CHAPTER LXXXV.

REAL START.-SMALL PARTY.

AT length, on the 4th of May, I left the town and encamped outside, close in front of the gate. The sheikh had also given me another camel, and a young and rather weak horse, which did not seem very fit for such a journey, and which, in the sequel, proved rather a burden than otherwise to me. In this spot I remained some days, waiting for my fellow-traveler Kólo, who was still detained in the town, so that I did not take leave of the sheikh until the 9th of the month, when he received me with great kindness, but was by no means backward in begging for several articles to be sent to him, especially a small cannon, which was rather out of comparison with the poor present which he had bestowed upon myself. However, he promised me that I should still receive another camel from him, of which I stood greatly in need, although I had made up for one which was lost during my stay before the gate of the town, through the carelessness of A'bbega, by buying a fresh camel at the last moment of my departure. It was for this purpose that I took the sum of thirty dollars from the 1000 dollars brought by the caravan, and which I was anxious to leave behind for the use of Mr. Vogel. Altogether I was extremely unfortunate with my camels, and lost a third one before I had proceeded many miles from the town, so that I was obliged to throw away several things with which my people had overladen my animals.

Our move from Dáwerghú in the afternoon of the 10th was very inauspicious; and while a heavy thunder-storm was raging, enveloping every thing in impenetrable darkness, only occasionally illumined by the flashes of lightning, I lost my people, and had great difficulty in joining them again. Having then moved on by very short marches as far as Nghurútuwa, through a finely wooded valley called Hénderi Gálliram, we pitched our tents on the 14th of May near the town of Yó, where, to my utmost disappointment, we had to stay the five following days, during which the interesting character of the komádugu, which at present did not contain a drop of water, with its border of vegetation, afford

ed me but insufficient entertainment. It would, however, have been curious for any European who had adhered to the theory of the great eastern branch of the Niger flowing along this bed from the Tsád, to see us encamped in the dry bottom of this valley. At all events, oppressed as I had been all the time by the apprehension that something might still occur to frustrate my departure, I deemed it one of the happiest moments of my life when, in the afternoon of Saturday the 19th, we at length left our station at this northern frontier of Bórnu, in the present reduced state of that kingdom, and I turned my back with great satisfaction upon these countries where I had spent full five years in incessant toil and exertion. On retracing my steps northward I was filled with the hope that a merciful Providence would allow me to reach home in safety, in order to give a full account of my labors and discoveries, and, if possible, to follow up the connections which I had established with the interior for opening regular intercourse with that continent.

Our first day's march from here, however, was far from being auspicious; for, having met with frequent delays and stoppages, such as are common at the commencement of a journey, and darkness having set in, the three monkeys which I wished to take with me, by their noise and cries, frightened the camels so much that they started off at a gallop, breaking several things, and, among others, a strong musket. I saw, therefore, that nothing was to be done but to let loose these malicious little creatures, which, instead of remaining quiet, continually amused themselves with loosening all the ropes with which the luggage was tied on the backs of the animals. Having encamped this night at a late hour, we reached, the following morning, the town of Barruwa, and remained here the whole day, in order to provide ourselves with the dried fish which is here prepared in large quantities, and which constitutes the most useful article for procuring the necessary supplies in the Tebu country. The Dáza, or Búlgudá, who were to join us on the march, had been encamped in this spot since the previous day. From here we pursued our road to Ngégimi; but the aspect of the country had greatly changed since I last traversed it on my return from Kánem, the whole of the road which I at that time followed being now covered with water, the great inundation of the Tsád not having yet retired within its ordinary boundaries. The whole shore seemed to have given way and sunk a few feet. Besides this changed aspect of

the country, several hamlets of Kánembú cattle-breeders, such as represented in the accompanying wood-cut, caused great relief and animation.

It was also interesting to observe the Búdduma, the pirate inhabitants of the islands of the lagune, busily employed in their peculiar occupation of obtaining salt from the ashes of the "siwák," or the Capparis sodata. Having rested during the hot hours of the day, we took up our quarters in the evening just beyond a temporary hamlet of these islanders; for although watchfulness, even here, was very necessary in order to guard against any thievish attempt, yet, in general, the Búdduma seem to be on good terms with the Tebu, with whom they appear to have stood in intimate political connection from ancient times.

