Sunday, March 9.—The traveller who would leave a place where he has made a long residence, often finds that his departure involves him in a great deal of trouble, and is by no means an easy affair. Moreover my situation when, after much delay, I was about to leave Kanó, was peculiarly embarrassing. There was no caravan; the road was infested by robbers; and I had only one servant upon whom I could rely, or who was really attached to me, while I had been so unwell the preceding day as to be unable to rise from my couch. However, I was full of confidence; and with the same delight with which a bird springs forth from its cage, I hastened to escape from these narrow, dirty mud-walls into the boundless creation.

There being scarcely anyone to assist my faithful Gatróni, the loading of my three camels took an immense time, and the horseman destined to accompany me to the frontier of the Kanó territory grew rather impatient. At length, at about two o’clock in the afternoon, I mounted my unsightly black four-dollar nag, and following my companion, who (in a showy dress, representing very nearly the German costume about the time of the Thirty Years’ War, and well mounted), gave himself all possible airs of dignity, started forth from the narrow streets of Dalá, into the open fields.

I felt my heart lightened, and, forgetting what had passed, began to think only of the wide field now opening before me, if fresh means should reach us in Kúkawa. We had taken a very circuitous road in order to pass through the widest of the fourteen gates of the town; but the long passage through the wall was too narrow for my unwieldy luggage; and my impatient, self-conceited companion fell into despair, seeing that we should be unable to reach the night’s quarters destined for us. At length all was again placed upon the patient animals; and my noble Bú-Séfi taking the lead of the short string of my caravan, we proceeded onwards, keeping at a short distance from the wall, till we reached the highroad from the Kófa-n-Wámbay. Here too is a considerable estate belonging to a ba-Ásbenchí (a man from Asben), who has a company of slaves always residing here. Going slowly on through the well-cultivated country, we reached a small watercourse. Being anxious to know in what direction the torrent had its discharge, and unable to make it out from my own observation, I took the liberty of asking my companion; but the self-conceited courtier, though born a slave, thought himself insulted by such a question, and by the presumption that he ever paid attention to such trivial things as the direction of a watercourse, or the name of a village!

Having watered our horses here, I and my friend went on in advance, to secure quarters for the night, and chose them in a small hamlet, where, after some resistance, a mʿallem gave us up part of his courtyard surrounded with a fence of the stalks of Guinea-corn. When the camels came up we pitched our tent. The boy ʿAbdallah, however, seeing that my party was so small, and fearing that we should have some misadventure, had run away and returned to Kanó.

Though there was much talk of thieves, who indeed infest the whole neighbourhood of this great market-town, and, excited by the hope of remaining unpunished under an indolent government, very often carry off camels during the night even from the middle of the town, we passed a tranquil night, and got off at a tolerably early hour the next morning. The character of the country is almost the same as that during our last day’s march in coming from Kátsena, small clusters of huts and detached farms being spread about over the cultivated country, where we observed also some tobacco-fields just in flower: my attention was more attracted by a small range of hills in the distance on our left. I was also astonished at the little traffic which I observed on this route, though we met a considerable natron-caravan coming from Zínder, the ass and the bullock going on peaceably side by side, as is always the case in Negroland. The country continued to improve; and the fields of Charó, shaded as they were by luxuriant trees, looked fertile and well cared for, while the clusters of neat huts scattered all about had an air of comfort. Here we ought to have passed the previous night; and my companion had gone in advance to deliver his order, and probably to get a good luncheon instead of his missed supper. Beyond this village, or rather district, cultivation seemed to be less careful; but perhaps the reason was only that the villages were further from the road.

The quiet course of domestic slavery has very little to offend the mind of the traveller; the slave is generally well treated, is not overworked, and is very often considered as a member of the family. Scenes caused by the running away of a slave in consequence of bad and severe treatment occur every day with the Arabs, who generally sell their slaves, even those they have had some time, as soon as occasion offers; but with the natives they are very rare. However, I was surprised at observing so few home-born slaves in Negroland—with the exception of the Tuarek, who seem to take great pains to rear slaves—and I have come to the conclusion that marriage among domestic slaves is very little encouraged by the natives; indeed I think myself justified in supposing that a slave is very rarely allowed to marry. This is an important circumstance in considering domestic slavery in Central Africa; for if these domestic slaves do not of themselves maintain their numbers, then the deficiency arising from ordinary mortality must constantly be kept up by a new supply, which can only be obtained by kidnapping or, more generally, by predatory incursions, and it is this necessity which makes even domestic slavery appear so baneful and pernicious. The motive for making these observations in this place was the sight of a band of slaves, whom we met this morning, led on in two files, and fastened one to the other by a strong rope round the neck.

Our march was to be but a short one, as we were to pass the remainder of the day and the following night in Gezáwa; and as it was still long before noon, and we had the hottest time of the day before us, I was anxious to encamp outside the town in the shade of some fine tree, but my escort would not allow me to do so. We therefore entered the town, which is surrounded with a clay wall in tolerable repair, and moreover by a small ditch on the outside; but the interior presents a desolate aspect, only about a third part of the space being occupied by detached cottages. Here I was lodged in a small hot shíbki (reed hut), and passed the “éni” most uncomfortably, cursing my companion and all the escorts in the world, and resolved never again to take up my quarters inside a town, except where I was to make a stay of some length. I was therefore delighted, in the course of the afternoon, to hear from the man who had taken the camels outside the town upon the pasture-ground, that the sheríf Konché had arrived and sent me his compliments.

I had once seen this man in Kanó, and had been advised to wait for him, as he was likewise on his way to Kúkawa; but knowing how slow Arabs are, and little suspecting what a sociable and amiable man he was, I thought it better to go on; whereupon he, thinking that my company was preferable to a longer stay, hastened to follow me. To-day, however, I did not see him, as he had encamped outside the town; still I had already much reason to thank him, as he had brought back my fickle runaway servant ʿAbdallah, whom after some reprimand, and a promise on his side to remain with me in future, I took back, as I was very much in want of a servant. He was a native of the country, a Baháushe with a little Arab blood in him, and had been reduced to slavery. Afterwards, in Bórnu, a man claimed him as his property. His mother, who was living not far from Gérki, was also about this time carried into slavery, having gone to some village where she was kidnapped. Such things are of daily occurrence in these countries on the borders of two territories. The lad’s sister had a similar fate.

