EMBARK ON THE CREEK.

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ential chiefs of these regions, and in the evening of the last day of August I went on board of my small craft, and passed there a very comfortable night. The river, during the time of my residence in the place, had risen considerably, and soon promised to open the communication by the western branch.

Thursday, September 1st. After a good deal of delay, we at length began our voyage about a quarter before eight in the morning; and I felt my spirits greatly cheered when I found myself floating on this river, or backwater, which was to carry me all the way to the harbor of Timbúktu. The river near the town forms a fine open sheet, widening to about 300 yards; but farther on, as we were winding along in a northeasterly direction, it was greatly obstructed with rank grass, or rather býrgu, which very often covered the water entirely, so that the boat seemed to glide along a grassy plain. It was quite out of the question to use oars. We were therefore reduced to the necessity of proceeding with poles, generally moving at the rate of two miles and a third an hour, but very often less. Besides the býrgu, which constitutes the chief fodder for horse and cattle in all the districts along the Niger, and which even furnishes man with the sweet beverage called "ménshu" and a sort of honey called "kartu," white water-lilies, or Nymphæa Lotus, were in great quantities; and between the latter, the water-plant "serranfúsa," which, being about ten inches long, floats on the water without having its roots fixed in the ground. But, after a voyage of about three miles, we emerged from the reedy water of Sarayámo into a more open branch, said to be that of Bambara, which here joined it. According to some of my informants, this water is identical with the Gérru, which I have mentioned on a former occasion. Here the eastern bank became quite free from reed-grass, while a herd of gazelles was to be seen near the shore; the western bank, meanwhile, being adorned with numerous dúm-palms, gáwo, and tamarind-trees, or, as they are called here, busúsu; while farther on, the ascending ground was covered with "tunfäfia" (Asclepias gigantea), "retem" (or broom), and "damankádda." But after a while, when rank grass again began to prevail, this arm also became greatly obstructed, being separated by the grass into several branches. The water being only from five to seven feet deep, we proceeded rather slowly onward, winding along in a northerly direction, at times diverging more to the west, at others more to the east ; till about an hour after noon we reached the small town of Fatta,

situated on the eastern shore, and surrounded by extensive ricegrounds, where the people were busy with the labors of the field.

The river here changes its direction to the west, being probably joined by another branch, which, however, I did not see, and we began steering in that direction, soothing our disappointment at not moving directly toward the object of our voyage with the animated songs of our boatmen, who accompanied the movement of their oars with a barbarous, but not unmelodious account of the deeds of the great A'skia. A great many herds of cattle were to be seen on the left or southern side of the river, and gave life to the scenery. Our living also was not so bad, a couple of fine fishes, which we had succeeded in buying from some fishermen, having been prepared over the fire, and affording us an excellent dinner.

The farther we proceeded onward the more the channel widened, becoming free from reeds, although occasionally adorned by a floating layer of water-lilies. However, beyond the village of Gurijígge, or Guridígge, the current became so strong that, in order to avoid it, we chose rather to enter the reeds, which broke the force of the water. It is natural that, as this is not a river of itself fed by its own sources, but merely a backwater caused by the overflow of the great river, the current in general must come from the latter, and proceed inland.

Having kept for some time along the reed-grass of the southern shore in a winding direction, we again emerged into open water, where the poles of our boatmen, which measured about eighteen feet in length, found no bottom; and we kept steadily on, although occasionally quite alarmed by our southwesterly direction, which threatened to carry us rather to Hamda-Alláhi than to Timbúktu; till at length, a few miles on this side of the town of Goilo, we changed our direction to W.N.W., and passing some floating reed islands, seemed to be in a fair direction to reach the chief object of our journey. But a storm that had been gathering induced us with the approach of night to moor the boat in a wide grassy creek of the eastern shore, in order to shelter ourselves from the strong wind, which easily upsets this light craft. Four fishing-boats were lying not far from us, and with their lights gave us a feeling of society; but the numerous swarms of musquitoes molested us not a little, and the barking of an animal in the water greatly excited my curiosity. On inquiry, I learned that it proceeded from the young alligators, or rather zangway.

These boats have no means of approaching the shallow shore.

VERY WINDING COURSE.

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Hence it is necessary for the passengers, two or three times a day, to wade through deep water backward and forward. This, coupled with the great quantity of water continually filling the bottom of these boats, is the reason why all the people who travel along the Niger are subject to rheumatism. The governor of Sáy, as I have already mentioned, in consequence of his voyage. up the river to Gágho, had become quite lame.

Friday, September 2d. It was a quarter to seven o'clock in the morning when we left the sea of reeds in which we had moored our vessel, which, in the absence of an anchor, is done by fixing a pole on each side of the prow, and one at the stern of the boat. We began our day's voyage by slowly gliding along the river, by the strength of a local current, which ran at the rate of about two miles an hour; but soon our boatmen began to make use of their oars, and we advanced with more rapidity. The open channel was here quite close to the eastern shore, the uniform level of which was broken by a hilly eminence covered with fine fields of millet, when we saw upon our left a smaller arm of the considerable channel running from the southwest. This, on inquiry, I found was in connection with that very water-course which, at a later season, forms the general high road of those people who go from Sarayámo to Timbúktu. Even at this season of the year this branch is preferred by those who come from the north. Having passed this branch we halted awhile at the western shore, where, at a short distance inland, there is a small village called Koito, surrounded by fine trees.

