Chapter II: Part 2

The land of Maly, which, according to Macrisi, is at “_a very great distance_” from the land of Kanem, next demands our attention. The celebrated Arabian traveller, Batouta, enables us to fix the position of this important country. This man was perhaps the greatest land traveller that ever lived. He had visited every country from China to Spain, and traversed nearly all northern Africa. An abridgment of his important travels was found by Burckhardt in Egypt. The work is become very scarce. Batouta was a native of Tangier. From Segelmessa, he set out with the slave caravan for Sudan, in the year of the Hegira 753, (A.D. 1375.) In 45 days they crossed the Desert, and reached the first town in Sudan, called Abou Laten, or Eiswalaten, perhaps Walet. From Abou Laten, he travelled to Maly, through a country abounding with large trees, in the hollow of one of which he saw a weaver at work on his loom. Ten days brought them to Zaghary, an extensive place inhabited by negro traders, and some white people of the heretic creed of Byadha, supposed to be Christians or Jews. Leaving Zaghary, but without mentioning the distance, or the bearing travelled, he came to the Nile (Niger,) at a village named Karsendjour or Kosegarten.

“From Karsendjour,” says Batouta, “the Nile flows down to Kabera, and from thence to Zagha, the inhabitants of which are Moslems of old, and strong in the faith.” In this we readily recognize Sego, whose people are to this day very rigid Mahommedans. “From Zagha,” continues Batouta, “the Nile flows down to Timbuctoo, _then to Kuku_, to Mouly, the last place in the country of Maly, to Bowy, (Query, can this be the same as Boussa?) which is one of the largest cities in Sudan, and the Sultan one of the most powerful in that country. No white man enters it, for he would be killed before his arrival.” From Karsendjour, the traveller “proceeded to the river called Sansera, about ten miles from Maly, and then entered Maly, where he remained two months, and received presents from Sultan Mousey Solyman, an avaricious but very just king. The women in this country never cover their nakedness till after marriage.”

From the mutability of names in Africa, it is impossible for us to fix precisely the spot where Batouta first reached the Niger. The time he took to travel from Segelmessa across the Desert, agrees very well with the distance to Walet, and from 15 to 20 days would bring him to the Niger about Yamina. His general route to this point was in all probability south. From the Niger, his course was probably to the eastward of south, which would soon bring him to the Ba Nimma, which seems to have been his river Sansera. The Maly here mentioned, there seems no reason to doubt, is the Melli of Leo, and the early Portuguese Voyagers. According to Cadamosto, it was 30 days journey S.W. from Timbuctoo, and from Leo, we learn that it was an extensive country, “extending 300 Arabian miles along a river which falleth into the Niger. It is bounded by Jinnéé on the north, Gago on the east, south by certain deserts and dry mountains, and west by huge _woods and forests_, stretching to the Ocean (Atlantic) Sea. The capital, Melli, contains 6000 families or more. They excel all negroes in wit, civility, and industry. They are rich, and have plenty of wares. The country yieldeth great abundance of corn, flesh, and cotton. Here are many artificers and merchants in all places. The people of Melli were the first that embraced Mahommedanism.” The identity therefore of the Maly of Batouta, and the Melli of Leo, is very apparent. This country must either be situated along the Ba Nimma, or on the Niger itself, as will be noticed more fully as we proceed in tracing the latter. According to the itineraries which Bowditch obtained from several Moors, there is at this day a place called Mali, to the west of Sego. (Bowditch, pages 484, 487, 489, and 192.)

“In 764, (A.D. 1376,) Batouta left Maly, and came to a canal or branch of the Nile, where he saw a great number of Hippopotami; _and from thence, after many days_, he reached Timbuctoo. It is a town of the kingdom of Maly, and a black governor, named by the Sultan of Maly, resides there. Most of its inhabitants are traders.” From thence he passed down the Nile in a canoe, till he came to Kuku, paying daily visits to the towns on the banks of the river.” Kuku is a large city, _one of the finest in Sudan_. Here, as well as in Maly, they use shells for currency. From thence he reached the town of Berdamma, whose inhabitants _are the guardians of the caravans_. Their women are beautiful. From this he went to Nekda or Tedka, built of red stones. The water with which it was supplied, runs over copper mines, and assumes a red colour, whence it is called _Bahar-el-Ahmar_, or Red River. The people have no employment except trade, and the copper outside of Nekda, where slaves work. The copper is melted into long pieces, which are carried to the Pagan negroes for sale, and to other places. The Sultan was of the Berber nation. From hence the traveller returned to Barbary in 1376, passing through Twat, Hekar of the Berbers, and Segelmessa, from whence he went to Faz, where his travels ended.”

From Kuku, Batouta turned homewards. The road he took from thence clearly establishes this fact. The people of Berdamma being the _guardians of the caravans_, and the Sultan of Nekda being of the _Berber nation_, fixes these places on the south side of the Great Desert, and N.E. of Timbuctoo. How far Kuku is below Timbuctoo, we are left to conjecture. From the former place he was 70 days in reaching Twat. This Oasis in the Desert is 45 days journey from Timbuctoo, nearly north. Allowing that Batouta rested no part of the 70 days mentioned, but which it is probable that he did, and taking into consideration the declination of the Niger southward below Timbuctoo, Batouta could scarcely have been more than 25 days journey below the latter place. About that distance from Timbuctoo, according to Sidi Hamed, there are two very large towns on the south bank of the Niger. Batouta’s account of the river called “Bahar-el-Ahmar,” is a curious circumstance, and seems to confirm the account given by Adams of the river which, coming from the N.E. joins the Niger at Timbuctoo, and called the Red River of the Desert.

