Part 28

But it was not my destiny to get off so easily, and leave this country so soon, for I had had repeated and very serious consultations, not only with the Sheikh, but especially with his brother, Abba Yusuf, who was distinguished by his learning and his love of justice, about the parcel sent by Her Majesty’s government, together with the 400 dollars which I had left behind in Zínder, and which had been stolen in consequence of the revolutionary outbreak. After a great deal of discussion, the Sheikh promised me that he would restore what I had lost. But, knowing from experience that with these people time is of no value, and finding my health rapidly declining, I had come to the resolution of not waiting any longer, and the Sheikh, seeing that I was determined, according to all appearance gave his full approval to my departure by sending me, on the morning of the 21st, five camels, which, although of very inferior quality, yet held out to me a slight hope of proceeding on my journey. But in the afternoon of the 22nd he sent to me my old friend Háj Edrís, in order to induce me to return into the town; and the latter made me all sorts of promises as to the manner in which the Sheikh wanted to grant me redress for all the claims which I had upon him. In order to show the ruler of the country that I had no fault to find with his own conduct, and to entreat him once more to send me off without further delay, I went into the town in the course of the afternoon and paid my respects to him. He desired me to return with all my effects to my old quarters; but I told him that was impossible, as my state of health rendered it essential for me to return home without further delay, whereas by taking up my quarters once more inside the town, according to their own slow mode of proceeding, I was sure not to get away before a couple of months had elapsed; but I said that I would gladly wait outside some days longer, and that if he wished I would come into the town every day in order to ascertain if there was anything he wished to say to me. To this the Sheikh seemed to agree at the time, and thus I took leave of him in the most quiet and satisfactory manner, and it appeared as if every thing was arranged and that he would in no way interfere with my departure. I therefore bought two more camels the following day, out of a large number which had been brought into the town by the Tebu, from the Bahhr el Ghazál; and on the 25th, through the mediation of a respectable Tebu merchant, of the name of Háj el Bíggela, made an agreement with a guide, paying him half of his salary in advance. The same evening the Sheikh sent me some more provisions.

Thus, all seemed ready for my departure, although I had not many people at my disposal; but when it had only been delayed one day by accident, there appeared suddenly, in the afternoon of the 28th, ʿAlí Zíntelma, that same servant of Díggelma who had stolen part of the merchandise which he was bringing from Zínder to Kúkawa, at the head of four horsemen armed with muskets, bringing me an order from the Sheikh to return to the town. Feeling convinced, from the character of the messenger, that if I did not obey the order I should expose myself to all sorts of insults from this contemptible villain, if I did not rid myself of him in a violent and unlawful manner, I thought it prudent, heartrending though it was, to resign myself in obedience to the tyrannical will of these people. It happened rather fortunately for me that Sídi Áhmed, the chief of Sídi el Bakáy’s messengers, was staying with me at the time in my encampment. Having therefore sent my people in advance to my old quarters, I went to see the Sheikh. I then protested against such a proceeding; but he himself did not speak, a younger brother of his, of the name of Abba ʿOthmán, taking the lead in the conversation, and stating that the Sheikh could not allow me to depart in this manner; and from all that I could learn, I concluded that it was especially this man who had persuaded his elder brother that it was not prudent to allow me to go unsatisfied as I was, and without having settled my claims, the dangers of the road also being very great. But the principal reason was, that a Tebu messenger had arrived with letters from the north, although I did not hear what the letters addressed to the Sheikh himself contained; but I afterwards learned that this man had brought the news of the approach of a caravan, and it was but natural that the Sheikh should wish to await its arrival. This messenger brought nothing for me except a copy of a despatch of Lord Clarendon’s, dated 10th June, 1853, and consequently more than twenty months old. The news of my death seemed to be fully accredited in Tripoli and Fezzán, my letter, forwarded from Kanó, of course not having arrived in the latter place when this parcel left; and the only thing which afforded me satisfaction in my unpleasant situation were a few Maltese portfolios, which gave me some information of what had been going on in Europe four months previously.

