He was again attacked with illness, but, recovering, prepared to set out
for Kukawa, where he had arranged with Mr Richardson to arrive in the
beginning of April. The capital of the large province of Sackatoo
contains sixty thousand inhabitants during the busy time of the year,
about four thousand of whom belong to the nation by whom the people were
conquered. The principal commerce consists in native produce, viz.,
cotton cloth, woven and dyed here and in the neighbouring towns in the
forms either of _tobes_, the oblong piece of dress of dark colour worn
by the women, or plaids of various colours, and the black _litham_. A
large portion of it is sent to Timbuctoo, amounting to three hundred
camel-loads annually, thus bringing considerable wealth to the
population, for both cotton and indigo are produced and prepared in the
country. Leathern sandals are also made with great neatness and
exported in large quantities. Tanned hides and red sheep-skins are sent
even as far as Tripoli. The chief article of African produce sold in
the Kano market is the kola-nut, which has become to the natives as
necessary as coffee or tea to Europeans. The slave trade is an
important branch of commerce, though the number annually exported from
Kano does not exceed five thousand; but very many are sold into domestic
slavery, either to the inhabitants of the province itself or to those of
the adjoining districts.
The greatest proportion of European goods is still imported by the
northern road; but the natural road by way of the great eastern branch
of the so-called Niger will in the course of events be soon opened. The
doctor deeply regretted that after the English had opened that noble
river to the knowledge of Europe, they allowed it to fall into the hands
of the American slave-dealers, who began to inundate Central Africa with
American produce, receiving slaves in return. Happily an end has come
to this traffic. The English did not appear to be aware of what was
going on. Space will not allow us to speak further of the various
articles of commerce. The principal English goods brought to the market
of Kano are bleached and unbleached calicoes and cotton prints from
Manchester, French silks, and red cloth from Saxony, beads from Venice
and Trieste, a coarse kind of silk from Trieste, paper, looking-glasses,
needles and small ware from Nuremberg, sword blades from Solingen,
razors from Styria. It is remarkable that so little English merchandise
is seen in this great emporium of Negroland.
On the 9th of March the doctor, with immense satisfaction, mounted on
his ugly little black nag, rode out of Kano. He had but one servant,
his faithful Gatroni, to load his three camels. He was, however,
attended by a horseman to see him to the frontier of the Kano territory.
The latter, being showily dressed and well mounted, gave himself all
possible airs as they rode through the narrow streets into the open
fields. Hence he took an easterly course towards Bornou proper.
After passing a number of interesting places, on the 22nd of March the
doctor entered the region of Bornou proper. It is here that the
dum-palm exclusively grows in Negroland.
He enjoyed an interesting and cheerful scene of African life in the
open, straggling village of Calemri, amid which, divided into two
distinct groups by a wide, open space, were numerous herds of cattle
just being watered. How melancholy came afterwards the recollection of
that busy scene, when on his return, three and a half years later, he
found it an insecure wilderness, infested by robbers, the whole of the
inhabitants having been swept away!
On the 24th, as he was approaching a more woody district than he had
hitherto passed, a richly-dressed person rode up to him and gave him the
sad intelligence of the death of Mr Richardson at Kukawa. He still
could scarcely believe the news; but it was confirmed afterwards by
another party of horsemen whom he met. At first he felt as if the death
of Mr Richardson involved the return of the mission; but after some
consideration he resolved to persevere by himself. On the 2nd of April,
pushing on ahead of his camels, on horseback, he approached Kukawa, or
Kouka, the capital of Bornou. Proceeding towards the white clay wall
which encircles the town, he entered the gate, gazed at by a number of
people, who were greatly surprised when he enquired for the residence of
the sheikh. Passing the daily market, crowded with people, he rode to
the palace, which bordered a large promenade on the east. It was
flanked by a mosque, a building of clay with a tower on one side, while
houses of grandees enclosed the place on the north and south sides.
On approaching the house of the vizier, to whom he had been directed, he
found assembled before it about two hundred gorgeously-dressed horsemen.
