PRODUCTS OF THE COUNTRY. 489 the southeast side of the village there is much forest of a very uniform character, interspersed with tall reed-grass; but on the other sides a great deal of cultivation was to be seen, shaded by hájilíj (or “jánga," as it is called here), nebek or "kírna,”* and talha-trees, here called "keláya." I found it very remarkable that almost all the fields, even those where millet and sorghum were grown, were laid out in deep furrows, called derába-a system of tillage which, in the case of any sort of grain, I had not before observed in Negroland. Besides grain, a good deal of sesamum ("kárru"), cotton ("nyére"), and indigo ("alíni") was cultivated, the plants being from two and a half to three feet in height, and bare of leaves at the present season. On the northeast side, also, there was a great deal of forest, but it was adorned by some groups of fine trees. It was enlivened by numbers of Guinea-fowl and gazelles; and a great number of "kálgo”-trees, with their wide-spreading branches, were observed here. The soil had been already tolerably saturated with moisture, fine tufts of succulent grass were springing up here and there, and I was enabled to water my horse at a small pool; but this abundance of the watery element, of course, was only temporary, in consequence of the heavy rain which had fallen the previous night, and the poor inhabitants were still to suffer most severely from drought, their deep well being almost dry. This was the only point in regard to which I had continual disputes with the inhabitants, who would scarcely allow my horse to get his sufficient quantum, although I had to pay a considerable sum for it. Meanwhile I waxed impatient. At length, on the evening of the 6th of April, my escort Gréma (whom on the last day of * The name of this tree, which is so common all over this part of the worldin the forms kórna, kúrna, kúrnahí, kúrru, kírna—is one of the most widely-spread of all those names indicating objects possessing properties useful to man; and this would seem to indicate that it is not indigenous in the various regions where it is at present found, but introduced from one and the same quarter. However, on nearer inspection, this argument does not seem to be conclusive. It has certainly not been introduced into Negroland from a more northern climate, as little as the Balanites and the Cucifera, which is erroneously called Thebaica instead of Nigritia. March I had sent to the capital to bring me a decisive answer without delay) returned with a message of the lieutenant governor-not, however, to grant either of my requests, but rather to induce me to wait patiently till an answer should arrive from the sultan himself. In order that I might not starve in the mean while, they brought me a sheep and a shirt, with which I might buy provision in some neighboring village; but as there was nothing to be got besides millet and sorghum, I declared it to be absolutely necessary for me either to be admitted into the capital or to retrace my steps. I requested Gréma to stay with me; but he pretended he was obliged to return to the town, where his servant lay sick. Not suspecting that he wanted to leave me alone, and to join the sultan on the expedition, I allowed him to go, and resolved to wait a few days in patience. But, restless and impatient as I was, the delay pressed heavily upon me; and when, on the 13th, my kind and amiable host, Bú-Bakr Sadík himself, went to the capital, I had nothing to calm my disquietude. Through my host, I had once more addressed myself to the lieutenant governor, requesting to be admitted into the capital without further delay; and Bú-Bakr had promised me, in the most distinct terms, that before Thursday night, which was the 15th, I should have a decisive answer. Having only one weak camel to carry my luggage, I had taken scarcely any books with me on this excursion to Bagírmi, and the little information which I had been able to gather was not sufficient to give my restless spirit its proper nourishment, and I felt, therefore, mentally depressed. The consequence was, that when Thursday night passed away, and neither Bú-Bakr himself arrived, nor any message from him, I determined to put my threat into execution, and to retrace my steps the following morning. ENDEAVOR TO LEAVE THE COUNTRY. 491 CHAPTER XLIX. ENDEAVOR TO LEAVE THE COUNTRY.-ARRESTED.-FINAL ENTRANCE INTO MÁS-ENÁ.-ITS CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES. Friday, April 16th. As soon as day dawned I arose to prepare for my departure. The sky was overcast, and a little rain fell, which caused some delay; but as soon as it ceased I got my camel ready and my horse saddled. Several of the relations and friends of Bú-Bakr endeavored to persuade me to remain, but my determination was too fixed; and, pointing at the disgraceful manner in which I had been treated in this country, I mounted my horse and rode off. My three servants, themselves dissatisfied with the treatment they had received, followed sullenly. We retraced the path by which we had come, but the rains had made it almost undiscernible, and we had some difficulty to make out the right track. The sun was very powerful after the rain which had