MY JOURNEY HOME FROM ÁDAMÁWA.
Having made these few remarks with regard to the interesting work of
conquest and colonization which is going on in Ádamáwa, I now return to
my quarters in Ribágo, in order to carry the reader with me on my journey
back from that country to Kúkawa.
_Wednesday, June 25._—Our luggage had been so wetted on the preceding
afternoon, while crossing the Máyo Bínti, that we were obliged to stay
in Ribágo the whole morning, in order to dry it. The horseman who had
escorted me out of the town had returned; and in his stead Íbrahíma,
with a companion on foot, had made his appearance, with orders from the
governor to escort me to the very frontiers of the country. In order to
render him a more sociable companion, I thought it well to make him a
present of a túrkedí. My mʿallem had not come along with us; and I could
not be angry with him for not desiring to return to Kúkawa, where he had
been detained against his will. The horse on which I had mounted him he
had well deserved for his trouble. Íbrahíma told me that Katúri had come
after me as far as Yébborewó, thinking that I would pass the night there,
but that the governor would not let him go further.
Before starting in the afternoon, I made our landlady, the wife of the
Ardo of Ribágo, very happy by a few presents, as an acknowledgment of her
hospitality in having twice entertained us in her house. After a short
march of a few miles, we took up our quarters for the night in Duló,
where the landlord, who a few days ago had been deprived of his office of
mayor, received us at first rather unkindly, but afterwards assigned me
a splendid hut, where the ganga or large drum, the ensign of his former
authority, was still hanging from the wall. I was greatly in want of
rest, and was obliged to keep my head always wet, and to abstain entirely
from food.
_Thursday, June 26._—I thought we should certainly cross the Bénuwé
to-day; but, as if in defiance of the governor of the country, Bíllama
desired to move on as slowly as possible, and took us to our well-known
quarters in Chabajáure. But this slow progress was certainly better for
me, as I had this day arrived at a crisis, and was dreadfully weak.
Taking small doses of quinine the whole of the afternoon, I strengthened
myself for the next day’s work, when after five miles’ march we reached
the Tépe.
_Friday, June 27._—The Fáro had only risen a little more than twenty
inches since the 18th—that is to say, two inches and a half per day;
nevertheless we had great difficulty in fording it. The Bénuwé had risen
more rapidly; and of course in July both rivers rise at a very different
rate. When the rainy season is at its height, the sandy beach of the
headland at the junction is almost completely under water; and this was
the case with our old place of embarkation on the northern bank of the
Bénuwé, so that I was obliged to creep up the steep bank.
In order to withstand the fatigue, I continued taking quinine the whole
day long, and was glad when in the evening we reached Sulléri, where, to
my astonishment, we were this time exceedingly well received. The mayor
of the place would not allow me to start the following day, although my
camels were already laden, and a beautiful fine morning invited us to
travel. After a good deal of resistance, I at length gave way to his
entreaties, under the condition that he would construct for me a cool
shed wherein to spend the heat of the day; and in twenty minutes a lofty
hall had risen from the earth. Thus I spent the day very comfortably; and
although I was unable to alleviate the pains suffered by my host from an
arrow-wound in one of his eyes, or to give him a charm to prevent the
death of his cattle, I was so fortunate as to effect a splendid cure on
one of his sons, which procured me great fame.
_Saturday, June 28._—On leaving Sulléri in the morning, we took a
different route from that previously traversed, and which proved
infinitely more interesting, although in the morning, after we had passed
a small farm-village where all the field-labourers were at work, we had
to cross a very extensive forest, and I became greatly exhausted. Having
passed about noon several villages, which proved to be all slave-villages
with the exception of one, which contained a lord’s mansion of neat
appearance, suddenly the character of the country changed entirely, and
we came to a wide depression or hollow, from one hundred to one hundred
and twenty feet deep, which, winding round on our left, formed a fine
green vale, bordered on the other side by a picturesque cone[79] rising
abruptly, and forming on the east side a wooded terrace, while on the
west it displayed a steep bare rocky bank of horizontal strata, and
on this side, after a small interruption, a low ridge attached to it
encircling the hollow on all sides.
Having reached the south-eastern foot of the cone by a gradual ascent,
we obtained a view over the varied and rich scenery before us, a
luxuriant mass of vegetation broken at intervals by comfortable-looking
little hamlets, and bounded in the distance by a cone stretching out
to a great length. Having crossed a small watercourse, and wound along
between erractic blocks of granite, scattered about in wild disorder, and
interrupted, wherever the ground offered a small level, by rich crops of
grain, we reached the first hamlet of this most picturesque locality. It
is one of the chief seats of the Démsa, or rather comprises two distinct
villages, namely, Démsa-Póha and Démsa-Mésu.
[Illustration]
It was indeed a most charming sight when we made our way along a broad
well-trodden path, surrounded on both sides by neatly fenced clusters of
large huts, encompassed by waving corn and picturesque clusters of trees.
Thus we reached the “lamórde,” the residence of the governor, which is
situated at a short distance from the southern foot of the large granitic
cone; but he was absent, having gone on an expedition against the Fúri,
an independent pagan tribe in the neighbourhood, and we had to wait some
time before his servants undertook to assign us quarters, when we had to
retrace our steps to the southern part of the village. It was half-past
four in the afternoon when, feverish and extremely weak as I was, I at
length found rest, but while reclining at full length in a cool shade,
I listened with delight to Íbrahíma’s chat, who, in order to cheer my
spirits, gave me an account of that famous expedition to the far south
which the Fúlbe of Ádamáwa undertook a few years ago, and to which I have
already alluded.