The vizier, who was just about to mount his horse in order to pay his
daily visit to the sheikh, saluted him cheerfully and told him that he
had already known him from the letter which had been despatched. While
he rode to the sheikh he ordered one of the people to show the doctor
his quarters.
Some days passed before he was introduced to the sheikh. In the
meantime he had a good deal of trouble regarding the means of paying Mr
Richardson's servants. By great firmness he obtained possession of all
Mr Richardson's property, which would otherwise have been appropriated
by the chiefs. He found the sheikh reclining upon a divan in a fine,
airy hall. He was of a glossy black colour, with regular features, but
a little too round to be expressive; dressed in a light _tobe_, with a
bournous wrapped round his shoulder, and a dark red shawl round his head
with great care.
The doctor spent a considerable time in Kukawa, devoting himself to the
study of the language, and making enquiries about the surrounding
country. Kukawa was not so bustling a place as Kano, but thickly
inhabited, and on market-day crowded with people.
He became acquainted with many visitors to the place, among them a
_hadji_, Ibrahim. On one occasion Ibrahim, being unwell, asked the
doctor for medicine, and received in return five doses, which he was to
take on successive days; but Ibrahim, being in a great hurry to get
well, took the whole at once, and was very nearly dying in consequence--
an event which would have placed the doctor in a very dangerous
position.
His stay at Kukawa was agreeably interrupted by an excursion to Ngornu
in which he accompanied the sheikh, and from thence paid a visit to the
shores of Lake Chad. Attended by two horsemen and his servants, he set
out for the lake. After an hour's ride they reached swampy ground, and
had to make their way through the water, often up to their knees on
horseback. After the dry and dreary journey over sands, he found it
very pleasant thus wading through deep water. Two boats were seen with
men in them, watching evidently to carry off into slavery any of the
blacks who might come to cut reeds on the banks of the lagoon. Further
on they reached another creek inhabited by hippopotami, which were
snorting about in every direction, and by two species of crocodile.
There were no elephants seen, however, as that animal always likes to
secure a dry couch on the sand, elevated above swampy ground, where it
may be free from mosquitoes. On the northern part of the lake, where
there are ranges of low sand-hills, immense herds are to be met with.
At the village of Maduwari, he made the acquaintance of a chief, Fugo
Ali, who treated him with great kindness and continued his friend ever
afterwards. It was at his house, a year and a half later, poor Dr
Overweg was destined to expire. Accompanying Fugo Ali, he made a long
excursion in the neighbourhood of the lake, which is difficult to be
reached, as it is surrounded by forests of reeds and broad creeks. He,
however, got to one of these, a fine, open sheet of water, now agitated
by a light east wind, which sent the waves rippling on the shore. The
surface was covered with water-plants, and numberless flocks of fowl of
every description played about. To reach it he had to pass through very
deep water which covered his saddle, though he was mounted on a tall
horse; and one of his companions on a little pony was swamped
altogether, his head and his gun alone being visible from time to time.
The inhabitants on the shores of the lake subsist chiefly on fish, which
they catch in an ingenious way. The fisherman takes two large gourds,
which he connects by a bamboo of sufficient length to allow him to sit
astraddle between them. He then launches forth on the water, taking his
nets. These are weighted by little leathern bags, filled with sand and
supported by bits of bamboo. Having shot his net, he paddles about with
his hands, driving the fish into it, and then, taking them out, kills
them with a club, and throws them into the gourds. When they are full,
he returns to the shore.
Returning to Kukawa, Dr Barth found encamped outside the town a large
slave caravan. There were seven hundred and fifty slaves in the
possession of the merchants who went with it. Slaves were at that time
the principal export from Bornou.
Soon after this Dr Overweg arrived, looking greatly fatigued and much
worse than when the doctor parted from him four months before.
On the 29th of May, 1851, Dr Barth and Dr Overweg set out on a journey
to Adamawa, in the south. As they advanced their camels were objects of
great curiosity and wonder to the natives, that animal seldom getting
thus far south, as it will not bear the climate for any length of time.
