III. THE BAHR el Ghazál, callED "BURRUM" BY THE KÁNEMBÚ, AND "FÉDE" BY THE TEBU GUR'Aán.

All the accounts which I received with regard to this much-talked-of valley, which it had been our ardent desire to visit, agreed in the very remarkable statement that its inclination was not from the desert toward the lake, but from the lake toward the desert. All my informants stated that it is now dry, but that less than a hundred years ago it formed the bed of a river or channel opening a communication by water between the Tsád and Burgu. Indeed, some people asserted that there was still living a very old man, who, in his early youth, had made this journey by water. The spot where this very large wadi, now dry and densely clothed with trees, joins the Tsád, is near the south side of a place called 'Alimarí, distant one day and a half from Tághghel, in a southerly direction. Start from Tághghel, sleep at Kirchímma, before noon arrive at 'Alimarí. But at present this connection between the lake and the valley is said to be blocked up by sand-hills near a spot called Súggera or Mezrák by the Arabs, which prevents the water of the lake, even in its highest state, from entering into the Burrum. However, more inward, another basin is here formed, which is occasionally called Hédebá.

Day.

FROM ALIMARÍ TO Moító.

1st. Kedáda, a large place, entirely inhabited by runaway slaves, who have asserted their liberty.

2d. Kédigi, inhabited by La Sál'a or El As'ale' Arabs.

3d. Moító (see Appendix IX.).

'ALIMARÍ TO KÁRNAK LÓGONE, TWO AND A HALF DAYS.

Though a few of my informants were of opinion that there was a branch wadi uniting the Bahr el Ghazal with Lake Fittrí, nevertheless most of them stated uniformly that they have no connection whatever, but that several independent valleys intervene between them. This statement is borne out by many circum

stances.

The direction of the Burrum, for a considerable part of its course, is given by the route from M'awó to Y'awo, the capital of the province Fittrí (according to my informants, due east).

Day.

1st (short). Kálkalá, different from the place Kulákulá mentioned above. 2d. Gujer. Pass here the heat; start again in the afternoon; sleep on the road. This whole district appears to have the general appellation of Sagóre, which I think can not be different from Yagóre, the name of the country in which Mondó is situated.

3d. Toróro, a well in the Burrum; before the kaila. A man on horseback is said to go on in one day from M'awó to the wadi. Pass here the heat; start again at dhohor, and encamp at sunset, still in the wadi.

4th. Encamp at the beginning of the heat, still in the same wadi.

5th. In another (?) wadi.

6th. Shégeraye, a well with much water (and, according to other informants, in

the Burrum).

ITINERARY FROM Υ'Από το Μ'AWÓ, ACCORDING TO THE BULÁLA IBRAHIM.

1st. Fáli, a rocky valley belonging to Bagírmi.

2d. Aúni, a hamlet inhabited by Bagírmi people.

3d. Búkko.

4th. Shégeráye, a valley inhabited by Tebu Gur'aán.

5th. Bahr el Ghazál.

6th. Kedada, a place inhabited by Týnjur. It is a question of some importance whether this Kedáda be identical with the Kedáda mentioned above. 7th. Mondó, a considerable place in the district Yagóre, and therefore sometimes called Mondó Yagóre, inhabited by Týnjur (about this curious race of people I shall have occasion to say more in another place), Wádáy people, and Arabs. In the same district of Yagóre lies also the place Bugarma, governed by the chief Kedl Adúmmo. Mondó is mentioned by Denham repeatedly under the form Mendoo or Kanem Mendoo, and was computed by him to be distant about ten hours' ride from his station in the camp of the Duggana.* Mondó is the residence of a governor formerly under the authority of Bórnu, but at present (at least in 1851) under that of Wádáy. The present governor is Fúgobo Bakr or A bakr (properly Abu Bakr); and very often the agid el bahr resides here. 8th. Yagubberi (the name, probably, connected with that of the Kánembú tribe Kúbberi), inhabited by Týnjur.

9th. M'awó.

Here may be conveniently mentioned the stations along the celebrated Burrum, as given to us by the Welád Slimán, which, checked by the itineraries mentioned above, will give an approximate outline of the windings of the valley, as laid down in the map.

Beginning at 'Alímarí, always keeping along the Burrum, the usual stations are the following:

Gerén, Hebál, Shégeráye, Fajája, Múnarak, Shéddera, Toróri, Haradíbe, Gélemní, Hagéji, Tylb-bahr (Túl el bahr ?), Chúwaru, Egé.

The situation of Egé is decided by an itinerary from Ngégimi to that place, which shall be given further on. But first I must mention one difficulty, which leaves a little uncertainty in the configuration of this part of the country. This difficulty regards the place Shégeraye, which in this piece of information is mentioned as a spot and well in the Burrum itself, while in the itineraries (p. 613) it is indicated rather as a different valley; but it does not seem so difficult to account for this difference, the large valley apparently dividing repeatedly into several branches.

