Chapter XXII (6)

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

[Sidenote: March 18th.]

Scarcely had we left Benzári behind us when my ears were struck by the distant sound of drums and singing, and I learnt on inquiry that it was Bokhári, or, as the Bórnu people call him, Bowári, the deposed governor of Khadéja,[44] and the brother of Áhmedu, the present ruler of that town. Bokhári’s name was then new, not only to me, but even to the natives of the neighbouring provinces. He had been governor of Khadéja, but being a clever and restless man he, or rather his jealous brother, had excited the suspicion of his liege lord ʿAlíyu, the ruler of Sókoto, who had deposed him and given the government to his brother Áhmedu, whereupon Bokhári had nothing else to do but to throw himself upon the hospitality and protection of the Bórnu people, who received him with open arms, the governor of Máshena, with the sanction of his liege lord the sheikh of Bórnu, assigning to him a neighbouring place, Yerímarí, for his residence. This is an incident of very frequent occurrence in these loosely connected empires; but it is particularly so with the Fúlbe, among whom one brother often cherishes the most inveterate hatred against another. Exactly the same thing we have seen already in Kátsena. Bokhári having remained some time quietly in this place, strengthening his party and assisted underhand with arms and men by the vizier of Bórnu, had just now set out to try his fortune against his brother, and was beating the drums in order to collect as many people as possible.

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

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

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

We therefore entered the town by the north gate, and found people very busy repairing the fortification, consisting of two walls and three ditches of considerable depth, two of which ran outside round the outer wall, while the third was inclosed between the two walls.

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

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

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

Thus we approached Taganáma, a considerable town, inclosed with a wall and a double ditch. We were obliged, however, to go round the whole town, the western gate being closed, and a sort of outwork, such as is very rare in these countries, consisting in a cross ditch projecting to a great distance, being made at its north-east corner. At length we reached the eastern gate, and entered the town. Its interior left on us an impression of good order and comfort; all the fences of the courtyards were in excellent repair, the huts large and spacious, and a certain air of wellbeing was spread over the whole place.

Having obtained tolerable quarters, and corn for my guide’s horse and my own, we lay down early, in order to continue our journey with the first dawn next morning, but were roused at midnight by some people arriving and stating, with an air of great importance, that they had letters for me. Greatly surprised, and wondering what these important despatches could be, I got up, but found, when I had kindled a light, that the letters were not for me at all, but addressed to persons in Kúkawa unknown to me, by others in Kanó not better known. These unknown friends most probably, after I had fairly set out, had determined not to let slip this excellent opportunity of communicating with their friends in Kúkawa. However, the carriers of the letters thinking, and perhaps expressly made to think, that they had brought some important message for me, expected a handsome present; and I had some difficulty in persuading them that they were only giving me trouble for the sake of other people. Nevertheless, as they were unprovided with food, I ordered Mohammed to cook a supper for them; and after having disturbed my night’s rest by their noisy conversation, they made off again long before day-light. For in this whole district, where so many different nationalities border close together, the greatest insecurity reigns, and the inhabitants of one town cannot safely trust themselves to those of a neighbouring place without fear of being sold as slaves, or at least of being despoiled of the little they have.

My fine lancer, with whose manly bearing I had been very much pleased yesterday, appeared to have thought that, instead of exposing himself alone, by accompanying me further through a disturbed and infested district, he would do better to retrace his steps in the company of these people; for the next morning he was gone, and no trace of him was to be found. Perhaps he was anxious to join the expedition against Khadéja, where the soldier might make his fortune, while with me he could only expect to gain a few hundred shells; but whatever was his reason for decamping, he left me in a state of great perplexity, as I was in a hurry to go on as fast as possible, and in a country where there are no highroads, but where even tracks so important as that from Kanó to Kúkawa are nothing but small paths leading from one village or from one town to another, I could not well dispense with a guide. As regards security, I could only rely upon Providence and my own courage.

Having in vain searched for my man, I loaded the camels, and mounting my horse, proceeded to the residence of the governor, who is the vassal of the ruler of Máshena. He, having been informed by his servants, soon came forth, a tall imposing figure, and seeing that my complaint was just, his liege lord having expressly assigned me the horseman in order to conduct me to Búndi, he assured me that he would find another guide for me; but as it would take some time, he ordered one of his servants to lead me out of the town to a place where the camels meanwhile might graze a little. Seeing that he was a just and intelligent man, I thanked him for his kindness, and followed his servant, who conducted us a few hundred yards from the town, where there was most excellent pasturage for the camels.

