Part 12

BAMBA.

May 24th. 1854.]

Here we remained the following day, when I was roused at a very early hour by the crowing of the cocks in Bamba, which could not but recall to my mind the fate of the enterprising but unfortunate Mungo Park, who is said by the natives to have stayed here a couple of hours in order to provide himself with fowls, and thus to have given leisure to the Tawárek, lower down the river, to collect together and impede his passage; a story which is also related with regard to Gógó and some other places along the river; though it is more probable that his chief reason for making a halt near the principal places along the river, was to open communication with the natives, and more particularly in order to make astronomical observations.

Rising at an early hour, while the sky was beautifully clear, I enjoyed an hour’s pleasing reverie on my favourite rock of the previous day, overhanging the river. Although in full agitation the day before, this morning its surface was unruffled, and several boats were crossing over towards the island.

I afterwards called upon my protector. One of his younger brothers, Sídi Ílemín, had the preceding day come to pay him a visit as he was passing through this country, and when I was ascending the sandy hill, on the slope of which their matting dwelling had been erected, he came out to meet me, and complimented me in a very cheerful manner. He was a respectable man, with a very pleasing countenance, and had with him his son, a most beautiful boy of seven years.

I could not help thinking what a noble family this was. They were all sons of Sídi Mohammed el Kunti, the chief who received Major Laing in Ázawád. First, Mukhtár, Bakáy’s elder brother, who succeeded to his father when that chief had succumbed to an epidemic fever which raged in Ázawád, just at the time of Major Laing’s arrival, and who died in 1847; then Sídi Mohammed, a man with a truly princely demeanour; then El Bakáy himself; next, ʿAbidín, likewise well deserving the distinguished position of a chief, although he differed in politics from El Bakáy; then Hámma, a man with whom I did not become personally acquainted, but who was represented by all as a noble man; Sídi Ílemín; Bábá Áhmed; and Sídi Ámmer. This latter is the youngest, but certainly not the least noble of the family. While on a visit to Sókoto, together with his brother El Bakáy, he made a deeper impression upon the people, and obtained their favour more generally, than his elder brother. Álawáte is the only member of this family, who, with the exception of his learning, does not seem to contribute much to its honour; but, even in his case, we must take into account the customs of the country, and not judge of him according to our views of nobility.

[Illustration]

The light dwelling which had been erected for my protector, simple as it was, was spacious and elegant, affording a very cool resting-place during the heat of the day. It was of an oblong shape, measuring about 20 feet by 9, with two doors opposite each other, a large angáreb forming a comfortable resting-place. The mats of which these huts are constructed are very large and excellently woven, the huts being supported by a framework of slender bushes. But the hut, although very pleasant, was too crowded, and, during the hot hours of noon, I retired to a group of magnificent gerredh trees, which overshaded the cemetery, lying at the southern side of the village, and, interwoven by a dense growth of creepers, afforded a most agreeable shade, such as I had never before observed in the case of this tree.

Together with the adjoining tobacco fields, which were just exhibiting their freshest green, this cemetery formed a striking contrast to the barren country further north, which, although broken by a dhaye, or pond, of considerable size, and excellently adapted for the cultivation of rice, has neither trees nor bushes, with the exception of two or three isolated date-palms surrounding the border of the pond.

We had considerable difficulty in obtaining from the inhabitants a small supply of rice and butter, as they asserted that their means were so reduced that they were sustaining themselves entirely on býrgu, or native grass; but I had reason to suspect that they made this statement through fear of the Tawárek. At all events, tobacco was the only article they offered for sale, the tobacco of Bamba, called “sherikíye,” being far-famed along the Niger, and much sought after, although it is not so good as the “tábowé,” the tobacco of Égedesh. Of býrgu, they have an unlimited supply; and I tasted here the honey water which they prepare from it, but found it insipid, besides being slightly purgative, not unlike the maddi, or góreba water, in Háusa.

[Footnote 28: Áhmed Bábá, in Journal of Leipsic Oriental Society, vol. ix. p. 547.]

[Footnote 29: See the highly interesting account of this place, the great commercial _entrepôt_ between Ghána in the west and Tademékka in the east, in El Bekrí, “Déscription de l’Afrique,” p. 180. The express mention of the ants which he here makes is very important, as, in coming from Timbúktu, the first ants were observed by us near Hendi-kíri.]

CHAP. LXXVI.

THE DESERT. — COUNTRY ALONG THE BORDER OF THE RIVER. — GREATEST NARROWING. — SOUTH-EASTERLY BEND.

