, reside in it. The harem, or apartments for the ladies of the bashaw, are within the walls of the castle, and are not allowed to be entered by men. Long and dark vaulted passages lead to them ; and their court-yard is grated over the top with heavy iron bars, placed close together. The galleries round the court-yard, before the chambers. are inclosed with lattices cut very small in wood. There are in Tripoli, two covered bazars,,or markett places. One of these is large, and built in the form of four aisles, which meet in a cross, and is fitted up with shops for different kinds of merchandize. The smaller bazar, in the year 1785, had no shops, and yvas exclusively appropriated to the sale of slaves. The inhabitants are, in general, savage and unci vilized ; and they have long had the character of professed pirates. The dress of the common people consists of little more than a piece of brown, homespun cotton, or a lighter coloured cloth, not unlike a dirty blanket. Men of higher stations wear a close vest, and an external garment, secured round the middle of their body by a broad and rich girdle. Their trowsers are sometimes of coloured cotton, and sometimes of white inuslin ; these reach to the ankles, and are often made so wide as to measure upwards of seven yards round. ,They wear yellow boots, and large turbans. Women of high rank are seldom seen in the streets. Those of the middle station go out on foot, but they are always so completely enveloped in their dress, that it is impossible to discern more than their height. They are covered yvith an external garment called a barracan, about a yard and a half wide\ and four or five feet long, which con- AND ITS INHABITANTS. 155 ceals their persons entirely from view ; and yvhich they hold so close over their face, as scarcely to leave the least opening through it to see their way. The ladies of the harem are generally Georgian or Circassian slaves, who have been purchased at an early age, and have been trained in all the arts and accomplish ments that can render them objects of attraction. They are kept in a state of the strictest seclusion ; but do not altogether pass their time in indolence. They knit, weave, and embroider ; and pay particular attention to cookery. The toilet of a Moorish lady is an occupation in which much time and expense are employed. A lady of rank is always attended, while dressing, by several female slaves, to each of whom a particular department is assigned. One plaits the hair, another perfumes it; a third arranges the eye brows, a fourth paints the face. Perfumes and scented waters are lavishly poured on the hair ; and a vast quantity of powder of cloves is stuffed into it. The eye brows, besides being painted black, are shaped by having all the irregular hairs pulled out; and the fingers and feet are dyed black. In short, the full dress of a Moorish lady employs several hours, and forms so complete a disguise, that even her nearest rela tions would not be able to recognize her. On great occasions, the display of jewels, and of gold and silver ornaments, is very profuse : a bride is sometimes known to receive company so loaded with them, that, if she yvere to attempt to rise, she could not support their weight. The Moors of Tripoli marry extremely young, as early even as seven years of age ; and the women are often grandmothers at twenty-six, or twenty-seven. When Mr. Tully was at Tripoli, the wife ofthe bashaw's first minister was eleven years of age ; and that of the Spanish consul thirteen : and it was singular to hear these two children, as they might be termed, talking of their babies, two fine infants, each about six months old. The climate of this country is, in general, hot. In 156 DESCRIPTION OF TRIPOLI the autumn the rains commence. These continue with out cessation for several days and nights : then, ceasing suddenly, not a drop more of water descends for many successive months. As there are no rivers, great care is taken, by almost every family, to collect and preserve the rain water in reservoirs or cisterns of large size, and lined with a composition resembling marble. There are many wells, but the water obtained from them is brack ish, and of bad flavour. The plague sometimes rages here yvith great vio lence. In the year 1785, more than tyvo hundred persons were known to have died in a day. And, in the course of six weeks, this dreadful pestilence carried off two-fifths of the Moors, half the Jews, and nine-tenths of such Christians as could not procure the conveniences necessary for a quarantine. Nearly all the chief officers of state died; and, after it had ceased, the city exhi bited an appearance awfully striking. In some of the houses were found the victims that had perished in them ; who, having died alone, unpitied and unassisted, were in a state too putrid to be removed from the spot, and yvere, necessarily, buried in the place where they lay. In others, children were wandering about deserted; without a friend belonging to them. The city yvas almost depopulated ; rarely two people walked together. Inn timera ble habitations were empty ; and there were even whole streets without a living creature to occupy them. Within the kingdom of Tripoli there, are many re mains of Roman antiquity. The capital itself yvas built by that people, and had its name from having been constructed on the site of a more ancient city called (Ea, and from its thus forming one of the three African cities of Leptis, CSa, and Sabrata. Some of the country residences of the grandees are said to be very delightful places. The sister of Mr. Tully describes her visit to one of them, the grounds . of which, she says, were laid out with peculiar beauty. It was a wilderness of sweets, beneath thick orange groves, through which the sun's beams b«t faintly shone. AND ITS INHABITANTS. 157 White marble channels, containing clear and rapid streams of water, crossed the gardens in many direc tions. The air was fraught with the scent of oranges, roses, and Arabian jasmine, the thick shade of which formed an agreeable contrast wilh the burning atmos phere that surrounded them. In the centre of the largest garden, was a pleasant edifice, called a Golphor, built a considerable height from the ground. The floors, walls, and window seats were lined yvith Chinese tiles of lively colours. There were yvindows on all sides of it; and, through these, woodbines, orange-flowers, aud jasmine made their way. The shrubs ofthe garden every yvhere appeared through th6m of the most lively green, and filled the whole atmosphere with the richest perfume. These golphors are common to the country residences of the grandees, and are appropriated by the master of the house to the reception of his friends, for these cannot be admitted into the dwelling-house, on account of the female part of the family, to whom they are never introduced. Pomegranates, Indian and Turkey figs, apricots, and grapes of various kinds, are grown in high perfection in the gardens near Tripoli. There are- also delightful olive woods ; but when the olives are ripe it is inconvenient to walk under the trees, on account of the fruit, loaded with oil, continually falling down. Near these yvoods are marble reservoirs to receive the oil which the Moors extract from the olives : from these reservoirs they dis tribute it into earthern jars, in a state as clear as spring water. Water melons are here peculiarly plentiful and excellent. From Tripoli if we proceed in a somewhat south erly direction for about fifty miles, to the mountains of Gouriana, the dark blue summits of which are vi sible to the Tripolitans on clear days. In these moun tains there is a very extraordinary village of Arabs, the habitations of which are near the summits, and not easily to be distinguished except by those" who inhabit them. They are all formed deep under the surface of 153 FEZZAN. the ground. A passage, twenty feet or upwards in lengtfi, is dug in a sloping direction; and, from each side of it, various apartments are made for sleeping places, magazines, and other purposes. These passages are sufficiently high to admit a camel to pass down them ; and iri the subterranean apartments the families and all their cattle reside. The Arabs are chiefly ban ditti. They are never attacked nor disturbed ; for their dwellings, are capable of being defended against the attack of a great number of assailants. About two hundred miles south-west of Gouriana, and in the direction in which the caravans proceed from Tripoli and Tunis to Tonibuctoo, is Gadamis, an Oasis, the soil of whicli is dry and barren, yet produces great quantities of dates. This place contains the ruins of many ancient edifices, but it is not further knoyvn to Europeans than from the reports of the Moors who have accompanied the caravans. Its inhabitants are not very numerous. Fezzan. In a south-easterly direction from Gadamis is a king dom called Fezzan, of somewhat circular shape, and situated, like an island anfidst a wilderness of sand. It is an extensive plain, nearly surrounded by mountains. The soil, which is chiefly a light sand, produces a lux uriant vegetation, in consequence of the number of springs yvhich burst through to the surface, and are co piously supplied from the adjacent mountains. The climate of Fezzan is intensely hot during the summer, and in winter a bleak north wind prevails, which pro duces a severe and chilling degree of cold. Rain is seldom known to fall here, nor is there a river or stream of any note in the whole country. Fezzan contains about a hundred towns and villages, the principal of yvhich is called Mourzouk. The houses are built of clay, and covered yvith flat roofs, formed of the boughs of trees, spread over with earth ; and they FEZZAN. 159 have no other apertures for light than the doors. The inhabitants are rigid Mahometans, and have a consider able resemblance to negroes, not only in their dark swarthy colour, but in the protuberance of their lips, the depression of their nose, and their short crisped black hair. Their dress is similar to that of the gene rality of Moors. The government is purely monarchial. The sultan reigns over his subjects with unlimited authority, but he holds his dominions as tributary to the bashaw of Tripoli. His palace is situated within the fortress of the capital ; and he is said never' to appear out of it except on Fridays, when he goes to the great mosque, or at public festivals, when he is attended by his whole court. His dress, on these occasions, consists of a large white stuff frock, or shirt, brocaded with' gold and silver, under yvhich he wears the ordinary dress of tbe Tripohtans. His turban is so large as to measure a full yard from the front to the back, and not less than two-thirds of a yard in width. Justice is administered by an officer named the Cadi ; and, in his decisions, he is directed by the Mahometan law, and by established customs. In criminal cases the judgment is arbitrary, or is referred to the sultan. The inhabitants of Fezzan trade through all the adja cent parts of Africa ; and are considered to be the most enterprising merchants in this quarter ofthe globe. Mourzouk is a place of resort for numerous caravans. Those from the south aud west bring, as articles of commerce, slaves, ostrich feathers, tiger and leopard skins, and gold. From Bornou great quantities of cop per are imported : from Cairo silks, cotton cloths, and East India goods : from Bengasi, on the coast of Barca, tobacco, snuff, and Turkey ware: from Tripoli, paper, fire-arms, sabres, and woollen cloths : and from the southern Arabs, butter, oil, corn, senna, and camels. The chief productions of Fezzan are maize, barley, and dates. The most common domestic animals are camels, goats, and hairy broad-tailed sheep : the principal wild 160 TUNIS. ones are ostriches, antelopes, and deer. No articles of manufacture are produced in this country, for the inha bitants discover no ingenuity whatever as artificers. The only tradesmen are shoe-makers and smiths ; and the latter work every metal without distinction, so that the same person who forges shoes for the sultan's horses, forms rings for his princesses. Fezzan was known to the Romans by the name of Phazania regio, and numerous ruins of magnificent edifices dispersed through the open country, exhibit the vestiges of ancient grandeur. ®foelfrfr Uag's instruction. BARBARY STATES CONTINUED. Tunis and Algiers. Returning from Fezzan to Tripoli, and proceeding thence along the coast westward, as far as the tenth degree of East longitude, we arrive at another of the Barbary states, called Tunis. This is a much smaller kingdom than Tripoli. : its extent is not more than two hundred miles from north to south, and oue hundred and sixty miles from east to west. Tunis is diversified with hills, fertile plains, and bar ren tracts. The climate is, for the most part, excellent; but in the inland districts towards the desert, the heat - is excessive, particularly when, in the months of July, August, and September, the wind blows from the south. On entering this country, the first town we pass is Gabs or Cabes, situated near the sea shore, at the bot tom of a gulf of the same name. It was originally built by the Romans ; and some remains of tlieir edi fices still exist, on an eminence about half a mile from the present town : these chiefly consist of granite co- KAFZA. — KAIRWAN. — SUSA. 164 lumns of square form. Near this place there are exten sive plantations of date trees. Passing the lake of Lowedah, we next arrive at Kafza or Capsa, a small town, surrounded with a wall and defended by a citadel. This place, in the time of the Romans, belonged to Jugurtha, the usurper of the kingdom Numidia, from the tyvo sons of Micipsa ; and, in the walls of many of the houses, there are still left fragments of altars, granite pillars, inscriptions, &c. Though situated in the midst of a desolate country, its immediate environs are covered with palms, and with olive, pistachio, and other fruit trees. About fifty miles north of Kafza is a village called Spaitla, pleasantly seated on an eminence, and remark able for the ruins of a triumphal arch of great mag nificence. About a hundred miles north-east of Kafza, and eight miles from the sea, is the little town of Gemme, yvhich contains the ruins of a splendid Roman amphitheatre. There are yet left of it sixty-four arches, and four ranges of columns ; and, in different parts of the town, are many fragments of altars, statues, columns, and other antiquities. Proceeding a hundred miles north-east of Kafza we arrive at Kairwan, a considerable town, built on a dry and barren plain, and containing one of the most mag nificent mosques in Barbary. This mosque, wliich is the burying place of the Tunisian monarchs, is sup ported by an almost incredible number of granite co lumns; two of which are of lively red colour, spangled with white spots, and considered of inestimable value. Beyond Kairwan is Susa, the capital of a province of the same name, and one of the most considerable towns in the kingdom. It is situated on a high rock, not far distant from the sea, and, some years ago, yvas the chief mart in Tunis for oil and linen. An extensive and fer tile plain which surrounds it, produces an abundance of corn, pasturage, and fruit ; particularly olives, figs, and grapes. 162 TUNIS.. Tunis, the capital of the kingdom, is built at the extremity of a gulf which bears its name ; and it is sepa rated from the sea by an extensive lake. The city is sur rounded by a miserable wall about three miles in extent, formed of mud and stone, and fitted neither for orna ment nor use. The streets are narrow, dirty, and un- paved ; and the houses, though constructed of stone, are miserable buildings, only one story high, and with terraces at the top. The shops are contemptible in appearance, and indifferently stocked with goods. Near the centre of the city there was formerly a piazza, of such extent" as to contain three thousand woollen and linen drapers' shops; but this has long gone to decay. The only places of note in Tunis are the bey's palace, and the grand mosque. Of these, the former is a mag nificent square edifice, with four gates, one in each front, and a turret at every corner. The galleries are rich and elegant, the apartments spacious and hand some, and the courts and gardens capacious; but the latter are laid out in a bad taste. The grand mosque is chiefly remarkable for its size, and for its magnifi cent tower ; but, in other respects, it is undeserving of notice. At the distance of a mile and a half from Tunis is an opening from the lake to the sea. The shore is here low and sandy ; and the entrance into the lake is de fended by a fortress, once of great strength, but now in a very dilapidated state. The situation of Tunis is extremely unhealthy, in consequence chiefly of the marshes and lakes with which it is surrounded, and of its deficiency of fresh water. The former inconvenience the inhabitants en deavour vto remedy by burning great quantities of aro matic woods and herbs, and the latter by procuring water from the springs of Bardo, about a mile distant, and by catching and preserving rain water in large reservoirs. The grounds in the neighbourhood of Tunis produce TUNIS. 163 an abundance of fruit, particularly dates, figs, citrons, lemons, and olives, but there is often a great scarcity of corn ; and, at the time of harvest, it is not unusual for the Arabs to come suddenly upon the reapers, and plunder them of whole fields of ripe grain. In their manners, customs, and dress, there is little difference betwixt the inhabitants of Tunis, and those of the other states of Barbary. In general, the higher classes of Tunisians are clean in their persons, and neat in their dress. They make much use of perfumes, and bathe frequently. The women, yvhen they go abroad are veiled ; but at home they are permitted to be introduced to strangers and to converse with them. Although the .Mahometan is the established religion of the country, both Jews and Christians are allowed to dwell in safety, and to enjoy the protection of the laws. This state has undergone various revolutions. At one period it was the seat of the Carthagenian empire. It was afterwards subjected by the Roman power. Subsequently to this it shared the fate of the other provinces of Barbary, and yvas desolated by the Arabs. After having several times changed masters, it fell into the power of the Turks, and was governed by a bey, under the protection of the Porte. The present chief has entirely thrown off the Turkish yoke. He is a man of extraordinary vigour of character ; he super intends all the departments of the state, and decides in person all questions of civil or criminal justice, and, under his government, Tunis has assumed a much more mild and civilized aspect than it formerly enjoyed. His chief fault, as a governor, is unbounded avarice. The military force -of Tunis is little more than an armed rabble; and the warfare betwixt this and the .neighbouring states is comparatively harmless, as few men are either killed or wounded on either side. In the year 1 807 the army of the bey of Tunis, consisting of more than fifteen thousand cavalry and ten thousand infantry, marched against the Algerines. When they 164 TUNIS. were preparing for action, they turned, abandoned the field, and fled in every direction, leaving to the Alge rines their whole camp, baggage, stores, provisions, and fifteen thousand camels. The bey soon repaired bis losses, and in a few months took the field again. In the middle of Jul)', being once more in sight of their foe, they were again so terrified, that great confusion began to prevail. The cavalry had commenced their flight, and the infantry were preparing to folloyv, when a Greek slave, who had the charge of the artillery, fired one of the guns at the enemy. The Algerines now became alarmed. They had prepared for the charge, but they pulled up their horses. The Greek fired three other guns ; on yvhich they wheeled- round, and also took to flight. The cavalry of the bey, wliich were at no great distance, seeing this, recovered from their panic, returned to their duty, and pursued the Algerines to their camp. On the ensuing morning the two armies yvere in sight of each other, on the bank of a river; but each appeared more inclined to threaten than to fight. Towards sunset some of the bey's cavalry were observed ou the mountains. The Algerines, fearing it was the intention of the Tunisi ans to surround them, again took alarm, and fled during the night, with as great precipitation as the troops of the bey had formerly done. And they left behind them the yvhole of their stores and camp equi page, and about ten thousand camels, twenty pieces of cannon, and four mortars. The navy of Tunis seldom exceeds four frigates, and thirty or forty galliots, each carrying from twenty to one hundred and twenty men. From the port of Tunis considerable quantities of wheat, oil, wool, hides, bees-wax, soap, and coral are annually exported. The principal manufactures of the place are woollen stuffs, Morocco leather, and skull caps, made of red cloth. The latter are worn almost universally by the common people, and the making of them is a business of no small importance. With respect to the natural productions of this king- CARTHAGE. 165 dom, we must not omit to remark that, in some places, there are silver nynes; and that considerable quantities, both of lead and copper are found there. In many parts of the country there are hot springs; and in one place there is a mountain of salt, of dark red colour and bitter taste. From Tunis we advance along the shore towards the north, for about tyvelve miles, till we come to the site of the ancient and once magnificent city of Carthage. This, the rival of Rome, and long the mistress of Spain, Sardinia, and Sicily, was built on three hills, at the bottom of a gulf of the Mediterranean sea. The place where it stood is uoyv called El Mersa, or " the port." When in its most flourishing state, Carthage was in the yvhole twenty-three miles in circuit, contained seven hundred thousand inhabitants, and yvas sur rounded with a triple wall, strengthened by numerous towers. After having flourished more than seven hun dred years, and till about one hundred and forty-seven years before the Christian era, it yvas totally destroyed by the Romans, under the command of Scipio. They set it on fire, and it is said to have burnt'incessantly for seventeen days. Previously to its destruction it contained a rich, beautiful, and spacious temple sacred to Aisculapius, seated on a lofty hill, and ascended by a flight of sixty steps. The wife of Asdrubal set fire to this temple, and entirely consumed it, together with, herself, her children, and nine hundred deserters from the Roman army, yvho preferred death to falling into the hands of Scipio. Nearly all the visible remains of this once famous city consist of the areas of some spacious apartments on one of the hills ; the common sewers, which are still visible along the sea coast ; and upyvards of twenty magni ficent cisterns, each at least an hundred feet long, and thirty broad. It is conjectured that the latter were supplied yvith yvater from an aqueduct, some fragments of which are yet to be seen in the plain. This aque duct commenced at the springs of Zowan, and yvas 166 UTICA. — BIZERTA. about fifty miles in length : its principal arches were more than seventy feet high. After the destruction of Carthage, the city of Utica, now celebrated chiefly on account of the death of Cato, the Roman philosopher, became the metropolis of Africa. It is also now in ruins. Utica was situated on the coast of the Mediterranean, about twenty-seven miles north of Carthage, and its remains may be traced at a village called Stacor: these chiefly consist of old walls, and the ruins of cisterns; an aqueduct and other buildings. In the neighbourhood of Utica are various fields and plains, which the Romans have rendered famous by their military exploits. Nearly the whole country of Tunis abounds in Roman antiquities; so much so thatDr. Shaw, who visited itnearly a hundred years ago, thus writes respecting it, " A tra veller can scarcely avoid falling into a serious train of thought, when he observes such vast scenes of ruin and desolation as are here exhibited. He is struck yvith the solitude of a few domes and porticos that are left standing, which history tells him were once csowded with inhabitants ; where Syphax and Massinissa, Scipio and Caesar, the Saracens and Turks, have in their turns given laws. Every pile, every ruin, points out to him the yveakness and instability of human art and con trivance, reminding him of the many thousands that lie buried below, and that are now consigned to ob livion." Beyond the site of Utica, and also near the sea shore, is Bizerta, a town about a mile in circuit, and defended by several forts and batteries. It contains an extensive magazine, and two large prisons for slaves ; and its har bour is occasionally frequented by trading vessels. The inhabitants of this place are in general very poor. Their dress consists merely of a coarse cloth, wrapped round their body, and another round their head, in place of a turban. Few people in the world are more admir able horsemen than these, but they do not shoe their horses, and they use neither bridles nor saddles. They ALGIERS. 167 are excessively superstitious; and will not undertake, even the most trivial affair, yvithout hanging a great number of amulets or charms about them. These are nothing more than bits of paper or parchment, in scribed with strange characters, and sewed in little bags of silk or leather. If these people travel, they hang the same kind of supposed securities upon their horses. Algiers. Proceeding along the coast from Bizerta westward, for about fifty miles, we enter the territory of the dey of Algiers. This comprizes a considerable portion of ancient Numidia and Mauritania, and extends along the Mediterranean Sea from east to west about four hun dred and sixty miles. Its eastern boundary is Tunis ; its western boundary Morocco, and on the south is the gfeat desert of Sahara. It is divided into three pro vinces, each of which is governed by a bey or viceroy, who is entirely dependent on the dey of Algiers. No country is happier in its climate than Algiers. In the cultivated parts of the kingdom, the air is so temperate that the sultry heats of summer, and the piercing cold of winter are almost equally unknown. The prevalence indeed of the southerly winds, which blow over the burning desert of Sahara, will, for a few days, in July or August, sometimes render the air suffocatingly hot, but these winds are always of short duration. In this climate the serenity of the summer sky is seldom overcast by a cloud ; and the course of the seasons differs little from that in the kingdoms of Tunis and Tripoli. Many parts of Algiers are extremely fertile ; but in some places it is dry and barren; susceptible, per haps, of improvement, but left, by the indolent and unskilful natives, uncultivated and waste. The species . joi grain chiefly produced' here are wheat and barley, rice, maize or Indian corn, and a kind of millet, that is used for the fattening of cattle. According to the 168 ALGIERS. primitive customs of eastern nations, the Algerines tread out their corn, by driving mules or horses round the threshing floors on which the sheaves are spread. To winnow it from the chaff, they throw it up against the wind. The riches of the Algerines consist chiefly in their cattle and beasts of burden. Their horses, mules, and camels are extremely valuable. They have two breeds of sheep, one of which are remarkable for having peculiarly broad tails. The deserts abound in various wild animals, especially lions, panthers, leopards, hy enas, and jackals. Algiers is intersected by several bold ridges of moun tains, the valleys of which are well cultivated, and abound in excellent fruits and extensive forests. Mines of gold, antimony and lead, and quarries of marble and granite, are found in different parts of them. None of the rivers are either of great width or extent. The government of this country is a military aristo cracy, at the head of which' is the dey, yvhose authority somewhat resembles that of the late stadtholders of Holland. A dowan or council is appointed for the purpose of aiding him in his deliberations; but the members of his council, which are about thirty in number, possess very little power. The dey is always chosen out of the army, and this dignity is open to any one who can attain it. The tumult and con fusion to which this circumstance gives rise, cannot well be conceived by those -yvho live under civilized governments, where hereditary power is transmitted in regular succession. At Algiers every aspiring soldier, however mean his origin, may consider himself eligible; and he may succeed, if, when he has plunged his scymeter into the breast of the ruler, he can still trust to its protection. Hence there is, in general, a rapid succession of deys ; for scarcely one in ten escapes assassination. The right of electing the dey is vested in the militia, and every soldier, however low his rank, is entitled to vote. Algiers is considered BONA. 169 to be in some degree subject to the grand signior; but the dey pays no other tribute to the porte than a certain number of annual presents. The military force of Algiers does not exceed from twenty to thirty thousand men ; and the soldiers, in general, are cowardly and undisciplined. The' naval force of the country has till lately consisted ^>f about twenty ships of war. There are indeed numerous other vessels, which belong to individuals, called Cor sairs. The commanders of these are little better than pirates, and they formerly committed great depreda tions among vessels belonging to all the Christian countries, seizing the ships and cargoes, and conveying the creyvs as slaves to Algiers. By the spirited con duct, however, first of the Americans, aud afterwards of the English, in retaliating upon the Algerines the injuries they had sustained by this conduct, attacking their capital, and destroying their whole navy, this infamous system has, we hope, been for ever aban doned. Such other general observations as we have to make on this country, will best be introduced when we speak of the capital. We will now proceed in our tour th rough the principal toyvns ; beginning from the north eastern corner of the kingdom of Tunis. The first place deserving of notice that we come to is Bona, a walled, but ill-built trading town, situated on the coast of the Mediterranean. It stands on a declivity, near a marshy plain, and is much exposed to tbe plundering incursions of the Arabs. It was an ciently a Roman town of great eminence and wealth; but there are no remains whatever of its pristine splen dour. Its harbour is not only an inconvenient but a dangerous one, yet a great quantity of corn, butler, oil, hides, wax, and wool are annually shipped from it. The surrounding country produces an abundance of corn and fruit. There is an extensive coral fishery in the bay of Bona, and along-the adjacent coast ; and, at certain seasons of the year; great numbers of Euro^ TRAV. I 170 CONSTANTINA. — SET1F. pean vessels are employed in it. In the month of May, 1816, the vessels of the fishers were attacked by the Algerines, and nearly all on board were massacred. This was one of the causes of the severe retaliation, which was inflicted by the British fleet on Algiers almost immediately afterwards. Advancing inland, in a southerly direction, through vallies and plains, to the distance of about a hun dred miles, we reach the frontier town of Tebess, pleasantly situated on the southern bank of the river Melagge. The Algerines have here a garrison to defend the place from the attacks of the Tunisians. The principal gate of Tebess, and several fragments of old walls, show it to have once been a place of con siderable importance. From Tebess we proceed, in a north-westerly direc tion, to Constantino, formerly called Cirta, one of the strongest and most important cities of ancient Nu midia, but now an ill-built and inconsiderable town. It is seated on an eminence, and is nearly surrounded by the river Rummel, being accessible only on the south-west side. The present town is defended by a strong wall, and is the residence of a bey or governor. There are still left some splendid remains of the an cient city, particularly the gates, which are constructed of a beautiful reddish stone, highly polished. An altar of white marble is seen in one part of the town wall: the bridge has numerous ancient ornaments: to the south-west of the bridge a considerable portion of a triumphal arch is seen among the ruins; and at the foot of the great precipice, are several sepulchral inscriptions. After the conquest of Numidia by the Romans, this place continued long in their possession; and it re ceived its present name in consequence of having been rebuilt by the emperor Constantine the Great. The in habitants are an opulent, haughty and spirited people. Setif, or Sitifi, anciently the capital of Mauretania, is about sixty miles south-west of Constantina. It is situated on an eminence in the midst of a valley, and, BESCARA.— ALGIERS. 171 contains about three hundred families, all miserably poor. Most of the monuments of antiquity that it contained, have been destroyed by the Arabs. Not far distant from the southern frontier of Algiers, and in a direction nearly south of Setif, we arrive at Bescara, a town which was originally built by the Romans. It was afterwards destroyed by the Arabs, aud has since been rebuilt by them. There is at -Bescara a small castle, defended by six pieces of ordi nance, and a few unwieldy muskets, mounted on car riages. The numbers of scorpions, serpents, and rep tiles, which, during the summer time, infest the houses of this place, are so great that many of the inhabitants are compelled, for several months every year, to live in tents, and to lead a kind of wandering life. Those of the higher classes carry on a trade in negroes and ostrich feathers ; many persons of the lower orders emigrate to Algiers, and seek for subsistence from the most menial occupations in that metropolis; and they are in general much esteemed for honesty and fidelity. We must now return, northward, to the sea-shore; and, at the foot of a high mountain, on the western side of an extensive bay, we shall arrive at a yvalled town called Bugia. For strength and opulence this is now esteemed the second town in Algiers. Its inha bitants carry on a considerable trade iu oil, wax, dried figs, and various kinds of iron implements. These are chiefly brought for sale by some of the savage tribes, who live in the neighbourhood, and who often commit, even in the heart of the town, the most flagrant acts of rapine and barbarity. About eighty miles east of Bugia is Algiers, the seat of goverment, and the metropolis of the country. This well-known city is built on the declivity of a hill, nearly in the form of an amphitheatre, and, when viewed from the sea, it presents a beautiful and magni ficent spectacle. There is only one principal street : this runs from east to west, and contains the shop's of 1-2 172 ALGIERS. the merchants, and the markets for corn and other com modities. The other streets are so narrow that two per sons can scarcely walk abreast-in them, and the middle part of each being lower than the sides, is always dirty. Persons walking in these streets are continually in danger of being run over or thrown down by camels, horses, and mules, that are passing along them. The principal houses in Algiers are of a square form, with a court in the middle; and galleries all round. They have all flat roofs ; and, as they communicate with each other, a person may walk along the whole length of a street on the tops of the houses. Many of the inhabitants embellish their terraces with gardens, and have small summer-houses upon them. By the laws of the place, they are compelled to whitewash their houses, both inside and out, at least once a year. Hence, and from the form of the city, rising in regular gradation up the side of the hill, it appears, from the sea, not unlike the top-sail of a ship. Algiers is de fended by walls, and has five gates. At the outside of the walls there are seven ports or castles, all of which are supplied with cannon. Algiers contains very few edifices that are either magnificent or beautiful. The most considerable of them are the mosques, more than a hundred in num ber, and the palace of the dey. Some of the former are of large size, but are by no means remarkable as specimens of elegance or taste. The palace is an extensive building, nearly in the middle of the city. It is surrounded by two superb galleries, one above the other, and each supported by marble columns ; and it contains two grand halls, in which the public dowans, or councils are held. At Algiers, as in most cities of the east, there are many public baths. These are large, sumptuous, paved with marble, and in. gene ral well furnished with all the conveniences that are requisite for such places. The city -is well supplied with fresh water, Which is conveyed from springs on ALGIERS. 173 an adjacent hill, by pipes that terminate hi above a hundred fountains, to each of yvhich is fastened a bowl for the use of passengers. Every house also is pro vided with a tank or cistern for the collection and pre servation of rain-water for the use of the family. The harbour of Algiers is a very commodious one ; and bas a pier five hundred paces in length, which extends from the city to a small island, on yvhich is a castle and strong battery. The hills and vallies in the vicinity of this place are decorated with country seats and gardens, shaded with fruit-trees and ever-greens ; but in-the arrangement of these very little art is used. They are not walled, but enclosed by fences formed of different kinds of prickly plants. The inhabitants of Algiers are very numerous, lt contains at least one hundred and twenty thousand, part of which are Turks, others the native inha bitants of the country, and others Jews, Christians, and renegadoes. The last are persons who have forsaken their ieligion to become Mahometans; and many of them are advanced to lucrative and elevated employ ments. The Algerines are the most cruel and dan gerous pirates of Africa, and are perfidious and rapa cious in the greatest degree. Those yvho reside on the coast are said to be excessively savage towards all such persons as have the misfortune to be shipwrecked in their neighbourhood. The principal men dress with as much elegance as those of Turkey. At their meals they sit cross- legged round a table about four inches high, and use neither knives nor forks. When they have finished eating, a slave pours water on their bands as they sit, and they then wash their mouths. Iu religion the Algerines agree with the Turks, with the exception of their having a greater variety of superstitious rites than those people. They acknow ledge the authority of the Koran, but they do not 174 METTIJAH. scrupulously adhere to its precepts ; and the mufti or high-priest, the grand marabout or saint, and the cadi or chief-judge, preside in all matters of religion. The administration of justice belongs chiefly to the cadi, who is obliged to attend at the court once or twice every day, to hear and determine the several suits and complaints that are brought before him. But all affairs of importance are referred to the dey him self,, or, in his absence, to his principal officers, who for that purpose sit " in the gate of the palace," ac cording to the custom recognised in scripture. Some of the punishments are exceedingly cruel, A Jew or Christian, guilty of a capital crime, is taken out of the gates of the city and burnt alive ; a Moor or Arab is either- impaled, that is, has a sharpened piece of wood thrust though his body, is hung up by the neck over the battlements of the city, or is thrown down upon hooks fixed in the wall below, and there suffered to hang in torment till he expires. In a nation like this it cannot be expected that com merce will flourish. Till the attack of Algiers by the British fleet, in 1316, the trade of this city was chiefly carried on by the Corsairs, whose interest it was to be at war with all nations which traded in the Mediter ranean. Few commodities are exported from Algiers. These consist principally of grain, ostrich feathers, copper, dates, carpets, and some silk goods. The Alge rines manufacture carpets little inferior to those of Turkey ; taffeties, and other articles in silk, and coarse linen of various kinds. The general language of Al giers is a compound of Arabic and Moorish; but all public business is transacted, and the records are kept, in the Turkish language. We must now proceed on our tour through the few remaining parts of Algiers that are deserving of notice. Westward of the city, and at a little distance from the coast, is the delightful plain of Mettijah, about fifty ORAN. — TLEMSEN. 175 miles long and twenty broad, every where watered by springs and rivulets, and abounding in flax, grain, and various kinds of fruit. Near the sea-coast are some barren districts and thick woods", infested yvith reptiles, serpents, and other noxious animals. This kind of country continues nearly to Mustiganum, a consi derable walled town, built in the form of an amphithe atre, and defended by a citadel. It has the sea iu front, and a range of lofty mountains behind ; and its environs are covered with gardens, villas, and the remains of an cient buildings. Proceeding still yvestward along the coast, we soon come to Oran, a fortified town about a mile in circuit, occupied by the Spaniards, and which they have deco rated with several beautiful churches, and other edifices, in the Roman style of architecture. This town is plea santly seated on the declivity of a hill, the summit of which is crowned by tyvo castles. The harbour is much frequented by the shipping of different European nations. Inland from Oran there is a varied prospect of rugged precipices, plantations of orange trees, and rills of water trickling down the declivities of hills, so as to present many beautiful and interesting views. This kind of scenery continues for a considerable distance, towards Tlemsen, a strongly fortified town, about ninety miles distant, and thirty miles from the sea. Tlemsen has now five gates, with a drawbridge before each ; and a strong castle for the garrison. It was once a noble city, but of late years it has fallen mucb to decay ; for, of two hundred and fifty mosques, and a hundred and sixty baths, which it formerly contained, only eight of the former, and four of the latter, are now remaining. The inhabitants are, for the most part, extremely indi gent. 176 JACKSON'S ^Jjirieentfj Uag's instruction. BARBARY STATES CONCLUDED. Morocco. On the west of Algiers is Morocco, or Marocco, as some persons write it, the last and the most powerful of all the Barbary States. It extends more than six hun dred miles along the western coast of Africa, from Tan gier to Wedinoon : varies in width from two hundred and fifty, to four hundred miles ; and is divided into a great number of provinces, which it would be of little use here to enumerate. For our description of this part pf Africa, we shall chiefly be indebted to— An Account of the Empire of Morocco, and the Dis trict of Suse, by James Grey Jackson, Esq. who was resident there many Years. \ Entering this country from Algiers, and proceeding along the coast of the Mediterranean, yve soon arrive at the small town of Tetuan, inhabited by Moors and Jews; who, for the most part, speak a corrupt Spanish dialect. The ehvirons of Tetuan abound in gardens of the most delicious fruits. Oranges, in particular, are remarkably fine, and so abundant as to be sold at the rate of a dollar a thousand. This part of Morocco also abounds in vineyards, the grapes of which are of exqui site flavour. The Moors are forbidden by their religion to drink wine ; but the Jews make a little ; and they distil, from grapes, raisins and figs, an ardent spirit, which they prefer to European brandy. From the port of Tetuan, a considerable trade in provisions is carried on with the Spanish coast. [We next come to Ceuta, a town in possession of the Spaniards, and situated on a rising ground, at the entrance of the Mediterranean Sea. This place was account of morocco. 177 formerly taken from the Arabs by the Portuguese ; and it yvas ceded by them to the Spaniards, in the year 1688. The Moors have several times attempted to obtain it, but the fortifications towards the land have been found impregnable. At Ceuta there are some elegant build ings, a good palace, and a noble cathedral. Near this place is the Ape's Mountain, so called from the great number of these animals by which it is inhabited. *This mountain was denominated by the an cients Abyla. They supposed it to have been originally joined to the rock on the Spanish coast, called Calpe, now the rock of Gibraltar ; and that these were sepa rated by Hercules, in order to make a passage betwixt them into the Mediterranean Sea. Hence, and from their elevated form, these rocks obtained the appellation of " the Pillars of Hercules."] The whole coast betwixt Ceuta and Tangier, the next town we come to, is rugged, and interspersed with projecting cliffs. Tangier is situated on an eminence at the western mouth of the Strait of Gibraltar, and at the distance of a day's journey from Tetuan. About a century and a half ago it was possessed by the Por tuguese ; and in 1662, was given as a marriage portion with the princess Catherine of Portugal, to Charles the Second of England. But, some years afterwards, the English destroyed the fortifications and abandoned it. The fortifications have since been partly rebuilt, and the Moors, at this place, now carry on a trade chiefly in fruit and provisions, with Gibraltar and the Spanish coast. The bay is a spacious, but, during the prevalence of easterly winds, is a dangerous one for shipping. Westward of Tangier is Cape Spartel, the headland that divides the Strait of Gibraltar from the Western Ocean. Proceeding now southward along the coast, at the distance of about one hundred and thirty miles from Cape Spartel, we arrive at Sia, or Sake. This is a walled town, with a battery of twenty-four pieces of cannon ; situated on the northern bank of a river, which, some years ago, was capable of receiving large vessels, lt 13 178 jackson's is famous in history for its piracies. Great numbers of ships were formerly fitted out by the town of Salee, and navigated by a desperate banditti, for the purpose of capturing the defenceless merchant ships of Europe. When Mr. Jackson was here, he yvas conducted to a subterraneous apartment where such Europeans had been confined, as had had the misfortune to fall into the hands of these miscreants: it is a spacious but miserable dungeon. There are at this place docks for the building of ships. After crossing a river, we enter the fortified town of Rabat, a place somewhat larger than Salee. The walls of this place were built by Spanish slaves, taken in the wars betwixt the Moors and Spaniards. Rabat once con tained a spacious mosque, the roof of which is said to have been supported by three hundred and sixty columns of marble. Many of these are still remaining ; but, for the most part, they are broken and scattered about. The tower of the mosque is yet standing. It is one hundred and eighty feet high, and formed of hewn stone. The ascent to the top is not by stairs, but by a spiral terrace paved with an excessively hard and dura ble mortar ; and so wide, that a man on horseback may without difficulty ride up it. At Rabat there is a manu factory -of cotton cloth ; and the adjacent country is planted with vines, orange, and cotton trees. Folloyving the coast for about tyvo hundred and thirty miles from Rabat, we come to Mogador, or Suerrah, as it is here called. This, the only regularly built town in the empire, is situated on a low flat desert of accu mulating sand ; and at the spring tides, it is nearly surrounded by the sea. It consists of a citadel and an outer town. The citadel contains the custom-house, treasury, and other public buildings, and the houses of the foreign merchants. The outer town is occupied by tlie mass of the inhabitants, and is walled in, and pro tected by batteries and cannon. During nearly the whole summer, the wind at Mogador bloyvs so violently as to prevent the growth of a supply* 4 account of morocco. 