Here a row of shops filled with articles of native and foreign produce, with buyers and sellers in every variety of figure, complexion, and dress, yet all intent upon their little gain, endeavouring to cheat each other; there a large shed, like a hurdle, full of half-naked, half-starved slaves torn from their native homes, from their wives or husbands, from their children or parents, arranged in rows like cattle, and staring desperately upon the buyers, anxiously watching into whose hands it should be their destiny to fall. In another part were to be seen all the necessaries of life; the wealthy buying the most palatable things for his table; the poor stopping and looking greedily upon a handful of grain: here a rich governor dressed in silk and gaudy clothes, mounted upon a spirited and richly caparisoned horse, and followed by a host of idle, insolent slaves; there a poor blind man groping his way through the multitude, and fearing at every step to be trodden down; here a yard neatly fenced with mats of reed, and provided with all the comforts which the country affords—a clean, snug-looking cottage, the clay walls nicely polished, a shutter of reeds placed against the low, well-rounded door, and forbidding intrusion on the privacy of life, a cool shed for the daily household work,—a fine spreading alléluba-tree, affording a pleasant shade during the hottest hours of the day, or a beautiful gónda or papaya unfolding its large feather-like leaves above a slender, smooth, and undivided stem, or the tall date-tree, waving over the whole scene; the matron in a clean black cotton gown wound round her waist, her hair neatly dressed in “chókoli” or bejáji, busy preparing the meal for her absent husband, or spinning cotton, and at the same time urging the female slaves to pound the corn; the children naked and merry, playing about in the sand at the “urgi-n-dáwaki” or the “da-n-chácha,” or chasing a straggling stubborn goat; earthenware pots and wooden bowls, all cleanly washed, standing in order. Further on a dashing Cyprian, homeless, comfortless, and childless, but affecting merriment or forcing a wanton laugh, gaudily ornamented with numerous strings of beads round her neck, her hair fancifully dressed and bound with a diadem, her gown of various colours loosely fastened under her luxuriant breast, and trailing behind in the sand; near her a diseased wretch covered with ulcers, or with elephantiasis.

Now a busy “máriná,” an open terrace of clay, with a number of dyeing-pots, and people busily employed in various processes of their handicraft: here a man stirring the juice, and mixing with the indigo some colouring wood in order to give it the desired tint; there another, drawing a shirt from the dye-pot, or hanging it up on a rope fastened to the trees; there two men beating a well-dyed shirt, singing the while, and keeping good time; further on, a blacksmith busy with his rude tools in making a dagger which will surprise, by the sharpness of its blade, those who feel disposed to laugh at the workman’s instruments, a formidable barbed spear, or the more estimable and useful instruments of husbandry; in another place, men and women making use of an ill-frequented thoroughfare, as a “kaudi tseggenábe,” to hang up, along the fences, their cotton thread for weaving; close by, a group of indolent loiterers lying in the sun and idling away their hours.

Here a caravan from Gónja arriving with the desired kola-nut, chewed by all who have “ten kurdí” to spare from their necessary wants, or a caravan laden with natron, starting for Núpe, or a troop of Ásbenáwa going off with their salt for the neighbouring towns, or some Arabs leading their camels, heavily laden with the luxuries of the north and east (the “káya-n-ghábbes”) to the quarter of the Ghadamsíye; there, a troop of gaudy, warlike-looking horsemen galloping towards the palace of the governor to bring him the news of a new inroad of Serkí Ibrám. Everywhere human life in its varied forms, the most cheerful and the most gloomy, seemed closely mixed together; every variety of national form and complexion—the olive-coloured Arab, the dark Kanúri, with his wide nostrils, the small-featured, light, and slender Ba-Féllanchi, the broad-faced Ba-Wángara (Mandingo), the stout, large-boned, and masculine-looking Núpe female, the well-proportioned and comely Ba-Háushe woman.

Delighted with my trip, and deeply impressed by the many curious and interesting scenes which had presented themselves to my eyes, I returned by way of the “úngwa-n-makáfi,” or “belád el amiyán” (the village of the blind), to my quarters, the gloominess and cheerlessness of which made the more painful impression upon me from its contrast with the brightly animated picture which I had just before enjoyed.

The next day I made another long ride through the town; and being tolerably well acquainted with the topography of the place and its different quarters, I enjoyed still more the charming view obtained from the top of the Dalá, and of which the accompanying sketch is but a feeble representation.[28]

I had just descended from the eminence beneath which spread this glorious panorama, when I heard a well-known voice calling me by my name; it was ʿAbdalla the Tawáti, my friend and teacher in Ágades, who after residing some time in Tasáwa, had come to try his fortune in this larger sphere of action. I had besides him some other acquaintances, who gave me much interesting information, particularly a young Ba-Háushe lad of the name of Ibrahíma, who gave me the first tolerably correct idea of the road to Yóla, the capital of Adamáwa, although he was puzzled about the direction of the Great River, which he had crossed, supposing that it flowed eastward instead of westward. I derived also a great deal of information from a less agreeable man named Mohammed, with the surname “el Merábet” (reclaimed), rather antithetically, as “lucus a non lucendo,” for he was the most profligate drunkard imaginable, and eventually remained indebted to me for several thousand cowries.

