Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1875-08-23
The Curious kingdom Of wadai.

The merchants Of the Nile, according
70 the African traveller, DR.. Nachtigal,
are opening up the interior Of the king
dom of'Wadai, lately accepted as trib-
utary Of Egypt, and the whole coun-
try will probably be accessible to foreign
traders within the next few years The
Pail Mall Gazette, in abridging the trav-
eler's interesting account Of his expert
ence, laid before the meeting of the Ber-
lin Geographical Society, describes the
Kings rule as extending far beyond the
limits of his own country, and compris-
ing the numerous desert tribes up to the
land of the Niam-Niams. The area Of
his country is about three thousand
square miles, and the population DR..
Nachtigal estimates at about 100000.
The ground rises from east to west, and
attaihs an elevation Of from 1000 to 1900
feet above the sea level. The religion of
the people is Mohammedan, and their
customs resemble those of most uncivil.
ized Mohammedan countries The King
is looked upon as sort Of divinity; his
mother must be of the dominant race;
he must be without any physical or men
tai defect, always eat alone, and never
drink beer The King drinking-vessels
and the wells from which they are filed,
are covered with cloths, to protect the
water against the influences of the evil
eye, and the women and girls who take
the water to the King palace are always
accompanied by guard The royal in
sigma are a crown, a sun-umbrella OF
ostrich feathers, and the family Koran.
The Kings harem consists of about 500
women, and when the King dies bis
daughters are married at the expense Of
his successor; the sons, except the heir
to the throne, being blinded with hot
irons. The highest dignitaries of state,
when they are summoned to appear be.
fore the King, always approach him on
all-fours, with down-cast eyes, The ad.
ministration of the country is entirely
in the hands of the officials, who are
taken mostly from Certain privileged
families A separate and generally des-
pissed class, though for what reason does
not appear, is formed by the smiths To
call man q smith in Wadai is an insult
which can only be atoned for by blood
They have a sort of king, who has to
shave the real Kings head ouee a week.
This "King OF the Smiths is also the
surgeon OF the harem, and performs the
operation of binding the Kings rela
tives on his accession. One Of the most
profitable appointments in the civil ser.
vice is that OF "searcher." The duty of
this official is to look for beerdrinkers.
He has a number of spies under his or
ders, who 90 into each house to seek the
forbidden liquor, and every man on
whose premises it is found is liable to
have his whole property con6scated and
his wife's head shaved. Generally, how
ever, the "searcher is satisfied by the
payment Of heavy fine. The taxation
Of the country is very heavy, OF every
ten fish that are caught eight have to be
given to the King; he also gets as taxes,
every three years, about 200 cwt of
ivory 1000 slaves, 5000 camels and TO-
600 cattle. All the horses born in
the country, which are not required
for breeding, belong to the King,
besides which he receives large contri-
buttons of skins, mats, honey, rice,
ostrich and guinea-fowl eggs, water jars,
butter and salt. The King is the Judge
in all criminal cases affecting the royal
family and the higher officials. Murderers
are usually given up to the families of
their victims, who may either accept
compensation usually consisting of 100
camels and 100 horses) or take the mur-
derers life. Theft is punished the first
and second times with fine and the
third time with death. The sentence in
such cases is executed by the Kings
musicians. The. penalty Of death by
shooting is inflicted on the higher off.
cials only; other malefactors are either
strangled or impaled The army consists
Of 10000 infantry and 5000 to 5000 cav
airy. A third Of the latter wear armor;
and although there are 1000 muskets in
store, only 1000 Of the troops know how
to use them. In time Of war the army
is divided into three detachments, with
the King in the middle. The battle is
fought by the two wings, and when it
ends unsuccessfully the King sits down