RETURN TO BÓRNU.
_Wednesday, Jan. 7._—This was the day when we were to bid farewell to all
projects of penetrating further towards the south or south-east. It was
rather remarkable, that, early in the morning, at the very moment when
the drum was beating, the moon was eclipsed; but our commander-in-chief
was too much enlightened to be frightened at such a phenomenon like the
Athenian general before Syracuse. He requested Mr. Overweg to explain it
to him; but otherwise he was not much concerned about it.
We this time kept a little more towards the east than on our outward
march, approaching closer to the river of Logón. Only a short tract of
clear forest separated the cultivated grounds of Démmo from another
village, where, besides Negro corn, we found tobacco and cotton in
friendly community on the same piece of ground. We had already seen
much cultivation of tobacco in this country, and were impressed with
the opinion, however strange it may seem, that it was an indigenous
plant, and not introduced at a recent period; we had moreover been
informed, that not only the men, but even the women in this country, are
passionately fond of smoking. But as for cotton, we had not yet seen any
in the whole tract of the Músgu country which we had travelled over; and
its appearance here seemed to be a step in advance towards civilization,
caused, probably, by the influence of the neighbouring town of Logón.
After a short interruption, there followed another village, which
was succeeded by forest, and then another swamp, at present dry, and
overgrown with tall rank grass, but difficult to pass on account of
innumerable holes. Shortly afterwards the country on our right assumed
an open and very pleasant appearance, a river with a clear sheet of
water, but apparently without a current, winding through it in tortuous
meanderings, and closely approaching the higher ground along which the
numerous host was pursuing its march. The slope was adorned with wild
fig-trees and acacias, which were overshadowed by two fine deléb-palms.
This open country was succeeded by the well-cultivated and shaded fields
which lay stretched out between the scattered courtyards of another
village; and here we encamped, my companion and I pitching our tents near
a beautiful sort of fig-tree of the species called “báure” by the Háusa,
and “kágo” by the Kanúri, or at least the Mánga.
The whole village was deserted; only a few neglected members of the
poultry tribe were running about, endeavouring to escape from the hands
of their greedy pursuers. It was a very hot day, the hottest we had on
this expedition, the thermometer, at half-past one in the afternoon,
indicating 100° in the cool shade of our fine fig-tree. The encampment
was cheerful and pleasant; but in the evening a frightful alarm arose—the
rumour being spread that the pagans were attacking the “ngáufate,”—the
great drum of the commander-in-chief keeping up a tremendous din, and
all the people hurrying along in every direction. The alarm was so great
that my companion gave up his tent, and retreated with his people to that
of the vizier; and I found myself obliged to allow my two servants to
follow him also. As for myself, I remained where I was, for I felt little
inclination to have my tent once more plundered, as had been the case on
our expedition to Kánem. It soon proved to be nothing but a false alarm.
In these predatory incursions, the rapacious Shúwa suffer the greatest
loss, as it is they who always push on furthest, and run the greatest
risk; but, on the other hand, they also succeed in carrying off secretly
a great deal of spoil to their native villages without its becoming
subject to the general partition. None of them have firelocks, being only
armed with missiles usually consisting of one large spear, or kasákka,
and four small javelins, or bállem; very few of them have shields.
_Thursday, Jan. 8._—The country through which we passed was extremely
fertile and beautiful, the scenery during the first part of our march
preserving in general the same features which it exhibited on the
preceding day. We ourselves kept along the high ground, at the foot of
which a clear open sheet of water was meandering along, while beyond,
towards the east, an unbounded grassy plain stretched out, with a
scanty growth of trees in the background, and only broken towards
the south-east by a low chain of hills. At the distance of a mile we
reached some hamlets where dúm- and deléb-palms were grouped together
in a remarkable manner, starting forth from, and illuminated by, the
sea of flames which was devouring the village, the whole forming a very
picturesque spectacle.
Further on we made a halt on the slope of the rising ground, the various
troops, distinguished by the diversity of colours of their dresses,
grouping themselves around some buildings which were almost consumed by
the flames, while I found leisure to sketch the fertile country before
us. The people themselves were struck with its beauty; and when we
continued our march, I took an opportunity to enter into a conversation
with our friend the vizier, with regard to the policy which they pursued
with these people, and the way in which they desolated these regions; and
I asked him whether they would not act more prudently in allowing the
natives to cultivate their fertile country in tranquillity, only levying
a considerable tribute upon them. But the vizier answered me, that it
was only by the most violent means that they were able to crush these
pagans, who cherished their independence and liberty above everything,
and that this was the reason why he burnt all the granaries, in order to
subdue them by famine; and he added that even of famine they were less
sensible than he could wish, as the water in this region afforded them an
unlimited supply of fish.
Slaves are the only articles which the conquerors want from the subjected
tribes; by carrying into slavery great numbers of them they force them
into subjection, and even the tribute which they levy, after having
subdued them, consists of slaves. All this will be changed as soon as
a regular and legitimate intercourse has been opened along the river
Bénuwé into the heart of these regions, when the natural produce of
the soil will be in constant request—such as cotton, indigo, vegetable
butter, ground-nuts, ivory, rhinoceros’ horns, wax, hides, and many
other articles. The vizier himself, although a strict Moslim, was
too enlightened to lay much stress upon the spreading of Islám; but
nevertheless the idea that these unfortunate creatures fully deserve such
treatment, in their character as pagans (kofár or “kérdi”), blunted his
feelings to their sufferings.
Further on we crossed the water where it was shallower, and, a little
beyond, another meadow-water of greater breadth but not so deep, and then
entered a fine undulating country, while an arm of the water remained on
our left. The whole country was extremely well cultivated, and densely
inhabited, village succeeding village, while large trees, mostly of the
ngábbore and karáge kind, enveloped the whole in the finest vegetation.
Some of the huts were distinguished by a natural ornamental network or
covering, formed by that kind of _Cucurbitacea_ which I have mentioned
before as named “ságade” by the natives, and which is probably identical
with the species called _Melopepo_. The aspect of the country was the
more pleasing, and left the impression of a certain degree of industry,
owing to the tobacco-plants just standing in flower.
Amidst such scenery, we took up our encampment at an early hour in the
morning, a beautifully winding watercourse, which was bordered by a fine
grassy slope about twenty feet high, closely approaching on our right.
The watercourse was about sixty yards broad, but of considerable depth,
at least in this place, and full of clear fresh water, which was gently
gliding along, and disappeared further down in the plain. Here I lay
down for an hour in the cool shade of a large karáge-tree, and allowed
myself to be carried away by the recollections caused by the ever-varying
impressions of such a wandering life, which repays the traveller fully
for all the hardships and privations which he has to endure, and endows
him with renewed energy to encounter fresh dangers.
I have before observed what trouble the hard alluvial soil caused us
in pitching our tents; but here the argillaceous soil was succeeded by
loose sand, which forms the border of the river. The light troops, soon
after our arrival to-day, had dispersed in all directions and brought
a considerable quantity of cattle from the neighbouring villages; the
cattle, however, hereabouts are only of middle size, and the cows yield
little milk, and that of very poor quality.
It seems remarkable that the Músgu, as well as the Marghí, and several
divisions of the kindred Kótoko, call the cattle by a name which closely
approaches that given to it by the Háusa people, while the Bátta call it
by a name which is certainly derived from the Fulfúlde, or the language
of the Fúlbe. Such linguistic relations are not without interest, as they
afford some little insight into the history of the civilization of these
regions. A little variety was given to the monotonous proceedings of our
rather inglorious expedition, by the fact of one of the Shúwa, who was
supposed to have been killed a few days previously, being found under
a tree in the forest, severely wounded, but still alive, after having
undergone great hardships and privations.
_Friday, Jan. 9._—The whole district in which we had been roving about
since the 30th December belongs to Wúliya, which is decidedly one of the
most fertile and best-irrigated regions in the world.