I was much worried during my stay in Kanó by a son of the governor of Zária, who, suffering dreadfully from stricture or some other obstruction, had come expressly to Kanó in the hope of being relieved by me; and it was impossible for me to convince him that I had neither the knowledge nor the instruments necessary for effecting the cure of his disease. It would, no doubt, have been of great service if I had been able to cure him, as he was the son of one of the most powerful princes of Negroland; but as it was, I could only afford him a little temporary relief. My intercourse with this man was indeed most painful to me, as I felt conscious of entire inability to help him, while he conjured me by all that was dear to me not to give him up and abandon him. He died shortly afterwards. More agreeable to me was a visit from the eldest son of the governor of Kanó, who, accompanied by two horsemen, came to call upon me one day, and not finding me at home, traced me whither I had gone, and having met me, followed silently till I had re-entered my quarters. He was a handsome, modest, and intelligent youth of about eighteen years of age, and was delighted with the performance of my musical-box. I gave him an English clasp-knife, and we parted the best of friends, greatly pleased with each other.

I had considerable difficulty in arranging my pecuniary affairs, and felt really ashamed at being unable to pay my debt to the Háj el Dáwaki till after El Wákhshi himself had arrived from Kátsena. After having sold, with difficulty, all that I possessed, having suffered a very heavy loss by Báwu’s dishonesty, paid my debts, and arranged my business with Mohammed el Túnsi, who, suffering under a very severe attack of fever, wanted most eagerly to return home, I should scarcely have been able to make the necessary preparations for my journey to Bórnu if the governor had not assisted me a little. He had hitherto behaved very shabbily towards me, not a single dish, not a sheep or other token of his hospitality having been sent me during my stay in the town. I was therefore most agreeably surprised when, on the morning of the 2nd of March, old Elaíji came and announced to me that, in consequence of his urgent remonstrances, the governor had sent me a present of sixty thousand kurdí. He told me, with a sort of pride, that he had severely reprimanded him, assuring him that he was the only prince who had not honoured me. I should have been better pleased if the governor had sent me a pair of camels or a horse; but I was thankful for this unexpected supply; and giving six thousand to the officer who had brought the money, and as much to Elaíji, and dividing eight thousand between Báwu and Sídi ʿAli, I kept forty thousand for myself.

With this present I was fortunately enabled to buy two camels instead of sumpter oxen, which give great trouble on the road during the dry season, especially if not properly attended to, and prepared everything for my journey; but the people in these countries are all cowards, and as I was to go alone without a caravan, I was unable to find a good servant. Thus I had only my faithful Tébu lad Mohammed whom I could rely upon, having besides him none but a debauched young Fezzáni, Makhmúd, who had long lived in this town, and a youth named ʿAbd-Alla. Nevertheless I felt not a moment’s hesitation, but, on the contrary, impatiently awaited the moment when I should leave my dingy and melancholy quarters, full of mice and vermin.

I had hoped to get off on the 6th; but nothing was heard from the governor, and it would have been imprudent to start without his permission. With envious feelings I witnessed the departure of the natron-caravan for Núpe or Nýffi, consisting of from two to three hundred asses. With it went Mohammed Ánnur, a very intelligent man, whom I had endeavoured by all possible means to hire as a servant, but could not muster shells enough. However, the exploration of all those more distant regions I was obliged in my present circumstances to give up, and to concentrate my whole energies on the effort to reach Kúkawa, where I had concerted with Mr. Richardson to arrive in the beginning of April. I had had the satisfaction of sending off a long report and several letters to Europe on the 1st of March (when the Ghadámsíye merchants dispatched a courier to their native town), and felt therefore much easier with regard to my communication with Europe. My delay also had given me the great advantage of making the acquaintance of a man named Mohammed el ʿAnáya, from the Dʿara el Takhtaníye, to the south of Morocco, who first gave me some general information about the route from Timbúktu to Sókoto, which in the sequel was to become a new field for my researches and adventures.

I became so seriously ill on the 8th, that I looked forward with apprehension to my departure, which was fixed for the following day. But before leaving this important place, I will make a few general observations with regard to its history and its present state.

The town of Kanó, considered as the capital of a province, must be of somewhat older date than Kátsena, if we are to rely on Leo’s accuracy, though from other more reliable sources (which I shall bring to light in the chapter on the history of Bórnu) it is evident that even in the second half of the 16th century there could have been here only the fortress of Dalá, which, at that period, withstood the attacks of the Bórnu king. I think we are justified in supposing that, in this respect, Leo (when, after an interval of many years, he wrote the account of the countries of Negroland which he had visited) confounded Kanó with Kátsena. The strength of the Kanáwa, that is to say, the inhabitants of the province of Kanó, at the time of the Bórnu king Edrís Alawóma, is quite apparent from the report of his imám; but from that time forth the country seems to have been tributary to Bórnu; and the population of the town of Kanó is said, with good reason, to have consisted from the beginning mostly of Kanúri or Bórnu elements. However, the established allegiance or subjection of this province to Bórnu was evidently rather precarious, and could be maintained only with a strong hand; for there was a powerful neighbour, the king of Korórofa or Júku, ready to avail himself of every opportunity of extending his own power and dominion over that territory. We know also that one king of that country, whose name, however, I could not obtain, on the entry of a new governor into office in Kanó, made an expedition into that country, and installed his own representative in the place of that of Bórnu, and though the eastern provinces of Korórofa itself (I mean the district inhabited by the Koána or Kwána) became afterwards tributary to Bórnu, yet the main province (or Júku Proper) with the capital Wukári, seems to have always remained strong and independent, till now, at length, it seems destined to be gradually swallowed up by the Fúlbe, if the English do not interfere. But to return to our subject. As long as Kátsena continued independent and flourishing, the town of Kanó appears never to have been an important commercial place; and it was not till after Kátsena had been occupied by the Fúlbe, and, owing to its exposed position on the northern frontier of Háusa, had become a very unsafe central point for commercial transactions, that Kanó became the great commercial entrepôt of Central Negroland. Before this time, that is to say, before the year 1807, I have strong reason to suppose that scarcely any great Arab merchant ever visited Kanó, a place which nevertheless continues till this very day to be identified with Ghána or Ghánata, a state or town expressly stated by Arab writers of the 11th century to have been the rendezvous for Arab merchants from the very first rise of commercial connections with Negroland. And all regard to historical or geographical facts is put aside merely from an absurd identification of two entirely distinct names such as Kanó and Ghána or Ghánata.

