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 colonized 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 high road 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, Nándu, and Mayánga.* 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 Hausa people “fáda-n-Gurma," "the palace or royal

* 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.

SONGHAY TOWNS.-A SURPRISE.

185 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 neighboring 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 farther 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 neighboring town of Sínder of that name), Kasáni, Kókoro, and Fóni.* 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 weatherbeaten Púllo, who came to inspect the labors of the fields, and who was not a little surprised at finding us quietly established in his homely dwelling.

Tuesday, June 28th. Our road lay through a hilly country, well wooded and intersected by a number of small water-courses; and in some favored 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

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

sour milk. But, besides the small dry water-courses 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 neighboring water-courses 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 dense forest; for since the decease of Mo'azu (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 ener getic 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, toward evening, a cousin of the present governor, of the name of 'Othmán, 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 Wakhshi, 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 favor of a northerly and very circuitous road by way of Yágha.* But I was disappointed in the hope of

* 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. Natongo, a village inhabited by Dagómba.

66

5 Wólawóla, a large place inhabited partly by pagans, partly by Moham

medans, and dependent on Yendi.

Béri, a large place belonging to Mósi.

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

GURO CARAVAN.-SCARCITY OF CORN.

corresponding with Europe by means of this man.

187

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.

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 travelers. 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 can not 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 neighborhood, no milk was to be obtained. The

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

1

66

Belússa, a large place of Mósi, to be mentioned also in other itineraries. 7 days. Libtúgu, a small Gurma village.

1 day. Yágha.

dwelling where I was lodged, with its numerous compartments and court-yards, 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.

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 startingpoint, 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 fur

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 a fine pasture interspersed with flowers, in whose sweet blossom numerous butterflies were indulging. Here again the footprints of the elephant