The two great points, however, here established by this narrative of Batouta, is the account of the great kingdom of Maly, to which in these days Timbuctoo was tributary, and the information that the great city of Kuku, “famous amongst the negroes for magnitude,” was in this land of Maly, the first place of note below Timbuctoo, and upon the banks of the Niger. Modern geographers have placed Kuku N.E. of Bagharme, near 1200 miles from the Niger. Had such an important city been in these parts, it would not have escaped the knowledge of Mr. Browne’s informants, nor the researches and inquiries of the accurate and intelligent Burckhardt, who gives the routes of travellers from Dar Saley to Mourzook, over the very spot where Kuku has been erroneously placed, without once hinting that such a city existed. This grievous error concerning the situation of Kuku, has tended to confuse all the Arabian geography of Africa. The authority for placing it in the part referred to is Edrisi. But that author is very undecided and uncertain on that point. “Kuku,” says he, “is famous amongst the negroes for magnitude. It is situated on the banks of a river which, flowing _from the north part_, washes it, and although many negroes relate that the city of Kuku is situated on the banks of the Nile, _others place it near a river flowing into the Nile_. The king of Kuku is absolute, dependent upon no one, he has much attendance, and the greatest empire. The people are of a martial disposition. The governors and nobility are dressed in satin,” &c.

The accounts given by Edrisi of the magnitude and importance of Kuku, are fully confirmed, and correspond exactly with the description given by Batouta nearly two hundred years later. The position of the city, however, as mentioned by Batouta, must be relied on in preference, because he saw what he describes, and Edrisi only wrote from hearsay, and reports from travellers. Some of these reported that Kuku was not upon the Nile, that is the Gir, but “near a river flowing into the Nile,” which is the fact, by Kuku standing upon the banks of the Niger. Edrisi had evidently very imperfect accounts of the river we call the Niger, and not sufficient to enable him to distinguish it from the Nile or Gir, which ran westward till it met the former. Scheabeddin informs us, that the country between Abyssinia and Syene, through which the Nile of Egypt passed, was called Coucou; and modern authorities tell us, that near Lake Fittre is a country called Dar Cooka, but neither of these were, or could be, the Kuku of Batouta. The city as it is at present placed, is situated in the land of Kanem, whereas Batouta distinctly states it to be in the land of Maly, which Macrisi informs us is at “_a very great distance_” from the former.

There are some particulars regarding the kingdom of Melli, which require further consideration. According to Leo, it was bounded south by a _desert and bare mountains_. In this we readily recognize the high and bleak hills of Kong. But he states that, on the west it is bounded by _huge woods and forests_, which stretch to the ocean, that is to the Atlantic. In this he seems evidently to have had in view the vast woody and hilly country west of the Niger, and its course above Bammakoo. Perhaps these vast countries were in those days but little known to the followers of Mahomet, and therefore supposed to be little else but continued woods and forests. Indeed Abulfeda calls these coasts “uncultivated, uninhabited, and unfrequented countries.” Melli, however, seems to have been a name which extended over a great part of the most western portion of Africa. The name was quite familiar to the early European navigators. Cada Mosto in 1455 was informed, when in the Gambia, that the chiefs up that river, ten days journey distant, “were subservient to the king of Melli, the great emperor of the negroes,” (_Clarke’s_ Mar. Dis. p. 279.) According to Barbot, some navigators make the limits of Sierra Leone extend “north to Cape Verga, making it border on the kingdom of Melli that way.” (_Clarke_, Mar. Dis. p. 314.) The early Dutch navigators in 1600 state, that the coast from Cape Verde to Cape Palmas, was called Melligette, where the kingdom of Melli was situated. This kingdom of Melli hath another under it called Bitonni, which lyeth not far from the Rio Cestos. (_Purchas_, vol. ii. p. 928.) This shews how far the fame and authority of Melli extended in those days, and that, though the centre of its power was on the upper Niger, it nevertheless overawed or claimed respect from the most distant parts in the south-most portion of Africa[3].

Cada Mosto particularly mentions, that Melli was the great channel of the gold trade with Timbuctoo, Barbary, Tunis, and Cairo. Salt was a great article of barter for gold dust, and was brought from Tegazza in the Great Desert. The people of Melli were the carriers of these articles, and Cada Mosto and several other authorities mention a strange circumstance, that this barter was effected with negroes whom the Melli merchants never saw. The latter carried their salt to the banks of a great water, and placing it there in parcels, left it. Other negroes then came in boats from islands adjacent, and finding the salt, laid a quantity of gold beside it equal to what they conceived the value of the salt to be, and then retired. The Melli merchants returned, and if they were satisfied with the quantity of gold, took it, left the salt, and departed, without having seen or spoken to the other merchants. (_Clarke_, Mar. Dis. p. 245.) According to Wadstrom, the negroes who carry on this singular traffic, inhabit the interior countries to the north of the Grain and the Gold coast. The _Great Water_ to which Cada Mosto was informed the salt was carried for this singular trade, was therefore, in all probability, the Niger in its upper course, and eastern branch on the lake, which is probably formed at the confluence of its branches.

Having thus briefly considered Batouta’s important narrative, the land of Maly and Kuku, the most important city in Sudan, situated in the land of Maly, we shall now proceed to give the account of the course and termination of the Nile or Gir, according to the authority of different Arabian geographers. It is the Gir of Ptolemy with which they were acquainted, and to which all their descriptions apply. Scheabeddin, who flourished about the year 1400, follows the ideas of Ptolemy about the Mountains of the Moon being situated beyond the equator, from which mountains the Egyptian Nile takes its rise. “It cuts,” says he, “horizontally the equator in its course north. Many sources come from this mountain, and unite in a great lake. From this lake comes the Nile, the greatest and most beautiful of the rivers of all the earth. Many rivers derived from this great river water Nubia, _and the country of Djenawa_.” His account of the sources of the Nile south of the equator are grossly erroneous, but the account related, in the Arabic mode of expression, that a river or rivers flowing from it “_waters the country of Djenawa_,” is most important, because Djenawa is the Arabic name for the country we call Guinea, and by them used in a much more extended sense and meaning. It in fact comprehends Africa from the Gold Coast to the borders of the Great Zahaara[4].