As to the period when the Kanáwa in general became Mohammedans, we may fairly assume it to have been several years later than the time when Máji, the prince of Kátsena, embraced Islám, or about the 17th century, though it is evident that the larger portion of the population all over Háusa, especially that of the country towns and villages, remained addicted to paganism till the fanatic zeal of their conquerors the Fúlbe forced them to profess Islám, at least publicly. Nevertheless even at the present day there is a great deal of paganism cherished, and rites really pagan performed, in the province of Kanó as well as in that of Kátsena,—a subject on which I shall say something more on another occasion.

With regard to the growth of the town, we have express testimony that Dalá was the most ancient quarter. The steep rocky hill, about 120 feet high, naturally afforded a secure retreat to the ancient inhabitants in case of sudden attack; but it is most probable that there was another or several separate villages within the wide expanse now encompassed by the wall, which rather exceeds than falls short of fifteen English miles, and it seems inconceivable why the other hill, “Kógo-n-dútsi” (which is inclosed within the circumference of the walls) though it is not quite so well fortified by nature, should not have afforded a strong site for another hamlet. We have, indeed, no means of describing the way in which the town gradually increased to its present size; this much, however, is evident, that the inhabited quarters never filled up the immense space comprised within the walls, though it is curious to observe that there are evident traces of a more ancient wall on the south side, which, as will be seen from the plan, did not describe so wide a circumference, particularly towards the south-west, where the great projecting angle seems to have been added in later times, for merely strategical purposes. The reason why the fortifications were carried to so much greater extent than the population of the town rendered necessary, was evidently to make the place capable of sustaining a long siege (sufficient ground being inclosed within the walls to produce the necessary supply of corn for the inhabitants), and also to receive the population of the open and unprotected villages in the neighbourhood. The inhabited quarter occupies at present only the south-eastern part of the town between Mount Dalá and the wall, which on this side is closely approached by the dwellings.

On the northern margin of the Jákara is the market-place, forming a large quadrangle, mostly consisting of sheds built in regular rows like streets; but the westernmost part of it forms the slaughtering-place, where numbers of cattle are daily butchered, causing an immense quantity of offal and filth to accumulate, for which there is no other outlet than the all-swallowing Jákara. It is the accumulation of this filth in the most frequented quarters of the town which makes it so unhealthy. On the north-east side of the sheds is the camel-market, where also pack-oxen are sold. The shed where the slaves are sold is at the north-west corner; and thence, along the principal street, which traverses the market, is the station of the people who sell firewood. The market is generally immensely crowded during the heat of the day, and offers a most interesting scene.

The wall, just as it has been described by Captain Clapperton[29], is still kept in the best repair, and is an imposing piece of workmanship in this quarter of the world. This wall, with its gates, I have not been able to lay down with much exactness; but, from my observations on my later visit in 1854, being aware of the great inaccuracy of the little sketch of the town given by Clapperton, who himself pretends only to give an eye-sketch, I thought it worth while, with regard to a place like Kanó (which certainly will at some future period become important even for the commercial world of Europe), to survey and sketch it more minutely; and I hope my plan, together with the view taken from Mount Dalá of the southern and really-inhabited quarter of the town, will give a tolerably correct idea of its character.

The market-place is necessarily much less frequented during the rainy season, when most of the people are busy with the labours of the field. A great part of the market-place during that time is even inundated by the waters of the pond Jákara.

I now proceed to enumerate the quarters, the names of which are not without their interest. I must first observe, that the quarters to the north of the great and characteristic pond Jákara, which intersects the town from east to west, are chiefly inhabited by Háusa people, or, as they are called by their conquerors, “Hábe,” from the singular “Kádo,” while the southern quarters are chiefly, but not at all exclusively, inhabited by the Fúlbe (sing. Púllo), called Féllani (sing. Baféllanchi), by the conquered race.

Beginning with Dalá, the oldest quarter of the town, and which in commercial respects is the most important one, as it is the residence of almost all the wealthy Arab and Berber (principally Ghadámsíye) merchants, I shall first proceed eastwards, then return by south to west, and so on. East-south-east, the quarter called Déndalin (the esplanade) borders on Dalá, then Kutumbáwa, Gérke, Mádabó, Ya-n-tándu, Adakáwa, Kóki, Zéta, Límanchí (or the quarter of the people of Tóto, a considerable town not far from Fánda); south from the latter, Yandówea, and thence, returning westward, Jibdji-n-Yél-labu, another Límanchí (with a large mosque), Masu-kiyáni (the quarter near the “kaswa” or market-place), Túddu-n-mákera (the quarter of the blacksmiths) on the west side of the market, Yámroché, “Marárraba bókoy” (the seven crossways), “Báki-n-rúa” (the waterside—that is, the quay along the Jákara), not very neat nor fragrant, and in this respect deserving to be compared with the quays of the Thames, which may be called, just with the same reason, the great sink of London, as the Jákara is that of Kanó, the difference being only that the Thames is a running stream, while the Jákara is stagnant), “Runfáwa” (the quarter of the sheds), Yéllwá. Here, turning again eastwards, we come first to the quarter Ríma-n-jirájiré, then enter Mággoga, then Maggógi, Ungwa-n-kári, Déndali-n-Wáre, Límanchí (a third quarter of this name), Dukkuráwa, Rúffogí, Dérma. All these are quarters of the Hábe, where no Púllo, as far as I am aware, would deign to live. Beyond the Jákara we now come to the quarters of the ruling race, proceeding from west to east.

