“_Kuka, Kingdom of Bornou, April 2_, 1823.
“I dare say you begin to fear, but you have no reason, for we are all
as safe as you are. We arrived here a month ago, and were received in
the most flattering manner. Several thousand horsemen were sent out to
conduct us to town. The sheikh was very kind, and has continued so ever
since. He is the chief man; the sultan is nothing. The climate is very
hot, and the heat will continue till the rains set in, which will not
be for three months yet. The heat at present is about the same as it
is at the hottest season in Fezzan. The inhabitants are two distinct
races—the black and the copper-coloured. The former are Bornouese,
and the latter are ———. We have found them both very obliging. Our
journey here was pleasant, but it was over a dreary country. It yields
no grass, and the wells are several days’ journey from each other. Few
animated beings are to be seen in these deserts, and, unless for the
purposes of gain, they are shunned by man. I have been rather unwell
myself, but, thank God, I am now nearly well, and intend setting out
on an excursion through Bornou, in three or four days. I had a slight
fever and a troublesome cough which is now better. In our excursion I
do not expect to see much that is interesting, as all the country we
have passed over is much the same. There are often thickets of trees
with grass, which is all dried up. Near the town there are many open
spaces, on account of the trees having been cut down for firewood. Near
a great lake called Spad, elephants, hippopotami, and antelopes are
met with in great numbers; my friend Clapperton has shot a great many
of the latter. He is quite an enthusiast in the chase, and has been
very successful. He enjoys the best of health, and is as stout as ever.
This is far from being a disagreeable country, but it is deficient in
fruit and vegetables—a circumstance we did not expect so far to the
southward, and which we feel as a great privation in a warm climate. We
have provisions in abundance, especially fowls and sheep, the latter
being very cheap,—40[1] for a dollar—a vast difference from what you
must pay for your mutton. Still there is not that comfort in living
here that you experience; and although you must pay more for some of
the articles you use, yet, perhaps, you live cheaper than we can. There
are no great beauties among the females of this place, yet many of them
have pleasing countenances. All of them have their hair done up in a
peculiar manner, which must require great patience and labour. They
have among them four or five different fashions, each however adheres
to her own, and it serves to distinguish the town to which she belongs,
and the race from which she is descended; and so these African fashions
may have continued many generations without change. It is quite a
different thing with your fashionables, who must have something new
every month. The dress is very simple, being merely a piece of blue
calico, which comes up nearly to the shoulders, and a similar portion
that passes over the head. Beads are a common ornament; you do not see
a single female without them, and the rich have broad girdles, which
they take care every now and then to show.