THE VALLEY OF SO'KOTO.

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following year! A number of small boats were lying here, at the side of the narrow channel, but all of them separated into two halves, which had to be sewn together when their services were required for the rainy season. From this point I crossed over to the road leading to the village of Koré, where, two days later, a party of Kélgeres made a foray; and, returning along this road toward the town, at a distance of about five hundred yards from the wall, we crossed another small arm of the river, which, during the rainy season, forms an extensive swamp. Leaving then the kófa-n-Koré on our right, we turned round the northeastern corner of the wall, and ascended toward the kófa-n-Marké, which has received this name from a tree of the marké kind, although at present none are to be seen here. Annexed is a sketch of a ground-plan of the town.

1. Market-place.

SO'KOTO.

2. House of Gedádo, at present 'Abdú.

3. House of Bello, now of 'Aliyu, very much in decay.

4. House of 'Atiku, at present Hámedu, and close to it the mosque built by Gedádo, now in ruins. 5. Kófa-n-Koré.

8. Kófa-n-'Ali Jédu.

11. Kófa-n-Rimi.

9. Kófa-n-'Atiku.

6. Kófa-n-Dúnday.

12. Kófa-n-Marké.

7. Kófa-n-Kadé. 10. Kófa-n-Tarámnia. 13. Suburb.

Altogether my visit to Sókoto formed a most interesting intermezzo to my involuntary stay in the capital, although it could not fail to give me a farther insight into the frail character of the dominion of the Fúlbe over these regions; and during my stay here I certainly had no cause to complain of inhospitable treatment, as my friend Módibo 'Alí sent me every day a large basin of furá, the favorite drink of ghussub water, two dishes of hasty pudding, and two bowls of milk. Having given, by this excursion to the former capital, fresh energy to my spirits, I returned to my quar

ters in Wurnó on the 24th, accomplishing the distance in little more than four hours; and it was time that I returned, for in the evening of that same day the joyful news arrived that the sultan had reached Gándi. However, he did not enter Wurnó till the 23d, having forwarded a message to me the preceding evening from Yan-serkí, in the territory of Rába, requesting me to meet him the following morning outside the town. In consequence of this, I mounted on horseback with the first dawn of day, but found the sultan already close to the gate, descending the rocky path which leads from the above-mentioned place. He then made a halt with his whole suite, and saluted me in the kindest manner, calling me by my name, 'Abd el Kerím. The sultan was followed by the ghaladíma; and I here first made the acquaintance of the learned 'Abd el Káder dan Taffa (Mustapha), whom I was most anxious to see, in order to obtain from him some historical information. As soon as the people had dispersed quietly, returning to their various quarters, I sent him a present, when he paid me a visit in the evening, and furnished me immediately with some positive data with regard to the history of the dynasty of the Asáki or A'skia, the rulers of Songhay, which he had perfectly in his head, and which were of the greatest importance in giving me an insight into the historical relation of the western countries of these regions with that of Central Negroland.

April 29th. In the forenoon I went to 'Alíyu, in order to pay my compliments to him upon his safe return from this expedition, which, although not very glorious, had yet proved not quite unprofitable, he having reduced to subjection the poor little hamlets of the rocky district of Kotórkoshé, the inhabitants of which had previously placed themselves under the protection of the enemy; but even this insignificant victory he had only achieved through the bravery of the horsemen from Kátsena, while his own men had, as usual, exhibited the greatest cowardice. As long as the Fúlbe do not defeat the host of the Góberáwa, who take the field every year and offer them battle, the state of this empire will become daily worse and worse, while at present each of the two parties, the indigenous inhabitants as well as the conquerors, do nothing but accelerate the ruin of the country, without dealing a decided blow.