Yaálewa, Mármara, Ágadesáwa (a quarter belonging originally to the natives of Ágades), Yóla—the princely quarter of the town, and called on this account “mádaki-n-Kanó.” It is interesting also as having given its name to the new capital of Adamáwa, (the natives of Negroland being not less anxious than Europeans to familiarize the new regions which they colonize by names taken from their ancient homes); el Kántara (so called from a rough kind of bridge, or kadárko, thrown over one of those numerous pools which intersect the town), Wuaitákka, Go-shérifé-dodó (a quarter, the name of which is taken from the ancient pagan worship of the “dodó),” Tókobá, Dukkáwa, Zaghidámse, Sháfushí. Returning from east to west we have the quarters Shérbalé, Mádaté, Kúrna, Sheshé, “Dirmí (or dírremi)-kay okú” (called from a tree of the dírremi species, with three separate crowns), Lelóki-n-lemú, Kóllwá al héndeki, Sóra-n-dínki, Rími-n-kóro, Tojí, Yárkasá, Mándáwari, Mármara (different from the quarter mentioned above), Dantúrku, Sabansára, Kudedefáwa, Jingo, Doséyi, Warúre, Gʿao (an interesting name, identical with that of the capital of the Sónghay empire), Kurmáwa, Háusáwa, Ungwa Mákama, Ghaladánchi (the quarter wherein resides the ghaladíma), Shúramchí (the quarter where lives the eldest son of the governor, whose title chiróma—a Kanúri name—in the corrupted form of “shúromo” has furnished the name of the quarter), Ye-serkí, Kurmáwa (not identical with the above), “Kusseráwa” (the corner), Udeláwa. South from the palace of the governor, Rími-n-kerá, Káraká, Dugeráwa, Yákase, Naseráwa (most probably destined to be hereafter the quarter of the Nasára or Christians), and ʿAbdeláwa.

All over the town, clay houses and huts, with thatched conical roofs, are mixed together; but generally in the southern quarter the latter prevail. The clay houses, as far as I have seen them in Dalá, where of course Arab influence predominates, are built in a most uncomfortable style, with no other purpose than that of obtaining the greatest possible privacy for domestic life, without any attempt to provide for the influx of fresh air and light, although I must admit that a few houses are built in somewhat better taste; but invariably the courtyard is extremely small, and in this respect the houses of Kanó are very inferior to those of Ágades and Timbúktu, which are built almost on the same principle as the dwellings of the ancient Greeks and Romans. I here give the ground-plan of the house in which I lodged in 1851.

Almost all these houses have also a very irregular upper story on a different level, and very badly aired. Many of the Arabs sleep on their terraces.

In estimating the population of the town at 30,000, I am certainly not above the truth. Captain Clapperton estimated it at from 30,000 to 40,000. The population, as might be expected in a place of great commercial resort, is of a rather mixed nature; but the chief elements in it are Kanúri or Bórnu people, Háusáwa, Fúlbe or Féllani, and Nyffáwa or Núpe; a good many Arabs also reside there, who by their commerce and their handicraft contribute a great deal to the importance of the place. The influx of foreigners and temporary residents is occasionally very great, so that the whole number of residents during the most busy time of the year (that is to say from January to April) may often amount to 60,000. The number of domestic slaves, of course, is very considerable; but I think it hardly equals, certainly does not exceed, that of the free men, for, while the wealthy have many slaves, the poorer class, which is far more numerous, have few or none. It would be very interesting to arrive at an exact estimate of the numbers of the conquering nation, in order to see the proportion in which they stand to the conquered. As for the town itself, their whole number, of every sex and age, does not, in my opinion, exceed 4000; but with regard to the whole country I can give no opinion.

The principal commerce of Kanó consists in native produce, namely, the cotton cloth woven and dyed here or in the neighbouring towns, in the form of tobes or rígona (sing. ríga); túrkedí, or the oblong piece of dress of dark-blue colour worn by the women; the zénne[30] or plaid, of various colours; and the ráwani bakí, or black lithám.

The great advantage of Kanó is, that commerce and manufactures go hand in hand, and that almost every family has its share in them. There is really something grand in this kind of industry, which spreads to the north as far as Múrzuk, Ghát, and even Tripoli; to the west, not only to Timbúktu, but in some degree even as far as the shores of the Atlantic, the very inhabitants of Arguin dressing in the cloth woven and dyed in Kanó; to the east, all over Bórnu, although there it comes into contact with the native industry of the country; and to the south it maintains a rivalry with the native industry of the Ígbira and Ígbo, while towards the south-east it invades the whole of ʿAdamáwa, and is only limited by the nakedness of the pagan sans-culottes, who do not wear clothing.

As for the supply sent to Timbúktu, this is a fact entirely overlooked in Europe, where people speak continually of the fine cotton cloth produced in that town, while in truth all the apparel of a decent character in Timbúktu is brought either from Kanó or from Sansándi; and how urgently this article is there demanded is amply shown by the immense circuit which the merchandise makes to avoid the great dangers of the direct road from Kanó to Timbúktu travelled by me, the merchandise of Kanó being first carried up to Ghát and even Ghadámes, and thence taking its way to Timbúktu by Tawát.

