Part 16
It would have been the more dangerous to attempt to force the passage, as the opposite shore, which was so near, and only four feet high, was occupied by a number of stalwart pagans, who mocked at our inability to cross the river, and seemed to be quite ready to receive in a satisfactory manner anybody who should make the attempt. It would have been easy to have blown away these people, and thus to clear the place of descent; but for such an undertaking my friends had not sufficient courage or energy. I did not see a single Kanúri on the island, but only Shúwa, who always expose themselves to the greatest risk, and push on the furthest. The pagans had not only occupied the opposite bank, but even kept afloat four canoes at some distance above the island, in order to run down, with the assistance of the current, any one who should dare to cross the river. Three of these canoes were small; but the fourth was of a larger size, and manned by ten Músgu.
These canoes were the only craft visible on the river, and probably constituted the whole naval force of these pagans. Of course in a country politically rent into so many petty principalities, where every little community, as in ancient times in Latium and Greece, forms a separate little state in opposition to its neighbours, no considerable intercourse is possible, and those natural highroads with which nature has provided these countries, and the immense field therefore which is open in these regions to human industry and activity, must remain unproductive under such circumstances; but it will be turned to account as soon as the restless spirit of the European shall bring these countries within the sphere of his activity. This period must come. Indeed I am persuaded that in less than fifty years European boats will keep up a regular annual intercourse between the great basin of the Tsád and the Bay of Biyáfra.
An almost uninterrupted communication has been opened by Nature herself; for, from the mouth of the Kwára to the confluence of the river Bénuwé with the máyo Kébbi, there is a natural passage navigable without further obstruction for boats of about four feet in depth, and the máyo Kébbi itself, in its present shallow state, seems to be navigable for canoes, or flat-bottomed boats like those of the natives, which I have no doubt may, during the highest state of the inundation, go as far as Dáwa in the Túburi country, where Dr. Vogel was struck by that large sheet of water which to him seemed to be an independent central lake, but which is in reality nothing but a widening of the upper part of the máyo Kébbi.
It is very probable that from this place there may be some other shallow watercourse, proceeding to join the large ngáljam of Démmo, so that there would exist a real bifurcation between the basin of the Niger and that of the Tsád. But even if this should not be the case, the breadth of the water-parting between these two basins at the utmost cannot exceed twenty miles, consisting of an entirely level flat, and probably of alluvial soil, while the granitic region attached to that isolated rocky mountain which I have mentioned above may, most probably, be turned without difficulty. The level of the Tsád and that of the river Bénuwé near Géwe, where it is joined by the máyo Kébbi, seem to be almost identical; at least, according to all appearance, the Bénuwé at the place mentioned is not more than 850 or 900 feet above the level of the sea. All this bounty of nature will, I trust, one day be turned to account, though many changes must take place in this country before a regular and peaceful intercourse can be established. The very scenes which I witnessed are an unmistakable proof of the misery into which these regions are plunged.
But, as I have carried away the reader’s attention from the thread of the narrative, so I myself had almost forgotten where I was, and it required an admonition from my friend Abú Dáúd to induce me to look after my own safety; for already the greater part of the Shúwa had returned to the western shore, and threatened to leave us alone, and it did not seem very agreeable to be taken in the rear by the pagans, and perhaps even to be cut off by the boats. I therefore returned to the western shore, where the army was scattered about, not knowing what to do, being rather disinclined to retrace their steps without having enriched themselves with booty of some kind.
Following then the course of the river, I witnessed an interesting and animated scene,—a dozen courageous natives occupying a small elevated island, with steep banks, separated from the shore by a narrow but deep channel, setting at defiance a countless host of enemies, many of whom were armed with firearms. But African muskets are not exactly like Minié rifles, and a musketeer very often misses his aim at a distance of thirty or forty yards. It was astonishing to see that none of this small band of heroes was wounded, notwithstanding the repeated firing of a number of Kanúri people. Either the balls missed their aim entirely, or else, striking upon the shields of these poor pagans, which consisted of nothing but wickerwork, were unable to pierce this slight defence; for not only was the powder of a bad quality, making a great deal of noise without possessing any strength, but even the balls were of extremely light weight, consisting of pewter, as is generally the case here.
However, it was not prudent for me to witness this scene (which was so little flattering to my friends) for too long a time; for when they saw that I had my gun with me, they called upon me urgently to fire at these scoffers, and when I refused to do so, reproached me in terms which very often fell to my lot—“ʿAbd el Kerím fáida nsé bágo,” meaning that I was a useless sort of person.
