CHAP. LVI. KU'LKADA'.—KU'RAYE'. 109 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 learnt that they were Imghád, natives of Tawár Nwaijdúd, the village which 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. March 23rd. I had just mounted my horse, and my Wednesday, camels had gone on 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 favourite 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 loopholes 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, The country on the other side of the March 24th. 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 awhile the ground became rather undulating, and we had to cross several small watercourses, 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 200 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, with a body of about thirty-five well-mounted troopers. This officer, 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 CHAP. LVI. EXPEDITIONARY CORPS. 111 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 'Omár, or Ghomáro, 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 Háusa 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 watercourse, 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 watercourse the cultivation was a little interrupted; but further 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 threefold wall, and the double moat which surrounded the latter, as shown in the woodcut. 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 mounts inside the town. 5. Outer moats of the wall. 6. Situation of my tent. 7. Granite mount outside the town. 8. Open pasture-grounds. 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 loopholes, 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 astonishment of the people we pitched our tent outside, at some distance from the CHAP. LVI. AN AGREEABLE INCIDENT. 113 western gate. Such was the confidence which we placed in our firearms. 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 after noon. 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 band 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 |