Part 24
But it almost seemed as if the prospects of this part of Negroland were to darken more and more, for the rumours which I had heard on the Niger of the ancient feud between the Kél-owí and Kél-gerés having again broken out in a sanguinary struggle, were entirely confirmed here. The Kél-owí had undertaken this year an expedition on a large scale, consisting of 5000 men mounted on horses and camels, and, according to report, with as many as 1000 muskets, against the Kél-gerés and the Awelímmiden, and had penetrated almost as far as Sáje, which place they destroyed by fire. The Kél-gerés having taken part in the expedition of the Góberáwa against the empire of Sókoto, the relation of the Kél-owí with the latter had assumed a much more friendly character, and our old friend Ánnur had paid a visit to the town of Kátsena. My friend ʿAbd el Káder, the Sultan of Ágades, who, as I have mentioned on my outward journey, had been deposed, and had been succeeded by Hámed e’ Rufáy, had now turned merchant on a grand scale, endeavouring at the same time to attach the Fúlbe to his cause. His usual residence was now in Kátsena, but he had paid a visit the previous year, in company with the governor of that place, to the emír El Múmenín, taking him, besides a quantity of bernúses and other valuable articles, a present of thirteen horses of Tawárek breed, and receiving from the latter, besides a number of tobes, 3,000,000 shells, and 260 slaves. Having remained about two months in Wurnó, and having been treated altogether in the most distinguished manner, the ex-king of Ágades had been forwarded with a numerous escort; for, notwithstanding the extreme weakness of this empire, if viewed from a European point of view, it even now is not quite destitute of means. During my stay, the messengers arrived from Záriya, with a bi-monthly tribute of 300,000 shells, 85 slaves and 100 tobes.
Having at length overcome the laziness of my companions, I had the satisfaction of seeing my departure finally arranged for the 5th October. The ghaladíma, in whose company on my outward journey I had come from Kátsena, was again to be my fellow traveller on my return eastward. I therefore completed my preparations, and, on the 4th October, I had my final leave-taking, or, as the Háusa people say, the babankwána, when I took the opportunity of excusing myself to ʿAlíyu for having been this year a little troublesome, after the fashion of those Arab sherífs who used to visit him, stating at the same time, that if my means had not been almost exhausted, I should have preferred buying a horse for myself. Having made this prelude, I endeavoured to impress upon him the dangerous state of the road, when he made use of the expression common in Háusa, “Alla shibúdeta!” (“God may open it!”); but I protested against such an excess of reliance upon the Divine intervention, and exhorted him to employ his own strength and power for such a purpose, for without security of roads, I assured him there could be no intercourse nor traffic. He either was, or seemed to be, very desirous that the English should open trading relations with him; and I even touched on the circumstance, that in order to facilitate such an intercourse, it would be best to blow up certain rocks, which most obstructed the navigation between Yáuri and Búsa, but of such an undertaking I convinced myself that it was better not to say too much at once, as that ought to be an affair of time.
Altogether, ʿAlíyu had entered into the most cheerful conversation with me on all occasions, and had questioned me upon every subject without reserve. He also furnished me with four letters of recommendation, one to the governor of Kanó, one to that of Bauchi, one to that of Ádamáwa, and one in a more general sense, addressed to all the governors of the different provinces in his empire. Thus I took leave of him and his court, probably never to see that region again, and lamenting that this extensive empire, which is so advantageously situated for a steady intercourse with Europeans, was not in the hands of an energetic chieftain, who would be able to give stability to conquest, and to organise the government of these provinces, so richly endowed by nature, with a strong hand.
[Sidenote: Thursday, October 5th.]
It was about three o’clock in the afternoon when I took my final leave of Wurnó. I had twice resided in this capital for some length of time, experiencing, on the whole, much kindness. On my outward journey I had been furnished on my dangerous undertaking with a strong and powerful recommendation; and on my return, although I had come into hostile contact with another section of the same tribe to which the inhabitants of this country belong, I had been again received without the least suspicion, had been treated with great regard, notwithstanding the exhausted state of my finances, and allowed to pursue my home journey as soon as the season reopened the communication with the neighbouring province.
Following now quite a different and more southerly road from that which we had pursued on our outward journey, we encamped this day in Dan- Sháura[48], a walled town, strengthened by three moats, tolerably well inhabited, and adorned with fine groups of trees, among which some large gonda trees, or _Erica Papaya_, were distinguished. The town belongs to the district of Rába, which forms the title of its governor, who is called Serkí-n-Rába. He was a decent sort of man, and treated us hospitably, a dish of fish proving a great luxury to me in this inland region, and bearing testimony to the considerable size of a large pond which borders the town on the east side, being apparently in connection with the gulbi-n-Rába, or Bugga. The evening was clear, and I enjoyed for a long time the scenery of the place in the fine moonlight, but the governor would not honour me with his company, being greatly afraid of the bad influence of the moon, the effect of which he thought far more injurious than that of the sun.