179 of provisions sufficient for the inhabitants* They are consequently obliged to depend for these on gardens and other cultivated ground, four miles and upwards from the town. The fresh water with which this place is supplied, is chiefly brought from a river a mile and a half distant. ^he only advantage of Mogador is its commercial situation ; and nearly every individual resident in it is supported either directly or indirectly by commerce. The harbour is defended by several batteries, on one of yvhich is a curious gun that was taken by General Lord Heathfield, during the siege of Gibraltar: the carriage is in the fprm of a lion, opens in the middle, and con tains the gun within it. This is the only port within the empire of Morocco, which maintains a regular and un interrupted commercial intercourse yvith Europe. The houses of Mogador are built similarly to those in other parts of the empire ; but the residences of the foreigu merchants are peculiarly spacious. They have each from eight to twelve rooms on a floor. These open into a gallery that goes round the house on the in side, and forms an opening in the centre, appropriated to the warehousing of goods, and the transacting of business. The roofs are flat, and covered with a com position of lime and small stones ; and they are regularly white-washed once a year. Mogador has a beautiful appearance at a distance, and particularly from the sea ; but, on entering the streets, yvhich cross each other at right angles, we are greatly disappointed, for they are narrow ; and the houses, having few windows towards the street, have a melancholy appearance. Proceeding towards the south, along the coast, for about a hundred miles, the next port we reach is that of Agadeer, or Santa Cruz. The town stands on the summit of a mountain, and is defended by walls and batteries. The bay is large, and, being vvell protected on every side from the winds, is considered the safest in the empire. It abounds in fisb, immense quantities of which are caught by the inhabitants of the town. 180 JACKSON'S Santa Cruz'was for a long time the centre of an exten sive commerce. To this place the Arabs ofthe desert, and the people of Soudan resorted, to purchase various kinds of merchandize for the markets ofthe interior of Africa; and different European nations had factories here till the year 1773. Since that period, however, these have been transferred to Mogador. Beyond Santa Cruz, southward, there is no port fre quented by shipping. There is, hoyvever, a tract of . coast which holds out great encouragement to commer cial enterprize; and secure and advantageous establish ments might be effected upon it, in tyvo places betwixt Santa Cruz and Cape Bqjador. Wedinoon, or Noon, a town near the south-western extremity of Morocco, is a place of intermediate depot for merchandize on its way from Mogador to Soudan, and for the produce of Soudan going to Mogador. Gum of different kinds, and wax, are produced here in great abundance ; and the people, being almost beyond the reach of the government, live in an independent manner, indulging in the luxuries of dress, and using many European commodities. We must now return towards the north, for the pur pose of describing the towns in the interior of the coun try. The first that we come to is Terodant, the metropolis of the southern part of the empire, and about fifty miles south-east from Santa Cruz. It is watered by the river Suse, and is defended by walls and batteries, that have enabled the inhabitants to make a successful oppo sition in many sieges. Though still an extensive place, its population has, of late years, greatly decreased. There is in this town a noble palace, adorned with gar dens, containing the most delicious fruits. The city of Morocco, about one hundred and fifty miles north-east of Terodant, stands on a plain which abounds in corn, fruits, and all other necessaries of life ; and is depastured by sheep, cattle, -and a very superior breed of horses. At a distanee, this city has a beautiful ACCOUNT OF MOROCCO. 181 and even romantic appearance, in consequence of the adjacent country being interspersed with groves of palm trees; aud being terminated, in the back ground, by the towering and snow-topp'd mountains of Atlas. The lily of the valley, different kinds of iris, lupines, roses, jonquils, mignionette, jasmines, and many other of our garden flowers, grow wild in the country around Morocco ; and, in the months of March aud April, the air in the morning is strongly perfumed by tlieir grate ful and delicious odours. The fruits are oranges ofthe finest flavour imaginable, figs of various kinds, water and musk melons, apricots, peaches, grapes, pears, dates, plums, and pomegranates. Morocco is surrounded by extremely thick walls, formed of a kind of cement. Some of the houses are built yvith much elegance and taste, but, being all be hind high yvalls, they are not visible from the streets : these outer walls are of the rudest construction possible, for every individual under this despotic government is anxious to conceal his wealth ; and to impress both the public and the state yvith an idea that he is poor. The imperial palace faces Mount Atlas, and is built of hewn stone, ornamented with marble. The archi tecture of the principal gates is gothic, embellished with various ornaments in the Moorish style. The yvalls of some of the rooms are lined with filligre work, and others yvith glazed tiles. Three gardens are attached to the palace. In .two of them the emperor allows foreign merchants to pitch their tents whenever they visit him; and in tbe third they have their audiences of business. The two former abound in oranges, grapes, pomegranates, and numerous other fruits : in the latter, the orange trees are small, but peculiarly productive ; and their flowers are extremely odoriferous : the roses, in particular, are unequalled ; and of their leaves a kind of mattrasses are made for men of "rank to recline upon. In these gardens are pavillions, each about 'forty feet square, with pyramidal roofs covered with glazed tiles of various colours, and lighted from four spacious 182 JACKSON S doors, which are opened according to the position of the sun. These buildings are variously painted and gilded within, and are ornamented with square com partments, containing passages from the Koran. As the luxury and convenience of tables, chairs, and cur tains, are unknown in this country, the furniture of each ¦ of these apartments is very simple : it consists only of tyvo sofas, or couches, some china and tea equipage, a clock, a few weapons hung round the yvalls, a water- pot, and carpets to kneel upon in prayers. Here the emperor takes bis coffee or tea, and transacts business yvith his courtiers. The grand pavilion in the middle of the inclosure is appropriated to the women : it is a spa cious building, and is fitted up in the same stile of neat ness and simplicity as the others. Near the palace is the place of audience, an extensive quadrangle, walled iu, but open to the sky; in this the emperor gives audience to his subjects, hears their complaints, and ad ministers justice. In Morocco are many mosques. Two of them have lofty square towers, several stories high; and at the top of one of these towers are three golden balls, which, together, are said to weigh one thousand two hundred and five pounds avoirdupoise. It: is stated, that several kings, when in yvant of money, have at tempted to take them down, but without success, as they are firmly and artfully fixed. The inhabitants assert that they were fixed by magic, and that a spirit guards them from injury. There is a tradition, that the wife of one of the princes of Morocco, desirous of or namenting this temple, which yvas built by her husband, caused these globes to be made of the gold melted down from the jewels which the king gave her. Near the centre of the city is an oblong building, called the Kasseria, surrounded with small shops, that are filled with silks, cloth, linen, and other articles of merchandize. Here people resort to transact business, hear the news, &c. ; much in the same manner as is done on the Exchanges of European towns. And ACCOUNT OF MOROCCO. 183 men of independent fortune, who have no occupation at court, often hire these shops for the purpose of amusing themselves, by passing the mornings in con versation. , There is at Morocco a considerable market every Thursday, at which horses, cattle, and slaves, and nu merous articles of foreign as well as home manufacture, are bought and sold. Samples of the different kinds of merchandize are carried up and down the market and streets, by men called delels, or itinerant auctioneers : • these proclaim the price offered ; and when no one offers more, the best bidder is apprised of his purchase, the money is paid, aud the transaction terminated. The shops of this city are filled with merchandize of various kinds, a considerable portion of which is sup plied from Mogador. The merchants of the latter place receive, in return for European goods, various articles the produce of Barbary, for the European markets. Morocco is supplied with yvater from "numerous wells and springs among the different olive plantations in its vicinity. There is also a subterraneous aqueduct built of brick, which extends round the town, twenty feet below the surface ; and from which, at the distance of about every hundred yards, pipes of brickwork branch off, and convey the water into the different houses. This city being now on the decline, little can be said of its cleanliness. The streets are mostly filled with the ruins of houses that have gone to decay; and, in one part of it, that is inhabited by Jews, heaps of dung and filth are seen as high as the buildings. The houses swarm yvith vermin, particularly with bugs ; which, during the summer time, almost cover the yvalls. Tra vellers are also much annoyed by scoipions : these are often found even in the beds, and the only mode of de fence against them, is to place the feet of the bedsteads in tubs or pans of water. In this city, likewise,'' there is a kind of serpents which *re found in almost every house, and are sometimes seen moving along the roofs 184 JACKSON S of the apartments. The people consider them rather an object of superstitious veneration than a nuisance; and would not on any account molest or injure them. Taking our departure from Morocco, and proceeding, for about tyvo hundred miles, still towards the north east, yve arrive at the city of Fez or Fas, once the seat of a government independent of Morocco. This city stands upon gentle hills, except towards the centre, which is low, and in winter very wet and dirty. It is not so large a place as Morocco, but the buildings are more lofty and spacious, and it contains a greater num ber of inhabitants. The houses have flat roofs ingeui- ously worked in wood, and covered with a composition of lime and small stones. On these the inhabitants, in summer, spread carpets to recline upon, for the pur pose of enjoying the cool breezes of the evening. A small turret, containing a room or tyvo, is also erected upon them for tbe use of the females of the family; In the centre of each house is an open quadrangle, sur rounded by a gallery, yvhich communicates with a stair case, and into which the doors of the different apart ments open. The principal houses have cisterns under them ; these are supplied with water from a river which rises in the Atlas mountains, and enters the town by covered channels in two different places. In this city there are a great number of mosques, sanctuaries, and other public buildings: about fifty of them are sumptuous edifices, ornamented with a kind of marble procured from the Atlas mountains, and unknown in Europe. To each mosque is attached a public bath, for religious ablutions. There are also public baths in various parts of the town, whither the common people resort, the men at one time and the women at another. The principal inhabitants have baths in their own houses. Fez contains nearly two hundred caravanseras or inns. These are .each three stories high, and contain from fifty to a hundred apartments. As it is usual for tra vellers in this country to carry beds with them, the ACCOUNT OF MOROCCO. 185 caravanseras furnish nothing for sleeping on except mats. If a traveller want refreshment he cannot in any of these order a meal ; he must purchase it at a cook's shop, or procure it at a butcher's, and get it dressed himself. In this city each trade or occupation has a separate department allotted to it. In one place are seen shops occupied by notaries or scriveners, two in each shop. In another are stationers; in another shoe-makers; here is a fruit-market ; there are wax-chandlers. Another part of the city is allotted to persons who fry meat, and who make a light kind of bread called sfinge, fried in oil, and eaten with honey. In this city, after meat is slaughtered, it is sent to a public officer, who super intends the price of provisions, and who, after exa mining it, sets a price upon it on a piece of paper. This the seller shows to the people ; and they purchase it at the rate affixed. There are in Fez sixty criers, or itinerant auctioneers, who receive, from the various shops, pieces of cloth, linen, &c. and, going about the place crying aloud " Who bids more ? " sell the lots to the highest bidders. The gardens of Fez abound with nearly all kinds of delicious fruits ; and roses and other odoriferous flowers perfume the air. The emperor has a palace in this city ; and westward of it stands a castle, in which the kings of Fez formerly kept their court. Fez yvas once famous for learning. At present the studies in the schools of this place are confined to the Koran and commentaries upon it, to some parts of grammar and logic, and to some clumsy astronomical observations for computing the time of religious ex ercises. The teacher sits cross-legged on the ground, and sings or cries in a doleful tone, words which the scholars, sitting around him, repeat Anatomy is a science prohibited by the religious prejudices of the Moors, and medicine, as a science, is totally unknown. Not far distant from Fez is Mequinas, a city which stands in a beautiful valley, surrounded by gentle emi- 186 JACKSON S nences and highly cultivated vales, ornamented with plantations of fruit trees. This city was built to i>e the capital of the northern division of Morocco. At the south end of it stands the palace, an extensive qua drangular edifice, which contains several gardens ad mirably laid out, and watered by numerous streams. In Mequinas, the Jews have a particular quarter walled round, and appropriated to them ; and contigu ous to this is an enclosure called the negroes quarter. The inhabitants of Mequinas are considered extremely hospitable towards strangers. With respect to the country of Morocco in general, it must be remarked, that the climate is healthy and in vigorating. From March to September the atmosphere is scarcely ever charged with clouds; and, even in tbe rainy season, from September to March, there is seldom a day in which the sun is not seen at some interval. In some of the southern parts of the empire, however, where much of the country is sandy and desert, the weather, during the months of July, August, and Sep tember, is intensely hot. The south wind then pre vails, and tlie air, being loaded yvith minute particles of earth and sand, blown from the desert, it is extremely pernicious to the eyes of the inhabitants. The whole eastern frontier of the empire is traversed by a range of lofty ridges, which extend nearly from Santa Cruz to the coast of the Mediterranean, and are called the Atlas Mountains ; and the most elevated sum mits of which are covered yvith perpetual snow. These mountains are inhabited by lions, tigers, wolves, boars, and enormous serpents. In some of them there are mines of copper, iron, lead, and silver: even gold is occasionally found. The vallies are, in many places, extremely fertile, and produce excellent corn and fruits. They also abound in extensive forests of oak and cork trees. The soil and produce of Morocco are very various. The country along the shore of the' Mediterranean ACCOUNT OF MOROCCO. 187 produces corn and cattle in abundance; and, in some parts figs, grapes, melons, dates, pomegranates, citrons, lemons, and the most delicious oranges imaginable. Many other parts of the empire are equally productive. Gardens and olive plantations every where abound. The yvhole northern division- is almost an uninter rupted corn-field. Several of the western provinces abound in horned cattle and horses : these also furnish an incalculable number of goats, the skins of which are manufactured into what is called " Morocco lea ther." There are several rivers in Morocco. They, in ge neral, rise among the mountains on the eastern side of the country, and, running towards the west, fall into the Atlantic-Ocean. None of them, however, appear to be navigable to any great distance from the sea. Most of the inhabitants of this country are of mid dle stature ; aud their complexion, from frequent inter marriages, or from intercourse with the negroes of the desert, is of all shades from black to white. Both sexes have peculiarly fine teeth. The women of Fez, with the exception of their eyes and hair, which are invariably dark', are as fair as Europeans ; and those of Mequinas are peculiarly handsome. The latter possess great modesty and suavity of manners. This character, however, is far from being general to the Moors. Their arrogance and pride are excessive. Although they live in the most deplorable state of igno rance, slavery, and barbarism imaginable, they consider themselves the first people in the world, and contemptu ously term all others barbarians. By birth they are all equal ; and they know no difference of rank except such as is derived from official employments. They are more cleanly in tlieir persons than tlieir garments. They wash their hands before every meal ; and use no knives, forks, nor spoons, but eat with their fingers. At their meals half a dozen persons sit round a large bowl placed on the floor, each person puts in his hand, and 188 JACKSON'S taking up the food, puts it, by a dexterous jerk, into his mouth, without suffering his fingers to touch his lips. They have no chairs nor tables, but sit cross-legged on carpets and cushions. A plurality of wives is allowed in this as in other Mahometan countries ; but in general each man is satisfied yvith one wife. The women are not so much- confined as is generally imagined: but are permitted to visit their relations and friends without much restraint. The Moorish dress resembles that of the ancient patriarchs as represented in paintings. That of the men consists of a red cap and turban, a shirt which hangs outside of the drawers and descends below the knees, a coat which buttons close before and down to the bottom, yvith large open sleeves. Over this, when they go out, they throw a garment of white cotton, silk, or woollen cloth, five or six yards long, and five feet wide. The lower classes wear only a black woollen cloak of close texture, made so as to resist the rain. To this dress is added a pair of yellow sandals. The dress of the women nearly resembles that of the men, except in the adjustment of the outer garment, and in the colour of the slippers, which are always either scarlet or red. They also wear silk handkerchiefs, of various colours, round their heads, and ear-rings, necklaces, bracelets, rings round the ankles, and other ornaments. No government can be imagined more despotic than that of Morocco. The people may be said to have no established laws, and to know no other than the will of the emperor. Wherever he resides he administers jus tice in person, generally twice, and sometimes four times a week, in the place of audience, whither all complaints are carried. Here, with the present monarch, access is easy; he listens to all persons whether foreigners or subjects, men or women, rich or poor; and judgment is prompt, decisive, plausible, and generally correct. In places remote from the court of the emperor, justice ACCOUNT OF MOROCCO. IBS is administered by his viceroys or bashaws, and these are often influenced in their decisions by interested motives. The established religion of Morocco is Mahometan- ism; but the emperor, on proper application,' tolerates any religion yvhich does not acknowledge a plurality of gods. The wealth of this empire is principally derived from the fertility of the sjsil. Its corn, cattle, fruit, flax, salt, gums, "and wax, would not only supply all the wants of the inhabitants, but, if the government yvere secure, and if the people were allowed to enjoy their property in safety, these would yield an immense sur plus for trade and barter yvith other nations. jpourtecntfj Dag's instruction. SAHARA, OR THE GREAT DESERT. The yvhole coast, from the south-western extremity of the empire of Morocco, through about twelve degrees of latitude, to the river Senegal, is a desert interspersed with immense hills of loose sand, which are, from time to time, driven by the wind into -various forms. And the sand blown from these hills often impregnates the atmosphere for many miles out at sea, in such a man ner, as at that distance to give the appearance of hazy weather. Navigators, not aware of this, are often de ceived by it. The coast likewise is so extremely flat that, in many places, a person may walk a mile into the sea without being over the knees. Added to these dan gers, there is a current which sets in from the west towards the shore with almost inconceivable force and rapidity, and with which the generality of Navigators are unacquainted. Depending upon their own judg ment and experience, they lose their reckoning: per- 190 ADAMS'S ADVENTURES haps in the , course of a night, when they expect to clear the African coast, in their passage, southward, they become alarmed by the appearance of shoal water, and before they have time to recover from their sur prize, they find their ships aground, on a desert shore, where neither habitation nor human being is visible. After a vessel has struck, it frequently happens that some of the wandering Arabs of the desert perceive the masts from the sand-hills. If they are sufficiently numerous to do it without danger, they immediately descend upon the unfortunate sufferers. If not, they do not betray themselves by approaching the shore, but repair to their horde, perhaps thirty or forty miles distant, to apprize others of the wreck. On this the inhabitants of the horde assemble, arming themselves with daggers, guns, and cudgels. Sometimes two or three days, or even more, elapse before they make their appearance on the coast. Here they yvait the usual alternative of the crew either delivering themselves up, rather than perish with hunger, or throwing themselves into the sea. They afterwards go in boats, and take everything that is portable from the vessel ; and, lastly, if the sea do not dash it to pieces, they set fire to it, that it may not serve as a warning to other ships. The following narrative will exhibit a picture of the wretched state of such persons as have, the misfortune to fall into the hands of these marauders. We shall also collect from it some idea of the Great Desert and its inhabitants. Narrative of the Adventures of Robert Adams, an American Seaman, who was wrecked on the Western Coast of Africa, in the Year 1810, and detained three Years in slavery by the Arabs ofthe Great Desert. On the 17th of June, 1810, the American ship Charles, John Horton, master, set sail from New York; and, having touched at Gibraltar, proceeded on a trading voyage along the African soast. The-whole crew con- IN THE GREAT DESERT. 101 sisted only of ten persons. On the 11th of October, when they yvere a little to the north of Cape Blanco, the noise of breakers was heard, and, about an hour after wards, the vessel struck on the rocks. It was four o'clock in the morning, and the fog was so thick that the land could not be discovered. Robert Adams and five others were yvashed off the deck by the waves; but they, as well as the rest of the crew, swam in safety lo the shore. : Soon after day-break they were surrounded and made prisoners by thirty or forty Moors, who belonged to a small douar or fishing encampment in the neighbour hood. These seemed an extremely indigent people : their dress consisted of little more than a rug or skin fastened round the waist; and their hair was long, straight, and quite black. The women, by way of tur ban, wore a dirty little rag round their heads ; but the men had neither shoes nor turban. Their tents were made of stuff resembling a coarse blanket ; aud 'their food consisted entirely offish, yvhich they chiefly dress ed by drying it in the sun, cutting it into thin pieces, and then broiling it on the hot sand. The spot on which the vessel was wrecked was a loyv sandy beach. There were no trees nor any verdure ; as far as the eye could reach nothing was visible but sand. The few remains of the vessel were burnt by the Moors, for the purpose, as Adams conjectured, of obtaining the copper bolts and sheathing. The crew had not long been in captivity before they were all stripped naked ; and thus exposed to a scorch ing sun, their skins became dreadfully blistered. At night, for the sake of coolness, they were obliged to dig holes in the sand to sleep in. The Moors buried in the sand the clothes of their prisoners, as well as several articles that had floated ashore from the wreck. They then struck their tents, and set out into the interior, carrying their prisoners along with them. The captain of the vessel, who seems to have lost all prudence, and to have indulged in the 182 ADAMS'S ADVENTURES most furious marks of impotent resentment, was put to death. The Moors were now about twenty in number, in cluding men, yvomen, and children. They had with them four camels, three of which yvere laden with water, and the fourth with fish and baggage. They travelled very irregularly, sometimes going ten or twelve miles a day, as Adams judged by the pace of the ani mals, sometimes more than this, and occasionally halting for-a day or two. All the party, except one woman and her infant, went on foot. The route was in a direction eastward inclin ing to south ; this Adams was enabled to ascertain by the station of the sun in the mornings. The country across which they passed was a continued sandy desert; At the end of about thirty days, they arrived at a place where they found thirty or forty Moorish tents, and a pool of water, surrounded by a few shrubs. Not long after this Adams and one of the seamen, a native of Portugal about eighteen years of age, whose name was Stevens, were compelled to accompany a party of eighteen Moors, on an expedition to a place called Soudenny, near the northern frontier of the king dom of Bambarra, for the purpose of procuring slaves. They had with them nine camels laden with water and barley flour; and they were subsequently joined by twelve other Moors and three camels. The whole party set off into the Great Desert. The weather was in tensely hot ; and after having undergone much fatigue for several days, they reached the neighbourhood of Soudenny. Here, concealing themselves among the hills and, bushes, they seized and made slaves of all who came in their way. Tbe people of the villages? hoyvever, soon were informed of their haunts, and coming out in a strong body, surrounded and made prisoners of the whole party. Adams describes Soudenny to be a small negro vii* lage, having grass and shrubs aronnd it, and a brook of water running through it. The houses, he says, are of IN THE GREAT DESERT. 103 clay, only one story high, and have roofs composed of sticks laid flat and covered with clay. The whole of the furniture, and the utensils that they contained, ap peared to be mats made of grass and wooden bowls. The dress of the inhabitants consisted only of a blue nankeen shirt. They had neither turbans, hats, nor shoes ; and many of the common people wore blankets, which they had purchased from the Moors. Their wea pons were bows and arrows. After being kept in prison four days at Soudenny, the Moors, with Adams and the Portuguese boy, were all sent forward, under an escort of sixty armed men, to Tombuctoo. The prisoners and most of the negroes walked, but the officers, yvho had the charge of them, rode, two upon each dromedary. During the first ten days of the journey, Adams calculated that they tra velled eastward, over a sandy and desolate country, at the rate of from fifteen to tyventy miles a day. As all the prisoners yvere impressed with a belief that they yvere going to execution, several of the Moors attempted to escape. In consequence of this fourteen of them were executed ; and, as a terror to the rest, the head of one of them yvas hung round the neck of a camel for three days, till it became so putrid that the negroes we're obliged to remove it. They passed through a. village, the natives of which wore gold rings in their ears, sometimes two in each ear. . They had also each a hole through the gristle of the nose, wide enough to admit a thick quill. In this hole some of them wore a large ring of an oval shape, which hung down over tbe mouth. At the end of twenty-five days the party reached Tombuctoo. They were immediately taken before the king, who ordered the Moors to be committed to pri son. Adams and the Portuguese youth, being consi dered as curiosities, yvere taken to the palace,' where they continued the whole time they were in Tombuctoo ; and the queen and her attendants were so much de- TRAV. K 194 ADAMS'S ADVENTURES lighted with them, that they would often sit for hours together gazing upon them. The palace was builjt of clay, intermixed with dried grass. It consisted of eight or ten rooms on the ground floor, and was surrounded by a wall, which inclosed also about half an acre of ground. Into this inclosure all the traders to Tombuctoo brought their merchandize, as a place of security, for the inspection of the king, and for the purpose also of having the proper duties charged upon it. In a store-room of the palace Adams observed about twenty muskets ; but he never saw them used. The king and queen yvere both old and grey-headed ; and the latter was extremely fat. Their dress was a garment of blue nankeen, edged yvith gold lace round the bosom and shoulders, and descending a few inches beloyv the knees. The dress of the other females of Tombuctoo was nearly similar, but less ornamented. On occasions of ceremony, or when she walked out, the queen yvore a turban of blue nankeen, and had on large ear-rings, necklaces, and other ornaments. The dress of the king yvas a blue nankeen frock decorated with gold, having gold epaulettes and wide bracelets of the same metal. He sometimes wore a turban, but often went bare-headed. On his walking through the streets, his subjects saluted him by touching his head with their hands, and then kissing them. Adams describes Tombuctoo to have been situated on a plain, having a large river about two hundred yards distant, called La Mar Zarah, which, as he conceived, flowed towards the south-west. The houses were not built with any regularity: they yvere of square form, and constructed of sticks, clay, and grass, having flat roofs of similar materials. Their only furniture ap peared to be earthern jars, wooden bowls, and mats made of grass. The principal fruits at Tombuctoo were cocoa-nuts, dates, figs, pine-apples, and a sweet kind of fruit as IN THE GREAT DESERT. 105 large as an apple, but with a stone about the size of a plum-stone. The graiu chiefly in use was rice and guinea-corn ; and the cultivation of the soil required very little labour. The eorn was ground betwixt two flat stones ; and, of the meal, mixed with goat's milk, a thick kind of mess yvas made which was eaten with the fingers. In this place and its neighbourhood yvere several kinds of quadrupeds, particularly elephants, cows, goats, asses, dromedaries, dogs, antelopes, and a pe culiarly fleet kind of camel, called heirie. The do mestic birds yvere guinea-fowls. The inhabitants yvere a stout and healthy race of negroes : all the males had a singular incision on their faces, from the top of the forehead down to the nose ; and from this proceeded other incisions, all of a blue colour, yvhich extended over the eye-brows. The Wo men also had several blue incisions on their faces ; but these were on each cheek-bone, from the temple downward. The form of marriage among the upper ranks of people at Tombuctoo, was for the bride to go in the day-time to the king's house, and there to remain until after sun-set, when the man, who was to be her husband, went to fetch her away : this was usually followed, the same night, by a feast and a dance. Adams did not observe what ceremonies were used in the marriages of the lower classes. It did not appear to him that this people had any public religion : they had no house of worship, nor any priest; nor did he discover that they ever met together to pray. The only ceremony that appeared like an act of prayer yvas on the death of any of the inhabitants, when the relatives assembled and sate round the body. Adams was not able to form any conjecture respect ing the population of Tombuctoo; but he was of opinion, that he once saw as many as two thousand persons assembled at one place. He did not observe k2 196 ADAMS'S ADVENTURES ¦ auv shops : the goods brought for sale, which con sisted chiefly of tobacco, tar, gunpowder, blue nan keens, blankets, earthen jars, and silks, were obtained from the Moors, and remained within the inclosure of the king's house until they were disposed of. The only, other objects of trade appeared to be slaves. The principal articles given in exchange by the people of Tombuctoo, were gold-dust, ivory, gum, ostrich-fea thers, and goat-skins. The negroes consumed much tobacco, both in snuff and for smoking. Neither Adams nor his companion, the Portuguese, were subjected to any restraint while they continued here. They yvere allowed as much food as they could eat, and in every respect were treated with kindness. The greatest inconvenience they suffered was from the vast concourse of people yvhich, after their arrival, came to gaze at and examine them as objects of curi osity. At the end of about six months a company of trading Moors arrived at Tombuctoo with tobacco. These purchased all the prisoners, Adams and his companion included; and paid for them iu tobacco. About two days afterwards the whole party, noyv consisting of ten Moorish traders, fourteen Moorish prisoners, two white men and one slave, quitted Tombuctoo. They had five camels, which they laded chiefly with Guinea- corn flour. On quitting the town they proceeded in a north easterly direction, along the bank of the river. Tbey travelled for ten days in the country adjacent to the river; then, striking off, in a northerly direction, they proceeded for twelve or thirteen days, at the rate, as Adams conjectured, of about fifteen miles a day. The country over which they travelled was, in general, co vered with shrubs, and a low kind of grass like moss. Trees were seldom seen. At the end of the thirteen days, they arrived at a large village, inhabited by Moors and negroes, called Tudenny or Taudeny. Here they found four wells IN THE GREAT DESERT. 107 of excellent water, and some large ponds and beds of salt, an article which both the Moors and negroes came in great numbers to purchase. There were near this place many date and fig-trees of large size. The travellers continued at Tudenny fourteen days, to rest and refresh themselves. Here they exchanged one of the camels for two sacks full of dates and a small ass. The remaining four camels were loaded with dates, Guinea-corn flour, and water. They now crossed the desert in a north-westerly direction, and, for twenty-nine days, continued on the same course without meeting a single human being. The whole country through which they now passed yvas a sandy plain, without either tree, shrub, or grass. After they had travelled about fourteen days, they all began to suffer much from heat and fatigue. Their stock of water ran short, and their provisions were nearly exhausted. The ass died of fatigue, and its carcase was cut up and laid on the camels, to be dried in the sun and serve for food ; and had it not been for this supply, some of the party must have perished from hunger. At the end of six days after this they expected to have had a supply of water ; but, owing to the dryness of the season, they were disappointed, and at last they had not more than five or six gallons left, to serve twenty-seven persons, during a journey of ten days over an arid desert. The consequence was, that five of them died- The remainder arrived at a village of tents, called Woled D'leim, nearly exhausted with the hardships and fatigue they had undergone. The inhabitants of this village were Moors, who, by their dress, manners, and general appearance, seemed to have been of the same tribe as those by whom Adams had first been taken. They had numerous flocks of sheep. To this village the Moors, who had purchased the prisoners at Tom buctoo belonged. Adams and his Portuguese companion yvere allowed . 198 ADAMS'S ADVENTURES a fortnight's relaxation to recover their strength, after the fatigues of their journey. They were then put to the employment of taking care of goats and sheep. During their residence here they gradually acquired a knowledge of the Moorish tongue, and frequently urged their masters to take them to Mogador, in the hope that there they might be ransomed by their countrymen. Promises indeed were often made that they should be conducted thither, but nearly eleven months elapsed, and they were still in slavery. In their incessant occupation of attending the flocks of the Moors, they suffered very severely from exposure to the scorching sun, in a state of almost utter naked ness. The ohly food allowed them was barley flour and milk. At length Adams, in utter despair of regaining his liberty, neglected his employment; and his master, after having severely chastised him, was advised to put him to death. Instead of this, however, he proposed to sell him to some other person. Several days now elapsed, during which Adams remained idle in the tent. One morning he yvas desired, by his master's wife, to take a camel, and two skins, to fetch some water from a well about five miles distant. On his arrival at the well he determined to attempt bis escape. ' He had been informed that Wedinoon, the nearest town within the empire of Morocco, lay in a north-westerly direction : he therefore urged the camel on towards that place, and travelled the whole re mainder of the day. Towards night the animal refused to proceed any further; and, notwithstanding every effort that Adams could make, it lay down exhausted by fatigue. Adams, having no alternative than also to rest here, took off tlie rope with which his clothes were fastened round his body, tied it about one of the bent fore-knees of the camel, in such way as to prevent the animal from rising, and then lay down by its side. Next morning, at day break, he again mounted, and _ proceeded till about nine o'clock, when he perceived IN THE GREAT DESERT. 199 a smoke at some distance before him. This he ap proached, and, descending the side of a hill towards the place, he found that it proceeded from a spot where forty or fifty tents were pitched. On looking back he now saw two persons, mounted on camels, riding after him. In the utmost alarm he made the best of his way to the village. When he entered it several women came out to view him ; and he observed about a hundred Moors stationed in a row, in the act of prayer : they had their faces toyvards the e^st, and at times knelt down and placed their heads on the ground. The women crowded round Adams, and expressed great surprise at the appearance of a white man among them. He subsequently learnt that the name of the place yvas Hilla Gibla,- or El Kubla. Soon afterwards the two camels arrived. The rider of one of them proved to be the oyvner of the camel on which Adams had escaped ; and the other was his master. He was iu the tent of Mahomet, the governor of the village, yvhen they arrived. His master claimed him; but Adams protested that he would rather dk. than return. He yvas subsequently purchased by Ma homet, and of him by a Moorish trader, named Boerick, who promised to take him to Wedinoon, on his way to Mogador. About three months after this he arrived at Wedi noon, and there was rejoiced to find three of his former comrades, the mate and two of the seamen of the Charles. Here he was sold to a Moorish trader, for the value of seventy dollars, and was kept in slavery more than twelve months longer. Under his present master he was treated with the most savage brutality. The Moors incessantly urged both Adams and his com panions to become Mahometans. Adams resisted all their importunities, but the fortitude of the others gave way. They unhappily consented to renounce their faith, and, in recompense for so doing, they obtained their liberty, were each presented with a horse, a musket, and 200 ADAMS'S ADVENTURES. a blanket, and were permitted to marry. Three days only elapsed after this before a letter was received from the British Consul at Mogador, addressed, under cover to the governor, to the Christian prisoners at Wedi noon. In this they yvere exhorted not to abandon their religion, and assured that in less than a month they should all be ransomed. From this time Adams was well treated ; and, as the consul had promised, he being now the only Christian in Wedinoon, obtained his libe ration. The joy of Adams at this unexpected deliverance may be well imagined. He set out for Mogador, and, travelling on mules, arrived there in fifteen days. Thence he was conducted to Tangier, from which place, after having continued in slavery three years and seven months, he embarked for Europe. The great desert of Sahara, in its general character, is an immense sandy heath of various levels, in some places destitute of vegetation, but more frequently covered with an odoriferous plant, yvhich the Arabs •call she, and which, though far superior in fragrance, has some resemblance to the wild thyme of Europe. This desert extends, with some interruptions, from the shores of the Atlantic, almost to the confines of Egypt. Like the ocean, it may be said to connect the- nations which it seems to separate; for, in comparison with the woods and morasses of other torrid regions, it furnishes the merchant, by the aid of his camels, with an easy and convenient road. It is traversed in various directions, by caravans. These generally consist of many hundred persons and camels; and the various fertile spots in it, called oases, like islands in the ocean, serve as places of rest and refreshment. In crossing the differeutparts of the desert the hot winds sometimes exhale even the water that is carried in skins, and, on such occasions, the Arabs and people of the desert affirm, that five hundred dollars (more than a THE GREAT DESERT. 201 hundred pounds sterling), have been given fora draught of water. In the year 1805, a caravan, proceeding from Tombuctoo to Morocco, was disappointed in find ing yvater at one of the usual watering-places, and, horrible to relate, the whole of the persons belonging to it, two thousand in number, besides a thousand camels, perished yvith thirst! The intense heat of the sun, aided by vehement and parching winds which frequently prevail, driving the loose sand along the boundless plains, gives to the desert the appearance of a sea, the drifting sands resembling exactly the waves of the ocean ; hence it is not inaptly denominated by the Arabs, the sea without water. It is natural to ask by what means it is that the guides, to whom the charge of conducting the nume rous and accumulated caravans of Africa is committed, are enabled to ascertain their routes ? This cannot be done by land-marks, for these are here destroyed by the varying forms and shifting position of the hills; Some persons assert that the guides can ascertain their course by the scent of the sandy earth, but this is a notion wholly fabulous. It is no doubt from anxious observation and continued practice, that they acquire a sufficient knowledge of the bearings of the sun and stars to direct them in their way. In traversing the desert, the caravans generally pro ceed at the rate of about three miles and a half an hour; and they terminate the day's journey about four o'clock in the afternoon. Between that time and the setting of the sun, the tents are pitched, prayers are said, and the supper is prepared : during the remainder of the evening the people sit round in a circle, and talk till sleep overcomes them ; and next morning, at day-break, they again proceed on their journey. The articles-transported by the merchants trading from Fez to Tombuctoo, are chiefly muslin of different quali ties, Irish linens, cambric, fine cloth, coral, amber, pearls, silks, brass nails, coffee, tea, refined sugar, and various k"3 202 WESTERN NIGRITIA, OR NEGROLAND. manufactures of the empire of Morocco, spices of dif ferent kinds, cowries, tobacco, and salt. The produce obtained in exchange for these consists principally of gold-dust, yvrought gold, elephants' teeth, gums, ostrich feathers, and slaves. Near the confines of the desert, the caravans are often plundered by different powerful tribes of Arabs. These are a people yvho feel so little concern in tra velling over this burning region, that many of them will traverse the whole exbanse of the desert, in a direction from Morocco to Tombuctoo and Wangara, with as little preparation as we should make in going from London to Hampstead. JFtteentfi Itag's instruction. WESTERN NIGRITIA, OR NEGROLAND. Proceeding beyond the great desert, along the shore of the Atlantic ocean toyvards the south, we arrive at that part of the Soudan, or Nigritia, which is bounded on the north by the river Senegal and the desert, and on the south by the Gambia. The country betwixt these two rivers is called Senegal, and sometimes Sene gambia. It extends upwards of eight hundred miles from east to west, and tyvo hundred and eighty from north to south. The climate, in general, is excessively hot, but the temperature is various, according to the situation and soil. Some tracts of it, along the borders of the rivers, are fertile and populous ; but the greater part consists of mountains covered with impenetrable forests, and barren solitudes parched by the raging heat of the torrid climate. The chief products of the soil are, Indian corn, cotton, tobacco, fruit, spices, gums, and honey. The inhabitants are negroes : they are divided into several petty states, and live in huts built of wood, and covered with reeds. Several Euro- PARK'S FIRST JOURNEY IN AFRICA. 