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CHAP. LXII.

UNSETTLED PROVINCES OBSTRUCTED BY NATURE AND INFESTED BY MAN. — ARIBÍNDA. — HÓMBORI.

Thursday, July 21st.At length I set out on the last and most dangerous stage of my journey to Timbúktu, thinking at the time that I should be able to reach that celebrated place in about twenty days. But I underrated the distance, such a very different position having been assigned to that mysterious place by geographers; and I had no idea of the difficulties which attended this journey, at least for a Christian, and the delays which would be caused me by the character of the new companion whom I had attached to me.

On leaving the turbulent town of Dóre, a great many armed people accompanied me, much against my inclination; and their conduct was so suspicious that we were obliged to make a halt and send them about their business: for the inhabitants of this place, not long before, had robbed and killed, in a similar manner, a wealthy sheríf, whom they pretended to escort, on his way from Sansándi. Just in crossing the shallow concavity where every year a very extensive sheet of water is formed, which often assumes the dimensions of an immense lake, and even now was covered with fine fresh turf, we met a large caravan of Mósi traders from Bússumo, their asses heavily laden with immense bundles of tári, or cotton strips, and with Kóla nuts. Further on, where a little cultivation of cotton appeared, the monkey-bread or baobab tree became predominant. Altogether the whole province seemed to be in a miserable state; and the village Dánandé, which we passed after a march of about seven miles, bore evident traces of having suffered from the effects of war. The monotony of the country was pleasingly broken by a small rivulet, which we crossed a few yards beyond the village, and which was bordered by some very fine trees of the “mur” kind, which I have mentioned on a former occasion as affording excellent timber for boat-building. The baobab trees, also, were here greatly distinguished, both by their size and their fine foliage.

We took up our quarters this day in Wúlu, a village situated beyond a large sheet of water, or, as it is here called, “wéndu,” overgrown by the finest trees. The place is inhabited by Tawárek slaves, who are trilingues, speaking Temáshight as well as Songhay and Fulfúlde; but their huts were very miserable indeed, and of mosquitoes there was no end, and we had likewise great difficulty in finding a supply of corn. The hut in which I took up my quarters had been recently built, and on the whole was not so bad, but so choke-full of simple furniture, such as large jars, pots, dishes, saddles, provision-bags, and numerous other articles, that I could scarcely find room for myself, while the proprietor, when he returned from the fields and found a stranger quartered in the midst of all his treasures, felt so anxious, that he did not stir from the door. However, the west side of the village being bordered by a large sheet of water, or tebki, richly adorned with trees and herbage, I did not remain long in my close quarters, but hastened towards this green open spot, which was delicious in the extreme, but gave birth to a legion of mosquitoes.

We felt the inconvenience of this little hamlet the more, as we were obliged to stay here the following day; for we received a credible report that El Khatír, the most powerful of the neighbouring Tawárek chiefs, intended making a foray against this place, and the inhabitants were in a state of the utmost alarm. But a thunder-storm which broke out the next morning, accompanied with a considerable quantity of rain, relieved us, most providentially, of all danger from this quarter, swelling the many watercourses which intersect this region, to such a degree that they became impassable to the enemy. On the west side of the hamlet where we were encamped there is a considerable suburb of Fúlbe cattle-breeders; and in the evening a great many of them paid me a visit.

Saturday, July 23rd.We had here entered a district which was very different from that which we had hitherto traversed in the province of Libtáko; and the nature of which caused us great delay, and very serious difficulties, on account of the many rivers and swamps which we had to cross. During the first part of our day’s march, we had the wéndu of Wúlu for a long time on our right, but, having crossed without much difficulty one considerable branch of it, we came to another water with a strong current, which caused us a long delay, as it was at the time about 400 yards across, and not less than four and a half feet deep in the channel. The water at this spot has a southerly course; but it is difficult to say what greater river it joins.[73] For several miles the upper course of this same water, as it seemed, was seen at a short distance on our right. Large wide-spreading “mur,” tamarind, and monkey-bread trees everywhere appeared, and we could see the footsteps of a great number of elephants. The country on our left was undulating, and consisted of sandy soil clothed almost exclusively with the kálgo, with its ash-coloured leaves and its long red pods; but, as soon as the river receded, the character of the landscape also changed, the surface becoming rather level, and exhibiting more small brushwood, while numerous water-pools spread out, overgrown with kréb, or the edible Poa, and with molukhía. The district was full of buffaloes; but it was also much infested by a dangerous species of fly, which greatly tormented our animals, and which is very rarely met with in the eastern part of Negroland. We encamped, after a march of about sixteen miles, in the midst of the forest, near the site of the former encampment of a Tawárek horde, where kréb was springing up in the most luxuriant abundance, affording the richest pasture to the horses, and a cheerful sight to ourselves; but we had here to sustain a very heavy rain, which lasted for several hours. Fortunately, it was not accompanied by much wind, so that my frail tent offered sufficient resistance; but the encampment was far from comfortable.