Although I had made the chief a very respectable present on my first arrival, I thought it well to give greater impulse to his friendly disposition toward me by adding something also this time,

presenting him with a cloth waistcoat and several smaller articles, besides a musical box, with the performance of which he was extremely pleased; but, unfortunately, when, anxious to impart his delight to his greatest friend and principal minister, 'Abdú, the son of Gedádo, he had called the latter to witness this wonder, the mysterious box, affected by the change of climate and the jolting of the long journey, was silent for a moment, and would not play. may observe here that I think it better for travelers not to make such presents as musical boxes, which so easily get out of order. The sultan fully granted my request for a speedy departure, promising also to assist me in my dangerous undertaking with a small "rékkia" or escort; and it was very essential to me to hasten my proceedings, as the following day brought the first evident proof of the approach of the rainy season.

I

Having made a present to the ghaladíma also, I thought it bet ter, in order to make up for the deficiency of the musical box, to satisfy the musical taste of the sultan by making him a present of one of the harmonica which the Chevalier Bunsen, in consideration of the great effect which the Rev. Mr. Knoblecher had produced with the aid of such an instrument upon the inhabitants of the shores of the Nile, had procured for me; but I succeeded afterward in repairing, in some measure, the musical box, which caused the good-natured chief inexpressible delight, so that he lost no time in writing for me a commendatory letter to his nephew Khalílu, the chief of Gando. But I was extremely anxious to get away from this place, as I was sorely pestered by begging-parties, the inhabitants of Wurnó and Sokoto being the most troublesome beggars in the world, and besides them there being also many strangers in the town, especially the Kélgeres, who had brought the salt.

I was sitting one day in the entrance-hall of my house, in the company of some of these sons of the desert, when Góme, the brother of the Sultan 'Abd el Káder, from A'gades, who had lately been dethroned in order to make way for a new chief, A'hmed e' Rufáy, called upon me, and, with a very important and mysterious air, requested me to give him a private audience. After I had dismissed my other visitors, he began by reminding me of the kind manner in which his brother had received me, and finished by urgently begging me to use my influence in order to restore 'Abd el Káder to his former dignity. I had great difficulty in convincing him that I had very little influence with the emír el

Múmenín, and that I was afraid my intercession would have little or no effect, although, as well by way of private acknowledgment for the kindness of my host in that place, where I began to acquire more confidence in the success of my proceedings, as from a persuasion of the influence which a great service rendered by me to this man would have upon my future prospects, I should have desired nothing better than to be the means of reinstating him in his former position.

Among the people who sought my acquaintance there was also Khalílu dan Hassan, one of the presumptive heirs to the royal power-Hassan being a younger brother of Bello-a young man of gentlemanly manners, but not of a very generous disposition, as he plainly evinced on my home journey the following year, when he wanted to oblige me to send him, after my safe return home, a pair of pistols in exchange for a black shirt scarcely worth 5000 shells, or two dollars.

All this time I had employed my leisure hours in reading a manuscript work which had given me the first insight into the history of the western portion of these Féllani dominions. It had been composed by 'Abd Alláhi, the brother of 'Othman the Reformer, to whom the western portion of the conquered region was awarded as his share. But, although this work, the title of which is "Tezén el aúrekát," contained, besides a great deal of theological matter, some important historical data, it did not satisfy my curiosity, and I had been endeavoring in vain to obtain the work of Bello, entitled "Infák el misúrí fi fat-há el Tekrúri," which had been earnestly recommended to me by my friend the fáki 'Abd el Káder in Kátsena; but I did not succeed in getting it into my hands till a few days before I left this place, when I found that the greater part of its contents, which had any geographical or his- · torical importance, were identical with those documents brought back by Captain Clapperton on his first journey, and which have been partly translated by Mr. Salame in the appendix to the account of those travels.

Meanwhile the country became more unsafe; and on the 5th of May the cattle of the village of Saláme were driven off by the people of Chéberi, to the great loss of my friend 'Abd el Káder dan Taffa, who had considerable property there; but strongly reminded of the effects of the rainy season by a heavy shower which fell on the 6th, driving me out of my cool shed, I urged my departure, and in the afternoon of the 8th took leave of 'Alíyu with a