While we were waiting here for the guide, my companion, who was a sociable sort of man, helped me to pass the time most agreeably with his instructive talk. I had observed a very curious object at the governor’s house,—a leathern parcel of considerable dimensions, tied up with great care and hung on a long pole, and I had fancied that it contained the body of a criminal exposed there to every man’s sight as a warning example of severe punishment; but to my great astonishment I now learned that it was a powerful talisman suspended in order to protect the town against the Felláta, as the Bórnu people call the Fúlbe, whose inroads were greatly feared. He likewise informed me that four years ago there was a desperate struggle for Taganáma, when that town very narrowly escaped falling into the hands of those fanatical invaders. He praised his master, whose name as I now learned was Ísa. The cheerful aspect of the town seemed fully to confirm his praises, and I expressed my hope that his watchfulness and energy might be a better safeguard to the inhabitants than that monstrous talisman, the dimensions of which were really frightful.

I was greatly pleased also to observe here the very first signs of preparing the ground for the approaching season, the slaves being busy clearing the soil with a sort of strong rake provided with four long wooden teeth, called “kámga;” but this is very rarely done, and the preparatory labours of agriculture must differ more or less in different districts according to the peculiar nature of the ground.

At length we saw the guides coming towards us. Instead of a horseman there were two archers on foot[45], short muscular men, clad only with a leathern apron round their loins, and for arms bearing, besides bow and arrows, the peculiar little Mánga battle-axe, which they carry on their shoulders, while a good sized leathern pocket for carrying provisions, and several diminutive garra bottles hung down by their sides. In short, they were real Mánga warriors, though they certainly did not inspire us with all the confidence which we should have wished to repose in a guide. However, having made them promise in the presence of the governor’s servant, who professed to know them well, that they would accompany me to Búndi, I started with them.

Having lost the finest hours of the morning, I was naturally anxious not to waste more time; and I was glad to perceive that the fine eastern breeze, which had prevailed for some days, greatly lessened the power of the sun. Soon afterwards we met the brother of the governor of Máshena, with a troop of twelve horsemen, hastening towards the point where the memorable campaign of Bokhári was to commence. The country was very monotonous, being soon covered with a forest of mean growth, uninterrupted by any tree of larger size, except the bare dismal-looking kuka or monkey bread-tree, and presented evident signs of destructive warfare waged throughout it; we passed the former sites of several small towns and villages. The soil consisted here of deep white sand.

After a march of about eight miles, however, the vegetation began to assume a different character, the ngílle or dúm-bush first appearing, then a karáge or gáwo (the locust-tree) being seen now and then, after which the dúm-palm began to prevail entirely. The substratum of this district is evidently granite, which seems to lie very close to the surface, as about noon a large mass of this rock projected near our path. A little beyond this point the wilderness was agreeably interrupted by an opening with stubble-fields, about which were scattered small granaries, producing, at such a distance from any inhabited place and without guardians, an agreeable feeling of security.

Half an hour afterwards we reached the stockade of Wuélleri, and proceeded directly to the house of the bíllama or mayor, as I wished to obtain here another guide, for it was only with the greatest difficulty that I succeeded in dragging on thus far my two archers, who had shown signs of the greatest anxiety during the latter part of the march, and had tried several times to turn their backs; but further they would not go on any account, and I was therefore obliged to dismiss them, paying them three hundred shells. Unfortunately the bíllama was not at home, and his brother proved to be a morose and surly fellow. I wished to stay here only during the hot hours of the day, and to proceed in the evening after having watered the camels; but he represented to me that the town of Máshena was too distant to be reached before night, if I did not go on directly. As this was impossible, I resolved to stay here for the night, and pitched my tent in an open place in front of a cool shed. However, we found great difficulty in watering our animals, the Mánga pretending that there was no water, though we ourselves had passed the well where the cattle had just been watered. Certainly the aquatic element was very scarce; and, after much debate, I was at length obliged to pay one hundred and fifty shells—an enormous charge, if the general price of the necessaries of life in this country be considered.

Thus our poor camels got at length something to drink, and, with a good feed in the afternoon, were prepared for a long march the following day. However, we still wanted a guide; and, notwithstanding our begging, promising, and threatening, we were unable to persuade any one to accompany us on to Búndi. The reason of this, however, was not only on account of the absence of the governor of Máshena from his capital, but likewise owing to the unsettled state of the country, and the fear entertained by these people of being caught and sold into slavery. Indeed, between all these towns, there was scarcely any mutual intercourse kept up by the natives themselves.

[Sidenote: Thursday, March 20th.]

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

Having watered my horse at a well in the hollow between the two mounts, I reached, with my camels, the ditch and thorny fence then forming the only fortification of the town of Máshena, which place was strengthened, in the following year, with a clay wall. It lies on the gentle southern slope of an eminence the top of which is crowned with a rocky crest, and is a considerable place for this country, having a population of certainly not less than 10,000 souls, but without the least sign of industry. A small káfila of Tébu and Arab merchants were encamped here; but although we arrived at the very hottest time of the day, I was too anxious to proceed to think of staying here; and having only asked the news from Kúkawa, and heard that all was well, I continued my march. It shows the slowness of intercourse in this country, that these people were ignorant of Mr. Richardson’s death, although he had died twenty days before at a place only six days’ march on this side of Kúkawa.

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

The state of this country is very miserable indeed, all the petty governors around, as soon as they have any debts to pay, undertaking a predatory expedition, and often selling even their own subjects.[46] However, we were lucky in finding at last a more trodden path, which soon brought us to an open, straggling village named Kárgímawa, which displayed a most animated and cheerful picture of a wealthy and industrious little community—the men sitting in the shade of some fine caoutchouc tree, some of them busy making mats, others weaving, while the women were carrying water, or setting the pot upon the fire for the evening repast. Cattle, goats, and fowl roved about in considerable quantities.

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

[Sidenote: Friday, March 21st.]

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

Having then passed a thick forest of underwood, and some cultivated ground, half an hour before noon we reached Búndi[47], the residence of the ghaladíma ʿOmár, fortified in the same way as Álamáy, and went up directly to the house of the governor, which consists entirely of reed- work. However, the mats (“lágará”) which surround the whole establishment are of very great height, at least fifteen feet, and of considerable thickness, made of a peculiar reed called “súgu,” and being sustained by long poles, and kept in a good state of repair, do not look ill. Besides, they are in general strengthened still further on the outside by a fence of thorny bushes.

The ghaladíma[48], or governor of the Gháladí, which (as we shall see in the historical account of the Bórnu empire) comprised all the western provinces of Bórnu from the komádugu Wáube (the so-called Yéou) to the shores of the Kwára, having his residence in Bírni Ngurú, near Mármar, in former times was an officer (or rather an almost independent feudal vassal) of immense power; at present, however, he has sunk to great insignificance, and in real power is much inferior to his neighbours the governors of Múniyo, Zínder, and even that of Máshena. But the present ghaladíma ʿOmár is an intriguing man; and it would have been imprudent to pass on without paying him the compliment of a visit; and I was justified in hoping that he would provide me with a guide in order that I might reach as soon as possible the presence of his liege lord the sheikh of Bórnu.

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

Búndi is a place of tolerable size, but with little industry; and the province of which it is the capital is going to ruin more and more, on account of the laziness and negligence of its governor,—a statement which will be amply proved by the account of my journey through the same district in 1854. The town probably contains eight or nine thousand inhabitants, who belong to the Mánga nation, which seems to be the chief element of the Kanúri, and preserves many very remarkable customs. The special name of the clan of this tribe which dwells hereabouts is Kárda. There is no market here of any importance; but the inhabitants seem to be tolerably at their ease, and there was music and racing, or “kadáske,” in the evening, accompanied by the joyous shrill voices, the “wulúli,” of the women. We, however, seemed to be forgotten; and it was nine o’clock at night, long after we had supped, when we received a dish for ourselves, and corn for the horse. It is rather remarkable that these western provinces of Bórnu were never conquered by the Fúlbe or Felláta, though lying so much nearer to those countries of which they have definitively taken possession than that part of Bórnu situated between the old capital and the great lagoon. The consequence is, that a certain degree of independence is allowed to them, and that they do not pay any tithes to the sheikh.[49]

[Footnote 42: The names he gave me are as follow:—Dubberáno, Buténi, Hákka, Hanʿaa, Syr-há, Néshyrá, Tárfa, Sábená, Harzána, Surfa, Iwák, Shemák, Ikelíllu, Fáram makadám, Fáram makhéro. Of these fifteen names, which I was unable to identify with the months of the Arab calendar, as the man scarcely understood a word of Arabic, three may rather denote the seasons.]

