No. XI.

Translation of Letters and Documents received from the Sheikh of Bornou concerning Mr. Tyrwhit’s Death.

1.—A Letter from the above-mentioned Sheikh to the British Consul at Tripoli.

“Praise be to God, and blessings and peace be unto the Apostle of God, (Mohammed).

“From the slave of the High God, Mohammed El Ameen ben Mohammed El Kanemy, to the head of his people, the respected and honoured by the children of his nation, the English Consul resident at Tripoli. After the due salutation, and our inquiry after your health, we have to inform you that we are, by the grace of God, enjoying perfect health and prosperity. Your letter which you sent to Fezzan has reached us, and we comprehended its contents; but the letter you sent by our messengers Abraham and Abdullah has not come to our hand yet, though we hope their arrival will be soon.

“You are well aware, that the omnipotent God hath ordained to every man a certain age, which can neither be increased nor decreased, and hath destined to him a grave, in which he can neither enter before his time, nor from which he can fly when his time comes. Thus, when you know this, it may be an alleviation to your sorrow and grief, when you hear of the death of your friends and relations: so that we have now to acquaint you, that your son Tair (Tyrwhit) ended his life, and his days and hours terminated by his death, on Monday the end of Saffar 1240[68], while we were absent in a war with our enemies. After his death and interment, the elders and priests of our metropolis entered his house, to ascertain and note down the effects he left, in order, and from fear, that in the course of time, there may be no suspicion of distrust thrown upon the trustees. They found the property he left was not considerable: they made a list of it, which herewith you will receive, and left the whole in the hands of his trustees, Eben Saada of Tripoli, and the Hadje Aly El-ma-yel, who were his servants. But God knows whether this was the whole of his property, or some of it was fraudulently concealed by those who were in the house at his death.

“With regard to the desire which you expressed to us, to know the source of the inundation of the river that divides our country, we have to inform you that this sea (river) of ours is a great and extensive lake, the circumference of which is about twenty days’ journey, and into which various rivers empty themselves from the part of the land of Soodan, and from the right and east of our country, which joins the uninhabited mountains and the land of the Pagans, to whom no one goes. And God only knows what is to be found on the other side of these places.

“Send our salutation to the great King of the English, and to every one who inquires after us amicably.

(Sealed) “MOHAMMED EL KANEMY.”

(Dated) “Sunday, the eve of the end of the month of Rajab, 1240.” (About the 20th of March, 1825.)

2.—A Document containing the List of the Property left by Mr. Tyrwhit, as alluded to in the foregoing Letter, and a Certificate of his Death, and the Things that were found after the Return of the Sheikh from his Expedition.

The List.

“Whereas the Elders and Priests of the metropolis of the Arabs (Barnoo), having assembled and repaired to the house of the deceased English traveller, named Tair (Tyrwhit), who died on Monday the last day of Saffar, 1240, to ascertain and note down what he left; it proved, in their presence, that all his property was as follows:

“First, two swords and a sash, a musket, a pair of pistols, another pair ditto, three . . . ., a sash, six silver spoons, a fork, a razor, fifteen bottles of . . . . . ., eleven . . . . . ., four coffee cups, three cupping glasses, a sun scale (quadrant), a . . . . ., three squares of soap, a box containing some . . . . ., four . . . . ., two pair of boots or slippers, a skull cotton cap, a woollen ditto, an Indian looking-glass, twenty pieces of wearing apparel, as shirts, drawers, &c. of his country, six towels, a paper containing some cinnamon, a black napkin handkerchief for his neck, four hand napkins, two . . . . ., a pillow of Soodan manufacture, a silk sash, a silk cord, a . . . . ., a jacket embroidered with silver, a yard of red cloth, a canvas bag, three gun covers, a cord for trowsers, some boxes containing part of these things, a pair of Constantinople slippers, a pair of Barbary ditto, or shoes, two scrapers of pig’s hair (tooth-brushes), a looking-glass, ten pounds of gunpowder, twenty-three bundles of . . . . ., three looking-glasses for the nose (spectacles), a . . . . ., another hand napkin, three empty . . . . ., a broken glass, three squares of soap again, a . . . . three watch rings, a pair of fine razors, a pound of antimony, a pound of coral, fifty-three beads of amber, a pair of Soodanie boots, three pair ditto of his country, a red cloth bornouse or cloak, a . . . . ., fifty hard dollars, fifty-two books, a coffee waiter, two tin cans, three burning glasses, a telescope, a waistcoat, a white bornouse of Barbary, a towel, another bornouse, a writing desk, an umbrella, two loaves of sugar, a . . . . ., two time pieces for the road (compasses), a nose looking-glass (spectacles), a razor, two cork-screws, or ramrod screws, a . . . . ., five . . . . ., three pair of trowsers, four tiger skins, two mats of Noofee, two beds, or small Turkish carpets, a pillow of Soodan, five sacks, fifteen water skins, or leather bags, a cooking pot, a saucepan, an ewer, two large jars, a pan, two coffee pots, two . . . ., two hooks, four empty . . . . ., a chisel, a hammer, a camel, a female ditto, a horse, a mule, two saddles of Barnoo, one ditto of his country, three wax cloth covers, a . . . . ., two sun glasses, fifty medicine bottles, a woollen bed or carpet, a . . . . .; and Hamdo Et-tafteef has by him a network shirt or dress, a bird called Jamaj-mak; and he confessed that he borrowed fifty dollars from the deceased.

