In the approaching razzia, the Sarkee is expected to take the common route of Daura, and carry off the villagers subjected to the Sheikh; for, contrary to the opinion of the Shereef Kebir, the Sarkee will not attack the Kohlans, who are the subjects of the Fullan, but the _bonâ fide_ subjects of the Sheikh. He will probably bring back one thousand slaves or captives. He will send two hundred to the Sheikh, with such a message as this:--"I have eaten up the Kafers of Daura; here is your offering of two hundred Kafers." Should the Sheikh receive a remonstrance from the Bornou governor of Daura, that the Sarkee of Zinder has come upon him and carried off Muslims, his subjects, he will shut his ears. In all these razzias the lesser chiefs act an important part, and each gets a share. A chief who fights under the Sarkee captures fifty slaves, and gives up to the Sarkee twenty-five or thirty, keeping the rest for himself and people.
If a single undistinguished man captures five, the Sarkee gets two of the five; another captures two, the Sarkee gets one, and the captor one. So all have a common interest in these nefarious razzias, and all start off with the utmost glee to capture their neighbours, their brethren, and to sell them into bondage. The Sarkee of Zinder will take with him about five thousand cavalry and thirty thousand foot (bowmen), drawn from these portions of the provinces against which the razzia is not now directed.
Family of the Sarkee--Converted Jew--Hard Dealings--How to get rid of a Wife--Route to Tesaoua--Influence of Slavery--Prices of Aloes and Silk--Medicine for a Merchant--Departure of the Sarkee for the Razzia--Encampment--Mode of Fighting--Produce of Razzias--Story of the Tibboo--Sheikh Lousou--Gumel--Superstitions--Matting--Visit of Ladies--The Jew--Incendiaries--Hazna--Legend of Zinder Well--Kohul--Cousin of the Sheikh--Female Sheikh--State of the Country--Salutations.
_Jan. 24th._--The thermometer stood last night at 74° after dark. This morning it is, as usual, about 56°. The weather is still hazy; but the town is remarkably healthy, and there are very few cases of fever at the present time. Zinder, by the people, is said to be always cool.
His highness the Sarkee of Zinder is a prince of true African and Asiatic calibre. He has three hundred wives, one hundred sons, and fifty daughters; but his women are not prisoners in a harem. His wives and daughters are seen about the streets walking alone, and the daughters are given in marriage to the grandees of the court. His wives, likewise, are often found with paramours outside the palace.