I make the lowest estimate in rating this export to Timbúktu alone at three hundred camel-loads annually, worth 60,000,000 kurdí in Kanó—an amount which entirely remains in the country, and redounds to the benefit of the whole population, both cotton and indigo being produced and prepared in the country. In taking a general view of the subject, I think myself justified in estimating the whole produce of this manufacture, as far as it is sold abroad, at the very least at about 300,000,000; and how great this national wealth is, will be understood by my readers when they know that, with from fifty to sixty thousand kurdí, or from four to five pounds sterling a year, a whole family may live in that country with ease, including every expense, even that of their clothing: and we must remember that the province is one of the most fertile spots on the earth, and is able to produce not only the supply of corn necessary for its population, but can also export, and that it possesses, besides, the finest pasture-grounds. In fact, if we consider that this industry is not carried on here as in Europe, in immense establishments, degrading man to the meanest condition of life, but that it gives employment and support to families without compelling them to sacrifice their domestic habits, we must presume that Kanó ought to be one of the happiest countries in the world; and so it is as long as its governor, too often lazy and indolent, is able to defend its inhabitants from the cupidity of their neighbours, which of course is constantly stimulated by the very wealth of this country.

Besides the cloth produced and dyed in Kanó and in the neighbouring villages, there is a considerable commerce carried on here with the cloth manufactured in Nýffi or Núpe, which, however, extends only to the first and the third of the articles above mentioned, viz., the “ríga,” or shirt worn by men, and the “zénne,” or plaid; for the Nyffáwa are unable to produce either túrkedí or ráwaní—at least for export, while they seem, with the exception of the wealthier classes, to supply their own wants themselves. The tobes brought from Nýffi are either large black ones, or of mixed silk and cotton.

With regard to the former, which are called “gíwa” (the elephant’s shirt), I am unable to say why the Kanáwa are not capable of manufacturing them themselves; but it seems that, while they thoroughly understand how to impart the most beautiful dye to the túrkedí, they are unable to apply the same to the ríga—I do not know why.

Of the latter kind there are several varieties:—the ríga sáki, with small squares blue and white, as if speckled, and therefore called by the Arabs “fílfil” (pepper), and by the Tawárek, who, as I have mentioned, esteem it more than any other kind, the “Guinea-fowl shirt” (tekátkat taílelt), as shown in the accompanying woodcut, is very becoming, and was my ordinary dress from the moment I was rich enough to purchase it, as a good one fetches as much as from eighteen to twenty thousand kurdí; then the tob-harír, with stripes of speckled cast like the taílelt, but intermixed with red; the jellába, red and white, with embroidery of green silk, and several others. Specimens of all these I have brought home and delivered to the Foreign Office.[31]

The chief articles of native industry, besides cloth, which have a wide market, are principally sandals. The sandals are made with great neatness, and, like the cloth, are exported to an immense distance; but being a cheap article (the very best, which are called “táka-sárakí,” fetching only 200 kurdí), they bear of course no comparison in importance with the former. I estimate this branch at ten millions. It is very curious that the shoes made here by Arab shoemakers, of Sudán leather, and called “bélghʿa,” are exported in great quantities to North Africa. The “nesísa,” or twisted leather strap, is a celebrated article of Kanó manufacture, and “jebíras,” richly ornamented, as the accompanying woodcut shows, are made by Arab workmen.

The other leather-work I will not mention here, as it does not form a great article of commerce; but tanned hides (“kulábu”) and red sheepskins, dyed with a juice extracted from the stalks of the holcus, are not unimportant, being sent in great quantities even as far as Tripoli. I value the amount of export at about five millions.[32]

Besides these manufactures, the chief article of African produce in the Kanó market is the “gúro,” or kola-nut; but while on the one hand it forms an important article of transit, and brings considerable profit, on the other large sums are expended by the natives upon this luxury, which has become to them as necessary as coffee or tea to us. On another occasion I shall enumerate the different kinds of this nut, and the seasons when it is collected. The import of this nut into Kanó, comprising certainly more than five hundred ass-loads every year, the load of each, if safely brought to the market—for it is a very delicate article, and very liable to spoil—being sold for about 200,000 kurdí, will amount to an average of from eighty to one hundred millions. Of this sum, I think we shall be correct in asserting about half to be paid for by the natives of the province, while the other half will be profit.

But we must bear in mind that the greater part of the persons employed in this trade are Kanáwa, and that therefore they and their families subsist upon this branch of trade.

A very important branch of the native commerce in Kanó is certainly the slave-trade; but it is extremely difficult to say how many of these unfortunate creatures are exported, as a greater number are carried away by small caravans to Bórnu and Núpe than on the direct road to Ghát and Fezzán. Altogether, I do not think that the number of slaves annually exported from Kanó exceeds[33] 5,000; but of course a considerable number are sold into domestic slavery either to the inhabitants of the province itself, or to those of the adjoining districts. The value of this trade, of which only a small percentage falls to the profit of the Kanáwa, besides the tax which is levied in the market, may altogether amount to from a hundred and fifty to two hundred millions of kurdí per annum.

