Chapter LIII (8)

Having so many petty chiefs before me, and seeing that this officer did not possess much power, I did not choose to give him a large present; but on my return the following year, when I still had something left, I made him a more considerable present of a bernús.

Having entered a new country, where a language was spoken (the Songhay) with which neither I nor any of my servants was acquainted, and not being able to give much time to its study, as I had to apply myself to the Fulfúlde, the language of the conquering tribe, I was extremely anxious to take into my service a native of the country, or to liberate a Songhay slave; but I did not succeed at this time, and, in consequence, felt not so much at home in my intercourse with the inhabitants of the country through which I had next to pass, as I had done formerly. For Gurma, although originally inhabited by quite a distinct race, has been conquered and peopled by the Songhay to a great extent.

[Footnote 60: Kálgo, at the northern foot of the mountain, lies south- west from here, and the town of Gurma, at present destroyed, north-east beyond the valley.]

[Footnote 61: For a statement of the few facts which have come to my knowledge, with regard to the history of this kingdom, see Appendix.]

[Footnote 62: Dallul Fógha joins the Niger at Bírni-n-Dóle, one day and a half from Gáya.]

[Footnote 63: For the other places of Déndina, see Appendix V. Here I will only enumerate a few villages belonging to the districts which we passed on our road from Zogírma, and lying just in the border district of the Songhay and Háusa territories. Close to Júnju lie the following places, or rather hamlets, at present greatly reduced: Karákará, ʿAbd el ʿAzi, Jabóre, Bébé, Dámana, Gangánge. The following places are said to lie along the dallul Fógha; but I am not able to indicate their situation more distinctly: Rúma, Béngu, Baná Harukári, Nyánsamé, Kúduru, Gergánga and Lúdu. There is no such town as “Bírni-n-Fógha,” Fógha being only the name of the valley; but not far from Kallíul there is another town called Báura. Most of the villages mentioned are inhabited by pagans.]

MAP OF THE ROUTES between SAY AND TIMBÚKTU 24 June 1853-30 July 1854. INCLUDING THE SURVEY OF THE NIGER.

Constructed and drawn by A. Petermann.

Engraved by E. Weller, _Duke Strt. Bloomsbury._

_London, Longman & Co._]

CHAP. LX.

THE HILLY COUNTRY OF GURMA.

[Sidenote: Friday, June 24th.]

I now left the Great River behind me, which formed the limit between the tolerably known regions of Central Negroland and the totally unexplored countries on the south-western side of its course; and with intense interest my thoughts were concentrated on the new region before me. However, this very day we had a sufficient specimen of what awaited us on our march during the rainy season; for we had scarcely left the low island behind us, on which the town of Say, this hotbed of fever, is situated (with its dry prairie ground almost destitute of verdure, and covered only with a few scattered specimens of the _Asclepiadeæ_), and had ascended the steep rocky bank which borders the west side of the narrow, shallow, and irregular western branch of the river, which, being encompassed by granite boulders, was at present dry, when a dark array of thunder-clouds came, as it were, marching upon us from the south-east, and we had scarcely time to prepare for the serious assault, when a terrible thunder-storm broke out, beginning with a most fearful sand-wind, which enveloped the whole district in the darkness of night, and made progress, for a moment, quite impossible. After a while it was followed by a violent rain, which relieved the sand-storm, but lasted for nearly three hours, filling our path with water to the depth of several inches, and soaking us through to the skin, so that our march could not fail to be very uncomfortable.

It was on this account that we took up our quarters about half an hour before noon in a farming-hamlet called Sanchérgu, where the people were busily employed in sowing; the plentiful rain of to-day, which was the first of the season, having rendered the fields fit for cultivation. After some search, we obtained two huts of round shape, which were situated near a sheep-pen in front of the dwelling of the proprietor. This was a cheerful and wealthy old man, who both lodged us comfortably, and treated us hospitably. While my people were drying their clothes and luggage, I roved about a little, and observed, at a short distance west from the hamlet, a small rocky watercourse with pools of stagnant water, where the women were washing their clothes, while the slaves were busy in the labours of the field.

[Sidenote: Saturday, June 25th.]

Having rewarded our hospitable host, we started at an early hour to pursue our march, in order to reach in time the residence of Galaijo, a distinguished chief, of whom I had heard a great many flattering reports. It was a fine morning after yesterday’s storm, and the country through which our march lay was hilly, and at times presented very pleasant vales, or glens, but in general it was destitute of trees, and was only insufficiently inhabited and cultivated. The view which presented itself to us of the country before us, when, after a march of about three miles and a half, we reached the highest point, was that of an extensive wilderness, the few cultivated spots being entirely hidden in the midst of the forest. Red sandstone was apparently the chief component of this hilly country, with occasionally a black tint, received from exposure to the air, and rich in oxide of iron—in fact, of the same geological feature as the border country between Kebbi and Góber. Short herbage was springing up here and there, affording but scanty food to the cattle that were grazing hereabouts.

A steep rocky declivity brought us from the higher level, which was covered with small stones, into a deep valley. But we had soon to ascend again, traversing a district which belonged to the village of Ndobúra and bore some signs of cultivation; and a dell, which we passed a little further on, was extremely picturesque. But the country hereabouts does not in general seem to be very fertile, and, besides, the exceptional drought of the present year had destroyed a large proportion of the crops; and it was this very unproductiveness that had induced the chief to leave his former place of residence, Shirgu, which lay a little more to the east, and to found a new dwelling-place further west.

This place, which is called Champagóre, we reached at noon, but preferred taking up our quarters on a hill opposite the town, to the north, which was bounded on that side by a well-wooded dell, and overlooked the whole neighbourhood. The town itself is inclosed by a small hilly chain towards the south, at the foot of which are the wells, seven fathoms in depth. It was to have been surrounded by a clay wall; but, only provisionally, the four gates had been finished with clay, while the rest of the town was still inclosed by a stockade. The interior of the place looks very peculiar, and quite different from the style usual in Kebbi, which is chiefly owing to the remarkable character of the magazines of corn, which consist of towers or quadrangular buildings, raised a few feet above the ground, in order to protect them from the ants. They are from ten to fifteen feet in height, and about six feet in diameter, the walls gradually sloping inwards towards the top, as shown in the accompanying woodcut. They have no opening at the bottom, but only a windowlike aperture near the top, through which the corn is taken in and out; and on the whole they are not unlike the dove- cots of Egypt. In every courtyard there were one or more of these magazines; and they far surpassed, in their whole appearance, the dwellings themselves, which, with a few exceptions, consisted of low huts, the whole of the courtyards being only surrounded by a frail fence, made of the stalks of the native corn, while, in many yards, one half of the circumference of the huts themselves, of which there were rarely more than two, formed part of the fence.

I went in the afternoon to pay my compliments to the chief. The portal of his residence has quite a stately appearance, as shown in the accompanying woodcut, bearing evident testimony to an attempt at architectural decoration; but the spacious courtyard inside, which was inclosed by a low clay wall, full of rubbish and poor mean-looking huts, did not correspond with the stately character of the entrance. However, the dwelling itself, although simple, is not so mean, and, besides two spacious clay halls, includes some very airy and cool corridors built entirely of wood. Having been first received by Galaijo in one of the clay halls, I was conducted afterwards to a more private audience in one of these corridors; and here, while delivering my present[64], I had a fair opportunity of surveying the exterior of this interesting man.

Mohammed Galaijo, at the time of my visit, was a man of about seventy years of age, of an extremely pleasant and almost European expression of countenance, and of middle stature. He was dressed very simply, in a light-blue tobe, with a white shawl wound round his face. Galaijo, son of Hambodéjo, son of Páte, son of Hámed Yella, succeeded his father—probably the very chief who treated Mungo Park so hospitably during his stay in Másina—in the year of the Hejra, 1231. He was then the most powerful chief of Másina, or Melle, which, since the overthrow of the Songhay empire by Múlay Hámed el Dhéhebí the emperor of Morocco, had been left to itself, and was consequently split into several petty kingdoms, the three other powerful chiefs of that country being the Árdo Másina, the Árdo Fíttogel, and Gél Hamma Mána. But just at the time when Galaijo became ruler, the great religious movement of the Fúlbe of Góber began, under the Reformer ʿOthmán, and, instigated by their example, and fired with religious zeal, a chief went forth from them, in order to spread Islám among that section of the Fúlbe which was established along the upper course of the Niger. This man was Mohammed or Hámed Lebbo, who, arriving in the country of Másina in the beginning of the year 1233 of the Hejra, at the head of a small band, formed first an alliance with Galaijo, who himself had embraced Islám; and, thus closely allied, they spread their conquests over the neighbouring country. But, after having succeeded in establishing a strong power, Mohammed Lebbo demanded homage and allegiance from his ally Galaijo, under the pretext of his having brought the ensign, or túta, of Islám from Sifáwa, the place mentioned on a former occasion, where the Reformer ʿOthmán dan Fódiye resided at the time, together with his brother ʿAbd Alláhi. Upon this, Galaijo, feeling little inclined to cede the dominion of the country over which his claims had been established from ancient times, entered into a violent struggle with the new comer; but after an unsuccessful resistance, carried on for three years, he was obliged to give up his former residence, Konári, and, with the rest of his partisans, to seek a new home further eastward. Here he was received with open arms by the ruler of Gando, who was not at all pleased with the independent bearing of Lebbo and his son Áhmedu, by whom he was succeeded,—those people, being borne away by a pure reformatory view of their religion, and elated by their victory, going so far as to despatch a message to their kinsmen in Sókoto and Gando, to the effect that, if they would not reduce the number of their wives to two, and renounce their wide effeminate dress, they would pay them a hostile visit; and it is on this account that, even at the present time, there is no amicable relation whatever subsisting between the courts of Sókoto and Gando, on the one hand, and that of Hamda-Alláhi on the other.

The chief of Gando, therefore, granted Galaijo an extensive although not very fertile district in his territories, where he has now been settled for almost thirty years. Thus we find, in this region, a small court of its own, and a whole community bearing no resemblance whatever to the customs of the people around them, but having faithfully preserved the manners and institutions of their native country, Másina; for, while all the neighbouring Fúlbe are rather a slender race of men, with expressive and sharply-cut features, who make it a rule to dress in white colours, we find here quite the reverse—a set of sturdy men, with round open countenances, and long black curly hair, all uniformly clad in light- blue tobes, and almost all of them armed with muskets. I was utterly surprised at the noble bearing of several of the courtiers, but especially that of the vizier and the commander-in-chief or lámido konno, both of whom reminded me of Europeans. The old chief, even at the present time, keeps up a continual intercourse with Timbúktu, where his eldest son was at the time studying, and which place he did not leave until some time after my arrival. Indeed the town of Konári is still said to belong to Galaijo.