This memorable campaign having proceeded from Búbanjídda, none of the
people of Ádamáwa, whose acquaintance I was able to make during my short
stay in the country, had participated in it, so that all the accounts
which I received of it were extremely vague. The expedition, after a
march of almost two months, is said to have reached an unbounded expanse
of unbroken plain, and, having kept along it for a day or two, to have
arrived at an immense tree, in the shade of which the whole host found
sufficient room. Here they found two natives of the southern regions,
who informed them that they were the subjects of a powerful queen that
resided in a vast town of two days’ march in circumference. These people,
they say, were of short stature, and wore long beards. Frightened by
these reports, and by the waterless tract before them, the expedition
retraced their steps. Similar reports with regard to a very powerful
female sovereign towards the south are also current in Bagírmi and
all the adjacent country; but I am not able to determine whether they
originate in faint rumours, spread so far north, of the powerful kingdom
of Muata-ya-Nvo, or—of Queen Victoria.
To my great satisfaction, we were obliged to stay here the next day, in
order to await the arrival of the lámido, when, feeling greatly recruited
by a good night’s and half-a-day’s rest, I crept out of my well-polished
round little clay hut in the afternoon, and, crossing the neatly fenced
promenade of the straggling village, ascended a neighbouring eminence
formed by an irregular mass of granite blocks, to the north of our
quarters. Here I spent two delicious hours in the tranquil contemplation
of the picturesque scenery, which I thought the most interesting I had
yet seen in this quarter of the world. The view I took presents but a
very faint idea of its peculiar features; but I hope it will give some
conception of the nature of this country in general, which enables the
pagan natives between this district and Hamárruwa to defend their liberty
and independence against the Mohammedan intruders. These tribes are,
after the Démsa, who seem to form a tolerably numerous body, first, the
Mbulá, probably the same who have given their name to the place situated
at some distance from Mount Míndif, and mentioned above; then, further
west, or north-west, the Báchama, and still further west the Tángalé,
with both of whom Mr. Vogel, on his recent journey from Yákuba to
Hamárruwa, has come in contact.
_Tuesday, July 1._—We made a short but highly interesting march to the
place of our old friend the Mʿallem Delíl. The scenery was rich and
beautiful, the crops of Guinea-corn standing from four to five feet
high, alternating with fields where góza, a kind of yams, were grown,
and adorned with fine spreading trees, amongst which the tármu and the
kúka or monkey-bread-tree predominated; even the rocky eminences were
all overgrown with fresh vegetation. We then passed a sort of shallow
river, or sél, which is called by the Kanúri “ngáljam,” and forms a
characteristic feature of Démsa, while on our right it expanded to a
conspicuous sheet of water, bordered by blocks and masses of rocks full
of vegetation. It was overgrown with rank reed at the spot where we
crossed it.
Only a few minutes beyond this almost stagnant water on green
meadow-land, we crossed the broad and clear torrent of the Máyo Tíyel,
rushing ahead over a gravelly bottom, and at times rolling along a
considerable quantity of water. According to my guides, it is formed by
three branches, one issuing from Báses towards the north-east, the other
coming from the neighbourhood of Bélem, and the third from the north-west
from Bíngel. Only a few hundred yards further on, we passed on our left
another broad sheet of water, apparently of great depth, which is said
to preserve the same level at all times of the year. It is full of
crocodiles, and bordered by the richest vegetation, and, being apparently
quite isolated, has a very curious appearance. Perhaps it is fed by
subterranean sources. It is surrounded by beautiful pasture-grounds.
We then traversed a fine open country, passing some villages, while the
road was enlivened by a troop of travellers (colonists from Bórnu), among
whom there were some remarkably handsome women mounted on bullocks, who
bore sufficient testimony to the fact that the more elevated districts of
Ádamáwa are salubrious and favourable for man. We reached Bélem at about
two o’clock; but before we arrived there a circumstance happened which I
must not omit to mention, as it is rather characteristic: for suddenly
two of Mohammed Láwl’s servants appeared with the horse which Bíllama had
sold to the governor for the price of twenty slaves, returning it under
some pretext, but in reality for no other reason than because he was
afraid lest it might operate by way of charm, and injure him. Bíllama was
to have received the slaves in the towns still before us.
We stayed in Bélem this day and the following; and I was pestered a
little by the family of old Mʿallem Delíl, but particularly by his
daughter, rather a handsome person, who had been divorced from her former
husband (I think Mansúr, the younger brother of Mohammed Láwl), and
wanted me by all means to write her a charm to get her another husband
after her heart’s desire. She was a very passionate sort of woman, and
when smelling, against my wish, from my phial of hartshorn, was seized
with such violent convulsions, that she was carried senseless out of
my tent, and remained in this state for nearly an hour. The stay here
was the more disagreeable to me as it was caused partly by the trading
propensities of my servant Bú-Sʿad; and not only did he buy ivory, which
he had the insolence to add to the loads of my weak camels, but even
three slaves, so that I was obliged to dismiss him instantly from my
service, although I had nothing wherewith to pay him off. It is extremely
difficult for a single European to proceed in these countries with hired
servants, as he loses all control over them. This man, who had been the
late Mr. Richardson’s servant as well as mine, turned out like Mukni, Mr.
Richardson’s interpreter, a great slave-dealer, and in 1855, when I was
leaving Central Africa, collected a numerous gang of slaves in this very
country, which he had before visited as my servant.