203 pean nations have commercial establishments on the banks of the Senegal and Gambia, and along the sea coast. About thirty years ago a society, called the " African Association," was established for the purpose of pro moting an extension of the geographical knowledge of Africa. With this view several persons have at different times been dispatched into that great continent. Among others was Mr. Mungo Park, a native of Scotland, > who had been educated for the profession of physic, and had been a surgeon in the East India Company's service. The peculiar objects of his mission were, if possible, to ascertain the rise and termination of the great inland river, the Joliba or Niger, yvhich flows through part of western Nigritia, and to obtain authen tic information concerning Tombuctoo and Houssa, two cities in the interior of the country, the great marts of African commerce. / Narrative of Mr. Park's first Journey into the Inte rior of Africa, in the years 1795, 1796, and 1797. This gentleman sailed from Portsmouth on the 22d of May, 1795, and, about a month afterwards, arrived at Jilligree, on the northern bank of the river Gambia. Jilligree is situated in a fertile kingdom called Barra, the inhabitants of which trade to some distance up the Gambia with salt, which they exchange for maize, cotton-cloth, ivory, and gold-dust. The number of persons employed in this traffic renders the king of Barra the most powerful chief on the Gambia, and enables him to impose exorbitant duties on European traders who visit tbe river. After touching at Vintain, Mr. Park sailed up the Gambia to Pisania. Here he was hospitably received by Dr. Laidley, Who had some concerns in a British , factory on the banks of the Gambia. This gentleman invited him to reside in his house till an opportunity occurred of prosecuting his journey to the interior.. 204 PARK'S FIRST JOURNEY During his residence at Pisania, the exertions of Mr. Park were directed to an acquirement of the lan guage spoken in this part of Africa, to the examination of the natural productions of the country, and procur ing information concerning the interior regions. But these occupations were for some time interrupted by a fever, which he caught by exposing himself to the night dews. He remarks, concerning this part of Africa, that it presents in every direction a wide expanse of level surface, where the absence of picturesque beauty is compensated by the fertility of the soil. Besides rice, millet, maize, and vegetables for the table, the natives cultivate indigo and cotton. Their domestic animals are nearly the same as those of Europe. The most common wild animals are the elephant, panther, hyena, and jackal ; and the shrill bark of the jackal, and deep growl of the hyena, mingling with the incessant croak ing of frogs, and the tremendous peals of midnight thun der, form in this country no pleasant concert. The Gambia is a deep' and muddy river, and its banks are covered with impenetrable thickets of man groves. It contains immense numbers of sharks, croco diles, and hippopotami, or river horses ; and various kinds of excellent fish. The negroes of this part of Africa live chiefly on ve getable food. They reduce their corn to meal in a mortar, and generally use it in the form of kouskous, a kind of pudding dressed in the steam of broth made with animal food. The fruit of a tree called shea tree, which, in food, is substituted for butter, and in domestic purposes for oil, is obtained from the interior districts. The trade of the negroes is conducted by barter; and, in order to adjust the value of different commodities, they have a nominal standard, which they call a bar. This denomination originated from the great avidity which the negroes formerly showed for iron, after Eu ropeans had introduced it in trade on these coasts: that quantity of any particular species of goods which IN AFRICA. 205 yvas valued at a bar of iron, was denominated a bar of such commodity. On the 2d of December, 1795, at the commencement of the dry season, Mr. Park departed from Pisania. He advanced into the kingdom of Woolli, attended by two negro servants; and accompanied by two sia tees, or slave-traders, who yvere proceeding into the interior, and two free Mahometan negroes. One of the latter was going to Bambarra, and the other, a blacksmith, who had been employed by Dr. Laidley, was returning to Kassan, his native country. Of Mr. Park's two ser vants, one named Johnson, had been in England, and spoke the English and Mandingo languages : the other was a boy named Demba, a slave belonging to Dr. Laid ley, who, on condition of his fidelity, had promised to emancipate him at his return. The baggage of Mr. Park yvas no great incumbrance. It consisted only of some changes of linen, and clothes, a pocket astrono mical instrument called a sextant, tyvo brace of pistols, a thermometer, an umbrella, two fowling pieces, and a small quantity of tobacco, amber, beads, and other arti cles, intended as presents to the natives. Three days after the commencement of his journey, Mr. Park arrived at Medina, the capital of Woolli, con taining about one thousand houses, and surrounded by a high wall of clay, and an exterior fence of pointed stakes and prickly bushes. He was introduced to the king, a venerable old man, yvho was seated upon a mat at the door of his hut, surrounded by several persons of both sexes, who were employed in clapping their hands, and singing to him. Mr. Park desired permission to pass through his territories; and he yvas answered not only that a guide should be furnished to him the next day, but that the king himself would pray for his safety : at the same time he was entreated to desist from a journey which would be attended with the utmost dan^ ger. In return for this kindness, one of Mr. Park's attendants sung an Arabic song : the king and his peo- 206 PARK'S FIRST JOURNEY pie joined in the chorus, and at every pause struck their foreheads with an air of expressive solemnity. The next morning Mr. Park, after having received his guide, departed from Medina, and on the 8th arrived at Kolor. Here, on .his entry, his attention was excited by a tree, on which yvas suspended a fantastic kind of dress, composed of bark, that the natives informed him belonged to Murabo Jumbo. This is a singular inven tion of the pagans in the Mandingo country, to keep their wives in awe. Incase of any quarrel or dispute with their husbands, it is customary to appeal to Mum- bo Jumbo, and by his decision, though always unfavour able to them, the African ladies are obliged to abide. On an invocation to this strange imaginary judge, the neighbouring woods resound yvith loud and dismal screams, yvhich precede the entrance of the tremendous judge into the town or village. At night, some one as suming the masquerade attire already-mentioned, resorts to a spot where all the inhabitants assemble, and where the females dare not refuse to meet him. The ceremonies then begin with songs and dances. These last till mid night, when the culprit is seized by the implacable Mumbo; and, being tied naked to a post, is cruelly chastised yvith his rod of public authority, amidst the deriding shouts of all the beholders. After quitting Kolar, Mr. Park proceeded through Tambacunda, and Kooniakary, aud in two days reached Koojar, the frontier town of the kingdom of Woolli. Here he hired three elephant hunters, to accompany him as, guides through the wilderness which separates that kingdom from Bondou ; and, in the evening, he was invited to attend a wrestling match. The contest was regulated by the music of a drum. The comba tants were clad only in short drawers, and were anointed with oil or shea-butter. They approached, bending low, parrying yvith their hands, and attempting to catch at the knees. Next morning one of his guides absconded ; and to IN Africa; 207 prevent the other two from following his example, Mr. Park immediately entered the wilderness. His atten dants having prepared what they called a saphie, or charm, whicli they believed would avert every misfor tune, they advanced with courage. Soon afterwards they arrived at a large tree, decorated with innumerable scraps of cloth; for custom had directed every traveller who desired a favourable journey, to hang something on its branches. This practice, originally designed to mark a place where water was to be obtained, had degene rated into a blind superstition; and, to encourage his at tendants, Mr. Park followed the example of the negroes. On the 13th he arrived at Tullika, the frontier town of the kingdom oi Bondou, the residence of a t ribe of Maho metans ; who, by the sale of ivory and provisions lo travel lers, are enabled to live in ease and elegance. Here also the sovereign of Bondou maintains a person whose em ployment consists in giving timely intimation respecting the caravans that arrive, together with an account of the exact number of their loaded animals, for which a pro portionate duty is demanded. Beneath the roof of this officer, Mr. Park accepted a temporary accommodation ; and he agreed to accompany him to Fatecouda, the seat of the monarch. The travellers proceeded to Koorkarany, and thence, • through an open but cultivated country, till they reached the banks of the river Faleme. These were covered with large fields of corn ; and provisions Were here in such abundance, that a fine bullock could have been purchased for six small pieces of amber. The villagers on the Faleme are skilful fishers. JThey prepare their fish by pounding them in a mortar, yvhile fresh from the water, and drying them iu the sun into large loaves. These loaves, previously to being eateii, are dissolved in boiling water; and they form an article of commerce in the Moorish districts, where fish is scarcely known. In one of the villages the women were extremely rude and troublesome in soliciting Mr. Park for amber and beads. They surrounded him, tore his upper gar- 208 PARK'S FIRST JOURNEY ments, and cut away the buttons from his boy's apparel, obliging him to mount his horse and hasten away from them. On the 21st the travellers arrived at Fattecouda, the capital of Bondou. They presented themselves at tbe bentang, and were invited to lodge at the house of a slatee, or slave trader. It must be remarked, that in every town in this part of Africa, there is a large stage, composed of plaited cane, erected beneath the shade of a spreading tree. This is called the " Bentang," and it occasionally ansyvers the purpose of a cool retreat, a town house, and a court of judicature. Not long after his arrival, Mr. Park was introduced to the king, and invited to sit on the royal mat. He was then asked whether he came to purchase slaves or gold. He answered, " Neither." This reply seemed to astonish the monarch, yvho dismissing the stranger for the present, desired him to return in the evening. Mr. Park dreaded this intervieyv, as the king was known to have caused a previous traveller (Major Houghton) to be plundered. He, however, went, carrying with him an umbrella, some amber, tobacco, and' gunpowder, as a present ; and putting on his new blue coat, as the safest method he could devise to preserve it. When he arrived at the palace, a kind of citadel di vided by mud yvalls into numerous courts, and guarded by sentinels with muskets, he was led into the presence of the king. His majesty was seated on a mat, with tyvo attendants. Mr. Park explained to him, but to little purpose, the objects of his journey : the king considered it such only as a lunatic would have engaged in. He, however, yvas much pleased with the presents, particularly the umbrella; which he repeatedly ex panded and closed, to the great entertainment of himself and his attendants. When Mr. Park was about to depart, the king desired him to stop a little ; and he favoured him with a specimen of African eloquence not very satisfactory to the traveller. It commenced yvith a panegyric on the white people, their immense wealth, IN AtfRICA. 209 and extensive benevolence ; the body of the narration consisted of an ingenious eulogium on Mr. Park's blue coat, not omitting the yellow buttons, with which it was decorated : and the conclusion contained an eloquent address to the owner, to persuade him to present it to his majesty ; urging, that he would yvear it on all public occasions, and inform every one yvho saw it of the donor's generosity. The request of an African ruler in his own capital may be reckoned equal to a command ; Mr. Park, therefore, quietly stripped off his coat, and laid it at the feet of his majesty. On the ensuing morning our traveller was again con ducted to the king, who desired him to visit his wives, as they had expressed an anxious curiosity to see a yvhite man. He was, accordingly, conducted into an apartment where they were assembled. Here he was excessively rallied by these African beauties on the whiteness of his skin and the prominence of fiis nose, both of yvhich they alleged were artificial. The first they attributed to bis having been bathed in milk when young; and they fancied that his nose had been ele vated by being pinched from time to time, till it had acquired its present form. In return for these compli ments on his complexion and features, Mr. Park praised " the glossy jet of their skins, and the lovely depres sion of their noses ;" but they told him, that " honey- mouth," or flattery, was not esteemed in Bondou. He' remarks, hoyvever, that they were not, probably, so in sensible to flattery as they affected to be, for, after his departure, they sent him a present of fish and a jar of honey. As the country through yvhich Mr. Park was noyv about to pass was inhospitable and dangerous, he was advised to proceed by night.' He accordingly left Fat- tecouda in the evening of the 23d, having hired tyvo men to conduct him and his little party through the woods. The moon shone bright, and the deep silence' of the forest yvas interrupted only by the hoyvling of wolves and hyenas, that glided like shadows through 210 PARK'S FIRST JOURNEY the thickets. Not a word was spoken, but in the softest whisper, lest the sound of human voices should betray their presence to any of the inhabitants. In the afternoon of the ensuing day they arrived at Joag, -a frontier town of the kingdom of Kajaaga, two hundred and forty-seven miles east of Pisania, and con taining about two thousand inhabitants. This town was surrounded by a high wall, with port holes for mus ketry, and the habitation of every individual was also surrounded by a wall. The travellers took up their residence in the house of the Dooty or judge of the place, who was a Mahometan, and who invited them to attend the public dances in the evening. These were performed around some large fires, to the music of four drums. During the night a party of horse arrived from the king of Kajaaga. These," in the morning, surrounded Mr. Park, and informed him, that, having entered the country without paying the customary du ties, his people, cattle, and baggage were all forfeited to the king; to yvhom they had orders immediately to conduct him. As resistance yvas impossible, Mr. Park affected to comply with this peremptory order; but, after consulting with the Dooty, he resolved, if possible, to conciliate the messengers, which he effected with the loss of half his property. During the remainder of the day he and his attendants were obliged to fast, for, having been plundered of his money, Tie dared not pro duce his remaining effects, lest they should attract the avarice of the king. In this situation, while he was sit ting on the bentang, chewing straws, he was accosted by an aged female slave, who inquired "if he had got his dinner." As he imagined she only mocked him, he did not reply, but his boy, Demba, answered that the king's people had robbed him of his money. The benevolent slave then took a basket from her head, presented him with a few handsful of earth-nuts, and departed before he had time to thank her. Immediately after this he was visited by Demba SegOj a nephew of the king of the adjacent country of Kas- IN AFRICA. 211 son, who, having learnt the situation of Mr. Park, offered to conduct him through Kaype into that king dom. Accepting this offer, he and his attendants de parted from Joag on the 27th of December, and, on the following day, they arrived at Kayee, where they crossed the river Senegal. In this part of tlie journey nothing remarkable occurred except the sacrifice of a white chicken, which was offered by Johnson, the inter preter, to the spirits of the woods, whom he described to be a powerful race of white beings, with long flowing hair. No sooner had the travellers entered the kingdom of Kasson, than Demba Sego suggested the propriety that his services should be rewarded by a handsome present. At this unexpected proposition, Mr. Park began to sus pect that he had not improved Iris situation by accom panying this person ; but as complaints would have been unavailing, he was obliged, in some degree, to comply with the desires of his conductor. Advancing on their journey they arrived on the 29th at Teesee, a large toyvn, fortified by a kind of citadel, and inhabited by a people called Mandingoes. Demba Sego resided here : he entertained the travellers in his own hut; and the next day introduced Mr. Park to his father, the chief of the town, and brother to the king of Kasson. In order to give himself an air of impor tance, Demba borrowed Mr. Park's horse, bridle, and saddle, to make a distant journey ; Mr. Park was con sequently obliged to remain some days at Teesee. While he was here, he remarked a singular custom of the inhabitants ; that no woman yvas permitted to eat an egg. In other respects they were remarkably inat tentive to the nature of their food ; for they often feasted on moles, rats, squirrels, locusts, snakes, &c. though they possessed an abundance both of corn and cattle. At the return of Demba, Mr. Park resolved to pro ceed immediately to Kooniakary, the capital; but, before he was allowed to depart from Teesee, he was plun- 212 PARK'S FIRST JOURNEY dered, by his new friend, of half his remaining goods, under the double pretext of duties and presents. Leaving Teesee, on the morning of January 10th, the travellers crossed a branch of the Senegal, near a large town named Madena, and, on the second day, arrived at Jumbo, the native town of the blacksmith who had accompanied Mr. Park from Pisania. The brother of this man came out to meet him, accompanied by a singing man, and bringing a horse, that he might enter his native town like a person of consequence. As soon as the travellers approached the town they were met by several of the inhabitants, shouting, jumping, and singing ; — and the minstrel began a song in praise of the blacksmith, extolling his courage, and exhorting his friends to dress an abundance of victuals for him. His relations testified the most extravagant joy imaginable at his return ; and his aged mother was led out, leaning on a staff, to congratulate her son; she stroked hi3 hands, arms, and face, and seemed greatly delighted. During this tumult of joy, when the attention of every one was so much absorbed that none of them ob-- served, the yvhite stranger, Mr. Park seated himself beside one of the huts. But when the negro proceeded to detail his history, from the period of his leaving Kasson, and, after repeatedly mentioning the kindness of the white traveller, pointed to the place, and ex claimed, "See him sitting there," — their joy was con verted into amazement. The eyes of all were turned upon the stranger, and none could comprehend how he had arrived without being perceived. The women and children, however, could not conceal their apprehen sions at his presence, nor for some time could they be wholly reconciled to it, though the blacksmith declared him to be perfectly inoffensive. Two days after this Mr. Park arrived at Kooniakary; and, in the presence of an immense concourse of peo ple, he was introduced to an audience of the king. His majesty received him favourably, appeared to be satis fied with the account be gave of his journey, and, IN. AFRICA. 213' appointed him a guide into the kingdom of Kaarta. During his residence in this place Mr. Park was sub jected to neyv impositions, in consequence of a rumour which had been circulated, that he was possessed of a great quantity of gold dust. Respecting the kingdom of Kasson, Mr. Park ob serves, that it is a beautiful level country, the popula tion and culture of which exceed those of any region in Africa, which he had yet visited. From the top of a high hill, remarkable for rocky caverns, that afforded shelter to beasts of prey, he had a most enchanting prospect over a fertile and beautiful country, inter spersed with numerous towns and villages. In his journey from Kooniakary to Kemmoo, the ca pital of Kaarta, Mr. Park happened to ride at a little distance from his companions. While thus alone he was met by tyvo negro horsemen, who yvere struck with consternation at the singularity of his appearance, and, yvith looks of horror, gallopped off muttering prayers. Meeting his attendants, these men related that they had seen a"tremendous spirit, arrayed in flowing robes, while a chill blast came rushing upon them like cold yvater from the sky. At Kemmoo Mr. Park experienced a most hospitable reception from Daisy Koorabarri, the king of Kaarta, whose character yvas not disgraced by any of those ijcts of rapacity which had marked the conduct ofthe other African princes. When Mr. Park was introduced to him he was seated on a throne formed of earth, and covered with the skin of a leopard ; and he was sur rounded by numerous warriors, women, and children. In the course of conversation he seriously advised Mr. Park to return, and represented to him, in the strongest terms, the danger of attempting to proceed any further, particularly as the country would probably soon be desolated by war. Our traveller, however, was positive in his refusal, and humbly solicited a guide, who might conduct him to the frontiers of tbe kingdom. He departed on the 13th of February, and proceeded 214 PARK'S FIRST JOURNEY with an escort to Funingkedy, where he had an op portunity of observing the ~ audacity of a party of Moors, five of whom, armed yvith muskets, drove off a number of cattle belonging to the town, and passed within pistol shot of five hundred of the inhabitants collected under the walls. One of the herdsmen had his leg fractured with a musket ball; and»Mr. Park, as the only hope there was of saving the man's life, pro posed to amputate it. This proposal, however, was regarded with horror, and he yvas considered to be a cannibal for devising so barbarous an operation. On the road between Kemmoo and Funingkedy, Mr. Park had observed some negroes gathering what are called " tomberongs." These are small yellow ber ries, of a mealy substance and delicious flavour, the fruit of a tree called by botanists Rhamnus lotus, which is common in the Sandy soil of all the negro kingdoms. The inhabitants dry them in the sun, and, after pound ing them in a mortar, form them with water into a paste. Of this they make a sort of bread, which in colour and flavour resembles gingerbread ; and water, sweetened with the juice of the berries, forms a plea sant gruel. . From Funingkedy Mr. Park proceeded to Jarra, a large town, situated at the foot of some rocky hills. The houses of this place are built of stone, intermixed with clay ;, and the inhabitants are partly negroes and partly Moors. Mr. Park continued here fourteen days, till a messenger could be sent to Ali, the Moorish king of Ludamar, to solicit permission to travel through his country. One of Ali's slaves arrived to conduct him and his servants to Goomba, but they all, except his faithful boy Demba, refused to enter the Moorish terri tories. Mr. Park left his supernumerary ^clothes, and several other articles, at Jarra, in the care of a Gambia slatee,, to whom he had been recommended by Dr. Laidley. From Jarra he departed on the 27th of February, and he advanced through a sandy country to Deena, a IN AFRICA. 215 large town, built of stone and clay, where the Moors yvere considerably more numerous than the negroes. These ferocious people insulted Mr. Park iu the grossest manner. They assembled round the house where he lodged, and, with hissing, shouting, and other tumultu ous noises, endeavoured to inflame his anger, and to make that an excuse for robbing him. But, finding it impossible to irritate him so far as to afford any pretext for this, they determined to plunder him, "because he was a Christian." Early the next morning, he proceeded, by the light of the moon, solitary and defenceless. He had not wandered far when, alarmed by the roaring of some wild beast, he looked round and beheld his boy, whom he had left behind, running hastily after him. This faith ful companion entreated him to wait a little while till he could procure another follower. The lad immediately returned to the town, whence he soon brought a man to accompany his unfortunate master. They proceeded over a sandy country till the 4th of March, when they reached Sampaka, a large town, at which Mr. Park obtained a temporary abode in the house of a negro. An astonishing quantity of locusts were observed in the vicinity of this place : the trees were absolutely covered with them. From Sampaka Mr. Park went to Dalli, intending thence to proceed to Goomba. He happened to arrive on the day of a festival. The natives were employed in dancing and rejoicing, but when informed of the arrival of a " white man," they hastily forsook their sports, and went to his lodging. Here they brought out their guest, and danced round him to the music of a flute. After a little while, a party of Moors en tered, and gave turn to understand that they had directions to conduct him to Benowni, as Fatima, the favourite wife of Ali, the king of Ludamar, was desirous of seeing a Christian^ Our unfortunate traveller was consequently led back to Deena, where he saw one of Ali's sons. This man 216 park's first journey handed to him a double barrelled gun, and ordered him to repair one of the locks, and to dye the stock of a blue colour. Mr. Park was not only unable to do this, but found it extremely difficult to persuade the prince that a white man might be ignorant of the art of doing it. On the 12lh of March he arrived at Benowm, the capital of Ludamar, a place yvhich exhibited a great number of tents, scattered irregularly over a large extent of ground. Here he remained till the 30th of April ; and, during all this time, he was treated yvith the utmost insolence and brutality by the Moors, who placed him in a hut in which a wild hog was tied. The boys, in the day time, amused themselves by beating and irritating the animal; and the men and Women regularly assembled to teaze the Christian. Their curiosity yvas nearly as disagreeable as their insolence. They examined his clothes, searched his pockets, yvondered at the whiteness of his skin, counted his fingers and toes, and forced him to continue dress ing and undressing himself, buttoning and unbuttoning his clothes, from morning to night; during all which time he was almost perishing both with hunger and thirst. The only food with wliich" he was supplied was a little boiled corn with salt and water. When introduced to Ali, Mr. Park found this mo narch in the royal tent, seated on a cushion of black leather, and employed in cutting some superfluous hairs from his lip, whilst one of his females attended with a mirror. His appearance was that of an Arab ad vanced in years : an indignant temper was stamped on his countenance ; and a long white beard descended to his breast. Length of beard, in this country, is vene rated as a mark of Arabian extraction. Mr. Park had ^suffered his beard to grow, and it yvas now of such length, that the Moors seemed to regard it as too good a beard for a Christian ; . and nothing either in his character or his person ever'excited their approbation except his beard. IN AFRICA. 217 Before Mr. Park left Jarra he had directed his inter preter, Johnson, to return to the Gambia, with a dupli cate of his papers; but; before this man had time to depart, he yvas seized by the Moors, and conveyed to Benowm, with nearly all the effects that Mr. Park had given into the care of his friend, the Gambia slatee. Among other articles yvere his watch, some gold, amber, and a pocket compass : these were deposited in Ali's tent. The king eagerly examined them all, but his superstitious fears were excited by the compass : he enquired why that . small piece of iron (the needle) always pointed toward the Great Desert., As a scientific explanation would have been unintel ligible, and as affected ignorance would have excited suspicion, Mr. Park told him that it pointed to his mother, who resided beyond the Great Desert, aud that it would conduct him to her if she were alive, and, that, when she was dead, it would direct liiin to her grave. On this explanation, Ali, who now regarded it yvith still greater amazement than before, turned it repeatedly round, and, as it still pointed to the desert, he gave it to Mr. Park with great caution, as too dangerous an instrument to be kept in his possession. While Mr. Park continued at Benowm, his tyvo negro servants yvere employed as slaves in collecting grass for the king's horses ; and, the traveller himself was ap pointed to the office of barber to the royal family. He, hoyvever, acquitted himself so ill in the first exhi bition of his talents, On attempting to shave the head of one of the young princes, that he was immediately disgraced. The razor that was delivered to him yvas only about three inches long, and yvith this awkward instrument he unfortunately made a slight incision. On this consultations were held concerning his future destination. Some persons advised that he should be put to death, others that he should lose his right hand, which had inflicted the wound; and the prince himselfj who was only nine years of age, advised his father to put out his eyes, because they were like those of a cat. trav. l 218 park's first journey Ali, however, resolved to defer the punishment until the arrival of Fatima, his queen. In the mean time Mr. Park was ordered not to go beyond the Umits of the camp. The increasing anxiety of his mind, and the various hardships he had undergone, now threw him into a fever; and; conscious of his danger, he wrapped his cloak round his body, to promote, if possible, a gentle perspiration. The Moors, however, with their accus tomed insolence, rushed into his little dwelling, and forcibly deprived him of this covering. He withdrew to a short distance, and threw himself down beneath the shade of some spreading trees. Here the cruelty of his foes pursued him. One of Ali's sons, attended by a party of horsemen, commanded him to return. He sup plicated for a little rest, but without effect ; and, after much abusive language, one of the Moors snapped a pistol at him with the utmost indifference. About three days after this a slave was sent to him, commanding him to prepare for an excursion with the king, who intended to exhibit him to his women. The message yvas scarcely delivered when Ali rode up to the hut, with several of his followers, but an unexpected delay took place in consequence of Mr. Park having had on a pair of nankeen breeches. It yvas deemed improper for him to appear with such a dress in the presence of females ; but this difficulty yvas soon removed by Ali causing him to yvrap himself in his cloak. When Mr. Park arrived at the tent of the ladies, he was refreshed with some milk and water. They were very inquisitive respecting him. They examined his hair and skin, after yvhich they knit their brows, and shuddered at tbe whiteness of his colour. These ladies yvere all remarkable for their extreme corpulency ; and, among the Moorish women, Mr. Park says, that corpulence and beauty are nearly synony mous: a perfect beauty is a load for a camel; and a fine woman is unable to walk without a slave under each arm to support her. In order to acquire this IN AFRICA. 219 artificial plumpness, the young girls are crammed invo luntarily, with milk and kouskous, their mothers stand ing over them with a rod, to enforce obedience. On the above, as well as on other occasions, the Moors conducted him in a kind of procession, gallop ing round him, as if they had been baiting some wild beast, tyvirling their muskets, and exhibiting various feats of horsemanship and activity. To relieve the irksomeness of the time, he began to learn the Arabic characters, and by desiring the most insolent of the Moors either to write on the sand, or to decypher the characters that he formed, he discovered a method of diverting their malicious pro pensities, by addressing their vanity, and their pride of superior accomplishments. The king, with a few of his attendants, left Benowm on the 16th of April, and Mr. Park was either for gotten or wilfully neglected, for two successive days. At the expiration of this time, during which he had been wholly deprived of sustenance, his sight was weakened, his- respiration convulsed, and a deadly languor yvas diffused through his whole body. Not long after this the Moorish camp had orders to break up and follow the sovereign to a town called Bubaker, inhabited by negroes. Here Mr. Park had an interview with Fatima, the queen, an extremely corpulent personage, with long black hair, aud an Arab countenance. She was at first someyvhat disconcerted at the appearance of a Chris tian, but she soon became reconciled to his presence, and condescended to regale him with a bowl of milk. This lady seemed to compassionate his situation, and from her he received the only instances of kindness which he experienced in Ludamar. The country around Bubaker, presented a dreary waste of sand, diversified with dwarf trees, and prickly bushes, scattered at intervals. The almost insufferable heat had destroyed vegetation, and dried up nearly all the water. From this scarcity of one L2 220 park's first journey of the most essential articles of life ]\{r. Park suffered severely. One evening he went through the whole camp, humbly soliciting a little water, but without success. He then wandered to the watering place, about half a mile distant, but yvas cruelly abused and driven away with contempt. Thirsty and distressed he passed on to a second well. Here he entreated an old man, yvho was drayving up his bucket, to permit him te drink. The man was presenting it to the supplicant, when, recollecting that he was a Christian, and might defile his vessel, he threw the water dis dainfully into a trough, where some cows were drink ing, and told him to use that: the traveller did so, with a grateful heart, and with' unspeakable satisfac tion. Sixteenth, Bag's instruction. WESTERN NIGRITIA, OR NEGROLAND, CONTINUED. Conclusion of Mr. Park's first Journey into the Interior of Africa. The rainy season now approached, when the Moors annually visjt the Great Desert Through the inter cession of Fatima Mr. Park obtained leave to return to Jarra. He set out on the 26th of May, accom panied by his. two negroes; but not long afterwards his faithful boy, Demba, was taken from him, and sent back to the Moorish camp. Mr. Park remonstrated against this, but he was told, with a haughty look and malignant smile, that, if he did riot immediately mount his horse and proceed, he should likewise be sent back. On his arrival at Jarra, he prevailed with his friend, the slatee, to negotiate for the release of Demba, yvhich, after some difficulty,was effected, by paying for him the price of a slave. IN AFRICA. 221 While Mr. Park was at Jarra, the army of Daisy, king of Kaarta, was approaching that place, for the purpose of attacking the forces of Ali. Mr. Park, fearful of being mistaken, in the confusion of the battle, for a Moor, mounted his horse, took a bag of com behind him, and retired with some others from the place. In his retreat he yvas overtaken by a party of Moors, who commanded him to return. Two of them proposed to secure his horse ; but, as it seemed im possible for him to escape, they neglected this pre caution. During the night he packed up his clothes, which now consisted only of two shirts, two pocket-hand kerchiefs, and two pair of trowsers, an upper and under waistcoat,- a cloak, a hat, and a pair of half- boots ; and, cautiously stepping over the men who were sleeping near him, he mounted his horse and fled. He had advanced a few miles on his way, when he saw himself pursued by three Moors. He now lost all hope of escaping, and resigned, himself to his fate. His pursuers,, however, contented themselves with plundering him of his cloak, and departed, threatening to shoot him, if he attempted to follow them. After the departure of the Moors, Mr. Park entered the wilderness, and, by his compass, directed his course towards the south-east, in the hope of being able to reach the kingdom of Bambarra. The heat of the sun, itself intense, was increased by the reflection of the sand ; and the ridges of the hills seemed to fluc tuate like the sea, in the ascending vapour. He was soon overpowered yvith thirst and faintness- In this distress he ascended to the top of a tree, hoping thence to' discover some human abode; but, to his utter dis appointment, he beheld around him nothing but hil locks of sand and thick underwood. He descended and rode on, but his mouth and throat were so severely parched, that he did not believe he could long survive. He vainly endeavoured to alleviate the pain he endured, by chewing the leaves of various shrubs which he 222 PARK'S FIRST JOURNEY passed. A second time he climbed a Iree, which, standing on an eminence, commanded a more exten sive view than the former ; but here also he cast his aching eyes around, without perceiving a single trace of what he so eagerly sought. His fate now seemed inevitable. Tie took off tbe bridle from his horse, and, exhausted with fatigue, and, affected with sickness and giddiness, he sunk upon the sand in a state of insensibility. Recovering at length, he found the bridle in his hand ; and, as the sun was sinking beneath the horizon, determined to make another effort. As the darkness increased, he perceived some flashes of lightning. These he kneyv indicated approaching rain. The wind began to roar among the bushes, and some drops of moisture fell These he opened his mouth to receive, but be found himself covered with a shower of sand. In a little while, however, the sand ceased to fly, and a copious shower of rain descended. This the parched and weary traveller joyfully received : he spread out his clothes, and afterwards assuaged his anguish by sucking the moisture from them. Thus revived, he directed his way by the compass, whieh the flashes of lightning enabled him to view, and travelled till about midnight, when he reached a Moorish watering place. Avoiding their tents, he soon afterwards heard what he emphatically terms the "heavenly music of frogs," which discovered to him some shallow pools of muddy water. Here he again cooled his burning palate; after which he rode on till he came to a village called Shrilla, inhabited by negroes. This village, however, was subject to Luda- mar, and the Dooty refused to relieve his necessities. Observing a venerable old woman spinning cotton at the door of one of the huts, he made signs to her that be was nearly famished. She quitted her distaff, and invited bim to enter the hut. Here she set before him a bowl of kouskous, and also procured some corn for his horse ; and he expressed his gratitude, in return IN AFRICA. 223 for these civilities, by presenting her with one of his pocket handkerchiefs. Whilst the heart of the traveller was joyfully ele vated in silent praise to him who had so bounteously spread a table for him iu the wilderness, one of the natives approached his benevolent hostess. This man stated it to be the wish of several people in the village to seize the stranger and convey him to Ah. Mr. Park, therefore, hastily tied up the remainder of the corn of which his horse was eating, and, driving the animal before him, pursued his journey. After having proceeded about two miles, he found it absolutely necessary to take some repose. He accord ingly entered a thicket, and, having formed a couch of twigs, he reclined his weary head upon his saddle, as a pillow. In this place he slept soundly till sun rise the next morning, when three inhabitants of the adjacent country, called Foulahs, awoke him. and, point ing to the sun, reminded him that it was time to say his prayers. He arose, somewhat refreshed, and, after saddling his horse, proceeded through the woods, where he observed several ostriches, wild hogs, and antelopes. Not long afteryvards he arrived at a watering place of the Foulahs, where he yvas received yvith great hospi tality. On the 5th of July he reached a negro town, called Wawra. This place yvas surrounded by high walls, was inhabited by Mandingoes and Foulahs, and was subject to the king of Bambarra. He was consequently re joiced to find himself now beyond the boundaries of Ludamar, and the tyranny of Ali. From Wawra Mr. Park proceeded to Dingyee, a village, where one of the inhabitants received him with great hospitality. At his departure this man earnestly requested a lock of his hair, to make what he called a saphie, or charm, imagining that a saphie made of the hair of a white man, would convey to its possessor all the knowledge of the original owner. Mr. Park complied with the request, but finding his head pretty 224 PARK'S FIRST JOURNEY closely cropped, by the insatiable desire of his host for knowledge, he was obliged to put on his hat. He apologised for so doing by observing, that be must reserve some part of this valuable merchandize for other occasions. He now proceeded -to Wassiboo. The land around this place is so fertile, and the growth of corn is car ried on to such an extent, that, to use the expression of the natives, " hunger is never known." The labours of the field are here performed both by men and women ; and their only instrument of agriculture is a kind of paddle. Not long after this Mr. Park passed through a large town called Mdorja, where an extensive commerce iu salt was carried on by the Moors. He next traversed a fertile and romantic country ; and, by the natives yvho met him on the road, he yvas constantly mistaken for a Moor. Many of them jested on the sorry appear ance of himself and his horse, and affected to think that he had been on a pilgrimage to Mecca. On the 21st of July he reached Sego, the capital of Bambarra, and, at a little distance from the town, he had the inexpressible satisfaction of beholding the long-sought majestic Niger, glittering to the morning sun, as broad as the Thames at Westminster, and flowing' slowly in a direction from west to east. Mr. Park immediately hastened to the brink, and, having drunk of the water, returned fervent thanks to God, for having thus far crowned his labours with success. Sego, at this time, contained about thirty thousand inhabitants. It yvas divided into four distinct towns, of which two yvere situated on the northern and two on the southern bank of the Niger. They were sur rounded with high mud walls : the houses were also of mud, of a square form, and yvith flat roofs. Some of them consisted of tyvo stories, aud many yvere white washed. The streets were narrow, and mosques ap peared in every quarter. It was a market-day wheu Mr. Park arrived at Sego, and such crowds of people IN AFRICA. 225 were crossing the river, that he had to wait more than two hours for a passage. In the mean time, Mansong, the king, who had been informed that a white man was coming to see him, sent one of his chief men to forbid him to pass until he yvas informed of the object of his journey. The messenger directed Mr. Park to lodge at a distant village, and promised to visit him the next morning. On arriving at this village, the inhabitants, who viewed him with fear and wonder, refused either to admit him into their houses, or to give him food. Mr. Park took the bridle and saddle off his horse, and turned him loose to graze. The wind roared, and threatened a heavy rain ; and the traveller was sitting, weary and dejected, under a tree, when he yvas observed by a yvoman returning from the fields. She inquired respect ing his situation, and, with looks of compassion, took up his bridle and saddle, and told him to follow her. She led him into her hut, lighted a lamp, gave him broiled fish to eat, and a mat to repose upon : and then, with some of her young women, began to spin cotton. During this labour, yvhich continued great part of the night, they amused themselves with songs, in one of whicli Mr. Park yvas surprised to find himself the theme. " The winds roared, and the rains fell. The poor white man, faint and weary, came and sate under our tree. He has no mother to bring him milk, no wife to grind his corn. Chorus. Let us pity the white man — no mother has he." Mr. Park was deeply affected by this instance of kindness to an unprotected stranger, but the only mark of gratitude in his power to bestoyv, was to present his benevolent hostess with two of the four brass buttons which now remained on his waistcoat. Next day a messenger arrived from the king of Bam barra. This monarch, having been informed that Mr. Park had been robbed of all his property by the Moors, he sent him a" present of five thousand coyvries, a kind of shells, which are here used instead of money ; and L3 226 PARK'S FIRST JOURNEY ordered him to be conducted without delay ou his jour ney to Sansanding. The inhabitants of the country through which he passed, were occupied in collecting the fruit of the shea-tree. From this a kind of vege table butter is prepared, which constitutes a principal article of commerce in the interior districts of Africa. The tree somewhat resembles the American oak. The butter is prepared from the kernel, which, in appear ance, resembles a Spanish olive, and is inclosed in a sweet pulp, under a thin green rind. It is dried in the sun, and then boiled in water ; and the butter obtained from it is whiter, firmer, and better flavoured than that made from cream. Sansanding, at this time, contained about ten thou sand-inhabitants, and yvas a considerable mart of Moor ish commerce. Here Mr. Park was mistaken by the negroes for a Moor; but by the Moors he was soon discovered, aud they accosted and treated him with their accustomed arrogance and insolence. They were about to drag him by force into a mosque, when the dooty, or chief judge of the place, to whom he was conducted by the guide, interposed, and declared that he was " the king's stranger," and that he should not be injured while under his protection. At sun-set he was conducted into a neat hut, with a court before it. This was immediately filled with Moors, who clambered over the wall to gaze at him. His host, however, behaved towards him with great kindness ; and he had here the comfort of being fed with wholesome and substantial food. ' On the 25th of July, Mr. Park left Sansanding, and proceeded to Modiboo. In passing through the woods his guide repeatedly stopped to look beneath the bushes; and, on enquiring into the cause of this conduct, the man told him that the whole surrounding forest was infested with lions. At that instant Mr. Park's horse suddenly started, and the travellers beheld, at a little distance, a creature resembling a cameleopard, with remarkably long neck and fore-legs, of mouse IN AFRICA. , 227 colour, and with two short black horns, inclining backward ou its head. Soon afterwards, as they were crossing an open plain, interspersed with bushes, the guide suddenly turned round and exclaimed, " a very large lion !" In a few moments Mr. Park beheld the beast, crouching on the ground with his head between his paws. He was of red colour, and enormous size. Mr. Park immediately disengaged his feet from the stirrups, in order to throw himself on the ground in case of attack, but the animal calmly retained his posi tion, and the travellers rode past him in safety. Not long after Mr. Park had left Modiboo his horse, now extremely weak, stumbled and fell. Mr. Park could not raise him up, and was obliged to leave him, yvith the sad presage, that he should himself soon lie down and perish in a similar manner, exhausted by hunger and fatigue. With all the exertion he could make he proceeded, and the same day, arrived at a small fishing village, on the bank of the Niger. Here he intreated the protection of the dooty ; but this man informed him that he paid no attention to fine speeches, and that he should not permit him to enter his house. After this Mr. Park hired a canoe, and having proceeded in it a little way doyvn the river, he crossed over to Silla, a large town, on the opposite bank. At Silla he found himself exhausted by sickness, hun ger, and fatigue, half naked, and without any article in his possession by which he could procure provisions, clothes, or lodging. The intolerant fanaticism of the Moors, yvhose influence increased as he advanced, and the violence of the tropical rains by which the swampy grounds were already inundated, presented innume rable obstacles to his progress. These circumstances, added to the dangers of a journey on foot, for several hundred miles, through countries entirely unknown, in duced him to give up all thoughts of proceeding further, and to attempt the preservation of those discoveries which he had made, by returning to the Gambia. He had approached within two hundred miles of the 228 PARK'S FIRST JOURNEY great African city of Tombuctoo, the principal empo rium of Moorish commerce in this quarter of the world : he had ascertained the direction of »the Niger, and bad followed its course for seventy miles towards the east; and he endeavoured, before his return, to collect from the Moorish and negro traders, an account of 'its farther course, and of the kingdoms in its vici nity. The particulars of these he has detailed at con siderable length in the account of his travels. As the road along the southern bank of the Niger was now impassable, in consequence of the inundation ofthe creeks and swampy ground, he was compelled to return from Silla by his former route. He could not always procure a guide, and was often obliged to wade breast-deep across the swamps. At Modiboo he acci dentally recovered his horse. The animal overheard him talking with his guide, and immediately began to neigh ; and Mr. Park was much delighted in once more being accompanied by the former companion of his toils. His journey now became extremely dangerous, and his reception was every where more unfavourable than it had before been. At Sansanding he was informed, that suspicions were entertained of his being a spy. He hastened througb Sego, and travelled with the utmost possible expedition, along roads yvhich the mud had rendered almost impas sable, frequently swimming over the creeks yvith the bridle of his horse in his teeth, and his papers in the crown of bis hat ; mistaken frequently for a Moor ; ahvays received with rudeness and suspicion ; and sub sisting on the same raw corn with his horse, unless when the superstition of the negroes induced- them to. purchase a white man's saphie, for a meal of rice or milk. The inhabitants of Song, one of the towns that he passed, believing Mr. Park to be a Moor, refused to admit him yvithin their walls. He therefore collected a quantity of grass for his horse, and threw himself down, nearlv exhausted, beneath the shade of a tree. In the IN AFRICA. 