“Besides the above property, it was found that he has to receive twenty dollars from one of the inhabitants of Barnoo, and thirty from another; as likewise twenty-four dollars from the servant of the sharif Barakat, sixty dollars from the Mamluk Bey Mohammed, and 165 from the Mamluk Mohammed, son of Hadje Mahmood.

“His debts to various persons are as follows: fourteen and a half dollars to Hamdo Et-tafteef for . . . . ., eight dollars to the same, for a bed and six pounds of . . . . ., four feathers to . . . . ., and the wages of his two servants; as likewise, three dollars to the burying people, and two dollars to the man who watched his tomb at night, to prevent the body from being devoured by the hyena.

“His servant Ben Saada stated that this account of the debts owing by, and due to the deceased, were contracted through him for his master.

“This is the whole of the property left by the deceased; and whatever has been noted down in this document, whether of great or little value, has been deposited in the hands of his abovenamed servant Ben Saada of Tripoli, and his fellow-servants.”

THE CERTIFICATE.

“Whereas our Master and Lord, defender of the Moosleman faith, the Sheikh Mohammed El Kanemy, having, after his return from subduing his enemies, assembled the elders and priests of the inhabitants of his metropolis, and gave them a special audience, ordered that the foregoing list, which was written during his absence, be read in their presence; and, after every one heard and understood it, commanded a revisal of the property left by the deceased Englishman to be made, to ascertain its amount afresh. Accordingly, we the undersigned repaired to the house of the deceased, and found all the beforementioned articles extant except the following, which have been used or lost by his servant, Mohammed ben Saada of Tripoli, who had the things under his care. A pair of boots, four bottles out of the fifteen, a napkin or handkerchief for the neck, three pair of trowsers, three . . . ., three squares of soap, a canvas bag, and two . . . . . But a few more articles, which had not been inserted in the list, were found. They are as follows: a piece of Egyptian mat, two pieces of sealing-wax, a bullet mould, four charts or maps, two travelling bags (one of which contains some of the articles, and is deposited with his other servant Hadje Aly El-ma-yel), a cannon ramrod screw, a pound of . . . . ., two . . . . ., two bridles, a . . . . ., two covers, three horse-shoes, five tin canisters for meat, a wooden bowl, a wax cloth cover, a large tin canister, a writing box containing eight pens, two blank books, nine . . . . ., and a bottle containing some oil.

“His horse, which is mentioned in the list, has been sold to Mohammed Sal-ha for 172 dollars.

“His servant, Mohammed ben Saada, declared before the assembly, that his master, the said deceased Englishman, named Tair (Tyrwhit), on finding his life was hopeless, bequeathed the following articles to his Excellency the Sheikh. A mule, a red bornouse, a looking-glass, or telescope, a pair of pistols, ten canisters of gunpowder, of which, however, eight only were found, a pair of Egyptian shoes or slippers, a sword, though it was rusty, a . . . . ., a dining waiter or table-cloth, and a . . . . .

“After this, the assembly agreed, by the order of our Lord the Sheikh, to allow to each of the three servants of the deceased (who are intrusted with the things he left), three dollars per month.

“Done on the evening of Monday, the last day of Rajab 1240, in the presence of the noble Sheikh and his assembly, of which we the undersigned are members, and do hereby bear witness before the Almighty God.