A desolate border-district, consisting at times of green swampy ground
uprooted by the footprints of the elephant, and on this account affording
a very difficult passage for cavalry, at others of dense forest, the one
following the other in rapid succession, separated Wúliya from another
principality, of the name of Bárea, and inhabited by a tribe of the
Músgu of the name of Ábare. It was characteristic of the little peaceful
intercourse which exists among these various petty tribes, that the Ábare
did not seem to have had the slightest information of the approach of the
expedition, till we suddenly came upon them through the dense forest,
so that they had scarcely time to escape with their families from the
village, and endeavour to hide themselves in the dense covert of the
forest towards the east. They were pursued and overpowered, after a short
resistance, by the continually increasing numbers of the enemy; and the
booty of that day, chiefly in cattle, was rather considerable. Slaves
were also brought in in considerable numbers, principally young boys and
girls. The distance of the field of battle spared us the sight of the
slaughter of the full-grown men.
We chose our camping-ground on the stubble-fields between the straggling
groups of the village, which were beautifully adorned by some fine
specimens of the deléb-palm; and I took the opportunity of making a
sketch of this scene of natural fertility, and wanton destruction of
human happiness. The huts in general were of the same construction and
arrangement as those described above; but in one of them I found a kind
of three-pointed harpoon or spear very similar to a hay-fork, with this
difference, that the middle point was rather longer. The handle also
was rather long, measuring about eight feet. It probably was used for
catching fish, rather than as a weapon, otherwise it would scarcely have
been left behind; but it may easily have served both purposes.
[Illustration]
Thus by very short marches we again approached Bórnu, keeping mostly at a
short distance eastward from our former route, and encamped the following
day in the midst of another straggling village, the fields of which were
especially shaded by fine bíto-trees (_Balanites Ægyptiaca_), the soil
being as hard as iron. I had scarcely pitched my tent when Hámed, the
son of Íbrahím Wádáy, one of the courtiers with whom I was on friendly
terms, sent to me, begging I would pay him a visit; and, upon complying
with his wish, he introduced into my presence a female slave who had
been taken the day before, telling me that I might make a drawing of
her; for he knew that I was making strict inquiries after the origin and
customs of these tribes, and that I was making occasional sketches. This
female slave was certainly worthy of a sketch, as she was one of the most
stately women I saw here. But I entertained some suspicion that she was
not of Músgu origin, but belonged to the Marghí; for in the whole of the
Músgu country I had not observed a single individual of red colour, but
all were of the same dirty black, approaching to what the French call
_café-au-lait_, while this woman was of a red complexion. She certainly
wore in her under lip the large bone, the national emblem of the Músgu
females; but this custom she might have adopted. As for herself, she
would neither give me any information with respect to her origin, nor sit
still in order to allow me to finish my sketch. She was tall and well
grown, with the exception of the legs, which were rather crooked; and
being still a young woman, her breasts had not attained that bag-like
shape which is so disgusting in the elder females of this country. Her
features were only a little disfigured by the bone in the under lip.
Her neck was richly ornamented with strings of beads; but these were as
little peculiar to her as the cotton cloth round her loins, having been
given her by the new master into whose hands she had fallen. The national
dress of the Músgu females consists of nothing but a narrow bandage,
formed of bast, twisted like a rope, which is fastened between the legs
and round the waist like a T bandage.
A circumstance happened here which caused a great sensation, particularly
among the courtiers. The last messengers who had been sent from Kúkawa
with despatches for the commander-in-chief, as I have observed, had been
destroyed by the pagans; and it was on this day, and in this place,
that, while all the cottages were being pillaged and ransacked, three of
the letters of which those messengers had been the bearers, were found
in the pocket of a shirt which had been hid in a clay jar. This was
evidently the shirt of the messenger himself; and the blood with which it
had been stained had been washed out without taking the letters out of
the pocket. Devoid as the expedition was of feats of valour and interest,
the greatest importance was attached to this little incident.
_Sunday, Jan. 11._—When we left this place our friends just barely
escaped punishment for their barbarous proceeding of burning the
villages, in which we had encamped, as soon as we left them; for the
conflagration spread before we had gained the open country, and a most
horrible crushing took place among the burning huts. Had there been any
wind, great part of the army might have been severely scorched. The
country which we passed to-day was intersected by numerous watercourses;
and we had to cross and recross them several times. Here we passed a
place where the poor natives, in the consciousness of their weakness,
seemed to have been aroused to new and unwonted energy for building a
large fortification, but had been obliged to leave it half finished. Our
march was extremely short, and scarcely extended to three miles, when we
encamped in a village which seemed to have been ransacked at a former
period. It lay straggling over a wide extent of ground, in separate
groups of cottages, which were surrounded by stubble-fields shaded by
karáge-trees of a richness and exuberance which I had not seen before,
and surpassing even those fine trees of the same species which I have
described near the village Kadé.
Of course every one was desirous of having his tent pitched in the
shade of one of these beautiful trees, when suddenly the intruders were
attacked by swarms of large bees, which, settling behind their ears,
tormented them to the utmost, as if they wanted to take revenge for
the mischief that had been done to their masters, and to defend their
favourite resting-places, against these cruel intruders. It is well known
that swarms of bees had almost caused the destruction of Mungo Park’s, as
well as Major Gray’s expedition; but here a whole army was running away
from these little creatures. Even those who had encamped at a greater
distance were only able to protect themselves by the large volumes of
smoke which issued from the fires they had lighted. Before this, we had
not observed the rearing of bees in this country; but here the larger
trees were full of beehives, made of large-sized blocks. Even flocks of
turtle-doves were not wanting in this fertile region so rich in water and
vegetation.
In this pleasant spot we remained encamped the following day, while part
of the army was sent out in a southerly direction towards our former
encampment, Kákala, which was only at a few miles’ distance, in order to
try their fortune thereabouts; but the pagans being upon their guard,
they returned empty-handed in the evening. Our food to-day was varied, to
our great satisfaction, by an excellent fish of considerable size, which
we obtained from the neighbouring pond. Fish seems to be plentiful in
this quarter; but whether the number of small ridges and channels which
we observed on our march the following day were intended for catching
fish, which might enter them at the highest level of the inundation,
or for preparing the fields for cultivation, I am not quite sure; but
the former seemed to be the case, there being no signs whatever of the
fields being brought under labour. Dense forest and open pasture-ground
alternated, the forest, consisting of middle-sized acacias, interrupted
now and then by the kálgo-tree, with its ash-coloured leaves and its dark
red pods, or by the kókia.
The country, however, became exceedingly interesting and pleasant when we
reached one of the numerous watercourses of these African Netherlands,
an open and clear river about seventy yards broad, which being fringed
on each bank with a border of slender deléb-palms, or kamelútu, in the
clear magnificent morning sky, afforded a most picturesque view. We here
crossed this water, and passed a village on our left, and, keeping along
the fresh turf of the western bank a mile further on, reached a spot
where another branch, running eastward apparently, though no current is
visible, and fringed likewise by palms of the same description, joins
the main channel. The country being without any perceptible inclination,
it is extremely difficult, nay almost impossible, to decide about the
direction of these watercourses, except during the period of their
highest inundation. But the fertile and picturesque landscape beyond this
narrow sheet of water, which stretched along in a regular line like an
artificial canal, did not seem at all to be deserted, natives being seen
in every direction. The commander of the expedition therefore ordered a
short halt, the army presenting their front to the enemy, and preventing
the stragglers from crossing the river, which, owing to their greediness
for spoil, they seemed to have not a little inclination to do. But the
great men of Bórnu at the present day do not like any unusual exertion;
and it was decided to await the arrival of the camels, to encamp at
ease, and to take luncheon. We then turned off a little to the westward,
entered a village, and encamped in the stubble-fields.
Suddenly, just about noon, without my having any previous knowledge of
it, the vizier and his officers mounted on horseback, in order to attack
the pagans on the other side of the water; but these poor people, to whom
had been given full opportunity of estimating the strength of the army,
had thought it prudent to make use of the leisure thus afforded them, not
by the mercy, but by the cowardly disposition of their enemies, to convey
their families and property into a place of safety; for the river of
Logón passed at a distance of only four miles from this place, and in its
present state was capable of affording perfect security to the persecuted
natives, their pursuers having no boats. But although the army did not go
to a great distance, and returned after an absence of three hours, I was
rather sorry for having neglected this opportunity of obtaining a sight
of the river of Logón again at another place, and likewise of visiting
once more that picturesque district, so rich in deléb-palms, which was
evidently one of the finest in the whole country. Mr. Overweg, who had
received previous information of the intention of the vizier, was this
time more fortunate than myself, and afterwards informed me that they
had been obliged to keep first along the smaller river, in order to reach
the ford where we had crossed it in the morning. The great river, which
they reached about three miles beyond, exhibited a single bed, and was
not fordable.
