HEADING FOR HOME
Who of us who have lived in Out of the World places do not know
the boundless pleasure that is ours in those memorable hours when
trammels are cast aside and, task-free and care-free, we are at
liberty to set out Homeward Bound! on that dream-journey that has
ever been treasured as something finer than gold and oft our solace
in the bitterest hours of solitude! And, at Agades, while packing up
and preparing to go south, I confess to spending days of exultation,
while honest John went about with a perpetual smile on his face:
for he too was at last going home!
I left Agades, _en route_ to the south, on 10th August, with a
caravan of camels bearing boxes and bales containing my complete
collections.
We had no sooner departed than we experienced terrible weather:
sandstorms succeeded by thunderstorms and rain, which for the next
six days caused me considerable anxiety in my efforts to protect
the precious cases of specimens from damage.
On the second day we camped below Tegguidi cliff in a regular land
of flood, while thunderstorm raged and rain swept down upon us in
torrents, and we spent a miserable night, standing ankle-deep in
water, unable to lie down on the ground to sleep.
Next day we were in the centre of lakes of water, and it was
impossible for the caravan-camels to travel; indeed, it was not
until late morning on the following day that the water subsided
sufficiently to permit of foothold for the camels and we were able
to load up and, with difficulty, get out of the predicament.
The advent of Rains had set the game moving northward out of the
bush-country, and, when travelling between Tegguidi and Abellama,
great numbers were seen out on open plains which had been bleak
and barren sand-wastes when I had passed northward, but which now
contained patches of fresh grass-greenness. Dama Gazelles (_Gazella
dama damergouensis_, subsp. nov.: Hausa: Mena) were most numerous,
and many large herds of them were seen, and I counted herds of
37, 44, and 84. Dorcas Gazelles (_Gazella dorcas dorcas_: Hausa:
Matakundi) were also plentiful, while I also saw a few handsome
White Oryx (_Oryx algazel algazel_).
A day later Egyptian kites and marabou, and black and white storks
were very common feeding on the abundance of locusts which now
infested the green vegetation, the former catching locusts on the
wing or swooping to pick them off grass-blades with their well-known
dexterity. None of these birds had been present in this locality
in the dry season.
On 16th August I reached the lonely post of Aderbissinat, and camped
there for two weeks while collecting waterfowl and hunting again
for ostrich. Much water had collected in ponds in Aderbissinat
valley, and here, and henceforth, territory that had appeared
bleak and barren when I passed northward was now green and fresh
and well-watered, and completely changed in aspect. Waterfowl
were unknown in the territory in the dry season, but now I found
them plentiful: geese, ducks, waders; even gulls. But the advent
of rain had brought one evil upon Aderbissinat—it was infested
with mosquitoes, and much malaria was prevalent among the native
soldiers of the Fort.
[Illustration: AGADES FORT, BUILT WITH CLAY-MUD.]
[Illustration: CAUGHT IN FLOOD RAINS BELOW TEGGUIDI.]
Aderbissinat, as I have already stated, is on the southern borders
of Aïr, and in departing from it on 30th August I bid final farewell
to the strange land I had come so far to explore.
In pursuit of my zoological research I calculate my camel-caravan
travelled the following distances in Aïr:
Miles
Aderbissinat to Agades 93½
Agades to Tasessat, Baguezan Mountains 79
Tasessat to Timia 49
Timia to Iferouan 77
Iferouan to Aguellal 31
Aguellal to Assodé 40
Assodé to Timia 30
Timia to Tasessat via east side of Baguezan 73
Tasessat to Agades 79
Agades to Aouderas via Tilisdak river 62
Aouderas to Agades via east side of Tarrouaji 93
Agades to Aderbissinat 93½
-----
Total caravan travel in Aïr 800
Kano to Aderbissinat 303
Aderbissinat to Kano 303
-----
Total travel with camels 1,406
There is one point I would like to refer to before departing from
the subject of Aïr. Aïr has been termed in the past on African maps
and in textbooks a great “oasis,” a word which I take it means a
“fertile place in a sandy desert”; a concise enough explanation,
unless one endows it with a wider, less clearly defined latitude.