Edrisi, however, who was born in Nubia, and wrote in Egypt, gives us a more accurate account of the sources of what was then known as the Nile of Sudan. “In part 4th of climate 1st, (climate 1st extends from the equator to the tropic of Cancer,) viz. in that part of Ethiopia, south and south-west of Nubia, says he, “is _seen the separating of the two Niles_. The one flows from south to north into Egypt, and the other part of the Nile flows from the east to the _utmost bounds of the west, and upon this branch of the Nile lie all, or at least the most celebrated_ kingdoms of the negroes. The blacks mostly inhabit the banks of the Nile, _or streams that flow into it. It waters the country from east to west_.” Here the westerly course is most distinctly marked out by both authors. By the term “separating,” we are not to understand the separation of the two rivers, as if the one really flowed from the other, but their separation as rising and taking different courses in a region, not at a particular spot. Scheabeddin’s term “derived from,” is tantamount to the same thing, and both are a mode of expression quite common and familiar in all eastern countries, and particularly with Arabian writers. Abulfeda also confirms this account of the westerly course of the Nile. Leo also states the same thing, though he is extremely confused between the accounts which he had heard, and that which he must have seen, namely, that the Niger, a different river, ran from west to east.

“In climate 1st, part 1st,” says Edrisi, “are the cities of Ulil, Salla, Tocrur, Dau, Berissa, and Musa, all situated in the Negroes’ country of Mecrara. In the island of Ulil, which stands not far from the continent, _are those famous salt-pits, the only ones we know in all the countries of the negroes_, whence they are every where supplied with salt. Men coming to this island load their vessels with salt, and direct their course to the mouth of the Nile, which is at the distance of _one day’s sail_. Along the Nile they afterwards pass by Salla, Tocrur, Berissa, and other provinces of Ghana, Vancara, and Caugha. These countries are subject to intense heat. Therefore the inhabitants of the first, second, and some parts of the third climate are black.” Meghrara, or Meczara, says Ibn-al-Vardi, “is in the territory of the Sudans, or the Blacks. The principal city is named Oulili. _It is situated on the shore of the sea. There is salt pits, and a great trade in salt_.” Scheabeddin, already quoted, indeed says, that the branch of the Nile which passes westward through “the country of Djenawa, does not flow to the sea, but only to the end of the inhabited part of the land of Ghana.” The end of the land of Ghana, there is little doubt, is the termination of this river, because it thereabouts joins the Niger; but that it does not terminate in this place, Edrisi assures us, when he states that the river runs through the Negroes country of Meczara, which Ibn-al-Vardi says is south of the land of Ghana. He also agrees with Edrisi in the farther course of the river, when he mentions that Tocrur, which is in Meczara, is situated on the south-west bank. Scheabeddin’s meaning, therefore, can only be, that, at the point mentioned, it joined another river, or that its further progress was unknown to him. Had it here terminated in a lake, he would scarcely have omitted to state it.

The salt pits, and a great trade in salt into the interior clearly fixes the mouth of the river on the sea-shore. We shall search the west coast of Africa in vain, for any thing resembling the account given by Edrisi, except in the Delta of Benin. There the island of Fernando Po is exactly one day’s sail from the mouth of a great river. Opposite this island, and on the mainland, are numerous salt pits. To this day, to this hour, a great trade in salt is carried on from these parts up the rivers far into the interior. It is the chief employment of the natives, and has hitherto been the principal trade which they followed, the slave-trade excepted.

In all these accounts, from different authorities, the Nile of Egypt and the Nile of Sudan are clearly and most distinctly stated to be different rivers. But we have yet an earlier authority than any of these authors mentioned, to shew that they are so. In Macrisi’s History of Egypt, we have related the travels of Ibn Selym Assouany, a native of Egypt, who travelled through Nubia, and upwards to the Bahr-el-Abiad, as early as about the year 200 of the Hegira (A.D. 822.) “When on the banks of the Bahr-el-Abiad,” says Selym, “I inquired at the Moggrebbin (negro) travellers whom I met there, and who had travelled in Sudan, about the Nile of their country, they stated that it rose _in mountains of sand_, (confines of the Desert perhaps they meant) and that it collects in Sudan into large seas, (or lakes;) that it is _unknown where it afterwards flowed to_, and that its colour was not white.” Here is the most convincing proof that the rivers were different. Standing on the banks of the Bahr-el-Abiad, they must have known if it was the same river which passed through their country (Sudan.) When they state that they were ignorant of the termination of the Nile of Sudan, and that its colour was not white, like the colour of the Bahr-el-Abiad, they in fact distinctly state, that the latter was a different river from the former.

The interior of Northern Africa was visited by Leo Africanus, an intelligent Mahommedan, about 300 years ago. His accounts, as these relate to the general features of the country, the kingdoms, productions, and trade, are in several instances of great importance. There is a confusion, or rather want of accuracy in some particulars, which is to be regretted. This arises perhaps from errors in translating his work, and also from the transmutation of proper names from the Arabic into the Italian, and afterwards into other languages. As several parts of his narrative will be referred to more properly in another place, the notice taken of it in this part of our subject shall necessarily be brief.