[Footnote 43: “Chínna-n-yalá” is an interesting specimen of the corruption of a language in the border-districts; for while the words are Kanúri, they are joined according to the grammar of the Háusa language, for in Kanúri the expression ought to be “chínna yalabe.”]

[Footnote 44: Further on I shall give the itinerary from Kanó to this important place, joining it with my own route.]

[Footnote 45: The drawing given by Denham of a Mánga warrior makes him look much taller than the Kanémma, while the Mánga in general, though more robust, is shorter than the former, though there are exceptions. The battle-axe also and other characteristic details are wanting.]

[Footnote 46: The Anti-Slavery Society seems to be unaware of these facts, as they suppose that a person in these regions is sufficiently protected by his creed. They appear not to have read the late Mr. Richardson’s Journal, the latter part of which is full of remarks and exclamations on this melancholy state of the inhabitants. See especially vol. ii. p. 223.]

[Footnote 47: “Búndi,” in Kanúri, means “wild beasts.” The inhabitants still bear the particular name of Ngúru-bú, plural of Ngúru-ma, from the name of the place or district Ngurú, generally called Ángarú.]

[Footnote 48: The termination -ma in Kanúri signifies the possession of a thing, and is equivalent to the mai- in Háusa, placed before a word. Thus bílla-ma is exactly identical with maí-gari, fír-ma with mai-dóki (the horseman), and so on. With this termination almost all the names of offices are formed in Kanúri, as yerí-ma, chiró-ma, kasél-ma, and so on. Thus also the governor of the province Múniyo or Mínyo bears the title Muniyó-ma or Minyó-ma, a name entirely misunderstood by Mr. Richardson. I will only add here that the title of the governor of the Gháladí in the Bórnu empire, on account of the immense extent of the latter, has been introduced into the list of offices of all the courts of Central Negroland, and that we find a ghaladíma in Sókoto as well as in every little town of ʿAdamáwa. The same is to be said of some offices originally belonging only to the court of the empire of Mélle, such as that of feréng or fárma, mánso, and others.]

[Footnote 49: Here I will give the route from Kanó to Álamä́y, near Búndi, by way of Khadéja, as it determines approximately the position of this town, which has been also mentioned by Clapperton as a place of importance. But its peculiar political situation, forced upon it by the events of this period, when it became the residence of a rebel chief waging war on all around, prevented my visiting it at a future period.

1st day. On leaving Kanó, sleep in Gógia, where the governor of Kanó has a house, and where you arrive about two o’clock in the afternoon.

2nd. Gáya, another town of the province of Kanó, where you arrive about the same hour, having crossed in the forenoon the bed of a torrent with water only in the rainy season.

3rd. Dúchi or Dútsi; arrive about the ʿaser, having crossed in the morning a torrent called Dedúrra, and passed about noon a half-deserted place called Katákatá.

4th. Zogó, a large open place; about ʿaser. Many small villages on the road.

5th. Khadéja, a large town surrounded with a beautiful and very strong double clay wall, and well inhabited, the courtyards being inclosed with clay walls, but containing only reed huts. The inhabitants employ themselves exclusively in warlike expeditions, and have no industry; but nevertheless there are still to be seen here a few dyeing-pots, marking the eastern limit of this branch of industry. On the south side of the town is a kogí, or komádugu, with a stream of running water in the rainy season, but with only stagnant pools in summer, along which a little wheat is cultivated. It is generally called Wáni.

6th. Garú-n-ghábbes, a middle-sized walled town, the first place of Bórnu, on this side, with a good deal of cultivation around. Though without importance in other respects, it is so in an historical point of view; for this place being identical with the town Birám tá ghábbes, mentioned above, is regarded as the oldest place of the seven original settlements of the Háusa nation.