_Thursday, July 3._—We at length resumed our journey, but only to reach
Saráwu Beréberé, where we took up our quarters in the comfortable
courtyard which I have described on our outward journey. I will only
record the pleasing fact, that, as soon as the news spread in the town of
my having returned, a man whom I had cured of disease during my former
stay brought me a handsome gazelle-skin as an acknowledgment.
The next day we followed our ancient road by Badaníjo, and reached
Segéro; but on Saturday, after having passed Mbutúdi without any other
delay than that of buying with beads a little milk from our Fúlbe
friends, we took a more easterly path, which brought us to Múglebú, a
village which exhibited to us an interesting picture of the exuberance
that reigns in these regions at this time of the year. The huts were
scarcely visible, on account of the rich crops of grain which surrounded
them on all sides, while _Palma Christi_ formed thick clusters of bushes,
and a few specimens of a remarkable tree which I had never observed
before, besides isolated bananas, rose above the rich mass of vegetation,
and gave to the whole the charm of novelty; but the weather was so wet
that I could make but a very slight sketch, and was wholly prevented from
rambling about, the rain continuing the whole of the afternoon. Besides,
all my energy was required to assist my three servants, who were all
severely ill; and while I administered to two of them emetics, I had to
soothe ʿAbdallah with a dose of laudanum. It was very fortunate indeed
that I myself felt a little better. In short, our stay here was anything
but agreeable, and I was worried by several people with demands which
exceeded my power—such as to drive out devils, relieve impotency, and so
on; but the mayor sent me a goat, fowls, milk, and a little butter. The
village, which consisted of about two hundred huts, seemed to be in good
circumstances.
_Sunday, July 6._—When we started at a tolerably early hour in the
morning, the weather was clear and favourable; but after we had crossed
the little mountain-chain which surrounds the village of Múglebú at some
distance to the east and north, and reached a small hamlet presenting
signs of very careful cultivation, and numerous herds of cattle, we
were drenched by a heavy shower. It is generally supposed that storms
in the tropical climes break forth in the afternoon, or in the course
of the night—and this certainly is the general rule; but if there has
been a storm the day before, or during the night, and the weather has
not cleared up, there can be no certainty that it will not come on
again in the course of the morning. It is rather a rare phenomenon in
these regions for a storm to gather in the morning on a clear sky;
but nevertheless several examples even of this will be found in my
meteorological tables. The natives are not at all insensible to rain;
and while the Kánembú who had attached themselves to our caravan in
Badaníjo were protecting their persons with their light wooden shields,
the natives of the country collected thick bushes, and formed a sort of
natural umbrella over their heads. To protect the head at least from
wet is most essential in these climes. On another occasion, when I come
to speak about the prevailing kinds of disease, I shall have to mention
how dreadfully the Fulbe sometimes suffer from the maladies of the rainy
season, when employed on their warlike expeditions.
Early in the morning we reached Múfi or Múbi, but were received so
inhospitably that we had great difficulty in obtaining quarters, for
which we were obliged to keep fighting the whole day, as a quarrelsome
mʿallem wished to dislodge me from the hut of which I had taken
possession. Fortunately his better half bore the inconvenience with more
equanimity; and I put up cheerfully with the little trouble which she
gave me from time to time by calling at the door and begging me to hand
to her some little articles of her simple household furniture. My three
people were so sick that they lay like so many corpses on the ground; and
their condition prevented us from setting out even the following day,
notwithstanding the inhospitable manner in which we were treated here,
so that I had ample leisure to study minutely the architecture of my
residence, of which I subjoin a ground-plan.
[Illustration]
The hut, measuring about twelve feet in diameter, was built in the
manner most usual in these regions—namely, of clay walls, with a thatched
roof. The door, a little elevated above the floor, was three feet high,
and fifteen inches wide, and not at all adapted for very stout persons.
From the wall at the right of the door (_a_) ran another wall, “gáruwel
súdo,” of the same height, but unconnected with the roof, right across
the hut in an oblique line, to the length of about six feet, separating
one part of the dwelling, and securing to it more privacy. In this
compartment was the bed (_c_), consisting of a frame made of branches,
and spread over pilasters of clay about three feet high. In the most
sequestered part of the hut, in the corner formed by the round enclosing
wall and the oblique one, at the top of the bed—“kéla kagá,” as the
Kanúri say—stood the corn-urn (_d_), about six feet high, and, in its
largest part, two feet wide, destined to keep a certain provision of corn
always at hand; besides this, there was a smaller one (_fe_) at the foot
of the bed—“shí kagá.” At the side of this smaller urn were two small
pedestals of clay (_g_), serving the purpose of a sideboard, in order
to place upon them pots or other articles. Then followed the kitchen,
“defforíde” (_h_), still under cover of the oblique wall, but exactly on
a line with it, so that the smoke might more easily find its way through
the door, and consisting of a narrow place enclosed on each side by a low
wall, to protect the fire, between which three stones, or rather small
clay mounds like fire-bricks, supported the cooking-pot, while a small
wooden footstool (_i_) accommodated the industrious landlady when busy
with her most important culinary employment. While to all this part of
the hut a certain degree of privacy was secured by the oblique wall, a
considerable space to the left of the door remained unprotected; and here
stood the large water-urn (_f_), which, always remaining in its place, is
filled by means of smaller portable urns or pitchers.