But it appears to me that such a term applied to Aïr, inferring as
it does that the country is fertile, is an imposition on the word
that is apt to be misleading to anyone who endeavours to conceive,
through the medium of description, the real composition of the
country. And I hold this belief because during the dry season _I
cannot imagine a more barren country than Aïr_ in all the world:
mountain after mountain of bare rock and far-reaching lowlands of
nothing but dark gravel-covered ground, bleak as a ploughed field
in winter time, except for scant rifts of green along shallow sandy
river-beds or close under mountain slopes. Without doubt Aïr is
bleak almost as the veriest desert: the one a vast lifeless scene
of rock and boulder and pebble, the other great wastes of sand. For
my own part, therefore, I am happier and much more sure of my ground
when, in speaking of the country, I refer to it nominally as “The
mountain land of Aïr,” and am sure that at the present time it
has no real claim to be termed an “oasis” unless in the height
of a good season of rain.
From Aderbissinat I travelled south to Tanout, where I camped in the
hope of securing an ostrich, as I had met with no success in hunting
for those birds up till that time. Here, however, owing solely to
the keenness of the French officer at the Fort, I managed to secure
a very fine adult male ostrich, which proved on later examination
to be the same species as is found elsewhere in Africa: _Struthio
camelus camelus_. Those birds carry a large quantity of fat, and the
task of skinning this specimen, and cleaning and drying the skin free
of oily matter with due regard to keeping the rich plumes unsoiled,
occupied no less than two days.
Tanout, like everywhere else now, was greatly changed since I
had passed north, and I found all the inhabitants in the fields
cultivating large areas of millet which had already sprung up
almost to man-height. All natives declare it has been a bountiful
and wonderful season of rain; which has fallen here earlier than
farther north.
North of Tanout the country is uninhabited (except for a few roving
Tuaregs) and uncultivated; but on resuming the journey south of
this Fort, I thenceforth passed green fields of millet each day.
I need not dwell further on my return journey to Nigeria, via Zinder,
for it was henceforth, until our destination was reached, simply
routine of continual wearisome grinding travel, while I suffered from
fitful attacks of malaria which I had contracted at Aderbissinat.
On 22nd September I re-entered Kano. All that I find recorded in my
diary of this, to me, memorable day is: “The trail has ended—the
camels have gone and faithful Dogo—and I miss the fretful roar
of the beasts, and the soft speech of the Tuaregs, and the glow of
the camp-fire. . . . Everyone is most kind in welcoming me safely
back.” But it needs no diary to recall the day of my arrival in
Kano—when the long trail finished, and riding saddles and pack
saddles and a band of sorely tried camels were freed upon the sand
from precious loads of specimens which they had carried for many
months. That great last day when work was done—the burden and worry
of it all thrown to the four winds—the warm handshake of friends
awaiting to welcome me in—a day, indeed, rare in a lifetime.
Yes! I was back among my own people at last, had drifted in
unannounced like the sandstorms that fitfully bore me company from
the north, no one knowing of my coming until a ragged figure was
in the streets of the European settlement, where civilisation and
railway begin and the desolation of the Sudan ends.
Fourteen hundred miles lay behind me in my camels’ tracks, and
all of the months of a year but one since the day I left home.
Assuredly, and perhaps I may be forgiven for thinking so, it was
good to be back on British soil, good to hear my own tongue spoken,
and good to look on the broad grin on John’s face. “Kano is sweet
past Zinder,” he had said long ago, and boarding the steamer at
Lagos a few days later, while honest John stood by with tears in
his eyes and repeated injunctions that “master” was to hurry
to return, I said to him: “Yes, John, what you mean is: ‘Home
is sweet past anywhere else on earth—and you are right!’”
And I stepped on board, followed by John’s parting cry ringing
in my ears: “Sai wata rana” (Farewell till another day).
APPENDIX
NEW SPECIES AND SUBSPECIES DISCOVERED DURING THE EXPEDITION
NEW SPECIES AND SUBSPECIES OF MAMMALS (OTHER THAN RUMINANTS)
Described by Messrs. OLDFIELD THOMAS and MARTIN A. C. HINTON of the
British Museum (Natural History). (The complete collection is fully
described by Messrs. THOMAS and HINTON in _Novitates Zoologicæ_,
the Journal of the Tring Museum, vol. xxviii., pp. 1-13, 1921.)
