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The Sultanate of Bornu

Chapter 43: APPENDIX XXI
By Arnold Schultze
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About This Book

A detailed monograph surveys the historical development, political institutions, and recorded explorations of the old Bornu realm, situating its past relations with neighbouring peoples and dynasties. It describes physical geography and climate, and provides systematic accounts of local flora and fauna including species lists and taxonomic corrections. Discussions of population, social organization, language use, and ruling lineages are accompanied by lists of kings and traditional offices. Economic conditions, trade routes, and commercial prospects are analyzed, while appendices collect documentary extracts and specialized lists to support the main text.

[593]Cf. Note [349], and vid. ‘List of Authorities’ under Dechambre.

APPENDIX XVII

NOTE ON PORTRAITS OF TRAVELLERS AND AUTHORS

Who have written about Bornu

Barth (in a frock-coat) in Petermann’s Account of the Progress of the Expedition to Central Africa, reproduced in Joseph Chavanne, Die Sahara, Wien, 1879, and in E. Schauenburg, Reisen in Central-Afrika, There is a later photo of Barth in Gustav von Schubert’s Heinrich Barth, 1897, and also one in Cust’s Modern Languages of Africa. The Royal Geographical Society of London have a photograph of him, full face, wearing his orders.

Beurmann. I have not been able to trace any portrait.

Clapperton. The frontispiece to the account of his second expedition is a reproduction of a very fine portrait, painted by Gildon Manton, engraved by Edward Finden. The same portrait is reproduced in the four-volume edition of Denham, in Chavanne, and in Schauenburg.

Sir H. H. Johnston in his Pioneers in West Africa states that the original is now in the National Portrait Gallery. This is a mistake. The original appears to have been painted in duplicate. One is in the possession of John Murray, Esq., of 50 a Albemarle Street, whose firm published Clapperton’s book, and the other belongs to Col. J. K. Stewart-Mackenzie of Seaforth, Brahan Castle, Ross-shire. Col. Stewart-Mackenzie is the present representative of the Seaforth family, and from a note under a woodcut, on p. 7 of the London Literary Gazette and Journal of Belles-Lettres for 1829, it appears that the portrait was painted for Lady Seaforth, mother of Clapperton’s friend Mackenzie, vid. p. 340 of the present work. A portrait of this Mackenzie by Raeburn is also in the possession of Col. Stewart-Mackenzie.

Mr. Murray’s portrait shows Clapperton as sandy-haired and of a pallid, almost ghastly, complexion—perhaps a result of his African experiences.

This same portrait was reproduced in Scribner’s Magazine for 1891, vol. ix, p. 186. A small copy of it in oils on wood, about 12 inches square, is in the possession of the Royal Geographical Society. A label on the back of it states that it was exhibited in 1905 at the Naval, Shipping, and Fisheries Exhibition, but I have not been able to trace how it came into the Society’s possession or when it was executed.

Denham. A portrait painted by T. Phillips and engraved by E. Finden (exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1826) appears in the four-volume edition (1831) of Denham’s book, but not in the earlier editions; this portrait shows him bare-headed and wearing a burnous. There is a print of it in the Reference Department of the National Portrait Gallery and a woodcut in Scribner’s Magazine, 1891, vol. ix, p. 187.

The original is in the possession of John Murray, Esq., whose firm published Denham’s book. I was allowed to see both the Denham and Clapperton portraits by the courtesy of Mr. John Murray, jun. A copy was made some years ago and is in the possession of Dr. W. H. Denham Rouse of the Perse School, Cambridge, who is a collateral descendant.

There is also a miniature of Denham, in uniform wearing the Waterloo medal and carrying a sabre presented to him by the Bashaw of Tripoli. This was painted by Newton and is reproduced on p. 7 of the London Literary Gazette and Journal of Belles-Lettres for 1829. The original is in the possession of Capt. H. A. Denham of 16 Hallam Street, W., as well as the Waterloo medal and the sabre. The originals of the water-colours reproduced in Denham’s book, a plated bowl used by the explorer in Africa, and a throne or curved wooden stool presented to him by the Sultan of Bornu (probably the same as or similar to the one mentioned in the account of the traveller’s first interview with the Sultan), are in the possession of Capt. L. S. Denham of Taywell, Goudhurst, Kent. Capt. Denham also informs me that the explorer brought home a Bornouese cloak, which he presented to George IV at Windsor.

Koelle. Photo in Cust, Modern Languages of Africa.

Matteucci. I have not been able to trace any portrait.

Massari. I have not been able to trace any portrait.

Nachtigal. There is a photo of him in a tobe and fez in his book. Another photo in European dress appears in J. Chavanne, Die Sahara, and another in D. Berlin’s Erinnerungen an Gustav Nachtigal, 1887. There is also a photo in Cust. A photo of him in evening dress is in the possession of the Royal Geographical Society of London.

Norris. Photo in Cust, Modern Languages of Africa.

Oudney. I have not been able to trace any portrait.

