1822.] 
gate, and guarded during the night by 
negroes. 
“The quarter inhabited by the Moors 
is in the neighbourhood of the king’s 
palace. ‘This palace, the interior of 
which Sidy Mohammed had an op- 
portunity of seeing, astonished him 
less by its extent than by the golden 
ornaments with which it is decorated. 
He remarked a number of towers in 
the middle of the enclosure, which he 
compared, although much more consi- 
derable, to that which forms part of 
the house of the Sheik Ibrahim at 
Ouadnoun. 
“The present king (Hamar styled 
him by the title of sultan) has only 
reigned since 1814, and succeeded his 
father, who was assassinated. Sidy 
Mohammed saw him several times. 
This merchant had only been about 
fifteen days in Timectou, when a vast 
number of prisoners, taken by the 
king’s army in a distant country, en- 
tered the city. The king repaired to 
the great square adjoining to his 
palace, and the only one in the city, in 
order to witness their arrival. Sidy 
Mohammed, who was also a spectator, 
saw the Sultan of Timectou, preceded 
by a number of soldiers, and sur- 
rounded by anumeroussuite. A num- 
ber of negroes stationed near his per- 
son were playing on various instru- 
ments ; others ranged in the same line, 
and their faces turned towards him, 
danced backwards, accompanying 
their dance by a very animated song, 
and beating time with their hands. 
““'The negro sultan, on this occasion, 
had his head adorned with a great 
quantity of ostrich feathers: he was 
attired ina number of haiques of Fez, 
which the women alone wear in the 
empire of Morocco; and bis feet, 
hands, and neck were loaded with an 
infinity of golden jewels. 
‘The prisoners, among whom were 
remarked nearly one-third of women 
and children, were negroes of Bam- 
bara; Sidy Mohammed estimated the 
number at more than three thousand. 
They filed off before the sultan, and 
were afterwards ordered to enter a 
large court adjoining one of the build- 
ings of the square. 
“The next day they were sold in this 
square, where a great market is daily 
held; in it the Moors have shops pe- 
euliarly appropriated, to themselves, 
and the bustle and liveliness which 
prevail present an _ extraordinary 
scene. Sidy Mohammed purchased 
2 
Original Account of Timectou. 
391 
twenty negroes, and five negro women, 
in payment of whom he only gave fifty 
haiques of the commonest kind, each 
of them not being worth more than ten 
shillings. But he could not complete 
his purchase without the consent of 
the king’s officers, who previously 
came and chose a certain number of 
negroes for the service of the king, 
Nearly all the prisoners were purchased 
by the Moors, who made every ar- 
rangement for their setting out for 
Morocco by the first caravan. These 
negroes, although they had all been 
sold, were not delivered to their pro- 
prietors until the moment of their de- 
parture, a custom which is constantly 
observed, as much for the security, of 
the purchasers, as to maintain order in 
the city. 
“‘ The interior of Timectou presented 
to Sidy Mohammed the appearance of 
an immense camp, or rather that of a 
multitude of douares, or Moorish 
camps, joined together. The houses 
are nearly all detached, and being 
erected without any order, resemble so 
many large tents. They have, not, 
however, the same form, butare square, 
and generally surmounted by a kind of 
terrace. The king’s palace is built of 
white stone. About fifty houses, be- 
longing to the first personages, and 
those which are destined for public 
establishments, are constructed in the 
same manner; but all the rest, with- 
out one exception, are built of a red- 
dish earth, similar to what is used at 
Ouadneun for that purpose. 
‘“A river flows at a distance of five 
miles to the south of Timectou, and is 
called Ouade Soudan. A continual 
traffic takes place from the city to this 
river: the road by which we arrive at 
it is constantly covered with loaded 
camels, and negroes carrying loads on 
their heads. ‘The river is very, large, 
and abundantly supplied with water, 
and there is always to be seen on it 
a variety of boats, some of which 
are of a very large size, Sefineh 
n’sara (Christian vessels, said Hamar, 
laughing.) Sidy Mohammed informed. 
him that the most considerable of 
these vessels came from Djinnie, and 
went very far to-the eastward. 
“After having crossed the river in 
the ordinary place fora passage, Sidy 
Mohammed followed the same road 
which is prolonged in a southerly di- 
rection, and leads to a small town 
named Oualadi, about halfa day’s jour- 
ney from the capital. The environs of 
Ouladi 
