834 



NIGRITIA, SUDAN, OR LAND OF THE BLACKS. 



very rich milk. The Arabs, however, suffer greatly from scarcity of food and water, and are 

 often reduced to live on what will barely support life. In some parts, dates, millet, maize, 

 and gum are general articles of food. In an atmosphere perfectly dry, and with a manner of 

 life so simple, there can be few diseases ; and the Arabs, who do not fall by the sword, gene- 

 rally die in extreme old age. The Arabs are high-spirited, rapacious, perfidious, and revenge- 

 ful ; yet, within certain limits, hospitable and compassionate; — they have, however, no com- 

 passion for a Christian, and it is chiefly from the unfortunate, ill-treated, shipwrecked mariner, 

 that we are acquainted with them. They are quick and sagacious, above all other barbarians, 

 and they have a great pride of independence ; feeling contempt for any people, who submit to 

 organized governments. The lot of a Christian, cast in this inhospitable coast, is deplorable. 

 He is seized, stripped, and perhaps wounded, or killed, by the cimitars of those who light over 

 him for his absolute possession. The master of the captive is uncommonly merciful, if he 

 allows his slave a remnant of his own clothing. Generally, the captives have to bear, on their 

 naked bodies, the burning force of the sun, and they have little shelter or covering in the cold 

 dews of night. They are forced to run beside the camels, in the long and constant marches 

 of the tribes, — or, if permitted to ride, it is hardly a desirable change. The Arabs have so 

 little food themselves, that frequently nothing is given to the Christian slaves, who must die of 

 famine, if they cannot support nature by a few snails and bitter herbs. Of late years, ship- 

 wrecked mariners have generally been sold to persons who carry them, for redemption, to Mo- 

 gadore. The negro slaves are treated well ; eating of the same food, and sleeping on the 

 same mat, with their masters. Where life is a constant struggle with want, there is not much 

 disposition for amusement, and there is little in the desert. Drafts and chess, however, are 

 sometimes played. 



Education is confined to reading the Koran, and the schools are generally kept by the talbes, 

 or priests. The religion is so strictly Mahometan, in spirit and practice, that there is no 

 human sympathy for any suffering of a Christian or Jew. Hospitality, however, is the virtue 

 of the desert ; and one Arab, who throws himself in a village, upon the protection of the tribe, 

 is certain of security and entertainment, though his hosts might have robbed him, had they met 

 him in their excursions. The government is that of sheiks or chiefs, who are elected, or as- 

 sume the power, that superior courage or sagacity confers. 



The eastern part of the desert is chiefly occupied by the Tibboos, a Berber race, who own 

 great herds of camel, and plunder the unlucky travelers, whom they encounter. Their country 

 contains numerous salt lakes, and yields large quantities of that valuable mineral, in which some 

 of the Tibboos now carry on a profitable traffic with Nigritia. In the central part, are the 

 Tuaricks, also a Berber nation. Some of their oases contain considerable towns. The Tua- 

 ricks are often engaged as guides to the caravans, as agents for foreign merchants, and some- 

 limes become traders themselves. 



'CHAPTER CXXX. NIGRITIA, SUDAN, OR LAND OF THE BLACKS. 



1 . Boundaries, &c. This is an extensive region, which derives its name from the color of its 

 mhabitants, comprising numerous powerful States, and large tracts of country imperfectly 

 known. It lies between 6° and 16° north latitude, and between 32° east and 8° west 

 longitude, having the Desert of Sahara on the north ; Nubia and Abyssinia on the east ; the 

 unknown regions of Central Africa and Guinea on the south ; and Senegambia on the west. 

 It is about 2,600 miles in length, by 600 in breadth, and has an area of 1,500,000 square 

 miles. 



2. Rivers. The JViger, which traverses a great part of this country, has been, for a great 

 number of years, an object of uncommon interest, and speculative and practical research. Its 

 origin, and a part of its course, have been known to the world for many centuries, but its ter- 

 mination remained undiscovered ; and the researches of travelers, combined with the theories 

 and conjectures of geographers, only established the fact, that a great river of Central Africa, 

 rising in the mountains of Western Guinea, flowed eastward into unknown regions. The most 

 elaborate hypotheses were framed, to account for its termination. By some, it was supposed 

 to be swallowed up in the sands of the desert. By others, it was imagined to flow into vast 

 lakes, having no outlet, where its waters were dissipated by evaporation. Other theories con- 

 nected it with the Nile of Egypt, the Zaire of Congo, and the streams flowing into the Bight 