The inhabitants of Gezáwa seem to be devoted almost entirely to cattle-breeding; and in the market which was held to-day (as it is every Monday) outside the town, nothing else was offered for sale but cattle and sheep, scarcely a piece of cotton cloth being laid out, and very little corn. Also round the town there are scarcely any traces of cultivation. The mayor seemed not to be in very enviable circumstances, and bore evident traces of sorrow and anxiety; indeed the laziness and indolence of the governor of Kanó in neglecting the defence of the wealth and the national riches of his province are incredible, and can only be tolerated by a liege lord just as lazy and indifferent as himself. But at that period the country still enjoyed some tranquillity and happiness, while from the day on which the rebel Bokhári took possession of Khadéja, as I shall soon have occasion to relate, the inhabitants of all the eastern part of this beautiful province underwent daily vexations, so that the towns on this road were quite deserted when I passed a second time through this country, in December 1854.

Early next morning we loaded our camels and left the town, in order to join our new travelling companion, who by this time had also got ready his little troop. It consisted of himself on horseback, his “sirríya,” likewise on horseback, three female attendants, six natives, and as many sumpter-oxen. He himself was a portly Arab, with fine, sedate manners, such as usually distinguish wealthy people of the Gharb (Morocco); for he was a native of Fás, and though in reality not a sheríf (though the title of a sheríf in Negroland means scarcely anything but an impudent, arrogant beggar), yet, by his education and fine, noble character, he deserved certainly to be called a gentleman. The name “Konché” (Mr. Sleep) had been given to him by the natives, from his very reasonable custom of sleeping, or pretending to sleep, the whole day during the Ramadan, which enabled him to bear the fasting more easily. His real name was ʿAbd el Khafíf.

Our first salutation was rather cold; but we soon became friends; and I must say of him that he was the most noble Arab merchant I have seen in Negroland. Though at present he had not much merchandise of value with him, he was a wealthy man, and had enormous demands upon several governors and princes in Negroland, especially upon Múniyóma, or the governor of Múniyo, who was indebted to him for about thirty millions—shells, of course, but nevertheless a very large sum in this country. Of his “sirríya,” who always rode at a respectful distance behind him, I cannot speak, as she was veiled from top to toe; but if a conclusion might be drawn from her attendants, who were very sprightly, well-formed young girls, she must have been handsome. The male servants of my friend were all characteristically dressed, and armed in the native fashion with bows and arrows,—knapsacks, water-bottles, and drinking vessels all hanging around them in picturesque confusion; but among them there was a remarkable fellow, who had already given me great surprise in Kanó. When lying one day in a feverish state on my hard couch, I heard myself saluted in Romaic or modern Greek. The man who thus addressed me had long whiskers, and was as black as any negro. But I had some difficulty in believing him to be a native of Negroland. Yet such he was, though by a stay in Stambúl of some twenty years, from his boyhood, he had not only learned the language perfectly, but also adopted the manners, and I might almost say the features, of the modern Greeks. In such company we continued pleasantly on, sometimes through a cultivated country, at others through underwood, meeting now and then a motley caravan of horses, oxen, and asses, all laden with natron, and coming from Múniyo. Once there was also a mule with the other beasts of burden; and on inquiry, on this occasion, I learnt that this animal, which I had supposed to be frequent in Negroland, is very rare, at least in these parts, and in Kanó always fetches the high price of from sixty to eighty thousand kurdí, which is just double the rate of a camel. In Wángara and Gónja the mule seems to be more frequent. But there is only one in Kúkawa and in Timbúktu, the latter belonging to one of the richest Morocco merchants.

Animated scenes succeeded each other:—now a well, where the whole population of a village or zángo were busy in supplying their wants for the day; then another, where a herd of cattle was just being watered; a beautiful tamarind-tree spreading a shady canopy over a busy group of talkative women selling victuals, ghussub-water, and sour milk, or “cotton.” About ten o’clock detached dúm-palms began to impart to the landscape a peculiar character, as we approached the considerable but open place Gabezáwa, which at present exhibited the busy and animated scene of a well-frequented market. In this country the market days of the towns succeed each other by turns, so that all the inhabitants of a considerable district can take advantage every day of the traffic in the peculiar article in which each of these places excels.

While pushing our way through the rows of well-stocked sheds, I became aware that we were approaching the limits of the Kanúri language; for being thirsty, I wished to buy ghussub-water (“furá” in Háusa), but in asking for it, received from the woman fresh butter (“fulá” in Kanúri), and had some difficulty in making them understand that I did not want the latter. Continuing our march without stopping, we reached at noon the well-known (that is to say, among the travelling natives) camping ground of Kúka mairuá, an open place surrounded by several colossal specimens of the monkey-bread-tree, kúka or Adansonia digitata, which all over this region of Central Africa are not of that low, stunted growth which seems to be peculiar to them near the coast, but in general attain to a height of from sixty to eighty feet. Several troops of native traders were already encamped here, while a string of some thirty camels, most of them unloaded, and destined to be sold in Kanó, had just arrived. A wide-spreading tamarind-tree formed a natural roof over a busy market-scene, where numbers of women were selling all the eatables and delicacies of the country. The village lay to the south-east. Here we pitched our tents close together, as robbers and thieves are very numerous in the neighbourhood; and I fired repeatedly during the night, a precaution which the event proved to be not at all useless. The name of the place signifies “the Adansonia with the water.” However, the latter part of the name seemed rather ironical, as I had to pay forty kurdí for filling a water-skin, and for watering my horse and my camels; and I would therefore not advise a future traveller to go to a neighbouring village, which bears the name of “Kúka maífurá,” in the belief that he may find there plenty of cheap furá or ghussub-water.

Wednesday, March 12.—Our encampment was busy from the very first dawn of day, and exhibited strong proof of industry on the part of the natives; for even at this hour women were offering ready-cooked pudding as a luncheon to the travellers. Some of our fellow-sleepers on this camping-ground started early; and the two Welád Slimán also, who led the string of camels, started off most imprudently in the twilight. As for us we waited till everything was clearly discernible, and then took the opposite direction through underwood; and we had advanced but a short distance when a man came running after us, bringing us the exciting news that a party of Tuarek had fallen upon the two Arabs, and after wounding the elder of them, who had made some resistance, had carried off all their camels but three. I expressed my surprise to my horseman that such a thing could happen on the territory of the governor of Kanó, and urged him to collect some people of the neighbouring villages, in order to rescue the property, which might have been easily done; but he was quite indifferent, and smiling in his self-conceit, and pulling his little straw hat on one side of his head, he went on before us.

Small villages belonging to the district of Zákara were on each side, the inhabitants indulging still in security and happiness; the following year they were plunged into an abyss of misery, Bokhári making a sudden inroad on a market-day, and carrying off as many as a thousand persons. I here had a proof of the great inconvenience which many parts of Negroland suffer with regard to water, for the well at which we watered our horses this morning measured no less than three and thirty fathoms; but I afterwards found that this is a very common thing as well in Bórnu as in Bagírmi, while in other regions I shall have to mention wells as much as sixty fathoms deep. Beyond this spot we met a very numerous caravan with natron, coming from Kúkawa; and I therefore eagerly inquired the news of that place from the horsemen who accompanied it. All was well; but they had not heard either of the arrival or of the approach of a Christian. This natron, which is obtained in the neighbourhood of the Tsád, was all in large pieces like stone, and is carried in nets, while that coming from Múniyo consists entirely of rubble, and is conveyed in bags, or a sort of basket. The former is called “kílbu tsaráfu,” while the name of the latter is “kílbu bóktor.” We soon saw other troops laden with this latter article; and there were even several mules among the beasts of burden. The commerce of this article is very important; and I counted to-day more than five hundred loads of natron that we met on our road.