Taking into consideration the peculiar character of this little colony, and the benevolent disposition and venerable character of the chief in particular, I thought it worth my while to enter into more intimate relations with him, and in consequence, the following day, presented him with a heláli bernús, which he admired very much, and was as grateful for as his reduced fortune allowed him to be; for, besides giving me a present of a heifer and a great number of fowls, he provided me also with corn, of which there was a great dearth in the place. The market was very small and insignificant, consisting merely of seven stalls, or shops, where scarcely a single sheep or ox was to be seen. The bitter species of ground-nuts, or gángala, and salt, formed almost the sole articles for sale. Butter and sour milk were plentiful.

The whole of this country belongs to Gurma—a name which, however, does not seem to owe its origin to the native inhabitants, but probably was given to it by the Songhay, who, while still settled on the north side of the river, applied this term to the region on the opposite or southern side, identical with the name Ari-bínda. The country, at least the northern portions of it, had gradually been conquered and colonised by the Songhay, who, as we shall see on my home journey, have preserved in this quarter a portion of their national strength and independence, while in the recent rising of the Fúlbe the chief places along the high- road had been occupied by the latter; but after the first impulse of the religious movement had passed by, the settlements of this conquering race had greatly decayed, so that the communication along this important highroad from the west, at the period of my journey, was almost entirely interrupted, nay, the native independent chief of Bójjo had totally destroyed the considerable settlement of Martebógo which commanded the road; for, from the very beginning the conquerors had only succeeded in establishing themselves along the high-road, leaving the independence of the chiefs in the interior almost undisturbed. The most powerful of these native chiefs of Gurma are those of Belánga, Bótu, Bosúgu, Bójjo, Machakwáli, Nándau, and Mayánga.[65] Of these the chief of Belánga seems to be at present the most powerful, while next to him ranks that of Bójjo; but in former times Bótu seems to have been the chief place in the country, which is the reason why it is still called by the Háusa people “fáda-n-Gurma,” “the palace or royal residence of Gurma.” The name Gurma however, as I have said, seems not to be the indigenous name either of the country or of the people, while the language of the natives bears a certain affinity to that of the neighbouring tribes, the Mósi or Móre, and Tombo.

However, the original inhabitants of Gurma are not the only enemies of the Fúlbe, but, besides the former, there are also the Songhay, who have emigrated into the country since the time of their predominance along the Niger; and some of these communities are the most inveterate enemies of the present conquerors, especially the inhabitants of Lárba, or Láraba, a place which we had to pass on our further march. Besides the latter place, the most important settlements of the Songhay in this district are said to be the following:—Téra (the residence of Hamma- Kása), Darghol, Garmúwa, Fámbita, close to the river; and not far from it, to the west, Garú (probably identical with the neighbouring town of Sínder of that name), Kasáni, Kókoro, and Fóni.[66] We shall come into contact with some of these Songhay settlements on our return journey along the Niger, and I shall then say more about them.

It was on account of the Lárba that I was induced to remain a day longer at Champagóre than had been originally my intention, the chief begging me most urgently to wait till some other people who were going to Yágha might join me; and while staying here, we were so fortunate as to have a tolerable shower of rain, which greatly refreshed this parched country and again raised the hopes of the inhabitants. The whole depression between the hill on which we were encamped and the town became filled with water; and I was greatly delighted at the arrival of the proprietor of the farm where we had established ourselves, an energetic weather- beaten Púllo, who came to inspect the labours of the fields, and who was not a little surprised at finding us quietly established in his homely dwelling.

[Sidenote: Tuesday, June 28th.]

Our road lay through a hilly country, well wooded and intersected by a number of small watercourses; and in some favoured localities a good crop of corn was seen standing in the fields. Cattle also seemed not to be wanting, which accounted for the circumstance of the residence of Galaijo being so well provided with milk. We also met a great number of women on their way to the market of Champagóre with their supplies of sour milk. But besides the small dry watercourses just mentioned, we had also to cross a very rapid torrent, which is called Górebi, and is said to come from the direction of Kulféla, a very important market-place in the interior of Mósi, and which caused us considerable delay. Before we entered Champaláwel, also, where we took up our quarters half an hour before noon, we had to cross a considerable sheet of water, three feet and a half in depth and about thirty yards broad, about the relation of which to the neighbouring watercourses I am not quite certain.