Another important branch of the commerce of Kanó is the transit of natron from Bórnu to Núpe or Nýffi, which here always passes into other hands, and in so doing leaves a considerable profit in the place. The merchandise is very cheap; but the quantity is great, and it employs a great many persons, as I shall have ample occasion to illustrate in the course of my proceedings. Twenty thousand loads, at the very least, between pack-oxen, sumpter-horses, and asses, of natron must annually pass through the market of Kanó; which, at 500 kurdí per load, merely for passage-money, would give 10,000,000 kurdí.

I here also mention the salt-trade, which is entirely an import one, the salt being almost all consumed in the province. Of the three thousand camel-loads of salt which I have above computed as comprising the aïri with which I reached Kátsena, we may suppose one-third to be sold in the province of Kanó; and therefore that hereby a value of from fifty to eighty millions annually is drained from the country. But we must not forget that the money which is paid for this requisite (and not only for that consumed in Kanó, but also in other provinces) is entirely laid out by the sellers in buying the produce of Kanó; viz., cloth and corn. Here, therefore, is an absolute balance—a real exchange of necessaries and wants.

As for ivory, at present it does not form a very important branch of the commerce of Kanó; and I scarcely believe that more than one hundred kantárs pass through this place. The lowest price of the kantár is in general thirty dollars, or 75,000 kurdí; but it often rises to forty dollars, or 100,000 kurdí, and even more, though I have seen it bought with ready money for twenty-five dollars.

Of European goods the greatest proportion is still imported by the northern road, while the natural road, by way of the great eastern branch of the so-called Niger, will and must, in the course of events, be soon opened.

But I must here speak about a point of very great importance for the English, both as regards their honour and their commercial activity. The final opening of the lower course of the Kwára has been one of the most glorious achievements of English discovery, bought with the lives of so many enterprising men. But it seems that the English are more apt to perform a great deed than to follow up its consequences. After they have opened this noble river to the knowledge of Europe, frightened by the sacrifice of a few lives, instead of using it themselves for the benefit of the nations of the interior, they have allowed it to fall into the hands of the American slave-dealers, who have opened a regular annual slave-trade with those very regions, while the English seem not to have even the slightest idea of such a traffic going on. Thus American produce, brought in large quantities to the market of Núpe, has begun to inundate Central Africa, to the great damage of the commerce and the most unqualified scandal of the Arabs, who think that the English, if they would, could easily prevent it. For this is not a legitimate commerce; it is nothing but slave-traffic on a large scale, the Americans taking nothing in return for their merchandise and their dollars but slaves, besides a small quantity of natron. On this painful subject I have written repeatedly to H.M.’s consul in Tripoli, and to H.M.’s government, and I have spoken energetically about it to Lord Palmerston since my return. I principally regret in this respect the death of Mr. Richardson, who, in his eloquent language, would have dealt worthily with this question. But even from his unfinished journals as they have been published, it is clear that, during his short stay in the country before he was doomed to succumb, he became well aware of what was going on.[34]

The principal European goods brought to the market of Kanó are bleached and unbleached calicoes, and cotton prints from Manchester; French silks and sugar; red cloth from Saxony and other parts of Europe; beads from Venice and Trieste; a very coarse kind of silk from Trieste; common paper with the sign of three moons, looking-glasses, needles, and small ware, from Nuremberg; sword blades from Solingen; razors from Styria. It is very remarkable that so little English merchandise is seen in this great emporium of Negroland, which lies so near to the two branches of “the Great River” of Western Africa, calico and muslins (or tanjips, as they are called by the merchants) being almost the only English articles. Calico certainly is not the thing most wanted in a country where home-made cloth is produced at so cheap a rate, and of so excellent a quality; indeed the unbleached calico has a very poor chance in Kanó, while the bleached calico and the cambric attract the wealthier people on account of their nobler appearance. In Timbúktu on the contrary, where the native cloth is dearer, unbleached calico is in request; and it would be so in an extraordinary degree, if it were dyed dark blue. It is very interesting to observe that a small proportion of the calico imported into Kanó is again exported, after having been dyed, returning even the long way to Ghadámes. I estimate the whole amount of Manchester goods imported into Kanó at about forty millions; but it may be somewhat more. The sale of tanjips is very considerable; and the import of this article into Kanó certainly equals in value that of the former.

The very coarse silk, or rather refuse, which is dyed in Tripoli, is imported to a very considerable amount, this forming the principal merchandise of most of the caravans of the Ghadámsíye merchants, and about one third of their whole commerce, amounting certainly to not less than from three to four hundred camel-loads annually, worth in Kanó each about 200,000 kurdí; this would give a value of about seventy millions imported. But according to some well-informed people, even as many as one thousand loads of this article pass annually through Ghadámes; so that, if we take into consideration that the supply of the northerly markets (as Tasáwa, Zínder) may well be compensated by what is brought by way of Múrzuk, the value of the import of this article into Kanó may be much more. A great deal of this silk, I have no doubt by far the greatest part, remains in the country, being used for ornamenting the tobes, sandals, shoes, and other things.

Woollen cloth of the most ordinary quality, chiefly red, but about one third of the whole amount of green colour, was formerly imported to a great extent; but it has gone out of fashion, and I think a better quality, like that with which the market of Timbúktu is supplied by way of Mogador or Swaira, would succeed. I estimate this branch at present at only fifteen millions.

Beads, in very great variety[35], form an important article of import; but the price has become so low of late years that there has been very little profit, and the supply has been kept back to raise the prices. The import of this article certainly amounts to more than fifty millions of kurdí, of which sum the value of twenty may remain in the country.