Tuesday, May 22d. At the distance of only a mile from our encampment we passed, close on our left, the site of Wúdi, enliv ened by a few date palms, the whole open grassy plain to the right, over which our former road to Kánem had lain, being enveloped in a wider or narrower strip of water. Having halted again, at the beginning of the hot hours, in a well-wooded tract, we observed in the afternoon a herd of elephants, which passed the heat of the day comfortably in the midst of the water, and among the number a female with her young. Farther on we

NGE'GIMI.

605 were met by a troop of five buffaloes, an animal which, during my former journey, I had not observed near the lake.

Thus we reached the new village of Ngégimi, which was built on the slope of the hills, the former town having been entirely swept away by the inundation. Here we remained the forenoon of the following day, the encampment being enlivened by a great number of women from the village, offering for sale fish in a fresh and dried state, besides a few fowls, milk, and "témmari," the seeds of the cotton-plant; but, with the exception of a few beads for adorning their own sable persons, they were scarcely willing to receive any thing besides corn. I was glad to see, instead of the ugly Bórnu females, these more symmetrical figures of the Kánembú ladies, the glossy blackness of whose skin was agreeably relieved by their white teeth as well as by their beads of the same color. Our friends the Dáza, who five weeks previously had been driven back by the Tawárek, had recovered here their luggage, which on that occasion they had hastily deposited with the villagers when making an attempt to cross the desert. They were here to separate from us for a time, as, for some reason or other, they wanted to pursue a more westerly track, leading by the Bír el Hammám, or Metémmi, which is mentioned by the former expedition, while our friend Kólo was bent upon keeping nearer the shores of the lagune, by way of Kíbbo.

After a short conversation with the chief of the place, the MayNgégimibe, we set out in the afternoon, and, proceeding at a slow rate, as the camels were very heavily laden, we passed, after a march of about eight miles, along a large open creek of the lagune, and, having met some solitary travelers coming from Kánem, encamped, about eight in the evening, on rather uneven ground, and kept alternate watch during the night.

Thursday, May 24th. Starting at a very early hour, we soon ascended hilly ground, but, after we had proceeded some miles, were greatly frightened by the sight of people on our right, when we three horsemen pursued them till we had driven them to the border of the lake; for this whole tract is so very unsafe that a traveler may feel certain that the few people whom he meets on the road, unless they bear distinctly the character of travelers like himself, will betray him to some predatory band. Having proceeded about nine miles, we halted near an outlying creek of the lake, the water of which was fresh, although most of these creeks contain brackish water. When we continued our march in the

afternoon, we passed another creek, or rather a separate lake, and, winding along a narrow path made by the elephants, which are here very numerous, reached, after a march of a little more than ten miles, the leafy vale, or "hénderi," of Kíbbo, and encamped on the opposite margin. This locality is interesting, as constituting, apparently, the northern limit of the white ant. We, however, were prevented by the darkness from making use of the well, as these vales are full of wild beasts, and we were therefore obliged to remain here the forenoon of the following day, a circumstance which was not displeasing to me, as I did not feel at all well, and was obliged to have recourse to my favorite remedy of tamarind-water. We pursued our march before the sun had attained its greatest power, but met with frequent stoppages, the slaves of our Tebu companions, who were heavily laden and suffering from the effects of the water, being scarcely able to keep up; a big fellow even lay down never to rise again. Indeed, it would seem as if the Tebu treated their slaves more cruelly than even the Arabs, making them carry all sorts of articles, especially their favorite dried fish.

After a march of not more than twelve miles, we halted some distance to the east of the well of Kufé, and were greatly excited in consequence of the approach of our fellow-travelers the Dáza, whom, at the moment, we did not at first recognize. This locality was also regarded so unsafe for a small caravan, that we started again soon after midnight, and halted after a march of about fifteen miles, when we met a courier coming from Kawár with the important news that Hassan Bashá, the Governor of Fezzán, who had been suffering from severe illness for several years, had at length succumbed, and that the E'fedé, that turbulent tribe on the northern frontier of A'sben, which had caused us such an immense deal of trouble in the first part of our expedition, had undertaken a foray to Tibésti, a piece of news which influenced our own proceedings very considerably, as we were thus exposed to the especial danger of falling in with this predatory band, besides the danger which in general attaches to the passage through this extensive desert tract, which extends from Negroland to the cultivated zone of North Africa. It was this circumstance, together with the great heat of the midday hours at this hottest part of the year, which obliged us, without the least regard to our own comfort, to travel the greater part of the night, so that I was unable to rectify and complete, in general, the observations of the former