[Illustration]
_Tuesday, July 8._—It seemed almost as if we were destined to stay
another day in this place; for just when we were about to start, a most
violent shower came down, and lasted full two hours. When at length we
were able to set out on our road to Úba, it was excessively wet, the
streams greatly swollen, and the weather still anything but bright and
clear. At Úba, again, we remained much longer than I wished. In the
evening, after our arrival, the governor went on an expedition against
the Kílba-Gáya. Falling suddenly upon the poor pagans at early dawn, he
captured a good many slaves; but the persecuted natives rallied, and,
taking advantage of a defile through which he had to pass on his return
to his residence, suddenly attacked him, and succeeded in rescuing all
their countrymen from the hands of their relentless enemies. During my
absence the corn had almost ripened; and the fields afforded a spectacle
of the utmost exuberance. Almost all the grain here is sorghum, and
mostly of the white kind; the average height of the stalks was from
nine to ten feet. The whole area of the town was clothed in the richest
vegetation, of great variety, where a botanist might have made a numerous
collection.
_Thursday, July 10._—Íbrahíma, the principal of the two men whom Mohammed
Láwl had appointed to escort me to the frontier of his province,
accompanied me a short distance when we left Úba. This man, who, perhaps
because he was not well treated in Kúkawa, behaved rather sullenly on our
journey to Ádamáwa, had become infinitely more amiable after the governor
of that country had sent me back. He not only manifested on every
occasion his heartfelt sorrow on account of my having been disappointed
in the expectation of travelling over that interesting country in every
direction, but he still more lamented that his countrymen had been
deprived, by the imprudence of their ruler, of the advantage of my
presence in the country. I have had occasion to observe repeatedly, that
there is a great deal of republican spirit in Fúlbe, and that they have
in general the air and manners of freeborn men, though I shall have to
dwell upon the deterioration of this original character in the case of
the inhabitants of Sókoto.
The commencement of our march through the unsafe and infested
boundary-district from Úba northward was not very auspicious; and I was
almost afraid lest, after having been allowed to reach the frontier
unmolested, we were doomed to some insidious treachery in these lawless
lands. The original arrangement was, that some other people should
succeed to Íbrahíma, in order to see me safe to Íssege; but they never
made their appearance, and we had scarcely parted from Íbrahíma when
all sorts of alarms frightened and disturbed our little band. First a
dreadful noise was heard from above the rocks at the foot of which lay
our road; but it was found to proceed only from a countless multitude
of birds of prey enjoying their liberty in noisy mirth. Then, when we
reached the fields of corn within this rocky passage, which on our
outward journey we had seen under cultivation, we were prevented by armed
men from passing through them, and were obliged to make a long circuit.
A little further on, people came running after us, and attempted to take
away by force two of the slaves whom some of our companions were leading
along; and when resisted, they raised a dismal cry for help, which was
heard resounding to a great distance through the wild country. Serious
quarrels seemed imminent; but fortunately no one came to their assistance.
About thirty travellers, all of them armed either with spears or with
bows and arrows, had attached themselves to our troop. I got ready all
my cartridges; and we were well on our guard. We had advanced about five
miles from Úba, and were in the middle of the forest, when a more serious
alarm arose, several people being seen lurking among the trees,—an
unmistakable proof that they meditated an attack, if we should exhibit
any signs of weakness. We therefore rallied a moment, and formed in
front, the most sturdy of our spearmen gathering round me, and begging
me to take steady aim when they should point out to me the chief men.
But the natives, belonging most probably to the tribe of the Báza, who
always infest this road, seeing that we were prepared to receive them,
did not dare to quit their ambush; and having continued awhile along the
path, we thought it wiser to leave it, and struck off to the west into
the thickest covert of the wood, where the camels with their luggage had
some difficulty in passing through, especially as the soil was cracked
and rent in all directions. Having trudged on in this way for about two
hours, and feeling sure that we were not pursued, we returned to the
path, but left it again about noon, and, pursuing another track, reached
Laháula, a village of unlucky memory, on the western side. But this time
we were well received, not only by ʿAisha, but also by his wild and
passionate son, who became a great friend of mine, and, having received
from me a present of a knife, brought me three fowls in return, while his
father sent túwo for all my people. I sketched the danísko, or handbill
of my friend, which was of a peculiarly regular shape.
[Illustration]
_Friday, July 11._—On leaving Laháula in the morning, we again preferred
the covert to the beaten path; but after we had gone round Kófa, which
Bíllama thought it better to avoid, we returned to our well-known road
parallel to the river and the mountain-chain beyond, and reached Íssege
without any accident, early in the afternoon. There, too, my reception
was very different from that which I had experienced on my going; and
I was received with the utmost kindness and hospitality into the house
of a wealthy family at the northern end of the village, and quartered
in a neat little hut, the walls of which consisted of thatch, like
the roof, but were plastered over with clay. The little hut, which
scarcely measured seven feet in diameter, contained two couches, one
raised above the ground to the right, and the other on the level of the
ground on the left of the entrance. Three spears, a common shield, and
a large shield called “chággo” by the Marghí, “kutufáni” by the Kanúri,
consisting of a thick texture of reed, and big enough to protect two
or three persons, a basket and a net, “úturu,” hanging from the roof,
formed the furniture of this little dwelling, which was the apartment
of the youngest son of the family, a fine, tall, and slender young man,
with a very pleasant expression of countenance. Except that he wore the
“funó,” a small leathern apron, round his waist, he was quite naked, but
loaded with coquettish ornaments. Round his neck he wore a double string
of red beads, a little lower another set of three strings of corals,
and still lower again a set of two strings of iron beads; on his left
shoulder he wore four broad iron rings, or “kégelá;” on his elbow two
other narrow iron rings (barachággo) very neatly worked like beads; on
his wrist six narrow and one broad iron ring, or “únzo,” and above them
an ivory ring, or “yécho.” The right arm was not so richly endowed with
ornaments, having only four iron rings at the upper part, and two on the
wrist. Below his knee he wore a chain of cotton very neatly twisted—this
is called “shishídderi,”[80]—and on his foot-joint a narrow iron ring
called “míltedo.” However, I observed afterwards, that this young man
did not wear all the national ornaments of his tribe; for I saw others
who wore in addition an iron chain round their loins, which is called
“shushú.” All these iron articles are very neatly made by the people of
Wándalá, Morá being only two days’ march from this; and I only regret
that I was not able to bring some of these articles home as specimens of
the industry of the natives, as well as of the excellent quality of iron
which they possess. This young man did not wear the “sér,” as they call
it, a small reed or feather in the left ear.
