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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In Proof Of This Assertion, They Pointed Out To
Major Denham, How Much Higher The Water Had Been Previously To Their
Arrival, Than It Was At The Moment, When They Were Standing On The
Brink.
This Major Denham could have explained, by the number of
camels that had drunk at it, but he saw it was better policy to
believe what every body allowed to be true, even Boo Khaloom
exclaimed, "Allah!
God is great, powerful, and wise. How wonderful!
Oh!" Over the inner gate of the castle, there is a large hole through
to the gateway underneath, and they tell a story, of a woman dropping
from thence a stone on the head of some leader, who had gained the
outer wall, giving him by that means the death of Abimelech in sacred
history.
The natives of Tegerhy are quite black, but have not the negro face;
the men are slim, very plain, with high cheek bones, the negro nose,
large mouth, teeth much stained by the quantity of tobacco, and
trona or carbonate of soda, which they eat, and even snuff, when
given to them, goes directly into their mouths.
The young girls are most of them pretty, but less so than those of
Gabrone. The men always carry two daggers, one about eighteen inches,
and the other six inches; the latter of which is attached to a ring,
and worn on the arm or wrist. A Tibboo once told Major Denham,
pointing to the long one, "This is my gun, and this" showing the
smaller of the two, "is my pistol."
On the 13th they left Tegerhy and proceeded on the desert. After
travelling six miles they arrived at a well called Omah, where their
tents were pitched, and here they halted three days. Near these
wells, numbers of human skeletons, or parts of them, lay scattered on
the sands. Hillman, who had suffered dreadfully since leaving
Tegerhy, was greatly shocked at these whitened skulls, and unhallowed
remains, so much so as to stand in need of all the encouragement
which Major Denham could administer to him.
On the 17th they continued their course over a stony plain, without
the least appearance of vegetation. About sunset, they halted near a
well, within half a mile of Meshroo. Round this spot were lying more
than a hundred skeletons, some of them with the skin still remaining
attached to the bones, not even a little sand thrown over them. The
Arabs laughed heartily at the expression which Major Denham evinced,
and said, "they were only blacks, nam boo! (d - n their fathers,)"
and began knocking about the limbs with the butt end of their
firelocks, saying, "this was a woman: this was a youngster," and such
like unfeeling expressions. The greater part of the unhappy people,
of whom these were the remains, had formed the spoils of the sultan
of Fezzan the year before. Major Denham was assured, that they had
left Bornou, with not above a quarter's allowance for each; and that
more died from want than fatigue; they were marched off with chains
round their necks and legs; the most robust only arrived in Fezzan in
a very debilitated state, and were there fattened for the Tripoli
slave market.
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