RAINY SEASON IN KÚKAWA.
I had left Kúkawa on my journey to Ádamáwa in the best state of health,
but had brought back from that excursion the germs of disease; and
residence in the town, at least at this period of the year, was not
likely to improve my condition. It would certainly have been better for
me had I been able to retire to some more healthy spot; but trivial
though urgent business obliged me to remain in Kúkawa. It was necessary
to sell the merchandize which had at length arrived, in order to keep
the mission in some way or other afloat, by paying the most urgent debts
and providing the necessary means for further exploration. There was
merchandize to the value of one hundred pounds sterling; but, as I was
obliged to sell the things at a reduced rate for ready money, the loss
was considerable; for all business in these countries is transacted
on two or three months’ credit, and, after all, payment is made, not
in ready money, but chiefly in slaves. It is no doubt very necessary
for a traveller to be provided with those various articles which form
the presents to be made to the chiefs, and which are in many districts
required for bartering; but he ought not to depend upon their sale for
the supply of his wants. Altogether it is difficult to carry on trade
in conjunction with extensive geographical research, although a person
settling quietly down in a place, and entering into close relations with
the natives, might collect a great deal of interesting information,
which would probably escape the notice of the roving traveller, whose
purpose is rather to explore distant regions. Besides, I was obliged
to make numerous presents to my friends, in order to keep them in good
humour, and had very often not only to provide dresses for themselves and
their wives, but even for their domestic retainers; so that, all things
considered, the supply of one hundred pounds’ worth of merchandize could
not last very long.
I have remarked that, when I re-entered Kúkawa, the cultivation of the
ground had not yet begun; indeed, the whole country was so parched, that
it became even a matter of perplexity to find sufficient fodder for the
horses; for the whole stock of dry herbage was consumed, and of young
herbage none was to be had. It is stated in my memoranda, that on the 5th
of August I paid twelve rotl for a “kéla kajímbe,” or large bundle of
dry grass; an enormous price in this country, and sufficient to maintain
a whole family for several days; but that was the most unfavourable
moment, for in a few days fresh herbage sprang up and made good all
deficiencies. While speaking on this subject, I may also mention, that
the herbage of Kúkawa, being full of “ngíbbi,” or _Pennisetum distichum_,
horses brought from other countries generally fare but badly on it, as
they are reluctant to fill their mouths with its small prickles.
Rain was very plentiful this year (1851), and I am sure would, if
measured, have far exceeded the quantity found by Mr. Vogel in 1854.
Indeed, there were twelve very considerable falls of rain during the
month of August alone, which together probably exceeded thirty inches.
It must be borne in mind, moreover, that the fall of rain in Kúkawa does
not constitute the rule for the region, but is quite exceptional, owing
to the entire absence of trees and of heights in the neighbourhood.
Hence, the statement of Mr. Vogel in one of his letters, that the line
of tropical rains only begins south of Kúkawa, must be understood with
some reserve; for if he had measured the rain in the woody country north
of that capital, between Dáwerghú and Kalíluwá, he would, in my opinion,
have obtained a very different result. It is evident that all depends
upon the meaning of the expression, tropical rain. If it imply a very
copious fall of rain, Kúkawa certainly does not lie within the limit of
tropical rain; but if we are to understand by it the regularly returning
annual fall of rain, produced by the ascending currents of heated air, it
certainly does. There was a very heavy fall of rain on the night of the
3rd of August, which not only swamped our courtyard, but changed my room,
which lay half a foot lower, and was protected only by a low threshold,
into a little lake, aggravating my feverish state very considerably, and
spoiling most of my things.
On the 5th of August rain fell for the first time unaccompanied by
a storm, though the rainy season in general sets in with dreadful
tornadoes. The watery element disturbed the luxurious existence of the
“kanám galgálma,” the large termites, which had fed on our sugar and
other supplies, and on the 6th they all of a sudden disappeared from the
ground, and filled the air as short-lived winged creatures, in which
state they are called by the people “tsútsu,” or “dsúdsu,” and, when
fried, are used as food. Their tenure of life is so precarious, and they
seem to be so weak, that they become very troublesome, as they fall in
every direction upon man and his food. Of each swarm of these insects
only one couple seems destined to survive; all the rest die a violent
death.