7th. Álamä́y, the place which I passed by this morning; arrive about ʿaser. Country in a wild state; no cultivation.]

CHAP. XXVII.

BÓRNU PROPER.

[Sidenote: Saturday, March 22nd.]

The ghaladíma had promised to send me a horseman last evening, as I wanted to start early in the morning; but as we neither saw nor heard anything of him the whole night, I thought it better not to lose any more time, but to rely upon my own resources, and accordingly left the town quietly by the northern gate, while the people, after last night’s merriment, were still buried in sleep.

Following the great road, we kept on through a light forest, at times interrupted by a little cultivation. We met several parties—first of a warlike character, armed, horse and foot, then a motley band of natron- traders with camels, bulls, horses and asses, all laden with this valuable article. Emerging at length from the forest, we came upon a wide extent of cultivated land with a sandy soil, with hardly a single tree at present, and, the labours of the field not having yet commenced, still covered with the káwo or _Asclepias_, the characteristic weed of Negroland, which every year, at the beginning of the agricultural season, is cleared away, and which during the dry season grows again, often to the height of ten or twelve feet. We then had a most interesting and cheerful scene of African life in the open, straggling village of Kálimarí or Kálemrí, divided into two distinct groups by a wide open space, where numerous herds of cattle were just being watered at the wells; but how melancholy, how mournful, became the recollection of the busy animated scene which I then witnessed, when three years and a half later, as I travelled again through this district, the whole village, which now presented such a spectacle of happiness and well- being, had disappeared, and an insecure wilderness, greatly infested by robbers, had succeeded to the cheerful abode of man.

But inviting as the village was for a halt during the heat of the day, we had, as conscientious and experienced travellers, the stomachs of our poor animals more at heart than our own; and having watered the horse and filled our skins, we continued on for a while, and then halted in very rich herbage, where, however, there was scarcely a spot free from the disagreeable “ngíbbu,” the _Pennisetum distichum_. On starting again in the afternoon, the country began to exhibit a greater variety of bush and tree; and after a march of two hours, we reached the village Dármagwá, surrounded with a thorny fence, and encamped near it, not far from another little trading-party. We were soon joined by a troop of five Tébu merchants with two camels, a horse, and two pack-oxen, who were also going to Kúkawa, but who, unfortunately, did not suit me as constant companions, their practice being to start early in the morning long before day-light, which was against my principle, as well in a scientific as in a material point of view; for neither should I have been able to lay down the road with correctness, nor would even the best arms have guaranteed my safety while marching in the dark. We therefore allowed them next morning to have the start of us for full two hours, and then followed.

[Sidenote: Sunday, March 23rd.]

We now entered a district which may be most appropriately called the exclusive region of the dúm-palm or _Cucifera Thebaïca_ in Negroland; for though this tree is found, in large clusters or in detached specimens, in many localities of Central Africa, yet it is always limited to some favoured spot, especially to the bank of a watercourse, as the komádugu near the town of Yó, and there is no other district of such extent as this tract between Kálemrí and Zurríkulo where the _Cucifera Thebaïca_ is the characteristic and almost the only tree. My Gatróni thought that the trees would perhaps not bear fruit here; but on my second journey, in the month of December, they were loaded with fruit.

The country has a very peculiar open character, a sandy level very slightly undulating, covered thinly with tall reed-grass shooting forth from separate bunches, the line of view broken only now and then by a cluster of slender fan-palms, without a single trace of cultivation. I was anxious afterwards to know whether this tract has always had this monotonous, deserted character, or whether it had contained formerly any towns and villages; and from all that I could learn, the former seems to be the case. However, our road was frequented, and we met several little troops of native travellers, with one of whom I saw the first specimen of the “kúri,” a peculiar kind of bull of immense size and strength, with proportionately large horns of great thickness and curving inwards. They are almost all of white colour. Their original home is Kárgá, the cluster of islands and swampy ground at the eastern corner of the Tsád.