It is a remarkable fact that in almost the whole of the Músgu country, except near a few isolated granite mountains, there is not a single stone, else it would have been almost more profitable to have thrown stones at these people, than to fire at them with the pewter balls. With regard to those peculiar shields of wickerwork with which these courageous Músgu people managed to protect themselves so adroitly, I had afterwards an opportunity of examining them, and found them to be about sixteen inches broad at the top, twenty-two at the bottom, and about forty in length, but hollow. The material consists of the same kind of reed with which their huts are thatched.
About noon the army began its march homewards. Certainly it was not overburdened with spoil; for scarcely fifteen slaves had been taken, mostly decrepit old women, who either could not or would not leave their comfortable cottages. The anger and disappointment of the army was vented upon the habitations of these people; and all the cheerful dwellings which we passed were destroyed by fire. This certainly was a heavy loss to the inhabitants, not so much on account of the huts, which they might easily rebuild, as on account of the granaries, the grain having been harvested some time previously; and, as far as I became aware, there being no subterranean magazines or catamores, as I had observed with the Marghí, and the fugitives in the hurry of their escape most probably having only been able to save a small portion of their store. In estimating, therefore, the miseries of these slave-hunts, we ought not only to take into account the prisoners led into slavery, and the full-grown men who are slaughtered, but also the famine and distress consequent upon these expeditions, although nature has provided this peculiar tribe with innumerable shallow watercourses swarming with fish, which must tend greatly to alleviate their sufferings under such circumstances.
The forest intervening between these villages consisted almost exclusively of “kindín” or talha-trees, which were just in flower, diffusing a very pleasant fragrance, while here and there they were overshadowed by isolated dúm-palms. As for deléb-palms, I did not observe a single specimen in the whole of this district; but beyond the river to the south-east, as I have mentioned above, I had seen several in the distance.
After a march of four hours, we again reached the broad ngáljam of Démmo, but at a different point from where we had crossed it in the morning with so much delay. It seemed almost providential that we had not taken this route in the morning, as the poor Músgu people would have had less time to make their escape. Leaving the main body of the cavalry behind me, I pursued my march towards my homely tent without delay; for having been on horseback for more than twelve hours without anything to eat, I was quite ready for some repose and refreshment. But it took me full an hour and a half to cross this peculiar basin, which at present was dry in most places, and overgrown with tall rank grass, but swampy in some parts, and intersected by holes caused by the footprints of the elephant. A mile further along the north-western border of this swamp brought me to my tent, and to the several dishes which awaited me; and this was one of those rare occasions, during my travels in Negroland, on which I dined with a truly European appetite.
The vizier was very gracious, and praised my courage in having accompanied this distant expedition quite by myself; but the Kanúri, who had taken part in it, detracted from my praise, using the very terms which I have mentioned above—“fáida nsé bágo.” Indeed this became one of my nicknames during my stay in Bórnu, and was the reason why I was less popular with most of the people than my companion. It is very natural that the motto “afí fáida nsé” (“of what use is he?”) should be the guiding principle, not only of Europeans, but barbarians and semi- barbarians.
The following day we remained on the same spot, probably for no other purpose than to give some repose to the people who had accompanied the expedition the preceding day; and the vizier, who was fully aware of my ardent desire to push further southward, at least as far as the equator, took occasion to make merry at my expense, and, to the great horror of the effeminate courtiers, suddenly proclaimed that it was his firm intention to lead the expedition into those unknown regions in the interior. At times, indeed, he could be exceedingly amiable; and he was clever enough to conceive how Europeans could be induced to undertake such hazardous journeys, although he was scarcely able to appreciate the amount of courage which such an undertaking is able to inspire. He had often spoken with me concerning my project of pushing on towards the east coast; and he thought that a troop of ten Europeans would be able to accomplish it, although he anticipated great obstructions from the quantity of watercourses in those equatorial regions, and there can be no doubt that this would be one of the greatest obstacles to such an undertaking.
In order to console me, and soothe my disappointment on finding that this was to be the furthest point of the expedition, and that we should retrace our steps from hence without even visiting the country of the Túburi, he ordered Mʿallem Jýmma to be called, in order to inform me how far the enterprising Púllo conqueror Búba had penetrated beyond Búbanjídda; but he found that I was already fully acquainted with this fact from other sources. The very interesting route of the mʿallem Jýmma from Démmo, by the village of the Túburi to Láka and Láme, I have already communicated on a former occasion.[20] It is to be hoped that these regions will soon become better known, when English steamers shall go annually up the river Bénuwé, and enable travellers to start afresh from thence for those inland regions.
[Footnote 17: In the view of this scenery which the artist has made from my sketch, it has been thought fit not to represent the moment of destruction, but a preceding one of the quiet life of the natives; the approaching misfortune being only indicated by the column of smoke in the background. The man sitting on the sepulchre is meant to represent the first glimmer of Islám brought to these people by some wandering mʿallem.]
[Footnote 18: A chief dressed in this manner is represented in Plate No. 30.]
[Footnote 19: It was here that I made the sketch from which the artist has taken the interesting view of this locality.]
[Footnote 20: I will here only observe with what exactitude I have laid down, on my map which was published by Mr. Petermann, the district of the Túburi, which exactly corresponds with the latitude ascertained by Dr. Vogel. As to the longitude assigned by me to this place, it is dependent on the meridian of Kúkawa.]
CHAP. XLV.
RETURN TO BÓRNU.
[Sidenote: January 7th, 1852.]
This was the day when we were to bid farewell to all projects of penetrating further towards the south or south-east. It was rather remarkable, that early in the morning, at the very moment when the drum was beating, the moon was eclipsed; but our commander-in-chief was too much enlightened to be frightened at such a phenomenon, like the Athenian general before Syracuse. He requested Mr. Overweg to explain it to him; but otherwise he was not much concerned about it.
We this time kept a little more towards the east than on our outward march, approaching closer to the river of Logón. Only a short tract of clear forest separated the cultivated grounds of Démmo from another village, where, besides Negro corn, we found tobacco and cotton in friendly community on the same piece of ground. We had already seen much cultivation of tobacco in this country, and were impressed with the opinion, however strange it may seem, that it was an indigenous plant, and not introduced at a recent period; we had moreover been informed that not only the men, but even the women in this country, are passionately fond of smoking. But as for cotton, we had not yet seen any in the whole tract of the Músgu country which we had travelled over; and its appearance here seemed to be a step in advance towards civilization, caused, probably, by the influence of the neighbouring town of Logón.
After a short interruption, there followed another village, which was succeeded by forest, and then another swamp, at present dry, and overgrown with tall rank grass, but difficult to pass on account of innumerable holes. Shortly afterwards the country on our right assumed an open and very pleasant appearance, a river with a clear sheet of water, but apparently without a current, winding through it in tortuous meanderings, and closely approaching the higher ground along which the numerous host was pursuing its march. The slope was adorned with wild fig-trees and acacias, which were overshadowed by two fine deléb-palms. This open country was succeeded by the well-cultivated and shaded fields, which lay stretched out between the scattered courtyards of another village; and here we encamped, my companion and I pitching our tents near a beautiful sort of fig-tree, of the species called “báure” by the Háusa, and “kágo” by the Kanúri, or at least the Mánga.
The whole village was deserted; only a few neglected members of the poultry tribe were running about, endeavouring to escape from the hands of their greedy pursuers.
It was a very hot day, the hottest we had on this expedition, the thermometer at half-past one in the afternoon indicating 100° in the cool shade of our fine fig-tree.
The encampment was cheerful and pleasant; but in the evening a frightful alarm arose—the rumour being spread that the pagans were attacking the “ngáufate,”—the great drum of the commander-in-chief keeping up a tremendous din, and all the people hurrying along in every direction. The alarm was so great that my companion gave up his tent, and retreated with his people to that of the vizier; and I found myself obliged to allow my two servants to follow him also. As for myself, I remained where I was, for I felt little inclination to have my tent once more plundered, as had been the case on our expedition to Kánem. It soon proved to be nothing but a false alarm.
In these predatory incursions, the rapacious Shúwa suffer the greatest loss, as it is they who always push on furthest, and run the greatest risk; but, on the other hand, they also succeed in carrying off secretly a great deal of spoil to their native villages without its becoming subject to the general partition. None of them have firelocks, being only armed with missiles usually consisting of one large spear, or kasákka, and four small javelins, or bállem; very few of them have shields.
[Sidenote: Thursday, January 8th.]