_Locality taken_
Wild cat: _Felis haussa_ sp. nov. Kano and Damagarim.
Caracal (Lynx): _Caracal caracal Baguezan Mts.
poecilotis_ subsp. nov.
Pale sand-coloured fox: _Vulpes pallida Damergou and Aïr.
harterti_ subsp. nov.
Silver-grey fox: _Vulpes rüppelli cæsia_ Aïr.
subsp. nov.
Striped weasel: _Poecilictis rothschildi_ Kano.
sp. nov.
Ground Squirrel: _Euxerus erythropus Aïr.
agadius_ subsp. nov.
Naked-soled gerbil: _Taterillus gracilis Kano.
angelus_ subsp. nov.
Nigerian hairy-soled gerbil: _Gerbillus Kano and Damagarim.
nigeriæ_ sp. nov.
Dwarf gerbil: _Desmodilliscus buchanani_ Kano.
sp. nov.
Fat-tailed mouse: _Steatomys cuppedius_ Kano.
sp. nov.
Giant rat: _Cricetomys buchanani_ sp. nov. Kano.
Dwarf mouse: _Leggada haussa_ sp. nov. Kano and Damagarim.
Spiney rock mouse: _Acomys airensis_ sp. Aïr.
nov.
Striped bush mouse: _Lemniscomys olga_ sp. Damergou.
nov.
Jerboa: _Jaculus jaculus airensis_ subsp. Damergou and Aïr.
nov.
Gundi: _Massoutiera rothschildi_ sp. nov. Aïr.
Short-eared hare: _Lepus canopus_ sp. nov. Kano.
Rock dassie: _Procavia buchanani_ sp. nov. Aïr.
With regard to the entire collection of mammals (other than
Ruminants), in which is contained the above species and subspecies
which are new, the British Museum paper, in the foreword makes the
following appreciative statements:
“Thanks to the kindness of Lord Rothschild we are now able to
give a list of the complete collection made by Captain Buchanan,
both of such further mammals as he obtained in the Kano region and
of those which he got northwards to Aïr itself, which he explored
most successfully.
As this is a country which has been hitherto entirely out of the ken
of mammalogists, we were prepared to expect a considerable number
of new forms to be discovered, but we certainly never expected that
so very high a proportion of the species would be new. Indeed we
believe it may safely be said that in the history of mammalogy no
collection containing so high a proportion of novelties has ever
come to Europe from a continental locality.
In all, the collection contains 36 species and subspecies, of which
no less than 18 are new, 6 of these latter having been described
in our previous paper. Considering the comparatively barren nature
of the country, and the number of mammals usually found to occur
in any given area, the capture of 36 forms indicates that Captain
Buchanan has been highly successful in getting a full representation
of the fauna of the districts he has worked in. . . .
“As already stated, the National Museum has to thank Lord
Rothschild for a full set of the mammals dealt with, including all
the types. The skins are all beautifully prepared, and Captain
Buchanan is to be congratulated on the great value that his
collection has proved to possess.”
NEW SUBSPECIES OF UNGULATE MAMMALS
Described by LORD ROTHSCHILD, F.R.S., Ph.D. (The complete collection
of Ungulate Mammals is fully described by LORD ROTHSCHILD
in _Novitates Zoologicæ_, the Journal of the Tring Museum,
vol. xxviii., pp. 75-77, 1921.)
_Locality taken_
Arui, Udad, or Barbary sheep:
_Ammotragus lervia angusi_ subsp. nov.
(Largest head collected: right horn 21 in.
over curve; left horn 20⁸⁄₁₀ in.) Aïr.
Dama gazelle: _Gazella dama damergouensis_
subsp. nov. (Largest head collected:
length of horns 5⁶⁄₁₀ ins.) Damergou.
NEW SUBSPECIES OF BIRDS
Described by Dr. ERNST HARTERT, Director of Tring Museum. (The
complete collection of Birds is fully described by Dr. HARTERT in
_Novitates Zoologicæ_, vol. xxviii., pp. 78-141, 1921.)
