Disappointment Awakened
Me; And I Found Myself A Lonely Captive, Perishing Of Thirst, Amidst The
Wilds Of Africa.
One night, having solicited in vain for water at the camp, and being
quite feverish, I resolved to try my fortune at the wells, which were
about half a mile distant from the camp.
Accordingly, I set out about
midnight, and being guided by the lowing of the cattle, soon arrived at
the place; where I found the Moors very busy drawing water. I requested
permission to drink, but was driven away with outrageous abuse. Passing,
however, from one well to another, I came at last to one where there was
only an old man and two boys. I made the same request to this man, and he
immediately drew me up a bucket of water; but, as I was about to take
hold of it, he recollected that I was a Christian, and fearing that his
bucket might be polluted by my lips, he dashed the water into the trough,
and told me to drink from thence. Though this trough was none of the
largest, and three cows were already drinking in it, I resolved to come
in for my share; and kneeling down, thrust my head between two of the
cows, and drank with great pleasure, until the water was nearly
exhausted, and the cows began to contend with each other for the last
mouthful.
In adventures of this nature, I passed the sultry month of May, during
which no material change took place in my situation. Ali still considered
me as a lawful prisoner; and Fatima, though she allowed me a larger
quantity of victuals than I had been accustomed to receive at Benowm, had
as yet said nothing on the subject of my release. In the meantime, the
frequent changes of the wind, the gathering clouds, and distant
lightning, with other appearances of approaching rain, indicated that the
wet season was at hand; when the Moors annually evacuate the country of
the Negroes, and return to the skirts of the Great Desert. This made me
consider that my fate was drawing towards a crisis, and I resolved to
wait for the event without any seeming uneasiness; but circumstances
occurred which produced a change in my favour, more suddenly than I had
foreseen, or had, reason to expect. The case was this; the fugitive
Kaartans, who had taken refuge in Ludamar, as I have related in Chapter
VIII., finding that the Moors were about to leave them, and dreading the
resentment of their own sovereign, whom they had so basely deserted,
offered to treat with Ali, for two hundred Moorish horsemen, to
co-operate with them in an effort to expel Daisy from Gedingooma; for
until Daisy should be vanquished or humbled, they considered that they
could neither return to their native towns, nor live in security in any
of the neighbouring kingdoms. With a view to extort money from these
people, by means of this treaty, Ali dispatched his son to Jarra, and
prepared to follow him in the course of a few days. This was an
opportunity of too great consequence to me to be neglected. I immediately
applied to Fatima, (who, I found, had the chief direction in all affairs
of state,) and begged her interest with Ali, to give me permission to
accompany him to Jarra. This request, after some hesitation, was
favourably received. Fatima looked kindly on me, and, I believe, was at
length moved with compassion towards me. My bundles were brought from the
large cow-skin bag that stood in the corner of Ali's tent, and I was
ordered to explain the use of the different articles, and show the method
of putting on the boots, stockings, &c., with all which I cheerfully
complied, and was told that, in the course of a few days, I should be at
liberty to depart.
Believing, therefore, that I should certainly find the means of escaping
from Jarra, if I should once get thither, I now freely indulged the
pleasing hope that my captivity would soon terminate; and happily not
having been disappointed in this idea, I shall pause in this place, to
collect and bring into one point of view such observations on the Moorish
character and country, as I had no fair opportunity of introducing into
the preceding narrative.
CHAPTER XII.
_Containing some further miscellaneous reflections on the Moorish
character and manners. - Observations concerning the Great Desert, its
animals, wild and domestic, &c. &c._
The Moors of this part of Africa are divided into many separate tribes;
of which the most formidable, according to what was reported to me, are
those of Trasart and Il Braken, which inhabit the northern bank of the
Senegal river. The tribes of Gedumah, Jafnoo, and Ludamar, though not so
numerous as the former, are nevertheless very powerful and warlike; and
are each governed by a chief or king, who exercises absolute jurisdiction
over his own horde, without acknowledging allegiance to a common
sovereign. In time of peace, the employment of the people is pasturage.
The Moors, indeed, subsist chiefly on the flesh of their cattle; and are
always in the extreme of either gluttony or abstinence. In consequence of
the frequent and severe fasts which their religion enjoins, and the
toilsome journeys which they sometimes undertake across the Desert, they
are enabled to bear both hunger and thirst with surprising fortitude; but
whenever opportunities occur of satisfying their appetite, they generally
devour more at one meal than would serve an European for three. They pay
but little attention to agriculture; purchasing their corn, cotton-cloth,
and other necessaries, from the Negroes, in exchange for salt, which they
dig from the pits in the Great Desert.
The natural barrenness of the country is such, that it furnishes but few
materials for manufacture. The Moors, however, contrive to weave a strong
cloth, with which they cover their tents; the thread is spun by their
women from the hair of goats; and they prepare the hides of their cattle,
so as to furnish saddles, bridles, pouches, and other articles of
leather.
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