While remaining behind in the empty encampment, I lamented the misery of
accompanying such an expedition; for nothing can be more disheartening to
the feelings of a traveller who is desirous of knowledge, than to visit
these beautiful countries under such circumstances, when the original
inhabitants are either exterminated, or obliged to seek their safety
in flight, when all traces of their cheerful life are destroyed, and
the abodes of human happiness converted into desolation, when no one is
left to acquaint him with all the significant names which the various
characteristic features of the country must necessarily bear, especially
those numberless creeks, swamps, and rivers which intersect this country
in all directions. The stranger who intrudes upon the natives in this
hostile manner is scarcely able to make out a few dry names of the
principal dwelling-places, and, being placed under such disadvantageous
circumstances, is at least justified in speaking more emphatically of
the endless misery into which the finest and most populous regions of
this continent are plunged by these slave-hunting expeditions of their
merciless Mohammedan neighbours. This fertile district, which is enclosed
by the river of Logón on the east, and by the narrow channel-like
watercourse on the west side, seems to be that very dominion of “Fúss,”
the power of which, as I have related before, was greatly dreaded by our
friends.
This was the coolest day we had as yet experienced on our expedition, the
thermometer, in the cool shade of a tree, at half-past one o’clock in the
afternoon, indicating only 84°. This was probably attributable to the
fresh northerly breeze which sprung up about noon; for during the night
it was not so cold as we felt it afterwards, the thermometer during this
time indicating, at sunrise, between 56° and 59°, and at sunset between
74° and 77°.
_Wednesday, Jan. 14._—We made a longer march than usual, while the
character of the country changed entirely, and not, as it seemed, to its
advantage; for instead of a fertile landscape, clothed with rich verdure,
we entered upon bleak alluvial plains scantily overgrown with stunted
mimosas, and to all appearance almost unfit for producing grain. It was
one of those remarkable days in January which, in the whole of Central
Africa, form a distinct season by themselves. A thick fog enveloped the
whole country, and excluded any distant view, and, while subsequently it
helped to increase the dismal character of the country, in the beginning
of our march it prevented us from enjoying once more the rich scenery
of the preceding day; for we had first to return to the bank of that
beautiful clear sheet of water along which our march had led the day
before. Its banks here also were quite flat, but the sheet of water was
wider than at the place where we had seen it before. Proceeding a little
in advance of the army, I obtained a sight of a river-horse just at the
moment when it raised its immense head above the surface of the watery
element.
But as soon as we left this fine clear sheet of water the character of
the country changed entirely, assuming an exceedingly sombre aspect, and
we passed a hamlet more cheerless and miserable than any I had seen in
the whole of this country. Not a single trace of cultivation was seen
on the bleak, black, argillaceous soil; and it was evident that the
inhabitants of this hamlet subsisted solely on the fish which they were
able to catch; and these may be abundant, as the whole configuration
of the ground evidently shows that this entire tract is reached by the
inundation during the rainy season.
The country preserved the same aspect as we proceeded onwards; and the
hamlets which we passed were not of a more inviting appearance than the
first. Only now and then an isolated deléb-palm, or kamelútu, raised its
magnificent tuft into the air, and served, by the contrast it afforded,
to make this spot appear more gloomy. A large piece of ground was
entirely covered with aghúl (_Hedysarus alhajji_) which seemed to me not
a little remarkable, as I did not remember to have seen this plant, which
is so much liked by the camel, since I had left Taganáma.
The country assumed more and more the appearance of a swamp at present
dry; and we were even obliged to change our direction frequently, in
order to avoid spots where the bog had not dried up, while everywhere we
observed the same kind of small ridges which I have mentioned before.
Further on, the ground became a little drier, but presented only a
monotonous waste, with detached bunches of rank grass, overshadowed now
and then by scanty and stunted karáge-trees scarcely fifteen feet high,
while we had been accustomed, in the Músgu country, to see this kind of
tree assume the size of the most magnificent specimens of the vegetable
kingdom, with an elevation of from seventy to eighty feet, and a crown
of not less diameter. As far as the eye could reach, the character of
the country presented the same poor appearance; but, as I have mentioned
before, the sky was not very clear, and the view was therefore rather
limited. The bush of the fan-palm seemed to be quite solitary, without
there being a full-grown specimen to be seen.
At length this swampy ground seemed to have an end; but nothing but poor
stubble-fields, where the crop had failed, took its place, with here and
there a few detached poor-looking huts, the few trees which were visible
exhibiting the same scanty growth that we had observed in the district
through which we had just passed. At last the eye, fatigued by the length
of this gloomy tract, was refreshed by the sight of a field with a fresh
crop of másakuwá, or _Holcus cernuus_, though it was far from being a
rich one. Already here, besides the huts common in this country, others,
of a remarkable and peculiar style, became visible, such as I shall
describe further on, and as only the most excellent clay soil can enable
the natives to build.
Entering for a while a grassy plain, we reached an open water, such as
the Kanúri people call komádugu, about thirty yards broad, but apparently
of considerable depth, being enclosed by banks ten feet high, and winding
through the plain in a fine meandering course. The water, at present,
had no current; and we found a spot where it was totally broken, and were
enabled to cross it with dry feet.
A few hundred yards on the other side of this watercourse were the ruins
of Bága, the residence of the chief Kábishmé (or, as the Kanúri call him,
Kabshimé), which had been ransacked last year by Kashélla ʿAlí Fúgomámi.
Among these ruins the vizier, by the advice of Ádishén, who wanted to
keep the undisciplined host from his own fertile territory, had chosen
the encampment. Thither I directed my steps, while the main body of the
cavalry were scattered about the cornfields, in order to gather the
half-ripe ears of grain for themselves and their half-starved horses; and
he was lucky who arrived first, those who came afterwards either finding
nothing at all, or only green, unwholesome corn.
The whole district where the encampment was chosen was bare and
desolate in the extreme, especially on the eastern side, where it was
only bordered by stunted mimosas a considerable distance off. But the
village itself, and particularly the dwelling of the chief Kábishmé,
was calculated to create a great deal of interest, as well on account
of the finished and careful execution of the buildings as owing to a
certain degree of comfort and homeliness which was evident in the whole
arrangement; and in this respect it was very fortunate that, immediately
after our arrival, before the train came up, I directed my attention
towards these buildings, for afterwards the deserted palace of the
Músgu chief became a harím, or prohibited spot, the vizier finding
its architectural arrangements very useful and convenient for his own
domestic purposes.
[Illustration]
The palace must have afforded a very different spectacle in former times,
when it was inhabited, it being at present in such a state of ruin that
several features in its arrangement could not be distinctly made out,
almost everything that was liable to take fire having been destroyed, and
especially the sheds and inner courtyards, which are so characteristic of
the domestic life of these people. At present it was an empty courtyard
of a tolerably round shape, and of large circumference, surrounded by
huts more or less destroyed, and adorned at the four corners, if we may
speak of corners in a building of almost round shape, by buildings of
a very peculiar and remarkable character, which at once attracted my
attention, as they bore testimony to a degree of order, and even of art,
which I had not expected to find among these tribes.
They were small round rumbú, about eight feet in diameter, and at least
twelve feet high to the apex of the cupola, the clay walls of which
were very neatly polished; the entrance formed a projecting portal
about six feet high, four feet deep, and not more than fourteen inches
wide. The exterior, to the very top of the cupola, was ornamented in
a very peculiar manner by regular lines of projecting ribs running
round the building in the way represented in the woodcut. These very
remarkable rooms, although at present empty, from their analogy with
several buildings described above, and according to the statements
of the people, were nothing but well protected granaries, although
they might have served occasionally in the cold season as bedrooms or
sleeping-rooms. They were exactly the same at each of the four corners;
but the north-east corner of the yard claimed particular attention, owing
to another very remarkable apartment being there joined to the granary,
which, as it is best adapted to give a clear idea of the homely comfort
of these people, however low the scale of their civilization may be, has
been made use of to represent, in the plate opposite, a scene of the
domestic life of these people, besides that its ground-plan is given in
the accompanying woodcut.