I then went on in advance with “Mr. Sleep,” and soon reached the village Dóka, which by the Arabs travelling in Negroland is called, in semi-barbarous Arabic, “Súk el karága,” karága being a Bórnu word meaning wilderness. The village belongs to the ghaladíma. Here we sat tranquilly down near the market-place, in the shade of some beautiful tamarind-trees, and indulged in the luxuries which my gentlemanlike companion could afford. I was astonished, as well as ashamed at the comfort which my African friend displayed, ordering one of the female attendants of his sirríya to bring into his presence a basket which seemed to be under the special protection of the latter, and drawing forth from it a variety of well-baked pastry, which he spread on a napkin before us, while another of the attendants was boiling the coffee. The barbarian and the civilized European seemed to have changed places; and, in order to contribute something to our repast, I went to the market and bought a couple of young onions. Really is incredible what a European traveller in these countries has to endure; for while he must bear infinitely more fatigue, anxiety, and mental exertion than any native traveller, he is deprived of even the little comfort which the country affords—has no one to cook his supper, and to take care of him when he falls sick, or to shampoo him;

Leaving my companion to indulge in the “kief” of the Osmánli, of which he possessed a great deal, I preferred roving about. I observed that during the rainy season a great deal of water must collect here, which probably explains the luxurious vegetation and the splendid foliage of the trees hereabouts; and I was confirmed in my observation by my companion, who had travelled through this district during the rainy season, and was strongly impressed with the difficulties arising from the water, which covers a great part of the surface.

Having allowed our people, who by this time had come up, to have a considerable start in advance of us, we followed at length, entering underwood, from which we did not emerge till we arrived near Gérki. According to instructions received from us, our people had already chosen the camping ground on the north-west side of the town; but my horseman, who had gone in advance with them, thought it first necessary to conduct me into the presence of the governor, or rather of one of the five governors who rule over this place, each of them thinking himself more important than his colleague. The one to whom he presented me was, however, a very unprepossessing man, and not the same who on my return from the west in 1854 treated me with extraordinary respect. Yet he did not behave inhospitably to me: for he sent me a sheep (not very fat indeed), with some corn and fresh milk. Milk during the whole of my journey formed my greatest luxury; but I would advise any African traveller to be particularly careful with this article, which is capable of destroying a weak stomach entirely; and he would do better to make it a rule always to mix it with a little water, or to have it boiled.

The town of Gérki is a considerable place, and under a strong government would form a most important frontier-town. As it is, it may probably contain about fifteen thousand inhabitants; but they are notorious for their thievish propensities, and the wild state of the country around bears ample testimony to their want of industry. The market, which is held here before the south-west gate, is of the most indifferent description. The wall with its pinnacles is in very good repair. In order to keep the thievish disposition of the natives in check, I fired some shots late in the evening; and we slept undisturbed. On my return journey, however, in 1854, when I was quite alone with my party, I was less fortunate, a most enterprising thief returning thrice to his task, and carrying away, one after the other, first the tobe, then the trousers, and finally the cap from one of my people.

Thursday, March 13.—Not waiting for the new horseman whom I was to receive here early in the morning, I went on in advance with my companion, in order to reach Gúmmel before the heat of the day; and we soon met in the forest a string of twelve camels, all laden with kurdí or shells, and belonging to the rich Arab merchant Bú-héma, who resides in Múniyo, and carries on a considerable commerce between Kanó and Kúkawa. I will here mention, that in general one hundred thousand kurdí are regarded as a camel-load; a fine animal, however, like these will carry as much as a hundred and fifty thousand, that is, just sixty dollars or twelve pounds’ worth. It is easy to be understood that, where the standard coin is of so unwieldy a nature, the commerce of the country cannot be of great value.

About two miles before we reached the frontier town of the Bórnu empire in this direction, we were joined by the horseman of the governor of Gérki; and we here took leave of Háusa with its fine and beautiful country, and its cheerful and industrious population. It is remarkable what a difference there is between the character of the ba-Háushe and the Kanúri—the former lively, spirited, and cheerful, the latter melancholic, dejected, and brutal; and the same difference is visible in their physiognomies—the former having in general pleasant and regular features, and more graceful forms, while the Kanúri, with his broad face, his wide nostrils, and his large bones, makes a far less agreeable impression, especially the women, who are very plain and certainly the ugliest in all Negroland, notwithstanding their coquetry, in which they do not yield at all to the Háusa women.

Birmenáwa is a very small town, but strongly fortified with an earthen wall and two deep ditches, one inside and the other outside, and only one gate on the west side. Around it there is a good deal of cultivation, while the interior is tolerably well inhabited. Konché, who was in a great hurry to reach Gúmmel, would have preferred going on directly without entering the town: but as I was obliged to visit it in order to change my horseman, it being of some importance to me to arrive in Gúmmel with an escort, he accompanied me. The population consists of mixed Háusa and Kanúri elements.

Having obtained another man, we continued our march through a country partly under cultivation, partly covered with underwood, and were pleased, near the village Tókun, to find the Háusa custom of a little market held by the women on the roadside still prevailing; but this was the last scene of the kind I was to see for a long time. We reached the considerable town of Gúmmel just when the sun began to shine with great power; and at the gate we separated, the sheríf taking his way directly towards his quarters in the southern part of the town, while I was obliged to go first to the house of the governor, the famous Dan-Tanóma (the son of Tanóma, his own name being entirely unknown to the people); but on account of his great age, neither on this nor on a later occasion did I get a sight of him. Indeed, he was soon to leave this world, and by his death to plunge not only the town wherein he resided, but the whole neighbouring country, into a destructive civil war between his two sons.

However, on my first visit Gúmmel was still a flourishing place, and well inhabited, and I had to pass through an intricate labyrinth of narrow streets enclosed between fences of mats and reeds surrounding huts and courtyards, before I reached the dwellings of the few Arabs who live here: and after looking about for some time I obtained quarters near the house of Sálem Maidúkia (the Rothschild of Gúmmel), where my Morocco friend was lodged. But my lodgings required building in the first instance, as they consisted of nothing but a courtyard, the fence of which was in a state of utter decay, and a hut entirely fallen in, so that there was not the least shelter from the sun, whereas I had to wait here two days at least for my new friend, whose company I was not inclined to forego, without very strong reasons, on my journey to Kúkawa.