(Sealed) “MOHAMMED EL AMEEN BEN MOHAMMED EL KANEMY.

(Signed) “YOUSOF BEN ABD ELKADER EL-KAKARY,

“SALEH BEN EL-HADJE HAMED,

“MOHAMMED EL WARDI BEN EL HADJE ALY,

“BEN ABD ELKADER ABA-NEARAN,

“MOHAMMED BEN IBRAHEEM ET-TAFTEEF,

and “MOHAMMED BEN EL-HADJE ISSA BEN AHMED EL-MESSRATI[69].”

3. A Letter from the Sheikh to Ra-yes-Khaleel, or Major Denham.

“Praise be to God, and blessings and peace be unto the Apostle of God.

“From the slave of the High God, Mohammed El Ameen ben Mohammed El Kanemy, to the honoured by the children of his nation, Ra-yes Khaleel, the Englishman. After our salutation and inquiry after your health, we have to inform you that we are, by the grace of God, enjoying perfect health and prosperity. Your letter has reached us, and we comprehended its contents.

“You are well aware, that the Omnipotent God hath ordained to every man a certain age, which can neither be increased nor decreased; and hath destined to him a grave, in which he can neither enter before his time, nor from which he can fly when his time comes. Thus, when you know this, it may be an alleviation to your sorrow and grief, when you hear of the death of your friends and relations: so that we have now to acquaint you that your brother Tair (Tyrwhit) ended his life, and his days and hours terminated by his death, on Monday, the end of Saffar, 1240, while we were absent in a war with our enemies. After his death and interment, the elders and priests of our metropolis entered his house, to ascertain and note down the effects he left, in order, and from fear that, in the course of time, there might be no suspicion of distrust thrown upon the trustees. They found the property he left was not considerable: they made a list of it, which herewith you will receive, and left the whole in the hands of his trustees, Eben Saada of Tripoli, and the Hadje Aly El-ma-yel, who were his servants. But God knows whether this was the whole of his property, or whether some of it might have been fraudulently concealed by those who were in the house at his death.

“The war in which we were engaged was with Aly Yamanook, who first declared hostilities against us. We went out to him through the Kanoom road on the last day of Moharram 1240, and arrived near the islands in which he was intrenched on Thursday the 19th of the month of the sacred birth of our Prophet[70].

“He entered the islands, and left between him and us seven streams; two of which could not be crossed but in boats, two were as deep as to cover a man to the neck, and the other three had their water as high as the navel only, or perhaps lower.

“We besieged him till he was in great distress, suffered much famine, and most of his animals perished; and when we had collected canoes for the landing of our troops on the islands, he submitted, and begged forgiveness. We at first refused; but when he repeated his applications and solicitations, we consented, binding him by many severe and heavy conditions, which he accepted, and restored to us, according to our demands, all that he had taken from our people. He then came out of the islands, humble like a camel led by his driver, and submissive like a tender twig to the hand that roots it out.

“Thus we withdrew our army, after a siege of three months and ten days, and after having likewise subdued all the disobedient and disorderly Arabs, and returned to our home on Sunday the middle of Rajab[71].

“Nothing new has happened since you left us, but every good and happiness, and the increase of tranquillity and cheapness. We, however, have lost our illustrious and noble friend Hassan Et-Teflati, who died in this town; as likewise Mohammed Ben Dehman of Katacoom, and Yakoob El-Owjal of An-karno, to whom may God show mercy and forgiveness.

“The news from the interior is, that the ruler of Wa-da-i made an expedition against the eastern part of the country towards Tamak; but that he was repulsed and returned routed. The truth of this, however, we could not ascertain, because it came from indirect channels.

“The ruler of Foor, also, sent an army against the Turks[72], who are in Kordafal or Kordofal; and it is reported that they had a battle at a place called Kajah, which ended with the defeat of the army of Foor, and the death of three of their grandees, besides what fell of the troops; but that the said chieftain is gathering a larger army, and means to send it against them. God only, however, knows what will be the result.

“The ruler of Bakermy, who last year fled to the land of the Pagans, has not returned; and a brother of his from Wa-da-i has collected what troops he could, and proceeded against him. But God knows what will happen between them.

“Give our salutation to your sister, and all your family and friends; and peace be with you.”

Dated and sealed as the foregoing, viz. Letter No. I.

FOOTNOTES: