Chapter I: From Mourzuk to Kouka in Bornou (2)

In the wadey Dibla stands a detached conical table-topped hill: the summit had a black rugged appearance from below, and was formed of a sort of bituminous earth, dry and crumbling to the touch. Under this were layers or strata of thin plates, almost resembling foil, of brittle schistose clay, of black, yellow, and green: these also crumbled on receiving the pressure of the hand[19]. About ten miles from Dibla we came to Chegarub, and four miles further to Kersherma, where we rested for the night. No wood or water.

Jan. 22.—A tedious day over sandy deserts, without even the relief of a dark hill to look forward to. About sun-set we came to a spot with some little sprinkling of a grass called _sbeet_, and some fine grass, with a flower called _nisse_. Made twenty-four miles, and halted at Kasama-foma-hamse, or the five trees. No wood nor water. Alarm of Tibboos,—all mounted and turned out.

Jan. 23.—Desert as yesterday. High sand hills[20]. Burmenmadua (all sand). At three in the afternoon, we arrived at an extensive wadey, called Aghadem. Here are several wells of excellent water, forage, and numbers of the tree called suag, the red berries of which are nearly as good as cranberries. We broke in on the retreats of about a hundred gazelles, who were enjoying the fertility of the valley. It was, however, with great difficulty, from their extreme shyness, that we shot one, which afforded us an ample meal. A road here branched off to the westward, leading to the Tuarick country, and Soudan, but not frequented by kafilas. Aghadem is a great rendezvous, and the dread of all small kafilas and travellers. It is frequented by freebooters of all descriptions.

Jan. 24, we halted. The thermometer, in the shade of my tent, was 101°. at half-past two. The animals were all enjoying the blessings of plenty in the ravines, which ran through the range of low black hills, extending nearly north and south, quite across the valley. The camels, in particular, feasted on the small branches of the suag, of which they are fond to excess. The tracks of the hyæna had been numerous for the last three days; and last night they approached in droves quite close to our encampment.

My telescope this evening afforded great delight to Boo-Khaloom, the brother of the kadi at Mourzuk, Mohamed Abeedeen, and several others, for more than an hour. I usually passed some time every evening in Boo-Khaloom’s tent, and had promised them a sight of the moon _grib_ (near), for some time. One old hadje, who obtained a sight by my assistance, for he could not fix the glass on the object, after an exclamation of wonder, looked me fully in the face, spoke not a word, but walked off as fast as he could, repeating words from the Koran. This conduct, I was pleased to see, brought down the ridicule of the others, who were gratified beyond measure, and asked a hundred questions. The night was beautifully serene and clear, and the three splendid constellations of Orion, Canis Major, and Taurus, presented a coup d’œil truly impressive and sublime.

Jan. 25.—The camels moved off soon after eight; and we took shelter from the sun under the shade of some clumps, covered with high grass, near the wells, in order that the horses might drink at the moment of our departure. We had three or four long days to the next water; and the camels were too fatigued to carry more than one day’s food for the horses. While we were in this situation, two Arabs, who had gone on with the camels, came galloping back, to say that they had encountered two Tibboo couriers, on their way from Bornou to Mourzuk. They soon made their appearance, mounted on maherhies, only nine days from Kouka. They brought news that the Sheikh Kanemy had just returned from a successful expedition against the sultan of Begharmi; that he had attacked and routed a powerful tribe of Arabs, called la Sala; and that the sultan, on hearing this, had fled as before to the south side of the Great River, amongst the Kirdies.

We proceeded on our route, which was along a continued desert; and at sun-set halted on the sand, without either wood or water, after twenty-four miles. The courier from Bornou to Mourzuk assured us, that he should not be more than thirty days on the road from where we left him. Since Sheikh Kanemy’s residence at Kouka, couriers have occasionally passed between Bornou and Mourzuk,—a circumstance before that event unknown. One of Kanemy’s wives and three children were in Mourzuk; and the Bashaw, in order to secure his perfect submission, refused to allow them to leave that place. The Tibboos are the only people who will undertake this most arduous service; and the chances are so much against both returning in safety, that one is never sent alone. The two men we had encountered were mounted on two superb maherhies, and proceeding at the rate of about six miles an hour. A bag of zumeeta (some parched corn), and one or two skins for water, with a small brass basin, with a wooden bowl, out of which they ate and drank, were all their comforts. A little meat, cut in strips and dried in the sun, called _gedeed_, is sometimes added to the store, which they eat raw; for they rarely light a fire for the purpose of cooking, although the want of this comfort during the nights, on approaching Fezzan, where the cold winds are sometimes biting after the day’s heat, is often fatal to such travellers. A bag is suspended under the tail of the maherhy, by which means the dung is preserved, and serves as fuel on halting in the night. Without a kafila, and a sufficient number of camels to carry such indispensables as wood and water, it is indeed a perilous journey.

On the 27th we appeared gradually approaching something resembling vegetation: we had rising sands and clumps of fine grass the whole way; and the country was not unlike some of our heaths in England. Towards evening the trees increased greatly in number; and where we halted, the animals found abundance of food. The tulloh trees, the kossom (a very beautiful parasitical plant), and the herbage, were most refreshing to our parched feelings, although in reality they were of the most dingy green and stunted appearance. A herd of more than a hundred gazelles crossed us towards the evening; and the foot-marks of the ostrich, and some of its feathers, were discovered by the Arabs. The spot where we halted is called Geogo Balwy.

Jan. 28.—We met two Tibboos this day, who informed us that the Tuaricks had been to Kanem, eight hundred strong, and had carried off every thing from two towns. The Arabs were all anxiety to fall in with them, and rob the true rogues. The route resembled that of yesterday. Early in the day we made Beere-Kashifery. The well here was of great depth; Arabs were obliged to descend into it, and throw out several loads of sand, before any water could be drawn, and which occupied them the greater part of the night. By daylight the next morning, Mina Tahr, or the black bird, the sheikh of the Gunda Tibboos, attended by three of his followers, approached the camp. Beere-Kashifery lay within his territories, and no kafilas pass without paying tribute, which, as he is absolute, sometimes amounts to half what they possess. In our case, his was a visit of respect: Boo-Khaloom received him in his tent, and clothed him in a scarlet bornouse of coarse cloth, and a tawdry silk caftan, which was considered as a superb present. The Tibboos are smart active fellows, mounted on small horses, of great swiftness: their saddles are of wood, small and light, open along the bone of the back; the pieces of wood of which it is composed are lashed together with thongs of hide; the stuffing is camel’s hair, wound and plaited, so as to be a perfect guard; the girth and stirrup leathers are also of plaited thongs, and the stirrups themselves of iron, very small and light; into these four toes only are thrust, the great toe being left to take its chance. They mount quickly, in half the time an Arab does, by the assistance of a spear, which they place in the ground, at the same time the left foot is planted in the stirrup; and thus they spring into their saddle. The bridle is light, but severe; the reins and head-stall of strips of hide, fancifully twisted and plaited.

Our camels had not finished drinking until the sun was full six fathom high, as the Arabs say; and as we were in want of fresh meat, and, indeed, every thing, Mina Tahr proposed that we should go to a well nearer his people—a well, he assured us, which was never yet shown to an Arab. At eleven, therefore, on the 29th of January, we moved on, accompanied by the Tibboos, nine miles nearly south; where, about half a mile west of the road, we came to the well Duggesheinga: here were the marks of immense herds, which had been drinking in the morning. This was a retired spot, undiscoverable from the ordinary route of travellers, from which it was completely hid by rising sand hills. Here the Tibboos left us, promising to return early the day after with sheep, an ox, honey, and fat. This was joyful news to persons who had not tasted fresh animal food for fourteen or fifteen days, with the exception of a little camel’s flesh. We were terribly annoyed the whole of the day by a strong easterly wind, and such volumes of sand, as quite obscured the face of nature.

Jan. 30.—The wind and drifting sand were so violent, that we were obliged to keep our tents the whole day; besides this, I was more disordered than I had been since leaving Mourzuk. I found a loose shirt only the most convenient covering, as the sand could be shaken off as soon as it made a lodgment, which, with other articles of dress, could not be done, and the irritation it caused produced a soreness almost intolerable: a little oil or fat from the hand of a negress (all of whom are early taught the art of shampooing to perfection), rubbed well round the neck, loins, and back, is the best cure, and the greatest comfort, in cases of this kind; and although, from my Christian belief, I was deprived of the luxury of possessing half a dozen of these shampooing beauties, yet, by marrying my negro Barca to one of the bashaw’s freed women slaves, as I had done at Sockna, I became, to a certain degree, also the master of Zerega, whose education in the castle had been of a superior kind; and she was of the greatest use to me on these occasions of fatigue or sickness. It is an undoubted fact, and in no case probably better exemplified than in my own, that man naturally longs for attentions and support from female hands, of whatever colour or country, so soon as debility or sickness comes upon him.

Towards the evening, when the wind became hushed and the sky re-assumed its bright and truly celestial blue, the Tibboo Sheikh, and about thirty of his people, male and female, returned, but their supplies were scanty for a kafila of three hundred persons. The sweet milk turned out nothing but sour camel’s milk, full of dirt and sand, and the fat was in small quantities and very rancid. We, however, purchased a lean sheep for two dollars, which was indeed a treat. Great precaution must always be taken on procuring meat, after long abstaining from animal food: eating more than a very moderate quantity ever disorders the stomach, which is often succeeded by fever, ague, and all its attendant evils: although not gormandizers, some of us suffered from too great an indulgence in the luxuries of boiled mutton. Illness here should be the more avoided, from its being altogether of a nature different from illness elsewhere: the attacks are sudden, and render a person incapable of any exertion, leaving him in a state of weakness and debility scarcely credible to those who have not been eye-witnesses of the fact.

Some of the girls who brought the milk, &c. were really pretty as contrasted with the extreme ugliness of the men: they were different from those of Bilma; were more of a copper colour, with high foreheads and a sinking between the eyes: they have fine teeth, and are smaller and more delicately formed than the Tibboos who inhabit the towns. The men brought, as a present to Boo-Khaloom, two beautiful maherhies; one of them was a most superb animal, and measured nine feet and a half from the ground to the middle of the back: they also brought a horse or two for sale. Their animals are their only riches; and Mina Tahr told me, that their tribe had more than five thousand camels: on the milk of these animals they entirely live for six months in the year, and for the remaining half year they manage to raise from their barren soil sufficient _gussub_ (a species of millet) to satisfy their wants. Formerly, when they had little or no communication with Fezzan and Bornou, they were nearly naked, as their crops of cotton were scarcely sufficient, from the dryness and poverty of the soil, to afford them covering. Now the Kafilas bring them indigo, cotton, and ready-spun linen in strips, with which they make tobes and wrappers: for these, when they are not given as tribute, the Tibboos exchange the skins and feathers of the ostrich, with dried meat of gazelles and bullocks.

Two of the horses were very handsome, though small; and on remarking their extreme fatness, I was not a little surprised at learning that they were fed entirely on camels’ milk, corn being too scarce and valuable an article for the Tibboos to spare them: they drink it both sweet and sour; and animals in higher health and condition I scarcely ever saw. It is quite surprising with what terror these children of the desert view the Arabs, and the idea they have of their invincibility; while they are smart active fellows themselves, and both ride and move better and quicker: but the guns! the guns! are their dread; and five or six of them will go round and round a tree, where an Arab has laid down his gun for a minute, stepping on tiptoe, as if afraid of disturbing it, talking to each other in a whisper, as if the gun could understand their exclamations; and I dare say, praying to it not to do them an injury, as fervently as ever man Friday did to Robinson Crusoe’s musket.

None of the Gunda Tibboos were above the middle size, slim, well made, with sharp, intelligent, copper-coloured faces, large prominent eyes, flat noses, large mouth and teeth, regular, but stained a deep red, from the immoderate use of tobacco; the forehead is high; and the turban, which is a deep indigo colour, is worn high on the head, and brought under the chin and across the face, so as to cover all the lower part from the nose downwards: they have sometimes fifteen or twenty charms, in red, green, and black leather cases, attached to the folds of their turbans.

Most of them have scars on different parts of their faces: these generally denote their rank, and are considered as an ornament. Our sheikh had one under each eye, with one more on each side of his forehead, in shape resembling a half moon. Like the Arabs of the north, their chieftainships are hereditary, provided the heir is worthy; any act of cowardice disqualifies, and the command devolves upon the next in succession. Our Gunda sheikh, Mina Tahr-ben-Soogo-Lammo, was the seventh in regular succession. This tribe is called Nafra Gunda, and are always near Beere-Kashifery.

My watch pleased him wonderfully at first; but after a little time, I found that looking at himself in the bright part of the inside of the case gave him the greatest satisfaction: they are vainer than the vainest. Mina Tahr had the finest clothes on that had ever been brought to Beere-Kashifery; and what to him could be so agreeable as contemplating the reflection of his own person so decked out? I could not help giving him a small looking-glass; and he took his station in one corner of my tent for hours, surveying himself with a satisfaction that burst from his lips in frequent exclamations of joy, and which he also occasionally testified by sundry high jumps and springs into the air.

Jan. 31.—After regaining the road, we moved until noon, when our horses were watered at a well called Kanimani (or the sheep’s well), where some really sweet milk was brought us in immensely large basket bottles, some holding two gallons and more. We had drank, and acknowledged its goodness, and how grateful it was to our weak stomachs, before finding out that it was camels’ milk.

No traveller in Africa should imagine that _this_ he could not bear, or _that_ could not be endured. It is wonderful how a man’s taste conforms itself to his necessities. Six months ago, camels’ milk would have acted upon us as an emetic; now we thought it a most refreshing and grateful cordial. The face of the country improved in appearance every mile. We passed along to-day what seemed to us a most joyous valley, smiling in flowery grasses, tulloh trees, and kossom. About mid-day, we halted in a luxurious shade, the ground covered with creeping vines of the colycinth in full blossom, which, with the red flower of the kossom which drooped over our heads, made our resting-place a little Arcadia. Towards the evening, we saw two very large black vultures (_aglou_, in Bornou), but were not near enough to shoot them; and at sun-set we pitched the tents, surrounded by forage for our horses, while the half-famished camels fed on the young branches of the tulloh. The place was called Auoul Mull (before Mull).

Feb. 1.—By three in the morning our people commenced packing, and by daylight we moved off. The herbage, almost resembling wild corn, was often up to our horses’ knees. We killed to-day one of the largest serpents we had seen: it is called _liffa_ by the Arabs, and its bite is said to be mortal, unless the part is instantly cut out. It is a mistaken idea, that all the serpent tribe are called liffa; this species alone bears the name: it has two horns, and is of a light brown colour. My old Choush Ghreneim had a distorted foot, which was of but little use to him except on horseback, from the bite of one of these poisonous reptiles, notwithstanding the part infected was cut out: he was for thirteen months confined to his hut, and never expected to recover.

Arabs are always on the look out for plunder: “’Tis my vocation, Hal!”—none are ashamed to acknowledge it; but they were on this occasion to act as an escort to oppose banditti, not play the part of one. Nevertheless, greatly dissatisfied were they, at having come so far, and done so little: they formed small parties for reconnoitring on each side of the road, and were open-mouthed for any thing that would offer. One fellow on foot had traced the marks of a flock of sheep to a small village of tents to the east of our course, and now gave notice of the discovery he had made, but that they had seen him, and he believed struck their tents. I felt that I should be a check upon them in the plunderings. Boo-Khaloom, myself, and about a dozen horsemen (who had each a footman behind him), instantly started for their retreat, which lay over the hills to the east. On arriving at the spot, in a valley of considerable beauty, where these flocks and tents had been observed, we found the place quite deserted. The poor frighted shepherds had moved off with their all, knowing too well what would be their treatment from the Naz Abiad (white people), as they call the Arabs. Their caution, however, was made the excuse for plundering them, and a pursuit was instantly determined on. “What! not stay to sell their sheep, the rogues! We’ll take them now without payment.” We scoured two valleys without discovering the fugitives, and I began to hope that the Tibboos had eluded their pursuers, when, after crossing a deep ravine, and ascending the succeeding ridge, we came directly on about two hundred head of cattle, and about twenty persons, men, women, and children, with ten camels laden with their tents and other necessaries, all moving off. The extra Arabs instantly slipped from behind their leaders, and with a shout rushed down the hill; part headed the cattle to prevent their escape, and the most rapid plunder I could have conceived quickly commenced. The camels were instantly brought to the ground, and every part of their load rifled: the poor women and girls lifted up their hands to me, stripped as they were to the skin, but I could do nothing for them beyond saving their lives. A sheikh and a maraboot assured me it was quite lawful (_hallal_) to plunder those who left their tents instead of supplying travellers. Boo-Khaloom now came up, and was petitioned. I saw he was ashamed of the paltry booty his followers had obtained, as well as moved by the tears of the sufferers. I seized the favourable moment, and advised that the Arabs should give every thing back, and have a few sheep and an ox for a bousafer (feast): he gave the order, and the Arabs from under their barracans threw down the wrappers they had torn off the bodies of the Tibboo women; and I was glad in my heart, when, taking ten sheep and a fat bullock, we left these poor creatures to their fate, as, had more Arabs arrived, they would most certainly have stripped them of every thing. We halted, after dark, at a place called Mull.

Feb. 2.—Our road, as yesterday, was an extensive valley, bounded to the right and left by low hills; about noon we descended slightly, and found ourselves in a productive plain of great extent, thickly planted with trees and underwood, not unlike a preserve in England. About an hour before sun-set, we came to what had the appearance of the bed of a lake, and here was the wished-for well of water. The horses had not drank since noon on the 31st, and although ready to drop on the road from faintness, were, on reaching the well, quite unmanageable. The name of the well was Kofei.

On the 31st, Boo-Khaloom had thought it right to send on a Tibboo with the news of our approach to the sheikh El-Kanemy, who, we understood, resided at Kouka, and one was despatched with a camel and a man of Mina Tahr: the Gundowy accompanied him on the arrival at Kofei of the Arabs, who preceded us for the purpose of clearing the well. The Tibboo who had been despatched was found alone and naked; some Tibboo Arabs, of a tribe called Wandela, had met them near the well on the preceding evening and robbing him even to his cap, and taking from him the letters, saying, they cared not for the sheikh or Boo-Khaloom, tied him to a tree, and then left him. In this state was he found by our people; and Mr. Clapperton coming up soon after, gave him, from his biscuit-bag, wherewithal to break his fast, after being twenty-four hours without eating. Eighteen men had stripped him, he said, and taken off the camel and Mina Tahr’s man, who, they also said, should be ransomed, or have his throat cut. Mina Tahr represented these people as the worst on the road in every sense of the word: “They have no flocks,” said he, “and have not more than three hundred camels, although their numbers are one thousand or more; they live by plunder, and have no connexion with any other people. No considerable body of men can follow them; their tents are in the heart of the desert, and there are no wells for four days in the line of their retreat. Giddy-ben-Agah is their chief, and I alone would give fifty camels for his head: these are the people who often attack and murder travellers, and small kafilas, and the Gundowy, who respect strangers, have the credit of it.”

The men of Traita, with their chief, Eskou-ben-Coglu, came in the evening to welcome us: the well Kofei belongs to them; and greatly enraged they appeared to be at the conduct of the Wandelas. This chief returned to Boo-Khaloom his letters, which, he said, “the chief of the Wandelas had sent him that morning, begging that he would meet the kafila at the well, and deliver them to Boo-Khaloom: had he known then what had taken place, the slave,” he said, “should have been stabbed at his father’s grave before he would have delivered them.” Boo-Khaloom was greatly enraged; and I was almost apprehensive that he would have revenged himself on the Traita chiefs. However, the Tibboo courier was again clothed and mounted, and once more started for Bornou. The Traita Tibboos are more important-looking fellows than the Gunda, but they want their quickness and activity: they are said not to be more than eight hundred strong in males.

Feb. 3.—Our course, during the early part of the day, was due south, and through a country more thickly planted by the all-tasteful hand of bounteous Nature. We disturbed a flock of what we at first thought were deer, but they were only a large species of antelope; they are of a deeper fawn colour, and have black and white stripes under the belly. The Guinea fowl were in great numbers, but extremely shy. The whole day our route lay through most pleasing forest scenery. It was near sunset when we arrived at Mittimee, which, in the Bornou language, means warm, tepid: the wells exceed fifty in number, and lie in a woody hollow, where there are clumps of the tulloh and other species of the mimosa tribe, encircled by kossom and various parasitical and twining shrubs, which, embracing their stems, wind to the extremities of their branches, and climb to the very tops, when, falling over, they form weeping bowers of a most beautiful kind: it was indeed a lovely and a fair retreat.

Boo-Khaloom, myself, and about six Arabs, had ridden on in front: it was said we had lost the track, and should miss the well: the day had been oppressively hot, my companions were sick and fatigued, and we dreaded the want of water. A fine dust, arising from a light clayey and sandy soil, had also increased our sufferings: the exclamations of the Arab who first discovered the wells were indeed music to our ears; and after satisfying my own thirst, with that of my weary animals, I laid me down by one of the distant wells, far from my companions; and these moments of tranquillity, the freshness of the air, with the melody of the hundred songsters that were perched amongst the creeping plants, whose flowers threw an aromatic odour all around, were a relief scarcely to be described. Ere long, however, the noisy kafila, and the clouds of dust which accompanied it, disturbed me from the delightful reverie into which I had fallen.

Feb. 4.—Previously to arriving at Lari, we came upon two encampments of the Traita Tibboos, calling themselves the sheikh’s people: their huts were not numerous, but very regularly built in a square, with a space left in the north and south faces of the quadrangle, for the use of the cattle. The huts were entirely of mats, which, excluding the sun, yet admitted both the light and the air: these habitations, for fine weather, are preferable to the bete shars, or tents, of the Arabs of the north. The interior was singularly neat: clean wooden bowls, with each a cover of basket-work, for holding their milk, were hung against the wall. In the centre of the inclosure were about one hundred and fifty head of cattle feeding from cradles: these were chiefly milch cows, with calves and sheep. The Tibboos received us kindly at first, but presumed rather too much on sheikh Kanemy’s protection, which they claim or throw off, it is said, as it suits their purpose. The modest request of a man, with two hundred armed Arabs, for a little milk, was refused; and ready as the Arabs are to throw down the gauntlet, a slight expression of displeasure from their leader was followed by such a rapid attack on the Tibboos, that before I could mount, half the stock was driven off, and the sheikh well bastinadoed. Boo-Khaloom was, however, too kind to injure them; and after driving their cattle for about a mile, he allowed them to return, with a caution to be more accommodating for the future. Accustomed as these people are to plunder one another, they expect no better usage from any one who visits them, provided they are strong enough, and _vice versa_; they are perfect Spartans in the art of thieving, both male and female.

An old woman, who was sitting at the door of one of the huts, sent a very pretty girl to me, as I was standing by my horse, whose massy amber necklace, greased head, and coral nose studs and ear-rings, announced a person of no common order, to see what she could pick up; and after gaining possession of my handkerchief and some needles, while I turned my head, in an instant thrust her hand into the pocket of my saddle-cloth, as she said, “to find some beads, for she knew I had plenty.”

Another and much larger nest of the Traitas lay to the east of our route, a little further on, with numerous flocks and herds. About two in the afternoon we arrived at Lari, ten miles distant from Mittimee. On ascending the rising ground on which the town stands, the distressing sight presented itself of all the female, and most of the male inhabitants, with their families, flying across the plain in all directions, alarmed at the strength of our kafila. Beyond, however, was an object full of interest to us, and the sight of which conveyed to my mind a sensation so gratifying and inspiring, that it would be difficult in language to convey an idea of its force or pleasure. The great lake Tchad, glowing with the golden rays of the sun in its strength, appeared to be within a mile of the spot on which we stood. My heart bounded within me at this prospect, for I believed this lake to be the key to the great object of our search, and I could not refrain from silently imploring Heaven’s continued protection, which had enabled us to proceed so far in health and strength, even to the accomplishment of our task.

It was long before Boo-Khaloom’s best endeavours could restore confidence: the inhabitants had been plundered by the Tuaricks only the year before, and four hundred of their people butchered; and but a few days before, a party of the same nation had again pillaged them, though partially. When, at length, these people were satisfied that no harm was intended them, the women came in numbers with baskets of gussub, gafooly, fowls, and honey, which were purchased by small pieces of coral and amber of the coarsest kind, and coloured beads. One merchant bought a fine lamb for two bits of amber, worth, I should think, about twopence each in Europe; two needles purchased a fowl; and a handful of salt four or five good sized fish from the lake.

Lari is inhabited by the people of Kanem, who are known by the name of Kanemboo: the women are good-looking, laughing negresses, and all but naked; but this we were now used to, and it excited no emotions of surprise. Most of them had a square or triangular piece of silver or tin hanging at the back of the head, suspended from the hair, which was brought down, in narrow plaits, quite round the neck.

Feb. 5.—By sun-rise I was on the borders of the lake, armed for the destruction of the multitude of birds, who, all unconscious of my purpose, seemed as it were to welcome our arrival. Flocks of geese and wild ducks, of a most beautiful plumage, were quietly feeding at within half pistol shot of where I stood; and not being a very keen or inhuman sportsman, for the terms appear to me to be synonymous, my purpose of deadly warfare was almost shaken. As I moved towards them they only changed their places a little to the right or left, and appeared to have no idea of the hostility of my intentions. All this was really so new, that I hesitated to abuse the confidence with which they regarded me, and very quietly sat down to contemplate the scene before me. Pelicans, cranes, four and five feet in height, grey, variegated, and white, were scarcely so many yards from my side, and a bird, between a snipe and a woodcock, resembling both, and larger than either; immense spoonbills of a snowy whiteness, widgeon, teal, yellow-legged plover, and a hundred species of (to me at least) unknown water fowl, were sporting before me; and it was long before I could disturb the tranquillity of the dwellers on these waters by firing a gun.

Engraved by E. Finden.

KANEMBOO MARKET WOMAN.

UNMARRIED WOMAN OF SOUDAN.

_Published Feb. 1826, by John Murray, London._]

The soil near the edges of the lake was a firm dark mud; and, in proof of the great overflowings and recedings of the waters, even in this advanced dry season, the stalks of the gussub, of the preceding year, were standing in the lake, more than forty yards from the shore. The water is sweet and pleasant, and abounds with fish; which the natives have a curious way of catching. Some thirty or forty women go into the lake, with their wrappers brought up between their legs, and tied round their middles, as I should say, by single files, and forming a line at some distance in the water, fronting the land, for it is very shallow near the edges, and absolutely charge the fish before them so close, that they are caught by the hand, or leap upon the shore. We purchased some, and the best flavoured was a sort of bream.

A circumstance happened whilst I was on the margin of the lake, which was a further proof that the little kindnesses I had shown the Arabs were not lost upon them; and which supported my favourite position, that no people on earth are so savage, but that gentle kind treatment, with a frank and liberal manner, will gain their confidence and regard. A lamb, the most harmless thing that breathes, alarms a child who for the first time sees such an animal. I had suffered my horse to go loose, in order to approach close to the flights of birds around me, and he probably thinking the tents might afford him better fare than where I left him, first rubbed off his bridle, and then quietly returned to the encampment. About the same time one of the freed women found my bornouse, which had fallen from the saddle, and brought it to Boo Khaloom. All this created an alarm, and it was then found out, that two boats or canoes had been seen coming from the south-east, in which direction are islands inhabited by the Biddoomah, a people who live by plundering on the main land, and carry off any thing they can pick up. This was quite enough to make Boo Khaloom think I was already gone, or in great danger; and not only several Arab chiefs armed themselves, and mounted, to seek me, but some of the merchants also. They found me, after a long search, on the lake among the gussub stalks, loaded with more birds than I could carry, and would scarcely believe that I had seen neither enemies nor boats. The dread which the natives appear to have of these koorie, or islanders, is almost equal to their fear of the Tuaricks; but the former are less rapacious and bloody in their visits. Their habitations are three or four days distant to the southward of east, towards the centre of the lake.

In the evening I visited the town of Lari: it stands on an eminence, and may probably contain two thousand inhabitants. The huts are built of the rush which grows by the sides of the lake, have conical tops, and look very like well thatched stacks of corn in England. They have neat inclosures round them, made with fences of the same reed, and passages leading to them like labyrinths. In the inclosure is a goat or two, poultry, and sometimes a cow. The women were almost all spinning cotton, which grows well, though not abundantly, near the town and lake. The interior of the huts is neat: they are completely circular, with no admission for air or light, except at the door, which has a mat, by way of safeguard. I entered one of the best appearance, although the owner gave me no smiles of encouragement, and followed close at my heels, with his spear and dagger in his hand. In one corner stood the bed, a sofa of rushes lashed together, and supported by six poles, fixed strongly in the ground. This was covered by the skins of the tiger-cat and wild bull; round the sides were hung the wooden bowls, used for water and milk: his tall shield rested against the wall. The hut had a division of mat-work, one half being allotted to the female part of the family. My host, however, continued to look at me with so much suspicion, and seemed so little pleased with my visit, notwithstanding all my endeavours to assure him I was a friend, that I hurried from the inhospitable door, and resumed my walk through the town.

Feb. 6.—A gratifying scene took place this morning, in the departure of nearly thirty freed slaves, natives of Kanem, who here left us for their homes, three days’ journey to the eastward. I had been applied to, the night before, to intercede with Boo Khaloom for this indulgence; for as he had heard that the sheikh was at war with some of the chiefs of Kanem, he had determined on first taking them to Bornou, for fear of their being plundered on the road of the little they had saved in slavery. These poor creatures had, however, found one or two of their countrymen at the market of Lari, who assured them of their safety on the road between that place and their homes. The good man complied with evident reluctance on their own account, and they took leave, kissing his hand, with tears and blessings. They had most of them been in the service of the bashaw, some for a term of years, and were returning to die at home at last. One poor deaf and dumb woman, whom the rapacity of Mukni, the former sultan of Fezzan, who spared neither age, sex, nor infirmity, had induced him to march to Tripoli, had shed torrents of tears ever since she had been made acquainted, by signs, that she was to go to Bornou. She had left two children behind her; and the third, which was in her arms when she was taken by the Arabs, had been torn from her breast after the first ten days of her journey across the desert, in order that she might keep up with the camels. Her expressive motions in describing the manner in which the child was forced from her, and thrown on the sand, where it was left to perish, while whips were applied to her, lame and worn out as she was, to quicken her tottering steps, were highly eloquent and interesting. They had all been my friends for more than five months, and to some I had rendered little services by carrying their bag of zumeeta, or salt. They were not ungrateful, and our parting had something in it affecting, which, considering negroes in the degraded light they do, seemed greatly to astonish the Arabs.

On quitting Lari, we immediately plunged into a thickly-planted forest of acacias, with high underwood; and at the distance of only a few hundred yards from the town, we came upon large heaps of the elephants’ dung, forming hillocks three and four feet in height, and marks of their footsteps: the tracks of these animals increased as we proceeded. Part of the day our road lay along the banks of the Tchad, and the elephants’ footmarks, of an immense size, and only a few hours old, were in abundance. Whole trees were broken down, where they had fed: and where they had reposed their ponderous bodies, young trees, shrubs, and underwood, had been crushed beneath their weight. We also killed this day an enormous snake, a species of coluber; it was a most disgusting, horrible animal, but not however venomous. It measured eighteen feet from the mouth to the tail; it was shot by five balls, and was still moving off, when two Arabs, with each a sword, nearly severed the head from the body. On opening the belly, several pounds of fat were found, and carefully taken off by the two native guides who accompanied us. This they pronounced a sovereign remedy for sick and diseased cattle, and much prized amongst them. Scarcely a mile further, a drove of wild red cattle, which I at first took for deer, were seen bounding to the west. I had no gun, but got extremely close to them, and found they were what the Arabs call “bugra-hammar-wahash” (red cow wild). They appeared to partake of the bullock and buffalo, with a tuft or lump on the shoulder.

We bivouacked near a small parcel of huts, called Nyagami, in a beautiful spot, so thick of wood, that we could scarcely find a clear place for our encampment. While the tents were fixing, an alarm was given of wild boars: one of our party followed the scent, and, on his return, said he had seen a lion, and near him seven gazelles. I could not, however, find from the natives, that lions were ever seen here: numerous other animals appeared to abound, and that confirmed the opinion.

Feb. 7.—We moved for Woodie about eight, accompanied by two Arabs of Boo-Saif. I left the kafila, and proceeded a little to the westward, making a parallel movement with the camels. Birds of the most beautiful plumage were perched on every tree. Guinea fowls were in flocks of eighty or one hundred; and several monkeys chattered at us so impudently, that, separating one from the rest, we chased him for nearly half an hour: he did not run very fast, or straight forward, but was constantly doubling and turning, with his head over his shoulder, to see who was close to him. He was a handsome fellow, of a light brown colour, and black about the muzzle. About noon we came on a village of huts, called Barrah; and although only three in number, the natives flew in all directions. On our approaching the town, we beckoned to them, and got off our horses, for the purpose of giving them confidence, and sat down under the shade of a large tamarind tree. An old negro, who spoke a little Arabic, was the first who ventured to approach: seeing that he was not ill-treated, the others soon followed his example. I begged a little leban (sour milk), a most refreshing beverage after a hot ride, but none was to be found, until they were assured that I should pay for it; and at the sight of the dollar they all jumped and skipped like so many monkeys. Some biscuit, which I carried in my saddle-cloth pocket, and now began to eat, created much astonishment, and the first to whom I gave some, refused to eat it. One, rather bolder than the rest, put a small piece into his mouth, and pronounced it good, with such extravagant gestures, that my visitors all became so clamorous, that my stock was speedily demolished. I refused for a long time the man who had been suspicious at first, to the great amusement of the rest, who seemed to like the joke amazingly.

I had promised the Arabs to share with them a sheep, provided they did not help themselves, and now made signs of my wish to purchase one. Two men went off to bring, as they said, a fat one. After a short time had elapsed, during which they had been delighted with the opening and shutting of my pocket-knife, a very miserable sheep was brought to me, which they seriously endeavoured to make me understand was a very fine one. The Arabs declared it to be good for nothing; and, therefore, though unwilling to be displeased, I quickly returned my dollar to my pocket, and made a motion towards my horse. The whole tribe, to my great astonishment, shouted out, and began to push about the vender of the sheep, and dance round me. Another very fine fat sheep was now brought forward from behind the crowd: offering the other first seemed a trick, in order to try whether I should find out the lean from the fat one; and although much sagacity was not required for this, it appeared to have raised me very much in their estimation.

The little nest of thatched huts in which they lived was most beautifully situated on a rising spot, in the midst of a rich and luxuriant, though not thick forest, about three miles to the north-east of Woodie; and the wells, which stand in a dell, thickly planted with palms (the first we had seen on this side of the desert), had troughs for more than a hundred and fifty cattle to drink at. One of the old men accompanied us, while his son carried the carcass of the sheep to Woodie, for which service he was rewarded by two coral beads, and a little snuff.

Close to the town we found the tents. Our party had made about fourteen miles, without leaving the banks of the lake at any great distance. Two elephants were seen swimming in the lake this day; and one, belonging to a drove at a distance, absolutely remained just before the kafila. Hillman had gone on in front on his mule, suffering sadly from weakness and fatigue, and had laid himself down in what appeared a delightful shade, to await the arrival of the camels, not expecting to see an elephant. He was absolutely reposing within a dozen yards of a very large one, without being aware of it; and on an Arab’s striking the animal with a spear, he roared out and moved off. Poor Hillman’s alarm was extreme.

Feb. 8.—On walking to the shores of the lake this morning, soon after sunrise, I was surprised to see how the water had encroached since the day before. More than two miles of the wood was entirely overflowed—the cotton plantations were covered with water. Were the lands cleared of wood, which would not be a laborious task, as the trees are mostly tulloh, and not large, almost any thing might be produced.

Feb. 9.—The courier had been sent off a second time, after being re-clothed and re-mounted, to receive the sheikh’s orders, and we were not to proceed beyond Woodie until his pleasure was known. So jealous and so suspicious are these negro princes of the encroachment of the Arabs, that divers were the speculations as to whether the sheikh would, or would not, allow them to proceed with us nearer his capital.

A weekly fsug, or market, was held about a mile from the town; and the women flocking from the neighbouring negro villages, mounted on bullocks, who have a thong of hide passed through the cartilage of the nose when young, and are managed with great ease, had a curious appearance: a skin is spread on the animal’s back, upon which, after hanging the different articles they take for sale, they mount themselves; milk, sour and sweet, a little honey, fowls, gussub, gafooly, are amongst their wares, fat and _meloheea_ (ochra), a green herb, which, with bazeen, all negroes eat voraciously, and indeed Christians too, as I afterwards found out. The men brought oxen, sheep, goats, and slaves: the latter were few in number, and in miserable condition.

Woodie is a capital, or as they say, Blad Kebir, and is governed by a sheikh, who is a eunuch, and a man of considerable importance: they appear to have all the necessaries of life in abundance, and are the most indolent people I ever met with. The women spin a little cotton, and weave it into a coarse cloth of about six inches’ width; the men either lie idling in their huts all day, or in the shade of a building, formed by four supporters and a thatched roof, which stands in an open space amongst the huts: this is also the court of justice and place of prayers. The men are considerably above the common stature, and of an athletic make; but have an expression of features particularly dull and heavy. The town stands about one mile west of the Tchad, four short days’ march from Bornou. Game of all descriptions comes to within a stone’s-throw of their doors, and the lake abounds with fish and water-fowl; yet have they so little exertion, that a few fish was almost the only produce of their labour which was offered for sale.

The women, like the Tibboo, have a square piece of blue or white cloth, tied over one shoulder, which forms their whole covering: their hair is however curiously and laboriously trained, and I observed that no one of tender years had any thing like a perfect head of hair. From childhood the head is shaved, leaving only the top covered; the hair from hence falls down quite round from the forehead to the pole of the neck, and is then formed into one solid plait, which in front lying quite flat just over the eyes, and behind being turned up with a little curl, has just the appearance of an old-fashioned coachman’s wig in England: some of them are, however, very pretty.

Feb. 10.—I this morning went to the eastward, in order to see the extent of the forest, and also, if possible, to get a sight of the herd, of upwards of one hundred and fifty elephants, which some of the Arabs had seen the day before while their camels were feeding. I was not disappointed. I found them about six miles from the town, in the grounds annually overflowed by the waters of the lake, where the coarse grass is twice the height of a man: they seemed to cover the face of the country, and, I should think, exceeded the number I had expected to see. When the waters flow over these their pasturages, they are forced by hunger to approach the towns, and spread devastation throughout their march; whole plantations, the hopes of the inhabitants for the next year, are sometimes destroyed in a single night. Nothing, however, more ferocious than large antelopes, with a fox and wild hog or two, was to be seen, besides elephants, although I beat every thicket. We had followed about half a dozen of these antelopes for more than three hours, who merely changed their place without ever getting out of sight, but never allowed us to get near enough to hazard a shot. When quite fatigued, I determined on making for some distant huts, and begging a little milk, sweet or sour. No knowing landlady of a country inn ever scanned the character of her customer more than did this untaught, though cunning negro, whom we found there. He first denied that he had any, notwithstanding the bowls were full scarcely ten paces behind him; and then asked, what I had got to pay for it? I had really nothing; and after offering my pocket-handkerchief, which was returned to me as not worth any thing, I was about to depart, though ten long miles from the tents, thirsty as I was, when the Arab pointed to a needle, which was sticking in my jacket: for this and a white bead which the Arab produced, we had a bowl of fine milk and a basket of nuts, which refreshed us much; and we returned home by the lake, where I shot two birds—one a very fine crane, and the other of the woodpecker species, and saw a flock of at least five hundred pelicans, but could not get near enough to fire at them.