CHAPTER XXXVIII.

RAINY SEASON IN KUKAWA.

I HAD left Kúkawa on my journey to A'damáwa in the best state of health, but had brought back from that excursion the germs of disease; and residence in the town, at least at this period of the year, was not likely to improve my condition. It would certainly have been better for me had I been able to retire to some more healthy spot; but trivial, though urgent business, obliged me to remain in Kúkawa.

It was necessary to sell the merchandise which had at length arrived in order to keep the mission in some way or other afloat, by paying the most urgent debts and providing the necessary means for further exploration. There was merchandise to the value of one hundred pounds sterling; but, as I was obliged to sell the things at a reduced rate for ready money, the loss was considerable; for all business in these countries is transacted on two or three months' credit, and, after all, payment is made, not in ready money, but chiefly in slaves. It is, no doubt, very necessary for a traveler to be provided with those various articles which form the presents to be made to the chiefs, and which are in many districts required for bartering; but he ought not to depend upon their sale for the supply of his wants. Altogether it is difficult to carry on trade in conjunction with extensive geographical research, although a person sitting quietly down in a place, and entering into close relations with the natives, might collect a great deal of interesting information, which would probably escape the notice of the roving traveler, whose purpose is rather to explore distant regions. Besides, I was obliged to make numerous presents to my friends, in order to keep them in good humor, and had very often not only to provide dresses for themselves and their wives, but even for their domestic retainers; so that, all things considered, the supply of

HERBAGE.-TROPICAL RAINS.

229 one hundred pounds' worth of merchandise could not last very long.

I have remarked that, when I re-entered Kúkawa, the cultivation of the ground had not yet begun; indeed, the whole country was so parched that it became a matter of perplexity to find sufficient fodder for the horses; for the whole stock of dry herbage was consumed, and of young herbage none was to be had.

It is stated in my memoranda that on the 5th of August I paid twelve rotl for a “kéla kajímbe," or large bundle of dry grass; an enormous price in this country, and sufficient to maintain a whole family for several days; but that was the most unfavorable moment, for in a few days fresh herbage sprang up and made good all deficiencies. While speaking on this subject, I may also mention that, the herbage of Kúkawa being full of "ngíbbi," or Pennisetum distichum, horses brought from other countries generally fare but badly on it, as they are reluctant to fill their mouths with its small prickles.

Rain was very plentiful this year, 1851, and I am sure would, if measured, have far exceeded the quantity found by Mr. Vogel in 1854. Indeed, there were twelve very considerable falls of rain during the month of August alone, which together probably exceeded thirty inches. It must be borne in mind, moreover, that the fall of rain in Kúkawa does not constitute the rule for the region, but is quite exceptional, owing to the entire absence of trees and of heights in the neighborhood. Hence the statement of Mr. Vogel in one of his letters,* that the line of tropical rains only begins south of Kúkawa, must be understood with some reserve; for, if he had measured the rain in the woody country north of that capital, between Dáwerghú and Kalíluwá, he would, in my opinion, have obtained a very different result. It is evident that all depends upon the meaning of the expression tropical rain. If it imply a very copious fall of rain, Kúkawa certainly does not lie within the limits of tropical rain; but if we are to understand by it the regularlyreturning annual fall of rain, produced by the ascending curPublished in the Journal of the Royal Geogr. Soc., vol. xxv., 1855, p. 241.

rents of heated air, it certainly does.* There was a very heavy fall of rain on the night of the 3d of August, which not only swamped our court-yard, but changed my room, which lay half a foot lower, and was protected only by a low threshold, into a little lake, aggravating my feverish state very considerably, and spoiling most of my things.

On the 5th of August rain fell for the first time unaccompanied by a storm, though the rainy season generally sets in with dreadful tornadoes. The watery element disturbed the luxurious existence of the "kanám galgálma," the large termites, which had fed on our sugar and other supplies, and on the 6th they all of a sudden disappeared from the ground, and filled the air as short-lived winged creatures, in which state they are called by the people "tsútsu" or "dsúdsu,” and, when fried, are used as food. Their tenure of life is so precarious, and they seem to be so weak, that they become very troublesome, as they fall in every direction upon man and his food. Of each swarm of these insects only one couple seems destined to survive; all the rest die a violent death.

The town now began to present quite a different appearance; but while it was agreeable to see the dryness relieved, and succulent grass and fresh crops springing up all around, and supplanting the dull uniformity of the Asclepias gigantea, on the other hand, the extensive water-pools formed every where in the concavities of the ground were by no means conducive to health, more especially as those places were depositories of all sorts of offal, and of putrefying carcasses of many kinds. The consequence was that my health, instead of improving, became worse, although I struggled hard, and as often as possible rode out on horseback. All the people were now busy in the labors of the field, although cultivation in the neighborhood of the town is not of a uniform, but of a varied character; and a large portion of

*It will perhaps be as well to call to mind the prudent warnings of Colonel Sykes in reference to the observations of Professor Dove. "These observations," he says, "suggest the necessity of caution in generalizing from local facts with regard to temperature and falls of rain."-Report of the National Association, 1852, p. 253.

the ground, consisting of "ánge" and "firki," is reserved for the culture of the masákuwá (Holcus cernuus), or winter-corn, with its variety the kérirám.

On the 8th of August the neighborhood presented a very animated spectacle, the crown lands in Gawánge being then cultivated by a great number of people, working to the sound of a drum. Their labors continued till the 15th, on which day Mr. Overweg had the honor of presenting his Búdduma friends to the Sheikh of Bórnu. All nature was now cheerful; the trees were putting forth fresh leaves, and the young birds began to fledge. I took great delight in observing the little household of a family of the feathered tribe; there were five young ones, the oldest and most daring of which began to try his strength on the 12th of August, while the other four set out together on the 14th.

Marriages are not frequent about this time, on account of the dearness of corn; but matches are generally made after the harvest has been got in, and while corn is cheap. I shall speak in another place of the marriage ceremonies of this country.

On the 5th of September we obtained the first specimen of new "argúm moro," white Negro millet, which is very pleasant to the taste when roasted on the fire; but this is regarded as a rarity, and new corn is not brought into the market in any great quantities before the end of November, or rather the beginning of December, when all the corn, which has been for a long time lying in the fields in conical heaps, called "búgga," is threshed

out.

My friend the vizier, whose solicitude for my health I can not acknowledge too warmly, was very anxious that I should not stay in the town during the rainy season; and knowing that one of our principal objects was to investigate the eastern shore of Lake Tsád, sent me word, on the 11th of August, that I might now view the bahár el ghazál, an undertaking which, as I have already mentioned, he had at first represented as impossible. The news from Kánem, however, was now favorable; but, as I shall speak in another place of the political state of this distracted country, and of the continual struggle between

Bórnu and Wádáy, I need only mention here that the Welád Slimán, who had become a mercenary band attached to the vizier, had been successful during their last expedition, and were reported on the very day of my return from A'damawa to have made a prize of 150 horses and a great many camels, which, however, was a great exaggeration.

We were well acquainted with the character of these people, who are certainly the most lawless robbers in the world; but as it was the express wish of the British government that we should endeavor to explore the regions bordering on the lake, there was no course open to us but to unite our pursuits with theirs; besides, they were prepared in some measure for such a union; for, while they inhabited the grassy lands round the great Syrtis, they had come into frequent contact with the English. We had no choice, for all the districts to the northeast and east of the Tsád were at present in a certain degree dependent on Wádáy, then at war with Bórnu, and we were told at the commencement that we might go any where except to Wádáy. Instead of fighting it out with his own people, which certainly would have been the most honorable course, the vizier had ventured to make use of the remnant of the warlike, and at present homeless tribe of the Welád Slimán, in the attempt to recover the eastern districts of Kánem from his eastern rival, or at least to prevent the latter from obtaining a sure footing in them; for this object he had made a sort of treaty with these Arabs, undertaking to supply them with horses, muskets, powder, and shot. Thus, in order to visit those inhospitable regions, which had attracted a great deal of attention in Europe, we were obliged to embrace this opportunity. Under these circumstances, on the 16th of August, I sent the vizier word that I was ready to join the Welád Slimán in Búrgu; whereupon he expressed a wish that Mr. Overweg might likewise accompany us, the stay in Kúkawa during the rainy season being very unhealthy.

Mr. Overweg had returned on the 9th to Maduwári from his interesting voyage on the Tsád, of which every one will deeply regret that he himself was not able to give a full account.* * I shall return to the subject of Mr. Overweg's voyage.