However, building is not so difficult in Negroland as it is in Europe; and a most comfortable dwelling, though rather light, and liable to catch fire, may be erected in a few hours; even a roof is very sufficiently made, at least such as is here wanted during the dry season, with those thick mats, made of reed, called “síggedi” in Bórnu. But most fortunately Sálem had a conical roof just ready, which would have afforded satisfactory shelter even from the heaviest rain. I therefore sent immediately my whole remaining supply of kurdí to the market to buy those mats and sticks; and getting four men practised in this sort of workmanship, I immediately set to work, and, long before my camels arrived, had a well-fenced private courtyard, and a splendid cool shade, while my tent served as a store for my luggage, and as a bedroom for myself.

Having, therefore, made myself comfortable, I was quite prepared to indulge in the luxurious luncheon sent me by the maidúkia, consisting of a well-cooked paste of Negro millet with sour milk; after which I received visits from the few Arabs residing here, and was pleased to find one among them who had been Clapperton’s servant, and was well acquainted with the whole proceedings of the first expedition. He had been travelling about a good deal, and was able, with the assistance of a companion of his, to give me a tolerably complete itinerary of the route from Sókoto to Gónja, the gúro-country and the northern province of Asianti. These Arabs necessarily lead here a very miserable sort of existence; Sálem, however, a native of Sókna, has succeeded in amassing a considerable fortune for these regions, and is therefore called by the natives maidúkia. He had a freed slave of the name of Mohammed Abbeakúta, who, though not at all an amiable man, and rather self-conceited, nevertheless gave me some interesting information. Among other things, he gave me a very curious list of native names of the months, which are not, however, those used by the Háusáwa, nor, I think, by the Yórubáwa, he having been evidently a native of Yóruba. He also gave me the following receipt for an antidote in the case of a person being wounded by poisoned arrows: a very young chicken is boiled with the fruits of the chamsínda, the áddwa (Balanites), and the tamarind-tree; and the bitter decoction so obtained, which is carried in a small leathern bag ready for use, is drunk immediately after receiving the poisonous wound, when, as he affirmed, the effect of the poison is counteracted by the medicine. The chicken would seem to have very little effect in the composition, but may be added as a charm. The next morning I went with ʿAbd el Khafíf to pay our compliments to old Dan-Tanóma. His residence, surrounded by high clay walls, and including, besides numbers of huts for his household and numerous wives, some spacious halls of clay, was of considerable extent; and the courtyard, shaded by a wide-spreading, luxuriant tamarind-tree, was a very noble area. While we sat there awaiting the governor’s pleasure, I had a fair insight into the concerns of this little court, all the well-fed, idle parasites coming in one after the other, and rivalling each other in trivial jokes. The Háusa language is the language of the court; and the offices are similar to those which I mentioned above with regard to Kanó. Having waited a long time in vain, the weak old man sending an excuse, as he could not grant us an interview, we returned to our quarters.

To-day being Friday was market-day; and in order to see the market in its greatest activity I mounted at noon on horseback, and went out. In all these parts of Negroland, the customs of which are in every respect so different from those of Yóruba and the neighbouring countries, the market (in Kúkawa and Maseña, as well as in Kanó, Sókoto, and even in Timbúktu) is always most frequented and most busy in the hottest hours of the day, notwithstanding the great fatigue which all the people, and particularly the strangers, have to undergo. The market of Gúmmel is held outside the town, between the two gates on the west side, but nearer to the “chínna-n-yalá.”[36] (the northern gate), which is remarkable on account of its well-fortified condition.

Though I had heard a good deal about Gúmmel, I was nevertheless surprised at the size and the activity of the market, although that held on Saturday is said to be still more important. Gúmmel is the chief market for the very extensive trade in natron, which as I have mentioned above, is carried on between Kúkawa and Múniyo on one side, and Núpe or Nýffi on the other; for this trade passes from one hand into another, and the Bórnu people very rarely carry this merchandise further than Gúmmel. Large masses of natron, certainly amounting to at least one thousand loads of both qualities mentioned above, were offered here for sale—the full bullock’s load of the better quality for five thousand, an ass’s load of the inferior sort for five hundred kurdí. There were also about three hundred stalls or sheds, but not arranged in regular rows, where a great variety of objects were offered for sale,—all sorts of clothing, tools, earthenware pots, all kinds of victuals, cattle, sheep, donkeys, horses—in short, everything of home or foreign produce which is in request among the natives.

The Arabs have their place under a wide-spreading fig-tree, where I was greatly pleased to make the acquaintance of a very intelligent man called ʿAzi Mohammed Moníya, who gave me some valuable information, particularly with regard to the route from Kanó to Tóto, and that from Sókoto to Gónja. He also gave me the first accurate description of the immense town Alóri, or Ilóri, the great centre of the conquering Fúlbe in Yóruba, which I shall have frequent opportunity of mentioning in the course of my proceedings. This man, who was really very intelligent, had travelled a great deal, and had made a long stay in Stambúl, assured me that Alóri was, without the least doubt, larger than the latter city. Yet this immense town, of which the first accounts are due, I think, to Captain Clapperton, is sought for in vain in many of our most recent maps.

Greatly delighted with my visit to the market, though not a little affected by the exposure to the sun during the hot hours, I returned to my quarters; for though a practised traveller will bear very well the most scorching power of the sun, if he sets out in the morning and by degrees becomes inured to greater and greater heat, he may suffer fatally from exposing himself for a long time to the midday sun, after having spent the morning in the shade. Later in the afternoon, the governor sent, as a gift to me and ʿAbd el Khafíf, through his principal courtiers (such as the ghaladíma, the chiróma, and others, who were accompanied by a long train of followers), a young bullock, they being instructed at the same time to receive in return the present, or “salám,” as it is generally called, which we had prepared for him. I gave them a subéta and a small flask with rose oil, which is an article in great request with the fashionable world in Háusa and Bórnu. In the evening, we received also corn for our horses.

Saturday, March 15.—This was a most fortunate and lucky day for me; for suddenly, when I least expected it, I was visited by an Arab from Sókna, of the name of Mohammed el Mughárbi, who had just arrived with a little caravan of Swákena from Múrzuk, and brought me a considerable number of letters from friends in Tripoli, England, and Germany, after my having been deprived of news from them for ten months. The letters gave me great delight; but besides the letters there was something with them which touched me more sensibly, by the providential way in which it supplied my most urgent wants.

