JOURNEY
FROM
TIMBUCTOO TO HOUSA.
Shabeeny, after staying three years at Timbuctoo, departed for
Housa: and crossing the small river close to the walls, reached the
Nile in three days, travelling through a fine, populous, cultivated
country, abounding in trees, some of which are a kind of oak,
bearing a large acorn[73], much finer than those of Barbary, which
are sent as presents to Spain. Travelling is perfectly safe. They
embarked on the Nile in a large boat with one mast, a sail, and
oars; the current was not rapid: having a favourable wind, on his
return, he came back in as short a time as he went. The water was
very red and sweet.[74] The place where they embarked is called
Mushgreelia; here is a ferry, and opposite is a village. As the
current is slow, and they moored every night, they were eight or
ten days sailing down the stream to Housa. They had ten or twelve
men on board, and when it was calm, or the wind contrary, they
rowed; they steered with an oar, the boat having no rudder. He saw
a great many boats passing up and down the river; _there are more
boats_[75] _on this river between Mushgreelia and Housa than
between Rosetta and Cairo on the Nile of Egypt_. A great many
villages are on the banks. There are boats of the same form as
those of Tetuan and Tangiers, but much larger, built of planks, and
have ribs like those of Barbary; instead of pitch or tar, they are
caulked with a sort of red clay, or bole. The sail is of canvas of
flax (not cotton) brought from Barbary, originally from Holland; it
is square. They row like the Moors, going down the stream.
[Footnote 73: Called El Belute. These acorns are much prized by
the Muhamedans, and are considered a very wholesome fruit.]
[Footnote 74: The word hellue, in Arabic, which signifies
literally, sweet, here implies that the water was pure and
good.]
[Footnote 75: See Jackson's Marocco, page 314, 2d or 3d
edition.]
There is a road by land from Timbuctoo to Housa, but on account of
the expense it is not used by merchants: Shabeeny believes it is
about 5 days’ journey. If you go this way, you must cross the river
before you reach Housa. They landed at the port of Housa, distant a
day and a half from the town; their merchandise was carried from
this port on horses, asses, and horned cattle; the blacks dislike
camels; they say, “_These are the beasts that carry us into
slavery_.”
The country was rich and well cultivated; they have a plant bearing
a pod called mellochia, from which they make a thick vegetable
jelly.[76] There is no artificial road from Timbuctoo to the Nile;
near the river the soil is miry. Shabeeny travelled from Timbuctoo
to Housa in the hot weather when the Nile was nearly full; it
seldom falls much below the level of its banks; he travelled on
horseback from Timbuctoo to the river, and slept two nights upon
the road in the huts of the natives. One of the principal men in
the village leaves his hut to the travellers and gives them a
supper; in the mean time he goes to the hut of some friend, and in
the morning receives a small present for his hospitality.[77]
[Footnote 76: The pod of the mellochia, which grows near Sallee
and Rabat, is of an elongated conical form, about two inches
long.]
[Footnote 77: This is a common custom in West and South
Barbary; they always clear a tent for the travellers.]
THE RIVER NEEL OR NILE.
The Neel El Kebeer[78], (that is, the Great Nile,) like the Neel
Masser or Nile of Egypt, is fullest in the month of August, when it
overflows in some places where the banks are low; the water which
overflows is seldom above midleg; the banks are covered with reeds,
with which they make mats. Camels, sheep, goats, and horses, feed
upon the banks, but during the inundation are removed to the
uplands. The walls of the huts both within and without are cased
with wood to the height of about three feet, to preserve them from
the water; the wells have the best water after the swelling of the
river. The flood continues about ten days; the abundance of rice
depends on the quantity of land flooded. He always understood that
the Nile empties itself in the sea, the salt sea or the great
ocean. There is a village at the port of Housa where he landed, the
river here is much wider than where he embarked, and still wider at
Jinnie. He saw no river enter the Nile in the course of his voyage.
It much resembles the Nile of Egypt, gardens and lands are
irrigated from it. Its breadth is various; in some places he thinks
it narrower than the Thames at London, in others much wider; at the
landing place they slept in the hut of a native, and next morning
at sunrise set off for Housa, where they arrived in twelve hours
through a fine plain without hills; the country is much more
populous than between Timbuctoo and the Nile. Ferry boats are to be
had at several villages.
