CAPTIVITY AT BENOWM. 
367 
visit his women. These ladies were very inquisi- 
tive, and examined his hair and skin, but knit 
their brows, and shuddered at the whiteness of 
his colour. On such occasions, the Moors con- 
ducted 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 horsemanship. 
To relieve the irksomeness of time, he began to 
learn the Arabic characters, and, by desiring 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 addressing their vanity, 
and pride of superior accomplishments. 
During the time that he remained at Benowm, 
he held various conversations with two Mahome- 
tan travellers, who traded ^in salt ; one of whom 
resided in Walet, and had visited Tombuctoo and 
Houssa. He described Walet, 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 
were no remarkable towns. From Walet to Tom- 
buctoo he reported to be eleven days' journey, 
which was usually performed on bullocks. Houssa 
14 
