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 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 PROF. CHARLES A . KOFOID AND 
 
 MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID 
 

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 a-^ J r-^iSl 
 
In Wild Africa. 
 
TRAVEL-ADVENTURE SERIES. 
 
 IN WILD AFRICA. Adventures of Two Boys in 
 the Sahara Desert. By Thomas W. Knox. 325 
 pages. With five Illustrations by H. Burgess, j^i.50. 
 
 THE LAND OF THE KANGAROO. Adventures 
 of Two Boys in the Great Island Continent. By 
 Colonel Thomas W. Knox. 318 pages. Illustrated 
 by H. Burgess. ^1.50. 
 
 OVER THE ANDES ; or, Our Boys in New South 
 America. By Hezekiah Butterworth. 370 pages. 
 With five Illustrations by Henry Sandham. ^1.50. 
 
 LOST IN NICARAGUA ; or, Among Coffee Farms 
 and Banana Lands, in the Countries of the 
 Great Canal. By Hezekiah Butterworth. 296 
 pages. With five Illustrations by H. Burgess. ^1.50. 
 
TTT 
 
 TTT 
 
 
 IN WILD AFRICA 
 
 ADVENTURES OF TWO YOUTHS IN A 
 JOURNEY THROUGH THE SAHARA DESSERT 
 
 
 rxx: 
 
 
 
 BY 
 
 
 
 
 THOMAS W. KNOX 
 
 
 Author 
 
 of "The Boy Travellers," (15 vols.), "Overland 
 
 
 
 Through Asia," etc., etc. 
 
 
 
 
 Illustrated and with colored frontispiece 
 
 
 
 
 bv H. BURGESS 
 
 
 
 
 ^m\)mmmk 
 
 
 BOSTON and CHICAGO 
 W. A. WILDE COMPANY 
 
 imxnucr 
 
 ^^ 
 
Copyright, 1895, 
 By W. A. Wilde & Company, 
 
 A II rights reserved. 
 
 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
HS 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER. PAGE. 
 
 I. DEPARTURE FOR ALGIERS — Entering the desert . 7 
 
 II. A REFRACTORY MULE ~ Starting from Biskra — The 
 
 first camp 24 
 
 III. SALT LAKES OF THE DESERT— A lion hunt ... 42 
 
 IV. PHENOMENA OF THE DESERT — Aral) horses . . . 59 
 V. DESERT GARDENS — Hunting the Leopard and Ostriches 75 
 
 VI. CAUGHT IN A SAND STORM — A dangerous country 95 
 
 VIL IN SIGHT OF WAREGLA— An Arab dinner .... no 
 
 VIII. EXPLORING WAREGLA — Home of the Tuaregs . . 127 
 
 IX. ON THE ROAD — Curing a sheikh 142 
 
 X. GADAMES — The caravan trade . 158 
 
 XL EL HASI TO MOURZOUK — Kingdom of Fezzan . . . 176 
 
 XII. A SLAVE CARAVAN — Lake Chad 192 
 
 XIII. AMPHIBIOUS INHABITANTS OF LAKE CHAD — 
 
 The Bidduma 211 
 
 XIV. KUKAWA— Sultan of Bornoo 226 
 
 XV. ELEPHANTS IN BORNOO— Hunting gazelles ... 240 
 
 XVI. LEAVING KUKAWA — Killing a big snake 256 
 
 XVIL A TOWN IN MOTION— Story from the Niger ... 272 
 
 XVIIL KANO AND SOKOTO — Timbuctoo 289 
 
 XIX. DOWN THE NIGER — Mungo Park and the Lander 
 
 brothers — The end 305 
 
 3 
 
 w:5iMr5i 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 " On their way to the hotel the boys went through the marketplace.'* 
 
 Frontispiece 28 
 
 *' Calculating his distance as well as he could, he took careful aim." , 52 
 
 " Suddenly ... a band of . . . Arabs, all mounted on horses, made 
 
 their appearance." • , 179 
 
 " It gave the doctor and Ned an opportunity to discharge their rifles 
 
 directly down his throat." 220 
 
 "On and on they came, following the pathway." 246 
 
 " The governor did not rise to receive us — " 281 
 
IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 DEPARTURE FOR ALGIERS ENTERING THE DESERT. 
 
 WOULD you like to go to Africa ? " 
 " Certainly I would, sir," was the reply. 
 
 *' Think over it before you decide," said the other. 
 ** There's a great deal of hardship in an African jour- 
 ney such as I intend to make, and you might not 
 enjoy it. I'm going into wild Africa, away from the 
 beaten track of travelers, and where the comforts of civili- 
 zation cannot be obtained." 
 
 ** I should like it all the more for that," was the response. 
 *'The civilized places would be interesting, of course, but 
 they would not have the novelty and excitement of the 
 savage regions of that wonderful continent. No matter 
 where you are going, sir, it would give me great pleasure 
 to be with you, and, if my parents consent, I'm ready to 
 start at any time you name." 
 
 ''They have consented already and you may consider 
 it settled. Now go and see if your Cousin Harry would 
 like to be with us, and bring him here with his answer at 
 this time to-morrow." 
 
 The speakers in the foregoing dialogue were Mr. 
 Thomas Whitney, of New York, and his nephew, 
 
8 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 Edward, the latter a bright, intelhgent youth seventeen 
 years of age, and better known as " Ned." Mr. Whitney 
 was a bachelor, and had a great fondness for travel and 
 exploration. He had visited all parts of the world, spent 
 a winter in the Arctic regions, ascended great mountains 
 in all the continents, and lived and traveled among savage 
 tribes of people in Asia and South America, and lived 
 for several months among the aboriginals of Australia. 
 He had a large collection of curiosities which he had 
 gathered in his journeys, and used to say playfully that 
 when he got tired of traveling he intended to open a 
 museum and hang himself up in a showcase as one of the 
 objects of attraction and surprise. 
 
 The nephews whom we have mentioned were the sons 
 of Mr. Whitney's brothers, who were also residents of 
 New York. One of these brothers was a merchant and 
 the other a lawyer, and neither of them had shown any 
 fondness for travel. But they were willing that their 
 boys should see something of the world, and before the 
 date of the conversation with which our story opens they 
 had consented that the enterprising youths should accom- 
 pany their uncle in his journey into Africa. Neither Ned 
 nor Harry had been consulted in the preliminaries, but 
 what boy is likely to say " no " when asked if he would 
 like to go and see foreign lands ? 
 
 Ned hurried away to find Harry and break the exciting 
 news to him. You may be sure that both the boys were 
 on hand at Mr. Whitiiey's bachelor apartment at the time 
 indicated on the following day, and that Harry's answer 
 was an emphatic '* Yes ! " 
 
DEPARTURE FOR ALGIERS. 9 
 
 *< That's all settled," said Mr. Whitney; '* and now 
 we'll come down to the business of starting." 
 
 ''We'll do anything you want us to, uncle," said Ned, 
 speaking for Harry as well as for himself. Ned was the 
 elder of the two by about three months and probably con- 
 cluded that his superiority of age entitled him to ''out- 
 rank " his cousin. 
 
 "Well, there isn't much for you to do in the way of 
 buying materials and outfitting generally," was the reply. 
 " Whatever we wish to take from New York I will order 
 in ample time for our departure. Most of the things we'll 
 want for our journey can be bought after we get to Africa, 
 or I can have them sent from London. You will need 
 some rough clothing for your journey, but that, too, can 
 be mostly obtained at the same place where we will pur- 
 chase our equipments. You will want a good stock of 
 underclothing, suitable for a warm country, a suit of cor- 
 duroy, and two or three suits of blue serge or flannel. 
 Lay in a good supply of boots and shoes, say three or 
 four pairs for each of you ; and you will want some suits 
 of canvas or duck, but these we can get as well at our 
 point of departure. 
 
 "Are you ready to tell us now to what part of Africa 
 we're going? " queried Ned. 
 
 " I haven't fully made up my mind as to my route," 
 replied Mr. Whitney. " I have laid out in a general way 
 that we will first go to Algeria and from there make a 
 journey into the Great Sahara Desert; how far we may 
 go into the desert will depend upon circumstances. If the 
 natives are peaceful, and will allow us to pass, it is my 
 
lO IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 intention to push quite far to the south. If we find them 
 hostile, we may be obHged to return before going very 
 far, and seek to penetrate the continent by another route. 
 One can never tell very long beforehand how the natives 
 will receive him, and for that reason I cannot say at pres- 
 ent exactly where we are going. I have written to friends 
 of mine in Algeria on the subject, but can't look for a reply 
 until three or four weeks from now. In the meantime I 
 want you boys to learn how to take observations of lati- 
 tude and longitude, and have arranged for Professor 
 Hegeman, of Columbia College, to instruct you. He will 
 expect you at two o'clock this afternoon. Here is the 
 address." 
 
 Ned and Harry looked at each other in some astonish- 
 ment, and for a few seconds they stood speechless ; but 
 they quickly recovered themselves, and thanked their 
 uncle for his thoughtfulness in their behalf. 
 
 " Oh, that's all right," said Mr. Whitney; " I have for 
 some time been planning this affair, and wanted you to 
 accompany me ! I knew it would be a good experience 
 for both of you, and your fathers have freely consented 
 that you should embrace the opportunity to travel. And 
 I intend," he added with a smile, " that you shall not be 
 idlers, by any means. One of the necessities of explora- 
 tion is to be able to find your position on the earth's surface. 
 Unless you can do so, you are at a great disadvan- 
 tage at all times, and especially in case your guides should 
 desert you, and you are thrown entirely on your own 
 
 resources." 
 
 *' I quite understand that," said Ned; "now that you 
 
DEPARTURE FOR ALGIERS. II 
 
 speak of it, I remember that when Stanley made his first 
 trip into Africa he had not studied astronomy, and did not 
 know how to take observations. Probably he never 
 thought of it when he made his preparations for the trip, 
 but before he set out on his second journey he fully 
 informed himself, and ever afterwards could take his lati- 
 tude and longitude without any assistance." 
 
 " Why don't you say ' Mr. Stanley '? " Harry whispered 
 to Ned as the latter paused, and the doctor was busy 
 examining a paper that lay before him on the desk. 
 
 "Because that isn't the way to speak of him," Ned 
 replied somewhat haughtily. *' It was all right to call him 
 
 * Mr.' down to and after his first journey, but now he's 
 
 * Stanley,' and stands by himself. You might just as 
 well say ' Mr. Caesar,' ' Mr. Hannibal,' or ' Mr. Napo- 
 leon.' When a man has climbed as high on the pinnacle 
 of fame as Stanley has he doesn't need any handle to his 
 name." 
 
 "That's right," said Mr. Whitney, who was taking in 
 the conversation at the same time that he was looking at 
 the documents on his desk. " And I want both of you to 
 hope that one day your names may be so well known that 
 they can be treated in the same way." 
 
 " There'll be a difficulty about that ! " exclaimed Harry, 
 "because there are three of us all of the same name; 
 but I don't think we'll worry about it at present. It's time 
 to be off, Ned, to get around on time for our first lesson 
 in navigation." 
 
 "Yes, that's so," replied Ned, " and we'll bid you good 
 day, uncle. When shall we come again?" 
 
12 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 ( ( 
 
 Oh, drop in any day you like, about this hour. Stop 
 a moment ! one thing I almost forgot. I'll have some 
 books here for you to-morrow that you can take home and 
 read ; the works of various African travelers of the past 
 twenty-five years. Meantime you can stop at Regand's 
 book store and get Sir Henry Drummond's ' Tropical 
 Africa' and Mrs. French-Sheldon's ' Sultan to Sultan.' 
 They are not included in the selection I have, and we will 
 want to take them along ; and you will wish to read them. 
 What with your studies in taking observations and reading 
 up on Africa, ^^our time will be fully employed until we 
 are ready to leave New York." 
 
 From that time on there were no more industrious stu- 
 dents in New York than Ned and Harry Whitney, and 
 before the day of departure arrived they were pretty well 
 versed in the theoretical knowledge of the work laid out 
 for them. They learned the uses of the instruments they 
 were to take along, and they went several times to points 
 in the neighborhood of New York, once into Westchester 
 County, once to Staten Island, and once to Long Island, 
 thirty or forty miles from the city, to make a practical test 
 of their knowledge. The professor praised their energy 
 and intelligence, and pronounced them fit for their work. 
 He impressed upon them very forcibly the necessity of 
 the greatest possible accuracy in everything that they 
 did. 
 
 " Remember," said he, "that a very small error in an 
 observation will make a difference of several miles in your 
 location, and that you must never be satisfied with an 
 approximation when it is possible to get anything else. 
 
DEPARTURE FOR ALGIERS. I3 
 
 Where time permits, it will be always advisable for both 
 of you to make the same observation, independent of one 
 another, and then compare the results. If they are 
 exactly the same, you can be satisfied that you are cor- 
 rect; where there is a difference, you must not be content 
 until you ascertain the error and the cause of it." 
 
 In due time Mr. Whitney received the letters he 
 expected from Algeria, and then the party took passage 
 on the first steamer leaving for Algiers. We will hence- 
 forth call Mr. Whitney ''Doctor," as he had studied 
 medicine, and taken a diploma from a medical college, 
 but he had never practised the art of healing in a regular 
 way ; that is, he had never established an office or set him- 
 self up as a regular physician, his practice being limited 
 to himself and the companions of his travels and explora- 
 tions. When at home in America he repudiated the medi- 
 cal title altogether, and hence we have refrained from 
 giving it until he started for a foreign land. 
 
 Including the instruments, books, and personal baggage 
 generally, the party was well provided at the time it left 
 New York. The doctor deemed it advisable to make 
 some of his purchases in his native city, as there were cer- 
 tain delicacies and requisites which he would be unable to 
 find in the Algerian market. Ned asked if it wasn't 
 proper to take a stock of medicines along, and whether 
 they could be procured at the point where they were to 
 begin their journey. 
 
 " I have already ordered the medicines from Mr. Well- 
 come, the gentleman whom you met one evening at your 
 father's house two or three months ago. He is an American 
 
14 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 established in London, and it is part of" his business to 
 equip explorers with medical supplies. He outfitted 
 Stanley in his last two expeditions and has done the same 
 thing for other explorers, African, Arctic, Australian, and 
 others. We will find our store of medicines awaiting us, 
 all put up in strong cases ready for transportation." 
 
 *' That's very convenient, certainly," Ned answered, 
 *' and it is a pity that everything can't be supplied in the 
 same way." 
 
 ** Yes, it is a pity," replied the doctor, '*but the outfit- 
 ting business is carried to such an extent in London that 
 the work of the explorer is greatly simplified from what 
 it used to be. The outfitting establishments there keep 
 large stocks of goods on hand, and for special purposes 
 will get almost anything you want, but at the same time it 
 is necessary to rely very largely upon the supplies attain- 
 able at the point of departure." 
 
 The party had a pleasant voyage across the Atlantic, 
 and through the Mediterranean, and in due time reached 
 Algiers. They stopped a few hours at Gibraltar, giving 
 the boys sufficient time to ascend to the top of the famous 
 Rock and look from the observatory through the Straits 
 and out upon the ocean, and also to study the shores of 
 Europe and Africa as far as they could be seen. They 
 traversed the galleries hewn out of the solid rock and 
 armed with cannon, and were specially interested in St. 
 George's Gallery, where, just previous to the battle of 
 Trafalgar, Lord Nelson was banqueted by the officers of 
 the garrison. Cape Trafalgar, where Lord Nelson gained 
 his famous victory and met his death, is not far from 
 
DEPARTURE FOR ALGIERS. 1 5 
 
 Gibraltar, and its direction was pointed out to the youths 
 by the sergeant in charge of the observatory. 
 
 As the steamer came in front of Algiers, Ned and 
 Harry looked at the place with great interest. Ned 
 remarked that it was a spot of white on a green stretch of 
 steep hillsides, and Harry endorsed the description as 
 a good one. The hillside on which Algiers stands is a 
 steep one, and the houses rise one above another, like a 
 series of terraces. All are whitewashed or built of light- 
 colored stone, and as the hills on each side of the town 
 and back of it are generally of a bright green, the effect 
 is striking. The housetops are flat and have high curbs 
 around them. These housetops are the lounging places 
 of the women and the playgrounds of the children, and 
 in former times, before the French conquest, men were 
 not allowed there until after sunset. Consuls were exempt 
 from this rule, but even for them it was not advisable to 
 go very frequently to the housetops in daytime. 
 
 Doctor Whitney met several friends and acquaintances 
 in Algiers, some of whom were evidently expecting him, 
 as they came to the Hotel d'Orient, where the party lodged, 
 before they were there fifteen minutes. While he was 
 busy with them Ned and Harry went out to see the town. 
 
 '' It is a funny-looking place," Ned wrote in a letter to 
 his mother, " as it seems to be about half European and 
 half African. There are blocks of houses that are abso- 
 lutely European in every feature, and might have been 
 taken bodily, so we are told, from a French city. The 
 shops in those blocks are all French ; the keepers are all 
 natives of France or their descendants, and the goods they 
 
l6 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 sell were made in France or some other European country. 
 As we strolled about we suddenly stepped from the French 
 to the native quarter, and it was done, as you may say, in 
 the twinkling of an eye. Here the buildings were all of 
 che Moorish style of architecture, — blank walls facing the 
 street with now and then a door opening upon it. These 
 doors are always small ; some of them stood wide open, 
 and we tried to peep in, but peeping was very disappoint- 
 ing, as the passage-way from the door makes a sharp 
 angle which prevents your seeing anything. In this part of 
 the city nearly all the people that we saw wore the native 
 dress, and the most of the women had their faces covered 
 with veils. 
 
 "The shops in the native quarter of the city were just 
 as Moorish in their appearance as the French shops were 
 French. They are generally little narrow cubby-holes, 
 about six or seven feet wide, and as many deep ; some of 
 them are so small that the shopkeeper can squat in the 
 middle of the floor and reach every article in his entire 
 stock without rising to his feet. Harry remarked, as he 
 stood in front of one of those little places, that there 
 wasn't room enough to swing a cat around by the tail. 
 We thought the keeper didn't understand English, but he 
 did, and answered : — 
 
 "'Me no want to swing cat; me no have cat for 
 swing.' 
 
 "We heard some music in the Great Square, or Place 
 de la Republique, and went in its direction," continued 
 Ned in his letter. "The music was excellent, and was 
 given by the band of one of the French regiments 
 
DEPARTURE FOR ALGIERS. l7 
 
 stationed here, but we were much more interested in the 
 crowd than in the music. About one half of the people 
 were in European dress and did not interest us particularly, 
 but the other half was made up of various tribes and peo- 
 ple of northern Africa. There were Arabs and Kabyles, 
 who live among the hills near Algiers, or in the city itself. 
 The Arabs walked about with a great deal of dignity, 
 dressed entirely in white, including their heads, which 
 were swathed in the same material. They evidently con- 
 sidered themselves lords of the land, and that is what they 
 were before the French conquest. 
 
 "The Kabyles have more color in their garments than 
 the Arabs have, and, instead of wrapping their heads in 
 white, they usually cover them with the red fez, or tar- 
 boosh. Then there were pure-blooded negroes, some of 
 them natives of this region, and others who were origi- 
 nally brought from the far interior and sold as slaves in 
 Morocco. Slavery is not permitted in Algeria, and the 
 slaves in Morocco know it very well. They make their 
 way over the border, and, though sometimes their masters 
 succeed in getting their human property back again, they do 
 not as a general thing. There was a considerable number 
 of French and other European women in the crowd, but 
 not many native ones. I am told that the native women 
 here are quite secluded, though not so much so as in 
 Turkey, Morocco, and some other Moslem countries." 
 
 Doctor Whitney decided to make his departure from 
 Biskra, which is at the end of the railway recently com- 
 pleted from Constantine to that point. Biskra is to the 
 south and east of Algiers, and to reach it the party jour- 
 
l8 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 neyed eastward to Constantine and Philippville. Twenty- 
 five or thirty years ago the railway was completed from 
 Philippville to Constantine, a distance of some sixty odd 
 miles. There is some fine engineering on this line occa- 
 sioned by the passage of the railway through a range of 
 hills. It was among these hills that Jules Gerard, the 
 famous lion hunter, performed many of his exploits. 
 When Ned heard this the desire seized him to go out and 
 shoot a lion, but he was dissuaded from so doing when the 
 doctor told him that they could not spare the time for a lion 
 hunt, and besides there were no lions to be found there 
 now. 
 
 The party spent three or four days in Constantine, the 
 doctor being pretty actively engaged in purchasing goods, 
 tents, provisions, and other things required for the journey. 
 As fast as the articles were bought they were sent forward 
 to Biskra, where the goods brought by steamer from New 
 York preceded them. On the fifth day the party took the 
 train for Biskra, going by way of Batna, a modern French 
 town built on the ruins of an old Roman one. From the 
 windows of the car in which our friends rode they looked 
 out upon the ruins, and Ned called attention to a monu- 
 ment in the shape of a pyramid, about twenty feet high. 
 
 <*That monument has a curious history," said the 
 doctor. ''When the French came here it was very much 
 dilapidated, many of the stones having been throw^n down 
 and scattered. The 3d French Engineers camped here, 
 and its colonel set the men to work collecting the stones 
 that belonged to the monument. An inscription showed 
 that it was to the memory of the commander of the 3d 
 
DEPARTURE FOR ALGIERS. I9 
 
 Roman Legion, who was buried under the monument, and 
 the stones that had not been disturbed were taken up, one 
 by one, until the coffin, also of stone, was reached. The 
 lid was raised and the skeleton of the old Roman was 
 found undisturbed. The lid was immediately replaced, 
 and then the monument was built up again, every stone 
 being carefully restored to its position. When all was 
 completed the French colonel turned out his entire regi- 
 ment, marched past the monument, and fired a salute in 
 honor of his predecessor of two thousand years ago." 
 
 " What a very romantic story," Ned remarked ; *' and 
 what a sentimental man that French colonel was ! " 
 
 *' Quite true," said the doctor; "and I can tell you 
 another story of the same sort. We shall pass through a 
 gorge just at the entrance to the Sahara where there is an 
 ancient bridge ; it was quite dilapidated when the French 
 came here, and they repaired it. On the wall of the 
 gorge, close by the bridge, there is an inscription in Latin 
 which was made nearly two thousand years ago, announc- 
 ing that the bridge was built by the 3d Roman Legion ; 
 underneath it is an inscription in French, made about 1850, 
 which says that it was repaired by the 3d French En- 
 gineers." 
 
 The train moved on beyond Batna, taking a general 
 course to the south. The youths were constantly studying 
 the landscape, first on one side of the train and then on 
 the other, and calling each other's attention to anything 
 that was new and curious. The train slowly ascended a 
 gently sloping hillside, and on reaching its summit the 
 pace was quickened as the locomotive began the descent. 
 
20 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 In a little while Harry called attention to the scarcity of 
 vegetation ; the grass was in little tussocks, small bushes 
 lined the banks of the little streams or the dry channels 
 where the indications were that streams flowed in time 
 of heavy rain, but there were no trees by the roadside, and 
 no orchards or forests were visible. After this had con- 
 tinued for a little time Ned remarked : — 
 
 " I wonder if we are not in the desert ? " 
 
 *'I was just thinking of that myself," said Harry in a 
 half whisper to his cousin. "Just look at those mountains 
 off ahead of us ; there isn't a tree or bush on any of 
 them ; they are as barren as a door-knob, or the outside 
 of a pitcher. The country doesn't look so very different 
 at a general glance from what it was further north, but 
 when you take it in detail there's a great difference." 
 
 Ned appealed the question to his uncle, who informed 
 them that they were already in the desert, and had been 
 ever since they passed the crest of the ridge. 
 
 "The desert began there," said he. "The little 
 streams that you now see flow into the Sahara and are lost 
 there. North of that ridge, in the region called The Tell, 
 the streams, such as they are, flow into the Mediterranean. 
 The region where we now are is included in the Sahara 
 Basin, although it is not in the desert portion. There are 
 a good many places between here and Biskra where the 
 land is fertile, or comparatively so. Rain is not infre- 
 quent in these regions, and where the land is so situated 
 that the water doesn't readily flow off it is quite produc- 
 tive. 
 
 Later in the day they reached El Kantara (The Bridge), 
 
DEPARTURE FOR ALGIERS. 21 
 
 which gets its name from a famous bridge built by the 
 Romans, and repaired by the French, as already stated. 
 Here there is a gorge through which a small river flows, 
 the sides of the cliff being nearly precipitous. Between 
 the river and the side of the gorge there is barely space 
 enough for a road, and for a considerable part of the dis- 
 tance the railw^ay track is laid in a niche in the cliff. As 
 the train emerged from the gorge a grand transformation 
 scene was presented to the eyes of the travelers. 
 
 They came suddenly upon an oasis, the first oasis in the 
 desert as one descends there from the north. Thousands 
 upon thousands of date palms grow there ; the water for 
 their nourishment being diverted from the river as it comes 
 out of the gorge. Ned had already informed himself con- 
 cerning date palms, and so he assumed the position of 
 Mentor, and proceeded to enlighten Harry on the subject. 
 Here is substantially what he said : — 
 
 "The date palm cannot exist without water, and the 
 Arabs say that it must have its feet in water and its head 
 in the fire. A hot sun and a cloudless sky are necessary 
 for its development, and it must have an abundant supply 
 of water at its root, or it will surely die. The water is 
 brought to it in channels or water courses, and sometimes 
 carried for short distances in goat skins. You observe as 
 you are riding along that there is a trench around each 
 tree ; well, they put a barrel of water in that trench every 
 other day, and that keeps the palm tree alive." 
 
 *' Thank you," said Harry; '^but tell me where the 
 dates grow." 
 
 " Oh, the dates grow in that bunch, or crown, up there 
 
22 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 at the top, right in the center of the leaves. The Arabs 
 take great pains in the cultivation of their date palms, and 
 they watch these clusters, or regimes, as they call them, to 
 prevent any possible harm. When the dates are ripening 
 they keep watchers among the trees to scare away the 
 birds, and when the time of harvest comes they are very 
 particular to collect the regimes when they are in their 
 best condition." 
 
 The dark green of the oasis made a marked contrast to 
 the yellow hills in the background, and presented a picture 
 that the boys were not likely to forget. Long after they 
 had gone beyond the oasis they continued to talk about it, 
 and wondered when they would see the next one. Dr. 
 Whitney overheard them, and said the next oasis of any 
 consequence was at Biskra, and they anxiously looked 
 forward to their arrival at that point. 
 
 On and on sped the train at a dignified pace of not 
 more than eighteen miles an hour. Ned found out that 
 it was an express train, and wondered what would be the 
 speed of an ordinary one, when an express was so slow. 
 He asked the conductor on that point and was informed 
 that the ordinary passenger train went only ten miles an 
 hour, and was very often late at that. 
 
 By and by they ascended a sandy ^lope and at its top 
 experienced another surprise. 
 
 As the train came to the crest of the ridge it paused to 
 take either breath, water, or fuel, or for some other pur- 
 pose, so Harry explained. As the youths looked from 
 the window their gaze extended over a low plain which 
 stretched as far as the eye could reach, with a horizon 
 
DEPARTURE FOR ALGIERS. 23 
 
 like that of the ocean. In fact, the outspread level was 
 wonderfully like the ocean or a great lake in its appear- 
 ance ; so much so that Ned remarked that they seemed to 
 have reached a great bed of water. 
 
 ** You're by no means the first to think so," said the 
 doctor. "Many a traveler here has made the same 
 remark, and when the first French expedition to spread 
 the conquest of Algeria reached this point, the soldiers, as 
 fast as they came to the crest of the ridge, shouted in joy, 
 ''La mer! La merl' thinking they had reached the sea." 
 
 '* I don't wonder at it," said Harry ; *' it appears won- 
 derfully like the sea. And look ! There are islands dotted 
 all over it. I suppose those must be oases, are they not ? " 
 
 "Yes, they are oases," replied Doctor Whitney, " and 
 they make the illusion perfect. You see now how the 
 desert has been so appropriately called "The Sea of 
 Sand"; the camel is the ship of the desert because, as 
 natural history tells you, he can lay in provisions and 
 water for seven or eight days. He looms up high in the 
 air, just as a ship does, and he makes long voyages from 
 one part of the desert to another." 
 
 Just then the train began to move again, and the doctor 
 told his young companions that they might consider them- 
 selves fairly embarked on the Great Sahara. 
 
 Biskra was in full view from the ridge, as it was the 
 nearest oasis, and only a few miles away. In less than 
 half an hour the travelers were at the railway station 
 where they bade farewell to locomotives and cars, pre- 
 paratory to their journey where railway tracks do not 
 abound. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 A REFRACTORY MULE STARTING FROM BISKRA THE 
 
 FIRST CAMP. 
 
 SO impatient were the youths to investigate the oasis 
 that they suggested that they would walk to the 
 hotel from the railway station, instead of riding. The 
 doctor assented to their proposal, but suggested that they 
 should remain at the station until the baggage had been 
 put in charge of the courier from the hotel and the various 
 pieces indicated. This took only a few minutes, and then 
 they set out upon their stroll, after ascertaining the route 
 to the hostelry where they were to be lodged during their 
 stay in Biskra. 
 
 They passed along wide avenues and streets lined with 
 palm trees and bordered here and there by luxuriant 
 gardens. The richness of the vegetable growth in the 
 oasis was in marked contrast to the barren desert over 
 which they had traveled ; and both Ned and Harry 
 realized that it was this contrast between the two that 
 led to the universal praise bestowed on oases everywhere 
 throughout the great deserts. 
 
 *'It reminds me," said Ned, "of the enthusiasm of 
 travelers who visit Damascus and seem to become half 
 wild over the abundance of its waters. I never fully un- 
 derstood it until I remembered that Damascus stands in 
 
 24 
 
A REFRACTORY MULE. 25 
 
 the desert, and those who visit the city, especially from 
 the eastward, are obliged to travel long distances where 
 there are neither trees nor springs. Consequently, when 
 they reach the gates of that ancient city, and linger in its 
 streets and houses, they appreciate in the highest possible 
 degree the water that bubbles in every courtyard and 
 flows in every dwelling." 
 
 ** This is a pretty good-sized oasis," said Harry, *' larger 
 than I thought it was ; it is about five miles long, and 
 more than two miles across its broadest part, contains 
 100,000 date palms, and has a considerble portion of its 
 area laid out in gardens and fields. They grow three 
 crops a year in the gardens — at least, I read so in a book — 
 and they have an abundant supply of water all the year 
 round." 
 
 They stopped to look at a little garden where two 
 natives were at work under the supervision of a French- 
 man. It turned out that the Frenchman was the owner of 
 the establishment and the natives were in his employ. 
 He greeted the strangers cordially, and seemed very glad 
 to meet them ; he was evidently, as Ned remarked, 
 "loaded" with information, and hardly waited to be 
 "fired off." The natives were engaged in watering the 
 garden, and the boys were curious to see the process. 
 Their curiosity was quickly satisfied, as the whole thing 
 could be taken in at a glance. 
 
 There was a little channel, perhaps about six inches 
 wide, coming in at the upper end of the garden and ad- 
 mitting a stream of water which flowed into a tank. The 
 tank was fifteen or twenty feet long, and not more than 
 
26 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 two feet wide, running across the head of the garden. 
 From this tank some eight or ten small channels were 
 diverted, and they carried water all over the rest of the 
 space. These channels ran in parallel lines, so that the 
 ground on either side of them was kept well moistened, 
 no matter how hot the sun might be. Ned asked how 
 often it was necessary to water the garden, and the 
 Frenchman replied that they watered it three times a 
 week in the cooler part of the year, and every day in the 
 height of summer. 
 
 **The water never gives out," said the Frenchman; 
 *' it comes from a great spring up there near the foot of 
 the hill where you see the fort. It is hot where it issues 
 from the ground, but it gets cool on its way to the oasis." 
 
 As he spoke, he pointed to a low hill toward the north, 
 about two miles away from where they were. Then he 
 went on to tell them that the fort they were looking at 
 was built hundreds of years ago, he did not know how 
 many. Before the French conquered Algeria the fort 
 was held by the Turks. They were not on pleasant 
 terms with the people of the oasis, but the latter were 
 quite at their mercy, and were compelled to do whatever 
 their rulers desired. Whenever the Turkish commander 
 at the fort made a demand upon the natives which they 
 refused to obey he proceeded to divert the water of the 
 stream into the desert, cutting it off from the oasis ; this 
 never failed to bring the Arabs to terms. The absence 
 of water meant death to their palm trees and gardens. 
 The pressure was so great that it could not be resisted, 
 and they speedily ceased their resistance. 
 
A REFRACTORY MULE. 2*J 
 
 **The natives of this part of the country," the man 
 continued, " were very much opposed to French rule and 
 fought hard against the conquest. Some months after 
 v^e had captured Biskra they formed a conspiracy, rose 
 one night, and slaughtered every man in the garrison, but 
 they wouldn't do so now. They have prospered under 
 French rule more than ever before, and would be very 
 sorry to have the French go away. One thing that the 
 French have done since they came here has endeared 
 them very greatly to the people, and that is the boring of 
 artesian wells in many of the oases. 
 
 '*For a long time before the French Conquest the 
 supply of water in the desert had been gradually growing 
 less. Several oases had dried up and died altogether, 
 and the inhabitants were driven out or perished by starva- 
 tion and thirst. Even the large oases were diminishing 
 in size, the palm trees were dying out gradually, year by 
 year, and the prospect ahead was gloomy. 
 
 *'The French commanders were men of intelligence. 
 They knew that this part of the Sahara was below the 
 level of the Mediterranean, and believed that if artesian 
 wells were bored they would brmg forth liberal supplies 
 of water. They tried the experiment in some of the 
 oases that were drying up, and found it successful, and 
 then they tried it on a larger scale in some of the greater 
 oases. 
 
 "The most successful well that they put down was at 
 Tuggurt, about two hundred miles south of Biskra, where 
 a vein of water was struck and gushed forth at the rate of 
 about five thousand gallons a minute. That was more 
 
28 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 than forty years ago, and it has been flowing at that rate 
 ever since. When the Arabs saw this fine stream of water 
 they went fairly wild with delight ; celebrations were kept 
 up for several days, and the invaders, who had been 
 despised and hated, were from that time on regarded as 
 friends and benefactors. The system of boring these 
 wells was carried on all through the desert ; the drying 
 up of the oases was brought to an end, and many that had 
 been abandoned were restored to life again." 
 
 The attention of our young friends was directed to the 
 spectacle of a native boy climbing a date palm. Any one 
 who has seen a palm tree knows that it is without branches, 
 other than a single tuft at the top, the leaves being cut 
 away as the stem rises from the ground, so that in ascend- 
 ing a tree the climber has nothing to which he can cling. 
 In the present instance the boy went up the tree with great 
 rapidity, using a piece of rope about six feet long, and 
 with a knot at each end. He passed the rope around the 
 body of the tree and then grasped it at both ends, flinging 
 the middle of it as high in the air as he could. Then, 
 pulling it taut, he lifted himself by means of the rope, 
 placing his feet in the notches where the old leaves had 
 been cut away. By pulling the rope, he went up two or 
 three steps, then he flung the middle of the rope up again, 
 and repeated the process of moving upward. In an 
 astonishingly short time he was at the top of the tree, and 
 when he was ready to descend again he came down quite 
 as quickly as he went up, and in the same manner. 
 
 On their way to the hotel the boys went through the 
 market place. The market of Biskra is a building occu- 
 
'on their way to the hotel the boys went through the 
 
 marketplace " 
 
A REFRACTORY MULE. 29 
 
 pying the greater part of a square ; it stands on arches 
 and is quite open in the interior. The articles exposed 
 for sale there were a strange medley of European and 
 African products, the latter predominating. There were 
 dried dates in great quantities, and also barley, wheat, 
 oats, and garden vegetables innumerable, and there were 
 live fowls, with their feet tied together, in great numbers. 
 The climate is so warm that dressed fowls are less desir- 
 able than live ones, owing to the rapidity of decay. 
 Sometimes the purchasers take the birds home and 
 slaughter and dress them, but they may have that work 
 performed in the market if they wish. 
 
 Live goats and kids were also for sale, and there was a 
 limited supply of beef and mutton. The butchers do not 
 care to prepare more of these perishable meats than they 
 are absolutely sure of selling in a single day, as ice is 
 practically unknown at Biskra, and the little that is made 
 there is altogether too dear for general uses. Goatskins, 
 camels' hair cloaks and blankets, cotton cloths of a coarse 
 variety, and other goods of African production were quite 
 abundant. French and English cutlery, iron mongery, 
 and the like were in abundance, and in some of the shops 
 the variety of goods was equal to that of a notion store in 
 New York or Philadelphia. 
 
 The people in the market place were quite as various as 
 were the articles that were offered for sale. Those from 
 Europe were nearly all French, though there were a few 
 Italians, more Hebrews, two or three Greeks, half a dozen 
 Maltese, and an assorted and numerous lot of natives of 
 the country. The Arabs were the most numerous, and 
 
30 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 the variety of their dress showed them to belong to differ- 
 ent tribes. The demeanor of most of them was dignified, 
 and especially that of some men who were said to be 
 Tuaregs. They were dressed in dirty white cotton cloth, 
 and their heads were thickly covered with the same 
 material, together with a large handkerchief bound tightly 
 around. The appearance of these men was so striking 
 that it was the first thing which Ned and Harry mentioned 
 when they joined the doctor at the hotel. 
 
 The doctor answered that the Tuaregs were nomads of 
 the desert. They had no permanent abiding place, but 
 wandered from one oasis to another, covering a wide 
 range of territory. He said that they were independent 
 of the French, or any other authority, and did pretty much 
 as they pleased ; not infrequently they had sharp fights 
 with the French, and sometimes came off victorious, 
 though generally they were defeated ; not from any lack 
 of courage on their part, but owing to the superiority of 
 French weapons. '* From our point of view," said he, 
 *' they are great thieves, and are very much given to 
 plundering caravans, which they regard as a perfectly 
 legitimate and honest occupation. They are somewhat 
 averse to shedding blood, and do not do so unless pro- 
 voked ! " 
 
 Ned asked how much provocation they required to 
 induce them to indulge in slaughter. 
 
 ''It doesn't take a great deal," the doctor answered. 
 " If a party of individuals or a caravan is attacked by 
 them, and makes no resistance, allowing the Tuaregs to 
 plunder without restriction, they rarely do any violence to 
 
A REFRACTORY MULE. 3I 
 
 the travelers. But if resistance is offered, and is unsuc- 
 cessful, these desert robbers are merciless, and slaughter 
 all who have opposed them. Some travelers, while mak- 
 ing their way through the desert purposely go unarmed, so 
 that if they encounter a band of Tuaregs they can be 
 robbed of all they have, sometimes even all their clothing, 
 and then permitted to go on. They think that is better 
 than running the risk of massacre." 
 
 "Shall we follow that plan, uncle?" said Harry, as 
 the doctor paused. 
 
 The doctor hesitated a moment, and then said quietly, 
 but iirmlv : — 
 
 "We shall carry some weapons with us. I don't pro- 
 pose to be unresistingly robbed in the desert. But I don't 
 think there is much danger of our being disturbed, as the 
 Tuaregs are at present on very good terms v/ith the 
 French, and no raids have been made on caravans or 
 other traveling parties for several months." 
 
 " Let us hope that this freedom from attack will con- 
 tinue," said Ned; " at any rate, until we are through with 
 our journey." 
 
 The rest of the day was spent in sight-seeing, and the 
 next morning the work of preparing for the desert was 
 begun vigorously. The doctor had engaged two men 
 accustomed to desert travel, who were picked up at Con- 
 stantine and sent in advance to Biskra to secure the 
 necessary camels. Just at that time the supply of camels 
 was not large, but they succeeded in buying or hiring all 
 that they needed, both for saddle use, and the transporta- 
 tion of goods. Most of the articles to be carried on the 
 
32 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 journey were in packages suitably adapted for making a 
 load for a camel, but the majority of the packages needed 
 rearrangement, and this involved the hiring of additional 
 men who were accustomed to that kind of work. Doctor 
 Whitney was quite actively employed in seeing that this 
 business was properly done, as he felt that he could not 
 trust any of the Arabs to do it exactly as he told them. 
 In the latter part of his stay he employed a trusty French- 
 man, and thus lightened his own labors. 
 
 Ned and Harry were also of material assistance in 
 keeping an eye over the workmen and doing other 
 things. They found it difficult at first to make themselves 
 understood, but rapidly picked up a knowledge of Arabic 
 sufficient for their purpose. After a few days' experience, 
 Ned came to the conclusion that the Arabs were the 
 worst liars he had ever seen ; and later on in his ex- 
 perience he said he had found no reason to change his 
 mind. 
 
 '' These fellows," said Ned, "will stand up and lie in 
 the most unblushing manner imaginable, and they lie, too, 
 when they know they will be discovered in a very few 
 minutes. For instance, I asked one of them one day if 
 he had filled the water-skins. 
 
 " ' I filled them all,' said he, ' and put them on the 
 camels.' 
 
 " I looked towards the camels, and saw that not one of 
 them had received its burden ; near where they stood were 
 the empty water-skins lying on the ground. 
 
 " * What's that?' I asked him, pointing to the empty 
 water-skins. 
 
A REFRACTORY MULE. 33 
 
 (( 
 
 He replied that those were the skins, and when I told 
 him they were not filled, and were not on the camels, he 
 made no reply. I asked him what he meant by lying to 
 me, and he promptly answered that he would have filled 
 the skins, but had no time to do it. 
 
 *' If you put a question to an Arab, and he knows the 
 answer, he may possibly give it to you correctly, but if he 
 doesn't know it, he will give you the first reply he can 
 think of. Ask him how far it is to a certain place which 
 you know is ten miles away ; he will tell you it is a mile, 
 five miles, fifty, or even a hundred. It is all the same to 
 him. He won't admit that there is anything that he 
 doesn't know, but if he can't tell you correctly he will 
 jump at a conclusion with an air of the most serene con- 
 fidence." 
 
 We will let Ned tell the story of the starting of the 
 expedition. 
 
 *'The men that the doctor engaged at Constantine 
 belonged to one of the northern tribes of Arabs, but had 
 traveled so much in the desert that they were quite 
 familiar with it. Their names were Selim and Ali ; Selim 
 was an accomplished rogue, and Ali was another ; we 
 differed in opinion as to who was the worst, but either of 
 them was bad enough. As long as we stood over them 
 they did fairly well, but that was not the case when our 
 backs were turned. They pilfered quite a number of 
 things out of our stores, and Harry and I wondered that 
 the doctor kept them as long as he did. We told him of 
 various instances of wrong-doing on the part of these men, 
 to which he answered that he was looking for substitutes 
 
34 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 with which to replace them, and had apphed to the French 
 commander to aid him. 
 
 *'The morning before we were to leave Biskra three 
 other men were engaged, and Selim and Ali were sent 
 back to Constantine by first train. One of the new em- 
 ployees was a Frenchman about forty years of age, very 
 active and energetic. His name was Jacques Renaud ; 
 he had been a soldier in the French cavalry, and after 
 serving his time had decided to remain in Algeria, instead 
 of going back to France. He had traveled a good deal 
 in the desert, spoke Arab fluently, and was a thoroughly 
 good manager. The other two were Arabs, and their 
 names were Yusef and Abdallah. As Arabs, they were 
 good from our point of view, as they were not nearly as 
 accomplished in lying as their predecessors, and could 
 be relied on fairly well, especially when they had 
 Renaud's eye upon them. 
 
 **When they had been installed in office, and the 
 others had been sent away, Harry and I understood why 
 Selim and Ali were kept as long as they were. Renaud 
 and his two companions had just arrived from the south, 
 the commandant having sent for them ; the doctor wanted 
 the work of preparation to go on while waiting for them, 
 and so he made use of the best tools in his hands. 
 
 *'We were delayed somewhat in getting our cooking 
 utensils and a few other things. The price of water- 
 skins rose in the market as soon as we began to make 
 purchases, but fortunately the supply was in so many 
 hands that a combination was not affected, and the ad- 
 vance was small. Besides, the doctor threatened to pur- 
 
A REFRACTORY MULE. 35 
 
 chase only a few at Biskra and wait until he reached a 
 more southern oasis before completing his supply. 
 
 *' These water-skins are a necessity for every traveler 
 in the desert. They consist of goat-skins removed as 
 nearly whole as possible, and then carefully sewn up, 
 except at the neck or one of the forelegs, into which the 
 water is poured while filling, and from which it is poured 
 when wanted. They are also made from pig-skins, 
 which are stronger and more durable than goat-skins, but 
 Moslems have an objection to carrying water in these 
 receptacles, as they consider the pig an unclean beast. 
 Some African explorers have carried water in cans made 
 of sheet-iron or other metals, the advantage being that 
 there is no loss by evaporation, as there is when it is 
 carried in skins ; but the disadvantage of the cans is their 
 weight, their liability to crack at the joints, and the diffi- 
 culty of repairing them in the desert. 
 
 *'For the first part of our journey we did not take a 
 large supply of water, as the oases are not far apart ; 
 hence our ability to threaten to make our purchases 
 elsewhere, when the market was raised upon us. The 
 doctor had already secured consent to carry weapons ; 
 as you must understand that no civilian can carry a rifle 
 or revolver in Algeria without permission of the authori- 
 ties. There was no trouble whatever on this score, as the 
 objects of our expedition were well understood, and any 
 authorization that we wanted was to be had for the 
 asking. 
 
 *' One of our difficulties was the purchase of horses for 
 riding purposes. We visited the horse-market every 
 
36 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 morning, but for several days were unable to find any 
 satisfactory animals, but when Renaud joined us he 
 settled this matter very promptly. As before stated, he 
 was an old cavalry soldier, and was, moreover, thoroughly 
 acquainted in Biskra. He hunted up some horse-owning 
 friends, and succeeded in getting at fair prices three very 
 good animals. We did not expect to be able to keep 
 them with us on our entire journey, but, as the horse is 
 preferable to the camel for riding purposes, we desired 
 to put off the evil days of the camel saddle as long as 
 possible. 
 
 "And, now, behold us one bright morning setting out 
 from Biskra on our journey into the Great Sahara. 
 Renaud had a mule for his private riding, and a sturdy 
 beast it was. It had the characteristics of its race fairly 
 well developed ; while ordinarily a good-natured and 
 obedient creature, it had occasional fits of stubbornness that 
 detracted from its merits. Every hour or so it would 
 stop short in its footsteps and could not be moved for at 
 least five minutes by any kind of blows whatever, or even 
 by building a fire under it. At the end of its period of 
 rest it would go forward as quietly as ever, as though 
 nothing had happened. 
 
 '* Sometimes it would allow any one to ride close up to 
 it on horse or camel, while at others it would kick out 
 spitefully before the object of its aversion came within 
 reach. Once a day, at least, it would lie down on the 
 ground — always when its rider was on its back — and, 
 having demonstrated its ability to lie down, would rise 
 again, give a loud bray, and go peacefull}^ onward. You 
 
A REFRACTORY MULE. 37 
 
 could never tell what that mule would do next, or when he 
 would do it. 
 
 "Sometimes, after along, hard day's work, it would 
 indulge in what the Arabs call a ' fantasia,' and what Harry 
 denominated a * general circus,' when for the last hour 
 or so it had appeared just able to drag one foot after 
 another. When its saddle was taken off it seized the 
 opportunity to break away, make a circuit of a mile or so, 
 aimed its heels at the moon, if that orb happened to be 
 visible, and kicked out as though trying to hit it. It 
 would lie down, stand on its hind legs, kick, rear, plunge, 
 bray, and perform every other mulish antic known to 
 science. Then it would come back to its owner and sub- 
 mit to be picketed where it belonged. 
 
 " Renaud usually led the procession when on the 
 march ; we three explorers followed, and then came our 
 string of ten camels, laden with the impedimenta of our 
 expedition. The camel with the water-skins and a part 
 of the provisions was the first of the string ; then came 
 the one with the tents, tent-poles, cooking utensils, beds, 
 and our personal every-day belongings. The third in the 
 line was the one that bore the scientific instruments, the 
 ammunition, and spare weapons, and the others were 
 laden with cases of provisions, and also the presents 
 intended for the chiefs of the tribes through whose coun- 
 tries we were to pass. The drivers of the camels, who 
 were generally the owners, walked by the sides of their 
 beasts, or mounted on top of their loads. Most of them 
 did the former, especially if they happened to be the 
 owners of the camels ; in their case was exemplified the 
 
38 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 truth of the proverb, ' A merciful man is merciful to his 
 beast ' — when it is his interest to be so. 
 
 " Renaud stayed on the camping ground until the last 
 camel was gone ; then he carefully went over the place of 
 encampment and saw that nothing had been left behind. 
 Having performed this duty, he followed the procession 
 until it was well out of Biskra, when he spurred up his 
 mule and came to the front of the column. 
 
 " Several French officers and civilians with whom we 
 had become acquainted rode out with us for three or four 
 miles, where we came to a halt for a few minutes ; there 
 they bade us good-by, with many expressions of hope for 
 our safety and success, and turned back in the direction of 
 Biskra. We moved slowly on, occasionally looking back 
 at the domed buildings which glistened white among the 
 palm trees. 
 
 *' We did not intend to make a long march on the first 
 day; in fact, it would have been impossible to do so, how- 
 ever much we had wished it. The camels and horses 
 were slow to settle down to work. The horses, in particu- 
 lar, were hard to manage and indulged in more or less 
 dancing and uneasiness throughout the whole day. The 
 camels were not friendly to one another, and were fre- 
 quently endeavoring to change places, much to the con- 
 fusion of the whole procession. One of the loads was 
 not properly arranged on the back of the camel that 
 carried it ; it worked loose, and the cases were just begin- 
 ning to tumble to the ground, when the beast was stopped, 
 and compelled to kneel while his burden was properly 
 adjusted. While the animal was on the ground I went 
 
A REFRACTORY MULE. 39 
 
 up to his head and tried to make friends with him. He 
 rewarded my pains by a vicious bite, which I narrowly 
 escaped. The camel is not a good-natured animal, except 
 to his master, and I think he obeys him principally through 
 fear. I've heard of camels showing crreat affection for 
 their owners and the members of their families, but have 
 never seen an instance of it. 
 
 *' There is a strange enmity between the horse and the 
 camel, and the doctor says it prevails all the world over. 
 Whenever we tried to ride past our string of camels the 
 horses always seemed to shrink from coming near their 
 long-legged and long-necked rivals, and if a horse 
 happens to be grazing, and a camel comes near him so 
 silently that he is not perceived until close at hand, the 
 horse will jump as though greatly frightened. Doctor 
 Whitney says that a panic can easily be created among 
 horses by bringing a camel into their midst, and he men- 
 tioned an instance, somewhere in the New England States, 
 where a horse was so frightened by the presence of a 
 camel belonging to a passing menagerie that he stood 
 for a minute as if paralyzed wdth fear and then fell dead 
 to the ground. 
 
 "We went into camp very early on the first day. 
 Teats were spread, one for ourselves, and one for the 
 manager and his crew ; our tent was fourteen feet by 
 ten, and, though a little cramped, was a great deal better 
 than no tent at all. We had a portable table, three 
 camp-stools, and an army camp-chest for four persons, 
 as we expected now and then to entertain a guest. We 
 had heavy water-proof blankets to spread on the ground, 
 
40 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 on which to place our beds. These beds were long sacks 
 of sheep-skin, made like Bryan O'Linn's coat, ' with the 
 wooly side in.' The lower portions of the sacks extended 
 a yard or so beyond the upper, and formed a bag at the 
 upper end, in which we placed the clothing we had worn 
 during the day so as to make a pillow, and as the pillow 
 was a part of the bed it was impossible for any one to 
 steal it from under the owner's head while he was sleep- 
 ing. Altogether, we found our beds very comfortable ; 
 they would have been more so if they could have been 
 made proof against fleas and other small but active 
 intruders. 
 
 "Just as we went into camp we saw a small troop of 
 gazelles away on the eastern horizon. You may be sure 
 that Harry and I wanted to go in pursuit of them, and had 
 it not been for the doctor we should have done so. We 
 had rifles at our saddle-bows and revolvers at our waist- 
 belts, and felt that we would certainly bring in our game 
 if allowed to pursue it. 
 
 " ' It would be all nonsense,' said the doctor, ' for you 
 to try to get at those gazelles ; they've doubtless been 
 chased by the Arabs time and time again, and would 
 probably enjoy being followed by two foreigners like 
 yourselves. You couldn't get within half a mile of them 
 before they would have taken flight. Later on you'll 
 have a chance at gazelles where they are not so wily as 
 they are here, but don't waste 3^our time and the strength 
 of your horses pursuing them now.' 
 
 ''Thus warned, we gave up the chase of the gazelles, 
 but we did have some hunting experience, notwithstanding. 
 
A REFRACTORY MULE. 4I 
 
 Renaud told us that we would find quail in some scat- 
 tered tussocks of grass, which he indicated a quarter of a 
 mile away. We exchanged our rifles for shotguns, went 
 in the direction indicated, and had the satisfaction of 
 bringing in a dozen birds, which made us an excellent 
 supper. In due time we went to our beds, where we were 
 lulled to sleep by the squealing of the horses and other 
 sounds of the camp. We slept soundly, in spite of the 
 lack of spring-mattresses and other luxuries of city life, 
 and rose in the morning thoroughly refreshed and ready 
 to begin the work of the day." 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 SALT LAKES OF THE DESERT A LION HUNT. 
 
 " \\TK had no occasion to draw upon our supply of 
 V Y water," continued Ned ; " in fact, we had taken 
 very little from Biskra, as we expected to find water at 
 various points for several days. Our camp on the first 
 night was made near the Oued Biskra, or Biskra River. 
 At that time it was a small brook through which a child 
 might wade with safety, but the broad and worn channel 
 showed that it was not always in that condition. During 
 the period of rains it swells into a stream of considerable 
 size and is fordable on horseback with considerable diffi- 
 culty and some little danger. In the narrowest places, 
 in times of flood, the current is very strong and swift, and 
 a horse is liable to be swept off his feet. Wide stretches 
 of the river are then sought for as fording places, as the 
 water is shallow and the current gentle. 
 
 *' There was considerable delay at starting the next 
 morning, but less so than when setting out from Biskra. 
 It takes three or four days to get everything working 
 smoothly, and sometimes longer, so that camp can be 
 struck and the caravan put in motion early. The camels 
 were loaded and the march began in fairly good time. 
 Harry and I offered to divide some of the work with 
 Renaud ; that is, we were to take turns, morning after 
 
 42 
 
SALT LAKES OF THE DESERT. 43 
 
 morning, in going over the camping ground to see that 
 nothing; had been left behind. We thouorht it would be a 
 good piece of the experiences of desert travel, and add a 
 little variety to our occupation. So from that time on the 
 work was laid out in that way, but on nearly every morn- 
 ing when it was my turn to inspect the ground Harry 
 remained with me, and when his turn of duty came I 
 remained with him. At Dr. Whitney's suggestion, Harry 
 and I took turns in keeping the journal of the expedition, 
 but almost every day the doctor added something to what 
 we had written and made it more interesting. On the 
 road where other travelers had gone before we did not 
 attempt to make observations, except for practice ; hardly 
 a day. passed that we did not make use of our instruments, 
 and it was not long before we felt entire confidence in 
 being able to find our latitude and longitude, no matter 
 where we might be. 
 
 '*The distance from Biskra to Tuggurt is about one 
 hundred and forty miles ; we travelled from twenty-five to 
 thirty miles a day, so that our journey lasted five days. 
 For a considerable part of the way the ground is covered 
 with scrubby bushes, on which the camels feed. They 
 pick up most of their living while traveling along the 
 route, browsing here and there on the shrubbery as they 
 walk along. Naturally they make slow progress when 
 browsing, and we became somewhat impatient in conse- 
 quence, but if we had compelled them to go forward with- 
 out feeding as they went it would have been necessary to 
 feed them on barley, or dates, or something of the sort 
 when we halted for the night, and this would involve buy- 
 
44 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 ing and carrying those articles of camel food which are 
 not to be found in the desert. 
 
 " We had some bags of barley for the horses' feed, and 
 whenever we could do so at the palm oases, we bought 
 dates for ourselves as well as for our horses. Dates are 
 universal food in the desert ; camels grow fat on them 
 when the supply is sufficient and horses do likewise. 
 Dogs live upon dates, donkeys luxuriate on them, and 
 last, though not least, men find them a staple article. 
 
 **The dates of the Sahara are the best in the world, 
 and all our party lived largely upon them. An Arab no 
 more gets weary of living upon dates than an East Indian 
 does of living upon rice. The white man's appetite is 
 more variable than that of the Arab, but even he does not 
 find it cloyed very easily by this desert food. An old 
 adage says, * Hunger is the best sauce,' and there is no 
 place where this ancient saw is better illustrated than in 
 desert travel. The pure air which one breathes and the 
 exercise of travel are sufficient of themselves to create a 
 good appetite, and whenever food of any kind is obtainable 
 it is sure to be welcome. 
 
