large piles, partly sewn into "tákrufa," or matting coverings, we obtained a view of the natron lake, lying before us in the hollow at the foot of the rocky eminence, with its snow-white surface girt all round by a green border of luxuriant vegetation. The sky was far from clear, as is very often the case at this season; and a high wind raised clouds of dust upon the surface of the lake. The border of vegetation was formed by well-kept cottongrounds, which were just in flower, and by kitchen gardens, where derába or Corchorus olitorius was grown, the cultivated ground being broken by dúm bush and rank grass. Crossing this verdant and fertile strip, we reached the real natron lake, when we hesitated some time whether or not we should venture upon its surface; for the crust of natron was scarcely an inch thick, the whole of the ground underneath consisting of black boggy soil, from which the substance separates continually afresh. However, I learned that, while the efflorescence at present consisted of only small bits or crumbled masses, during the time of the biggela, that is to say, at the end of the rainy season, larger pieces are obtained here, though not to be compared with those found in Lake Tsád -the kind of natron which is procured here being called "boktor," while the other quality is called "kilbu tsaráfu." A large provision of natron, consisting of from twenty to twenty-five piles about ten yards in diameter, and four in height, protected by a layer of reeds, was stored up at the northern end of the lake. The whole circumference of the basin, which is called "ábge" by the inhabitants, was one mile and a half. I here changed my course in order to join my people, who had gone on straight to Badamúni. The country at first was agrecably diversified and undulating, the irregular vales being adorned with dúm palms and fig-trees; and cultivation was seen to a great extent, belonging to villages of the territory of Gúshi,* which we left on one side. Presently the country became more open, and suddenly I saw before me a small blue lake, bounded toward the east by an eminence of considerable altitude, and toward the north by a rising ground, on the slope of which a place of considerable extent was stretching out. Coming from the monotonous country of Bórnu, the interest of this locality was greatly enhanced; and the nearer I approached, This territory comprises the following villages: Farilkaia, Górebí, Mataráwa, Tsamaiku, Kachebaré, Yáka, and Báda. The greater part of the inhabitants already belong to the Hausa race, or, as the Kanúri say, "A'funú.” LAKES OF BADAMU'NI. 65 the more peculiar did its features appear to me; for I now discovered that the lake, or rather the two lakes, were girt all round by the freshest border of such a variety of vegetation as is rarely seen in this region of Negroland. We had some difficulty in joining our camels and people, who had pursued the direct road from Keléno; for, having appointed as the spot where we were to meet the northeastern corner of the town of Gadabúni, or Badamúni, toward the lake, we found that it would be extremely difficult for them to get there, and we therefore had to ride backward and forward before we fixed upon a place for our encampment, at the western end of this small luxuriant oasis. On this occasion I obtained only a faint idea of the richness and peculiarity of this locality; but on the following morning I made a more complete survey of the whole place, as well as my isolated situation and the means at my disposal would allow, the result of which is represented in the following woodcut. The whole of the place forms a kind of shallow vale, stretching out in a westeasterly direction, and surrounded on the west, north, and south sides by hills rising from 100 to 200 feet, but bordered toward the east by Mount Shedíka, which rises to about 500 or 600 feet above the general level of the country. In this vale water is found gushing out from the ground in rich, copious springs, and feeds two lakes after irrigating a considerable extent of cultivated ground, where, besides sorghum and millet, cotton, pepper, indigo, and onions are grown. These lakes are united by a narrow channel thickly overgrown with the tallest reeds, but, notwithstanding their junction, are quite of a different nature, the westernmost containing fresh water, while that of the eastern lake is quite brackish, and full of natron. It seems to be a peculiar feature in this region that all the chains of hills and mountains stretch from northeast to southwest, this being also the direction of the lakes. The chief part of the village itself lies on the northwest side of the plantation, on the sloping ground of the downs, while a smaller hamlet borders the gardens on the southwest side. The plantations are very carefully fenced, principally with the bush called mágará, which I have mentioned on former occasions; and besides kúka or monkey-bread-trees, and kórna, or nebek, a few date palms contributed greatly to enliven the scenery. The monkeybread-trees, however, were all of small size, and of remarkably VOL. III.-E 1. Richest source at the southwestern border of the plantation. 