About the identity of Toróri there can not be the least doubt, as the road from M'awó to this place leads by Kálkalá and Gújer.

* Denham's Journal, vol. i., p. 262, ff. It is not quite clear whether Denham reckons the fifty miles (p. 267) to Mendoo or to M'awó, but probably to M'awó. The name Korata Mendooby (p. 267) means the Keráda (Fugábú) of Mondó.

SHORT ITINERARY FROM NGÉGIMI TO EGÉ.

Mayiját, bir Nefása, bír Sherífa, bír el Hósha, el Hamír, bír Hadúj, bír el 'Atesh, bir ben Mússebí, bír Sali, Kéderi, Díra or Díri, Bírfo (I am not sure whether originally bír Fó), Egé.

ANOTHER ITINERARY FROM Bír El Kurna tO EGÉ, TOUCHIng at Bir el 'ATESH AND MÚSSEBÍ.

Day.

1st. A long march; at sunset arrive at bír el 'Atesh, north.

2d. At dhohor encamp in the wilderness.

3d. After four hours' march arrive at bír ben Músscbí.

4th. About 'aser (about half past four o'clock P.M.) encamp in the wilderness. 5th. After four or five hours' march, arrive at bír el Borfo, which is already beyond the boundaries of Kanem. It is evident that this well is not identical with Bírfo.

6th. Encamp in a place with plenty of hád, but only few trees.

7th. At sunset arrive in Egé.

Egé is a very celebrated locality (one prominent spot of which is called Kukúrde) with the nomadic inhabitants of these regions, and is temporarily frequented by a variety of tribes, who visit it in order to water their camels from the famous wells (which are believed to promote the growth of the camel), and to collect the fruit of the siwák or Capparis, which grows in very great abundance in this part of the valley, while higher up it seems to be more scanty. The strongest among these tribes in former times were the Bultu or Biltu, who will be mentioned presently in the list of the Tebu tribes, and had formerly the supremacy over the Nakassa, the Halál el debús (an Arab nickname, the proper name of the tribe not being known to me), both of whom frequent likewise Egé, and the Khiyát e' ríh (another nickname). Besides the tribes above mentioned, Ege is generally frequented by the Músu, the Sakérda, by that section of the Fugabu which is under the supremacy of Kédl Lawáti, and occasionally by the Welád Slimán. But Egé, of course, on account of its being resorted to by many tribes as a fine place for their herds of camels, is also a marked point for predatory expeditions.

From Egé the Burrum or Bahr el Ghazal seems to turn to the N.W., or at least to the N.N.W., going to Tangúr, a famous place two days from Ege. Tangúr (where the country seems to form a large basin) is generally regarded as the end of the Burrum; and a hypsometrical observation made here would immediately decide the question about the inclination of the Burrum, and show whether the very remarkable statement of the natives be correct or not. Some people contend that the wadi extends still further into Burku or Búrgu. North from Tangúr, a day or two's march, is the famous place Báteli, not less celebrated than Egé for its fine breed of camels, generally of a dark brown or a rather blackish color, of which I myself had occasionally a specimen in my train, and Degírshim.

After having given this piece of information with regard to the southeast part of Kánem and the Burrum, I now proceed to give some itineraries from the quarters of which information has been obtained in this way, to the country of

Búrku or Burgu, about which Captain Lyon has given so many interesting details. I will only add that Dr. Overweg took down, from the mouth of a well-informed native, a very exact itinerary of the route from Múrzuk to this country, which, together with the other data and the information collected by Mr. Fresnel, goes far to establish its position with great approximative precision.

FROM EGÉ TO Yen or Beled el 'Omiyán, the CHIEF PLACE IN Búrku. N.N.E.

Day.

1st. Taró or Tró, a valley with bitter water.

2d. Karó; before the heat of the day.

2d. Aúdánga, a well, with plenty of excellent brushwood.

4th. Tungúrki; before the heat of the day.

5th. Yaiyó el kebír, a well, with dúm-palms, and near to it Yaiyó elsghír. Yaiyó is nine days from Só, on the Bulma road, reaching Gíri in two days, A'rraka in two more days, and from hence Só in five days.

8th. Yen, having entered the limits of Búrku on the 6th day, when you first come to the source called 'Ain Telékka. The neighborhood of Yen is rich in herbage and palm-trees. The village in general consists of houses or cottages built of stone; but the number of the inhabitants fluctuates. Galakka is another of the principal places in Búrku. There are several chiefs of authority in the place, the most influential of whom seems to be Lénga, or, with his title, Táwa Lénga. There is, besides Yoworde, another chief called Kálemé, and a third one called Bíddu, belonging to the tribe or family of the Bídduwa. As for the Kédl-Agré, the chief of the Búltu, he also occasionally resides here. In Téki, a locality fertilized by a large spring, another chief resides, belonging to the Tiyówa, aud called Gehénni.