I delighted my youthful host by the present of a mirror; and I gave a
knife to his father, when he returned from the labour of the field.
My little hut was not without a crowd of visitors the whole of the
afternoon, all the friends of my host coming to see me. They were
admitted in a regular way, five at a time, and behaved very decently,
while they admired the few curious things which I had to show them. I
was greatly amused by the simplicity of my young host and one of his
brothers, who, when I presented them with small bits of sugar, gradually
nibbled them away, and at the same time compared their size continually,
till they were reduced to very diminutive morsels, when they agreed
between them to give the remnants to a sister.
The language of these people, which, as I have stated, is intimately
related to that of the Bátta, seems to show that they belong rather to
the family of South African tribes, than to the group of neighbouring
tribes of Central Negroland.
We had plenty of good fare in the evening, the Bórnu titular mayor of
the place sending me a sheep, besides corn for the horses, and our hosts
preparing a fowl for myself, and several dishes of hasty-pudding, with
fish-sauce, for my people. The evening being clear, and illuminated by
splendid moonlight, I sat a long time outside—perhaps too long in my
precarious state of health—enjoying the sound of music and dancing which
came from the opposite quarter of the village; but I was not a little
astonished when I heard from my young friend, whom I asked why he did not
go to join in the merriment, that it was not an ordinary amusement, but
a religious dance to celebrate the death of an old man; for if a person
in old age dies, his death is deemed a cause of satisfaction and mirth,
while that of a young one is lamented with tears.
I have already noticed some peculiar customs of the Marghí; but I must
say a few words about their curious ordeal on the holy granite rock of
Kóbshi. When two are litigating about a matter, each of them takes a cock
which he thinks the best for fighting; and they go together to Kóbshi.
Having arrived at the holy rock, they set their birds a-fighting, and
he whose cock prevails in the combat is also the winner in the point
of litigation. But more than that, the master of the defeated cock is
punished by the divinity, whose anger he has thus provoked; and on
returning to his village he finds his hut in flames.
It is evident that this tribe, as well as many of the neighbouring ones,
venerate their forefathers, in which respect they closely resemble the
South African tribes, although the Berbers also seem originally to have
had this sort of worship as well as the Háusa people. The Marghí do not
practise circumcision; but, what seems very remarkable, they practise
inoculation for the small-pox, at least to a considerable extent.
As I was sitting outside the courtyard, by degrees a great many natives
collected round me, when a young man took me aside and entreated me
earnestly to give him a remedy against the dislike of people. I, however,
soon succeeded in making him confess that he meant only the dislike of
one girl, who, he said, did not relish his haughty demeanour, and that
he was reduced to a state of desperation, and wished for nothing but to
die in battle. This example shows that even these simple people have some
sentiment of love.
_Saturday, July 12._—I had some difficulty in persuading Bíllama to leave
this hospitable place; but I was ashamed to cause these good people, who
had been robbed and despoiled a short time ago by Kashélla ʿAlí, any more
trouble. We took a more easterly path than that by which we had travelled
before, but nearly of the same character—full of holes and crevices,
and covered with thick forest, while the nutritive root “katakírri”
employed the several members of our caravan continually, particularly a
Púllo pilgrim from the far west near the coast, who was indefatigable in
digging as well as in eating. We had only proceeded a few miles when we
met a troop of Marghí, who were going to perform a sacrifice in the holy
grove of Íssege, one of them carrying a sheep and another a fowl. One of
them had ornamented his shield with red lines, which on the black ground
of the elephant’s hide were quite becoming; but I do not think that this
custom is general; perhaps it had some connection with the sacrifice.
[Illustration]
After a march of eight hours, we reached the first cluster of huts of the
Northern Molghoy, where we wished to find quarters; but the unfortunate
people, by the recent exactions and contributions levied on them by the
Kanúri, were driven to a state of despair, and obstinately refused to
receive us. There remained, therefore, no alternative but to continue
our march, and to try to reach Yerímarí; but the effort was too much for
me, and had the worst consequences in my reduced state of health. I was
for some time quite senseless when, after a ride of thirteen hours, I
succeeded in reaching the well-known place, and threw myself flat upon
the ground of my little hut. Scarcely had my luggage arrived, when a
storm, which the whole afternoon had been hanging over our heads, broke
forth, and continued till midnight with unabated violence.
Man as well as beast was so exhausted that we remained here the
following day, when I felt strength enough to walk out a little into the
fields. There was an extraordinary difference between the advanced state
in which I had left the crops in Ádamáwa and that in which I found them
here. The reader will remember that the fields round this place were just
being sown on the day of my leaving it; and during the time of my absence
rain must have been rather scanty, so that the crops were scarcely twenty
inches above the ground. In the afternoon, Bíllama, who was always
obliging, gave me some information with regard to the adjacent country.