 *' As we pressed forward towards the south the moun- 
 tains to the north of Biskra grew dim in the distance. 
 Harry and I wanted very much to visit the famous salt 
 mountain which lies to the north and east of Biskra, and 
 is one of the five mountains of salt mentioned by Herod- 
 otus. We had seen it on our way from Batna to Biskra, 
 but time did not permit our making a journey to it. For 
 hundreds of years it has been a source of supply for the 
 Arabs, and now that the railway to Biskra has been com- 
 
SALT LAKES OF THE DESERT. 45 
 
 pleted it will probably be drawn upon by the French 
 for the use of the northern part of Algeria. 
 
 "It is what its name implies, — a mountain of salt, a 
 great mass of bluish rock-salt, about fifteen hundred feet 
 high, and has evidently been forced up frorn below. The 
 salt is not sufficiently pure to be used on the table without 
 refining, but it can be given to cattle or used for the pre- 
 servation of meat in just the condition that we find it. It 
 is at the end of a range of lime-stone mountains, and as 
 we looked at it from a distance, it appeared much lighter 
 in color than its neighbors. With the sun shining upon it 
 at a certain angle from the observer, it sparkles and glis- 
 tens so that a credulous person might be led to believe 
 that it was a mountain of diamonds or glass, rather than 
 a great mass of very commonplace salt. 
 
 *'I think it was about fifty miles south of Biskra that 
 we lost sight of the range of mountains which includes 
 this mountain of salt. We had traversed an undulating 
 plain, which suddenly came to an end at a low ridge, from 
 the top of which we looked upon a great widespread plain, 
 which is known as the plain of the Oiicd Ghir ; off to the 
 left was a lake, and a lake of considerable size it was, as 
 it is nearly 200 miles in length. This lake is known as 
 Chott Melghir. The Oued Ghir, or Ghir River, is a 
 stream similar to the Oued Biskra, and along its course 
 are several chotts^ or lakes, which it connects with the 
 great one. The water of these lakes is strongly impreg- 
 nated with salt, and that of the largest, Chott Melghir, is 
 more salt than the sea. There are a few springs of sweet 
 water along the route usually traveled, but in most places 
 
46 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 water is obtained from artesian wells made by the 
 French. In nearly every instance the water thus obtained 
 nourishes a small oasis, which either existed before in a 
 partially dried up condition, or has been wholly created 
 as a product of the wells. 
 
 " In the middle of the afternoon, or perhaps a little 
 past the middle, we came near one of the little lakes of 
 the Oued Ghir, and saw with our glasses that it abounded 
 with ducks, flamingoes, and other aquatic birds. Harry 
 suggested that it would be well to encamp in that neigh- 
 borhood, and thus have a chance at duck shooting. The 
 doctor consented, and after a consultation with Renaud 
 it was arranged that camp would be formed a mile or two 
 further on, and Harry and I could start off immediately 
 on our horses, accompanied by an Arab on foot, to try 
 our hands at duck shooting. 
 
 " With great alacrity, Harry got out the shotguns, and we 
 started off ; when we were about half a mile away from 
 the lake I suggested that we load our guns, as the birds 
 might possibly rise and fly over us. As I said so, a blank 
 and pained look came over Harry's face, and I asked : — 
 
 " ' What's the matter, Harry? ' 
 
 '''I declare,' he answered, 'I've forgotten the car- 
 tridges.' 
 
 " 'We can't shoot ducks without cartridges,' I suggested. 
 ' We might scare them and make them fly somewhere 
 else, but that's all.' 
 
 " ' Hold on a bit,' said Harry. ' I'll ride back and get 
 them ; as I forgot them, it's my business to get the car- 
 tridges here as soon as possible.' 
 
SALT LAKES OF THE DESERT. 47 
 
 *' Harry rode at a gallop, and in due time (he was gone 
 about an hour) he came back with a good supply of 
 ammunition. We rode as near the edge of the lake as we 
 dared, and then, leaving the horses in care of the Arab, 
 we went on foot, — no, not exactly on foot, but on all fours, 
 and also on our bellies. There was a fine flock of ducks 
 feeding close to the shore, and we managed to get within 
 easy range of them, but we had a long and disagreeable 
 crawl to do so. 
 
 "We were side by side and not more than four feet 
 apart when Harry whispered to me to get ready. 
 
 '* ' You aim a little to the right of the center of the 
 group,' whispered Harry, ' and I'll aim in the same way 
 towards the left. That will give us the best chance of 
 bagging something.' 
 
 *' ' All right,' I answered ; * give the word.' 
 
 *' * Fire ! ' said Harry, still in a whisper, and our guns 
 banged away. 
 
 " ' Give 'em the other barrel as they rise,' said Harry, 
 suiting the action to the word, and I followed him. 
 
 *' We had to be our own retrievers ; we stripped off our 
 clothing, dashed into the water, and managed to collect 
 altogether six of the birds of the pin-tail variety. I do 
 not think that the water anywhere was more than a few 
 inches above our knees, so that we ran no risk. Harry 
 suggested that possibly there might be alligators in the 
 lake. I answered that I had never heard of alligators in 
 that section, but all the same I quickened my pace in 
 returning to the shore, and so did Harry. 
 
 **The ducks were in good condition and served us 
 
48 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 admirably for supper and breakfast. The pin-tail duck is 
 not the best of his kind, but the doctor remarked that he 
 was vastly better than no duck at all. 
 
 " ' In other words,' added the doctor, ' he beats nothinsr 
 all out of sight.' 
 
 "From hunting we naturally turned our attention to 
 fishing, and a fishing excursion in the lake was suggested. 
 I asked Renaud if the fishing was good in Chott Melghir, 
 or in the smaller chotts. 
 
 '^ ' Oh, yes, ze fishing be very good ; but zer be no fish. 
 You fish and fish all ze da', but zer is nothing for you to 
 catch.' 
 
 "Then he explained that there were no fish in the 
 chotts, the water being too brackish for them. He said 
 that in places where springs of pure water abounded 
 small fish were abundant, but nobody seemed to care for 
 them ; they never grow to a respectable size, and when 
 cooked are decidedly tasteless. 
 
 " By the time our duck hunt was finished and we had 
 returned the camp had been formed, and when our supper 
 was announced we were quite ready for it. All retired 
 early, as everybody was tired and ready for sleep. We 
 had hardty settled down to our rest, and I don't think I 
 had fairly closed my eyes, when I was aroused by an 
 unearthly howl ; it seemed to me to be close to the camp, 
 and was something between the wailing of a baby and 
 the howl of a dog. I sprang up, and up came Harry at 
 the same moment. The light had been extinguished, but 
 we could make out each other's forms against the canvas 
 of the tent. 
 
SALT LAKES OF THE DESERT. 49 
 
 *' * What's that terrible noise?' I said to Harry. 
 
 '' * I don't know, I'm sure,' he answered. 
 
 '' We talked in a whisper, as we did not wish to disturb 
 the doctor, who appeared to be sound asleep ; but he 
 wasn't asleep at all, as the sequel proved. At our question 
 and reply, he spoke, without moving from his place, and 
 said : — 
 
 "'That's all right, boys, nothing but jackals. Lie 
 down and go to sleep.' 
 
 " 'Thank you,' I answered; Harry echoed my words, 
 and we nestled down again into our beds. 
 
 "But we did not go to sleep immediately; the noise 
 continued, and it grew worse and worse ; it seemed to me 
 as if half of the jackals in Algeria had gathered there to 
 serenade us. I guessed that there were twenty of them, 
 at least, but would have been more inclined to place the 
 number at fifty than at twenty. Renaud told us the next 
 day that there were no more than two of them, and the 
 chances were even that it was only a solitary jackal w^hich 
 had made all the disturbance. 
 
 "The jackal abounds in nearly all parts of the Sahara, 
 and how he lives is a mystery. He hangs around the 
 camps of the caravans, and when a caravan is on the 
 march there is usually a small troup of jackals following 
 it to pick up any extra trifle which is eatable. Very little 
 comes amiss to the jackal ; he is fond of fresh steaks and 
 chops, but an old boot or shoe is acceptable, and he fre- 
 quently steals a man's boots from under his head at night, 
 if they have been so placed that they can be easily taken 
 away. For that reason, one wants to place his boots along 
 
50 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 with his day clothing in the bag at the end of his bed, so 
 that the unwelcome visitor will have to make a great deal 
 of disturbance before being able to secure anything. If a 
 horse or camel falls and dies in the desert the jackals 
 seem to spring out of the ground, or drop from the skies, 
 for the purpose of devouring the unfortunate animal. 
 They even begin their work upon him before he is fairly 
 dead, though they generally wait until life is extinct before 
 proceeding to tear his flesh. They gather in such numbers 
 that the bones of the unfortunate beast are picked clean in 
 a very few hours. If he has the opportunity to do so, 
 the jackal gorges himself to such a degree that he needs 
 no food for several days to come. 
 
 *'An hour or so before daylight the noise suddenly 
 came to an end, and there was a lively stamping, and 
 squealing, and tugging at their tethers on the part of our 
 horses, and also a commotion among the camels. The 
 whole camp was aroused ; all three of us were awake, 
 and, slipping on our clothes, we hastily came out of our 
 tent to ascertain the cause of the trouble. The first man 
 we encountered was Renaud, who was trying to soothe our 
 horses, that were evidently very greatly alarmed. We 
 asked him what was the matter, and he answered : — 
 
 ** 'A Hon! a lion!' 
 
 *' Immediately we went to get our rifles, determined to 
 give a warm reception to any lion that dared to enter the 
 camp. I remarked to the doctor that it would be just as 
 well for the lion to remain where he was. 
 
 "* There's little danger of his coming into the camp,' 
 said the doctor, ' now that we're up and about. He will 
 
SALT LAKES OF THE DESERT. 5 1 
 
 see us long before we can see him, and will be pretty sure 
 to keep out of danger. He has been looking out for a 
 chance to jump on one of the horses when everything was 
 quiet. No men were visible, and he drove the jackals 
 away as he crept near us ; that is what caused the noise to 
 cease.' 
 
 ** ' Then the howling of the jackal is an assurance that 
 no danger is near ; is it not? ' questioned Harry. 
 
 *''Yes, that's so,' said the doctor; 'as long as you 
 hear the howl of the jackal you may be sure that there 
 are no lions about.' 
 
 " ' I remember now,' said Harry, ' that travelers on the 
 western plains of the United States regard the wolves as 
 their friends, in spite of the depredations they commit. 
 Wolves come near the camps and howl all night, and as 
 long as the howling is kept up the travelers know that 
 there are no Indians about, but if it stops, it indicates that 
 redskins are prowling around the camp, and puts the 
 white men on their guard. Evidently the jackals are 
 first cousins of the American wolves, and serve the 
 traveler in the same way.' 
 
 '''You're quite right,' said the doctor; 'the jackals 
 here take the place of the American coyotes, and their 
 manners and habits are very much the same. But keep a 
 sharp eye out ; I don't believe the lion has gone away from 
 us; he will keep up his watch as long as there is any 
 chance of making anything by it.' 
 
 " We were encamped on a little slope of ground, so that 
 the ridge lay between us and the eastern horizon ; at the 
 doctor's suggestion, we spread out about one hundred yards 
 
52 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 apart, so as to keep the ridge in view, in the hope that the 
 Hon would pass along it and thus give us a shot at him 
 about the time daylight appeared. He was an accommo- 
 dating lion and did just what we wanted. When the first 
 light was breaking in the eastern skies, the beast, in mak- 
 ing a circuit around the camp, crawled along the top of 
 the ridge, and the keen eyes of the doctor caught his 
 outline defined against the horizon. Calculating his dis- 
 tance as well as he could, he took careful aim and fired. 
 There was a loud roar, and then all was silent. 
 
 " Harry and I quickly came to where the doctor stood. 
 Of course we suggested that we would go immediately 
 and ascertain the result of the shot. 
 
 " * Wait a moment,' said the doctor; 'don't be too 
 hasty. A dead lion sometimes comes to life again and 
 makes ugly work of his assailants ; it is too dark yet to 
 make anything out with certainty. We'll wait for day- 
 light before we make an investigation. Meantime take 
 your places again ; there may be a chance for another 
 shot.' 
 
 . *' ' We went back to our places and resumed our vigil. 
 Daylight was a long time coming ; it seemed to me that it 
 was never so tardy in its movements. It came at last and 
 gave us cause for rejoicing. On the crest of the ridge 
 we could make out the form of the lion lying there, 
 apparently dead. Renaud offered to go and see if the 
 creature was really dead ; provided the doctor would lend 
 him a rifle, which,- of course, he readily did. 
 
 " Renaud cocked the weapon and went forward slowly 
 and cautiously. He said he had hunted the lion in the 
 
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SALT LAKES OF THE DESERT. 53 
 
 regions of the Atlas Mountains, and found him to be a 
 beast whom no man could trust. 
 
 '' * He will lie apparently dead,' said Renaud, ' and 
 when you go up to him and prod him with the end of 
 your rifle he springs up, gives a loud roar, and jumps 
 upon you. He's never to be trusted, and when you 
 approach a dead lion you should never be in a hurry.' 
 
 '* Renaud asked two or three of the Arabs to go with 
 him, but they all declined, saying that they had to attend 
 to their animals, or do some other pressing work. So he 
 went alone and found, on reaching the beast, that he was 
 quite dead, the bullet having gone through his heart. We 
 took the skin of the lion and preserved it as a trophy, 
 leaving the flesh to the jackals. Renaud said that he had 
 eaten lion steaks, and they w^ere very good when you 
 could get no other kind of meat. 
 
 *'The lion does not properly belong to the Sahara 
 Desert. He inhabits the territory north of the Atlas 
 Mountains, and was quite numerous there at one time, as 
 mentioned in the first chapter of this volume. He wanders 
 occasionally into the northern part of the Sahara Desert, 
 but whether he does so from a desire to see more of the 
 world, or to satisfy his hunger, no one can say positively. 
 If for the latter reason, he would do better to stay in the 
 Tell, as the country there is more densely populated, and 
 there are flocks of sheep and herds of cattle, not to men- 
 tion pigs and chickens, on which he can live very com- 
 fortably. He commits depredations on the farms of the 
 Arabs and French settlers, and is regarded as a great 
 nuisance. The French Government used to pay, and still 
 
54 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 pays, a bounty on his head, provided he is killed within 
 the limits of the colony. He has been pursued so vigor- 
 ously that his numbers have greatly diminished, and there 
 is consequently much less complaint of his depredations. 
 
 " The Arabs entrap the lion after a way of their own, 
 which used to be very effective. In fact, they have several 
 ways of trapping the beast. One of the most popular of 
 these is to make two circles of stout stakes, one within 
 the other. In the space enclosed by the inner circle of 
 stakes a kid or goat is fastened. There is no gate through 
 the inner circle, but there is through the outer one, and it 
 opens inwardly. 
 
 "The lion is attracted by the bleating of the goat, and 
 after approaching the circle and making sure that there 
 are no men in the vicinity, he passes through the gate. 
 The space between the rows of stakes is just enough to 
 admit him comfortably. He enters and passes around 
 the circle, and when he comes to the gate he pushes 
 against it and closes it. The gate has a self-acting latch 
 and when closed it fastens itself. By the time the lion 
 passes twice around the circle he discovers that he has 
 been trapped. He makes desperate efforts to escape, but 
 the trap is so constructed that escape is impossible. He 
 gives vent to his rage by terrific howling, thereby notify- 
 ing the Arabs of his capture. They come with spears, 
 and after reviling him as a thief, a coward, and every- 
 thing else that is bad, they thrust their weapons through 
 the outer paling and despatch him. If lions are numerous 
 they remove the carcass at once and set the trap again. 
 
 ** Another mode of trapping lions is to dig a deep hole 
 
SALT LAKES OF THE DESERT. 55 
 
 in the ground, and set in the bottom of it a row of stakes 
 with sharp points sticking upwards. The hole is ten or 
 twelve feet square, and about eight feet deep ; it is 
 covered with a light layer of bushes and reeds and 
 a kid is fastened in the center of the coverincr. The 
 covering around the center where the kid is tied is suffi- 
 ciently strong to support the little creature, but no 
 stronger. The lion is attracted as in the other case. 
 When within a dozen feet or so he makes a sudden spring, 
 crashes through the covering of the pit, and goes down 
 upon the sharp stakes ready to receive him. He is usually 
 impaled by them, but if not impaled, it is impossible for 
 him to escape, and death speedily follows his discovery by 
 the Arabs. 
 
 *' There was no use in our going to bed again, for the 
 reason that it was very near our usual time of rising, and 
 even had we gone to bed the excitement of the morning 
 would have prevented us from getting a wink of sleep. 
 So we told Renaud to hurry up matters as much as he 
 could and we would get away from camp in good season. 
 We breakfasted on the ducks which were left over 
 from supper, together with a cup of coffee, some hard 
 bread, and some dates, and were under way quite early. 
 
 " On this day we came among the sand hills, the first 
 of them being quite steep, and leading the way over a 
 table-land to the lower ground near the chotts. The air 
 of midday was very hot, but the heat was tempered by a 
 cooling wind blowing from the surface of the lakes. 
 Harry and I were very much interested in the sand hills, 
 which were unlike anything we had before seen. They 
 
56 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 are great mounds of sand, resembling immense hay- 
 stacks, such as you see in the farmer's field in the sum- 
 mer-time, except that their sides were more sloping, and 
 were blown by the winds into the shape in which we 
 found them. They are not very close together as we first 
 enter their region, but are more thickly formed as the 
 traveler goes further south. They are an impressive 
 sight when one first beholds them, but get very tiresome 
 as time and the traveler go on. 
 
 "We made our noonday halt at a little oasis contain- 
 ing about a dozen palms and a small spring of water. 
 Our horses were eager to reach the spring and seemed to 
 scent the water a good mile away. Harry's horse and 
 mine had a kicking match as we neared the spring, and a 
 match that was very inconvenient for us, as both were in 
 the saddle at the time. The horses let out freely with their 
 hind feet, and it was a wonder that both of us escaped 
 injury from their heels. The quarrel did not last long, as 
 we used our best efforts to get the animals away from each 
 other as soon as possible. We punished them by com- 
 pelling them to wait for water until all the other animals 
 had had their fill, but whether our moral instruction had 
 any effect on them I am unable to say. 
 
 "While riding along the road in the afternoon I got 
 into conversation with one of our Arabs, who spoke about 
 as much French as I did of Arabic, and in the combined 
 languages we managed to get on very well. Somehow 
 the talk drifted around to the Arab's ability to tell false- 
 hoods, and I asked him how he accounted for it. His 
 answer, which I will render into commonplace English, in- 
 
SALT LAKES OF THE DESERT. 57 
 
 stead of the polyglot in which he gave it, was about as 
 follows : — 
 
 " ' A very long time ago the Father of All Evil came to 
 the earth with nine bagfuls of lies. There had never been 
 any lying before in the world, as nobody knew how to 
 speak anything but the truth. He scattered one bagful 
 over Asia, and in the evening came to Suez, intending to 
 go the next day into Africa, and after that into Europe. 
 While he slept that night the Arabs stole and divided 
 among themselves the contents of the other eight bags, and 
 that is why they're such awful liars as you find them.' 
 
 "I told him that there were people in Europe and 
 America who did not always tell the truth, and asked him 
 how he accounted for that, if His Satanic Majesty had lost 
 all his stock in trade in the manner described." 
 
 *' ' Oh,' he answered, 'there have been a good many 
 Europeans and Americans traveling in Arabian countries ; 
 they must have picked up the habit, and taken it home 
 with them.' 
 
 *'I thought he was becoming sarcastic and therefore 
 changed the subject. 
 
 " We spent a night at Maghais, which is a village built 
 of sundried bricks and surrounded by a mud wall. There 
 is a large oasis of date palms close to it, and we camped at 
 the edge of the oasis and close to the village. The sheikh 
 of the village, on learning of our arrival, sent to invite us 
 to spend the night at his house, but as we would be quite 
 as comfortable in our tent as in his dwelling, and moreover 
 wished to be with our people and animals, we declined his 
 invitation. 
 
58 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 *' Harry and I wanted to accept it, out of curiosity, but 
 the doctor said that we would have plenty to satisfy our 
 longings in that direction. If we had stayed with the sheikh 
 he would have shown us every hospitality that his house 
 could afford, and treated us as guests or visitors. When 
 we left in the morning he would have expected a present, 
 as a matter of course, but would not demand it." 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 PHENOMENA OF THE DESERT ARAB HORSES. 
 
 THE party made a good start from their camp on the 
 following morning, much to the satisfaction of the 
 doctor and his young companions. During the forenoon 
 Ned saw with his telescope some flocks of ducks resting 
 in the water of a chott off to the left of their route ; of 
 course the youths wanted to go in pursuit of them, but the 
 doctor put a veto on their proposal, saying that it was too 
 near the middle of the day to make any violent exertion, 
 and also somewhat hazardous to stray from the line of 
 march at that pardcular time. Furthermore, the ground 
 between them and the lake was sandy and progress over 
 it would be very slow, and, also, very severe upon the 
 horses. 
 
 The idea of the duck hunt was, therefore, abandoned, 
 and the line of march was not broken. 
 
 The caravan halted a little past noon on the edge of a 
 pond which looked very inviting, but the water proved to 
 be too brackish to be palatable, at least, for men, aUhough 
 the camels and horses did not hesitate to drink it. 
 
 "We came in sight of this pond," said Harry in his 
 note book, " from a high sand hill, and very pretty did it 
 appear, surrounded as it is by the desert sands in every 
 direction, The banks of the pond are fringed with rusnes 
 
 59 
 
6o IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 of a brilliant green color, and nearly one half of its surface 
 is covered by aquatic plants. I am inclined to believe that 
 the rich green of the vegetation is partly due to the con- 
 trast of the surroundings. If the pond were placed in the 
 middle of a grass-covered prairie it would have appeared 
 far less brilliant than we found it. Renaud told us that 
 the Arabs call it "The Diamond in the Desert," and I 
 can readily understand why they gave it this fanciful 
 name." 
 
 So inviting was the scene that our friends were unwill- 
 ing to leave it, but the rules of travel required them to do 
 so when the time of their halt had expired. The horses 
 had improved the opportunity to refresh themselves 
 wherever they could find grass for doing so, as they 
 greatly preferred this article of food to dried barley. The 
 camels, on the contrary, did not care particularly for grass 
 and continued to browse on the bushes which overspread 
 the ground here and there as if struggling for existence. 
 
 During the day several small oases were passed, and 
 one of considerable size, called Ourlana, whose existence 
 is largely dependent on an artesian well which has 
 steadily poured out a large volume of water ever since it 
 was bored. There was a village on the side of the oasis, 
 but our friends did not stop there, as it was too early in the 
 day to form camp. They pushed on several miles further 
 to Tamerna, where there is a good-sized village built of 
 mud, like most of the villages in this part of the country. 
 Renaud told the youths that they would find in the center 
 of the village the ruins of a building of cut stone which 
 was supposed to date from the time of the Romans, 
 
t i 
 
 PHENOMENA OF THE DESERT. 6l 
 
 When the camp was formed and the camels had been 
 reHeved of their loads, Ned and Harry rode into the vil- 
 lage to inspect the ruin. They found, as Renaud had told 
 them, that it was constructed of hewn stone and must have 
 been an imposing edifice when it was completed. It was 
 circular in form and rested on arcades, and certainly 
 everything about it indicated that it was very old. 
 
 I wonder what the natives say about it," said Harry, 
 
 or if they have any traditions as to its origin." 
 
 We must ask Renaud about it when we get back to 
 camp," answered Ned; " he may be able to tell us some- 
 th'incr about it." 
 
 It was acjreed that Renaud should be consulted on this 
 point, and with this understanding the boys, after a careful 
 inspection of the village, rode back to their camping 
 place. 
 
 In reply to their questions Renaud said that he had in- 
 terrogated the natives frequently, but could never learn 
 anything from them. 
 
 " They say it's old, very old, and that's all they know 
 about it." 
 
 Ned and Harry fell to wondering how far the Romans 
 had pushed their conquest into Africa, and when they sat 
 down to dinner they questioned the doctor on the subject. 
 
 '' I'm unable to tell you exactly on that point," the doc- 
 tor answered. " Roman remains are found in this part of 
 Africa, two or three hundred miles from the coast, and 
 sometimes at greater distances. The indications are that 
 the country, two thousand years ago, was more productive 
 than it is now, — that is, there was a much larger supply 
 
62 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 of water, and consequently more fertility than there is to- 
 day. Many dried up oases are scattered about and a 
 goodly number of them have been dried up for a very long 
 time. You have seen enough to convince you that water 
 is everything, and without it no living thing can exist. 
 
 " With an abundance of water, every part of the desert, 
 with the exception of places covered by shifting sands, 
 could be made fertile, and a great many projects have been 
 formed for supplying it. It has been proposed to make 
 tunnels at certain places in the hills and mountains, and 
 bring into the desert rivers which now flow into the 
 Mediterranean, but the volume of these rivers is so small 
 that it would not reclaim a sufficient amount of soil to pay 
 the cost of making the tunnels. Another plan has been to 
 cut a canal from the Mediterranean at the Gulf of Gabes, 
 to let in the water and flood the desert in the portion that 
 is below the level of the sea." 
 
 *'I should think," Harry interposed, as the doctor 
 paused, "that the formation of the lake would destroy a 
 good many oases that now exist, would it not?" 
 
 ** Certainly it would," was the reply. *' A great area 
 on which there are productive oases would be flooded, 
 some of it to the depth of three hundred feet. And prob- 
 ably the fertility caused by the admission of the water 
 would not be much greater, if any, than the amount de- 
 stroyed." 
 
 *' I've read something about that," said Ned. *'The 
 proposition to flood the low-lying part of the Sahara was 
 made about thirty years ago. The objections to it were 
 the great cost and the doubtfulness of the advantages of 
 
PHENOMENA OF THE DESERT. 6^ 
 
 the work. It was also feared that the creation of a lake 
 here in Africa would change the climate of Southern 
 France, and make it as cold as Paris, and possibly Berlin. 
 The Riviera, as the southern coast of France is called, is 
 warm at all seasons of the year. It is too warm there in 
 summer for comfortable residence, but the warmth makes 
 the vegetation push with great vigor. The ground is very 
 fruitful and fertile, and produces abundantly. The win- 
 ter climate is delicious, and many thousands of people go 
 there in the winter for health, comfort, or pleasure. With 
 a lake created here, the dry and warm winds that blow 
 over the Mediterranean would be moistened and chilled, 
 and the Riviera would lose its charms, — at least, such is 
 the fear, and I don't believe the French will be in any hurrv 
 to create that lake." 
 
 '' No more do I," said the doctor; *' it will be many a 
 long year before they undertake it. If we had a lake here 
 now it might be convenient for us, as we could load our 
 entire train on boats and navigate a considerable distance 
 on our way to the south." 
 
 This closed the dialogue on the subject. The rest of 
 the evening was passed in a disjointed conversation, of 
 which we have no record. The sleepers were not dis- 
 turbed either by jackals or lions during the night, nor did 
 the villagers intrude themselves upon the notice of the 
 strangers. 
 
 The next day's march was a trying one for the horses, 
 as the sands were more loose and shifting than any that 
 the travelers had yet encountered. The camels got along 
 much more easily than the horses, as their feet are 
 
64 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 adapted to traveling in loose sands. The camel's foot Is a 
 somewhat ill-shapen mass of spongy material, with claws 
 or toes upon it which seem to be set very carelessly in the 
 soft material. When lifted in the air the foot collapses, 
 and somewhat resembles a closed fist. When it goes down 
 upon the ground it spreads and covers a considerable sur- 
 face. A novice, looking at the foot, would be justified in 
 believing that it would go to pieces in the next hour or 
 two, but it doesn't do anything of the sort ; it goes on and 
 on, and by spreading out it supports its owner to some 
 extent on the surface of the sand, where the small and 
 hard hoof of the horse sinks into it. Thus it is that camels 
 walk with ease where horses go with great difficulty. 
 
 Both the youths tried to get on amiable terms with their 
 steeds, but they found that the animals were not inclined 
 to form new friendships very easily. Harry talked to his 
 horse, telling him that he ought to be proud of being an 
 Arab steed, which was reputed to be the finest kind of 
 horse in the world. 
 
 '' You are not," said Harry, " the sort that we see in 
 pictures, bounding over the ground with a white-clad rider 
 on your back, and going faster than the wind can blow, 
 and the pictures of Arabian steeds that we have in books, 
 do not resemble you one bit. But never mind a trifle 
 like that ; vou're an Arabian horse nevertheless, and we'll 
 take good care of you as long as you take good care of 
 us." 
 
 The horse responded to these endearments by endeavor- 
 ing to lie down and roll his young rider in the sand, but 
 the latter pulled on the bridle, and in other ways convinced 
 
PHENOMENA OF THE DESERT. 65 
 
 the animal that it was not the proper place just then for 
 lying down. 
 
 In the deepest sands Harry and Ned dismounted, and 
 in trying to walk they realized what laborious work it was 
 for their poor steeds. The doctor suggested that after 
 leaving Tuggurt they would alternate between horses and 
 camels, and when they next moved out of camp they 
 would have saddles placed on the camels and be ready to 
 occupy them when necessary. 
 
 In the afternoon, on rising to the crest of a sand ridge, 
 they beheld Tuggurt standing out conspicuously on the 
 brow of a hill, its domes and turrets forming a marked 
 contrast to the deep green of the mass of palm trees be- 
 yond it. As before stated, the oasis of Tuggurt contains 
 four hundred thousand date palms, and a considerable 
 area is occupied by gardens. These gardens produce 
 three crops a year of pumpkins, melons, carrots, beans, 
 lentils, beets, and similar products of the soil. Great 
 attention is given to their cultivation, and the abundance 
 of never-failing water with which the place is supplied 
 makes the gardens a sure reliance for their owners. 
 
 The horses and camels of our friends' caravan seemed 
 to realize that they were approaching a resting place w^hen 
 they neared the white walls of Tuggurt. Ned declared 
 that his horse pricked up his ears and looked wistfully 
 towards the gate, and his actions were imitated by the 
 other horses. All three of them quickened their steps, and 
 the camels did likewise, but whether they were simply 
 following the example of the horses or were acting on 
 their own account the youths were unable to determine. 
 
66 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 The doctor suggested that the animals were probably in- 
 cited by the smell of the good things abounding in the 
 oasis, and also that they had quite likely been there before 
 and were reviving their recollections. Ned asked Yusef's 
 opinion on the subject, but the wily Arab was decidedly 
 non-committal in his answer. 
 
 Renaud took the camels to the camping ground outside 
 the town, and close to the edge of the oasis, while the three 
 travelers passed through the gateway, and entered within 
 the walls. There was quite a crowd at the gate, and Ned 
 remarked that it was a very mixed one. He was unable 
 to classify the various people with exactness, but noticed 
 that the faces of the Arabs were generally of a darker hue 
 than those he had seen in the regions north of the Atlas 
 Mountains. This state of affairs was natural enough, in 
 view of the higher temperature of the Sahara and the 
 blinding and dazzling rays of the desert sun. There were 
 negroes, Jews, and other varieties of people, and their 
 costumes were, on the whole, made up of brighter colors 
 than those of Biskra or Constantine. 
 
 Immediately after entering the gate the party passed 
 through the market-place, which was at that time deserted ; 
 going there the nex*t morning, they found it full of people 
 who seemed to be actively engaged in doing very little. 
 Merchandise was piled on the ground, and many of the 
 stocks in trade were very small. 
 
 *' There were negro and Arab women," Ned wrote in 
 his journal, "sitting behind little piles of cucumbers, 
 melons, carrots, and other vegetables whose e^^'^p value 
 could not have been more than twenty-hve cents. The^ 
 
PHENOMENA OF THE DESERT. 6*] 
 
 seemed indifferent as to whether they made a trade or not, 
 and if they sold out their entire stock they were supremely 
 happy. Harry and I went to the market, accompanied by 
 Yusef, partly out of curiosity, and partly with the inten- 
 tion of buying some carrots for our horses. We found the 
 merchandise that we wanted, and, for a franc, sent Yusef 
 back to camp with as many carrots as he could carry. We 
 were told that the prices of commodities are usually left to 
 the dealers, but whenever any large caravans arrive, and es- 
 pecially a military detachment, the natives take advantage 
 of the circumstances and demand exorbitant prices ; then the 
 government steps in, regulates the tariff, and placards it 
 everywhere in French and Arabic. The prices fixed by the 
 government are a trifle higher than the ordinary rates, and 
 thus everybody is satisfied ; or, at any rate, the purchaser 
 is and the seller is obliged to be." 
 
 ''Tuggurt has a population of about seven thousand 
 natives," continued Ned, "but only a few dozen of for- 
 eigners, exclusive of the military garrison, which usually 
 consists of about two hundred men. The officers are 
 almost invariably French, and most of them have one or 
 two French soldiers as personal servants. The rank and 
 file of the garrison consist of Turcos and Spahis, who 
 are recruited from among the natives of the northern part 
 of Algeria. 
 
 "The different varieties of inhabitants in Tuggurt 
 have their own particular quarters in the city. There is 
 an Arab quarter, a Jewish quarter, and a negro quarter, 
 and some of these are again sub-divided. There is a 
 large colony of Hebrews which has been there for hun- 
 
68 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 dreds of years ; its members are famous throughout the 
 Sahara as the best jewelers and workers of gold and 
 silver. We visited their workshops and found them so 
 numerous as to occupy two or three streets. 
 
 *' Their mode of working is very primiti^ve, and, in 
 view of the tools they use, the products they turn out are 
 really marvelous. A few pliers and other things known 
 everywhere to the jeweler suffice for manipulation. 
 Each shop has its furnace, which is generally a box 
 twelve or fifteen inches square, filled with earth, having 
 two stones placed upon it. On one side is the fire, and 
 on the other the bellows that keeps up the blaze. The 
 bellows consists of a goatskin with the legs tied tight and 
 the head inserted between the stones. The hinder part 
 of the goatskin is open, and by means of two sticks 
 which are attached to it a boy manipulates the bellows 
 and keeps up a respectable blaze. 
 
 "The jewelers seemed quite indifferent as to whether 
 we bought anything or not, and some of them kept on at 
 their work, not attempting to show their goods or even 
 deigning to look at us. We went to their synagogue, 
 which was a tumble-down sort of a building, just back of 
 their quarter of the city. Service was going on at the 
 time, and seemed to be a very perfunctory sort of busi- 
 ness. Evidently there is not much education among 
 these Hebrews of Tuggurt, as very few of them speak 
 anything but Arabic, and most of their rabbis do not 
 understand the Hebrew that they read in the service ; 
 they go through it by rote, just as a parrot goes through 
 the sentences that he utters. 
 
PHENOMENA OF THE DESERT. 69 
 
 *' In another part of the city there is a small colony or 
 sect of sixty or seventy families, whose features are 
 entirely Jewish. They have light complexions, and in 
 many cases blonde hair, but, instead of adhering to the 
 old Jewish religion, they are all Moslems, and devout 
 ones, too. They are said to be Hebrews who settled here 
 hundreds of years ago, and adopted the Moslem religion, 
 with the Koran as their Bible. They are not very clear 
 as to their history, but claim that they came here long 
 before the people who inhabit the Jewish quarter. They 
 never intermarry with any other sect, tribe, or people, 
 and never show an inclination to wander about the coun- 
 try. They are known as the Beni Mansour, and, taken 
 for all in all, they are a singular people." 
 
 The travelers decided to remain a few days at Tuggurt, 
 partly to rest the animals, as well as themselves, and, 
 partly for completing their stock of supplies, in view of 
 the long and hard journey they had before them. Dur- 
 ing their halt the youths looked about the city and the 
 surrounding regions, and diligently kept up their jour- 
 nals. 
 
 They visited the principal mosques of Tuggurt, and 
 Ned made note that there were twenty mosques in all, 
 some of them well preserved, and some in a very ruinous 
 condition. One of these which was tottering to decay has 
 a sad history. It belonged to the Mozabites, a tribe of 
 enterprising and peace-loving people of whom we shall 
 have more to say. The Mozabites at one time occupied a 
 third of the city of Tuggurt, and the principal commercial 
 business of the place was in their hands. All the other 
 
70 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 Arabs hated them and their branch of the Moslem reH- 
 gion. A httle less than two hundred years ago a con- 
 spiracy was formed against the Mozabites, and one day, 
 while they were worshipping in their mosques and were 
 without arms, the others fell upon them and slaughtered 
 them down to the last man. Since that time no Mozabite 
 has lived in Tuggurt, and the mosque where this people 
 once worshipped has fallen to decay. 
 
 The youths visited the Great Mosque, which is on one 
 side of the square, and is a handsome stone building with a 
 tall tower distinct from the building itself. A curious orna- 
 ment of the building is a large German clock which stands 
 by the side of the pulpit and has Arabic figures on its 
 dial plate. The dome is handsomely ornamented and the 
 interior of the building is a line specimen of tile work. 
 Our friends were considerably surprised to find such a 
 handsome building so far in the desert, and still more 
 surprised to find that portions of it are supposed to be 
 more than one thousand years old. 
 
 The extent of the oasis and the great number of date 
 palms in it give it an enormous production of dates. Great 
 quantities of these are consumed in Tuggurt and the sur- 
 rounding regions ; what is left after the local demand is 
 satisfied is shipped to more distant markets. Part of the 
 exportation is by camels in the direction of Tunis, while 
 the rest go to Phillipville, whence they are shipped to 
 Marseilles and other Mediterranean ports. The French 
 Government talks of, pushing the railway further into the 
 desert, and if this should be done it will not be many 
 years before it reaches Tuggurt ; then there will be a great 
 
PHENOMENA OF THE DESERT. 7 1 
 
 demand for the dates of the Sahara, which are among 
 the best in the world. 
 
 There are a good many marshes and small lakes around 
 Tuggurt, and they are generally swarming with aquatic 
 birds of various kinds. Ned and Harry went out on a 
 shooting expedition, but found the birds so wary that they 
 failed to bag anything. They wondered at the shyness of 
 these birds as compared with the tameness of the ducks 
 that they shot, as already mentioned, until Ned happened 
 to think that probably the French officers were fond of 
 hunting and kept the inhabitants of the neighboring lakes 
 and marshes in a constant state of watchfulness. 
 
 Harry dropped on a bit of information which struck him 
 as rather curious. While walking through the market, 
 one day, accompanied by Renaud, the latter called his 
 attention to the carcasses of dogs, neatly skinned and 
 dressed, and hung up for sale. 
 
 "Surely those can't be dogs," said Harry, "as the 
 Moslems consider the dog an unclean beast and wouldn't 
 eat him. " 
 
 " I don't know who eats this meat," said Renaud, " but 
 one thing is certain, and that is, they fatten dogs here just 
 as they might fatten sheep or pigs, and sell them in the 
 market. I've known Frenchmen to eat them as a substi- 
 tute for mutton, which is very scarce and dear all through 
 this country. I've been told that the Mozabites ate dogs ; 
 an3^way, they are not as straight-laced as the ordinary 
 Moslems, and perhaps it was on that account that they 
 were slaughtered in their mosque, which you know- 
 about. " 
 
72 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 Ned made some observations in regard to the water 
 supply through the region of which Tuggurt is the center. 
 In regard to it, he wrote as follows : — 
 
 "There is no river and hardly a stream worthy the 
 name of brook in all the Oued Ghir district, which meas- 
 ures about one hundred miles each way. There are not 
 many natural springs, but all over it, or, rather, under it, 
 there seems to be a stratum that never fails to yield water. 
 For hundreds of years they have been obtaining water all 
 through this district on a principle almost identical with 
 that of the artesian well. The way they do it is very 
 simple ; they dig a hole in the ground about eighteen 
 inches in diameter, just large enough for one man to be 
 lowered down by means of ropes under his armpits. He 
 puts planks at the sides of the hole as he descends so as to 
 prevent the earth from falling in upon him. With a rude 
 spade in his hand he manages to dig up the earth at the 
 bottom, and shovels it into a basket to be hoisted up. 
 When he finds the soil beginning to moisten he gets ready 
 for a sudden flow of water, and a half dozen strong-armed 
 men station themselves at the top, ready to pull him up 
 rapidly when the signal comes. By and by he strikes his 
 spade down and the water gushes forth as from the hose 
 of a fire engine. As quickly as possible he is drawn to 
 the top, but so great is the rush of water that not infre- 
 quently the man is drowned before he can reach the sur- 
 face." 
 
 All preparations having been made, and three new 
 camels added to the caravan, our friends once more took 
 up their line of march to the south. Doctor Whitney was 
 
PHENOMENA OF THE DESERT. 73 
 
 true to his promise, and the new camels were equipped 
 with saddles for riding purposes. The youths found that 
 the camel saddle is materially different from the saddle 
 used on the horse, and Ned thus describes it : — 
 
 " It is a sort of dish in which you sit; there is a high 
 pommel, which is quite small as it starts from the edge of 
 the dish and enlarges as it goes upwards. It is ten or 
 twelve inches high and very convenient to hang things 
 upon, and also for the novice to hang on to. The camel 
 is made to kneel and after you get securely in your place, 
 crossing your legs around the pommel, and holdit;ig on. to 
 it, the signal is given for the beast to rise. Rising is a 
 jerky piece of business, as the camel gives a lunge for- 
 ward, then backward, then forward again, as though he 
 would shoot you out from your place. When he gets on 
 his feet you can take breath, and as long as he stands still 
 breathing is not a matter of difficulty, but when he starts 
 forward you realize painfully that you are not on the back 
 of a horse. Walking is endurable, and barely so, as it is 
 a kind of corkscrew motion, which sends you forward and 
 backward, over and over again, as long as the animal is in 
 motion. But when he quickens his pace to a trot, then — 
 Oh ! my ! 
 
 "Imagine that you are being tossed in a blanket, or 
 mounted on the back of a genuine American bucking 
 horse ; you are tossed up and down until it seems as 
 though every joint in your body was disjointed, and every 
 vertebral bone had set up for itself and made a per- 
 manent secession from the rest. We only rode our camels 
 for an hour or so on the first day, and were so stiff that 
 
74 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 night that we had hard work undressing and getting to 
 bed. But there's nothing hke being used to a thing ; the 
 Arabs spend the greater part of their Hves travehng over 
 tlie desert, and they are no more disturbed by the motion 
 of the camel than we are by that of a railway car." 
 
 The first town of consequence on the route of our 
 friends was Temacin, about fifteen miles to the southwest 
 of Tuggurt. On the way to it and not far from Tuggurt, 
 the caravan passed near a salt lake whose borders were 
 covered with a dense growth of rushes and other aquatic 
 plants, and whose surface was well stocked with water- 
 fowl. Harry and Ned, accompanied by Yusef, renewed 
 their shooting experience at this lake, and with better 
 success than at Tuggurt, as they brought in four ducks, 
 which were fat and plump and made an excellent dinner 
 for themselves and the doctor. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 DESERT GARDENS HUNTING THE LEOPARD AND OS- 
 TRICHES. 
 
 WHILE on the route in the afternoon, our friends 
 met a party of some fifteen or twenty natives, who 
 were not at all prepossessing in appearance. Some were 
 on foot and some rode upon camels. Eight or ten of 
 them had matchlock or flintlock guns, and the others 
 had pistols whose butts protruded at their waists. They 
 seemed to be surveying the caravan and balancing in 
 their minds whether it was worth their while to at- 
 tack it. Evidently they did not like the appearance of 
 the breech-loading rifles carried by our friends, as they 
 went on in silence, making no demonstration either of 
 hostility or friendship. Renaud spoke to one of them, but 
 the conversation was brief. As soon as the strangers had 
 passed, Ned asked Renaud who and what they were. 
 
 "They are Chaamba," said Renaud, with an angry 
 toss of his head in their direction. 
 
 " And they're evidently not the kind of people we want 
 to know," said Ned. 
 
 "Yes," replied Renaud; "we don't want to know 
 them at all ; they are robbers and live by robbery or very 
 nearly so. Just now they are too near the French lines 
 to make any serious trouble, though if we had been a 
 
 75 
 
76 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 small party and unarmed, they would not have hesitated 
 about plundering us. I've been in their hands two or 
 three times, and the circumstances were such that I 
 couldn't hit back. They robbed me of everything I had 
 except the clothes on my back, and sometimes they don't 
 even leave a man anything to cover himself with. They 
 lie in wait at the side of the road, where they can conceal 
 themselves in the brushwood, and spring upon you sud- 
 denly. The man that I spoke to I recognized as one of 
 those who plundered me two or three years ago ; I don't 
 know whether he recognized me or not." 
 
 '' They don't acknowledge the French authority," con- 
 tinued Renaud, '' and the most of their depredations are 
 carried on further to the south where they are not subject to 
 the authorities of Algeria. They have sense enough to 
 know that if they invade French territorj^ and commit out- 
 rages within the lines, they would be subject to severe 
 punishment." 
 
 *' It wouldn't be very easy to punish them when they 
 haven't any fixed living places, but simply wander around 
 the desert," Ned remarked. '* The French troops sent 
 out to punish them would have a very hard time finding 
 them." 
 
 '' That's true," Renand answered, '* and, as they know 
 the desert perfectly, they have hiding places that only 
 themselves know about. When pursued they scatter in 
 all directions, and, of course, the troops can't do that. 
 The way to punish them most easily is to arrest every 
 Chaamba whenever he sets foot in French territory. They 
 like to come in to the French posts occasionally to 
 
DESERT GARDENS. 77 
 
 purchase goods of various kinds, and would feel the 
 deprivation if they were totally excluded." 
 
 The reader will perceive that we are putting Renaud's 
 language into grammatical English, instead of a very 
 broken sort which he used in conversation, and, at times, 
 was barely intelligible. Hereafter throughout this volume 
 we shall follow the same plan, with possibly a few excep- 
 tions. 
 
 The caravan halted for the night near a small oasis of 
 about one hundred palm trees. The oasis was nourished 
 by a spring of brackish water, which Harry said was 
 excellent to bathe in, but not very palatable as a beverage. 
 A village, consisting of three or four Arab families, was 
 not far from the spring, on a little knoll which overlooked 
 the tillable ground. Ned and Harry went to the village, 
 where they succeeded in purchasing a supply of eggs, and 
 endeavored, without success, to negotiate for a pair of 
 chickens. The owners refused to part with their fowls, 
 giving as a reason for their refusal that if they sold their 
 flocks they would not have eggs to dispose of to strangers. 
 The youths accepted the argument, and expressed them- 
 selves satisfied with obtaining the eggs. 
 
 As they came away from the village Harry remarked 
 that it seemed almost universally the custom of the natives 
 to put their towns and villages on the barren ground out- 
 side of an oasis, and rarely within the limits of the palm 
 trees. 
 
 " I suppose," replied Ned, " it is because the land is so 
 valuable. They can't afford to waste a single inch of 
 ground on which anything will grow, and for this reason 
 
78 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 they reserve all of the tillable earth for the purpose of cul- 
 tivation, and build their houses, villages, and towns on the 
 barren or desert soil. They are certainly very wise in so 
 doing, in view of the high value placed upon the tillable 
 portion." 
 
 Later in the evening the subject was mentioned to 
 Renaud, who corroborated Ned's view. 
 
 "I wish," said Renaud, "that you could see some of 
 the places where the Arabs have established their gardens 
 in the region called the Souf. There's a good-sized town 
 in it, which covers a large area of ground and contains 
 altogether about live hundred houses, and there are several 
 smaller towns like it in the district. The houses are not 
 close together, as in ordinary towns, but are scattered over 
 a large area of ground, so as to bring them in the neigh- 
 borhood of the gardens that belong to their owners. The 
 place is on a level plain, and by going down from thirty to 
 eighty feet in the sand moist earth is always found, and 
 in this earth gardens and date palms are planted. As 
 you approach it you see the tops of the palm trees rising 
 above the ground, and, as you are too far away to make 
 out the gardens, you think it is an immense growth of 
 very low and thinly scattered palm trees. When you get 
 to it you wonder at the patience of the people who created 
 them." 
 
 " But how is that? " Ned asked. 
 
 "Why," replied Renaud, " eacn garden is nothing 
 more than a great hole scooped out of the ground, rarely 
 less than thirty feet deep, and sometimes more than 
 seventy ; all depending upon its position in the plain. All 
 
DESERT GARDENS. ' 79 
 
 around the place is nothing but the desert of loose sands ; 
 the walls of the pits are sloping, as they can't afford to 
 build them with cut stone, and each garden contains from 
 twenty to fifty palm trees. Among the trees fine crops of 
 carrots, turnips, melons, onions, tobacco, and other vege- 
 tables are raised, and they grow very luxuriantly, yielding 
 three excellent crops every year." 
 
 *'Is the soil moist enough to sustain the trees of the 
 gardens without watering?" queried Harry. 
 
 '' Oh, no, not by any means," was the reply, *' every 
 garden contains a well which is from twenty to forty feet 
 deep. The water of these wells is unfit to drink, as it con- 
 tains too much salt, but it answers the purposes of the 
 natives. The vegetables that I spoke of are watered every 
 day, and the palm trees twice or three times a week. 
 They draw the water from the wells in buckets made of 
 leather, and sometimes where the wells are deep they 
 make use of a long pole balanced near the center, like the 
 old-fashioned well-sweep which you have seen in America. 
 Every day attention must be paid to the watering, or the 
 gardens would dry up and be unproductive." 
 
 '' What a vast amount of work it must require to make 
 one of these gardens," Ned remarked, " and what steady 
 industry to keep up the never-failing supply of water." 
 
 *' Yes, that's true," said Renaud, '' and I haven't told 
 you all by any means." 
 
 " Why, what else can there be? " Ned asked. 
 
 "I mentioned," said Renaud, "that the place was in 
 the midst of the desert, where the shifting sands are 
 carried about by the winds. The sand is constantly 
 
8o IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 drifting according as the wind blows, and, no matter 
 which way it blows, it carries the sand over the town. 
 Every morning the owner of a garden must carefully re- 
 move all the sand that has rained in upon his place during 
 the last twenty-four hours. His watchfulness in this 
 matter must be as great as the watering of his growing 
 trees and vegetables. Let him neglect it for a few days, 
 and the garden which has caused years of work to make 
 will become again a part of the desert. 
 
 "For miles and miles around the sand is so barren 
 that no living things can exist, with the possible exception 
 of jackals and little foxes that roam among the gardens 
 and live upon birds, which are quite abundant. The 
 natives encourage the presence of the little animals which 
 are called fenneks by the Arabs ; and many of them keep 
 tame fenneks about their houses. The birds are trouble- 
 some, as they attack the dates while they are ripening, so 
 that the natives are quite willing to be deprived of their 
 society. A stranger who is fond of bird shooting is 
 always welcome there, and the more birds he gets, the 
 better the natives are pleased." 
 
 Ned asked if the fennek was found anywhere else in 
 Algeria, to which Renaud replied in the affirmative. 
 
 ''It is found in many parts of the Sahara," he con- 
 tinued, "and I wonder we haven't seen any before this. 
 Come to think of it, I did see one in a cage at Tuggurt, 
 but you were not with me at the time. However, we'll 
 be likely to run across one before long, and if you want to 
 bother yourself with a pet while traveling you can easily 
 buy one." 
 
DESERT GARDENS. 8 1 
 
 Ned was at first inclined to invest in the purchase of 
 one of these animal curiosities, but on second thought he 
 resolved that it would be injudicious thus to burden him- 
 self. He called to mind his troubles while journeying 
 once by rail in the United States, with a medium-sized 
 dog as a companion ; he said it cost him about as much for 
 the dog's traveling expenses as it did for himself, and he 
 was obliged to put himself to a great deal of inconvenience. 
 Occasionally he could smuggle the animal into the ordi- 
 nary passenger car, but as for the Pullman cars, the rules 
 against dogs being admitted were rigidly prohibitive. A 
 considerable part of the time he rode, when allowed to do 
 so, in the baggage-car, in order to give the dog the benefit 
 of his society. As he ran these things over in his mind 
 he concluded that he would not indulge just then in a 
 fennek. 
 
 About daybreak the next morning Renaud came to the 
 tent where the three travelers were sleeping, and gently 
 awoke the two youths without disturbing the doctor. 
 
 " There's a leopard out here in the oasis," he whispered, 
 " and perhaps you can shoot him." 
 
 Ned and Harry needed no second call ; the prospect of 
 bagging a leopard made them fully awake in a moment, 
 and in very little more time than it takes to say so they 
 were dressed and ready for business. 
 
 Renaud told them to take their rifles, instead of shot- 
 guns, as the leopard would require something more than 
 duck-shot to bring him down. The boys had anticipated 
 his advice by taking their rifles, and each had a dozen 
 cartridges in his pocket in case of need. 
 
82 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 They found the inhabitants of the village stirred up, and 
 some of them were at the camp indicating to Renaud the 
 point where the leopard was last seen. Renaud listened 
 patiently to the Arabs' description, and then repeated it to 
 the youths. The animal had been prowling in the oasis 
 some time during the night and made an attack upon one 
 of the chicken-houses. The noise made by the disturbed 
 chickens had aroused their owners, and as they came out of 
 their dwellings they saw the animal sneaking away among 
 the palm trees. 
 
 There was a ridge of sand at one side of the oasis ex- 
 tendingr the entire lencrth of it, and this ridij^e was hicrh 
 enough to enable a man in stooping posture to be entirely 
 hidden from view as he passed along its farther side. 
 Renaud suggested that one of the youths should take up 
 a position near the little cluster of houses, while the other, 
 accompanied by two or three Arabs, should go to the 
 farther side of the oasis, keeping himself concealed behind 
 the sand ridge. In this way, if the leopard had not yet 
 left the oasis for some other place of concealment, they 
 could drive him to expose himself to a shot from at least 
 one of their rifles. 
 
 The plan was approved by the youths, who proceeded 
 to carry it out, but a difficulty was found in getting the 
 Arabs to accompany them. They were quite willing that 
 the white men should kill the intruders upon their hen- 
 coops, and take whatever risk was necessary in so doing, 
 but they did not believe in exposing their own precious 
 selves to any danger. The owner of the despoiled coop 
 was somewhat reluctantly persuaded to accompany 
 
DESERT GARDENS. 83 
 
 Harry, and had he not been animated by a spirit of re- 
 venore it is doubtful if he would have consented. 
 
 Yusef and Abdullah went with Harry and the native, 
 while Renaud and one of the camel-men accompanied 
 Ned. Renaud was armed with a rifle, and, as there were 
 thus two armed men together, the camel-man did not 
 hesitate to lend his services. As soon as the parties were 
 distributed, Harry on one side of the oasis, and Ned on 
 the other, they spread out and began to move slowly 
 towards each other. Of course they knew that the 
 leopard had seen them and would understand their pur- 
 pose. He is not a brave animal, and will always run 
 away if he can, but when driven into a corner he is ready 
 to defend himself, and is a fighter of no mean calibre. 
 
 Harry and his accompanying supporters had advanced 
 about twenty yards when one of the sharp-eyed Arabs 
 uttered an exclamation and pointed towards the base of a 
 palm tree. Harry looked in the direction indicated, and 
 saw the leopard crawling slowly along and hugging 
 closely to the ground. Part of his body was concealed 
 by the palm tree, and it was evidently the animal's in- 
 tention to make his wa}^ from one tree to another as cau- 
 tiously as possible until he reached the edge of the 
 oasis. Then, doubtless, he would make a rapid run for 
 safety in the open desert. 
 
 Harry watched his chance, holding his rifle to his 
 shoulder, and when the region of the animal's heart was 
 exposed he fired. 
 
 His shot was a good one, and hit the mark very nearly 
 where it was intended to. The leopard gave a leap into 
 
84 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 the air, Harry thinks about six or seven feet, and then 
 fell heavily to the ground. The youth waited where he 
 stood and then, slipping another cartridge into his rifle, 
 advanced very cautiously. The Arabs dropped back to a 
 respectful distance behind him, and he had considerable 
 difficulty in persuading one of them to come forward and 
 try to stir up the leopard with a jereed, or stalk of the 
 palm leaf. 
 
 These jereeds, we may remark, are used for many 
 purposes. Huts are constructed of them, they are used 
 as palings for fences, made into lances, burned as fuel, 
 and altogether are very useful to the people of the desert. 
 One of the Arabs that accompanied Harry carried a long 
 jereed, and it was with this weapon that the youth wished 
 the attendant to stir up the leopard to make sure that he 
 was dead, he, meanwhile, standing with rifle ready 
 cocked, and prepared to shoot in case of need. 
 
 When the man was sufficiently nerved up to make the 
 attempt he did so, and the leopard was found to be 
 quite dead. 
 
 Then a great shout rose from the Arabs, which brought 
 all the villagers to the spot, and the body of the beast was 
 borne in triumph to the camp. The Arabs were very 
 grateful to the youths for their success in ridding them of 
 this pest, and they brought out about twenty eggs which 
 they wished the boys to accept in return for their ser- 
 vices. The youths declined the tribute offered to their 
 skill, and asked Renaud to explain to them that they 
 would be pleased to shoot as many leopards as the natives 
 would bring along. Renaud translated the proposal, to 
 
DESERT GARDENS. 85 
 
 which the Arabs replied that they were sorry they had no 
 more leopards, but if Ned and Harry would come again 
 they might be able to accommodate them. 
 
