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To proceed to Soudan, Kanou, and Noufee, and then descend the Niger to the Bight of Benin. This would be a fine journey, and perhaps not attended with any very great difficulties. 5th. To proceed to Soudan, as above, thence along the upper banks of the Niger to Timbuctoo, and return viâ Mogador in Morocco. This I believe the most perilous of all the routes.
They all talk in good grammatical Negro language, and can occasionally aid our researches in Nigritian tongues. Parrots are brought from as far as Noufee. The wood in the valley we just left, is the Lethel. Its leaves are powdered over with a white saline substance, indeed, why not salt itself?
His friend, the Ghadamsee merchant, Ahmed Ben Kaka, who makes the journey from Tripoli to Noufee, says he saw the English steamers of the late Niger expedition, so he must have descended lower than Noufee. He says they came up to Yetferrej, "amuse themselves," and look about. He had not heard of their anti-slavery objects. According to him, "Fever and sickness prevail more at Kanou than Noufee."
Besides these cities, the districts of Beetschee, Kaferda, Kasada, Sabongharee, Ghouber, Dell, Yakoba and Noufee, besides other provinces, including a vast extent of territory, are subjected to the Fullan dynasty of Succatou.
But, here, amidst the rude buffs of strangers, it is cruel to let them die like dogs. The Tibboo called this morning. Merchants have offered him only 35 mahboubs each for his slaves; he asks from 40 to 50. He says, the Americans, or people nearly as white as I am, ascend the Niger as far as Noufee, for the purchase of slaves.
Any of these routes, however, could not fail to be useful to commerce, geography, and discovery. Those who take the route of descending the Niger to the ocean, will avoid a three or four months' journey over The Desert. Noufee, on the Niger, is only fifteen days from Kanou, and seven to the Atlantic.
To a religious scrupulousness, which is alarmed at a drop of medicine that is prohibited falling upon their clothes, they add the most enterprising and determined spirit of commercial enterprise, plunging into The Desert, often in companies of only two or three, when infested with bandits and cut-throats, their journies the meanwhile extending from the shores of the Mediterranean to the banks of the Niger, as low down to the Western Coast as Noufee and Rabbah.
He represents Noufee as a great country of trade, and inhabited by Pagans and Mohammedans. Kandarka introduced religion, but finding the English prayed and acknowledged a God, he was satisfied and dropped the subject. Kandarka. "English, pray?" "Yes, yes." Kandarka. "Yes, yes." Kandarka. "Yes, yes." Kandarka. "Yes, yes." Kandarka. "English, slaves, slaves!" Kandarka. "How? How?" Kandarka.
To show how smoothly things go after the first difficulty is vanquished, I may mention, that he visited me ever after whilst I remained in Ghat, sometimes coming every day, and always begging his eyes might be washed with the solution. I had another visit from the Soudan traders. They say people just like me come up to Noufee to where they are now returning.
Such is but one dark sad picture of a thousand now being exhibited here! One would think God had made one part of the human race to torment the other. Spent the evening with Haj Ibrahim. A merchant in his house related that Noufee was now convulsed with a civil war. This country is now in the hands of the Fullans. He had often visited that country, and had seen English people there.
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