The town now began to present quite a different appearance; but while it
was agreeable to see the dryness relieved, and succulent grass and fresh
crops springing up all around, and supplanting the dull uniformity of the
_Asclepias gigantea_, on the other hand, the extensive waterpools formed
everywhere in the concavities of the ground, were by no means conducive
to health, more especially as those places were depositories of all sorts
of offal, and of putrefying carcasses of many kinds. The consequence
was that my health, instead of improving, became worse, although I
struggled hard, and as often as possible rode out on horseback. All the
people were now busy in the labours of the field, although cultivation
in the neighbourhood of the town is not of a uniform, but of a varied
character; and a large portion of the ground, consisting of “ánge” and
“fírki,” is reserved for the culture of the masákuwá (_Holcus cernuus_),
or winter-corn, with its variety the kérirám.
On the 8th of August the neighbourhood presented a very animated
spectacle, the crownlands in Gawánge being then cultivated by a great
number of people, working to the sound of a drum. Their labours continued
till the 15th; on which day Mr. Overweg had the honour of presenting his
Búdduma friends to the sheikh of Bórnu. All nature was now cheerful;
the trees were putting forth fresh leaves, and the young birds began
to fledge. I took great delight in observing the little household of a
family of the feathered tribe; there were five young ones, the oldest and
most daring of which began to try his strength on the 12th of August,
while the other four set out together on the 14th.
Marriages are not frequent about this time, on account of the dearness of
corn; but matches are generally made after the harvest has been got in,
and while corn is cheap. I shall speak in another place of the marriage
ceremonies of this country.
On the 5th of September we obtained the first specimen of new “argúm
móro,” white Negro millet, which is very pleasant to the taste when
roasted on the fire; but this is regarded as a rarity, and new corn is
not brought into the market in any great quantities before the end of
November, or rather the beginning of December, when all the corn, which
has been for a long time lying in the fields in conical heaps, called
“búgga,” is threshed out.
My friend, the vizier, whose solicitude for my health I cannot
acknowledge too warmly, was very anxious that I should not stay in the
town during the rainy season; and knowing that one of our principal
objects was to investigate the eastern shore of lake Tsád, sent me
word, on the 11th of August, that I might now view the Bahar el Ghazál,
an undertaking which, as I have already mentioned, he had at first
represented as impossible. The news from Kánem, however, was now
favourable; but as I shall speak in another place of the political state
of this distracted country, and of the continual struggle between Bórnu
and Wadáÿ, I need only mention here that the Welád Slimán, who had become
a mercenary band attached to the vizier, had been successful during their
last expedition, and were reported on the very day of my return from
Ádamáwa to have made a prize of one hundred and fifty horses and a great
many camels, which, however, was a great exaggeration.
We were well acquainted with the character of these people, who are
certainly the most lawless robbers in the world; but as it was the
express wish of the British Government that we should endeavour to
explore the regions bordering on the lake, there was no course open to
us, but to unite our pursuits with theirs; besides, they were prepared
in some measure for such a union, for, while they inhabited the grassy
lands round the great Syrtis, they had come into frequent contact with
the English. We had no choice, for all the districts to the north-east
and east of the Tsád were at present in a certain degree dependent on
Wadáÿ, then at war with Bórnu, and we were told at the commencement that
we might go anywhere except to Wadáÿ. Instead of fighting it out with his
own people, which certainly would have been the most honourable course,
the vizier had ventured to make use of the remnant of the warlike, and at
present homeless, tribe of the Welád Slimán, in the attempt to recover
the eastern districts of Kánem from his eastern rival; or at least to
prevent the latter from obtaining a sure footing in them; for this object
he had made a sort of treaty with these Arabs, undertaking to supply them
with horses, muskets, powder and shot. Thus, in order to visit those
inhospitable regions, which had attracted a great deal of attention
in Europe, we were obliged to embrace this opportunity. Under these
circumstances, on the 16th of August, I sent the vizier word that I was
ready to join the Welád Slimán in Búrgu; whereupon he expressed a wish
that Mr. Overweg might likewise accompany us; the stay in Kúkawa during
the rainy season being very unhealthy.