_Locality taken_
Subsaharan striped kingfisher: _Halcyon Kano and
chelicuti eremogiton_ subsp. nov. Damagarim.
Straight-billed wood-hoopoe: _Scoptelus Aïr.
aterrimus cryptostictus_ subsp. nov.
Golden goatsucker: _Caprimulgus eximus Damagarim and
simplicior_ subsp. nov. Damergou.
Sand martin: _Riparia obsoleta buchanani_ Aïr.
subsp. nov.
Sombre rock-chat: _Cercomela melanura Aïr.
airensis_ subsp. nov.
Northern ant-eating wheatear[11]: Kano, Damagarim,
_Myrmecocichla æthiops buchanani_ subsp. nov. and Damergou.
Saharan bush-babbler: _Crateropus fulvus Aïr.
buchanani_ subsp. nov.
Grey bush-babbler: _Crateropus plebejus Kano.
anomalus_ subsp. nov.
Long-tailed sunbird: _Nectarinia pulchella Kano, Damagarim,
ægra_ subsp. nov. and Aïr.
Crested shrike: _Prionops plumatus haussarum_ Kano.
subsp. nov.
Asben brown pipit[11]: _Anthus sordidus Aïr.
asbenaicus_ subsp. nov.
Dunn’s desert lark: _“Calendula” dunni Damergou.
pallidor_ subsp. nov.
Small rock sparrow: _Petronia dentata Damagarim.
buchanani_ subsp. nov.
Pencil-crowned weaver-bird: _Sporopipes Damagarim and
frontalis pallidior_ subsp. nov. Damergou.
Dr. Hartert, in his most interesting foreword to his paper (which
deals extensively with the zoo-geographical history of the Sahara
and the important information which the Expedition has brought to
light in that connection), states two facts which have a particular
bearing on the value of the collection of birds:
“Zoologically Aïr remained absolutely unknown until Buchanan’s
expedition. It was with great satisfaction to myself that Lord
Rothschild fell in with my ideas about it, with his usual zeal and
interest in all scientific exploration, and that Captain Buchanan
accepted the offer to make a collecting trip to Aïr for the Tring
Museum. The exploration of that country has been in my mind since
1886. . . . It was one of my many unfulfilled dreams of life to
visit Asben myself, but I have never given up hope one day to see
natural history specimens from there. . . .
“Captain Buchanan obtained skins of 168 species. In a country
which, to a great extent, is desert and therefore poor in animal
life, and considering that he also collected as many Lepidoptera
and mammalia as possible, this is a very fine collection.”
NEW SPECIES AND SUBSPECIES OF BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS
Described by LORD ROTHSCHILD, F.R.S., Ph.D. (The complete collection
is fully described by LORD ROTHSCHILD in _Novitates Zoologicæ_.)
BUTTERFLIES
_Locality taken_
_Teracolus amelia_ f. arid. _insignis_ Kano.
f. nov.
_Teracolus celimene angusi_ subsp. nov. Damagarim.
_Teracolus liagore_ f. pluv. Aïr.
liagoroides f. nov.
_Eronia bugueti buchanani_ subsp. nov. Damergou.
_Terias flavicola_ f. arid. _parva_ f. Kano.
nov.
_Vivachola livia pallescens_ subsp. nov. Damagarim and Aïr.
_Spindasis buchanani_ sp. nov. Kano and Damagarim.
MOTHS
_Aegocera brevivitta rectilineoides_ Damergou.
subsp. nov.
_Timora buchanani_ sp. nov. Aïr.
_Timora terracottoides_ sp. nov. Damagarim.
_Adisura affinis_ sp. nov. Damagarim.
_Eublemma dissoluta_ sp. nov. Damagarim.
_Eublemma bipartita_ sp. nov. Damergou.
_Eublemma perkea_ sp. nov. Damagarim.
_Eublemma pseudonoctna_ sp. nov. Damagarim.
_Ozarba damagarima_ sp. nov. Damagarim,
Damergou, and Aïr.
_Pseudozarba abbreviata_ sp. nov. Aïr.
_Pseudozarba bella_ sp. nov. Aïr.
_Enlocastra sahariensis_ sp. nov. Damagarim.
_Enlocastra pseudozarboides_ sp. nov. Aïr.
