ten days sailing down the stream to Housa. They had ten or twelve
men on board, and when it was calm, or the wind contrary, they
rowed; they steered with an oar, the boat having no rudder. He saw
a great many boats passing up and down the river; _there are more
boats_[75] _on this river between Mushgreelia and Housa than
between Rosetta and Cairo on the Nile of Egypt_. A great many
villages are on the banks. There are boats of the same form as
those of Tetuan and Tangiers, but much larger, built of planks, and
have ribs like those of Barbary; instead of pitch or tar, they are
caulked with a sort of red clay, or bole. The sail is of canvas of
flax (not cotton) brought from Barbary, originally from Holland; it
is square. They row like the Moors, going down the stream.

[Footnote 73: Called El Belute. These acorns are much prized by
the Muhamedans, and are considered a very wholesome fruit.]

[Footnote 74: The word hellue, in Arabic, which signifies
literally, sweet, here implies that the water was pure and
good.]

[Footnote 75: See Jackson's Marocco, page 314, 2d or 3d
edition.]

There is a road by land from Timbuctoo to Housa, but on account of
the expense it is not used by merchants: Shabeeny believes it is
about 5 days' journey. If you go this way, you must cross the river
before you reach Housa. They landed at the port of Housa, distant a
day and a half from the town; their merchandise was carried from
this port on horses, asses, and horned cattle; the blacks dislike
camels; they say, "_These are the beasts that carry us into
slavery_."
39
The country was rich and well cultivated; they have a plant bearing
a pod called mellochia, from which they make a thick vegetable
jelly.[76] There is no artificial road from Timbuctoo to the Nile;
near the river the soil is miry. Shabeeny travelled from Timbuctoo
to Housa in the hot weather when the Nile was nearly full; it
seldom falls much below the level of its banks; he travelled on
horseback from Timbuctoo to the river, and slept two nights upon
the road in the huts of the natives. One of the principal men in
the village leaves his hut to the travellers and gives them a
supper; in the mean time he goes to the hut of some friend, and in
the morning receives a smal