Some Heroes of Travel, or, Chapters from the History of Geographical Discovery and Enterprise. Adams William Henry Davenport

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СКАЧАТЬ which Dr. Barth and his companions wearily plodded. Herds of buffaloes, however, are numerous; as is also, in the higher ground, the Ovis tragelaphis.

      On the 16th of August the travellers, while descending a rocky crest covered with gravel, came in sight of Mount Asben. The Asben or A’ir is an immense oasis, which has some claim to be considered the Switzerland of the Desert. The route pursued by Dr. Barth on his way to Agadez traversed its most picturesque portion, where, almost every moment, the great mountain revealed itself, with its winding gorges, its fertile basins, and its lofty peaks.

      Agadez is built on a plain, where it seems to lament that the day of its prosperity has passed. At one time it was the centre of a considerable commerce; but, since the close of the last century, its population has sunk from sixty thousand to seven or eight thousand souls. Most of its houses lie in ruins; the score of habitations which compose the palace are themselves in a deplorably dilapidated condition; of the seventy mosques which it previously boasted only two remain. The richer merchants shun the market of Agadez, which is now in the possession of the Touats, and supported by small traders, who do a little business in the purchase of millet when the price is low.

      The day after his arrival, Barth repaired to the palace, and found that the buildings reserved for the sovereign were in tolerably good repair. He was introduced into a hall, from twelve to fifteen yards square, with a low daïs or platform, constructed of mats placed upon branches, which supported four massive columns of clay. Between one of these columns and the angle of the wall was seated Abd-el-Kadir, the Sultan, a vigorous and robust man of about fifty years old, whose grey robe and white scarf indicated that he did not belong to the race of the Towaregs. Though he had never heard of England, he received Dr. Barth very kindly, expressed his indignation at the treatment the caravans had undergone on the frontier of A’ir, and, by-and-by, sent him letters of recommendation to the governors of Kanó, Katséna, and Daoura. Dr. Barth remained for two months at Agadez, and collected a number of interesting details respecting its inhabitants and their mode of life. Thus, he describes a visit which he paid to one of its more opulent female inhabitants. She lived in a spacious and commodious house. When he called upon her, she was attired in a robe of silk and cotton, and adorned with a great number of silver jewels. Twenty persons composed her household; including six children, entirely naked, their bracelets and collars of silver excepted, and six or seven slaves. Her husband lived at Katséna, and from time to time came to see her; but it appears that she scarcely awaited his visits with the loving expectancy of a Penelope. No rigid seclusion of women is insisted upon at Agadez. During the Sultan’s absence, five or six young females presented themselves at Dr. Barth’s house. Two of them were rather handsome, with black hair falling down their shoulders in thick plaits, quick lively eyes, dark complexion, and a toilette not wanting in elegance; but they were so importunate for presents, that Dr. Barth, to escape their incessant petitions, shut himself up.

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      1

      The roc, a gigantic bird, which figures in the Eastern fable of Sinbad the Sailor.

      2

      A rich, quaint, walled-up doorway, in semi-Monastic, semi-Byzantine style, still extant in the Corte del Sabbrin, or Corta Sabbonicia, is nearly all that remains of the house of Messer Marco Palo.

      3

      A summary of the Russian explorations of the Pamir, by Sievertzof, has been published in Kettler’s “Zeitschrift für wissenschaftliche Geographie.”

      4

      Cuir-bouilli, leather softened by boiling, during which process it took any form or impression required, and afterwards hardened.

      5

      Probably malachite, or carbonate of copper.

      6

      The Hon. Robert Lindsay writes: – “At night each man lights a fire at his post, and furnishes himself with a dozen joints of the large bamboo, one of which he occasionally throws into the fire, and the air it contains being rarefied by the heat, it explodes with a report as loud as a musket.” – “Lives of the Lindsays,” iii. 191.

      7

      G. F. Ruxton, “Adventures in Mexico and the Rocky Mountains.” London, 1861.

1

The roc, a gigantic bird, which figures in the Eastern fable of Sinbad the Sailor.

2

A rich, quaint, walled-up doorway, in semi-Monastic, semi-Byzantine style, still extant in the Corte del Sabbrin, or Corta Sabbonicia, is nearly all that remains of the house of Messer Marco Palo.

3

A summary of the Russian explorations of the Pamir, by Sievertzof, has been published in Kettler’s “Zeitschrift für wissenschaftliche Geographie.”

4

Cuir-bouilli, leather softened by boiling, during which process it took any form or impression required, and afterwards hardened.

5

Probably malachite, or carbonate of copper.

6

The Hon. Robert Lindsay writes: – “At night each man lights a fire at his post, and furnishes himself with a dozen joints of the large bamboo, one of which he occasionally throws into the fire, and the air it contains being rarefied by the heat, it explodes with a report as loud as a musket.” – “Lives of the Lindsays,” iii. 191.

7

G. F. Ruxton, “Adventures in Mexico and the Rocky Mountains.” London, 1861.