 The killing of the leopard, following that of the lion, 
 already described, led to a talk concerning the animals of 
 the Sahara. The youths had many questions to ask of 
 Renaud, and the Frenchman told them that the leopard 
 was scattered through the greater part of the Sahara, and 
 sometimes, if caught while young, was trained by the 
 Arabs for hunting purposes. When thus trained, he is 
 usually kept in a comparatively dark place, and when 
 taken out for the hunt his eyes are covered with a hood. 
 Sometimes he is led, and sometimes he is carried on the 
 back of a camel. 
 
 When the game, generally a gazelle, is sighted, the head 
 of the leopard is turned in its direction, and the hood is 
 removed. Away bounds the animal, but, fleet as is the 
 gazelle, it cannot outstrip the leopard. Springing on the 
 shoulders of his prey, he bears it to the earth, bursts its 
 jugular vein with one of his fangs, and proceeds to suck 
 its blood. The hunting party comes up as soon as pos- 
 sible, and it is no small task to separate .the leopard from 
 the gazelle ; until he has exhausted the supply of blood, 
 he refuses to be taken off, and is not at all unlikely to 
 attack his master if he persists in removing him. 
 
 "There is also the panther," said Renaud, "which is 
 found in various parts of the Sahara, but more frequently 
 in the northern than in the southern portion. He is an 
 ugly customer to meet, but, like most wild animals, will 
 avoid a fight if he can do so. Occasionally the Arabs 
 
86 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 catch a young panther and tame him : he is a nice 
 enough pet when very young, and a baby panther is as 
 playful as a kitten, though not quite as gentle. When he 
 attains his full size he is somewhat dangerous, as he is 
 apt to be too much in earnest when at play. You may 
 have a chance to shoot a panther one of these days, and 
 if I hear of one near any of the camps I will let you 
 know." 
 
 On the day after the adventure with the leopard, our 
 friends saw in the distance, a small flock of ostriches, and, 
 needless to say, Ned and Harry immediately had a long- 
 ing for an ostrich hunt. They appealed the case to the 
 doctor, but that experienced gentleman shook his head 
 and said he didn't think ostrich hunting was in their line 
 just then. Of course they deferred to the argument of 
 the doctor, and said nothing more on the subject. The 
 ostriches had not taken them altogether by surprise, as 
 they had seen some of these birds at Tuggurt ; some 
 were in large cages, or, rather, in inclosures open at the 
 top, and others were wandering about the marketplace 
 making themselves quite at home, and levying tribute 
 upon the piles of vegetables and grain offered for sale. 
 Ned remarked that they were systematic and cunning in 
 their depredations, watching their chance to do a little 
 thieving while the owner of the stolen property had 
 stepped aside for a moment, or turned his back upon his 
 wares. 
 
 The youths questioned Renaud on the subject of ostrich 
 hunting, and the latter described at some length the way 
 it was carried on. 
 
DESERT GARDENS. 87 
 
 ( i 
 
 In the first place," said Renaud, "the time for 
 ostrich hunting is in the hottest part of summer ; the hotter 
 the weather is the more easily the birds lose their strength. 
 An ostrich hunt is liable to last for several days, and 
 therefore proper preparations must be made. It is rather 
 hard work for Europeans, and I wouldn't advise you to 
 indulge in it, but the Arabs get along all right and seem 
 to enjoy it." 
 
 " From twelve to twenty Arabs," continued Renaud, 
 " make up a hunting party, each of them mounted on 
 horseback. Each rider is accompanied by a servant and 
 a camel, carrying provisions for the men and water for 
 both men and horses. Fuel is taken along for cooking 
 purposes, unless the region where the hunt is to take place 
 abounds in bushes and other things sufficient for making a 
 fire. 
 
 "The ostrich is generally found where grass has come 
 up in consequence of recent rains, or in hollows where 
 the ground is sufficiently moist to keep a little vegetation 
 alive. The Arabs say that whenever the ostrich sees 
 lightning, or observes other indications of a coming storm, 
 he has the instinct to know where the storm will burst 
 and proceeds unerringly to that spot. He knows that 
 vegetation will follow the rain, and directs himself ac- 
 cordingly. 
 
 "The organizers of a hunt sometimes send out mes- 
 sengers several days in advance to ascertain where os- 
 triches are to be found, and they also obtain information from 
 caravans or from solitary travelers. As soon as they are 
 satisfied as to the direction to pursue, they travel as 
 
8S IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 rapidly as possible until the place where the ostriches 
 were seen is reached. There they halt and make a 
 bivouac, and the next morning two of their servants are 
 sent out to get sight of the birds. For this purpose the 
 best runners are picked out, and they go entirely naked, 
 except a loin cloth at the waist. When they see the birds, 
 they lie down and watch the movements of the flock for 
 awhile, and then one of them goes back to the bivouac 
 with the information. 
 
 *' Sometimes he can report from fifty to a hundred 
 ostriches, and at others only two or three. The company 
 immediately proceeds to the spot where the birds were 
 seen, being guided there by the man who brought the in- 
 formation. The nearer they approach to it, the more 
 cautious are their movements, as it is necessary that the 
 birds should not see them until the proper time arrives. 
 The hunters are mounted on their horses, and these make 
 a wide detour so as to form a circle around the ostriches, 
 but so far away that they cannot be perceived. When 
 the riders have taken their places those on foot walk 
 towards the center of the ring, spreading out considerably 
 and making demonstrations to scare the ostriches. The 
 birds run away in great alarm, and in trying to es- 
 cape they run against the circle of men on horseback ; 
 then they run back again, and, encountering the line of 
 people on foot, they retrace their steps until they again 
 reach the mounted Arabs." 
 
 "Thus they go, back and forth, back and forth, again 
 and again, exhausting their strength, and as soon as they 
 begin to show signs of weariness the huntsmen narrow 
 
DESERT GARDENS. 89 
 
 the circle, and frighten them more than ever. At last the 
 ostriches open their wings, which is a sure indication that 
 they are ready to drop with fatigue, and when this sign is 
 observed the Arabs close in upon them. Each rider 
 selects a bird, rides directly at it, and strikes it a heavy 
 blow with his jereed. The ostrich, when struck, falls to the 
 ground. One after another of the flock is knocked down, 
 or, if the Arabs choose, the birds may be taken alive, as 
 they are so exhausted that they can scarcely walk." 
 
 " I suppose," said Ned, "that the bird is taken chiefly 
 for his feathers." 
 
 "You are quite right," said Renaud ; " the chief value 
 of the ostrich is in his feathers, and sometimes a good 
 many francs' worth are taken from a single bird. The 
 ostriches that you saw at Tuggurt were probably caught 
 when young in just such a manner as I have described. 
 They were not in fine feather, and therefore it was in- 
 judicious to kill them." 
 
 "I've read," said Harry, "that in times of danger the 
 ostrich buries his head in the sand, or under a bush or 
 rock, thinking he will be safe as long as he can't see his 
 enemy. Is that really true? " 
 
 " Possibly there may be some truth in it," Renaud re- 
 plied, "as I've heard of it before. It is proper to say 
 that I never heard it from the Arab hunters and there- 
 fore place very little faith in it. The ostrich isn't a wise 
 bird by any means, but I don't believe that a respectable 
 one would be such an idiot as that. However, it's a 
 pretty story, anyway, and as it has been believed so long 
 it isn't wise to destroy it." 
 
90 
 
 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 " Is it really true," queried Ned, " that the Arabs tame 
 the ostrich and ride on him as we ride on horses, or is 
 that another beautiful fiction? " 
 
 "I don't know whether it is or not," said Renaud. 
 "The ostrich can be easily tamed if taken when young, 
 as you have already seen, but nobody in this locality 
 has ever used him for riding purposes. I have heard 
 that the natives of southern Africa ride the ostrich, and 
 use him for hunting wild birds of his own kind. I have 
 read in a French story-book that a native will mount on 
 the back of a tame ostrich, ride into a flock, or near 
 enough to it to shoot one after another of the birds with 
 poisoned arrows. To do this he has to hug closely to the 
 back of his two-legged steed in order that the wild birds 
 may not discover his presence and take alarm. The 
 ostrich can easily carry a small man on his back, as he is 
 very strong, and weighs, when full grown, between two 
 and three hundred pounds." 
 
 "I've heard," remarked Harry, "that the eggs of the 
 ostrich are very fine eating ; I wish we could have one to 
 try." 
 
 "They are very good eating," was the reply, "and 
 you may have the opportunity of trying one very soon. 
 You needn't wish for half a dozen eggs for the supper of 
 your party ; one will be quite sufficient, as it contains the 
 equivalent of about two dozen hen's eggs." 
 
 That very evening an Arab brought into the camp 
 several ostrich eggs,, and as the price he asked for them 
 was very reasonable, the doctor purchased his entire stock, 
 distributing all but one among the men of the expedition, 
 
DESERT GARDENS. 9I 
 
 and reserving that one for himself and the two youths. 
 The egg was cooked by standing it on end in the fire and 
 breaking the upper portion of the shell so that a stick 
 could be inserted for stirring the contents while the cook- 
 ing process was going on. The Qgg proved very palatable, 
 and Ned said he would not mind having ostrich eggs for 
 supper every day — until he got tired of them. 
 
 The presence of the egg led to another question, — how 
 does the ostrich make its nest, and how are the eggs 
 hatched ? 
 
 To these questions Renaud replied that the ostrich lays 
 its eggs in the sand, and sits on them at night or in rainy 
 weather. On clear days the heat of the sun on the sand 
 is quite sufficient for all hatching purposes. The eggs are 
 grouped close together in what may be called a nest. 
 Outside of it at a little distance other eggs are found, and 
 as these are not covered by the birds at night, they are 
 not hatched. An idea prevails that these outside eggs are 
 intended as food for the birds as they come out of their 
 shells, but as they are generally found unbroken after the 
 eggs in the nest have been hatched, and the young birds 
 are gone, this supposition can hardly be a correct one. 
 
 "In the afternoon of this day," wrote Ned in his 
 journal, "we found ourselves among hills of drifting 
 sand for the greater part of the day, and made little 
 progress. The hills and ridges followed each other in 
 rapid succession ; the hills were not very high, about one 
 hundred feet or so, but it was toilsome work to climb 
 them. Horses, camels, and men found the ascent very 
 severe. 
 
92 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 ** Harry and I struggled through sand which came 
 very nearly to our knees, and sometimes above them. 
 We carried our rifles, being unwilling to be separated from 
 them for a moment. The rifles weighed ten pounds each, 
 but every time that we reached the top of the hills of sand 
 it seemed as though mine was not less than a quarter of a 
 ton. We had a supply of ammunition in our waistcoats, 
 and each cartridge seemed to multiply itself in weight 
 about twenty times. Going down the hill was almost as 
 much work as ascending it, the one difference being that 
 we had the advantage of momentum, and, though we 
 sank deeper in the sand, a smaller amount of effort was 
 necessary to extract our feet at every step. 
 
 " The horses also had a hard struggle, quite as much as 
 the human portion of the expedition. The camels, as 
 stated elsewhere, are adapted by nature to this kind of 
 travel ; therefore they suffered the least, though sometimes 
 it looked as if several of them would give out, lie down, 
 and die. When a camel feels his strength giving out he 
 lies down and refuses to rise until his load is removed. 
 In such cases he will generally, but by no means always, 
 come to his feet again and proceed. On great routes of 
 travel, where large numbers of camels are employed, the 
 way is marked by the bleaching bones of * the ships of 
 the desert ' that have perished through exhaustion caused 
 by severe work or deprivation of food and water. 
 
 " Not a day passes that we are not treated to a mirage, 
 and the deception is so perfect that even the doctor has 
 been taken in. A little to the right of us, on the first day 
 out, we saw a beautiful lake, oval in shape, and sur- 
 
DESERT GARDENS. 
 
 93 
 
 rounded by trees. As we were traveling at that time, we 
 would not go near it ; the doctor called to Renaud and 
 told him that if it were not too much out of our way he 
 would like to go and see that lake. Renaud smiled and 
 replied that the lake which he pointed out was Lake 
 Fantasy, and then he explained that it was nothing more 
 nor less than a mn-aiie. 
 
 "'There's no lake at all there,' he said, 'and if we 
 tried to find it it would run away from us.' 
 
 " ' Very well,' said the doctor ; ' we will let Lake Fan- 
 tasy take care of itself, but it is a most perfect deception, 
 as perfect a one as I ever saw.' 
 
 Renaud went on to explain what the doctor already 
 knew, but Harry and I didn't, that you can distinguish 
 between a real lake or body of water and an imaginary 
 one by observing its color. In the mirage the apparent 
 lake has exactly the same color as the sky above it. 
 Such may be the case, too, in a real lake, but generally it 
 is not so. The lake is usually of a darker blue than the 
 sky, but sometimes it is lighter than the sky in color. 
 
 "You can set this down as a rule, so Renaud told us, 
 that where sky and water are of the same color it is a 
 mirage, but possibly a real lake ; where there is a de- 
 cided difference in color it is not a mirage. 
 
 " On the fourth day of our journey the morning was 
 sultry and the sky without a cloud. The heat was of high 
 degree and the air was perfectly still. Harry and I were 
 riding side by side on our horses, when off at a distance 
 we observed something that looked like a large column or 
 pillar, and it appeared to be in motion while standing up- 
 
94 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 right. I called Renaud's attention to it and asked what 
 it was. 
 
 " ' That,' said he, ' is a whirlwind of sand, and the pillar 
 that you see is the sand which the whirlwind carries in its 
 midst. I hope it won't come near us, as it is a very un- 
 comfortable thing to meet.' 
 
 *' The whirlwind moved about over the desert in a very 
 erratic way, and we could see by the clean swept appear- 
 ance of the ground beneath it that it was taking up great 
 volumes of sand. It moved on here and there in a some- 
 what zigzag way, and every turn that it made it came 
 nearer to us. 
 
 "'What will happen?' I asked Renaud, 'if that 
 whirlwind happens to come upon us?' 
 
 " ' It might overwhelm us, blind and choke us, and pile 
 the sand about us, so that we should be buried out of 
 sight. Have your rifles ready, and if it comes within 
 shooting distance lire into the midst of the column, just as 
 sailors fire at water-spouts at sea. The Arabs do so, and 
 they say that it breaks up the whirlwinds, and more than 
 once has saved many lives.' 
 
 "We got our guns in readiness to do as Renaud in- 
 structed us. On and on came the whirlwind and after a 
 time we felt the breezes w^iich indicated that we were in 
 the outer edge of its sphere of motion. I fired at the 
 moving column and so did Harry. The doctor and 
 Renaud joined in the shooting, but the whirlwind went 
 on as though nothing had happened. It seemed, though, 
 to be affected by the shooting, as it changed its course 
 and went away." 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 CAUGHT IN A SAND-STORM A DANGEROUS COUNTRY. 
 
 THE end of the valley of the Oued Ghir was reached 
 after much wearisome travel through loose and 
 shifting sands. Beyond this valley there was an ascent 
 to higher ground, the road alternating between a hard 
 surface in which rocks were scattered about and great 
 patches of loose sands which were quite enough, when 
 no wind was blowing, to make travel very unpleasant. 
 When the breezes arose locomotion was practically 
 impossible. At the last of the wells of good water, the 
 water-skins were filled and carefully stowed on the camels 
 whose duty it was to carry them. 
 
 As before stated, oiie of the camels was principally 
 laden with water, but each camel had as a part of his 
 burden one or more skins of water, so that in case a rider 
 became separated from the caravan there was no danger 
 of his suffering from thirst, unless his absence was long 
 continued. Each horseman had a small skin of water 
 attached to the saddle, and so far as precautions could 
 go, the danger of suffering from lack of water was re- 
 duced to a minimum. 
 
 Renaud told our young friends that, unless an unfore- 
 seen accident happened, travelers in the desert rarely 
 perish from thirst. 
 
 95 
 
96 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 " Of course," he said, " a good many things may hap- 
 pen to bring about such an unfortunate circumstance. 
 The traveler, or caravan," he continued, " may start upon 
 a journey with an insufficient supply of water, or the 
 liquid in the skins may be dried up by unusual heat. 
 The skins may leak, and the water be wasted, or they 
 may be lost by being improperly packed. A journey 
 where there is no water may be much longer than ex- 
 pected ; camels may give out or other things happen to 
 delay progress. But, leaving out all these things, and 
 some others I might mention, there is very little danger 
 of death from lack of water. As a last resort, the Arabs 
 kill their camels, or a portion of them, and drink the water 
 which is stowed away in the stomach of the beast. Nature 
 has provided the camel with a reservoir, in which he can 
 store away sufficient water to last him for a week. There 
 is one variety of camel which is said to be able to go for 
 twenty days without drinking. 
 
 *'Oneof the greatest misfortunes in this matter," said 
 Renaud, " is the drying up of wells on which reliance for 
 the replenishing of water has been placed. Sometimes 
 caravans containing hundreds of men and hundreds of 
 camels have perished in this way, and there is an in- 
 stance on record in which a thousand men and more than 
 two thousand camels were destroyed by this misfortune. 
 They started with a supply of water quite sufficient to 
 carry them to certain wells in the desert, which had been 
 known to flow for, over a hundred years. Their supply 
 was exhausted, or very nearly so, when they neared the 
 wells where they expected to refill their water-skins. 
 
CAUGHT IN A SAND-STORM. 97 
 
 '*It was known that the wells were in their usual con- 
 dition six weeks previous. Imagine the horror of the 
 leaders when they reached the spot and found that not a 
 drop of water was to be obtained there. There were more 
 than a dozen wells in the group which had hitherto 
 yielded good drinking water in abundance. One well 
 after another was examined, and all were found to be 
 hopelessly dry. It was a six days' journey to the nearest 
 water, and to travel for six days without water under the 
 hot sun of Africa was absolutely impossible." 
 
 **The men dug new wells near the old ones in the 
 hope of striking a fresh vein of water, but their efforts 
 were fruitless ; then they killed some of the camels in the 
 hope of being able to obtain water from their stomachs, 
 but again they were disappointed, as very little remained 
 of the supply that the camels had taken in at the last 
 drinking place. 
 
 *'The leaders of the party gathered together in a very 
 serious conclave. The great question was what should 
 they do to save their lives and the lives of their com- 
 rades ; the only thing that gave any promise of escape 
 was to mount the camels and travel away as fast as pos- 
 sible. Each day they would slaughter some of the 
 animals, and obtain what water they could from the 
 stomachs of the animals, and by sucking and chewing 
 the flesh of the beasts a little moisture might be obtained. 
 Orders were given to throw off all burdens of the camels 
 except the saddles. Silks and other goods of great value 
 were scattered on the ground in order to lighten as 
 much as possible the burdens of the patient and thirsty 
 
98 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 animals ; then the order to mount was given, and the 
 column moved away. 
 
 *' Before long men began to fall from their places, and 
 the camels lay down, and refused to go further. The 
 supply of water obtained by killing the camels was totally 
 inadequate. On and on went the caravan, as best it 
 could ; the bodies of men and camels marking the line 
 of march through the desert. Of all the entire number of 
 men and beasts, only two of the former and one of the 
 latter succeeded in reaching a place of safety and telling 
 the story of their sad misfortune in the desert. We may 
 rejoice," concluded Renaud, "that occurrences of this 
 kind are rare, but, unfortunately, they do happen some- 
 times." 
 
 Ned and Harry asked Renaud how the wandering 
 Arabs in the desert manage to secure water when they 
 are at war with each other, and one party has possession 
 of wells. 
 
 *' I was just going to tell you about that," said Renaud. 
 "The Tuaregs and the Chaamba, the really nomadic 
 tribes of the desert, know every well that we know about, 
 and they have in addition a great many wells of their 
 own. Their wells are mostly hidden, that is, they are not 
 marked by a pillar, or a heap of stones, or by any artifi- 
 cial indication of the existence of the well, and even if 
 one comes directly on the spot he is not likely to discover 
 it, as it is covered with a flat stone, on which sand has 
 been piled and levelled so as to conceal the place. The 
 landmarks around the well are known only to the tribe to 
 which it belongs, and it is death to reveal the locality 
 
CAUGHT IN A SAND-STORM. 99 
 
 to any person who does not belong to the tribe. Some- 
 times the knowledge of such a well is obtained by sur- 
 prising a party while taking water from it, but this doesn't 
 often happen." 
 
 " What a pity it is," one of the youths remarked, 
 " that no scientist has yet been able to produce water from 
 air. I suppose such a thing is impossible, or it would 
 have heen accomplished before this." 
 
 *'Well," replied the other, "all you want is the gases 
 that compose water. Then I suppose it wouldn't be 
 difficult." 
 
 '* Quite true," was the reply, "no more than it would 
 be to have a good dinner with plenty of first-class food, 
 but you can't manufacture water without the necessary 
 components, any more than you can take dinner when you 
 have nothing to eat." 
 
 On the day that the party ascended from the valley of 
 Oued Ghir to the higher ground they were overtaken by 
 a party of four mounted soldiers, who had been sent 
 to them by the commanding officer at Tuggurt. They 
 brought a message to the effect that an officer who had 
 been sent to the sheikh of the Tuaregs had reached 
 Tuggurt, and reported a successful journey. He had 
 arranged that a safe-conduct could be granted by the 
 commandant at Tuggurt or by the governor of Biskra 
 to any party of travelers, by the payment of a small tribute 
 to the sheikh of the tribe or his representative. The 
 soldiers brought a safe-conduct for Doctor Whitney and 
 his party, and it was stipulated in the document that in 
 case they met a Tuareg party they should exhibit the 
 
lOO IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 paper, which was drawn in both French and Arabic, and 
 pay the amount stipulated, which was one dollar for each 
 man. of the expedition. The plan savored a good deal of 
 blackmail, but we must remember that it has long been 
 the custom of African travelers to pay tribute to the rulers 
 of the countries through which they pass. This system 
 prevails through all parts of Africa, and there is no reason 
 why the Sahara should be exempt from it. Besides, it is 
 much more satisfactory to pay, and be allowed to go un- 
 molested than to be robbed of everything, including 
 horses and camels, and be forced to continue or retrace 
 one's journey on foot. 
 
 It was near nightfall when the soldiers overtook the 
 caravan and delivered their message. Camp was formed 
 shortly afterwards, and Doctor Whitney told Renaud to 
 see that the soldiers were fed on the best that the camp 
 afforded. We may be sure that Renaud carried out his 
 instructions, and was mindful of the old adage, — "The 
 bearer of welcome tidings deserves a bountiful reward." 
 In the morning the messengers returned towards Tuggurt, 
 carrying with them a warm letter of thanks from the 
 doctor to the commandant, together with several letters 
 from the three Americans, who sat up until after midnight 
 to write to their friends at home. 
 
 The safe-conduct from the commandant did not arrive 
 any too soon. On that very day our friends met a party 
 of Tuaregs mounted on their swift dromedaries, which 
 are said to be the swiftest and finest of their race. The 
 two parties approached each other slowly and halted 
 about a hundred yards apart ; then Doctor Whitney and 
 
CAUGHT IN A SAND-STORM. lOI 
 
 Renaud rode forward, while at the same time the Tuaregs 
 despatched two of their number to meet them half way. 
 When the four came together all dismounted, the Tuaregs 
 from their dromedaries, and the doctor and Renaud from 
 their horses. Civilities were exchanged, the safe-conduct 
 was exhibited, and the tribute money paid over. 
 
 The sheikh of the party noted on the margin of the 
 paper the payment of tribute money, and then the for- 
 malities were ended. This one payment sufficed for the 
 journey. Any subsequent party of Tuaregs, seeing the 
 document, and ascertaining that the safe-conduct had been 
 paid for, would not exact a renewal thereof. The 
 Tuaregs are an honorable set of thieves, and, like most 
 rascals the world over, pretend to set great store upon 
 their promises. 
 
 The other troublesome tribe of that part of the desert 
 is the Chaamba, which has already been mentioned. 
 They are not as numerous as the Tuaregs, and the 
 country through which they roam is not so extensive, but 
 they are great depredators, and omit no opportunity to 
 plunder. A few days after the occurrence just mentioned 
 our friends had a narrow escape from them. One evening, 
 while they were encamped, three or four Arabs came into 
 the camp on foot. They said that they belonged to a 
 caravan which had been attacked by the Chaamba ; they 
 had lost their camels and escaped only with their lives. 
 The Chaamba had secured and bound several of their 
 comrades, and would probably hold them for ransom. 
 Those who had escaped had done so by mere swiftness of 
 foot, and by watching their chance whil^ the marauders 
 
I02 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 were engaged in securing the camels and binding the 
 men who had fallen into their hands. 
 
 Investigation showed that Doctor Whitney's party had 
 gone directly through the Chaamba party while it was 
 concealed in a dense thicket of scrub bushes, four or 
 five feet high. The Chaamba had formed an ambuscade, 
 and, for some reason, either that they were not ready, or 
 they did not like the appearance of the rifles that our 
 friends carried, they did not deem it judicious to make an 
 assault. 
 
 Harry said he could not understand why it was that a 
 whole tribe of people considered it a legitimate business 
 to plunder others. He would suppose that there were 
 enough honest people in the tribe to suppress robbery 
 and deter the others from it. 
 
 Ned replied that he believed honesty to be a conven- 
 tional matter rather than a natural trait. We are unable 
 to give his argument at length, but will endeavor to make 
 a brief synopsis of it. 
 
 " What we call honesty and the regard for the property 
 of others," said Ned, "is a matter of education, and is not 
 born with us. A small child sees something that it wants 
 and takes it ; it never occurs to him that it may belong 
 to somebody else ; in fact, it doesn't know anything about 
 property rights at all. ' After he grows older he is in- 
 structed in these matters, and in due time learns to 
 regard the rights of property. If he went on without any 
 such education, he- would be pretty certain to do at the 
 age of ten or twenty years exactly as he does just as he 
 begins to walk. If he had been brought up to believe 
 
CAUGHT IN A SAND-STORM. IO3 
 
 that might makes right, he would be exactly like these 
 marauding Arabs, or like the Indians in North America. 
 Before the American Indians were so nearly extinguished 
 by the weapons and vices of the white men they regarded 
 horse-stealing as a perfectly legitimate business, and the 
 one who had stolen the greatest number of horses was 
 regarded as the best man of his tribe. And right in the 
 heart of civilization burglars and other thieves are proud 
 of their profession, and think that society is all wrong 
 when it treats them as it does. These Arabs have been 
 brought up to believe that it is perfectly right and proper to 
 follow their own inclinations, and look upon stealing as 
 the easiest way of making an honest living." 
 
 As a matter of curiosity, our young friends wanted to 
 see a sand-storm in the desert ; that is, they desired to 
 know what a sand-storm was, but they did not wish for 
 a severe one, and would be satisfied with it if it died away 
 very soon after it began. Their desire was granted, at 
 least, in one respect ; they experienced a sand-storm, but 
 it was a good deal more severe than they wanted. It 
 came up one day while they were on the march, blowing 
 directly in their faces. At first it was not a strong wind, 
 but it steadily increased, and whirled the sand about so 
 that the party seemed to be in a dense fog. The sky was 
 cloudless, and the sun visible nearly all the time, as the 
 sand swept only a few yards above the surface, but it was 
 sufficiently high to envelop the camels as well as the 
 men. 
 
 The horses were fairly blinded by the flying sand, 
 and very shortly refused to push on against it. It was 
 
I04 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 impossible to see ahead for more than a yard, not even 
 to see the steps of the animal immediately preceding. 
 Horses and camels turned around so as to hold their 
 heads from the wind, instead of towards it, and in this 
 position it was possible to make out an object forty or 
 fifty feet away. Ned said it was quite as bewildering as 
 a snowstorm, and far more disagreeable. The sand 
 sought out the crevices in one's clothing, and it was not 
 long before we felt as though our garments had been 
 dipped and rolled in the sand before we put them on. ^ 
 
 The party was unable to keep to the route as long as 
 the storm lasted. The howling of the wind was so great 
 that when the travelers wished to speak to one another 
 they were obliged to come close together and shout at 
 the top of their voices. The doctor suggested going into 
 camp, but Renaud opposed it, and proposed a simple 
 bivouac instead. He said it would be useless to try to 
 form a camp, as the tents could not be set up in that tre- 
 mendous wind. Even the very low tents of the Arabs 
 could not be set up, as the tent-pegs would not hold dur- 
 ing the time it took to drive them into the ground. 
 
 The camels, some of them, at least, thrust their noses into 
 the ground to avoid inhaling the sand which was flying in 
 the wind. Dr. Whitney put on his outdoor spectacles, 
 and tied a silk handkerchief over his face like a veil ; in 
 this way he kept the sand out of his nostrils, but in spite 
 of his precaution he was blinded and almost suffocated. 
 The youths followed his example, and were glad that they 
 did so, but they only relieved themselves of one degree of 
 suffering by taking another that was only a little less. 
 
CAUGHT IN A SAND-STORM. IO5 
 
 The storm lasted about four hours, and then the wind 
 began to abate. In half an hour it had diminished to a 
 mere zephyr, and thirty minutes after that the wind that 
 blew was not sufficient to move the sand in appreciable 
 quantities. As the wind died away the journey was 
 resumed, though a little time was required for getting 
 the camels together, some of them having strayed during 
 the storm. 
 
 "Traveling in the desert is monotonous, as one can 
 easily imagine. The landscape does not vary greatly ; in 
 fact, it is more monotonous than the road itself. We take 
 observations for latitude and longitude every day when it 
 is convenient to do so, although there is no real occasion 
 for it, as our guides are familiar with the route and know 
 the best places for halting in the daytime or camping in 
 the evening. We have become accustomed to camel 
 riding, and, though I can't say we like it, we do not find 
 it as unpleasant as on the first day that we undertook to 
 ride the queer-looking beasts. 
 
 ''And this reminds me of the white camels of the 
 Tuaregs, — immense creatures, very powerful, finely 
 formed, and as white as one usually sees a white horse ; 
 not absolutely pure white, but very near it. These 
 camels are carefully bred in the middle of the desert, 
 where the Tuaregs make their homes. The people are 
 very jealous about allowing this breed of camels to go 
 into other hands. They absolutely refuse to sell them, no 
 matter what price may be offered, and the few that have 
 been brouorht north of the Atlas Mountains were obtained in 
 the battles with the Tuaregs where they got the worst of it. 
 
I06 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 "We saw four of these camels to-day, and their great 
 size astonished us. They carry enormous burdens, will 
 travel seventy or eighty miles a day, and go for eighteen 
 or twenty days without water. The Tuaregs frequently 
 come to Tuggurt with these camels, and occasionally to 
 Biskra, but never beyond the latter place, as the animals 
 cannot endure cold weather or anything that approaches 
 it. 
 
 " I have been somewhat disappointed, though agreeably 
 so, in the character of the desert since we left the Oued 
 Ghir. I thought it would be nothing but shifting sands, 
 very difficult to travel through, but we found, on the 
 contrary, for more than half the way no sand worth speak- 
 ing of, but bare, hard, desert earth, like any ordinary 
 earth deprived of verdure. Where we found this kind of 
 road we have ridden our horses ; where we had sandy 
 roads we exchanged horses for camels. 
 
 '' Although we have a safe-conduct among the Tuaregs, 
 we realize that we are in a dangerous country, and may 
 be attacked at night by these marauders, who do not 
 always wait to ascertain whom they are attacking. Con- 
 sequently, when we camp at night we prepare for re- 
 sistance. All the baggage is piled in front of our tent so 
 as to make a good barricade, and we take turns in watch- 
 ing through the night. 
 
 " Renaud put one of our Arabs on watch the first 
 night ; Harry and I happened to be awake about mid- 
 night, and went out to see how the watching was going 
 on. We came upon our sentry sitting on the ground near 
 our tent, his gun lying by his side, and he leaning against 
 
CAUGHT IN A SAND-STORM. IO7 
 
 our baggage, and sound asleep. We took away the fel- 
 low's weapon, and then waked him, and sent him off to 
 where the camels were picketed. Then I took my rifle, 
 and stood guard for two hours, when Harry relieved me ; 
 when his two hours were up he called Renaud, who 
 stood guard for the rest of the night until daybreak. 
 
 '' After that the watching was divided between the 
 doctor, ourselves, and Renaud, as we did not dare to 
 trust any of our Arabs. We did not apply military law 
 to our man and put him to death for sleeping at his post, 
 but if we had followed Renaud's desires I think we 
 should have done so. Renaud was master of the camp, 
 and while we were at breakfast he administered a sound 
 thrashing to the unfortunate fellow who allowed himself 
 to go to sleep while on duty. 
 
 " On the fifth day we had a long and toilsome march, 
 and did not reach a camping place until after dark, and 
 the camp was made in a valley where there was a well of 
 brackish water, suitable for camels, but unfit for human 
 use. The valley was used for camping by travelers and 
 caravans of various sorts, including the Tuaregs. As 
 we descended the side of the valley, Renaud, who was in 
 advance, suddenly stopped, and called attention to a light, 
 perhaps half a mile away, and suggested that we get our 
 guns in readiness as there was a strong probability of a 
 fight. 
 
 *'We put everything in order, carrying our rifles un- 
 slung, and each buckling on a revolver. We changed 
 our course so that, instead of passing directly by the light, 
 which was in the center of the valley, we would come 
 
I08 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 down upon it in file. Renaud told us to walk our horses 
 until within a few yards of the light, then he would give a 
 signal and we would trot past the light as rapidly as pos- 
 sible. If any shots were fired after us, we were to return 
 the fire, first from our rifles, and then from our revolvers. 
 The horsemen were to be in front, while the camels 
 brought up the rear. 
 
 "When all was ready we moved on, the doctor and 
 Renaud in front, then Harry and I, and behind us the 
 camels. The horses seemed to snuff the battle, not far off, 
 but close by, and they entered into the spirit of the thing 
 with considerable enthusiasm. My heart began to beat 
 so that I could hear it, but I think I was quite as cool as 
 anybody else. 
 
 " Within a hundred yards of the camp we halted and 
 our chief camel driver crept up to reconnoiter. He said 
 there were ten or twelve men there with a single tent such 
 as nearly all tribes of Arabs use in the Sahara. He 
 could see that they had weapons and horses, but there 
 were no camels in sight. 
 
 " On receiving this information, Renaud gave the order 
 to advance. As we came close to the camp, he shouted 
 in Arabic : — 
 
 '' ' We are Mozabites.' 
 
 *' The men around the little fire rose to their feet, and 
 greeted us with a yell, together with the words : — 
 
 *' ' Friends ! Friends I ' 
 
 "It was all right; they were friends, — a party from 
 Waregla on their way to Tuggurt. Very quickly we 
 dismounted, laid aside our weapons, and gathered around 
 
CAUGHT IN A SAND-STORM. IO9 
 
 a large basket of dates, which our newly formed friends 
 set out as a welcome. It turned out that they had been 
 on the alert just as much as we had, as they had heard in 
 the stillness of the night the approach of horses' feet. 
 They had just taken their weapons in hand when we rode 
 up, and were quite ready for business, when they heard 
 the announcement of Mozabites. 
 
 ''The statement was not strictly true. We had two 
 Mozabites among our camel drivers, and that was all ; 
 but the announcement suited the situation for all practical 
 purposes, and the circumstances weie not convenient for 
 reading the names and nationalities of those who com- 
 posed the party." 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 INSIGHT OF WAREGLA AN ARAB DINNER. 
 
 THE two parties camped together on the night de- 
 scribed at the end of the last chapter, and congratu- 
 lated one another on their narrow escape from needless 
 shedding of blood. The wind rose soon after our friends 
 had formed camp, and great quantities of sand were 
 whisked about in the strong breeze. Fuel was scarce, 
 and, as the hour was late, the doctor decided that they 
 would not take the trouble to cook dinner, but would 
 make a meal from dates, biscuits, and cheese, washed 
 down with water taken from one of the water-skins of 
 their cargo. The place where they camped was sandy, 
 and with the wind blowing as it was they could not make 
 the tent pegs hold. They formed a screen by placing 
 the camels in a row, and then requiring them to kneel ; 
 by the row of kneeling camels they placed the baggage, 
 and within this circle tethered the horses, and spread 
 their sleeping bags on the ground. Harry named the 
 encampment Hotel "a la Belle Etoile (Hotel of the Open 
 Sky), and said there were few' hotels in the world with 
 better ventilation. 
 
 There was not , much sleep in the camp that night, 
 partly because it was after midnight before the travelers 
 got to bed, and between that time and morning the horses 
 
 no 
 
IN SIGHT OF WAREGLA. Ill 
 
 got loose several times, and mixed themselves up with 
 the sleepers, and, furthermore, the drifting sands spread 
 thickly over them, so that they roused themselves every 
 hour or so to avoid being buried out of sight. They kept 
 a careful watch all through the night and broke camp at 
 five o'clock in the morning. Sleeping under difficulties 
 like these tends very much towards early rising. 
 
 After three or four hours of marching, the party halted 
 on the side of a range of hills which Ned describes in his 
 journal as resembling a series of forts, as they stand at 
 regular intervals from each other, and are flat on the 
 tops. The doctor said that the tops of these hills were 
 worn away by the waves of the ocean which formerly 
 spread all over this part of Africa. The broad plain 
 around them is considerably elevated above the level 
 of the sea, and during all their journey since leaving 
 the Oued Ghir our friends had been gradually ris- 
 ing. After passing this line of hills and going a few 
 miles further, the party suddenly came upon the edge 
 of an immense terrace, and looked down upon a plain 
 which was apparently limitless. 
 
 The doctor and the youths were in advance as they 
 reached the edge of the terrace. They halted and looked 
 over the immense area before them, just as they had 
 looked from the hill beyond Biskra over the great area 
 of the northern Sahara. A few minutes after they halted 
 Renaud joined them, and as he rode up to the edge of the 
 terrace he waved his hand, as if to embrace all that part 
 of the country beyond it. 
 
 *' There," said he, "is the true desert; there is not 
 
112 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 another break in it between this point and the valley of 
 the Niger, the Mountains of the Moon, and Timbuctoo. 
 
 "You see that white spot in the distance?" he con- 
 tinued, pointing to the south; "that's Waregla, the last 
 oasis in Northern Africa." 
 
 " Not a break whatever ! " exclaimed Ned. " Is there 
 no other settlement, or oasis, or place where men live 
 between here and the Niger? " 
 
 "Yes. There are a few wells and habitable spots, or, 
 rather, spots where one can find water, but there is no 
 oasis large enough to support any appreciable number 
 of people. Off towards the west is the oasis of Touat, 
 which is on the caravan route to Timbuctoo. It's a long 
 journey from here to Touat, and a longer one to Timbuc- 
 too ; you can find water every five or six days, though 
 sometimes the wells are dried up, and, unless you have 
 an extra supply against such contingencies, the whole 
 caravan may perish of thirst." 
 
 Then the party descended from the plateau to the lower 
 ground, and pushed on as rapidly as possible. Ned 
 observed before they left their point of observation that 
 the desert below them presented the appearance of a 
 sandy beach, and the great plain beyond them resembled 
 a vast sea or lake. He could almost hear the rippling of 
 the waves, while the headland to the south, as they rode 
 along, presented the appearance of a deep bay, very 
 much like that of Alfjiers, and he half believed that he 
 was looking over the Mediterranean, instead of the great 
 waste of sand extending hundreds of miles away to the 
 mysterious river. 
 
IN SIGHT OF WAREGLA. II3 
 
 The party hurried on, as Waregla was a good distance 
 away, and they did not wish to spend another night in the 
 desert. They passed a small oasis a mile or so to the 
 right of their route, the oasis of N'goussa, and Harry 
 remarked that its grove of palm trees resembled a forest 
 of masts in the sandy haze. Then their route wound 
 among some round-topped hills, a hundred or more feet 
 in height, covered with tamarisk bushes and other small 
 plants of the desert. 
 
 Yusef told the youths that these mounds were called 
 El Behkerat, which means " young camels." He said 
 the name comes from a story that one day, hundreds of 
 years ago, a caravan of camels halted at a well in this 
 neighborhood to get some water. There was a palm 
 grove here then, and an old man was at the well drawing 
 water for his palm trees. The leader of the caravan 
 came up to the well, and said insultingly : — 
 
 *' Make haste, thou vile son of a black raven." 
 
 Without knowing it, he had insulted a saint of the 
 Moslem religion ; a holy man who had power over nearly 
 everything. The saint was angry at being addressed in 
 this manner; he turned his face towards heaven, and 
 stretched out his hands.. The camels that had been stand- 
 ing there waiting their turn to drink la}^ down imme- 
 diately, and were transformed into sandhills, and the 
 well instantly dried up and has been dry ever since. 
 
 Harry was skeptical as to the truth of the story, 
 whereupon Yusef remarked : — 
 
 '*If you don't believe it, sir, look at the mounds into 
 which the camels were transformed." 
 
114 ^^ WILD AFRICA. 
 
 As the party approached Waregla, a sand mist rose on 
 the plain in front of them, and beneath it the surface of 
 the desert ghstened Hke the waters of a broad river. 
 Again was the doctor deceived, and it is proper to say 
 that the youths were deceived Hkewise. The doctor 
 thought it was a marsh, and afterwards admitted that he 
 was on the point of wrapping a handkerchief around his 
 face to keep out the malarial atmosphere, but remembered 
 his previous deception just in time. Beyond this imaginary 
 river, stretching away for a considerable distance, was a 
 dense oasis of date palms, and in the middle of them 
 three tall minarets indicated the position of Waregla. 
 
 One of the servants was mounted on a horse and sent 
 forward to notify the sheikh or agha of Waregla of the 
 arrival of the party. In accordance with the custom that 
 generally prevails in Arabic countries, the doctor had 
 brought a letter from the governor of Biskra to Sibi 
 Zobeir, the agha of Waregla, who is a close friend of the 
 French Government and rules his people very much in his 
 own way. 
 
 *'We rode into the palm grove," said Harry in his 
 journal, " and then halted to wait for a reply to our 
 letter. We waited an hour or more, and then, becoming 
 impatient, rode up to the gate of the city, and there 
 halted. The gateway is a massive one, and is known as 
 the Bab el Soultaun (Sultan's Gate). Several of the 
 natives greeted us as we rode along, and all seemed 
 friendly. The people were quite different from any we 
 had yet seen. They were' very swarthy, and not a few 
 were black, with negro features. The women wore their 
 
AT WAREGLA. Il5 
 
 hair in ringlets and braided in plaits at the back of their 
 heads, and they were covered with ornaments of red 
 beads and gold and silver coins. They certainly had a 
 liberal quantity of negro blood in their veins, as their hair 
 was in nearly every case more or less frizzled. We 
 waited at the gate for fifteen or twenty minutes, and then 
 our messenger came out and said we should have an 
 escort immediately. In another fifteen minutes a horse- 
 man mounted on a magnificent steed rode out, accom- 
 panied by two followers. He greeted us cordially, and 
 requested us to mount and accompany him, which, of 
 course, we did. 
 
 *' We rode into the city and came to a halt in front of 
 an ordinary building presenting a plain wall to the street, 
 with a single doorway. Here our escort dismounted, and 
 we did likewise. After a little delay, he took us into the 
 interior of the building, to the reception-room of the agha, 
 Sibi Zobeir, a handsome Arab, fully six feet high, with a 
 dark complexion, oval face, and a prominent nose slightly 
 hooked, slender fingers, dark, but not heavy beard 
 trimmed to a point, and an expression of marked dignity 
 and serenity. A glance from him towards those around 
 him showed him to be of high extraction, and if the 
 desert of Sahara possesses any blue-blooded aristocracy, 
 he was certainly one of the highest of the kind. He 
 received us courteously, and as we squatted on the divan 
 to which he motioned us servants came in with pipes and 
 coffee for our refreshment. 
 
 " The agha had the good sense to know that a long 
 interview would not be agreeable to us, as we were just in 
 
Il6 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 from the desert and undoubtedly desired to change oiir 
 wardrobe and have something to eat. He said he had 
 read our letter, welcomed us hospitably to Waregla, and 
 he explained, through our interpreter, that he would gladly 
 do anything that he could for us ; then he rose to intimate 
 that the audience was at an end, whereupon the officer 
 who had escorted us from the gate took charge of us 
 again. 
 
 " He led the way to a building, perhaps a hundred yards 
 from that occupied by the agha, taking us into a square 
 courtyard into which several rooms opened. We selected 
 the largest of the rooms, which was about twenty feet 
 square and quite bare of furniture of any kind. But it 
 did not long remain empty, as the agha sent us a thick 
 carpet to spread on the floor, and a large bundle of rugs 
 on which we might recline. Our camels were waiting 
 for us when we were taken to the building, and most of 
 the baggage had been removed and placed on the ground. 
 A part of it was piled in one of the other rooms, and such 
 as we needed immediately was put into our own. Very 
 quickly we opened our trunks, not the ordinary trunks of 
 civilization, but soft ones of leather made especially for 
 transportation on camel-back, and resembling huge valises. 
 We did not array ourselves in purple and fine linen, but 
 we did put on better-looking clothing than what we were 
 then wearing. 
 
 *' Just as we finished our toilet preparations we received 
 a bountiful supply ,of dates and camel's milk, which the 
 aiiha sent to us. Renaud said that we would receive 
 something more shortl}^, and advised us to eat lightly of 
 
AT WAREGLA. II7 
 
 the proffered dainties. We acted upon his advice, and 
 after partaking sparingly of the articles, gave the re- 
 mainder to our followers, by whom it was quickly des- 
 ] atched. Less than an hour later two Arabs appeared 
 bearing on their shoulders the carcass of a sheep, spitted 
 on a long pole ; it had been roasted in its skin, or, rather, 
 baked in hot ashes. We squatted on the floor of our 
 room, two on one side of the sheep, and the third on the 
 other, the Arabs holding the carcass between us. 
 
 **Then a servant of the agha who accompanied them 
 proceeded to cut off morsels, or, rather, tear them off with 
 his fingers after slicing the carcass with his knife. When 
 he came upon a particularly choice bit he put it into our 
 mouths with his fingers. Possibly our hunger had some- 
 thing to do with it, but all agreed that we had never tasted 
 a nicer piece of mutton, not excepting even the South- 
 down of England or the famous mutton of Kentucky. 
 We think we have discovered a new mode of cookincr 
 mutton which we will introduce when we go home to 
 America. The wool is plucked from the carcass imme- 
 diately after the animal is slain, and then the skin is 
 thoroughly singed, just as a chicken is singed before roast- 
 ing or baking. The skin being on the sheep during the 
 process of cooking forms a protection for the juices of the 
 meat and makes an excellent " crackling." 
 
 *' After the sheep we were served with liver skewered 
 on sticks and cooked over a fire. They gave us no bread 
 or vegetables, and we fell back on our supply of biscuits 
 and upon some bread which Renaud had bought in the 
 market. No wine or drink of any kind was offered us ; 
 
Il8 IN ^VILD AFRICA. 
 
 of course, we didn't expect wine when it was forbidden by 
 the Koran to all good Moslems, and we now regretted 
 having given all the camel's milk to our followers. 
 
 " In about half an hour after the arrival of the sheep 
 there came another course of our dinner. This was a 
 dish of kouskousou, which is generally abbreviated to 
 * kouskous.' It was brought by two servants and placed 
 on the floor in front of us in a large covered dish, and 
 was smoking hot. Kouskous is the principal food of the 
 natives of Algeria, and when well cooked it is an excellent 
 dish, being palatable as well as nourishing. It is made 
 of barley or wheat meal coarsely ground ; the grinding 
 being done by the women of the household. When a 
 dish of kouskous is required the meal is placed in a shallow 
 pan about two feet in diameter, and a little milk or water 
 is poured over it. It is allowed to soak a little while, and 
 then the meal is rubbed in the palms of the hands into 
 little pellets which resemble grains of rice. Afterwards, 
 these pellets are slowly steamed for two or three hours, 
 and when the steaming is completed the casual observer 
 might suppose that he was looking at a dish of boiled 
 ric 
 
 " In this condition it is eaten by the poorer natives after 
 a little salt is sprinkled over it. Those who can afford to 
 do so mix dates, raisins, or other fruit of any kind with 
 the steamed meal, and on the top of the whole pour a 
 quantity of milk or rich broth. If they have broth to pour 
 over it, the natural conclusion is that they have the meat 
 from which it was made. If so, the meat, whether mutton 
 or fowl, is laid on the top of the dish and the guests pull 
 
AT WAREGLA. II9 
 
 off morsels of it while they eat. Bear in mind that no 
 spoons, knives, or forks are used. The party sit on the 
 floor around the bowl and eat with their fingers. If you 
 want to realize the force of the adage that ' fingers were 
 made before forks ' you can do so by eating an Arab 
 dinner. Sometimes the* meat is cut or torn into small 
 pieces and mixed in with the other materials. This is 
 not, however, the regular Arab style, the dish in that case 
 resembling more nearly a Turkish pilauf than the Arab 
 kouskous. 
 
 "After the kouskous came coffee, and it was the best 
 cup of coffee we had seen since leaving Tuggurt. The 
 agha evidently knew what good living was from an 
 Arabic point of view. Doubtless, he would have been 
 puzzled if seated at Delmonico's table in New York, and 
 would have enjoyed his own dishes better than those of 
 western civilization, but he is so much a gentleman that I 
 am sure he would have eaten heartily and praised every- 
 thing that he touched. 
 
 "It was pretty late when our feast was finished, and 
 when everything w^as cleared away we were not long in 
 getting to bed. The quantity of food which the agha 
 sent us was six times as much as w^e could devour, but 
 our followers, together with the servants who had brought 
 it, made short work of everything that was left. Renaud 
 told us in the morning there was absolutely nothing to be 
 taken back except the dishes. 
 
 "Although we were very tired, we did not sleep well 
 during the night, owing to the noise that was made in the 
 courtyard. There was a fire in the center of the yard. 
 
I20 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 and around it were gathered not only our own people, but 
 a good many others, who kept up a continuous stream of 
 talking from sunset to sunrise. Our camels were in the 
 courtyard, and so were our horses. The latter were 
 picketed rather too close together for quietness, and every 
 little while they would indulge in a kicking and squealing 
 match in order to keep their limbs from rusting. There 
 was no door to our apartment, and so we hung up a part 
 of our tent as a curtain. This improvised curtain was not 
 thick enough to keep out the noise, or even to refine it; 
 however, we managed to get a little sleep, though not as 
 much as any of us wanted. 
 
 " We lifted our curtain at a reasonably early hoiftr in 
 the morning, but, early as it was, we found the courtyard 
 well filled with visitors. Some of the agha's servants and 
 officers were in the courtyard, and one of the latter went 
 to notify his chief that our door was open. He came in 
 about half an hour, accompanied by his brother, the kadi 
 of the city, and three or four pipe-bearers. Quite a crowd 
 of ragtag and bobtail followed them, all curious to get a 
 peep at the foreigners, since very few whites other than 
 French officers and soldiers have ever visited Waregla. 
 
 "A few English have been there, but, as far as we 
 could ascertain, we were the first Americans. It was 
 noised around that we came from America, and this in- 
 tensified the curiosity to look at us. Very few of the 
 people had any idea where America was. Some thought 
 it was an island near Great Britain or France ; others 
 believed that it was situated somewhere in the Pacific or 
 Atlantic Oceans, they didn't know which. Geography is 
 
AT WAREGLA. 121 
 
 very little taught in Arab countries, and, least of all, 
 in the cities and towns of the Sahara. I doubt if one in 
 twenty of the natives in Waregla ever heard of America 
 before our arrival, and not one in a hundred ever heard of 
 the United States. 
 
 " The agha was very polite and proposed that we should 
 go on horseback to visit the city after we had taken 
 breakfast. He suggested that it might not be safe for us 
 to go alone, and that his brother, with several officers, 
 would accompany us. The interview was rather a long 
 one ; in fact, it was a good deal longer than we wished it 
 to be. All our conversation was carried on through 
 Renaud, who was a very good interpreter ; but etiquette 
 required that he should wait until a question or suggestion 
 was propounded before he could say anything. Some- 
 times there would be pauses of five or ten minutes when 
 it was the agha's turn to speak, but his serenity was not 
 disturbed in the least, and we began to wonder if he would 
 ever go away. We wanted our breakfast, and, as the 
 agha had intimated that it was being prepared for us, 
 there was nothing to do but wait. 
 
 "The agha left a little before noon, his brother going 
 with him. Shortly after their departure a large bowl of 
 kouskous arrived and we sat down to eat it ; we invited 
 the kadi to join us, but he refused, though he asked to be 
 permitted to remain and see us eat. We consented,. and 
 he looked on with the same curiosity that he might bestow 
 on a cage of wild animals at their morning repast. A 
 crowd of inferior Arabs thronged the doorway, several of 
 them working their way into the room for the same reason 
 
122 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 that the kadi remained ; they wanted to see how the 
 foreigners fed themselves. 
 
 "After breakfast, we started out upon the proposed 
 excursion, accompanied by the kadi, several other officers, 
 and about twenty soldiers or retainers, all mounted. It 
 was rather an imposing cavalcade, and not a good arrange- 
 ment for sight-seeing ; we would have preferred going on 
 foot, but this was vehemently opposed by the agha, who 
 was afraid we might get into trouble. The letter which 
 we brought from the governor of Biskra not only secured 
 us the friendship and hospitality of the agha, but it also 
 made him, in a certain sense, responsible for us. He 
 knew that he would be severely blamed if we got into any 
 trouble while in his care, and was, therefore, determined 
 to keep us constantly under his protection. 
 
 " We found that the city had a triple circuit of walls, 
 which were, generally, in a ruinous condition. The outer 
 wall enclosed a broad, open space where cattle could be 
 driven in, camels loaded and unloaded, and caravans 
 made up. The middle walls were greatly dilapidated, 
 and could have been torn down sufficiently to admit the 
 passage of troops without difficulty. The inmost wall was 
 surrounded by a broad, though not very deep ditch, 
 which was lined at its edge with tamarisk and other 
 bushes, and partly filled with saltwater. All around the 
 city were palm trees extending for a considerable distance 
 in every direction. Renaud told us that the palm forest 
 was formerly larger .than it now is, owing to the partial 
 depopulation of the town. 
 
 " Waregla contains about thirteen hundred liouses, many 
 
AT WAREGLA. 1 23 
 
 of which are uninhabited. The city is an old one, dating 
 back more than a thousand years, and some say it had its 
 beginning before the Christian era. In the last twenty- 
 five years it has lost many of its inhabitants by emigration ; 
 they having been attracted to Biskra, Tuggurt, and the 
 Mozabite cities, owing to the greater safety of those places 
 from the depredations of hostile tribes, and the greater 
 opportunities for making money. 
 
 *' The city is reached by four gates through the inmost 
 wall, and there is a bridge over the ditch at each of these 
 gates. On each gateway and over all the doors of the 
 houses we found Arabic inscriptions taken from the 
 Koran, and we also observed that tl^ architecture was 
 decidedly Saracenic in character. Many of the streets 
 consisted of arched passages, the arches being so low that 
 we were frequently obliged to stoop our faces down to our 
 horses' necks to avoid hitting the stones above us. 
 
 " Through these passages we went mostly in single file, 
 and on each side of us there were rows of people w4io 
 wanted to see the strangers, and also wanted, many of 
 them, to have their disputes settled by the kadi. The 
 kadi reminded me of the American who said that he had a 
 very busy time of it, as he managed a church, a saw-mill, 
 and a gambling-house all at the same time. The kadi 
 was obliged, simultaneously, to return the salutes of the 
 people, settle quarrels and administer justice, and also be 
 polite to his guests. 
 
 " It is the custom in Waregla, whenever the kadi or the 
 agha appears in public, to appeal to him for the settle- 
 ment of disputes, and very often the parties to the quarrel 
 
124 ^^ WII.D AFRICA. 
 
 make things very lively. At the corner of the souk, or 
 market-place, the kadi was called upon to decide the 
 ownership of a horse, the claimants, and also the animal, 
 being present. The trial lasted about fifteen minutes, 
 and the battle of words was so loud as to be audible all 
 over the souk. We were not at all sorry for these inter- 
 ruptions, as they gave us a chance to look around at the 
 crowd of people and the architecture of the buildings. 
 
 " The crowd in the market-place became so noisy and 
 pressed upon us so closely that our escort was obliged to 
 beat them off with sticks. When this happened, the kadi 
 hurried up his administration of justice and got us out of the 
 souk as quickly as possible. We were then taken to the 
 ruins of the Kasbah, or palace of the sultan ; it was 
 the residence of the last sultan of Waregla, and since his 
 deposition, some thirty years ago, the building has been 
 allowed to go to ruin. 
 
 " I heard a good story, which is worth repeating, about 
 the way the Wareglans came to have a sultan. For hun- 
 dreds of years they were governed by an aristocracy, or 
 Council of Notables, but they came to believe that, the 
 antiquity of their city entitled them to be ruled by a sultan ; 
 so they applied to the Emperor of Morocco to give them, 
 as king, a descendant of Mohammed, the Prophet of 
 Islam. At first the emperor refused, but, as the Wareglans 
 continued obstinate, he offered to supply them with one of 
 liis sons if they would pay for him his weight in gold- 
 dust. They were very anxious, and consented at once ; 
 he sent them one of his sons who weighed about three 
 hundred pounds, having been fattened up for the occasion. 
 
AT WAREGLA. I 25 
 
 They accepted him, and paid in gold-dust, pound for 
 pound, and then they buiU a palace for him, and gave 
 him a large annual revenue. 
 