His account of Melli we have already considered. The next kingdom of importance is Genni or Jinnee, which is bounded north by Gualata, south by Melle, and east by Timbuctoo. The length, he says, is 500 Arabic miles, and its extent 250 miles along the Niger, bordering upon the _Ocean Sea, in the same place where the Niger falleth into the said sea_. This region, during July, August, and September, is yearly environed with the overflowings of the Niger in manner of an island, all which time the merchants of Timbuctoo convey their merchandise hither in certain canoes or narrow boats, made of one tree, which they row all day long, but at night they bind to the shore and lodge themselves upon the land. This country was once subject to the Lybians, (Gualata) afterwards it was tributary to King Soni Heli, (Morocco,) and next to Izchia, King of Timbuctoo.” (_Purchas_, vol. ii. p. 827.) Either Leo or his translator here confounds two things which are radically distinct[5]. The kingdom of Jinnee or Genni is totally different from the country named, (at least in its extended and general meaning,) Gheneoa, Ghenehoa, Genowa, Genawa, or Djenawa, which signifies Guinea, in its most extended meaning. The kingdom of Genni does extend along the Niger, and perhaps from it the whole country southward might derive the general name of Genowa or Djenawa. The kingdom of Jinnee, however, in its restricted and proper sense, does not border upon the _Ocean Sea_, (Atlantic) but upon Lake Dibbie, whereas Gheneoa or Genawa, (Guinea) does border upon the _Ocean Sea_, and “in the same place where the Niger entereth that sea.” De Bry, in his Hist. Ind. Orient. states upon the authority of the early European navigators, that “Benni, or Benin, is esteemed to be part of the Gold Coast and Guinea,” (_Purchas_, vol. ii. p. 965.) The words “Ocean Sea,” invariably mean the Atlantic Ocean, and are never applied by the Arabs to designate a lake, though the word “sea” frequently is. El Hagi Shabeeny establishes the fact that Genawa and Guinea, are the same, when he relates “that fish oil, a great article of trade, is brought from the neighbourhood of the sea, by Genawa to Houssa and Timbuctoo; _dearer at Timbuctoo than at Houssa, and dearer at Houssa than at Genawa_.” (_Jackson’s Shabeeny_, p. 28.): thus clearly pointing out the quarter and the course of this trade. The length also of Gheneoa, as recorded by Leo, viz. 500 Arabic miles (625 British) from north to south, would point out, that this country and the kingdom of Jinnee were different, for that distance would extend from Lake Dibbie almost to the mouth of the Rio Lagos.

Timbuctoo, according to Leo, was situated _on a branch of the Niger_, and was founded in the year of the Hegira 610 (A.D. 1232.) In his days Timbuctoo had subjected to its authority all the neighbouring states, viz. Jinnee, Melli, Cassina, Gago, Guber, &c. Kabra, a large town on the Niger, and the port of that city, was distant from it about 12 Arabic (14½ British) miles. Here the negroes resorted in great numbers from all quarters, and embarking with their merchandise, sailed westward to Jinnee and Melli. Timbuctoo was then, and has ever since, been the great emporium of the trade of Central Africa. The inhabitants were represented as wealthy and industrious, particularly while they were subject to Morocco.

The great city and powerful kingdom of Gago was situated (the capital) about 400 Arabic miles distant from Timbuctoo, a little to the southward of east. The merchants were exceeding rich, and every thing was abundant. The country abounded with corn and cattle, but fruits and wine were scarce. The position of Gago by this reckoning would be in about 10° or 10° 30′ N. Lat. and from 4° to 5° E. Long.[6] South of Gago also, according to other authorities, lay the once powerful kingdom of Eyeo, or Haiho or Hio, which once commanded Dahomy. Dalzel supposes that Eyeo and Gago were the same. According to Bowditch, Hio lies in about 8½° N. Lat. and 4½° E. Long. The people of Acca, or Akim, on the coast of Guinea, carried on a great trade to Tonowah, Gago, and Meczara, and the frontiers of Acca extended north to those of Tonowah. (_Leyden’s_ Africa.) From the Report of Sir George Collier, printed by order of the House of Commons in June 1820, we learn that Dahomy at this day carries on a great trade with Gago. The territories of this kingdom in early times, no doubt, were of considerable extent, and comprehended several adjoining kingdoms and states, which are now become independent or subject to other powerful neighbours, such as Dahomy. Gago, in the days of Leo, who visited it, was bounded on the west by Melli and on the east by Guber.

Eastward of Gago lay the kingdom of Guber, 300 Arabic (370 British) miles distant from the former capital. “Between the two kingdoms lay a vast desert, much destitute of water, for it is distant from the Niger 40 miles. Guber is environed with high mountains, and containeth many villages, peopled with shepherds. There is abundance of cattle, great and small. The capital contained 6000 families, amongst whom were all kinds of merchants. At the inundation of the Niger all the fields in this region are overflowed, and then the inhabitants cast their seed into the water only.” (_Purchas_, vol. ii. p. 829.) The position of Guber, we are enabled to fix with considerable precision. According to Bowditch, p. 211, Guber, or Goobur, is 10 days journey from the Niger through the territories of Yaoora, and, skirting the eastern limits of the kingdom of Zamfra or Zamfara, and in the direct road from Yaoora to Cashna. From Goobur to the latter place is a journey of eight days, and “_across a great river_.” From the accounts which Mr. Ritchie obtained at Mourzook, Guber was the first place in the road from Cashna to Timbuctoo, and Zamfra the next. (_Quarterly Review_, May, 1820.) These accounts correspond very exactly with Leo, and shew that Guber, a country environed with hills, is situated near the eastern river or the Gir, for on a river it is situated, being inundated completely during the floods. Leo has, in this instance, mistaken the one river for the other; but which, the authority of Bowditch and Ritchie enables us to correct. By looking at the map, and attending to the future narrative, we will perceive, that a _desert_, or bare mountainous district, does, according to Leo, lie westward of the Niger, and in the direction of Gago.