Champaláwel is the residence of the governor of the Tórobe; but it was at that time in the utmost state of decay and almost deserted, the slight remains of the ramparts being almost hidden in a dense forest; for since the decease of Moʿazu (a celebrated chieftain mentioned also in other accounts), who died about twenty years ago, the power of the Fúlbe in this place has greatly declined. The present governor, a younger brother of that energetic chieftain, himself tolerably advanced in years, proved to be a very illiberal and unamiable man, and he would not even assign me quarters on my arrival; so that I had the greatest trouble in taking possession of a miserable little hut on my own account, while good shelter was very essential, as a great quantity of rain fell in the afternoon. However, all was changed when, towards evening, a cousin of the present governor, of the name of ʿOthmán, arrived, and I then received a present of two sheep. I also had the great and unexpected pleasure of meeting here an Arab, of the name of Mohammed el Wákhshi, a near relative of my friend Bú-Bakr el Wákhshi, the Ghadámsi merchant whom I have mentioned repeatedly in the preceding part of my narrative. This man was then on his return from Gonja, the northern tributary province of Asanti,—the Gúro caravan having been induced, by the state of the country, to abandon its direct road from Yendi to Komba on the Niger, in favour of a northerly and very circuitous road by way of Yágha.[67] But I was disappointed in the hope of corresponding with Europe by means of this man. The letter which I gave to him, and which I had already written in Say, never reached its destination, for El Wákhshi succumbed to disease in crossing the province of Núpe in the height of the rainy season, before reaching Kanó.

[Sidenote: Wednesday, June 29th.]

On leaving this desolate residence of the chief of the Tórobe, reduced to an entangled thicket, we passed the encampment, or zango, of the Gúro caravan, which, as is generally the case, consisted of small round huts, erected for the occasion with branches and rank grass. The caravan consisted of about one hundred individuals, with a couple of hundred of asses, which form the usual beasts of burden of these native travellers. Scarcely a mile beyond the town we had again to cross a river which, bordered by the richest vegetation, and by abundance of rank grass, runs at this spot from S.E. to N.W., with a depth of about three feet, and at times, when a great deal of rain has fallen, forming a far more considerable volume of water.

The country which we then entered was hilly, tolerably well cultivated, and thickly inhabited. It was adorned here and there with the baobab tree, and a fine leafy tree called here “harúna.” But we made only a short march, being induced, on account of the danger of the road before us, to take up our quarters in a farming-village, situated in a very rich tract of country, behind a flat-topped cone, at the distance of a little more than four miles from Champaláwel. Notwithstanding the fertility of the district, no corn was to be obtained here at present, the last year’s harvest having failed entirely, so that the people were obliged to supply their own wants at Bosebángo. This scarcity is increased generally in districts where only one species of corn is grown, all the produce here being reduced to millet; while where various grains are raised, which ripen at different seasons, even in these countries, dearth cannot prevail to such an extent and for so long a time. All the inhabitants, including even the head man, belonged to the native Gurma race. All the cattle-breeding is in the hands of the Fúlbe, who regard “the cow as the most useful animal in creation,”—“negge ngombúri déya fó náfa;” and, there being no such people in the neighbourhood, no milk was to be obtained. The dwelling where I was lodged, with its numerous compartments and courtyards, presented quite a labyrinth of itself. Three servants of Galaijo, all armed with muskets, had attached themselves to my troop; and I supplied each of them here with ball cartridges, in case of any attack on the road.

[Sidenote: Thursday, June 30th.]

We had a long day’s march before us, through the unsafe wilderness which separates the reduced dominion of the chief of the Tórobe from the territory of Yágha. It was a fine morning, and tolerably clear. Corn- fields now and then interrupted the dense growth of talha trees and prickly underwood, while occasionally a baobab or a tamarind tree gave greater variety to the scenery. About four miles and a half from our starting-point we passed, on the right of the path, some peculiarly constructed smelting-furnaces, about six feet high and a foot and a half in diameter at the base. The proceeding is very simple and unsophisticated. On the ironstone is placed a large quantity of wood- ashes, till the metal begins to melt, and is then, by means of three channels at the bottom of the furnace, received in a basin.

Close behind these smelting-furnaces, which happened to be the first I had seen in Negroland, though there are plenty of them in some districts, we passed the site of a former encampment, or zango, of native traders, or fatáki, in a spot clothed with the finest _Poa_, and adorned with large wide-spreading trees. Ascending then a little, we passed the village of Bangapélle on our left, situated at the eastern foot of an eminence, and then kept along the northern base of the latter, while on our right a dense forest spread out, broken by a rocky ridge. The whole wilderness through which our way led was in general very dry, and did not possess any fresh pasture-grounds, although about two miles beyond Bangapélle we passed a considerable pond of water, with numerous traces of the elephant; but gradually the country became more rocky, granite prevailing. We encamped, at length, on the site of a former hamlet, called Kófe, situated on a rising rocky ground, close to a depression, with water, and clothed with fine pasture interspersed with flowers, in whose sweet blossom numerous butterflies were indulging. Here again the footprints of the elephant were extremely numerous; but by far more interesting, and of much higher importance to me, were the traces of the rhinoceros, an animal which at present seems to be wanting entirely in the regions between the Niger on the west and the Shárí towards the east. Our rest at this place was greatly disturbed; for after an alarm in the evening, which, fortunately for us, proved to be false, we were kept awake the whole night by a terrible thunder-storm, which broke out with great violence, and rendered our situation in the midst of a low swampy ground very uncomfortable indeed.

[Sidenote: Friday, July 1st.]

