I Mounted The Roof Of The Hut, And Observed A Large Herd Of
Bullocks Coming Towards The Town, Followed By Five Moors On
Horseback, Who Drove The Cattle Forward With Their Muskets.
When
they had reached the wells which are close to the town, the Moors
selected from the herd sixteen of the finest beasts, and drove them
off at full cell gallop.
During this transaction the townspeople,
to the number of five hundred, stood collected close to the walls of
the town; and when the Moors drove the cattle away, though they
passed within pistol-shot of them, the inhabitants scarcely made a
show of resistance. I only saw four muskets fired, which, being
loaded with gunpowder of the negroes' own manufacture, did no
execution. Shortly after this I observed a number of people
supporting a young man on horseback, and conducting him slowly
towards the town. This was one of the herdsmen, who, attempting to
throw his spear, had been wounded by a shot from one of the Moors.
His mother walked on before, quite frantic with grief, clapping her
hands, and enumerating the good qualities of her son. "Ee maffo
fenio!" ("He never told a lie!") said the disconsolate mother as
her wounded son was carried in at the gate - "Ee maffo fonio abada!"
("He never told a lie; no, never!") When they had conveyed him to
his hut, and laid him upon a mat, all the spectators joined in
lamenting his fate, by screaming and howling in the most piteous
manner.
After their grief had subsided a little, I was desired to examine
the wound. I found that the ball had passed quite through his leg,
having fractured both bones a little below the knee: the poor boy
was faint from the loss of blood, and his situation withal so very
precarious, that I could not console his relations with any great
hopes of his recovery. However, to give him a possible chance, I
observed to them that it was necessary to cut off his leg above the
knee. This proposal made every one start with horror; they had
never heard of such a method of cure, and would by no means give
their consent to it; indeed, they evidently considered me a sort of
cannibal for proposing so cruel and unheard-of an operation, which,
in their opinion, would be attended with more pain and danger than
the wound itself. The patient was therefore committed to the care
of some old bashreens, who endeavoured to secure him a passage into
paradise by whispering in his ear some Arabic sentences, and
desiring him to repeat them. After many unsuccessful attempts, the
poor heathen at last pronounced, "La illah el Allah, Mahamet rasowl
allahi" ("There is but one God, and Mohammed is his Prophet"); and
the disciples of the Prophet assured his mother that her son had
given sufficient evidence of his faith, and would be happy in a
future state. He died the same evening.
February 17. - My guides informed me that in order to avoid the
Moorish banditti it was necessary to travel in the night; we
accordingly departed from Funingkedy in the afternoon, accompanied
by about thirty people, carrying their effects with them into
Ludamar, for fear of the war. We travelled with great silence and
expedition until midnight, when we stopped in a sort of enclosure,
near a small village; but the thermometer being so low as 68
degrees, none of the negroes could sleep on account of the cold.
At daybreak on the 18th we resumed our journey, and at eight o'clock
passed Simbing, the frontier village of Ludamar, situated on a
narrow pass between two rocky hills, and surrounded with a high
wall. From this village Major Houghton (being deserted by his negro
servants, who refused to follow him into the Moorish country) wrote
his last letter with a pencil to Dr. Laidley. This brave but
unfortunate man, heaving surmounted many difficulties, had taken a
northerly direction, had endeavoured to pass through the kingdom of
Ludamar, where I afterwards learned the following particulars
concerning his melancholy fate:- On his arrival at Jarra he got
acquainted with certain Moorish merchants who were travelling to
Tisheet (a place near the salt pits in the Great Desert, ten days'
journey to the northward) to purchase salt; and the Major, at the
expense of a musket and some tobacco, engaged them to convey him
thither. It is impossible to form any other opinion on this
determination than that the Moors intentionally deceived him, either
with regard to the route that he wished to pursue, or the state of
the intermediate country between Jarra and Timbuctoo. Their
intention probably was to rob and leave him in the desert. At the
end of two days he suspected their treachery, and insisted on
returning to Jarra. Finding him persist in this determination, the
Moors robbed him of everything he possessed, and went off with their
camels; the poor Major being thus deserted, returned on foot to a
watering-place in possession of the Moors, called Tarra. He had
been some days without food, and the unfeeling Moors refusing to
give him any, he sank at last under his distresses. Whether he
actually perished of hunger, or was murdered outright by the savage
Mohammedans, is not certainly known; his body was dragged into the
woods, and I was shown at a distance the spot where his remains were
left to perish.
About four miles to the north of Simbing we came to a small stream
of water, where we observed a number of wild horses they were all of
one colour, and galloped away from us at an easy rate, frequently
stopping and looking back. The negroes hunt them for food, and
their flesh is much esteemed.
About noon we arrived at Jarra, a large town situated at the bottom
of some rocky hills.
CHAPTER IX - THE TOWN OF JARRA - DETAINED BY THE MOORS.
The town of Jarra is of considerable extent; the houses are built of
clay and stone intermixed - the clay answering the purpose of mortar.
It is situated in the Moorish kingdom of Ludamar; but the major part
of the inhabitants are negroes, from the borders of the southern
states, who prefer a precarious protection under the Moors, which
they purchase by a tribute, rather than continue exposed to their
predatory hostilities.
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