After five hours’ marching, when we had just traversed a small hollow full of herbage, the dúm-palm was for a moment superseded by other trees, chiefly by the gáwo or karáge; but it soon after again asserted its eminence as the predominating tree. We encamped at length, ignorant as we were of the country, a few minutes beyond a small village, the first human abode we had met with since we had left Dármagwá, half an hour before noon, in the shade of a tamarind-tree, surrounded by a thick cluster of dúm-palms. Certainly the tamarind-tree indicated that water was near; but I was not a little surprised, when ʿAbd-Alla, who was tending the camels, brought me the news that a considerable river, now stagnant, was close behind us. It was, as I afterwards learnt, the “Wáni,” that branch of the komádugu Wáube (erroneously called “Yë́u”) which runs past Khadéja and joins the other branch which comes from Katágum. We therefore watered our camels here without being obliged to pay a single shell, and gave them a good feed, after which we resumed our march, and were not a little astonished when, having crossed the komádugu where it formed a narrow meandering channel about fifty yards broad, and bordered on both sides with trees, we discovered the town of Zurríkulo at a short distance before us.

Going round the north side of the town, we entered the dilapidated wall on the eastern side, where there was an open space, and pitched my tent close to the Tébu, who had arrived already in the forenoon. Soon after, there arrived also a káfila, with twelve camels and a number of oxen and asses, from Kúkawa, and I was anxious to obtain some news of Mr. Richardson; but these people were utterly ignorant of the actual or expected arrival of any Christian in that place. They told me, however, what was not very agreeable, that the sheikh of Bórnu was about to undertake a pilgrimage to Mekka; but fortunately, though that was the heart’s desire of that mild and pious man, he could not well carry it into execution.

I had now entered Bórnu proper, the nucleus of that great Central African empire in its second stage, after Kánem had been given up. It is bordered towards the east by the great sea-like komádugu the Tsád or Tsáde, and towards the west and north-west by the little komádugu which by the members of the last expedition has been called Yéou, from the town of that name, or rather Yó, near which they first made its acquaintance on their way from Fezzán. I had now left behind me those loosely-attached principalities which still preserve some sort of independence, and henceforth had only to do with Bórnu officers.

Not feeling very well, I remained in my tent without paying my compliments to the officer here stationed, whose name is Kashélla Sʿaid, with whom I became acquainted on a later occasion, but the good man being informed by the people that a stranger from a great distance, who was going to visit his liege lord, had entered his town, sent his people to welcome me, and regaled me with several bowls of very good paste, with fresh fish, and a bowl of milk.

Zurríkulo was once a large town, and at the time of the inroad of Wadáÿ revolted from the sheikh, but was obliged to surrender to his brother ʿAbd e’ Rahmán. Since then it has gradually been decaying, and is now half deserted. The neighbourhood of the town is full of wild animals; and great fear was entertained by my companions for our beasts, as we had no protection in our rear. The roaring of a lion was heard during the night.

[Sidenote: Monday, March 24th.]

Next morning, when we resumed our march, the fan-palm for some time continued to be the prevailing tree; but some kukas also, or _Adansonia digitata_, and other more leafy trees began to appear, and after a while a thick underwood sprang up. Then followed a few scattered, I might say forlorn, date-trees, which looked like strangers in the country, transplanted into this region by some accident. The sky was clear; and I was leaning carelessly upon my little nag, musing on the original homes of all the plants which now adorn different countries, when I saw advancing towards us a strange-looking person of very fair complexion, richly dressed and armed, and accompanied by three men on horseback, likewise armed with musket and pistols. Seeing that he was a person of consequence, I rode quickly up to him and saluted him, when he, measuring me with his eyes, halted and asked me whether I was the Christian who was expected to arrive from Kanó; and on my answering him in the affirmative, he told me distinctly that my fellow-traveller Yakúb (Mr. Richardson) had died before reaching Kúkawa, and that all his property had been seized. Looking him full in the face, I told him that this, if true, was serious news; and then he related some particulars, which left but little doubt as to the truth of his statement. When his name was asked, he called himself Ismʿaíl; I learned, however, afterwards, from other people, that he was the sheríf el Habíb, a native of Morocco, and really of noble blood, a very learned, but extremely passionate man, who, in consequence of a dispute with Mʿallem Mohammed had been just driven out of Kúkawa by the sheikh of Bórnu.