[Footnote 78: Properly Enneel. El is the article; but when it
precedes a word beginning with a letter called a labial, it
takes the sound of that letter. This error is committed
throughout a book, lately published, entitled Specimens of
Arabic Poetry, by J.D. Carlyle, Professor of Arabic in the
University of Cambridge, 2d edition p. 53, Abdalsalam, instead
of Abdassalum; p. 59, Ebn Alrumi, instead of Ebn Arrumi; and p.
65, Alnarhurwany, for Annarhurwany, &c. &c.]
HOUSA.
They did not see the town till they came within an hour from it, or
an hour and a half; it stands in a plain. Housa is south-east[79]
of Timbuctoo, a much larger city and nearly as large as London. He
lived there two years, but never saw the whole of it. It has no
walls; the houses are like those of Timbuctoo, and form irregular
lanes or streets like those of Fas or Marocco, wide enough for
camels to pass with their loads. The palace is much larger than
that of Timbuctoo; it is seven or eight miles in circumference and
surrounded by a wall; he remembers but four gates, but there may be
more; he thinks the number of guards at each gate is about 50; it
is in that part of the town most distant from the Nile. The houses
are dark coloured and flat roofed. He thinks Cairo is about
one-third larger than Housa; the streets are much wider than those
of Timbuctoo; the houses are covered with a kind of clay of
different colours but never white. They have no chalk or lime in
the country.
[Footnote 79: Rather south-east by east.]
GOVERNMENT.
If the king has children, the eldest, if a man of sense and good
character, succeeds; otherwise, one of the others is elected. The
grandees of the court are the electors. If the eldest son be not
approved, they are not bound to elect him; he has, however, the
preference, and after him the other sons; but the choice of the
council must be unanimous, and if no person of the royal line be
the object of their choice, they may elect one of their own body.
The members of the council are appointed by the king; he chooses
them for their wisdom and integrity, without being limited to rank:
the person appointed cannot refuse obedience to the royal mandate.
The council consists of many hundreds. The governor who controls
the police lives in the centre of the town.
THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE
Is very similar to that of Timbuctoo, except that the king is
perfectly despotic; and though he consults his council, he decides
as he thinks proper. The governor administers justice in small
affairs; but, in important cases, he refers the parties to the king
and council, of which he is himself a member. No torture, is ever
inflicted. The governor employs a great number of officers of
police at a distance from the town. If robberies are committed, the
person robbed must apply to the chief of the district, who must
find or take into custody the offender, or becomes himself liable
to make compensation for the injury sustained.[80]
[Footnote 80: This is also the law in West Barbary. When a
robbery is committed, the district where it has been committed
is made liable for double the amount; the half goes to the
person robbed, and the other half to the treasury. The good
effects of this law is admirable, insomuch that it has almost
annihilated robbery: but when one has actually been committed,
the energy and exertion of every individual is directed to
discover the depredator, and they seldom fail to discover him.
The fear of the penalty also makes them very cautious who they
admit among them; and very inquisitive respecting the character
and vocation of all, strangers in particular, who sojourn in
their country!!
LANDED PROPERTY.
They have a class of men whose peculiar business it is to adjust
all disputes concerning land; the office is hereditary; _the
offender_ pays the compensation, and also the fees of these
officers; _the innocent_ pays nothing. When lands are bought, these
officers measure them. There is a plant resembling a large onion,
which serves as a land-mark; if these are removed, (which cannot be
easily done without discovery) reference is had to the records of
the sale, of which every owner is in possession; they express the
sum received; the quantity, situation, and limits of the land.
These are given by the seller, and are written in the language and
character of the country, very different from the Arabic. The same
letters are used at Timbuctoo. They write from right to left. The
character[81] was perfectly unintelligible to Shabeeny. Children,
whose father is dead, succeed to the same portion of their
grandfather’s property as their father would, had _he_ out outlived
_his_ father, though there are other issue of the grandfather. The
rules of succession are the same as at Timbuctoo.
[Footnote 81: Possibly the ancient Carthaginian character.]
Persons of great landed property, of which there are many, employ
agents or stewards; they let the lands, and the rents are paid
sometimes in kind, and sometimes in gold-dust and cowries. Houses
are let by the month. He paid four Mexico dollars per month; but a
native would not have paid above two for the same house. A man who
has five Mexico dollars[82] a month, is esteemed in easy
circumstances; those, however, who have 30 or 40 per month, are
common.