The great province of Cano, certainly the once famous empire of Ghana, is, according to Leo, “500 _miles eastward of the river Niger_. Here is abundance of corn, rice, and cotton; the inhabitants are partly herdsmen, and partly husbandmen. Here are also many deserts and _wild woody mountains_, containing many springs of water. In the woods are plenty of wild citrons and lemons. In the midst of the province is the capital of the same name. The walls and houses are built of chalk. The inhabitants are a _civil people_, and rich merchants. The king _was formerly of great puissance_, and had mighty troops of horsemen at his command.” In the days of Leo, it paid tribute to Izchia (Timbuctoo. _Purchas_, vol. ii. p. 829.) Speaking of Ghana, Edrisi, says, “that the palace was founded in 510 (A.D. 1132.) No other king has so many captains, who, every morning, come to his house _on horseback_. He has abundance of rich ornaments and horses. He has many troops, who march each with their colours under his royal banner, &c. In Ghana are two cities, situated on the two opposite shores of what they called a fresh water sea; and it is the largest, most populous, and wealthiest, in all the negro countries.” There is no difficulty in recognizing, in the Cano of Leo, the Ghana of Edrisi. Four hundred years, however, had greatly changed its fortunes and splendour. The distance of Cano from the Niger, as placed by Leo, is, perhaps, too much; yet, if he calculates the distance actually travelled, his error cannot be great. According to Bowditch, p. 212, Kano is in the direct road from Yaoora to Bornou, and 28 days journey from the former. Bornou, he says, is 52 days journey from Yaoora. From the accounts which Mr. Ritchie received, Cano is 12 days journey west from Bornou, (the capital,) and situated upon the great river, which passes half a day’s journey south of the latter. This river is called Tshadi. (_Quarterly Review_, May, 1820.) From this account, Cano would be 40 journeys (Bowditch makes it only 28) from the Niger, which, at 14 miles per day, is 560 geographical miles, corresponding very accurately with the distance as given by Leo in Arabic miles.

The great point established by these authorities, is the existence of Cano or Ghanah upon a great river, _but not upon the Niger_, and the _wild woody mountains_, with many springs of water, with the abundance of corn, rice, and cotton, herdsmen, and husbandmen, all shew a country very different from what has been supposed, and one where rivers must increase, not decrease.

Cassena, or Kashna, according to Leo, is full of mountains and dry fields, which, notwithstanding, yield great store of barley and mill- seed (supposed Indian and Guinea corn.) The inhabitants, when he visited it, were rude, and dwelt in forlorn cottages. By a mistake, Cassena is placed east of Cano. This, however, is not the fact. Bowditch, Ritchie, and various other authorities, shew it is west of Cano. Lucas places it about five days journey north from the great river, and in this Bowditch nearly agrees; but from the accounts obtained by Ritchie, Kashna was upon a river, there named Gulbe, and as broad as from the gate of Tripoli to the Bazaar in the sands, or _one-third of a mile_. (_Quarterly Review_, May, 1820.) Perhaps this may be a tributary stream, descending from the northward, and the mountains about to be mentioned.

Agadez is enumerated as a kingdom by Leo, but it is so well known, that we shall pass it over in this place. The southern parts were inhabited by shepherds and herdsmen. Agadez was said to be distant from Cano about 160 leagues. The kingdom of Zegzeg, mentioned by Leo, is about 150 miles from Cassena, and its south-east parts border upon Cano. The inhabitants are rich, and have great traffic into other nations. Their houses are built like the houses of Cassena. The fields abound with water, and are exceedingly fruitful. Some parts of the country are plain and some mountainous. _The mountains are exceedingly cold_, but the plains are intolerably hot. Because they can hardly endure the sharpness of the winter, they kindle great fires in the midst of their houses, laying the coals thereof under their high bed-steads, and so betake themselves to sleep.” (_Purchas_, vol. ii. p. 830.) This country appears to be situated in about 19° or 20° of north latitude, and corresponds very nearly with the position of the Usurgala mountains of Ptolemy. The excessive degree of cold shews the great height of the mountains, and lays before us these interior parts of Africa, under very different features indeed to those we have been called upon to behold. From these mountains numerous and powerful streams certainly flow, and must take their course southward. Accordingly, in the maps by Ortelius in 1570, and others of a latter date, various rivers are represented as descending in this direction, and forming a junction with the Niger. From the accounts obtained by Ritchie, Zegzeg lay in the road from Kashna to Timbuctoo, and west of Nyffe. (_Quarterly Review_, May, 1820.) If so, then it is several degrees farther to the southward, and, from the degree of cold mentioned, the height of the mountains must be still greater. Though the boundaries mentioned by Leo are not sufficiently clear, yet, being in this instance supported by other authorities, the position given is, perhaps, the safest to rely on. Yet, if Leo is correct, that Zegzeg touches southward upon Zamfra, it must be more southerly than the Usurgala mountains of Ptolemy. According to Ledyard, Zamfra lay to the east of Kashna. From Bowditch, page 211, it would appear to lie S.W. of Kassena; and Leo says Zamfra borders eastward upon Zezgeg; in which case, the position as given to Ritchie, would appear to be the most correct. Amongst such conflicting testimony it is difficult to be perfectly accurate. Zamfra was, in the days of Leo, inhabited by a rustical people, subject to Timbuctoo. Their fields abounded with rice, millet, and cotton.

