1822:} 
tootheir great wealthias) to their distin- 
guished origin; for they:are descended 
from rfamilies)i which) ‘have: long been 
réspected:among the Moors. ‘But a 
much; more powerful chief than they, 
ohne: toswhom ‘they are allied by the 
female«side;' and whose power almost 
equals that:of Soliman himself, has: his 
residence within two days’ journey to 
thenorthofOuadnoun. He commands 
néarly all the Mussulmans of the desert, 
andis:called) Sidy Ischem. You will 
perhaps one day see him, and then you 
willbe able to judge of his power and 
riches. 
**Sidy Ischem sends a very consider- 
able «caravan every year to Timectou. 
From fifteen hundred to two thousand 
camels, all belonging to him, generally 
compose it. It is collected either here 
or inthe city of Tata ; and in these two 
placesithe last preparations are made 
to ‘enter into the desert. The two sheiks 
of Ouadnoun join also to the caravan 
the camels which belong to them; and 
it may be said that these three chiefs, 
but above all Sidy Ischem, carry on, 
by themselves alone, a great part of the 
commerce with Timectou. The Moors 
whe live in that city are charged with 
the ‘interests of Sidy Ischem: they re- 
ceive:the commodities which he sends 
them,:and which are principally com- 
posed of haiques, red worsted caps, 
and pieces of linen-cloth. ‘The tobacco 
which grows at Ouadnoun also forms 
part of these expeditions; and, when 
the caravans take the route nearest to 
the sea, the same by which you arrived, 
they also carry away a considerable 
quantity of salt. At their return they 
bring back, in exchange for their va- 
rious merchandize, a quantity of gold- 
dust, gold rings, elephant’s teeth, gum, 
and a great number of negroes. All 
those whom you see at the house of 
Beirouc, and who are remarkable for 
their beauty, have been purchased at 
Timectou: they cost him each about 
thirty: piastres. The negro-woman 
who brings your food is only recently 
arrived from it; she is now the fa- 
vourite of Beirouc, among the women 
of that colour, and it is because she is 
decked out with a number of silver 
necklaces and rings. 
** About a day’s journey to the north 
of, Ouadnoun, there is a vast site, 
where the yearly market is held, called 
Souvh-el Aam. This market, more con- 
siderable than others which are alike 
held in» the environs, at different 
Original: Account of ‘Timectou. 
389 
epochs, takes place once a-year, on the 
return of the great caravan. It is fre- 
quented’ by the merchants of Fez, 
Meyuinez, and other cities of the em- 
pire of Morocco. A great number of 
these merchants, who formerly went 
to Timectou, now confine themselves 
to make their exchanges with Sidy 
Ischem; and this chief, who appears in 
person every year, at the opening of 
the great market, presides over it du- 
ring the seven days that it lasts. In 
this market are sold, besides the pro- 
ductions of Timectou and Morocco, 
camels, horses, mules, and ostrich- 
feathers, which are procured in abund- 
ance in the environs of Quadnoun, and 
in all the country of the Mussulmans. 
Sidy Ischem and Beirouce collect toge- 
ther, in magazines, in the course of the 
year, the feathers which they purchase 
from the Arabs, or those which they ob- 
tain themselves from hunting ; and they 
sell them again at the epoch of the 
market. The beautiful horse on which 
the son of Beirouc rides is intended for 
hunting the ostriches. He is of a pro- 
digious swiftness af the chase, and 
perfectly trained. The horses which 
resemble him, and which are used for 
this purpose, are extremely dear; and 
I have seen twenty-two superb camels, 
which had each cost twenty-five pias- 
tres, given in exchange for one of those 
to which I allude.” 
Hamar told me that, after a year’s 
residence at Ouadnoun, he saw ar- 
rive there, on his return from Sou- 
dan, the merchant of Rabat with 
whom he had intended to go into that 
country. This merchant, having en- 
countered great dangers, congratu- 
lated him for the part which he had 
taken in not accompanying him : not- 
withstanding the considerable adyan- 
tages which he derived from his jour- 
ney, he often found himself in a situa- 
tion to regret having undertaken it. 
The following interesting particulars 
respecting Timectou were communi- 
cated to Hamar by this merchant :— 
“Timectou is the most considerable’ 
of all the cities of the empire of Mo- 
rocco. Sidy Mohammed (the name of 
the merchant of Rabat,) on returning 
from it to Ouadnoun, repeated several 
times to Hamar these words: Mequi- 
nez, which you very well know, and 
Tetuan, your native city, are of little 
importance in comparison to the city 
of Negroes. ‘Timectou is three times 
the extent of Fez, and contains three 
times 