All that now remained for me under the present circumstances was, to resign myself in patience, although the delay pressed upon me with indescribable heaviness, and I had scarcely energy enough to endeavour to employ my time usefully. However, a rather pleasant intermezzo occurred, whereby at the same time one of the conditions was fulfilled upon which my own departure was dependent, by the arrival of the Arab caravan from the north; and on the 23rd of March, I went to see them encamped in Dáwerghú, the path being enlivened by all sorts of people going out to meet their friends, and to hear what news had been brought by the new comers. The caravan consisted of rather more than a hundred Arabs, but not more than sixty camels, the chief of the caravan being Háj Jáber, an old experienced Fezzáni merchant. There was, besides, an important personage of considerable intelligence, notwithstanding his youth, viz. Abba Áhmed ben Hamma el Kánemi. These people had left Fezzán, under the impression that I was dead, and were therefore not a little surprised at finding me alive, especially that same Mohammed el ʿAkeroút, from whom I had received the 1000 dollars in Zínder, and who was again come to Negroland on a little mercantile speculation. This caravan also carried 1000 dollars for the mission, but it was not addressed to me, as I had long been consigned to the grave, but to Mr. Vogel, although the chief of the caravan offered to deliver it to me. All this mismanagement, in consequence of the false news of my death, greatly enhanced the unpleasant nature of my situation; for, instead of leaving this country under honourable circumstances, I was considered as almost disgraced by those who had sent me out, the command having been taken from me and given to another. There is no doubt that such an opinion delayed my departure considerably; for, otherwise, the Sheikh would have exerted himself in quite a different manner to see me off, and would have agreed to any sacrifice in order to satisfy my claims. However, in consequence of the representations of Abba Áhmed, he sent me on the 28th through that same Díggelma, to whom I was indebted for the greater part of my unpleasant situation, the 400 dollars which had come along with the box of English ironware, and he offered even to indemnify me for the loss of the articles contained in the box. This however I did not feel justified in accepting, as the value of those contents had been greatly exaggerated by the agent in Múrzuk, and claims raised in consequence. Nevertheless, the amount received was a great relief to me, as without touching the sum brought by the caravan, I was thus enabled to pay back the 200 dollars lent me by the Fezzáni merchant Kweldi, and to pay my servant Mohammed el Gatróni, the only one of my free servants who was still staying with me, the greater proportion of the salary due to him, for I had succeeded in paying off my other servants from the money realized by my merchandise.

Meanwhile I endeavoured to pass my time as well as I could, studying the history of the empire of Bórnu, and entering occasionally into a longer conversation with some of the better instructed of my acquaintances, or making a short excursion; but altogether my usual energy was gone, and my health totally undermined, and the sole object which occupied my thoughts was, to convey my feeble body in safety home. My reduced state of body and mind was aggravated by the weather, as it was extremely hot during this period, the thermometer in the latter part of the month of April, at half-past two o’clock in the afternoon, rising as high as 113°.[53] My exhausted condition had at least this effect upon the people, that it served to hasten my departure, by convincing them that I should not be able to stand this climate any longer. From the 20th of April therefore onward I was made to hope, that I should be allowed to proceed on my journey, in the company of a Tebu merchant of the name of Kólo. A small caravan of Tebu, proceeding to Bilma to fetch salt, having gone in advance on the 25th, I went in the afternoon of the 28th to the Sheikh, in company with Abba Áhmed who, on the whole, was extremely useful to me in my endeavours to get off, in order to make my final arrangement with Kólo. This day was certainly the happiest day or the only happy one which I passed in this place after the departure of Mr. Vogel; for, in the morning, on returning from an excursion to Dáwerghú, I found a messenger with letters from my companion, one dated from Gújeba, the other from Yákoba, wherein he informed me of the progress of his journey, and how he had safely reached the latter place, which had never before been visited by a European. He also informed me that he was just about to start for the camp, or sansánne, of the governor, who had been waging war for the last seven years against a tribe of idolaters whom he had sworn to subject. Greatly delighted at the prospect which opened to my fellow traveller, whom I was to leave behind me, of filling up the blanks which I had left in my discoveries, I made the messenger a handsome present. Being thus considerably relieved in mind and full of hopes, I bore with patience and resignation some little disagreeable incidents which occurred before my final departure, especially the loss of two of the camels which I had recently bought.

[Footnote 52: Macguire was to accompany Mr. Vogel on his excursion, and he promised cheerfully to assist him in every way towards accomplishing the objects of Her Majesty’s government. As for Corporal Church, it was thought the best plan that he should return to Europe in my company.]

[Footnote 53: It was rather remarkable, that on the 15th of April, we had a few drops of rain, accompanied by repeated thunder; and altogether, as the sequel showed, the rainy season that year appeared to set in at a rather unusual and early period for Kúkawa.]

CHAP. LXXXV.

REAL START. — SMALL PARTY.