Yen is eleven days from 'Aradha, the seat of the Máhamíd, the position of which may be determined with great precision by the distance from Wára (see Appendix, No. VII.): 1st day, Wen; 3d, Chirógia; 7th, Oshim; 11th, 'Arádha.

I will now say a word about the tribes and families of the Tebu and their present settlements, referring to my account of the history of the Bórnu kingdom (ante, p. 30), and to my journey homeward in 1855 for further particulars.

The Tebu, Tubu, or rather Tedá, I think myself still justified in considering, as I have stated on a former occasion,* as nearly related to the Kanúri; and the historical relations between the two nations, which I have had occasion to elucidate above, serve to corroborate my opinion. The Arabs, especially the Welád Slimán, generally add to the name Tebu the word "Gr'aán” or “Gur'aán," which I think myself justified in referring to the district Goran, so often referred to by Leo Africanus, while Marmol writes it Gorhan. The Tebu themselves I never heard use the name, and forgot to ask the meaning of the word. I will here only add that in their own language they call the Kanúri by the name of Túgubá, while they give to the Imoshagh or Tawarek the name of Yéburdé. I shall first mention those Tebu tribes who live in and near Kánem, and have already been mentioned occasionally, then proceed northward, and from thence to the southeast. See ante, p. 30, note t.

*

The principal tribes settled in Kánem are the Woghda, the Dogórda, the Gádeá, the Yeworma, and the Fidda; in Lúmna, on the komádugu Waube, the E'deré or E'durí; north of the komádugu, as far as Beduwáram, the Búlgudá, called by the Arabs and Bórnu people Dáza; near Beduwaram the Wandala, à tribe already mentioned by Captain Lyon, as well as by Major Denham ;† near them the Aússa; about the well of A'ghadem the Boloduwa, called (by the Kanuri) ám Wadebe; along the Burrum, called "féde" by the Tebu, the Kárda, called generally Kréda, separated into several families, the principal of which are the Gelimma, the Grasón (this I think rather the name of a chief, all the names of tribes ending with a vowel), and Bukoshelé; the Shindakóra, with the chief A bú Nakúr; the Sakerda, with Bakáikoré; the Médemá and the Noreá, generally called Nwormá; in Egé and Báteli, the Musu, with their chief Wudda; in Tongur, the Nakássa, a section of whom are the Un, with the chief Maina; in Bilma or Bulma (which probably is the right form), and the wadi Kawár, or rather "hénderi Tedá," as it is called by the natives, the tribe of the Gésera or Gésedi.

In Tibésti (a general name which once seems to have had a wider range than it has at present) and Báteli: the Temághera,§ as they are generally called, a very interesting tribe, of ancient historical importance (which I have already mentioned on a former occasion as probably having given the name to the province of Demagherim, and which, in the time of Edrís Alawóma, was settled in Ngurúti [written Ghugúti] in Kánem), with the chief Gurdé, who has succeeded to Tehárke; the Gonda or Gunda, whose old chief, Taher Asar, died some time ago (the same who wanted to write a letter to King George in Denham's time) in Borde (the Berdai of Captain Lyon), one of the principal localities in Tibésti, and in other places; the A'rinda in Dírkemáwu, another locality of Tibésti, with the chief Kénemé, North from Tibésti, in the valley Tawó, the Abó, a name which has often, by Lyon, and even by Mr. Overweg, in the itinerary just mentioned, been mistaken for that of a place.

These latter tribes together, I think, form the group generally called Tebu Reshade, but with the indigenous appellation “Tedetú.”

In O'janga or Wajanga,|| eastward from Tibésti, and northeastward from Búrku, in the direction of Kuffara, with Kebabo, which latter place, by the people of Búrgu, is called Tesser: the tribe of the Wonya, with the chief Onókke; the Matátena or Gúrin, to the south of them, in fertile valleys producing even figs. In Búrku: the Bultu, called by the Arabs by the nickname of Nej'a el Keléb, with their powerful chief the kedl-Agré, and residing part of the year in Yen, but, after the dates have been gathered, generally settled in the district called Keré Búrku, and at other seasons in Egé; under the authority of the kedl-Agré * The Yewórma, as well as the Tymmélme and Yéggada, have been almost annihilated by the Tawárek.

As for the Traita, mentioned by Lyon, p. 265, and by Major Denham repeatedly, vol. i., p. 42, et seq., I think that this name is not indigenous; at least I have been unsuccessful in getting information respecting a people so called. Denham himself calls them once "the people of Traita."

Under this form they came also under Burckhardt's notice. Appendix I., p. 435.)

(Travels in Nubia, 2d ed.,

There seems to be some Berber element in the word; but I think it is more apparent than real, for the word is distinctly written by Imám A ́hmed Tumághira.

See Captain Lyon's Narrative, p. 266, where a rather exaggerated account is given of the irrigation of the country, which seems certainly not to be at all sterile throughout.