The country was generally level, with high conical mountains, separated
from each other, rising out of it. Though at first swampy, it became
woody and well-watered, in many parts densely inhabited, with numerous
villages, where even the Mahommedans have penetrated.
At last Mount Alantika appeared in sight, eight thousand feet above the
plain. Near it flows the Binue, that long looked-for stream, supposed
to make its way westward to the Niger, and which it had been Barth's
great object to reach. There were no signs of human industry near the
river, as, during its floods, it inundates the country on both sides.
His feelings may be imagined when he stood at length on the banks of the
stream, which here flowed from east to west in a broad and majestic
course through an entirely open country, from which only here and there
detached mountains rose up in solitary grandeur. Not far-off another
river, the Faro, rushed forth, not much inferior to the principal river,
descending from the steep sides of the Alantika.
On reaching Yola, the capital of the province of Adamawa, he was,
greatly to his disappointment, compelled by the governor to turn back.
Slavery exists on an immense scale in this province, many private
individuals having more than a thousand slaves. The governor, Mohamet
Lowel, is said to receive five thousand every year in tribute, besides
horses and cattle.
This is one of the finest districts in Central Africa, irrigated as it
is by numerous rivers besides the Binue and Faro, and being diversified
with hill and dale. Elephants were exceedingly plentiful, both black
and grey and yellow, and the rhinoceros is also met with in the river.
Barth was told that there lives in the river an animal resembling the
seal, which comes out at night and feeds on the fresh grass.
His adventurous journey obtained the doctor so much fame at Kukawa that,
on his return, a party of horsemen galloped out to salute him, and led
him in procession to his house. Mr Overweg, who had in the meantime
been exploring Lake Chad in a boat, now rejoined him. His next
excursion was to Kanem, on the east of Lake Chad, for which he set out
on the 11th of September by the way of its northern shores. He had
received a valuable horse from the vizier, which was his companion for
the next three years. He was attended by two Arabs and a couple of
Fezzan lads he had taken into his service. He soon felt revived by the
fresh air of the country. The region through which he passed was
usually rich, partly forest and partly cultivated.
On the 18th he was joined by Mr Overweg, who arrived accompanied by a
band of horsemen. The horsemen treated the natives with the utmost
cruelty, stealing their property wherever they went. One day, meeting
some cattle-breeders, they plundered them of their milk and of the very
vessels which contained it. On applying to Dr Barth for redress, he
was enabled not only to restore to them their vessels, but to make them
a few small presents.
Descending from the high ground, they continued their course between the
sand-hills and a blue inlet of the lake to the south. Some way to the
right they caught sight of a whole herd of elephants, ranged in regular
array like an army of rational beings, slowly proceeding to the water.
It had been supposed that Lake Chad is salt. This is not the case. The
natron or soda, which is procured in the neighbourhood, is found alone
in the ground. When an inundation reaches a basin filled with soda, the
water of course becomes impregnated. The soda, indeed, has very little
effect so long as the basin is deep, and does not begin to make itself
felt till the water becomes shallow.
Shortly afterwards, passing a grove of mimosa, two of the horsemen who
had been in front came galloping back with loud cries. On approaching
the spot they saw a large snake hanging in a threatening attitude from
the branches of a tree. On seeing the strangers it tried to hide
itself, but after several balls had struck it, it fell down, and its
head was cut off. It measured eighteen feet seven inches in length, and
five inches in diameter.
They now joined themselves to a party of Arabs, by whom they hoped to be
protected on their journey. The expedition was not without danger. One
night they were aroused by a terrible screaming and crying from the
women, and shouts of "Mount! mount!" Another band of freebooters had
attacked the camels, and, having put to flight two or three men and
killed a horseman, had driven off part of the herd. The robbers were
pursued and overtaken, when they gave up their booty. The lamentations
of the females for a man who had been slain sounded woefully through the
remainder of the night.