At length on the 4th of May, I left the town and encamped outside, close in front of the gate. The Sheikh had also given me another camel, and a young and rather weak horse, which did not seem very fit for such a journey, and which in the sequel proved rather a burden than otherwise to me. In this spot I remained some days, waiting for my fellow- traveller Kólo, who was still detained in the town, so that I did not take leave of the Sheikh until the 9th of the month, when he received me with great kindness, but was by no means backward in begging for several articles to be sent to him, especially a small cannon, which was rather out of comparison with the poor present which he had bestowed upon myself. However, he promised me that I should still receive another camel from him, of which I stood greatly in need, although I had made up for one which was lost during my stay before the gate of the town, through the carelessness of Ábbega, by buying a fresh camel at the last moment of my departure. It was for this purpose that I took the sum of thirty dollars from the 1000 dollars brought by the caravan, and which I was anxious to leave behind for the use of Mr. Vogel. Altogether I was extremely unfortunate with my camels, and lost a third one before I had proceeded many miles from the town, so that I was obliged to throw away several things with which my people had overladen my animals.

Our move from Dáwerghú in the afternoon of the 10th was very inauspicious; and while a heavy thunder-storm was raging, enveloping everything in impenetrable darkness, only occasionally illumined by the flashes of lightning, I lost my people, and had great difficulty in joining them again. Having then moved on by very short marches as far as Nghurútuwa, through a finely wooded valley called Hénderi Gálliram, we pitched our tents on the 14th of May near the town of Yó, where, to my utmost disappointment, we had to stay the five following days, during which the interesting character of the komádugu, which at present did not contain a drop of water, with its border of vegetation, afforded me but insufficient entertainment. It would, however, have been curious for any European, who had adhered to the theory of the great eastern branch of the Niger flowing along this bed from the Tsád, to see us encamped in the dry bottom of this valley. At all events, oppressed as I had been all the time by the apprehension that something might still occur to frustrate my departure, I deemed it one of the happiest moments of my life, when in the afternoon of Saturday the 19th, we at length left our station at this northern frontier of Bórnu, in the present reduced state of that kingdom; and I turned my back with great satisfaction upon these countries where I had spent full five years in incessant toil and exertion. On retracing my steps northwards, I was filled with the hope that a Merciful Providence would allow me to reach home in safety, in order to give a full account of my labours and discoveries; and, if possible, to follow up the connections which I had established with the interior, for opening regular intercourse with that continent.

Our first day’s march from here, however, was far from being auspicious; for, having met with frequent delays and stoppages, such as are common at the commencement of a journey, and darkness having set in, the three monkeys which I wished to take with me, by their noise and cries, frightened the camels so much that they started off at a gallop, breaking several things, and amongst others a strong musket. I saw, therefore, that nothing was to be done but to let loose these malicious little creatures, which, instead of remaining quiet, continually amused themselves with loosening all the ropes with which the luggage was tied on the backs of the animals. Having encamped this night at a late hour, we reached, the following morning, the town of Bárruwa, and remained here the whole day, in order to provide ourselves with the dried fish which is here prepared in large quantities, and which constitutes the most useful article for procuring the necessary supplies in the Tebu country. The Dáza, or Búlgudá, who were to join us on the march, had been encamped in this spot since the previous day. From here we pursued our road to Ngégimi; but the aspect of the country had greatly changed since I last traversed it on my return from Kánem, the whole of the road which I had at that time followed being now covered with water, the great inundation of the Tsád not having yet retired within its ordinary boundaries. The whole shore seemed to have given way and sunk a few feet. Besides this changed aspect of the country, several hamlets of Kánembú cattle-breeders, such as represented in the accompanying woodcut, caused great relief and animation.

[Illustration]

It was also interesting to observe the Búdduma, the pirate inhabitants of the islands of the lagune, busily employed in their peculiar occupation of obtaining salt from the ashes of the “siwák,” or the _Capparis sodata_. Having rested during the hot hours of the day, we took up our quarters in the evening just beyond a temporary hamlet of these islanders; for although watchfulness, even here, was very necessary in order to guard against any thievish attempt, yet, in general, the Búdduma seem to be on good terms with the Tebu, with whom they appear to have stood in intimate political connection from ancient times.

[Sidenote: Tuesday, May 22nd.]