The rain had at length ceased; but we had scarcely resigned ourselves to sleep, when a troop of pilgrims, passing by at this unusual hour of the night, roused us at once. Fortunately, the ground which we had to traverse further on was of a rocky nature, else it would have been almost impossible to proceed after the last night’s rain; but, after a march of about fourteen miles, we came to a very considerable sheet of water, which we crossed with extreme difficulty, and encamped close beyond in a state of entire exhaustion. The channel of the torrent itself, which had spread its inundation to a great distance, was so considerable, being at the deepest spot five feet and a half, that it almost swamped me on my horse, besides wetting all my luggage. The place where we had encamped was a narrow open spot in the forest; but the ground was full of ants, and we were also greatly troubled by innumerable swarms of small flies which penetrated into all our clothes. Fortunately we had no rain, so that I was able to stay outside, as the heat in the tent was scarcely endurable. This day, also, we observed numerous footprints of elephants.

Monday, July 25th.We rose with the hope that we might arrive at an early hour in Aribínda, or rather the chief place of that district, although we were aware that we should have to cross another considerable sheet of water; but we were sadly disappointed, for, after a march of about three miles through a more rugged district with black and red granite and a great quantity of gneiss, we reached the wide inundations of a river called Búggoma by my companions, which we endeavoured in vain to cross. Seeing that we should not succeed here, we struck off into the forest in a south-westerly direction, in order to ford it higher up, when suddenly we fell in with two men who were pasturing a couple of asses; but, although we made signs to them that we were their friends, they would not hear us, and, beating their shields, cried out lustily to their companions, who all on a sudden rushed out in every direction from behind the bushes, and in a moment surrounded us. There were from 150 to 200 people, all tall slender men, half-naked, with nothing but a poor ragged cloth round their loins, and another rag still poorer round their heads, and each armed with a couple of spears and a ragged shield, which they brandished over their heads with warlike gesticulations. The affair seemed rather serious, and here it was fortunate that I had such a clever companion as the Waláti with me; for, while I was pointing my gun, he begged me to ride quietly in advance straight upon those people, and at the same time cried out to them that I was a sheríf, and a friend of the sheikh El Bakáy, to whom I was carrying a number of books from the east. All of a sudden they dropped their spears and thronged round me, requesting me to give them my blessing; and the circumstances under which I was placed obliged me to comply with this slight request, although it was by no means a pleasant matter to lay my hands on all these dirty heads.

On the whole it was very fortunate that we met with these people; for without their aid and information we should scarcely have been able to cross the water which intersected our track, at least without a most serious loss to our luggage. People in Europe have no idea what it is to travel during the rainy season in these regions; else they would not wonder that poor Dr. Vogel, in going at that time of the year from Yákoba to Záriya, lost most of his instruments, and all his collections, in crossing the rivers.

They were poor people from Gʿaó, or Gógó, and the neighbourhood, a mixture, as I thought at the time, of Songhay and Tawárek, but speaking only the language of the former; but I found afterwards that they belonged to the tribe of the Gabéro, of whom I shall speak in the following volume. They had visited the market of Aribínda, and were at present on their way to Dóre and Libtáko, carrying as merchandise, on a couple of asses and bull oxen, nothing but cotton strips, or “tári,” rice, and a few mats, of which latter article they brought me three as a present. Having received my blessing, and the tumult having quieted down, they conducted us to a place where they declared the water to be fordable. But the boggy ground inspired us with but little confidence; and it really caused us an immense deal of trouble. My people were obliged to carry all the luggage, even the heaviest, across the swamp, which was half a mile in breadth, the camels being scarcely able to make their way, even unloaded; and I myself had the misfortune to fall under my horse, in the midst of the swamp, almost as badly as had happened to me on a former occasion, on my journey to Kánem. I was firmly convinced that my horse would not be able to carry me over, and that it would be the safest way to cross the bog on foot; but I allowed myself to be swayed by the Waláti, who thought that my dignity, in presence of those native travellers, absolutely required me to remain on horseback. It was on this occasion that all my journals got wet through in a most miserable way, and we had the greatest difficulty in extricating my horse from the bog, in which it was lying for some minutes as if dead.

