Part 20

Traversing the swampy ground, after a march of half a mile we reached again the direct path, keeping at some distance from the bank of the river, which, although divided into several branches, exhibited a charming spectacle in the rising sun. Cultivated ground and wilderness alternated, and the monkey-bread tree appeared in great abundance; but further on the duwé and kenya began to prevail; the islands in the river also, as Nasíle and Ler, being richly clad with vegetation.

However, the district did not seem to be very populous, and the only village which we passed on the main was Shére, surrounded by a stockade, where we endeavoured, in vain, to obtain a little milk. We left, at a distance of several miles to the west, the town of Larba, which, as I have mentioned on my outward journey, is inhabited by a warlike set of people greatly feared by their neighbours; but at present we heard that the ruler of that town, of the name of Bíto, had lately returned from Say, to whose governor, Ábú Bakr, he was said to have made his submission; although it is probable that his only intention had been to keep free that side, in order to be undisturbed in his proceedings against the chief of the Toróde, or Tórobe.

Altogether the region presented a very interesting feature when, close behind the village of Gárbegurú, we reached the river Sírba, with which, in its upper course, we had first made acquaintance at Bóse-bángo, but which here had a very different character, rushing along, in a knee-like bend, from south-west to north-east, over a bed of rocks from sixty to seventy yards across, and leaving the impression that at the time when it is full of water it is scarcely passable. But at present we found no difficulty in crossing it, the water being only a foot deep. Nevertheless, the Sírba is of great importance in these regions, and we can well understand how Bello could call it the ʿAlí Bábá of the small rivers. Ascending then the opposite bank of this stream, we obtained a view of a hilly chain ahead of us, but the country which we had to traverse was at present desolate, although in former times the cornfields of the important island-town Koirwa spread out here. However, we had a long delay, caused by another of our camels being knocked up, so that we were obliged to leave it behind; an unfortunate circumstance, which afforded a fresh proof of the uselessness of the camels of the desert tract of Ázawád for a journey along the banks of the river.

The country improved greatly after we had crossed a small hilly chain which approached on the right, but it did not exhibit any traces of cultivation, the inhabitants having taken refuge on the other side of the river. We also passed here a pretty little rivulet of middle size, girt by fine trees, and encamped close beyond the ruins of a village called Namáro, opposite the village of Kuttukóle, situated on an island in the river. The place was extremely rich in herbage, but greatly infested by ants, and, in consequence, full of ant-hills; but we only passed here the hot hours of the day, in order to give our animals some rest, and then set out again just as a thunderstorm was gathering in Áussa on the opposite side of the river.

The sheet of water is here broad and open, forming an island, and does not exhibit the least traces of rocks. The shore was richly clad with vegetation, and a little further on seemed even to be frequented by a good many people; but they did not inspire us with much confidence. Meanwhile, the thunderstorm threatening to cross over from the other side of the river and reach us, we hastened onward, and encamped on the low and grassy shore, opposite a small village called Wántila, situated on an island full of tall dúm-palms, which however, at present, was only separated from the main by a narrow swampy creek. However, we had a sleepless night, the district being greatly infested by the people of Larba. The governor of this place, as we now learned, was then staying in the town of Karma, which we had just passed, and from whence proceeded a noise of warlike din and drumming which continued the whole night.

At an early hour, therefore, the next morning we set out, keeping at a short distance along the river, the ground presenting no signs of cultivation, while the steep slope on the opposite bank almost assumed the character of a mountain chain; the highest group being from 800 to 1000 feet in height, and called Bingáwi by our guide, while he gave to the succeeding one the name of Wágata; the most distant part of the chain he called Búbo. At the foot of this ridge lies the village of Tagabáta, which we passed a little further on.

Enjoying the varied character of the scenery, we continued our march rather slowly, an ass which my companions had bartered on the road lagging behind, and causing us some delay, when we entered a dense underwood of thorny trees which entirely hemmed in our view, while on our right a hilly chain approached, called from a neighbouring village Senudébu, exactly like the French settlement on the Falémé in the far west.