After a short delay we set out again on our zigzag voyage, while one of our boatmen, his harpoon in hand, proceeded on a fishing expedition. From a wide open water we soon got into a narrow channel, while the grassy expanse spread out on each side to a great extent; and, making our way with great difficulty, we emerged into a wide open branch, much more considerable than the one along which our course had lain, it being the principal trunk of the westerly water-course of Sarayámo. As soon as we had entered it, some large specimens of the alligator tribe afforded proofs of a more extensive sheet of water, while the current, which at first was running against us, was so considerable that we advanced rather slowly. The whole breadth of the river or channel, forming one large unbroken sheet of water, was certainly not less. than from 600 to 700 yards, while the depth in the midst of the channel, at least as far I had an opportunity of judging from the

poles of our boatmen, measured fourteen feet and a half, and at times even as much as eighteen, and probably more. The banks were enlivened by men and horses, and we passed an encampment of herdsmen with their cattle. The western shore especially was adorned with a profusion of dúm-palms, besides fine tamarindtrees, sarkakaya, and others of unknown species. Thus repeatedly delayed by shifting sands obstructing the channel of the river, we moved on in a tolerably direct northerly course till we reached the village of Menesengay, situated on sandy downs about twenty feet high, beyond a deep gulf of the westerly shore. The low grassy ground on the eastern side formed the place of resort for numbers of pelicans, and the lower ground emerging at present only three feet out of the water, was enlivened by numbers of water-birds, which were looking out greedily for their prey.

Here we again changed our course, following a great many windings, but proceeding generally in an easterly direction. But now the water-course began to exhibit more and more the character of a noble river, bordered by strongly marked banks, clad with fine timber, chiefly tamarind and kaña trees, and occasionally enlivened by cattle. Our voyage was very delightful, gliding, as we were, smoothly along the surface of the water, and keeping mostly in the middle of the noble stream, our boatmen only changing their course once to touch at the northern shore, in order to procure for a few shells the luxury of some kola-nuts, of which even these poor people were by no means insensible. At length, having passed between the villages of Haibóngu on the northern, and Dára-kaina on the southern shore, we again exchanged our southeasterly direction for a more northerly one, proceeding along a very broad water-course; but, after a while, the open water was broken by a broad grassy island, which left only a small channel on the west side, while that on the east was of tolerable width. Meanwhile the evening was approaching, and we met with several delays, once in order to buy some fish, and another time on account of our boatmen having lost their harpoon, with which they occasionally endeavored to catch some large species of fish which were swimming alongside our boat. They were very dexterous in diving, although it required some time for them to ascertain the spot where the slender instrument had been fixed in the bottom. This harpoon was exactly similar to the double spear used by some divisions of the Batta, one of the tribes of A'damáwa, such as the Bágelé, and even by some of the inhabitants of Bórnu.

We had now entered a splendid reach of the river, which, almost free from reeds, extended in an easterly direction, and we glided pleasantly along the smooth water at a short distance from the northern bank, which was thickly clad with trees; till at length, darkness setting in, we struck right across the whole breadth of the river, which now, in the quiet of the evening, spread out its smooth unrippled surface like a beautiful mirror, and which at this place was certainly not less than 1000 yards broad, straight for the evening fires of the village Banáy, which was situated on the opposite bank, and we moored our vessel at the northeasterly bend of the gulf round which the town is situated. Most of our party slept on shore, while others made themselves as comfortable as possible in the boat, and on the top of the matting which formed the cabins.

Here we awoke the next morning with a beautiful clear sky, and quietly enjoyed for a few hours the fine river scenery, bordered by a rich belt of vegetation, while our boatmen endeavored to replace one of their poles, which they had broken, by a new one, and after some time succeeded in getting one which measured twenty-one feet. The town or village itself is inhabited by Songhay and Fúlbe, the latter being in possession of numerous flocks and herds. The cattle being just collected on the sandy beach, near the river, were milked soon after sunrise, and furnished me with a draught of that delicious beverage, which must always constitute one of the greatest luxuries to a European traveler in these countries.

The chief part of the village extended along the bay to the south, at the point where we had moored our boat; but there was a suburb of detached huts, chiefly inhabited by Tawárek, and this part of the shore was beautifully adorned with large trees. When we at length continued our voyage, we observed also a great many dúm-palms, which served to farther embellish the country, while kadéña, or tóso, seemed to form the staple produce of the inhabitants, and thickly lined the shores. The scenery was the more interesting, as, besides boys who were playing in the water, a numerous herd of cattle were just swimming across the river, which to animals not accustomed to such a task, would have been rather a difficult undertaking; and, even as it was, the people who accompanied them in boats had some difficulty in inducing them to continue their fatiguing trip when they once began to feel exhausted, especially as they were accompanied by their young