fallen during the night, as is very often the case in tropical climates; and it not being my design to abscond secretly, I decided upon halting during the hot hours in Mókorí, and quietly pitched my tent; for I firmly expected that if my presence was required it was here they would seek for me. After the bad fare which I had received in Bákadá for so long a time, I was delighted to be able to procure here a fowl, some butter, and a little milk, and it was a sort of holiday for me to indulge in these simple luxuries. which I obtained these supplies was rather circuitous, a long bartering taking place with beads, needles, and a little natron which I was provided with from Kúkawa. The price of the fowl was three darning-needles; and I may here state the obligation under which I am to Mr. Charles Beke, the Abyssinian traveler, upon whose advice I had provided myself in London . The manner in with a small assortment of these articles. In Middle Sudán their value was not appreciated, but here in Bagírmi I found them extremely useful, and it was to them that I partly owed my subsistence in this country. I quietly conversed with the people on my situation, and they behaved very friendly toward me, and advised me, if no news should arrive from the capital in the course of the day, to take the road by Kólle-Kólle, Márga, and Jógodé, a place which they represented as of considerable size, and thus to reach the river near the village of Klésem, from whence I might cross over to Kúsuri. I even obtained here some valuable information with regard to the river-system of Wádáy from a Felláta or Púllo of the name of 'Abd el Káder. I should have passed the day very comfortably if a strong gale had not arisen about noon and filled my tent with dust and sand. The sky was overcast, but there was no rain. A little after sunset, when the busy scene at the well had subsided, I measured the temperature of the water, and found it to be 86° 4 Fahr., which, if we consider it as nearly the mean temperature of the country, would give a very high standard for Bagírmi. The well was fifteen fathoms deep, the present temperature of the air being then 86°; at one o'clock P.M. it had been 990.7. April 17th. Having passed rather an unpleasant night, the ground swarming with black ants (Termes mordax), so that my camel, as well as my horse, moved restlessly about and disturbed our own slumber frequently, I set out early in the morning with confidence on my journey westward. Forest and cultivated ground alternately succeeded each other, the cultivation consisting, besides millet, of cotton and sesamum. Women were collecting the leaves of the hájilíj, from which, in the absence of the more esteemed leaves of the monkey-bread-tree, to prepare the tasteless sauce used for their daily pudding. The hájilíj was the most predominant tree; besides it, there was the * I will here remark that I think this form, Felláta, which is usual in Bórnu and the neighboring countries, is in its origin a plural, though it is continually employed also for the singular. tree called homaín by the Shúwa, which was at present leafless, but was covered with fruit about the size of an apricot, which, when ripe, is eaten by the natives. The tsáda also, with its cherry-like fruit, called by the Shúwa people ábúdéje, was frequent. My young Shúwa companion here called my attention to the honey-bird (Cuculus indicator), called by his countrymen "shnéter," and said to be a metamorphosed old woman searching after her young son, and calling him by name, "Shnéter! Shnéter!" All over Africa this little bird has given rise to a variety of the most curious tales, from the Hottentot country to the Somaul, and from the Somaul to the Jolóf. Having gone about five miles, we wanted to obtain a supply of water from a small hamlet of the name of Bagáwu, which we saw on one side of our track; but as soon as we approached the well, a decrepit old man rushed furiously out of his hut, as if we were about to steal his most valuable property, and ordered us away with the most threatening attitude. Such is the value of water in this dry region! We therefore continued our march, and could only account for the existence of this miserable village by the extensive tract of cultivated ground which was spread about. We then entered a thick forest or jungle, with tall reeds, and showing numerous footprints of the giraffe, an animal not at all frequent in the populous districts of Negroland. Farther on, the path exhibited various signs of being a common thoroughfare for elephants. This animal farther westward had not made itself remarkable, while its inveterate enemy the rhinoceros had already, close to the river, given sufficient proof of its presence. At half past eight o'clock in the morning we approached another village, of the name of Kólle-Kólle, which from a distance exhibited a most noble appearance, adorned as it was by two stately deléb-palms, here called káwe, and a group of most beautiful tamarind-trees; but as for water, this village was not much better provided than that from which we had just been driven, being dependent for this necessary element upon a sister village at little less than a mile distance. Nevertheless, the dry tract |