_Monday, July 14._—We continued our march, and, with a halt during the
hot hours, reached Ujé Kasúkulá in the evening. The aspect of the country
offered unmistakable proof of our advance northwards. Even the grass
here was barely an inch or two above the ground; the crops, where most
advanced, were ten or twelve inches high, while other fields were still
covered with the tunfáfia, or _Asclepias gigantea_,—a sure proof that
they had not yet been brought under cultivation. We passed a good many
cotton-fields. I reached the place in a state of the utmost exhaustion,
and was obliged to stay here three days to recruit my strength, taking
hardly any food but quinine, and placing a plaster of cantharides on my
chest. The governor of the place, Kashélla ʿAlí Aláwó, treated my party
very hospitably and kindly, and showed sincere compassion for my feeble
condition. I learnt from him, to my great satisfaction, that Mr. Overweg
had really embarked in the boat on the Tsád, and was gone to the Búdduma.
_Friday, July 18._—At length we set out again; but though I felt a little
better, I was glad when, after a short march of three hours through a
very pleasant and populous country, we took up our quarters in a place
called Gúlfo, a great proportion of the inhabitants of which are Shúwa.
Having passed the hot hours in a spacious and cool hut, I enjoyed for a
while the freshness of the evening outside, in my courtyard, delighted at
the same time by the sight of the herds of cattle returning from their
pastures.
Shortly before we reached Gúlfo, we had passed a village entirely
inhabited by Shúwa, and even called Shúwarám.
Though we had now reached the monotonous alluvial plains of Bórnu proper,
yet the following day’s march in the company of my friend Bíllama, who,
after we had become better acquainted, was anxious to gratify my desire
for information in every respect, was highly interesting. Although the
vegetation was very poor in comparison with that of the more southern
districts, yet there was plenty of underwood, and we observed the small
bush called “kúmkum,” the berries of which taste very like coffee, and
which in reality may be a kind of _Coffea_. On our right we left a path
leading by Yámaké, Tangállanda, and Kirbáje, to Kabé-Ngáwa, a place
famous on account of its neighbourhood affording the “fógo,”—wood from
which the shields (ngáwa) of the Kánembú are made: it lies on the road
to Díkowa, passing by a place called Ájowa. The spears of the natives
(kasékka) are made from the root of the kindíl or talha, but the javelin
(béllam) from that of the kúrna; the shafts of arrows are made from the
“kabílla”-bush, which hereabouts grows in great abundance. Cultivated
and pasture-ground alternately succeeded each other, and I was astonished
to see that the produce of this district was exclusively argúm móro, or
_Pennisetum_, while ngáberi, or _Holcus sorghum_, is a much more general
grain in Bórnu, with the exception of the country of the Koyám. A little
before eleven o’clock we finished our day’s march in a small village
called Múnghono-Mabé, where I took possession of a large hut constructed
in the peculiar style of the Shúwa, the roof being of an oval shape,
without the characteristic top or head, the “kogí ngímbe,” and supported
by a pole, “dúngulis,” in the middle of the hut, while the thatch is
made in a very irregular and hasty manner, the compactness of wickerwork
being insufficiently supplied by a heap of reeds thrown upon the roof and
fastened with ropes.
_Sunday, July 20._—I felt much better; and after a beautiful moonlight
night, we started earlier than usual, “dúnia kéte.” The morning was
very fine; but the sun soon became rather powerful and troublesome. We
passed a considerable pool of stagnant water surrounded by fine trees,
tamarinds, and sycamores, such as in this district, where stunted
mimosas form the predominant feature of the vegetation, are only seen in
very favoured spots; it is called “kúlugu Hámtigu.” On the path itself
also, deeply cut as it was in the sandy soil, there was a good deal of
water. We passed the site of a large town named Dóngo, which had been
destroyed by the Fúlbe or Felláta some forty years ago, but of which the
circumference of the wall was still visible, the gate being marked by a
colossal monkey-bread-tree or _Adansonia_, the constant follower of human
society, spreading its gigantic branches out like an immense candelabrum.
Bíllama brought me the berries of a bush called “búlte,” the taste of
which was very much like currants; and further on he presented me with
a “fitó,” a red fruit looking exactly like red pepper, with numbers of
small kernels, and of a somewhat acidulous taste.
We rested a little more than three hours, during the heat of the day,
near a pond of stagnant water, in a district rich in pastures, where,
among numerous herds of the Shúwa, the cattle of Háj Beshír were
also grazing. But the ground hereabouts seemed to be nothing but one
continuous world of ants, which did not allow us a moment’s undisturbed
repose, and even during our short stay they made several successful
attacks not only upon part of our luggage, but even of my dress.
When we set out again, at an early hour in the afternoon, numerous pools
of water along the road testified to the presence of the rainy season;
and the village Máska, which we passed soon afterwards, was surrounded
with corn and cotton-fields as well as by rich green pasture-grounds.
The path was well frequented. We met first a horseman of the sheikh sent
as a messenger to Ujé, with the order to call in the numerous horse of
that district; and Bíllama was of opinion that his master had thoughts
of arranging the affairs of Khadéja. Further on we met a troop of Shúwa
women, who, in a mournful song, lamented the death of one of their
companions. They passed us too rapidly to allow the words of their song
to be distinctly heard.