[Footnote 82: Ten dollars worth of rice is sufficient for the
daily food of a man a twelve-month.]
REVENUES.
The king has 2 per cent. on the produce of the land. The revenues
arise from the same sources as at Timbuctoo, but are much larger.
Foreign merchants pay nothing, as the Housaeens think they ought to
be encouraged. The revenue is supposed to be immense.
ARMY.
He cannot precisely tell the number of troops, but believes the
king can raise 70,000 to 80,000 horse, and 100,000 foot. The horses
are poor and small, except a few kept for the king’s own use. He
has no well-bred mares. Their arms are the same as at Timbuctoo;
the muskets, which are matchlocks, are made in the country. They
are very dexterous in throwing the lance. Gunpowder is also
manufactured there; the brimstone is brought from Fas; the charcoal
they make; and he believes they prepare the nitre.[83] Their arrows
are feathered and barbed; the bows are all cross-bows, with
triggers; the arrows, 20 to 40 in a quiver, are made of hides, and
hang on the left side. The king never goes to war in person. The
soldiers have a peculiar dress; their heads are bare; but the
officers have a kind of turban; the soldiers have a shirt of coarse
white cotton, and yellow slippers; those of the officers are red.
Some have turbans adorned with gold. They carry their powder in a
leather purse; the match, made of cotton, is wound round the gun;
they have flint and steel in a pouch, and also spare matches.
[Footnote 83: The saltpetre and brimstone are probably derived
from Terodant in Suse, where both abound.]
THE TRADE
Is similar to that of Timbuctoo; in both places foreign merchants
always employ agents, or brokers, to trade to advantage; a man
should reside sometime before he begins. Ivory is sold by the
tooth; he bought one, weighing 200 lb. for five ducats (1_L. 5s._);
he sold it in Marocco for 25 ducats, per 100 lb.; it is now[84]
worth 60.
[Footnote 84: A.D. 1795.]
Slaves
The king cannot make any of his subjects slaves. They get their
cotton from Bengala.[85] They have no salt, it comes from a great
distance, and is very dear. Goods find a much better market at
Housa than at Timbuctoo. There are merchants at Housa from Timboo,
Bornoo, Moshu, and India; the travelling merchants do not regard
distance. From Timboo and other great towns he has heard, and from
his own knowledge can venture to assert, that they bring East India
goods. Gold-dust, ivory, and slaves are the principal returns from
Housa. The people of Housa have slaves from Bornoo, Bambarra,
Jinnie, Beni Killeb[86] (sons of dogs), and Beni Aree (sons of the
naked); they are, generally, prisoners of war, though many are
stolen when young, by people who make a trade of this practice. The
laws are very severe against this crime; it requires, therefore,
great cunning and duplicity; no men of any property are ever guilty
of it. The slave stealers take the children by night out of the
town, and sell them to some peasant, who sells them to a third, and
so from hand to hand, till they are carried out of the country; if
this practice did not exist, there would be few slaves for the
Barbary market. Beyond the age of fourteen or fifteen, a slave is
hardly saleable in Barbary. Few merchants bring to Housa above two
or three slaves at a time; but there are great numbers of merchants
continually bringing them. His own slave was a native of Bambarra,
and was brought very young to Timbuctoo. Slaves are generally
stupid; but his, on the contrary, was very sensible; he understood
several languages, particularly Arabic; he bought him as an
interpreter; he would not have sold publicly for above twenty
ducats; but he gave 50 for him; his master parting with him very
reluctantly. He bought two female slaves at Housa, at 15 ducats
each.[87] The value of slaves has since then doubled in Barbary; he
does not know the present[88] price at Timbuctoo. At Timbuctoo not
ten slaves in the hundred bought there, are females; when bought,
the merchant shuts them up in a private room, but not in chains,
and places a centinel at the door: when the confidence of any of
them is supposed to be gained, they are employed as centinels.
Housa having a great trade, is much frequented by people from
Bambarra, Foulan, Jinnie, and the interior countries.
Manufactures and husbandry are similar to those at Timbuctoo.
[Footnote 85: Bengal, or the East Indies.]