[Illustration]
It was a round uncovered apartment of about twenty-four feet in
diameter, inclosed by a clay wall of about seven feet high, and a foot
in thickness, and carefully polished at the corners. The doorway was
about four feet high by about two feet wide; entering through this you
had on your left a bank of clay running parallel with the wall, and
enclosing a space of about two and a half feet in breadth. It was a foot
and a quarter high, and one foot broad, and ran round more than half the
circumference of the room, but, in order to afford easy access to the
narrow space between it and the wall, had an opening in the centre, both
ends of the banks thus formed having a regularly shaped projection. The
space included between the bank and the wall formed a sort of stable, as
was evident from three stakes placed in the ground at equal distances
from each other. Probably it was the place for three head of cattle
or goats. The clay bank, therefore, served two purposes, partly as a
separation of the stable from the inner apartment, and partly as a seat.
The centre of the apartment was formed by a shed about eight feet by six,
and consisting of a roof of reeds and grass, supported by four stakes,
and furnishing an evident proof that the apartment had never been covered
in, but formed an open little courtyard _sub dio_.
On the right of this shed was the cooking-place or kitchen, enclosed by
two very low clay walls, and formed by four projections of clay in the
shape of large round stones, which in a very simple manner formed two
fireplaces, each of which, if detached, would have required three stones.
Between the kitchen, the shed, and one end of the clay bank, and divided
from the former by a separate wall, appeared a broad entrance to the
adjoining building, which we have recognized as a granary; but at present
it was walled up, and formed a recess for some purpose or other. Between
the kitchen and the gateway was another place enclosed between two thin
clay walls, which was most probably destined to contain the water-jar.
The four well-built and well-secluded rooms, which had been intended
originally as granaries, seemed very desirable to the vizier in the cold
weather, as he was able to lodge there, very comfortably, himself and his
female slaves; for the cold in this open spot, which was not protected
either by vegetation or by any rising of the ground, was so severe that
not only the whole black world, but the two whites also, that is to say
Mr. Overweg and myself, natives of the north of Europe, suffered severely
from its intensity. Indeed it was most distressing during the night
to hear the shrieks of the poor naked Músgu slaves, who had been torn
from their warm huts; and it was not till about noon that they seemed
to revive a little. Nevertheless the thermometer at six o’clock in the
morning of the 15th, indicated as much as 51°, which was the greatest
amount of cold we had during this expedition, and at noon it even rose to
87°.
We were obliged to remain in this uncomfortable place several days,
owing to the circumstance that the whole of the spoil was to be divided
here before we left the hostile territory; for an undisciplined host
like this, of course, cannot be controlled except by fear, and if the
people were allowed to regain their own territory with what they had
taken in slaves and cattle, they would go to their own homes without
contributing anything to the common share of the army. This is also
the custom in Wádáy as well as in Dár Fúr, the spoil being divided
before the expedition re-enters the friendly territory. Although on the
present occasion the expedition had not been eminently successful in
the different places, nevertheless the whole booty, besides about ten
thousand head of cattle, amounted to a considerable number of slaves. The
leaders boasted that they had taken not less than ten thousand slaves;
and although I was glad to find that this number was exaggerated, I
convinced myself that they numbered not less than three thousand.
By far the largest proportion of this number consisted of aged women,
who had not been able to join in the hasty flight, and of children
under eight years of age. There were some women so decrepit that they
were scarcely able to walk—mere skeletons, who in their almost total
nakedness, presented a horrible sight. All the full-grown men who had
been taken prisoners, with the exception of a few cowards who had not
made any resistance, had been slaughtered; but their number scarcely
exceeded three hundred, almost the whole full-grown male population of
the country having had time to escape. Of these three thousand slaves,
the commander-in-chief received a third part; but he also claimed for
himself the whole amount of the slave-hunt which was made into the
territory of Ádishén, and which constituted a sort of tribute.
In the afternoon of the 17th, two officers had left the encampment,
under the pretext of gathering fodder from the neighbouring villages,
but in the evening returned with about eight hundred slaves, and a
considerable number of cattle; and we were given to understand that
this foray was executed with the consent of the chief himself,—to such
degrading means did this despicable chief resort in order to preserve
his authority, however precarious it was. Of course he selects as a
sacrifice such of his subjects as are not his zealous followers; but it
is almost incredible how such a government can exist, as his dominion
scarcely extends over a tract of country more than fifteen miles in every
direction. At any rate, his subjects seem to be fully justified in taking
care of themselves; and they had succeeded, in the darkness, in getting
back part of the spoil which had been taken from them.
The vizier himself pretended to behave in a very gracious manner towards
the submissive vassal, returning to him about two hundred of the oldest
and most decrepit women, who, he most probably thought, would succumb to
the fatigues of the march, observing, in a tone of friendly irony, that
they were to cultivate the country, and that when he should return he
would eat of the produce of their labour. On other occasions the vizier
had expressed himself to me to the effect that he wished Ádishén strong
and powerful, in order that, as a faithful vassal, he might oppose the
progress of the Felláta in these regions; for in his heart he was the
most inveterate enemy of that enterprising nation, and certainly he had
ample reason to be so. It was on this occasion I heard that this renegade
Músgu chief had never been rebellious to his Bórnu sovereign (which,
from information I had received previously, I concluded to have been the
case), but that occasionally he was obliged to make reprisals against the
Shúwa, who were making plundering expeditions into his territory. We have
already noticed the peculiar situation of this Músgu chief, separated
from the interests of his countrymen, and opposed to them in a hostile
manner. He has to defend his position against all the people around him,
while his rear is very badly protected by his very friends the Bórnu
people, even the Shúwa Arabs, who are subjected to the former, infesting
his territory. Only with his kinsmen, the people of Logón, he seemed to
be at the time on friendly terms.
_Monday, Jan. 19._—We at length set out on our return to Kúkawa. We
first returned to the ford of shallow water, and then continued through
a fine grassy plain, passing one or two hamlets and a few fields of
native corn. We then encamped, after a march of about ten miles. Already
this day, in the distance towards the west, we had observed some small
elevations; but, proceeding at a slow rate, and making very short days’
marches, we did not reach the district of Wáza, which is distinguished
by its rocky mounts, till the 22nd, when, after a march of about fifteen
miles, we encamped between those two rocky eminences which form the most
characteristic feature of this locality.
It gave us extraordinary pleasure, after having traversed the flat
alluvial plains of Bórnu and Músgu, to find ourselves once more opposite
to some elevation of even a moderate altitude. These eminences assumed a
very picturesque appearance. The valley between the two rocky mountains
where we were encamped was rather bare of trees; but there were some
beautiful wild fig-trees at the north-eastern foot of the western
eminence, where a pond was formed in a deep hollow. To this spot I turned
my steps immediately after our arrival, before the camels had joined
us, and spent here a delightful hour, all the horses belonging to the
army being brought here to be watered, and forming a varied and highly
interesting scene, with the rich verdure of the trees around, and the
steep rocky cliffs above them, while fresh parties were continually
arriving from the camp.
Having made a sketch of this locality, I went to join my companion,
and we decided upon ascending the more elevated of the two eminences;
but having attained to the height of some hundred feet, I felt quite
exhausted, especially as I had a severe cold, and gave it up; but Mr.
Overweg ascended to the top, which rises to about seven hundred feet
above the plain.[83] These rocky mounts abound with a species of black
monkey, while even beasts of prey generally have their haunts here. The
crevices formed by the granite blocks are adorned with small trees and
shrubs. The view from here, over the immense plain towards the south,
girt as it was by a continuous band of middle-sized timber, was very
characteristic, the uniform line being relieved in the foreground by the
other rocky mount. This place belongs already to the territory of Logón,
and consists of several small hamlets inhabited by Shúwa, but governed by
a chief, or “lawán,” who belongs to the tribe of the Fúlbe. It was here
that we received the news that a courier had arrived from Fezzán, but
that he had been plundered, by the Tuarek, of the letters and articles
which he was carrying for us. This, of course, was sad news, although we
did not expect to receive money, or anything of great value, at the time.
_Wednesday, Jan. 22._—After a long delay, caused by the straying of
the vizier’s favourite horse, which he rode every day, and which had
most mysteriously disappeared during the night, from the midst of the
encampment, we left this interesting spot, and after a good ride over a
very rich though insufficiently cultivated tract of country, encamped
at a short distance from a broad shallow water adorned with the finest
trees; it is called Zéngiri. From here we reached Díggera, and took up
our quarters in our old camp, pitching our tents on the very spot where
they had stood two months previously; and from this point onwards, we
stopped each day at the same place where we had encamped on our outward
journey.