_Tarache buchanani_ sp. nov. Damergou and Aïr.
_Tarache asbenensis_ sp. nov. Aïr.
_Crypsotidia griseola_ sp. nov. Damagarim.
_Crypsotidia parva_ sp. nov. Kano.
_Grammodes buchanani_ sp. nov. Damagarim.
_Parachalciope mixta_ sp. nov. Locality not noted.
_Raphia buchanani_ sp. nov. Kano.
_Rhynchina sahariensis_ sp. nov. Damagarim,
Damergou, and Aïr.
_Rhynchina buchanani_ sp. nov. Aïr.
_Hypena sordida_ sp. nov. Damagarim.
_Casama griseola_ sp. nov. Damagarim and
Damergou.
_Acidaliastis micra dissimilis_ ab. Aïr.
_saturata_ ab. nov.
_Tephrina quadriplaga_ sp. nov. Damergou.
_Paropta buchanani_ sp. nov. Aïr.
_Anadiasa sahariensis_ sp. nov. Aïr.
_Pachypasa concolor_ sp. nov. Aïr.
_Miresa coccinea intensior_ subsp. nov. Damagarim.
_Ommatopteryx hampsoni_ sp. nov. Aïr.
_Ommatopteryx asbenicola_ sp. nov. Aïr.
_Surattha albostigmata_ sp. nov. Aïr.
_Heterographis medioalba_ sp. nov. Damergou.
_Heterographis airensis_ sp. nov. Aïr.
_Heterographis eximia_ sp. nov. Aïr.
_Heterographis sahariensis_ sp. nov. Damagarim and Aïr.
_Heterographis cretaceogrisea_ sp. nov. Damagarim,
Damergou, and Aïr.
_Homœosoma straminea_ sp. nov. Damagarim.
_Homœosoma basalis_ sp. nov. Aïr.
_Homœosoma asbenicola_ sp. nov. Aïr.
_Brephia inconspicua_ sp. nov. Aïr.
_Brephia gracilis_ sp. nov. Aïr.
_Crocidomera intensifasciata_ sp. nov. Aïr.
_Pogononeura buchanani_ sp. nov. Aïr.
_Anerastia aurantiaca_ sp. nov. Aïr.
_Pterothrix damergouensis_ sp. nov. Damergou.
_Crocolia africana_ sp. nov. Damergou and Aïr.
_Pyralis soudanesis_ sp. nov. Damagarim,
Damergou, and Aïr.
_Tyndis umbrosus_ sp. nov. Aïr.
_Bostra asbenicola_ sp. nov. Aïr.
_Dattima buchanani_ sp. nov. Aïr.
_Dattima dubiosa_ sp. nov. Aïr.
_Marasmia hampsoni_ sp. nov. Kano.
_Loxostege damergouensis_ sp. nov. Damergou.
_Cybolomia azzalana_ sp. nov. Aïr.
_Cybolomia ledereri_ sp. nov. Damergou.
_Cybolomia fenestrata_ sp. nov Aïr.
_Metasia angustipennis_ sp. nov. Damagarim.
_Metasia parallelalis_ sp. nov. Damagarim.
_Tegostoma camparalis sahariensis_ Damergou and Aïr.
subsp. nov.