It was almost three o’clock in the afternoon when we again set out from the opposite side of the swamp; but we had first to return, along the water, in a north-easterly direction, in order to regain the direct track. We then proceeded at an expeditious rate, in order to arrive at Aribínda before nightfall. A short distance before we reached our destination, the whole character of the country changed, granite mounds rising on our right and left to considerable altitude, and leaving only a narrow passage through which to proceed,—the beautifully sweeping slope of the eminence on our right being pleasantly adorned with bushes, and enlivened by goats.

Having left another village at the foot of the granite range, we took up our quarters in the lamórde or residence of the chief of Aribínda, which is likewise situated at the foot of the granitic ridge, part of the huts being built on the slope, and part in the plain,—the latter forming a group by itself, which, with its projecting and receding walls, formed a sort of defence, as represented in the accompanying woodcut. Here we obtained quarters without delay, two of my people having gone in advance; but they were narrow, dirty, and uncomfortable, and appeared to us the more miserable as a great deal of rain fell during our stay here. The inhabitants belong chiefly to the Songhay race; but there are also a great many Tawárek, or rather Tawárek half-castes, who live here peaceably, though in general the Tawárek and the inhabitants of these districts are engaged in almost uninterrupted warfare with each other,—the former always pushing more and more in advance, and threatening to overrun the whole of this region of Negroland. The people supply themselves with water from the holes in the rocks, where it collects,—their supply for the dry season being deposited in a cistern of large size. The soil in the valley, which here widens into a considerable plain, is very fertile, and does not require much rain; and the corn was here a little cheaper than in Libtáko, one hundred shells, or rather the equivalent of that sum, for shells had no currency in the place, being sufficient for the daily allowance of one horse. I also observed with pleasure a very fine herd of cattle. Aribínda[74] seems formerly to have been an important place, or rather province, and the most considerable, at one time, of all the districts on the south side of the river, so that the Songhay of Gógó designated it Hári-bínda, “the place beyond the water,” which name, in a wider sense, is given to the whole country on the south of the Ísa, or so-called Niger, as an equivalent to Gurma.

I had been very anxious to conceal the more valuable articles of my property from the prying eyes of my clever but greedy Arab companion; but the following day, as I was obliged to dry some of my luggage, which had been completely soaked, he got a peep at some fine bernúses which I had with me; and, in order to satisfy his covetousness, I thought it prudent to make him here a handsome present. Altogether my luggage suffered severely from the many watercourses which we had to cross at this stage of my journey, as well as from the excessive dampness of the weather. I also made some presents to the governor, but was rather astonished when, on setting out, he begged from me the very tobe which I was then wearing.

Wednesday, July 27th.The country which we had to traverse was diversified by small granitic ranges and detached cones; but it also afforded many localities for swampy grounds, very difficult to be crossed. In some places beans were cultivated besides millet. We encamped at length, after a march of about fifteen miles, in the midst of the forest, on the site of a former village, which was richly overgrown with the most succulent herbage, very grateful both to horse and camel.

Thursday, July 28th.We had had some summer lightning in the evening, followed by slight rain during the night; but about half-past six o’clock in the morning, a very heavy thunder-storm broke out, accompanied by violent rain, which lasted till noon, and rendered us extremely uncomfortable. My friend El Waláti, being of a weak and nervous temperament, was, as usual on such occasions, laid up with fever. In consequence of the state of the weather, it was not till past three o’clock in the afternoon that we at length set out on our watery march, and after a stretch of about ten miles, having passed a very extensive and deep water, reached the Songhay village of Fíliyo, and with extreme difficulty obtained most indifferent and damp quarters in the dark. The whole village is built of clay, with elevated towerlike entrances not unlike the granaries in Champagóre. It consists of several detached groups, which are separated by corn-fields, where the crops were standing moderately high. The inhabitants belong exclusively to the Songhay race, with the exception of a few Fúlbe, who, however, have themselves almost changed their national character; and although the village is externally subjected to the Púllo governor of Gilgóji, or Jilgódi, nevertheless the people have a very independent demeanour, and hold in detestation the conquering tribe of the Fúlbe: even their carriage bears evident testimony to a certain feeling of liberty; and there is no end of smoking. The women wear a profusion of ornaments, while all of them are, besides, distinguished by a copper ring round the wrist.