_Saturday, Feb. 1._—On our re-entering the capital there was a good
deal of ceremony and etiquette observed, when the whole army, at least
that part which had not yet been disbanded, was formed into one compact
line of battle, in order to receive in a suitable manner the military
salutes which were paid to the commander-in-chief on his successful
return. Distinguished above all those who came to meet us and pay their
compliments to the commander, was Ghét, the chief of the Welád Slímán,
who, a few days previously, had arrived from Kánem, where we left him,
and from whence he had made a successful expedition against the Kúnkuna
in Kárká. Galloping up with the utmost speed, at the head of his little
band of from twenty to thirty horsemen clad in their picturesque attire,
this petty Arab chief exhibited an interesting and animated specimen
of horsemanship, which presented a remarkable contrast to the unwieldy
movements of the clumsy and sluggish figures of the negroes. Returning
to our old quarters in the town, we were treated with a peculiar dainty
of the Kanúri, consisting of the fresh seeds of the grain called masr
(_Zea maïs_), which are roasted in a peculiar way.
Thus ended this expedition, which opened to us a slight glimpse into the
richly watered zone of the equatorial regions, which had been supposed
to form an insurmountable barrier of a high mountain chain, and brought
us into contact with tribes whose character has been represented as
almost approaching to that of wild beasts. We had certainly not entered
those regions under such circumstances as were most desirable to us;
but on the contrary, we had been obliged to associate ourselves with
an army whose only purpose was to spread devastation and misery over
them. Nevertheless, situated as we were, while we could not prevent this
mischief, we were glad that we had been enabled to see so much. We were
without any means, no further supplies having arrived; but I did not
despair, and in order still to be able to try my fortune once more in
another direction before I returned home, besides other articles, I even
sold my large tent, and employed part of the proceeds to line my small
tent, which was fast wearing out, and neither excluded rain nor sun.
FOOTNOTES
[1] “ʿAbd el Kerím,” meaning “Servant of the Merciful,” was the name
which I thought it prudent to adopt.
[2] p, ph, f, in many African languages, are constantly interchanged, the
same as r and dh, r and l.
[3] No distinction has been made between the different sounds of j.
[4] Mr. Overweg, who made a hypsometrical observation by boiling water,
found the elevation of this spot just the same as that of Mount Tekút,
viz. 2,800 feet.
[5] In el Bekri’s time (eleventh century) all these Roman monuments
hereabout were still the objects of adoration.
[6] Unfortunately the minimum and maximum thermometers were so deranged
that Mr. Overweg was unable to repair them. We had no barometer, and the
only aneroid barometer with which we had been provided, and which had
been under the care of my companion, was damaged on our first excursion;
so that nothing was left to us but to find the elevation of places by the
boiling-point of water.
[7] Hatíta told us expressly that if any of the Imghád should trouble us
we should say, “Bábo.” Now “Bábo” is neither Arabic nor Temáshight, but
the Háusa word for “There is none.”
[8] At the moment I am revising this I am happy to state that the
slave-trade is really abolished.
[9] I trust my readers will approve of my using the expression Western
Negroland to denote the countries from Fúta as far as Sókoto; Middle
Sudán, or Central Negroland, from Sókoto to Bagírmi; and Eastern
Negroland, comprising Wadäy, Darfúr Kordofán, and Sennár. However, here,
when I say that Mohammed ben ʿAbd el Kerím introduced Islám into Central
Negroland, I exclude Bórnu, where the Mohammedan religion is much older.
[10] He may have been born in Telemsán; but at least from very early
youth he was settled in Tawát.
[11] This tree has nothing in common with the _Adansonia_, with which it
has been supposed to be identical.
[12] Delélti is not a Háusa word.
[13] “Háwiya” means twenty, and seems originally to have been the highest
sum reached by the indigenous arithmetic.
[14] “Kurdí” (shells) is the irregular plural of “urí” (a single shell).
[15] All sorts of wind instruments, the flute included, are called by
the Háusa people “bushé-bushé,” from which word the Féllani-n-Háusa have
formed “fufefuféji.”
[16] This is the only correct Háusa form for the singular of Féllani.
[17] The Fúlbe generally change the ʿain into ghain, and therefore say
Ghomáro instead of Omáro.
[18] See above, ch. xv.
[19] There is evidently some relation between the Háusa, the Berber, and
the Coptic languages, not in the general vocabularies, but chiefly in
the demonstratives, such as “me,” “hakka,” and the prepositions, such
as “ná,” “dá,” “gá,” “dága,” “garé.” See the excellent analysis of the
Berber language by Newman, in “Zeitschrift für Kunde des Morgenlandes,”
vol. vii. a. 1845, pp. 268, 277, 278; (on the feminine forms “ita,”
“ta,”) pp. 282, 291, 296. Many more specimens, however, may now be added.
[20] It is also a very remarkable fact, that Dáura claims the glory of
having had an apostle of its own, Mohammed ʿAli el Baghdádi; and with
this fact the circumstance, that the holy place which I noticed on my
tour from Tin-téllust to Ágades is called by some “msíd Sídi Baghdádi,”
may probably be connected. Whether Dáura be identical with el Bekri’s
Daur, or Daw, is a question of some importance, since, if it really be
so, it would appear to have been a considerable place at a very early
period; but I prefer not to enter here upon the slippery ground of
comparative geography.
[21] Page 170.
[22] In Timbúktu I was enabled to peruse a long letter from Maghíli
to Is-hák about points of religion. This is the only work of Maghíli,
which I was able to discover in Negroland. There were two Sónghay kings
of the name of Is-hák—the first, who ruled from A.H. 946-956, and the
second, who was the last king of the dynasty, when Gógho or Gógó was
conquered by the Basha Jodár the 17th Jumad eʾ tháni, 999; but there is
no doubt that the first is meant. What I have said about the grandson of
Maghíli’s dispute with Is-hák is the common tradition in Negroland, and,
I think, deserves more confidence than what M. Cherbonneau has made out
in Constantine. See Journal Asiatique, 1855. He says, “Après cet horrible
massacre, el Mʿrili quitta Touat pour s’enfoncer dans le cœur du Soudan.
Il parcourut successivement Tekra (? Tirka), Kachène et Kanou. Dans les
deux premières villes il enseigna publiquement la science du Koran; dans
l’autre il fit un cours de jurisprudence. De là il passa à Karou (ou
Tchiarou, suivant la prononciation locale), et fut invité par el Hadj
Mohammed, qui en était le gouverneur, à rédiger une note sur différentes
questions de droit. Il était depuis peu dans cette ville, lorsqu’on vint
lui apprendre que son fils avait été assassiné par les juifs de Touat. Il
repartit et mourut presque au moment de son arrivée.”
[23] “Hábe,” plural of the singular “Kádo,” is a general term now applied
by the Fúlbe to the conquered race; but in this instance the application
is different. It is not improbable that the conquerors extended the
meaning of this term, which originally applied only to one dynasty, to
the whole conquered nation.
[24] This name, in the corrupted form “Kilinghiwa,” Mr. Cooley has
connected with the Berbers, in his excellent little work on the Negroland
of the Arabs.
[25] It was most probably a king of Kátsena, whom Makrízi entitled King
of Áfunú (Hamaker, Spec. Cat., p. 206), remarking the jealousy with which
he watched his wives, although the name Mastúd which he gives to him,
does not occur in the lists of the kings of Kátsena which have come to
my knowledge, and does not even seem to be a true native name. The power
of the Prince of Kátsena towards the end of the last century (Lucas,
Horneman) seems to have been rather transient being based on the then
weakness of Bórnu.
[26] Laird’s and Oldfield’s Narrative, vol. i., p. 233. As this clear
and rational conviction, which the meritorious man who has laboured so
long for that part of Africa entertained, has been entirely confirmed by
my succeeding discovery, I think it well to give to it all the publicity
which it deserves. The two learned geographers of Africa, Mr. Cooley and
MacQueen, concurred entirely in this opinion.