 " In more recent times the office of sultan of Waregla 
 was not entirely an autocratic one ; the council of notables 
 had the perogative of deposing the sultan whenever they 
 liked, but they notified him of his deposition in a very 
 delicate way. It was the custom for a band of musi- 
 cians to perform in front of his private apartments every 
 morning at the hour of prayer. If they omitted at any 
 time to do so, it was understood to be the signal for the 
 sultan to retire into private life and make way for his suc- 
 cessor. 
 
 *'One of the most interesting parts of the city that we 
 visited was the Hebrew quarter, which reminded us very 
 much of the same locality at Tuggurt. In Waregla the 
 Jews have their own streets and their own municipal or- 
 ganization, and they are not interfered with by the Mo- 
 hammedans in any way as long as they pay their taxes 
 and take no part in politics. They have a monopoly of 
 working in gold and silver, and their products in this line 
 are much like those of Tuggurt. We found among them 
 some curious collections of old coins ; among them were 
 some coins of Castile, in Spain, before it was united with 
 Arragon ; they were irregular masses of silver, weighing 
 an ounce, and stamped rather rudely with the arms of 
 Castile and Leon. They had also some coins of the 
 Christian kingdom of Jerusalem, and some shekels of 
 very ancient date. We tried to buy some of these coins, 
 but did not succeed in purchasing a single one, owing to 
 
126 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 the suspicion that they might not be genuine, and also 
 because of the exorbitant prices demanded for them. 
 
 '' These Hebrews of Waregla were very dark in color, 
 darker a great deal than the Arabs, and almost as black 
 as negroes. The doctor says that they resemble the 
 Abyssinian Jews in their color, and also in their features, 
 which are entirely Hebrew without the slightest trace of 
 negro origin. The doctor says that the Jewish race forms 
 a fine illustration of the effect of climate through many 
 generations. Thus the Hebrews of northern Europe are 
 generally blonde ; those of middle Europe are between 
 blonde and brunette ; those of Spain and Portugal are dis- 
 tinct brunettes, while those of Africa, Southern Asia, and 
 the Malay Islands are black ; but all have the same fea- 
 tures and their blood has been kept pure through many 
 generations. 
 
 " We asked to be shown through the bazaars of Ware- 
 gla, but were decidedly disappointed when we saw them. 
 The bazaars are not extensive, and the supply of goods for 
 sale there is neither, large nor picturesque. Cotton cloths, 
 cutlery, and other merchandise from France could be seen 
 there, together with ostrich feathers and eggs, and skins 
 of the deer, lion, panther, and other animals found in or 
 near the desert. Evidently the people have little to buy 
 with, and the keepers of the shops receive but little en- 
 couragement. The people have an indolent appearance, 
 and Renaud tells us that they are quite satisfied to make a 
 living without troubling themselves to lay up a provision 
 for old age." 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 EXPLORING WAREGLA HOME OF THE TUAREGS. 
 
 OUR friends spent several hours in exploring the streets 
 and market-place, and looking in the shops of Ware- 
 gla, and, though they were frequently closely pressed by the 
 populace out of curiosity, they were not injured or insulted 
 in any way, and at the end of their promenade they re- 
 turned safe and sound to their quarters. Before taking 
 leave of them, the kadi said he had been instructed to 
 notify them that the agha desired the trio of Americans to 
 dine with him. The doctor accepted on behalf of his 
 young companions and himself, and said he would be 
 ready when wanted. The kadi replied that an escort 
 would come for them at the proper hour for dinner. 
 
 A little before sunset the agha's brother, accompanied by 
 two officers, called at the lodgings of the strangers, and 
 after a brief pause announced that he had come to take 
 them to dinner. The doctor had ordered pipes and coffee 
 immediately on their arrival, and time was taken to dispose 
 of these refreshments before the party set out. The lodg- 
 ings of our friends were so near the agha's residence that 
 saddle horses were quite unnecessary, but, nevertheless, 
 etiquette required that the journey should not be made on 
 foot. The escorting party came on horseback, and as 
 Renaud understood well the customs of the place, he had 
 
 127 
 
128 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 the horses of the doctor and his nephews saddled and wait- 
 ing. It took but a moment to reach the agha's residence, 
 where the party dismounted and the animals were led 
 away. 
 
 The strangers were ushered into the agha's presence 
 and were cordially received. Glasses of what Ned con- 
 cluded must be sherbet were passed around, and etiquette 
 required that it should be swallowed. Harry said that the 
 liquor tasted more like water colored and sweetened than 
 anything else, and Renaud told him afterwards that he 
 had guessed the situation very fairly. As before stated, 
 the Moslems do not drink wine, at least, not in public, being 
 forbidden to do so by their religion. Consequently their 
 strongest beverages are very mild when regarded from an 
 occidental point of view. 
 
 At the first opportunity Ned asked Renaud how sherbet 
 was made. 
 
 " It is nothing more nor less," replied^Renaud, ** than the 
 juice of fruits mixed with water and diluted to a condition 
 of weakness. After the fruit juices and water are mixed, 
 the composition is sweetened just as we sweeten lemonade." 
 
 " In other words," said Ned, " sherbet is simply lemon- 
 ade made with the juices of fruits instead of lemon juice." 
 
 '' Exactly so," responded the Frenchman, *' and if there 
 is any difference it is that sherbet is much weaker than 
 our lemonade. One might drink a gallon of it and not 
 feel any ill consequences in the way of headache or other 
 malady ; as for intoxication, all the lakes of Switzerland 
 made into sherbet would not contain enough alcohol to 
 make anybody stagger." 
 
EXPLORING WAREGLA. 1 29 
 
 After the sherbet, dinner was announced. The host led 
 the way into another apartment, where the party sat, or 
 squatted, on the floor around a low table, the doctor being 
 at the side of the agha, while the agha's brother and an- 
 other officer took the part of special hosts to the two 
 youths. Dates and camel's milk formed the first course, 
 a roasted sheep the second, and kouskousou the third. 
 Before they began eating, a servant came with a basin and 
 a pitcher of brass, the pitcher having a long spout like 
 that of a teapot, and about half an inch in diameter at the 
 end. The basin was held under the hands of each of the 
 party, while water was poured over them ; then the hands 
 were dried on a large and soft towel, and one after another 
 of the party gave evidence to all the rest that his hands 
 were perfectly clean. This is a ceremony which always 
 precedes a Moslem dinner. Between every two courses 
 the hands are washed, and not infrequently the host calls 
 for the washing equipments while a course is being eaten. 
 
 As already stated, a Moslem dinner is eaten with the 
 fingers, and consequently the process of frequently wash- 
 ing the hands becomes necessary. It removes all suspi- 
 cion of soiled fingers and renders much less disagreeable 
 the practice of the host using his own fingers to put choice 
 morsels into the mouth of his guest. When a sheep is 
 roasted whole and placed before the dinner party, it must 
 be torn in pieces with the fingers, and the diners would 
 have a considerable amount of grease on hand at the end 
 of the meal, were it not for the frequent washing. 
 
 The meal proceeded with little interruption, and the 
 pauses between the courses were brief. There was not 
 
130 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 much conversation during the dinner, as there was no in- 
 terpreter present, and the agha's stock of French was 
 about equal to the Arabic of our friends. The doctor and 
 the youths had been careful to learn as many compliment- 
 ary words and phrases in Arabic as they could, and they 
 made liberal use of their stock of knowledge as the dinner 
 progressed. The agha seemed greatly pleased at the 
 terms of satisfaction in which they spoke of the dinner, 
 and at each expression of admiration he pressed them to 
 eat more. Ned whispered to Harry that it would be well 
 for them to cease their commendations, or they would be 
 compelled to eat to repletion. Harry took the hint, and 
 the latter portion of the dinner was somewhat more sub- 
 dued than the early part. 
 
 When the dinner was over the party returned to the 
 reception-room, where they were served with pipes and 
 coffee. Soon after these were finished the agha rose as 
 an intimation that the affair was at an end. Then our 
 friends bowed themselves out and found their horses wait- 
 ing at the door. Renaud had received the hint from the 
 agha's servants and brought the horses around just in time. 
 
 Before our friends left the agha's house they were 
 invited to go on a hunting expedition on the following day, 
 and of course they accepted. They were to take break- 
 fast with the agha, and start with him in the pursuit of the 
 game ; the agha said he would notify them when to come 
 to breakfast by sending his brother to escort them. 
 
 *' I wonder what kind of a hunt it is to be," said Ned. 
 *' Are we to take our rifles, or shotguns, or will the agha 
 furnish the weapons ? " 
 
EXPLORING WAREGLA. I3I 
 
 **I don't know, I'm sure," replied Harry. ** Let's go 
 and ask the doctor." 
 
 The question was referred to the doctor, whose answer 
 was similar to that of Harry's. He did not know what 
 kind of a hunt was intended. 
 
 Then Renaud was summoned, but he was equally igno- 
 rant. 
 
 "But I'll go and see some of the agha's servants and 
 find out," said Renaud. 
 
 Off went the faithful Frenchman, and soon returned. 
 As he entered the apartment, the three Americans 
 turned their faces towards him with an inquisitive air. 
 
 "The agha is going to show you a style of hunting 
 which may be new to you," said Renaud, raising his hand 
 with a military salute. 
 
 " Well, which is it to be — shotguns or rifles?" queried 
 Ned. 
 
 "Neither of them," Renaud replied. "You are to 
 hunt with falcons, and not carry anything at all." 
 
 "Won't that be jolly ?" exclaimed Harry. "Hunting 
 with falcons just as though we were carried back three or 
 four centuries. I'm very glad to hear that." 
 
 "So am I," said the doctor, and Ned echoed his 
 opinion. 
 
 "There's one thing that you maybe certain of," said 
 the doctor, " and that is we shall have very little to do 
 except look on." 
 
 "Looking on at a hunt with falcons will be a great 
 treat," said Ned, "as it is entirely new. I wonder what 
 kind of game we will go for." 
 
132 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 " That depends a good deal on the kind that presents 
 itself," said the doctor quietly. " To the average hunter 
 anything is game that comes along, just as the old adage 
 says about fishermen : 
 
 '' * All is fish that cometh to net.' " 
 
 *'I believe the bustard is the favorite quarry, but the 
 eagle, ostrich, or gazelle is by no means unwelcome. 
 We'll see what the day will bring forth." 
 
 Renaud was then dismissed, and after the youths had 
 written up their journals they went to bed, whither the 
 doctor had gone before them. They slept better that 
 night than on the preceding one, as there was less tumult 
 in the courtyard, owing to the largely diminished number 
 of visitors. The kadi had received from Renaud infor- 
 mation of the annoyance of the preceding night, and gave 
 a gentle hint to his followers to stay away from the court- 
 yard from sunset to sunrise. 
 
 The party assembled for the hunt the next morning in 
 good season, after a simple breakfast consisting chiefly of 
 kouskousou. The falcons were objects of great interest 
 to our young friends, who examined them at a respectful 
 distance, out of regard for the sharp claws of the birds. 
 There were three falcons belonging to the agha, but 
 whether they comprised his entire stock of hunting birds 
 we are unable to say. 
 
 Ned plied Renaud with questions concerning the falcon, 
 and learned that these birds are bolder than eagles and 
 also stronger. They frequently attack and kill eagles, 
 and the falcon has been known to fly in twenty-four hours 
 a distance of thirteen hundred and fifty miles, from Paris 
 
EXPLORING WAREGLA. 1 33 
 
 to Malta. These birds do not fly at night, as they are 
 guided by their vision, and consequently their speed must 
 have been nearly, if not quite, a hundred miles an hour. 
 
 We will listen to Ned while he tells the story of the 
 hunting excursion. 
 
 '' No agha or sheikh of high degree ever goes far from 
 home, whether for business, war, or pleasure, without 
 being accompanied by his falcons and their keepers. The 
 chief falconer is an officer of no small rank, and he is 
 usually one of the confidential lieutenants of the agha. 
 In this case he receives great deference from all the other 
 attendants upon Sidi Zobeir, and rides close behind him, 
 with one falcon on his wrist, one on his shoulder, and 
 another on the top of his head. The hood of each falcon 
 is kept over his eyes at all times during the march, and is 
 only removed when he is to be ' cast' or sent after game. 
 
 *' The agha announced that we were going in pursuit of 
 the bustard, and after getting outside the city we turned in 
 a southerly direction. The southern end of the oasis 
 dwindles from a broad forest of luxuriant palm trees to a 
 very sparse and thin growth ; beyond this there are little 
 patches and dots which contain a few date palms, the 
 whole terminating in a marsh and isolated places with 
 very little vegetable growth of any account. Harry said 
 that it reminded him of a road somewhere in the Western 
 States which began in a grand avenue with a double row 
 of shade trees, and gradually dwindled, until it became a 
 squirrel track and ran up a tree. This end of the oasis is 
 the haunt of the bustard, and it was there we went to hunt 
 the bird. 
 
134 ^^ WILD AFRICA. 
 
 *' Every eye was watching keenly as we approached 
 the place where our game was supposed to be concealed. 
 By and by somebody caught sight of a bustard and gave 
 the signal. The falcon on the wrist of the chief falconer 
 was transferred to the hand of his master, the agha. The 
 whole procession came to a halt immediately ; then the 
 agha, after receiving the falcon, beckoned to the doctor 
 and ourselves to accompany him. We went perhaps 
 thirty or forty yards, and then the agha removed the hood 
 from the bird's head, and threw him in the direction of the 
 bustard, though before doing so he directed the attention 
 of the falcon to the game. 
 
 ** A great deal of skill is required in this performance, 
 as the bustard is apt to take to its wings if it sees the fal- 
 con at all before the latter is well in the air above him. 
 To kill a bustard on the wing is considered very disrepu- 
 table, and there are hunters who would put to death a 
 hunting bird which would make such a miserable mistake. 
 Stories are told of Arab sheikhs and other great men 
 w^ho have been so enraged at the unsportsmanlike conduct 
 of their falcons that they have put to death the birds and 
 also their trainers. 
 
 "Our falcons had evidently been well trained. The 
 first one that the agha sent out rose to a great height 
 directly above the bustard ; then it swooped down through 
 the air, making feints towards the bustard until the latter 
 took to its legs, instead of its wings. The falcon then 
 poised itself above the bustard, while a second one was 
 flung off by the agha. The bustard ran at a great pace, 
 the two pursuers urging him on, and whenever the intended 
 
EXPLORING WAREGLA. I35 
 
 victim tried to take to its wings the falcons prevented its 
 doing so by swooping down towards him. 
 
 "He ran so fast that we, with our horses at a gallop, 
 could barely keep up with him. The falcons hung over 
 him at the height of only a few yards, and at ever}' attempt 
 he made to use his wings they made a feint at him. The 
 most difficult part of training a falcon is in teaching him to 
 keep on making these feints until the game is nearly 
 exhausted. When the bustard shows that his strength is 
 about gone the fatal swoop is made, and the bird imme- 
 diately drops dead on the ground, its backbone being 
 pierced by the claws of the falcon. 
 
 '' Renaud explained to us that the bustard has a singu- 
 lar way of defending himself. When the falcon comes 
 near him the bustard ejects a slimy liquid from his moulli 
 at his pursuer ; if it hits the falcon it impedes his flight 
 and discourages him a great deal. A shrewd and well- 
 trained falcon plays with his prey, inducing him to eject 
 this defensive liquid, but carefully avoiding it, until the 
 bustard's supply of moisture is exhausted. We must have 
 pursued the bustard four or five miles before he was 
 secured, and our horses were pretty well blown when the 
 fatal stroke was given. 
 
 " We caught three bustards and as many sand-grouse 
 during our hunt. We saw some gazelles a considerable 
 distance away, but did not attempt to attack them, as our 
 horses were tired out and unfit for any further severe work 
 that day. I learned from Renaud that the Arab shiekhs 
 are not very fond of hunting the gazelle, for the reason that 
 the sport is liable to be the death of the falcon, as he runs 
 
136 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 the risk of being impaled on the horns of the animal when 
 making the last swoop. It is not infrequently the case 
 when gazelles are hunted in this way that beast and bird 
 fall dead at the same stroke, the former being killed by 
 the claws of the falcon, and the latter impaled on the ani- 
 mal's horns. 
 
 " The sport of falconry with the Arabs is practically 
 the same as that practised in England when falconry 
 was a fashionable amusement, the same gloves and hoods 
 being used, and also the same care in feeding, and the 
 same method of training. The prices of the birds are 
 higher than I supposed they would be ; Renaud told me 
 that a good falcon is worth 1,000 francs ($200), and not 
 infrequently 1,500 francs have been refused for a single 
 well-trained bird. The falcon is considered to be the 
 equivalant of a thoroughbred horse and the Arabs ex- 
 change the one for the other. Falcons usually have a 
 regular stable set apart for them, and they are groomed 
 and looked after carefully, as are the favorite horses of 
 their owners. 
 
 '' After our hunt was over, we halted under the shade 
 of some date palms, partly to rest our horses and partly to 
 satisfy the appetites which our ride had given us. One of 
 the attendants brought along a quantity of dates, and these 
 
 * 
 
 formed our repast. They were the sweetest we had ever 
 tasted, and, on remarking this, the agha told us the story 
 of their origin, which was duly translated by Renaud. 
 Here it is : — 
 
 *' 'There was an old woman once, old and without chil- 
 dren, who was very pious. She wanted to make a pil- 
 
EXPLORING WAREGLA. 137 
 
 grimage to Mecca, but was too poor to do so ; she was so 
 poor that she had not even money enough to buy a string 
 of beads, and so she gathered some date stones, bored 
 holes in them, and formed them into a chaplet. With these 
 beads she repeated her prayers daily and hourly, and fre- 
 quently visited the tomb of a holy man, where she begged 
 the prophet that he would not charge her poverty as a 
 crime, but admit her to the same place in paradise to which 
 she would have been entitled if she had made the visit to 
 Mecca. When she died her friends buried with her the 
 chaplet of stones, the only earthly thing that she possessed. 
 The spirit of the prophet visited the grave, and the tears he 
 shed over it germinated the stones, and they sprang into a 
 group of trees, which produced the sweetest dates ever 
 known.' 
 
 *' 'And these are some of them,' said the agha, as he 
 ended his story. 
 
 "The Arabs say they have fifteen kinds of dates, some 
 of them being the best for eating fresh, some for drying 
 and cooking, and others best for preserving in sugar, as 
 some dates are preserved. The cultivation and curing of 
 dates is an art requiring considerable skill. The dates of 
 Waregla are of several kinds, but I don't think the whole 
 fifteen varieties can be found there. It is a curious fact 
 that, though the date-palm requires considerable water at 
 its feet, the crop is injured and sometimes wholly destroyed 
 in case of a heavy fall of rain before the dates are ripe. 
 
 " They brought us a liquor made from the juices of the 
 palm tree ; it is called ' laguna,' and the Arabs are very 
 fond of it, but to our taste it seemed very sweet and in- 
 
138 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 sipid. It is obtained by making an incision in the top of 
 the tree and attaching a funnel by which the sap flows 
 into a jug. About ten quarts will be obtained every 
 morning in this way, and the operation is said to be bene- 
 ficial to sickly or poorly yielding trees, provided it is not 
 too long continued ; in the latter case the tree is killed." 
 
 The next day our friends went outside the city to visit 
 a Tuareg encampment among the palm groves. The first 
 object to attract tlieir attention was a group of beautiful 
 white camels, such as have already been mentioned, but 
 the ones that they saw that day were larger than any 
 which the youths had yet encountered. Ned remarked 
 jestingly that he would like to own one. Renaud, think- 
 ing he was in earnest, answered that it would be impossible 
 for him to do so ; first, because the Tuaregs would not sell 
 one of the '* mahari " at any price, and, secondly, because 
 the animal could not live in the colder regions of the 
 coast. 
 
 Ned replied that if such was the case he would not try 
 to make a purchase, but he could not help admiring these 
 beautiful creatures, which were as large as they were 
 handsome. Renaud told him that the largest of ordinary 
 camels were not as tall as the mahari by at least eighteen 
 inches, and whenever groups of the two kinds were 
 together the ordinary camels looked like dwarfs. Renaud 
 further said that great care was used in breeding and 
 training the mahari, that they were very docile, far more 
 so than the ordinary camel, and seem to take pleasure in 
 obeying the commands of their masters. They lie down, 
 rise, turn, and quicken or slacken their pace at the voice 
 
EXPLORING WAREGLA. 
 
 139 
 
 of their rider, and this is the case with no other kind of 
 camel. 
 
 The youths were interested in finding that most of the 
 tents of the Tuaregs were made of leather, — the untanned 
 hides of goats or antelopes, stretched while green and 
 then stitched together. Ned and Harry went inside one 
 of the tents, and found it considerably cooler than a can- 
 vas one, but it was so low as to compel them to stoop 
 uncomfortably. The Tuaregs that they saw were dressed 
 quite differently from the Arabs, each man having a long 
 tuft of hair on the top of his head, only the temples and 
 the back of the head being shaved. 
 
 The Tuareg wears cotton trousers with a long flowing 
 robe of black cotton or wool, which is held at the waist by 
 a broad belt of leather. Outside of this he wears a striped 
 or blue cloak without sleeves, and on his head he wears a 
 very high red cap with a black turban around it. One of 
 these ends is brought down over the face and fastened 
 with an ivory pin so that only the eyes are visible. When 
 at meals, the Tuareg never takes off this veil, but holds it 
 away from his mouth with one hand. In wearing veils 
 the Tuareg custom is exactly the reverse of that of most 
 other Mohammedans. In nearly all Moslem countries 
 women are veiled, but men are not ; with the Tuaregs the 
 men wear veils, while the women go unveiled. To expose 
 the face is considered a degradation ; the Tuaregs, like 
 most Orientals, regard w^omen as inferior beings, and it is 
 probably to mark their inferiority that the veil is forbidden 
 to women. 
 
 Harry observed that the most dignified and apparently 
 
140 
 
 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 the most wealthy of the Tuaregs were barefooted, and he 
 learned in answer to his inquiries on this subject that only 
 those who are too poor to ride wear any covering on 
 their feet, so that it is a mark of superiority in position 
 and property to go barefooted. Some of the poorer 
 Tuaregs, Ned observed, were wearing coverings on their 
 feet which seemed to be permanent attachments. They 
 were simply the skins of sheep, goats, or other animals, 
 put on when wet, and then stitched together ; they shrink 
 while drying, and cannot be removed until worn out and 
 ripped apart. Harry suggested that possibly these men 
 were born with boots on, or, at any rate, he couldn't help 
 thinking so when he looked at them, to which Ned 
 replied that they probably died with their boots on. 
 
 The chief of the Tuaregs received our friends very cor- 
 dially, and invited them to make a journey into the Tuareg 
 country. They gave the assurance that the travelers 
 would be unmolested, inasmuch as they had a safe-conduct 
 from the French governor at Biskra, and proposed that he 
 would bring them a special safe-conduct from the Tuareg 
 sheikh of that region. The youths were ready enough to 
 accept the invitation, but the doctor said their route was 
 in another direction. 
 
 The Tuaregs claim a wide extent of country, practically 
 all that lies between Morocco on the west and Lake 
 Chad on the east, while their northern boundary may be 
 placed on the parallel of latitude through Waregla and the 
 southern one near that of Timbuctoo, or along the bank of 
 the Niger. The headquarters of their principal clan seems 
 to be an isolated group of mountains, about fifteen long 
 
EXPLORING WAREGLA. I4I 
 
 days' journey southwest from Waregla. These mountains 
 are said to be well wooded and watered, but no foreigner 
 has ever been there to describe the region, neither has any 
 of the Arabs other than the Tuaregs. All caravans care- 
 fully avoid the haunts of these robbers, and as for single 
 travelers, they value their lives and property at too high a 
 price to risk them where the Tuaregs abound. They de- 
 scribe their region as a productive one, and the mountains 
 must be of considerable height, as their upper portions are 
 covered with pines and other coniferous trees. This fact 
 does not rest alone on the word of the Tuaregs, but is 
 established by the use of resinous woods in the manufac- 
 ture of their saddles and other equipments. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 ON THE ROAD CURING A SHEIKH. 
 
 HAVING exhausted the curiosities of Waregla and re- 
 cruited the strength of their camels and horses, our 
 friends prepared to move on. They laid in a supply of 
 water sufficient to take them to the next wells on their 
 route, and also a stock of barley for the horses, and a 
 goodly quantity of dates for themselves and the camels. As 
 already stated, the camel derives its subsistence chiefly from 
 the bushes and shrubs that grow in the desert, but when 
 these are too scarce in quantity the faithful beast must be 
 fed. He will eat dates and is fond of them, and will even 
 eat the stones of the dates without any of the *' meat." 
 Whenever our friends made a meal from the dates they 
 saved the stones for the camels. Ned said it reminded him 
 of a traveler who was hard up for provisions at one time, 
 but managed to save himself and his dog by cutting off 
 the dog's tail and making soup of it for himself, and then 
 giving the bone to the dog. 
 
 Dr. Whitney intimated one morning to the agha that 
 he and his party would leave on the following day. In 
 the afternoon the agha came to make a visit, accom- 
 panied by his brother, the kadi, several other officers, his 
 pipe-bearer, coffee-bearer, and other attendants. The 
 doctor made farewell presents to each of the party ; the 
 
 14a 
 
ON THE ROAD. I43 
 
 presents consisting of handkerchiefs, sashes, scissors, 
 pocket-knives, and a pistol, the last being for the agha 
 himself. Renaud at the same time distributed money 
 among the servants of the agha, and when the whole busi- 
 ness was ended the travelers found that it was an expen- 
 sive luxury to be the guest of a great man. 
 
 ** It's all very nice," said Ned to Harry when their visitors 
 had departed, "to be treated as hospitably as we have 
 been, but the day of reckoning is a serious one." 
 
 *' You will find it the same in most Moslem countries," 
 said the doctor. "You are treated with a great deal of 
 distinction when properly introduced ; horses and camels, 
 escorts of soldiers, and the like, are placed at your dis- 
 posal, and you have a first-rate time, but everybody expects 
 a present when you are about to leave, and his expecta- 
 tions are gauged rather by the importance of his employer 
 than the amount of service he has rendered." 
 
 Before leaving our friends the agha called to his brother 
 for a sheet of paper which was handed to the kadi, and 
 the latter wrote upon it a letter which the agha dictated. 
 In writing he placed the paper in the palm of his left 
 hand, holding the reed-pen in his right, and moistening 
 the latter with ink from a bottle shaped somewhat like the 
 sheath of a knife, and carried in his girdle. After writing 
 the letter he handed it over to the agha, who read it and 
 then called for his seal. 
 
 Another functionary then stepped forward with a leather 
 bag, which the agha unlocked very ceremoniously with a 
 key that he produced from the folds of his garments. 
 Out of this bag he took a seal, which very much resembled 
 
144 ^^ WILD AFRICA. 
 
 a silver dollar fixed in a wooden handle. The seal was 
 handed to the kadi, who moistened his fingers with ink 
 which he rubbed on the seal, and then handed back to the 
 agha. The latter pressed it on the paper, and this formal- 
 ity completed the document, which was a letter of com- 
 mendation to the chief authority at the next oasis. The 
 agha also supplied our friends with four horsemen who 
 were to accompany them the first two or three days of 
 their journey, or until they were out of immediate danger. 
 The doctor had not asked for this guard, but was unable to 
 decline it, as he realized that the agha was responsible for 
 the safety of the party as long as they were in any part of 
 his district. 
 
 By daylight the next morning the horses and camels 
 were ready in the courtyard, and the loads were placed 
 on the animals as quickly as possible. It always takes 
 longer to get under way the first time after a few days' halt 
 than when the caravan is on the route, and so it proved in 
 this case. It was necessary to make several alterations in 
 the distribution of the loads for the camels, and, besides, 
 some of the beasts were inclined to be refractory. They 
 had enjoyed the good things of Waregla, and were un- 
 willing to leave the place. They knew very well that 
 packing up meant a journey over the desert, and conse- 
 quently they made a protest at receiving their burdens. 
 One camel, when laden, absolutely refused to rise in spite 
 of repeated cudgelings on the tenderest portions of the 
 body. Finally the chief camel driver brought him to his 
 feet by taking off from his burden a small package weigh- 
 ing not over ten pounds and transferring it to the back of 
 
ON THE ROAD. ' I45 
 
 another camel ; then the refractory beast rose at once to 
 his feet, and behaved himself with proper docility. 
 
 We m.ay remark here that this performance on the part 
 of a camel is by no means infrequent ; he will make a 
 great fuss and absolutely refuse to rise when loaded, but 
 if ever so slight a portion is taken off his burden, or even 
 a pretence of taking it off is made, he rises at once to his 
 feet, and seems perfectly contented. 
 
 The caravan filed out of the city and soon reached the 
 edge of the palm groves and gardens of the oasis. The 
 next destination of the party was Gadames, a city about 
 fourteen days' journey to the southeast, and in that direc- 
 tion the head of the caravan was turned. Both Ned and 
 Harry kept records of this part of the journey and there 
 was a good-natured competition between them as to which 
 should have the more complete account. We will listen 
 to Ned as he tells the story of their adventures. 
 
 " We have a new guide who is accompanying us to 
 Gadames, and then watch his chance to return with a 
 caravan. Renaud is not acquainted with the route from 
 Temacin to Gadames, and, therefore, an additional guide 
 was desirable. He is a Mozabite, a traveler by profession, 
 and has been in all parts of the desert, and he is a hand- 
 some, dashing fellow, with the reputation of being a good 
 shot. Evidently he wants to show us some of his skill, as 
 he keeps ahead of the caravan, examines every mound 
 and bush in search of a foe, and appears somewhat dis- 
 appointed at finding nothing. His name is Selim ; he has 
 another name, which we did not try to grasp, the one word 
 Selim being quite enough for our purpose. He carries a 
 
146 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 rifle with a long barrel and a flint-lock, and whenever he 
 discharges the weapon there is a very perceptible interval 
 of time between the flash in the pan and the report of the 
 gun. Renaud says the way to handle such a gun as that 
 is to fire first and then take aim. In addition to the rifle, 
 he carries a large dagger and an antiquated pistol, and 
 he explains that the latter has been an heirloom in the 
 family for over a hundred years. Harry thought the 
 pistol would be quite as dangerous to the man aiming it as 
 to the one it was aimed at, but we did not venture to 
 express our opinion so that Selim would know of it. 
 
 *'By Selim's direction, we camped the first night in a 
 valley between two hills. There were signs of moisture 
 in one spot in the valley, and Selim said that w^ater might 
 be obtained there by digging. As we had an abundant 
 supply of water for ourselves and horses, and the camels 
 had taken a hearty drink before leaving the Oued Ghir, 
 we did not go to the trouble of making a well. 
 
 " A guard was stationed immediately after camp was 
 formed, and changed at regular intervals during the 
 night. Selim took the first watch, Renaud the second, 
 and Harry and I the third and fourth. By arranging it 
 in this way we were not obliged to make use of any of 
 our attendants, nor did we wish to do so after our expe- 
 rience with theni as sentinels. 
 
 *' In the afternoon of the third day we spied some palm 
 trees from the crest of the ridge, and learned from Selim 
 that we were approaching the oasis, to the chief of which 
 we had a letter of introduction. Before reaching it, we 
 passed through a large cemetery filled with tombs of a 
 
ON THE ROAD. I47 
 
 construction that we had never before seen. They were 
 low and flat, about eight feet by four, and most of them 
 were decorated with pinnacles about two feet high ; one 
 at each of the corners, and one at each of the sides, mid- 
 way from the ends. Each of these pinnacles was sur- 
 mounted with an ostrich egg^ and some of the graves 
 were ornamented with bunches of black ostrich feathers. 
 These tombs were in the barren ground outside of the 
 oasis, as tillable soil in the desert is altogether too precious 
 to be used either for burial or building purposes. 
 
 "The oasis straggled over a large extent of ground, 
 and the indications are that it has been much more exten- 
 sive and flourishing than it is now. The roots of many 
 of the palm trees are covered with sand ; the water that 
 nourishes them is so conveyed that it sinks into the sand 
 and thus gives life to the roots of the trees. The oasis is 
 not, like most others, a single patch of fertile earth, but 
 consists of a great number of small patches, some of them 
 a hundred yards and more from their nearest neighbors. 
 The water is mostly salt, the wells that supply it being 
 quite shallow, not more than ten or twenty feet in depth. 
 
 " We sent our guide ahead with our letter of recom- 
 mendation to the sheikh, and when w^e reached the town 
 we were met at the gate by the kadi, who wished to lodge 
 us inside the town, but we preferred to camp among the 
 palm trees. To this the kadi reluctantly assented, and 
 showed us a place where we could pitch our tents. 
 We formed our camp, and then accompanied the kadi 
 through the town, which Harry afterwards described as 
 a pocket edition of Tuggurt, as it is smaller in the number 
 
148 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 of houses and inhabitants, and is much more dilapidated. 
 The inhabitants were darker in color, the negroes were 
 in greater proportion, and there was quite as much curi- 
 osity to see the strangers ; flocks of sheep and goats were 
 numerous outside the town, and we had no difficulty in 
 buying a sheep for our dinner. We had it roasted in the 
 manner already described, and this with a bowl of kous- 
 kousou, and some stewed dates, comprised our evening 
 meal. 
 
 " The sheikh came in after dinner, and his first request 
 was for a letter showing that we had been hospitably 
 treated. Renaud wrote the letter in the best Arabic of 
 which he was capable ; it was much better than any of 
 us could have written, but from an Arab point of view 
 I'm afraid it was not a fine piece of composition. Renaud 
 expressed a doubt as to whether the commandant at Tug- 
 gurt would be able to read it, but he thought he might 
 make out its purport, and said it was composed of the 
 most flattering phrases he could think of. 
 
 " In looking after our welfare, the sheikh did not forget 
 our camels and horses, which were well supplied with 
 fodder. He also gave us a letter to the sheikh of the next 
 oasis, and thus assured us of a friendly reception. We 
 rewarded his kindness by suitable presents, and made a 
 good start in the morning. 
 
 " We kept up the practice of fixing our position every 
 day by observation," continued Ned in his journal, "al- 
 though there was no necessity for our doing so ; from 
 Temacin we have traveled to the southeast, and every day 
 our observations have shown a little less latitude and a 
 
ON THE ROAD. 1 49 
 
 little more longitude. I wonder when, if ever, we will 
 get to where there is no latitude whatever. 
 
 " Renaud had the misfortune on the second day of our 
 journey to be stung by a scorpion. We were all greatly 
 alarmed when we heard of it, as we had the impression 
 that the scorpion's bite is generally fatal, and the death of 
 this very faithful and useful Frenchman would have been 
 a severe calamity to us ; in fact, if Renaud had died I 
 half believe that we would have given up the journey, 
 unless we could have found a good man in his place. 
 
 *' Renaud took the occurrence very coolly, and the 
 means of cure he adopted reminded me of the old saying 
 that ' the hair of the dog is good for the bite.' He took 
 the scorpion that had bitten him and crushed it, and then 
 he spread it as a poultice over the bite. He said it was 
 the best cure known for the bite of the scorpion, and 
 certainly it proved a perfect one in his case. The foot 
 where he received the bite began to swell immediately, 
 but within fifteen minutes of the time he applied the 
 scorpion poultice the swelling began to subside, and 
 before the day was over all trace of the bite had dis- 
 appeared. It is certainly a very curious mode of treat- 
 ment, but, after Renaud's experience, I shall certainly try 
 it in case I am bitten by one of these creatures. 
 
 '* In discussing the matter with Renaud I find that the 
 bite of the scorpion is not generally fatal ; there are 
 several kinds of scorpions, and they vary considerably in 
 their poisonous character. At a casual glance, the scorpion 
 might be taken for a crawfish, as his body is of the same 
 general shape as the body of that crustacean. When he 
 
150 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 is moving about quietly and undisturbed his tail sticks 
 out straight behind, but when alarmed, or irritated, or 
 running fast, he holds his tail over his back, moving it in 
 all directions, as if well aware of the power of his sting 
 and ready for any adversary. Scorpions are found all 
 over the Sahara ; we have seen a good many of them, but 
 this is the first time that any of our party has been bitten 
 by one. The largest of the scorpions are about six inches 
 long, but usually they are not more than three or four 
 inches. The civilized treatment of the scorpion bite is to 
 press the wound on all sides so as to force out as much of 
 the poison as possible, and then administer ammonia inter- 
 nally, and also apply it freely on and around the wound. 
 
 *'We have kept a careful watch every night, but are 
 all glad to say that we have not been disturbed. One 
 night we went into camp in a small valley where there 
 were indications of previous encampments. During the 
 night we thought we heard a commotion in another part 
 of the valley, but as the wind was blowing briskly at the 
 time, we could not hear distinctly, and were unable to 
 make out the cause of the disturbance, or be certain that 
 any had occurred. In the morning we found that we had 
 neighbors, and not altogether welcome ones. One of our 
 camel drivers said that the encampment, which was about 
 half a mile away, was unmistakably Tuareg, and as the 
 party was more numerous than ours, we were in some 
 danger, at least, of an attack. 
 
 **The doctor thought it would be well for us to make 
 the first approach, in order to place ourselves on amicable 
 terms with these marauders of the desert. Accordingly, 
 
ON THE ROAD. I5I 
 
 we sent our chief mekhashni (camel driver) a hundred 
 yards or so ahead of the camp, to a httle hill at the edge 
 of the valley, w^here he w^as in full view of the strangers. 
 He took possession of the hill and then waved his burnous 
 in token of friendship. I may remark here that there are 
 several ways of waving this garment, and each particular 
 way has a certain significance. It may indicate friend- 
 ship, enmity, or neutrality ; it indicates the way one is 
 going, or the way whence he has come ; in fact, it has 
 almost as many meanings as the signal flag or semaphore 
 telegraph. 
 
 *' In a few minutes after our men had taken the position 
 mentioned, and given the signal of friendship, we saw 
 one of the Tuaregs approach in the direction of the hill ; 
 then our camel driver went forward to meet him, and the 
 meeting took place about half vv^ay between the two 
 camps. The interview lasted about five minutes, and then 
 each man turned in the direction of his own camp. 
 
 *'When our mekhashni returned he confirmed our 
 belief that the strange party was Tuareg. He had in- 
 formed the man whom he met that we had a French safe- 
 conduct among the Tuaregs, and learned in turn that the 
 sheikh of the party was severely ill, and in need of the 
 attentions of a hakeem (doctor). He asked if there was 
 a hakeem in our party, and on learning that there was he 
 seemed to be much rejoiced. 
 
 " Harry and I thought it was a fortunate circumstance 
 for us, but not for the unfortunate sheikh, that he had 
 taken ill, as it would give Dr. Whitney a chance to show 
 his skill, and thereby gain the friendship of the Tuaregs, 
 
1^2 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 or, at any rate, of this party. The doctor, however, did 
 not regard the occurrence as favorably as we did. 
 
 " ' It is all right,' said he, ' if I can treat the fellow and 
 cure him, but all wrong if he should happen to die on my 
 hands.' 
 
 " ' Like all savage people,' remarked the doctor, * these 
 Tuaregs look upon a foreign doctor as a magician, or 
 something very near it, and they expect, as a matter of 
 course, that he can perform miracles. I have been asked 
 more than once to restore a hand or foot that had been 
 cut off, and many are the times when people who had 
 been blind for years have been brought to me to have 
 their sight restored. I don't exactly like the job of under- 
 taking to cure this Tuareg sheikh, but of course I can't 
 refuse, and we will hope for the best.' 
 
 "The doctor got out his medicine case, and ordered 
 his horse, together with Renaud and his mule. Harry 
 and I wanted to go, but Renaud thought it best that we 
 should remain at the camp for the present. The doctor 
 and Renaud mounted and started for the Tuareg camp, 
 Renaud carrying the medicine case and acting as the 
 doctor's orderly, or chief of staff. 
 
 " Arrived at the camp, they were taken into the presence 
 of the sheikh, who was lying on a pile of skins and rugs 
 in one of the camel's-hair tents, of which there were 
 several. The doctor felt the pulse of the sick man, but 
 did not dare to ask to see his tongue or face, as a request 
 of that sort would not be likely to be taken in good part. 
 The Tuareg man, as already stated, is greatly averse to 
 showing his face. Renaud acted as interpreter, and in a 
 
ON THE ROAD. I53 
 
 very short time the doctor made a satisfactory diagnosis of 
 the case and dealt out the necessary medicine. 
 
 ** He measured it with great exactness, and gave careful 
 instructions to the skeikh's son, an intelligent youth about 
 eighteen years old. The young man asked with consider- 
 able anxiety how soon his father would be cured. 
 Observe the form of the inquiry ; it was not whether 
 the man would get well, but how soon he would do so ; 
 the question implying that, as he was in the hands of a 
 foreign hakeem, his recovery was a matter of course. 
 
 *'The Tuaregs treated the doctor and Renaud with 
 great civility. They learned through the latter that the 
 doctor had come without waiting for breakfast, and though 
 they did not invite them to remain for that meal, they sent 
 to our camp a good breakfast of kouskous, stewed dates, 
 and fresh camel's milk, which arrived before the doctor 
 returned. There was breakfast enough for half a dozen 
 men, and the kouskous was of excellent quality ; cer- 
 tainly, we had seen none better in our travels thus far. 
 
 " * I think we've scored a hit,' said the doctor gaily, as 
 he entered our tent immediately after he had dismounted. 
 Harry and I exclaimed, almost in the same breath, that 
 we were glad that he had done so, and then Harry asked 
 what was the matter with the sheikh. 
 
 **' Nothing at all serious,' was the reply. 'A severe 
 turn of what you boys have undoubtedly experienced after 
 overfeeding on green apples or unripe melons. He'll be 
 well in a few hours ; I told him I would stay by him until 
 he was out of danger and ready to travel again. He 
 seemed very grateful for my offer, as he evidently thought 
 
154 
 
 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 himself a great deal sicker than he is. Renaud has found 
 out that the Tuareg caravan is traveling in the same 
 direction that we are, and I think I have secured it as an 
 escort for the rest of the route.' 
 
 *'And this is the way it turned out; the sheikh got 
 well by noon, or, at least, well enough to travel. The 
 doctor visited him at that hour, and found that he was 
 able to walk about and in a perfect ecstasy of delight at 
 the absence of pain in his digestive regions. He asked 
 the doctor to travel in his company, and said they would 
 escort us to Gadames and regulate their pace to suit ours. 
 Of course the offer was accepted, and in a little while 
 both caravans had broken camp and taken to the road 
 again. 
 
 "Needless to say that for the rest of the way to 
 Gadames we had no occasion to keep a guard at night. 
 The Tuareg encampment was formed around ours, or 
 close to it, and that was all the police force that we 
 needed. There were about fifty men altogether in their 
 party, with as many camels ; their camels were lightly 
 laden, and whenever any of our camels showed signs of 
 giving out, their burdens were transferred to the backs of 
 the Tuareg beasts. We were treated just as kindly as 
 men could be in the desert, and could ask for no better 
 companions." 
 
 *' The far-off reader of this journal may think it strange 
 that we entrusted ourselves entirely in the hands of such 
 notorious robbers as the Tuaregs. An inference of this 
 sort shows a lack of knowledge of the Tuareg character, 
 and, moreover, of Arab character in general. The Arab 
 
ON THE ROAD. I55 
 
 will defend his guest with his life ; he might rob and 
 even kill the same man if he met him in the open desert, 
 but when they are in the relation of host and guest the 
 life and property of the latter are as safe as in the best 
 regulated cities of England or America. If our camp 
 had been attacked at any time while we were traveling 
 with these Tuaregs they would have defended us as long 
 as they could have raised a hand to strike a blow. There 
 is an old ada^i^e which declares that there is honor amonir 
 thieves ; there is honor among the Tuaregs, and plenty 
 of it, too, in their treatment of each other, and in their 
 dealings with outsiders they are the most honorable 
 thieves that can be found. 
 
 " Harry and I were regarded as magicians quite as 
 much as the doctor was, and how do you suppose we 
 obtained our reputation? Well, this is the way of it: — 
 
 "The first morning that we were in camp with the 
 Tuaregs we took an observation for longitude, and great 
 was the wonder of our new friends as they gathered about 
 us to observe the manipulation of the instruments. They 
 had never before seen anything of the kind, and when 
 Renaud came around to where we were they plied him 
 with questions. He explained the purport of our work, 
 and in order to have them understand it clearly, he spread 
 out a map of the desert, on which we had marked our 
 positions each day, just as mariners mark their positions 
 on a chart. From that time on we were regarded as 
 beings of no ordinary consequence ; and whenever we 
 took an observation we invariably had an interested crowd 
 of spectators. 
 
156 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 ** Their astonishment is remarkable, in view of the fact 
 that the Tuaregs, hke all other wandering tribes of Arabs, 
 have a certain knowledge of astronomy, though it is of a 
 rude sort. They can judge very well of their latitude by 
 observing the height of the north star above the horizon, 
 and this same star gives them the points of the compass 
 very accurately. They made a compass, one evening, by 
 taking a piece of string and laying it flat upon the ground 
 in a due north and south position, by pointing one end of 
 it directly at the north star ; then they laid another string 
 across the first, exactly at right angles, so as to indicate 
 east and west ; they next subdivided the spaces between 
 the cardinal points by laying other strings across, and 
 continued to subdivide until they had the thirty-two points 
 of compass, exactly like our own. 
 
 *' When they had completed their work we placed one 
 of our compasses on the ground beside this improvised 
 one, and found that theirs was constructed with perfect 
 accuracy. The position of the sun in the daytime is also 
 taken as a guide, and they can guess with remarkable 
 accuracy the hour of the day. Altogether, they have a 
 pretty fair stock of astronomical knowledge, when we con- 
 sider that their education is of a very limited character, 
 their instructions being almost wholly confined to reading 
 and reciting passages from the Koran. 
 
 "In order to restore the sheikh to good health. Dr. 
 Whitney desired him to take a small quantity of spirits, 
 but the patient objected very emphatically. He was a 
 devout Moslem, and it was contrary to his religion to 
 drink anything intoxicating. Consequently, the doctor 
 
ON THE ROAD. I57 
 
 changed his prescription, and mixed his medicine with a 
 Hquid of a more harmless character. 
 
 " The Tuaregs, hke most other tribes of the desert, are 
 very abstemious, and prohibitory laws, about which so 
 much is being said in these times, have existed in the 
 Sahara for more than a thousand years. This is not only 
 the case with the wandering tribes, but also with the 
 Mozabites and other settled people. In the Mozabite 
 cities the Hebrews are the only people who make any use 
 whatever of distilled liquors ; their hakeems, or doctors, 
 are the only ones who are allowed to have liquor in their 
 possession, and they can only permit it to pass into the 
 hands of others in cases of illness. They are absolutely 
 forbidden to sell to other residents, and if a traveler desires 
 to purchase a bottle of spirits he must first obtain a per- 
 mit to do so, signed by the governor. These restrictions, 
 it will be seen, are almost identical with those of the cele- 
 brated ' Maine Liquor Law,' and antedate them by more 
 than ten centuries." 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 GAD AMES THE CARAVAN TRADE. 
 
 TFIE travelers reached Gadames without any further 
 incidents of consequence, and went into camp 
 outside the city, the Tuaregs encamping near them. 
 Gadames is a soHtary town or city in an oasis of the same 
 name, about three hundred and ten miles southwest of 
 Tripoli, in latitude 30° 51' north, and longitude 8° 24' 23'' 
 east. It is a great caravan center, and the rendezvous of 
 merchants from Tripoli, Tuggurt, Fezzan Touat, Tim- 
 buctoo, and other points. 
 
 The population of Gadames is variously estimated from 
 thirty-five hundred to five thousand ; it varies from time 
 to time, according to the prosperity or dulness of trade. 
 It consists of Arabs and negroes, who are divided into two 
 factions, and sometimes three or four, that are frequently 
 at war with one another. The oasis in which the city 
 stands is extensive, and the palm trees, which produce an 
 excellent quality of dates, are very numerous. The 
 streets are narrow, and many of them are covered with 
 arches. The walls of the buildings are thick, and serve 
 to keep out the heat of summer and the cold of winter. 
 The city has triple walls, which are of little practical use 
 as they are in a very ruinous condition. 
 
 *' After forming our camp," said Harry, " we rode into 
 
 »5§ 
 
GAD AMES. 159 
 
 the town under the guidance of Sehm, who had been 
 there-^^* before. He took us directly to the great square 
 which is in full view of the entrance gate, and is the place 
 where all transactions of the merchants are carried on. 
 In the center of the square there is a copious and steadily 
 flowing spring which supplies the principal part of the 
 water used in Gadames. Around this spring there are 
 troughs from which animals can drink, and other troughs 
 from which the natives fill their receptacles with water to 
 carry to their homes. There is always quite a little 
 crowd around the spring, and they afforded us interest- 
 ing subjects of observation. 
 
 "The square is looked upon as a neutral ground, and 
 the people of different factions can move around freely 
 within its limits. Selim told us that the Arabs or negroes 
 of one quarter are not allowed to penetrate another quarter 
 under penalty of death, and that this custom had prevailed 
 for hundreds of years. Most of the negroes are slaves 
 of the Arabs, and have been brought from Timbuctoo, 
 Fezzan, Agades, and other cities and regions of the 
 country to the south and east of the great desert, but there 
 is a considerable number of free negroes, who are on 
 terms of equality with their Arab neighbors, and live 
 peacably with them. 
 
 "In the market-place we saw piles of goods on the 
 ground, or in the shops and warehouses which surround 
 the great square. A caravan had recently arrived from 
 Tripoli, and another from Timbuctoo, and the merchants 
 connected with these caravans were making an exchange 
 of goods. The caravan from Timbuctoo had brought 
 
l6o IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 slaves, elephant ivory, gold dust, ostrich feathers, and 
 skins of wild beasts, while the one from Tripoli wa^ prin- 
 cipally laden with ironmongery, cutlery, brass and copper 
 wire, cotton and silk goods, and various other articles of 
 English, French, or German manufacture. The trans- 
 actions were conducted very leisurely, nobody seeming to 
 be in a hurry ; it takes a great deal of talk to conduct 
 business in an Arab market-place. 
 
 "Everybody who has anything to sell asks at least 
 twice what he expects to receive, and every buyer begins 
 by offering not more than half of what he expects to give. 
 This custom leads to a great deal of haggling. The 
 seller slowly reduces his demands, declaring each time 
 that by the beard of the Prophet he has named the last 
 figure which he will accept, and the buyer as slowly in- 
 creases his offer, swearing in the same solemn way, and 
 by the same solemn words, that it is the last offer he will 
 make. Ned and I stood at a respectable distance from 
 two merchants who were making a trade, and it took 
 them a little more than an hour to come to an understand- 
 ing. We thought it a very slow transaction, but Selim 
 said the rapidity of it nearly took away his breath. 
 
 "There is an English consul residing at Gadames, and 
 also a Turkish and a French one. These officers are 
 stationed here principally to look after the trade of their 
 respective countries, and to protect any of their merchants, 
 or the agents of their merchants, who may be engaged in 
 business there. The Turkish consul has a certain political 
 authority, as Gadames pays a small annual tribute to 
 Tripoli, which is a suzerainty of Turkey. The bonds 
 
GADAMES. l6l 
 
 that unite Tripoli with the Turkish Empire are not very 
 heavy, and consist principally in the payment of an annual 
 tribute into the Sultan's treasury. 
 
 *' We called upon the English consul," continued Harry, 
 *' and were fortunate in finding him at home. We found 
 him living quite comfortably in a house of native construc- 
 tion, partly in English, and partly in Arab style. His 
 reception-room was more Arabic than English, as it 
 had wide divans around the sides, but no chairs or sofas. 
 There was a European table in the center of the room, 
 which appeared somewhat incongruous when its surround- 
 ings were considered. His dining-room and its equip- 
 ments were decidedly English, there being an extension 
 table in the center, and some English-made chairs, all of 
 which were brought on camel's backs from Tripoli, four- 
 teen days' journey to the northward. The bedrooms of 
 the consul and his family were likewise of English style, 
 but any guests that he received slept on divans, and not 
 upon beds. He invited us to dine with him on the fol- 
 lowing day, and meet his wife and daughter ; he said our 
 visit would be a great pleasure to them, as they had very 
 few opportunities for seeing travelers, or of hearing their 
 native language, except from each other. 
 
 *' Imagine an Englishman in his own native island 
 inviting three total strangers to dinner and introducing 
 them to his family ! His friends would consider him a fit 
 subject for a lunatic asylum. But here in the desert 
 foreigners are rare, and customs are not as rigid as on 
 British soil. 
 
 ** The consul took us to the governor's house, and we 
 
1 62 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 made a short call on that functionary. He served pipes 
 and coffee to us, asked about our journey, whence we had 
 come, and whither we expected to go. In reply to the 
 former question we told him briefly what the reader already 
 knows ; as to the latter, we replied that our next destina- 
 tion was Mourzouk, the capital of Fezzan. He shook his 
 head on receiving this information, and said that the road 
 to Mourzouk was not very safe, and he would advise us to 
 start with a strong caravan which was to set out in a few 
 days. He also advised us to lay aside our European 
 dress and adopt the Arab one, which would render us less 
 conspicuous while on the route. The consul, who acted 
 as interpreter, seconded the advice of the governor, and 
 said that we would do well to follow it. 
 
 " The governor offered to supply us with a house during 
 our stay in the town, but we declined his offer with thanks, 
 explaining that we preferred to remain with our people and 
 keep them out of possible trouble. He commended our 
 decision, and I have no doubt was heartily glad of it, as he 
 was thereby relieved from any trouble concerning us. He 
 did not invite us to stay to dinner, which was quite to our 
 satisfaction, as we had dined so many times after the Arab 
 fashion that all novelty in this line was gone. When a 
 suitable pause in the dialogue came along we embraced it 
 by rising and taking our leave. 
 
 " The governor returned our visit on the following 
 morning, and, luckily for us, the consul arrived just as the 
 visit began. The consul kindly acted as interpreter once 
 more, and this saved us the necessity of calling upon 
 Renaud, whose translations were not always as correct as 
 
GAD AMES. 163 
 
 we could have wished diem to be. We were careful not 
 to be outdone in hospitality, and had pipes and coffee 
 served very soon after the arrival of our guests, together 
 with a bottle of sweet cordial, which evidently suited the 
 taste of the governor, as he had his glass filled two or 
 three times ; he did not ask if the liquor contained alcohol 
 in an}^ form, and probably had in mind the old adage : 
 ' Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise.'" 
 
 After the governor had departed. Doctor Whitney, ac- 
 companied by the consul, went in search of the sheikh of 
 the caravan which was about to leave for Mourzouk. 
 With some difficulty they found him ; when they went to 
 his camp, they were told that he was in the great square, 
 or market-place. In looking for him in that locality, 
 they were told that he had just returned to his camp ; 
 they rode back again, about two miles from the city, and 
 there found him. The consul had met him before and 
 had been of service to him, and this paved the way for 
 negotiations at once. 
 
 The sheikh expressed himself as not only willing, but 
 desirous of having the strangers travel with him ; he in- 
 timated that a certain amount of backsheesh would be 
 necessary, and in case the caravan was attacked he 
 should expect the strangers to do their share of fighting, 
 not that he expected any, but it was well to have every- 
 thing understood beforehand. The strangers would carr}^ 
 their own supply of water and provisions, have their 
 own servants, and live in any way that pleased them. 
 Their place in the caravan when on the march would 
 be designated, and whenever camp was formed the 
 
164 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 sheikh would select the spot where they would spread 
 their tents. 
 
 Now came the delicate question of settling the amount 
 of backsheesh, or present, in return for the protection of 
 the caravan. The sheikh named twenty pounds, which 
 the doctor thought quite reasonable, but the consul told 
 him it was altogether too much. 
 
 " When he asks twenty pounds," said the consul, " he 
 will be perfectly satisfied with ten. I will tell him that you 
 never heard of anybody paying more than ten, and he will 
 drop to that figure at once." 
 
 The consul informed the sheikh ; and, as he had pre- 
 dicted, down came the amount to ten pounds, which the 
 doctor consented to pay. The sheikh said that he would 
 start five days later, and with this understanding the 
 parties separated. 
 
 "We got along very well with that fellow," said the 
 consul, as they were returning to the doctor's camp. " It 
 is lucky that I had dealings with him before, or we would 
 have been there three times as long. You've already 
 learned what a slow process it is to negotiate with these 
 people ; if you want to buy a horse of an Arab, you must 
 begin by telling him you want to sell a cow or a camel, 
 and gradually work around to the real business. I've 
 lived here quite a number of years, and know their ways, 
 but I can't get over feeling that the English and American 
 method of coming to business at once is the best. But I 
 wasn't sent out here to change the customs of the country, 
 and shall not try to do so." 
 
 The doctor agreed with the consul, that he preferred the 
 
GAD AMES. 165 
 
 short and quick way of transaction, and he also said that 
 it was not their business to attempt to reform the methods 
 of Africa and Asia, especially as the effort would be 
 entirely hopeless. The consul remained to luncheon with 
 the doctor and his young friends, and then returned to his 
 home in the city, where, several hours later, he received 
 the trio of Americans at dinner. The dinner was enjoy- 
 able in every way, and our friends came away from it with 
 the feeling that they had been handsomely treated, and 
 also that their visit had been a pleasant episode in the life 
 of the consul's family. 
 