Mr. Overweg had returned on the 9th to Maduwári from his interesting
voyage on the Tsád, of which every one will deeply regret that he himself
was not able to give a full account. Traversing that shallow basin in
the English boat, which we had carried all the way through the unbounded
sandy wastes and the rocky wildernesses of the desert, he had visited
a great part of the islands, which are dispersed over its surface, and
which, sometimes reduced to narrow sandy downs, at others expanding to
wide grassy lowlands, sustain a population in their peculiar national
independence, the remnant of a great nation which was exterminated by
the Kanúri. It was a little world of its own with which he had thus come
into contact, and into which we might hope to obtain by degrees a better
insight. He enjoyed excellent health, far better than when I saw him
before, on his first rejoining me in Kúkawa; and as he was well aware of
the strong reasons which our friend the vizier had for wishing us not to
stay in the swampy lowlands round the capital during the latter part of
the rainy season, he agreed to join me on this adventurous expedition to
the north-east.
Those regions had, from the very beginning of our setting out from
Múrzuk, attracted Mr. Overweg’s attention, and while as yet unacquainted
with the immense difficulties that attend travelling in these
inhospitable tracts, he had indulged in the hope of being able, at
some future time, to ramble about with our young Tébu lad, Mohammed el
Gatróni, among the fertile and picturesque valleys of Búrgu and Wajánga.
For this reason, as well as on account of my debility, which left me,
during the following expedition, the exercise of only a small degree of
my natural energy, it is greatly to be regretted that my unfortunate
companion, who seemed never fully aware that his life was at stake,
did not take into consideration the circumstance that he himself might
not be destined to return home, in order to elaborate his researches.
If all the information which he occasionally collected were joined to
mine, those countries would be far better known than they now are; but
instead of employing his leisure hours in transcribing his memoranda
in a form intelligible to others, he left them all on small scraps of
paper, negligently written with lead pencil, which, after the lapse of
some time, would become unintelligible even to himself. It is a pity that
so much talent as my companion possessed was not allied with practical
habits, and concentrated upon those subjects which he professed to study.
The political horizon of Negroland during this time was filled with
memorable events, partly of real, partly of fictitious importance.
Whatever advantages Bórnu may derive from its central position, it owes
to it also the risk of being involved in perpetual struggles with one or
other of the surrounding countries. And hence it is that, under a weak
government, this empire cannot stand for any length of time; it must
go on conquering and extending its dominion over adjacent territories,
or it will soon be overpowered. Towards the north is the empire of the
Turks, weak and crumbling in its centre, but always grasping with its
outlying members, and threatening to lay hold of what is around; towards
the north-west, the Tuarek, not forming a very formidable united power,
but always ready to pounce upon their prey whenever opportunity offers;
towards the west, the empire of Sókoto, great in extent, but weak beyond
description in the unsettled state of its loosely connected provinces,
and from the unenergetic government of a peacefully disposed prince; for
while one provincial governor was just then spreading around him the
flames of sedition and revolt, towards the south another vassal of this
same empire was disputing the possession of those regions whence the
supply of slaves is annually obtained; and towards the east, there is an
empire strong in its barbarism, and containing the germs of power, should
it succeed in perfectly uniting those heterogeneous elements of which it
is composed—I mean Wadáÿ.
With regard to the Turks, the state of affairs at this time was peculiar.
Bórnu, as we have seen in the historical account of that empire, once
embraced the whole region as far as Fezzán,—nay, even the southern
portion of Fezzán itself, and even Wadán; but since the decline of the
empire in the latter half of the last century these limits had been
abandoned, and the communication with the north had, in general, become
extremely unsafe. This state of things is necessarily disadvantageous
to a country which depends for many things on the supplies conveyed
from the north; and the authorities naturally wish that, since they
themselves, in their present condition, are unable to afford security
to this important communication, somebody else may do it. Hence it was
that, after my arrival in April, when the vizier was conversing with me
about the prospects of a regular commercial intercourse with the English,
he declared that he should be much pleased if the Turks would occupy
Kawár, and more particularly Bilma; and by building a fort and keeping a
garrison near the salt-mines of that place, exercise some control over
the Tuarek of Aír, and make them responsible for robberies committed
on the Fezzán road. It was in consequence of this communication that I
begged Her Majesty’s Government to enter into communication upon this
point with the Porte.
But the matter was of a very delicate nature with regard to Bórnu.