Having arrived so late the preceding evening that the horses had even remained without food, I was obliged to stay here the next day in order to purchase a supply of corn, which I effected with the farráwel I had obtained in Libtáko, consisting of eight pieces called “kória,” or “farda,” sewn together. All the grain hereabouts consists of Negro millet, or, as the Songhay call it, “héni.” The governor of the place, who had treated me inhospitably the first evening, on being remonstrated with for his miserly conduct, gave me very generous treatment.

Saturday, July 30th.On leaving the place, I was exceedingly struck with its castlelike appearance, as well as with the fine crops of corn which surrounded it on all sides, while a rich growth of trees embellished the district to the south. It was a fine morning, and, a heavy dew having fallen, the drops of wet slipping down from the corn glistened in the rays of the morning sun, while the monkey-bread trees being just in full blossom, the white bell-like flowers hanging down from the colossal branches gave a remarkable relief to the scenery. It was through such a country that our path kept along, on a rising ground, when, after a march of about fourteen miles, and leaving a couple of hamlets built of matting, like the dwellings of the inhabitants of Gógó, on one side, we reached the Songhay town of Tínge, built likewise in the shape of a “kasr,” and situated on the summit of a small hill.

The houses in this village have not an elevated towerlike shape like those of Fíliyo, nor do they contain an upper story. They have flat roofs. The walls consist of sun-dried clay, which is formed in regular lumps, like stones, and is placed in uniform layers, with loose clay between. Such being the mode of construction, the whole of the houses have rather a miserable appearance from without, and more particularly so at the time of our arrival, in the hot hour of noon, when the destructive effect of the rainy season became more apparent in the midday sun. But the interior of the dwellings is not so bad, and some of them are very large and spacious, as the accompanying ground-plan of the quarters where I was lodged will serve to show. These consisted of a very spacious antechamber, or segífa, forty feet long by ten feet wide, and as many in height,—I myself taking up the part to the right of the entrance, and my people that on the left, a sort of light wall being formed with matting. From this antechamber we could pass into an irregular courtyard, which gave access to a number of apartments where several families were living.

The inhabitants of this place are Songhay who have vindicated their liberty, up to the present time, successfully against the restless and steadily advancing Fúlbe, although in independence they are far behind their noble brethren in Dárgol and those other places lower down the Niger. The indigenous name of their family is Beleéde, or, as they are called by the Fúlbe, Kurminkóbe; and they are said to have come from Zíshia, near Téra. The nobler among them do not disfigure their features at all by tattooing, or “kórto,” while some of them make an incision under the left eye, from the nose towards the cheek-bone, and the common people, three separate incisions—three cuts on the temple, three in the middle of the cheek, and three at the lower part of the face. All of them wear clothing, the greater part of them being dressed in indigo-dyed shirts. Their weapons consist almost entirely of spears. Swords are very rare; nor are the bow and arrow, which constitute the principal weapons of the people of Dárgol, usual among them. The exertions of the natives of these places in defending their independence are greatly favoured by the discord and dissensions which prevail amongst the Fúlbe,—Mahamúdu, one of the Fúlbe chiefs of Dalla, having, in consequence of his disputes with the sheikh Áhmedu, taken refuge with the pagan natives of Mósi, from whence he makes continual predatory expeditions against the territory of his countrymen the Fúlbe. The inhabitants of Tínge, therefore, males as well as females, enjoy their liberty and independence in smoking the whole day long, and dancing every evening when it is not raining,—an amusement which already, in the eleventh century, the Andalusian geographer El Bekri did not fail to remark as characteristic of these people[75], while their less happy brethren in Timbúktu and Jimbálla have been deprived of these their favourite and innocent amusements by the austere laws of their fanatical oppressors.

