and having successfully overrun the eastern provinces of the Fulfulde or Felláta empire, threatened Kanó. Hence this political position, together with the instigations of the Arabs, who feared for their commerce with Negroland if the road from the south should be opened, will account in some measure for his treatment of the English traveller, who perhaps urged his going to the sheikh of Bórnu with too much energy. However, there is no doubt that Bello's successor and brother, 'Atíku, who ruled from the year 1832 till 1837, would have weakened the interest of the European public in the example which Bello gave of an energetic and generous ruler in those distant and out-of-the-way regions, if his career had become known to them; for he seems to have fully belied the expectation, of "a mean prince," which he raised when still living in his retirement, as a jealous king's brother, without power and influence. But his reign was too short for consolidating sufficiently the loosely-connected empire, although, as long as he lived, full security is said to have reigned. The spirit of independence broke out more strongly under his successor 'Alíyu, a son of Bello by a female slave, who, save a well-meaning and cheerful disposition, does not appear to have inherited many of the noble qualities of his father, and least of all his warlike spirit; and hence the lamentable condition in which I found this extensive kingdom, while there is scarcely any hope that affairs

This is the term which Clapperton uses with regard to him.

CHAP. LVII. PRESENT STATE OF THE EMPIRE. 155

will assume a more consolidated character before another more energetic ruler succeeds to 'Alíyu. Nevertheless the kingdom or empire, even at the present time, still comprises the same provinces which it did at its most flourishing period, with the exception of Khadéja, the governor of which has made himself independent; but the military strength of these provinces, especially as regards cavalry, as well as the amount of revenue, is greatly impaired, although the latter, collected from all the provinces together, certainly exceeds one hundred millions of shells, or about 10,000l. sterling, besides an equal value in slaves and native cloth, or articles of foreign produce. The whole strength of the empire, if the distracted state of each province allowed its quota to be withdrawn from thence, would certainly still form an imposing force,-viz., the cavalry of the seat of government, together with the subjected parts of Kébbi and Zánfara, about 5000; the cavalry of Kanó, from 5000 to 7000; that of Baúchi, from 1500 to 2000; that of Zégzeg, 3000; A'damáwa, 2000; Kátsena and Mésaw, each about 1000; Katágum, 1200; Marmar and Shéra, each 500; Bobéru, 600; Dáura,

There are inspectors of the provinces residing in Sokoto, who are responsible for the tribute being duly delivered. 'Abdú, the son of Gedádo, has all the following provinces under his inspection: Kanó, Zégzeg, A'damáwa, Hamárruwa, Sámbo Degímsa, Katágum, Sámbo-Lé, governed by Yeríma A'hmedu. The ghaladíma A'hmedu has only Kátsena under his inspection; the mágaji inspects Zánfara; Modéggel, Baúchi; Yéron Sambo, Kazáure, the province of Démbo; Dennil Jódi, Dáura.

400; Kazáure, about 200. But we have seen to what a state Zánfara is at present reduced, while the curious manner in which Kébbi is portioned out between the rulers of Sókoto and Gando* cannot fail to cause a great deal of jealousy and controversy between the two courts, at the very centre of power; and as for A'damáwa, there are still so many hostile elements in the interior of that half-subdued province, that it is impossible to withdraw from thence a particle of its home force; nay, even the province of Kanó is so harassed and distracted by the continual inroads of the governor of Khadéja, that the ruler of that province is scarcely able to send a few hundred horsemen to join the army of his liege lord. We have seen how that same rebel governor of Khadéja repeatedly defeated a numerous host taken from almost all the provinces of the empire, which had been sent against him; and we shall see what were the inglorious manœuvrings of 'Aliyu himself, when he led out, in person, his army against the enemy during my stay in Wurno, of which I shall now proceed to give a short diary.

Having entered my quarters in the dark, Monday, April 4th. I had no idea of their character; and it was not till the following day that I became aware of it. They consisted, as shown in the accompanying wood-cut, of a spacious courtyard containing nothing but a clay building, which comprised two apart

* See Appendix IV.

CHAP. LVII. MY QUARTERS IN WURNO.

157

ments, besides a small granary, built of clay, but which was covered all round with straw at the

1. Entrance hut or parlour, furnished with two seats of clay and two couches of the same material.

2. Second hut, without couches.

3. Open courtyard, overgrown with grass.

4. Hut for my chief servant.

5. Clay hall, with a store-room at the back. 6. Small granary.

setting-in of the rainy season, in order to protect it from violent rains. The clay hall had been built by A'bú, the elder brother and the predecessor of the present ghaladíma, who greatly surpassed the latter in warlike energy, and who fell in Zánfara during that unfortunate expedition against the Góberáwa, the preparations for which Mr. Overweg witnessed during his stay in Marádi, in the beginning of the summer of 1851. The principal apartment of this clay hall, supported by two massive columns, with

an average temperature of 94°, was an excellent abode during the hottest part of the day, when it felt very cool and pleasant; but it was rather oppressive in the morning and evening, when the air outside was so much cooler. But in the courtyard there was not the slightest shade, all the trees in this quarter of the town, as well as the huts consisting of reed, having been swept away by a great conflagration the preceding year, a young kórna tree, which had been planted at a later period, only just beginning to put forth its foliage. The whole courtyard, also, was in a most filthy state, characteristic of the manners of the natives in their present degraded moral and political situation. The first thing, therefore, that I had to do, in order to make myself tolerably comfortable, was to cleanse out this Augean stable, to build a hut for my servants, and a shady retreat for myself. I was well aware that the latter, which it was not easy to make water-tight, would become useless with the first considerable fall of rain; but I entertained the hope that, before that time, I should be able to set out on my journey.

It was market-day, there being a market held here every Monday and Friday, although the great market of Sokoto, which is much more important, even in the present reduced condition of that place, still serves to supply the wants of the inhabitants of all the neighbouring towns and villages at large. Sending, therefore, into the market in order to supply my most urgent wants, I found that corn, as well as