 During the rest of their stay in Gadames our friends 
 were occupied with preparations for their journey to Mour- 
 zouk and beyond. Some of the cam.els that showed signs 
 of weakness were exchanged for others in better condition, 
 and three other camels were added to the caravan for pur- 
 poses of transportation. Quantities of beads, brass and 
 copper wire, sashes, handkerchiefs, cutlery, cotton, and 
 other goods were bought for the purpose of paying the 
 expenses of travel and making presents. The party 
 expected to penetrate into regions where money was un- 
 known, and therefore it was necessary to be equipped with 
 the currency of the country. In journeying through 
 Africa, the traveler realizes the great advantage of a uni- 
 versal circulating medium. 
 
 Beads and wire are the principal money, and it might 
 all be well enough if they circulated universally ; unhappily, 
 however, they do nothing of the kind. The kinds that 
 are acceptable in one district are quite uncurrent in another, 
 and will not be taken at any price ; consequently the 
 
1 66 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 traveler must have all the different varieties of these 
 articles, and pack them in bales by themselves, so that, 
 whatever country or district he reaches, he may be able to 
 lay his hand on the goods adapted to it. 
 
 Ned and Harry were too young to know from practical 
 experience the condition of affairs in the United States 
 previous to i860, but Dr. Whitney vividly recalled the 
 State bank currency of ante-bellum days, when the money 
 of one State was uncurrent or at a discount in another. 
 The conditions of African travel reminded him of old times 
 in America. 
 
 Most of the purchases of goods were made by Renaud, 
 assisted by an Arab who had been hired to accompany the 
 expedition from Gadames, on account of his knowledge of 
 the interior. The packing of the goods was performed by 
 these two, assisted by Yusef and Abdallah. Ned said that 
 he and Harry " bossed the job " occasionally, but he had a 
 suspicion that they hindered the work quite as much as 
 they helped it. 
 
 Their Tuareg friends remained in camp in the palm 
 grove for two or three days, and then went out again to 
 the desert. The people of Gadames pay a heavy tribute 
 to Tuareg, Chaamba, and other hostile tribes on condition 
 of not being disturbed, as the robber Arabs have the city 
 at their mercy. Formerly they made occasional raids 
 upon the place and cut off trade and travel, and the people 
 of the city found that they could not live in peace unless 
 they bought off their enemies. So the deal was made, 
 and the residents of Gadames are very careful to meet 
 their obligations on the day the payment is due ; they 
 
GAD AMES. 167 
 
 know that if they fail to keep their promises their enemies 
 will give them a very sharp reminder by cutting off all 
 trade, and also by making an attack upon the place. 
 
 The Tuareg chief whom the doctor had cured of his 
 ailment offered to do anything in his power for the party, 
 and volunteered to make the journey to Mourzouk, if our 
 friends desired he should do so, but Mourzouk was out of 
 the range of the Tuaregs, and for them to go there w^ould 
 require a heavy backsheesh, which, of course, the doctor 
 would have to pay. Then the chief would expect some- 
 thing, and altogether the escort would be an expensive 
 one. Our friends were content with the protection of the 
 caravan, and declined with thanks the offer of their late 
 traveling companion. The sheikh gave a letter of recom- 
 mendation to any Tuaregs whom they might meet, and 
 remarked that if it did no good it would certainly do no 
 harm. 
 
 When the time came for the departure of the caravan 
 the sheikh said he must wait another day, as a portion of 
 his convoy was not ready ; the one day extended to two, 
 and then, again, to three. It might have run on for a 
 week or more, but the sheikh could give no other reason 
 for delay, and so, about the middle of the third day, the 
 caravan moved out. It made its lirst camp only a few 
 miles from Gadames, and when all were assembled the 
 sight was an imposing one. 
 
 There were fully five hundred camels, and more than 
 that number of men ; every man carried some kind of a 
 weapon, and, taken collectively, the variety would have 
 been sufficient for stocking a museum. There were anti- 
 
1 68 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 quated match-locks and flint-locks, along with muzzle- 
 loading and breech-loading shotguns and rifles ; but it 
 is'- proper to say that the breech-loading firearms were 
 only in the hands of our friends. Their Winchester rifles 
 were objects of the greatest curiosity, and the Arabs looked 
 with wonder on a gun that could fire sixteen times without 
 the necessity of reloading. 
 
 Ned observed that the camels carried bags of charcoal 
 in addition to their ordinary burdens. He called Renaud's 
 attention to the contents of the bags, and said he supposed 
 they were carrying it as fuel. 
 
 "Yes," replied Renaud, *'fuel for camels, not for 
 men." 
 
 " What do you mean?" queried Ned; *' I don't under- 
 stand you." 
 
 **Why," answered Renaud, *' don't you know that 
 camels are sometimes fed on charcoal?" 
 
 ** No, I didn't know that," was the reply. '* We haven't 
 fed ours on that article." 
 
 '*The reason we didn't," responded the Frenchman, 
 ** was because barley and dates were cheaper than char- 
 coal at the points where we took our departure into the 
 desert. In the western part of the Sahara, and along the 
 southern portion, caravans frequently take charcoal for 
 feeding their camels. It is light in proportion to its bulk, 
 and while the animals would prefer grass and shrubs, they 
 get along very well on charcoal when grass and shrubs 
 are not to be found. The camel is a curious kind of 
 beast, anyway ; he is admirably adapted to his work, and 
 if it were not for him we could not traverse these deserts. 
 
GAD AMES. 169 
 
 I don't believe there is another animal in the world that 
 would live on the food on which a camel thrives ; even the 
 ox, one of the most patient and hardy of beasts, could not 
 live a week if compelled to adopt the diet of a camel." 
 
 The conversation was interrupted by the sheikh of the 
 caravan, who happened along at this time. 
 
 The next morning the caravan started out in very credit- 
 able season. The sheikh led, and the others followed in 
 the order already prescribed by the leader. As mentioned 
 heretofore, the caravan consisted of groups of merchants, 
 each of whom owned or controlled several camels with 
 their burdens and attendants. Each merchant endeavors 
 to keep his camels together, both by day and by night, 
 and one of the principal duties of the driver is to keep the 
 animals from straying apart while on the march. These 
 merchants find it to their advantage, especially on the 
 score of safety, to join their forces and place themselves 
 under the care of a shiekh of the country having a certain 
 force of armed followers. The merchants and attendants 
 are armed, and each is expected to do his share of fighting 
 in case of necessity. 
 
 Some of the caravans that traverse the desert are very 
 large, comprising two thousand or three thousand camels, 
 and nearly as many men. Probably the greatest of all 
 the caravans is the one that sets out from Tendoof in 
 southwestern Morocco for Timbuctoo in October, and 
 returning in the spring, and consists of fifteen thousand or 
 twenty thousand camels. About one third of these camels 
 are loaded with English and German goods ; the others 
 carrying no burdens till they reach Tandeng in the great 
 
I^O IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 Western Desert, where they take cargoes of salt, which is 
 sold at an enormous profit at Timbuctoo. 
 
 The most celebrated caravans are those formed by 
 pilgrims going to Mecca, particularly those who assemble 
 at Cairo and Damascus. The latter consists of thirty or 
 forty thousand pilgrims, and is under the special protection 
 of the sultan of Turkey. The caravan by which the 
 Persian pilgrims travel to Mecca starts from Bagdad, and 
 is the vehicle of a very important trade. There used 
 to be caravans from India to Mecca, but they were 
 given up thirty or forty years ago, as the pilgrims found 
 it easier and far cheaper to go by steamer to Jeddah, 
 on the Red Sea, from which Mecca is only one hundred 
 miles distant. For the same reasons, there are now no 
 caravans from Constantinople to Mecca, and those from 
 Cairo and Damascus have greatly diminished in import- 
 ance. 
 
 The caravan in which our friends traveled halted at a 
 little past noon in a small oasis where there was a well of 
 very brackish water ; too much so for the taste of our 
 friends, but not for the Arabs. They drank of it quite 
 freely, but Ned said he did not see anybody come back 
 for a second drink. There was some delay in starting 
 after the halt, owing to quarrels among the camel drivers, 
 quarrels that grew so boisterous as to lead to blows and 
 require the interference of the sheikh. The sheikh of a 
 caravan has an autocratic power like that of the captain 
 of a ship at sea. In any dispute he acts as judge and 
 jury, and dispenses justice with a free hand. In this case 
 he told the disputants that they might go free, as it was 
 
GAD AMES. 171 
 
 their first offence, but any further quarrel would be pun- 
 ished with the stick. 
 
 In the evening two of those who had quarreled at noon 
 got into a row again and came to blows. Thereupon the 
 sheikh ordered that each of them should receive twenty 
 blows with the stick. Some of his immediate followers 
 seized the combatants, threw them on the ground, and 
 sat on their heads and feet, while others administered the 
 prescribed number of blows. It is safe to say that they 
 did not strike lightly ; an Arab greatly enjoys the oppor- 
 tunity to thrash a fellow Arab, and it is said that if one 
 of them is ordered to punish his twin brother he bears as 
 heavily on the stick as he would if the victim was a total 
 stranger. 
 
 The road, generally, was not unlike that from Temacin 
 to Gadames, though the country was more uneven than 
 that which our friends had recently traveled, the hills 
 being higher and more rocky, while the valleys were 
 deeper and often v/ith precipitous sides. There were 
 occasional fertile spots in the valleys where the horses and 
 camels obtained a little grass, but the opportunities for 
 feeding were not numerous, and the animals, like the men, 
 were obliged to rely upon the provisions they carried. 
 Ned observed that the supplies of charcoal were drawn 
 upon from time to time, but the prevalence of shrubs, 
 camel-thorns, and other growing things enabled the 
 camels to browse for a considerable part of the way. 
 Dates, barley, and millet made into kouskous formed the 
 principal food of the merchants and their attendants. 
 They were not an inconsiderable part of our friends' sup- 
 
172 
 
 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 plies, who now and then added a can of preserved meats 
 or vegetables brought from England or America. Both 
 the youths said it brought them nearer home to eat Balti- 
 more oysters, canned chicken or turkey, preserved 
 peaches, pears, and other fruits, bearing American labels. 
 
 The doctor remarked that travel has been robbed of 
 some of its terrors by the invention of canned goods and 
 the facility with which they are scattered all over the 
 globe. 
 
 One day Renaud dismounted from his mule and began 
 searching in the earth near by ; very quickly he brought 
 out a truffle, which he held between his fingers, and called 
 the doctor's attention to his discovery. The doctor recog- 
 nized the article at once, and asked if there were more of 
 them. 
 
 *' Oh ! plenty," was the reply. '' Plenty ; they grow in 
 this part of the desert, and in other parts, too. If you 
 like, I will get you enough for dinner." 
 
 "Certainly," said the doctor. "We would like some 
 very much ; they will piece out our soup admirably." 
 
 Renaud called Yusef to hold his mule for him while he 
 indulged in a truffle hunt. In a half an hour or so he 
 had a good hatful, and, as the doctor predicted, they 
 formed a fine adjunct to the dinner. 
 
 Ned made note of this circumstance, and in writing up 
 his account afterwards, he said from that time on they had 
 truffles quite often. The Arabs make little use of them, 
 although they are mentioned by the greatest of Mohamme- 
 dan travelers, Ibn Batutu, in the middle of the fourteenth 
 century. When preparing dinner Renaud made a soup 
 
GAD AMES. 
 
 173 
 
 of the truffles, and everybody pronounced it the most deli- 
 cious soup he had yet eaten in the desert. 
 
 On the day following the one when the truffles were 
 discovered, our friends met a caravan of about fifty trav- 
 elers on their way from Mourzouk to Gadames. The 
 caravan was principally laden with ivory, though they 
 had several bales of ostrich feathers, and probably a quan- 
 tity of gold dust, though the people of the party did not 
 admit having anything of the kind. Travelers in the 
 desert are as cautious about admitting the possession of 
 gold as are any other travelers, and for the same reason ; 
 they do not wish to run the risk of inviting robbery. 
 Ivory and ostrich feathers are less tempting in their way, 
 but by no means spurned by Tuareg, Chaamba, or other 
 marauders. 
 
 Almost from the time they started from Gadames a 
 flock of swallows had followed the caravan, most of the 
 birds disappearing in the daytime, but invariably coming 
 up to the camp at night. When the camp was formed 
 the swallows spread around, finding places inside the tents 
 and in the nooks and holes in the baggage, as it was piled 
 on the ground. 
 
 One night there was a heavy wind which blew down 
 nearly every tent in the camp ; the men were half buried 
 in the sand which was borne on the breeze, and as for the 
 swallows, they flew blindly about, except such as had 
 found secure places in the baggage. In the morning the 
 number of swallows was found to be reduced greatly, and 
 Ned and Harry surmised that they had been blown away 
 by the wind. The youths speculated during the day as 
 
174 
 
 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 to whether their little friends would return or not. Ned 
 thought that they had been carried away by the gale and 
 would not be able to find their way back, but Harry believed 
 otherwise, and felt confident that they would be able to 
 welcome the whole flock when they again went into camp. 
 Unhappily, and to the regret of both, Ned was right ; the 
 missing swallows did not return. 
 
 For three or four days the route lay over a region called 
 the Hammada, a dreary plateau, where the ground was 
 hard and covered with stones and occasional patches of 
 loose sand. There were numerous hollows in the Ham- 
 mada, but none that contained wells of potable water. 
 The country was elevated, observation by means of a 
 thermometer and boiling water showing it to vary from 
 i,ooo to 1,500 feet above sea level. In this region the 
 camel drivers killed a considerable number of venomous 
 lizards, some of them being determined that not one of the 
 creatures they saw should escape alive. They said that 
 the bite of the lizard was always dangerous and often 
 fatal. 
 
 Snakes of a venomous sort also abounded, together with 
 scorpions, but the snakes and scorpions were less numer- 
 ous than were the repulsive and dangerous lizards. Sev- 
 eral jackals were seen, and Ned remarked that he could 
 not understand how any jackal who respected himself 
 would live in such a locality. 
 
 After the southern extremity of the Hammada was 
 passed the caravan descended to a plain nearly seven hun- 
 dred feet below the level of the great plateau. On reaching 
 the plain, the course of the caravan lay in the direction of 
 
GAD AMES. 175 
 
 a spot in the Sahara called El Hasi, which means " The 
 Well." Harry remarked that no name could be more 
 appropriate, as there is a well in a certain spot and nothing 
 else for miles around. There was a building there once, 
 measuring one hundred feet one way by fifty feet the 
 other, the well being in its center ; but this building has 
 fallen into ruins. The well is in the midst of a sand waste ; 
 it is about thirty feet deep, and has a never-failing supply 
 of good water, not as good, Ned remarked, as Croton or 
 Cochituate water, but good from a desert point of view. 
 
 *' We remained a day at El Hasi," said Ned, "as it 
 takes a good deal of time to water five hundred camels 
 and as many men. There are a few stone troughs from 
 which the horses and camels can drink, and these are 
 filled by means of buckets made from elephant hide brought 
 from the regions far to the south where elephants abound. 
 No matter how fast we drew the water, it always bubbled 
 up and remained at the same level. We found that the 
 temperature of the water was 71^° Fahrenheit, and Selim 
 told us that it remained the same throughout the year." 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 EL HASI TO MOURZOUK. KINGDOM OF FEZZAN. 
 
 FROM El Hasi to Mourzouk there are three roads, 
 according to the account of our friends, and a lively 
 dispute arose between the camel drivers and merchants as 
 to which road the caravan should take. Each road had 
 its advocates, and each its detractors, for the denunciations 
 of the different routes were quite as numerous as the 
 praises thereof. Harry remarked that the discussion 
 reminded him of an American story about a traveler who 
 arrived at a point where there were two roads leading to a 
 certain town. He hailed a boy whom he met there, and 
 asked him which of the two roads was the shorter. 
 
 *' Pretty much the same, I reckon," replied the boy. 
 
 " Well, then," said the traveler, " which is the best?" 
 
 *' Don't know," was the reply; "both o' them pretty 
 bad. Take which of 'em you like, and before you get 
 half way you'll wish you had taken t'other." 
 
 The sheikh of the caravan settled the dispute very 
 quickly as they left El Hasi, for he led the way along the 
 middle road. It proved to be dreary and dismal, and 
 decidedly bad in many places, but it had the merit of being 
 shorter than either of its competitors. 
 
 " Rather unexpectedly," said Ned in his journal, "we 
 came at one point upon some ancient ruins. We had 
 
 176 
 
EL HASI TO MOURZOUK. 
 
 177 
 
 already seen some pillars and the ruins of extensive build- 
 iniis, and had been told that they were the work of the 
 Romans, but everythinfj we had seen thus far was in such 
 a very bad state that we couldn't make much out of it. 
 But in the spot I refer to we found a monument very well 
 preserved, which Dr. Whitney says was built about the 
 second century of our era. There was also part of a 
 wall of what was once a large building, with a well- 
 preserved arch that was undoubtedly of Roman construc- 
 tion. Harry made a sketch of the arch, while I made one 
 of the monument. 
 
 ''This discovery," continued Ned, " together with the 
 Roman remains that we had already seen, led to a discus- 
 sion concerning the occupancy of this country by the 
 Romans. You will remember our mention of the Roman 
 bridge, El Kautara, at the entrance to the Sahara, be- 
 tween Constantine and Biskra, and our remark that at one 
 time the region bordering the Mediterranean, and now 
 called Algeria, was occupied by the Romans. 
 
 "As near as we can make out, the Roman occupation 
 extended all along the entire southern coast of the Medi- 
 terranean, from the Straits of Gibraltar to the boundaries 
 of Egypt. The Roman territory in some places extended 
 three hundred or four hundred miles south of the Mediter- 
 ranean. Where we now are was probably the limit of 
 Roman occupation, as no traces of Roman monuments or 
 constructions of any kind are found south of this locality. 
 Why the Romans should have pushed so far as this we 
 can't understand, unless the country at that time was 
 much more productive and much more fertile than we 
 
178 
 
 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 find it to-day. The probabilities are that it has greatly 
 changed in two thousand years, and where we find great 
 wastes of barren lands there were formerly productive 
 fields and wide forests of palm trees. 
 
 *' On the second day of our journey we came to a queer 
 sort of a place, called Ederi. It stands in a plain, or, 
 rather, a wide valley between two hills, the valley contain- 
 ing a palm oasis of no great extent and some gardens. 
 The town is built on the sides of a conical hill, which 
 rises on a steady slope of about forty-five degrees from 
 the base to the summit ; consequently the houses stand 
 one above the other like the steps of a terrace, reminding 
 us of Algiers when viewed from the bay. It was formerly 
 a place of some importance, and our sheikh told us that 
 the inhabitants were obliged to pay a heavy tribute to the 
 marauding Arabs. 
 
 " Some thirty or forty years ago, they neglected to pay, 
 or haggled about the payments, I don't know which, and 
 the result was that one night the Arabs raided the place, 
 drove out most of the inhabitants, and carried away the 
 able-bodied young men, and sold them as slaves. From 
 that time only about twenty of the houses in the town have 
 been occupied, and there have been times since the raid 
 when there was not an inhabitant in the place. 
 
 "We climbed to the highest point of the steep hill, 
 which gave us an extended view, although a disappointing 
 one, as the scene in every direction was one of desolation, 
 or very nearly so. - It is a great pity that some method 
 cannot be devised for suppressing these marauding Arabs. 
 There are many places in northern Africa which could 
 
EL HASI TO MOURZOUK. 
 
 179 
 
 be greatly enlarged and would support a considerable 
 population, if the people could live in peace, secure from 
 the raids that are constantly threatening them. The 
 valley around the Ederi could be made very productive, 
 as water is readily obtained in all directions by digging 
 only a few feet beneath the surface. 
 
 "We had progressed so far on our journey without en- 
 countering any hostilities that we began to expect very 
 confidently that we would reach Mourzouk without 
 trouble. We were forgetting the possibilities of a raid 
 upon us when one morning, just at daybreak, the robbers 
 appeared. Our camel drivers were just beginning to 
 place their loads, when suddenly, from a ridge close to 
 our encampment, a band of some thirty or forty armed 
 Arabs, all mounted on horses, made their appearance. 
 They rushed straight for the tents which were not yet 
 struck, their plan evidently being to throw us into con- 
 fusion, scatter the camels by frightening them, and drive 
 them from the loads they were waiting to receive. 
 
 ** Under ordinary circumstances the scheme might have 
 worked very well, but on this occasion it was not suc- 
 cessful. It happened that the sheikh's escort had as- 
 sembled, and were nearly ready to start. They were 
 armed with flint-lock guns, and their weapons were quite 
 equal, if not superior, to those of their assailants. With 
 great presence of mind, the sheilfh ordered the escort to 
 fire upon the advancing robbers ; the order was obeyed, 
 and several saddles were emptied of their occupants. 
 This disconcerted the robbers, who checked their advance 
 at once and turned their attention to their dead and 
 
l8o IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 wounded. As soon as possible a second volley was given, 
 and then the marauders fled from the valley. 
 
 '' We three were at quite a distance from the sheikh's 
 headquarters and knew nothing of the attack until the 
 firing began ; by the time we reached the scene the con- 
 test was all over. The sheikh expressed his regret that we 
 had not been there at the time with our Winchester rifles. 
 We were rather non-committal on this subject, the fact 
 being that we did not wish to indulge in any fighting 
 unless compelled to do so. We told the sheikh that he 
 had managed admirably without us, and we hoped that 
 there would be no more trouble on our way to Mourzouk. 
 He replied that he thought the robbers had received a 
 lesson which they would remember for awhile, especially 
 as he had ascertained that the sheikh of the band was one 
 of those killed in the morning's encounter. Not a man on 
 our side had so much as received a scratch. 
 
 "For the rest of our journey to Mourzouk we kept a 
 careful watch every night, surrounding our camp with a 
 line of pickets fully two hundred yards away, and 
 stationed at points which gave a wide survey of the sur- 
 rounding country. I am confident that no appreciable 
 body of men could have approached within a mile or so 
 without discovery ; except by dismounting and using the 
 greatest caution. 
 
 "As we approached Mourzouk, the oases and planta- 
 tions became more numerous and the population more 
 dense. The country was very far from appearing to be 
 a fertile one, but, judging by the Arabic standards, it was 
 decidedly so ; there is a great valley which is dotted with 
 
EL IIASI TO MOURZOUK. l8l 
 
 green fields, some of them extending close up to the sand- 
 hills on either side, and we could see in some places the 
 grass apparently struggling for existence with the sand 
 w^hich had drifted over it. The water rises quite near the 
 surface of the valley, and attached to every field is a well 
 whence the water for irrigation purposes is taken. 
 
 '' The work of drawing water for the fields is performed 
 by donkeys under the direction of slaves. The slaves 
 that we saw were mostly young and healthy looking, but 
 their clothing was very limited in quantity ; nearly all of 
 them wore nothinor but a cloth about the waist and a straw 
 hat. A goodly number of them had only one of these 
 articles instead of both, and where they were obliged to 
 choose between them, they seemed to prefer the straw hat 
 to the loin-cloth. The country is so warm that very 
 little clothing is needed ; the nights are cold at times, and 
 when this is the case the people cover themselves with 
 straw or mats, or huddle in the warmest corner they can 
 find. 
 
 *'The oasis of Mourzouk is an extensive one, although 
 its vegetation is less dense than that of Tuggurt or Te- 
 macin. We encamped about a mile from the walls of the 
 city, not far from a camp of pilgrims who w^ere returning 
 from Egypt to Morocco and Touat. Some of these pil- 
 grims came over to see us as we were going into camp, 
 but they did not remain long, as they did not find any 
 acquaintances, and our people were too busy to pay them 
 any attention. The doctor, Harry, and I were just getting 
 ready to ride into the town when the English consular 
 agent, who had been notified of our arrival through our 
 
l82 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 letter sent forward by a courier in the morning, came out 
 to see us. After a pleasant chat with him we placed our- 
 selves under his guidance, and proceeded within the walls 
 of Mourzouk." 
 
 Our friends found Mourzouk rather picturesquely situ- 
 ated in palm groves and gardens, and exulted in the belief 
 that they would find an abundance of garden vegetables 
 that would be very welcome after their deprivations in the 
 desert. They were doomed to disappointment, as they 
 learned, on inquiry, that such things were very scarce and 
 dear, particularly onions, that are nearly always sought by 
 travelers whose bill of fare has been for some time a 
 limited one. Ned and Harry wondered at the scanty sup- 
 plies of fresh food, and came to the conclusion that it was 
 caused by the indolence of the people, as the ground 
 would produce abundantly if it were properly planted and 
 cultivated. Milk was also very difficult to obtain, the 
 scanty supply of this article coming entirely from goats. 
 Wheat, barley, beans, and a few other things are grown 
 in the fields, and some fruits, such as pomegranates, figs, 
 and peaches, can be obtained in their season. 
 
 Ned made the following note concerning Mourzouk : — 
 ''This city is the capital of Fezzan, a negro kingdom 
 or sultanate of Northern Africa, and is situated in latitude 
 25° 54' north, and longitude 14° 12' east. It is built of 
 brick cemented together and plastered over with clay ; it 
 is laid out with considerable regularity, and has, as nearly 
 as we could ascertain, a population of between three and 
 four thousand. According to tradition, it was much more 
 important five hundred or a thousand years ago than it is 
 
EL HASI TO MOURZOUK. 183 
 
 now. Formerly, it had a considerable trade and the 
 majority of its inhabitants were engaged in mercantile 
 business in one way or another. It has some trade now, 
 but not nearly so much as in former times. The consul 
 informs us that the annual business of the city is about 
 one hundred thousand dollars nowadays, but it used to be 
 five or ten times that amount. 
 
 *' The trade currency they use here consists principally of 
 the Austrian coins known as Maria Theresa dollars, which 
 are dated about the middle of the last century. I was 
 surprised at their abundance, and also at the fact that 
 coins as old as these should appear so bright and fresh as 
 most of them do. I mentioned this circumstance to the 
 consul, whereupon he laughed, and said : — 
 
 *' ' You are not aware, I presume, that these coins are 
 made in Birmingham as an article of trade. They are 
 manufactured there and sent out to Africa just like other 
 goods, and are not treated as money until they get here.' 
 
 "That surprised me still more, and I did not endeavor 
 to conceal my astonishment. I remarked that I would 
 have supposed that the English laws against counterfeiting 
 would prevent the making of these coins. 
 
 *' ' If the coins were made for general circulation,' 
 replied the consul, ' or an attempt was made to circulate 
 them in Austria, there is little doubt that the Austrian 
 government would call upon England to put a stop to their 
 manufacture. They are never sent into the Austrian 
 dominions, but are used here, as I before stated, just like 
 any other trade goods ; they are of the standard weight 
 and fineness, and are as honest dollars as any of the original 
 
J 34 1^ WILD AFRICA. 
 
 Maria Theresa coins. Their ultimate fate is to be melted 
 up and made into African ornaments, and this keeps up 
 the trade in them.' 
 
 " This gave me a new light on matters of trade, and I 
 may have more to say on the same subject later on. 
 
 " Harry and I rode entirely around Mourzouk outside 
 the walls, and we guessed that the whole distance around 
 was not more than two miles. The walls are not in very 
 good repair, and a battery of modern artillery would make 
 short work of them. There are gates on two sides, — the 
 east and west. They have a small gate on the north side, 
 but there is none whatever on the side that looks towards 
 the south. An observing traveler would not need to be 
 told that Mourzouk once contained a much larger popula- 
 tion than it has to-day, as the houses in which people live 
 are very scantily inhabited ; a considerable number of 
 dwellings is unoccupied, and not a few are absolutely 
 crumbling into ruins. There is a wide road extending out 
 for miles from the eastern gate which renders that part of 
 the town more airy, and also at times more heated. Mour- 
 zouk is a hot place ; the thermometer sometimes stands at 
 one hundred and ten degrees in the shade, while one hun- 
 dred and one hundred and five degrees are by no means 
 uncommon. 
 
 " Harry observed in regard to the heat when I mentioned 
 it that he did not think Mourzouk would be a good place 
 to start a clothing store. Our observation among the 
 natives showed us that clothing was not specially popular. 
 The well-to-do people wrap themselves in white bournouses 
 and other garments, but the lower class of inhabitants are 
 
EL HASI TO MOURZOUK. 185 
 
 content with a loin cloth and a hat. Boys and girls up to 
 ten or twelve years of age wear very little else than * a 
 pleasing smile,' to borrow the words of a traveler among 
 the Pacific Islands. Heavy blankets and quilts are by no 
 means necessary at night, and I imagine that there would 
 be very little market for them if they were brought here 
 for sale. 
 
 " Speaking about market reminds me that we visited the 
 bazaar which is in the center of the city about midway be- 
 tween the east and west gates, and is the most frequented 
 part of the place. It has a roomy appearance and is 
 covered with a roof, the latter supported by the stems of 
 palm trees ; the roof produces that subdued light which is 
 cherished by the sellers of most kinds of goods if not by 
 the buyers. Near the eastern end of the bazaar there is 
 what may be called a police station where the officials who 
 keep order in the town and guard the bazaar are stationed. 
 
 *' At the other end of the bazaar and a little away from 
 it is the kasbah, or citadel, where the sultan resides, and 
 it maintains a garrison of four or five hundred soldiers to 
 preserve the peace and dignity of the State. The soldiers 
 appear to be well fed, but they are a ragged lot of fellows 
 armed with flint-lock muskets of the old Brown Bess 
 pattern, which seem to be scattered all over the world. I 
 asked about the soldiers, and was told that they were 
 obtained by conscription among the poorer classes of 
 people in the different oases of Fezzan. The kasbah is 
 said to be able to lodge two thousand men ; whether it can 
 do so or not, we are unable to say positiveh^ as we have 
 not been allowed to enter it. The sultan is at home at 
 
1 86 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 this time, and when he is within the walls of the kasbah 
 no stranger is permitted to inspect it. We learned that it 
 is a large quadrangular building with a large interior 
 courtyard ; the principal apartments being arranged around 
 this courtyard. The reception and other halls are of 
 goodly size, but the most of the apartments are smaller 
 than one would expect to find in such an extensive building 
 as the kasbah of Mourzouk. 
 
 *' Very few of the merchants of Mourzouk are natives 
 of the place ; they come here with their goods, remain 
 long enough to sell them, and then go away. They sell 
 their merchandise for cash and consequently money is 
 always in demand. Sometimes there is an immense 
 scarcity of cash, and this is what makes the demand for 
 the Austrian dollars that we mentioned. The most popu- 
 lar route of commerce is the one to the west, where the 
 Tuaregs are always ready to supply whatever camels may 
 be needed for the transportation of merchandise, and to 
 guarantee their safety, which is not the case on the other 
 routes." 
 
 When Ned had completed his story of Mourzouk Harry 
 suggested that, as the place was the capital of Fezzan, a 
 little account of the kingdom would be in order. 
 
 "You're quite right," said Ned. " Suppose you write 
 it." 
 
 "I've already begun it," said Harry. "As soon as it 
 is finished I'll read it to you." 
 
 Ned agreed to be ready to listen as soon as Harry was 
 ready to read. The next day Harry brought out his 
 paper and read as follows : — 
 
EL HASI TO MOURZOUK. 187 
 
 " Fezzan is about four hundred and sixty miles long by 
 three hundred wide. It is bounded by the Sahara desert 
 on three sides, east, south, and west, and on the north by 
 Tripoli. There are three ranges of barren mountains in 
 the northern part, but none of them exceed two thousand 
 feet in height. In the southern part there are wide sand 
 wastes exactly similar to the neighboring Sahara Desert ; 
 these wastes, or deserts, are broken here and there by 
 ranges of low hills with valleys between them. These 
 valleys include all the land in the country worth cultivat- 
 ing ; dates are the principal products of the country and 
 the chief food of the inhabitants, and they also raise figs 
 and some other fruits. There are no rivers or brooks, 
 and not many natural springs of pure, fresh water. 
 
 "They do not raise many domestic animals in Fezzan; 
 of course they have chickens, the negroes of Africa being 
 no less fond of barnyard fowl than are their kindred in 
 America ; goats are their principal quadrupeds, and they 
 also have donkeys and sheep, and, in some districts, horned 
 cattle. They have more wild animals than tame ones, 
 and these include lions, hyenas, panthers, jackals, gazelles, 
 foxes, and tiger cats." 
 
 "There!" said Harry, as he paused. "How is that 
 for an account of this country ? " 
 
 "Not a very full one," said Ned, with a slight laugh. 
 "You said nothing about the population, trade, or govern- 
 ment." 
 
 " I was coming to that," said Harry. " I have it on a 
 separate sheet of paper." 
 
 Then the youth continued as follows ; — - 
 
l88 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 *'Fezzan has a considerable trade with Timbuctoo and 
 Bornu, and caravans come to it from Cairo, TripoH, 
 Gadames, Touat, and the Soudan. The population can 
 only be guessed, as no census has ever been taken ; the 
 best judges say it is about one hundred thousand ; just 
 about enough to make a good-sized ward in New York 
 or Boston. The country is governed by a sultan, who 
 pays an annual tribute to Tripoli, and maintains an army 
 in time of peace of about one thousand men. In time of 
 war he could brino; ten or twelve thousand men into the 
 field, provided they did not run away, as they frequently 
 do in order to escape the conscription." 
 
 " That will do very well," said Ned, with a patronizing 
 air. " We'll learn more about the country as we go along. 
 It seems to me, though, that the ruler of such an insignifi- 
 cant country hardly deserves such a high-sounding title as 
 that of ' sultan.'" 
 
 "Well, he's a sultan, for all that," replied Harry, 
 *' although not a large one. And that reminds me of 
 a story that was told by the United States minister to 
 France, a good many years ago, about an American, who 
 persuaded the minister to get him a ticket to one of the 
 State balls at the palace of the Tuileries. On the evening 
 of the ball the minister noticed that his American friend 
 was constantly hovering about a group of the old marshals 
 of France. Not admiring the conduct of his country- 
 man, he beckoned the latter aside, and asked why he 
 kept so continually in, the vicinity of those great men. 
 
 *' * Well, I'm as good as any of them fellows,' replied 
 the American; 'I'm a marshal, myself,' and with that 
 
EL HASI TO MOURZOUK. 189 
 
 he took from his pocket a commission he had received as 
 one of the marshals to collect the census returns in an 
 interior district of Kentucky. If any comparison between 
 the sultan of Fezzan and any other great sultan should 
 be made, the ruler of Fezzan might reply : — 
 
 " 'I'm as good as any of them fellows; I'm a sultan, 
 myself.'" 
 
 Our friends remained several days at Mourzouk ; they 
 stayed in their camp for a day or two, and the rest of the 
 time in the town, where they were lodged w^ith the British 
 consul, who had a large house with ample accommodations 
 for a dozen visitors. Renaud had charge of the camp, 
 and came daily to receive orders from Doctor Whitney, 
 and to make whatever purchases he deemed wise, or his 
 employer suggested. The horses were in charge of their 
 grooms, who took them to camp every night and brought 
 them to town at a fixed hour every morning, so as to have 
 them ready when wanted by their owners. 
 
 It w^as necessary for our friends to make a considerable 
 number of purchases previous to the continuance of their 
 journey to the south, and these purchases were managed 
 by the doctor and Renaud, who were materially assisted 
 by the consul. The latter was not altogether disinterested 
 in his services, as he was himself in business, and made no 
 concealment whatever of the fact. Doubtless he made a 
 good profit on his transactions, but Doctor Whitney and his 
 young companions had not the least objection to his doing 
 so, and felt entirely confident that they had received the 
 equivalent of his profits in the services he rendered them, 
 with his hospitality, and in preventing extortion by the 
 
ipo 
 
 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 native merchants. Their purchases in Mourzouk, added 
 to what they had bought in Gadames, gave them a good 
 equipment for their journey. 
 
 The consul advised them to secure some additional 
 camels, as the prices of these animals in Mourzouk were 
 low, the place being in the center of a region where great 
 numbers of camels are raised. Camels of the best quality, 
 he said, could be bought for forty dollars, and good- 
 working ones for twenty-five or thirty dollars apiece. As 
 this was far below the prices the travelers had paid else- 
 where, they acted upon the proposition by purchasing five 
 or six of the ordinary kind, and two of the best sort ; the 
 latter replacing two of the camels originally bought for 
 personal use. These two were taken by the doctor and 
 Ned ; Harry's original camel turned out an excellent beast 
 and needed no replacing. 
 
 The tribe of desert Arabs called the Tinylkum is 
 largely engaged in rearing camels, and its villages are 
 scattered about the eastern part of the sultanate of Fezzan. 
 Their camels constitute their chief wealth, and they are 
 largely engaged in the caravan trade. On the route to the 
 Soudan they take contracts for carrying merchandise, 
 stipulating that for a certain price per hundredweight it 
 shall be delivered at a designated point, and they also hire 
 out their camels or sell them, as may be desired by those 
 with whom they deal. They are averse, however, to 
 hiring out their camels unless they go along themselves to 
 see that the animals- are not over-laden, as a hired camel 
 in Africa is very apt to be regarded by the man who hires 
 it very much as a hired horse is in America. The indi- 
 
EL HASI TO MOURZOUK. I9I 
 
 vidual who is managing a camel in which he is not per- 
 sonally interested is very apt to pile upon the creature's 
 back his full cargo of merchandise, and then mount himself 
 on the top. As can readily be understood, the Arab owner 
 will earnestly protest against such practices. 
 
 A caravan was setting out for the south, and Dr. 
 Whitney decided that he would arrange to accompany it. 
 The British consul brought about a meeting between the 
 doctor and the sheikh of the caravan, and the matter was 
 speedily adjusted on about the same terms as that for the 
 journey from Gadames to Mourzouk. The doctor paid 
 sixty dollars for the protection afforded by the Tinylkum 
 sheikh, and it was understood that the party were to supply 
 all of their own provisions and the fodder for their animals, 
 and they were to do their share of fighting when it became 
 necessary. 
 
 On the appointed day the combined caravan took up its 
 line of march, and the faces of the travelers were turned 
 toward the south. Both the youths wondered with con- 
 siderable anxiety when they would reach the regions of 
 the Niger and be in the real tropical forests of Africa. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 A SLAVE CARAVAN LAKE CHAD. 
 
 THE road on which our friends were now traveling is 
 not usually regarded as a safe one, but the degrees 
 of safety and danger vary from time to time. It is gen- 
 erally infested by marauding bands of Arabs, one tribe 
 having possession of a portion of the road, while another 
 tribe controls a different part. Occasionally these maraud- 
 ers get to quarreling among themselves, and whenever 
 they do so one band generally succeeds in driving away 
 another, and in so doing is itself pretty badly crippled. 
 At such times the route is safest for honest travelers. 
 
 There had been an affair of this sort not long; before, 
 and the Tinylkum sheikh of the caravan which our friends 
 accompanied felt quite confident that there would be no 
 trouble, as his party was well armed, and could give a 
 good account of itself in case of attack. But on the third 
 morning out from Mourzouk a report was brought by 
 some natives of the country that a hostile band was 
 occupying the road a few miles ahead and waiting to 
 attack any caravan that came along. Thereupon the 
 sheikh gave orders that all the weapons should be care- 
 fully inspected and preparation made for active work in 
 case they encountered the enemy. 
 
 The caravan started from its halting place at the usual 
 
 192 
 
A SLAVE CARAVAN. 1 93 
 
 time, and proceeded quietly enough for three or four hours ; 
 suddenly one of the men in the advance came running to 
 the rear, swinging his gun about his head, and calling out 
 in loud tones : 
 
 *' The enemy has come ! The enemy has come ! " 
 
 This brought the whole caravan to a halt ; everybody 
 who was mounted on a camel came to the ground imme- 
 diately, and every man seized his weapon, whatever it 
 might be. There was great commotion, and the horses, 
 camels, and donkeys seemed to partake of the excitement. 
 So great w^as the confusion that it was some time before 
 our friends could ascertain the cause of the alarm. When 
 the facts were discovered they proved to be as follows : — 
 
 The man who gave the alarm was, as before stated, in 
 the front of the procession ; he saw three Arabs mounted 
 on camels some distance ahead, and while he watched 
 them they were joined by several other men, also on camels. 
 After halting for a few minutes, as if to hold a consulta- 
 tion, they turned in the direction of the caravan ; there- 
 upon he ran to the rear, announcing as he did that the 
 enemy had come. 
 
 The supposed enemy came and proved to be a friendly 
 party of natives. It took at least an hour to get things in 
 order so that the caravan could move on again. 
 
 Caravans of various sizes were met from time to time, 
 and the most of them reported that everything was quiet 
 along the road. In the afternoon of the day on which the 
 alarm occurred a caravan of about fifty camels and a hun- 
 dred slaves was met in a spot where the road led between 
 two low ridges of rocks. Both caravans halted for a short 
 
194 
 
 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 time, and the sheikhs exchanged information ; Ned and 
 Harry embraced the opportunity to look at the troop of 
 slaves, which had been captured about two hundred miles 
 away to the south. They had expected to see the slaves 
 chained together, or carrying heavy yokes of wood, which 
 is usually the case with slave gangs in Central Africa, as 
 described by Dr. Livingstone. Consequently the youths 
 were somewhat surprised when they found the slaves un- 
 fettered and without any burdens. However, they learned 
 on inquiry that the slaves were kept under a close guard, 
 and, until a few days before, had been firmly bound 
 together to prevent their escaping. They were now so far 
 from their own country that, even if they succeeded in 
 getting away from the caravan, there would be little chance 
 for them to regain their homes, as they could not travel 
 without provisions and water, and would be sure to en- 
 counter hostility at every step. Ned remarked that it was 
 a case of frying-pan and fire, as they would get out of the 
 clutches of one master only to fall into those of another. 
 
 Our friends afterward learned that this very caravan 
 which we just mentioned was attacked two days later by 
 a band of marauders. Every one of the masters was 
 murdered, and the camels and slaves were carried away. 
 
 The next day, when the caravan went into camp, a party 
 of natives from a neighboring village came among them. 
 They were armed with bows and arrows, and seemed to 
 be acquainted with some of the camel drivers of the cara- 
 van. After a little conversation, four of them proceeded 
 to execute what appeared to be a war dance, accompanied 
 by four of the men of the caravan. The others gathered 
 
A SLAVE CARAVAN. 
 
 195 
 
 in a circle about the dancers, and squatted on the ground, 
 and as Dr. Whitney and the youths advanced to witness 
 the dance, way was made for them until they formed a 
 part of the circle. The sheikh of the caravan also came 
 and looked on, and consequently everything seemed 
 friendly enough. 
 
 The strangers in their dance circled about in the space 
 enclosed by the spectators until they came quite close to 
 where the three Americans were standing. At a given 
 signal three of them seized the wrists of our friends, while 
 the fourth caught hold of the hands of the sheikh, and 
 demanded tribute. This action seemed very much like an 
 attack, and Dr. Whitney's impulse was to draw his revol- 
 ver and defend himself, but he refrained from so doing, 
 watching the sheikh to see what steps he would take. 
 
 The sheikh responded to the request for tribute by 
 giving the equivalent of ten or fifteen cents, and our three 
 friends followed his example. Ned inquired the reason of 
 this singular performance, qnd obtained the following 
 answer : — 
 
 *' A long time ago the Kiloui, a tribe of Arabs from the 
 Sahara, took possession of this district. After they had 
 conquered it, they entered into an agreement with the 
 negro natives that they should not be disturbed, and in 
 token of their agreement the chief of the Kiloui should 
 marry a black woman, thus symbolizing the union of the 
 two tribes. The covenant or agreement was made at the 
 very place where the dance came off, or within a few 
 hundred yards of it. Ever since then whenever a caravan 
 passes the negroes have a dance, and during the dance 
 
1^6 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 they have the right to demand tribute from their masters. 
 Every man not a negro is admitted to be a master of the 
 blacks, and, therefore, is liable to be called upon as our 
 party w^as." 
 
 Another dance w^as executed after the tribute had been 
 given, and then, as night WRS coming on, the natives dis- 
 appeared, returning, no doubt, to their village. But 
 before departing, they w^ent around among the people of 
 the caravan, collecting something from each one. Most 
 of the caravan party gave their tribute in dates, and when 
 the dancers left, each one of them had a sackful of this 
 fruit, some of their burdens being so heavy that the bearers 
 fairly staggered under them. 
 
 We will listen to Ned as he tells us of some of the 
 incidents of their experience. 
 
 " The day after the dance," said Ned, *' one of our 
 companions called attention to a plant which the Arabs call 
 siwak, and whose botanical name is Caf^aris sodata. 
 We had seen the bush before, but did not know of its 
 value. It looks not unlike a currant bush, and its fruit 
 bears a close resemblance to the currant. It is eaten fresh, 
 and also dried and kept for future use. Its root is used 
 for cleansing the teeth, and wherever this bush abounds 
 and there is a scarcity of salt, they make an excellent 
 substitute for that commodity by burning the root and 
 using the ashes instead of salt. 
 
 " The camels seem to be fond of eating the fresh leaves 
 of the siwak if they have any other plant to mix with it, 
 but they soon get tired of it if they have nothing else to 
 eat. I have repeatedly seen our camels grazing where 
 
A SLAVE CARAVAN. 1 97 
 
 this bush abounded, alternating mouthfuls from it and from 
 other plants, very much as an individual at table alternates 
 between bread, meat, and vegetables. I am told that the 
 bush does not grow farther north than the twentieth parallel 
 of latitude. It is very abundant in the valley of the Niger 
 and in the desert region that borders upon it. 
 
 "We had a disagreeable experience at a boundary line 
 between two districts which were hostile to one another. 
 We had paid tribute in one district to allow us to pass 
 through it in safety, and on reaching the borders of the 
 other, we tried to negotiate for a safe-conduct through the 
 territory, but the people whose land we had been crossing 
 said that we must not pay anything to their enemies, and 
 if we did so they would fall upon our caravan and destroy 
 it before we could cross the line. 
 
 *' They demanded a tribute for themselves on the. ground 
 that the two peoples were at war, and naturally they were 
 the owners of any property of their enemy's which was 
 found inside their own lines. Our sheikh dared not cross 
 the line until he had permission to do so ; otherwise he 
 would be inviting an attack. Between the two of them 
 things looked squally, and we got everything in readiness 
 for a battle against whichever party should attack us. 
 
 " Our sheikh managed to send a messenger across the 
 line to negotiate for a safe-conduct. When he came back 
 with everything arranged we made a sudden start at mid- 
 night and got over the boundary before our recent enter- 
 tainers discovered that we had gone. They sent word to 
 our sheikh that whenever he passed that way again he 
 would be compelled to pay a double hongo^ or tribute, to 
 
198 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 make up for his failure to meet their demands at the present 
 time. The sheikh took the suggestion quite philosophi- 
 cally, and said that when he came around again the war 
 would probably be over, and, no matter which side won, 
 he could make much better terms than he could with the 
 two of them when they were hostile to each other. 
 
 *' Our party," continued Ned, " was unwillingly the 
 cause of some of the trouble undergone by the sheikh in 
 making terms for passing through the districts controlled 
 by the different tribes. We had in our baggage several 
 cases of sheet iron filled with dried biscuit, from which we 
 occasionally drew whenever we wanted a slight change of 
 diet. The rumor went around the camp, all unknown to 
 us, that the cases contained money, — real gold money, — 
 and, of course, the value they enclosed was something 
 enormous. From the camp the rumor reached the parties 
 with whom we were dealing ; it made the demands upon 
 the caravan larger than they would have been otherwise, 
 and thus increased the danger of our being attacked. 
 Renaud was the first of our party to learn the report ; he 
 positively denied that there was any truth in it, but the 
 Arabs refused to believe him, and so he came to Dr. 
 Whitney and told him what had happened. 
 
 *' * I think I can soon settle that difiiculty,' said the 
 doctor. * Start the report that we are about to open one 
 of our iron chests, and get together as many people as you 
 can to witness the operation.' 
 
 "Renaud went away, and before long we observed 
 quite a crowd gathering around our part of the camp ; 
 evidently they wanted to witness the opening of the 
 
A SLAVE CARAVAN. 1 99 
 
 treasure chest. The boxes were placed on the ground, 
 and then the doctor, through the aid of Renaud as inter- 
 preter, requested the chief of the camel drivers to select 
 one of them. 
 
 '' He lifted each box in turn, and finally selected what 
 he considered to be the heaviest. In a very few minutes 
 the cover of the chest was removed, and the receptacle 
 turned bottom upwards. Instead of the gold that all 
 expected to see, there dropped from the box only some 
 dried and rather tasteless biscuits, which were passed around 
 as presents to the assemblage, and were not very grate- 
 fully received. This ended the rumor of our untold 
 wealth, and for the rest of the time we had little trouble in 
 adjusting the price of the tribute. 
 
 " In almost every place where we camped," continued 
 Ned, "we were more or less disturbed by the ants, of 
 which there were several kinds. They are a great annoy- 
 ance to travelers in Central Africa, as they overrun every- 
 thing, and are very destructive of leather and woolen 
 goods. Another, and nearly as great an annoyance, is 
 the article called karengia by the natives, — the seed of a 
 plant which grows everywhere in this region, and especially 
 in the valleys which are the customary camping places. 
 The karengia is a little seed covered with a burr, and this 
 burr attaches itself to every part of one's clothing when 
 the plant is touched. Not only does it cling to the clothing, 
 but it attaches itself to the skin. It is necessary for every- 
 body to carry a pair of pincers, so as to draw from the 
 hands the tiny spires of these burrs, as they cause festering 
 sores if they are not removed. 
 
200 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 "But, in spite of its inconvenience to mankind, the 
 plant is a very useful one, as it is very nourishing food for 
 cattle. They grow fat upon it where it is abundant, pro- 
 vided they are allowed to eat as much of it as they choose. 
 The seeds of the plant are used as food for man, and a 
 great many of the natives subsist almost entirely upon it. 
 They also make an infusion of the seeds in hot water, and 
 after the infusion has been allowed to cool it is quite 
 refreshing. Harry says it reminds him of small beer, 
 with the beer left out. 
 
 "As the reader is already aware, we had adopted the 
 native dress. The sheikh repeatedly informed us that the 
 dress was all right as far as it went, but our complexions 
 were so light that they attracted more attention than he 
 considered good for us. It is true we were a good deal 
 bronzed by the sun, but there was a wide difference in 
 complexion between ourselves and the Arabs, and a still 
 wider one between ourselves and the "negroes. The sheikh 
 said w^e must be darkened in some way and suggested 
 indigo ; we accepted his suggestion, and the next morn- 
 ing appeared in public with our faces stained to a 
 degree which delighted the sheikh and all his followers. 
 Harry said we needed nothing more to make good Moham- 
 medans of us than a recital of the Moslem confession of 
 faith. 
 
 " On and on to the south we went, occasionally meeting 
 caravans carrying slaves and other products of Central 
 Africa to the north. In general, the slaves seemed to be 
 well treated, probably not out of any compassion for them, 
 but because it was to the interest of their owners to have 
 
A SLAVE CARAVAN. 20I 
 
 their human merchandise reach the market in as good 
 condition as possible. In the first caravans that we met 
 the slaves were not fettered or tied together ; but as we 
 went further south, and consequently nearer the homes of 
 these unfortunates, we found them fastened together with 
 ropes extending from the neck of one slave to that of 
 another, sometimes with their hands tied together, and 
 sometimes with heavy yokes upon their necks. Usually 
 they seemed quite indifferent to their fate, and on some 
 occasions they were laughing heartily and apparently 
 having ' a first-rate time.' Once while we were wending 
 our way through a hilly country, the first knowledge of 
 the presence of a caravan coming towards us was obtained 
 by hearing loud peals of laughter which came from the 
 slaves accompanying the caravan ; something had excited 
 their risibility to an unusual degree, as they were still 
 laughing heartily when the caravan passed us. 
 
 *'As we went south the fertility^ of the soil increased, 
 and, although we carried a supply of water to guard 
 against accidents, we found no real necessity for it, as the 
 drinking places increased in number until they were rarely 
 more than ten or fifteen miles apart. Renaud said we 
 were getting into the valley of Lake Chad. We had 
 entered the basin drained by that lake, but so slight was 
 the declivity leading into it that we had hardly noticed the 
 change of level. Oases became more and more numerous, 
 villages were larger and more abundant than they had 
 been, and on rising to the crest of a ridge we could see 
 away to the southward an extensive forest of trees. We 
 had been deceived so often by the mirage that we hesitated 
 
202 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 to believe the evidence of our own eyes, so Harry shouted 
 to Renaud to come and help us out of our trouble. 
 
 '«« What is that? ' queried Harry, as he pointed to the 
 distant forest. 
 
 " Renaud gave a long and careful look in the direction in 
 which Harry pointed, and then answered that he didn't 
 
 know. 
 
 '' ' It may be real trees, or it may be fly-away trees,' he 
 continued. ' Stop ! yes ; no ! yes, it is real trees,' said he 
 in a tone of confidence. ' I see now ; they're real trees, 
 and there's a forest. We sha'n't see any more desert for 
 some time.' 
 
 "We thanked Renaud for his information, as we had 
 grown quite weary of the desert, and were very glad to get 
 once more into the region of trees. 
 
 *' That night we camped in a fine grove of palms where 
 there was a copious spring of pure water from which men 
 and animals drank very freely. All around us the grass 
 was green and luxuriant, and our camels, horses, and 
 donkeys seemed to fairly revel in it. I don't know of any 
 more enjoyable scenes in our travels than to look at the 
 animals of our caravan whenever we happen to reach a 
 spot where grass is abundant. The camels do not show 
 so much difference in their manners as do the horses and 
 donkeys. Camels seem content to live upon the scanty 
 growths of the desert, and are satisfied with shrubs and 
 slender growths which- the horse looks upon with disdain. 
 They appreciate fairly well a good feed of grass, but 
 their appreciation is not manifested by the eagerness and 
 selfishness which the horse displays. Ordinarily, when 
 
A SLAVE CARAVAN. 203 
 
 my horse is taking his allowance of barley, in the absence 
 of anything else, I can approach him, pat him, and talk to 
 him without any display of hostility on his part, but when 
 he is enjoying a good feed of grass he will not allow me 
 to approach him, for fear, apparently, that I will appro- 
 priate some of the herbage to my own use, and thus deprive 
 him of an article of which he is exceedingly fond. 
 
 ''We left this agreeable camping ground at an early 
 hour in the morning, and, though the horses had eaten 
 quite as much as was good for them, they manifested an 
 unwillingness to be saddled up. As the day opened we 
 saw a haze in the southward, indicating the position of the 
 lake. As the sun advanced in the heavens it burned away 
 this haze, and not long afterwards a mirage made its ap- 
 pearance, seemingly lifting the lake high in air. This 
 mirage was followed by another, by which the whole south- 
 ern horizon seemed to be filled with a vast forest, that 
 changed in a little while to a broad and desert plain ; to- 
 wards noon all appearance of the mirage was swept away, 
 and for the rest of the day the sky presented no further 
 deceptions. 
 
 "When we were yet two days journey away from the 
 borders of the lake we separated from our good friends, the 
 Tinylkums, and bade them farewell. We were now in a 
 region w^hich is not scourged by the Arabs, except on rare 
 occasions. It was considered safe for us to travel without 
 the protection of a large caravan, at least, as far as the end 
 of the lake. The road that our friends followed bore away 
 to the eastward, leaving the lake at a considerable distance. 
 One of the objects of our journey w^as to explore Lake 
 
204 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 Chad, or, at all events, to stand upon its shores and look 
 out upon its waters. 
 
 "We had paid half our backsheesh, or tribute money, 
 to the sheikh, and now we paid the other half. Then, as 
 is customary in this part of the world, we exchanged small 
 presents with the sheikh, and when camp was broken the 
 next morning our paths divided, and we saw each other 
 no more. Our horses and camels rebelled somewhat, but 
 not seriously ; when our lines of march separated they 
 seemed to think, naturally enough, that something was 
 wrong about our movements that morning, but in a little 
 while they were quite reconciled to the situation. 
 
 " Although we were still at a considerable distance from 
 the lake, before the day ended we saw in the valley traces 
 of a flood which is said to take place annually. The lake 
 is situated in a vast plain, and this plain is elevated so 
 slightly above the lower level of the lake that a consider- 
 able part of it is overflowed at the time of the annual rains. 
 The ground was thickly covered with grass, and at the 
 end of the day we entered a broad belt of trees which 
 partly surrounds Lake Chad. It should be understood, 
 however, that the forest is not a dense and continuous 
 one, encircling the lake, but is rather a series of clusters 
 with open spaces here and there. These clusters consist 
 of palms, tamarinds, and other tropical trees ; the open 
 spaces between these clusters are quite fertile, and several 
 kinds of grain are produced there, including maize, or 
 what is known in America as Indian corn. On the last 
 night before we reached the lake we camped near a fair- 
 sized village, whose sheikh sent us a dish of kouskousou 
 
A SLAVE CARAVAN. 205 
 
 made out of Indian corn. It seemed strange to us to 
 come across such a familiar home production, here in the 
 heart of wild Africa ! 
 