The natives are industrious, both in cultivating the ground and in weaving; and these habits seemed to be favoured by Providence, so that while all the neighbouring districts were suffering from dearth and famine, in this village corn was plentiful, especially Negro millet, or “héni.” Indian millet, “sába” or “háme,” was rather scarce. But the corn was still in seed and not pounded, so that we were obliged to stay here again a day in order to have a supply prepared for us. We bought our corn, in the beginning, for the farráwel which we had brought from Libtáko; but after a little while the inhabitants refused to accept of this cotton, which is not so good as their own manufacture. The cotton which I had brought from Gando was much better than theirs; but it did not please them, on account of the narrowness of the strips. My English darning-needles were, however, very acceptable, as being exceedingly well adapted for the coarse texture of their woollen shawls and blankets. Fifty of them fetched here a price equal to the value of a Spanish dollar; but the small common needles were regarded by them with the utmost contempt.

I employed my time, as far as the rainy weather would allow me, in taking a walk through the country; and I was not a little surprised when I found that the ground hereabouts, particularly towards the west, was very rocky, the corn being sown in the intervening patches of arable soil. On a rising spot, a few hundred yards from the village, there was a group of matting huts, which constituted a small weaving manufactory. At the foot of the hill on which the village was situated, there was a deep pond covered with Pistia Stratiotes, like the ponds in the interior of Kanó; and it was from here that I was particularly struck by the fortlike appearance of the village, with its receding and projecting angles, and its half-circular, bastionlike walls in other places, as represented in the accompanying woodcut; while in the distance the mountain groups formed an interesting background. However, we had here such a heavy fall of rain that I was obliged to sacrifice another day, as the roads were rendered totally impassable. The rain which fell in the afternoon of the last day of July was of such violence that a fourth part of the houses in the town suffered more or less; and in one dwelling, which was totally destroyed, eleven goats were killed, while the inmates themselves had only just time to escape. It was discovered that just life enough remained in these poor animals in order to enable their owners to perform the essential ceremony of cutting their throats; for they also have a touch of Islám.

In the beginning of this my journey to the west, I had been very anxious to move on as fast as possible, in order to avoid the worst part of the rainy season; but seeing that all was in vain, I had become, in a certain degree, indifferent to the loss of time; but when the first of August broke upon me in this village, I became deeply concerned, and wrote in my journal: “May the Almighty bless this month, and lighten the difficulties which stand in my way, that before its close I may safely reach the place of my destination!”

It was most interesting to observe from the top of the hill the uninterrupted sheet of water, which, after the immense quantity of rain that had fallen, was spreading out over the low grounds in the plain; and the people themselves whose dwellings had suffered so much, and which were just about to undergo the necessary repairs, were standing gazing with delight upon the deluge which promised to them a very rich crop. My clever Arab from the west lay almost dead with fever; but the head man of the town, whose name was Ábu-Bakr, a man of very stately appearance, was of rather a communicative disposition, so that with his assistance I was able to make considerable progress in my knowledge of the Songhay language; and, if I had been able to go on in this way, I might soon have mastered the language; but unfortunately my situation became too unsettled in the sequel to allow of a quiet course of study; to say nothing of the fact, that the extremely poor character of the language itself completely damped my enthusiasm.

I here first discovered the error of Caillié in giving to the people of Timbúktu the name of “Kissúr,” or, as he writes, “Kissour,” which is evidently nothing but a mistake, “ki-sóʿri,” or rather “ki-songhi,” “ki-songhay,” meaning the language of the Songhay. I here also became aware of the fact that this idiom is originally monosyllabic, while I observed likewise that the language spoken in Ágades, of which I had made a vocabulary, though evidently a dialect of the same idiom, had been affected to a great extent by the influence of the Temáshight, or Berber.

Tuesday, August 2nd.We at length set out to pursue our journey, which now became full of danger, as we had to traverse the province of Dalla, which is ruled by a governor in direct subjection to the fanatical chief of Másina residing in Hamda-Alláhi, who would never allow a Christian to visit his territory. I was therefore obliged to assume the character of an Arab. Just at that time a change in the government of this district had taken place,—a young inexperienced lad having succeeded to the former ruler.