A slight fall of rain, and then a thunder-storm, which, however, passed over our heads without discharging itself, delayed our departure in the afternoon; and the camels having been sent to a great distance for a little pasture, it was past five o’clock when we left our camping- ground. A numerous crowd of Rumá, Songhay, and Ímóshagh having assembled to witness my departure, I distributed a good many small presents among them, reserving the few articles of value which I still possessed for mightier chiefs.

Having crossed, after a march of two miles, a backwater much overgrown with grass, and at present almost dry, we had the fáddama or bot-há of the river close on our right, while the open water was at about an hour’s march distance. Here a considerable amount of cultivation was seen, a good many grounds for corn and tobacco being laid out and connected with the river by channels, through which the water during the highest state of the inundation approached closely, and rendered irrigation very easy; but unfortunately a heavy thunder-storm, rising in a tremendous battery of clouds, and enveloping the whole country in a dense mass of sand, did not allow of any exact observations being made. The many channels which here intersected our road, proved a disagreeable hindrance in our hurried march, and although the clouds passed by without bringing any rain, yet darkness set in before we had reached our destination, and to my great disappointment prevented my noticing the whole character of the district.

But the inconvenience soon increased when we entered upon the swampy, grassy border of the river; for although a small fire, on the dry shore to our left, held out to my companions, who were travelling almost without supplies, the prospect of a rather poor supper, a long line of fires in the midst of the river promised them better fare. Without regarding, therefore, the difficulties of the ground and the darkness of the night, we made straight for them. My friends were not even deterred, when we reached a narrow dyke scarcely fit for one horse, and in great decay, and which the guide declared to be the only path leading through a sheet of water separating us from the encampment. Thus, we boldly entered upon this dyke, but we had only proceeded a few hundred yards, when it was pronounced, even by these people, so well accustomed to an amphibious life, to be totally impracticable, so that we were obliged to retrace our steps. While engaged in this most dangerous proceeding, my servant, the Gatróni, met with a serious accident, falling, with his horse, down the dyke into the water; and although, with his native agility, he succeeded in extricating himself, with a few contusions, from his unpleasant situation, we had great difficulty in getting the horse out from the hollow into which it had fallen, my companions asserting that it was dead, and wanting to leave it behind. At length we got away from the dyke, and finding a ford through the water, we reached the encampment, which was pitched on a narrow neck of grassy land, and completely dazzled us with the glare of its many fires, coming, as we did, out of the darkness. From the opposite side of the river, two hamlets of Songhay, called Inzámmen and Takankámte, were visible likewise by their fires.

The encampment belonged to some Kél e’ Súk, who manifested a rather thievish disposition; and, although not altogether inhospitable, they were unable to treat my companions well, as in the swampy lowland there was an entire want of firewood. It was one of those encampments which contributed in a great measure to ruin my health, partly in consequence of the heavy dew which fell during the night. Meanwhile my servant, who was a most faithful person, was searching the greater part of the night for his pistols, which in his fall he had lost in the swamp.

[Sidenote: Friday, May 26th.]

While my companions still lagged behind in order to indemnify themselves for their lost supper by a good breakfast, I set off at a tolerably early hour, in order to get out of the swampy ground; and fearing lest we might again be entangled in these interminable low grounds, we kept at a considerable distance from the river over the gentle sandy downs, bare at first, but afterwards clad with a considerable quantity of dry grass. But some of our companions, who overtook us, would not allow us to pursue our north-easterly direction, and led us back again to the border of a broad swampy sheet of water, which is called Terárart, and at this spot formed a shallow water full of water-plants and geese, but gradually widening to a very extensive swamp, which again increased to a large open branch. The river, however, which was now almost at its lowest level, must present a very different aspect during the highest state of the inundation, when the downs of snow-white sand, which at present separated the principal trunk from the swamp, must appear like a narrow sandbank in the midst of the water.

Behind these downs, but separated from the main branch by a smaller creek, called “the false river,” Eghírrëu-n-báho, lies the hamlet Égedesh, which at the present season was deserted, the inhabitants being scattered over the islands in the river. The three villages Garbáme, Ém- n-Tabórak, and Nshérifen, are situated on its opposite southern bank.

Exchanging at this remarkable spot our east north-easterly direction for an east south-easterly one, we encamped after a march of three miles and a half, in the shade of a dense belt of underwood which girded its shores, and after a short time, we were here joined by El Bakáy. A little more than a mile beyond this place, at the downs called Ghadír, this large backwater joins the river, and here, when we pursued our march in the afternoon, we ascended for a while a higher level, consisting of sandstone rock in a state of great decomposition; but after a march of three miles, again descended to its shores, the river being here full of green islands, with plenty of fine cattle. Two miles further on, we encamped in a place called Tewílaten, or Stewílaten, at the side of a rather poor encampment of the Kél-Tebankórit. Notwithstanding their poor condition, the people slaughtered two oxen on our behalf.