I was extremely short of cash, and having spent almost my whole supply of shells in fitting up my quarters, paying my guides, and discharging Makhmúd, who had proved quite unfit for service, I had very little left wherewith to provide for our wants on our long journey to Kúkawa. How surprised and delighted was I, then, on opening Mr. Gagliuffi’s letter, at the unexpected appearance of two Spanish dollars, which he forwarded to me in order to make good an error in my account with him. Two Spanish dollars! it was the only current money I had at that time; and they were certainly more valuable to me than so many hundreds of pounds at other times. However, the rascal who brought me the letters had also merchandise on the account of the mission, to the value of one hundred pounds; but, either because he wished to deliver it to the director himself, or in order to obtain also the hire stipulated for him if he should be obliged to carry the merchandise on to Kúkawa, he declared that the things had gone on in advance to Kanó,—an evident falsehood, which eventually caused us much unnecessary expense, and brought Mr. Overweg and myself into the greatest distress; for I did not, in fact, receive this merchandise till after my return from Ádamáwa—having subsisted all the time upon “air and debts.”

This and the following day I was busy answering my letters, and I will only mention here that from this place I intimated to one of my friends—Mr. Richard Lepsius, of Berlin—my foreboding that it might be my destiny, after trying in vain to penetrate to any great distance in a south-eastern direction, to turn my steps westwards, and to fill up my researches into the regions about Timbúktu by my personal experience. Having finished my parcel of letters, I gave it to the Mughárbi to take with him to Kanó, and entrust it to the care of one of my Tinýlkum friends, who would soon forward it to Múrzuk. Having been thus freshly imbued with the restless impulse of European civilization, and strengthened with the assurance that highly respected persons at such a distance took a deep interest in the results of our proceedings, I resolved not to linger a moment longer in this place, but rather to forego the company of my amiable friend, particularly as I knew that he was going to Múniyo, and therefore, after a few days’ march, would at all events separate from me. And I did well; for my friend did not reach Kúkawa before the middle of May, that is, six weeks after me. Such are the Arabs, and woe to him who relies upon them! The same thing happened to me on my successful return from Bórnu to the coast in 1855. Everybody assured me that the caravan was to leave immediately: but I went on alone in May, and reached Tripoli in August, while the caravan did not reach Múrzuk before March 1856. I therefore sent to Dan-Tanóma, begging him to furnish me with a horseman who would escort me to Máshena, and he assented. It was a hazardous and troublesome undertaking: I had only one servant, faithful, but young, and who had never before travelled this road; besides a little boy, delicate in body and unsteady in mind, and I was sure that I myself should have to do half the work, as well in loading and unloading the camels as in pitching the tent, and looking after everything.

Monday, March 17.—Having, taken a hearty leave of ʿAbd el Khafíf, I followed my camels and—my good luck. This was the first time on my journey that I travelled quite alone, and I felt very happy, though, of course, I should have been glad to have had one or two good servants.

The country on the east side of Gúmmel, at least at this time of the year, presented a very dull and melancholy appearance, and the most decided contrast to that cheerful and splendid scenery which is peculiar to the landscape round Kanó. Nevertheless, it seemed to be well inhabited, and we passed several places, some of them of tolerable size, and surrounded with earthen walls, of very inconsiderable elevation, and ditches; the courtyards, especially in the first town which we passed, the name of which is Kadángaré, “the lizard” in Háusa, were wide and spacious. A little later in the season the drought must be terribly felt in these quarters; for even at present we had great difficulty in watering our horses and filling a water-skin. Trees of good size became continually more scarce, but the country was still well inhabited, and after ten o’clock, near the little town Gósuwa, surrounded likewise by a low earthen wall, we reached a small market-place, consisting of about thirty stalls, where a market is held every Sunday; the town, however, was not thickly inhabited, and near its north-east corner especially there were large empty spaces.

Beyond this place the country became a little richer in trees, and we here passed a large village called Gáreji, where a path branches off leading to Maimágariá, a road generally taken by caravans. The population of all these places is composed of Bórnu and Háusa people, and many particular customs might be observed hereabouts, which are rather peculiar to the latter race. Dull as the country appeared, a feeling of tranquillity and security was communicated by the sight of little granaries, such as I have described above, scattered about without any protection in the neighbourhood of some villages. After we had passed the empty market-place of the little walled town Kábbori, the surface of the ground had a very peculiar look, being covered entirely with colocynths, which were just in maturity. About a mile and a half further on we took up our quarters in Benzári, a town belonging to the province of Máshena, or Másena, and were well received and hospitably treated by the ghaladíma. The town is separated into two parts by a spacious opening, wherein is the principal well which supplies almost the whole population, but its depth is considerable, being more than twenty fathoms. Here we filled our water-skin the next morning before we set out.

Tuesday, March 18.—Scarcely had we left Benzári behind us when my ears were struck by the distant sound of drums and singing, and I learnt on inquiry that it was Bokhári, or, as the Bórnu people call him, Bowári, the deposed governor of Khadéja and the brother of Áhmedu, the present ruler of that town. Bokhári’s name was then new, not only to me, but even to the natives of the neighbouring provinces. He had been governor of Khadéja, but being a clever and restless man he, or rather his jealous brother, had excited the suspicion of his liege lord ʿAlíyu, the ruler of Sókoto, who had deposed him and given the government to his brother Áhmedu, whereupon Bokhári had nothing else to do but to throw himself upon the hospitality and protection of the Bórnu people, who received him with open arms, the governor of Máshena, with the sanction of his liege lord the sheikh of Bórnu, assigning to him a neighbouring place, Yerímarí, for his residence. This is an incident of very frequent occurrence in these loosely connected empires; but it is particularly so with the Fúlbe, among whom one brother often cherishes the most inveterate hatred against another. Exactly the same thing we have seen already in Kátsena. Bokhári having remained some time quietly in this place, strengthening his party and assisted underhand with arms and men by the vizier of Bórnu, had just now set out to try his fortune against his brother, and was beating the drums in order to collect as many people as possible.

Predatory incursions are nothing new in these quarters, where several provinces and entirely distinct empires have a common frontier; but this, as the event proved, was rather a memorable campaign for the whole of this part of Negroland, and was to become “the beginning of sorrows” for all the country around. For Bokhári having taken the strong town of Khadéja, and killed his brother, was not only able to defend himself in his new position, vanquishing all the armies sent against him, and amongst them the whole military force of the empire of Sókoto, which was led on by the vizier in person, ʿAbdu the son of Gedádo, Clapperton’s old friend, but spread terror and devastation to the very gates of Kanó. Indeed, on my second journey through these regions, I shall have the sad duty of describing the state of misery into which districts, which on my former visit I had found flourishing and populous, had been reduced by this warlike chieftain, who instead of founding a strong kingdom and showing himself a great prince, chose rather, like most of his countrymen, to base his power on the destruction and devastation of the country around him, and to make himself a slave-dealer on a grand scale. Tens of thousands of unfortunate people, pagans as well as Mohammedans, unprotected in their wellbeing by their lazy and effeminate rulers, have from the hands of Bokhári passed into those of the slave-dealer, and have been carried away from their native home into distant regions.