Proceeding thus onward, we suddenly observed that the covert in front of us was full of armed men. As soon as they became aware that we had observed them, they advanced towards us with the most hostile gesticulations, swinging their spears and fitting their arrows to their bows, and we were just going to fire upon them, when we observed amongst them my servant the Gatróni, whom a short time before I had sent to fetch some water from the river. This fortunate circumstance, suddenly arrested our hostile intentions and led to a peaceable understanding. We were then informed, that obtaining a sight of us from a hill while we were still at a distance, and seeing six armed horsemen, they had taken us for a hostile host, and had armed themselves; and it was very fortunate for my servant with whom they first met, as well as for ourselves, that one of them understood a little Háusa, and was able to make out from his description the nature of our undertaking. But for this, we should perhaps have been overwhelmed by numbers. The first troop consisted of upwards of 100 men, all armed with bow and spear, and round black shields, many of them wearing a battle-axe besides; and smaller detachments were posted at short intervals up to the very outskirts of their village. They consisted of both Songhay and Fúlbe, and the greater part wore nothing but leather aprons. They wanted us to accompany them to their village, but we did not feel sufficient confidence in them to do so, and were glad when we got rid of them. On this occasion I had another proof of the warlike character of my Arab companion ʿAlí el Ágeren, who, as long as there was any danger, kept at a respectful distance behind the camels, but, as soon as he saw that all was over, he rushed out on his little pony in the most furious manner, and threatened to put to death the whole body of men, so that I had great difficulty in appeasing him. Probably, if we had had a serious encounter, he would have turned his horse’s head, and I should never have seen him again.

When we continued our march, we were gratified to see a wide extent of ground covered with fine cotton plantations; on our left, where the river again approached, much kharrwa, or berkínde, appeared. Further on, fields of millet succeeded to the cotton plantations, and the cultivation now continued without interruption, extending to the slope of the hills, while, on the other side of the river, five villages appeared at short intervals. We then entered upon hilly sandy ground, but even this less favoured tract was covered with fine crops. I had made it a rule, owing to the weakness of my camels, which required a good feed, always to encamp at some distance from a larger place, and we therefore chose our camping-ground about two miles on this side of the town of Bírni, amongst monkey-bread trees and hájilíj, at a short distance from a swampy creek of the river. Our encampment, however, became unpleasant in the extreme, as we had to sustain here a very heavy thunderstorm, accompanied by violent rain.

All the inhabitants of this district are Fúlbe, or Songhay speaking the language of the Fúlbe, the conquering tribe of the latter beginning to prevail here almost exclusively. All of them wear indigo-dyed shirts. We also met here an old man, originally belonging to the tribe of the Událen, a section of Imghád, or degraded Tawárek, but at present in the service of a Púllo, who, assisted by his slaves, was just getting his harvest into the town of Bírni, where he invited us to follow him on the approach of night.

[Sidenote: Friday, July 28th.]

Having lost the greater part of the morning in order to dry ourselves and our animals, we continued our march straight upon a kind of defile, which seemed almost to hem in the passage along the river. The bank here exhibits a peculiar feature, and the locality would be of the highest importance, if the state of the country was in any way settled, for the hilly chain on the right closely joins a group of rocky eminences which nearly approaches the river, and opening towards it in the shape of a horse-shoe, leaves only a very narrow passage between the south-easterly corner of this semicircle of the hills, and a detached cone rising close over the brink of the river, the latter being likewise full of rocks. On the slope of the amphitheatre, called Sáre-góru, about half-way up the height, lies the village or town of Bírni[45], presenting a very picturesque spectacle, notwithstanding the frail character of the dwellings.

Even beyond this passage, only a small border is left between the slope of the hills and the river, especially behind the little village of Kollónte, which is separated by a small ravine into two distinct groups, and very pleasantly situated in a fine recess of the hills; at the same time, busy scenes of domestic life attracted our attention. Here the shore formed a bend, and the river glided along in a slow, majestic, and undivided stream, but a little further on formed two islands, and, on the main, we observed again that cotton was cultivated. Traversing then a swampy plain, covered with several large farms belonging to people of the Kortére, we reached a small detached chain on our right, called Kirogáji, distinguished by three separate cones. Cultivation here is carried on to a great extent, and the number of horses scattered over the plain, afforded a tolerable proof of the wealth of the inhabitants, and we passed the residence of a rich farmer, called Úro-Módibo, “úro” being the Púllo term for a farm, and “módibo” the title of a learned gentleman. At the village of Sága also, which, a little more than two miles further on, we left on our right, beyond swampy meadow-grounds, numbers of horses, and extensive cotton plantations attracted our attention.

