In The Intervals
It Is Their Business To Sweep The Tent, Churn The Milk, And Perform Other
Domestic Offices.
With all this they are badly fed, and oftentimes
cruelly punished.
The men's dress among the Moors of Ludamar differs but little from that
of the Negroes, (which has been already described,) except that they have
all adopted that characteristic of the Mahomedan sect, the _turban_,
which is here universally made of white cotton-cloth. Such of the Moors
as have long beards display them with a mixture of pride and
satisfaction, as denoting an Arab ancestry. Of this number was Ali
himself; but among the generality of the people the hair is short and
bushy, and universally black. And here I may be permitted to observe,
that if any one circumstance excited among them favourable thoughts
towards my own person, it was my beard; which was now grown to an
enormous length, and was always beheld with approbation or envy. I
believe in my conscience they thought it too good a beard for a
Christian.
The only diseases which I observed to prevail among the Moors were the
intermittent fever and dysentery; for the cure of which, nostrums are
sometimes administered by their old women; but, in general, nature is
left to her own operations. Mention was made to me of the small-pox, as
being sometimes very destructive; but it had not, to my knowledge, made
its appearance in Ludamar while I was in captivity. That it prevails,
however, among some tribes of the Moors, and that it is frequently
conveyed by them to the Negroes in the southern states, I was assured on
the authority of Dr. Laidley, who also informed me that the Negroes on
the Gambia practise inoculation.
The administration of criminal justice, as far as I had opportunities of
observing, was prompt and decisive. For, although civil rights were but
little regarded in Ludamar, it was necessary, when crimes were committed,
that examples should sometimes be made. On such occasions, the offender
was brought before Ali, who pronounced, of his sole authority, what
judgment he thought proper. But I understood that capital punishment was
seldom or never inflicted, except on the Negroes.
Although the wealth of the Moors consists chiefly in their numerous herds
of cattle, yet, as the pastoral life does not afford full employment, the
majority of the people are perfectly idle, and spend the day in trifling
conversation about their horses, or in laying schemes of depredation on
the Negro villages.
The usual place of rendezvous for the indolent is the king's tent; where
great liberty of speech seems to be exercised by the company towards each
other; while in speaking of their chief they express but one opinion. In
praise of their sovereign they are unanimous. Songs are composed in his
honour, which the company frequently sing in concert; but they are so
loaded with gross adulation, that no man but a Moorish despot could hear
them without blushing. The king is distinguished by the fineness of his
dress; which is composed of blue cotton-cloth, brought from Tombuctoo, or
white linen or muslin from Morocco. He has likewise a larger tent than
any other person, with a white cloth over it; but, in his usual
intercourse with his subjects, all distinctions of rank are frequently
forgotten. He sometimes eats out of the same bowl with his camel driver,
and reposes himself, during the heat of the day, upon the same bed. The
expenses of his government and household are defrayed by a tax upon his
Negro subjects, which is paid by every householder, either in corn,
cloth, or gold-dust; a tax upon the different Moorish Korrees, or
watering places, which is commonly levied in cattle; and a tax upon all
merchandize which passes through the kingdom, and is generally collected
in kind. But a considerable part of the king's revenue arises from the
plunder of individuals. The Negro inhabitants of Ludamar, and the
travelling merchants, are afraid of appearing rich; for Ali, who has
spies stationed in the different towns, to give him information
concerning the wealth of his subjects, frequently invents some frivolous
plea for seizing their property, and reducing the opulent to a level with
their fellow citizens.
Of the number of Ali's Moorish subjects, I had no means of forming a
correct estimate. The military strength of Ludamar consists in cavalry.
They are well mounted, and appear to be very expert in skirmishing and
attacking by surprise. Every soldier furnishes his own horse, and finds
his accoutrements, consisting of a large sabre, a double-barrelled gun, a
small red leather bag for holding his balls, and a powder-horn slung over
the shoulder. He has no pay, nor any remuneration but what arises from
plunder. This body is not very numerous, for when Ali made war upon
Bambarra, I was informed that his whole force did not exceed two thousand
cavalry. They constitute, however, by what I could learn, but a very
small proportion of his Moorish subjects. The horses are very beautiful,
and so highly esteemed, that the Negro princes will sometimes give from
twelve to fourteen slaves for one horse.
Ludamar has for its northern boundary the Great Desert of Sahara. From
the best inquiries I could make, this vast ocean of sand, which occupies
so large a space in Northern Africa, may be pronounced almost destitute
of inhabitants, except where the scanty vegetation which appears in
certain spots affords pasturage for the flocks of a few miserable Arabs,
who wander from one well to another. In other places, where the supply of
water and pasturage is more abundant, small parties of the Moors have
taken up their residence. Here they live in independent poverty, secure
from the tyrannical government of Barbary. But the greater part of the
Desert being totally destitute of water, is seldom visited by any human
being, unless where the trading caravans trace out their toilsome and
dangerous route across it.
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