Fortunately there had been no rain the afternoon of the preceding day, so that the country had dried up a little from the inundation of the last of July, and the weather was fine and genial. Thus cheerfully proceeding on our road, we met several people on their way to the town with fowls and milk; for during our stay in Tínge the communication with the neighbouring places had been entirely interrupted by the heavy rains. Ábu-Bakr escorted me to some distance, when he left me with a hearty wish for the success of my undertaking, and begged me urgently to be on my guard. In taking here quite a northerly direction, we now entered a province where the population of the Fúlbe entirely prevails, and this day we had passed several encampments of Fúlbe cattle-breeders on our route, consisting of oblong oval-shaped huts, constructed of matting. Cattle seemed to abound; but the cultivation of the ground was rather scanty, and the character of the country uniform, and without any interesting features, the trees consisting almost exclusively of talha and homéd. We had also to cross a river, at present about 200 yards wide and two feet deep, which the preceding day had evidently been impassable and had carried away several head of cattle, a fact we learned from a Púllo neatherd whom we passed on our road, as he was cheerfully stalking before his cattle, and leading them along merely by the sound of his voice.

Thus, after a march of about thirteen miles, having crossed a swamp and left a larger sheet of water on our left, we reached a miserable hamlet called Déshi, belonging still to the district of Kséne (which comprises Fíliyo), and consisting of several groups of half-decayed clay dwellings inhabited by poor Songhay people, who appeared to be greatly oppressed.

It was with some difficulty that we here obtained quarters; and we had the misfortune of falling into a dispute with the landlord, on account of the many dogs which beset his house, and would not cede their place to us. This was a certain proof that the natives were not far advanced in Islám, as the Mohammedans in general are averse to the company of this unclean animal, and the Fúlbe very rarely make use of dogs even for watching their numerous herds of cattle. Most of these dogs were of black colour, and almost all the fowls were of black and white colour. I here also observed that the native women carried the water in a pair of buckets slung across the shoulder, as I had remarked already in other Songhay places; but here, also, they did not wear nose-rings.

The country around was well cultivated, and produced especially sorghum; but the harvest of the preceding year had not been a favourable one, as was the case almost all over the country, so that dearth was prevailing.

We here met with a party of native traders from Hómbori, with oxen laden with salt, who gave us some useful information with regard to the road before us. It had been a point of great dispute with us whether or not we should visit that town, one of the most ancient settlements in Negroland, probably already mentioned as an independent place by El Bekrí[76], and forming the seat of a governor in the palmy days of the Songhay empire, the Hómbori-koy, and where even now a considerable market is held; but after mature consideration we had thought it better to leave it on one side, as on account of the considerable intercourse of people in that place, and the many Arabs who frequent it, the danger of my true character being there discovered was the greater.

Notwithstanding our determination not to touch at Hómbori, on setting out the following day, after an almost sleepless night, owing to the number of mosquitoes, we preserved an entirely northerly direction. There was a good deal of cultivation round the village, consisting of Indian and Negro millet, the crops being almost ripe. But I here met again that great annoyance to the husbandman, the black worm “hálowes,” my old acquaintance in Bagírmi, which I had not seen in the whole intervening country, and which causes an immense deal of damage to the crops. The ground was rocky in many places; but this did not prevent the growth of the monkey-bread tree, which is often seen shooting forth from between the very rocks. Further on I also observed a little cultivation of beans, while the black worm was succeeded by large heaps of the small red worm, which I had first observed on the banks of the river Sírba, and which seems to be a terrible nuisance to many of these districts. Gradually the road became more swampy, while we obtained a distant view of the detached mountains of Hómbori.

About three o’clock in the afternoon, five of our party, riding a little in advance of the camels, approached the town of Kúbo, when, being observed by some of the inhabitants, our appearance created a great alarm in the place, the people thinking that a hostile troop was approaching; but, as soon as they beheld our laden camels, their fears ceased, and they gave us quarters. Kúbo is the first place of the district called Tóndi, or el Hajri (meaning, the mountainous or stony district), while Fíliyo and Déshi belong to the district called Kséne; but in a political respect Kúbo belongs now to the province of Dalla, which at present is governed by a son of Módi Bóle; it is two days and a half distant from the town of Hómbori[77], and is a place of some importance. The houses are usually well built, and consist of clay, the greater part of them including a tolerably large courtyard. Our house also was spacious; but, on account of my heavy luggage, I was obliged to take up my quarters in the open segífa, or antechamber, which was greatly exposed to mosquitoes. In front of my quarters there was a handsome square of tolerably regular shape; and towards the north a considerable tank spread out, along which led the path into the fields: for, the whole place being situated in a depression of the ground, all the moisture of the neighbourhood collects here.