In consequence of the storm, we started rather late. Close behind our encampment we had to cross a very swampy ground, which we might have passed more easily the day before. We were therefore greatly cheered when the boggy ground was succeeded by sandy soil, which became intersected by several small watercourses, affording a channel to the watery element; but after a march of about six miles, it was again succeeded by a considerable pond, which we had to avoid by a long circuitous road. Here, also, the ground was marked by numerous footprints of the elephant, while monkey-bread or baobab trees were in great abundance.

In the afternoon, the whole aspect of the country changed, the surface becoming rugged, and broken by small rocky ridges; and here the danger increased, on account of the vicinity of the town of Lárba, the inhabitants of which, as I have mentioned before, are the inveterate enemies of the Fúlbe. Only a few days before, they had robbed and murdered some people of the governor of the Tórobe. But well-armed as we were, all the people round about being aware that an attack upon us would not be an easy affair, we proceeded without any accident; and having twice made a considerable descent, we reached, a little after three o’clock, the village of Bosebángo, which is surrounded by a strong stockade. It is inhabited by the Karábe, who, although kinsmen of the inhabitants of Lárba, fear and respect in some degree the authority of the Fúlbe: however, we soon convinced ourselves that the character of their allegiance is very precarious. The mayor of the village, being a man of advanced age, dressed in a ragged shirt, lodged me in his own quarters, which seemed to contain a very remarkable household, the most interesting objects being his two wives, very stout females, richly ornamented with copper rings on their arms and legs, and with strings of beads round their necks, but having, besides, another ornament, at which I was more surprised, viz. a thin plate of tin in the under lip, like that worn by the Marghí; but I was astonished at not finding the nose- ring, which, from what I had heard, I had concluded that all the Songhay were in the habit of wearing. Altogether, these fashionably dressed women, with their dirty old partner, would have formed a highly interesting subject for illustrating the customs of these people.

Having rested awhile, for I felt greatly exhausted after my sickly state in Say, I roved a little about the place (which lies at the foot of a well-wooded eminence), and collected several specimens of minerals, which, in the course of my journey, were thrown away by my people. Gneiss and mica slate were predominant, and beautiful varieties of granite occasionally appeared.

Having observed from this point that the river Sírba runs only at a short distance from the place, we endeavoured in the evening to arrange with the inhabitants to assist us in crossing this sheet of water, where there are no boats. While speaking with the natives about this river, I was surprised to hear from them that they consider the water unwholesome, and more particularly so for horses, while even the herbage which grows close to the border is regarded as extremely deleterious to the cattle; but the people themselves supply their own wants entirely from the river. They do not carry the water in single pitchers on their heads, which is the general custom in Negroland, but use a simple pair of yokes, from which a couple of nets are suspended, in each of which a pitcher is carried, in much the same way as in Germany.

The chief treated my party very hospitably. While in the neighbourhood of Bangapélle there seemed to be great scarcity of corn, here it appeared to be in abundance. We spent our evening comfortably, although it was necessary to take great care of the horses, as a number of horse- stealers were hovering about the place.

[Sidenote: Saturday, July 2nd.]

A few hundred yards beyond the village we came to the river Sírba, which here forms a bend from N.W. to N.E., between banks about twenty feet high, and caused us not a little anxiety, as it was nearly seventy yards wide, and not less than twelve feet in depth in the middle. We had, moreover, to cross it merely on bundles of reeds, which we had to tie together ourselves. At length, after much controversy, we succeeded in arranging with the natives, for 2000 shells, to assist us in crossing. While the large bundles which were to constitute our frail ferry were being tied together, the head man of the village and a great number of the natives were sitting on the high banks of the river, which form a sort of amphitheatre, in order to enjoy the spectacle. There was something very peculiar about the inhabitants of this place. The men were formed into interesting groups, with features full of expression, but approaching somewhat to effeminacy, their hair being plaited in long tresses, which hung down over their cheeks, and in some cases reached their shoulders. Their dress consisted of short blue shirts, and long wide trowsers of the same colour. Almost all of them had small pipes in their mouths, which they smoked incessantly. The women were of rather short stature, and of not very symmetrical forms, with naked legs and breasts. Their necks and ears were richly ornamented with strings of beads; but they also were destitute of the nose-ring, which I had supposed common to this tribe.

The men were expert swimmers, and carried the small articles across the river in large calabashes; but we ourselves and the heavier luggage had to cross on the rafts of reeds, and in about two hours we succeeded in getting safely over the water with our whole troop. A little after twelve o’clock we left the opposite bank, being joined by two horsemen of the Sýllebáwa, who at no great distance from this spot have a large settlement called Dútuwel; but we had great difficulty in making our way through the swampy plain, intersected by several small watercourses, which descended in deep ravines from a small rocky chain towards the north. After a march of about eight miles, we pitched our tents a little beyond the site of a former encampment of the native traders, where the ground was tolerably free from trees; and I enjoyed our resting-place extremely, for, having been exposed to the sun during the heat of the day, I felt greatly fatigued.

[Sidenote: Sunday, July 3rd.]

