Identifier: travelsdiscoveri01bart (find matches)
Title: Travels and discoveries in North and Central Africa. From the journal of an expedition undertaken under the auspices of H.B.M.'s government, in the years 1849-1855
Year: 1859 (1850s)
Authors: Barth, Heinrich, 1821-1865
Subjects:
Publisher: Philadelphia, J.W. Bradley
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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the interesting scenery of the landscape, which washighly characteristic of the labyrinth of backwaters and creekswhich are connected with this large river of Western CentralAfrica. All the foot of the downs was the encampment of our friendsthe Taw4rek, with its larger and smaller leathern tents, someof them open and presenting the interior of these simplemovable dwellings; beyond, the swampy creek, enlivened bya numerous herd of cattle half immersed in the water; then adense border of vegetation, and beyond in the distance, thewhite sandy downs of Ern^sse, w4th a small strip of the river.I made a sketch of this pleasant and animated locality, whichis represented in the plate opposite. The scenery was particu-larly beautiful in the moonlight when I ascended the ridge ofthe downs, which rise to about 150 feet in height. In theevening I received a little milk from the wife of one of thechiefs of the Kel-gdgi of the name of Ldmmege, who was a !•■■!■■ iT!l:Mll;l;!ll!;-il M lilin
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(491) tawarek women. 493 good-looking woman, and to whom I made a present of alooking-glass and a few needles in return. The Tawarek,while they are fond of their wives, and almost entirely abstainfrom polygamy, are not at all jealous; and the degree ofliberty which the women enjoy is astonishing; but, accordingto all that I have heard, instances of faithlessness are very rareamong the nobler tribes. Among the degraded sections, how-ever, and especially among the Kel e Siik, female chastity ap-pears to be less highly esteemed, as we find to be the case alsoamong many Berber tribes at the time when El Bekri wrotehis interesting account of Africa. Meanwhile my good and benevolent protector was in a mostunpleasant dilemma, between his regard for his own interestand his respect for myself At length, after mature considera-tion, the sheikh had decided that I, together with the greaterpart of his followers, should go to Eruesse, there to await hisreturn, while he himself intended to approach

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