I had this day still further cause to feel satisfied that we were travelling along the north, and not along the south side of the river, for while we ourselves had but a slight shower, besides summer lightning the whole of the evening, in the course of the afternoon a considerable fall of rain took place beyond the river in Áribínda.

Before we started I began conversing with the people of the encampment (the chief of whom, a man of renowned valour, is called Hammaláti) in a cheerful manner. Whereupon they praised me as an excellent man, but made at the same time the candid avowal that the preceding night, when I did not speak a word, they felt a great antipathy towards me.

Having proceeded at a tolerable rate as far as this place, we here once more relapsed into our usual slow mode of progress; and after a short march of scarcely three miles over a ground strewn with pebbles and small stones, and clad only with scanty vegetation, we encamped close to the steep bank which descended towards the river opposite the island of Zamgoy, for here we were told was the residence of Sadáktu, the chief who had levied such heavy contributions upon the inhabitants of Bamba. As the country itself did not present any features of interest, it was some recompense to me for the delay we met with in this place, that the character of the river was remarkable; and in order to enjoy it as much as possible, I prepared myself a resting place on the slope of the bank, which was thickly overgrown with small trees.

It is here that the beginning of the rocky district through which the river takes its course is first perceptible. The western end of a small island is entirely surrounded by large granite blocks, which have given to the island the remarkable name of Tahónt-n-éggish, clearly indicating that even the natives themselves regard this place, for him who comes down the river, as the “entrance-rock,” or the beginning of the rocky district.

The island of Zamgoy lies nearer to the southern shore, and seems to be of considerable extent, densely clothed with trees, and containing a small hamlet, or ádabay. Besides the view of the river, and a walk now and then over the desert ground in our neighbourhood, where I observed the ruins of some stone dwellings, I had plenty of occupation during this and the three following days which we remained here, in conversing with the natives.

Sadáktu himself was very unwell, and greatly wanted my medical assistance; but after I had made him feel the efficacy of my medicines so strongly that he declared every evil to be removed from his body, he did not reward my zeal with so much as a drop of milk. I therefore could not help observing, to the great delight of his subjects, that he was the most niggardly chief I had ever met with. There were, however, others who were more social and communicative, if not more liberal, than this chief. There was, first, a wealthy and good-looking man of the name of Jemíl, of the Kél-Burrum or the people of Burrum, who evidently originate in a mixture of free Songhay people and Ímóshagh, and he himself, seemed to unite in a certain degree, the qualities of these different nations, while his rich dress and his _embonpoint_ proved that he was not an austere inhabitant of the desert. A great deal of trouble was caused me by another man of the name of Simsim, the son of Sídi Ámmer, and the eldest of seven brothers, a very rich Ámóshagh, who was totally blind, but who, nevertheless, expected me to restore his sight; and it really seemed as if my friend El Bakáy confirmed him in this belief, in order to obtain from him some handsome presents for himself.

This person also had the stately appearance peculiar to all these easterly Tawárek, who seem to have enriched themselves with the spoil of the native Songhay population, the latter having in a great measure been reduced by them to the condition of serfs. Almost all of them had a very proud bearing, but nevertheless, upon nearer acquaintance, they proved to be of a very cheerful disposition; and although of a wild character and of warlike propensities, they have an easy temper, and are not difficult to manage.

The poor inhabitants of Bamba, from whom Sadáktu had taken seventy cows and ten slaves, joined us here, in the endeavour to recover their property. They earnestly begged me to be the mediator between them and that hostile chief; and I was very glad when, after a good deal of dispute, the chief returned half of the spoil. It was here also that I learnt that the whole population of Áír, under the command of Háj ʿAbdúwa, had gained a great victory over the Dínnik, or Awelímmiden-wén- Bodhál, and the Aréwan, or Kél-gerés. The tribe of the Kél-fadáye enjoy a great name in this region; and it is evident that, in former times, they occupied a much more conspicuous position than they do at present. Even El Bakáy himself had taken a wife from that tribe; and I was also informed here that they lay claim to a descent from sherífs.

We had a storm almost every day during our stay in this place; but although we ourselves had very little else than a disagreeable sand- wind, there seemed to be a very heavy fall of rain in Áribínda. In one of these thunderstorms we nearly lost our camels, which, headed by one of their companions that had lately come from Ázawád, were making straight for that district, their beloved home, and had proceeded a distance of some miles, before they were overtaken.