[Sidenote: Friday, October 6th.]
After a night greatly disturbed first by mosquitoes, and then by a heavy gale, we pursued our journey, entering a fine open country, which was intersected further on by a broad fáddama, and beyond that, presented several ponds half-dried up. But, after a march of about ten miles, we had a larger valley full of water on our right; and three miles further on, had to cross it at a spot where the sheet of water was at present narrowed to about 100 yards in width and 3 feet in depth, and notwithstanding a considerable current afforded an easier passage than the other part of the rainy season bed, which at present exhibited swampy ground, partly overgrown with rank grass, but was very difficult to cross, and a few days previously had been totally impracticable for horses or camels.
Four miles and a half beyond this river, through a country adorned with fine trees, but without any traces of cultivation, we reached a large river about 250 yards broad, and more than 5 feet deep, running here in a north-easterly direction, and no doubt identical with the river which we had lately crossed. How it is that the river here contains so much more water than it does lower down, I cannot state with certainty; but my opinion is, that a great portion of it is withdrawn towards the north, where the forest seems gradually to slope down towards the desert region of the centre of Gúndumi, where, in a sort of mould, or hollow, a large lake-like pond is formed. It is rather unfortunate that I had not an opportunity of asking information on this subject from one of the followers of the ghaladíma, who, instead of crossing the first sheet of water, kept along its northern bank, and thus with a longer circuit, but without the necessity of embarking in a boat, reached the town of Gandi. Having then crossed another small fáddama in a wide open country, where sorghum and cotton were cultivated together in the same fields, we reached the town of Gandi. It is surrounded by a wall (in a state of decay), and by two moats, and is of considerable size, but half- deserted.
We traversed with some difficulty the entrance of the town, which was adorned on the outside with three very tall bombax, or silk-cotton trees, and was almost entirely obstructed by a wooden gate, and then made our way through the desolate area of the town, overgrown with tall herbage, dúm-palms, and kórna, until we reached the house of the mágaji, who is one of the five rulers of this vast and desolate place. But we had a great deal of trouble in procuring quarters in an empty courtyard, where we were glad to obtain some rest, as, owing to my long illness, and my entire want of any strengthening food, I felt extremely exhausted by our day’s march. I had, moreover, the dissatisfaction to find that one of my people, a liberated slave from Núpe, had remained behind and could not be found. As for myself, I was not able to stir much about to inquire after him, for I wanted rest the more, as we had a long day’s march before us[49], and had to rise at a very early hour.
It was three o’clock the following morning when we all assembled round the courtyard of the ghaladíma, but on account of the guide who had promised to conduct us through the wilderness not daring to trust himself with these people without receiving his reward beforehand, we did not get off till half-past five o’clock, after we were quite tired out and ill prepared for a long march. The forest was overgrown with rank grass, and in the beginning exhibited some large ponds. The dorówa formed the principal tree, only now and then a dúm-palm giving some variety to the vegetation. Through this dense forest we marched at such a rate, that it rather resembled a flight than anything else, rendering it impossible for me to lay down this road with the same degree of accuracy to which I had adhered with the greatest perseverance throughout the whole extent of my long wanderings. At length, after a march of more than twenty miles, we reached the beginning of the large pond Subúbu, which, however, at present was almost dried up, presenting nothing but small pools of water; but I was sadly disappointed in my hopes of obtaining here some rest, the locality being regarded as too insecure to make a long halt, although on account of this sheet of water we had evidently given to our course a direction greatly diverging from that of our main route, which was to the north-east. I felt so much exhausted, that I was obliged shortly after to remain secretly behind, protected only by my faithful servant El Gatróni, when I lay down flat on the ground for a few moments, and then, refreshed a little, hastily followed the troop. Thus we proceeded onward, and the day passed by without there appearing any vestige of a town. After many disappointments, dragging myself along in the most desperate state of exhaustion, about an hour after midnight we at length reached cultivated fields and encamped at some distance from the town of Danfáwa or Dan- Fáwa, on an open piece of ground. Not being able to wait till the tent was pitched, I fell fast asleep as soon as I dismounted. A very heavy dew fell during the night.
[Sidenote: Sunday, October 8th.]