Two days afterwards the Arabs were in great commotion, in consequence of
the most handsome among the female slaves, who composed part of the
spoil that was to be taken to the vizier, having made her escape during
the night. They were eagerly searching for her from dawn of day, but
could not find her. At length they discovered her necklace and clothes,
and the remains of her bones--evident proofs that she had fallen a prey
to the wild beasts.
As they advanced eastward the situation of the Arab robbers became daily
more dangerous; nothing was thought of but to retrace their steps
westward.
The doctor was lying in his tent suffering from fever, when the alarm
was given that the enemy had arrived within a short distance of the
camp. He heard firing, when Overweg, mounting his horse, galloped off,
calling on his friend to follow him. The doctor, while his servant was
saddling his horse, flung his bournous over himself, and, grasping his
pistols and gun, mounted and started off towards the west, ordering
Mahomet to cling fast to his horse's tail. Not a moment was to be lost,
as the enemy had begun to attack the east side of the camp. Soon
afterwards, however, he saw the Arab horsemen rallying to attack the
enemy, who had dispersed in order to collect the spoil, and, overtaking
Mr Overweg, informed him that the danger was over.
On returning to the camp they found that their luggage and even their
tent had gone. The Arabs, however, pursuing the enemy, got back most of
their things.
The natives again attacked the camp in the evening, but were beaten off.
Hearing, however, that a large body of Wadey horsemen were to join
their enemies, the Arabs retreated, and the doctor and his friends,
finding a caravan on its way to Kukawa, returned with it on the 25th of
November.
After a rest of ten days the persevering travellers again set forth with
the sheikh and his vizier on an expedition against Mandara, the
principal object of which was to replenish their coffers and
slave-rooms, a secondary one to punish the prince of that small country,
who, protected by its mountains, had behaved in a very refractory
manner. The vizier treated the travellers with great courtesy, and
desired them to ride by his side. The army, which was of considerable
size, advanced in regular order. At first they amused themselves with
hunting. One day a giraffe was caught. The vizier was attended by
eight female slaves and horsemen, and the same number of led horses.
The unfortunate natives had to provide grain for the army wherever it
marched. They spent a day at a village where the troops had to lay in a
supply of corn, as they were about to pass the border region, between
the cities of the Mahommedans and those of the Pagan tribes, which, as
is generally the case in this part of the world, have been reduced to
desolation. The vizier made Mr Overweg a present of a small lion. On
a previous occasion he had given him a ferocious little tiger cat, which
though young was extremely fierce, and quite mastered the young lion.
They, however, soon died, in consequence of the continual swinging
motion they had to endure on the backs of the camels in the heat of the
day.
Passing through a dense forest region, frequented by numerous elephants,
they arrived at Gabari, the northernmost of the Musgu villages,
surrounded by fields of native grain. The inhabitants had fled; for,
though nominally under the protection of the rulers of Bornou, they had
thought it prudent to take care of their own safety. Their village was
completely plundered, the soldiers thrashing out their grain and loading
their horses with it, while their goats, fowls, and articles of
furniture fell a prey to the greedy host. The village had presented an
appearance of comfort, and exhibited the industry of the inhabitants.
Its dwellings were built of clay; and each court-yard contained a group
of from three to six huts, according to the number of wives of the
owner.
Continuing their march, on the 28th of December they reached the country
devoted to destruction. The country was pleasant in the extreme;
stubble-fields surrounded numerous groups of huts and wide-spreading
trees, on whose branches was stored up the nutritious grass of those
swampy grounds for a supply in the dry season. Broad, well-trodden
paths, lined by thick fences, wound along through the fields in every
direction. Near the village were regular sepulchres, covered in with
large well-rounded vaults, surrounded by an earthen urn. While the
doctor was contemplating this scene he found that the vizier and his
party had galloped on in advance. On looking round he saw only a few
Shooa horsemen. Following them, he soon found that he was entirely cut
off from the main body of the army. A scene of wild disorder presented
itself; single horsemen were roving about to and fro between the fences
of the villages; here a poor native, pursued by sanguinary foes, running
for his life in wild despair; there another dragged from his place of
refuge; while a third was seen stealing by, under cover of a fence, and
soon became a mark for numerous arrows and balls. A small troop of
Shooa horsemen were collected under the shade of a tree, trying to keep
together a drove of cattle which they had taken. Accompanying another
band, the doctor at length rejoined the vizier. News had just been
received that the pagans had broken through the line of march near the
weakest point, and that the rear had been dispersed. Had these poor
pagans been led on by experienced chieftains, they would have been able
in their dense forests, where cavalry is of little use, to do an immense
deal of damage to their cowardly invaders, and might easily have
dispersed them altogether.