Kept in alarm by the drumming, and making some not very tranquillizing reflections on the weakness of our little band, which consisted of three men and a boy, in the turbulent state of the country through which we were passing, we continued silently on, while the character of the landscape had nothing peculiarly adapted to cheer the mind. Cultivation beginning to cease, nothing was to be seen but an immense level tract of country covered with the monotonous Asclepias gigantea with only a single poor Balanites now and then. But the scene became more animated as we approached Chifówa, a considerable town surrounded by a low earthen wall, which I was greatly astonished to hear belonged still to the territory of Gúmmel, and was also assigned to Bokhári during his exile. The boundary between the provinces must run here in a very waving line.

All that I observed here testified that the Háusa population still greatly predominated; and as we had to turn close round the place on the north side, where the ground rose, we had a fine view over the whole interior of the town. It presented a very animated spectacle; and a large number of horsemen were assembled here, evidently in connection with the enterprise of Bokhári, while men and women were busy carrying water into the town from a considerable distance. Of cultivation, however, very few traces appeared; but a good many cattle and sheep, and even some camels, were seen grazing about. In Kaselúwa also, the next town, we were complimented with the usual Háusa salute. Having then passed through a monotonous tract of country covered with tall reed-grass and with the Asclepias, we reached the town of Yélkazá at half-past nine o’clock in the morning. Here the governor of the province of Máshena, who generally has his residence in the town of the same name, was staying at present, apparently on account of the expedition of Bokhári, which he was assisting underhand; and I accordingly had to pay him my compliments, as my horseman, who was a servant of Dan-Tanóma, could not well conduct me any further. We therefore entered the town by the north gate, and found people very busy repairing the fortification, consisting of two walls and three ditches of considerable depth, two of which ran outside round the outer wall, while the third was enclosed between the two walls.

Having presented ourselves at the residence of the governor, which was situated in the middle of the town, and consisted altogether of reed-work, we obtained good quarters, with a spacious and cool shed, which was the only thing we wanted; for being anxious not to lose any more time, I had resolved to start again in the afternoon. In order, therefore, to obtain a guide as soon as possible, I went to pay my compliments to the governor, whose name was Mohammed. After a little delay, he came out of the interior of his reed-house into the audience-hall, which likewise consisted entirely of reed-work, but was spacious and airy; there he sat down upon a sort of divan, similar to the ánkaréb used in Egypt, and made of the branches of the tukkurúwa, which had been brought in expressly for the purpose. My interview, however, was short, for neither was he himself a lively or inquisitive man, nor was my Tébu servant, whom, as I myself was not yet able to speak Kanúri with tolerable fluency, I was obliged to employ as interpreter, at all distinguished either by eloquence or by frankness, though in other respects he was an excellent lad.

I obtained, however, all that I wanted, the governor assigning me immediately a man who should accompany me to ghaladíma ʿOmár, the governor of Búndi, and I was glad that he did not grumble at my present, which consisted only of a small phial of rose oil and a quarter of a pound of cloves. The best and most usual present for the governors on this road, who are justly entitled to some gift, as no tolls are to be paid, is a subéta, or white shawl with red or yellow border, such as are brought from Egypt, which may be accompanied with some spices. The old man also sent me, after a little while, when I had returned to my quarters, a dish which at least was not richer than my present, consisting in a very unpalatable paste of Negro corn, with a nasty sauce of míya, or molukhíya. Háusa with its delicacies was behind us; and I was unable to procure, either for hospitality’s sake or for money, a dish of “fúra,” which I had become very fond of.

The heat was very great, though a light fresh breeze from the east made it supportable; and my new guide seemed by no means so anxious to go on as I was, so that I was obliged to search for him a long while. Having at length laid hold of him we started, passing through an undulating country without cultivation, and covered only with brushwood, and with the dreadfully monotonous káwo or Asclepias, when after three miles it became a little varied by underwood, the scene being enlivened by a karábka, or káfila, with nine camels coming from Kúkawa.

Thus we approached Taganáma, a considerable town, enclosed with a wall and a double ditch. We were obliged, however, to go round the whole town, the western gate being closed, and a sort of outwork, such as is very rare in these countries, consisting in a cross ditch projecting to a great distance, being made at its north-east corner. At length we reached the eastern gate, and entered the town. Its interior left on us an impression of good order and comfort; all the fences of the courtyards were in excellent repair, the huts large and spacious, and a certain air of wellbeing was spread over the whole place. Having obtained tolerable quarters, and corn for my guide’s horse and my own, we lay down early, in order to continue our journey with the first dawn next morning, but were aroused at midnight by some people arriving and stating, with an air of great importance, that they had letters for me. Greatly surprised, and wondering what these important despatches could be, I got up, but found, when I had kindled a light, that the letters were not for me at all but addressed to persons in Kúkawa unknown to me, by others in Kanó not better known. These unknown friends most probably, after I had fairly set out, had determined not to let slip this excellent opportunity of communicating with their friends in Kúkawa. However, the carriers of the letters thinking, and perhaps expressly made to think, that they had brought some important message for me, expected a handsome present; and I had some difficulty in persuading them that they were only giving me trouble for the sake of other people. Nevertheless, as they were unprovided with food, I ordered Mohammed to cook a supper for them; and after having disturbed my night’s rest by their noisy conversation, they made off again long before daylight. For in this whole district, where so many different nationalities border close together, the greatest insecurity reigns, and the inhabitants of one town cannot safely trust themselves to those of a neighbouring place without fear of being sold as slaves, or at least of being despoiled of the little they have.

My fine lancer, with whose manly bearing I had been very much pleased yesterday, appeared to have thought that, instead of exposing himself alone, by accompanying me further through a disturbed and infested district, he would do better to retrace his steps in the company of these people; for the next morning he was gone, and no trace of him was to be found. Perhaps he was anxious to join the expedition against Khadéja, where the soldier might make his fortune, while with me he could only expect to gain a few hundred shells; but whatever was his reason for decamping, he left me in a state of great perplexity, as I was in a hurry to go on as fast as possible; and in a country where there are no highroads, but where even tracks so important as that from Kanó to Kúkawa are nothing but small paths leading from one village or from one town to another, I could not well dispense with a guide. As regards security, I could only rely upon Providence and my own courage. Having in vain searched for my man, I loaded the camels, and mounting my horse, proceeded to the residence of the governor, who is the vassal of the ruler of Máshena. He, having been informed by his servants, soon came forth, a tall imposing figure, and seeing that my complaint was just, his liege lord having expressly assigned me the horseman in order to conduct me to Búndi, he assured me that he would find another guide for me; but as it would take some time, he ordered one of his servants to lead me out of the town to a place where the camels meanwhile might graze a little. Seeing that he was a just and intelligent man, I thanked him for his kindness, and followed his servant, who conducted us a few hundred yards from the town, where there was most excellent pasturage for the camels.

