called "dodówa," with which they season their food.* Next to this tree another one, which I had not seen before, called here "rúnhu," and at present full of small yellow blossoms, was most common. The first day we made only a short march of about three miles, to a village called Kabakáwa, where the ghaladíma had taken up his quarters. I had scarcely dismounted, under a tree at the side of the village, when my protector called upon me, and in a very friendly manner invited me, urgently, to take up my quarters inside the village, stating that the neighborhood was not quite safe, as the Góberáwa had carried away three women from this very village the preceding day. I, however, preferred my tent and the open air, and felt very little inclination to confide my valuable property, on which depended entirely the success of my enterprise, to the huts, which are apt to catch fire at any moment; for, while I could not combat against nature, I had confidence enough in my arms and in my watchfulness not to be afraid of thieves and robbers.t In the afternoon the ghaladíma came out of the hamlet, and took his seat under a neighboring tree, when I returned his visit of the morning, and endeavored to open with him and his companions a free and unrestrained intercourse; for I was only too happy to get out of the hands of the lawless governor of Kátsena, who, I felt convinced, would not have been deterred by any scruples from possessing himself of my riches; indeed, he had gone so far as to tell me that if I possessed any thing of value, such as pistols handsomely mounted, I should give them to him rather than to the Sultan of Sókoto, for that he himself was the emír el Múmenín; nay, he even told me that his liege lord was alarmed at the sight of a pistol. Tuesday, March 22d. In order to avoid the enemy, we were obliged, instead of following a westerly direction, to keep at first directly southward. The country through which our road lay was very beautiful. The dorówa, which the preceding day had formed the principal ornament of the landscape, in the first part of this day's march gave place entirely to other trees, such as tall rími or bentang-tree, the kúka or monkey-bread-tree, and the deléb palm or gigiña (Borassus flabelliformis?); but beyond the village of * See the description which Clapperton gives of the manner in which these cakes are prepared. (Denham and Clapperton's Travels, ii. p. 125.) The wells here were eight fathoms. Dóka, the dorówa, which is the principal tree of the provinces of Kátsena and Záriya, again came prominently forward, while the kadéña also, or butter-tree, and the alléluba, afforded a greater variety to the vegetation. The alléluba (which, on my second stay at Kanó, I saw in full blossom) bears a small fruit, which the natives eat, but which I never tried myself. Even the dúm palm, with its fan-shaped yellow-colored foliage, gave occasionally greater relief to the fresher vegetation around. The country was populous and well cultivated, and extensive tobacco-grounds and large fields of yams or gwáza were seen, both objects being almost a new sight to me; for tobacco, which I had been so much surprised to see cultivated to such an extent in the country of the pagan Músgu, is scarcely grown at all in Bórnu, with the exception of Zínder, and I had first observed it largely cultivated near the town of Kátsena, while yams, as I have already had repeatedly occasion to mention, are not raised at all in Central Negroland. Numerous herds of cattle were seen dotting the landscape, and contributed largely to the interest of the scenery. But the district of Maje especially, which we traversed after a march of about seven miles, impressed me with the highest opinion of the fertility and beauty of this country. Here, also, we met a troop of Itísan with their camels. Having then proceeded for about two miles through a more open and well-cultivated country, with extensive cotton-grounds, large plantations of indigo, and wide fields planted with sweet potatoes, or dánkali, we reached the village called Kúlkadá, where the governor of Kátsena had taken up his quarters; but, leaving this outlaw at a respectful distance, we followed in the track of the ghaladíma, who had been obliged to seek for quarters in a small Tawárek hamlet at the distance of a mile and a half toward the southeast-a remarkable resting-place for a party proceeding to the westward. The heat was very great; and the dorówa-trees, with their scanty acacia-like foliage, which, besides a few gondatrees (Carica Papaya) and a solitary ngábbore, were the only members of the vegetable kingdom here seen, afforded but insufficient shade, the dryness of the country being the more felt, as the supply of water was rather limited. I was hospitably treated in the evening, not only by the ghaladíma, who sent me a sheep, but even by the inhabitants of the hamlet, who came to visit me in large numbers. I learned that they were Imghád, natives of Tawár Nwaijdúd, the village which KULKADA'.--KU’RAYE'. 91 I passed on my road from Tintéllust to A'gades,* and that they had seen me in A'sben, and knew all about my affairs. They were settled here as tenants. Wednesday, March 23d. I had just mounted my horse, and my camels had gone in advance, when a messenger arrived, who had been sent after me from Kátsena, bringing a letter from Mr. Gagliuffi, her majesty's agent in Múrzuk, a mere duplicate of a letter already received, with reference to the sending of the box (which, however, did not reach me), but not a single line from Europe. We had to retrace our road all the way to Kúlkadá, and from thence, after a march of about six miles through a dense forest, reached the walled town of Kúrayé, and, not being aware that the country on the other side was more open and offered a far better camping-ground, pitched our tent on that side whence we had come, not far from the market-place, consisting of several rows of stalls or sheds. A market was held in the afternoon, and we bought grain and onions, but looked in