NUMEROUS SHEETS OF WATER.

209

province of Libtáko; and the nature of which caused us great delay and very serious difficulties, on account of the many rivers and swamps which we had to cross. During the first part of our day's march we had the Wéndu of Wúlu for a long time on our right, but having crossed without much difficulty one considerable branch of it we came to another water with a strong current, which caused us a long delay, as it was at the time about 400 yards across, and not less than four and a half feet deep in the channel. The water at this spot has a southerly course; but it is difficult to say what greater river it joins.* For several miles the upper course of this same water, as it seemed, was seen at a short distance on our right. Large wide-spreading "mur," tamarind, and monkey-bread trees every where appeared, and we could see the footsteps of a great number of elephants. The country on our left was undulating, and consisted of sandy soil clothed almost exclusively with the kálgo, with its ash-colored leaves and its long red pods; but as soon as the river receded the character of the landscape also changed, the surface becoming rather level, and exhibiting more small brushwood, while numerous water-pools spread out, overgrown with kréb, or the edible Poa, and with molukhía. The district was full of buffaloes; but it was also much infested by a dangerous species of fly, which greatly tormented our animals, and which is very rarely met with in the eastern part of Negroland. We encamped, after a march of about sixteen miles, in the midst of the forest, near the site of the former encampment of a Tawárek horde, where kréb was springing up in the most luxuriant abundance, affording the richest pasture to the horses and a cheerful sight to ourselves; but we had here to sustain a very heavy rain, which lasted for several hours. Fortunately, it was not accompanied by much wind, so that my frail tent offered sufficient resistance; but the encampment was far from comfortable.

The rain had at length ceased; but we had scarcely resigned ourselves to sleep, when a troop of pilgrims passing by at this unusual hour of the night roused us at once. Fortunately, the ground which we had to traverse farther on was of a rocky nature, else it would have been almost impossible to proceed after the last night's rain; but after a march of about fourteen miles we came to a very considerable sheet of water, which we crossed with extreme difficulty, and encamped close beyond in a state of

I shall reserve a few farther observations on this subject till my return journey along the Niger.

VOL. III.-O

entire exhaustion. The channel of the torrent itself, which had spread its inundation to a great distance, was so considerable, being at the deepest spot five feet and a half, that it almost swamped me on my horse, besides wetting all my luggage. The place where we had encamped was a narrow open spot in the forest; but the ground was full of ants, and we were also greatly troubled by innumerable swarms of small flies which penetrated into all our clothes. Fortunately we had no rain, so that I was able to stay outside, as the heat in the tent was scarcely endurable. This day, also, we observed numerous footprints of elephants.

Monday, July 25th. We rose with the hope that we might arrive at an early hour in Aribínda, or rather the chief place of that district, although we were aware that we should have to cross another considerable sheet of water; but we were sadly disappointed, for, after a march of about three miles through a more rugged district with black and red granite and a great quantity of gneiss, we reached the wide inundations of a river called Búggoma by my companions, which we endeavored in vain to cross. Seeing that we should not succeed here, we struck off into the forest in a southwesterly direction, in order to ford it higher up, when suddenly we fell in with two men who were pasturing a couple of asses; but, although we made signs to them that we were their friends, they would not hear us, and beating their shields cried out lustily to their companions, who all on a sudden rushed out in every direction from behind the bushes, and in a moment surrounded us. There were from 150 to 200 people, all tall slender men, half naked, with nothing but a poor ragged cloth round their loins, and another rag still poorer round their heads, and each armed with a couple of spears and a ragged shield, which they brandished over their heads with warlike gesticulations. The affair seemed rather serious, and here it was fortunate that I had such a clever companion as the Waláti with me; for, while I was pointing my gun, he begged me to ride quietly in advance straight upon those people, and at the same time cried out to them that I was a sherif, and a friend of the Sheikh El Bakáy, to whom I was carrying a number of books from the east. All of a sudden they dropped their spears and thronged around me, requesting me to give them my blessing; and the circumstances under which I was placed obliged me to comply with this slight request, although it was by no means a pleasant matter to lay my hands on all these dirty heads.

CROSSING A SWAMP.

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On the whole it was very fortunate that we met with these people; for without their aid and information we should scarcely have been able to cross the water which intersected our track, at least without a most serious loss to our luggage. People in Europe have no idea what it is to travel during the rainy season in these regions; else they would not wonder that poor Dr. Vogel, in going at that time of the year from Yákoba to Záriya, lost most of his instruments and all his collections in crossing the rivers.