Indeed, it seemed questionable whether the Turks, if once firmly
established in Bilma, would not think fit to exercise some control over
the latter country. Nay, it was rather to be feared that they might try
to obtain there a firm footing, in order to extend their empire; and when
the news arrived in Bórnu that the ambitious Hassan Bashá had returned
to his post as governor of Fezzán, with very ample instructions, the
whole court of Bórnu became alarmed. The effect of this news upon the
disposition of the sheikh and the vizier to enter into friendly relations
with the British Government was remarkable. On the 5th of August they
were not able to conceal their fear lest a numberless host of Englishmen
might come into their country, if, by signing the treaty, access was
once allowed them, as proposed by Her Majesty’s Government. For although
they were conscious of the poverty of their country in comparison with
Europe, at times they were apt to forget it. In the afternoon of the 6th
the courier arrived, and the same evening Háj Beshír sent me word that
they were ready to sign the treaty; and afterwards they were very anxious
that the English Government should endeavour to prevent the governor of
Fezzán from carrying out the ulterior objects of his ambition. At that
time I had assured myself that a northern road through the desert was not
suitable for European commerce, and that a practicable highroad, leading
several hundred miles into the interior of the continent and passing to
the south of Kanó, the great commercial _entrepôt_ of Central Africa, and
only about two hundred miles in a straight line to the south of Kúkawa,
had been found in the river Bénuwé.
With regard to the empire of Sókoto, there happened at this time a
catastrophe which, while it was an unmistakable proof of the debility of
that vast agglomeration of provinces, proved at the same time extremely
favourable to Bórnu. For on the 1st of August the news arrived that
Bowári or Bokhári, the exiled governor of Khadéja, who had conquered
the town and killed his brother, had thrown back, with great loss, an
immense army sent against him by ʿAlíyu, the emperor of Sókoto, under
the command of his prime minister, ʿAbdu Gedádo, and composed of the
forces of the provinces of Kanó, Báuchi, Katágum, Mármar, and Bobéru,
when several hundreds were said to have perished in the komádugu, or the
great fiumara of Bórnu. In the spring, while Mr. Overweg was staying in
Góber, the Mariadáwa and Goberáwa had made a very successful expedition
into Zánfara; and the emperor of Sókoto could take no other revenge upon
them, than by sending orders to Kanó that my friends the Asbenáwa, many
of whose brethren had taken part in the expedition, should be driven out
of the town, which order was obeyed, while only the well-known Kandáke,
the same man whom Mr. Richardson, on his former journey into the desert,
has so frequently mentioned, was admitted into the town through the
intercession of the people of Ghadámes.
The immediate consequence of these circumstances was, that the court of
Bórnu tried to enter into more friendly relations with the Asbenáwa, or
the Tuarek of Asben, with whom at other times they were on unfriendly
terms, and the prisoners whom they had made on the last expedition
were released. The coalition extended as far as Góber; and the most
ardent desire of the vizier was to march straight upon Kanó. To conquer
this great central place of commerce was the great object of this
man’s ambition; but for which he did not possess sufficient energy
and self-command. However, the governor of that place, terrified by
the victory of Bokhári, who was now enabled to carry on his predatory
expeditions into that rich territory without hindrance, distributed sixty
bernúses and three thousand dollars among the Mʿallemín, to induce them
to offer up their prayers to Allah for the public welfare.
We have seen above, that the Bórnu people had given to their relations
with Ádamáwa a hostile character; but from that quarter they had nothing
to fear, the governor of their province being too much occupied by the
affairs of his own country.
I will now say a word about Wadáÿ. That was the quarter to which the
most anxious looks of the Bórnu people were directed. For, seven years
previously, they had been very nearly conquered by them, and had employed
every means to get information of what was going on there. But from
thence also the news was favourable. For although the report of the death
of the Sultan Mohammed Sheríf, in course of time, turned out to be false,
still it was true that the country was plunged into a bloody civil war
with the Abú-Senún, or Kodoyí, and that numbers of enterprising men had
succumbed in the struggle. The business of the town went on as usual,
with the exception of the ʿaid el fotr, the ngúmerí ashám, the festival
following the great annual fast, which was celebrated in a grand style,
not by the nation, which seemed to take very little interest in it, but
by the court. In other places, like Kanó, the rejoicings seem to be more
popular on this occasion; the children of the butchers or “masufauchi”
in that great emporium of commerce mounting some oxen, fattened for the
occasion, between the horns, and managing them by a rope fastened to the
neck, and another to the hind leg. As for the common people of Bórnu,
they scarcely took any other part in this festivity than by putting on
their best dresses; and it is a general custom in larger establishments
that servants and attendants on this day receive a new shirt.