[Illustration: MAP OF THE AUTHOR’S ROUTE]
INDEX
A
Abellama, 129
Aderbissinat outpost, 125, 243
Administrative headquarters, 78
Agades, ancient, 134
Agalak mountains, 181
Agaraguer mountain, 189
Agoras river, 185, 189, 203, 206
Aguellal mountains, 200
Aguellal, south of, 202
Aïr, barren nature of, 153, 167, 187, 199, 222
entered, 125
mountains in view, 134
nature of foothills, 149, 151, 166, 216
northern end, 195
places where water, 150, 152, 193, 195, 201, 224
stricken, 186
travel ends, 231
Altitudes, Aïr, 150, 152, 167, 184, 189, 192, 199, 202, 217, 220,
222, 224, 228
Ancient stone huts, 171
Animals discovered, 247
trapping, 66
An isolated walled town, 75
Ants, white, 57, 146
Aouderas mountains, 151, 224
village, 223
Area of Kano, 27
A remarkable individual, 7, 98
Arra district, 151
Assodé, 204
Atagoom and Saidi, 177
A wonderful city, 19
Azzal, 220
B
Baban Tubki, 58
Baguezan, east of, 215
mountains, 151, 164
plateau, 166, 168, 179
Barbara village, 53
Barbary sheep, 152, 163, 202, 216, 225, 230
Beauty in Africa, 169
Beri-Beri hunter, a, 97
Birds, collecting, 62
rare, 153, 197, 220, 250
Bilma oasis, 172
Border of desert, 95, 110
Boundaries of Aïr, 127, 161, 165
Bushland, end of, 83
Bustard, Arab, 89
Butterflies and moths, 67, 218, 251
C
Camel corps, 137
Camels, alarming decline of, 92
in mountains, 165, 179
of Hausaland, 41
on loading, 45
stolen, 212
Camps, hunting, 36, 58, 93, 152, 166, 213, 225
Caravans, composition of, 41
Caravan travelling started, 48
Cartridges, 62
Chief killed by robbers, 148, 227
of Aouderas, 225
of Baguezan, 148, 153, 162, 174
Climate, 60, 78, 101, 130, 173
change? 188
Collecting in Damergou, 106
in Nigeria, 37
Collecting, scientific, 60, 71, 121
Companionship, regarding, 219
Comparison of distances, 74
Construction of mud huts, 24, 77, 142
Country changing, 56, 83, 86
nature of Damagarim, 57, 73, 83, 85
of Damergou, 86, 89, 93, 245
north of Kano, 49
of bad repute, 175
Cultivation in Aïr, 139, 183, 220, 223
Currency, drawbacks of, 39
D
Damagarim territory, 58
Dambiri village, 86
Damergou territory, 90
Date Aïr occupied, 136
of British occupation, 20
of French occupation, 79
palms, 183, 193, 195, 217, 223
Declining population, 77
Delayed at Kano, 35
Deserted villages, 152, 186, 189, 201, 204, 217, 224
Desert entered, the, 129
the shores of, 83
Desolate country, 133
Difficulties at start, 46
Discomforts of Harmattan, 18
Discouraging rumours, 82
Distance travelled, 243
Dogo village, 57
Dry season, the, 102
Dwelling, an outpost, 145
E
Engaging natives, 6, 23, 178
Escort, 96, 122, 148, 177, 184
European population, Kano, 21
Expedition ends, 246
F
Fachi oasis, 172
Faodet mountains, 189
Food plentiful in Nigeria, 53
Forest and bush, 15
Fox trapped, 65, 161
French forts, 54, 78, 91, 125, 137
frontier, 54
mission to Agades, 136
Friendly fact, a, 20
G
Gazelle, Dama, 104, 151, 216, 242
Dorcas, 59, 89, 104, 151, 191, 200, 216, 242
Red-fronted, 53, 59, 85, 104
Geological change? 187
Giant walls, 27
Giraffe, 86, 105, 113
Gorge, mouth of Timia, 182
Goundaï mountain, 185, 206
Grain, chief native food, 139
Grain-growing country, 90, 245
Green growth, 217, 242, 245
Ground-nut boom, 49
Growing poverty, 86
Guarding camels, 160
Guide, a native, 184, 197
Guns, 61
H
Harmattan, the, 17, 52, 56
Hausa names of game, 105
phrasing, 34
race, boundary of, 81, 87
salutation, 24
Heat intense, 78, 103, 128, 130, 223
Hive of industry, a, 28
Homeward! 241
Horses, country unfit for, 113
Kano, 30
Hunting, a morning’s, 61
unlucky, 103, 110, 120
Huts of Kano, 22
I
Iferouan, 194
Igouloulof, 185
Illness, 131
Inhabited villages, Aïr, 139
J
Jigawa, 53