[27] There is a great variety of this article, of which I shall enumerate
a few kinds:—“farí-n-zénne,” the white undyed one; “zénne déffowa,” of
light-blue colour; “fessagída,” with a broad line of silk; “hammakúku,”
with less silk, sold generally for three thousand kurdí; “mailémú,”
sold for two thousand five hundred; “zelluw-ámi,” a peculiar zénne with
a silk border; “jumáda,” another similar kind; “da-n-katánga,” once
a very favourite article of female dress, and therefore called “the
child of the market” (of the word katánga, I have spoken on a former
occasion), with red and black silk in small quantity, and a little white;
“albáss-n-Kwára,” a very peculiar name, chosen to denote a kind of zénne
of three stripes of mixed colours; “gódo,” white and black and of thick
thread; “alkílla,” white and black chequered “sáki,” silk and cotton
interwoven, and forming small squares black and white; “kéki,” half
túrkedí (that is to say indigo-coloured), half “sáki,” or silk and cotton
interwoven; “kéki serkí bókoy,” four kinds. Besides, there are ten kinds
of zénnwa entirely of silk, but these are made better in Núpe than in
Kanó. One of these, called “biní da gáni” (follow me and look), a name
which is also given to a conspicuous kind of beads, is distinguished by
three colours—yellow, red, and blue. Then there is a zénne made of atlas,
called “massarchí”; another of coloured Manchester; and the simple one of
Manchester, which is called “béfta.”
[28] Among these specimens is also an undyed and a dyed specimen of
the “ríga tsámia,” which seems to deserve a good deal of interest, as
it consists half of home-made silk, obtained from a peculiar kind of
silkworm, which lives on the tamarind-tree. I also sent home from Kúkawa,
at a former period, a piece of native cloth of the Kwána, a tribe of the
Korórofa.
[29] There are many other branches of manufacture in Kanó which are too
minute to be enumerated here. I will only mention the framing of the
little looking-glasses, called lemmʿa, imported from Tripoli, and the
immense variety of bótta or múrta, small leathern boxes. There is also
a kind of small box made with great neatness from the kernel of the
dúm-fruit.
[30] I need only refer to the memorable passage in his Journal, vol.
ii., p. 203: “The best of the slaves now go to Niffee, to be there
shipped for America. They are mostly males, and are minutely examined
before departure.” (This latter circumstance agrees exactly with my own
observations.) “From all reports there is _an immense traffic of slaves
that way exchanged against American goods_, which are driving out of the
markets all the merchandise of the north.” But another passage is not
less clear, p. 228 f.: “Slaves are sent from Zínder to Niffee. Indeed it
now appears that all this part of Africa is put under contribution to
_supply the South American market with slaves_.”
[31] The names of the different kinds of beads, of which I have collected
thirty-five, bear evident testimony to the imaginative powers and lively
character of the Háusáwa.
[32] Originally these came from Nuremberg, but of late they have been
also produced in Leghorn.
[33] I will here only mention, that the profit on the copper for the
Jellába, if they do not go themselves to the hófra, but buy it in
Dar-Fúr, is as follows:—In Fúr they buy the kantár of copper for one
sedáshi (slave), equal to the value of a kantár of ivory, and sell it in
Kúkawa for four thousand rottls, equal to two kantárs of ivory. In Kanó
the price is about the same.
[34] There is no difference made between these two coins, women in
general even preferring Maria Theresa to the columns on the Spanish
dollar, which they fancy to represent cannon.
[35] Other people have stated to me that the kurdí-n-korófi did not
exceed five hundred kurdí.
[36] “Chínna-n-yalá” is an interesting specimen of the corruption of a
language in the border-districts; for while the words are Kanúri, they
are joined according to the grammar of the Háusa language, for in Kanúri
the expression ought to be “chínna yalabe.”
[37] “Búndi,” in Kanúri, means “wild beasts.” The inhabitants still bear
the particular name of Ngúru-bú, plural of Ngúru-ma, from the name of the
place or district Ngurú, generally called Ángarú.
[38] The termination-ma in Kanúri signifies the possession of a thing,
and is equivalent to the mai- in Háusa, placed before a word. Thus
bílla-ma is exactly identical with maí-gari, fír-ma with mai-dóki (the
horseman), and so on. With this termination almost all the names of
offices are formed in Kanúri, as yerí-ma, chiró-ma, kasél-ma, and so on.
Thus also the governor of the province Múniyo or Mínyo bears the title
Muniyó-ma or Minyó-ma, a name entirely misunderstood by Mr. Richardson.
I will only add here that the title of the governor of the Gháladí in
the Bórnu empire, on account of the immense extent of the latter, has
been introduced into the list of offices of all the courts of Central
Negroland, and that we find a ghaladíma in Sókoto as well as in every
little town of Ádamáwa. The same is to be said of some offices originally
belonging only to the court of the empire of Mélle, such as that of
feréng or fárma, mánso, and others.
[39] Here I will give the route from Kanó to Álamáy, near Búndi, by way
of Khadéja, as it determines approximately the position of this town,
which has been also mentioned by Clapperton as a place of importance. But
its peculiar political situation, forced upon it by the events of this
period, when it became the residence of a rebel chief waging war on all
around, prevented my visiting it at a future period.
1st day. On leaving Kanó, sleep in Gógia, where the governor of Kanó has
a house, and where you arrive about two o’clock in the afternoon.
2nd. Gáya, another town of the province of Kanó, where you arrive about
the same hour, having crossed in the forenoon the bed of a torrent with
water only in the rainy season.
3rd. Dúchi or Dútsi; arrive about the ʿaser, having crossed in the
morning a torrent called Dedúrra, and passed about noon a half-deserted
place called Katákatá.
4th. Zogó, a large open place; about ʿaser. Many small villages on the
road.
5th. Khadéja, a large town surrounded with a beautiful and very strong
double clay wall, and well inhabited, the courtyards being enclosed
with clay walls, but containing only reed huts. The inhabitants employ
themselves exclusively in warlike expeditions, and have no industry; but
nevertheless there are still to be seen here a few dyeing-pots, marking
the eastern limit of this branch of industry. On the south side of the
town is a kogí, or komádugu with a stream of running water in the rainy
season, but with only stagnant pools in summer, along which a little
wheat is cultivated. It is generally called Wáni.
6th. Garú-n-ghábbes, a middle-sized walled town, the first place of
Bórnu, on this side, with a good deal of cultivation around. Though
without importance in other respects, it is so in an historical point
of view; for this place being identical with the town Birám tá ghábbes,
mentioned above, is regarded as the oldest place of the seven original
settlements of the Háusa nation.
7th. Álamáy, the place which I passed by this morning; arrive about
ʿaser. Country in a wild state; no cultivation.
[40] Ngurútuwa, properly meaning the place full of hippopotami, is a
very common name in Bórnu, just as “Rúóa-n-dorina” (the water of the
hippopotami) is a widespread name given by Háusa travellers to any water
which they may find in the wilderness.
[41] Of this document I have sent a copy from Kúkawa to the Leipsic
Oriental Society; and a translation of it has been published in the
Journal (_Zeitschrift_) of that society in the year 1852, p. 305 ff.,
with notes by M. Blau.
[42] See a letter of mine from Kúkawa, Nov. 20th, 1852, addressed to
Chevalier Bunsen, and published in Petermann’s _Mittheilungen_ 1855, p. 7.
[43] Indeed, in the copy which I sent to Europe, the copyist has
corrected this error; but unfortunately, instead of inserting this reign
in the right place, he has added the twenty years to the thirty-three
years of the reign of the elder Edrís ben ʿAlí.
[44] The forty days’ journey stated by Ebn Batúta to intervene between
Tekádda and Bórnu are to be counted, as it seems, to Njímiye, the old
capital of Kánem; Bírni, or rather Ghasréggomo, at least, not being
founded at that time.
[45] Leo, when he says that the language of Gaogo is identical with the
Bórnu language, does not speak of the language of the whole nation, but
only of that of the ruling tribe, the Bulála.
[46] This custom, I think, confirms the opinion that the Koyám migrated
from Kánem into Bórnu. They are expressly called “áhel el bil.”
[47] This certainly did not belong to the largest craft of the islanders;
for one of the boats which accompanied Mr. Overweg afterwards on his
voyage on the lake was almost fifty feet long, and six and a half wide.
[48] Kánembú is the plural of Kánémma.