The village is surrounded by a light stockade of two rows of bushes; and round about the place there are several ponds of water. Turtles are very common here, and the soil swarms with ants. The place was tolerably well provided with corn, and I bought here twenty mudd for one hundred drʿa of Gando cotton strips, equal in reality to nine hundred shells, but the mudd of Kúbo is smaller than that of Tínge, being about two thirds of its size, and in the form of a round dish, while that of Tínge is like a pitcher. The daily allowance of corn for a horse cost about one hundred shells.

A very heavy thunder-storm, accompanied with violent rain, broke out in the evening; and the clayey soil of the country which we had to traverse obliged me to stay here the following day. The delay caused me great disappointment, as the spreading of the news of my journey could not fail to increase its difficulties, and the more so as we heard here the unpleasant tidings that the governor of Dalla himself was near, and that most probably we should fall in with him.

Meanwhile I was applied to by our host and a cousin of his, to decide a dispute between them as to the chieftainship of their village; but, of course, I referred them to their own liege lord, and they started off to join him, near the village of Dúna; but their absence did not expose us to inhospitality, as we were very lavishly treated with numerous dishes of Indian corn, which, however, were rendered less palatable by the use of the dodówa-bosso, or the adulterated dodówa; we also received a good supply of milk. I even bought a few fowls, though they were rather dear, selling for one hundred shells each, a price here reckoned equal to two darning-needles.

Friday, August 5th.There had been another heavy rain in the afternoon of the preceding day, but, fortunately, it had not been of sufficient duration to render the roads impassable. There was a great deal of indecision with my companion El Waláti as to the route which we should pursue; and while it almost seemed from our northerly direction as if up to this moment he had intended to take me to Hómbori, notwithstanding his former protestations against such a proceeding, he now pretended it was necessary that we should go to Dúna, and we accordingly changed our course to the west, or rather W.S.W., steering about like a vessel with contrary winds. There can be no doubt that all this time the crafty Arab himself was hesitating as to the course which he should take, and this was evidently the reason of his great delay, as he probably thought that he might have a chance of getting rid of me, and taking possession of my property; but we did not become aware of this treacherous conduct till we arrived at the place of our destination, when we learned how providentially we had escaped all his wiles.

At the western end of the village of Kúbo there is a suburb of Fúlbe cattle-breeders, consisting of about sixty large huts of reed. As soon as we had left this place behind us, we were quite horror-struck at observing all the paths full of those small red worms which I have mentioned before, marching in unbroken lines towards the village; even my servants were quite surprised at such a spectacle, having never before seen any thing like it, and they gave vent to their feelings of astonishment, and at the same time of commiseration for the natives, in reiterated exclamations of “Wolla, wolla!” I am not acquainted with the reason of this curious phenomenon, but it seems peculiar to this region. Yet the ground was not quite barren, and was even sprinkled with violets here and there, the surface being undulating, not unlike the sandy downs of Kánem, the parallel of which country, namely about 15° of northern latitude, we had here reached.

Proceeding thus, we reached after a march of about four miles a higher point, from whence we had a view over a wide expanse of underwood, broken only now and then by a baobab tree, while towards the north some of the detached cones of the Hómbori range gave to the landscape a very singular feature, the isolated eminences of the range (if range it can be called) starting up from the plain in the most peculiar forms, as the accompanying woodcut will show.

We passed the site of a former place; but at present there were only nomadic encampments of Fúlbe cattle-breeders, with herds of cattle and flocks of sheep, and only little cultivation was to be seen. The dwellings, in a hamlet which we passed a little further on, were of a very irregular description, corresponding to the corn-stacks which we had left on one side a little before, as represented in the accompanying woodcut. All the children here, even those of the Fúlbe, were quite naked. My companion El Waláti wanted to obtain quarters in this place; but fortunately the huts proved too bad, and we moved on, another hamlet, which we passed a little further on, being of a still worse description.