John, 1, 51, 122, 246
K
Kano market, 29
Northern Nigeria, 16
Kano’s defences, 27
Kings, primitive, 143
Kites, Egyptian, 242
Korrigum, 105
L
Lagos, 10
Lagos-Kano railway, 13
Lagos lagoon, 5
Land of immense possibilities, 15
Life in Kano, 31
Lost ammunition, 37
M
Magaria fort, 54
Malaria, 222, 243
Map and compass, 198, 204
Margin of mountainland, the, 231
Market, village, 87
Military force in Aïr, 137
rule, 77
Mirage, 220
Modes of transport, 29
Mosque, Assodé, 205
Tintaghoda, 193
Mosquitoes, 191, 243
Mountain climate, 173
scenery, wild, 180, 224
stronghold, 165, 169
Mountains, rugged, 153
N
Native dress, 235
hunter, a, 99, 122
limitations, 2
personnel, 35
population, Agades, 138
Aïr, 232
Baguezan, 172
Damergou, 92
Kano, 21
scouts, 148
soldiers, 138
taxidermists, 9
weapons, 97
Natives of Damagarim, 58, 77, 80
of Lagos, 11
shot, 211
suspicious, 174
uneasy, 82, 121
Nigeria’s needs, 14
Northern Aïr, 177
Notability of local kings, 143
O
Oasis, the term, 244
Oryx, white, 105, 113, 242
Ostrich foods, 116
hunting, 95, 245
scarcity of, 108
trap, 118
Outfit, 39
P
Palm belts, 16
Pass into Baguezan, 165, 179
Pets, 54
“Pigeon English,” 33
Pilgrim routes, old, 135, 221
Plants, Kano, common, 17
Population grows less, 58, 77
Preparations for journey, 39
Prestige of white men, 125
Produce of Aïr, 139
Prospering trade, 50
R
Race, a question of, 2
Rainfall scant, 90, 115
Rains, 159, 161, 185, 217, 222, 227, 230, 241, 245
Rains, local, 219
Remote territory, 38, 75
Rising of 1916, 137, 186
Robber tracks, 194, 207
Robbers attack Timia, 209, 213
dread of, 97, 157, 223
Hogar, 214
persistent, 137, 227
Routine of travelling, 51
Ruins of the past, 171, 187
Rumours of robbers, 82
S
Sahara Desert, 129
remote, 38
Sand and bleakness, 18
Sandstorms, 241
Sand tracks, heavy, 56
Scarcity of food, 83, 138, 200
of water, 89, 93, 126, 228
Sentry posted, 185
Skinning lessons, 8
specimens, 67
Skins complete, 68, 70
Solitude, weight of, 75
Spring for a moment, 229
Sultan of Agades, traitor, 137
Sultan’s palace, 140
Suspicious of stranger, 164
T
Takoukout country, 95, 110
Tamgak mountains, 192
Tanout, 88
Tarrouaji hills, 228
Tarusszgreet summit, 167
Tebernit valley, 216
Tegguidi cliff, 132
Teouar village, 217
Thunderstorms, 189, 219, 241
Time to hunt, 61
Timia, 183
Tom-tom proclamations, 87
Tragedy, relics of a, 159
Transport animals, 41
Travel by night, 123
Treaty between Britain and France, 79
Trees of Aïr, 149, 151, 194
Tuareg huts, 170, 183
natives, 93, 138, 173, 232
U
Untravelled land, 172
V
Vegetable gardens, 55
Villages in Baguezan mountains, 170
W
Walls of Kano, the, 27
of Zinder, 76
Wares in native markets, 29
Water, foul, 203
Wild life of Kano, 36
men, 190
Wireless, 137
Y
Yashmak, 234
Z
Zinder, 73
Zoological geography, 59, 72
=By Captain Angus Buchanan, M.C.=
WILD LIFE IN
CANADA
_THE SUNDAY TIMES:_
“Captain Buchanan’s book has the rare charm of an exquisite
simplicity, coupled with a fresh, almost boyish delight in his
questing successes. . . . May ‘Caribou Antler’ soon return to
his beloved North, and give us yet another delightful book.”
_THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:_
“The record of his study of birds, beasts, and fishes of the Far
North is written not merely with scientific accuracy, but with
a broad outlook that must interest alike the naturalist and the
ordinary layman. . . . The book affords fascinating reading for
young and old.”
_THE MORNING POST:_
“It is the treasure of the mind and the eye of a man of knowledge
and sensibility, exploring beyond the white man’s frontier of
Saskatchewan. . . . Commend it we can, and do, heartily.”