Overweg. There is a portrait in Petermann’s Account, &c. This is reproduced in Chavanne and in Schauenburg, and in von Schubert.

Richardson. There is a portrait of him in a burnous with the hood drawn over his head in his book Travels in the Desert of the Sahara, 2 vol., London, 1848. This is reproduced in Chavanne. There is a print of it in the Royal Geographical Society’s collection, and also in the Reference Department of the National Portrait Gallery, where also is a small photo of a bust of him which was in existence in 1884. There is another portrait of him in a double-breasted frock-coat, buttoned up to the neck in Petermann’s Account, &c.[594]

Rohlfs. There is a portrait in Chavanne and numerous ones, taken at various periods of his life, in Guenther, Gerhard Rohlfs. The Royal Geographical Society of London have a very faded photo of him in gown, turban, and scimitar.

Schultze. Photo in Mecklenburg, From the Congo to the Niger and the Nile.

Toole. I have not been able to trace any portrait.

Tyrwhitt. I have not been able to trace any portrait.

Vogel. There is a portrait in Petermann’s Account, &c., reproduced in Schauenburg. There is a portrait in native dress and turban in Chavanne.

[594]James Richardson was born in Lincolnshire in 1806, was educated for the evangelical ministry, attached himself to the English Antislavery Society and under its auspices went out to Malta, where he took part in the editing of a newspaper and also engaged in the study of the Arabic language. For account of his published works vid. Benton, Notes, &c., p. 150 ff.

APPENDIX XVIII

(Vid. Note [62])

FADEL ALLAH AND THE FRENCH

A portion of Rabeh’s force was not present at Kusseri as they were in garrison at Karnak (Logone) under Fadel Allah. The latter retreated upon Dikoa, pursued by the French [vid. Guilleux, ‘List of Authorities’]. He was routed on the River Yedseram, but escaped and rallied his forces at Mugelbu in Southern Mandara. From here he communicated in the autumn of 1900 with the British Resident at Ibi on the River Benue. From Mugelbu Fadel Allah moved back to the Kilba hills on the Yola-Bornu border, and later traversed Marghi, via Chibuk, where his camp can still be seen, then on to Marguba on the Maiduguri-Gujba road. From here he made a raid on Maiduguri and defeated the Shehu’s general, Mestrema Musa, chief eunuch, just outside the town. Mestrema Musa (Mallam Musa) is now Ajia of Borsari. Fadel Allah then continued his raid to Dikoa, which he found abandoned and burnt. Shehu Garbai fled from Dikoa to Ngala where he gave battle to F. Allah, but was defeated and fled to Kanem.

The French collected their forces and Fadel Allah had to retire hurriedly on Marguba, whence with his brother Moman Niebé in command of the advance guard with the women and baggage, he continued his retreat south-westwards; the pursuing French shelling the town of Billaraba, south of Gujba, under the mistaken impression that Fadel Allah was there, before returning to Dikoa.

Fadel Allah camped for some months in the spring of 1901 at Gwani and Bima on the River Gongola and again communicated with the British Resident of Ibi. Fadel Allah pressing for an interview with a representative of the British Government, Major McClintock was sent up by the Acting High Commissioner.

This officer met Fadel Allah at Burguma on the Maiduguri-Gujba road, and, counselling him to remain in camp pending the decision of the British Government (vid. note [67]), marched back through the Marghi district to Yola.

Fadel Allah disregarded this instruction and sent one of his lieutenants, named It, to dig up a gun which had been buried near Dikoa. The French attacked and killed It, and again Fadel Allah retired to Gujba. Here, on the Ansei swamp, the final skirmish took place on August 27, 1901. Fadel Allah was shot through the body on horseback, but was got away to Mutue, where he was buried in the swamp. The French dug him up, cut off his head and took it back to Dikoa. The name of the French commander was Dangeville. Moman Niebé surrendered and returned with the French to the French Congo.

APPENDIX XIX

HEAD-QUARTERS OF BRITISH BORNU

When Bornu was occupied in the spring of 1902 by the British force under Colonel Morland, and Shehu Abubakr Garbai invited in from Dikoa to become Head of the greater bulk of the land of his fathers, now stripped of districts apportioned by treaty to Germany and France, it was promised that the Shehu should restore and repopulate ruined Kuka if he could: in the meantime he made his temporary capital at the ancient site and large market village of Mongonu, some seventeen miles southward on the Maiduguri road.

On the appointment a few months later of a Civil Resident, this officer found it expedient to reside himself at Mongonu, leaving the eastern garrison still at Maiduguri, where Colonel Morland had placed it, with a fort. Next year, when the Shehu made his experimental move to Kuka, the Resident decided that the institution of internal caravan tolls, the paucity of the administrative staff and other considerations required his residence at the more central locality of Magumeri, where the Residency continued until the end of 1904, when Kuka became the joint capital of the British and the native administration.