While we were waiting here for the guide, my companion, who was a sociable sort of man, helped me pass the time most agreeably with his instructive talk. I had observed a very curious object at the governor’s house—a leathern parcel of considerable dimensions, tied up with great care and hung on a long pole, and I had fancied that it contained the body of a criminal exposed there to every man’s sight as a warning example of severe punishment; but to my great astonishment I now learned that it was a powerful talisman suspended in order to protect the town against the Felláta, as the Bórnu people call the Fúlbe, whose inroads were greatly feared. He likewise informed me that four years ago there was a desperate struggle for Taganáma, when that town very narrowly escaped falling into the hands of those fanatical invaders. He praised his master, whose name as I now learned was Ísa. The cheerful aspect of the town seemed fully to confirm his praises, and I expressed my hope that his watchfulness and energy might be a better safeguard to the inhabitants than that monstrous talisman, the dimensions of which were really frightful. I was greatly pleased also to observe here the very first signs of preparing the ground for the approaching season, the slaves being busy clearing the soil with a sort of strong rake provided with four long wooden teeth, called “kámga”; but this is very rarely done, and the preparatory labours of agriculture must differ more or less in different districts according to the peculiar nature of the ground.

At length we saw the guides coming towards us. Instead of a horseman there were two archers on foot, short muscular men, clad only with a leathern apron round their loins, and for arms bearing, besides bow and arrows, the peculiar little Mánga battle-axe, which they carry on their shoulders, while a good sized leathern pocket for carrying provisions, and several diminutive garra bottles hung down by their sides. In short, they were real Mánga warriors, though they certainly did not inspire us with all the confidence which we should have wished to repose in a guide. However, having made them promise in the presence of the governor’s servant, who professed to know them well, that they would accompany me to Búndi, I started with them.

Having lost the finest hours of the morning, I was naturally anxious not to waste more time; and I was glad to perceive that the fine eastern breeze, which had prevailed for some days, greatly lessened the power of the sun. Soon afterwards we met the brother of the governor of Máshena, with a troop of twelve horsemen, hastening towards the point where the memorable campaign of Bokhári was to commence. The country was very monotonous, being soon covered with a forest of mean growth, uninterrupted by any tree of larger size, except the bare dismal-looking kúka or monkey-bread-tree, and presented evident signs of destructive warfare waged throughout it; we passed the former sites of several small towns and villages. The soil consisted here of deep white sand. After a march of about eight miles, however, the vegetation began to assume a different character, the ngílle or dúm-bush first appearing, then a karáge or gáwo (the locust-tree) being seen now and then, after which the dúm-palm began to prevail entirely. The substratum of this district is evidently granite, which seems to lie very close to the surface, as about noon a large mass of this rock projected near our path. A little beyond this point the wilderness was agreeably interrupted by an opening with stubble-fields, about which were scattered small granaries, producing, at such a distance from any inhabited place and without guardians, an agreeable feeling of security.

Half an hour afterwards we reached the stockade of Wuélleri, and proceeded directly to the house of the bíllama or mayor, as I wished to obtain here another guide, for it was only with the greatest difficulty that I succeeded in dragging on thus far my two archers, who had shown signs of the greatest anxiety during the latter part of the march, and had tried several times to turn their backs; but further they would not go on any account, and I was therefore obliged to dismiss them, paying them three hundred shells. Unfortunately the bíllama was not at home, and his brother proved to be a morose and surly fellow. I wished to stay here only during the hot hours of the day, and to proceed in the evening after having watered the camels; but he represented to me that the town of Máshena was too distant to be reached before night, if I did not go on directly. As this was impossible, I resolved to stay here for the night, and pitched my tent in an open place in front of a cool shed. However, we found great difficulty in watering our animals, the Mánga pretending that there was no water, though we ourselves had passed the well where the cattle had just been watered. Certainly the aquatic element was very scarce; and, after much debate, I was at length obliged to pay one hundred and fifty shells—an enormous charge, if the general price of the necessaries of life in this country be considered. Thus our poor camels got at length something to drink, and, with a good feed in the afternoon, were prepared for a long march the following day. However, we still wanted a guide; and, notwithstanding our begging, promising, and threatening, we were unable to persuade any one to accompany us on to Búndi. The reason of this, however, was not only on account of the absence of the governor of Máshena from his capital, but likewise owing to the unsettled state of the country, and the fear entertained by these people of being caught and sold into slavery. Indeed, between all these towns, there was scarcely any mutual intercourse kept up by the natives themselves.

Thursday, March 20.—Having exerted myself to the utmost to obtain a guide, I found myself obliged to start alone with my two young lads, the eldest of whom was eighteen, and the other not more than thirteen or fourteen years of age. Field and forest succeeded alternately to each other; and after a little less than two miles, we passed on our left a small village lightly fenced. Here we met also a small caravan, as a faint symptom of peaceable intercourse, though its array (covered as it went by an advanced guard of three archers marching at some distance, and performing at the same time the office of scouts, and by a rearguard of two more) showed clearly their sense of insecurity. The country now began to improve considerably; and a beautiful tamarind-tree vested in the richest foliage, and closely embracing a colossal leafless Adansonia, formed the beginning of a finer vegetation, while two mounts, one on our right hand and the other on our left, interrupted the monotonous level through which we had been travelling. Further on, granitic masses projected on all sides, and a solitary date-palm spread a peculiar charm over the landscape.

Having watered my horse at a well in the hollow between the two mounts, I reached, with my camels, the ditch and thorny fence then forming the only fortification of the town of Máshena, which place was strengthened, in the following year, with a clay wall. It lies on the gentle southern slope of an eminence, the top of which is crowned with a rocky crest, and is a considerable place for this country, having a population of certainly not less than ten thousand souls, but without the least sign of industry. A small káfila of Tébu and Arab merchants were encamped here; but although we arrived at the very hottest time of the day, I was too anxious to proceed to think of staying here; and having only asked the news from Kúkawa, and heard that all was well, I continued my march. It shows the slowness of intercourse in this country, that these people were ignorant of Mr. Richardson’s death, although he had died twenty days before at a place only six days’ march on this side of Kúkawa.

Keeping steadily on, first over open pasture-grounds, then through a country well wooded, we reached, after a march of about seven miles, a village, and entered it cheerfully with the intention of spending the night there, but were greatly disappointed on discovering that it was entirely deserted, and did not contain a living creature. Fortunately, however, after consulting what was to be done, we found a traveller who showed us a small path which was to lead us to the town of Alamáy. He also informed us that the inhabitants of this village, the name of which was Jáwel, had formed a new village further south. The little path pointed out, however, was so overgrown and slightly marked that we soon became doubtful and perplexed. I went, therefore, to inquire of a shepherd whom we saw at some little distance on the right of our path; but no sooner did he observe me approaching than he ran away, leaving his flock at our discretion.