229 evening the roaring of a lion roused him, and induced him to intreat that they would let him enter; but this was again inhumanly refused. At length the beast came so near that Mr. Park could plainly hear his foot steps rustling through the grass ; and he was compelled to seek for refuge in a tree. Here he remained till midnight, when the gates were cautiously opened, and he was admitted. The next day he proceeded ; and, at the distance of some miles from Song, he arrived at the bank of a river which fell into the Niger. He had fastened his clothes upon the saddle of his horse, and advanced up to his neck in the water, pulling the horse by the bridle, and intending to swim him across, when a negro, who acci dentally approached, called to him vehemently to come out, otherwise the allgiators would devour both him and his horse. Emergiug from tbe stream, the negro, who had never before seen an European, was exces sively astonished at his appearance ; he, however, as sisted him in crossing the river, and conducted him to the next village. Mr. Park passed through Bammakoo, a small but opulent town ; and, subsequently over a high and rocky country to Sibidooloo. On the road he yvas stripped, and plundered of his horse and nearly all his clothes. He earnestly eutreated of this banditti to return his pocket-compass, but he could only obtain from them the yvorst of his two shirts, and a pair of troyvsers. They took his hat, but when they saw his written papers iu the crown, they yvere alarmed and returned it. Thus left naked and solitary in the yvilderness, in the midst of the rainy season, more than five hundred miles from the nearest European settlement, Mr. Park began to despond ; and it seemed to him that no alternative remained but to lie down and perish. In this forlorn situation, hoyvever, he was supported and animated bv the consolations of religion. At the moment when his mind was agitated by emotions of the most exquisite pain, and when memory represented his friends and 230 PARK'S FIRST JOURNEY native country, only to increase his anguish, by the torture of vain regret, his attention was excited by the beauty of a small moss in fructification; and, though the yvhole plant was not larger than the tip of his finger, he could not contemplate it without admiration. - He then thought " Can the Being who planted, yvatered, and brought to perfection, in this obscure part of the world, a thing which ap pears of so small importance, look with unconcern on the situation and sufferings of beings formed after his own image ?" His mind was supported, he sprung up with renovated hopes, and travelling forward, soon reached Sibidooloo, the frontier town of a kingdom called Manding. This town is situated in a fertile valley, surrounded by elevated rocks. Mr. Park was treated by the dooty with great humanity. This chief promised to recover his horse and effects; but as provisions were here very scarce, our traveller proceeded without delay to the next toyvn, called Wonda. At this place heremained nine days, affected yvith feverish symptoms, that had been occa sioned by the united influence of mental anxiety, corpo real fatigue, and exposure to the heat of the day and the dews of night. These symptoms he could not conceal from the person in whose house he had taken up his abode ; and he one day overheard this man relating to his wife, that their guest would probably occasion them much trouble and cost ; as, for the sake of their good name, they must maintain him till he should either re cover or die. On the 6th of September, his horse and clothes, hav ing been recovered, were brought to him from Sibi dooloo ; but as the roads were such as not to admit of his travelling on horseback, Mr. Park presented the horse to his landlord, and received in return a spear, and a leathern bag to contain his clothes. The whole country was at this time afflicted by fa mine. In several villages through whicli Mr. Park passed he could obtain no provisions, for tbe inhabit- IN AFRICA. 231 ants themselves were almost starving. When he arrived at Kamalia, a small toyvn at the bottom of some rocky hills, being nearly exhausted by hunger and disease, he began to fear that he could proceed no further. He was conducted to the house of a person named Karfa Taura, who was collecting a caravan of slaves, to be conducted to the Gambia, at the termination of the 1 periodical rains. This man he found reading an Arabic book to some slatees or slave-dealers, who yvere to join him. The other slatees, yvho had seen Europeans on the coast, suspected Mr. Park to be an Arab : they yvere led to this opinion by the yellowness of his com plexion, his -long beard, ragged clothes, and extreme poverty. Karfa inquired if he understood Arabic, and, being answered in the negative, he put a little book into his hands yvhich had come from the west, and yvhich Mr. Park was surprised to find the Book of Common Prayer. After this Karfa had no doubt that he was a yvhite man, and promised him every possible assistance. He stated, that it was his intention to proceed to the Gambia as soon as the season would permit ; and advised Mr. Park to stay and accompany tbe caravan. Our traveller answered, that, having expended his money, he must either remain to perish with hunger, or beg his subsistence on his journey. The benevolent negro as sured him that, if he could live in the same manner as himself and his family, he would maintain him till the termination of the rains, and then conduct bim to the Gambia. Mr. Park said, that, for this liberality, he would there pay him the value of a prime slave. This the man agreed to accept ; and having appropriated a hut to his use, he continued to treat him with the kindest attention. Mr. Park had for some time suffered much from ill ness. His fever now acquired strength, and at length became so violent that, during five weeks, he was con fined to his hut, and became so debilitated that he could, scarcely stand upright. In the beginning of September a slatee arrived from 232 PARK'S FIRST^ JOURNEY Sego with slaves. One of these entreated* of Mr. Park to give him' some food ; and on the latter answering that he was a stranger, and had none to give, the slave replied, " I gave you victuals when you yvere hungry. Have you forgot the man who brought you milk at Karankalla 1" adding, with a sigh, " the irons were not then on my Tegs." Mr. Park immediately recollected having received kindness from this man, at Karankalla : after that he had been taken prisoner by the Bambar- rans and sold as a slave. Our traveller instantly ran to his friend Karfa, and procured him some earth-nuts. While Mr. Park continued at Kamalia, he became ac quainted with a schoolmaster of the place, a Mahometan, who possessed various books and manuscripts, and who read them with indefatigable application. His scholars received instruction from him in the morning and even ing; and, during the day, they were employed as do mestic slaves in the service of their master. They yvere principally the children of Pagans, who, induced by a desire of knowledge, were thus instructed in the prin ciples of Mahomet. Mr. Park believes that a short introduction to Christianity, elegantly printed in Arabic, and distributed among the negroes who read that lan guage, would have a wonderful effect in disseminating tbe doctrines of Truth. After a residence at Kamalia of more than seven mouths* the day of Mr. Park's departure at length ar rived. The coffle, or caravan, which he was to accom pany, consisted of seventy-three persons, free men and slaves. They set out on the 19th of April, and, on the following day, arrived at Kinytakooro. This town they entered in procession, six singing men marching in front : these yvere followed by the free men, after whom came the slaves, fastened by fours to one rope, with a spearman betwixt every fcur. Ip the rear advanced the domestic slaves, followed by the free yvomen, and the wives of the slatees. About a hundred yards from the gate of the town the singing men commenced a song, in which they celebrated the hospitality ofthe inhabitants, IN AFRICA. 2:13 to strangers, and, in particular, their partiality to the Mandingoes. When they arrived at the bentang, the inhabitants assembled to hear the history of the stran gers, which was related by the singing men ; and after this they were accommodated yvith lodgings and pro visions in the houses of the natives. On the 23d they entered the Jallouka wilderness, co vered yvith thick primeval forests, yet beautifully varie gated with hill and dale. Through these wilds' they passed rapidly by forced marches, without seeing any hu man habitation for five days, during yvhich they endured' almost every species of fatigue, and were only stimu lated to perseverance by the danger of being left behind in the woods, to perish with hunger, or be devoured by wild beasts, yvhich they heard, during the nights, howl ing around them. On the 28th they reached Manna, an unwalled town, the inhabitants of which were col lecting the fruit of the nitta-tree; the pod of which was long and narrow, and contained a few black seeds, en veloped in a fine poyvder of bright yellow colour, like flower of sulphur. This powder which has a sweet mucilaginous taste, and the seeds ofthe bamboo, which, when dressed, taste like: rice, constitute an important part of the food of the inhabitants. . The coffle, on leaving Manna, crossed a river, over a bridge constructed of bamboos. This bridge was placed upon two tall trees, the tops of which were tied together, and left to float on the stream, yvhile the roots were fastened to the rocks. They now traversed a rough and stony country, till they arrived at Malacotta, 1 a large unwalled town, the inhabitants of which manu factured excellent iron, and formed a kind of soap, by boiling ground-nuts in water with wood-ashes. After this they crossed a hilly country, yvhich abounded in gold ; and, passing through Banserile, the capital of Dentila, and subsequently crossing tbe Tenda wilder ness, a rugged country covered with wood, they arrived at a walled town called Tambacunda. Here they re mained till the 26th of May ; and, ten days afterwards. 234 PARK'S FIRST JOURNEY Mr. Park reached Medina, the place, where, eighteen months before, be had left his friend Dr. Laidley. At Pisania he yvas received by this gentleman like one returned from the dead ; for several of the traders from the interior of the country had reported that he had been murdered by the Moors of Ludamar. Dr. Laidley undertook to discbarge all the pecuniary engagements that Mr. Park had entered into ; and his kind friend, Karfa, yvas surprised to be informed that he would receive goods to the amount of double the sum which he had been promised. The superiority ofthe Europeans in manufactures, and in the arts of civil life, excited the astonishment of this benevolent negro, yvho does not appear to have before visited any of the European settlements. He examined with eager curiosity the furniture of the houses, the masts, sails, rigging, and construction of the ships; and, with an involuntary sigh, he exclaimed : " Black men are nothing !" When Mr. Park resumed his English dress, he surveyed him with great delight, but he was displeased at the loss of his beard, vthicb, he said, " had converted him from a man into a boy." On the 17th of June Mr. Park embarked in an Ame rican slave vessel, aud proceeded to Goree. He thence sailed to Antigua, in the West Indies; and, by the Chesterfield Packet, returned to England, arriving at Falmouth on the 22d of December. Thus terminated the journey of Mr. Park, unques tionably the most important that had ever been performed by an European in Nigritia. Though unable to reach Tombuctoo, or Houssa, he established a number of geographical positions in a direct line of one thousand one hundred miles, from Cape Verd. He ascertained the common boundaries of the Moors and negroes in the interior; and poiuted out the probable sources of the three great rivers, the Senegal, the Gambia, and the Niger. He explained many important customs before unknown. He restored to the Niger its ancient course, IN AFRICA. 235 and thus rendered intelligible the descriptions of the in terior, which were formerly involved in inextricable con fusion. It is impossible not to acknowledge the sagacity and prudence with which he prosecuted his design ; the in trepidity with whicb he encountered the most formi dable dangers; and the perseverance with which he surmounted the obstacles that presented themselves to his progress. . S»chentcentfi Bag's instruction. WESTERN NIGRITIA, OR NEGROLAND, CONTINUED. The British government had resolved that another ex pedition should be fitted out for the purpose of making further discoveries relative to the river Niger ; for pur suing its course to the utmost possible distance to yvhich it could be traced ; obtaining a knoyvledge of the dif ferent nations on its banks ; and, if possible, establishing a communication and intercourse with them. The con duct of this expedition was given to Mr. Park, who proposed to take with him about thirty soldiers, each armed with a musket, bayonet, and pistols; six Euro pean carpenters ; fifteen or twenty negroes from Goree : fifty asses; aud six horses or mules to convey the requi site apparatus, ammunition, and provisions ; a certain quantity of merchandize, for presents and other pur poses ; and materials for building and rigging two boats. These he intended to construct when he reached the Niger ; and, by means of them, to navigate that river downward to its termination. This plan was in some degree changed ; but, in its most important particulars, it was adopted. Unfortunately, however, it happened that the expedition was so long delayed, that Mr. Park 236 PARK'S LAST MISSION had, subsequently, to encounter all the disasters which attend on travelling in hot climates during the rainy season. Narrative of Mr. Park's Last Mission into the Inte rior of Afriea, in 1805. Mr. Park sailed from Portsmouth on the 30th of January, 1805, accompanied by Mr. Alexander Ander son, his brother-in-law ; Mr. George Scott, yvho was to act as a draughtsman ; and a few boat-builders, and ar tificers. At the island of St. Jago he purchased fifty- six asses, and a considerable quantity of corn and pro visions ; and at Goree he was joined by a lieutenant, and thirty-five European soldiers of the corps stationed in that garrison. He subsequently engaged a Man dingo priest, named Isaaco, a man accustomed to long journies in the interior of Africa, to serve as a guide and interpreter to his little caravan. ¦ When all the arrangements for the journey were com plete, the travellers, on the 27th of April, took their departure from Kayee, a small town on the river Gam bia. About four o'clock they arrived at a village called Le Main,, all extremely fatigued from having travelled the whole morning under a vertical sun, and without a breath of wind. Here they sought the shelter of a large bentang tree ; and were proceeding to unload the asses, when they were interrupted in the operation by a principal person of the village. He requested that both the bundles and the asses might be removed ; assuring the travellers, that if they slept there, they would all be dead before the morning. Mr. Park was at a loss to comprehend his meaning. The man led him by the hand to a large notch in the root of the tree, and showed him three spear heads, tinged with blood, lying with their points among bone-ashes, and surrounded by a rope half burnt. Immediate orders were consequently given for the removal of the things ; and the informer was re warded yvith a keg of liquor. INTO AFRICA. 237 On the 28th of April the travellers reached Pisania. To this town a principal part of their heavy baggage bad been conveyed by water; and here they made the final preparations for their journey. They stuffed the ass- saddles with grass, and weighed and adjusted the. bundle's'. The asses and loads were all marked yvith red paint, ^nd a certain number of each was allotted to each of six messes into wliich the soldiers were divided. They were further subdivided among the. individuals of each mess, so that every man, at first sight, could tell the ass and the load which belonged to him. To pre vent the natives from stealing them, the asses were also numbered with large figures, yvhich could neither be washed nor clipped without discovery. The travellers left Pisania on the 4th of May. Mr. Scott, and oue of Isaaco's people, generally marched in front; Lieutenant Marty n (from Goree) in the cen tre; and Mr. Park and Mr. Anderson in the rear. Their march this day yvas excessively fatiguing : many of the asses, being overburthened, laid down in the road, and others kicked off their bundles ; so that, not withstanding every possible exertion, they did not pro ceed more than eight miles. The difficulties yvere not decreased on the ensuing day ; for many of the asses refused to go on, and Mr. Park yyas obliged to put several of their loads on the horses. He was, after wards, under the necessity of purchasing or hiring other asses at the villages through which he passed. About noon of the 11th, they arrived at Madina, the capital of the kingdom of Woolli. The asses were un loaded under the shade of a tree on the outside ofthe town, v where Mr. Park waited some hours before he could obtain an audience of the king. At length he was admitted, and he took with him, as a*present, a pair of silver-mounted pistols, ten dollars, and a consi derable quantity of coral and amber. The king looked at the present witb. great apparent indifference, and then said he could not accept it; alleging that Mr. Park had 238 PARKS LAST MISSION given a much handsomer present to the king of Kataba. It was in vain that Mr. Park assured him he had been misinformed; he positively refused to accept it, till there were added to it fifteen dollars, and much more coral and amber than had before been offered : in addi tion to the whole, his majesty begged for a blanket to wrap himself in during the rains. Our travellers set out at sunrise the next morning ; and, a few days afterward, as they entered the Simbani Woods, Isaaco informed Mr. Park that he was appre hensive they might be attacked by some of the people of the adjacent country of Bondou, who at this time were in arms. Orders yvere consequently given, that none of. the company should fire at any deer or game they might see : that every man should have his piece always loaded and primed, and that the report of a musket, but particularly of three or four, should be considered a signal for every one to run immediately towards the place. At their entrance into the woods, Isaaco laid a black ram across the road and cut its throat, having first said a long prayer over it. This he considered a kind of magical ceremony, essential towards the success of the expedition. After they had passed through a forest about five miles in extent, they reached a plain nearly destitute of wood. Here they observed several hundreds of ante lopes, about as large as oxen, and of dark colour, but with white mouths. In the morning of the 15th of May they arrived once more at the bauks of the river Gambia, and halted during the heat ofthe day beneath the shade of a large tree, one under which Mr. Park had before rested in his journey from the interior. The river was here about a hundred yards wide, and swarmed with crocodiles. Mr. Park counted at one time thirteen of these animals ranged along the shore. He also saw three of those immense quadrupeds, wbich frequent the bottoms of rivers in some parts of Africa, called hippopotami, or INTO AFRICA. 239 river horses. In the evening of this day, as the soldiers were unloading the asses, one of them fell down in a fit and expired. On the ensuing day the party arrived at a small river, which at this season was nearly dry, except in certain hollow places. These abounded in fish, of which Isaaco's negroes caught several with their hands. In the bed of the river some negroes were occupied in roasting the remains of an animal that had been killed by a lion in the preceding night. Beyond this river the country, for a considerable distance, was an open and level plain, interspersed with trees and bushes, among which the traces of lions were visible. The travellers halted at a village called Jalla- cotta, in order to purchase corn and recruit the asses. On the 20th of May they reached another village, about half a mile from which was a tolerably large town, called Bady. The dooty, or chief of this town, was accustomed to exact a heavy tribute from all per sons who passed through yvith slaves or merchandize. Mr. Park sent him some amber, but this he refused ; and afterwards some coral, which he likewise refused. Some of the dooty's men forcibly seized Isaaco's horse, as his boy yvas watering him at a well. Isaaco went to Bady to inquire the reason of this conduct ; and the dooty ordered him to be seized, his double-barrelled gun and his syvord to, be taken from him, and that he should be tied to a tree and flogged. Mr. Park re solved that if the people of Bady persisted in detaining Isaaco, he would attack their town with all his force. Preparations were made for this purpose ; but, early the next morning, Isaaco was liberated, his horse and gun were restored, and a message yvas sent from the dooty, stating that, if Mr. Park would pay a reasonable tri bute, he might proceed. This was paid, and the tra vellers departed without further molestation. After this their course lay through a hilly and beau tiful country. From, the summit of an eminence which Mr. Park and Mr. Anderson ascended, they had around 240 PARK S LAST MISSION them one of the most delightful prospects they had ever beheld. They saw here the feet marks and other traces of a great number of elephants. Near a small creek, which they passed on the follow ing day, some of Isaaco's people went in search of wild honey, whicli they expected to find in the woods ; and,' unfortunately, disturbed a large syvarm of bees. . The insects flew out in immense numbers, and at the same time attacked both men and beasts. Fortunately, most of the asses were loose, and were enabled to gallop away up the valley ; but both the horses and men yvere much stung, and were obliged to scamper off as well as they could in all directions. The fire which had been kin dled for cooking the victuals being thus deserted and unattended to, spread, kindled the bamboos, and had nearly burnt the baggage. In fact, for half an hour, the bees seemed to have completely put an end to the jour ney. Towards the evening, and when the cattle could be collected, many of them were found to be much stung and syvelled about the head. Three asses yvere missing ; one died in the evening, one next morning, and Mr. Park was obliged to leave another behind. Many of the people also suffered great pain from the stings of the bees. In the evening of the 28th of May, Mr. Anderson and Mr. Scott ascended to the summit of a hill, and had a fine vieiv of the river Gambia and the adjacent country. Hitherto they had, in general, been able to obtaiii a suffi ciency of water; but, on the 31st they travelled till dark, and at last were obliged to pass the night supper- less, from want of this necessary refreshment. They next arrived at a toyvn called Julifunda, tlie dooty of which not only _dem^nded from them a heavy tribute, but plainly intimated that, if this were not paid, he would attack and plunder them in the woods. Mr. Park, considering it advisable not to offend this chiefj sent him a quantity of amber, coral, and scarlet cloth ; a pair of pistols, a sword, a looking-glass, and other articles, to the value of about twenty pounds sterling. INTO AFRICA. 241 The 4th of June, the king's birth-day, was at hand ; and it was resolved by the travellers' to make it as much a day of festivity as their circumstances would permit. Accordingly, about noon, Mr. Park halted his men under a tree, near a small Mahometan village. One of the tents was pitched, and a bullock and calf were pur chased for the soldiers. In the afternoon, the men yvere drawn up in line, and fired a volley. They feasted on the meat, but were under tbe necessity of drinking his majesty's health in water; "Yet," says Mr. Park, " few of his subjects wished more earnestly for the continuance of his life and the prosperity of his reign, than they." He here purchased five ass loads of rice, amounting in the whole to seven hundred and fifty pounds. This he paid for in beads of amber ; and, although a scarcity, amounting almost to famine prevailed, the rate at which he purchased it was a single bead of amber (worth about two pence) per pound. A day or tyvo after this the travellers crossed the bed of a stream which, during the rainy season, was fre quented by vast herds of elephants ; and they even now perceived the feet-marks o'f these animals in several parts. The country was wild and rocky ; and a lion yvas heard at a little distance. On the 8th of June they reached a village called Madina, and halted on the bank of a river which abounded in fish of very large size. In the afternoon the soldiers carried over all the luggage, by wading through the stream ; this additional labour very much fatigued them. As there yvas an indication of approaching rain, Mr. Park gave up one of the tents to the soldiers, and had .the luggage placed in the other. He slept upon tbe bundles, to preserve them from depredation by the na tives. During the night there was a* heavy storm of thunder and rain. One of the carpenters died; and five of the soldiers, who had chosen to sleep under a tree, complained much of head-ach', and of uneasiness at their stomach. Trav. m 242 park's LAST MISSION In the evening of the 10th of June they reached a small town called Shrondo; and, as they were pitching one of the tents under a tree, a storm came on which wetted them all, to the skin; and the ground yvas covered with water two or three inches deep. The effect of this storm on the health ofthe men was almost instantaneous: it proved to them "the beginning of sorrow !'.' The rain had not commenced three minutes before many ofthe soldiers were affected with vomiting: others fell asleep, and seemed as if they were half intox icated. Mr. Park himself felt a strong inclination to sleep during the continuance ofthe storm ; and, as soon as it was over, although he used every possible exertion , to keep himself awake, he fell asleep on the wet ground. He had hoped that he might have been able to reach the Niger with little loss : but the rains had now set in, and he trembled to think that he was scarcely half way through the journey. With the permission of the dooty of Shrondo, Mr. Park, the next day, was conducted to a place about a mile west ofthe town, where gold was obtained. This place seemed like a meadow, and was four or five acres in extent. A woman who was his guide, showed him several holes resembling wells, ten or twelve feet deep. Near the mouths of these were shallow pits, each lined with clay, and full of rain-water; and by them several heaps of sandy gravel. The woman took a small quan tity of gravel from one of the heaps, and, by means of water in tyvo calabashes, cleansed it with so much expe dition, that, in two minutes, she obtained twenty-three small particles of gold ; and a considerable quantity of a black substance, resembling gunpowder, which she called gold rust. She assured Mr- Park, tljat pieces of gold as large as her hand were sometimes found. When the travellers left Shrondo, the sick yvere allowed the use of all the horses and spare asses. Their course now lay along a range of granite rocks, the pre cipices of which, in various parts, were from eighty to two or three hundred feet high. They reached a village INTO AFRICA. 243 about noon ; when a storm so suddenly came on, that, instead of erecting the tents, they were obliged to carry all the. bundles, with as much expedition as possible, into the huts of the natives. The villages in the mountains of this part of Africa were romantic beyond any that Mr. Park had ever seen. They were built in the most delightful glens. The in habitants had an abundance of water and grass at all seasons : they had also a sufficiency of cattle for their own use, and a superfluity of grain for the purchase of luxuries. In their journey onward, the sickness of the people in creased so much, that on the 13th of June, nearly half of them were incapable of much exertion. This induced Mr. Park to halt for one day at a village called Fankia. Hitherto t he had proceeded nearly in the line of his former route ; but at this village he left it, and he did not approach it till he reached the Niger. About a mile north-east of Fankia yvas a steep pas sage in the mountains. Here the travellers experienced difficulties much greater than any they had hitherto encountered ; and a 'dreadful scene of confusion yvas presented in ascending this rocky staircase. Loaded asses falling over the rocks ; sick soldiers unable to walk ; the black people of the country stealing what ever they could carry off, rendered their situation ex tremely deplorable. At length all the asses yvere got up ; and, at the distance of about tyvo miles from the summit of the pass, the travellers arrived at a delightful village called Toombin. On collecting the articles of the baggage together, it was discovered that the natives had stolen seven pistols, two great coats, a knapsack, and several small articles. Three of the pistols, and one great coat, however, were afterwards recovered. About a mile east of Toombin, Mr. Park found one of the sick men lying under a tree, and Mr. Anderson's horse grazing at a little distance. Some of the natives had stolen the pistols from the holsters, and had robbed the coat case, that had been fastened behind the saddle, M 2 244 park's last Mission of nearly all its contents. Mr. Park raised the man up', put him on the horse, and endeavoured to hold him on the saddle ; but, after havin'g supported him about six miles, he at last became so much fatigued, that it was . necessary to leave him. Not long after this Mr. Park came, to two other men, yvho were lying under the shade of a tree. One of these he mounted on Mr. Anderson's horse, and the other on his own; and him self accompanied them on foot. From the place where the party- halted for the night, a man and horse were sent for the soldier who had been left, and he yvas at length brought in, tied upon the horse. At this place it was found necessary to leave two of the sick men ; but Mr. Park gave the inhabitants a certain quantity of am ber and beads for their support and conveyance to Gambia, if they survived ; or for the burying of them if they died. On the 17th the travellers reached Fagemmia, a small village, fortified with a high wall. The chief of this village held under his subjection a considerable part of the adjacent country* Mr. Park was, consequently, obliged to pay him a very heavy tribute in amber, beads, scarlet cloth, &c. for permission to proceed. During three days that Mr. Park continued here, he was ex tremely ill; as were also Lieutenant Martyn, the_ Ser jeant, corporal, and nearly half the soldiers. Tyvo days after they left Fagemmia, the travellers came to a river, yvhich they crossed at a place where its course yvas interrupted by a bed of whinstone rock, that formed the stream into several small cataracts. They here saw tyvo crocodiles, and an incredible number of large fish. At a village called Dooggikotta, one of the carpenters became so ill that, at his own request, he was left behind. During their march from this place, they saw many picturesque and rocky hills, particularly one that was high and detached, square at the top, and inaccessible on all sides. The natives of the adjacent country in formed Mr. Park that there was a lake of water on the INTO AFRICA. 245 summit; and that they yvere accustomed to go round the bottom of the rock in tbe rainy season for the pur pose of picking up turtles, which tumbled over the precipice. In the morning of the 23d of June, the travellers arrived at a village, the inhabitants of which were making the most hostile preparations. The chief had been informed that a coffle or caravan of white men would soon pass, all of yvhom yvere in an extremely sickly state, and unable to defend an immense treasure which was in their possession. Mr. Park drew up his men in line of battle; and, when the people saw the sol diers deliberately load their muskets yvith ball, and fix their bayonets, they- hesitated in their operations ; and, at length, thought it advisable to let the strangers pro ceed without further molestation. At the next place they came to one of the horses died. This was a valuable acquisition to the inhabi tants ; for they cut it up for food as if it had been a bullock, and almost came to blows about the division of it. Several large monkeys were this day seen among the rocks above the village. The part of the country through which they now travelled was beyond imagination beautiful. It exhi bited all the possible diversities of rocks, appearing like ruined castles, spires, and pyramids. The travellers passed one place so like the remains of a Gothic abbey, that Mr. Park halted a little before he could satisfy himself that the apparent niches, windows, ruined stair case, and other parts were all natural rock. A faithful description of this place, he says, would be deemed a fiction. One of the hills yvhich they passed was of very singular appearance : it was a single and solid mass of red granite, without any detached stone, or even a blade of grass upon it. At a village, situated near the bank of a deep river, which the. travellers soon afterwards approached, they i had an opportunity of seeing the mode in whicli the inhabitants smelted gold. Isaaco, in the course of the 246 PARK'S LAST MISSION journey, had purchased some gold. This was here made into a large ring. The operator began by first forming of common red clay, a crucible or vessel to melt it in. Into this he put the gold without any flux or mixture. He then put a quantity of charcoal, both under and over it, and, blowing the fire with the com mon double bellows of the country, soon produced'such a heat as to bring the gold into a state of fusion. He next made a small furrow in the ground, into wliich he cast the gold. When it was cold he took it up, arid, after heating it again, he hammered it into a square bar. Then, once more heating it, he twisted it by two pair of pincers into a sort of screw; and, lengthening out the ends, turned them up so as to form a ring. In crossing the river'near this village, one of the sol diers unfortunately was drowned. Hippopotami were here so numerous, that TVIr. Park had been unable to sleep during the preceding night, in consequence of their having come close to the bank, and kept up an incessant snorting and blowing. The travellers next passed through an extensive tract ¦ of woody country. There was no visible path, aud consequently they had much difficulty in keeping toge ther. By the directions of Mr. Park they fired their muskets from time to time, for the purpose of intimating the line of March. One of the sick men here became so much exhausted, that it was necessary to fasten him on his ass and hold him upright. He became more and more faint, and shortly afterwards died. Two of the soldiers with tlieir bayonets, and Mr. Park with his sword, dug a grave, and buried him. In the morning of the 29th of June one of tbe soldiers yvas missing; and another who had sat down under the shade of a tree to rest himself, could not afterwards be found1. At the place where they halted for the night, they Were much annoyed by yvolves; and, during their progress on the ensuing day, they sayv vast numbers of monkeys among the rocks. Though their course after wards was through a fertile plain, they yvere all so weak INTO AFRICA. 247 as to be excessively fatigued by a march of only ten miles. The next night one of the bundles, containing their whole stock of small beads, was stolen by the natives. More of the men jell sick ; and one of them became so delirious, that it was impossible to take him any further. On the 2d of July, about seven o'clock in the evening, they were visited by a tremendous hurricane. As soon as its violence had somewhat abated, they heard a par ticular sort of roaring or growling noise, from animals which seemed to be prowling round the cattle. Two muskets yvere fired, to keep them at a distance ; but these had no effect, and Mr. Park and Lieutenant Mar ty n lighted branches of withered grass, and went in search of them. They got near one of them, and fired at him as he went off among the long grass. When tfiey j-eturned to the tents, the natives told them that the animals they had been in search of were young lions ; and that, unless a good look out were kept, some of the cattle would probably be killed during the night. About midnight the lions returned, and attempted to seize one of the asses. This so much alarmed the rest, that they broke the cords by which they were fastened^ and came, at full gallop, among the tent ropes. Two of the lions followed them, and approached so near, that the sentry cut at one of them with his sword. Mr. Anderson and Mr. Scott were both now seized with fever, and extremely ill ; and, shortly afterwards, Mr. Park became so weak and faint, that he could scarcely stand erect. On the 3d of July they arrived at a village on the bank of the river Wonda ; the inhabitants of this place conveyed the baggage over the river in their canoes. The passage, however, was found very difficult for the asses ; for the river was rocky and shallow, and when ever their feet touched the bottom, they stood still. Isaaco yvas very active ; and he had nearly lost his,life by his exertions. In the act of driving six of the asses at once across the river, when he was about the middle of 248 PARK'S LAST MISSION the stream, a crocodile rose close to bim, and, seizing him by the left thigh, pulled him under water. With great presence of mind he felt the head of the animal, and thrust his fingers into its eye : on this it quitted its hold, and Isaaco attempted to reach the shore, calling out for a knife ; but the animal returned, seized bim by the other thigh, and again pulled him under water. He had recourse to his former expedient, and thrust his fingers into its eyes with such violence, that it again quitted him ; and, when the crocodile rose, it flounced about on the surface as if stupid, and then swam down the river. Isaaco reached the bank, bleeding very much, and with his thighs much lacerated : he had also several single teeth wounds on his back. Mr. Park drew the lips of these together with adhesive plaister, and immediately sent him forward, on one of the horses, to the nearest village. Mr. Park now found his situation very perplexing, To go forward without Isaaco would, he knew, involve him in great difficulties ; and to stop till Isaaco reco vered (an event which seemed very doubtful) would throw him into the violence of the rains. There was no other person yvhom he could trust ; and what was still worse, he had not more rice than would serve for tyvo days consumption ; and a great scarcity prevailed in the country. He, however, determined to wait a few days, in order to see how Isaaco's wounds looked. In the mean time he sent round the neighbourhood to purchase rice ; and was fortunate enough to procure about one hundred and twenty pounds. * All the people, except one, yvere now either sick or in a state of extreme debility. For some time past Mr. Park had, every day, caused to be distributed amongst them a camp kettle, full of a strong decoction of Peruvian bark. INTO AFRICA. 249 dtgjjteentl) Bay's instruction. WESTERN NIGRITIA, OR NEGROLAND, CONCLUDED. Conclusion of the Narrative' of Mr. Park's last Mission into the Interior of Africa. On the 10th of July, as the wounds of Isaaco were beginning to look well, Mr. Park determined once more to proceed. They travelled due north, over a ridge of rocks, which formed the only passage across an extensive chain of hills ; and the next day arrived at Keminoom, or Maniakorro, as it is sometimes called, a walled town, the strongest fortified of any they had seen in Africa. For some days past they had enter tained considerable dread respecting this place, as (he sons of Mansa Numma, the king, were considered the greatest thieves on the whole route. Accompanied by Isaaco, as his interpreter, Mr. Park took with him to the king a present, consisting of a fowling-piece, amber, scarlet cloth, beads, balls and flints, and looking- glasses, a soldier's musket, and a pair of handsome silver mounted pistols. These, however, were all re turned, and Mr. Park was obliged to add a silver mounted gun before they would be accepted. Never before had the travellers been in any place yvhere so much theft and impudence prevailed. When they were preparing to depart, the people collected round them in crowds. They had already lost four great coats, a large bundle of beads, a musket, 9. pair of pistols, and several other articles ; and before they had advanced a musket-shot from the town, one of tbe natives contrived to carry away a bag from one of the asses. Mr. Park and Lieutenant Martyn rode after him, and recovered the bag; but before they could rejoin their comrades, another of the town's people M3' 250 park's last mission had run off with a musket that had been fastened to one of the loads. After this, as Mr. Park was riding along, holding his musket carelessly in his hand, two of Numma's sons came up to him. One of them requested him to give them some snuff; and, during the conversation that took place, the other snatched the musket from his hand; and ran off with it. Mr. Park sprang from his saddle, and fol lowed the thief with his sword, but to no purpose; he escaped among the rocks. When Mr. Park returned to his horse, he found that the other had stolen his great coat. The travellers had not proceeded more than five .miles from the town, when a heavy storm came on. During the rain another of Numma's sons snatched up and ran off with one of the soldier's mus kets and a pair of pistols, that had been laid down while the man was reloading his ass. The place where they next halted was in the midst of rocks. Though the rain still descended very heavily, it was found necessary to turn the asses loose, that they might feed. After awhile, an' alarm was given that three people were driving away some of the asses. These were pursued, but they effected their escape. On the ensuing day, while the men were employed in loading the asses, two of them had strayed about two hundred yards from the rest; on which a man came from the rocks, took oft/the load, and began to rip it open with his knife. He was discovered, and pursued, but escaped. In their progress from this place, Mr. Park, determined to keep in the rear of his men for the purpose of watching the luggage, for he yvas still surrounded yvith thieves. These he saw, from time to time, peeping over the rocks, and making signs to their comrades; but, by great vigilance, he cleared the diffi cult passes of the rocks before sun-set, without further loss. After this the travellers entered a forest, and passed a most uncomfortable night among the wet grass, ex posed to a heavy dew. Two nights after this they INTO AFRICA. 