473 
ADAMs's NARRATIVE. 
were sent forward, under an escort, to Tombuctoo. 
On the road, several of the Moors, who attempted 
to escape, were put to death. 
In twenty-five days they reached Tombuctoo. 
The Moors were thrown into prison ; but Adams, 
being viewed as a curiosity, was taken to the pa- 
lace, where he remained during his residence at 
Tombuctoo. He was treated with kindness, and 
seems to have been an object of much wonder. 
The queen and her attendants often sat gazing 
at him for hours together. Remaining thus for 
half a year at perfect liberty, he certainly pos- 
sessed ample opportunities of observation. The 
following is the general result. 
Tombuctoo appeared to Adams to stand upon 
nearly the same extent of ground as Lisbon ; but 
as the houses are built in a very scattered manner, 
the population is probably not nearly so great. The 
habitations of the principal people were of a square 
form, composed of wooden cases filled with clay 
and sand, and having all the rooms on the ground 
floor. The huts of the poorer class are formed 
merely of the branches of trees bent in a circle, 
covered with a matting of the palmeto, and the 
whole overlaid with earth. The king's house, or 
palace, is built in a square of about half an acre* 
enclosed by a mud wall. It consists of eight small 
rooms on the ground floor. All merchandise^ on 
its arrival at Tombuctoo, is brought into this en» 
