354 1 MR park's first journey. 
to the Moors not only inelegant but indecent ; and 
Ali caused him to wrap himself up in his cloak, 
when he carried him to visit his women. These 
ladies were very inquisitive, and examined his hair 
and skin, but knit their brows, and shuddered at 
the whiteness of his colour. On such occasions, 
the Moors conducted him in a kind of procession, 
galloping round him as if they had been baiting a 
wild beast, twirling their muskets round their 
heads, and exhibiting feats of activity and horse- 
manship. To relieve the irksomeness of time, he 
began to learn the Arabic characters, and, by de- 
siring the most insolent of the Moors, either to 
write on the sand, or decypher the characters 
which he had formed, he discovered a method of 
diverting their malicious propensities, by addres- 
sing their vanity, and pride of superior accomplish- 
ments. 
During the time that he remained at Benowm, 
he held various conversations with two Mahometan 
travellers, who traded in salt ; one of whom resid- 
ed in Walet, and had visited Tombuctoo and 
Houssa, He described V/ alet, the capital of Bee- 
roo, as larger than Tombuctoo, though not so 
much frequented by strangers, on account of its 
distance from the Niger, and its trade being chief- 
ly confined to salt. He related, that Walet was 
distant ten days' journey from Benowm, the route 
passing through a barren country, where there 
6 