Of sugar, I think about one hundred camel-loads are imported every year, each containing eighty small loaves, of two and a half pounds each, which are sold in general at 1500 kurdí; so that the import of this article would amount to about twelve millions. It is very remarkable that in all Central Negroland the large English sugarloaf is scarcely ever seen, while it is the only one seen in Timbúktu. However, I was greatly surprised when, on my return from that place in 1854, ʿAlíyu, the Emír el Mumenín of Sókoto, presented to me an English loaf of sugar; and I heard that he had received several of them as presents from a merchant of Tawát. The small loaf has certainly a great advantage in such a country, where money is scarce; and I found in 1854 that its weight had even been reduced to two pounds.

Common paper, called on the coast “tre lune,” from the mark of three moons which it bears, is imported in great quantity, being used for wrapping up the country cloth; but it is a bulky, heavy article, and in larger quantities is sold at a very cheap rate. The whole amount of this import may be about five millions of kurdí.

Needles, with the emblem of the pig[36], and small looking-glasses called “lemmʿa,” in boxes, form important but very cheap articles, and I think their amount together will not much exceed the value of eight millions. Generally, the needles in large quantities are sold for one “urí” or shell each, but often even cheaper; and I was obliged to sell a thousand for six hundred kurdí. Also, fine needles for silk-work are in request, but only in small quantity, while large darning-needles are not at all wanted here, where the cotton cloth is fine, but are the most profitable thing in Eastern Negroland, from Bagírmi inclusive to Abyssinia.

Sword-blades, which are set here, are imported in considerable quantity; as not only the Kél-owí and the neighbouring Tárki tribes, but also the Háusáwa, Fúlbe, Nyffáwa, and Kanúri or Bórnu people, are supplied from this market. Fifty thousand may be the general annual amount of this article, which produces (the blade being reckoned at one thousand kurdí) fifty millions. Almost all of them that I saw, not only here, but even among the Tawárek near Timbúktu, were from Solingen. Only a small proportion of the import remains in the country; but the setting of the blades, which are again exported, secures a great profit to the natives.

Very few fire-arms, as far as I became aware, are imported into this market, although common muskets have begun to be imported by way of Nýffi at extraordinarily cheap prices by the Americans. Pistols and blunderbusses are privately sold by the merchants to princes or great men.

The common razors, made in Styria, with black wooden handles, bad as they are, are very much liked by the inhabitants, who know how to sharpen them most beautifully, and strengthen the wretched handle with a guard of copper. I had a tolerable supply of English razors, and found that those bought for sixpence at home would sell profitably, but that nobody would give, for a good razor, though ever so excellent, more than one thousand kurdí; however, the better sort are very fit for presents to men of importance, who know well their value. In any case the handles ought to be strong, and not likely to break. This commodity does certainly not much exceed two or three millions.

French silks, called “hattáya,” were formerly in great request, but at present seem to be a little out of vogue; and most of what is imported here is exported again by second-hand buyers to Yóruba and Gónja. The amount of this import into the Kanó market, I think, does not exceed twenty millions.

An important branch of import is formed by articles of Arab dress, chiefly bernúses, caftans, sedríyas, trowsers, red caps, red sashes, shawls. It is difficult to state, even approximately, the value of these articles; but it cannot certainly be much less than fifty millions altogether. The sort of dress most in request comes from Tunis, but a good deal also from Egypt; and from the latter country come all the white shawls with red borders, called “subéta” in Arabic, “aliyáfu” in Háusa, and very much liked by the negroes as well as by the Tawárek. The import of this article alone exceeds the value of ten millions. The common articles of dress, of coarser workmanship, are made in Tripoli. Red caps of very coarse description are now imported from Leghorn, and find a sale, but are not liked by the free people.

Frankincense and spices—principally jáwi, benzoin, the resin obtained from a species of styrax, “símbil” or Valeriana Celtica, and cloves—form a not inconsiderable article of import, perhaps amounting to fifteen millions. However, I exclude from this sum the value of the rose-oil which is annually imported in considerable quantity, and, being a dear article, forms also an important one; but very little of it comes into the general trade, almost all of it being disposed of privately to the princes and great men, or given to them in presents. I am inclined to estimate the value of this article imported at about forty millions. Tin and many other smaller articles may together be estimated at ten millions.

In the trade of Kanó there is another very interesting article, which tends to unite very distant regions of Africa; this is copper—“ja-n-kárfi.” A good deal of old copper—say fifty loads, together with about twenty loads of zinc—is imported from Tripoli; but a considerable supply of this useful and handsome metal is also imported every year by the Jellába of Nímro in Wadáy, who bring it from the celebrated copper-mine, “el hófra,” situate to the south of Dar-Fúr, of which I shall have occasion to speak in the following volume.[37] I estimate the whole import of this metal at about from fifteen to twenty millions; but it is to be remarked that, so far from being to the disadvantage of the Kanáwa, it proves a new material of industry, while only the smaller part remains in the country.

With regard to the precious metals, a small supply of silver is imported by the merchants, but rather exceptionally, most of the latter being but agents or commissioners engaged to effect the sale of the merchandise forwarded from Tripoli and Fezzán. The silver likewise supplies a branch of industry, the silversmiths, who are generally identical with the blacksmiths, being very clever in making rings and anklets. In Kanó scarcely any tradesman will object to receive a dollar in payment. With regard to iron, which forms a very considerable branch of industry in the place, I will only say that it is far inferior to that of Wándala or Mándara and Bubanjídda, which I shall mention in the course of my proceedings. Spears, daggers, hoes, and stirrups are the articles most extensively produced in iron.