This sad intelligence deeply affected me, as it involved not only the life of an individual, but the whole fate of the mission; and though some room was left for doubt, yet in the first moment of excitement, I resolved to leave my two young men behind with the camels, and to hurry on alone on horseback. But Mohammed would not hear of this proposal; and indeed as I certainly could not reach Kúkawa in less than four days, and as part of the road was greatly infested by the Tawárek, such an attempt might have exposed me to a great deal of inconvenience. But we determined to go on as fast as the camels would allow us. We halted at eleven o’clock, shaded by the trunk of an immense leafless monkey-bread- tree, a little behind the walled place Kábi, the southern quarter of which is alone inhabited, and where our friends the Tébu had encamped. Starting then together with them at two o’clock in the afternoon, we took the road by Déffowa, leaving on our right that which passes Donári, the country now assuming a more hospitable and very peculiar character.

For here begins a zone characterized by sandy downs from 100 to 120 feet high, and exhibiting on their summits a level plain of excellent arable soil, but with few trees, while the dells separating these downs one from the other, and which often wind about in the most anomalous manner, are in general richly overgrown with a rank vegetation, among which the dúm-palm and the dúm-bush are predominant. This curious formation, I fancy, has some connection with the great lagoon, which in a former period must have been of much greater extent.

The intercourse on the road this afternoon was exceedingly animated; and one motley troop followed another,—Háusa fatáki, Bórnu traders or “tugúrchi,” Kánembú Tébu, Shúwa Arabs, and others of the roving tribe of the Welád Slimán, all mixed together,—while their beasts of burden formed a multifarious throng of camels, oxen, horses, and asses. The Welád Slimán, who were bringing camels for sale to the market of Kanó, were greatly frightened when I told them what had happened to their brethren near Kúka mairuá, as they were conscious that most of the camels now with them were of the number of those which two years ago had been taken from the Kél-owí in Bílma.

As evening came on, the dells which we had to traverse were thronged with thousands of wild pigeons, carrying on their amorous play in the cool twilight of approaching night. All was silent, with the exception of a distant hum, becoming more and more distinct as we wound along the side of an exuberant meandering valley. The noise proceeded from the considerable town of Déffowa, which we reached at a quarter past seven o’clock, and encamped at a little distance to the north. Lively music never ceased in the town till a late hour.

[Sidenote: Tuesday, March 25th.]

All was still silent in the place when, early in the morning, I set out with my little troop to follow the track of our temporary companions the Tébu. The village was surrounded only by a light thorny fence; but it seemed to be prosperous and densely inhabited. The country continued similar in character, but better cultivated than the tract we had traversed the day before; and the immense multitude of wild pigeons, which found a secure and pleasant haunt in the rank vegetation of the hollows, made it necessary to resort to some expedient to keep them off. High platforms were therefore erected in the fields, in the shade of some tree; and ropes drawn from them were fastened to poles and coated with a peculiar vegetable extract, which caused them, if put into motion by a person stationed upon the platform, to give forth a loud sound, which kept the birds at a respectful distance.

We saw here also a small cotton-field. If the country were more densely inhabited and the people more industrious and better protected by their slave-hunting governors, all the lowlands and valley-like hollows, which during the rainy season form so many water-channels, and retain a great degree of moisture during the whole year, would afford the most splendid ground for this branch of cultivation.

The repeated ascent and descent along steep slopes of deep sandy soil more than a hundred feet high was very fatiguing for the camels. While ascending one of these ridges, we had a very charming view over the whole of the neat little village of Kálowa, lying along the slope and in the hollow to our left. It was rather small, containing about two hundred huts, but every yard was shaded by a korna or bíto-tree (_Balanites_); and comfort (according to the wants felt by the natives) and industry were everywhere manifested. In the midst was a large open space, where the cattle were collecting round the wells to be watered, while the people were drawing water to fill the large round hollows, “kéle nkíbe,” made with little clay walls to serve as troughs. The blacksmith was seen busy at his simple work, making new hoes for the approaching season; the weaver was sitting at his loom; several were making mats of reed; some women were carrying water from the wells, some spinning or cleaning the cotton, while others pounded corn for their daily consumption. The little granaries, in order to preserve the stock of corn from the danger of conflagration, which every moment threatens these light structures of straw and reed, were erected on the sandy level near the edge of the slope. Even the fowls had their little separate abodes, also of reed, very thrifty and neat, as the accompanying woodcut will show. Such was the simple but nevertheless cheerful picture which this little village exhibited. My two boys were a long way ahead of me when I awoke from my reverie and followed them.