Narrative of a Mission to Central Africa Performed in the Years 1850-51, Volume 1: Under the Orders and at the Expense of Her Majesty's GovernmentRichardson, James
History
Narrative of a Mission to Central Africa Performed in the Years 1850-51, Volume 1: Under the Orders and at the Expense of Her Majesty's Government
Richardson, James
Africa, Central -- Description and travel; Africa, North -- Description and travel; Richardson, James, 1806-1851
When I had paid the En-Noor escort, I made a present to Yusuf and Saïd.
To the former I gave a fine burnouse (value thirty-four mahboubs), and
told him I did so as a compensation for the extraordinary difficulties
which we had encountered on the road from Ghât to Aheer, but that I
could not write to Government for a present for him unless we could make
some treaties with the inhabitants and princes of Central Africa. To
Saïd I gave a veneese and a lecture. Our servants have not behaved so
well as they ought to have done, considering that they are treated so
much better than the servants of Muslims.
Anecdotes of our late adventures are still in circulation amongst us,
and I have learned some new ones to-day. The _naïveté_ of one of them is
extreme; but I can do more than allude to it. One of our party
transgressed a custom which the Mahommedans have absurdly made
obligatory. Great indignation was excited, even amongst the escort sent
for our protection by En-Noor; and one of them exclaimed: "If he do the
same thing again, and do not follow the way of us Muslims, I will send
an arrow through him."
During the night of the second affair, Oud-el-Khair used this nice
argument: "What will be gained if you do kill these three Christians?
There are plenty more in the English country!" Many topics of a similar
character were resorted to.
Some of the Tanelkums leave us to-day. We have to pay them two reals a
camel-load for bringing us from Tintaghoda to Tintalous. We have hired
of them eleven camels in all. The original agreement was to carry our
goods and baggage from Mourzuk to Tintaghoda, for which we paid dear.
Having heard that the great En-Noor would receive me to-day or
to-morrow, as I pleased, I determined at once to see him, and made ready
the presents for his highness. We had some difficulty in making the
selection. At length we amassed a variety of things, of the value of one
hundred and twenty-two mahboubs prime cost, or about fifty-two reals
value here.
At the Asar (or 3 P.M.) I dressed, and went off to see the great man,
accompanied by my German colleagues. On entering the village, I at once
recognised in a long mud-shed the Sultan's palace. It seemed, indeed, a
palace compared with the circular hasheesh huts by which it was
surrounded; and in that direction, accordingly, we bent our steps. On
gaining admission, we found the mighty potentate half-dozing on his
couch. He woke up as we entered, and sitting upon his hams, politely
excused himself for being found _en déshabille_. To remedy this state of
things as much as possible, he immediately wound round his head a black
band or turban; and having thus improved his toilet, bade us sit down. I
took my place very near him, and observed his appearance with some
interest. He was a venerable-looking black, but, like most of the
Kailouees, had something of an European cast of features. They say he is
about seventy-eight years old, and manifestly suffers the infirmities of
that great age.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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