As for gold, though a general standard, of the mithkál at four thousand kurdí, is usually maintained, in Timbúktu its price greatly varies, from three thousand five hundred up to four thousand five hundred kurdí; but this unreasonable fluctuation is but nominal, gold being scarcely ever bought in Timbúktu for ready money, but for túrkedís, when a túrkedí bought in Kanó for eighteen hundred, or at the utmost two thousand, fetches there a mithkál. One hundred mithkáls of gold may easily be bought in Kanó at any time. Even the common currency of the Kanó market, the “urí” (pl. kurdí) or shell (Cypræa moneta), 2,500 of which are equal to the Spanish or Austrian dollar[38], forms an important article of import and commerce, though I have not been able to ascertain that a large quantity is ever introduced at a time. Nevertheless that must sometimes happen, as a great amount of shells has been exported to Bórnu, where they have been recently introduced as currency; and this obviously explains why since the year 1848 the demand for these shells has so greatly increased on the coast.

These merely approximative figures cannot be reduced to the form of a balance-sheet; but they will give a general idea of the commercial activity of the place. I will conclude these few remarks by observing that the market of Kanó is better supplied with articles of food than any other market in Negroland; but meat as well as corn is dearer here than in Kúkawa, particularly the latter. Besides the great market-place, there are several smaller ones dispersed through the town, the most noted of which are the káswa-n-kurmí, Mandáweli, Hanga, káswa-n-máta, káswa-n-áyagi, káswa-n-Jírba, káswa-n-Yákase, káswa-n-kófan Wámbay, and the káswa-n-kófan Náyisa.

The province of Kanó[39], which comprises a very fertile district of considerable extent, contains, according to my computation, more than two hundred thousand free people, besides at least an equal number of slaves; so that the whole population of the province amounts to more than half a million; though it may greatly exceed this number. The governor is able to raise an army of seven thousand horse, and more than twenty thousand men on foot. In the most flourishing state of the country, the governor of Kanó is said to have been able to bring into the field as many as ten thousand horse.

The tribute which he levies is very large, considering the state of the country, amounting altogether to about one hundred millions of kurdí, besides the presents received from merchants. The most considerable item of his revenue consists in the “kurdí-n-kása” (what is called in Kanúri “lárderám”), or the ground-rent. It is said to amount to ninety millions, and is levied, both here and in the province of Kátsena, not from the ground under cultivation, but every head of a family has to pay two thousand five hundred kurdí, or just a Spanish dollar; in the province of Zégzeg, on the contrary, the kurdí-n-kása is a tax of five hundred kurdí levied on every fertáña or hoe, and a single hoe will cultivate a piece of ground capable of producing from one hundred to two hundred “démmi” or sheaves of grain (sorghum and pennisetum), each of which contains two kél, while fifty kél are reckoned sufficient for a man’s sustenance during a whole year. Besides the kurdí-n-kása, the governor levies an annual tax called “kurdí-n-korófi,” of seven hundred kurdí[40] on every dyeing-pot or korófi, of which there are more than two thousand in the town alone; a “fítto” of five hundred kurdí on every slave sold in the market; an annual tax, “kurdí-n-debíno,” of six hundred kurdí on every palm-tree, and a small tax called “kurdí-n-ráfi” on the vegetables sold in the market, such as dánkali or sweet potatoes, gwáza or yams, rísga, rógo, &c. This latter tax is very singular, as the meat, or the cattle brought into the town, as far as I know, does not pay any tax at all. Clapperton was mistaken in stating that all the date-trees in the town belong to the governor, which is not more true than that all the sheds in the market belong to him.

The authority of the governor is not absolute, even without considering the appeal which lies to his liege lord in Sókoto or Wúrno, if the subjects’ complaints can be made to reach so far; a sort of ministerial council is formed, to act in conjunction with the governor, which in important cases he cannot well avoid consulting. At the head of this council stands the ghaladíma, whose office originated, as we shall see, in the empire of Bórnu, and who very often exercises, as is the case in Kanó, the highest influence, surpassing that of the governor himself; then follows the “serkí-n-dáwakay” (the master of the horse), an important charge in barbarous countries, where victory depends almost always on the cavalry; then the “bánda-n-Kanó” (a sort of commander-in-chief); then the “alkáli” or chief justice, the “chiróma-n-Kanó” (the eldest son of the governor, or some one assuming this title), who exercises the chief power in the southern part of the province; the “serkí-n-báy” (properly, the chief of the slaves), who has the inspection of the northern districts of the province as far as Kazáure; then the “gadó” or lord of the treasury, and finally the “serkí-n-sháno” (the master of the oxen, or rather the quartermaster-general), who has all the military stores under his care; for the ox, or rather the bull, is the ordinary beast of burden in Negroland. It is characteristic that, when the governor is absent paying his homage to his liege lord, it is not the ghaladíma, but the gadó and the serkí-n-sháno who are his lieutenants or substitutes.

With regard to the government in general, I think, in this province, where there is so much lively intercourse, and where publicity is given very soon to every incident, it is not oppressive, though the behaviour of the ruling class is certainly haughty, and there is, no doubt, a great deal of injustice inflicted in small matters. The etiquette of the court, which is far more strict than in Sókoto, must prevent any poor man from entering the presence of the governor. The Fúlbe marry the handsome daughters of the subjugated tribe, but would not condescend to give their own daughters to the men of that tribe as wives. As far as I saw, their original type has been well preserved as yet, though, by obtaining possession of wealth and comfort, their warlike character has been greatly impaired, and the Féllani-n-Kanó have become notorious for their cowardice throughout the whole of Negroland.[41]