Travels Of Richard And John Lander Into The Interior Of Africa For The Discovery Of The Course And Termination Of The Niger By Robert Huish
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He Further Added, That He Could By His Influence Alone Conduct
Them In Perfect Safety To Timbuctoo, And Would Answer
With his head.
He was indignant at the feelings, which the people of Mourzouk had
against the Turiacks, who, he
Said, pride themselves on having but
one word, and performing whatever they promise.
The promised camels not having arrived, they hired two of Mahomet el
Buin, and with these they proceeded on to Gorma, which they found to
be a larger town than any in the wadey, but both walls and houses
have the marks of time. The sheik, Mustapha Ben Ussuf, soon visited
them. He was an old man, a Fezzaner. His ancestors were natives of
the place, and his features might be considered as characteristic of
the natives of Fezzan.
They had many accounts of inscriptions being in this place, which the
people could not read. They were conducted by sheik Mustapha to
examine a building, different, as he stated, from any in the country.
When they arrived, they found to their satisfaction, it was a
structure which had been erected by the Romans.
There were no inscriptions to be found, although they carefully
turned up a number of the stones strewed about, but a few figures and
letters rudely hewn out, and evidently of recent date. They imagined
they could trace some resemblance to the letters of Europe, and
conjectured that they had been hewn out by some European traveller at
no very distant period. Their thoughts naturally went back to
Horneman, but again they had no intelligence of his having been
there, "In short," as Dr. Oudney says, "to confess the truth, we did
not know what to make of them, till we afterwards made the discovery
of the Targee writing."
This building is about twelve feet high, and eight broad. It is built
of sandstone well finished, and dug from the neighbouring hills. Its
interior is solid, and of small stones, cemented by mortar. It stands
about three miles from Gorma, and a quarter of a mile from the foot
of the mountain. It is either a tomb or an altar; those well
acquainted with Roman architecture will easily determine which. The
finding a structure of these people proves, without doubt, their
intercourse here. It is probable they had no extensive establishment,
otherwise they would have seen more remains as they went along; they
passed by, and saw to the westward, the remains of ancient Gorma. It
appeared to occupy a space more extensive than the present town. They
were not able to learn from the old sheik, whether any antique coins
were ever found, or any building similar to this in the vicinity. Was
this the tract of the Romans merely into the interior, or did they
come to the valley for dates?
Hateeta arrived during the night of the 18th June; their departure
was, however, delayed on account of his illness. On the following
morning, they struck their tents by daylight, and commenced their
journey.
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