[49] The Yédiná named to me the following islands as the largest and
most important:—Gúriyá, Yíwaa Dóji, Belárge, Húshiyá Billán, Purrám,
Maibuluwá, Fidda, Kóllea Dallabórme, Turbó Dakkabeláya, Fujiá Chílim,
and Bréjaré, the latter having many horses. Almost all these names have
been since confirmed by Mr. Overweg, although he spells some of them
in a different way, and perhaps less accurately, as he obtained all
his information from his Kanúri companions; indeed, notwithstanding
his long sojourn among the islanders, he did not even learn their real
name, viz.—Yédiná. The Yédiná belong evidently to the Kótoko, and are
most nearly related to the people of Nghála; they are probably already
indicated by Makrizí under the name اتعنا and their language was
originally entirely distinct from the Kanúri, although in process of time
they have adopted many of their terms.
[50] The distance of the western shore of this island cannot be more
than at the utmost thirty miles from the shore of the lagoon, at least
at certain seasons. Mr. Overweg’s indications in respect to this island,
which he would seem to have navigated all round, are very vague. At all
events, I think it must be considerably nearer the shore than it has been
laid down by Mr. Petermann, but it is difficult, nay impossible, to fix
with precision the form or size of these islands, which, according to
season, vary continually.
[51] I will here give verbatim a few extracts of my despatch to
Government, dated Kúkawa, May 24, 1851, from which it will be seen how
sure I was already at that time of the immense importance of the river
which I was about to discover.
“MY LORD,—I have the honour to inform your Lordship that, on Tuesday
next, I am to start for Ádamáwa, as it is called by the Fellátah
(Fullan), or Fúmbiná, a very extensive country, whose capital, Yóla, is
distant from here fifteen days south-south-west, situated on _a very
considerable river_ called Fáro, which, joining another river not less
considerable, and likewise navigable, called Bénuwé, falls into the
Kwára, or Niger, at a place between Kakanda and Adda, not more than a few
days’ distant from the mouth of that celebrated river.” “My undertaking
seemed to me the more worthy, _as it has long been the intention of
Government to explore that country_; for orders had been given to the
Niger expedition to turn aside, if possible, from the course of that
river, and to reach Bórnu by a southern road, which it was presumed
might be effected partly or entirely by water, etc. As for my part, I
can at present certify, with the greatest confidence, that there is
_no connection whatever between those two rivers_, the Chadda, which
is identical with the Bénuwé, on the one, and the Sháry, the principal
tributary of Lake Tsád, on the other side. Nevertheless, the Fáro as well
as the Bénuwé seem to have their sources to the east of the meridian
of Kúkawa; and the river formed by these two branches being navigable
for large boats into the very heart of Ádamáwa, there will be _a great
facility for Europeans to enter that country_ after it shall have been
sufficiently explored.” After speaking of the northern road into the
interior by way of Bílma, I concluded with these words:—
“By-and-by, I am sure, _a southern road will be opened_ into the heart of
Central Africa, but the time has not yet come.”
[52] “Bíllama” properly means mayor, from “bílla,” a town; but in many
cases it has become a proper name.
[53] Kárda is properly the name of that division of the Mága which is
settled in the province of Máshena.
[54] The Mándara people, or rather Ur-wándalá, called the Gámerghú
Múks-amálguwá, which I think is a nickname, the word múkse meaning woman;
but the latter part of the name, Amálguwá, may be the original form of
Gámerghú. I had no opportunity of asking the people themselves about the
original name.
[55] The Fúlbe of Ádamáwa are especially rich in compliments, which,
however, have not yet lost their real and true meaning. Thus the
general questions, “Num báldum” (Are you well?), “Jám wáli” (Have you
slept?), are followed by the special questions, “No yímbe úro” (How is
the family?), “No inna úro” (How is the landlady?), “To púchu máda,”
or “Kórri púchu májám” (How is your horse?), “To erájo máda” (How is
your grandfather?), “To máchudo máda” (How is your slave?), “To bíbe
máda” (And your children?), “To sukábe máda” (How are your lads?), “Bíbe
hábe májám” (How are the children of your subjects?), “Korri nay májám”
(How are your cattle?); all of which in general are answered with “Se
jám.” Between this strain occasionally a question about the news of the
world—“Tó hábbarú dúnia;” and with travellers at least a question as to
the fatigue—“Tó chómmeri”—is inserted. There is still a greater variety
of compliments, the form of many, as used in Ádamáwa, varying greatly
from that usual in other countries occupied by the Fúlbe, and of course
all depends on the time of the day when friends meet.
[56] Unfortunately, I had not energy enough to finish it in detail; so
that many little interesting features were not expressed.
[57] I made some observations with the boiling-water instrument on this
road, but unfortunately my thermometers for this purpose were entirely
out of order.
[58] Búmánda probably means a ford, or rather place of embarkation. It
can scarcely have any connection with the Kanúri word “mánda,” meaning
salt, though salt is obtained in the western place of this name.
[59] This word “gére” is identical with “éré,” or “arre,” the name the
Músgu give to the river of Logón.
[60] I heard the name pronounced in this way, but lower down it may be
pronounced Bí-nuwé. However, I have to remark that Mr. Petermann changed
the é into an í, from mere mistake; and I do not know whether the members
of the Chádda expedition had sufficient authority for writing the name
in this way. The word belongs to the Bátta language, where water is
called “beé,” or “bé”; but in kindred dialects it is called “bí.” “Nuwé”
means the mother; and the whole name means “mother of water.” The name,
therefore, properly is of the feminine gender.
[61] “Tépe” is a Púllo or rather Fulfúlde word meaning “junction,”
“confluence,” which by the Western Fúlbe would be called “fottérde máje.”
In Háusa the name is “magángamú.”
[62] That this river is anywhere really called Chádda, or even Tsádda,
I doubt very much; and I am surprised that the members of the late
expedition in the _Pleiad_ do not say a word on this point. I think the
name Chádda was a mere mistake of Lander’s, confirmed by Allen, owing to
their fancying it an outlet of Lake Tsád.
[63] This immense rise of the river agrees perfectly with the experience
of Messrs. Laird and Oldfield, who, from absolute measurement, found the
difference in the level of the water at Idda in the course of the year
nearly sixty feet. See their Journal, vol. ii., p. 276, and p. 420, note,
“fifty-seven to sixty feet.”
[64] There was a very serious discrepancy amongst those gentlemen with
regard to the fall of the river. Dr. Baikie states, in his Journal, which
recently appeared, p. 230, that “the water first showed _decided_ signs
of falling about the 3rd of October, and by the 5th the decrease was
very perceptible.” If, therefore, the river began to fall at Zhibu on
the 3rd of October, the fall would commence at the Tépe, more than two
hundred miles higher up along the windings of the river, at least three
days before, if we take the current at three miles an hour. My statement,
therefore, that the river begins _decidedly_ to fall at the confluence at
the very end of September, has been singularly confirmed. But that there
is also some truth with regard to the long continuance of the highest
level is evident from the _conflicting_ observations of the party. (See
Baikie’s Journal, p. 217.) Indeed the sailor-master insisted that the
river had fallen long before; and all the people were puzzled about it.
From all this I must conclude that _my statement_ with regard to the
river, instead of having been considerably modified by the expedition,
_has been confirmed by their experience in all its principal points_.
We shall see the same difficulty recur with regard to a maximum level
preserved for forty days by the western river, although the time when it
begins to fall is entirely different; and as to the latter river, not
only I, but the natives also were mistaken with respect to its presumed
time of falling. The same is the case with the (river) Shári, and is
natural enough, considering the extensive inundations with which the rise
of these African rivers is attended. This state of the rivers in the
tropical climes is so irregular, that Leo Africanus has made quite the
same observation. (L. i. c. 28, “Descrizione dell’ Africa.”)
[65] I leave this passage as it stood in my journal, although it
describes a state of things which now, in 1857, belongs to the past. This
stronghold also has at length been taken by the intruders, and the seat
of happiness and independence converted into a region of desolation.
In 1853, two years after my journey to Ádamáwa, Mohammed Láwl left his
residence with a great host, having sworn not to return before he had
reduced Bágelé. After a siege of almost two months, with the assistance
of a few muskets, he succeeded in conquering the mountaineers, and
reducing them to slavery. The chief of the pagans of the Bágelé, who
belong to the Bátta tribe, in the height of his power exercised paramount
authority over the neighbouring tribes, and is said to have even had the
“_jus primæ noctis_.”