The kingdom of Guangara, according to Leo, adjoineth south-westerly upon Zamfra, and eastward it had the kingdom of Bornou. From Bowditch, p. 212, we find that this is the case; for there seems no reason to doubt that Oongooroo is the Guangara of Leo. South of this country lay a region greatly abounding in gold. From the accounts given by Leo of their mode of travelling thither, and mules being the chief beasts of burthen, it is evident that the country was exceedingly mountainous and rugged. Guangara, there is the best reason to believe, is the Vancara of the early Arabian geographers. This country, according to Edrisi, was “famous for the excellency and abundance of its gold,” and, according to Ibn-al-Vardi, it was “the country of gold and aromatics.” The Nile surrounded it on three sides, and, after the inundation subsided, the gold was found in abundance. They called it an island, and said it was 300 miles in length, and 150 miles in breadth.

The large province of Bornou, according to Leo, extended eastward from Guangara 500 miles, till it reached the limits of Gaogo. It (that is Bornou) is distant, says he, from the fountain (lake) of Niger almost 150 miles. This distance agrees very nearly with the Lake Caudee, or Fittre. The south part adjoineth the Desert of Seu, and the north part stretcheth to that Desert which extends toward Barca. The monarch was very powerful, and had frequent wars with a powerful people south of the Desert of Seu. The position of Bornou, as here given, is we know sufficiently accurate. Leo clearly brings the river, which passes through it from the eastward, and from the Lake Fittre. Beyond that he had no accurate idea of the Misselad to the S.E. though he states it was reported that the Niger really rose in the Desert of Seu, (that is S.E. of Lake Fittre,) while others said that it was derived from Nilus, which, after disappearing for a space, at last burst up in the Lake mentioned. From the accounts received by Ritchie, we learn that the capital of Bornou is half a day’s journey north of the great river. The port of the city is called Gambarou, where there are the remains of castles and houses formerly inhabited by Christians, (_Quart. Rev._ May, 1820,) the refugees, no doubt, who sought shelter in the interior of Africa from the fury of the early Mahommedan conquerors.

Gaogo and Nubia are the next kingdoms enumerated by Leo. But, regarding these, nothing remarkable is stated, and it is sufficient here to state, that in those parallels of latitude, they extended from the confines of Bornou to the Nile. All these kingdoms Leo visited, and, in the features of the country, manners and customs of the inhabitants, and in the trade and productions of each of them, he could not be mistaken. Therefore his information is valuable; and we shall see, as we proceed, that modern authority bears him out in most of his leading facts.

One thing is plain, from the consideration of all these ancient authorities, that the interior of Northern Africa is traversed by many mighty rivers, and is also filled with stupendous mountains. Every one of these authorities also agree in the westerly course of the rivers which rise westward of Darfur, and that the great stream which absorbs the whole of them is a distinct river from the Egyptian Nile.

Their confusion regarding the Gir and the Niger being the same, or one stream, we can clear up and account for. For these reasons I have dwelt upon this part of my subject longer than was at first intended. In his account of the great natural features of a country, such as rivers, mountains, lakes, inundated roads, or dry deserts, an Arab cannot be mistaken, and his authority is a guide sufficiently safe. In his names of places, in his bearings and distances, it is very different, and it is there that in following him great caution is necessary. These distances and bearings are, and become so different,—as their journeys are undertaken by the slow, unwieldy caravan, the saint begging his way on foot, the single unencumbered traveller, the messenger urging his way on horseback, or the Moor or Arab mounted on his camel or fleet dromedary—these are so different, that unless each mode is specifically mentioned, there is no possibility of approximating the truth but by a careful attention to, and comparing a variety of them with each other. The distance also from place to place is frequently calculated from capital to capital, sometimes from the capital of one state to the confines of another; sometimes the name of the capital is placed for the name of the kingdom, and the name of the kingdom for the name of the capital; and sometimes both or either are named after some particular thing for which they may have become famous. The name of a river is also frequently substituted for a country, and the name of a country for a river in it. Without being able to determine the distances accurately, it is consequently impossible to fix the bearings correctly, even where these are faithfully taken, which, however, are very seldom found to be the case, particularly when not upon any one of the four chief points of the compass.

These things, together with the ignorance of the Arabic and Negro languages amongst those who have hitherto attempted to explore, or endeavoured to obtain information concerning Northern Africa, have been the sole cause why the geography of the interior has remained so long a mystery. As those are understood, however, the other is elucidated, and as those are rendered clear, the geography of Africa, like the geography of every other quarter of the globe, appears simple and natural. Thus, for instance, Belad-el-Sudan signifies all Africa south of the Great Desert inhabited by negroes, and, therefore, the _Sea of Sudan_ can be no other than that sea on its southern shores, or the great Gulph of Guinea. Bahr-el-Gazalle is not a river, but a fine valley adapted to pasturage. Houssa, according to Horneman, is not a name applied to a particular district, but a great portion of Africa north of the Niger, comprehending many kingdoms and states. Wangara, there is good reason to believe, besides being the name of a province, is also a term applied to all Africa south of the Niger, if not also the countries between it and the great Desert; in short, of all the country through which rivers flow, in contra-distinction to the Zahaara or Great Desert. Such was the explanation given to Mr. Hutchison, (_see Bowditch, p._ 206,) and such the accounts given to Mr. Ritchie, (_Quart. Rev._ May, 1820,) as well as other authorities. Dar Kulla, or rather Deaar Kulla, signifies a country full of houses, (_Jackson’s Shabeeny_, p. 479.) and the same authority, pages 444 and 487, informs us, that Bahar Kulla, or Bahar Kulha, signifies the sea altogether, or an alluvial country.