At the end of 1906 it became evident that no efforts of the Shehu could attract a population or trade approaching half of its volume or importance prior to the sack of the city thirteen years previously, and that mere sentiment did not justify the retention and rebuilding of a site unhealthy and depressing, and no longer central or convenient. The Resident and the Shehu accordingly moved then down to Maiduguri, the capital of British Bornu to-day.

The government station of Maiduguri, civil and military, is built upon the sandy rise, some 1,000 feet above mean sea level, on the left bank of the little River Alo, upon which the small village of Maifoni used to stand. This is the place wrongly termed Mabani by Barth, whose map also shows the stream flowing the wrong way. The situation is healthy, commanding, and with a good water supply. Maiduguri, the large market village, is some 3½ miles away; and between this and the government station, upon the sites of the little hamlets of Kalua, is built the Shehu’s quarter, known at first as Yeriwa, but now as Shehuri. For general convenience, the absorbed hamlets of Kalua, the village of Maifoni (now moved into ‘Shehuri’), Shehuri and Maiduguri, themselves—comprising in all a population of some 10,000, together with the government station—are known as Maiduguri, likely soon to develop into a thriving commercial centre, on the highway to the Shari, Darfur, and the Nile.

APPENDIX XX (vid. p. 341)

CLAPPERTON’S PROMOTION TO LIEUTENANT

Clapperton passed for promotion to the rank of Lieutenant in 1813. He was given the acting rank of Lieutenant whilst in command of the Confiance schooner on the Canadian lakes, but the Admiralty refused to confirm this. He was finally promoted in 1816 and ante-dated to 20th March, 1815. For the latter fact and for the subjoined certificate I am indebted to the kindness of W. G. Perrin, Esq., Admiralty Librarian:—

Pursuant to an Order from Sir Samuel Hood, Bart., K.B., Vice Admiral of the Blue and Commander in Chief of H.M. Ships and Vessels employed and to be employed in the East Indies and Seas adjacent, &c., dated 5th February 1813.

We have examined Mr. Hugh Clapperton, who appears by Certificate to be more than Nineteen Years of age and has been to sea more than six years in the Ships and qualities undermentioned, viz.:—

Ship. Bounty. Place Where Born. Age. Entry. Quality. Discharge. Cause. Time.
Time. Y. M. W. D.
Renommie — Scotland — 25 Novr. 1806 Ab 24 Octr. 1807 — 0 11 3 5
Do. — — — 25 Octr. 1807 Midn. 10 June 1808 — 0 8 5 0
Venerable — — — 11 June 1808 Midn. 27 Feb. 1809 — 0 9 1 5
Passenger to join H.M. Ship Clorinde as pr certificates None — — 28 Feb. 1809 Supy. Midn. 14 March 1810 — 1 0 2 1
Clorinde — — — 15 Mar. 1810 Midn. 20 June 1811 — 1 2 2 0
Do. — — — 21 June 1811 M. Mate 5 Feby. 1813 — 1 8 1 2
6 2 3 6

He produceth Logs kept by himself in His Majesty’s Ships Renommie, Venerable, and Clorinde, and Certificates from Captains Livingstone, King, Pascoe, Edgecombe, and Briggs of his diligence and sobriety and obedience to commands. He can splice, knot, reef a sail, work a ship in sailing, shift his tides, keep a reckoning of a ship’s way, by plain sailing and Mercators, observe by the sun or star, find the variation of the compass, and is qualified to do his duty as an able Seaman and Midshipman.

Given under our hands on board H.M.S. Clorinde, Bombay Harbour, 7th February 1813.

(Sgd) Thos. Briggs, Captain H.M.S. Clorinde.
Wm. H. Webley, Captain H.M.S. Illustrious.
Geo. Elliot, Captain H.M.S. Hussar.

APPENDIX XXI

A BORNU PRINCE AT TRIPOLI

There is a book the full title of which is ‘Letters written during a ten years’ residence at the Court of Tripoli, published from the originals in the possession of the family of the late Richard Tully, Esq. the British Consul’. London, 1816, quarto. Third edition, 2 vols., octavo, 1819 [five coloured plates].

Vol. ii, pp. 51-5, under date of July 28, 1789, there is a short description of the visit to Tripoli of a ‘black prince of Bornu’ returning to his own country from Tripoli, who was accompanied by three wives, one of whom had learnt enough Italian to express herself in ‘Lingua Franca’.

According to Tully, the prince was very well informed and wore ‘pearls of uncommon size’ as well as ‘large gold ear-rings set with the most valuable jewels’.

The prince gave a highly coloured description of Bornu, which he declared abounded with grapes, apricots, and pomegranates, whilst the ‘enormity’ of slave-dealing was not indulged in by his countrymen, who left such things to the Christians and Pagans!

Tully further states that the people of Tripoli had such an idea of the numbers of the Bornu army, that they say when the army leaves the town a large date-tree is laid before the gate, on which each man steps as he passes, and ‘as the foot soldiers go through the gate they wear out the body of this tree’.

[For visit of a Bornu prince to Tripoli in 1853 vid. Benton, Notes, &c., p. 188.]

INDEX