2. Open square in the village, adorned with a luxuriant "karáge"-tree. 4. Market-place. slender growth, such as I had not before observed, while the public place or "fage" of the smaller village was adorned by a karágetree of so rich a growth that it even surpassed, if not in height, at least in the exuberance of its foliage, the finest trees of this species which I had seen in the Músgu country. I began my survey of this interesting locality on the south side, FRESH-WATER AND NATRON LAKE. 67 following first the narrow path which separates the southern village from the plantation, and visiting again the principal source, the rich volume of which, gushing along between the hedges, had already excited my surprise and delight the previous day. This lower village can not be very healthy, both on account of its exuberant vegetation, and the quantity of water in which the neighborhood abounds; but its situation is extremely pleasant to the eye. Keeping, then, close along the southern border of the plantation, I reached the eastern edge of the western lake, which is thickly overgrown with papyrus and melés, while, in the narrow space left between the plantation and the lake, the baúre and the gáwasú are the common trees. The presence of the latter at this spot seems very remarkable, as this tree, in general, is looked for in vain in this whole region; and I scarcely remember to have seen it again before reaching the village, a few miles to the northeast of Wurnó, which has thence received its name. The papyrus covers the whole shore at the point of junction of the two lakes, while in the water itself, where it first becomes brackish, another kind of weed was seen, called "kumba," the core of which is likewise eaten by the greater part of the poorer inhabitants, and is more esteemed than the melés. It was highly interesting to me to observe that my young Shúwa companion, who was brought up on the shores of the Tsád, immediately recognized, from the species of reeds, the nature of the water on the border of which they grew, as this mixed character of brackish and sweet water is, exactly in the same manner, peculiar to the outlying smaller basins of that great Central African lagoon.* I found the junction of the two lakes from sixty-five to seventy yards broad, and at present fordable, the water being four feet and a half in depth. The difference in the appearance of the natron lake from that exhibited by the fresh-water basin was remarkable in the extreme, the water of the one being of a dark blue color, and presenting quite a smooth surface, while that of the other resembled the dark green color of the sea, and, agitated by the strong gale, broke splashing and foaming on the shore in mighty billows, so that my two companions, the Shúwa lad and the Hausa boy, whom I had taken with me on this excursion, were quite in ecstasy, having never before witnessed such a spectacle. It would have been a fine spot for a water-party. The * See what I have said on this subject, vol. ii., p. 64. surrounding landscape, with Mount Shedíka in the east, was extremely inviting, although the weather was not very clear, and had been exceedingly foggy in the morning. But there was neither boat nor canoe, although the lake is of considerable depth, and is said always to preserve about the same level; for, according to the superstition of the inhabitants, its waters are inhabited by demons, and no one would dare to expose himself to their pranks, either by swimming or in a boat. The brackish quality of the water arises entirely from the nature of the soil. In the centre it seems to be decidedly of such a quality; but I found that near the border, which is greatly indented, the nature of the water in the different creeks was very varying. In one it was fresh, while in a neighboring one it was not at all drinkable; but, nevertheless, even here there were sometimes wells of the sweetest water quite close to the border. Swarms of water-fowl, of the species called "gármaka" by the Hausa people, and "gubóri" by the Kanúri, together with the black rejíjia and the small sanderling, enlivened the water's edge, where it presented a sandy beach. A little farther on, the melés and kumba were succeeded by the tall bulrush called "bús," while beyond the northeasterly border of the lake an isolated date palm adorned the scenery, which in other respects entirely resembled the shores of the sea, a rich profusion of sea-weed being carried to the bank by the billows. Then succeeded a cotton plantation, which evidently was indebted for its existence to a small brook formed by another source of fresh water which joins the lake from this side. From the end of this plantation, where the natron lake attains its greatest breadth of about a mile and a half, I kept along the bank in a southwesterly direction, till I again reached the narrow junction between the two lakes. Here the shore became very difficult to traverse, on account of an outlying branch of the plantation closely bordering the lake, and I had again to ascend the downs from whence I had enjoyed the view of this beautiful panorama on the previous day. I thus re-entered the principal village from the northeast side; and while keeping along the upper road, which intersects the market-place, I saw with delight that the town is bounded on the north side also by a narrow but very rich vale, meandering along and clad with a profusion of vegetation; and I here observed another spring, which broke forth with almost as powerful a stream as that near the southern quarter, and was en |
