136 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. Chap. XXV. 
people on account of their nobler appearance. In 
Timbuktu on the contrary, where the native cloth is 
dearer, unbleached calico is in request ; and it would 
be so in an extraordinary degree, if it were dyed dark 
blue. It is very interesting to observe that a small 
proportion of the calico imported into Kano is again 
exported, after having been dyed, returning even 
the long w r ay to Ghadames. I estimate the whole 
amount of Manchester goods imported into Kan6 at 
about forty millions ; but it may be somewhat more. 
The sale of tanjips is very considerable ; and the im- 
port of this article into Kano certainly equals in value 
that of the former. 
The very coarse silk, or rather refuse, which is 
dyed in Tripoli, is imported to a very considerable 
amount, this forming the principal merchandise of 
most of the caravans of the Ghadamsiye merchants, 
and about one third of their whole commerce, amount- 
ing certainly to not less than from three to four 
hundred camel-loads annually, worth in Kano each 
about 200,000 kurdi; this would give a value of 
about seventy millions imported. But according to 
some well-informed people, even as many as one 
thousand loads of this article pass annually through 
Ghadames ; so that, if we take into consideration that 
the supply of the northerly markets (as Tasawa, Zin- 
der) may well be compensated by what is brought 
by way of Miirzuk, the value of the import of this 
article into Kano may be much more. A great deal 
of this silk, I have no doubt by far the greatest part, 