In like manner, all the names applied to the river we call the Niger, are used to distinguish it from the Nile of Egypt. The latter is invariably called the “Neel Shem,” or the “Neel Masser,” while the Niger is termed “Neel-el-Abeed,” (Nile of Slaves,) “Neel Assudan,” (Nile of Sudan,) and “Neel-el-Kabeer,” or great Nile. (_Jackson’s Shabeeny, p._ 443, and _Transactions of African Association_, p. 222.) Regarding the different seas which surround Africa, the Western Ocean is called Bahar Kabeer, or Bahar Addolum, the Great Sea, or the Sea of Darkness. The term _Bahar el Mâleh_, is applied generally to a salt sea; but the term, says Mr. Jackson, and only term applied by the Moors to the Mediterranean Sea, is the “_Bahar Segrer_,” literally the Small Sea, (_Jackson’s Shabeeny_, p. 489.)

Bearing these things in mind, we shall, without much difficulty, clear up many points apparently very confused in African geography. That the Niger enters the Atlantic Ocean we have many direct testimonies. Although Ptolemy was unacquainted with the outlets of the river, he evidently believed that it had one in that direction. Edrisi and Ibn-al- Vardi distinctly state that such is the case; and unless the transcriber, or translators of Leo, have supplied a word which he never wrote, namely, the “Ocean _Sea_,” that celebrated traveller, who made very diligent inquiries of the merchants who came to Timbuctoo from those coasts, states the same thing. Mr. Horneman was very pointedly informed that the Niger ran southward of Nyffe till it joined the Bahar Kulla, or Bahar Kulha, and Park was told the same thing. Windhus was informed at Morocco, in 1721, that “the Niger, or Black’s River, _had a passage into the Southern Sea_.” According to the Report of the Committee of Council, Mr. Barnes states, that “the Niger discharges itself into a large lake; that he has heard from the black traders that there are white inhabitants on the borders of that lake—that they dress in the style of the Barbary Moors, and wear turbans, but do not speak Arabic.” There is scarcely any room to doubt that this alludes to the Portuguese, and other European settlements on the coast of Guinea towards Benin.

Besides these authorities, El Hage Shabeeny says most pointedly, that he “always understood the Niger run into the sea, _the Salt Sea, or Great Ocean_,” on the coast of Genawa, or Guinea. (_Jackson’s Shabeeny_, p. 40.) Mr. Beaufoy was informed by an intelligent Moor, that “below Ghinea, (that is Genawa, Djenawa, or Guinea,) is the sea into which the river of Timbuctoo disembogues itself, and that boats _went with the stream to_ Ghinea.” Mr. Grey Jackson, who had received much information concerning the interior of Africa, states, that it is “_the general African opinion_, that the Neel-el-Abeed (Niger) discharges itself into the Salt Sea,” (Bahar el Mâleh,) which he clearly and unequivocally shews is a different sea from the Mediterranean. (_Jackson’s Shabeeny_, p. 518 and 489.) The Moors told Bowditch and Hutchison at Coomassie, that the Niger ran into the Bahar le Malee, or Baramela, (page 205, _Bowditch_,) which Mr. Jackson, page 489, clearly shews is a corruption of the Arabic words Bahar el Mâleh, or the Salt Sea. By reports collected for the African Association, from 1790 to 1798, they were told that “the Niger was lost in the sands to the south of Timbuctoo,” which could only mean the sea-shore on the Bight of Benin. The natives on the coasts of Benin and Biafra, assert that all the rivers in the Delta come from one great river which descends from the north. (_Robertson’s Notes_, and other authorities.) As these sheets were preparing for the press, a further confirmation of this important point was received in the account given by a sailor named Scot, belonging to Liverpool, who was wrecked about Cape Nun, and carried into slavery by the Arabs of the Desert. While in this state, he was carried, along with a tribe, across the Desert into Sudan, and with them he crossed Lake Dibbie, or what he calls “Bahar Tee-eb,” the sea of fresh water, or the sea where boats can go. There he was told by some negro boatmen who rowed them over the Lake, that, _very far to the south there “lay a great salt water sea; that the one they were on run into it;_ that there was no end to it; that there were plenty of _Saffina el kabeer_ (large ships,) upon it, and that they called it _Bahar el Kabeer_,” that is, the great sea. (_Edin. Philosoph. Journ._ No. 7.) As we proceed, other authorities will be adduced.

With these general observations, I shall proceed without further remark to the chief object in view, namely, to trace the course, and to point out the termination of the Niger and its tributary streams. In following out this subject I shall endeavour to be as concise as possible. The best authorities also are taken as my guide. “The Niger,” said Park in the last dispatch that he wrote which has reached Britain, “can terminate no where else but in the sea.” In this he was correct. In the sea it must and does terminate.

CHAP. II.

_Joliba, two branches, source western, ditto eastern — River Zamma; course till junction — Snowy mountains — Balia — Lake Clonia — River Guinola — Kaniaba — Bammakoo, Magnitude of Niger — Rapids — Marraboo — Yamina — Sego — Jinnë — Ba Nimma — Ba Maniana — Lake Dibbie — River Gozen Zair — High Mountains — Walet — Course of Niger north-east — Ba Moriaca — Jinbala — Rakbara — Kabra — Timbuctoo — Bahar-el-Ahmar — Course of ditto — Houssa — Magnitude of Niger at Timbuctoo — Sidi Hamed — Course of river south-east — Mountains — Kaffo — Rocks — River bursts through a chain of mountains — Exceeding high ridge to south-west — Cabi, a Ferry — Yaoora — Great River from east may join here — Boussa — Park’s death — Cause of it — Wauwa — Gange — Nyffe — Wassanah — Magnitude of Wassanah — Magnitude of Niger or Zadi — Course to “Great Water” — Junction with the Sea, and where — General observations._

