Travels in the Great Desert of Sahara, in the Years of 1845 and 1846Richardson, James
History
Travels in the Great Desert of Sahara, in the Years of 1845 and 1846
Richardson, James
Sahara -- Description and travel
A few evenings ago intelligence arrived that a Souf caravan of eight
camels and five persons were seen about a day and a half from this city,
proceeding in the route of Ghat. This gave rise to suspicions that the
news about the Shânbah and Touaricks was a hoax of the Souafah, in order
to frighten the people of Ghadames, and allow them (the Souafah) to get
first to the market of Ghat, and buy slaves cheaper. So reason the
merchants with the usual jealousy of such people. Rais, on receipt of
the above, summoned his Divan, and it was debated, "Whether the Souafah
should not be brought in here by force?" The question was decided in the
affirmative, and late at night, fourteen Arab soldiers, two Arabs of
Seenawan, intimately acquainted with the routes, and an official of the
Rais, went off to seize the caravan. This bold measure may bring us
unpleasant consequences. First of all, the Governor has no right to seize
a caravan in a district where the Sultan, his master, has no authority,
decidedly neutral ground, especially a caravan of strangers. Then the
Souafah, in revenge, may attack the caravans of Ghadames. Again, it is a
question whether the caravan will come in without fighting, for the
Souafah are tough men to deal with. It will be a poor excuse for the
Governor to plead before the Pasha, that the caravan was guilty of this
hoax, supposing it so, and giving this as the reason for seizing the
peaceable caravan of an independent state. Indeed, who shall decide that
they gave false intelligence of the Shânbah? And if they did, should this
be the punishment for spreading a false report? Many other disagreeable
thoughts occur. It is clear there is a violent infraction of
international law committed on our neighbour's (the Touarick's)
territory.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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