 *'In addition to grain they cultivate beans, lentils, cu- 
 cumbers, melons, and similar things, so that we managed 
 to fare very well without drawing upon our supplies. 
 The natives appeared friendly, though Renaud said they 
 might not have been had they known of the presence of 
 Christians in our party. With our native dress and 
 stained faces we were not suspected, and none of our 
 people took the trouble to tell them what we were. They 
 presumed that we were merchants from Mourzouk ; the 
 presumption being natural enough, as everybody who 
 passed that way was either a merchant or a pilgrim on 
 his way to or from Mecca. 
 
 *' Well, here we are! camped on the shores of Lake 
 Chad. I will let Harry tell you about the lake and what 
 we did there." 
 
 *' We were very glad to reach this famous lake," said 
 Harry in his narrative. " Lake Chad has been known for 
 a long time, for a thousand years or more, but very few 
 white men have seen it ; fewer, by far, than those who 
 have looked upon the Victoria Nyanza, or Lake Tangan- 
 yika, both of them discovered within the last forty years. 
 
 "Lake Chad lies in about latitude 14° 15' north and 
 longitude 12° 50' east. Its whole length is about one hun- 
 dred and thirty miles, and in its broadest part it is nearly one 
 hundred miles wide. According to Overweg and Clap- 
 pertown, travelers who have visited it, the lake in summer 
 contains about ten thousand square miles of surface, which 
 
2o6 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 is increased to forty thousand or fifty thousand square 
 miles in winter, by reason of the overflowing of the plain 
 in which it stands. Our observations confirmed those of 
 previous explorers, as we have seen everywhere the traces 
 of the annual rise of the lake and learned of it from the 
 natives. 
 
 "By the way, let me remark that our intercourse with 
 the natives is somewhat restricted on account of their lan- 
 guage. Only two or three of the people in our caravan 
 can talk with these natives, and even they are not thoroughly 
 familiar with the tongues spoken here. In talking with 
 them, every sentence and word passed through three in- 
 terpreters. We talked with Renaud in French, and he 
 talked in Arabic with the interpreter, who conveys what 
 we say to the negroes. It often happens that by the time 
 a question gets to its destination it has entirely lost its 
 meaning, and when the answer is returned its own mother 
 couldn't possibly know it. If you ask how far it is from 
 one end of the lake to the other, you're very liable to get 
 the response that Tripoli is a larger city than Mourzouk, 
 as if you should ask in America how long it takes to go 
 from New York to Philadelphia, and be informed that 
 George Washington was the father of his country. 
 
 " I said we camped on the shores of the lake, which is 
 not strictly true, as the ground was swampy, and we could 
 not approach with our animals nearer than within three or 
 four miles of the water. Between us and the lake was a 
 marsh covered with tall grass and reeds and extending as 
 far as the eye could reach, broken here and there by 
 clusters of trees. On each side of us the marsh was consid- 
 
A SLAVE CARAVAN. 207 
 
 erably wider than it was at our camp, our caravan having 
 been guided along a point or peninsula of higher ground 
 that extended far out into the marsh. It was too late in 
 the day for us to make an exploration of any consequence. 
 We walked through the marsh towards the lake, some- 
 times half way to our knees in the water, and as the sun 
 neared the horizon we concluded it wise to turn back. 
 
 ''The next morning we were up early, in the hope of 
 accomplishing something in our explorations. The native 
 guide whom we had employed at the last village sa d it 
 would not be an easy matter for us to find a boat, as the 
 most of the boats on the lake belonged to the Bidduma, 
 who are an independent people, and hold very limited 
 relations with the inhabitants of the shore. He said the 
 Bidduma are a piratical lot of rascals ; occasionally they 
 make raids upon the villages surrounding the lake, and 
 carry the inhabitants into slavery. They have flocks of 
 sheep and goats, and herds of cattle and horses on their 
 islands, and they cultivate wheat, corn, and other vege- 
 tables. They are generally reluctant to receive strangers, 
 owing to their fear of being plundered in the same way 
 that they plunder people on the land. 
 
 '* Our guides showed us a better way to the lake than 
 the one we had followed on the preceding evening, which 
 was really no path at all ; in fact, the route by which he 
 led us was a regular roadway about four feet wide and 
 built up with reeds and rushes, with now and then a few 
 logs of wood. About half way from our camp to the lake 
 we saw some people from one of the villages engaged in 
 cutting reeds, which they make into baskets and other 
 
208 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 receptacles, and also use in constructing their dwellings. 
 As we neared the lake we saw two boats quite close to the 
 shore, each of them containing two men. As soon as the 
 people in the boat saw us they pushed out further in 
 the water. We gathered from our guide that these 
 boats were doubtless on a man-hunting expedition, the 
 intention being to capture some of the people engaged in 
 cutting reeds. The villagers could not see the boatmen, on 
 account of the fringe of tall reeds along the shore, while 
 the boatmen could make out the position of the villagers 
 by crawling through the reeds, and occasionally taking a 
 survey of the ground before them. ' 
 
 " We hailed the boats, asking the men in them to come 
 to land, but they were evidently suspicious of our intentions. 
 The more we called to them, the further they went from 
 us, and at length disappeared around a bend in the lake 
 toward the right. 
 
 "While we were wondering what had made them go 
 away we saw three boats coming around the bend of the 
 shore towards the left. Evidently their object was a 
 peaceable one, as they showed no hesitation in approaching 
 us. They came straight up to where we were, running 
 the prows of their boats on the spongy, reed-covered shore. 
 We opened communication with them at once ; at least, we 
 tried to do so, but did not succeed very well, owing to the 
 difference in language. The language of the Bidduma is 
 a polyglot, and this circumstance arises from the fact that 
 the islands of the lake have been the resort of people of 
 many tribes and districts fleeing from oppression, and so 
 many varieties of mankind have gone there at least — of 
 
A SLAVE CARAVAN. 209 
 
 African mankind — that their language is made up of many 
 tongues. The islands of the Chad have been populated in 
 the same manner as the islands of the Adriatic, on which 
 Venice is built. 
 
 *' However, we managed to make ourselves understood, 
 though w^ith considerable difficulty. We told the boatmen 
 that we wished to hire their craft either with or without 
 themselves, though we greatly preferred to have them 
 along to manage the boats. We also told them that we 
 would be greatly pleased if they would bring two or three 
 more boats, and larger ones than theirs, if possible. The 
 boats they had were not very commodious, as they were 
 about twelve feet long by two feet in width, hewn from a 
 single trunk, like the ' dug-out,' which is frequent in many 
 of the interior parts of the United States. Each boat was 
 managed by two men, and could carry altogether four men 
 with a fair quantity of baggage. 
 
 *' We told them about the two boats that had disappeared 
 around the bend of the lake, and two of our new found 
 friends, with one of their craft, went in pursuit of the 
 runaways. As soon as they had gone we sent Renaud to 
 camp to get a supply of provisions, weapons, ammunition, 
 astronomical instruments, presents for the Bidduma chiefs, 
 and a few other things. We w^ere not obliged to make the 
 journey back to camp ourselves, as we had arranged into 
 one pile in our tents the articles that w^e thought we should 
 need, and, therefore, no time was wasted in collecting 
 them. By good luck it happened that just as Renaud 
 hove in sight with several carriers laden with what we 
 sent for the boat that had just left us turned the point with 
 
2IO IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 another and came in our direction. The boatmen had 
 succeeded in hiring one of the runaway craft, and with 
 this we were content. 
 
 ''We distributed our baggage into the four boats, and 
 then arranged our party in the following order : — 
 
 " Dr. Whitney and Renaud in the first boat, Harry and 
 the Arab interpreter in the second, Ned and the native 
 guide in the third, and Yusef and Abdallah in the fourth. 
 This was about the best arrang^ement we could make of 
 the party, and, even as it was, whenever we had any occa- 
 sion to talk with the boatmen the work was necessarily 
 slow ; the boats in such cases were brought together in a 
 cluster and the babel of tongues that resulted in the com- 
 munication of ideas was fearful and wonderful, indeed ! 
 
 ''And now behold us pushing away from the shore for 
 the exploration of Lake Chad. We have left our camp 
 in charge of our chief camel driver, and hope he will not 
 take it into his head to go away without us." 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 AMPHIBIOUS INHABITANTS OF LAKE CHAD. THE 
 
 BIDDUMA. 
 
 IT did not take long for our friends to learn that Lake. 
 Chad was very well inhabited. Several times while 
 they were making preparations for their voyage the waters 
 near their landing-place were disturbed by hippopotami, 
 or river horses. Ned said that these creatures were so 
 numerous that the time was too short to pronounce their 
 names in full, and he proposed to Harry that they should 
 henceforth be called *' hippos"; Harry assented, and the 
 name was adopted. 
 
 *' We did not like the looks of the hippos," said Harry, 
 in his account of their voyage on the lake. *'They 
 haven't a pleasing appearance, their countenances pre- 
 senting a fierce expression, and their mouths being so 
 large that Renaud said they could go down through their 
 own throats without hitting the sides. With considerable 
 difficulty we ascertained from the boatmen that the hippos 
 will not attack a boat unless they are provoked to do so, 
 and even then the majority of them will try to get away if 
 they can. Like nearly all wild animals, they are inclined 
 to avoid the presence of man, but they are so numerous in 
 Lake Chad that avoidance is not altogether easy. 
 
 '*When we started away from the shore," continued 
 
 211 
 
212 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 Harry, "the hippos kept at a respectful distance, raising 
 their ugly heads out of the water, and watching us with 
 apparent curiosity. The men kept a sharp watch for 
 them, and whenever one was seen in advance of a boat, 
 the course of the latter was changed somewhat, or, if 
 necessary, the craft came to a halt. The boatmen ex- 
 plained that if by any carelessness they ran violently 
 against an old hippo, he was very liable to take it as a 
 challenge and indulge in a fight. A fight with hippos in 
 the water is very much to the disadvantage of a crew, and 
 very detrimental to a boat. We had an accident of this 
 sort, and I will tell you of it later. 
 
 *'The place whence we started on our journey was a 
 narrow bay, shaped somewhat like the letter ' V ' greatly 
 elongated. The whole length of this bay abounded with 
 hippos who come up at night to feed on the grass, and 
 if undisturbed, do not go far away in the daytime. They 
 have regular paths from the shore to their feeding ground, 
 and the natives take advantage of these paths to entrap the 
 creatures when they come to land. Sometimes they dig a 
 pitfall in a path, covering it with leaves and reeds, and it 
 is covered so carefully that an expert eye is required to 
 discover its existence. As the hippo walks along the path 
 he tumbles into the pitfall, and the next morning the 
 natives come and dispatch him with spears. 
 
 "Another way of killing him is with a spear poised 
 above the path, and liberated by means of a cord as the 
 animal pushes below it. Renaud tells us how he was once 
 in a region where hippos abounded, and when he was 
 walking along a path near the river he came upon a cord 
 
AMPHIBIOUS INHABITANTS OF LAKE CHAD. 
 
 213 
 
 stretched across it about six inches from the ground. His 
 first thought was that somebody had dropped the cord ; he 
 was about to pick it up when he looked above his head and 
 saw a cord extending out from the limb of a tree and 
 supporting a heavy spear with a stone fastened to the 
 handle to give it additional weight. Had he touched the 
 cord while standing in the middle of the path he would 
 have brought down the spear and, quite likely, would have 
 been impaled by it. 
 
 '* Renaud explained that the setting of these traps was a 
 matter of very careful calculation ; the cord across the 
 path must be placed so high that the animal will not 
 try to step over it, and, on the other hand, it must not be 
 high enough to induce him to turn aside and flank it. The 
 position of the spear with its weight must be so calculated 
 that when the hippo pushes against the cord he will so 
 loosen the apparatus that the weapon will fall upon him 
 right between the shoulders. With everything properly 
 adjusted, the trapper is reasonably sure of his prize, unless 
 the animals take the alarm and go to a safer feeding place. 
 
 "As we looked down the little bay from the place 
 whence we started, our view was interrupted by a series 
 of islands. We discovered before going very far that a 
 large part of Lake Chad is taken up by islands, some of 
 them quite small, and others of goodly size. The smaller 
 ones are not inhabited, but the larger and higher ones have 
 a considerable population. Before leaving Mourzouk we 
 were told that we would have great difficulty in navigating 
 the lake, as the natives were hostile and very jealous of 
 the intrusion of foreigners. We were agreeably dis- 
 
214 ^^ WILD AFRICA. 
 
 appointed in this matter, as we found them friendly, with 
 the exception of one island, where the people refused to 
 allow us to land. They came down to the shore with 
 spears in their hands and made such demonstrations of 
 hostility that their words were unnecessary to explain their 
 feelings towards us. They threatened us with destruction 
 if we set foot on their land, and, as we did not wish to be 
 destroyed just then and were not seeking a fight, we gave 
 them the go-by and proceeded on our journey. Exactly 
 why they treated us so uncivilly we were unable to learn, 
 but came to the conclusion that they had recently enter- 
 tained visitors who behaved so badly as to lead the 
 islanders to adopt a policy of seclusion. 
 
 *' During all of our first day upon the waters we were in 
 a labyrinth of islands, and if our boatmen had deserted us 
 we would have experienced great difficulty in finding our 
 way back to the starting point. Our first night was passed 
 on an island where there was a small village. Not more 
 than half of the surface of the island was tillable, the rest 
 being a marsh where the reeds and papyrus plants grew to 
 a height of ten or twelve feet. The natives received us 
 very kindly ; they erected grass huts for our accommoda- 
 tion, and supplied us with kouskousou made from wheat 
 and also from Indian corn. It seems that they cultivate 
 both of these grains, together with onions, beans, and other 
 vegetables. They had a good-sized herd of cattle and 
 flocks of sheep and goats ; we bought a sheep for about 
 ten cents' worth of copper wire, and the native who sold it 
 to us acted as though he had made the best bargain of his 
 lifetime. The sheikh was very attentive, and when we 
 
AMPHIBIOUS INHABITANTS OF LAKE CHAD. 215 
 
 left the next morning we presented him with a large 
 cotton handkerchief on which was printed the Declaration 
 of Independence and a portrait of George Washington. 
 He had not the remotest idea of the printing upon the 
 handkerchief, but the gaudy colors took his fancy, and his 
 face wore an expression of ecstatic happiness. 
 
 *' Most of the native dwellings on the islands are made 
 of grass and reeds, but on the larger islands many of the 
 houses are constructed with regular walls of clay or mud. 
 The Bidduma are supposed to be governed by a sheikh 
 who lives on one of the larger islands, and whose town or 
 village is the most populous of all ; but, as nearly as we 
 could ascertain, his authority is more nominal than real, 
 many of the islands being independent of each other, and 
 acknowledging no government but their own. Sometimes 
 these island communities get to warring with one another, 
 and when they do so the rest assume a neutral position 
 and let them light it out. In such cases the quarrel does 
 not end until both sides are pretty well exhausted. 
 
 " During the whole of the second day we continued in 
 the labyrinth of islands, but our boatmen informed us that 
 we were getting near the Inkibul, or open water, and 
 would see it early on our third day. At the island where 
 we made our landing near the end of the second day we 
 saw on the shore some boats much larger than our own, 
 and it immediately occurred to us that it would be well to 
 secure some of these boats. We told Renaud to nego- 
 tiate for them, and he proceeded to do so. Our boatmen 
 had anticipated this, as they knew that their own boats 
 were too small to navigate the open water with safety. 
 
2l6 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 **They arranged to leave their own craft behind, and 
 to continue with us on two of the larger boats, taking 
 along others of their countrymen to assist in the navi- 
 gation. The boats that they secured were much more 
 comfortable than the small craft in which we had been 
 traveling. One was about thirty feet long and four or 
 five feet wide, while the other had a length of not less 
 than thirty-five feet and a width of six feet. We saw 
 larger boats than these, and when we started away we 
 were accompanied by quite a flotilla, in which there was one 
 boat not less than fifty feet long, and it seemed to me, 
 although we did not measure it, fully seven feet across. 
 
 *' These boats are rather low in the center, but high at 
 the bow and stern, the bow being carried high in the air 
 and reminding us somewhat of a Venetian gondola. These 
 larger boats are not hollowed out from logs, like the ones 
 we first saw, but constructed of planks from the fogo tree, 
 fastened together with ropes and caulked with fine moss 
 which is found on many of the islands in the lake. We 
 found the boats quite seaworthy, but they leaked so much 
 that one man was constantly engaged in bailing out each 
 craft. 
 
 '*We came out into the open water, and it did not 
 require a great stretch of the imagination to believe that 
 we were on the ocean. On the eastern side of the lake 
 no land was in sight, the water stretching away as far as 
 the eye could reach. There was a gentle wind blowing 
 from the north and throwing up little waves, exactly such 
 as the wind produces in any other body of water. During 
 the day the wind increased, and, though the natives did 
 
AMPHIBIOUS INHABITANTS OF LAKE CHAD. 217 
 
 not appear to mind it, it seemed to me that navigation in 
 these shallow boats was not the safest in the world. We 
 wanted to cross over to the eastern shore, but the boatmen 
 dissuaded us from doing so by saying that the natives 
 there were hostile, and the lives of all would be endan- 
 gered if we went there. We did not press them very 
 hard, as we were not over-confident that we could get to 
 the shore at all in case we ventured in that direction. 
 A storm would swamp our boats and probably drown 
 every one of us, and that was a result not very pleasant to 
 contemplate, so we concluded to let well enough alone 
 and stay where we were. 
 
 *' We skirted the islands of the western shore, coming 
 to land occasionally and making friends with the natives. 
 Sometimes we found quite a difference in complexion 
 and other peculiarities of the people of one island and 
 those of another, indicating that they were not of the same 
 tribe, but had come there from different localities. Be- 
 tween some of the islands and others there was not infre- 
 quently a difference of language ; they had a good many 
 words in common, but each island, as a general thing, 
 had some words, especially the names of things, which 
 were peculiar to itself. There was also a difference in 
 costume, but this, however, was not great, owing to the 
 fact that the Bidduma generally have no costume to 
 speak of. 
 
 *'The ordinary natives usually wear nothing more than 
 a strip of cloth about the waist; sometimes, in cold or 
 stormy weather, they wrap themselves in mats or blankets 
 woven out of reeds and grass. The Bidduma sheikhs 
 
2l8 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 mark their superiority over their subjects by wearing a 
 white bournous over a tobe or shirt of black or brown 
 material and covering their heads with turbans. Some 
 of the people wear leather aprons about the waist and 
 strings of beads around the neck, and these two articles 
 constitute their only clothing. The effect is better than 
 one might suppose, as the beads make a very pretty con- 
 trast against the black skin of the body ; the skin is of a 
 rich velvety appearance, and from constant exposure it 
 runs no risk of blistering in the hottest African sun. 
 
 "We looked for articles of Bidduma manufacture, but 
 found very few. They showed us some specimens of 
 beadwork and coarse embroidery : we bought a few of 
 these, but they were not particularly striking, and we did 
 not invest heavily. Their blacksmiths are really very 
 skilful in working in iron, but, unfortunately, their supply 
 of material is very limited, and they have barely enough 
 to supply themselves with spears and arrow heads. The 
 greatest working skill displayed by these people is in the 
 construction of their boats ; this is natural enough, as they 
 would be very helpless without boats, and, consequently, 
 all the powers of their intellects are devoted to the develop- 
 ment of their sailing and rowing craft. 
 
 " Their implements of agriculture are of the rudest sort, 
 resembling those of barbaric people in all parts of the 
 world. Their plows are the wooden implements of the 
 kind that have been used for thousands of years ; a limb 
 or root of a tree serves as the share, while another limb 
 or root forms the beam of the implement. This is drawn 
 by a pair of oxen, and sometimes by a single ox, and on 
 
AMPHIBIOUS INHABITANTS OF LAKE CHAD. 219 
 
 some of the islands by a single horse or a pair of horses. 
 Only a portion of the islands have horses, and we were 
 told that the natives who are fortunate enough to own 
 these animals are unwilling to sell them to the occupants 
 of other islands than their own. They sometimes sell 
 horses for transportation to the mainland, but thus far the 
 number of these animals is not sufficient to create any 
 trade of consequence. 
 
 ** On the islands where cattle abound we had no diffi- 
 culty in obtaining fresh milk. The rearing of cattle is 
 quite an important business with these natives, and in 
 every community there is an official whose title is the 
 equivalent of * Inspector of Cattle,' and the herds are 
 under his charge. He selects the pasturage, orders the 
 construction of yards where they are to be kept at night, 
 and, in fact, has a general supervision such as is indicated 
 by his title. He picks out the animals for slaughter or 
 for sale, and where they are killed on the islands, the 
 meat is eaten by the owners, and the hides are dried and 
 used for whatever purpose they are adapted among these 
 barbaric people. All the tribes dwelling on the shores of 
 the lake are owners of cattle, and several hundred animals 
 are not infrequently seen in one herd. 
 
 " I came near forgetting our adventure with the hippo, 
 which I referred to a few pages back. 
 
 *'We were going at a good pace through the water 
 when the boat which was carrying the doctor and ourselves 
 struck violently against something. I shouted, ' A log ! ' 
 
 '' Ned called out, * A rock ! ' But the doctor, older and 
 wiser than we, exclaimed, ' A hippo ! ' 
 
220 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 **The doctor was right; it was a hippo, and a large 
 one, and savage, too. 
 
 *'The boat trembled and recoiled, and as it did so we 
 saw a monstrous, ugly head rising out of the water, 
 directly abeam of us, and not more than ten feet away. 
 He looked ugly, and his character of ugliness was increased 
 as he came towards us with mouth wide open. 
 
 *' Instinctively we seized our rifles, which were close at 
 hand, but before we could bring them to bear the brute 
 was upon us. 
 
 *'One of the boatmen was sitting directly in front of 
 Dr. Whitney, and his oar extended over the side of the 
 boat. The hippo seized this oar and crushed it as though 
 it were an egg-shell ; then he turned to attack the boat, 
 again opening his mouth as he had opened it before. 
 
 '*It was a very unwise action on his part, that of 
 opening his mouth, as it gave the doctor and Ned an 
 opportunity to discharge their rifles directly down his throat, 
 and, what was worse for the monster hippo, Ned's rifle 
 carried an explosive bullet which burst as it struck its 
 mark. Explosive bullets are forbidden in civilized war- 
 fare, but there is no restriction upon their use among wild 
 and ferocious animals. African hunters in these modern 
 times always carry them, and so- do hunters of big game 
 in other parts of the world. There is no place where they 
 come in more handily than when one is dealing with a 
 hippo or a crocodile. 
 
 '*The rest of bur hippo story is soon told, as the 
 explosive bullet did its work effectively ; at any rate, it 
 ended the attack upon us, and after receiving another 
 
IT GAVE THE DOCTOR AND NED AN OPPORTUNITY TO DISCHARGE THEIR 
 RIFLES DIRECTLY DOWN HIS THROAT." 
 
AMPHIBIOUS INHABITANTS OF LAKE CHAD. 221 
 
 volley, our assailant disappeared, leaving the boat and its 
 occupants unharmed. 
 
 *' Several times during the voyage our boats touched 
 against these animals, the contacts always being accidental, 
 and ones which we would have gladly avoided. The 
 natives, seeing the effectiveness of our weapons, wanted us 
 to make a general slaughter of these usually inoffensive 
 creatures, which request we emphatically refused. We 
 were willing to destroy noxious creatures like lions, 
 panthers, crocodiles, and the like, but were quite unwilling 
 to indulge in a general work of destruction. 
 
 ** Crocodiles are numerous in Lake Chad, but less so 
 than hippos. We saw them occasionally lying on sand- 
 bars and enjoying the sun, and whenever we could get 
 near enough to them without taking too much trouble and 
 losing too much time we usually embraced the opportunity 
 for a shot at them. Crocodiles are far more dangerous 
 than river-horses, as they attack people while bathing, or 
 those who may be accidentally thrown into the water by the 
 overturning of a boat. For this reason every man is the 
 crocodile's enemy and is ready to engage in his destruction. 
 The crocodile is caught in pitfalls, very much the same 
 as those in which the river-horse is taken, but with a 
 difference consequent upon the peculiarities of the animal. 
 
 " On a sand-bar frequented by crocodiles a deep pit is 
 dug of a circular form, leaving in the center a sort of 
 island eight or ten feet in diameter ; a stake is driven in 
 the center of this island, and just at nightfall, some day, a 
 young goat is tied to the stake. As the crocodiles come 
 up from the water to land on the shore, they hear the 
 
222 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 bleating of the kid, and at once proceed towards it. The 
 pitfall has been covered over in the same manner as the one 
 for the river-horse, and the crocodile, in his anxiety to 
 reach the prey, falls into the trap set for him, and is caught. 
 Sometimes several of the saurians will be taken in a single 
 night. 
 
 *' Crocodile flesh is eaten by the natives, and we were 
 offered some steaks cut from a crocodile caught only a 
 few hours before, but it smelt so strongly of musk that we 
 were unable to eat it. Even when it is thoroughly boiled 
 the musky flavor remains, and as for broiling or roasting, 
 it only seemed to increase rather than diminish the, to us, 
 disagreeable odor. 
 
 "Geographers have disputed a good deal," continued 
 Harry, "as to whether Lake Chad was fresh or salt; 
 some of the Europeans who had previously visited it pro- 
 nounced it a fresh water lake, while others declare that 
 its waters are brackish and not fresh, while still others 
 have assured us that it is undeniably salt. We have tasted 
 it over and over again, have dipped the water from the 
 lake with a tin cup and drank it, and we assert, with all 
 possible vehemence, that it is absolutely sweet and fresh. 
 And yet how can you account for the fact that men whose 
 veracity is unquestioned have pronounced Lake Chad a 
 salt lake? This is the way I explain it : — 
 
 " We have already told you that in winter the lake rises 
 to a great height, owing to the flatness of the ground around 
 it. As already stated, its area at low water is only one 
 fourth of its area at high water. It receives the water of 
 several streams which are nearly dry in summer, but have 
 
AMPHIBIOUS INHABITANTS OF LAKE CHAD. 223 
 
 a considerable volume at the time of the annual rains. 
 The lake has no outlet, properly speaking, in its low stage, 
 and consequently one might naturally expect it to be salt, 
 but in the season of flood its surplus water is poured into a 
 great basin called the Dodele, three hundred miles north- 
 ward, by a broad channel which is known as the Bahr-el 
 Ghazal. The throwing off of its surplus water every year 
 saves the lake from becoming salt, and now there's some- 
 thing else I must tell you. 
 
 ''The plain around the lake contains a good deal of 
 natron, or soda ; now, when the lake has overflowed this 
 plain and the water is subsiding little ponds and pools are 
 left wherever there is a depression in the ground. These 
 ponds are slowly dried away by the heat of the sun, the 
 water of the ponds absorbs the natron, and when a con- 
 siderable portion of the water is dried away the remainder 
 will have a very salty taste. It was doubtless from tasting 
 the waters of these ponds surrounding the lake that 
 previous travelers jumped to the conclusion which we have 
 mentioned. Not very far from where we camped there 
 was one of these little ponds, and the water it contained 
 had altogether too strong a flavor of soda to be palatable. 
 Dr. Whitney said it reminded him of the alkali lakes and 
 ponds between the Missouri River and the Pacific coast of 
 the United States. 
 
 ''We found," continued Harry, "that the lake, large 
 as it is, is very shallow ; we frequently threw over a 
 sounding lead, and nowhere did we find a depth of more 
 than one hundred feet, and by far the greater number of 
 soundings that we made were of less than fifty feet. At 
 
224 
 
 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 the villages on the islands they showed us fishes taken 
 from the lake, and we tried to eat some of them, but with 
 no great success. Had we been hungry we might have 
 found them eatable, but altogether they were no exception 
 to the rule that fish of African rivers are of very poor 
 quality. We saw some very large turtles and induced the 
 natives to catch one for us. The flesh of these turtles was 
 not at all bad ; it had a decidedly musky smell, which 
 mostly disappeared in the cooking. Our culinary arrange- 
 ments were not of the best ; perhaps if we had been able 
 to submit our turtle steaks to a French chef they would 
 have been as toothsome as one could wish ; but, under the 
 circumstances, I'm not inclined to praise them. 
 
 " Each of our boats carried a square sail made of leather, 
 or rather of untanned hides, scraped thin, and made flexible 
 by a great deal of severe pounding. Considering the size 
 of the boat, the sail was small, and only allowed us to run 
 before the wind. With sails and oars we made a speed of 
 perhaps five and a half or six miles an hour ; the wind 
 increased on the second day and accelerated our speed 
 somewhat, but not greatly. What we were aiming to do 
 was to reach the southwestern end of the lake, where there 
 was a town called Kukawa ; from there we intended to 
 send Renaud back to the camp, retaining the servants with 
 us until he returned with the caravan. 
 
 *' Suddenly in the afternoon of the second day the wind 
 turned square around, blowing in our faces as we looked 
 towards the south.- This was a discouraging situation, 
 but it lasted only a short time, as a squall came on, com- 
 pelling us to seek shelter in a narrow passageway between 
 
AMPHIBIOUS INHABITANTS OF LAKE CHAD. 225 
 
 two islands. When it abated we found that the wind had 
 gone back to its old quarter, and we were able to make 
 good progress in the desired direction. 
 
 ''We reached the landing place at Kukawa just at 
 sunset ; a crowd of natives came down to greet us, and the 
 news of the arrival of our distinguished selves was speedily 
 taken to the authorities. In a little while the sheikh of the 
 place came in person to welcome us to Kukawa, and 
 promised us all the hospitality it could afford. A house 
 was placed at our disposal, and as soon as it could be 
 prepared the usual dish of kouskousou was served, together 
 with other things to complete our evening meal." 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 KUKAWA SULTAN OF BORNOO. 
 
 KUKAWA is a place of considerable importance, as it 
 was until recently the capital of the kingdom, or 
 sultanate, of Bornoo, and is the center of a large trade. 
 Caravans go and come in all directions ; to Mourzouk a^d 
 Tripoli in the north, Touat and Timbuctoo in the west, the 
 Niger and towns along its banks to the south, and the 
 Soudan and Valley of the Nile to the east. 
 
 The old saying, "Uneasy lies the head that wears a 
 crown," is brought to mind by the political history of 
 Bornoo. For the last hundred years the majority of the 
 rulers of this kingdom have died violent deaths, and the 
 terms of most of them have not been long. Whenever an 
 aspirant obtains the throne he is at once the object of 
 conspiracies to deprive him of his powers and also of his 
 life. These conspiracies are almost always hatched by 
 the brothers or near relatives of the sultan and are usually 
 successful. The sultan is strangled, or otherwise put out 
 of the way, and his vizier and other officers under him, 
 unless they happen to be in the conspiracy, are served in 
 the same manner as their chief. A new ruler ascends the 
 throne with great pomp and dignity, and his dignity lasts 
 until a successful conspiracy is hatched against him, when 
 
 he goes the way of his predecessors. 
 
 226 
 
KUKAWA. 
 
 227 
 
 The sultan of Bornoo, at the time our friends visited that 
 country, had been in office less than a year ; he was said 
 to be an intelligent, broad-minded, and benevolent man, 
 who had reached his place of power by causing his brother 
 to be put to death. Ned and Harry were unable to recon- 
 cile this act of the sultan with his alleged character, but 
 the doctor explained that in Africa, and also in Asia, a 
 benevolent and intelligent man might cause the murder of 
 all his relatives without any detriment to his reputation. 
 
 " I've known," said the doctor, " a man to be moved to 
 tears at the illness of his favorite donkey ; yet this same 
 man had caused his parents and two of his brothers to be 
 strangled in order that he might rise to a position of honor. 
 Instances of this sort are quite abundant throughout all 
 Africa, and it is quite possible that this sultan of Bornoo, 
 who caused the death of his brother, may be all that is 
 claimed for him in the way of mildness, and more, too." 
 
 On the morning following the arrival of our friends a 
 considerable crowd gathered around the house to get a 
 sight of the strangers. It became noised about that one 
 of the three was a doctor, and, as had happened in other 
 places, the lame and blind were brought to him for relief. 
 Unfortunately, most of the cases presented were incurable, 
 and those who came for relief were sent away disappointed ; 
 a good many cases of ophthalmia were brought forward, 
 and these the doctor was able to alleviate, though he could 
 not, as a general thing, cure them. Fevers and diseases 
 of that sort he could manage, but he had found by expe- 
 rience that it was advisable not to give any of the natives a 
 supply of medicine to carry away and take from time to 
 
2 28 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 time. On one occasion he came very near getting into 
 serious trouble by intrusting a supply of medicine to a man, 
 whom he thought intelligent enough to follow his directions. 
 This is the story as he tells it : — 
 
 ''The man was sheikh of a village," said the doctor, 
 "and complained of suffering from a fever. I gave him 
 some medicine to be taken in three doses at intervals of 
 twenty-four hours ; in a fevv' hours he came back again, 
 and said he had forgotten to tell me he was suffering from 
 worms, in addition to the fever, and wished to know if the 
 fever medicine would help him in the other cases I told 
 him it would not, and gave him some worm powder in six 
 little parcels, instructing him to take one of the parcels 
 daily until the six were gone, and he went home satisfied 
 that he was on the way to complete recovery. Instead of 
 doing as I directed him, he mixed the whole lot of medi- 
 cine together and took it at once. 
 
 " Well, it came near killing him, but, thanks to a robust 
 constitution, he managed to pull through, though he was 
 at death's door for three or four days. If he had died, I 
 don't think my life would have been safe in or around that 
 village. I tried to explain to his friends that it was his 
 own fault in taking the medicine as he did, but I don't 
 believe they understood me, or have understood the case 
 to this day. It is very difficult to make them comprehend 
 that if medicine will do any good in a given number of 
 times at intervals of twelve or twenty-four hours that it is 
 not just as well, and a great deal better, to take the whole 
 at once and be done with it." 
 
 All the belongings of our friends were brought from the 
 
KUKAWA. 229 
 
 boats to the house which had been assigned to them. The 
 Bidduma boatmen were paid for their services, and as soon 
 as they received their compensation they immediately 
 started for their homes. 
 
 They would not leave the landing place to come up to 
 the town, as they were not on good terms with the people 
 of Kukawa, and were afraid they would get into trouble. 
 They remained close by their boats, and the handling of 
 the baggage was performed by the servants of our friends, 
 aided by several natives of Kukawa, who were hired for 
 the occasion. Even as it w^as, some of the natives of the 
 place fell into a wrangle wath the boatmen at the landing, 
 and there was a very near approach to a fight. A raid 
 had been made not long before by a party of Bidduma 
 boatmen upon a village near Kukawa, and several natives 
 were carried into slavery. An intelligent native living in 
 the house adjoining that of our friends told the doctor that 
 the Bidduma stole all their slaves and never bought any. 
 He had no objection whatever to slavery, but thought it 
 exceedingly wrong for the dwellers on the lake to seize 
 the dwellers on shore, and carry them into slavery without 
 compensation. If they had bought their slaves from any- 
 body who had the authority to do so there could have 
 been no objection to the transaction. 
 
 '*We despatched Renaud as soon as we could," said 
 Ned in his narrative, ** to proceed up the western shore of 
 the lake and brincr alonjx the caravan. He was accom- 
 panied by two guides, and in order to enable them to 
 travel expeditiously it was necessary to buy horses or 
 camels for them. This was a less expensive transaction 
 
230 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 than I supposed ; Renaud decided to take horses, as the 
 country through which he was to pass was well watered 
 and abounded in good grazing ground. Ordinarily, horses 
 and camels were about eight or ten dollars apiece at Ku- 
 kawa ; he bought three horses which answered his purpose 
 perfectly ; one for himself at twelve dollars, and two 
 others at ten dollars each. Serviceable saddles were 
 found, one for two dollars, and two for a dollar and a 
 half each. We paid for the animals and saddles in Maria 
 Theresa dollars, of which we had a supply sufficient for 
 our purpose. 
 
 "We were told that the prices of horses and camels 
 vary considerably ; sometimes the exportation of horses is 
 forbidden and then the prices are low. When the prohi- 
 bition is removed, and horses can be exported, the prices 
 advance at once, and sometimes they double in the course 
 of a few weeks. In the same way, if a caravan is fitting 
 out at Kukawa, camels are worth from twenty to thirty 
 dollars each, but if no caravan is about to start plenty of 
 these animals can be obtained at the prices I have named. 
 
 ''While we were in the market-place selecting the 
 horses," Ned continued, *' a caravan of pack-oxen arrived 
 from the Soudan. There were about fifty oxen in the 
 train, accompanied by ten or twelve men, two of whom 
 were mounted on horses, the others walking by the sides 
 of the oxen, or in the rear. Each animal had a load of 
 about three hundred pounds, and they were thoroughly 
 docile and obedient. While the ox-caravan was waiting 
 in the market-place the animals straggled somewhat, but 
 when the word was given to move on in the direction of a 
 
KUKAWA. 231 
 
 warehouse where the burdens of the beasts were to be 
 stored, each ox dropped into his place exactly as a well- 
 drilled soldier falls into his own position when ranks are 
 formed. 
 
 "We inquired about the use of oxen as beasts of 
 burden, and found that it is very common in this region 
 where water and herbage are abundant, and the distance 
 between watering-places is never great. Cattle are abun- 
 dant and cheap, a good pack-ox costing not more than 
 two dollars, and an ordinary one from a dollar to a dollar 
 and a half. Care must be taken to feed the animals well, 
 or they will fall away in flesh and strength with great 
 rapidity ; they are useless in desert regions like the Sahara 
 where a caravan has to travel for days and days without 
 water, and where food is scanty and poor. The market 
 for pack-oxen varies just as does the market for horses 
 and camels and for the same reasons ; prices are high 
 when pack-trains are about starting out, and low when no 
 departing train is contemplated. 
 
 "It may interest you to know something about the 
 prices of Kukawa. A milch cow is worth from a dollar 
 and a half to two dollars ; a good sheep, fat and ready for 
 slaughter, costs fifty cents, and corn and wheat are worth 
 about twenty-five cents a bushel. The prices of grains 
 are lowest just after the harvest, resembling in this respect 
 the markets of most other countries. Several kinds of 
 beans are sold, and we found an abundance of onions, 
 but we asked in vain for sweet potatoes and yams ; they 
 grow in the regions further south, but are not raised 
 around Kukawa. There are two kinds of ground nuts, 
 
232 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 which do not correspond with any nuts with which we are 
 famiHar ; one of them, called kolche, is a very important 
 article of food and is largely used, and they also have 
 palm nuts which are eaten more by the Arabs than by the 
 negroes. 
 
 *'We went to the market nearly every day when our 
 servants went there to buy provisions. The mode of 
 dealing was very amusing to us, but I'm sure it would 
 become very tedious in no great length »of time. There 
 is no standard currency for buying and selling ; they have 
 the dollar, as already stated, and we had no trouble in 
 buying horses with these coins, but for small purchases 
 for daily household wants, the dollar is of little use, as it 
 is altogether too large, and they have no smaller coin in 
 Kukawa. Formerly, their standard of currency was the 
 * rotl,' or pound of copper, but that has gone out of use, 
 though the name is still retained. They have two other 
 articles which may be called currency, one of which is 
 the gabaga, or cotton stripes, and also the kungona, or 
 cowrie shell. The shells are ordinarily valued at one 
 thousand to the dollar ; eight cowries or kungona are con- 
 sidered equal to one gabaga, and eight gabaga are the 
 equivalent of one rotl ; then for buying larger objects 
 there are shirts of all kinds and sizes, worth all the way 
 from six rotls up to fifty or sixty. 
 
 ''Now look at the difficulties created by the intricate 
 currency of the market-place. A small farmer who brings 
 his corn to market on Monday, that being the great market 
 day, will not take his payment in shells, nor will he accept 
 a dollar in coin. The man, therefore, who wants to buy 
 
KUKAWA. 233 
 
 corn, if he has nothing but dollars, must first change his 
 dollar into cowrie shells, then with the shells he must buv 
 a shirt, and after a good deal of bartering he buys the 
 corn, giving the shirt for it. Sometimes the work of 
 buying our supplies was so severe that the servants were 
 fairly tired out when they got through with it. 
 
 *'The market-place is open to the sky and contains 
 only a few sheds and shelters from the sun. On Mondays 
 there is always a great crowd of people there ; there is a 
 market every day in the week, but it bears no comparison 
 with that of Monday, either in the attendance, or in the 
 quality or quantity of goods for sale. On the small mar- 
 ket days prices are always higher than on the great days, 
 and articles offered on Monday are sought for in vain at 
 any other time. 
 
 ** In the provision section, as well as in other sections 
 where goods of small value are sold, the dealings are 
 usually conducted between the buyer and seller directly, 
 but where the prices amount up into dollars, the business 
 is in the hands of dellals or brokers, who announce before- 
 hand whether the buyer or seller pays the commission of 
 the transaction. If the buyer has to pay it, the broker 
 endeavors to cheapen the price of the article, but if he 
 receives his commission from the seller he endeavors to 
 augment it as much as possible. The brokers go up and 
 down through the crowd, carrying rolls of cloth and other 
 merchandise, and calling out as they go the last offer they 
 have received. This may be called the African st34e of 
 auction, and Dr. Whitney says it is by no means unknown 
 in other parts of the world. There was always a question 
 
234 ^^ WILD AFRICA. 
 
 in my mind as to whether or no the auctioneer or broker, 
 whichever we may call him, was acting in good faith, and 
 calling out only the bona fide offers he had received. 
 
 " Our guide took us to the various sections of the mar- 
 ket, bringing us in the course of our walk to that where 
 slaves were sold. There were six or eight slave dealers, 
 and as they saw us approach they drew up their human 
 property in lines, where we could ' inspect them. The 
 lowest number of slaves held by any dealer was seven, 
 while the highest was twenty-nine or thirty. Previous to 
 our arrival, the negroes were squatted on the ground in 
 groups, each dealer having his own property in a group 
 by themselves. 
 
 '* All the slaves offered for sale were full-blooded and 
 thick-lipped negroes, either from the Soudan, or from the 
 valley of the Niger. They were of both sexes, and nearly 
 all ages ; there being no very young children, and no 
 very old people in the collection. We guessed that the 
 ages ranged from five years to forty-five or fifty, and all 
 the slaves that we saw were robust and strong of lim^. 
 They were scantily clad, most of them wearing nothing 
 but a loin cloth, though some of the women had strips of 
 cotton, like large scarfs, thrown over their shoulders and 
 gathered loosely around the waist. While seated on the 
 ground the slaves were talking volubly, but when drawn 
 up in line they observed strict silence. Most of them 
 seemed indifferent as to whether they found purchasers 
 or not, but some of the more intelligent ones looked long- 
 ingly in our direction, as if they felt we would not be 
 unkind masters, and hoped we would buy them. It was 
 
KUKAWA. 235 
 
 a saddening sight, and we only remained a few minutes 
 in this section of the market. 
 
 '* The market is held outside of the town, or rather out- 
 side of one of the towns. Kukawa consists of what may 
 be properly called two distinct towns, with an open space 
 between them nearly half a mile across. Both towns are 
 walled to guard against a sudden invasion by hostile 
 tribes ; one of them contains what was once the sultan's 
 palace, and also the homes of the wealthier part of the 
 inhabitants. The other town is the abode of artisans and 
 the poorer class of people generally." 
 
 Kukawa, with its two towns, is typical of the kingdom 
 of Bornoo. The aristocratic part of the place is occupied 
 principally by Arabs who adhere to the Mohammedan 
 religion. The other and larger part is mostly inhabited 
 by negroes, some of whom have adopted Mohammedan- 
 ism, though the majory are idolaters and have great faith 
 in fetichism. The inhabitants of the kingdom are divided 
 in the same way, the great mass of people being negroes, 
 while the ruling class, very much in the minority, are 
 Mohammedan Arabs of the Shooa sect, who invaded and 
 conquered the country a long time ago, and have held it 
 ever since. Revolts take place now and then, and those 
 of the rebels who do not succeed in running away are 
 either executed or sold into slavery. Originally it was 
 the custom to execute them, but some of the thrifty 
 sultans thought it a waste of good slave material to dispose 
 of them in this way; hence arose the custom of selling 
 them to merchants from Tripoli and other distant places 
 where slave markets existed. 
 
236 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 Bornoo is very much like Fezzan, though its population 
 and area are both larger than those of the last named 
 kingdom. As already stated, the country is not specially 
 peaceful, and a seat upon its throne is rather unhealthy, as 
 its occupants usually die at an early age, by strangulation 
 or some other violent means of destruction. The sultans 
 not infrequently change their places of abode with a view 
 to lessening the number of intrigues against them, and 
 every important town in the country has at one time or 
 other been its capital. 
 
 The people of Kukawa impressed our friends as a very 
 phlegmatic, indolent race, who could live, if compelled to 
 do so, on very small incomes. Their houses are not at all 
 costly, at least, those of the poorer class, as they consist of 
 little more than four mud walls and a slender roof. Out- 
 side of the town they live in grass huts, which can be 
 erected in a few hours, and the furniture of their dwelling 
 places, either in town or out of it, consists of a few pots 
 and pans for cooking and eating purposes, while the floor 
 is used for sitting or lying down. 
 
 The chief disturber of the prevailing indolence is the 
 great number of fleas which infest the houses, and are 
 powerful enough to penetrate even the thick skin of 
 the native of Bornoo. When an attack is made in force 
 by these fleas it tends to break up, to some extent, the 
 monotony of idleness, and gives occupation for the finger- 
 nails, and also for the hands and arms. 
 
 " The house that was assigned to us," said Ned, ** was 
 evidently well filled with fleas before we arrived in town ; 
 at least, that was the result of our experience during the 
 
KUKAWA. 237 
 
 first night that we occupied the dwelling. The next day 
 there was a large accession of the insects, caused, no 
 doubt, by their curiosity to look at and possibly taste of 
 the newly arrived strangers. Fortunately, we were well 
 provided with Persian powder, which we scattered liber- 
 ally in our clothing and bedding. We also tried the plan 
 which is in vogue here of driving a small flock of sheep 
 into the house a little before sunset. Great numbers of 
 the fleas settled upon the sheep, and went away on them 
 when the animals were removed. Whether the sheep 
 liked the performance or not we never took the trouble to 
 inquire. 
 
 **The men and women of the poorer classes are of a 
 distinctly negro type, with flat noses and thick lips, and 
 the hair kinky and curly like that of the true negro every- 
 where. By no stretch of the imagination can the men be 
 called handsome so far as their faces are concerned, but 
 they are well formed physically and capable of great 
 endurance when compelled to undergo fatigue. The 
 women, if anything, are uglier than the men, their figures 
 being short and broad, their heads large, their noses flat 
 and extending pretty well across their faces, while their 
 ugliness, from our point of view, is increased by red beads 
 or pieces of coral worn in the nostrils. The nostrils are 
 very large, and the nasal ornaments are proportioned 
 accordingly. 
 
 *' Whenever a woman can afford it she wears a large 
 silver ornament on the back of the head, and she takes 
 great pains with her hair, which is plaited in the form of a 
 helmet. This head-dress is very becoming, but less so on 
 
238 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 a short, broad figure than on a taller one. The women 
 wear loose dresses made of imported cottons ; the dress is 
 usually not unlike that of the civilized garment, being 
 gathered loosely at the waist, and clearing the ground as 
 its owner walks along. Some of the fashionable ones 
 have their dresses trailing on the ground, and it is decid- 
 edly amusing to watch one of these belles as she prome- 
 nades the street, keeping the ends of her scarf in her 
 hands, and throwing her arms about in a very coquettish 
 way. 
 
 *' While waiting for the caravan to arrive we occupied 
 our time in studying the people and town and making 
 daily visits to the sheikh. The first time we visited him 
 was in the busy part of the day, when he was surrounded 
 by people to whom he was administering justice after the 
 African fashion. Our conversations with him were rather 
 limited, as our stock of Arabic was not large, and we 
 were deprived of the presence of Renaud, who had 
 hitherto served us so admirably as an interpreter. 
 
 ** We managed to get along fairly well, however, and 
 the sheikh was evidently proud of our visits ; when our 
 calls were in the middle of the day he used to ' show 
 off' by discussing matters of science, especially astronomy 
 and geography. His knowledge of these things was 
 decidedly limited, but we did our best to make him believe 
 he knew everything, and a little more besides. Later in 
 the day, when his public audiences were over, we used to 
 find him alone with his vizier, and then the conversation 
 took a practical turn. He told us about the countries 
 which surrounded Bornoo, the people who inhabit them, 
 
KUKAWA. 239 
 
 and the rivers and mountains, together with other matters 
 of interest to us. He wore a green cloak, which showed 
 that he had made the pilgrimage to Mecca, and was there- 
 fore entitled to high consideration from a religious point of 
 view. 
 
 '* Occasionally he invited us to dine with him, and one 
 day we returned the compliment by inviting him to come 
 and dine at our house. For the purpose of entertaining 
 him we brought out some of our preserved delicacies, but 
 he refrained from partaking of them freely, pardy for 
 sanitary and partly for religious reasons. He was afraid 
 that some of the strange dishes might not be adapted to 
 his character of Mohammedan holiness, and we were 
 careful not to press him beyond the point of politeness. 
 Roasted sheep and kouskousou were his principal articles 
 of diet, and, like a good Mohammedan, he was a total 
 abstainer from all intoxicants ; at least, we assumed that he . 
 was, and never ventured to offer him any kind of wine or 
 spirits. He was very well disposed towards us, and we 
 kept careful notes of what he said about the roads and 
 routes of travel, feeling that the information might be 
 greatly to our advantage before long." 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 ELEPHANTS IN BORNOO HUNTING GAZELLES. 
 
 ONE day Dr. Whitney received a letter from Renaud 
 announcing that he had safely reached the camp 
 and found everything in order. Two of the camels 
 had strayed, and were recovered with considerable diffi- 
 culty. They were caught by some natives about twenty 
 miles away from the camp, and had it not been for the 
 honesty and veracity of their captors, it is doubtful if the 
 travelers would have ever again seen the animals. 
 
 Renaud announced that he should start for Kukawa on 
 the morning after despatching the note ; he would have 
 started at once on his arrival at the camp, but the horses 
 were considerably fatigued, and he thought they deserved 
 a few hours' rest. The riders of the horses also came in 
 for their share of the fatigue, and a halt of a day would 
 do them no harm. 
 
 In due time the caravan reached Kukawa, Renaud 
 arriving there several hours in advance of the camels ; li^.' 
 had mounted the best and freshest horse in the caravan, 
 and thus was able to make good time over the road. He 
 said that he had no serious difficulty on the journey, 
 though it was said that a portion of the route was danger- 
 ous in consequence of the presence of a band of marauding 
 Arabs. He had made the necessary arrangements for 
 
 340 
 
ELEPHANTS IN BORNOO. 24 1 
 
 defendincr the caravan in case of an attack, but it turned 
 out that he had no occasion to try the strength and fighting 
 quahties of his forces. 
 
 He added that his escape from harm was largely, if not 
 altogether, due to a misfortune to another caravan. At 
 one place there were parallel roads about five miles apart, 
 connecting two villages or towns fifty miles from each 
 other ; he followed the road that was nearest to the lake, 
 and both of them were considered dangerous. A north- 
 bound caravan with slaves, ivory, and gold dust happened 
 to be passing along the other road at the same time ; the 
 attention of the robbers was diverted to this caravan, which 
 was attacked and plundered. The time taken for the 
 capture and robbery of this caravan enabled Renaud and 
 his party to get past the dangerous places without molesta- 
 tion. " It's an ill wind that blows nobody any good." 
 
 At another place along the border of the lake the move- 
 ment of the caravan w^as hindered, but only for an hour or 
 so, by the presence of a troop of wild elephants. The 
 forests and plains of the west and southwest borders of 
 the lake are the resorts of the elephants that go down to 
 bathe in the waters, and in times of drought in the sur- 
 rounding country they go to the lake to satisfy their 
 thirst. They feed in the forest and jungle, and, though 
 their numbers are not great, one may occasionally see as 
 many as forty or fifty in a herd. As a general thing, they 
 are not at all dangerous, if they are let alone, but occa- 
 sionally there is a vicious brute among them who does not 
 hesitate to attack horse, camel, or man that comes in his 
 way. The low ground around the lake is infested with 
 
242 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 mosquitoes, and to escape these pests the elephants, after 
 their bath, make their way back to the higher ground. 
 Renaud's party came in sight of one of these traveling 
 herds of elephants just as it was about to cross their road. 
 Very judiciously, they halted until all the members of the 
 herd had passed. 
 
 Our young friends were quite desirous of seeing a herd 
 of wild elephants ; they had learned that the animals 
 abounded in the neighborhood of the lake, but thus far 
 they had no opportunity to see them. They asked the 
 sheikh of Kukawa about the huge creatures, and were 
 told that by making an excursion about thirty miles to the 
 south and east they could have their wishes gratified. 
 Accordingly, they obtained the doctor's permission to make 
 the excursion, and, as the caravan was not expected to 
 start for several days, they were off the next morning on 
 an elephant expedition. The sheikh kindly supplied them 
 with a mounted guide and an escort of two of his soldiers. 
 An Arab interpreter went with them, and the understand- 
 ing was that they were to make no attempt at killing any 
 big game they saw, unless in the case of stray elephants 
 that had been doing damage to the fields and gardens of 
 the people. In that event the youths might try their skill, 
 but were cautioned to be very careful, as they were not 
 experienced hunters. 
 
 In this connection it is well to say that elephants abound 
 in this part of Bornoo, and also in Adamawa, and all the 
 region comprising the tributaries of the Niger. There are 
 two kinds of elephants, one black, and the other a dirty 
 yellow ; they are all of the African species and are not 
 
ELEPHANTS IN BORNOO. 243 
 
 domesticated. They are hunted for their ivory, just as 
 they are hunted in other parts of Africa. Their numbers 
 have diminished greatly in the last twenty-five years, so 
 that the quantity of ivory obtained from them is smaller 
 than it was formerly. The elephants of South Africa are 
 larger than those in the region in which our friends were 
 traveling, and according to all the information which 
 Dr. Whitney could obtain, the Bornoo elephant is not so 
 fierce in character as his southern brother. The natives 
 catch the elephant by driving him into pitfalls, and on 
 rare occasions by shooting him. Fortunately for the ele- 
 phants, the guns which the natives receive from the traders 
 are about as useless against these huge pachyderms as 
 they would be against a stone fortress. Hunters with 
 rapid firing rifles especially adapted to elephant hunting 
 rarely penetrate this part of Africa, their attentions being 
 almost wholly turned to the southern and central parts. 
 
 In the afternoon our young friends reached the village 
 in whose vicinity elephants were said to abound, and their 
 guide promised them a sight of the big animals at an early 
 hour in the following morning. He said the elephants 
 went down towards the lake in the evening and returned 
 about daylight, and the party must rise early to go to the 
 spot where the herd would be seen. 
 
 The youths were up long before daylight, and quite 
 nervous over the expected events of the day. They 
 had brought their heaviest rifles (Winchesters) from 
 Kukawa, and, as Ned expressed it, ** enough ammunition 
 to kill all the elephants in Bornoo." Harry suggested 
 that, as they were not to disturb any of the herds they 
 
244 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 might see, it would be just as well to leave their weapons 
 behind during their morning excursion. Ned opposed this 
 scheme on the ground that they couldn't tell what might 
 happen, and called to mind the old adage, "What odd 
 things you see when you haven't got a gun." 
 
 Ned's argument triumphed, and it was agreed to take the 
 guns and ammunition along. 
 
 *' They'll be heavy loads for us under the African sun," 
 said Harry. 
 
 *' Loads for us ! " retorted Ned ; " what are you thinking 
 of? An African hunter never carries his own gun, and 
 I'm not going to carry mine." 
 
 "Why not?" 
 
 "Why, don't you remember that every African hunter 
 that we read about always has his gun-bearer at his 
 heels? Don't you remember Stanley's faithful Kalil who 
 had the proud position of gun-bearer to the great 
 explorer ! " 
 
 " Oh, yes, now I remember," said Harry. " Of course 
 we must have gun-bearers ; we ought to have thought of 
 that before we left, and brought some along with us from 
 Kukawa." 
 
 " Oh, never mind that," said the other; " we'll pick out 
 two able-bodied natives here and make gun-bearers of 
 them. Stop ! what are we thinking of ! There's our escort 
 of two soldiers ; they'll answer first rate as gun-bearers." 
 
 " That's so ; we'll take them along. Where are they? " 
 
 The soldiers were hunted up, and partly by words, but 
 mostly by signs, they were instructed in their new duties. 
 Ned was uncertain as to whether it was the proper thing 
 
ELEPHANTS IN BORNOO. 245 
 
 for the gun-bearer to precede or follow his master, and 
 Harry was equally in the dark on the subject. They 
 finally concluded to have the gun-bearers go ahead of 
 them, so as to make sure that the fellows would not drop 
 out of sight just at the time they w^ere most wanted. 
 
 All being ready, the party started ; the mounted guide 
 who came w^ith them from Kukawa was dismounted, and 
 he and the local guide led the way ; then came Ned, and 
 after him Harry, each being immediately preceded by his 
 gun-bearer. The gun-bearers were evidently unaccustomed 
 to their duties, as they were constantly shifting the rifles 
 from one position to another, and frequently putting the 
 muzzles of the weapons in the faces of their owners. The 
 party was halted several times in order to give instruction 
 to these fellows, and have them carry the rifles in such a 
 way that no harm would be done in case the w^eapons 
 went off accidentally. After a time everything was 
 arranged satisfactorily, and the party reached the spot where 
 it was thought the elephants would pass. 
 