The state of this country is very miserable indeed, all the petty governors around, as soon as they have any debts to pay, undertaking a predatory expedition, and often selling even their own subjects. However, we were lucky in finding at last a more trodden path, which soon brought us to an open, straggling village named Kárgímawa, which displayed a most animated and cheerful picture of a wealthy and industrious little community—the men sitting in the shade of some fine caoutchouc-trees, some of them busy making mats others weaving, while the women were carrying water, or setting the pot upon the fire for the evening repast. Cattle, goats, and fowl roved about in considerable quantities.

Quite delighted at arriving (in consequence of having strayed from the direct road) at this sequestered place, we pitched our tent with a grateful sense of security, and squatted comfortably down, while the camels found a rich repast in the fields. In one thing, however, I was disappointed. The sight of so many cattle had led me to anticipate a good draught of milk; but the cattle did not belong to the inhabitants, and before sunset they were driven away. In other respects we were hospitably treated, and four little dishes were brought us in the evening from different huts, three of which contained paste of Guinea-corn, and one beans. The latter always seemed to me an agreeable variety; but a European must be very cautious how he indulges in them in these regions, as they are apt to derange the stomach, and to bring on serious illness.

Friday, March 21.—Very early in the morning a numerous troop of small tradesmen, with pack-oxen, passed through the village while we awaited daylight; and then having gratefully taken leave of the hospitable villagers, we set out, accompanied by one of them, to show us the road. Having passed the former site of a little town, we soon gained the direct road, where we fell in with a motley gipsy-looking troop of those Tébu-Jétko, who, after the almost total annihilation of the commonwealth of Kánem, have immigrated into Bórnu. Those we met here were coming from Zínder. They had a few horses, oxen, and asses with them, but scarcely any luggage; and the whole attire of men, women, and children was very poor. We then passed the little town of Álamáy, surrounded not only with an earthen wall and ditch, but also with a dense thorny fence some ten feet thick on the outside. Here was exhibited the pleasant picture of a numerous herd of fine cattle lying tranquilly on the spacious area inside the wall, ruminating their last day’s repast, while a large extent of cultivated ground around the town gave ample proof of the industry of the people. But the well-being of the inhabitants of these regions has very little guarantee; and when, toward the end of the year 1854, I again travelled this same road, not a single cow was to be seen here, and the whole place looked mournful and deserted, tall reed-grass covering the fields which had been formerly cultivated.

Having then passed a thick forest of underwood, and some cultivated ground, half an hour before noon we reached Búndi,[37] the residence of the ghaladíma ʿOmár, fortified in the same way as Álamáy, and went up directly to the house of the governor, which consists entirely of reed-work. However, the mats (“lágará”) which surround the whole establishment are of very great height, at least fifteen feet, and of considerable thickness, made of a peculiar reed called “súgu,” and being sustained by long poles, and kept in a good state of repair, do not look ill. Besides, they are in general strengthened still further on the outside by a fence of thorny bushes.

The ghaladíma,[38] or governor of the Gháladí, which (as we shall see in the historical account of the Bórnu empire) comprised all the western provinces of Bórnu from the komádugu Wáube (the so-called Yéou) to the shores of the Kwára, having his residence in Bírni Ngurú, near Mármar, in former times was an officer (or rather an almost independent feudal vassal) of immense power; at present, however, he has sunk to great insignificance, and in real power is much inferior to his neighbours the governors of Múniyo, Zínder, and even that of Máshena. But the present ghaladíma ʿOmár is an intriguing man; and it would have been imprudent to pass on without paying him the compliment of a visit; and I was justified in hoping that he would provide me with a guide in order that I might reach as soon as possible the presence of his liege lord the sheikh of Bórnu.

Not being able to see him directly, I was obliged to sacrifice half a day, and to make up my mind to spend the night here. I therefore asked for quarters, and was lodged in a spacious but dirty courtyard, where I could procure but a very insufficient shade with my little English bell-tent of thin canvas. Having passed two uncomfortable hours without any refreshment, I was called in the afternoon into the presence of the governor, and being obliged to leave my servant behind to take care of my luggage while ʿAbdallah was pasturing the camels, I went alone, and found the great man in a spacious room or hall formed entirely of matwork, where he was lying upon an elevated platform or divan spread with a carpet. He was a short, well-fed, dark-coloured man, of about sixty years of age, his large, broad face looking forth from the hood of a blue cloth bernús, with a neutral expression indicating neither stupidity nor cleverness; his courtiers were grouped around him on the ground. Having saluted him and made the usual polite inquiries, I expressed my ardent desire to reach Kúkawa as soon as possible, as the day which I had fixed with my elder brother (Mr. Richardson) for a meeting in that place was drawing nigh; and I begged him, therefore, to grant me a guide who might conduct me there by the most direct road, of which I myself was ignorant, much time having been already lost in groping my way from one place to another. I then delivered my little present, consisting of an English razor and clasp-knife, a large mirror of German silver, a parcel of English darning-needles, half a pound of cloves, and a piece of scented soap. Having looked at these things with satisfaction, he asked me if I had not anything marvellous with me; and I consented to return to my quarters and fetch my musical box, with the performance of which the ghaladíma was highly pleased, but greatly desired to see some other curious things, such as pocket-pistols, whereupon I told him that I had nothing else calculated to gratify his curiosity. I was much fatigued, and on returning to my tent was not at all pleased to be still troubled by the governor’s servant, who came to ask, in the name of his master, for calico, sugar, rose oil, and sundry other articles.

Búndi is a place of tolerable size, but with little industry; and the province of which it is the capital is going to ruin more and more, on account of the laziness and negligence of its governor,—a statement which will be amply proved by the account of my journey through the same district in 1854. The town probably contains eight or nine thousand inhabitants, who belong to the Mánga nation, which seems to be the chief element of the Kanúri, and preserves many very remarkable customs. The special name of the clan of this tribe which dwells hereabouts is Kárda. There is no market here of any importance; but the inhabitants seem to be tolerably at their ease, and there was music and racing, or “kadáske,” in the evening, accompanied by the joyous shrill voices, the “wulúli,” of the women. We, however, seemed to be forgotten; and it was nine o’clock at night, long after we had supped, when we received a dish for ourselves, and corn for the horse. It is rather remarkable that these western provinces of Bórnu were never conquered by the Fúlbe or Felláta, though lying so much nearer to those countries of which they have definitively taken possession than that part of Bórnu situated between the old capital and the great lagoon. The consequence is, that a certain degree of independence is allowed to them, and that they do not pay any tithes to the sheikh.[39]