A large number of slaves had been caught, and in the evening a great
many more were brought in, altogether between five hundred to a
thousand. To the horror of the travellers, not less than one hundred
and seventy full-grown men were mercilessly slaughtered in cold blood,
the greater part of them being allowed to bleed to death, a leg having
been severed from the body. The unwarlike spirit and dilatory
proceedings of the army, large as it was, enabled the inhabitants of
other villages to make their escape.
The village of Demmo was next to be attacked. On reaching it, however,
a large watercourse, two miles in width, appeared before them, across
which the natives made their escape. The scene on its banks was highly
interesting, and characteristic of the equatorial regions of Africa.
Instead of the supposed lofty range of the Moon, only a few isolated
mountains had been seen, and in place of a dry desolate plateau they had
found wide and extremely fertile plains, less than one thousand feet
above the level of the sea, and intersected by innumerable broad
water-courses.
The village, which only a few moments before had been the abode of
comfort and happiness, was destroyed by fire and made desolate.
Slaughtered men, with their limbs severed from their bodies, were lying
about in all directions.
Led by a treacherous Musgu chief, the army attacked other places, till
the river Loggun put a stop to their further advance. These unfortunate
Musgus are ugly-looking fellows. Only the chiefs wear clothing,
consisting merely of the skins of wild animals, thrown over their
shoulders. They adorn their heads with strange-looking feather caps,
and their bodies with red paint, staining their teeth of the same
colour. Their weapons are long spears, and formidable knives for
throwing at their foes, while they ride strong, active horses, without
saddles, guiding them by halters fastened round their muzzles.
Having accomplished these mighty deeds, the army halted for two days,
for the purpose of distributing the slaves taken during the expedition.
The proceeding was accompanied by the most heart-rending scenes, caused
by the number of young children and even infants who were distributed,
many of the poor creatures being mercilessly torn from their mothers,
never to see them again. There were scarcely any full-grown men.
Another expedition was undertaken by a part of the army, when, as they
reached the river, a dozen courageous natives were seen occupying a
small elevated island with steep banks, separated from the shore by a
narrow but deep channel. Here they set at defiance the countless host
of enemies, many of whom had firearms. Not one of the small band of
heroes was wounded, either the balls missed their aim, or else, striking
upon the wicker-work shields of the pagans, were unable to penetrate.
The doctor was urged to fire, and on his refusing to do so was abused by
the soldiers.
The doctor and his companion returned to Kukaka on the 1st of February,
1852.
On the 4th of March, Dr Barth again set out on a journey to Begharmi, a
considerable distance to the south-east of Lake Chad. His only
conveyance was his own horse and a she-camel for his luggage. The next
day Ovenveg, who had resolved to explore Lake Chad in a boat, parted
from him, and he proceeded on his hazardous expedition alone, his course
being to the south-east, along the shores of the lake. He passed
several towns in a state of decay. In that of Ngla the palace of the
governor was of immense size for Negroland. It had large and towering
clay walls, having the appearance of an enormous citadel.
He was hospitably treated at the large town of Loggun. Here the river
of the same name, which falls into Lake Chad, is from three hundred and
fifty to four hundred yards across. About forty or fifty boats of
considerable size floated on the stream. He made an excursion on the
river, when he excited great admiration by firing at a crocodile, though
he did not kill the creature. The sultan formed so high an estimation
of the traveller, that he wished him to remain to assist him in fighting
his enemies, but the doctor, being anxious to proceed eastward, induced
him at length to let him take his departure.