We continued our march through the forest, which here had a very fresh appearance, and soon passed a cone on our right, on the offshoots of which, as would appear from the quantities of stones scattered about, a hamlet appears to have been situated in former times. Besides gneiss, large pieces of a fine species of marble were lying about in every direction. Rank grass, now and then adorned with blue _Cruciferæ_, filled up the intervals between the dense growth of trees (but there were none of large size, and less of the bush called “tsáda” than I had seen the previous day), besides a few isolated monkey-bread trees. I observed, also, that the people were here digging up the same root which I had noticed on my journey to Ádamáwa. The footprints of the elephant and the buffalo were very numerous; and a little further on we fell in with a large herd of the latter species indulging in the luxuriant herbage of the pasture-grounds, which here grows without any use to man.

Having then gone round a considerable pond of water in the midst of the forest, we entered upon more undulating ground adorned with larger trees, where, besides the monkey-bread tree, the dorówa was predominant; and a little beyond an eminence, at the foot of which the village of Bundóre had been situated in former times, we reached the modern village of that name, which is surrounded with a stockade. A dyeing-place, containing from eight to ten pits, besides a large basin for making up the mixture, presented some signs of industry and civilisation; at a short distance from our quarters, also, a blacksmith was living. This village belongs to the territory of Yágha, and the huts presented a peculiar style of architecture, being built almost entirely of stalks and matting. The latter, which constitutes the walls, is plastered with clay, and reaches an altitude of nine feet. The roof is not formed of slender boughs and branches, but of large poles.

Not being able to obtain any corn that evening, I was obliged to stay here the following day. No millet is cultivated in this place, all the corn consisting of sorghum. The people would not take anything but shells, and refused cotton strips. Sixty of the former bought a full measure of a common drinking-bowl, or “gerra,” of corn; and for 1500 shells we procured a lean sheep.

[Sidenote: Tuesday, July 5th.]

The country which we traversed on leaving Bundóre, was well adorned with trees, especially the tamarind, and bore evident signs of extensive cultivation, even indigo and cotton being observed by the side of a pond; but the forest soon became so dense, that our progress was very difficult, and the ʿamúda, a _Liliacea_ which I have mentioned before, was so plentiful in some places, that it formed, as it were, a rich carpet, exhibiting quite an unwonted and cheerful aspect, for in general this quarter of Africa is rather poor in flowers. We had just passed a very dense jungle of tall reed-grass interspersed with blue and yellow flowers, when a thunder-storm which had hovered over us all the morning broke out, and soon changed the whole forest into one mighty sheet of water, when we had to cross three powerful torrents, all running towards the south-east, and probably discharging themselves into the Sirba.

Completely drenched, and almost swamped by the water, we reached the village of Denga, but had the greatest difficulty in entering it, on account of the dense forest with which it was surrounded. At length we succeeded in penetrating this mass of thorny bushes, and, having obtained quarters, were able to dry our clothes; but the damp was excessive, and the second-best of my servants, the young Shúwa lad ʿAbd Alláhi, was this very day attacked by the Guinea worm, which laid him up during the whole of the remainder of my journey, and at times rendered him the most disagreeable person in the world.

The hut which was assigned to myself was well built; but it was so completely obstructed by numbers of corn jars of clay, that scarcely any room was left for my own use. Our diet, however, was not so bad, and besides sour milk, which constitutes one of the most wholesome articles of food for a European traveller in these regions during the rainy season, we obtained also a couple of fowls.

[Sidenote: Wednesday, July 6th.]

Our road, on leaving Denga, led through underwood, which was gradually succeeded by dense forest, the view being bounded towards the right by heights. Among the trees of the forest, there was soon conspicuous that large beautiful tree, a species of acacia, which the inhabitants of Sháwi and Mákari call korgam, and from which they build most of their boats, while a kind of vegetable butter is made from its core. It grew here to an altitude of certainly not less than eighty feet, with a wide- spreading crown, but not very dense foliage. It is here called “mur,” at least by the Arabs; its native Songhay name I did not learn till some time subsequently.

Amongst the underwood, the most distinguished was the bush here called “kírche,” with its small, white, edible fruit, which is extremely pleasant when taken in small quantities, but, from its very sweet taste, soon becomes unpalatable; there was, besides, the “mekhét,” as it is called by the Arabs, the fruit of which is much liked by the natives, but it was not yet ripe. The wilderness was interrupted by a village of considerable size, called Gongúngo, surrounded by a living fence of bushes, and exhibiting a good deal of cultivation, principally _Zea Maïs_, while a single dúm palm attracted our attention. Here the sun broke through the clouds, spreading life over, and enhancing the cheerful aspect of, the landscape.

Forest again succeeded, intersected by a small rivulet which had inundated the district to some extent; and about two miles beyond Gongúngo we had to cross swampy meadow grounds, where my Háusa Púllo, a native of Zabérma, whom I had taken into my service in Champagóre, called my attention to a plant named here “yángara-bubíki,” which is said to keep flies from open wounds, especially from those of the camel; it probably contains a sort of slight poison. Having crossed a short tract of rugged ground, where granite, gneiss, and sandstone protruded through the surface, we entered a more populous district, with several villages right and left, but presenting great difficulties to the passage of the camels, as it consisted of red clay, soaked with water, which formed several large ponds, and, being recently traversed by a numerous herd of cattle, was extremely muddy.