The country on our left, and that on our right, showed a remarkable
contrast; for while, on our left, cornfields, fine pasture-grounds, and
villages succeeded each other, on the right an immense ghadír, or fírki,
still dry, and only sparingly covered here and there with a little coarse
herbage, stretched out to an immeasurable distance. At an early hour
in the afternoon, deviating a little from the path, we turned into the
village of Káliluwá Grémarí, which belongs to ʿAbd eʾ Rahmán, the second
brother of Sheikh ʿOmár, and found the male inhabitants of the village
sitting in the shade of a chédia or caoutchouc-tree, busily employed in
making wicker-work. However, they proved too clearly that we had entered
the inhospitable zone in the neighbourhood of the capital; observing,
with great coolness, that the sun was as yet high, and would enable us
still to make a good march to some other place, they would hear nothing
of our quartering in their village. But Bíllama was not the man to be
laughed at; and, riding through the midst of them, he took possession
for me of one of the best huts. I could not, in truth, approve of this
despotical mode of dealing; but I was too weak to run the risk of
spending a night in my tent on the damp ground. The villagers seemed to
be drained to the utmost by their gracious lord, and did not possess a
single cow; even fowls were scarcely to be seen.
In the evening I was greatly amused, at first, by the noisy hum of a
“mákaranchí,” or school, close to my hut, where, round a large fire,
some six or seven boys were repeating, at the highest pitch of their
voices, and with utter disregard of the sense, a few verses of the Kurán,
which in the daytime they had been taught to read by their master, who,
doubtless, understood them as little as the boys themselves; but by
degrees the noise became almost insupportable. It is generally thought in
Europe, that a schoolboy is too much tormented; but these poor African
boys, for the little they learn, are worried still more—at least, I
have often found them in the cold season, and with scarcely a rag of a
shirt on, sitting round a miserable fire as early as four o’clock in the
morning, learning their lessons. Besides, they have to perform all sorts
of menial service for the master, and are often treated no better than
slaves.
_Monday, July 21._—The country which we passed in the morning presented
more pasture-grounds than cultivated lands; and after a little while I
turned, with my companion, out of our path, to the left, towards a small
encampment or “berí Shúwabe” of the Kohálemí, a Shúwa or Arab tribe,
where, for three large beads, called “nejúm,” we bought a little fresh
milk. On this occasion I learned from Bíllama, that the Shúwa or native
Arabs settled in the district of Ujé belong to the tribe of the Sáraji,
while the Sugúla and the Sálamát have their camping-grounds further east.
The country became rather dreary, black “fírki”-ground and sandy soil
alternately succeeding each other; and traffic there was none. But when
we reached the well of Maira, a considerable place which we passed on our
left hand, the path became animated from an interesting cause, a whole
village or “berí” of wandering Arabs passing through in search of fresh
pasture-grounds to the west. Each mistress of a family was sitting on
the top of her best household furniture, which was carefully packed on
the backs of the cattle, and covered with hides, while a female slave
followed her, sitting astride on the less valuable gear and the poles
with pots and other such utensils; but, distinguished above all by the
harness of her bullock, the neat arrangement of her seat, a leather
tent-like covering over her head, and the stoutness of her own person,
sat the wife of the chief. Most of these women, however, were rather
slender than otherwise, testifying to the sound and well-preserved
national taste of these Arabs. They never veil the face, and their dress
is simple and decent; but they are not nearly so tidy as the Fulfúlde
ladies. Most of the men followed at a great distance with the flocks of
goats and sheep.
When this interesting procession had passed by, the monotony of the
country was more intensely felt. The proud Kanúri of the towns mock the
inhabitants of these districts, who have nothing but a few cattle and
goats, with the verse: “Sémma bíllani—berí kaní” (“This is the whole of
my town—cattle and goats;” or, in other words, “The town and moat, two
cows and a goat”). The poor stunted mimosas had been cut down in many
places, in order that the whole tract being changed into a quagmire or
swamp, it might be sown with the peculiar kind of holcus called “másakwá”
(_Holcus cernuus_); and then these black, dismal-looking plains become
one field of life and wealth. This remarkable change in the aspect of the
country, and this second harvest, which takes place in the middle of the
cold season, and by which the fírki, or fírgi, becomes a fírgi mosogábe
(másakwábe), I shall have to describe in another place.
We then entered a well-cultivated and thickly inhabited district called
Yelé, where it was a novelty to be obliged to draw water from the well or
barrem Yelé; for since reaching Ujé on our journey out we had constantly
met waterpools or small rivulets, from which we took our supply, and
even the well at Maira was rendered quite superfluous by a large tank
close by. However, I have already had occasion to observe that the
water from these stagnant pools is anything but wholesome, particularly
after the rainy season, when they receive no further supply; and I have
no doubt that the drinking of such water is the principal, if not the
only cause of that dreadful and widespread disease (the “fárantít” or
“ʿarúg”—“ngíduwí” in Kanúri—“the misery”) which disables the working
man, and makes him a poor wretched being—the guineaworm, which is sure
to be met with in at least one out of three persons who travel a great
deal through the whole of Central Africa. I never met with an instance of
this disease in a woman. It seemed to me, too, as if the pagans, whose
nakedness exposed all their limbs to view, suffered less from it.