[Sidenote: Wednesday, May 31st.]

At length we pursued our journey, but only for a short march of two hours; and I was so disgusted at the repeated delays and sham travelling, that I prayed earnestly that the Almighty would speedily deliver me from this sort of bondage. Throughout our march, the bare desert, here consisting of stony ground, torn by many small channels, closely crept up to the fertile bed of the river, where a green swampy lowland girded the present reduced sheet of water. Amongst the stones with which the ground was covered, fine white and red striped rock was discernible; and I observed another island, with a rocky point, towards the west.

The ground where we encamped was bleak in the extreme, without any shade, although a few hundred yards in front of us there was a fine grove of gerredh; but as these trees adorned a cemetery, my companions, from superstitious motives, were too much afraid to choose that place for their encampment. Although our camping-ground was excessively hot, I was agreeably surprised to find the water of the river so pleasantly cool at a time when the sun was high, and could only attribute this phenomenon to the rocky character of the channel and to its considerable depth. Nevertheless, crocodiles, as well as river-horses, were numerous.

In this unprotected ground we remained not only this but the following day, although the place was as uncomfortable for the people, who were almost scorched by the heat of the sun, as it was detrimental to the animals, who found nothing to eat here. The Sheikh had gone in the morning to visit Sadáktu, in the island of Zamgoy, and from thence did not join us until late in the evening. It was one of the hottest days we had had; and it was here that, about noon, we discovered in my tent a large, black, poisonous _arachnæa_, or spider, the body of which measured almost two inches in diameter, and whose like my companions from Timbúktu had never seen. The Tawárek were so disgusted at the sight, that while I was looking attentively at it, after we had killed it, they threw it hastily away with their swords, so that I did not see it again; but they told me that it was the most dangerous and abominable creature to be found in these regions.

The excessive heat rendered a thunderstorm which we had in the afternoon of the second day highly acceptable, especially as the heavy gale was followed by a light rain, which greatly relieved the burning heat of the sandy soil. It was highly amusing to me to observe also, this time, that although a large leathern tent had been pitched for the Sheikh, nevertheless, as was always the case when a thunderstorm arose, everybody hastened to carry his treasures, especially the saddles and books, under cover of my small European tent, which had now withstood more than four years’ exposure to the weather, and was mended and patched in such a manner that the original material was scarcely discernible.

[Sidenote: Friday, June 2nd.]

We at length left this place, but only to move on a distance of seven or eight miles, to an encampment of a wealthy man of the name of Sídi Ílemín, who, although belonging to the tribe of the Fúlbe, was living amongst the Tawárek, and had been settled in the place for a great many years. The contrast between the open river, bordered by the green grassy lowlands, which at present had been laid bare by the retiring waters, and the bleak desert which closely approached it, was very remarkable, especially a short distance before we reached the encampment, where an extensive sandy eminence excluded for a while the view of the river, and with a few scattered bushes of the poisonous fernán, and the short herbage called “ellob,” made one fancy oneself transported into the heart of the desert.

Along the former part of our road the low shore of the river had been clothed with a profusion of excellent býrgu, but here there was none, and the poor camels again fared very badly. In the whole of this district along the river, where trees are very scanty, the camel is reduced to the diet of býrgu, although it by no means agrees with animals accustomed to the food of the young acacia trees and the dry herbage of the desert. All circumstances considered, my camels were in a very bad condition, and there was good reason for my kind friend and protector looking about for some fresh animals to enable me to reach more favoured regions. He therefore determined to set out from this point to the nearest of his “kissib,” or herds of camels, while we were to wait for him at a place called Tin-sherífen.

The river, which, in its present state, was about 900 yards from our camp, had here a very shallow, and not at all an imposing appearance, although a few miles below it enters a very rocky district, where it is enclosed by steep banks and broken by islets and cliffs. Four boats were lying on the shore. The place was called Igómaren.

The encampment of Sídi Ílemín was large, consisting of very spacious leathern tents, where Tawárek and Fúlbe, and some Arabs also, were living together in peaceful community. Although they are tolerably wealthy, they have only asses, and no horses. A good many Tawárek joined us here the day of our arrival, and, while I rewarded the most respectable amongst them with a small present of some kind or other, I had some difficulty in satisfying a more powerful lord of the name of Míki, the son of Elésa; and found it still more difficult to satisfy his companion, or “énhad,” who, as is very often the case in Europe, raised his pretensions much higher than his master.