Thus leaving two villages on one side, we reached, a little before noon, the clay wall of the town of Sebba, which, though the residence of the lord of Yágha, has nothing in its appearance to indicate the capital of even a small province. The governor was sitting in front of his house, close to the mosque, in the midst of a large congregation of people, and was reading and interpreting to them some passages from the Kurán. Having sent two of my servants in advance, I soon obtained quarters, and was lodged in an excellent hut, which I shall here describe.

The hut measured about twenty feet in diameter, the walls being ten feet high to the beginning of the roof, but consisting merely of matting, which was coated with clay. The roof was supported by a pole in the middle. The hut was full of larger or smaller vessels of clay, and was apparently intended for a considerable household. The woodcut below will give a full idea of the comfort which an African household in this region possesses.

1. Jodórde, a clay seat of semicircular shape, raised about a foot, on each side of the door.

2. Lýggere, two round shallow holes in the floor, measuring about eight inches in diameter, to place the dishes during dinner, in order to prevent them from being upset.

3. Kosóndi, a half-oval-shaped place, surrounded by a slight clay rampart, about two and a half feet high, for containing luggage, &c.

4. Hurgal, a sort of clay bank, about six feet in length, and about a foot in height, and rather narrow.

5. Three “benbel,” or large-sized clay jars, for containing corn.

6. Six smaller “benbel,” called “mabbirgel benbel.”

7. Hobinírde, the cooking-place, consisting of four stones, or rather clay mounds, protected against any gust of wind by a slight wall towards the side of the door, while its privacy is already sufficiently guaranteed by the large clay jars.

8. Two movable seats, or jodórde, one of round, the other of an oblong shape, both made of wood.

9. Kekimákka, or middle pole, for supporting the roof of the hut.]

Besides the immovable articles, if we exclude the two smaller seats of wood which were movable, only very few utensils had been left in the hut by the industrious landlady, the couch and even the dishes having been taken away. But suspended from the roof was the “pílgure,” or basket for smaller luggage, which contained at the time, besides the komcha, the pittórke, or small stick for weaving, and the fabáru, a small leather portfolio for writing. The accompanying view, though it exhibits the hut rather in an inverted manner, will give the reader a fair idea of its character.

The clay being excellently polished, and the hut of recent construction, left a very pleasant impression; but, as is so often the case in human life, all this finery covered nothing but misery, and I discovered the next day, to my utter amazement, that this beautiful hut was one entire nest of ants, which had in one day made great havoc with the whole of my luggage.

In the afternoon I went to pay my respects to the governor, who is not without power, so that I thought it better to sacrifice to him a bernús of inferior quality, besides some smaller articles. He was a fine-grown man, with large features, which at once indicated his origin from the black stock of the Fúlbe or the Tórobe. Sitting at the door of his palace, he received me kindly, and promised me that I should have no difficulty in my further progress. Considering the scarcity of provisions, he treated me hospitably on the whole, sending me the next day a young heifer, besides a great many dishes of prepared food.

The name of the principality is Yágha[68], dating from the time which preceded the conquest of the Fúlbe; but the governor’s private name is Sájo ben Ibrahíma.

Notwithstanding the power of the ruler, the place is in a miserable condition, and resembles rather a wilderness than a town; but it is extremely picturesque, having a thick covert of beautiful trees nourished by a large sheet of water. The place contains scarcely 200 huts, and nothing like a market is to be found. The difficulty of our obtaining supplies was the greater, as, contrary to our expectation and the information we had received, nothing but shells had currency in the place; and it was with a great deal of trouble that, by means of the cotton strips with which we had provided ourselves, we obtained a small supply of butter and corn, four drʿa being reckoned here the same as in Gando, while in the town of Say there was thirty per cent profit upon the cotton strips. The most abundant article I found here was milk, which was the best I had ever yet tasted in Negroland; and it gave me a fair but rather exaggerated idea of what I might expect to find amongst the Fúlbe further west. We also bought a small quantity of corn from the women, in exchange for some looking-glasses and cloves. All the corn here consists of sorghum; and seventy shells, at the time, would just buy sufficient corn for a horse for one day, which is a very high price indeed for Negroland.

Notwithstanding the poor character of the place, I was obliged to stay here two whole days, exclusive of the day of my arrival, in order to give the camels some rest, as they were suffering greatly from the effects of the rainy season, and on account of the holiday of the “fotr,” which fell on the 8th. If I had known the character of the province of Libtáko better, I should have deemed it prudent to make even a longer stay here: and I would advise any future traveller to do so, taking care, however, to have a sufficient supply of shells with him, which will enable him to make himself quite comfortable in Yágha.

Music having announced the arrival of the important and joyful day, soon after midnight, almost the whole of the men went out in the morning in order to say their prayers at about a mile’s distance from the town. All the Fúlbe were dressed in snow-white shirts, as a symbol of the purity of their creed; but some of them wore dark-blue trousers. There were about forty horses with the party, which probably was all that the townspeople could muster.

Having had to sustain here a slight religious attack from the kádhi, who wanted to represent me as a sorcerer, I thought it prudent to make a small present to each of the holiday people, as a kind of séddega, or alms. The holiday also disturbed me in compiling a small vocabulary of the Gurma language, called by the Fúlbe Gurman-kóbe, which I had begun, but was obliged to leave unfinished.