The country through which we passed was extremely fertile and beautiful, the scenery during the first part of our march preserving in general the same features which it exhibited on the preceding day. We ourselves kept along the high ground, at the foot of which a clear open sheet of water was meandering along, while beyond, towards the east, an unbounded grassy plain stretched out, with a scanty growth of trees in the back- ground, and only broken towards the south-east by a low chain of hills, as represented in the plate opposite. At the distance of a mile we reached some hamlets where dúm- and deléb-palms were grouped together in a remarkable manner, starting forth from, and illuminated by the sea of flames which was devouring the village, the whole forming a very picturesque spectacle.
[Illustration: Drawn by J. M. Bernatz, from a Sketch by Dr. Barth.
M. & N. Hanhart, lith. et impt.
WÚLIA.
Jany. 8th. 1852.]
Further on we made a halt on the slope of the rising ground, the various troops, distinguished by the diversity of colours of their dresses, grouping themselves around some buildings which were almost consumed by the flames, while I found leisure to sketch the fertile country before us. The people themselves were struck with its beauty; and when we continued our march, I took an opportunity to enter into a conversation with our friend the vizier, with regard to the policy which they pursued with these people, and the way in which they desolated these regions; and I asked him whether they would not act more prudently in allowing the natives to cultivate their fertile country in tranquillity, only levying a considerable tribute upon them. But the vizier answered me, that it was only by the most violent means that they were able to crush these pagans, who cherished their independence and liberty above everything, and that this was the reason why he burnt all the granaries, in order to subdue them by famine; and he added that even of famine they were less sensible than he could wish, as the water in this region afforded them an unlimited supply of fish.
Slaves are the only articles which the conquerors want from the subjected tribes; by carrying into slavery great numbers of them they force them into subjection, and even the tribute which they levy, after having subdued them, consists of slaves. All this will be changed as soon as a regular and legitimate intercourse has been opened along the river Bénuwé into the heart of these regions, when the natural produce of the soil will be in constant request—such as cotton, indigo, vegetable butter, ground-nuts, ivory, rhinoceros’ horns, wax, hides, and many other articles. The vizier himself, although a strict Moslim, was too enlightened to lay much stress upon the spreading of Islám; but nevertheless the idea that these unfortunate creatures fully deserve such treatment, in their character as pagans (kofár or “kérdi”), blunted his feelings to their sufferings.
Further on we crossed the water where it was shallower, and, a little beyond, another meadow-water of greater breadth but not so deep, and then entered a fine undulating country, while an arm of the water remained on our left. The whole country was extremely well cultivated, and densely inhabited, village succeeding village, while large trees, mostly of the ngábbore and karáge kind, enveloped the whole in the finest vegetation. Some of the huts were distinguished by a natural ornamental net-work or covering, formed by that kind of _Cucurbitacea_ which I have mentioned before as named “ságade” by the natives, and which is probably identical with the species called _Melopepo_. The aspect of the country was the more pleasing, and left the impression of a certain degree of industry, owing to the tobacco-plants just standing in flower.
Amidst such scenery, we took up our encampment at an early hour in the morning, a beautifully-winding watercourse, which was bordered by a fine grassy slope about twenty feet high, closely approaching on our right. The watercourse was about sixty yards broad, but of considerable depth, at least in this place, and full of clear fresh water, which was gently gliding along, and disappeared further down in the plain. Here I lay down for an hour in the cool shade of a large karáge-tree, and allowed myself to be carried away by the recollections caused by the ever- varying impressions of such a wandering life, which repays the traveller fully for all the hardships and privations which he has to endure, and endows him with renewed energy to encounter fresh dangers.
I have before observed what trouble the hard alluvial soil caused us in pitching our tents; but here the argillaceous soil was succeeded by loose sand, which forms the border of the river. The light troops, soon after our arrival to-day, had dispersed in all directions, and brought a considerable quantity of cattle from the neighbouring villages; the cattle, however, hereabouts are only of middle size, and the cows yield little milk, and that of very poor quality.
It seems remarkable that the Músgu, as well as the Marghí, and several divisions of the kindred Kótokó, call the cattle by a name which closely approaches that given to it by the Háusa people, while the Bátta call it by a name which is certainly derived from the Fulfúlde, or the language of the Fúlbe. Such linguistic relations are not without interest, as they afford some little insight into the history of the civilization of these regions.
A little variety was given to the monotonous proceedings of our rather inglorious expedition, by the fact of one of the Shúwa, who was supposed to have been killed a few days previously, being found under a tree in the forest, severely wounded but still alive after having undergone great hardships and privations.
[Sidenote: January 9th.]
The whole district in which we had been roving about since the 30th December belongs to Wúliya, which is decidedly one of the most fertile and best-irrigated regions in the world.