251 experienced the most tremendous storm of thunder and lightning that Mr. Park had ever been exposed to. He felt so confident that the tent would be struck by the lightning, that he actually went out of it, and retired to some distance, to avoid the probable explosion of the gunpowder. Several attempts yvere made to plunder them in the woods. One of the sick men had his jacket stripped off, another lost his jacket, and a third his knapsack; and an ass was stolen in the night. On the 19th of July two of the sick men laid them selves down under a tree, and refused to rise : they were stripped by the negroes, and, the next morning, came naked to the tents. Ou the ensuing day Mr. Scott and Lieutenant Martyn yvere found, by Mr. Park, in different places, lying by the path, and so ill that they could not walic. They were, however, brought up in the evening. On the 22d the travellers reached a large fortified town called Bengassi ; and pitched their tents under a tree. The king sent them as a present a bullock and two large calabashes of milk. Mr. Park, accompanied by Isaaco and some 'others, went to him. They found him seated in a sort of shade, surrounded only by a feyv friends. He enquired whether Mr. Park was the yvhite man who had formerly passed through the coun try, ¦ and what could induce him to return ; with a number of similar questions. Mr. Park told him, that he did not come to purchase either slaves or gold ; he did not come to take any man's trade or any man's money from- him ; he did not come to make money, but to spend it; and, for the truth of his assertions, he could appeal to every one who knew or who had travelled with him. He added, that it yvas his present intention to travel peaceably onward into the country of Bambarra ; and that, as a mark of his regard for the name and character of the king, he had brought some articles which the guide would present to him. Isaaco spread thein on the ground : the king looked at them yvith that sort of indifference which an 252 park's last mission African always affects towards things he has not before seen, whether he be pleased yvith them or not; and then told Mr. Park he should have permission to pass. . At Bengassi several of the men were extremely ill. One who had been removed to the shade of a tree, at a tjttle distance from the tents, yvas attacked in the night by wolves : he was roused by their touching his feet, and a horrible howl, yvhich they set up on being dis turbed, alarmed him so much that, ill as he was, he started up and ran to the tents. Another died in the night ; five others yvere too weak to proceed any further, and Mr. Park himself was very sick and faint. The day they left Bengassi, the rain came ou so violently, that both the men and bundles were com pletely wetted. This yvas a serious calamity, as many of the articles were of a perishable nature. In the ensuing night Mr. Park slept most uncomfortably, in wet clothes, and on the wet ground ; and to add to his misery, he was annoyed by the approach of a lion. The sentry fired at the beast, and frightened him away. The weather yvas now become peculiarly unfavour able. Every day there was rain. This sometimes yvas so violent as to prevent the travellers from lighting fires to cook their food ; and sometimes it extinguished the fires which'they made to keep off the wild animals, while they slept. One night, after the yvatch fire had thus been put out, the wolves approached and killed one of the asses. They ate only the internal parts. The remainder of the body was afterwards carried off, and devoured by the people of the neighbourhood. On the 6th of August threeSnore men were unable to proceed. The rain was this day very heavy ; and, to add to the discomfort of Mr. Park, two of the asses, carrying four trunks, in which were the gun-stocks, pistols, looking-glasses, and some other articles, fell dowii in a stream of yvater, and the whole contents yvere wetted. The remainder of the day was chiefly occupied in drying them. Ten pair of ornamented pistols, were cleaned and greased : the looking-glasses INTO AFRICA. 253 also were dried, but they were quite spoiled. The trunk that contained the double-barrelled gun-stocks was opened tbe next morning, and these were all care fully cleaned and greased. One of the soldiers died during the night. About four o'clock in the afternoon of the 10th, the travellers reached a stream,_the western boundary of the kingdom of Bambarra. Mr. Park, yvho was in the rear, had observed that many of the men were excessively fatigued. On the bank of the river he found several of the soldiers sitting; and Mr. Anderson, lying under a bush, apparently dying. He took him on his back, and carried him across the stream. He also carried over the load of an ass which he bad driven, got over the ass, Mr. Anderson's horse, and other things. In these operations he had to cross the stream sixteen times, yvhich, after the labours of the preceding journey, very much fatigued him. To add to his distress, when he arrived at a village near the opposite bank of the stream, he found that no rice was to be had there ; and that his whole stock of this article was nearly ex hausted. He, hoyvever, purchased a small bullock, and some Indian corn. During the last two marches he had lost four men ; and Mr. Anderson still continued extremely ill. When the travellers left this village, Mr. Park led Mr. Anderson's horse by the bridle, that this .gentleman might have no other trouble than to sit upright. In a little time, how ever, he declared that he could ride no further. Mr. Park took him down, placed him in the shade of a bush, and sat down beside him. About tyvo hours afteryvards Mr. Anderson proposed to make another attempt, but he had not ridden more than a hundred yards before Mr. Park had again to take him from the saddle, and lay him in the shade. All thoughts were now given up of being able to proceed till the cool of the evening ; and Mr. Park sat down once more to watch the pulsations of bis dying friend. In the mean time some of the sick men, who had fallen into the rear, came up. At half 254 park's last mission past five a breeze sprung up, and Mr. Anderson endea* voured once more to go on. Mr. Park led the horse at a quick pace, in hopes of being able to reach some village before dark. They had not proceeded more than a mile, when they heard a noise like the barking of a large mastiff, but ending in a fuff like that of a cat. Mr. Park thought it was made by some large monkey; and yvas observing to his friend, " what a bouncing fellow that must be," when they heard another bark nearer to them, and presently a third, still nearer, accompanied by a growl. They had not proceeded an hundred yards further, when, coming to an opening in the bushes, they were astonished to see three lions approaching them. These animals were of a dusky colour, like that of an ass, and very large. They came bounding over the long grass, not one after another, but all abreast. Mr. Park let go the bridle and walked forward to meet them. He fired at the centre one. They stopped, looked at each other, and then bounded away a few paces, when one of them stopped and looked, back. While Mr. Park was anxiously engaged in re-loading his piece, they marched slowly off among the bushes. Mr. Park and his friend had not proceeded more than half a mile further, when they heard another growl close to them among the bushes. This was doubtless made by one of the lions they had lately seen. Mr. Park made a loud noise, and no more was heard of them. Just as it was dark they descended into a valley, the passage to which was through a species of broken ground, such as Mr. Park had never seen but in Africa. A stratum of stiff yellow clay, from fourteen to twenty feet in thickness, (which, unless when it rained, yvas as hard as rock) had been washed by the annual rains into fissures of a depth equal to the thickness of the stratum. There was here no vegetation, .except on the summit or original level. Among these horrible gullies, Mr. Park unfortunately lost sight of the feet marks of the asses wliich had gone before. The ground was INTO AFRICA. 255 rugged, and broken as far as they could see ; and, after travelling some distance further, they came to a gulley yvhich they could not cross. As there was no possi bility of moving further without danger of being killed by falling into some of the hollows, or over some of the precipices, he thought it advisable to halt till the morning. After awhile one of the soldiers came up, and with his assistance Mr. Park lighted a fire. He wrapped Mr. Anderson in the soldier's cloak, laid him down beside the fire, and himself watched all night, to keep the fire burning, and prevent their being sur prised by lions, yvhich he knew to be at no great dis tance. During the night they were joined by two more of the sick men. Mr. Anderson, notwithstanding the wretchedness of their situation, slept well. In the morning they found the feet-marks of the asses which had gone before, and again proceeded. Mr. Scott, and three other sick men, had also lost their way, and had slept at a little distance from the station that had been occupied by Mr. Park and Mr. Anderson. About ten o'clock they reached Koomikoomi, a village surrounded by extensive cornfields. Here the travellers rested two days. At their depar ture a cloak was slung, like a hammock, under a pole; and Mr. Anderson was put into it, and carried on two men's heads, two others following to relieve them. Mr. Scott complained of sickness and headach. He was placed on Mr. Anderson's horse, but when the travellers arrived at their resting-place for the night, he had not come up. A man on horseback was sent in search of him, but without success; and it was supposed that, finding himself unable to proceed, he had returned to Koomikoomi. Mr. Park sent thither, yvith an urgent request to the chief of that village, to take care of him, stating, that every expense which might be incurred should be cheerfully paid. The asses were now all very weak ;' and only one of the soldiers was able to act as a driver. The road also 256 park's last mission , yvas bad. For many succeeding days it was requisite to carry Mr. Anderson. On the 19th of August the travellers ascended a range of lofty mountains, from the summit of which Mr. Park once more saw the Niger or Joliba, as it is here called, rolling its immense stream along the distant plain. After his distressing march of nearly four months, betwixt the Gambia and the Niger, the sight of this river yvas no doubt gratifying to him, inasmuch as he imagined he should now have some alleviation of his toils ; but when he reflected, that of thirty-four soldiers, and four carpenters, who had left the Gambia, only six soldiers and one carpenter remained, and that even these were all in an extremely exhausted stale, the prospect appeared gloomy. He, hoyvever, remarks, with a considerable degree of satisfaction, that his journey hitherto plainly demonstrated two facts, first, that, with common prudence, any quantify of merchandize may be transported from the Gambia to the Niger; and, secondly, that if the journey be performed in the dry season, it is probable that not more than three or four men out of fifty, would be lost. With some difficulty, the travellers descended the steep side of the hill toyvards Bambakoo, a village on the northern bank of the Niger. The dooty sent them a bullock. This was fastened to a tree close to the tent, yvhere all the asses were tied'; but, as soon as it was dark, the wolves attacked it and tore its bowels out. These animals also dragged two large cloth bundles, from the tent to a considerable distance ; and they ate off the skins with which they were covered. Mr. Park continued three days at this village, where he hired canoes to convey himself, Mr. Anderson, and two other persons, down the Niger, while Mr. Martyn, with the remainder of the party, proceeded by land. They embarked on the 22d of August, and the river, which was here at least a mile across, ran eastward at into Africa; 257 the rate of nearly five miles an hour, and carried thera along without any other efforts of the rowers than to keep the canoes in a proper course; On passing an island, in one of the rapids, they saw, close to them, a large elephant, of red clay colour, with black legs ; and near another island three hippopotami. The report of a musket frightened them all away. As the canoes were gliding along the shore, one of the men struck a fine turtle yvith his spear, and brought it on board. At sun-set the party landed on some flat rocks, aud began to cook their turtle for supper; but, before this aldermanic repast was half prepared, the rain came on, and continued with unabated .violence all night. At day-break they again embarked, very wet and sleepy. They passed another rapid, and reached Mar- raboo about nine o'clock. In the evening Lieutenant Marty n and the other people arrived. The dooty sent them a small bullock ; but this man was so super stitious that, during the yvhole time the travellers con tinued at Marraboo, he confined himself to his hut, imagining, that if he only saw a white man he should never afterwards prosper. From this place Mr. Park sent Isaaco to Sego, the capital of Bambarra, with a present to Mansong, the king of that place. This consisted of a plated tureen, two pair of silver-mounted pistols, a sabre, and a con siderable quantity of cloth. During nearly three weeks that Mr. Park continued at Marraboo, he suffered much from illness, but he was gradually recovered by a free use of calomel. Mansong sent six canoes from Sego, with orders that the travellers should be conveyed to that town. They consequently left Marraboo ou the 13th of September. Some days afteryvards Mr. Park received a message from Mansong, informing him that he should be pro tected till he had "passed Tombuctoo, r and, in reply to a wish that he had expressed, respecting the navigation of the Joliba, downward, towards its termination, he 258 park's last mission was informed that he might construct any vessels that he chose, at any of four places which were mentioned. Mr. Park made choice of Sansanding, a village lower down the river than Sego. This place he reached in the morning of the 27th of September; and such crowds of people cariie to the shore, to see the white men, that they could not la/id the baggage, till these had all been driven away. The travellers were here accommodated with a large hut for sitting in, and another, communicating with it, for their baggage. Sansanding is supposed by Mr. Park to have con tained about eleven thousand inhabitants. It had no public buildings, except mosques, two of yvhich, though constructed of mud, were by no means inelegant. The market-place was a large square, and the different articles of merchandize were exposed for sale on stalls covered with mats, to shade them from the sun. The market was crowded yvith people from morning till night. Some of the stalls contained nothing but beads ; others exhibited indigo in balls ; others wood-ashes in balls; and others cloth, the manufacture of Africa. Mr. Park observed one stall with nothing but antimony in small bits ; another with sulphur; and a third with copper, and silver rings, and bracelets. In houses fronting the square, yvere sold scarlet cloth, amber, silks from Morocco, and tobacco. Adjoining to this was the salt-market, part of yvhich occupied one corner of the square. A large butcher's stall or shade was in the centre of the square. There yvas a beer market at a little distance, under two large trees. This liquor was sold in calabashes, each of which contained about two gallons. Near the beer market yvas a place where red and yellow leather was sold. Besides these, there was a space appropriated for a great market every Tuesday. On this day astonishing crowds of people came from the country, to purchase articles for the purpose of retailing them in the adjacent villages. As Mr. Park considered that it would be requisite INTO AFRICA. 259 for him to furnish himself at Sansanding, yvith a stock of cowries, or small shells, which here are the cur rent money of the country, he opened a shop, on the 8th of October, in great style, and exhibited for sale a choice assortment of European articles. His success for nine days was so great as not only to draw upon him the envy of all the other merchants ; but to oblige him sometimes to employ three tellers at once to count his money. On one of the days he received near twenty- six thousand cowries. Mansong, in exchange for some articles that had been sent to him by Mr. Park, forwarded to Sansand ing a large canoe. This, however, was so rotten, that eighteen days were occupied in repairing it. Thus re newed, Mr. Park named it " His Majesty's Schooner Joliba." Its length was forty feet, its breadth six feet ; and, being flat-bottomed, it drew only one foot of water yvhen loaded. Whilst he yvas at Marraboo, Mr. Park had sent a person to Koomikoomi, for the purpose of ascertaining the particulars respecting Mr. Scott. The messenger returned with the melancholy intelligence that Mr. Scott was dead. This yvas to Mr. Park a great loss ; but, on the 28th of October, he sustained one still greater, in the death of his brother-in-layv and friend, Mr. Anderson. He says, "that no event which took place during the journey, ever threw the smallest gloom over his mind, till he had laid Mr. Anderson in the grave. He then felt himself, as if left a second time lonely and friendless amidst the wilds of Africa." On the 16th of November, the schooner being com pleted, and every thing prepared for the voyage, Mr. Park put the finishing hand to his journal, aud in the course of the three days previous to his embarkation, he wrote letters to Mr.Anderson, his father-in- layv, Sir Joseph Banks, Lord Camden, and Mrs. Park. From these we collect that he proposed to sail from Sansanding on the 19th : to keep the middle of the river ; and to make the best use he could of winds and currents, till he could 2(50 PARK'S LAST MISSION INTO AFRICA. reach the termination of this mysterious stream. At the recommendation of Isaaco, he had hired as a guide Amadi -Fatouma, one of the greatest travellers in this part of Africa. Amadi had informed him that the Niger, after it passed Kdshna, ran directly to the right hand, or the south, but that he had never heard of any person yvho had seen its termination. Mr. Park enter tained a hope of being able to reach the sea in the course of three months. At the time of his embarkation he had to regret, that of forty-four Europeans, who had left the Gambia in perfect health, only five then remained, namely, himself, Lieutenant Martyn, and three soldiers, one of whom was deranged in his mind. " But," he observes in his letter to Lord Camden, "though all the Europeans who are with me should die, and though I yvere myself half dead, 1 would still persevere ; and if I could not suc ceed in the object of my journey, I would at last die on the Niger." Here all authentic information concerning this inde fatigable and intelligent traveller unfortunately termi nates. His letters and journal he sent by Isaaco to the Gambia, and they were thence transmitted to England. In the course of the year 1806, accounts were brought by native traders, from the interior of Africa, that Mr. Park and his few remaining companions had been mur dered. These rumours increasing, and no authentic intelligence concerning him having been received, Lieu tenant Colonel Maxwell, then governor of Senegal, ob tained permission from the British government to send a proper person into the country, to make inquiries concerning his fate. The person fixed upon for this mission, was Isaaco, yvho happened then to be in Sene gal. He commenced his journey in January, 1810, and reached Sansanding on the 4th of October. At a vil lage not far from that town, he found Amadi Fatouma, the guide whom he had recommended to Mr. Park, SIERRA LEONE. 26l From this person he learnt that Mr. Park, Lieutenant Martyn, and three other yvhite men, with three slaves, having proceeded down the Niger, into the country oi Houssa, were attacked by the natives at a village called Boussa: that the party in the boat defended themselves with the utmost bravery ; but that, being overpowered by numbers, all the white men perished. This melancholy event is supposed to have taken place about four months after their departure from Sansand ing. Some difference of opinion has been entertained re specting the place and manner of Mr. Park's death ; but the fact itself has been established by accounts received from so many different sources, that it is impossible to doubt it. jgtnctccntfj Bag's instruction. UPPER GUINEA. Sierra Leone, Grain Coast, Ivory Coast, Gold Coast. We now proceed to the countries south of the river Gambia. These, along the sea-coast, as far as Cape Negro, or about the 16th degree of south latitude, have the general appellation of GUINEA; and are divided "into Upper and Lower Guineas the former compre hending chiefly the countries of Sierra Leone, the Grain Coast, Ivory Coast, Gold Coast, Slave Coast, and Benin; and the latter, Loango, Congo, Angola, and Benguela. Sierra Leone is the most western country of Upper Guinea, and is said to have been so called because it is mountainous, and because the mountains formerly abounded in lions. 262 winterbottom's It extends from the river Nunez, on the north, to Cape Mesurado, the western boundary of the Grain Coast ; and is composed of several states or kingdoms, of which Foulah and Foota Jallo seem to be the chief. This country is watered by the Mitomba, one of the largest and most beautiful rivers of Africa. At the mouth of this river an association of English gentle men, in the year 1787, established a settlement, and built a town, on land which they purchased of the prince of the country. In this settlement it was the design of the proprietors that all the blacks and people of colour, who were employed, should he free. Their project/however, failed, and a few years afterwards an arrangement was made, by which the whole property was transferred to the English government, and Sierra Leone was placed on the same footing as other colonies. About the same time a society, under the title of "The African Institution," was formed by a body of respect able individuals in England, with a general view to the improvement and cultivation of the African continent, and particularly for promoting the abolition of the slave trade. Sierra Leone appeared to be the best centre whence such effects could be attained ; and this colony has since been placed under their direction. Account of the Colony of Sierra Leone and the adja cent country. Taken chiefly from a work published by Thomas Winterbottom, M.D. Physician to the Colony. The land forming the peninsula of the colony at Sierra Leone, when viewed from the sea, appears hke a num ber of hills heaped upon each other in an irregular manner. On a nearer approach it assumes a more beautiful aspect. The rugged aspect of the mountains is softened by the lively verdure with which they are always clad; for, even in their most craggy and inacces sible parts, they are covered with forests, and the lower grounds are cultivated, and preserve their verdure nearly ACCOUNT OF SIERRA LEONE. 263 through the whole year. The opposite, or northern shore, is low and swampy, but in many parts remarkably fertile. On the south side of the river, and at the distance of about six miles from its mouth, is Free Town, the principal place in the colony. It is built on ground which rises abruptly from the water's edge, to the height of about fifty feet, and then proceeds, with a gentle and gradual ascent, for about three quarters of a mile, to the foot of the mountains. This place con tains about four hundred houses, arranged in regular streets, eighty feet, and upwards in width. Each house stands separate, and has a small garden attached to it. In the month of October, 1794, Free Town was plun dered, and all the principal buildings were burnt by the French ; and some time elapsed before they could be restored. Most of the houses are constructed of timber; and few of them have any chimnies, the fire for culinary purposes being made either in the open air, or in small detached buildings. The residence of the governor is a wooden edifice, one story high, surrounded by a spa cious piazza, and situated on an eminence between the town and the mountains. It commands an extensive and beautiful prospect : particularly every street, and nearly every house in the town, are visible from it. Over the town are seen the bay and shipping, and be yond these the ocean. On the right is the river, vvhich flows majestically for several miles above the colony: on the left are mountains covered with trees ; and the back ground is closed by immense forests, which rise like an amphitheatre, and occasionally have their sum mits veiled in clouds. The climate of Sierra Leon6 is hot, and, at certain seasons of the year, unhealthy, but in general thp heat is moderated by cooling breezes from the sea. The rainy season regularly commences about the end of May. It continues four months, and is both introduced and 26i WINTERBOTTOM S concluded -by tornados, or violent gusts of wind, at tended by dreadful storms of thunder, lightning, and rain. Twilight here is of short duration ; and, almost im mediately after the disappearance of the sun, a loud concert of crickets and other insects commences. This continues through the night, with, occasionally,- a solemn pause for a few moments, as if by mutual consent; after which the vocal band proceed with redoubled ardour. If a few drops of rain happen to fall, the concert is joined by the deep bass of the frogs ; and it is audible even to a considerable distance from the shore. In the day time, when the sun, after a heavy shower. of rain, breaks through the fog, a thick steam rises from the ground, and often rests for some time on the sides of the hills, and covers their summits as if yvith a cap. On some parts of the coast these appearances are called smokes ; and they are supposed to be pecu liarly injurious to health. The air on the sea coast is in general so humid, that salt and sugar can scarcely be preserved in a dry and hard state, leather soon becomes mouldy and rots, and iron is so soon corroded by rust, that, if a thick bar of this metal be left on the ground five or six years, it may easily be broken to pieces. The quickness and luxuriancy of vegetation at Sierra Leon6 is such, that plants may almost be seen to grow. The whole agricultural process consists in throwing rice upon the ground, and slightly scratching it over with a kind of hoe. It is usually reaped by cutting off the spikes very close, and then tying them up into sheaves as large as the hand will conveniently grasp. As soon as the harvest is completed, the ears are spread upon the ground, and the grain is beaten out of them with sticks. Rice constitutes the chief food of the inhabi tants of Africa, from the river Gambia as far as the Gold Coast. In the neighbourhood of Sierra Leon6, the people grow plantains, maize, or Indian corn, Gui nea corn, sweet potatoes, millet, and cassada. ACCOUNT OF SIERRA LEONE. 265 This country, also produces several species of fruit in great perfection, particularly pine-apples and oranges. Grapes grow in abundance, but from want of attention to their culture they are in general too acid to be eaten. The forest trees do not, as in Europe, lose all their ver dure at once, but the leaves are gradually shed and renewed, so as always to afford shade, and to retain the constant appearance of summer. Bananas, cocoa-nut trees, guavas, and pawpaws are very abundant. The palm trees furnish the native inhabitants with a juice, of which they make wine, and with leaves to thatch their houses : the fibres of the leaves are made into fishing-lines ; the inner bark is manufactured info cloth, and the outer bark into baskets, mats, and other arti cles. From the fruit of the' palm tree a kind of oil is obtained, which is used instead of butter. In the Woods of the interior, numerous species of parrots and other beautiful birds are found;- as well as many wild beasts, particularly elephant's, leopards, jackals, wild boars, and monkeys. There are also seve ral kinds of serpents, some of which are of enormous size. The Sierra Leon6 river abounds in fish, but it is much infested by alligators. * A very extraordinary account has been given of a species of termites or white ants, which are found in this country, and yvhich form conical nests of clay ten or twelve feet in height above the surface of the ground. These nests are, in some places, so numerous that, at a little distance, they appear like villages of the negroes. The insects are in myriads, and the utmost care is sometimes requisite to prevent them from committing the most injurious depredations near the places which they inhabit. < - The native inhabitants of Sierra Leon6, both men and women, are in general above the middle size, and, though chiefly negroes, are well proportioned. The women, in particular, are said to be the handsomest people upon the whole coast. The dress of those who inhabit the maritime districts, consists of a shirt, trow- Trav. N 266 winterbottom's sers, and a woollen cap. When they work in the fields, they seldom wear more than a piece of cloth wrapped round their waist. Those who can afford it, are fond of indulging their vanity in imitating the European mode of dress, and of displaying all the finery they can pro cure. They love to. deck themselves in tawdry embroi dered silk clothes, yvith a profusion of gold and silver tinsel. The dress of the Foolahs and Mahometans con sists of a large flowing robe of white or blue cotton, resembbng a surplice. These people wear wide drawers, which reach a little below the knees, and sometimes, by way of ornament, a bit of red; cloth is patched upon the drawers behind, in the bend of the knee. On their feet they wear sandals, and they cover their heads either with red worsted caps, or with caps of blue cloth. Some of the Foolahs roll a cotton cloth round the bottom of their cap, so as to make it resemble a turban. The women, though fond of dress, do not render themselves so ridiculous as the men. A large cotton cloth wrapped round the waist, and reaching to the ankles, constitutes the chief part of their attire. The arms and upper parts of the body are generally left ex posed ; though sometimes to guard against cold, or to display a little finery, another piece of cloth is carelessly thrown over the shoulders. In different parts of the country these people have numerous towns and villages, built in a circle, inclosing an area, in the midst of which is an edifice called the palaver-house, or town-hall. The- private houses are each only one story high, of square or circular form, and with conical roofs; so as, at a little distance, to have the appearance of small hayricks. They are generally so close to each other, that, if one of them happen to c^itch fire, the yvhole town is consumed. The palaver- house is of oblong shape, has no walls, and consists only of a roof supported by posts. Sohie of these houses are so large as to be capable of containing two or three hundred people. Here the inhabitants transact all public business between themselves and their neigh ACCOUNT OF SIERRA LEONE. 267 hours: they are the chief places of resort; and the roofs serve as public granaries for rice. Many of the towns are surrounded by walls or palisades, the gates of which are always shut at night. In the interior of the country, and at the distance of about two hundred and fifty miles north-east of the Free-town, is Teemboo, the capital of Foota Jallo. It contains about eight thousand inhabitants, chiefly Ma hometans; and the houses are in general well built, and at a little distance from each other, for the purpose of guarding against accidents by fire. There are in this place several mosques, and some schools in which young persons are instructed in the Mahometan religion. The ' inhabitants have extensive manufactories of iron. They also work in silver, wood, and leather, and weave a kind of cotton cloth, which theyvconvert into articles of dress. In the vicinity of Teemboo there are iron mines, sunk to a considerable depth beneath the surface of the ground. These have many long galleries, or hori zontal passages, and are wrought entirely by women. Grain Coast. Continuing our progress from Sierra Leone along the shore, in a south-easterly direction, we cross the river Mesurado, and enter that part of Africa called the Grain Coast. Here the country is extremely fertile, producing sugar-canes and indigo without culture. This coast has its name, not as might be imagined from its great abundance of corn, but from producing in abun dance a drug called " Grains of Paradise." It extends about a hundred leagues, from Cape Musurado to Cape Palmas ; and is, in general, low, flat, covered with forests, and watered by numerous streams. The climate is con sequently unhealthy, and particularly so to Europeans. Its artificial produce consists, among other things, of peas, beans, gourds, lemons, oranges, and bananas; and N2 268 GRAIN COAST. cows, sheep, hogs, and goats are here very plentiful. Since the abolition of the slave trade, the chief com merce of the country has consisted in grains of paradise and ivory. The inhabitants are principally negroes ; and are, for the most part, a peaceable and industrious people, though many of them are greatly addicted to thieving. Their usual dress consists only of an unshaped piece of cloth tied round their waist. Several of the me chanic arts are here understood and practised. These people are able to temper steel, and to make weapons, and steel instruments of various kinds. They are likewise skilful' in husbandry; but this, and indeed nearly all the laborious offices, are performed by wo men. Iu the construction of their houses, they unite neatness and convenience, apd their furniture and domestic utensils are much better formed than those of "" the generality of negroes. They are governed by a king, who exercises a des potic authority over his subjects, and who never ap pears abroad without the utmost pomp and magnifi cence. The negroes of the Grain Coast are said to believe in a future state ; but their religion is an idolatry devoid of any regular principles. Ivory Coast. Eastward of Cape Palmas yve enter the Ivory Coast. This extends about three hundred and thirty miles, as far as Cape Apollonia. The shore, in gene ral, is flat; and a high surf which breaks upon it prevents vessels from anchoring near any part of it in safety. The inhabitants are the only people who can combat, in their little canoes, with its winds, tides, and waves. The interior of the country is little known, as the inhabitants do not allow Europeans to establish settlements among them ; but it is said to be moun tainous, and to contain numerous villages, surrounded IVORY COAST. 269 by lofty palm and cocoa-nut trees, and an abundance of cotton, orange, and citron trees. Rioe, sugar-canes, and indigo, are here produced in great luxuriance. The negroes of this coast, who formerly were an ho nest, gentie, and peaceable race, have, by their occa sional dealings yvith European traders, become suspici ous, deceitful, and cruel. They are tall and well formed, but their features on the first glance are hideous. They file their teeth to a sharp point, which they consider peculiarly ornamental : long nails and a great quantity of hair are also much admired by them. Round their ankles they wear large and heavy rings of iron, to which they often suspend a great number of little bells. The common people wear only a piece of cloth round their waist ; but the more opulent persons have a sort of cloak, with long sleeves, which hangs below the knee. The dress of the women consists only of a piece of cloth, which falls over the front of the body, leaving tlieir backs quite naked. They adorn their hair with little plates of gold. In their habits, man ners, and religion, the natives of the Ivory coast re semble most of the other negroes of Guinea. From the fibres of a plant resembling hemp, the inhabitants of a district, called Quagua, manufacture a kind of cloth yvhich they dye of beautiful colours, and paint in imitation of flowers. All the interior countries abound in elephants, and furnish the most beautiful ivory in the world. Gold Coast. Proceeding still in an easterly direction, we next arrive at the Gold Coast, yvljich commences near Cape Apollonia, and extends about four hundred miles, to the Rio Volta. From the sea this part of Africa has the appearance of an immense forest: high lands are visible in different directions, crowned' with lofty trees and thick underwoods. On a nearer examination of the country, the valleys are, in many 270 GOLD COAST. places, seen to be richly planted ; and, in different parts there are extensive plains, beautifully decorated with clumps of trees and bushes. The country is hot and unhealthy; but the generality of Europeans, who have settled here, have suffered much more from their own excesses and imprudence than from the unhealthi ness of the climate. , On this coast there have been many European fac tories or settlements. Not long ago the Danes had five, the Dutch twelve, and the English nine. The principal inducement for these was the great quantity of gold washed from the hills of the interior, and found in the channels of the rivers and torrents. The other articles pf traffic are chiefly pepper, palm oil, cowries, and ivory. The first place on the coast is Apollonia, about three miles east of the Cape. This is an English settle ment, on an extensive plain, and defended by a fort. Towards the interior it has a lake of fresh water, about six miles in circuit, which abounds in fish, and in which N there is a small village, erected on wooden piles. The inhabitants of this village are said to have been exiles from the interior of the country, who were not per mitted to build on the land. On the whole coast of Apollonia, which extends about a hundred miles, the surf is extremely dangerous, and there are no creeks nor harbours for shipping. The next settlement is called Axim. It belongs to the Dutch, and contains many populous villages, inha bited by an industrious race of negroes. Here the approach to the coast is also dangerous on account of rocks and shoals. The principal English settlement is at Cape Coast Castle, a place containing about eight thousand inha bitants. It has a fort, origiually constructed by the Portuguese. This is built on a rock, and has been strengthened so as now to be capable of making a powerful resistance on the side -towards the sea; but it is extremely vulnerable towards the land, for it is ASHANTEE. 271 overlooked by hills, and is thus rendered almost de fenceless. The town is in the rear of the castle, and is a dirty and irregularly built place. The houses are con structed principally of clay, and in a square form. During the existence of the slave trade, the country around Cape Coast was a great centre of that nefarious traffic, which brought a rapid accumulation of wealth to the native traders in every town and village. The present trade consists chiefly in gold and ivory. 1 SCfoenttctD Bag's ^Instruction. UPPER GUINEA, CONTINUED. Ashantee. The interior of the G.old Coast is, in many parts, mountainous and woody, and occupied by numerous kingdoms and states, inhabited by negroes. Some of these are populous, yvealthy, and powerful; but tbe most important and most extraordinary of the whole seems to be Ashantee. This is a country yvhich extends two or three hundred miles from the coast, was first heard of about the year 1700, and was little known even twenty years ago. A Dauish physician, whose name was Isert, appears to have visited Ashan tee about the year 1796. He says that the king of this country had a piece of gold, as a charm, heavier than four men could carry, and that innumerable slaves were constantly at work for him in the mountains, each of whom was expected to collect or produce two ounces of gold per day. In the years 1807, 18,11, and 1316, the armies of Ashantee invaded the territories adjacent to the English settlements, and committed great devastation. They were found to be an extremely numerous and formid- 272 bowdich's able body of men ; it was, therefore, resolved by the committee of the African Company, to obtain if possi ble the friendship of the king, and for this purpose to send a mission to him with liberal and suitable presents. This company also associated scientific with political objects, and gave directions that, as far as possible, the state ofthe country, its soil and productions, names and distance, ¦ the latitude and longitude of the principal places; and the appearance, characters, manners, reli gion, laWs, customs, and forms of government of the in habitants, should be ascertained. The conduct of the mission was given to Mr. James, a gentleman who had been some time resident in Africa. He yvas accompanied by Mr. Bowdich, who was furnished yvith instruments for determining the latitude and longitude ; by Mr. Hutch inson, a writer ; and Mr. Tedlie, an assistant surgeon ; a carpenter, bricklayer, and cooper; and several at tendants. Mr. James was directed to see the'king, and to impress upon his mind the great power, wealth, and consequence of the British nation-: and how much it yvas the interest of himself and his subjects to pro mote and to perpetuate a free intercourse with the sea through their means. Narrative of Mr. Bowdich's Mission from Cape Coast Castle, to Ashantee. The mission left Cape Coast Castle on the morning of the 22d of April, 1817; the officers being carried in hammocks slung upon poles. They proceeded a little distance eastward along tbe coast, before they struck off into the interior. In an early part of the journey they. passed through a beautiful valley, profusely covered with pines, aloes, and lilies ; and richly varied yvith palm, banana, plantain, and guava trees. Mr. Bow dich had never before seen soil so rich, nor vegetation so luxuriant. At a croom, or collection of Indian huts, about eigh teen miles from the coast, they rested one day, for the mission to ashantee. 273 purpose of obtaining provisions to serve them during the remainder of their journey. This croom was pret tily situated on a plain encircled by trees ; and it con sisted of a broad and clean street of small huts, formed of bamboo frames, and neatly thatched. Among the woods of a marsh, at a little distance from it, Mr. Bow dich observed many small birds of beautiful plumage, the nests of which were suspended from the trees. The chief man of the croom had a corn plantation well cul tivated, and a farm house. His own dwelling was a square edifice with four apartments. These we're en tered from an outer one, where several drums were kept. In the angles yvere apartments for his slaves; and his own room, which had a small inner chamber, yvas decorated with muskets, blunderbusses, cartouch belts, and other ornaments. The whole place and fur niture exhibited a great attention to order, cleanliness, and comfort. The sun had just set, and a cheerful fire, on a clean hearth, supported the evening meal. The old chief was seated in his state chair, diverting him self with his children and younger wives; the oldest wife looking on from an opposite apartment with great indifference. On the 26th the mission left this place, and pro ceeded tlirough tyvo romantic little valleys, the hills around yvhich were ornamented yvith trees which exhi bited almost every tint and character of foliage. In one place, the cotton trees, yvhich shaded the fore ground, were near one hundred and forty feet in height. The mission next entered a forest, impervious to the sun. Here the travellers suffered great inconvenience from troops of large black ants, which yvere too nume rous to be avoided ; and which, by severely stinging them, occasioned great pain. In one part of this forest they rested for the night, sleeping in hammocks slung upon the lower branches of trees. The next morning they continued their march through the same dark soli tude, and passed three small streams, two rivers, and five or six swamps. N3 274 bowdich's On the ensuing night they were obliged to halt in a place where the ground was very damp, and swarmed with reptiles and insects. From this place the path was a labyrinth of the most capricious windings, obstructed in almost every part by the roots of cotton trees. Im mense trunks of fiillen trees 'likewise presented incessant barriers to their progress. The travellers also were frequently obliged to wait till the underwood was cut away before they could proceed. In every part of this forest, the trees were covered with parasitica} and climbing plants. Some of these, like small cables, as cended the trunks to a great height, then abruptly shot downward, crossed to the opposite trees, and threaded each other in the utmost perplexity of twists and turn ings. Parrots, and crown birds, were numerous among the branches. An almost uninterrupted succession of woods ex tended beyond the northern boundary of Ashantee. Here the travellers crossed a small river, wliich is be lieved by the inhabitants of the adjacent country, to instil eloquence ; and for this purpose, great numbers of them annually repair to its banks to drink of it. At one of the crooms which the travellers soon after wards entered, they stopped awhile, at the request of a venerable old man, and were regaled by him with some palm wine and fruit. The manners of this old man yvere very pleasing, and it gave them great pain to be in formed that his life had been forfeited to some super stitious observances. Notwithstanding' this, he con versed cheerfully with them, and congratulated himself on having seen white men before he died. His head arrived at the capital of Ashantee on the day after the travellers reached it. They next passed a very large croom called Doom- passee. Here cloths, beads, and pottery were manufac turing, and blacksmiths' forges were at work on all sides. The mission continued at Doompassee till the 14th. On the ensuing day they were met by a messen ger from the king of Ashantee, who appointed them to mission to ashantee. 27.r» enter the capital, on the Monday following j and who presented them with a sheep, forty yams, and two ounces of gold. Indications of a thickly inhabited country were soon afterwards observable ; and cultivated grounds became more frequent and more extensive than any the travel lers had before seen. About two o'clock of Monday the 19th of May, the mission arrived at Coomassie, the capital of Ashantee. They entered the town, passing under a fetish, or sa crifice of a dead sheep, wrapped up in red silk, and suspended between two lofty poles. Upwards of five thousand people, all negroes, and the greater part war riors, met them with awful bursts of martial music : this consisted of the discordant sound of horns, drums, rattfes, and gong-gongs, exerted with a zeal bordering on frenzy. The smoke by which the travellers were en circled, from the incessant firing of muskets, prevented their view from being extended beyond the immediately surrounding objects. They halted ; and several of the Ashantee captains performed a war dance, in the cen tre of a circle formed by warriors, where a confusion of flags, English, Dutch, and Danish, were flourished in all directions. The dress of the captains was a war cap, with gilded rams' horns, projecting in front ; the sides extended to an immense height with plumes of eagles' feathers, and fastened under the chin by bands of small shells. Their vest was of red cloth, covered with fetishes, and saphies, or charms, consisting of scraps of Moorish writing,- in gold and silver. Numerous em broidered cases, of almost every colour,, intermixed with small brass bells, the horns and tails of animals, shells and knives were suspended from various parts of their body and arms. Long leopards' tails hung down their backs over a small bow covered with fetishes. They wore loose cotton trowsers, and immense boots of a dull red leather : these came half way up their thighs, and were fastened by small chains to a belt which passed round their waist. A small quiver of poisoned arrows hung 276 bowdich's from their right hands; and each held between the teeth a long iron chain, having a scrap of Moorish writ ing affixed to the end of it. In their left hand they carried a small spear covered with red cloth and silk tassels. After the dance had continued about half an hour, the travellers were permitted to proceed, encircled by warriors, and immense crowds, of people. When they reached the palace, which was about half a mile from the place where they had entered, they were again halted, aud an open file yvas made, through which their bearers passed, to deposit in a house assigned to the mission, the presents and baggage they had brought yvith them. Here they were gratified by observing several of the caboceers.or governors of districts, pass by with their trains, the novel splendour of which greatly astonished them.' The bands of music, principally consisting of horns and flutes, trained to play in concert, soothed the ears ofthe strangers by their wild melodies; whilst im mense umbrellas, made to sink and rise from the jerkings of the bearers, and large fans waved around, refreshed them yvith gentle currents of air, under a burning sun,- amidst clouds of dust, and in a density of atmosphere, that yvas almost suffocating. They were next conducted up a long street to an open-fronted house, where they were desired, by a> royal messenger, to await a further invitation from the king. Here their attention yvas attracted by a most inhuman spectacle, which, for a few minutes, yvas paraded before them. This was a man whom the people were torment ing previously to his being sacrificed. His hands were pinioned behind him, a knife was passed 'through his cheeks, to which his lips yvere noosed like the figure of 8 ; one ear was cut off, and carried befo/e him, aud the other hung to his head by a small bit of skin : there yvere several gashes in his back, and a knife was thrust under each shoulder blade. He was led by a cord passed though his nose. The sensations which this savage barbarity excited in the travellers, cannot be mission to ashantee. 