[Footnote 64: The present consisted of a red cap, half a piece of muslin, and some smaller articles.]

[Footnote 65: For a list of the other places in Gurma, and some itineraries establishing their position, as well as the more important places in Mósi, see Appendix V.]

[Footnote 66: As smaller places of the Songhay in this district, the following were mentioned to me: Fonekówa, Díbbilo, Léde, Dúmba, and Bási.]

[Footnote 67: The principal stations of this interesting route, at a very slow rate, are the following, starting from Yendi:—

1 day. Kaña, still on the great high-road to Komba.

5 days. Natóngo, a village inhabited by Dagómba.

5 „ Wólawóla, a large place inhabited partly by pagans, partly by Mohammedans, and dependent on Yendi.

10 „ Béri, a large place belonging to Mósi.

3 „ Another Mósi place, the residence of a powerful officer of the chief of Wóghodoghó, to whom these native travellers give the title of Yeríma.

1 day. Sálugu, a market-place, residence of a governor.

1 „ Belússa, a large place of Mósi, to be mentioned also in other itineraries.

7 days. Libtúgu, a small Gurma village.

1 day. Yágha.]

[Footnote 68: The places belonging to the province of Yágha are the following: Denga, Gongúngo, Gesángu, Sínsirga, Nótu, Dóri (surnamed Dembíni, in order to distinguish it from Dóri or Dóre in Libtáko), Sebba, Namantúgu, Kankanfógu, Hóga, Humóre, Kábo.]

CHAP. LXI.

PROVINCE OF LIBTÁKO. — SOUTH-EASTERN LIMIT OF THE RANGE OF THE COMMERCE
OF TIMBÚKTU.

[Sidenote: Saturday, July 9th.]

We left Sebba the capital of the wilderness—bírni-n-dáji, as I called it,—passing through a district where forest and cultivated ground alternated. The slaves were busy in the fields rooting up the weeds from among the crops; but, after a march of about four miles, we had to cross a very considerable water, which is here called Yáli, and about whose course I am not able to give distinct information. It is said to come from Mósi, and to join the river Sirba not far from Bosebángo; but the latter statement is incredible. The water being not less than four feet and a half in depth, with a breadth of at least four hundred yards, most of our luggage became wetted.

The country then assumed a more rocky appearance—mica slate, granite, and gneiss alternating, the granite sometimes appearing in large boulders. The vegetation also assumed here a more varied aspect, besides tamarind trees, mádachi and kadé predominating; and altogether the forest exhibited a fresh and pleasant character, especially as the sun had at length broken through the clouds which had obscured its rays during the first part of the day. After a march altogether of about eleven miles, we reached the village of Namantúgu, which still belongs to the province of Yágha, the mayor of which we had met a short time before, on the road, as he was going to look after his cattle.

The village is of some importance, and consists of several groups which cover an extensive tract of ground, lying straggling about in the fields; but the huts themselves are very narrow, and the one which was assigned to myself was so small that there was scarcely room to breathe. Nothing is more unhealthy for a European than these abodes of stench and filth; but during the rainy season he is often obliged to seek shelter in these dirty dwellings, especially if he has valuable property in his possession.

Namantúgu, which seems to have been of considerable importance in the history of the Songhay empire[69], was a rather eventful place for my whole subsequent proceedings, as I here met an Arab from the west, in whose company I was safely to enter the town of Timbúktu. He called himself Sheikho, though this was not originally his proper name; and, in order not to cause any mistake, I will in future call him (from his father and the name of his birthplace) Weled Ámmer Waláti. He was certainly a very remarkable fellow; and I shall have frequent occasion, in the further course of my journey, to advert to his doings. Being originally a native of Waláta, he had emigrated to Timbúktu, whence he had roved about a great deal among the Tawárek as well as among the Fúlbe, and was at present on his way from Belánga, the residence of one of the principal chiefs of Gurma. He had a good quantity of the broad gábagá, or cotton strips, of Mósi with him, which form the staple currency in the whole tract of country from Libtáko to Timbúktu, ten drʿa being reckoned equal to one hundred shells. Besides Arabic, he spoke Fulfúlde, Songhay, Mósi, and Bámbara fluently, and Temáshight, or the language of the Tawárek, almost as well, and altogether was one of the cleverest men whom I met on my journey, in spite of the trouble he caused me and the tricks he played me. He was a handsome man, of middle size and of rather slender growth, and with very fine expressive features. His dress consisted of a long black gown, with a black shawl wound round his head; and his whole appearance, as he was moving along at a solemn thoughtful pace, frequently reminded me of the servants of the Inquisition. However, his real character at the time of our first meeting was, of course, unknown to me, and I was delighted at having found such a man, as he held out to me the fairest prospects of reaching Timbúktu. But although I convinced myself that this man would be of great service to me, yet I did not make a bargain with him immediately, but we agreed that I should arrange with him in Dóre, when he would be able to settle his own business.

The village of Namantúgu is almost exclusively inhabited by Fúlbe, all of whom were clad in the purest white, even the little children wearing round their heads a large turban of white cotton strips; but this was, perhaps, in consequence of their festival having been held the previous day. A great deal of rain had fallen hereabouts; and cotton appeared to be cultivated to a considerable extent.

[Sidenote: Sunday, July 10th.]