They were poor people from G'aó, or Gógó, and the neighborhood, a mixture, as I thought at the time, of Songhay and Tawárek, but speaking only the language of the former; but I found afterward that they belonged to the tribe of the Gabéro, of whom I shall speak in the following volume. They had visited the mar ket of Aribínda, and were at present on their way to Dóre and Libtáko, carrying as merchandise on a couple of asses and bull oxen nothing but cotton strips, or "tári," rice, and a few mats, of which latter article they brought me three as a present. Having received my blessing, and the tumult having quieted down, they conducted us to a place where they declared the water to be fordable. But the boggy ground inspired us with but little confidence; and it really caused us an immense deal of trouble. My people were obliged to carry all the luggage, even the heaviest, across the swamp, which was half a mile in breadth, the camels being scarcely able to make their way, even unloaded; and I myself had the misfortune to fall under my horse in the midst of the swamp, almost as badly as had happened to me on a former occasion on my journey to Kánem. I was firmly convinced that my horse would not be able to carry me over, and that it would be the safest way to cross the bog on foot; but I allowed myself to be swayed by the Waláti, who thought that my dignity, in presence of those native travelers, absolutely required me to remain on horseback. It was on this occasion that all my journals got wet through in a most miserable way, and we had the greatest difficulty in extricating my horse from the bog, in which it was lying for some minutes as if dead.

It was almost three o'clock in the afternoon when we again set. out from the opposite side of the swamp; but we had first to return along the water in a northeasterly direction, in order to regain the direct track. We then proceeded at an expeditious rate, in order to arrive at Aribínda before nightfall. A short distance before we reached our destination, the whole character of the

country changed, granite mounds rising on our right and left to considerable altitude, and leaving only a narrow passage through which to proceed, the beautifully sweeping slope of the eminence on our right being pleasantly adorned with bushes and enlivened by goats.

Having left another village at the foot of the granite range, we took up our quarters in the lamórde or residence of the chief of Aribínda, which is likewise situated at the foot of the granitic ridge, part of the huts being built on the slope, and part in the

plain, the latter forming a group by itself, which, with its projecting and receding walls, formed a sort of defense, as represented in the accompanying wood-cut. Here we obtained quarters without delay, two of my people having gone in advance; but they were narrow, dirty, and uncomfortable, and appeared to us the more miserable as a great deal of rain fell during our stay here. The inhabitants belong chiefly to the Songhay race, but there are also a great many Tawárek, or rather Tawárek half-castes, who live here peaceably, though in general the Tawárek and the inhabitants of these districts are engaged in almost uninterrupted warfare with each other, the former always pushing more and more in advance and threatening to overrun the whole of this region of Negroland. The people supply themselves with water from the holes in the rocks, where it collects, their supply for the dry season being deposited in a cistern of large size. The soil in the valley, which here widens into a considerable plain, is very fertile, and does not require much rain; and the corn was here a little cheaper than in Libtáko, one hundred shells, or rather the equiv

alent of that sum, for shells had no currency in the place, being sufficient for the daily allowance of one horse. I also observed with pleasure a very fine herd of cattle. Aribínda* seems formerly to have been an important place, or rather province, and the most considerable at one time of all the districts on the south side of the river, so that the Songhay of Gógó designated it Háribínda, "the place beyond the water," which name, in a wider sense, is given to the whole country on the south of the I'sa, or so-called Niger, as an equivalent to Gurma.

I had been very anxious to conceal the more valuable articles of my property from the prying eyes of my clever but greedy Arab companion; but the following day, as I was obliged to dry some of my luggage, which had been completely soaked, he got a peep at some fine bernúses which I had with me, and, in order to satisfy his covetousness, I thought it prudent to make him here a handsome present. Altogether my luggage suffered severely from the many water-courses which we had to cross at this stage of my journey, as well as from the excessive dampness of the weather. I also made some presents to the governor, but was rather astonished when, on setting out, he begged from me the very tobe which I was then wearing.

Wednesday, July 27th. The country which we had to traverse was diversified by small granitic ranges and detached cones, but it also afforded many localities for swampy grounds, very difficult to be crossed. In some places beans were cultivated besides millet. We encamped at length, after a march of about fifteen miles, in the midst of the forest, on the site of a former village, which was richly overgrown with the most succulent herbage, very grateful both to horse and camel.

Thursday, July 28th. We had had some summer lightning in the evening, followed by slight rain during the night; but about half past six o'clock in the morning a very heavy thunder-storm broke out, accompanied by violent rain, which lasted till noon, and rendered us extremely uncomfortable. My friend El Waláti, being of a weak and nervous temperament, was, as usual on such occasions, laid up with fever. In consequence of the state of the weather it was not till past three o'clock in the afternoon that we at length set out on our watery march, and after a stretch of about ten miles, having passed a very extensive and deep water, reached There are only three more villages at present belonging to the district of Aribínda, their names being as follows: Hóre, U'ri, and Wángaré.