Having obtained some water and a couple of fowls from some farming people in our neighbourhood, we succeeded in finding our camels (which on account of the exhausted condition of my people had wandered away), and set out a little after noon, passing close by the town, where a tolerable market was held, and where I provided myself with corn for the next few days. The town of Dan-Fáwa is tolerably populous, and there are even a good many huts outside the walls; but I was astonished at observing the filthy condition of the pond from which the inhabitants procure their supply of water. It could not fail to confirm my former conjecture, that most of the diseases of the inhabitants, especially the guinea-worm, are due to this dirt and filth, which they swallow at certain seasons of the year in this sort of water.
Having lost some time in the market, I overtook my people as they were winding along the steep bank of a considerable river, which, taking a northerly course, and evidently identical with the watercourse at Katúru, joins the great valley of Góber, a few miles to the north-west of Sansánne ʿAísa. At the place where we crossed, it was about 200 yards broad, but very shallow at the time, being only a foot deep and full of sandbanks; but I was not a little astonished to find that it contained a very great quantity of fish, numbers of people being employed in catching them by the beating of drums. Although the bank was so steep, there were evident signs that a short time before, it had been covered by the water, and part of the crops, even beyond its border, had been damaged by the inundation.
The country appeared to be well inhabited. A little further on we passed on our left a populous walled town called Dóle, and an apparently larger place became visible on the other side, the pasture-grounds being covered with extremely fine cattle. After we had crossed the river, I found that the highest stalks of Indian corn, which was fast ripening, measured not less than twenty-eight feet. Besides sorghum, sweet potatoes, or dánkali, were also cultivated here to a great extent. Having then crossed a stony tract, we again reached the town of Moríki, where the river approaches to within a few hundred yards.[50] On the high ground close to the border of the town, a market-place spreads out. Having observed the narrowness of the lanes, I preferred encamping a considerable distance beyond the town near a hamlet, surrounded by a thick fence, and inhabited by Fúlbe, of the tribes of the Jakabáwa and Kukodáwa. The neighbourhood of Moríki was said to be infested by the inhabitants of the town of Tléta, who were reported to make nightly forays, carrying away horses and cattle; but notwithstanding this information, we had an undisturbed night’s rest, although I thought it prudent to fire several shots.
[Sidenote: Monday, October 9th.]
Having dried our tent a little from the extremely heavy dew which had fallen during the night, we set out to join our companions. Traversing the same rocky district through which we had passed on our outward journey, we reached again the well-known place of Dúchi, and entering with difficulty the obstructed lanes of the village where we lost another of our camels, pitched our tent on a small open square opposite the house where the ghaladíma had taken up his quarters. Some tamarind trees on the slope of a rocky eminence, which rose close behind our resting place, afforded us a tolerable shelter during the hot hours of the day.
[Sidenote: Tuesday, October 10th.]
Our day’s march carried us as far as Búnka, with the loss of another of our camels, and we encamped this time inside the town in a tolerably spacious courtyard, the surrounding fields being now covered with tall crops, and not affording sufficient ground for encamping. Altogether the country presented a very different aspect from what it had done on our outward journey, and the watercourse near Zýrmi with its steep banks, offered a difficult passage, although the water was not more than a foot and a half deep. My camels being either knocked up or having entirely succumbed, I endeavoured in vain to procure a good ox of burden, the principal reason of my difficulty being, that I was not provided with shells, and, in consequence, I had some trouble the next day in reaching the town of Kámmané, where the ghaladíma took up his quarters. Already on the road, I had observed a good deal of indigo and cotton cultivated between the sorghum. Even here close to the town, we found the grounds divided between the cultivation of rice and indigo; and I soon learnt that the whole industry of the inhabitants consisted in weaving and dyeing. They have very little millet of any kind, so that their food is chiefly limited to ground-nuts or kolche. They have no cattle, but their cotton is celebrated on account of its strength, and the shirts which they dye here, are distinguished for the peculiar lustre which they know how to give to them. Although the inhabitants have only about twenty horses, they are able, according to their own statement, to bring into the field not less than 5000 archers. However exaggerated this statement may be, they had not found it very difficult, the preceding year, to drive back the expedition of the Góberáwa; for they keep their wall in excellent repair, and even at present only one gate was passable at all for laden animals, the others being only accessible by a kadárku or narrow drawbridge. The whole interior of the town presented an interesting aspect, tall dúm-palms shooting up between the several granite mounds which rise to a considerable elevation[51], while the courtyards exhibited a great deal of industry, the people being busy with their labours till late in the evening. The proprietor of the courtyard where I had taken up my quarters treated me with the favourite drink of furá soon after my arrival, and with túwo in the evening. I was also fortunate enough to obtain some milk from the villagers outside.