277 described. They were, however, in some degree re lieved from them by the arrival of a person who brought them permission to proceed to the king ; and they passed through a street, about a quarter of a mile in length, to the market place. The scene yvhich here burst upon them excited their utmost astonishment. An area, nearly a mile in cir cumference, was crowded yvith magnificence and no velty. The king, his tributaries, and captains, yvere resplendent in the distance, surrounded by attendants of every description, and fronted by a mass of warriors which seemed to render the approach to them imper vious. The sun was reflected, yvith a glare scarcely more supportable than that of his heat, from the massy gold ornaments which glistened in every direction. More than a hundred bands of music, on the arrival of the strangers, burst forth at once yvith the peculiar airs of their respective chiefs. At least a hundred umbrellas, or canopies, each of which would have sheltered thirty persons, were incessantly moved up and down by the bearers. The effect of these was extremely brilliant, from their being made of silks of scarlet, yellow, and other showy colours, and being crowned at the top with crescents, pelicans, barrels, and arms and swords of gold. They were of various shapes ; and their valances yvere fantastically scalloped, ornamented, and fringed. A few of them were covered yvith leopard-skins, and were crowned yvith the stuffed skins of animals. State hammocks, like long cradles, were also raised in the rear ; the cushions and pillows of these were covered with crimson taffeta, and the richest cloths hung over tlieir sides. Innumerable small umbrellas, of various coloured stripes, yvere crowded in the intervals. The king's messengers, with gold breast-plates, made way for the gentlemen of the mission, who, as they passed along, stopped to take the hand of every cabo- ceer. These yvore Ashantee cloths, of extravagant price, from the costly foreign silks which had been un ravelled to weave them in innumerable varieties both of 278 bowdich's colour and pattern. They were of almost incredible size and weight, and were thrown over the shoulder exactly like the ancient Roman toga. A small silken fillet generally encircled the temples of the caboceers, and they wore massive gold necklaces, intricately wrought. Some of them had necklaces of beads, which reached nearly to their waist ; and innumerable other ornaments' of gold, shells, &c. on and around various parts of their bodies. Their sandals yvere of green, red, and white leather. Manillas, or rings of gold, and im mense lumps of gold, hung from their left wrists.. Gold and silver pipes and canes dazzled the eye in every di rection. The heads of wolves and rams cast in gokL ' and as large as life, were suspended from their gold- handled swords. The blades ofthe swords were broad and rounded at the extremity, and rusted with blood. There were many large drums, each carried on the head of one man, and beaten by two others. These drums were braced round with human thigh bones, and ornamented with skulls. Kettle-drums, covered with leopard-skin, were placed on the ground, and scraped with wet fingers. Smaller drums were suspended from the necks of many ofthe attendants, by scarfs of red cloth. War- caps of eagles' feathers Jiodded in the rear, and large fans of the wing feathers of the ostrich, yvere played around the dignitaries. Immediately behind their chairs, which were formed of black yvood, richly inlaid with ivory and gold, stood numerous ranges of handsome slaves, all splendidly adorned. The stools of the warriors, or seats on which they sat in council, formed of the most laborious carved work, and generally having two large bells attached to .them, were conspicuously placed on the heads of their favourites; and crowds of young boys yvere seated around, flourishing elephants' tails curi ously mounted. The warriors sat on the ground close to these boys, and were so numerous, that the strangers could not pass without treading on their feet. These people were all negroes, but in one place were several Moors arrayed in large cloaks of white satin, richly MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 279 trimmed with spangled embroidery ; and having on their heads immense turbans of yvhite muslin, each with a border of different coloured stones. When the gentlemen of the mission approached the king, they found him sitting, surrounded by a splendid retinue, and having before him a great quantity of mas sive silver plate, consisting of punch bowls, waiters, coffee pots, tankards, and a large vessel with heavy handles and clawed feet, which seemed to have been made to hold incense. His manners were dignified, but courteous. He did not allow his surprise to deprive him for a moment of the composure of the monarch. He wore a fillet of beads round his temples, and a neck lace of gold ornaments shaped Uke cocks' spurs. Over his right shoulder he had a red silk cord, suspending three saphies, or charms, cased in gold. His bracelets were formed of beads and gold : his knees were sur rounded by bands of beads, and his ankles with gold ornaments of delicate workmanship, representing small drums, stools, swords, guns, and birds, clustered toge ther. From his waist downward, he was clad in dark green silk. A pointed diadem was painted in white on his forehead; the representation of an epaulet yvas figured on each shoulder ; and a large ornament, like a full-grown rose, covered his whole breast. His sandals Were of a soft white leather, embossed across the instep with small gold and silver cases of saphies. He was seated in a low chair, richly ornamented with gold ; and had on his finger and thumb a pair of gold castanets, which he occasionally clapped to enforce silence. The belts of the guards, which stood behind his chair, were cased in gold, and covered with small representations of human jaw bones formed of the same metal. Tbe royal stool, or throne, was entirely cased in gold. Large circles of gold were hung by scarlet cloth from the swords of state ; and the sheaths and handles of these yvere also cased with the same metal. The' breasts of many of the attendants were adorned with large stars, stools, crescents, and other ornaments of solid gold. 280 bowdich's The gentlemen pursued their course througb this splendid circle, which afforded a variety that exceeded both description and memory. So many novelties tended to divert their attention from the fatigue, heat, and pressure they were enduring ; but their disappoint ment was extremely great, when, instead of now being conducted to their residence, they yvere led to some seats < under a tree to receive the compliments of the whole company. This ceremony occupied several hours, and was not ended till long after it yvas dark. The number of warriors assembled on this occasion, was estimated by Mr. Boyvdich, to be about thirty thousand. At the conclusion, the strangers yvere led to a range of spacious but ruinous buildings,^hich had belonged to the son of one of the former kings. On the ensuing morning, the king sent for them to the market place, to speak their palaver, as it is termed, or to discuss the subject of the mission^ that all the people might hear it. They went thither, aud found him encircled by extremely splendid insignia, and sur rounded by his caboceers, or chief magistrates. Mr. James, the conductor of the mission, declared, through his linguist or interpreter, that the objects of thp mis sion yvere friendship and commerce : he spoke of the power of the English nation ; of the good feelings of the African Committee, and the Governor of Cape Coast Castle, toyvards the king ; which, he said, would be testified by the presents which they had sent. These, amongst other things, consisted of two pair of riehlv cut glass decanters, a handsome lamp, two musical snuff boxes, a bird organ, some kaleidescopes, and watches ; a telescope, camera obscura, magic lantern, and micro scope ; Arabic Bibles, and other Arabic books ; a dou ble-barrelled gun, two boxes of carpenters' tools, a small plow, and an air gun. When the different ar ticles were displayed before the king, nothing could ex ceed his surprise and pleasure, except the warm yet dignified avoyval of his obligations : " Englishmen," he said, " know hoyv to do every thing proper." Much of MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 281 the glass was broken. Mr. James expressed his regret, and offered to procure more ; but the king with great courtesy waved all the excuses that were made, and himself apologized for the loss, by stating that the road over which they had been brought was very bad. He desired the linguists to say that he wished the English to be friends with him ; and that " he thanked the king of England, the governor at Cape Coast, and the offi cers who had brought the presents much, very much." A misunderstanding, however, subsequently took place; the king became impressed with a notion that the English had come into his country as spies ; and for the purpose of defrauding and making war with him. Numerous explanations took place, but to no purpose. Mr. James, the conductor of the mission, was recalled ; and Mr. Bowdich was appointed to succeed him. At length, after a residence in Coomassie of near four months, and after numerous public palavers, Mr. Bowdich was successful in making amicable ar rangements. It was agreed that a British officer should be permitted to reside constantly at Coomassie, for the purpose of instituting and preserving a regular commu nication betwixt the king and the governor of Cape Coast Castle ; and that a friendly and commercial intercourse should be established betwixt England and Ashantee. This treaty was concluded on the 7th of September. Two days previously to the treaty being signed, the gentlemen of the mission were present at a splendid festival, called " The Yam Custom." This is annually observed in the beginning of September, at the time when these useful roots first arrive at maturity. All the great officers of state, captains, and the chiefs of tributary countries, are requested to be present ; and during the continuance of it, (as in the ancient Saturna lia) neither theft, intrigue, nor assault, arc punishable, but licentiousness of every kind -prevails. The scene on the present occasion was marked by all the splendour which had been exhibited on the first introduction of 282 BOWDICH S the strangers, and by many additional novelties. Among others, the skulls of all the kings and caboceers whose countries had been conquered, with those of such chiefs as had been executed for revolt, were displayed by about tyvo hundred executioners. These, in an im passioned kind of dance, beat time by clashing their knives on the skulls, with the most extraordinary ges tures and grimaces imaginable. All the skulls had sprigs of thyme inserted in them, to keep the spirits of those to whom they had once belonged from troubling the king. There was an incessant firing of musketry, and playing of music. The festival continued till long after it was dark; and the effect of the splendour, the tumult, and the musketry, was greatly increased by the torch-light When the gentlemen left the ground, about ten o'clock, the umbrellas were crowded even in the most distant streets ofthe town: the whole place yvas filled with people, like a large fair : the broken sounds of distant horns and drums filled up the pauses of the firing. The uproar continued till four in the morning, just before which time the king retired. On this occa sion more than a hundred human victims, most of them culprits, were sacrificed in different quarters of the town. At this festival the different chiefs are required to kill several slaves, that their blood may flow into the hole from yvhich the new yam is taken. At every Yam Custom, all the royal gold ornaments arc melted down, and fashioned into new patterns. This is a piece of state policy, very imposing upon the populace, and upon the tributary chiefs of Ashantee, who then pay their annual visit to the capital. About ten days after the custom is ended, the whole royal household for the first time eat new yams, in the market place, the king attending ; and, afterwards, nu merous other ceremonies are observed. Another national custom of Ashantee is called the Adai. This appears to take place about every six weeks ; and, by the number of times of its observance, the inhabitants seem to reckon their year. A large MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 283 drum, which stands at the entrance of the palace, and is adorned yvith human skulls and thigh bones, is struck with great force at sunset ofthe preceding day, as a sig nal : the whole establishment of the palace shout, and their vociferations are echoed by the people through out the town. The ceremonies of the Adai must here be omitted, nor, in fact, are they very interesting. There are a great and a little Adai, which appear to be held about three weeks from each other. , During the residence of the mission in Ashantee, the king frequently visited their habitation. He said that the conversation of the gentlemen entertained him, be cause it told him of many things that black men had never before heard of. ¦ Mr. Tedlie exhibited and ex plained to him the surgical instruments and medicines; and he was very particular in his inquiries respecting them. The coloured figures of plants in the botanical books greatly delighted him. He inquired concerning the uses of many of the plants, and expressed much astonishment at those ofthe flax; the oak, of which ships are built; and the poppy, "that makes men sleep." The strangers were one day amused by seeing the king walk abroad in great state, an extraordinary cari cature. He was dressed in an old-fashioned Dutch court suit, of brown velveteen, richly embroidered with silver thistles, and having an, English epaulette sewed on each shoulder. He had on a cocked hat, bound with gold lace, and white shoes. A small dirk yvas sus pended from his waist : and he carried in his hand a long silver-headed cane. On one occasion he invited the gentlemen to dinner at his country palace, a few miles distant from Coo massie. They went about two 0'clock> and were con ducted through a short avenue, into the king's garden, an area equal to that of one of the large squares of London. In the centre were fixed four umbrellas of new scarlet cloth ; and under theise was the dining table, covered in the most sumptuous manner. The king's 284 . bowdich's massive silver plate, which had been obtained from the European settlements, was well disposed; and silver forks, knives, and spoons were laid. A large silver waiter supported a roasted pig in the centre. The other dishes on the table were roasted ducks, fowls, stews, peas-pudding, &c. Upon the ground, on one side of the table, yvere various kinds of soup and vege tables; and, elevated parallel with the opposite side, were oranges, pines, and other fruit; sugar-candy, port and Madeira wine, spirits, and Dutch cordials. Before the gentlemen sate down, the king presented them with a certain sum in gold, a sheep, and a hog. They never saw a dinner more handsomely served, and they never ate of a better. At the conclusion of the feast the king gave all the wine and cordials that remained, together with the table cloth and all the napkins, to the ser vants. The private character of this prince was amiable; and his disposition was marked by many traits of bene volence. But he was capricious, and his liberality of mind was stained by various prejudices against indivi duals which he himself confessed to be unaccountable. The higher orders of captains are described by Mr. Bowdich, to be dignified in their manners ; and cour teous and hospitable in private, but haughty and abrupt in public. The common people are ungrateful, insolent, and licentious ; and the king repeatedly told the gen tlemen of the mission, that he believed them to be nearly the worst people existing. Many of the females of Ashantee are well formed and beautiful women, notwithstanding their black co lour. Their husbands have great authority over them. A yvife yvho divulges a secret, is punished by the loss of her upper lip ; and if she be discovered listening to her husband's private conversation, she is liable to be pu nished by the loss of her ears. The laws of Ashantee allow the king to have 3,333 wives; and this number is carefully kept ,up for the purpose of enabling him to present wives to his war- MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 285 riors and other meritorious pfficers : but it is never ex ceeded; for it is considered a mystical number. Several of his wives live at his country houses, and many of them he is supposed never even to have seen. Some of the streets of Coomassie are occupied by them exclu sively : these streets are closed at each end with gates, and guarded. Mr. Bowdich estimated the military force of Ashantee at no fewer than two hundred and four thousand men, and this he considers to be about one-fifth of the whole population ; for every man capable of bearing arms is liable, in case of necessity, to serve in the army. When a general is appointed to a command, he receives from the king's hand a gold handled sword, and at the same time swears to return it encrusted with the blood of his conquered enemies; and the crime of cowardice is in variably punished by death. The skulls and thigh bones of their enemies' chiefs are preserved to ornament the drums, and for other purposes of triumph. The people of this country are immersed in the dark est, most gloomy, and cruel superstitions. Respecting the origin of the world, they have the following tradi tion : They say that God created three white and three black men, with an equal number of women ; and, that they might not afterwards complain, he gave them their choice of good and evil. A large calabash or box, was set on the ground, and, on one side of it, a piece of sealed paper. God gave to the black men the first choice, and they took the box, expecting it to contain every thing they could wish for; but on opening it, there appeared only a piece of gold, a piece of iron, and several other metals, of which they did not know the use. The while men opened the paper, and it told them every thing. God left the blacks in the bush, or wild country, but conducted the whites to the water side (for this is related to have happened in Africa), where he communicated with them every night, and taught them to build a small ship, which carried them to another country. After a long period they returned, yvith 286 BOWDICH S various merchandize ,to barter with the blacks, who might, if they pleased, have been "the superior people. The Ashantees believe in a great number of fetishes, or subordinate deities, which, they suppose to inhabit particular rivers, woods, and mountains ; but they assert that all these are under theN influence of one Supreme Being, with whom kings, caboceers; and persons of the higher classes reside after death, enjoying an eternal renewal of the state and luxury they possessed on earth. They say that the spirits of the common people inhabit the houses of .the fetish, in, a state of torpid indolence, which will sufficiently recompense them for the drudgery of their lives. After the death of every person of rank, it is the custom to offer human sacrifices, in number proportion ate to his wealth. Slaves are generally selected for this barbarous immolation. Some of tiiese are slain imme diately after the person has expired, that he may not be without attendants in the other world, till the greater sacrifice is made. On some occasions, the 'number of victims is very great. At the funeral of, the present king's mother it amounted to three thousand, of whom two thousand were prisoners of war. It is usual. to offer human sacrifices on numerous other solemnities besides those of funerals. On one occasion, whilst Mr. Hutchinson, th£ English resident, was in Ashantee, the king immolated in succession all those of his subjects who had done any thing to dis please him ; and the executioners traversed the streets during a whole night, and dragged to the palace, for the same purpose, every one whom they could seize. The sacrifices on this occasion were continued for seven teen days. There are in Ashantee two classes of persons called fetishnien. The chief of these are a kind of priests who dwell with the fetish or imaginary deity, in a small round house, built generally at a little distance from each toyvn. These give oracular answers, &c. to per sons inclined to consult the fetish* The inferior class MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 287 pursue their occupations in society, assist in customs, and superstitious ceremonies, and are applied to for many of the same purposes as fortune-tellers or conju rors are in Europe. There are fetish women, who also act in a medical capacity, and have a considerable knowledge of the virtues of barks and herbs. Every family in Ashantee has numerous domestic fetishes fur nished by the priests, and ansyvering to the penates of the Romans, but formed of various shapes and mate rials. The people of Ashantee, when they drink, always spill a little of the liquor on the ground, as au offering to the fetish; and whenever they rise from their chairs or stools, they instantly lay these on one side, to pre vent the devil (whom they believe to be of white colour) from slipping into their places. Among other extraordinary notions, it is considered that if any person speak of the death of a former king, the life of the reigning king is as much affected as "if the person were to inquire who would be his successor; and it is made by the law a capital offence to converse either of the one or the other. Whenever the king sneezes every person present touches, or lays his two fore fingers across his forehead and breast. One of the laws of Ashantee forbids any person who has dropped gold in the public market place from pick ing it up. For this crime a man was beheaded while Mr. Bowdich was at Coomassie. All the gold that falls is allowed to accumulate until the soil is washed on state emergencies. During the reign of the present king, Mr. Bowdich was told that it had been washed only twice, and that each time, it produced more than eight hundred ounces. These people are unable to compute time, and have a very imperfect knoyvledge of their own history. There is, however, reason to suppose that the kingdom was not founded much earlier than the year 1 700. They excel in the manufacture of several kinds of earthenware, and weave a considerable quantity of silks, 288 bowdich's unravelling for this purpose, such silken goods as they purchase from other countries. Their goldsmith's yvork greatly surpasses what could be expected from uncivi lized artists. The weights that are used in this country are neat brass casts of animals, fruit, or vegetables. The smith's work is often well .performed. The swords are generally perforated in patterns, like our fish trowels: and sometimes they form two blades springing parallel from one handle. They likewise tan and dress leather in great perfection. Several specimens of productions of Ashantee were sent by Mr. Bowdich to the British Museum. The houses of Coomassie are entirely different from the general huts of negroes. The walls are very artifi cially constructed of wood-work, bamboos, and mud. The roofs are ridged, and covered with a kind of thatch. There are various ornaments on the walls, both exter nally and internally; and the steps and floors, which are of clay and stone, are daily painted with a kind of red ochre and water. The doors are formed of entire pieces of wood of the cotton tree, having upon them numerous cross pieces, variously cut and painted. Locks are used, but these are brought from Houssa, and are of a kind wholly unknown in England. The windows are of open wood-work, carved in fanciful figures, and intricate patterns, and painted red ; and Mr. Bowdich observed some, the frames of yvhich were cased in gold *. The inhabitants are cleanly both in their dwel lings and their persons ; and the rubbish and filth of each house is every morning burnt at the hack of the street. The king's palace is an immense building, con sisting of a variety of oblong courts aud regular squares, the former having arcades along one side. Some of the windows have frames cased with thin gold. Each square has a large apartment on one side, open in front, where • Mr. Bowdich was assured that the king of Gaman, a coun try north-west of Ashantee, had steps of solid gold to ascend to his bed. MISSION TO ASHANTEE. 289 a drop curtain of curiously plaited cane is suspended. In each of these apartments are beds of silk, and chairs and stools embossed with gold. The king related to the gentlemen of the mission, that he had it in contempla tion to build a palace, the roof of which should be of brass plates, laid over a framework of ivory. The outer door posts and pillars, he intended to be of ivory, and the windows and doors to be cased in gold. The town of Coamassieris about four miles in circuit. It is built on the side of a rocky hill of iron-stone, and ' has an extensive marsh close to it. This marsh contains many springs, from which the town is supplied with water ; but the exhalations from it cover the place with a dense fog every morning and evening, and render it unhealthy. In the town there are several regular streets, all of yvhich have names. That in which the gentlemen of the mis sion resided was called Osamarandiduiim, meaning lite rally, " With a thousand muskets you could not fight with those who live there." The palace is in a long and wide street, which runs through the middle of the town. Mr. Bowdich counted in the whole twenty-seven streets. There are markets at Coomassie every day, from about eight o'clock in the morning till sunset; Each of the stalls consists of a square frame, covered with cot ton cloth, and supported by a pole stuck into tbe ground. Among the articles exposed to sale, are beef, mutton, wild hogs, venison, monkey's flesh, and fowls ; yams, plantains, corn, sugar-cane, and rice ; large snails smoke dried, and stuck in royvs on sticks ; oranges of large size and exquisite flavour, pine-apples, papaws, and bananas. The market-place often afforded an amusing scene to Mr. Bowdich and his friends. It was every morning infested by a troop of young boys belonging to the .palace, and who were a kind, of licensed plunderers. Whatever they could carry off yvas considered fair game, and could neither be required nor recovered ; but the loser, if he could catch them before they arrived trav. o 290 SLAVE COAST. at the palace, was permitted, short of mortal injury, to beat them as severely as he pleased. Sometimes one party of them would trip up a person loaded with pro visions, whilst another scrambled for these and carried them off. The anxious alarm of the market people, sitting yvith sticks in their hands to beat them away, and the comic archness of these boys, threading the crowd in all directions, were indescribable. ©foentB=ffrst Iteg's ^HStructtotf. UPPER GUINEA, CONCLUDED. Slave Coast, Dahomy, and Benin. The tract of country which extends about fifty leagues eastward, from Rio Volta to Rio Lagos, is named the Slave Coast. Some parts of it are iow and sandy, other .parts are marshy, and nearly, the whole coast is dangerous for shipping, on account of tlie shallowness of the water, and the heavy surf yvhich almost always breaks upon it. The district of the Slave Coast, called Whydah, is watered by two streams, at the mouth of one of which there i$a port, where ships load and unload. Here the country is fertile and pleasant. The ground rises gra dually from the shore, and assumes the form of a boundless amphitheatre. The trees are tall, straight, and planted in regular order. The meadows are fertile and cultivated ; and the whole resembles a great city, interspersed with gardens, lawns, and groves. Abun dant crops of rice, maize, millet, sugar-canes, fruits, roots, and indigo, reward the industry of the inhabi tants. Birds of brilliant plumage, and apes of various species, find shelter and food among the trees. The DAHOMY. 291 town of Whydah is about two leagues in circuit, tolerably . well built, and populous. It is situated ou the banks of a river ; is about nine miles distant from the sea, and has long been subject to the king of Dahomy, a powerful state in the interior. The royal palace is a collection of huts, constructed of bamboo, and con tains many well-furnished apartments. There are Eng lish, French, and Portuguese factories near the coast ; and the principal articles of traffic are cattle, sheep, goats, stuffs, salt; and palm oil. Great numbers of slaves were formerly exported from this coast to Ame rica and the West Indies. Adjacent to Whydah is a territory, also subject to the king of Dahomy, called Ardrah. It extends from the sea-coast to a considerable distance into the inte rior, and is, in general, diversified with gentle emi nences, vallies, and plains, that yield Indian corn, millet, fruit, potatoes, yams, and numerous other useful productions. In the low and marshy grounds near the sea, the inhabitants make salt by evaporation of the stagnated water ; and with this they carry on a con siderable trade in the interior. The climate, in general, is excessively hot and unwholesome. An Account of Dahomy, and its Inhabitants, from a" History of that Country, by Archibald Dalzel, Esq. Governor at Whydah, and' afterwards at Cape Coast Castle. This very extraordinary country lies to the north of Whydah, and is supposed to extend nearly two hun dred miles into the interior. It is an immense plain, the soil of yvhich is a deep rich clay, of reddish colour, intermixed with sand. The inhabitants are negroes, whose general character is marked by a singular mix ture of ferocity and politeness. They treat their ene mies with the most savage baEbarity ; but to strangers they behave in a more hospitable and friendly manner than any Africans that Mr. Dalzel had seen. J o2 292 dalzel's There cannot exist a more absolute despotism fban that of Dahomy. All ranks are ip the lowest state of subordination to the king. Every one acknowledges himself to be a slave, and declares that the monarch has an absolute right to dispose of his person, and pro perty at pleasure. Even the highest officer of the state, on entering the palace, crawls on his hands and knees till he arrives in the royal presence': he there prostrates himself, rubbing his head in the dust, and uttering the most humiliating expressions. In this abject posture he communicates his business, and receives the com mands' of his sovereign. Yet the king treats every stranger yvith courtesy. Ambassadors from foreign states are permitted to salute him according to the modes practised in their own .country ; and European governors and masters of ships, are allowed to sit covered in his presence. , Sometimes the Dahoman monarch has been known to shake hands with an European; but this is considered a peculiar mark of royal condescension. Europeans are generally honoured with a glass of some cordial liquor, filled by the king's own hand ; and which, if refused, would give offence. Favours of this kind are received with great avidity by his own sub jects. On such occasions the man lies en his back, and the king pours the liquor down his throat. In this position he must drink till the royal hand be with drawn, which sometimes does not happen before the whole contents of the bottle are exhausted. The king of Dahomy maintains a considerable army, which is always in readiness to take the -field at the command of the sovereign. On extraordinary occa sions, all the males of his kingdom, able to bear arms, are obliged to repair to the standard of the com mander-in-chief, every caboceer, or governor of a dis trict, marching at the head of his own people. Some times the king takes the field, at the head of his troops ; and, on great emergencies, at the head of his women. ACCOUNT OF DAHOMY. 293 Whatever might have been the prowess of the an cient Amazons, this is a novelty in modern warfare, which ought not to be passed over without notice. Within the yvalls of the different royal palaces in Dahomy, are immured not fewer than three thou sand women. Of these several hundreds are trained to the use of arms, under a female general, and subor dinate officers appointed by the king. These warriors are regularly exercised, and go through all their evolu tions with as much expertness as male soldiers. The singularity of this institution never fails to attract the particular attention of Europeans, when, among other uncommon exhibitions, they are presented with the unusual spectacle of a review of female troops. The king of Dahomy has several palaces, each of which occupies a space of ground nearly a mile square. The description of that at Calmina will serve for all the rest. This palace is surrounded by a subtantial clay wall, of quadrangular form, and about twenty feet high. In the middle of each side is a guard-house, having two sentinels at the gate, and a guard of armed women and eunuchs within. On the thatched roofs of these guard houses are ranged, on small wooden stakes, many human skulls. Such of the inner apartments as Europeans have an opportunity of seeing, consist of large courts, communicating with each other, generally square or oblong, encompassed by clay walls. In each of these is a sort1 of shed formed of posts, 'and a thatched roof. In the middle of the palace is a large building two sto ries high, but apparently intended more for show thah use ; for the king never inhabits it. The whole has somewhat the appearance of an assemblage of farm yards, with long thatched barns, hovels for cattle and carts, and low mud walls to separate them from each other. The interior of the palace is not so easily to be described, for it is seldom entered by any person ofthe male sex ; and the female apartments are guarded from intrusion with more than eastern jealousy. Mr. Dalzel was once sent for by the king of Dahomy into his bed-. 294 dalzel's chamber. This he found to be a detached circular room, about eighteen feet in diameter; it had a thatched conical roof; the walls were of clay, and white-washed within. There was a small area before it, formed by a wall about three feet high, the top of which yvas stuck full of human jaw bones ; and the path leading to the door was paved with human skulls. The mattrass and bedstead were of European manufacture, and the cur tains were of check. The furniture of the room con sisted of a small table, a chest, and tyvo of three chairs ; and the clay floor was covered with a carpet, which Mr. Dalzel himself had sold to the king a few months before. In this country all children are considered the ex clusive property of the king. They are, consequently, separated from their parents at an early age, and re ceive a species of public education, by yvhich family connexions are annihilated, and the individual himself becomes a passive instrument of tyrannical power. Thus, also, all the females in his dominions are at his immediate disposal ; and when any man is able to pro cure twenty thousand cowries, (equal in value to about fifty shillings sterling) he prostrates himself at the gate of the king's palace, or that of the vicegerent, presents the money, and begs to be favoured with a Nwife. One is given to him, but he must receive her whether she be old or young, handsome or deformed. Sometimes, out of malicious sport, a man's mother is handed out to him, so that he both misses a wife, and loses his money. The* generality of the inhabitants of Dahomy affect to believe that their king does not eat. This opinion originates in his never eating in public. He, however, entertains yvith great hospitality all Europeans who visit him. These often dine in his presence, sometimes in the sheds already mentioned, and sometimes in the open area of one of the courts. On such occasions, the tables and guests are screened from the heat of the sun by large umbrellas. The king has cooks who have either been instructed in .Europe, or at the different ACCOUNT OF dahomy: 295 European ports ; and there is no want of table appa" ratus. The table cloth is usually a piece of new linen> cut off for the purpose ; the dishes are of pewter, or earthen ware ; and the knives and forks are silver han dled. The white men, on such occasions, are seated on chairs ; but the caboceers, and even the heir apparent to the throne, seat themselves on the ground. The Eu ropeans hand to these the victuals ; and they eat them as if by stealth, and without either knife or fork. „ The dress of the men of Dahomy consists of a pair of striped or white cotton drawers, tJie manufacture of the country ; over which they wear a large square cloth of similar, or of European manufacture. Tin's cloth, for persons of the middle class, is about the size . pf a common counterpane ; but for the grandees it is much larger. It is wrapped about the loins, and tied on the left side. A piece of silk or velvet, sixteen or eighteen yards long, serves the same use for a caboceer. The principal persons wear hats of beaver or felt ; and the king and some of his ministers have gold or silver laced hats with-feathers. The arms and upper parts-of the body are generally naked. Warriors wear what is called grass-cloths, woven in the country, of the skin of palm-tree leaves, separated into threads. They also carry a cartouch-box, a powder-flask of calabash, and many grotesque ornaments and fetishes ; which, toge ther with various devices painted on their faces and bodies, give them a very fiend-like appearance. Every Dahoman man also carries a tobacco-pouch, a flint, steel, and tinder; together with one or two tobacco pipes, in a neat wooden case. The dress of the women, though simple, consists of a greater number of articles than that of the men. They use several cloths and handkerchiefs, some to wrap round their waists, and others to cover occasionally the upper parts of their bodies. Their necks, arms, and ankles, are adorned with beads and cowries; and rings of silver, or other metal, encircle their fingers. Their ears are pierced, and 2.96 DALZEL'S a large coral bead, a piece of red sealing-wax, or a piece of polished oyster-shell, is stuck into each. The inhabitants of different countries and states in this part of Africa, are known by particular marks or scarifications which they make on their bodies. The Dahomans have a perpendicular incision between the eye-brows. The inhabitants of Whydah cut their fore heads and cheeks in such a manner as to give them the appearance of being deeply pitted with the small-pox. The Ardrahs make an incision in each cheek, turning up a part of the flesh towards the ears, and healing it in that position. The Mahees, inhabitants of a country west of Dahomy, are distinguished by three long ob lique cuts on one cheek, and a cross on the other. In Dahomy, as yvell as in Ashantee, there are certain annual ceremonies, called Customs. At the approach of these, which are usually celebrated soon after Christ mas, the king leaves his palace at Calmina, and repairs to Abomey, his capital, and the burial-place ofthe royal family. He, about the same time, dispatches certain messengers, called "half-heads," (and so called from each of them having one half of his head shaved) to the European gpvernors ofthe forts on the coast, inviting them to witness the solemnization of this festival. Each of the governors carries an annual present to the king, consisting of a piece of rich silk for a dress, together with brandy and other articles, to the value of about fifty pounds sterling. In return, the king not only pre sents them with what is of at least equal value, but en tertains them with great liberality during tlieir stay at Dahomy. The celebration of the customs usually continues about a month, during which time there is some public exhibition every fourth day; the intermediate days being occupied in preparations. The whole would afford a very amusing spectacle, if it were not for the human sa crifices which are made, for the purpose of watering (according to the expression in this country) the graves ACCOUNT OF DAHOMY. 297 of the deceased royal family. One of the days of exhi bition is set apart for singing abd dancing. The songs are chiefly extempore, in praise of the monarch and his exploits ; and the performers are rewarded on the spot, according to the merit of their compositions. Besides these, there are bards who, on solemn occasions, sit at the king's gate, and rehearse over the whole history of their country. Another day is allotted to feasting in the market-place, where a large camp is made for the purpose, and many tents are pitched for the accommo dation of the king, the caboceers, and visitors. Here a great quantity of provisions, previously dressed, and carried in procession by the king's women in their best clothes, is distributed, not only among the more distin guished guests, but even around the camp, where the common people partake of them. A kind of beer^ brewed by the ladies of the palace, from maize or mil let, is likewise dealt out liberally, as well as brandy and other liquors from Europe. Various other scenes are exhibited during this carni val. On the last day, a large stage, about ten feet high, is erected contiguous to the palace. The front and sides of this are railed, and the wall ofthe palace forms the boundary behind. The floor and railing are co vered with carpets, and with cloth the manufacture of the country; the front and sides are adorned with great numbers of flags and streamers; and over the „ whole are large umbrellas of various colours ; some of them made of gold and silver tissue. At a little dis tance a fence of thorns keeps off the rabble. On the stage are piled a great quantity of cowries, strung in bunches, about tyvo thousand in each ; pieces of brocade and other silk : strings of coral ; European and country cloths; tobacco pipes; bottled liquors, and various other articles. At an appointed time the king, accom panied by all his caboceers and vassals, repairs to the stage. Here each officer is allowed to chuse for himself a cloth and a string of coral beads. After this, the king takes up a bunch of cowries, and throws it over o3 298 dalzel s the fence among the crowd. This is a signal to his women, who immediately begin to fling the remainder of the goods, indiscriminately, among the multitude ; the Europeans who happen to be present, and the cabo ceers, if they please, doing the same. The rabble come prepared for this sport ; all of them are naked, except a strong bag girt round the loins and hanging before them, for the reception of such plunder as they can ob tain in the scramble. And, finally, as some cruelty accompanies all the exhibitions in this country, a man tied neck and heels, au alligator muzzled, and a couple of pigeons wilh their wings cut, are thrown off the stage. A confusion greater, if possible, than what has preceded, ensues, in scrambling to cut off the heads of each of these ; for whoever can secure any of them is rewarded by a handsome present. This is the last human sacrifice at the Customs ; and is a part of the ceremony which the Europeans seldom stay to see performed. The accounts that are given of the Dahomans mur dering their prisoners taken in war, are excessively re volting to the feelings of Europeans. Many hundreds are often put to death at a time. Mr. Dalzel speaks of four thousand inhabitants, of Whydah having, in one instance, been sacrificed by the king of Dahomy. " as a noble and valuable present to his gods and forefathers." The skulls of many of these are fixed on small wooden stakes, and ranged at intervals to ornament the walls or thatched roofs of the royal palaces. In allusion to this practice, when the king issues orders for war, he only announces to his general, " That his bouse wants thatch." In the year 1785, the king having given instruction that the walls of one of his palaces should thus be ornamented, the person to whom the business had been committed, had miscalculated his materials. He had proceeded nearly to the conclusion of his work, when he found that he should want one hundred and twenty-seven skulls to complete the whole. He requested permission to begin the work anew, that he might, by placing the skulls far- ACCOUNT OF DAHOMY. 299 ther apart, complete the design iu a regular manner. But the king would not consent to this. He ordered a hundred and twenty-seven captives' to be dragged from the prisons, and to be slaughtered in cold blood. The heads of these supplied the place of such skulls as were wanting. In their religious opinions and superstitions, the inha bitants of Dahomy seem to differ little from those of Ashantee, and from the generality of. negroes in this part of Africa. The ceremonies, hoyvever, which take place at the death of their kings, appear to differ from those in any country. The moment the monarch ex pires, a scene of the utmost confusion commences in the palace. His wives begin by breaking and destroying the furniture, and every thing of value that they can lay their hands on, belonging either to him or to them selves. The destruction continues not only till the suc cessor to the crown is announced, but until he has taken possession of the palace. As soon as the death of the king is made known, eight men dig a trench, about twelve feet deep and seven feet long. A kind of couch is then erected, and adorned with every thing that the deceased was considered to esteem the most valuable. This is placed upon a stage enveloped yvith different kinds hi cloths. On this stage the eight men who dug the trench are made to ascend ; their heads are struck off, and their bodies are thrown into the fields as food for wolves and birds of prey. Afterwards a crowd of the king's women come forward, and twenty-four of them are selected to be shut up in the tomb, for the purpose of serving their late sovereign. A great variety of articles of food are put into the tomb ; and the women are strictly enjoined to take great care of him, to sprinkle him with perfumes, to cover him with aromatic herbs, to give him drink and materials for smoking, and every day' to burn incense about him. After they have entered the tomb, which they do apparently without compulsion, it is closed and covered with earth. The new king walks in blood from the palace to the grave of his predecessor, 300 dalzel's account of dahomy. and the ceremony concludes with sacrifices of particular beasts and birds, and human beings, to the manes of the deceased king; and every year afterwards, the tomb js watered with the blood of human victims. The state of the arts in Dahomy, indicates a degree of perfection which could not be expected from the rude simplicity of the tools' that are employed. The looms in this country are. the most awkward machines imagi nable, yet "the people manufacture cotton cloths, which are sometimes purchased even by Europeans at a high price. They also weave cloths of the fibres of the palm-tree leaves ; and dye all these of good and perma nent colours. With a bellows, consisting of two bags of rough goat skin, and two' tubes made of old gun bar rels, with an anvil of stone, and a thick rounded piece of iron, about a foot in length for a hammer, they fa bricate not only instruments of husbandry, but carpen ter's tools, cutlasses, spears, and other weapons. There are also braziers, or silversmiths, who make bracelets, handles for cutlasses, rings, and trinkets of various kinds. The town of Abomey, the capital of this country, is supposed to contain about tyventy-four thousand in habitants. It is built without any order or regularity as to streets ; is situated on a dry gravelly plain, and supplied with water from a rivulet nearly two miles distant. It is surrounded by a dry ditch, so deep that lofty trees^ planted at the bottom, reach very little above the surface. In' four different parts there are -wooden bridges across this ditch, each having a guard-house, in which soldiers are stationed. The king has two palaces within the town, and another on the outside of it ; and fcach is inclosed by a mud wall about twenty feet high. \ small number of separate huts for women, and an >pen shed or tyvo for the owner, the whole encircled by i high mud wall, form the accommodations for each of the principal families in the place. This country is fertile and luxuriant, and yields a plentiful supply of farinaceous vegetables, such as BENIN. 