I also put on my best dress, and mounting my horse, which had recovered
a little from the fatigue of the last journey, though it was not yet
fit for another, proceeded in the morning to the eastern town or “billa
gedíbe,” the great thoroughfare being crowded with men on foot and
horseback, passing to and fro, all dressed in their best. It had been
reported that the sheikh was to say his prayers in the mosque, but we
soon discovered that he was to pray outside the town, as large troops of
horsemen were leaving it through the north gate or “chinna yalábe.” In
order to become aware of the place where the ceremony was going on, I
rode to the vizier’s house, and met him just as he came out, mounted on
horseback, and accompanied by a troop of horsemen.
At the same time several cavalcades were seen coming from various
quarters, consisting of the kashéllas, or officers, each with his
squadron, of from a hundred to two hundred horsemen, all in the most
gorgeous attire, particularly the heavy cavalry; the greater part being
dressed in a thick stuffed coat called “degíbbir,” and wearing over it
several tobes of all sorts of colours and designs, and having their heads
covered with the “búge,” or casque, made very nearly like those of our
knights in the middle age, but of lighter metal, and ornamented with most
gaudy feathers. Their horses were covered all over with thick clothing
called “líbbedí,” with various coloured stripes, consisting of three
pieces, and leaving nothing but the feet exposed, the front of the head
being protected and adorned by a metal plate. Others were dressed in a
coat of mail, “síllege,” and the other kind called “komá-komí-súbe.” The
lighter cavalry was only dressed in two or three showy tobes and small
white or coloured caps; but the officers and more favoured attendants
wore bernúses of finer or coarser quality, and generally of red or yellow
colour, slung in a picturesque manner round the upper part of their body,
so that the inner wadding of richly coloured silk was most exposed to
view.
All these dazzling cavalcades, amongst whom some very excellent horses
were seen prancing along, were moving towards the northern gate of the
“bílla gedíbe,” while the troop of the sheikh himself, who had been
staying in the western town, was coming from the south-west. The sight
of this troop, at least from a little distance, as is the case in
theatrical scenery, was really magnificent. The troop was led by a number
of horsemen; then followed the livery slaves with their matchlocks; and
behind them rode the sheikh, dressed as usual in a white bernús, as
a token of his religious character, but wearing round his head a red
shawl. He was followed by four magnificent chargers clothed in líbbedí
of silk of various colours, that of the first horse being striped white
and yellow, that of the second white and brown, that of the third white
and light green, and that of the fourth white and cherry-red. This was
certainly the most interesting and conspicuous part of the procession.
Behind the horses followed the four large ʿalam or ensigns of the sheikh,
and the four smaller ones of the musketeers, and then a numerous body of
horsemen.
This cavalcade of the sheikh’s now joined the other troops, and the whole
body proceeded in the direction of Dawerghú to a distance of about a mile
from the town. Here the sheikh’s tent was pitched, consisting of a very
large cupola of considerable dimensions, with blue and white stripes, and
curtains, the one half white and the other red; the curtains were only
half closed. In this tent the sheikh himself, the vizier, and the first
courtiers were praying, while the numerous body of horsemen and men on
foot were grouped around in the most picturesque and imposing variety.
Meanwhile I made the round of this interesting scene, and endeavoured to
count the various groups. In their numbers I was certainly disappointed,
as I had been led to expect myriads. At the very least, however, there
were three thousand horsemen, and from six thousand to seven thousand
armed men on foot, the latter partly with bow and arrow. There were
besides a great multitude of spectators. The ceremony did not last long;
and as early as nine o’clock the ganga summoned all the chiefs to mount,
and the dense mass of human beings began to disperse and range themselves
in various groups. They took their direction round the north-western
corner of the east town, and entered the latter by the western gate; but
the crowd was so great that I chose to forego taking leave of the sheikh,
and went slowly back over the intermediate ground between the two towns
in the company of some very chevalieresque and well-mounted young Arabs
from Ben-Gházi, and posted myself at some distance from the east gate of
the western town, in order to see the kashéllas, who have their residence
in this quarter, pass by. There were twelve or thirteen, few of whom had
more than one hundred horsemen, the most conspicuous being Fúgo ʿAlí,
ʿAlí Marghí, ʿAlí Déndal, ʿAlí Ladán, Belál, Sálah, Kandíl, and Jerma.
It was thought remarkable that no Shúwa had come to this festivity;
but I think they rarely do, although they may sometimes come for the
ʿAíd-el-kebír, or the “ngúmerí layábe.” It is rather remarkable that even
this smaller festivity is celebrated here with such _éclat_, while in
general, in Mohammedan Negroland, only the “láya” is celebrated in this
way; perhaps this is due to Egyptian influence, and the custom is as old
at least as the time of the King Edrís Alawóma.