_NATURE:_
“Birds predominate throughout the pages of what is really a
naturalist’s journal—unvarnished, graphic, and with a strong
personal note. . . . The picture that the author gives of the
caribou is a fine piece of work.”
_THE PALL MALL GAZETTE:_
“Excellent reading. . . . Naturalists, sportsmen, and all lovers
of adventure will find the book both profitable and entertaining.”
_THE SCOTS PICTORIAL:_
“A delightful book about his wanderings and adventures in the
North-West. The spirit of the wilds is in his language, telling of
the grandeur and beauties of these regions, the vast solitudes,
the continuous struggle with Nature. . . . As interesting as it
is informative.”
_With Numerous Photographs by the Author_
_SECOND IMPRESSION_
* * * * *
JOHN MURRAY, Albemarle Street, LONDON, W.1
=By Captain Angus Buchanan, M.C.=
THREE YEARS OF WAR
IN EAST AFRICA
=With a Foreword by LORD CRANWORTH=
_THE TIMES:_
“A book which is singularly attractive and ‘African’ all
over. . . . His narrative is essentially the story of three years’
soldiering in Central Africa by a lover of the wild, a traveller
in many lands, a naturalist and sportsman.”
_THE SPECTATOR:_
“Captain Buchanan’s valuable book. . . . It is of great human
interest as a record of the admirable work done by the author’s
battalion.”
_NAVAL AND MILITARY RECORD:_
“Wonderfully interesting—the author gives thrilling accounts of
the fighting, but the story is more that of a man possessing the
spirit of adventure, an explorer of the wild, a lover of nature,
and a sportsman.”
_THE EVENING STANDARD:_
“One emerges with a profound admiration of the man and his work,
both with sword and pen. His equipment is so complete. A thorough
soldier, one that sticks it out through exhaustion and disease
till the body refuses any longer to obey the indomitable will;
a gifted leader; a big game hunter, whose hunting is inspired by
a love of natural history that comes out in his study of birds;
a traveller with a keen eye for the picturesque in nature and man;
and, to cap all, a thinker, and one of those wise thinkers who
translate their theories of life into consistent action.”
_ARMY AND NAVY GAZETTE:_
“The author gives us an admirable idea of the country . . . a
valuable contribution to the literature of the campaign, and
incidentally provides a fine record of the work of the splendid
corps to which he belonged.”
_THE GRAPHIC:_
“This well-written book is intensely inspiring as a study in
British pluck.”
_With Illustrations from Drawings and Photographs by the Author_
_SECOND IMPRESSION_
* * * * *
JOHN MURRAY, Albemarle Street, LONDON, W.1
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: Director of Tring Museum.]
[Footnote 2: Of the British Museum of Natural History.]
[Footnote 3: But this he did not do, for I never saw him again.]
[Footnote 4: Nigeria handbook]
[Footnote 5: Sometimes Madala!]
[Footnote 6: Made of pasteboard for small specimens and wood for
large.]
[Footnote 7: Barth’s _Travels in Central Africa_. Vol. i, p. 370.]
[Footnote 8: Dr. Barth’s _Travels in Central Africa_. Vol. i,
p. 399.]
[Footnote 9: “ABISGEE,” Hausa name; an evergreen, willow-like bush,
which has a pungent skunk odour. It bears large clusters of
currant-like fruit in June and July. This bush was found only in
Aïr, and it may be _Boscia salicifolia, Oliver_ (Capparidaceæ).]
[Footnote 10: The mountains of Baguezan, Timia, Agalak, Goundaï,
Agarageur, Faodet, and Tamgak may be said to form almost one
continuous range, whereas Aguellal is a detached mountain range.]
[Footnote 11: Described by Lord Rothschild]
Transcriber's note:
pg 197 Changed: AIR to: AÏR
pg 199 Changed: few scattered acacais to: acacias
pg 216 Changed: large acacais to: acacias
caption, facing pg 234 Changed: ÄIR to: AÏR
pg 252 Changed: _palleseens_ to: _pallescens_
pg 252 Changed: _griscola_ to: _griseola_
Other spelling inconsistencies have been left unchanged
Italicized, bold and underlined text indicated with '_', '='
and '--', respectively