Three miles beyond Sága, we encamped near a small rivulet lined with luxuriant trees, of the species called gamji, or ganki, at the foot of the hills, the slope of which was covered with the richest crop of millet, and crowned with two villages inhabited by Fúlbe of the tribe of the Bitinkóbe, the river forming a rich and populous island called Bé- gúngu. This place is the residence of a sort of emír of the name of Báte, to whom my companions paid a visit, and obtained from him a supper and a small viaticum.

[Sidenote: Saturday, July 29th.]

We made a very interesting day’s march. The hills, which are here crowned with the various hamlets, form a bend closely approaching the river, and the path wound along the slope, which was intersected by several ravines full of rocks and trees, and afforded a beautiful view over the stream. Descending from this slope we kept along the bank, richly adorned with kenya or nelbi trees, the river spreading out in one unbroken sheet, interrupted only by a few isolated masses of rock. We here crossed a broad channel or dry watercourse starting forth from the hilly chain, and called Górul-tilkólil, or Góru-kére. This watercourse my guide, probably erroneously, indicated as a branch of the river Sírba. It was succeeded by several others, one of which, distinguished by its breadth, was called Górul-luggul. The bank of the river, at this spot, was cultivated with great care, and we passed several farming villages, one of which, called Lellóli, was the residence of a young Púllo woman who had attached herself to our party the preceding day. She was neatly dressed, and adorned with numerous strings of beads, and mounted on a donkey.

Here cultivation, including a good deal of cotton, was carried on with great care, and all the fields were neatly fenced. But this well- cultivated ground was succeeded by a dense and luxuriant underwood, and, in the river, an island of the name of ʿOitílli, or ʿOtílli, stretched out to a great length. This probably is the ford originally called Ghútil or Ghúdil. A little beyond, at the distance of about five miles, the soft slope gave way to a small rocky ridge, through which a little rivulet or brook had forced itself a passage, forming a very picturesque kind of rocky gate, which, when the stream is full, must present an interesting spectacle. But the water contained at the time a quantity of ferruginous substances, and after taking a slight draught I remained in a nauseous state all the day long. It affected one of my companions still more unpleasantly. Here the steep rocky cliffs, consisting of gneiss and mica slate, and interwoven with fine green bushes, closely approached the river, which, in a fine open sheet, was gliding gently along at the rate of about three miles an hour, and we kept close to the margin of the stream, which, during the highest state of the inundation, is scarcely broad enough to afford any passage. The cliffs, with their beautifully stratified front, were so close that even at present only a border a few feet in width was left, and this narrow strip was beautifully adorned with dunku trees, the dark green foliage of which formed a beautiful contrast with the steep white cliffs behind them. The leaves are used by the natives for making a kind of sauce and for seasoning their food, like those of the monkey-bread tree. Further on, underwood of arbutus succeeded. The rocky ledge was interrupted, for a short time exhibiting the aspect of a crumbled wall, but further on again assumed the shape of precipitous cliffs, although less regularly stratified than in its north-westerly part.

This steep range of cliffs is called by the natives, “Yúri.” Just where it began to fall off and to become smoother, we were obliged to leave the margin of the beautiful stream, which, near the bank, apparently descended to a great depth, in order to ascend the higher ground; for here the land juts out into the river in the form of a broad promontory, the whole slope being covered with fine crops, which were just approaching to ripeness. Thus we reached the farming village, or rúmde, belonging to Fíttia Imám, or, as the name is generally pronounced, Mam Fítti, a wealthy Púllo, who possesses also a farm in the plain at the foot of the promontory close to the river. Here we encamped on the south-east side of the village, where the ground afforded good pasture for the camels.

I had been reposing awhile in the shade of a small kórna, when my people informed me that they had discovered, on the slope of the hills, a spring of living water, and I was easily induced, by the novelty of the phenomenon in this region, to accompany them to the spot.

The whole slope is about 500 feet high, and the view from this point across the river is extensive, but towards the south-east it is obstructed by the hills rising in that direction to a greater elevation. This culminating point of the ridge we ascended the next morning, when we found that the highest level expanded to an open plain, well clad with bush and grass and a rich supply of corn, although the crops did not exhibit here the same luxuriant growth as on the slope of the hills. Proceeding then for a mile along this level, we reached a small village, in the courtyards of which, besides sesamum, a little mekka, as it is here called, or ghafúli-másr, was cultivated. Here I, together with my horsemen, started in advance of my train, in order to prepare our quarters in the town of Say, as we had a good day’s march before us. The country here became adorned with gonda bush, of which we had entirely lost sight during our whole journey along the upper course of the Niger. Having passed the larger village Dógo, where with some difficulty we obtained a drop of milk, and having traversed a richly cultivated district, we descended into the valley of Say, along the rugged cliffs which bounded it on the west. But the greater part of the valley was covered with water to such a degree that we became entangled every moment in a swamp, and therefore preferred again ascending the cliffs and keeping along the higher border. In this northerly part the rocky slope attained in general a height of 150 feet, but gradually began to decrease in elevation. About half an hour before noon we changed our direction, and made across the swampy bottom of the valley, traversing two more considerable sheets of water, the first of three, and the second of two and a half feet in depth.