There seemed to be no superfluous supply of water in the district through
which our road then lay, which appeared as dry as I had left it, only
thinly scattered and lonely blades of grass shooting up here and there;
but yet there was a favoured spot where the road from Márte to Alárge
crossed our path, adorned with fine wide-spreading tamarind-trees, and
rain-clouds were approaching from the east to fertilize the soil, and
make it capable of production. We therefore hurried on, and took shelter
in the village Mʿallem-Shíshi, in order to let the storm pass over; our
hut, however, was so incapable of resisting heavy rain, that as soon as
the storm broke out we were almost swamped. The carelessness with which
the houses of the natives are built in this region is an unmistakable
evidence of the difference of the climate; on the other side, we have
seen the neat huts of the people of Fúmbiná, and we shall see those of
the despised pagan natives of Músgu. The people assured me that this
was the first regular rain which they had had this year, the first
preparatory shower having fallen thirty days ago, and the second two days
ago.
The clouds having taken a southerly direction, we started forth in the
afternoon, after some hesitation, but had scarcely been an hour on the
march, and were just in the middle of a wide dismal-looking ghadír or
fírki, when the clouds, having gathered again over our heads, poured
down violent torrents of rain, so that in a few moments the whole
country looked like a lake, and our progress was excessively difficult.
At length, after an hour and a half, in the most uncomfortable state
we reached the village Kiryúmmuwa, where I was quartered in a rather
magnificent but as yet unfinished hut of clay, and endeavoured to dry my
wet clothes as well as I could.
We were now only one day’s march from Kúkawa; and we started early the
next morning, in order to reach home before night. The neighbourhood of
the capital had been sufficiently indicated already during the last day’s
march by the dúm-bushes, which, with the melancholy _Asclepias gigantea_,
might well decorate the scutcheon of Kúkawa—with more justice, indeed,
than the kúka, or monkey-bread-tree, from which the name was taken, but
of which but a few poor stunted specimens are to be seen in the courtyard
of the palace in the eastern town.
[Illustration]
We had scarcely gone a mile when we met the first body of Shúwa, men
and women, who were returning with their unloaded pack-oxen from the
great Monday market of the capital; and then the string of market-people
on their way to their respective homes was almost uninterrupted. While
our people followed the road, Bíllama and I turned off a little to the
left, in order to pay a visit to the mayor of Múnghono and obtain a cool
drink; for since I had had the fever I suffered greatly from thirst, and
the water from the wells in general, as preserving a mean temperature
of about eighty degrees, was quite tepid. The place lies in an elevated
position; and on its south side there is a hollow, where wheat and onions
are cultivated after the rainy season, while another cavity surrounding
it on the north and east sides, and where at present only small separate
water-pools are collecting, forms, later in the season, one continuous
lake. There is a great deal of iron-stone, “kau súwa,” hereabouts; and
it is used by the native blacksmiths, though it affords but an inferior
sort of metal—far inferior to the excellent iron, the “sú-búltu,” of
Búbanjídda. While passing through the place, I was greatly struck with
the variety which the roofs of the huts exhibited, and made a slight
sketch of them (see previous page).
Múnghono, which is likewise the name of the whole district, has been
a place of importance from early times, and is often mentioned in the
history of the Bórnu kings. After the richness of natural forms which
I had beheld in Ádamáwa, the country seemed extremely monotonous,
there being nothing whatever to cheer the eye except the blossom of
the mimosas, which spread a sweet scent all around. We encamped during
the hot hours of the day near the well of Káine, where we had great
difficulty in supplying ourselves with water from the well, while a
little later in the season a large lake is formed here: for Africa is the
region of contrasts as well in nature as in human life.
When we set out again from this place, people from the town, who had
been informed of our approach, came to meet us; and I heard, to my
great satisfaction, that the crafty Arab Mohammed el Mughárbi, whom I
had already met in Gúmmel, had at length arrived with the merchandize
confided to his care, the nominal value of which was one hundred pounds
sterling, so that there was at least some hope of being able to carry on
the mission on a small scale.
But I could not but feel pleased with my reception on returning to
headquarters in this part of the world; for when we approached the
southern gate of the town, three horsemen, who were stationed there,
came galloping up to me, and having saluted me with their spears raised,
placed themselves in front, and in stately procession led me through the
town to my house, where I was soon regaled with a plentiful supper sent
by the vizier. I afterwards perceived that he had expected me to pay him
my respects the same evening; but, as I felt very weak, I deferred the
visit till the next morning, when, on his return from an early visit to
the sheikh, he gave me an audience in the presence of all the people.
Having expressed his sorrow at my reduced state, and having inquired how
I had been received in Ádamáwa, he entered, with apparent delight, into a
long conversation with me respecting the form of the earth and the whole
system of the world. On being asked what I now intended to do, I replied
that it was my design, after having made the tour of the lake, to try to
penetrate into the regions south of Bagírmi. He immediately expressed his
doubts as to the possibility of going round the lake as far as the Bahar
el Ghazál, but promised to further my plans as far as possible, although
he thought that I had done enough already, and should rather think of
returning home safely with the results of my labours; for seeing me so
weak during the first rainy season which I was spending in these regions,
he was afraid that something might happen to me.
Well satisfied with this audience, I returned to my quarters and wrote
a short report to H.M.’s Government, of the results of my journey,
informing them that my most deeply cherished hopes with regard to that
river in the south had been surpassed, and requesting them to send an
expedition in order to verify its identity with the so-called Chadda.
This report, which was sent off by a courier a day or two before Mr.
Overweg’s return from his navigation of the lake, and which was overtaken
by a messenger with a short account of his survey, created general
satisfaction in Europe, and procured for me the confidence of H.M.’s
Government. Meanwhile I endeavoured to arrange the pecuniary affairs of
the mission as well as I could.