The Niger, or Joliba, seems to be formed, in its early course, by an eastern and a western branch. The latter rises about 80 miles south-east of Timbo, in the woods between Kouranko and Soliman. This spot is in about 9° north latitude, and 10° west longitude. The distance from the source of the Senegal is about 110 miles, and from Sierra Leone not above 150 miles. The mountains hereabouts are said to be very high, and are also said to be perpetually covered with snow. From its source the stream flows north-east. In Balia, above Bourré, a frontier town of Kankan, and celebrated for the abundance and superior fineness of its gold, the river first becomes navigable. Here the merchants from Foota Diallon embark in their journey to Sego and Timbuctoo, which occupies them four months. At Tankarari, below Bourré, the river is already “two gun-shots broad.” Kankan is 15 days’ journey west from Maniana, the capital of which is called Tokoro. (_Mollien_, p. 301-303, and others.)

Continuing its course north-east, this branch, in about 11° north latitude and 6° 45′ west longitude, joins a mightier stream flowing from the east. This branch, there is good grounds to believe, rises in the snowy mountains eastward of Kong. Taking a circular course, it flows southward beyond the parallel of 9° north latitude, from whence it runs first west and then north-west and north, till its junction with the western branch. Nineteen days’ journey (190 miles,) north north-west of Coomassie, where it is crossed by travellers from Ashantee, in the route by Kong to Jinnë, it is said to be half-a mile broad, and _running westward_. It is called by the natives “Coomba,” and by the Moors “Zamma.” (_Bowditch_, p. 182.) The French maps, constructed in 1756, by Robert de Vagondy for the King of France, lay down this branch tolerably accurate. In the parallels and parts mentioned are the sources of the Niger eastward of Kong, viz. in 10° north latitude, and from 1½° to 2¼° west longitude. The mountains must be of a stupendous height, for the natives state that the cold is very severe in Oalla to the north-west of Inta, and the hills in those parts covered with snow. (_Robertson’s Notes_, p. 182.) After this junction, the Joliba continues to flow north-east, either through or along by the frontiers of Mandingo, and must be a powerful stream. A native of Mandingo told Tuckey, that his country “lay on a river _as broad as the Zaire_, (half a British mile,) but full of rocks.” (_Tuckey_, p. 141.) Travellers from Kong to the Rio Pongos state, that in their journey west they pass one very large river, which can be no other but the Niger in this part of his course. (_Bowditch_, p. 210.) At Tembo, Messrs. Watt and Winterbotham were informed that thirty days’ journey from thence, in _the route to Sego_, the “road lay along a great water, _across which the eye could not reach_, and which was sweet and good to the taste.” It is by no means improbable that this _great water_ is a lake formed by the Niger at the confluence of the two branches. The features of the country render such a thing very probable. The mountains on either hand are of a stupendous height. To the westward Mollien found the east wind, from having swept over them, excessively cold and piercing, (page 292.) These are features altogether new and unexpected in the geography of tropical Africa. Amidst such mountains the rivers must soon become very large, such as we find amidst the Andes of South America, where the Beni, after a course of only 300 miles, is found to be two miles broad.

While preparing these sheets for the press, chance threw in my way a copy of the third part of the Geography of Joannis Bleau, printed at Amsterdam in 1662. In the general map of Africa, he lays down a large lake in north latitude 10°, and east longitude 10° from Ferro, which corresponds very nearly with the place we have been considering. From this lake (situated north-east from Sierra Leone) issues the river Guinola, (perhaps Guinbala, another name for the Joliba,) which flows first in a north-west, and afterwards in a northerly direction, and then north-easterly, till it approaches near the Niger, from which river a branch descending joins the latter, and from the united streams are formed the rivers Senegal, Gambia, and Rio Grande. The latter features we know to be incorrect, though it was believed to be the true delineation in those days; but the lake and circular course of the Guinola to the north are curious features. These were no doubt founded upon positive information, but made to bend to the theory then in vogue. Mandingo, he states, lay between 9° and 11° north latitude, which agrees very well with modern information. The capital city, Sango, was 100 leagues from Cape Palmas; and, he adds, “Multorum in Mandingæ regione fluminum ortus existet, quæ varias ingressa vias, tandem Gambeæ amni miscentur.” (P. 122.)

The Stachirus of Ptolemy is generally supposed to be the Gambia, or more probably the Rio Grande. According to this authority, the Stachirus in 11° north latitude, and 17° west longitude from Ferro, makes the lake Clonia. The reader, by turning to the map, will perceive this position given; for the lake Clonia corresponds with the junction of the two rivers, and the lake which, in all probability, is there to be found at this day. Ptolemy has mistaken this branch of the Niger, which he certainly had heard of, for the Stachirus, the sources of which he accordingly carried too far to the eastward; nor was his error to be wondered at, when we find geographers so near our own day continuing the same error. The extended course of the Stachirus of Ptolemy has only to be bent northward in these parallels and meridians to direct its waters to the Niger; and we then have from Ptolemy the upper course and eastern branch of this important stream. These are very curious and important circumstances. The west coast of Africa is laid down by that early geographer several degrees too much east of Ferro, which occasions the great contraction of all the western parts and rivers, and the consequent errors in his longitudes in all the upper course of the Niger, and about the sources of the Senegal, Gambia, &c. The great southern branch of the Niger he has, in error, evidently joined to these latter streams. The Arabian geographers also had no idea of the extent of Africa to the south-west; but conceived that the continent stretched due south, or rather to the eastward of south from the Straits of Gibraltar. Hence the confusion into which they were led regarding the remote parts of western Africa.