At the distance of only a mile from our encampment we passed, close on our left, the site of Wúdi, enlivened by a few date-palms, the whole open grassy plain to the right, over which our former road to Kánem had lain, being enveloped in a wider or narrower strip of water. Having halted again, at the beginning of the hot hours, in a well-wooded tract, we observed in the afternoon a herd of elephants, which passed the heat of the day comfortably in the midst of the water, and among the number a female with her young. Further on, we were met by a troop of five buffaloes, an animal which, during my former journey, I had not observed near the lake.

Thus we reached the new village of Ngégimi, which was built on the slope of the hills, the former town having been entirely swept away by the inundation. Here we remained the forenoon of the following day; the encampment being enlivened by a great number of women from the village, offering for sale fish, in a fresh and dried state, besides a few fowls, milk, and “témmari,” the seeds of the cotton plant. But with the exception of a few beads for adorning their own sable persons, they were scarcely willing to receive anything besides corn. I was glad to see, instead of the ugly Bórnu females, these more symmetrical figures of the Kánembú ladies, the glossy blackness of whose skin was agreeably relieved by their white teeth as well as by their beads of the same colour. Our friends, the Dáza, who, five weeks previously had been driven back by the Tawárek, had recovered here their luggage, which on that occasion they had hastily deposited with the villagers, when making an attempt to cross the desert. They were here to separate from us for a time, as, for some reason or other, they wanted to pursue a more westerly track, leading by the Bír el Hammám, or Metémmi, which is mentioned by the former expedition, while our friend Kólo was bent upon keeping nearer the shores of the lagune, by way of Kíbbo.

After a short conversation with the chief of the place, the May- Ngégimibe, we set out in the afternoon, and proceeding at a slow rate, as the camels were very heavily laden, we passed, after a march of about eight miles, along a large open creek of the lagune; and, having met some solitary travellers coming from Kánem, encamped, about eight in the evening, on rather uneven ground, and kept alternate watch during the night.

[Sidenote: Thursday, May 24th.]

Starting at a very early hour, we soon ascended hilly ground; but, after we had proceeded some miles, were greatly frightened by the sight of people on our right, when we three horsemen pursued them till we had driven them to the border of the lake. For this whole tract is so very unsafe, that a traveller may feel certain that the few people whom he meets on the road, unless they bear distinctly the character of travellers like himself, will betray him to some predatory band. Having proceeded about nine miles, we halted near an outlying creek of the lake, the water of which was fresh, although most of these creeks contain brackish water. When we continued our march in the afternoon, we passed another creek, or rather a separate lake, and, winding along a narrow path made by the elephants, which are here very numerous, reached, after a march of a little more than ten miles, the leafy vale, or “hénderi,” of Kíbbo, and encamped on the opposite margin. This locality is interesting, as constituting, apparently, the northern limit of the white ant. We, however, were prevented by the darkness from making use of the well, as these vales are full of wild beasts, and we were therefore obliged to remain here the forenoon of the following day,—a circumstance which was not displeasing to me, as I did not feel at all well, and was obliged to have recourse to my favourite remedy of tamarind-water. We pursued our march before the sun had attained its greatest power; but met with frequent stoppages, the slaves of our Tebu companions, who were heavily laden and suffering from the effects of the water, being scarcely able to keep up; a big fellow even laid down never to rise again. Indeed it would seem as if the Tebu treated their slaves more cruelly than even the Arabs, making them carry all sorts of articles, especially their favourite dried fish.

After a march of not more than twelve miles, we halted some distance to the east of the well of Kufé, and were greatly excited in consequence of the approach of our fellow-travellers the Dáza, whom, at the moment, we did not at first recognise. This locality was also regarded so unsafe for a small caravan, that we started again soon after midnight, and halted after a march of about fifteen miles, when we met a courier coming from Kawár with the important news that Hassan Bashá, the governor of Fezzán, who had been suffering from severe illness for several years, had at length succumbed; and that the Éfedé, that turbulent tribe on the northern frontier of Ásben, which had caused us such an immense deal of trouble in the first part of our expedition, had undertaken a foray to Tibésti,—a piece of news which influenced our own proceedings very considerably, as we were thus exposed to the especial danger of falling in with this predatory band, besides the danger which in general attaches to the passage through this extensive desert tract, which extends from Negroland to the cultivated zone of North Africa. It was this circumstance, together with the great heat of the mid-day hours at this hottest part of the year, which obliged us, without the least regard to our own comfort, to travel the greater part of the night; so that I was unable to rectify and complete, in general, the observations of the former expedition, the route of which, being entirely changed by the new astronomical data obtained by Mr. Vogel, would be liable to some little rectification throughout.