vain for the favorite fruit of the tamarind-tree, to which we were greatly indebted for the preservation of our health. The town was of considerable size, and contained from 6000 to 7000 inhabitants, but no clay buildings. The wall was in excellent repair, and well provided with loop-holes for the bowmen, and it was even strengthened by a second wall, of lesser height, on the outside. The town has three gates. The wells were three fathoms in depth. Thursday, March 24th. The country on the other side of the town of Kúrayé seemed to surpass in beauty the district which we had left behind us; and the bentang-tree, the sacred tree of the former pagan inhabitants, rose here to its full majestic growth, while, besides the dorówa and the butter-tree, the ngábbore (or sycamore) and the dúnnia appeared in abundance. The cultivation was here limited to sorghum or Indian millet. After a while the ground became rather undulating, and we had to cross several small water-courses, at present dry, while boulders of granite protruded here and there. The path was enlivened by the several troops of horsemen which constituted our expeditionary corps. There was first the governor of Kátsena himself, with a body of about two hundred horse; then there was an auxiliary squadron of about fifty horse, sent by Démbo, the governor of Kazáure; and lastly Káura, the serkí-n-yáki, or commander-in-chief of Kátsena, * See vol. i., p. 313. with a body of about thirty-five well-mounted troopers. This of ficer, at the present time, is the most warlike man in the province of Kátsena, and had greatly contributed to the overthrow and disgrace of Sadíku, the former governor, in the hope that the government of the province might fall to his share; but he had been sadly disappointed in his expectations. As for the ghaladíma, he had about twenty mounted companions, the most warlike among whom was a younger brother of his, of the name of 'Omar, or Ghomaro, who was descended from a Púllo mother, and, on account of his noble birth, had better claims to the office of ghaladíma than his brother. Most of these troopers were very fantastically dressed, in the Hausa fashion, and in a similar manner to those I have described on a former occasion. Some of the horses were fine, strong animals, although in height they are surpassed by the Bórnu horses. We watered our cattle in a kúrremi or dry water-course, which contained a number of wells from one fathom to a fathom and a half in depth, and was beautifully skirted with deléb palms, while a granite mound on its eastern shore rose to an altitude of from eighty to a hundred feet. I ascended it, but did not obtain a distant view. Near this water-course the cultivation was a little interrupted; but farther on the country became again well cultivated, broken here and there by some underwood, while the monkey-bread-tree, the dúm palm, great numbers of a species of acacia called "árred," and the "merké" dotted the fields. The latter tree, which I have mentioned on a former occasion, bears a fruit which, when mixed with the common native grain, is said to preserve horses from worms. Thus we reached the town of Kúrrefi, or Kúlfi, and were not a little puzzled by the very considerable outworks, consisting of moats, which the inhabitants had thrown up in front of their town, besides the three-fold wall, and the double moat which surrounded the latter, as shown in the opposite wood-cut. The town was said to have been founded only three years before, being peopled from the remains of other places which were destroyed by the enemy. It may contain from 8000 to 9000 inhabitants, but it had recently suffered from a conflagration. The wall was full of loop-holes, and it had a gate on each side except the eastern one. Having made our way with great difficulty through the moats, instead of taking up our quarters inside the wall, to the great AN AGREEABLE INCIDENT. 93 astonishment of the people we pitched our tent outside, at some distance from the western gate. Such was the confidence which we placed in our fire-arms. A rocky eminence, such as are met with also inside the town, started up at some little distance from our camping-ground; and a majestic dorówa, the largest tree of this species which I saw on my journey, shaded the place to a considerable extent, but attracted a number of people, who disturbed my privacy. The ghaladíma had taken a northerly road, to the town of Tsaúrí, which he had recently founded, and did not arrive till the afternoon. 1. Outer entrance, leading into a large square surrounded with a double moat, and containing three huts for the guards. 2. Second entrance, leading from this outwork through the outer moat which surrounds the town. 3. Gate leading into the projecting angle of the wall, from which a second gate leads into the town. 4. Granite mounds inside the town. 5. Outer moats of the wall. 6. Situation of my tent. 7. Granite mount outside the town. 8. Open pasture-grounds. Friday, March 25th. On mounting my horse in the morning to pursue my march, a Púllo came up to me and handed me a letter, which he begged me to take to a relative of his in Timbúktu. This showed his full confidence in my success, and it did not fail to inspire me with the same feeling. The inhabitants of the town marched out their bands of musicians, who played a farewell to us; and the several troops of horsemen, in their picturesque attire, thronged along the path winding between the granite mounds which broke the level on all sides. Groups of deléb and dúm palms towered, with their fan-shaped foliage, over the whole scenery. We had now entered the more unsafe border country between the Mohammedans and pagans while changing our direction from south to west, and the cultivation was less extensive, although even here a little cotton was to be seen. After a march of about eight miles we traversed the site of a deserted town called Takabáwa, inclosed between rocky cliffs on all sides, and at present changed into a large cotton-ground, the inhabitants having sought |