[66] Ribágo, sometimes contracted to the form Ribáwo, means “a governor’s
country-seat.”
[67] With regard to the Fúlbe, the prayers of dhohor (“zúhura,” or
“sallifánna”) may rightly be called midday prayers, as they are
accustomed to pray as soon as the zawál has been observed. But in general
it would be wrong to call dhohor noon, as is very often done; for none
of the other Mohammedans in this part of the world will say his dhohor
prayer before two o’clock P.M. at the very earliest, and generally not
before three o’clock.
[68] Adamáwa is certainly not quite identical with Fúmbiná, as it denotes
only those regions of the latter which have been conquered by the Fúlbe,
while many parts are as yet unsubdued.
[69] With regard to salt, I will observe that the greater part of it
is brought from Búmánda, on the Bénuwé, near Hamárruwa, where it seems
to be obtained from the soil in the same way as I shall describe the
salt-boiling in Fóga, although in Búmánda there is no valley-formation,
and Mr. Vogel, who lately visited this place, may be right in stating
that the salt is merely obtained from ashes by burning the grass which
grows in that locality.
[70] It is a great pity that the members of the Bénuwé expedition were
not able to measure the elevation of the river at the furthest point
reached. My thermometer for measuring the boiling-point of water was so
deranged, that my observation at the Tépe is without any value. Till
further observations have been made, I think it may be assumed to be from
800 to 850 feet.
[71] It would be rather more appropriate to give the name of Lower Bénuwé
to that part of the river below, and that of Upper Bénuwé to the part
above the confluence, than to call Upper Bénuwé the part of the river
visited by Dr. Baikie.
[72] This name is evidently connected with that of the _Balanites_, which
they call “tanní”; and several Negro nations compare the date with the
fruit of that tree.
[73] Mr. Vogel, who has succeeded in obtaining a sight of this animal,
found that it is a Mammal like the _Manatus Senegalensis_. The South
African rivers also have these Mammals, and the ayú is not less frequent
in the Ísu near Timbúktu than it is in the Bénuwé.
[74] Súmmo, situated between Holma and Song.
[75] The numbers “three” (tan) and “four” (nan) seem to point to the
Fulfúlde as well as to the Kaffir languages.
[76] It is probable that this tribe is indicated by the مكبا of Makrízi
(Hamaker, _Spec. Catal._ p. 206), although there are several other
localities of the same name.
[77] Probably their real name is Tiká. See Appendix.
[78] The termination nchí is nothing but the Sónghay word ki, which in
several dialects is pronounced as chí, and means “language.” On account
of this termination being added to the original name, I have purposely
not marked the accents in this list. The languages thus marked are spoken
only partly in Ádamáwa, the tribes to whom they are peculiar being for
the greatest part independent.
[79] In the following sketch, made just at the moment, I aimed only at
giving the outlines of the mount, without any pretension to represent the
country around. The foreground, therefore, is left quite level.
[80] Perhaps this was a sign of mourning.
[81] The marriage (nigá) ceremonies in this country fill a whole week.
The first day is dedicated to the feasting on the favourite “nákia,”
the paste mentioned before; the second to the “tíggra,” a dried paste
made of millet, with an immense quantity of pepper; the third to the
“ngáji,” the common dish made of sorghum, with a little fish sauce, if
possible; the fourth day is called “líktere,” I think from the taking
away the emblems of the virginal state of the bride, “larússa”; the
fifth, the bride is placed on a mat or búshi, from which she rises seven
times, and kneels down as often; this is called “búshiro,” or “búchiro
genátsin”; the next day, which must be a Friday, her female friends wash
her head while singing, and in the evening she is placed upon a horse and
brought to the house of the bridegroom, where the final act of the nigrá
is accomplished. The Kanúri are very peculiar in the distinction of a
marriage with a virgin, “féro,” or “féro kuyánga,” or a widow, or “kámo
záwar.”
[82] Between Yédi and the Tsád, the following places are situated—Léga,
a considerable town surrounded by a wall; Díbbuwa, Jíggeri, Manawáze,
Górdiná, and Mógolám.
[83] Mr. Vogel, who likewise visited this spot in 1854, found the plain
elevated 920 feet above the level of the sea, while the two mounts
attained the respective heights of 1,300 and 1,600 feet.
INDEX.
Ádamáwa, 401, 428
Afalésselez, 117
Ágades, 175, 203
Ahmed, 371
ʿAin Shershára, Ruins near, 31
ʿAin Zára, 39
Ájirí, 349
Alantíka, 451
Aláune, 343
Asben, 121, 139
Asïu, 127
Aúderas barbarity, 171
Bághzen, 167
Baháushe slave, 313
Bárakat, 109
Bel-Ghét, 269
Bélem, 445
Bénuwé, 451
Benzári, 323
Berbers, 103
Beshér, 353
Bóghel Valley, 173
Bokhári, 323
Bórnu, 333
Búndi, 331
Búwa, 351
Chad, or Tsád, Lake, 386
Chémia, 225
Cheréka, Mount, 165
Cinyps, 37
Damerghú, 241
Dan Íbra, 237
Démmo, 581
Díkowa, 549
Éderi, 67
Enshéd eʾ Sufét, 15
Fáro, 451
Fénorang Valley, 129
Fódet, 149
Fugábú, 527
Fúgo Mozári, 409
Fúmbiná, 469
Gámerghú District, 405
Gazáwa, 257
Gébi, 133
Gérki, 317
Ghaladíma, 331
Gharíya, 59
Gharíya eʾ Sherkíya, 61
Ghát, 101
Ghurián, 43
Gílmirám, 245
Gozenákko, 249
Gúmrek, Lake, 235
Hadánarang, 105
Háj Beshír, 373
Háj Hassan, 395
Hanshír, 22
Hatíta, 89
Háusa, 273
Ikadémmelrang, 125
Imghád, 107
Itísan and Kél-gerés, 157
Jebel Durmán, 47
Jebel Msíd, 25, 33
Jerma Kadím, 71
Kánem, 501, 541
Kanó, 285
Kasr Dawán, 33
Kasr Dóga, 31
Kasr Ghurián, 21
Kasr Kérker, 36
Kasr Teghrínna, 21
Kátsena, 277
Kél-gerés, 157
Kél-owí, 153
Kikla, 18
Komádugu, The Jungles of, 345
Kúka Mairuá, 315
Kúkawa, 353, 369, 379, 491
Kurúlu, 439
Kusáda, 283
Laháula, 425
Lake Chad, or Tsád, 386
Leptis Khoms, 37
Mábaní, 407
Maduwári, 391
Mʿallem Dalíli, 445
Mándará, 561
Mánga warriors, 327
Marghí, 410
Márte, 547
Máshena, 325
Mbutúdi, 433
Melágo, 449
Mejenín, 40
Meselláta, 35
Mizda, 45
Molghoy, 413
Múbi, 479
Múglebú, 479
Múrzuk, 75
Ngórnu, 387
Rabda, 19
Rálle, 95
Ribágo, 459
Salla-léja, 187
Sámmit, 237
Shʿabet eʾ talha, 65
Shitáti, 526
Shúwa, 557
Sókoto, 497
Soy, 367
Sulléri, 475
Taboníye, 57
Tagáma, 233
Taganáma, 325
Tarhóna, 29
Tasáwa, 78, 251
Tébu Merchants, 225
Tekút, Mount, 21
Teléshera, 221
Terguláwen, 231
Tíggeda, 169
Tintagh-odé, 145
Tin-téggana, 215
Tin-téllust, 151, 213
Titíwi, 395
Tripoli, 7, 8
Tsád, Lake, 386
Tunis, 1
Úba, 481
Ugréfe, 71
Ujé Kasúkulá, 409
Um eʾ Zerzán, 15
Unán Valley, 227
Wadáÿ, 497
Wádi, 339
Wady Aberjúsh, 85
Wady Eláwen, 87
Wady Haera, 41
Wady Kérdemín, 18
Wady Rán, 23
Wady Rummána, 23
Wady Shʿabet, 65
Wady Sháti, 66
Wady Tagíje, 53
Wándalá Mountains, 421
Wáza, 605
Welád Slimán, 518
Wúliya, 583
Yó, 505
Yóla, 461