I Was Informed By A Venerable Old Negro, That When
He First Visited Tombuctoo, He Took Up His Lodging At
A sort of public
inn, the landlord of which, when he conducted him into his hut, spread a
mat on
The floor, and laid a rope upon it, saying, "If you are a
Mussulman you are my friend, sit down; but if you are a Kafir, you are my
slave, and with this rope I will lead you to market." The present King of
Tombuctoo is named _Abu Abrahima_; he is reported to possess immense
riches. His wives and concubines are said to be clothed in silk, and the
chief officers of state live in considerable splendour. The whole expense
of his government is defrayed, as I was told, by a tax upon merchandize,
which is collected at the gates of the city.
The city of Houssa (the capital of a large kingdom of the same name,
situated to the eastward of Tombuctoo) is another great mart for Moorish
commerce. I conversed with many merchants who had visited that city, and
they all agreed that it is larger and more populous than Tombuctoo. The
trade, police, and government, are nearly the same in both; but in Houssa
the Negroes are in greater proportion to the Moors, and have some share
in the government.
Concerning the small kingdom of Jinbala, I was not able to collect much
information. The soil is said to be remarkably fertile, and the whole
country so full of creeks and swamps, that the Moors have hitherto been
baffled in every attempt to subdue it.
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