[Footnote 86: Properly Ben Ekkilleb, or Hel Ekkileb, i.e. the
canine-race. These are described to be swift of foot and low of
stature, having a language peculiar to themselves.]
[Footnote 87: About the 1790th year of the Christian era.]
[Footnote 88: In the year 1795.]
CLIMATE.
The hot winds blow from the east; the summer is hotter than in
Marocco, and hotter at Timbuctoo than at Housa. The cold winds are
from the west: the morning fog is great. He never saw it rain at
Housa, in the course of two years; he says it never rains there.
Scarcity is never known. A considerable part of their provisions is
brought from the banks of the Nile; the river, when overflowing,
never reaches above half way from its common channel towards Housa.
They have excellent wells in their houses, but no river near the
town.
ZOOLOGY.
He saw no camels at Housa, but heard, they use them to fetch gold,
and cover their legs with leather, to guard them from snakes. They
have dogs and cats, but no scorpions or snakes in their houses.
Lice, bugs, and fleas abound. He saw no wild animals or fowl in the
neighbourhood of Housa
DISEASES.
Physicians agree with the patient for his cure. No cure no pay. The
prevailing diseases are colds and coughs.
RELIGION.
The same as at Timbuctoo; the poorer classes, as in most countries,
have many superstitious notions of spirits, good and bad, and are
alarmed by dreams, particularly, the slaves, some of whom cannot
retain their urine in the night, as he thinks, from fear of
spirits, they take them often upon trial when they buy them, and if
they have this defect, a considerable deduction is made in the
price. A man possessed by a good spirit is supposed to be safe
amidst 10,000 shot. A man guilty of a crime, who in the opinion of
the judge is possessed by an evil spirit, is not punished! He never
heard of a rich man being possessed.
PERSONS.
They are of various sizes, but the tallest man he ever saw was at
Housa. The city being very large, he seldom had an opportunity of
seeing the king, as at Timbuctoo. He saw him but twice in two
years, and only in the courts of justice; he was remarkable for the
width of his nostrils, the redness of his eyes, the smoothness of
his skin, and the fine tint of his perfectly black complexion.
DRESS.
Like that of Timbuctoo, their turbans are of the finest muslin. The
sleeves of the soldiers are small, those of the merchants wide. The
former have short breeches, the latter long. The officers dress
like the merchants, each according to his circumstances. The caftan
is of silk, in summer, brought from India; instead of the silk
cords worn by the king of Timbuctoo, the king of Housa wears two
silk sashes, three fingers broad, one on each shoulder; they are
richly adorned with gold; in one hangs his dagger, and when he
rides out, his sword in the other; he wears not the silk pear in
his turban, as does the king of Timbuctoo. The front of his turban
is embroidered with gold.
BUILDINGS.
The houses are like those at Timbuctoo, but many much larger. They
have no wind or water-mills, but they have stone mills, turned by
horses.
MANNERS.
They never bow. An inferior kisses the hand of a superior; to an
equal he nods the head, gives him his hand and asks him how he
does. The women do the same.
The general body are honest and benevolent, the lower class is
addicted to thieving. They are very careful of children, to prevent
their being stolen. Snakes do not frequent cultivated lands, so
that animals are not there in danger from them. The people of
Timbuctoo and Housa resemble each other in their persons and in
their manners. They castrate bulls, sheep, and goats, but never
horses. Supper is the principal meal. They do not use vessels of
brass or copper in cookery; they are all of earthenware. At sunset
the watchmen are stationed in all parts of the town, and take into
custody all suspected or unknown persons. They have lamps made of
wood and paper; the latter comes from Fas. Women of respectability
are attended by a slave when they walk out or visit, which they do
with the same freedom as in Europe. The women ride either horses or
asses, they have no mules; the men commonly prefer walking, they
are strong and seldom sensible of fatigue, which he attributes to
their having a rib more than white men. Some bake their own bread,
others buy it, as in England. They make leavened bread of
allila[89] and bishna; the cattle-market is within the city, in a
square, appropriated to this purpose. There are a great many rich
men, some by inheritance, others by trade. Every morning the doors
of the rich are crowded with poor, the master sends them food,
rice, milk, &c. They have names for every day. They make their own
pipes for smoking, the tubes are of wood. They have songs, some
with chorus, and some sung by two persons in alternate stanzas.