301 maize, millet, kidney beans called callavances, and a species of beans called ground beans. The Dahomans likewise cultivate yams, potatoes, and other roots. Pine apples, melons, oranges, limes, guavas, and other tro pical fruits, are also abundant. Nor is this country des titute of productions adapted for commerce; such as indigo, cotton, sugar-canes, tobacco, and spices, parti cularly a species of pepper, which is similar in flavour to the black pepper of the East, Indies. At the distance of some days journey north-east of Abomey, and beyond an extensive lake, the fountain of several large rivers that empty themselves into the Bay of Guinea, is a powerful country called Eyeo. This country is governed by a king no less absolute than the king of Dahomy, yet subject to a regulation of state which is at once humiliating and extraordi nary. When the people entertain an unfavourable opinion of his government, which is sometimes insi diously infused into them by the artifice of his dis contented ministers, they send to him a depu tation, with a present of parrots' eggs, at the same time representing to him, that the burthen of govern ment must have so far fatigued him, that they consider it time for him to repose from his cares, and indulge himself in sleep. He thanks his subjects for their atten tions ; retires to his apartment, as if to sleep ; and there gives directions to his women to strangle him. This is immediately executed ; and his son quietly as cends the throne in his stead. Benin. Eastward of the slave coast is the kingdom of Be nin. The land adjacent to the sea is low and marshy. Beyond this is a more elevated soil, that gradually rises into wooded mountains, inhabited by elephants, tigers, leopards, and innumerable species of venemous reptiles. In nearly all the parts adjacent to the coast, the climate 302 BENIN. is unhealthy ; but at a distance from the sea the air is more pure and wholesome. The rivers abound in alligators, hippopotami, and various kinds of excellent fish. One of them, the Formosa, rises far inland, and, in its progress southward, divides into several branches. Many, of the interior districts of Benin are parched and destitute of water; but the country adjacent to the rivers is generally fertile, and produces a great variety of useful trees and plants, particularly cotton, pepper, and fruits in abundance. The inhabitants are negroes, mild, and gentle in their manners, but in 4heir general character indolent and reserved. They are said to be honest and faithful in their dealings, and seldom to disappoint any confidence that, is reposed in them. Their trade with Europeans is carried on through .the agency of brokers, called mercadors, or fiadors ; but all their contracts are made with great secrecy, through a fear of exciting the jea lousy or avarice of their governors. The king is a despot, and his military forces are nu merous but undisciplined. In this country the funerals ofthe kings are performed with some very extraordinary ceremonies. When the tomb-stoue is laid, the attendants crown it yvith a banquet of the most delicate wines and sweetmeats that can be procured. Of these the whole assembled populace are allowed to partake, and the mob, intoxicated with liquor, are, in many instances, guilty of the yvildest riots and excesses imaginable. If any persons obstruct them in their licentious conduct on these occasions, they are immediately put to death ; and their heads, being cut off, are taken to the royal sepul chre, aud thrown in as offerings to the deceased king. Few places in this kingdom are known to Europeans, except those along the coast, and on the banks of the Formosa. Benin, the capital, is a large and ill built trading town, about sixty miles from the sea, pleasantly situated on a plain shaded by lofty trees, and watered by this river. It is surrounded by a deep ditch, forty feet wide ; and the entrance is through a strong yvooden C ALB ARI. 303 gate. The principal part of the town is occupied by the buildings of the royal palace, the rest of it, com posed of clay houses, is in a state of decay. It con tains numerous shops, filled with European wares, as well as with different commodities, the productions of the country. Dogs, apes, rats, lizards dried in the sun, palm-wine, and fruit, constitute the most luxurious food ofthe inhabitants, and stand always exposed for sale in the streets. The palace consists of several large square courts, which have a communication with one another. Waree, or Aweri, is a small state tributary to Benin. Its capital, of the same name, is a small and tolerably well built inland town, environed by a plantation of trees, and watered by a stream that falls into the For mosa. Several parts of this' country are fertile, but the climate is unhealthy. The Portuguese carry on a considerable trade with some parts of the coast of Benin. There are a few other minor kingdoms and states on the sea-coast, betwixt Benin and the equator. Of these Calbari is the first that we approach. It is divided into seyeral provinces, and, in many parts, is low and morassy. The inhabitants are negroes, and are said to be canibals. They navigate the partsof the ocean ad jacent to their own country in canoes, about sixty feet long, and pointed at both ends. Each canoe has a fire place in the centre for dressing victuals, and planks across for the rowers; and near each rower hangs a quiver of arrows, to be in readiness iri case of attack, for these people live in a state of perpetual war. The Dutch had formerly a settlement on the coast. The town of Calbari, the capital ofthe country, is built on the bank of a river of the same name, and is en closed by a fence of palisadoes. Its environs are bar ren, and on the north side of it there is a marsh which is frequently inundated. Some years ago the Dutch carried on an extensive trade with this place. 304 GABOON. Next to Calbari lies a powerful and populous kingdom called Biafra. Its inhabitants are negroes, and idola ters, and are said to be much addicted to magic. Some accounts that have been given of them state, that they sacrifice their children to the devil ; or perhaps rather to certain imaginary deities which they worship. This country is watered by a wide but shallow river, the source of which is unknown. The capital is of the same name, and is a considerable town, distant about twenty leagues from the coast. Proceeding along the shore towards the south, we enter a country called Calbong a. Those navigators who have approached its shores, describe its inhabitants to be a cruel, deceitful, and filthy race of negroes, who go nearly naked, and who are so destitute of natural affection as, in many instances, to sell even their wives and children for slaves. The most southern country of Upper Guinea is Gaboon. This lies partly under the equator. During the day-time, the solar heat is here intense, but in the night copious dews descend, yvhich refresh the parched soil. As little grain is cultivated, the inhabitants subsist chiefly on fruit, roots, and fish. The commercial pro ductions of the country are ivory, wax, honey, wood, &c. Elephants, buffaloes, and other wild animals, abound in the interior. The inhabitants of an adjacent interior country, called Kaylee, manufacture' a great quantity of iron. They also manufacture a kind of cloth which has some what the appearance of brown holland, and fine mats of various colours and patterns. These people are canibals : they devour not only their prisoners taken in war, but even their own dead. Fowls, goats, and other animals are numerous in this country, but these are never eatenif human flesh is to be had. loango. 305 ®&jcnty--secontr Uag's instruction. LOWER GUINEA. Loango, and Congo. The first maritime country that we enter on the south of the' equinoctial line, is called Loango. It extends along the coast sbmewhat more than three hundred miles. Some of its districts are extremely fertile, pro ducing many kinds of grain, tobacco, cotton, pepper, sugar-canes, and fruit ; and also an abundance of useful roots and trees. There are few cattle in this country ; but goats and hogs are numerous, and poultry and game are very abundant. Among the wild beasts are zebras and elephants. The inhabitants are, in general, a robust and generous, but indolent and superstitious race of negroes. They were formerly canibals, but of late they are said to have been much improved in their manners. They have some ingenuity, but little exertion; are generally con tented with such food as the country spontaneously pro duces, aud do not much trouble themselves in the culti vation of the land. Their dress consists chiefly of cloth manufactured by themselves ; but they are fond of orna ments about their necks, legs, and wrists. For this pur pose they use beads of coral, ivory, shells; and chains of copper, tin, or iron, obtained from Europe. Loango is divided into several provinces, and go verned by a despotic prince, who has a numerous but un disciplined army ; aud to whom the people attribute an unlimited and even a supernatural power. This country contains many towns and villages, but of these scarcely any thing is known except the names. The capital is called by Europeans Loango, and by the natives Boori. It is a considerable town, in an extensive plain, about six miles from the sea. The streets are wide and clean, 306 CONGO. and lined with palm-trees and bananas, which shelter the houses on all sides. These are of oblong shape, ill built, detached from one another, and each fenced round with a hedge of palm-twigs, canes, or rushes. In the centre of the town is the royal palace, built in the form of a square, about a mile and a half in circuit, aud sur rounded by. a palisade of stStely palm trees. * Besides the king's own apartments, and various public buildings, it contains ten different houses for his yvomen. At a little distance from the palace is the market-place, yvhere purchasers are every day supplied with meal, poultry, fish, wine, corn, oil, and other articles ; and in the market-place is a famous temple, containing an idol called " Mokisso, a Loango," which has long been held in great veneration both by the kings and their sub jects. A small river runs through the town, and forms, at its mouth, a bay called Loango Bay. This is much frequented, but, owing to a bank on the north side of its entrance, and to strong and rapid currents which flow along the shore, it is sometimes a very dangerous sta tion for shipping. The principal articles of traffic in Loango are elephants teeth. Congoi After crossing the river Zaire, we enter the kingdom of Congo. This was formerly considered to include Loango, Angola, and Benguela. It is now more limited in its extent, being bounded on the north by the Zaire, and On the south by the Danda, which divides it from Angola. Of its eastern boundary little is known. Its extent along the sea-coast is upwards of -three hundred miles ; and in this space of country there are several rivers, some of which are navigable to a considerable distance into the interior. Of the Zaire we shall soon have occasion to give a detailed account, in a Narrative of the Expedition of Captain Tuckey. The Danda is navigable for about ninety miles. It fertilizes the CONGO. 307 country through which it flows, and is infested with cro codiles, hippopotami, and other animals. All the rivers traverse the country in a direction nearly from east to west : their banks are peopled, and the adjacent high lands are, iu many parts, covered with forests. Though only a few degrees distant from the equator, the climate of this country is said to be much more temperate and pleasant than that of most ofthe regions under the torrid zone. During the summer the sky is clear ; and it is only in the short winter, which commences in July and ends with September, that there is rain. This, hoyvever, is then almost incessant, and is ac companied by tornados, and tremendous storms of thunder. The soil of Congo is, in general, a rich and light black mould, which yields several kinds of grain, fruit, and roots, and many trees and plants, that are totally unknown in Europe. In the mountains there are mines of copper, and quarries of marble, porphyry, and other valuable kinds of stone. Wild and tame beasts, birds of beautiful plumage, and noxious reptiles every where abound. This country was first discovered by the Portuguese in the year 1484. They found in it numerous towns aud villages, which swarmed with inhabitants. The capital alone is said to have at that time contained more than fifty thousand persons. The Portuguese formed a settlement here, and established missionaries for the purpose of converting the inhabitants to the Roman Catholic faith. It has been asserted, that the number of converts they made amounted to several hundred thousands, but these appear to have had little else'to boast of than the name of Christians. The Congoese are negroes of middle size. Their hair and eyes are black, but they have neither flat noses nor thick lips like most other negroes. They are mild and courteous, but proud and revengeful ; and formerly entertained the most extravagant con ceit both of themselves and their country. They 308 CONGO. believed that the Almighty himself created the king dom of Congo, and that the restof the world was made by inferior deities. They likewise imagined that all those who. come to traffic with them, were obliged to undertake that servile employment, by the poverty and sterility of their own countries ; whilst themselves, though off;en in the lowest state of poverty and wretch edness, could indulge their natural indolence, and did not disgrace the nobleness of their blood by any kind of industry. Since the settlement of the Portuguese among them, however, they have been roused from this absurd pride and excessive indolence into occasional and painful exertion. Many of them now work in iron and wood, weave nets and coarse clclhs, and carry on various trades and manufactures, but all their productions are coarse and ill made. Their principal traffic, till very lately, was in slaves, and it is said, that fifteen or sixteen thousand slaves were annually exported from this country to America and the West Indies. v The people of rank endeavour to dress in the manner of the Europeans; but the common people are clad only from the waist downward, the rest of their body being naked. Their food is fruit, roots, grain, and pulse ; and their common drink is water. No science is cultivated among them ; nor are any records kept, for they have no knowledge of the art of writing. The religion of Congo, like that of most other countries in this part of Africa, is an extraordinary compound of idolatry and superstition, of absurd and detestable rites and customs. They indeed acknoyv- lcdge One Supreme Being, yvhom they believe to be ail powerful ; but they suppose that he has committed the care of all sublunary things to a great variety of subordinate or inferior deities. They endeavour to deprecate the wrath, and to obtain the favour of these by various ceremonies, sacrifices, and offerings ; and they represent them under innumerable forms, both of animated and inanimate things. These representations CONGO. 309 have the name of "fetiches." Their priests are called " gangas," and have unbounded influence among them. The Congoese divide their j?ear into twelve lunar months. Their yveek consists of four days, three of which are appointed for labour, and the fourth to rest or religious exercises. The country is divided into several petty sovereignties^ tributary to the king of Loango. Such further particulars as it may be necessary to relate concerning this country, will be found in the fol lowing — Narrative of Captain Tuckey's Expedition to Explore the River Zaire, or Congo. In the beginning of the year 1816, an expedition was fitted out for the purpose of navigating the river Zaire upwards from the sea, to ascertain whether it was, as Mr. Park had conjectured, the outlet of the Niger. The command of this expedition was given to Captain Tuckey, of the royal Navy. He was accompanied by Professor Smith, a Norwegian by birth, who had the su- perintendance of the natural history department; -Mr. Tudor, a comparative anatomist; Mr. Cranch, a col lector of objects of natural history ; Mr. Galwey, a volunteer; Lieutenant Fitzmaurice; two master's mates; a purser and his assistant, and fifty-seven seamen. The ships employed were the Congo sloop, and a transport called the Dorothy. After a voyage of somewhat more than three months, the vessels reached the African coast ; and, on the 30th of June, were brought to an anchor off Malemba Point, a little to the south of the Bay of Loango. Some canoes came off to them. These approached the ships, and a half-dressed negro, introducing himself to the captain, told him in English, that "he was a gentleman, and that his name was Tom Liverpool." He described himself to be the interpreter of the mafook, or king's merchant, of Malemba, who was in the canoe, and whose visit he came to announce- The mafook went on board, and the first question he asked "' 310 TUCKEY's was, whether the Captain wanted to purchase any slaves. He was told that these were not ships engaged in the slave trade. The captain endeavoured to ex plain to him the motives and objects of the expedition, but it was very difficult to make him comprehend them. On being told that no nation, except the Portuguese, were now permitted to trade in slaves, he uttered the most virulent invectives against the sovereigns of Eu rope. He said, that he was over-run with captives, whom he would willingly sell at even half their value. These people spoke partly in French, and partly, in broken English. They asserted that the inhabitants of Malemba, who had formerly been wealthy, were now become poor. This they said was wholly oiving to the abolition of the slave trade, as Malemba had been a great mart for slaves. The mafook and_his comrades yvere invited into the cabin. Here they refreshed themselves with a glass of brandy each ; and, yvith great appetite, partook of the ship's biscuit, at the same time cramming as much of it as they could into their pockets. As' the captain was desirous of obtaining a supply of fresh provisions, he invited the mafook, and eight of his officers, to stay on board all night, requesting that the canoes might be sent on shdre for the provisions, and return- in the morning. The mafook accepted the offer, in the ex pectation that he would be indulged, while on board, with as much brandy as he could drink. Having brought their court dresses in the canoes, they now put them on. One of them appeared in a second-hand uniform coat of an American general officer; another, in a red waistcoat; a third, in a sol dier's" red jacket; and the mafook himself in a red cloak. Each of them had a piece of coloured stuff round his loins, and wore a little apron formed of the skin of some animal. In all other parts their, black and naked bodies were visible. Those who styled themselves "gentlemen,'' had on their heads striped or red worsted caps; and the mafook and two others, wore round embroidered caps. On their wrists and EXPEDITION UP THE RIVER ZAIRE. 311 ankles they had, as ornaments, large rings of iron and copper ; and all of them wore round their necks pieces of cord formed of the hair of the elephants tail : some had so many of these cords, that they could not, with out difficulty, move their heads; These men continued to drink nearly all night; and, in the morning, they lighted their pipes and began again. No provisions were brought from the shore, nor did any boats come to take away the guests. Iu the fore noon indeed a canoe came off, but it was with another cargo of "gentlemen;" and, as the captain had been sufficiently teased by his present guests, he put them all on board this canoe, and sent them away. In the morning of the 6th of July, the vessels ar rived off Shark Point, on the southern side of the river Congo. The mafook of Shark Point went on board, accompanied by half a dozen of his officers. Though ragged and filthy in the extreme, he expected as much deference and attention as if he had been a prince. As soon as he had ascended the ship's side, he complained that the ropes given for him to take hold of, were covered only with canvas, and not proper for a person of his quality. When on the deck, he insisted upon having a chair, and a cushion to sit upon ; but, as the officers were unable to furnish a cushion, he was obliged to be satisfied with one of the ship's flags spread over the chair. On this he seated himself, and exhibited a most grotesque appearance. He had, on his black and naked body, an extremely tattered pelisse of red velvet, edged with gold lace; in one hand he held a green silk umbrella over his head, though the sun was completely obscured, and, in the other, a stick of office, headed yvith silver. He indicated a desire to be invited into the cabin, but he smelt so offensively, and was so covered with a cutaneous disorder, that the captain was obliged to refuse him this indulgence. His pride was insulted by the refusal, and, to bring him into good humour, he was supplied with a plentiful allowance of brandy. This he relished so much, that it was found difficult to prevail with him to leave the ship. He not 312 tuckey's only staid on board all that night, but during the five following days. Shark Point was still a considerable mart for slaves. While Captain Tuckey was here, a Spanish vessel ar rived for the purpose of taking off three hundred and twenty. The progress of the expedition up the river was de layed for a considerable time, by several unavoidable occurrences. During the time the ships were anchored off Shark Point, the captain occasionally sen tthe boats on shore. Professor Smith, anxious to commence his researches, obtained permission to go in the first that was sent. He describes the appearance of the country to have been extremely fine. The vegetation, he says, was magnificent and beautiful. Shrubs of rich verdure, large grassy plants, and thick groups of palm trees, alternately met the eye. He ran a few paces to the left, where a dark and thick forest came down close to the water's edge ; but his progress was obstructed by shrubs and grass, which it was impossible for him to penetrate. When he returned to his party, after a few minutes absence, he found them surrounded by negroes, and bargaining for a turtle of immense size and very singular form. This they purchased for two knives, worth about a shilling. Professor Smith found here many uncommon trees, shrubs, and plants ; and several curious birds were shot. Many of the negroes whom Captain Tuckey sayv here, denominated themselves Christians; and explain ed that they had been converted by Portuguese mis sionaries. One of them had five wives, yet he had been ordained, and he exhibited his letters of orders. This man and another had been taught to yvrite their own names and that of Saint Antonio, and also to read the Romish service in Latin. All the negroes who visited the ships, whether Chris tians or idolaters, had figures raised on tlieir skins in cicatrices; and had also the two front teeth of their upper jaw filed away, on their near sides, so as to form a large opening, into yvhich ¦ they stuck their pipes. EXPEDITION UP THE RIVER ZAIRE. 313 This was considered a great ornament, and Criplain Tuckey was informed that the elegance of a man's coun tenance was estimated, in a considerable degree, by the width of this cavity: in some individuals it was nearly an inch across. These were a disagreeable and filthy people. They swarmed with vermin ; and, both in their appearance and manners, formed a striking contrast to the late visitors from Malemba, yvho were cheerful, clean, and dressed even to foppishness. ' Some canoes carried on board a few pigs, goats, foyvls, and eggs for sale, but the prices were so exor bitant, that the captain would purchase only the fowls and eggs. The method here practised in closing a bar gain and giving a receipt, was by the buyer and seller breaking a blade of grass or a leaf betwixt them ; and, -until that ceremony was performed, no bargain was con sidered to be legally concluded, even though the parties yvere in possession of each other's goods. This practice the navigators learned by experience ; for, having pur chased, and, as they thought, paid for a couple of fowls, they ordered them to be killed for dinner. The seller, taking advantage of the omission of the ceremony, pre tended that he had not concluded the bargain, and in sisted on a glass of brandy in addition to what he had already received. On bawling a net within the Shark Point, at day break of the 11th of July, thirty fish were taken, some of which were so large as to weigh sixty pounds each. The naturalists, in the course of this morning, collected as many specimens of curious trees, shrubs, and plants, as it would have required weeks for them to examine : they returned on board, loaded more like wood-cutters than botanists. In one of their excursions near Shark Point, these "entlemen had noticed a particular spot, where there were some human skulls and other human bones. The appearance of these led them at first to imagine that the inhabitants might possibly be cannibals; but they trav. p 314 tuckey's yvere afterwards informed that this was a place for the execution of criminals. On the 12th of July Captain Tuckey caused all the provisions aud stores to.be taken from the Dorothy and placed on board the Congo, intending to proceed up the river with the latter vessel only. For a consider able distance the shore, on each side, was a swamp six or seven miles in width, covered with mangrove trees. The weather was clear and pleasant; and, as the Congo proceeded, the banks of the river appeared to be thickly clad yvith trees and shrubs, of various and interesting forms. ,The whole scene was solemn and beautiful. There were at this time in the river several Portu guese vessels, which had arrived for the purchase of slaves; but their commanders, fearful lest they should be seized by the strange ships, precipitately made their retreat. That Captain Tuckey might lose as little time as pos sible in reaching Embomma, a considerable town at some distance up the river, he left the Congo, in com pany with Professor Smith, Mr. Tudor, Mr. Gahvey, and some others, and proceeded up the river in a dou ble boat belonging to that ship. They sailed or rowed along the northern bank of the river; and their pro gress, especially in the evening, was peculiarly agree able : lofty mangrove trees overhung the boat ; a great variety of palm trees vibrated in the breeze ; and im mense flocks of parrots, by. their chattering, alone dis turbed the solemn silence of the woods. On the shoals and loyv islands in the river, numerous fishing-eagles and shore-birds yvere seen. Amongst the mud, near one of the islands which the navigators passed, the negroes had caught a great abundance of shell-fish. These they had stuck on skewers for sale, in the same manner as the French people do frogs ; and, in a half-dried, half- putrid state, they are much esteemed by the natives. At day-break of the 25th, Captain Tuckey observed, EXPEDITION UP THE RIVER ZAIRE. 315 on the bank of the river, a perpendicular rock of granite, resembling a mass of ruins. This was called the Fetiche Rock. He went in tbe boat to examine it ; and just as he reached it, two hippopotami, or river horses, were observed about a hundred yards from the shore, yvith their heads above yvater, snorting in the air. On the face of this rock, which the natives believed to be the residence of a spirit that presides over the river, were a great number of raised figures. They had ap parently been formed of sand and ashes, laid on wet, but at this time they were nearly as hard as the stone itself. On board the Congo was a negro, whose name was Simmons. This man had been received by Captain Tuckey, from Sir Home Popham, to be conveyed to his friends in Africa; and, on the vessel being anchored near one of the villages on the bank of the river, his father and brother accidentally came on board. They were transported with joy at so unexpected a meeting ; but the European ideas of Simmons did not assimilate with these of negro society. He, however, went on shore with his friends; aud, throughout the night, the village resounded with the noise of drums and with songs of rejoicing. The history of this man, which Captain Tuckey had never before thought of inquiring into, and yvhich yvas related by his father, adds another indelible stain to the character of European slavery. His father was a priuce of the blood, and counsellor to the king of Emborama. He had entrusted his son, when only eight or ten years old, to the captain of a Liverpool ship, to be educated in England ; and this faithless guardian sold the boy as a slave in the West Indies. The youth contrived to make his escape and get on board an English ship of war, from which, after the peace with France, he was paid off. During the whole voyage to Africa, he per formed, without any signs either of impatience or dis gust, the menial office of cook's mate. On the 26th of July, the officers went on shore ata vil- p2 316 tuckey's lage consisting of about a hundred huts, and called Lorn* bee. It was situated on the northern bank of the river, and at the distance of about sixty miles from its mouth. At this place was held the market of the king's town of Embomma ; for no trading operation was allowed to be carried on there. This morning Simmons paid the officers a visit, but he was so completely metamorphosed that they could scarcely recognize him. His father had dressed him in a silk coat, embroidered with silver, which, by its cut, seemed to have adorned the person of an English stage fop a century and half ago. This piece of finery was worn over his own dirty jacket and trowsers. On his head he had a glazed black hat, with an enormous grenadier feather. A silk sash, suspending a ship's cutlass, finish ed his extraordinary costume. He was brought to the boat by two slaves in a hammock, (an umbrella being held over his head), preceded by his father and other members of his family; and followed by an escort of about twenty negroes carrying muskets. The market at Lombee was miserably supplied with provisions. Captain Tuckey could only procure a few fowls, a dozen eggs, and some plantains. These he ob tained in exchange for beads, and at a very extravagant rate. The chief or staple article of trade, seemed to be salt, yvhich was purchased of wholesale dealers in large baskets, and was retailed to the consumers by handsful. In the evening- the Chenoo, or king of Embomma, sent a hammock to convey tlie captain to that town ; and the ensuing day was fixed upon for a ceremonious procession to the royal residence. At ten o'clock the gentlemen quitted the sloop, and marched with an escort of four marines. The hammock had some re semblance to an Indian palanquin, but it was so exces sively dirty that the captain ordered it to follow. Their progress was over a grassy plain, varied by cultivated patches of Indian corn, a kind of French beans called calavances, and cassava. Before he arrived at the royal EXPEDITION UP THE RIVER ZAIRE. 317 city, however, the captain got into the palanquin; and the party disposed itself into a sort of processional order. The captain was set down under the shade of a large tree, the ground beneath which had been swept clean for his reception. On looking up into the tree, the navigators were astonished to see four human skulls, hanging there. These, they were told, were the skulls of enemies' chiefs who had fallen in battle ; and whose heads it was the custom of this people thus to preserve as trophies. After having waited about half an hour, the navi gators were led to the palace, or habitation of the chenoo. Here, in a court formed by a fence of reed mats, and crowded with the king's " gentlemen," they found a spat prepared for them. This was formed of three or four old chests, covered with a red velvet pall ; and an old English carpet, and another velvet pall, were spread on the ground. About five minutes after the captain had seated himself, the king made his appear ance. His costume conveyed the idea of Punch in a puppet-show. He wore a crimson plush jacket, with enormous gilt buttons : round his loins he had a piece of red velvet ; and, in addition to a pair of red morocco half-boots, his legs were muffled in pink sarsenet in place of stockings. On his head was an immense high- crowned hat, embroidered with gold, and surmounted by a kind of coronet of artificial flowers. Round his neck hung a long string of ivory beads, and a large piece of unmanufactured coral. He seated himself on the right of" Captain Tuckey; and Simmons the negro, decked in an ancient court dress, with a sailor's hat on his head, had, on this occa sion, the important office of interpreter. Great doubts had been entertained by the natives concerning the in tentions of the strangers ; and neither the king nor his officers could be made to comprehend that curiosity was one of the chief motives of their visit. For tyvo hours they incessantly persisted in inquiring " are you come to trade," or " are you come to make war T Sim- 318 tuckey's mons, in the name of the captain, replied, that neither of these was their object. "What then come for?" asked the mafook, " only to walk and make book X' At last, however, they seemed to be convinced that at least nothing injurious was intended against them; and, on Captain Tuckey assuring them, that he did not trade himself, nor even interfere with the traders of any nation, they expressed their approbation in a very peculiar manner: one of the chiefs rosefrom his seat, and, making gestures with his arms, like a fugleman at an exercise of English soldiers, all the company struck their chests at every motion. A keg of rum, which the captain had brought, was now produced, and, with it an English white earthen ware wash-hand bason, covered with dirt. Into this, dirty as it was, some of the liquor was poured and dis tributed to the company. The king excused himself, by saying, that he drank only wine ; and he retired for the purpose of ordering dinner. The moment he dis appeared the company began to scramble for a drink of the rum ; and one fellow, dropping his dirty cap into the bason, as if by accident, snatched it out again well soaked, and sucked it with great satisfaction. While dinner was preparing, the officers of the Con go, accompanied by some ofthe chief men of Embomma, walked about the town. It was situated on a -small plain, upon the summit, of a hill; and consisted of about thirty dwelling places or tenements, each composed of two or three huts, within a square inclosure formed of matted -reeds. The huts were composed of similar ma terials, and consisted merely of two sides, two end pieces, and two other pieces for a roof; so that a house, ready to be put together, could be purchased for about the same price as a couple of fowls, and in five minutes could be made ready for occupation. The entrance was by a square door in one of the sides, just large enough to crawl in at. The tenement of the chenoo differed in no other respect from the common ones, than in its containing one large apartment, somewhat hetter lighted and aired, and iu EXPEDITION UP THE RIVER ZAIRE. 319 being surrounded by a double fence, so as to form a succession of outer and inner courts. The repast was laid out in the grand apartment, where some chests, covered with carpets, served for seats and tables. A few plates and mugs of European earthenware, and some Venetian gilt glass, were placed on the table, together with a feyv silver spoons and forks, of French yvorkmanship. The food consisted of a soup of plantains and goat's flesh, a fowl cut in pieces and broiled, and roasted plantains in place of bread. In addition to these were a large silver tankard, filled with sweet palm wine, and a bottle of rum which Cap tain Tuckey had brought. While the officers were at table, the chenoo yvent out, for the purpose of deliberating with his chiefs respect- irig the probable intention of the strangers. He then entered with an old man, yvho seemed his principal ad viser: and, after again tiring Captain Tuckey yvith questions, the old man, starting up, plucked a leaf from one of the trees and presented it to the captain. "If," said he, "you come to trade, swear by your God, and break the leaf." The captain refused to do this; on which the old man said, " then syvear that you do not come to make war, and break the leaf." On the cap tain's doing this the whole company performed their former ceremony of striking their breasts; and the as sembly then broke up. The king retired into an inner hut, where he received the present which Captain Tuckey had brought for him, consisting of a piece of furniture cotton, some beads, a plated tankard and gob let, and a silk umbrella. During an excursion made by Professor Smith into the country adjacent to Embomma, he remarked that, although some attention was paid to agriculture, the land yvas cultivated in patches only, and the labour was performed by women. ¦ These he frequently saw in the fields, carrying yvith them their children and provisions. The daughters of the king yvere thus employed as well as others. The only .plants that he observed to be cul- 320 TUCKEY'S tivated were cassava, in small quantity, and: maize. Olr several parts of the plains, he saw the cotton shrub grow ing wild. Formerly the inhabitants had been accustomed to collect cotton for sale, but of late years they had' not been able to find purchasers for this article. Near Embomma there yvere several kinds of palm-trees ; and from some of these a juice was extracted which was converted by the natives into wine. In the woods were some trees, called adansonia, or monkey bread-fruit- trees, so large as to measure more than forty feet in- girth. The chief domestic animals were a kind of sheep, with hanging ears and no horns, goats, hogs, dogs, and- cats, and a few black cattle. Common fowls of a small breejl, and Muscovy ducks, were the only poultry that the navigators observed at this place. The small money in use here, consisted of little mats of the leaf of the bamboo. These were each about eighteen inches square, and twenty of them would purchase a fowl. From all the information that Captain Tuckey could colleet, relative to the trade iu slaves carried on at , ' Embomma, he was induced to think that, in the year 1816, about two thousand were purchased by the dif ferent European dealers. He and his friends took their final leave of the< chenoo on the 2d of August; and, on their return from the place, they passed a hut, in which was lying the dead body of a woman. Within the hut four women were howling ; and on tbe outside were two men, standing with .their faces leaning against it: these accompanied the women, in a cadence which produced a most inharmonious concert. The curiosity of the strangers excited them to visit the burying- ground. Here they saw two graves preparing for per sons of distinction. Captain Tuckey says, that these were about nine feet deep; but he was told, that they yvould be dug to the depth of the tallest palm-tree. One of the graves in this burying-gfound had a large, EXPEDITION UP THE RIVER ZAIBE. 321 elephant's tooth lying at each end; aud another had a small tooth upon it. All had broken jars, mugs, glass-bottles, or other vessels stuck upon them. Before the departure of the navigators from Em bomma, Simmons requested of the captain to give him a piece of cloth to envelop the body of his aunt, yvho had been dead seven years, and who was to be buried in two months, being now arrived at a size to make what was considered a genteel funeral. It is customary in this part of Africa to envelop the bodies of dead persons in cloth, and to keep them unburied as long as possible ; the smell of putrefaction being kept in by the quantity of wrappers. These are successively added so long as they can be procured by the relatives, or according to the rank of the person deceased. When a rich or great man dies, the bulk required is only limited by the power of conveyance to the grave ; so that, when the first hut in which the body is depo sited, becomes too small to contain it, a second, a third, even to a sixth, each increasing in dimensions, is placed over it. ©foentg--t&iro' Bag's 3Jnsttuctfon. LOWER GUINEA, CONCLUDED. Narrative of Captain Tuckey's Expedition up the river Zaire concluded. On the 5th of August the navigators once more em barked, and began to ascend the river above Em bomma. In their progress they passed between many high ridges of barren rocky hills. In some places there were little vallies, in yvhich they saw plantations of cassava and Indian corn, and many palm-trees; and P3 322 tuckey's on several spots, near the banks .of the river, they were much surprised with the appearance of very extraordi nary ants' ne'sts. These had exactly the shape of mush rooms, and consisted of round stems or eolumns, each about eighteen inches high, and surmounted by domed tops, tyvo feet in diameter. As the boats proceeded, the inhabitants of many villages adjacent to the river came on board. The captain yvas informed by some of these that, at a vil lage called Noki, a few miles from the southern bank, there were several men yvho came from a country situated far up the river; In the hope of being able to procure intelligence respecting the course of the river, perhaps even of prevailing with them to become his guides, he determined to visit the chenoo, or king of Noki. Accompanied by some of the gentlemen, he landed; and the party had a most fatiguing walk for two hours. At length they reached the village, situated on the level summit of one of the highest hills, and amidst palm-trees and plantations. They had not long to wait before they were intro duced to the chenoo. He yvas seated, with two other chenoos ; and much more of savage magnificence was here observable than, the navigators had hitherto wit nessed. The seats and ground were covered yvith lions' and leopards' skins, the treading on which, even by a subject of the highest rank, was a crime punished with slavery. The chenoo was clad in a laced red cloak, and wore an enormously high cap, formed of the white feathers of the heron. One of the other kings had on an old hat, and the third was wrapped in a velvet mantle, and wore a coronet, ornamented with a large button of coloured glass, which had evi dently been procured from a theatre. The whole assembly consisted of about fifty persons, who all sate squatted on the sand. Simmons, the negro, was the interpreter. He ex plained to the chenoo the motives of the expedition, and the wishes of Captain Tuckey to be furnished with EXPEDITION UP THE RIVER ZAIRE. 323 guides to the upper parts of the river. The chenoo immediately ordered two persons to accompany the strangers, as far as a cataract, at some distance from the village; but beyond this, he said, the country was wholly unknown. As soon as the conference yvas ended, Captain Tuckey ordered a keg of brandy, yvhich he had brought, to be opened. An excessive scramble immediately took place among the great men for a taste of the liquor. One of them having been unable to obtain any, his neigh bour, yvho had been more fortunate, and who had kept the keg to his lips as long as he could hold his breath, generously spit a portion of what he had obtained into his friend's mouth ! On the return of the party to the boats they once more proceeded up the river. They now began to experience great difficulty in making head against the current, and also from numerous ledges of rock which occupied the bed of the stream. In consequence of the daily increasing impediments it soon became evident that the boats could not proceed much further. During their progress, provisions of all kinds were so scarce, that Captain Tuckey does not think it would be possible to procure sustenance for fifty men in passing through this part of the country. In one place, a prin cess of the blood, attended by four women, came to the bank of the river, and offered for sale a fowl, six eggs, and a small basket of beans. After a few days the navigators arrived at a place called Casan Yellala, six or eight miles below the cataract. Here the river was so much obstructed by rocks, whirlpools, and breakers, that Captain Tuckey found it necessary to leave the boats, and proceed to the cataract by land. Accordingly, in the morning of the 14th of August, he set out, accompanied by Pro fessor Smith, three other gentlemen, thirteen seamen, two interpreters from Embomma, and a guide from Noki ; and furnished yvith provisions for four days. Their route was on the north side of the river, at first by narrow foot-paths, over a mountainous and rocky 324 TUCKEY's country, and afterward over a fertile plain. As they were proceeding, a wild boar rushed from a valley, and broke through their line. The sailors fired, at it, but from their haste or want of skill, this yvas without effect. In another part of their walk they saw a young alliga tor, basking in the sun : Professor Smith fired at it, but likewise without success. About noon they arrived at a village called Banza Cooloo, whence they had a view of the cataract, appa rently about a mile distant. Captain Tuckey says they had been led to expect a fall of the whole torrent of the river down some great perpendicular rock; but, instead of a second Niagara, he found this to be, compara tively, a brook bubbling over its stony bed. The impediments to his further progress in the boats ap peared, however, to "be insuperable, and, about four o'clock, he returned to Casan Yellala, extremely dis appointed, and, with the fatigue of his excursion, totally exhausted. He had been instructed to proceed up the river as far as possible : consequently, after some further diffi culties, he returned to -Cooloo, for the purpose of establishing there a depdt of provisions for himself and his men, in a journey, which he was now deter mined to attempt by land. A night scene at Cooloo is nearly thus described by him. In the foreground was an immense adansonia, or monkey bread-fruit tree, under yvhich the tents were pitched ; and the fires of his people threw a doubtful light around. Before them the lofty and perpendicular hills that formed the south side of Yel lala, yvith its ravines on fire, in consequence of the hunters having lighted the herbage, presented the- ap pearance of a most brilliantly illuminated amphitheatre; and, finally, the hoarse noise of the cataract, contrasted with the perfect stillness of the night, except ,when broken by the call of the sentinel's "all's well," excited sensations in the mind to which even the sailors yvere not indifferent. At this place Simmons, who had hitherto acted as. EXPEDITION UP THE RIVER ZAIRE. 