 They were near the edge of a forest whence a broad 
 stretch of open land extended to the edge of the lake, two 
 or three miles awav. The villatjer who acted as local 
 guide climbed a tree to increase his range of observation, 
 but the rest of the party remained on the ground. With 
 various motions he enjoined perfect silence upon every- 
 body ; in order to secure it, it became necessary to sepa- 
 rate the gun-bearers, as they persisted in keeping up a 
 continuous chattering as long as they were near each 
 other. Everybody kept his eye on the man up the tree, as 
 he was to give the signal when the elephants came in sight. 
 
■ 246 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 Half an hour, at least, they waited, and Harry said the 
 stillness was so great that you might have dropped a pin 
 without knowing it. Suddenly the watcher waved his 
 hand, and placed a forefinger to his lips, or rather to one 
 of them, as their thickness prevented his covering both 
 lips with a single digit. He pointed in the direction of the 
 lake, and then they waited again. 
 
 After a time the youths heard the sound of snorting and 
 low trumpeting, but there was nothing to indicate that the 
 animals were alarmed in the least. Fortunately, the wind 
 blew from the elephants towards the waiting party ; if it 
 had blown the other way the elephants would have caught 
 the scent and changed their course. 
 
 The noise of the herd came nearer and nearer, and in 
 addition to the snorting and low trumpeting, the tramping 
 of the huge beasts became audible. On and on they 
 came, following the pathway, which no doubt they had 
 taken many times before. It was not more than fifty 
 yards from where our young friends were concealed, and 
 as the herd traveled along in single file, Ned and Harry 
 counted no fewer than nineteen elephants in the proces- 
 sion. 
 
 First came an old fellow, evidently the leader in more 
 senses than one, as he was the largest of the lot, and 
 carried a huge pair of tusks. Behind him was an ele- 
 phant without tusks, and doubtless the mother of the third 
 member of the troup, who appeared to be a youngster of 
 one year, or perhaps two. Then followed another tusker, 
 and behind him another mother and her promising son. 
 The rest of the troup was an indiscriminate lot, two with 
 
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 H 
 
 z 
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 o 
 
 < 
 
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 LU 
 
 I 
 h 
 
 o 
 
 Q 
 Z 
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 o 
 
ELEPHANTS IN BORNOO. 247 
 
 tusks, and the others with none. They varied consider- 
 ably in size, the smallest of the lot being a baby elephant, 
 who stood, as the youths judged, about three feet high at 
 the shoulder. Ned whispered to Harry that he would like 
 ever so much to get that little fellow alive and unharmed, 
 and keep him as a pet. Harry answered, also in a whis- 
 per, that he, too, would like to have the youngster home 
 in America, but he would have altogether too much of an 
 elephant on his hands in undertaking to transport him to 
 New York. 
 
 As the last of the procession passed our young friends 
 rose to their feet, and when they did so Ned exclaimed : 
 
 '' Oh, how I would like to have taken a shot at that big 
 fellow in the front ! " 
 
 "Yes, so would I," replied Harry; *'but I think he 
 would have made it very lively for us if we had disturbed 
 him." 
 
 " No doubt," was the reply. " From all accounts these 
 big tuskers are very savage fellows when they are attacked. 
 I wonder if we're going to have a chance to try our guns 
 on these animals?" 
 
 **I don't know," said Harry; ** we'll find out, if we 
 can." 
 
 The watcher descended from his perch in the tree, and 
 addressed a question to the youths, which, of course, was 
 unintelligible to them, but he managed to make them com- 
 prehend that he was at their service, and wanted to know 
 what they wanted to do next. 
 
 It took some time to indicate to him that they wished to 
 find a stray elephant not attached to any herd. After 
 
248 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 awhile he took in their meaning, and indicated that he 
 would show them what they wanted. Then he led the 
 way back towards the village, but when they were yet 
 more than a mile from it he turned from the path, and, 
 after traveling for half a mile or so, brought them up to a 
 cluster of huts surrounded by little gardens enclosed by 
 palings four or five feet high, and forming a fence suffi- 
 cient to keep out cattle and other ordinary invaders. 
 
 Ned observed that the fences of two or three gardens 
 were broken down, as if some heavy animal had pushed 
 against them and forced an entrance. The gaps thus 
 made were five or six feet wide, and the gardens inside 
 appeared to have been freshly trampled. The beans and 
 other things growing within had been torn up and trodden 
 upon, and evidently the intruder, whatever it was, had 
 destroyed a great deal more than he had eaten. His foot- 
 steps were imprinted all over the ground, and showed that 
 he was an elephant of no small size. 
 
 "I know what this means," said Ned; "there's been 
 a rogue elephant here, and he has done all this mischief." 
 
 *' What's a rogue elephant?" queried Harry. *' Is he 
 different from any other? " 
 
 "He's the same breed of elephant," was the reply; 
 *' but the peculiarity about him is that he goes about by 
 himself, for some reason which nobody knows ; he has 
 been driven out of a herd, and no herd elephant will allow 
 the rogue to come near him. When he tries to get into a 
 herd that is a total stranger to him they drive him away, 
 and even when elephants are caught and driven together 
 into a big yard, if a rogue elephant happens to be among 
 
ELEPHANTS IN BORNOO. 249 
 
 them, they all keep clear of him. He is an outcast; just 
 as a man in civilized lands is shunned by all respectable 
 people when he has committed forgery or some other 
 great crime. He takes delight in being as destructive as 
 possible, and those who know the habits of elephants say 
 that when a rogue gets into a garden or field he does ten 
 times as much damage as a herd elephant under the same 
 circumstances." 
 
 *' He must be a very bad-tempered fellow," replied 
 Harry. " Isn't he a tough customer to fight with? " 
 
 "Yes, that he is," answered Ned. " He is very much 
 worse than any other elephant, and it generally takes a 
 good deal of lead to bring him down. He is as bad 
 among elephants as the grizzly bear is among members of 
 the ursine family. He is not dangerous if let alone, but 
 if attacked, he turns on his assailant instantly." 
 
 *' But we'll see if we can bring down this fellow," said 
 Harry, '' if we can only get our guide to show us w^here 
 he is." 
 
 They indicated to the guide that they wished to en- 
 counter the animal that had destroyed the gardens. The 
 guide pointed in the direction of the forest and started 
 toward it, the others following. 
 
 Ned's mention of the grizzly bear brought to his mind 
 the story of the hunter in California who once came upon 
 the track of a grizzly, and followed it for eight or nine 
 hours. He then gave it up, because, as he explained to a 
 friend, " the track was getting a little too fresh." 
 
 Harry was uncertain whether he wished to meet this 
 rogue elephant face to face or give him a wide berth, but 
 
250 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 he did not falter in his step, consoling himself with the 
 reflection that the animal was probably, at least, a mile 
 away. The indications were that the disturbance to the 
 garden had been created during the night, and conse- 
 quently the intruder had been away from there for several 
 hours. 
 
 Both youths thought that the guide did not use as much 
 caution as was necessary in following the game, but they 
 concluded that, as the elephant was ascertained to be a 
 good distance off, there was no need for especial care at 
 that time. They went on in this way for about a mile, 
 when the guide motioned them to be silent, and at the 
 same time slackened his pace and stepped more lightly. 
 
 ** Now ! " said Harry, '' is the time for business," as he 
 reached out and took his rifle from the gun-bearer, while 
 Ned did the same. 
 
 Then the party crept along, and finally, on a sign from 
 the guide, came to a halt. The guide waved his hand in 
 the direction of a tree which stood in an open space some- 
 what more than an acre in extent. They looked at the 
 tree, and then at the guide, whose face wore an expres- 
 sion of great satisfaction ; he squatted on the ground, and 
 acted as though his day's work was ended. 
 
 The boys looked and wondered, and then went in the 
 direction of the tree. They found that the ground beneath 
 it was very much trodden, and concluded that this was the 
 favorite resting place of the elephant that had disturbed 
 the gardens. After inspecting the place they questioned 
 the guide as to where the elephant was. He waved his 
 hand in the direction of the forest, his movement embrac- 
 
ELEPHANTS IN BORNOO. 25 1 
 
 ing about one half the horizon, plainly indicating that he 
 did not know where the creature could be found, and also 
 intimating that he was not going in pursuit of him. 
 
 The guns were returned to the gun-bearers, and this 
 was the end of the elephant hunt. Needless to say, Ned 
 and Harry were greatly disappointed, but afterwards they 
 candidly admitted to each other that they were not at all 
 sorry they failed to come up and have an encounter with 
 the big beast. Ned was again reminded of the Califor- 
 nian who followed the grizzly's track, and said that the 
 track of the elephant under the tree was quite fresh 
 enough for him. 
 
 On their way back to the village, the guide took them 
 past another cluster of huts, where a garden liad been 
 arranged with the special object of capturing any elephant 
 that intruded upon it. A circular space about twenty feet 
 in diameter had been laid out and planted with the vege- 
 tables of which the elephant is most fond. A ditch fifteen 
 feet across and ten feet deep had been dug quite around 
 it, and the earth which had been taken out was carried three 
 or four hundred yards away. A flooring of poles and palm 
 leaves was built over the ditch, covered with earth, and 
 the earth sown with the seed of a quickl}^ growing grass. 
 The flooring was made strong enough to bear the weight 
 of a man without the least danger of its giving away, but 
 if a good-sized elephant attempted to reach the garden he 
 would crush the flooring and fall into the pit. 
 
 The pitfall was visited every day to ascertain if it con- 
 tained anything. Elephants, and especially rogues, are 
 not often caught in this way, as they are very wary, but 
 
252 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 occasionally their hunger gets the better of their discretion, 
 and in attempting to reach the garden they fall into the 
 pit, from which they are unable to get out, provided they 
 are promptly discovered. 
 
 Later in their journey our young friends heard a fable 
 of which Ned made careful note. The fable is one of the 
 traditions of that part of Africa, and Ned remarked that it 
 reminded him of the well-known anecdote of the mouse 
 and the lion ; here it is : — 
 
 "An elephant one day fell into a pit which had been 
 made by the natives for entrapping one of his kind. 
 While he was bewailing his fate an eagle came along and 
 sat on the branch of a neighboring tree ; the elephant 
 pleaded to the eagle to help him, but the latter said he 
 could do nothing, except that he could carry a message 
 that the elephant might wish to send to any one, and he 
 added, ' If there is anybody for whom you have ever done 
 a good action send for him and he will come and help 
 you.' 
 
 " The elephant thought a moment ; then said : — 
 '* * I once saved the king of the rats and several hun- 
 dreds of his subjects from being drowned ; they had been 
 caught and put into large jars, which were to be filled with 
 water for the purpose of drowning them ; I came along 
 and broke the jars, setting the rat-king and his subjects 
 free. But what can such a little thing as a rat do for 
 me? ' 
 
 ** Just then a parrot flew by, and the elephant said : — 
 *' ' Last year the queen of the parrots had been caught 
 and put in a cage which hung outside the hut of a native. 
 
ELEPHANTS IN BORNOO. 253 
 
 I came along and pulled the cage into pieces, and the 
 queen parrot flew off into the forest.' 
 
 *'The eagle called to the parrot and told her to go and 
 tell the queen that her old friend, the elephant, was in 
 trouble, and also to tell the rat-king the same thing. The 
 elephant insisted to the parrot that it was no use sending 
 these messages, and he added : — 
 
 " ' Such little things as rats and parrots can do me no 
 good.' 
 
 '* In a little while the king of the rats came with millions 
 of his subjects, and at the same time the sky was darkened 
 by myriads of parrots, who came with their queen. The 
 rats proceeded at once to dig at the edge of the pit and 
 throw the earth into it, and at the same time the parrots 
 broke off branches from the trees and threw them into the 
 pit. The earth thrown down by the rats and the branches 
 which the parrots brought quickly filled the pit, and the 
 elephant walked away and joined his companions in the 
 forest." 
 
 " That is certainly very like the fable of the mouse and 
 the lion," said Harry, as Ned read off what he had written, 
 '' and it teaches the same moral." 
 
 " Undoubtedly," replied Ned. ** The mouse and the lion 
 incident is very old, and so is this, and it is hard to tell 
 which of them has the greatest antiquity. One may have 
 been taken from the other, or each may have an entirely 
 independent origin." 
 
 The youths had breakfasted lightly when they set out on 
 their expedition in the morning, and by the time they got 
 back to the village Harry said he was so hungry that he 
 
254 ^^ WILD AFRICA. 
 
 could have eaten the hind leg of a lion, to which Ned 
 remarked that he thought it would take two hind legs of an 
 ordinary lion to satisfy his own appetite. They had brought 
 some provisions with them from Kukawa, to which was 
 added a huge dish of kouskousou, which the natives had 
 prepared in their absence, together with a lamb roasted on 
 hot ashes. The boys made quite an inroad upon both of 
 these articles, and what they left was speedily disposed of 
 by the rest of the party. 
 
 By the time they ended their meal the sun had passed 
 over the meridian, and the boys concluded that it was 
 altogether too late and they were too weary to return that 
 afternoon to Kukawa. They decided to rest for a couple 
 of hours, and then try their skill at hunting the gazelles 
 which abound in the open country around Lake Chad. 
 
 They carried out their plan, and were successful, both 
 of them bringing down a gazelle at the first shot. It 
 required considerable patience to accomplish their purpose, 
 as they had to " stalk" their game, there being no cover 
 by which they could get within range of these watchful 
 creatures. They crept along the ground, taking advan- 
 tage of every bush, bunch of grass, or any other inequality 
 of the earth's surface, in this way getting within shooting 
 distance without being discovered. The grass was full of 
 mosquitoes, and those who are familiar with the habits of 
 these annoying insects can readily understand that they 
 relieved considerably the monotony of the hunt. 
 
 The gazelles which the youths secured were given to 
 the natives of the village, and they immediately proceeded 
 to have a feast ; the meat was cooked after African fash- 
 
ELEPHANTS IN BORNOO. 2<,<, 
 
 ion, — that is, it was roasted in hot ashes in the manner 
 already described. 
 
 The next day the party returned to Kukawa, where they 
 arrived in safety. In spite of their failure to capture any 
 elephants, the youths had greatly enjoyed the excursion 
 and were very glad they made it. Ned said they could 
 console themselves for their failure by remembering that 
 they hadn't lost any elephants, and therefore had no real 
 occasion for finding any. Harry remarked that as fables 
 were in order they might bear in mind the old one of tlie 
 fox and the grapes, where the fox, after vainly endeavor- 
 ing to get at the fruit, denounced it as too sour for the 
 vulpine taste. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 LEAVING KUKAWA. — KILLING A BIG SNAKE. 
 
 IN due course of time the caravan was ready for its 
 departure from Kukawa. Dr. Whitney and his 
 nephews paid a farewell visit to the sheikh, being careful 
 to take with them the customary presents which he would 
 expect in return for his civility. He volunteered to give 
 them letters to the governor of Kano and the king of 
 Sokoto, with whom he was then on friendly terms, a 
 favor for which the doctor was very grateful. The 
 sheikh ascertained from Dr. Whitney that he intended 
 to start shortly after sunrise on the following morning. 
 
 Just as the caravan was getting in motion the sheikh 
 made his appearance, mounted upon horseback and 
 accompanied by his vizier and all the rest of his retinue. 
 The sheikh and his followers accompanied the caravan 
 for about two miles on its way, and then turned back to 
 the town. Hearty good wishes were exchanged between 
 the travelers and their late host, the sheikh saying that he 
 believed the party would encounter no trouble in entering 
 Sokoto, and ultimately reaching Timbuctoo. 
 
 The general course of travel was to the westward, but the 
 route meandered considerably, owing to the location of the 
 best places for obtaining water and good grass, and also 
 owing to the configuration of the country. As our friends 
 
 256 
 
LEAVING KUKAWA. 257 
 
 left the basin of the Chad they found the air cooler and more 
 bracing than it was in the valley. There were stretches 
 of desert here and there, but on the whole the country 
 was fertile, and they were surprised to find as much as 
 they did under cultivation. Native villages were quite 
 numerous, and in the neighborhood of every village there 
 were gardens where beans, cabbages, onions, and other 
 kinds of vegetables grew, and there were fields of wheat, 
 corn, and millet. Considering the few needs of the people 
 of this part of Africa, they were certainly quite industri- 
 ous, and their appearance indicated that they had no lack 
 of food. Ned remarked that there was no occasion for 
 them to perform any hard work, where nature was so 
 kind to them and civilization had not penetrated and 
 developed wants that they had not known before. 
 
 All the natives that our friends saw, with the exception 
 of those living in the town, were very scantily clad, and 
 Harry estimated that two dollars a year was sufficient for a 
 man's clothing, while the cost of a house w^hich a native 
 would consider good ought not to exceed ten dollars. 
 Ground nuts for food could be had in most places for the 
 digging of them, and the diet might be varied by the fruit 
 of the palm and other trees. By working one month out 
 of the twelve a man could take good care of his family and 
 provide for all their wants, and it showed a decided incli- 
 nation to industry for a man to consent to work two or 
 more months in the year. 
 
 "That's quite true," said Dr. Whitney in reply to 
 Ned's observation, "and it is an open question whether 
 civilization is of any benefit to these people. With it come 
 
258 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 new wants that require greater industry, and with civihza- 
 tion they are sure to take on new vices. Rum, the great 
 curse of the world, is certain to be one of the first imports 
 to a newly opened country, and it brings all kinds of 
 demoralization. It forms a considerable, and sometimes 
 the larger part of the cargo of every ship trading to the 
 African coast, and is almost the only article which is con- 
 stantly in demand, for the reason that it is capable of more 
 rapid consumption than anything else in the whole list of 
 trade goods. 
 
 '* African chiefs and people get to warring with one 
 another in consequence of rum," continued the doctor, 
 " and hundreds of thousands of Africans have been sold 
 into slavery on its account. I could deliver you a long 
 lecture on this subject, but will refrain, closing, as I began, 
 by saying that it is an open question whether these black 
 people are benefited by civilization. When the slave trade 
 was respectable, two hundred years ago, British noblemen 
 and other sovereigns were stockholders in it. They 
 claimed to be interested in it as a philanthropic movement, 
 their aim being to put the African pagans in the way of 
 becoming Christians. No doubt the establishment of mis- 
 sions in Africa has been a benefit to the natives, and if 
 the people could have the missions and missionaries with- 
 out the baneful effects of commerce there is no doubt that 
 civilization would prove a blessing. But when we strike 
 a balance sheet, I'm very much afraid that the good is 
 fully offset by the evil." 
 
 Ned remarked that he thought civilization would prove 
 a boon to the people of Africa by bringing about the sup- 
 
LEAVING KUKAWA. 259 
 
 pression of the slave trade. On that subject Dr. Whitney 
 answered as follows : — 
 
 " There can hardly be two opinions on this subject; the 
 foreign slave trade has been entirely broken up ; that is, 
 the carrying of negroes as slaves to America, and other 
 distant parts of the world. There remains the local trade 
 which we see here now, in which the negroes are taken 
 from their native lands and carried to Morocco, Tripoli, 
 Egypt, Arabia, and other countries under Mohammedan 
 control. Slavery is permitted by the Koran, the Bible of 
 the Moslems, and, therefore, it is impossible for any 
 Moslem ruler to abolish it entirely without risking a revolt 
 among his people, but the majority of the Moslem rulers, 
 through the influence of England, France, and other 
 European countries, have greatly curtailed it and reduced 
 it to a very mild condition. 
 
 "In most of these countries a man is obliged to treat 
 his slaves so well that they will not run aw^ay, as he 
 cannot make use of the officers of the law to capture them 
 in case they leave him. Some Moslem countries limit the 
 number of slaves to be brought there in a year, and the 
 number is kept so low as to threaten the extinction of the 
 institution in the course of time. The Arabs are the prin- 
 cipal slave dealers, and they complain that their business 
 is greatly reduced by foreign interference. Still, a good 
 many caravans of slaves are constantly moving from the 
 interior to the coast, and, although the raids and hunts for 
 slaves are quite frequent, they are less so than formerly. 
 English influence has been exercised everywhere that it 
 can be for the destruction of this dreadful commerce, and, 
 
26o IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 as England's power is constantly increasing in Africa, the 
 day is probably not very far distant when the traffic in 
 human flesh will practically come to an end." 
 
 '*A11 civilized nations, whatever their feelings toward 
 England," said Harry, " ought to assist in this work." 
 
 "So they do," replied the doctor; *' with the single 
 exception of Portugal, and even that country, while it 
 takes no steps to suppress the trade, does not defend it. 
 It permits its traders to do what they please in Africa, 
 or any other savage countr}^, and if they chance to deal in 
 slaves the rovernment doesn't interfere with them. Neither 
 does it defend them when they get into difficulties with 
 the warships and the officials, generally, of other coun- 
 tries, in consequence of their trading in slaves. In South 
 Africa, the Dutchmen who have settled there have a slave 
 system of their own, as they have taken into captivity the 
 Kaffirs and other natives of that country. This is the 
 reason, so it is claimed, why the English have endeavored 
 to subjugate the Dutch colonies and bring them under 
 British rule, not so much through a spirit of aggression as 
 through the desire to make an end of slavery." 
 
 There was some further talk on the subject, which was 
 suddenly dropped in consequence of an excitement among 
 the people at the head of the caravan. Our friends rode 
 forward to ascertain the cause of the trouble and found 
 that a large snake was sunning himself right in the road 
 where the caravan had to pass, and showed no immediate 
 intention of getting out of the way. It is proper to add, 
 however, that the reptile had not been disturbed, as no 
 one ventured to go near him. 
 
LEAVING KUKA^VA. 26 1 
 
 The snake was partly coiled and pardy uncoiled, — diat 
 is, die pordon of his body next to his head formed a single 
 coil, while the other half of his body was stretched out 
 on the sand. Dr. Whitney dismounted and gave his 
 bridle to one of the attendants ; then he advanced with 
 Renaud to within about fifty yards of the snake, closely 
 followed by Ned and Harry, who had also dismounted. 
 Each of the three carried a rifle, and at the distance 
 mentioned they all halted ; then, at Dr. Whitney's 
 suggestion, Renaud stamped on the ground, and at the 
 same time threw a small stone which struck the snake's 
 body. 
 
 The serpent raised its head to see what all the noise 
 was about ; as he did so the doctor sent a bullet through 
 it, and this bullet (a solid one) was immediately followed 
 by an explosive bullet from Ned's rille, and another from 
 Harry's. The three shots were well aimed, all hitting 
 their mark, and at the end of the rifle practice the snake 
 did not have much head left upon him. He writhed 
 and twisted at a frightful rate, and for some time 
 no one dared to approach him for fear of being caught in 
 his coils. In his writhinor and t\vistin<x he worked himself 
 down the side of the slope at one side of the road, and 
 thus gave the caravan an opportunity to proceed on its 
 journey. 
 
 Our friends stayed behind with their horses and one of 
 their mounted attendants in the hope of getting an oppor- 
 tunity of measuring the length of their prize, but all in 
 vain. They estimated that he was about fifteen feet long 
 and six inches in diameter at the thickest part of his body. 
 
262 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 lie belonged to the python, or constrictor family, and was 
 certainly a very disagreeable antagonist to encounter. 
 
 While they were looking at the creature and estimating 
 his dimensions several negroes from a neighboring vil- 
 lage made their appearance, and manifested great delight 
 at the slaughter of the serpent. As nearly as our friends 
 could make out, the natives said that he had haunted the 
 neighborhood for some time and destroyed several of their 
 lambs and young goats. On this account they were glad 
 that he had been killed, and were furthermore delighted 
 when Dr. Whitney intimated by signs that they might 
 take the snake and do whatever they pleased with him. 
 One of the men had some ten or fifteen feet of cord around 
 his waist. He removed this cord, made a noose on the 
 end of it, and by using a forked stick inside this noose he 
 managed to get it around the creature's neck. Having 
 secured the snake in this way, they dragged him off to 
 their village, in spite of his continuous writhing. 
 
 As our friends mounted and rode away to overtake the 
 caravan, Ned asked the doctor what the negroes would do 
 with the snake. 
 
 *' Oh, they'll take off his skin," said the doctor, ** and 
 then they'll cut him up and eat him." 
 
 " Do they really eat those horrid things? " queried Ned. 
 
 ** As to the people here I can't say positively, but in 
 most parts of Africa the natives consider them all right, 
 and I assume that when those negroes took that snake 
 away they had an object in so doing ; if they only wanted 
 the skin they could have removed it here." 
 
 *' That's so," said Ned; ** they could have skinned the 
 
LEAVING KUKAWA. 263 
 
 snake on the spot and made an end of the job, unless they 
 wanted the rest of him for something ; but, come to think of 
 it, if one could set aside his prejudice against serpents he 
 ought to find them very good eating. They are very clean 
 feeders, killing their own game, and eating it on the spot. 
 They never touch anything in the least degree tainted ; in 
 fact, there isn't a cleaner feeder anvwhere than the snakes 
 of the constrictor species, and, in fact, the great majority 
 of snakes." 
 
 " Qiiite true," chimed in Harry, "but, for all that, I 
 prefer mutton chops and beefsteaks to boa constrictors." 
 
 " Did you ever see the flesh of a rattlesnake or of the 
 American black snake after the skin was removed?" 
 queried the doctor. 
 
 Both the boys gave a negative answer. 
 
 " Well," said the doctor, "the flesh looks wonderfully 
 like chicken, and so far as its appearance goes it is just as 
 delicate ; those who have been able to conquer their prej- 
 udice say that it tastes wonderfully like that bird." 
 
 " I've not the least doubt of it," said Harry, " and I've 
 heard that in some countries snakes are a delicacy, and 
 make the choicest dishes that can be offered to the 
 stranger." 
 
 " I wonder," said Ned, " if they always tell the stranger 
 what they're giving him when they offer him a dish of 
 snake." 
 
 Harry was unable to settle this question, and after some 
 further talk on the power of prejudice the subject was 
 dropped, and the thoughts of the travelers were turned in 
 another direction by meeting a caravan on its way to 
 
264 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 Kukawa. It was a motley collection, as the caravan was 
 made up of camels, pack-oxen, donkeys, horses, and 
 slaves, together with camel drivers, horsemen, and people 
 of several sorts on foot. There were about thirty camels, 
 forty or fifty pack-oxen, twenty men on horses, and about 
 as many donkeys ; the biped part of the caravan was 
 about as varied as the quadrupedal portion, there being 
 two or three kinds of negroes, and as many varieties of 
 Arabs. Ned said he shouldn't wonder if there were some 
 galvanized Arabs like themselves, — that is, Europeans in 
 native dress, and with their hands and faces stained with 
 indigo. 
 
 The chief camel drivers of the two parties held a short 
 conference, and then each caravan moved on its way. 
 Luckily, the path was wide enough at that point to enable 
 them both to proceed at the same time without collision, 
 which is not by any means always the case in African 
 travel. An African roadway is usually about three feet 
 wide, at least, the trodden portion is, and if the country is 
 not encumbered with forest or brushwood it can be as 
 wide as one desires. Camel caravans avoid wooded 
 ground as much as possible, as it is often necessary to cut 
 away the growth that would be likely to impede the prog- 
 ress of the camels. There is no government force to 
 keep the routes in traveling condition, and especially in 
 the matter of cutting a way through a forest, where con- 
 stant supervision is required. Tropical growth is so rapid 
 and vegetation pushes with such celerity that the foliage 
 needs almost daily attention to prevent its overrunning the 
 roadway. 
 
LEAVING KUKAWA. 265 
 
 In the journey of our friends westward it was necessary 
 to have a local guide for every day, and sometimes twice 
 in a day. There were so many paths crossing and recross- 
 ing, and running in all directions, that only a person thor- 
 oughly familiar with them could find his way. There 
 were no maps of the country, and the great majority of 
 the natives had no intimate knowledge of it further than a 
 few miles from their homes. The numerous caravans that 
 pass through the land have built up a business for the 
 local guides. These men have the good sense to divide 
 the country off into districts, and whenever the edge of 
 one district is reached there is a guide at hand who will 
 undertake to show the way to the next station. Usually 
 the guides began their service in the morning and ended 
 it at night. As before stated, two guides were sometimes 
 employed in one day. Our friends suspected that this 
 was a trick on the part of the guides, and not at all neces- 
 sary, as the price paid for one's services was the same for 
 six hours as for a whole day, but inasmuch as it only 
 required a few cents' worth of goods to compensate one of 
 these men they did not complain. Ned remarked that 
 there was a further reason for accepting the situation as 
 they found it, and that was because complaints would do 
 no good. 
 
 On the tenth day after leaving Kukawa the caravan 
 approached a swampy region in which were many patches 
 of forest ; some of the wooded country was densely and 
 some of it lightly covered, and the caravan made slow 
 progress, owing to the wide detours it was obliged to make 
 to keep as much as possible in the open country. In the 
 
266 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 rainy season a great part of this land is flooded, and looks 
 like a vast lake dotted with islands. At the time our 
 friends visited it the land was mostly dry and thickly 
 covered with grass, the swamps occupying only the lowest 
 portions. There was no danger of suffering from lack of 
 food, as there were many fields of corn, and guinea fowls 
 were so numerous that one could hardly walk a step with- 
 out disturbing a flock of them, and so fearless that they 
 could be knocked down with sticks, thus rendering shoot- 
 ing unnecessary. 
 
 Our friends pronounced these guinea fowls delicious, 
 and said that they greatly softened the asperity of the 
 journey through Africa. Ned wished that these birds 
 could be stretched in a line all along their route of travel, 
 and he was sure that there were enough to form the line 
 without difficulty. 
 
 In addition to guinea fowls, there are two or three kinds 
 of water fowls, partridges, and several species of antelopes, 
 while wild hogs, elephants, and monkeys were in abun- 
 dance. They saw traces of elephants, but did not see the 
 animals themselves, though they saw quite a lot of mon- 
 keys, singly, and in groups. One group was quite tame 
 and played along the roadside about fifty yards or so from 
 the travelers, affording the latter considerable amusement, 
 and no doubt some to themselves. They chased each 
 other up and down trees or along the ground, indulged in 
 mimic fights, and in other ways disported themselves in 
 simian fashion. 
 
 All the quadrupeds of the caravan had reason to enjoy 
 this part of the journey, as food was abundant, there was 
 
LEAVING KUKAWA. 267 
 
 no lack of water, and the marches were not lonor. When 
 the party was going into camp on the first day after enter- 
 ing this region, Ned and Harry took a stroll towards a 
 cluster of tall trees at the side of a little lake. They had 
 reached the edge of the cluster, and were just entering 
 among the trees when a lion rose with a loud roar only a 
 few 3^ards in front of them, and bounded away as fast as 
 he could go. The youths were unarmed, except with shot- 
 guns, but even had they carried their rifles with them it 
 would have been necessary to handle them very quickly, 
 and the bullet must needs be a rapid one to have any 
 prospects of hitting the lion. In a very short time he dis- 
 appeared in another patch of forest, but whether he stayed 
 there or kept on until he was far in the region of safety 
 our friends were unable to say. 
 
 " That probably clears out this little patch of woodland," 
 said Ned, as the lion disappeared. '*We ought to be 
 able to walk around safely now." 
 
 Hardly had he spoken when there was another commo- 
 tion in the underbrush, and another tawny figure bounded 
 into sight and away. The boys had observed that the first 
 animal which departed wore a huge and shaggy mane, 
 and the second had none, so they concluded that the pair 
 of animals were lion and lioness, and Harry suggested 
 that they might find the den of the animals, and possibly 
 some lion cubs there. 
 
 '^I hardly think so," said Ned, "for two reasons; I 
 don't think that either of these animals would go away 
 and leave their helpless young ones to themselves. It 
 isn't in the nature of the lion any more than of most other 
 
268 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 beasts to desert their young in this way ; and, furthermore, 
 I think I've read in a book of natural history that a pair 
 of lions live and hunt together until the cubs are born, 
 when the lion leaves the lioness to take care of herself and 
 her children, and goes off hunting on his own account. 
 You see they both ran away before we attacked them ; they 
 only came into this bit of forest and that is all. I don't 
 believe that we'll find any cubs, but we'll look, anyway." 
 
 "If we find them," said Harry, **what'll we do with 
 them ? " 
 
 *' That's the question, sure enough," said Ned; ^'I'm 
 sure we don't want any cub lions in our baggage, but we'll 
 take them along to the next town and give them to the 
 sheikh ; he'll be glad to have them." 
 
 *' Never mind," was the reply. *'We won't trouble 
 ourselves about disposing of them until we find them ; 
 remember the old adage about ' counting one's chickens 
 before they're hatched.' " 
 
 Conversation ended at this point, and the youths began 
 to search the ground carefully. They could not find any 
 lion's den, or any place that would serve the purpose of 
 one ; furthermore, they did not find any cubs, and there- 
 fore had no further perplexity as to how they would dis- 
 pose of them. Harry proposed to continue their walk to 
 the patch of forest where the lions disappeared, but this 
 was opposed by Ned on the ground that they had no 
 weapons with which to meet the monarch of the forest, and 
 it would be more , prudent to stroll in another direction. 
 The result was that before very long they were back 
 again in camp. 
 
LEAVING KUKAWA. 269 
 
 In the afternoon of the next day the caravan reached 
 the bank of the river Gonduku. It was not far from three 
 hundred yards wide, and flowing with a current of about 
 three miles an hour. Its depth varied a good deal, being 
 in some places quite shallow, and in others ten or twelve 
 feet from surface to bottom. The crossing of this river 
 by an entire caravan could not be accomplished in an 
 afternoon, and therefore the expedition went into camp 
 on the spot. 
 
 "We were greatly amused," said Ned in his journal, 
 '' at the way the natives crossed the river. As soon as it 
 was decided to form camp Harry and I went down to the 
 bank of the stream to have a look at it. We noticed at 
 the edge of the river some logs from eight inches to a foot 
 in diameter, and six or eight feet long, some on one side 
 of the stream, and some on the other. There were also 
 some large calabashes or gourds lying among the logs, 
 and we wondered what they were there for. We had not 
 long to wait to find out. We hadn't been seated more 
 than ten minutes before a man and a woman came along, 
 and, without noticing our presence or saying anything, 
 began to utilize the articles we had been studying. 
 
 *'They removed what little clothing they had, made it 
 into bundles, and placed them on the tops of their heads. 
 Then the man took one of the logs, rolled it into the water, 
 jumped astride of it, and with hands and feet paddled it 
 across the river. The woman at the same time mounted 
 astride of one of the large, double calabashes, and it 
 served her the same purpose that the log served for the 
 man. They left the log and calabash among those on the 
 
270 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 other side of the river, adjusted their clothing, and went 
 away. We learned upon inquiry that these were the com- 
 mon ferry boats of the region; they were the property of 
 anybody who chose to use them, and I suppose that by a 
 careful calculation there were always enough on either 
 side of the river to accommodate all those who would b^ 
 likely to use them. 
 
 ''We saw in the course of the afternoon a dozen of 
 more people crossing the river in this way, and the} 
 showed great dexterity in maintaining their positions 
 astride of the logs and calabashes. In one instance, a man 
 led a donkey across ; he had a halter about three yards 
 long, and it required all his efforts, combined with those 
 of a man who accompanied him, to get the obstinate beast 
 into the river. After he was afloat the donkey went along 
 fairly well until he reached the middle of the stream, when 
 he suddenly refused to swim further, and manifested a 
 desire to go back to where he started. The result was he 
 pulled the swimmer off the log, and the latter had all he 
 wanted to do to keep hold of the halter with one hand 
 and of the log with the other. He did so, however, and 
 managed to get astride of the log again, but the two of 
 them came to land fully a quarter of a mile below the 
 point whence they started. 
 
 "We borrowed some of these logs, and gathered others 
 with which to make a raft to ferry our baggage across. 
 It required very nearly the whole day for transporting 
 our goods from one bank of the river to the other, but we 
 finally got everything over in safety. At every trip we 
 led across two of our animals, and on some occasions three 
 
LEAVING KUKAWA. 27 1 
 
 or four, compelling them to swim where the water was 
 deep. The camels were more obstinate than the mules or 
 donkeys ; the camel is essentially designed for dry places 
 and not for wet ones, and a cat is no more reluctant to 
 enter the water than is this tall and ungainly beast. The 
 camel drivers did a good deal of cudgeling, and used a 
 great deal of loud language in getting the camels across. 
 I supposed from the sound of them that some of their re- 
 marks were very naughty, but, as they were in a language 
 which none of us could understand, we were not at all 
 shocked by the performance. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 A TOWN IN MOTION STORY FROM THE NIGER. 
 
 AFTER the caravan had crossed the river, another day 
 w^as consumed in arranging everything, as the bag- 
 gage, during the transit of the stream, had become very 
 much mixed up. There was a disturbance in camp that 
 night, caused by hons prowhng in the vicinity. Several 
 of the horses broke their halters, and the rest tried very 
 hard to do the same ; fortunately, those that managed to 
 free themselves were so frightened that they refused to 
 leave their companions and so remained within the camp. 
 If they had been less alarmed than they were, it is prob- 
 able that they would have run away. 
 
 The whole camp was aroused, and our friends came out 
 with their rifles, with the hope of being able to lay their 
 disturbers low, but the night was so dark that it was 
 impossible to see anything more than a few yards away. 
 The chief camel driver thought that if the doctor and the 
 youths would go outside the camp and hunt around they 
 mio-ht be able to find the lions, but, as far as could be 
 observed, the trio did not show an inclination to go out 
 upon that hunt. The doctor suggested that the camel 
 driver accompany them and show the way ; whereupon 
 that individual discovered an imperative necessity for his 
 remaining with his animals. 
 
 272 
 
A TOWN IN MOTION. 273 
 
 In the hope of scaring away whatever carniverous 
 beasts might be in the neighborhood, our friends fired sev- 
 eral shots in the air, which evidently had the desired effect, 
 as the horses and camels became quiet after awhile, and our 
 friends went back to their tent and to bed again. Soon 
 after sunrise in the morning the caravan was under way, 
 and the river was left behind. 
 
 About the middle of the forenoon the party met the 
 most picturesque caravan they had yet seen on the road. 
 We will turn to Ned's journal for a description of it : — 
 
 **I couldn't find out," said Ned, "exactly what it all 
 meant, but it seemed like a village or town on the move. 
 Altogether there must have been two hundred camels, and 
 more than that number of horses, donkeys, and pack-oxen. 
 As for the people, I don't believe there were fewer than 
 seven or eight hundred, and they were of all ages, classes, 
 and I could almost say colors ; certainly there were two or 
 three shades of black on their faces, and as many shades 
 of red, none of them being at all light. The men were 
 mostly mounted on horses or camels, and the women and 
 children either rode on donkeys or oxen or walked by 
 their sides. 
 
 " Nearly every beast of burden in the caravan carried 
 something in addition to his rider or riders, and their bur- 
 dens were mostly household goods and provisions, the 
 balance consisting of merchandise, which was probably 
 cheaper at their starting point than at their destination, 
 and was intended for sale at a profit. The chief of the 
 party was a venerable old man, and he led the way, walk- 
 ing like a young man at the head of the procession, and in 
 
274 ^^ WILD AFRICA. 
 
 front of his camel, which he held by the nose-cord. Many 
 of the people not only carried household goods, but the 
 houses themselves ; perhaps I ought to explain that the 
 houses were not made of solid walls and roofs, but were 
 simply grass huts, such as one sees all through Africa. 
 
 ** We turned out of the road and halted while this motley 
 procession went past us. First there was a string of 
 camels led by the chief, as already stated ; then a herd 
 of cattle, probably the shiekh's property ; then a group of 
 men on horses, closely followed by some women and 
 children on donkeys ; then more camels, more donkeys, 
 more horses, and so on to the end. There were flocks of 
 sheep and goats, and in one group we saw about twenty 
 milch goats, unaccompanied by their kids. Colts and 
 young camels were playing about in different parts of the 
 caravan, sometimes getting among the cattle and sheep, 
 and sometimes becoming mixed up with the laden camels 
 and horses ; altogether it was a strange and interesting 
 sight. Harry thought it would be fun to go back and 
 watch these people crossing the river ; I thought so, too, 
 but we did not suggest it to the doctor." 
 
 The day after meeting the strange-looking caravan our 
 friends found themselves in a region where elephants 
 abounded, and several times they came across the tracks 
 of these huge beasts. They also saw the track of a 
 rhinoceros, at least, the Arabs and natives said that it was 
 made by one of these animals, and Renaud remarked that 
 it would be interesting if they could happen upon an 
 elephant and rhinoceros together. 
 
 ** Why so? " queried Harry. 
 
A TOWN IN MOTION. 275 
 
 ** There would certainly be a fight," said Renaud ; 
 ** and a fight to the death. All over Africa the elephant 
 and rhinoceros have a mortal hatred of each other, and 
 whenever two of them meet it is absolutely certain that 
 there will be a battle ending in the death of one, and not 
 infrequently of both." 
 
 '* Did you ever see a fight of that kind? " queried Ned. 
 
 *'I never saw two of these creatures fighting," said 
 Renaud; "but I know of people who have seen them, 
 and I, myself, have seen a rhinoceros and an elephant 
 lying locked together, each having killed the other. The 
 elephant uses his tusks, plunging them, if possible, into 
 the sides of his adversary, at the same time giving terrible 
 blows with his trunk. The fighting weapon of the rhi- 
 noceros is his horn ; a very solid one, which is strongly 
 mounted on his nose. If he can manage to insert this 
 horn in the elephant's belly he inflicts an enormous wound 
 which is nearly always fatal. The great strength of both 
 animals is brought into play, and so fierce are they in 
 assaulting one another that the battle never lasts long ; 
 they tear up the ground and push down trees of consider- 
 able size in their struggles, and as the fight is going on 
 they give vent to loud trumpetings and bellowings, so that 
 they can be heard for a long distance. It is said — but 
 I don't know how truthful it is — that lions, panthers, and 
 other animals sometimes come to look on at this battle, 
 but never interfere." 
 
 " I don't suppose," said Ned, as Renaud paused, " that 
 any creature with the least particle of good judgment 
 about him would interfere in such a matter. If he did he 
 
276 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 would be pretty sure to get the worst of it, as he would run 
 the risk of being crushed to death between the two oppo- 
 nents. I wonder if the lion and the elephant are friendly 
 to each other? " 
 
 " I don't think they're at all friendly in the full meaning 
 of that word," said Renaud ; "but they are not such 
 enemies as the elephant and rhinoceros. You never 
 heard of elephants and lions being together, but on the 
 other hand I don't think I've ever heard of their fighting ; 
 if they ever get into a quarrel it is probably through an 
 accident. If an elephant, walking in the vicinity of a 
 lion, were suddenly struck by an arrow or spear from the 
 hands of a native concealed in the top of a tree, the great 
 brute might think that it was thrown by the lion. If that 
 idea entered his head he would be likely to charge the 
 blow to the lion, and immediately charge upon him ; but 
 of course this is not likely to be a frequent occurrence. 
 As to the other animals of the forest, they don't appear to 
 be on bad terms with one another. Africa is very large, 
 and there's room enough in it for all." 
 
 One day our friends were obliged to turn aside while a 
 large caravan laden almost entirely with salt went past 
 them. Salt is one of the principal commodities of African 
 commerce so far as the interior is concerned ; it is found 
 in some districts, but not in others, and there is a con- 
 stant movement of the article from the former to the 
 latter. Bornoo has a very scanty supply of salt within its 
 boundaries, and a great amount of this article is brought 
 from Sokoto for the use of the inhabitants. Salt is 
 obtained principally from salt springs, some of which 
 
A TOWN IN MOTION. 277 
 
 throw off a quantity of water of almost briny strength. 
 This water is placed in large troughs ; the heat of the sun 
 dries away the liquid and leaves the salt in a solid mass. 
 Just as the brine reaches the point of crystalization it is 
 poured into moulds, in which the drying is completed; the 
 salt thus being formed into cakes of suitable size for hand- 
 ling and transporting. 
 
 Caravans going from Morocco to Timbuctoo generally 
 carry cargoes of salt, which is obtained from an oasis 
 where there are extensive salt mines. In these mines the 
 salt is found in layers about a foot thick and as clear as 
 crystal. The layers are usually separated from one an- 
 other and cut into blocks for transportation. These blocks 
 of salt are exchanged for slaves when the caravan reaches 
 Timbuctoo, and the ordinary price of a slave is the largest 
 amount of salt he can stand upon and cover with his feet. 
 Ned suggested, when he heard this, that it was probably 
 on account of this mode of trading that the negro had 
 large feet, and he asked Renaud if that view of the matter 
 was correct. Renaud failed to see the point of the joke, 
 and seriously answered that when the merchants of Tim- 
 buctoo were trading slaves for salt they selected those 
 whose feet were the loncrest and widest. 
 
 The travelers crossed the boundarv of Sokoto, and in a 
 few days reached the city of Kano, which is the largest 
 place that our friends had yet seen in the interior of 
 Africa. Its population is variously estimated at from 
 thirty to forty thousand. The doctor had sent in advance 
 the letter which he received from the sheikh of Kukawa, 
 and on reaching the walls of the city he found an officer 
 
278 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 of the governor's staff waiting to receive him. The officer 
 was mounted on a showy horse that pranced around very 
 proudly, and evidently wanted to show how fast he could 
 run. As for the officer, he was less attractive than the 
 steed he bestrode ; his dress consisted of a bournous, with 
 a shirt under it, and a somewhat dilapidated turban. His 
 weapon of authority, as well as of defence and offence, was 
 a sword, which he carried under a strap over his saddle, a 
 way in which the sword is frequently carried in this part of 
 the world ; his features showed him to be of Arab blood, b\it 
 his skin was as dark as that of the negro, or very nearly so. 
 The officer received our friends with a great deal of 
 dignity, and conducted them to a house inside the walls. 
 Their baggage and merchandise were unloaded from the 
 camels and placed in some rooms opening upon a court- 
 yard ; then the camels and all the horses not needed for 
 immediate use were sent outside the city to a grove of 
 palm trees, where a camp was formed and the animals 
 were supplied with food. There was no good grazing 
 ground within several miles of the city, and quite a busi- 
 ness was carried on by the natives in supplying grass for 
 the camels, horses, and other herbivorous animals ; and 
 the tents had not been pitched an hour before Renaud was 
 importuned by several applicants for the contract to supply 
 him with green food. He made what he considered an 
 advantageous bargain, but found, in a few hours, that the 
 enterprising contractor had taken advantage of his igno- 
 rance to demand and receive an exorbitant price. So he 
 cancelled the engagement at once, and made another on 
 far more favorable terms. 
 
A TOWN IN MOTION. 279 
 
 Dr. Whitney avScertained that it was the etiquette of 
 Kano for him and his young companions to remain in 
 their quarters until that high dignitary, the governor, 
 should come to see them. Ned and Harry were somewhat 
 cast down on receiving this information, as they were 
 impatient to see the town. Knowing the easy ways of 
 Africans and their disregard for time, they were fearful 
 of being compelled to remain indoors for a day or more 
 before the governor would be ready to receive them. 
 
 But while they were mourning over this state of affairs 
 a messenger came to announce that the governor was on 
 his way to call upon them. This put them into better 
 humor, and also into better clothes ; all three of the party 
 hastily arrayed themselves in their Arab garments, select- 
 ing for the purpose the freshest of the contents of their 
 wardrobe, and when the governor came they were ready 
 to receive him, and also to regale him upon coffee, which 
 was a great luxury in that part of the country. They had 
 a somewhat tedious conversation with the governor, owing 
 to the repeated translations through which their remarks 
 were carried. 
 
 The governor welcomed them to Kano, and said that if 
 he could serve them in any way he would be pleased to 
 do so. He remained squatted on a divan at one side of 
 the principal room for nearly half an hour, and then took 
 his leave. During his visit our friends sat cross-legged 
 on the same divan ; they had practised that way of sitting 
 for so long a time that they were now quite accustomed to 
 it, but it w^as very far from being agreeable w^hen they 
 first undertook it. 
 
28o IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 t 
 
 An hour after the governor's departure our friends 
 went to return his call ; he had intimated through the 
 interpreter that he would be at home at that time and 
 ready to receive visitors. This hint was sufficient, and, 
 once the governor was gone, they gathered up all the 
 presents they intended for him, and in due time started 
 for his palace. We will listen to Harry as he tells the 
 story of the visit. 
 
 *' We proceeded first," said the youth, *' to the house of 
 the * kado,' or lord of the treasury, who had accompanied 
 the governor on his call upon us. His house looked more 
 like a farmyard than anything else, as it was a low build- 
 ing at one side of a large court that contained cattle, 
 sheep, camels, and donkeys, not to mention a goodly 
 number of chickens. I could not, by the wildest stretch 
 of the imagination, call it clean ; it was clean when com- 
 pared with an ordinary barnyard, but not when regarded 
 as the court of a gentleman's house. In fact, we could 
 not find places for sitting down without soiling our gar- 
 ments, and so we remained standing as long as we were 
 outside. We waited perhaps a quarter of an hour before 
 we were taken into an inner room and offered places to 
 sit on a divan. The kado received us civilly enough, 
 though he did not offer any refreshments ; he immediately 
 set about examining our presents for the governor, and it 
 was evident from his manner that he had the power of 
 accepting or rejecting any or all of the presents we had 
 brought. There was a large pocket-knife with many 
 blades, a mirror with a very gaudy frame, a watch having 
 a gold-filled case, a white bournous, and a white shirt. 
 
THE GOVERNOR DID NOT RISE TO RECEIVE US — " 
 
A TOWN IN MOTION. 28 1 
 
 His lordship was evidently fond of mirrors, as he took 
 possession of the gaudily framed one for himself, and 
 ordered the rest of the presents made into a bundle. As 
 soon as the parcel was completed we started for the 
 palace, followed by a servant who carried our gifts. 
 
 "The palace is a perfect labyrinth of courtyards, con- 
 nected by inner passages, and with audience rooms and 
 other apartments opening out from the sides. I did not 
 count the number of courtyards that we passed through, but 
 it seemed to me that there were some twelve or fifteen of 
 them altogether. They were not by any means quiet 
 spots, as each one contained dozens, and in some instances 
 a hundred or more people, freemen and slaves of various 
 importance, chatting and laughing together, some stand- 
 ing or walking about, others squatted on the ground, and 
 a few lying asleep in the corners. 
 
 " After waiting a little while in one of the courtyards, 
 we were taken to the audience hall of the governor, which 
 was so poorly lighted that it required several minutes for 
 our eyes to get accustomed to it. It was quite a large 
 hall, and I think the largest we had seen in Africa ; the 
 ceiling was high and supported by arches that were quite 
 ornamental. At one end of the hall there were two niches, 
 or recesses ; in one of these niches the governor was reclin- 
 ing on a divan on which a richly embroidered carpet was 
 spread. 
 
 " The governor did not rise to receive us, — in fact, he 
 hardly moved a muscle when we stood before him, while 
 his lord of the treasury presented us and unfolded the 
 presents we had brought. He seemed more interested in 
 
282 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 the presents than in us, and gave a hint of what was prob- 
 ably lurking in his mind by asking us if we had any more 
 goods of the same kind. We replied through our inter- 
 preter that we had selected our best things for him. To 
 this answer he gave a nod of approval, asked a few ques- 
 tions about our travels and our reasons for cominor to 
 Kano, and then dismissed us with a wave of his hand. 
 
 "We were not particularly pleased with our reception, 
 as the governor seemed to take no interest in our move- 
 ments, and did not give us any information that would be 
 of use to us ; he did not appear to care where we went, 
 and altogether seemed to desire to be rid of us. The 
 doctor suggested that we would hear from him soon with 
 a demand for more presents, and, sure enough, we had 
 scarcely reached our quarters when the lord of the treas- 
 ury came to us with the announcement that the governor 
 desired a pistol of the kind that turns around and shoots 
 several times. We had several revolvers among the 
 things which we intended as presents to great dignitaries, 
 and the doctor proceeded to bring one of them to light, 
 carefully concealing the presence of the others. We sent 
 this to the governor with a box containing one hundred 
 cartridges for the weapon, but before going away the lord 
 of the treasury said he would like a pistol for himself. 
 
 "Here was a dilemma; if we gave the lord of the 
 treasury a revolver similar to that of the governor's it 
 would greatly cheapen the present in the eyes of the latter, 
 and furthermore, it would bring the whole horde of offi- 
 cials down upon us with demands for similar presents. 
 On the other hand, it would not do to offend this high 
 
A TOWN IN MOTION. 283 
 
 dignitary, as he was the intermediary between us and the 
 governor, and might make serious trouble for us. The 
 doctor hunted around to find another revolver, but of 
 course hunted in the wrong places ; with an expression 
 of delight, he came upon a large clasp-knife containing 
 four or five blades, a tiny saw, tweezers, scissors, — in fact, 
 a whole kit of tools, most of them so small as to be of little 
 practical use. With a great deal of ceremony, he presented 
 this to his excellency who went away satisfied. 
 
 *''Wemust get out of Kano as quickly as possible,' 
 said the doctor when the fellow had gone ; ' these chaps 
 will beggar us in a very short time, and the more we give 
 them the more they will demand.' 
 
 *' Ned and I w^ere thinking the same thing when the 
 doctor spoke, and Ned asked if we could go away without 
 the permission of the governor. 
 
 *' * There's the trouble,' said the doctor, ' and it may be 
 a serious one ; etiquette requires that we should obtain the 
 governor's permission, and not only etiquette, but our 
 safety. It would be very difficult for us to move with all 
 our caravan without authority, and even if we did get 
 away from the town, the governor, on hearing of it, could, 
 and undoubtedly would, send after and bring us back. 
 We would be liable to be plundered of everything we pos- 
 sess, and might get into prison for our temerity. We 
 shall be obliged to stay here two or three days, at any 
 rate, but I shall begin to make our plans for moving on 
 immediately.' 
 
 " Renaud came to our house an hour or two later, and 
 was told to keep the camels well fed and everything in 
 
284 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 readiness for a speedy departure whenever the signal was 
 given. We arranged our baggage so that it could be 
 packed very quickly, and that very evening we sent to the 
 camp such of it as we did not need with us, and had it 
 placed under guard in Renaud's tent. We determined 
 that whenever w^e obtained the authority to depart we 
 would give the impression, w^ithout saying so distinctly, 
 that w^e would not leave for a day or two, but at the same 
 time would proceed to get away as quickly as possible. 
 
 '* Early the next morning Ned and I started out to see 
 the place, taking as guide a man who was thoroughly 
 familiar with the ins and outs of Kano. We were on 
 horseback, while our guide was on foot ; he took us 
 through all parts of the town, and we were quite sur- 
 prised at its extent. The people were in all varieties of 
 costume, from the gaudily dressed Arab down to the 
 naked slave. In visiting an African town it is very neces- 
 sary to be on horseback, as the traveler is often passing 
 along the sides of walls and fences which a horseman can 
 look over, but a pedestrian cannot. A great many scenes 
 of domestic life are thus brought to the eye of the mounted 
 traveler which totally escape the observation of the 
 stranger on foot. 
 
 " Many of the houses of Kano are well built, and not a 
 few are as substantial and extensive as the ordinary 
 Moorish dwelling in the towns along the coast of the 
 Mediterranean. The courtyards are generally spacious, 
 and not infrequently include small gardens and grass 
 plots. Most of the houses are of one story, with rooms 
 opening upon a courtyard, and each has but a single 
 
A TOWN IN MOTION. 285 
 
 entrance from the street. Many of the courtyards have 
 sheds hke verandas immediately in front of the buildings, 
 so that the inhabitants of the houses may lounge in open 
 air, and at the same time be sheltered from the sun and 
 rain. Judging bv the number of good houses, there must 
 be considerable wealth in the place. In the poorer parts 
 of Kano the houses are small, and sometimes the}^ are 
 divided between two or more families, though this is not 
 usually the case ; people seem to prefer a very small 
 dwelling entirely to themselves than to divide a much 
 larger habitation with others. Ned thinks they are 
 familiar with the old proverb, ' No house is large enough 
 for two families.' 
 
 "We passed through a small market-place, but did not 
 linger there, as we were told that there was a much larger 
 one farther on. We continued our journey, and soon 
 reached the great market, which covers a large square, and 
 presented a very animated scene. There were rows of shops 
 there, wath goods of native and foreign productions, and a 
 crowd of buyers and sellers who seemed to place no value 
 upon time. Negotiations proceeded very slowly, but this 
 is the case all through the country where we have traveled, 
 and so we are not surprised at it. 
 
 "The market-place is divided into spaces for particular 
 articles of trade, very much as the bazaars of Constanti- 
 nople, Cairo, and other Moslem cities are arranged. One 
 portion of the market-place is devoted to the necessities of 
 life, such as corn, grain, vegetables, meat, and other 
 articles. Not the least important is the place allotted to 
 slaves, who were under a shed, some appearing robust 
 
286 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 and well fed, others half starved, and all very scantily 
 clad, or not clad at all. 
 
 *' Another part of the place is devoted to cattle, horses, 
 and camels, but the principal market for these animals is 
 in another locality outside the walls. The scenes in the 
 market-place were very animated, and we could have 
 spent hours in their contemplation. Rich and poor were 
 mingled together ; the former in all the fashionable finery 
 of the time and place, and the latter scantily dressed, and 
 looking wistfully at the articles of food which they were 
 unable to buy. We observed that blind people were 
 numerous, and learned, on inquiry, that opthalmia was 
 very prevalent among the people. 
 
