76 IGNORANCE OFTHE NATIVES. 
exception that each is surmounted by a minaret ; all of them 
have an inner court, to which the people resort in the evening 
to perform their religious devotions. The criers, whose busi- 
ness it is to call to prayers, receive no salary ; but at stated 
periods they announce to the faithful from the summits of the 
minarets that it is time to pay their contributions. 1 happen- 
ed to be at Timbuctoo at one of these periods. Each person 
made his offering, consisting of bread, millet, rice, dried fish, 
pistachios and cowries; all these articles were deposited on 
a mat spread on the ground, before the door of the mosque. 
It frequently happened that Moors who felt interested 
in my situation questioned me about European customs and 
the treatment I had experienced at the hands of the chris- 
tians. I tried in my turn to obtain from them information 
concerning the neighbouring nations and the distance of 
their country from Timbuctoo. But, so far from satisfying 
my curiosity, they pretended not to hear me, and turned 
from me to speak to each other. Unfortunately, I had not 
the means of gaining their favour by presents. They called 
me the meskine (beggar). The little information 1 obtained 
at Timbuctoo was furnished me by my host Sidi-Abdallahi- 
Chebir, and by some Kissour negroes. These were the only 
individuals who had the civility to reply to my questions. 
They had no definite idea of the course of the river eastward 
of the city. Sidi assured me, that it went to Haoussa and 
joined the Nilef. This is the general opinion of the Arabs 
of this country. This river bears at Timbuctoo the name 
of Bahar-el-Nil (Nile river) . 
The house which was appropriated for my residence 
not being quite finished, I had opportunity to observe the 
way in which the houses of this country are built. An ex- 
cavation is made in the town itself to the depth of some feet, 
where a grey sand mixed with clay is found. This is made 
* I have already observed that Nile is a generic term and does not ne- 
cessarily apply to the Egyptian river. 