[Sidenote: Thursday, October 12th.]
It was rather late when we left this place for another long forced march, a dense fog enveloping the country; but it was still much too early for my noble friend the ghaladíma, who was busy installing a new governor, for which he received a present of a horse and large heaps of shells, so that it was almost ten o’clock before we had fairly entered upon our march. This district being very dangerous, we proceeded on with great haste, and I really conjectured that it was in truth the unsafe state of the road which had caused the delay of our departure, the people being anxious to disappoint the enemy, who, if they had heard the news of our arrival in this place, would of course expect that we should set out in the morning. Having made our way for about six hours through a dense forest, we left a granite mound and the ivy-mantled wall of Rúbo on one side, with a fine rími and abundance of fresh grass of tall growth. The forest then became clearer, and we reached a considerable tebki, or pond, which being regarded as the end of the dangerous tract, my companions came to congratulate me upon having now at length escaped the dangers of the road. However, our day’s march was still tolerably long, extending altogether to twelve hours; and being rather unwell that day, I had considerable difficulty in keeping up with the troop. In consequence of our late departure, we had to traverse the most difficult part of our route, that nearest to Úmmadaw, which is intersected by granite blocks, in the dark, so that our march was frequently obstructed, especially at a spot where two mighty granitic masses left only a narrow passage. A good deal of indigo is here cultivated between the millet; and the town itself is very spacious; but arriving at so late an hour, we had great difficulty in obtaining quarters, all the open grounds being covered with corn, and we were glad to find at length an open square where we might pitch our tent.
[Sidenote: Friday, October 13th.]
Here my route separated from that of the ghaladíma, as I was going to Kanó, while he, again, along this roundabout way (the direct route having been almost entirely broken up by the enemy), directed his steps towards Kátsena. After satisfying our appetites, for which we had not been able to provide the preceding night, I took a small present with me, and went to bid farewell to the ghaladíma and those of his suite who had been particularly kind to me; and I hope that they will long remember me. Having fulfilled this duty, I proceeded with my people, in order to continue my march alone. The country was tolerably open, broken only here and there by granite rocks, while the vegetation was enlivened now and then by dúm-palms. Cultivation was limited to certain tracts; but, notwithstanding the unsafe state of the country, the pasture- grounds were not quite destitute of cattle; and being at length able to travel according to my own inclinations, I enjoyed the scenery extremely. It had been my original intention to pursue the road to Korófi; but, by mistake, after leaving Wurmó, I had got into the track leading to Birchi. I reached this latter town after a march of altogether about twelve miles, having crossed my former route from Kúrayé to Kúrrefi. I found that almost all the male inhabitants of the place had joined the expedition against Káura; and I pitched my tent in front of the house of the ghaladíma, but was invited by the people who were left as guardians to pass the hot hours of the day in the cool entrance-hall of his courtyard. Although the place does not exhibit any great signs of wealth or comfort, I was glad to find that the corn here was much cheaper than in Úmmadaw. I was also enabled to buy some butter. Moreover, the absence of the governor exercised no unfavourable influence upon my treatment, which was very kind: an old mʿallem especially evinced a friendly disposition towards me.
[Sidenote: Saturday, October 14th.]
After a march of about fourteen miles, passing by the town of Rawëó, where a small market was held, and traversing the suburb of Sakássar, with its beautiful “ngáboré,” or fig-trees, we reached the town of Máje, which had been represented to us as rich in cattle and milk, but which I found half deserted; the town having greatly declined about twelve years previously, when the whole country, including the places Takabáwa, Matázu, Korófi, and Kúrkojángo, revolted, and gave free passage to an army of the Góberáwa. I was glad to buy a good sheep for 1500 shells. The governor of the place was absent in Kátsena, where he generally resides. We had pitched our tent in the shade of a beautiful fig-tree, and passed the afternoon very pleasantly; but were greatly troubled during the night by the numbers of mosquitoes.
Rising at an early hour, and traversing a fine country, I reached the large town of Kusáda in the afternoon, and encamped here, outside, not far from the market-place, which at the time of my arrival was quite untenanted; but the following night it became well frequented by a number of travellers who sought quarters there. On this march I observed a specimen of industry on a small scale, exercised by the inhabitants of the town of Máje, who buy sour milk in a place called Kánkia, at a considerable distance, and supply the town of Korófi with it. Numerous villages were lying on either side of our path, cultivated and uncultivated ground succeeding alternately; Indian millet being here the chief product besides cotton. The pasture-grounds also were enlivened by a good number of horses.