Thus we approached the town of Say, which was scarcely visible owing to the exuberant vegetation which surrounded its wall on every side, and which exhibited a most remarkable contrast to that dryness and monotony, which characterized the place on my former visit. The town itself was at present intersected by a broad sheet of water, which seemed almost to separate it into two distinct quarters. I at length reached the house of the governor, where I, as well as my horse, were cheerfully recognized as old acquaintances. I was quartered in the same little hut in which I had resided more than a year previously; but a considerable change had been made in its arrangement. The comfortable little sleeping place of matting had been restored, and was very acceptable in the rainy season, more especially as it did not entirely preclude a current of air, while it enabled me to put away all my small treasures in security.

[Footnote 43: Among my companions, the Hartáni Máleki, who had visited the countries of Mósi and Bámbara, possessed some interesting information concerning unknown, or little known, districts of these regions; but unfortunately he had something very uncouth in his manner, which prevented my learning from him all that would have been possible under other circumstances. This day I wrote down, from his information, the name of the pagan tribe of the Nenmer, who are settled between the Tombo and Bámbara; besides that of the Norma, who are chiefly settled in two places, one of which is called Púra.]

[Footnote 44: They informed us, that Kúlman was six hours’ distance from here.]

[Footnote 45: There is no doubt that this was formerly a place of considerable importance, and commanded the whole of the surrounding district, as the masters of this defile had at the same time in their hands the whole intercourse along the shore. In this respect the name Bírni is not less remarkable than that of Sáre-góru, both “bírni,” as well as “sáre,” being the names given to cities, or large walled places, in various Negro languages. Sáre-góru means the rivulet or channel (góru) of the city (sáre).]

CHAP. LXXXI.

SECOND RESIDENCE IN SAY. — JOURNEY THROUGH DÉNDINA AND KEBBI.

Having rested awhile in my hut, I, with my companions, obeyed the summons of the governor, and found our poor old friend, Ábú-Bakr, in the very same room where we had left him more than a year previously. He was now quite lame in consequence of his disease of señi, but looked a little better than on the former occasion, and I soon had an opportunity of admiring his accurate knowledge of the country; for, when Áhmed el Wádáwi, had read to him the kasáíd or poems addressed by my friend El Bakáy to the emír Áhmedu, and began to relate some of the more remarkable incidents of our journey, he was corrected every moment in the nomenclature of the places by the governor, who appeared to possess the most accurate philological knowledge of all the spots along the river as far as Tóndibi, where he had been obliged to turn his back on his voyage up the Niger. He apparently took great interest in the endeavour of the Sheikh to open a communication with the Fúlbe of Gando and Sókoto, and expressed his deep sorrow that on his former voyage, he was prevented by the hostile behaviour of the chief El Khadír from reaching Timbúktu, when my companions assured him, that the Sheikh, on the first news of his approach, had sent a messenger in order to insure his safety from the Tawárek.

Even if we do not take into account this attempt of his, there is no doubt that the governor of Say is of the utmost importance in the endeavour to ascend this river, and it is only to be lamented that he has not greater means, pecuniary and military, at his disposal, in order to draw from the favourable position of his province all the results possible. Altogether his circumstances at this moment, especially in consequence of the rebellion of the province of Déndina, were rather poor. At the same time his own debilitated condition prevents him from exerting his power, and can only tend to increase his political weakness. The rather inhospitable treatment which we received may thus be explained. Nevertheless, I made him this time a considerable present, including a red bernús of inferior quality, which I had kept back for the occasion. However I was so fortunate, in acknowledgment for some medicines with which I endeavoured to alleviate his complaint, as to receive from him a small piece of sugar, which was a great treat to me, as I had long been deprived of this luxury, there being none in the market; and when we left the place, after a stay of three days, he was generous enough to make my companions a present of a camel, of which they stood much in need.