On passing several parties of Fúlbe travellers on our road, I was surprised at the change in the form of compliments, the mode of saluting having been, the last few days, “baráijo,” but to-day we met some parties who saluted us with the well-known compliment “fófo,” a word which, although probably of western origin, has been even admitted into the Háusa language, with the meaning of general well-wishing. Thus we proceeded cheerfully onwards, having crossed a very difficult boggy ground, where I almost lost one of my camels, till, a little after two o’clock in the afternoon, we reached the poor village of Dúna, consisting of three detached groups of huts, one of which, with its high towerlike granaries with a pointed roof of thatch, presented a very remarkable spectacle. As for myself, I obtained quarters in an isolated hut of rather indifferent description.

The first news which I learned here, and which was far from being agreeable, was, that the governor of Dalla with his camp was at a short distance, and in the very road which we had to pursue the following day; and as in consequence it would have been highly imprudent to endeavour to pass him unnoticed, I determined to send two of my men to him with a present, while I pursued my journey with the rest of my people. But as this governor was a vassal of the chief of Hamda-Alláhi, who, if he had heard that I was a Christian, would probably have thrown great difficulties in my way, and perhaps not allowed me to proceed at all, I was not without great anxiety, and passed a sleepless night; and the crowd of people who had come out from the camp on the news of a distinguished stranger having arrived, and who completely surrounded me on my setting out, was far from agreeable. At length we started, traversing a district of red sandy soil, and overgrown with scanty herbage, while a considerable extent of ground was under cultivation, without, however, promising a rich harvest, the crops being rather thin and of poor quality; and we had only proceeded a short distance, when we observed such enormous quantities of the red worm as we had never seen before, not even near Kúbo, forming large heaps, from which long and unbroken lines were seen moving eastward.

After a march of two miles, we reached the half-decayed and deserted village called Nyanga Segga, where the governor of Dalla was encamped. But, as if he had expected my coming, he and all his people had mounted. I had sent El Waláti and ʿAlí to present my compliments to him; but when I was pursuing the right track, all the horsemen came up to me, requesting me to give them my blessing; and they so urgently entreated me at the same time to pay my respects personally to their chief, that I could not resist their request. But it almost seemed as if El Waláti had in some way or other compromised himself by his ambiguous conduct; and when I approached the emír, who was very simply dressed, the former quite forgot the part which he had to play, and, casting a wild look at me, requested me to withdraw, in such a manner as greatly to increase the danger of my situation. Deeming it better not to enter into a dispute with this man under such circumstances, I retreated as soon as I had complimented the chief, pursuing my track, but I was followed by several horsemen, who were rather troublesome than otherwise.

The governor of Dalla is said to be more powerful than even that of Gilgóji, with whom he is in an almost continual state of feud, as is the case with nearly all these petty chiefs, although they are all the vassals of one and the same liege lord. This man, however, was to become of remarkable interest to me; for I was soon to meet him again under very altered circumstances, when, from being an object of fear to myself, he was obliged to sue for my protection, as will be seen in the sequel.

The country hereabout presented a sandy level mostly clad with acacias, and especially with a kind called érria. About eight miles beyond Nyanga Segga, the ground became swampy; and after a march of about two miles more we reached the fields of Mundóro, or rather their site, for, in the present desolate state of the country, they were not under cultivation at the time. Here the soil consisted of deep white sand adorned with large baobab trees, while parallel on our right, at the distance of about five hundred yards, a range of sandhills stretched along, overtopped in the distance by an imposing cone belonging to the Hómbori mountains. Thus reaching, at last, cultivated ground, where the crops, however, were still very scanty and in a neglected state, we entered, a little after two o’clock, the deserted village of Mundóro, which till recently had been a considerable town, consisting of a small kasrlike place, of dwellings built of clay, and with very pointed thatched roofs, similar to those represented above, and an open suburb of spacious cottages, consisting of thatchwork of a very peculiar shape, as represented in the accompanying woodcut. With the exception of about a dozen people, the place was quite deserted, the former chief, Mahamúdu, having fallen into disgrace with the governor of Dalla, and sought refuge with the inhabitants of Mósi, from whence he carried on a continual series of expeditions against his kinsmen. Fortunately we were accompanied by a trooper of the governor of Dalla, who took great care in supplying us with necessaries. All the huts were very spacious, but the thatching was not of very accurate workmanship, and the humidity which entered my hut in the course of the night, when we experienced a violent thunder-storm with very heavy rain, was considerable; but keeping up a large fire during the whole of the night, I felt tolerably comfortable, although the greater part of my hut was under water.