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
inclosed 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°.
[Sidenote: Wednesday, January 14th.]
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 riverhorse 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 inclosed 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 corn-fields, 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.
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.
[Illustration]
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 bed-rooms 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
inclosing 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_.
[Illustration: Drawn by J. M. Bernatz, from a Sketch by Dr. Barth.
M. & N. Hanhart, lith. et impt.
INTERIOR OF A MÚSGU DWELLING.]
On the right of this shed was the cooking-place or kitchen, inclosed 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
fire-places, 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 inclosed 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 10,000
head of cattle, amounted to a considerable number of slaves. The leaders
boasted that they had taken not less than 10,000 slaves; and, although I
was glad to find that this number was exaggerated, I convinced myself
that they numbered not less than 3000.
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 300, almost the whole full-grown male population of the country
having had time to escape. Of these 3000 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 200 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.
[Sidenote: Monday, January 19th.]
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.