I had the inexpressible delight of receiving by the courier, who arrived
on the 6th of August, a considerable parcel of letters from Europe,
which assured me as well of the great interest which was generally
felt in our undertaking, although as yet only very little of our first
proceedings had become known, as that we should be enabled to carry out
our enterprise without too many privations. I therefore collected all
the little energy which my sickly state had left me, and concluded the
report of my journey to Ádamáwa, which caused me a great deal of pain,
but which, forwarded on the 8th of August, together with the news of Mr.
Overweg’s successful navigation, produced a great deal of satisfaction
in Europe. Together with the letters and sundry Maltese portfolios, I
had also the pleasure of receiving several numbers of the _Athenæum_,
probably the first which were introduced into Central Africa, and which
gave me great delight.
Altogether our situation in the country was not so bad. We were on the
best and most friendly terms with the rulers; we were not only tolerated,
but even respected by the natives, and we saw an immense field of
interesting and useful labour open to us. There was only one disagreeable
circumstance besides the peculiar nature of the climate; this was the
fact, that our means were too small to render us quite independent of
the sheikh and his vizier, for the scanty supplies which had reached us
were not sufficient to provide for our wants, and were soon gone. We
were scarcely able to keep ourselves afloat on our credit, and to supply
our most necessary wants. Mr. Overweg, besides receiving a very handsome
horse from them, had also been obliged to accept at their hands a number
of tobes, which he had made presents of to the chiefs of the Búdduma,
and they looked upon him as almost in their employment. He lost a great
deal of his time in repairing, or rather trying to repair, their watches
and other things. Such services I had declined from the beginning, and
was therefore regarded as less useful; and I had occasionally to hear
it said, “ʿAbd el Kerím faidanse bágo,”—“ʿAbd el Kerím is of no use
whatever;” nevertheless, I myself was not quite independent of their
kindness, although I sacrificed all I could in order to give from time to
time a new impulse to their favour by an occasional present.
The horse which they had first given me had proved incapable of such
fatigue as it had to undergo, and the animal which I had bought before
going to Ádamáwa had been too much knocked up to stand another journey so
soon: and after having bought two other camels and prepared myself for
another expedition, I was unable, with my present means, to buy a good
horse. Remembering, therefore, what the vizier had told me with regard to
my first horse, I sent him word that he would greatly oblige me by making
me a present of one, and he was kind enough to send me four animals from
which to choose; but as none of these satisfied me, I rejected them
all, intimating very simply that it was impossible, among four _nags_,
“kádara,” to choose one _horse_, “fir.” This hint, after a little further
explanation, my friend did not fail to understand, and in the evening of
the 7th of September he sent me a horse from his own stable, which became
my faithful and noble companion for the next four campaigns, and from
which I did not part till, after my return from Timbúktu, in December
1854, he succumbed to sickness in Kanó.
He was the envy of all the great men, from the Sultan of Bagírmi to the
chiefs of the Tademékket and Awelímmiden, near Timbúktu. His colour was
a shade of grey, with beautiful light leopard-like spots; and the Kanúri
were not unanimous with regard to the name which they gave it, some
calling it “shéggará,” while others thought the name “kerí sassarándi”
more suitable to it. In the company of mares he was incapable of walking
quietly, but kept playing in order to show himself off to advantage. The
Bórnu horses in general are very spirited and fond of prancing. He was
an excellent “kerísa” or marcher, and “doy” or swift in the extreme, but
very often lost his start by his playfulness. Of his strength, the extent
of the journeys which he made with me bears ample testimony, particularly
if the warlike, scientific, and victualling stores which I used to carry
with me are taken into account. He was a “ngírma,” but not of the largest
size. Mr. Overweg’s horse was almost half a hand higher; but, while mine
was a lion in agility, my companion’s horse was not unlike a hippopotamus
in plumpness.
With such a horse I prepared cheerfully for my next expedition, which I
regarded in the light both of an undertaking in the interests of science,
and as a medicinal course for restoring my health, which threatened to
succumb in the unhealthy region of Kúkawa. Besides two Fezzáni lads, I
had taken into my service two Arabs belonging to the tribe of the Welád
Slimán, and whose names were Bú-Zéd and Hasén ben Hár.