They have the same feasts once a quarter as at Timbuctoo. The king
has but one wife, but many concubines. The favourite slaves of the
queen of Housa are considered as superior to the queen of
Timbuctoo.
[Footnote 89: Millet and Indian corn.]
GOLD.
The ground where it is found is about sixteen miles from Housa.
They go in the night with camels whose legs and feet are covered to
protect them against snakes, they take a bag of sand, and mark with
it the places that glitter with gold; in the morning they collect
where marked, and carry it to refiners, who, for a small sum,
separate the gold. There are no mountains or rivers near the spot,
it is a plain without sand, of a dark brown earth. Any person may
go to seek gold; they sell it to the merchants, who pay a small
duty to the king. The produce is uncertain; he has heard that a
bushel of earth has produced the value of twelve ducats, three
pounds sterling, of pure gold. They set out from Housa about two
o’clock in the afternoon, arrive about sun-set, and return the next
day seeking for gold during the whole night.
LIMITS OF THE EMPIRE
Beyond Timboo, on the north side of the Nile, are very extensive.
Afnoo is subject to the king of Housa, no slaves can be made from
thence. Darfneel is near Afnoo; the latter is on the north side of
the river, nearer to its source, and a great way from Timbuctoo. No
Arabs are found on the banks of the Nile. He supposes the
circumference of the empire to be about twenty-five days’ journey;
has heard that many other large towns are dependent upon it, but
does not remember their names.
The neighbouring countries are Bambarra, Timboo, Mooshee, and
Jinnie; all negroes. He has heard of Bernoo[90] as a great empire.
On the 31st of March, 1790, Shabeenee gave further information, in
the presence of Lord Rawdon[91], Mr. Stuart, and Mr. Wedgewood. Mr.
Wedgewood proposed the questions, and Mr. Dodsworth interpreted.
The following is some of the information, omitting what has been
noticed already.
Between Timbuctoo and Housa, there is a very good trade. Timbuctoo
is tributary to the king of Housa. The imports into Timbuctoo[92]
are spices, corn, and woollens from Barbary, and linens from the
sea-coast.
[Footnote 90: Ber Noh, or Bernoh, _i.e._ the country of Noah,
is said by the Africans, to be the birth-place of the patriarch
Noah.]
[Footnote 91: Now the Marquis of Hastings.]
[Footnote 92: For a more detailed account of the imports to
Timbuctoo, see Jackson's Account of Marocco, &c.]
Other
The written character is very large, perhaps half an inch long. The
empire is divided into provinces; the provinces into districts. The
king appoints the governors of both; but the son of the deceased
governor is understood to have the preference.
They make their pottery by a wheel, but do not glaze it. The wheel
turns upon a pivot placed in a hole in the ground: at top and
bottom are two pieces of wood like a tea-table; the lower, which is
largest, is turned by the foot, and the upper forms the vessel.
When they make a large pot, they put on the top a larger piece: the
pots are dried in the sun or burnt in the fire. The iron mines are
in the desert; the iron is brought in small pieces by the Arabs,
who melt and purify it. They cannot cast iron. They use charcoal
fire, and form guns and swords with the hammer and anvil. The
points of their arrows are barbed with iron; the crossbows have a
groove for the arrow. No man can draw the bow by his arm alone,
they have a kind of lever; the bow part is of steel brought from
Barbary, and is manufactured at Timbuctoo. They do not make steel
themselves.
They inoculate for the small-pox; the pus is put into a dried
raisin and eaten. “_Rooka Dindooka_” is a kind of oath, and means,
by God. They believe only one God. After dinner they use the Arabic
expression, El Hamd Ulillah; praise to be to God.[93]
They believe the immortality of the soul, and that both men and
women go to paradise; that there is no future punishment; the
wicked are punished in this world. Happiness, after death, consists
in being in the presence of God. They are not circumcised. A
divorce may take place while a woman is pregnant, but she cannot
marry again till delivered. As soon as a woman is divorced,
midwives, women brought up to that profession, examine her to see
whether she is pregnant.
[Footnote 93: This is the Arabic, or Muhamedan grace after
meat; the grace before meat is equally sententious, viz.
Bismillah, i.e. in the name of God.]