325 an interpreter, deserted ; but Captain Tuckey yvas for tunate enough to prevail with a man, yvho had accomr panied him from Embomma, and who had been five years in England-, to undertake the same office. The whole number of persons was now about thirty. Lieutenant Hawkey, and one or two other persons, were left at Cooloo, to take care of the provisions; and the captain, accompanied by all the rest, pro ceeded on the journey. They passed the first night in a valley, some miles distant from Cooloo, where a dark thicket of lofty trees gave to the spot a pic turesque appearance. Towards the close of the day, many monkeys were seen to come down from the hills ; and the noise of buffaloes, mingled with some singular cries of birds, was heard to issue from among the trees; The night scene, though entirely different from that already described, was somewhat singular. The trees completely shaded the valley ; and the reflection of the fires on the tent, on the foliage, and the rocks, with the mixture of black and white men, each employed in cooking his-supper, would, to a stranger, have given no bad idea of the rendezvous of a horde of banditti. In the morning the party found that they had pitched tlieir tent over a nest of ants; but, although their bodies yvere covered with these insects, no one suffered any other inconvenience. At day-light they were roused by the discordant cries of a legion of monkeys, and the harsh screams of various kinds of birds. About noon the next day the travellers arrived at a vil lage called Banza Inga. Here they were closely examined relative to the objects of their journey ; and, after some difficulty, they prevailed with one of the prin cipal men of the place tox conduct them to a part of the river, yvhere it was said to become again navigable for canoes. The travellers now proceeded eastward, and in a direction parallel with that of the river. At the end of the yillage they passed a blacksmith at work. He was fitting a hoe into a handle ; his bellows was com posed of two skin bags, and his anvil was a large 326 tuckey's stone. The progress of his work was very slow, for the iron was never brought to a red heat. Their route lay chiefly along a fertile valley, between extensive ranges of hills. In this valley they found two villages surrounded by plantations; and a town, if it might so be named, of ant-hills. These yvere formed with greater regularity than the huts ofthe negro villages : they were very large, and, similar to those they had before seen ; were shaped • like mushrooms, but were sometimes with double and triple tops. About four o'clock the travellers once more reached the river, the sides of which they found to be rocky, and lined with vast heaps of sand; but it was free from obstructions in the middle. . It appeared to be somewhat more than two hundred yards wide ; and it flowed yvith a gentle current. From the inhabitants of a negro village, near this place, Captain Tuckey obtained information much more distinct than any he had before received, concerning the upper parts of the river. He was here told that, after ten days rowing in a canoe, he would come to a large sandy island, yvhich divided the river into two channels; and that, about twenty days above this island, he yvould reach a place where the river issued, by*many small streams, from a great marsh or lake of miid. The travellers remarked, that every village through yvhich they passed, seemed to have a presiding deity : this was a figure which, from its general appearance, might have been mistaken for a scare-crow. Each house also had its deities, both male and female, which were invoked on all occasions. In all the market places the banyan-tree was planted; and, as in the east, this tree was considered sacred. In one instance Captain Tuckey's people having piled their muskets against a banyan-tree, and some of the points having stuck into the bark, a great clamour yvas raised by the inhabitants until they were removed. In this part of Africa the people, both men and women, had numerous cicatrices, or ornamental marks, on several parts of their bodies, but particulaiiy on their chest EXPEDITION UP THE RIVER ZAIRE. 327 and abdomen. They were an extremely indolent race ; and so fond of strong liquors, that Captain Tuckey could never induce them to talk on business till he had given them a quantity of brandy. They had no other weapons than knives, and a few muskets : small round stories were used iu place of shot ; and a piece of quartz served them for a flint. Their huts yvere small, and swarmed yvith fleas and bugs. In the night ofthe 24th of August, the travellers were wetted with the first showers of rain wliich had fallen since their arrival in Africa. They this day saw a slave-trader, who had arrived from Embomma; and Captain Tuckey says, that the mode of conducting this infamous traffic was as follows. The slave-merchant quits Embomma yvith three or four men, each carrying a jar of brandy,, and a piece of cloth. On a bargain for a slave being concluded, the jar of brandy is drunk, and a proportion of cloth is given to the chenoo, and other principal men as- presents. The seller then sends one of his own men back with the trader, to receive the price of the slave at Embomma, or any other place that may be agreed upon. On the 26th of August, a gangam-kissey, or priest, passed through the village of Inga, attended by a drum-beater. He had been sent for to a neigh bouring village, to ascertain the cause of a man's death, who yvas believed to have been poisoned. This the priest yvas to do by a species of ordeal. Each of the accused persons yvas to chew a piece of poisonous bark, and it was considered that the guilty person would be punished by the bark remaining in his stomach and killing him, and that the innocent would escape by vomiting it up again. Although Captain Tuckey had been told that, from this place he could, without interruption, proceed up the river in canoes, he was now informed that, in more than one place, the stream yvas interrupted by rocks, which extended across it. The nearest of these cata racts, if they could so be termed, he determined to visit; and, accompanied by five of his party and a 328 TUCKEY'S guide, with provisions for one day, he proceeded thithery hoping to return to Inga before night. The walk was dreadfully fatiguing, and instead of being able to return the same day, he did not arrive at the river till it was nearly dark. He found that a ledge of slate rocks ex tended across the bed of the stream, leaving a passage on one side, about fifty yards wide, through - yvhich the current ran with great rapidity. As the party had exhausted their provisions, and had no tent to shelter them, it became necessary to look out for some inhabitants, who could receive them into their huts, and afford them refreshment. The guide spoke of a village at a little distance, but, in attempting to reach it, he lost his way. It was now quite dark. After wandering about for some time, they saw a fire on the side of a hill at a little distance, and heard the sound of human voices. The guide called to the people, but there was an intervening thicket, without any path through it that he could discover. One of the men came from the hill to therii, but the walk occupied him nearly an hour. He conducted them through thick underwood, w' .ere they were obliged almost to crawl, through grass twice their own height, to a spot clear of wood on the side of the hill. Being literally wet through with perspiration, they here lighted a fire to dry their clothes. A little water was all the refresh ment they could obtain. These bushmen, as Captain Tuckey calls them, had no hut, consequently, he and his companions were obliged to sleep on the naked rocks. They suffered excessively from the cold ; and, pn the ensuing day, they returned to Inga, almost ex hausted by hunger and fatigue. This excursion convinced Captain Tuckey, that", in consequence of the nature of the country, and the im possibility of obtaining provisions, it was totally imprac-' ticable to penetrate yvith several persons by land along the sides of the river. He was now desirous ofbiring canoes for the purpose of going by water to the cataract which he had just visited by land, but he was unable to procure any. He EXPEDITION UP THE RIVER ZAIRE. 32& therefore sent to Cooloo for the remainder of the provi sions, apd directed sixteen of his people to return to the ship. With some of the others he determined to proceed by land to a village distant about three days jolirney up the river, and at a place yvhere he was in formed the river ceased to be obstructed by rocks. Consequently, on the 2d of September, he set out on his final tour. The party consisted of Captain Tuckey, Professor Smith, Mr. Galwey, eight white men, and twelve negroes. There was no other way than the hor rible one which they had already traversed. At the end of the first day they yvere all excessively fatigued, and were glad, as expeditiously as possible, to pitch their tents and retire to rest. In the middle of the night they found themselves attacked by a swarm of ants,' which completely drove them out of the tent ; and, although it had rained in the evening, they were com pelled to lie down, without any cover, on the wet grass. The next day some of the men began to be disabled from fatigue and illness ; and one of them was sent back. The road now was excessively bad ; for a considerable ¦• distance it lay through narrow gullies, not eighteen in-. ches wide, and yet in some places near six feet deep- In the more open parts the hills were clad with wood : several villages yvere seen, and a view was opened to the river. Here it had the appearance of a narrow lake. ' Its banks were woody, and, in some parts of it, rocks yvere seen rising out of the water. On the summit of one ofthe hills the party were met by a caravan of slave-traders going to Embomma. It consisted of thirty men, eight of whom were armed with muskets, and the rest yvere laden with provisions. Above the cataract the river greatly expanded. Pro fessor Smith says, that they were now at the commence ment of a country capable of an extensive cultivatiqn, yvith a fine navigable river, abundance of provisions, and an increased population ; and Captain Tuckey remarks, that this is the spot, of all others, from which an expe dition to explore the course of the river might set out* with advantage. 330 TUCKEYS Although the journey yvas now much more pleasant than it had been for some time past, it was not without great difficulty that Captain Tuckey could induce some of the negroes whom he had brought from Inga to pro ceed. They more than once put down their loads arid refused to go on. The travellers passed several villages ; and wherever they halted, their tent was crowded with visitors. Even in this part of the country a few of the principal men wore some parts of European dress. The women were disgustingly filthy. Fish was here very plentiful, and the kinds such, in general, as the tra vellers had never seen before. Alligators also yvere nu merous. On the 6th of September Captain Tuckey hired two canoes. These were to have been large enough to hold twenty men each ; but, when they were brought, they were found scarcely capable of containing eight. In consequence of this, tbe Captain, yvith several of his people, was obliged to walk along the shore. They came to a bay in. which, ten hippopotami were seen. The negroes in the canoes refused to advance until these animals were dispersed ; and five vollies were fired at them from the shore before they could be driven away. The river now, for the first time, bore a majestic ap pearance, having the land on each side moderately ele- ' vated. In the evening the canoes were anchored in a fine bay. Tbe, night presented a beautiful picture of repose : the scenery was fine, the moon shone brightly, and the water glided silently along. Alligators yvere here most abundant. Shortly after this an extremely unfortunate accident occurred. As the men were hauling one of the canoes round a rocky promontory, the hinder part stuck fast in the rocks ; and the current, striking against the side, broke her in two. Several articles were sunk and lost. Among others, two swivel guns, the captain's sword, a bundle of umbrellas, and all the cooking utensils. Notwithstanding the innumerable hardships to which they had hitherto been exposed, the travellers were de termined still to persevere ; and with undaunted reso.- EXPEDITION UP THE RIVER ZA I P.E. 331 lution, and almost incredible exertions, they continued their progress about forty miles farther up the river. Here the captain found it impossible to go on with any prospect either of success or of safety. He, conse quently, gave directions that the party should return to the ship. Professor Smith expressed great regret at this. He had. become so much enraptured with the im proved appearance ofthe country, and the magnificence of the river, that it yvas not without great difficulty he could be prevailed with to retrace his steps. The remainder of the narrative of this expedition is a very melancholy one. The party experienced exces sive fatigue and hardships in their journey back. Four days after the commencement of their return, Professor Smith was attacked by a fever and died; and Mr. Galwey died on the 9th of September. "It was," says Captain Tuckey, "a terrible march!" On the 18th, however, he reached the ship, but in a state of extreme exhaustion and debility, brought on by fatigue, exposure to the weather, and privations. He .expired on the 4th of October. Lieutenant Hawkey died two days afterwards. Mr. Cranch had expired on the 26th of August, Mr. Tudor on the 29th, and Mr. Eyre, the purser, on the 30th of September. This fatal termination of the expedition has left the source of the Zaire still unknown. Captain Tuckey in deed ascended the river to the distance of two hundred and eighty miles from the sea, and satisfactorily proved, that it was not navigable beyond the rapids. That por tion of country through which it flows was not very inte resting in the general appearance of its surface, but its natural productions were, in many instances, found to be uncommon. The climate is. described to have been peculiarly fine; and by no means so hot as might have been expected in a country so near the equator as this. Scarcely a single shower fell during the whole time that Captain Tuckey was in the country. Hence the fatality with which his journey yvas attended is almost iuexpli- 332 ANGOLA. cable. The greater number of persons who died were carried off by a violent kind of remittant fever; but some of them appear to have no other ailment than yvhat had been caused by extreme fatigue, and to have died from mere exhaustion. Angola. South of Congo is the province of Angola,- or Dongo, as it was formerly called. It lies between the two rivers Danda and Coanza ; and is bounded on the east by a kingdom which does not appear to have been hitherto visited by Europeans, called Matdmba. Nearly the whole country is mountainous and wooded, but there are a few plains between the hills and on the sea-coast. The soil is various. In some parts it is fertile, and well adapted to the culture of grain, and the feeding of cattle, but in other parts it is barren and unproductive. The mountains abound in metals and ores. The vallies and plains are watered by many rivers, particularly by the deep and rapid Coanza, the entrance of which is several miles wide, and the source of which is yet unknown. This river runs in a north-westerly direction, through a rocky and yvinding channel ; and is navigable by small vessels more than a hundred miles from the sea. The inhabitants of Angola, hi their manners, lan guage, religion, dress, and ceremonies, resemble, those of Congo. The Portuguese formed here a settlement more than three hundred years ago. The principal town is called Paul de Loanda, and is situated on the declivity of a steep mountain near the sea-coast, and at a place where there is a safe and commodious harbour. It contains several churches, monasteries, and other public buildings. The adjacent territory is fertile, well watered, and in a better state of cultivation than most of the lands in this part of Africa. It produces Indian corn and millet, and also a great abundance of fruit and roots. BENGUELA. 333 Benguela.. Proceeding still southward we cross the Coanza, and enter the kingdom of Benguela. It is mountainous, and abounds in wild beasts, particularly in elephants, rhinoceroses, lious, tigers, and zebras. Near the sea coast are some fertile plains, but these are so much intermixed with swamps and morasses, that the climate is very unhealthy. There are several bays and towns on the coast ; and the Portuguese had, formerly, two or three forts and settlements here, but little is known con cerning them, as this country is now seldom visited by Europeans. From Cape Negro, the southern point of Benguela, to Caffraria, or the country of Hottentots, lies an unex plored region of vast extent. Its shores, for nearly nine hundred miles, are arid, desert, and almost desti tute of fresh water; and are only partially inhabited by a few miserable tribes of negroes. ®fnentB--JFourtS Bag's 3Jnstractfon. SOUTHERN AFRICA, OR CAFFRARIA. Country of Namaquas, Bosjesmans, Boshuanas, Cape of Good Hope, Hottentots, Caff res, and Ghonaquas. The first country we enter after passing the desert, and crossing , the Great, oi Orange River, is that of the Namaquas- Here we find sandy, desolate, and almost uninhabited plains. They were formerly, however, peo pled by numerous tribes, who possessed vast herds of cattle; but who, in the course of the last century, have been nearly extirpated by the Dutch colonists. of the Cape-of Good Hope. A few of them only are left, and these are described to be a harmless and honest race of Hottentots, but somewhat taller and less robust than the generality of these people. Some of the 834 BOSJ.ESMANS. women are well formed, and possess considerable viva city. The chief and most ornamental parf of their dress consists of a square leather apron, which has usually a border of shells or beads, and six or eight chains, in pairs, the 'points of which drag upon the ground. ' The huts of the Namaquas are generally from ten to twelve feet iu diameter, of hemispherical shape, and consist of a frame-work of bent sticks, covered with matting made of sedges. They are commodious, and can easily be taken to pieces, packed together, ,and car ried from one place to another. The Country of Bosjesmans. Proceeding in an easterly direction, we next arrive at the country of the Bosjesmans,, or Bushmen; so called from their being supposed to lurk under the cover of thickets and woods, and thence to shoot .their poisoned arrows against unguarded travellers, for the sake of plundering them of cattle. These people are of diminutive size, and among the most disgusting of human beings. Their eyes are small, their noses broad and flat, their cheek bones prominent, and tlieir colour a^jrownish yellow, like that of a withered leaf. They chiefly occupy the inaccessible parts of the moun tains between the countries of the Namaquas and the Kafters ; and subsist on the natural productions of the soil, by hunting and plunder. They are enemies of all nations, and robbers by profession. Their clothing consists only of a raw skin of a sheep or goat, with some ornaments of copper, shells, or glass beads. Their language is chiefly in monosyllables, and sounds scarcely human. Every Bosjesman carries a bow and a quiver of poisoned arrows. Many of them stick these within a fillet round their head, in such manner as to form a kind of crown. They are so active, that the antelope can scarcely excel them in leaping from rock to rock, and so swift, that, on rough ground, or up the sides -of mountains, horsemen have no chance in keeping pace BOSHUANAS. 335 With them. They possess no animals except dogs; and consequently have neither milk nor animal food to eat. The only viands that Mr. Barrow found, in their huts were a few small bulbous roots, the eggs or larvae of white ants, and dried locusts. Their huts are formed of rushes, or long grass, placed upon sticks bent into a semicircular shape, over hollow places made in the ground. The Country of Boshuanas. On the north side of Orange River, and adjacent to the country of the Bosjesmans, is that of the Boshu anas. The capital, called Lcetakoo, is situated at the distance of about sixteen days journey north of the river. These people, both by their language and ap pearance, seem to be of the same original stock as the Kafters, whom yve shall soon describe. They are, how ever, less vigorous and athletic, and do not, in the men,, present such fine and handsome forms ; but the women have a much greater share of beauty than those of the Kaffers. They are industrious, and in some degree civilized : they construct their houses with considerable skill, and cultivate their lands with greater care than any of their neighbours ; but the tending of cattle is their chief employment. Several rivers, which run through their country, would yield them an abundance of fish ; but they entirely reject these as food. The Boshuanas appear to be a very ingenious people. They obtain iron .and copper from other countries, and manufacture from these metals various useful articles. From iron they make axes, knives, spears, and bodkins ; and from copper, rings for the legs, arms, fingers, and ears. Of the skins of cats and other animals they make fur cloaks. They also, yvith great ingenuity, make earthen vessels of large size, capable of holding from two to three hundred gallons, and these they use as gra naries for the preservation of corn. Many of the Boshuanas paint their bodies with a mix ture of pounded red chalk and grease, and cover their 336 I.EETAKO0. hair with black-lead dust mixed with grease : thus giving to it a bluish and sparkling appearance. There appear to be several tribes of these people, all of which are under the government of one sovereign, whom they treat with profound respect. Though they are lively in their manners, and towards Europeans are gentle and peaceable in their demeanour, they carry on war against their neighbours with' as much ferocity as other barbarians. The usual object of their expe ditions is plunder. They have many barbarous customs, particularly one, which prevails at their war feats on their return from any military enterprise. Each war rior, who has slain an enemy in battle, then produces a piece of his flesh, which he roasts and eats. After this the priest makes an incision along the whole length of the warrior's thigh, the scar of.which ever afterwards remains as a testimony of his prowess. In the year 1813, the city of Leetakoo contained about fifteen hundred houses, and between seven and eight thousand inhabitants ; and it had a large square, enclosed as a place of public resort: here the men passed the greater part of the day together in con versation, in dressing skins, making knives, and other articles. This, toyvn had, not long before, been moved about sixty miles from its former situation, in con sequence of a schism that had prevailed among the ruling poyvers. Each of the houses is surrounded by a thick^ fence of dry brushwood, forming a spacious court. This, in tine weather, serves all the purposes of an outward apartment, where, after the labours of the day, the family prepare and take their evening's repast. The huts are constructed of Clay strengthened with wood, and closely thatched with dry grass. Each hut generally consists of three concentric circles, the two interior ones of which are formed yvith walls, and the outer one by a range of wooden pillars. Cape of Good Hope. We must now direct our course toward the southern extremity of Africa, called the Cape of Good Hope. cape of good hope. 337 This is at present an English colony, bounded on the north by the river Koussie and the country of the Bosjesmans, and on the east by the Great Fish river and Kafferland. It was first discovered by the Portu guese in the year 1487; and, on account of the stormy weather which they encountered in its vicinity, yvas named by them "The Cape of all Plagues." But sub sequently the king of Portugal, under an impression that the discovery of it would enable him to find a passage by sea to India, yvhich he had long desired, gave it an appellation of better omen, namely "The Cape of Good Hope." The Dutch established here a colony in 1 650. From this period for near one hundred and fifty years, it con tinued in their undisturbed possession ; but, during the late war, it was taken by the English, and at the gene ral peace, after the final defeat of the French in the battle of Waterloo, was formally surrendered to them. We must not estimate the value of this colony by its extent; forthe greatest part Of it consists of naked moun tains, or sterile and unprofitable plains. Many of the latter have a hard and impenetrable surface of clay, thinly sprinkled over with sand, condemned to per petual drought, and producing only scattered tufts of acrid, saline, and succulent plants. There are indeed some fertile spots, but these are of small extent, in pro portion to the barren tracts. The. chief value of the colony arises from the advantages which it possesses as a port, a military, naval, and commercial station. Of its mountains, the most remarkable are those imme diately behind Cape Town. They are called the Table Mountain, the Devil's Mountain, and the Lion's Head. The Table Mountain is a stupendous mass of naked rock, the northern summit of which, directly facing the town, forms nearly an horizontal line, about two miles in length. The Devil's Mountain is on one side, and the Lion's Head on the other side of it. Of these, the former is broken into irregular points, and the latter terminates in a rounded summit which, from some points trav. S 338 cape town. of view, is not much unlike the dome of St. Paul's churoh in London. The rivers that intersect this colony are of little ad vantage to it; for the purpose either of agriculture or navigation, many of them being merely periodical tor rents, which continue to flow only during the rainy season, and which during the summer are nearly dry. There are numerous bays along the coast ; but of these Saldanha Bay and Table Bay are the most important. The former is large and commodious, and, at all sea sons, affords shelter and anchorage for vessels ; but the scarcity, which exists in its neighbourhood, of wood and fresh water, prevents it from being much fre quented. Table Bay is the principal harbour of the colony. It is about eighteen miles in extent!, and though exposed to the north-west winds, affords nume rous advantages for the refitting of vessels and refresh ment of their crews. Opposite to the entrance of this bay, and about ten miles from Cape Town, there was formerly a flat and sandy island, about two miles in length, called Robben Island. This yvas, for many years, used by the Dutch government at the Cape, as a place of banishment for criminals ; but, in December 1809, it disappeared, in consequence of an earthquake. Cape Town, the capital of the Cape of Good Hope, and the only place in the colony that deserves the name of a town, stands on a sloping plain, at the south-west corner of Table Bay, and is surrounded, except towards the sea, by black and dreary mountains. It is regu larly and neatly built, and is well supplied with water by a plentiful stream which issues from the Table Mountain. Many of the streets are of considerable width, and have, running through them, canals of water walled in, and planted on each side with oak trees. They are all straight, and intersect each other at right angles. The houses are in general built of stone and white-washed; and most of them are two stories high, have flat roofs, and a kind of pediment in the centre. There are some spacious squares, whieh CAPE TOWN. 339 give to the town an open and airy appearance. The public market is held in one : another is a place of common resort of the farmers and graziers with iheir waggons ; and a third is used .as a parade for exercising the troops. A little to the east of the town stands the castle. It is of pentagonal form, and contains within it most of the public offices of government. It also affords ac commodation for a thousand men with their officers ; and has magazines for artillery stores and ammunition. This fortress commands the town and part of the an chorage, but is entirely indefensible against the bat teries that have been erected upon the rising ground behind it. Along the shore of Table Bay there are several other forts. The public buildings of Cape Town are neither nu merous nor very remarkable. The barracks, forming a large and regular edifice, and originally intended for an hospital, granaries, &c. occupy part of one side of the great square. The other public buildings in Cape Town are the Calvinist church, the Lutheran church, the court of justice, the guard-house, and the theatre. Behind the town, on the acclivity of Table Mountain, is the government-house. It stands in a piece of rich ground, containing about forty acres, and divided by oak hedges into forty-four squares. Part of this ground has been appropriated as a public garden, for the re ception of scarce and curious native plants, and for experiments upon such Asiatic and European produc tions as may seem most likely to be cultivated with benefit to the colony. Over the same acclivity are , scattered many handsome villas, each of yvhich is sur rounded yvith plantations and gardens. Cape Town contains about one thousand one hundred and fifty houses ; and has a population of five thousand five hundred white inhabitants and people of colour, and about ten thousand blacks. Many of the inhabi tants are in easy circumstances. Their chief delight seems to be in drinking and smoking, They have no relish for public amusements, and no taste for literature 340 CAPE TOWN. and the fine arts. Indeed there is not a bookseller's shop in the whole town : tbe only library in the place was left by an individual for the use of the public ; and even this is but little used. They have a remarkable propensity for public sales, and many of them live by such traffic, exposing for sale in the evening, what they probably had bought at the same place in the morning. Provisions and fruit are both abundant and cheap at the Cape of Good Hope. Indeed most of tbe neces saries of life may be procured there at a moderate price, but luxuries imported from Europe or India are costly. Fuel is so extremely scarce, that the faggots yvhich are burnt in the kitchen of a small family will cost from forty to fifty pounds a year. The'climate is healthy, and in general appears to be free from the extremes both of heat and cold. Being on the southern side of the equator the seasons are the reverse of tnose in Europe. The year is divided by the inhabitants into two periods, called the good and the bad monsoon ; but as these are neither regular in their returns, nor certain in their continuance, the divi sion into four seasons appears to be more proper. The spring, reckoned from the beginning of September to that of December, is the most agreeable season; the summer, from December to March, is the. hottest ; in tlie autumn, from March to June, the weather is variable ; and the winter, though in general pleasant, is some times stormy, rainy, and cold. The supreme government of the Cape of Good Hope is vested iu a governor or lieutenant-governor ; and the colony is divided into four districts, of the Cape, Stellenbosch, Zwellendam, and Graaf Reynet. Each district is under the authority of a civil magis trate, called a landrost, and six persons, called hem- raaden or council of burghers. These regulate the police of their respective districts, superintend the affairs of the government, adjust litigations, and deter mine petty causes. The Cape district is the smallest, but most populous < of the four. It is about eighty miles in, length, and STELLENBOSCH and zwellendam. 341 twenty-five in breadth : a great portion of it is moun tainous, and scarcely a fifteenth part of its surface is under cultivation. Its most valuable productions are confined to the lands in the vicinity ofthe town. Many of the tropical and most of the European fruits are here cultivated with great success ; and the market is always well supplied with vegetables of every descrip tion. A sweet and luscious wine, known by the name of Constantia, is made at two vineyards, about eight miles from Cape Town. The plains of the Peninsula, on which Cape Town stands, are variegated with elegant and beautiful shrubs and flowers, and furnish endless employment to the researches of the botanist. There are in some places extensive plantations1 of trees, and most of the country houses are adorned with avenues of oak; but the timber of these is of small value, •being generally shaken and unsound, in consequence of its rapid growth. The district of Stellenbosch extends from the most southern point of Africa, to the river Koussie on the north, a distance of three hundred and eighty miles. Though the greatest part of it is barren and unprofit able, consisting of naked hills, and unproductive plains, yet some of the vallies contain a rich and fertile soil, enjoy a delightful climate, and are well inhabited. Grapes and other kinds of fruit are the chief produc- . tions of this part of the colony, though wheat and barley are grown on some of the lands. The principal villages are the Drosdy of Stellenbosch and Paarl, The former is twenty-five miles from Cape Town, and consists of about seventy houses, most of which are neatly built and have outhouses, orchards, and gardens: the latter, which lies twenty miles further north, con tains about thirty habitations, forming a street nearly a mile in length. Zwellendam extends along the southern coast, be tween the Black Mountains and the sea. It is moun tainous, and the mountains near the sea are clad with impenetrable forests. In this district the pasture in general is excellent ; and tbe revenues of the farmers o2 3 12 GRAAF REYNET. are chiefly derived from the sale of horses, timber, grain, butter, soap, and dried fruits. The village of Zwellendam consists of about thirty houses, scattered irregularly over a fertile valley : it contains the house of tbe landrost, and the only church in the district. Graaf Reynet is the eastern district of the colony. Little grain is here produced, except what is necessary, for the subsistence of the inhabitants, and even many of these live entirely on animal food. Sheep and cattle are reared in great perfection, particularly the former. . The only villageis called Graaf Reynet. It consists of about a dozen small houses, the walls of which are formed of clay, and the roofs of thatch : it is the resi dence ofthe landrost; and is chiefly inhabited by a black smith, a carpenter, and a few other mechanics. Perpetual hostilities are carried on betwixt the farmers of this district, and the Kaffers and Bosjesman Hottentots. The farmers of the Cape of Good Hope are chiefly Dutch colonists, or descendants from these. Their farms are generally very extensive; and many of them are in affluent circumstances. They have not much intercourse with each other, and are often engaged in litigations concerning the boundaries of their respec tive property. They are, in general, tall and corpulent, cold and phlegmatic in their temper, and never raised to exertion, except by the fear of want or the desire of gain. Their lives are passed in the most listless inac tivity. A similar indolence prevails in the women. The mistress of a family remains fixed to her chair almost from morning to evening, yvith a coffee-pot con stantly boiling before her; and her daughters sit beside her, equally unoccupied. The year is seldom varied by any incident that can- awaken either their anxiety or their hopes. They have no fairs, no visiting parties, no dancing, no music, nor amusement of any descrip tion. The history of a day is nearly the history of their whole lives. The graziers are much worse than the farmers: they are by far the rudest of the Cape colonists, and can scarcely be considered superior, either in intelligence HOTTENTOTS. 343 in manners, or in comforts, to many of the hordes of savages that surround them. The commerce of this settlement, under the Dutch government, was principally confined to such ships as touched at the Cape for refreshments. At present grain, wine, brandy, hides, skins, dried fruit, aloes, and ivory are exported ; but the value of these scarcely amounts to one-fifth of the value of the imports. To the naturalist the Cape of Good Hope is an extremely interesting country. Great numbers of beau tiful plants and shrubs, cultivated in hot-houses in Eu rope, have been brought from this part of Africa. Its mountains, vallies, and plains are inhabited by a yvon- derful variety of quadrupeds. The feathered tribes also are numerous ; and the coasts abound in fish. The Hottentots. The primitive inhabitants of all this part of Africa had the name of Hottentots. They lived in kraals, or villages, consisting of numerous huts of semicircular or oblong shape, which, at a little distance, had the appearance of bee-hives; but of late years they are scarcely known to exist as a distinct body of people. Most of them have become slaves to the Dutch farmers.- They are a careless, inconstant, and indolent race. Their features are in general extremely disgusting, their cheek bones being high and prominent, their nose broad and flat, and their eyes narrow and distant from each other. The colour of their skin is generally that of a faded leaf; and their hair is black, short, and curled into small round lumps. They are extremely voracious, and eat their meat often in a state nearly putrid ; and they cover their bodies with grease, to protect their skin from injury by the heat of the sun. Tlieir dress con sists chiefly of a belt made of a thong cut from the skin of some animal, and having in front a kind of case made of the skin of the jackal. Some of them by way of ornament wear rings of copper round their wrists. The thongs of dried skins, with yvhich they formerly 344 kaf fers. encircled their legs from the ankle to the knee, were intended as a protection against the bite of poisonous animals ; but these have long .been disused, and glass beads, or copper chains, have been substituted for them. Country of the Kaffers or Cafferland. The country on the eastern side of the Great Fish river is inhabited by a tribe of people called Kaffers. 1 1 is of considerable extent. Its surface is, in general, rugged and mountainous, and in many parts is covered with vast and impenetrable forests, inhabited only by savage animals ; but some of its plains are extensive, and capable of yielding an abundance of grain and pasturage. The Kaffers are a well-formed, active, and industrious people, who lead a pastoral life, and live chiefly in vil lages, or assemblages of semi-globular huts, near tbe banks of rivers. Their clothing is formed of skins : the women are covered from the neck to the ankles ; but in warm weather the men go naked. They are frugal, temperate, and cleanly in their habits : good humoured, and hospitable towards each other and to strangers ; but implacable to their foes. In yvar their chief weapon is a long spear, and their defensive armour an oval shield formed of an ox's hide. The Kaffers have nu merous herds of cattle ;¦ but these, except on particular occasions, they seldom kill, as their principal food con sists of milk in a curdled state. They have no sheep, goats, pigs, nor poultry, and seldom employ themselves in the culture of land. Though they occupy an exten sive tract of sea-coast, Mr. Barrow says, that they have no kind of fishery either with nets or boats; nor did it appear to him that they possessed a single canoe, or any thing that resembled a floating vessel. They are go verned by a king; but he is distinguished by no ensign of royalty, except the number of his attendants ; and his authority is very limited. The countenances of this people have a greater resemblance to those of the Arabs EASTERN COAST OF AFRICA. 345 than the negroes; and the colour of their skin varies from deep bronze to jet black. A race of Hottentots, called Ghonaquas, formerly possessed a country adjacent to that of the Kaffers. They yvere a tall, well-proportioned, hospitable, and vindictive tribe, who subsisted on milk, fruits, and fish ; but, having been driven out of their possessions by the adjacent colonists, they are, probably, now extinct. EASTERN COAST OF AFRICA. On the eastern coast of Africa, proceeding northyvard from the Cape of Good Hope, we find the countries of Inhambana and Sabia. These are watered by several navigable rivers ; and in the interior, except along the banks of the rivers, they are chiefly rough, barren, and woody. Northward of Sabia is Sofala, where the Portu guese have a settlement of considerable importance for their trade to the East Indies. This country, supposed to have been the Ophir oi the Sacred Writings, and famous for its mines of gold and silver, is flat, fertile, and popu lous near the coast ; but in the inland parts is moun tainous, and covered with thick forests full pf ele phants, lions, and various beasts of prey. The natives of Sofala, in their stature, colour, and habits, are nearly allied to the Kaffers. Proceeding still towards the north, and passing the inland kingdom of Monomotapa, or Mocaranga, of which little is known, we enter an extensive ter ritory called Mosambique; the capital of which is a Portuguese town situated in a small island of the same name, at a little distance from the shore. This island is dry and sandy, and its climate is hot and unhealthy. The chief trade of Mosambique was formerly carried on in conjunction with the Portuguese settlement of Goa, in the East Indies, and consisted in gold, ivory, and slaves. The latter were purchased here at a rate of from three to five pounds ; and, in the interior of the 346 EASTERN COAST OF AFRICA. country, for two or three dollars each. If any one could have hesitated to approve of the abolition of the slave trade, says Mr. Salt, he would immediately have beeu convinced of the necessity of it, by a visit to one of the slave yards of Mosambique, where indescribable wretchedness prevailed. The character of the natives of the continent of Mo sambique, and the products of their country, are alike unknown. Gold, ivory, and cotton stuffs, however, are their chief articles of trade. On the coast of Zanguebar, north of Mosambique, the Portuguese had formerly some forts and settle ments. The inhabitants of this country are all blacks, and are chiefly Mahometans. The climate is unhealthy, and the heat intense. The soil in general is barren, but interspersed with fertile spots, watered by rivers, lakes, and marshes. Zanguebar contains several states, one of which, called Quiloa, was formerly very power ful. The capital is situated in a fertile island of, the same name, and contains houses built of stone and mortar, several stories high, with pleasant gardens be hind them. „,Some parts of the coast of Zanguebar are low and fertile, and yield abundance of millet, rice, fruit, and pasturage. " The most northern country on this coast is Ajan. Some parts of it are fruitful and populous ; and others a parched and barren desert. Lying under the equator, the climate is intensely hot. Ajan has three sea-ports, called Juba, Brava, and Magadox'a ; from which a trade is carried on with other parts of Africa, and with some of the adjacent countries of Asia. The extreme point of land towards the north is called Cape Guarda- fui ; and is the termination of a long chain of moun tains. Thence the sea-coast stretches westward to the confines of Abyssinia, and along a country whicli, as far as the Strait of Babelmandel, is seldom visited by Eu ropeans. FINIS. C Whittingham, College House, Cliiswick. WORKS RECENTLY PUBLISHED BY THE SAME AUTHOR. BIOGRAPHICAL CONVERSATIONS, on the most eminent and instructive British Cha racters ; interspersed with numerous Anecdotes, illustrative of their Lives and Actions, and of the Times in which they lived. Second Edition. One Volume 12mo. price Six Shillings in Boards. In this volume the Author has endeavoured to illustrate the advantages that result to young persons from submission to authority and restraint, from application to study, from industry, integrity, and obedience ; and the unhappiness that is invariably consequent upon disobedience, indolence, imprudence, bad com pany, and dissipation. But, as infinitely the most important of all, he has iu all cases endeavoured to show the necessity of early religious instruction and habits. Preface. BIOGRAPHICAL CONVERSATIONS, on the most eminent Voyagers, of different Nations; comprehending distinct Narratives of their personal Adventures. Second Edition. One Volume 12mo. price Six Shillings and Sixpence. BIOGRAPHICAL CONVERSATIONS, on celebrated Travellers; comprehending Distinct Narratives of their Personal Adventures. One Vo lume 12mo. price Six Shillings and Sixpence. ANIMAL BIOGRAPHY; or, Popular Zoology, comprising Authentic Anecdotes of the Economy,' Habits of Life, Instincts, and Sagacity, of the Animal Creation. Fourth Edition. Three Volumes 8vo. closely printed, price One Pound Sixteen Shillings. Character of this Work from the Monthly Review for October, 1803 " We would recommend his (Mr. Bingley's) volames to Works recently published by the same Author. those professed naturalists who may be desirous of revising, in an easy and methodical manner, some ot the most interesting results of their former investigations; — to the student, who is now enabled, with no great expenditure of either time or trouble, to trace at once the outline of a great department of the Lin- naean system, and to treasure in his mind many of the curious facts connected wilh the history of animal creation; — to the philosopher, who loves to speculate on the constitution and con duct of organized beings ; — and even to him who, without having it in his power to pursue any fixed plan of study, can oc casionally devote an hour or two to rational recreation. From the perusal of these anecdotes, the young of both sexes may reap much entertainment and instruction, without encountering a single passage which can alarm modesty, or wound those pure and sim ple feelings which constitute the ornament and comfort of oar condition." See also the British CHtic, Annual and Anti- Jacobin Reviews for the same year. USEFUL KNOWLEDGE; or, a familiar and explanatory Account of the various Productions of Nature, Mineral, Vegetable, and Animal; which are chiefly employed for the Use of Man. Illustrated by nearly Two Hundred Figures; and intended as a Work both of Instruction and Reference. Second Edi tion, with entirely new Plates. Three Volumes 12mo. Price One Guinea. " As a compendium of accurate information upon every sudt ject connected with the mineral, vegetable, and animal king doms, we have not seen a more useful publication than this, " To the library of the young, these volumes will be a most desirable addition." British Critic for Sept. 1817. " There is, we are persuaded, no class of readers to whom thi book will not be both amusing and instructive. To those who have already studied the subjects in larger works it will serve to recal the particulars which are most interesting, and may be ad vantageously employed as a book of reference. Those, on the other hand, who have not entered upon such inquiries, will find a great deal to gratify their curiosity, conveyed in an agreeable manner. " To young persons, especially young ladies, who have seldom an opportunity of studying large systems of natural history, we should particularly recommend this work." Edinburgh Magazine for May, 1817. a39002 0Q23ti9 3 8 0 b : I lUi, llljll Kgmiyy:y mm mm i ¦ IL :.'¦¦'¦¦'¦¦¦ wyy 9SP