 " The region around the market-place is said to be un- 
 healthy, and it is no wonder that such is the case. Close 
 by the market-place is the Jakara, a deep pond perhaps a 
 thousand feet in length by three or four hundred in width ; 
 this pond receives all the drainage from the neighborhood, 
 and all the offal from the slaughter-houses in that part of 
 the market is thrown into it. Evidently the people of 
 Kano have no knowledge of sanitary science, or they 
 would readily understand, especially as the water from 
 the Jakara is used for household purposes, why that 
 region is as unhealthy as it is. There are two other 
 ponds in the city, and they are nearly, but not quite as 
 unhealthy as the one I've mentioned. 
 
 '' Caravans came and went in the market-place, some of 
 them from long distances, and bringing merchandise for 
 sale at a large profit. Kano is a great place of trade, 
 resembling in this respect Gadames, which we have here- 
 
A TOWN IN MOTION. 287 
 
 tofore described. The goods for sale in the market are in 
 great variety, including products of the whole of northern 
 Africa, and also of Europe and America. We saw iron- 
 ware from Birmingham, cottons from Manchester, cutlery 
 from Sheffield, knives and mirrors from Germany, and 
 trinkets and gewgaws from France and Switzerland. 
 America was less extensively represented than England or 
 the countries of the continent. There were cotton cloths 
 from American mills, but not in great number, and there 
 were knives, hatchets, and other tools and implements 
 from Connecticut and Massachusetts. Fortunately for the 
 people, they have not yet become extensive users of ardent 
 spirits, either from America or any European country. 
 As the rulers of the land are Mohammedans, they show 
 no inclination to favor the demoralizing trade, and hence 
 the slight demand for that article of infamous traffic which 
 is so abundant on the coast. 
 
 *' I am reminded in this connection, though it has noth- 
 ing to do with Kano, that when European trade was 
 opened up on the Niger by the English it speedily fell 
 into the hands of the Brazilians who came there to buy 
 slaves, the slave trade then being active in Brazil. Car- 
 goes of American goods from New York, Boston, and 
 Philadelphia were sent directly to the ports at the mouth 
 of the Niger, where they were delivered over to the 
 Brazilian agents stationed there. These cargoes con- 
 sisted of rum, cotton cloths, and the cheapest kind of 
 knives, pistols, axes, hatchets, looking-glasses, beads, 
 and other trade goods of which the African is fond. 
 They were shipped up the river and used in the purchase 
 
288 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 of slaves ; as there were no merchants but the Brazilians 
 who would take slaves in payment for goods, they had the 
 monopoly of business, and the English were practically 
 driven from the market. When the slave trade was 
 abolished in Brazil there was no market for the principal 
 product of Africa, and consequently other nations were 
 able to compete with America in the trade of the Niger. 
 When this state of affairs came about the demand for 
 American goods ceased, and England and France ob- 
 tained possession of the market. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 KANO AND SOKOTO TIMBUCTOO. 
 
 ** rX ANO is not only a place of trade," continued Harry, 
 1\. " but also a place of manufacture. Cotton is pro- 
 duced in this part of Africa, and the people of Kano 
 display considerable skill in spinning, weaving, and dye- 
 ing it. The dyer's trade is an important one ; we passed 
 several houses where the women were spinning cotton, or 
 weaving the thread into cloth, and we also passed dyeing 
 establishments, where men were mixing the indigo and 
 other coloring matters ; others were taking articles from the 
 dye pots and hanging them up to dry, and others were 
 forming the goods into packages for sending away. 
 Most of the cloth is made into shirts or bournouses. The 
 colors are by no means uniform, and the best of the 
 articles are considerably variegated. 
 
 *' Some of the cotton is woven with a certain proportion 
 of silk, and it bears different names, according to the 
 quantity of silk contained in it. Of late years the silk 
 industry has increased considerably ; the silk is the 
 product of the country, and great improvements have been 
 made in the rearing of the silkworm. In silks and cot- 
 tons we saw several varieties of plaids, some white and 
 black checkered, some of white, black, and red, others 
 with large squares, and some with small ones. Taken 
 
 289 
 
290 
 
 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 altogether, as far as we could learn, there must be at least 
 fifty different varieties of cotton and silk goods. They 
 are sent in all directions by caravans, — to the north as far as 
 Mourzouk, and sometimes to Tripoli ; to the west, not only 
 to Timbuctoo, but even to the shores of the Atlantic ; to 
 the east all over Bornoo, as far as the Nile ; and to the 
 south beyond the Niger and the Benoue. In fact, it may 
 be said that the limit of the demand for the cloths of Kano, 
 so far as the south is concerned, is the limit of the region 
 where people wear any kind of clothing. 
 
 '' The few travelers who have visited Timbuctoo speak 
 of the fine quality of the cotton cloths made in that town ; 
 the fact is, as we afterward learned, that nearly all the 
 cotton sold in Timbuctoo comes from Kano, and it is esti- 
 mated that the exports to that city alone amount to no 
 ^ less than three hundred camel loads every year. 
 
 '' In addition to cloths, Kano produces sandals and 
 leather goods in general. Sheepskins are dyed here, the 
 principal color being red, and they are exported in large 
 quantities. The Kanoese make boxes from the kola-nut, 
 and show great ingenuity in carving them ; then there is 
 a large trade in natron, or soda, and also in salt, the latter 
 article being imported for consumption in the provinces. 
 They formerly imported great quantities of woolen cloth 
 of a very poor quality, nearly all of it dyed red, but this 
 has gone out of fashion, and the importations of it at pres- 
 ent are very light. We saw quite a quantity of the old- 
 fashioned sugar loaves in the market, and were told that 
 in some places they were used as currency. The people 
 prefer small loaves to large ones, and some that we saw 
 
KANO AND SOKOTO. 29I 
 
 did not weigh over two pounds each. A httle ivory, but 
 not a great deal, is exported. There is some gold-dust 
 which finds its way out of Kano, but there is no gold coin 
 in circulation. Silver dollars and cowrie shells are the 
 currency of the place, the dollars being the Maria Theresa 
 coins, and also the Spanish dollar. The former is pre- 
 ferred, not because it is any better, but because the people 
 dislike the two pillars on the coin of Spain on account of 
 their resemblance to cannon. 
 
 " I don't know but that I've said more than you care to 
 read about the commerce and manufactures of this city ; 
 if so, please excuse me, and skip what you don't want to 
 know about. The subject is interesting to us, and conse- 
 quently I thought that you might like to hear about it. 
 
 *' When we got back to our quarters we were told that 
 the governor was coming to return our call, and of course 
 we knew that he would be pretty sure to intimate a want 
 of some kind or other. He came in the afternoon with 
 his lord of the treasury and a whole lot of followers of 
 high and low degree. He squatted on the carpeted divan 
 which we had prepared for him, and partook of the coffee 
 that we offered. His attendants crowded into the room 
 until they filled it completely ; there seemed to be no 
 order or regularity about their movements, and as for 
 ceremony, the whole visit was decidedly unceremonious. 
 Sure enough, the governor did as we had expected ; he 
 intimated that he would like to look at our collection of 
 presents, as there might be something that he would wish 
 to have. So we opened the few packages we had in 
 sight ; it was a lucky circumstance that we sent our super- 
 
292 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 fluous belongings to Renaud's tent, as already mentioned, 
 and as the goods were sent there after dark, when all the 
 people were in their houses, nobody seemed to have dis- 
 covered the transfer, or, at any rate, the news had not 
 reached the governor. 
 
 "The goods that we displayed were of no great conse- 
 quence, and the governor was convinced that he had really 
 obtained the pick of the lot, as he assumed a satisfied air, 
 and only took two or three handkerchiefs, a clasp-knife, 
 and a small bell, one of those operated by a coiled spring 
 set in motion by touching a knob on the top. During the 
 rest of his visit, after he obtained possession of the bell, 
 he tinkled it every few minutes, to the great delight of 
 himself and all his attendants. I fancy that he stayed 
 awake for a few nights, just for the fun of ringing that 
 bell and summoning his attendants. 
 
 *' We took advantage of his good nature, while playing 
 with the bell, to suggest that we wanted to move on. He 
 did not give an immediate answer, but cast another glance 
 at our store of goods, and then assented. We felt like 
 smiling all around at the readiness with which he allowed 
 us to go, but were careful not to make known our feelings. 
 Of course, his followers wanted presents, but we managed 
 to put them off with handkerchiefs, scarfs, cheap pocket- 
 knives, a few Birmingham razors, and some other articles 
 of no great cost. 
 
 *' The governor remained with us about half an hour, 
 and then rose to go. We did not interfere with his depart- 
 ure, and were decidedly glad when he and his followers 
 were out of sight. We were uncertain whether he would 
 
KANO AND SOKOTO. 293 
 
 send an escort to accompany us a short distance on our 
 way, but earnestly hoped he would do nothing of the kind. 
 We had his permission to leave and that was all we 
 wanted. 
 
 *' A little before sunset we received from the governor 
 a steaming dish of kouskousou as a farewell gift. The 
 doctor suggested that before we sat dow^n to eat it we 
 would do well to follow the custom of actors and theatrical 
 managers in America when they are introducing a new 
 play, — that is, ' try it on a dog.' 
 
 *' ' Why so? ' I exclaimed. 
 
 *' ' Well,' replied the doctor, ' the governor has acted so 
 uncivilly towards us that it is just possible he might end 
 our acquaintance by poison. Poison is a very effective 
 weapon in this country, and is frequently used to get rid 
 of disagreeable or inconvenient personages.' 
 
 "There were two or three do^s hangrincr about our 
 courtyard, and they did not seem to belong to anybody, 
 or be well fed ; we took about a quart of the kouskousou 
 and poured it on the ground in sight of one of these 
 animals. Needless to say that when we stepped back a 
 little he approached, and, to apply the slang phrase, ' got 
 outside of it' very quickly. We watched him for quite 
 aw^hile, and, as far as we could see, he suffered no incon- 
 venience from the food, so we concluded that we had mis- 
 judged the governor, and wrongly suspected him. We 
 made a mental apology to him, and proceeded to give the 
 kouskousou to our servants. Renaud came to get his 
 orders for the next day, and he got them very quickly ; 
 these were to transfer all our remaining baggage to camp, 
 
294 
 
 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 and get everything in readiness for an early start. We 
 also told him that we would remain m our quarters during 
 the night and meet him early the next morning at the camp. 
 
 ''When we got to camp we found that everything was 
 in readiness for moving on. One of the camel drivers 
 was missing and another was sent to hunt him up. We 
 were afraid that this circumstance would delay us, and 
 so it did, but only for a half hour. The missing driver 
 turned up along with the one we sent to search for him. 
 Then we filed out of the camp, and were soon on the way 
 to the southwest." 
 
 In view of his experience with the governor of Kano, 
 Dr. Whitney determined that he would give Sokoto a 
 wide berth, and follow a road which would not bring him 
 near that place. He naturally concluded that the sultan 
 would be quite as rapacious as his subordinate, the gov- 
 ernor, and probably more so, and a visit to the capital 
 would be likely to result in his being stripped of the 
 greater part of his valuables, either by a demand for 
 numerous presents or by downright robbery. Conse- 
 quently he took a line of march that would carry him well 
 away from the place he dreaded so much. 
 
 The route which the caravan followed took them first 
 through a fairly productive and well-peopled country, and 
 then it brought them to the southern edge of the Great 
 Sahara. On the borders of the desert they encountered 
 their old friends, or enemies, the Tuaregs, whose range 
 extends southward- to the limit of the desert, and in some 
 places beyond it. The doctor still retained the safe-con- 
 duct which he obtained from the Tuareg chiefs in the 
 
KANO AND SOKOTO. 295 
 
 early part of his travels. He hardly expected that it 
 would be of any use so far from the point where it was 
 given, and that he would be obliged to buy over again the 
 right to travel through the Tuareg country. But, to his 
 surprise and delight, the safe-conduct was acknowledged to 
 be in full force, and he was told that he could travel 
 without interference wherever he chose. A hint was 
 given, however, that a few presents would be acceptable, 
 and these he proceeded to give without hesitation. 
 
 The Tuaregs follow the same system of plundering in 
 this part of the desert as they do in the regions farther 
 north. They make raids upon the negro villages, driving 
 away cattle, sheep, and horses, and helping themselves 
 generally to what they want. Many of the towns and 
 villages obtain immunity from these raids by paying 
 blackmail regularly. The tax is a heavy one upon them, 
 but their only alternative is, in default of payment, to 
 submit to whatever the Tuaregs choose to do. 
 
 Our friends caused it to be given out that they were 
 under the protection of the Tuaregs, and by making this 
 fact known they escaped annoyances which otherwise 
 might have been their lot. By keeping constantly in the 
 edge of the region over which the Tuaregs held sway 
 they were safe from encounters with the local sheikhs of 
 the negro districts, and consequently were under no neces- 
 sity for dealing out presents right and left as they went 
 along. Occasionally they mst caravans traveling toward 
 the southward, and some of them of considerable size ; in 
 several instances they exchanged guides with these cara- 
 vans to the mutual advantage of both parties. 
 
296 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 In one region which was considered dangerous Dr. 
 Whitney engaged a Tuareg sheikh and his men to accom- 
 pany the caravan for several days. At the end of the 
 stipulated time the sheikh was so well pleased with his com- 
 panions that he offered to continue the journey, for a small 
 compensation, as far as Timbuctoo. The doctor gladly 
 consented to pay the price demanded, and in due time 
 arrived in front of that famous city, — the most famous, in 
 some respects, of all the interior cities of Africa. 
 
 We will listen to Ned as he tells of the experiences of 
 the party in their visit to Timbuctoo. 
 
 *' We halted on a high ridge six or eight miles from the 
 city," said the youth in his journal, " and sent forth a 
 messenger to announce our coming. From the point 
 where we were Timbuctoo presented quite an imposing 
 appearance. The ground on which it stands is a very 
 slight hill, rising in a gentle slope on all sides towards the 
 center. In the center is a tower, or minaret, rising above 
 the tops of the surrounding buildings, and reminding 
 Harry and myself of the dome of the State House as it 
 rises above Boston. The city is partially surrounded by 
 walls built of clay, but they are very weak, though they 
 might resist for a little while the attacks of horsemen or 
 infantry not provided with implements for digging and 
 quarrying. A battery of artillery would not want a great 
 deal of time to make a hole in the wall ; neither would a 
 party of workmen armed with picks and shovels. There 
 are many houses and huts outside the walls, and it is in 
 these dwellings that caravans and single travelers are 
 usually lodged. 
 
KANO AND SOKOTO. 297 
 
 '* It was difficult for us to realize that we were actually 
 in sight of Timbuctoo, a city which has always treated the 
 foreigner with a great deal of jealousy, rarely allowing 
 him to set foot within its boundaries, and on more than 
 one occasion murdering him in punishment for his temer- 
 ity in coming there. A year or two ago a small force of 
 French soldiers reached Timbuctoo and took possession of 
 it, but the period of their occupation was brief. They 
 were assaulted, defeated, and driven away, with the loss 
 of their commander, and some other officers, and a con- 
 siderable number of men. The inhabitants and authorities 
 of the city made common cause with their usually hostile 
 neighbors, and united peaceably with them to expel the 
 invader. Quite likely the French will come again, and in 
 larger numbers, but for the present Timbuctoo retains the 
 independence which it has possessed for a long time. 
 
 '' When we had sufficiently rested we moved on towards 
 Timbuctoo. About three miles from the city we met the 
 governor's brother with an escort, and he announced 
 through an interpreter that he was sent to accompany us 
 to our destination. He added that before going further he 
 must receive some presents, and also must know what 
 presents we intended for the governor. We excused our- 
 selves from making any presents then and there, for the 
 reason that all our baggage was securely packed on the 
 backs of the camels, and it would be exceedingly incon- 
 venient to stop where we were and unpack it. He ad- 
 mitted the force of this reasoning and said we could go on, 
 but the presents must be brought out as soon as the loads 
 were removed from the camels' backs. 
 
298 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 *' This was not a very good beginning, and we foresaw 
 no amount of trouble in our intercourse with the governor 
 and his officials. 
 
 *' Our caravan came to a halt among the buildings out- 
 side the town, and the governor's brother indicated to us 
 the house that would be our dwelling-place during our 
 stay. He told us that we were not to attempt to enter the 
 city without the governor's permission, or that of himself. 
 He was the representative of the governor with all cara- 
 vans and travelers ; he intimated to us that if he was 
 properly treated we should have no trouble, but if, on the 
 other hand, we were not liberal with presents, he could 
 and would make trouble for us. This fellow stayed with 
 us until the baggage was unloaded from the camels, and 
 then he renewed his demands for presents. We gave him 
 a bournous of the best quality, a caftan, or jacket, and a 
 silk shirt, together with a few small articles, and thought 
 he would be satisfied. 
 
 "'That doesn't begin to be enough,' said the official 
 blackmailer. * I want another bournous, two more silk 
 shirts, a rifle with five hundred pounds of ammunition, 
 and a many-shooting pistol (revolver).' 
 
 "'You had better take all we have and an order on 
 New York for twice as much,' said Harry, in an under- 
 tone. Then he added, ' We can't stay long around Tim- 
 buctoo ; it is a luxury which only the affluent can afford.' 
 
 " Dr. Whitney said that he didn't intend to give the 
 man what he demanded, but it was judicious to compro- 
 mise with him, as his ill-will would be a serious matter. 
 He told the interpreter to say that we were unable to get 
 
KANO AND SOKOTO. 299 
 
 at the packages containing all our goods, but when the 
 governor should visit us he would doubtless find every- 
 thing satisfactory. We made him understand very 
 clearly that we could do nothing more until we saw the 
 governor, and after some persuasion the man went away, 
 promising that the governor w^ould come to see us on the 
 morrow. 
 
 " We were forbidden to go out of our house until we 
 had seen the governor, and, in order to get the air and see 
 as much as possible, we went up to the terrace of the 
 building, w^hich afforded an excellent view of the northern 
 part of the city. The most prominent object in our range 
 of vision was the mosque of Sankoray, the largest in the 
 city. It stands on the site of an ancient mosque, and has 
 recently been restored to all its original glory. Previous 
 to its restoration, it had greatly fallen into ruins. There 
 are several other mosques in Timbuctoo ; one of them is 
 called The Great Mosque, although it is not as extensive 
 as the one just mentioned. 
 
 *' Most of the houses visible from our roof were of a 
 single story only, though there was a goodly number of 
 two-storied buildings. Huts of matting and of grass were 
 scattered among the buildings in open squares or on other- 
 wise vacant lots, and the number of them was sufficient to 
 give the impression that Timbuctoo was by no means 
 crowded. The streets are narrow and closely shut in by 
 the buildings, and from our position on the roof of our 
 house we could see verv little of the streets or what was 
 going on in them. We found the terrace in a very dirty 
 condition, and set our servants to cleaning it at once ; in 
 
300 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 fact, the whole house was in such a state as to reflect no 
 credit upon the previous tenants. 
 
 " In addition to being very dirty, it was infested by ants 
 of several varieties, including the white ant which makes 
 such terrible havoc with all articles of wool or leather. 
 We hung some woolen garments against the wall, and the 
 next morning found them perforated with holes which the 
 ants had eaten. One day the doctor put on a w^oolen 
 bournous and sat down on the floor in the corner of one of 
 our rooms. He sat there for half an hour or more finish- 
 ing a sketch, and in that brief time the ants had eaten a 
 hole in his garment at least half an inch in diameter. If 
 I ever select a place for a permanent residence it will not 
 be in the suburbs of Timbuctoo. 
 
 " The people of the place are very hostile to Christians, 
 and some of them are absolutely fanatical on the point of 
 allowing Christians within their boundaries. We were 
 told that if we ventured inside the city we were in danger 
 of being killed by these fanatics ; we wanted very much 
 to see the city, but did not desire the sight of it enough to 
 give our lives in exchange for it. When the governor 
 came to see us, as he did on the day promised, we asked 
 permission to enter the city, and desired to be informed if 
 there was any danger in our going there. With an eye to 
 business, he answered that the excursion was full of danger, 
 but he would send an escort which would make us entirely 
 safe. 
 
 " An escort is a very good thing in its way, and there is 
 no doubt that it has saved the lives of many travelers, but 
 with an escort a traveler can't see one quarter as much as 
 
KANO AND SOKOTO. 3OI 
 
 he can if he goes alone. The leader of the escort takes 
 you to a few principal places, and that is all ; whenever 
 you halt, and sometimes when in motion, you are sur- 
 rounded by a crowd and your range of vision is obstructed. 
 We were obliged to accept the escort, and politely thanked 
 the governor for the favor of that incumbrance and pro- 
 tection. 
 
 *' Evidently the governor and his brother were real 
 brothers and no mistake, as the former was just as rapa- 
 cious in his fondness for presents as the latter was. We 
 duplicated to the governor the presents which we had 
 already given to his next of kin, but he was by no means 
 satisfied. We added more and more to the allotment, and 
 the governor sat there as still as a log of wood. I've no 
 doubt that he would have taken everything we had, includ- 
 ing our camels and horses, and still would have sat there 
 in open-mouthed cupidity, never raising face or hand to 
 indicate that he was satisfied. We were determined not 
 to beggar ourselves, and when the doctor thought we had 
 given enough he cut off the source of supplies with very 
 little ceremony. Of course the governor's followers came 
 in for a share, including the brother who met us on the 
 road the day before. 
 
 ** We now had permission to go freely about the suburbs, 
 and might enter the city under the guidance of an escort. 
 We proceeded to do both things that very day. 
 
 ** Our Tuareg friends circulated the storj' that we were 
 Moslems from Stamboul (Constantinople), and as it was 
 to our interest to have this story believed we did not attempt 
 to contradict the beautiful piece of fiction. Dr. Whitney 
 
302 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 had a letter which was written in Turkish by the drago- 
 man in the American consulate at the capital of Turkey, 
 and commending us to * The Faithful' everywhere. We 
 had shown this letter on several occasions and it had been 
 of good effect ; we tried it again at Timbuctoo and found 
 it very useful, as it inspired a wholesome respect for us on 
 the part of the governor, and also upon the chief of the 
 escort which came to take us into the city. 
 
 "The letter, in reality, amounted to nothing, but with 
 the Arab tendency to imagination it was counted for a 
 great deal. According to our Tuareg friends, we three 
 modest travelers were men of immense consequence at 
 Stamboul, and only a little below the great sultan. It is 
 my belief that the awe which this letter inspired had much 
 to do with our safety at Timbuctoo. 
 
 *' We were a good deal disappointed in our first visit 
 inside the city. As before stated, the streets are very 
 narrow, probably in order to keep out the sun, which at 
 times is very hot. The buildings reminded us of those of 
 Kano, as they are constructed on the same general plan. 
 Some of the courtyards are open to the street, and are 
 visible from it, but as a general thing they are closed by a 
 sort of wicker gate, so that the pedestrian or equestrian 
 can see little, if anything, of what is going on inside. 
 The market-place is a large, open square, not so large as 
 that of Kano, nor is it as densely crowded with people. 
 It must be remembered that Kano contains about forty 
 thousand inhabitants, while Timbuctoo has less than half 
 that number. The exact population nobody knows ; we 
 asked several of the most intelligent officials that we came 
 
KANO AND SOKOTO. 303 
 
 across, and they always answered that they didn't know. 
 When pressed for an estimate, some of them placed it as 
 low as twelve thousand, and none exceeded twenty thou- 
 sand. Taking the average of all these guesses as the 
 actual population, we may fairly put it at sixteen thousand. 
 
 "The market-place contains more European goods than 
 that of Kano, but fewer articles of native manufacture. 
 It must be borne in mind that Kano is a place of both 
 trade and manufacture, while Timbuctoo is a place of 
 trade alone, there being no manufactures worth mention- 
 ing. The general style of goods on sale in the market is 
 very much like that of Kano, as the market is frequented 
 by the same kind of people. There is a greater demand 
 for English cottons, particularly calicoes, than there is at 
 Kano, and the colors of the prints on exhibition are as 
 gaudy as human taste can make them. The African 
 is very fond of gaudy colors, and the more of them that 
 can be crowded into a single square yard of cloth, the 
 better is he suited. 
 
 *' We wanted to visit the mosques, and we wanted to do 
 so all the more because we knew we couldn't. The most 
 that was permitted was to walk or ride past them ; if we had 
 attempted to enter the doorways, I can't say what would 
 have happened. Notwithstanding the falsehoods told in 
 our behalf by the Tuaregs and others that we were faithful 
 Moslems from Stamboul, a good many people had a sus- 
 picion that we were Christians, and, having this belief they 
 would naturally object to our entering their mosques ; 
 even our escort could not have been relied on in such an 
 emergency, and we might have found ourselves cut down 
 
304 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 by the swords of the very men who were sent to pro- 
 tect us. 
 
 '' Most of the streets of Timbuctoo are regularly laid 
 out, but in some parts they run with the eccentricity ot 
 cow paths in a pasture. The buildings seem to have been 
 dropped down higgledy-piggledy wherever they happened 
 to fall. This is the case more especially with the huts 
 and shanties of the poor people than with the better class 
 of dwellings. 
 
 '* Both within and without the city we saw a good many 
 caravans. The caravans and the people accompanying 
 them are required to make their stopping places outside 
 the place, just as we were compelled to do, and they only 
 go inside to deliver and receive their cargoes, returning 
 immediately when their work in this line is over. The 
 caravans bring from the north European goods of various 
 kinds, — firearms, tobacco, paper, trinkets, and the like, — 
 to offer for sale. These things are exchanged for slaves, 
 ivory, gold-dust, palm oil, and gums. Northwardly the 
 trade extends to Morocco, Algeria, and Tripoli, eastward 
 to the Nile, south to the Soudan, and westward to Guinea 
 and Senegambia. The trade isn't as extensive as that of 
 Kano, and, as before stated, the variety of goods is not as 
 great." 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 DOWN THE NIGER MUNGO PARK AND THE LANDER 
 
 BROTHERS THE END. 
 
 ONE morning, while our young friends were at break- 
 fast, Ned remarked that he had heard or read that 
 there was no rhyme for Timbuctoo, to which Harry re- 
 plied that somebody had made one for it, and he believed 
 that it was as follows : — 
 
 " If I were a cassowary, 
 
 On the sands of Timbuctoo, 
 I'd eat a missionary, 
 
 Eat him bones and hymn-book, too." 
 
 '* I don't see anything the matter with that rhyme," said 
 Ned, as Harry paused, " and it seems to me there ought 
 to be other rhymes for that word." 
 
 ** I have seen another somewhere," remarked the 
 doctor, *' and I think it ran this way : — 
 
 " ' Jim and I went to the races, 
 By the coach from Timbuctoo ; 
 When we went to book our places, 
 I booked one, and Jim booked two.' " 
 
 **That recalls to me," said Harr}^ "another rhyme 
 which I heard of. It was made in the office of the British 
 
 305 
 
3o6 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 Legation at Washington, so the story goes, where there 
 were two clerks named Buck, one of them very slender 
 in figure and the other inclined to corpulency. One day 
 this question of rhyme came up, and one of the brothers 
 said he could make a new one. This is what he pro- 
 duced : — 
 
 " ' Of late there's been much disputation 
 About a rhyme for Timbuctoo ; 
 But here we have in this legation 
 Stout Buck and slim Buck, too," ' 
 
 "I think," said Ned, *'that if we keep on we may 
 find a whole volume of rhymes for the name of this 
 inhospitable city, and speaking of rhymes calls to my 
 mind a story that I read some time ago about a British 
 lord who offered a prize of fifty pounds to any one who 
 could make one with the word * porringer.' He was so 
 confident that none could be made with that word that he 
 was willing to back his opinion with money." 
 
 " Did any one succeed in winning it?" queried Harry. 
 
 '* Yes," was the reply; "in a very few days after the 
 offer was made public his lordship received the fol- 
 lowing : — 
 
 " The Duke of York a daughter had, 
 And gave the Prince of Orange her, 
 And now, my lord, I claim the prize 
 For making rhyme with porringer." 
 
 " He deserved the reward," said Harry, " and I hope 
 he received it." 
 
DOWN THE NIGER. 307 
 
 " I presume he did," said Ned, *' but the story, as I read 
 it, was silent on that point." 
 
 From the very hour of the arrival of our friends at 
 Timbuctoo Dr. Whitney was busy with his plans for 
 getting away from it. He wanted to continue westward, 
 following the valley of the Niger to its head waters, then 
 crossing the mountains, entering Senegambia, and ulti- 
 mately reaching the French possessions on the west coast 
 of Africa, in the valley of the Senegal River. The route 
 offered a great amount of difficulties and dangers, the 
 natives being hostile, and so much so that there was a 
 likelihood that the whole party would be murdered. 
 Then there was the desert route to Morocco, but there 
 was nothing of great interest along the way, and the jour- 
 ney would be fearfully monotonous. There was also the 
 desert route by way of Touat and Algeria, but this had 
 the same disadvantages as the others, with the additional 
 objection of causing them to traverse a considerable part 
 of a route which they had traveled before. 
 
 A more attractive and less dangerous route was that by 
 way of the Niger, as they could float on its waters all the 
 way to the ocean, except at a few points where it would 
 be necessary for the boats to run the rapids or be 
 dragged around them. After careful deliberation on the 
 subject, the doctor decided that they would take the river 
 route. 
 
 With some difficulty and the expenditure of presents, 
 both in money and goods, permission to depart was ob- 
 tained. The doctor engaged an Arab sheikh, named 
 Abd-el-Ali, who was familiar with the river, and who had 
 
308 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 authority enough to be respected by the natives along the 
 great stream as far as the junction of the Niger with the 
 Benoue. Timbuctoo isn't on the river itself, but six miles 
 away from it. Its port is Kabara, where there is quite a 
 town, having considerable commerce. Merchandise com- 
 ing either up or down the river and intended for Tim- 
 buctoo is landed at Kabara and carried thence on camels 
 or other pack animals to the city. There is quite a fleet 
 of boats at Kabara at all times of the year, and there's no 
 difficulty in buying or hiring them for a voyage. 
 
 As soon as Dr. Whitney obtained permission to leave 
 he sent Abd-el-Ali to Kabara to buy or hire the necessary 
 boats, and the doctor followed with his caravan. At 
 Kabara he sold all his animals, except two camels and two 
 horses, and sold them at a good price, as it happened that 
 a caravan was just fitting out for Lake Chad, and animals 
 were in demand. 
 
 All the employes of the expedition, with the exception of 
 Renaud, Yusef, and Abdullah, one camel driver, and the 
 Arab interpreter, were paid off and discharged. Three 
 boats were engaged, each of them about twenty-five feet 
 in length, and having four men to manage it. Another 
 and larger boat of the kind used for ferrying purposes was 
 obtained, and in this the camels and horses were placed. 
 It was a difficult matter to induce the animals to step on 
 board, and they were only embarked with a great deal of 
 noise and pushing on the part of the boatmen. Their 
 favorite way of inducing a refractory animal to go on 
 board was by passing a rope around his hind quarters 
 and attachintj a dozen ne<j^roes to it at each end ; then 
 
DOWN THE NIGER. 3O9 
 
 while two negroes pulled at his head, others cudgelled 
 and shouted at him from behind, while the men at the 
 rope pulled away with all their might. Under the cir- 
 cumstances the poor beast had no other alternative but to 
 do as his tormentors desired. 
 
 The ba<j<ji^2e was loaded in the other boats, and then 
 the party pushed off from shore. The boat which carried 
 our three friends took the lead and the others followed 
 closely, the one with the animals bringing up the rear. 
 In this order the aquatic procession left the bend of the 
 river where Kabara stands, and pushed out into the cur- 
 rent of the Niger. 
 
 Ned and Harry greatly enjoyed this mode of traveling, 
 there being no mounting or dismounting into or from the 
 saddle, no creeping over the hot sands, nor any of the 
 other inconveniences of land travel. The center of each 
 of their boats, with the exception of the ''menagerie," as 
 they called the one that carried the animals, was roofed 
 over, so that the travelers could, if they wished, sit com- 
 fortably in the shade. The current bore them steadily 
 along, and the rowers had little to do, except to keep the 
 boat in its proper course. They found that the river 
 below Kabara was full of islands, and realized the fore- 
 sight of Dr. Whitney in engaging some one who was 
 familiar with the course of the stream and able to indi- 
 cate the route. No doubt, the boatmen were sufficiently 
 good pilots for all practical purposes, but it was desirable 
 to have some one in control, and Abd-el-Ali was just the 
 man they wanted. 
 
 It was early in the afternoon when the party left Kabara, 
 
3IO IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 and, consequently, they did not make much progress 
 during the first day. The sheikh selected a landing-place 
 on an island which had no inhabitants, deeming it safer 
 there than on the bank of the river. The ferry-boat was 
 brought up to the land, so that the animals could step 
 ashore without difficulty, and they made no opposition to 
 setting foot on terra firma. The grass was thick and 
 sweet on the island, and it is hardly necessary to say that 
 camels and horses were well fed that night and the next 
 morning. By means of ropes they were picketed so that 
 they could graze over a considerable area, and not one of 
 them showed the least inclination to miss his opportunity. 
 
 It is safe to say that the quadrupeds had a more agree- 
 able stay on the island than the bipeds, as the latter were 
 greatly annoyed by mosquitoes. Fortunately, our friends 
 were provided with mosquito nets and were able in part 
 to defend themselves, and thus diminish the annoyance. 
 They couldn't do away with it altogether, as the insects 
 were of assorted sizes, and the smallest of them could get 
 through the meshes of the nets with the utmost ease, and 
 Ned said he wouldn't be surprised to hear of their getting 
 through the side of a tin trunk. The natives made 
 smudges of grass, reeds, and underbrush, and, further- 
 more, they were accustomed to living among the mosqui- 
 toes and didn't specially mind them. The presence of 
 these pests, however, had the effect of getting everybody 
 out of bed early in the morning, and in this respect they 
 were decidedly useful. 
 
 Before leaving Kabara, Ned and Harry indulged in 
 expectations of the fun they would have in bathing in the 
 
DOWN THE NIGER. 3II 
 
 river night and morning, but they changed their views 
 very materially in the afternoon of the first day and did 
 not attempt to bathe in the stream. They ascertained that 
 the river abounded in crocodiles, and these creatures are 
 always discouraging to bathers. River horses, or hippo- 
 potami, were also abundant, and occasionally came to the 
 surface to look wonderingly at the boats, and sometimes 
 acted as though they intended an attack. The snouts of 
 the crocodiles were frequently visible, and there was no 
 doubt in the minds of our young friends that these ugly- 
 looking saurins would be very glad to take them in. So 
 their nearest approach to a river bath was to stand near 
 the edge of the bank and have servants throw buckets of 
 water over them. 
 
 Soon after starting out in the morning the Niger nar- 
 rowed down to a single road stream, leaving the maze of 
 islands behind. The current, which had been sluggish at 
 first, now increased to a good three miles an hour. The 
 rowers, under the guidance of their pilot, kept the boats 
 where the stream was strongest, which was just enough to 
 give the flotilla steerage way. It w^as a delightful mode 
 of travel compared with that of the desert on the back of 
 a camel or horse. 
 
 About noon the boats came to a place where the main 
 channel swept close to the southern bank, so as to bring 
 them within twenty yards of the land. In this bend ot 
 the river there was a large village, and a group of about 
 fifty natives, armed with spears, bows and arrows, and a 
 few muskets, came to the water's edge and demanded that 
 the party should stop and pay tribute. The doctor re- 
 
312 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 f erred the question to Abd-el-Ali, who said there was no 
 occasion for anything of the kind, as the river did not 
 belong to the natives on the banks, but was free to every- 
 body. He told the boatmen to keep on, and they obeyed 
 his orders. The natives fired upon them with their mus- 
 kets, but the bullets went wide of their mark. Ned said 
 they must have been poor marksmen, as they couldn't 
 even hit one of the camels which was standing up in the 
 menagerie, and a man who couldn't hit a camel at that 
 distance must be the poorest kind of a shot. 
 
 The doctor and his young companions were ready with 
 their rifles, but they withheld their fire, not wishing to 
 injure anybody unless they were first injured themselves. 
 
 '' Quite likely," said the doctor, '' we may have to do 
 some shooting to defend ourselves before we get through 
 with this part of our journey. It was somewhere in this 
 part of the Niger that Mungo Park lost his life after sev- 
 eral fights with the natives." 
 
 ** I remember reading about it," said Ned. " He came 
 over the mountains from Senegambia in May, 1805, with 
 thirty-eight men, intending to descend the Niger in boats 
 to its mouth. I think that the account I read said that he 
 perished by drowning." 
 
 ** Quite likely it did," said the doctor; *' but there has 
 always been an uncertainty as to the manner of his death, 
 for the reason that the explorer and all his men perished, 
 and the story of their death was told by their assailants. 
 At the time of Park's death he was having a fight with 
 people on shore, and one account says that his boat was 
 overturned in a rapid while the fight was going on. Park 
 
DOWN THE NIGER. 313 
 
 and two of his men were drowned while attempting to 
 reach the shore, and the rest were killed." 
 
 *' 1 presume," said Harr}^, " that the natives had no fire- 
 arms at that time, as they have at present." 
 
 " No," was the reply. "At least, there has been no 
 mention of any. In these modern days traders have 
 brought cheap muskets into most parts of Africa, and 
 every native who can afford it is armed with one of 
 them. Fortunately for us, these weapons are very cheaply 
 made, and are almost as dangerous to the one who handles 
 them as to those at whom they are discharged. Their 
 range is quite short, and they can't be aimed at all accu- 
 rately. Our breech-loading and magazine rifles can shoot 
 several times as far, and with much greater accuracy. A 
 small party of white men with modern rifles can success- 
 fully resist a large party of blacks equipped with Birming- 
 ham muskets." 
 
 As the party floated along the river after passing the 
 hostile village. Dr. Whitney asked Harry what he could 
 tell him about the great river on which they were traveling. 
 
 **I can't tell a great deal," was the reply, "and will 
 repeat what I learned from my geography : — 
 
 " The river is called the Nio^er in most of the school 
 books and on maps ; it is also called the Qnorra (which 
 means river), and the word has several different spellings. 
 In the upper part of its course it is called Joliba, and it 
 rises in the country of the Mandingos, north of the Kong 
 Mountains. In the first part of its course it flows east and 
 northeast towards the desert, then it flows southeast, and 
 afterwards south, and enters the sea in the Gulf of Benin. 
 
314 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 Like the Nile, Ganges, and other great rivers, it has 
 several mouths which enclose a large delta. It receives 
 many rivers in its course, the principal one being the 
 Benoue, which comes in from the eastward. It is navigable 
 for steamboats up to its junction with the Benoue, and 
 both rivers are navigable for a hundred miles or more 
 beyond the point of junction. It is interrupted by rapids 
 at several places, but can boast of no great cataract any- 
 where along its course." 
 
 *'A very good description for a brief one," said the 
 doctor in a commendatory tone. *'And now I'll ask a 
 question of Ned." 
 
 ''Very well, sir," replied that youth, with a smile, "I 
 will answer it to the best of my ability." 
 
 ''No more could be asked," was the reply. "What 
 can you tell me of the exploration of the Niger and the 
 discovery of its source ? " 
 
 "The exploration of the Niger," said Ned, "was first 
 undertaken by the British African Association, which was 
 founded in 1788, under the auspices of Sir Joseph Banks, 
 and one of the first enterprises the association undertook 
 was the exploration of the Niger. Several men were sent 
 out at different times, but the one who accomplished most 
 in these early davs was the famous Englishman, Mun^i^o 
 Park, whom we have just been talking about. He sailed 
 from England in 1795 on his first expedition, reached the 
 head waters of that river, and descended a part of it, but, 
 owing to the many obstacles in his way, he was unable to 
 go all the way to its mouth. The story of his adventures 
 is very interesting." 
 
DOWN THE NIGER. 315 
 
 (( 
 
 Yes, it is, indeed," said Harry, " and some parts of 
 it are very pathetic." 
 
 "Can 3'ou tell us about some of them?" queried the 
 doctor. 
 
 " I think I can," was the reply. " One thing I remem- 
 ber is that he says that in the most of the regions where 
 he traveled the people had never seen a white man, and 
 they pitied him greatly because he had lost his color. He 
 tells how he would have remained all night without food 
 and shelter on one occasion, but for the kindness of an 
 old woman who gave him lodging in her hut. While he 
 was eating the food which she had set before him several 
 young girls watched him and chanted the following : — 
 
 " ' The winds roared and the rain fell ; 
 
 The poor white man, faint and weary, came and sat 
 
 under our tree. 
 He has no mother to bring him milk, 
 No wife to bring him corn. 
 
 Chorus. 
 
 " ' Let us pity the white man ; 
 
 He has no mother to bring him milk, 
 
 No wife to bring him corn.' " 
 
 ** On his return to the coast he followed a different 
 route from the one he took in his advance. In one place 
 between Kooma and Sibidooloo he was attacked by Arabs, 
 who robbed him of everything he possessed, even to the 
 greater portion of his clothing. His account of the robbery 
 and what followed it is very beautifully told in his own 
 
3l6 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 words. It impressed me so much when I read it that I 
 read it over and over again, and I beheve I could repeat 
 it Hterally." 
 
 " By all means let us have it," said the doctor. 
 
 *' Well," replied the youth, " here it is : — 
 
 *' ' After the robbers were gone, I sat for some time 
 looking around me in amazement and terror. Whichever 
 way I turned nothing appeared but danger and difficulty. 
 I saw myself in the midst of a vast wilderness, in the 
 depth of the rainy season, naked and alone, surrounded 
 by savage animals and men still more savage. I was 
 live hundred miles from the nearest European settlement. 
 All these circumstances crowded at once on my recollec- 
 tion, and I confess that my spirits began to fail me. I 
 considered my fate as certain, and that I had no alterna- 
 tive but to lie down and perish. 
 
 " ' At this moment, painful as m}^ reflections were, the 
 extraordinary beauty of a small moss in fructification 
 irresistibly caught my eye. I mention this to show from 
 what trifling circumstances the mind will sometimes de- 
 rive consolation. Can that Being, thought I, who planted, 
 watered, and brought to perfection, in this obscure part of 
 the world, a thing which looks of so small importance 
 look with unconcern upon the situation and sufferings of 
 creatures formed after His own image? Surely not. Re- 
 flections like these would not allow me to despair. I 
 started up, and^ disregarding both hunger and fatigue, 
 traveled forward, assured that relief was at hand ; and I 
 was not disappointed. In a short time I came to a small 
 village, at the entrance of which I overtook the two shep- 
 
DOWN THE NIGER. 317 
 
 herds who had come with me from Kooma. They were 
 much surprised to see me ; for they said they never 
 doubted that the Foolahs, when they had robbed, had 
 murdered me.' 
 
 *' Park's second journey was the one in which he lost 
 his Hfe. As you ah-eady know, he started down the 
 river, having lost thirty-one men out of thirty-eight, and 
 the remaining seven were also ill. He had several battles 
 with the natives, and at the last one Park and two of his 
 men were drowned and the remaining five were killed." 
 
 As Harry paused after this narration, Ned resumed his 
 story. 
 
 ** The next expedition after Mungo Park was that of 
 Oudney, Clapperton, and Denham, who started from 
 Tripoli in March, 1822. They had a great deal of dith- 
 culty in getting an escort from Mourzouk, but they finally 
 obtained one, an Arab by the name of Boo-Khaloom, who 
 was a merchant, and also a sort of soldier in the service 
 of the sultan of Mourzouk. His principal trading was in 
 slaves, and it made no difference to him whether he 
 bought them or stole them, — in fact, he rather preferred the 
 latter method on account of its being cheaper. Soon after 
 leaving Mourzouk the party arrived at some wells, and 
 found the ground all around there covered with human 
 skeletons. Boo-Khaloom explained that they were a 
 party of slaves that started to cross the desert with an in- 
 sufficient supply of food and water. They had been left 
 to die there, chained by the neck and feet, after having 
 been driven across the hot desert. 
 
 ** The party reached Kukawa, and from that point Den- 
 
3l8 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 ham accompanied Boo-Khaloom on one of his slave steal- 
 ing expeditions. The expedition was a failure, and was 
 badly defeated and broken up. Boo-Khaloom and most 
 of his men were killed, and Denham narrowly escaped 
 with his life. His companions were butchered within a 
 few yards of him, and Denham himself was stripped of 
 his clothing, but managed to escape by diving under a 
 horse and running as fast as he could towards a mountain 
 stream, where he thought he could take refuge. Here is 
 what he says about crossing the stream : — 
 
 " My strength had almost left me, and I seized the 
 young branches issuing from a large stump which over- 
 hung the ravine, for the purpose of letting myself down 
 into the water, for the sides were precipitous, when, under 
 my hand, as the branch yielded to the weight of my body, 
 a large liffa, the worst kind of serpent this country 
 produces, rose from its coil as if in the very act of strik- 
 ing. I was horror-struck and deprived for the moment 
 of all recollection ; the branch slipped from my hand, 
 and I tumbled headlong into the water beneath ; this 
 shock, however, revived me, and with three strokes of my 
 arms I reached the opposite bank, which, with difficulty, 
 I crawled up ; and then, for the first time, felt myself safe 
 from my pursuers.' 
 
 " Denham managed to get away and join some of the 
 people who had escaped death or capture. He rode 
 nearly fifty miles without clothes, on the bare back of a 
 lean horse, and finally reached Kukawa, where he was 
 confined for several weeks with a severe illness. The 
 sheikh of Kukawa treated him very kindly, and when 
 
DOWN THE NIGER. 319 
 
 Denham got well again he accompanied another slave- 
 stealing expedition, which was more successful. He 
 visited some small tribes and kingdoms, and returned 
 once more to Kukawa, where he met his friend, Clapper- 
 ton, who had been making explorations to the south and 
 west. Dr. Oudney, the other member of the party, had 
 died some months before. Denham and Clapperton re- 
 turned to England, and the latter made another expedition 
 to Africa some years afterward. He had visited Sokoto 
 on his first expedition, and had been kindly treated by 
 the sultan. On his second expedition he went again to 
 Sokoto, and found the sultan very unfriendly. The trav- 
 eler was detained for a year, being kept in prison all the 
 time ; in fact, he died there in 1827. 
 
 *' At the time of Clapperton's death he had with him as 
 confidential servant a young Englishman, named Richard 
 Lander. After witnessing the death and burial of his 
 master. Lander returned with Clapperton's papers to Eng- 
 land, where he arrived in 1828. Accompanied by his 
 brother John, he sailed from England in January, 1830, 
 traveled through Fezzan and Mourzouk, and reached the 
 Niger at Yauri, whence he traced its course to the ocean 
 in the Gulf of Benin. Richard and John Lander were 
 thus the first white men to make the voyage of the Niger. 
 Five years later Richard Lander was killed in Western 
 Africa, where he was in the employ of a mercantile 
 company. 
 
 ** In 1850 the English Government sent out another 
 expedition, headed by James Richardson, an Englishman, 
 accompanied by two Germans, Dr. Overweg and Dr. 
 
320 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 Barth. Later another German, Dr. Vogel, was attached 
 to the expedition. Mr. Richardson and Dr. Overweg 
 died of disease, and Dr. Vogel was assassinated. Barth 
 was the only one of the party who returned to Europe. 
 He visited Timbuctoo, and navigated a part of the Niger, 
 but did not descend it to the sea. 
 
 *'I mentioned the assassination of Dr. Vogel, and it 
 shows the power of suspicion in Africa. He had a very 
 handsome horse which attracted the cupidity of the grand 
 vizier of the sultan of one of the countries through which 
 the doctor was traveling. The vizier wanted the horse as 
 a present, but the doctor refused to give him away. There- 
 upon he was denounced as a magician because he wrote 
 with a pen without ink (a lead-pencil), and for this crime 
 of sorcery he was beheaded. 
 
 *' Another German, Dr. Rolfs," continued the youth, 
 " made a journey from Tripoli, by way of the Niger, to 
 the Gulf of Benin ; and still another German, Dr. Nachti- 
 gal, has made an extensive journey through the countries 
 south of Lake Chad, and traversed Darfoor to the Nile, 
 whence he returned to Europe. Two or three French 
 explorers have passed through these regions and added to 
 the stock of knowledge concerning them, but there is a 
 great deal yet to be learned, and we shall hope that our 
 own experiences will not be found without value." 
 
 *' You have given us a very good summary of the ex- 
 plorations in these regions," said the doctor. " I did not 
 know that you were so well informed on the subject." 
 
 Just then the sheikh called to the doctor to announce 
 that they were coming to some rapids in the river where it 
 
DOWN THE NIGER. 32 1 
 
 would be necessary to land in order to consider whether 
 the boats could descend with safety. Accordingly, the 
 flotilla was headed for the shore, and shortly came to land. 
 The boats were made fast, and then our three friends, 
 accompanied by Renaud and Abd-el-Ali, walked along 
 the river's edge until they came to the rapids. Several 
 natives were there and offered to run through the broken 
 water for a slight compensation. Their offer was accepted, 
 and the sheikh and Renaud got into a boat with them and 
 made the descent without difficulty. It was decided that 
 the three smaller boats of the party could make the 
 descent without difficulty, and accordingly they were run 
 past the falls and moored safely below them. 
 
 As to the menagerie boat, it was deemed judicious to 
 land the animals and walk them around the falls, while 
 the boat, thus lightened of its burden, was shot through 
 the waters, barely missing a rock in its passage. After 
 descending the rapids the menagerie boat was brought to 
 the shore and the animals re-embarked. After their first 
 experience at Kabara, the camels and horses made hardly 
 any resistance to going on board. Ned said he believed 
 they understood they were saved a great deal of fatigue 
 when transported in a boat, and were therefore glad to 
 accept the situation. 
 
 Camp was formed that night on the mainland, and not 
 on an island, for the very good reason that sunset came 
 when there were no islands in sight. There was a native 
 village close to their camping place, but the inhabitants 
 showed no hostility to the strangers like those already 
 described. The sheikh succeeded in buying a quantity of 
 
322 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 eggs and two chickens ; the latter were thin and Hght, but 
 they made a very fair stew, and formed a very important 
 part of the evening's meal. Traces of lions and elephants 
 were seen on the shore, and our young friends learned 
 from the natives that these animals abounded in that 
 region. Their gardens were occasionally trampled and 
 devastated by elephants, and they had dug a pit in which 
 they hoped to capture the next intruder. 
 
 The journey continued down the river very peaceably. 
 A day or two after the passage of the rapids we have just 
 mentioned the travelers came to a place where, for half a 
 mile or more, the river narrowed considerably, and dashed 
 over and among numerous rocks. Here it was necessary 
 to land all the cargo and transport it around the falls on 
 the backs of the camels and horses. The boats were also 
 taken overland, although it would have been possible to 
 send them down by water, but the risk of damage to them 
 was too great. There was a fairly good road on the south 
 side of the river, so that the transporting of boats and 
 cargoes was made without difficulty, though it consumed 
 an entire day. 
 
 Contrary to the expectation of our friends, the natives 
 along the river gave no further signs of hostility, with two 
 or three exceptions that were of no material consequence. 
 In these cases the natives ordered them to land, and made 
 demonstrations that were not at all friendly, but no shots 
 were fired on either side. The party made a brief stay at 
 Say, and also at Yaouri, but in each instance they sent 
 the sheikh Abd-el-Ali to shore to ascertain whether the 
 three strangers would be kindly received or not. He 
 
DOWN THE NIGER. 323 
 
 brought back word that the natives were perfectly friendly, 
 and that they could visit the market-place with every 
 assurance of safety. The towns were so nearly like those 
 they had already seen that a description is unnecessary. 
 It was near Yaouri that Mungo Park lost his life. 
 
 Down and down the river the travelers floated, and 
 about two o'clock one afternoon Abd-el-Ali told them that 
 at the next bend of the river they would come in sight of 
 the point where the Niger and the Benoue form their junc- 
 tion. All eyes were turned in that direction, and as the 
 boat swung around the bend, the mouth of the river com- 
 ing in from the east was plainly visible. 
 
 *'Look! look!" said Ned. "Just look! there comes 
 a steamboat down the other river." 
 
 He pointed with his index finger in the direction of the 
 stream, and there, sure enough, was a steamboat coming 
 down the river, and evidently heading for a small town at 
 the point where the waters met. 
 
 *'We are coming to civilization again," said Harry. 
 ** We shall leave the lands of the savage behind us w^hen 
 once we set foot on the deck of that boat." 
 
 *' Qiiite true," said the doctor; "steamboats and sav- 
 ages do not belong together, and whenever the two come 
 in contact the steamboat generally gets the best of it." 
 
 "I wonder," said Ned, "how long they have been 
 running steamboats on the Niger." 
 
 " A British commercial company was organized in 
 1852," replied the doctor, " for the purpose of establishing 
 trading stations along the Niger and its tributaries and 
 navigating the rivers with steamboats. The original com- 
 
324 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 pany was merged into another, and then again into 
 another company. A French company was organized 
 for the same business, and for several years a keen com- 
 petition was maintained between the British and French, 
 and finally the French company was bought out by its 
 British rival. A considerable trade has been developed 
 in the valley of the Niger, and an excellent thing about it 
 is that the company refrains from selling firearms and 
 spirituous liquors. In refusing to sell firearms and gun- 
 powder it is looking out for its own interests by depriving 
 the natives of the means of taking hostile advantage of 
 them. In prohibiting the sale of alcohol, it is more phil- 
 anthropic than in suppressing the traffic in firearms, as the 
 profits on liquors are very large, and the consumption is 
 unlimited. 
 
 " The Niger, Benoue, and other rivers in the valley are 
 navigated as far as steamboats can run. The usual trade 
 goods of Africa are brought here, and in return for them 
 the boats carry away ivory, gold-dust, hides, skins, tanned 
 leather, gums, palm oil, and other products of the country. 
 The trade is not large, but the profits are heavy. At the 
 trading stations the price asked for goods is double the 
 price asked for the same articles at the mouth of the river, 
 while the prices paid for ivory and other African pro- 
 ducts are only half what they sell for at Bonny, the port 
 at the Niger's entrance into the sea." 
 
 While this conversation was going on, the boats pro- 
 ceeded steadily on ,their course, and an hour or so after 
 the steamboat had made her landing the flotilla of Dr. 
 Whitney swung up and made fast to the bank close by 
 
DOWN THE NIGER. 325 
 
 the steamer. Ned and Harry wanted at once to go on 
 board the civiHzed craft, but the doctor restrained them 
 by suggesting that they had better wait until after seeing 
 the official in charge of the trading post. 
 
 The station consisted of several houses built with walls 
 and roofs, and decidedly suggestive of European archi- 
 tecture. These houses were surrounded by a strong 
 palisade of posts stuck into the earth, close together, and 
 rising about ten or twelve feet above the ground. Outside 
 of this palisade there was a cluster of native huts and 
 cheap dwellings, forming a village. The indications 
 were that the country was not altogether peaceful, the 
 palisade being intended for defence in case of an attack 
 by the natives. 
 
 Our three friends directed their steps towards the main 
 entrance of the palisade. They passed through the 
 gateway, where they were met by an intelligent servant 
 who spoke English quite well, and took their names to the 
 factor, or agent. Captain Armstrong. That gentleman 
 came out and greeted the strangers with great cordiality. 
 
 "I've heard of you repeatedly," said he; "the news 
 of your coming has been brought to me several times by 
 merchants from Kukawa, Kano, and other places. I'm 
 very glad, indeed, to greet you, and you can consider that 
 the station and all it contains belong to yourselves." 
 
 Dr. Whitney thanked the captain for his kindness, and 
 said that his demands upon the station would not be very 
 heavy. Then they had a short talk on general subjects, 
 which ended with an invitation for the doctor and his 
 young friends to occupy rooms in the company's house 
 
326 IN WILD AFRICA. 
 
 until their departure. They accepted the invitation, and 
 were assigned to their quarters at once. 
 
 Captain Armstrong said he would expect them to dine 
 with him at seven o'clock, and he gave orders for the doc- 
 tor's retinue to be supplied with food. The doctor learned 
 on inquiry that the steamer would leave on the next day 
 for Bonny, and he arranged to take passage on her. He 
 also arranged for Captain Armstrong to take charge of 
 the camels, horses, and all the remaining goods belonging 
 to the party. He was to sell them to the best advantage, 
 and remit the proceeds to the doctor when all transactions 
 had been completed. 
 
 In preparing themselves for dinner our friends abandoned 
 the African dress and resumed their European garments. 
 The youths regarded themselves in the mirror with some 
 astonishment, and Ned said it would take him a few days 
 to become acquainted with himself, after wearing outland- 
 ish clothes for so long. About noon the next day the 
 steamboat '' Wellington," of the Royal African Company, 
 started down the Niger in the direction of Bonny, carrying 
 with her the three travelers whom we have so long been 
 following, and also Renaud, Yusef, and Abdullah, who 
 were to return to Algeria. 
 
 Our friends found the lower part of the Niger flowing 
 through a densely wooded region which abounded in sav- 
 age beasts and savage men. They made brief stoppages 
 at several stations, and in due time came to the ocean at 
 Bonny, and greeted the blue expanse of the broad Atlantic 
 with three ringing cheers. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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