Part 17

A desolate border-district, consisting at times of green swampy ground uprooted by the footprints of the elephant, and on this account affording a very difficult passage for cavalry, at others of dense forest, the one following the other in rapid succession, separated Wúliya from another principality of the name of Bárea, and inhabited by a tribe of the Músgu of the name of Ábare. It was characteristic of the little peaceful intercourse which exists among these various petty tribes, that the Ábare did not seem to have had the slightest information of the approach of the expedition, till we suddenly came upon them through the dense forest, so that they had scarcely time to escape with their families from the village, and endeavour to hide themselves in the dense covert of the forest towards the east. They were pursued and overpowered, after a short resistance, by the continually increasing numbers of the enemy; and the booty of that day, chiefly in cattle, was rather considerable. Slaves were also brought in in considerable numbers, principally young boys and girls. The distance of the field of battle spared us the sight of the slaughter of the full- grown men.

[Illustration]

We chose our camping-ground on the stubble-fields between the straggling groups of the village, which were beautifully adorned by some fine specimens of the deléb-palm; and I took the opportunity of making a sketch of this scene of natural fertility and wanton destruction of human happiness. The huts in general were of the same construction and arrangement as those described above; but in one of them I found a kind of three-pointed harpoon or spear very similar to a hay-fork, with this difference, that the middle point was rather longer. The handle also was rather long, measuring about eight feet. It probably was used for catching fish rather than as a weapon, otherwise it would scarcely have been left behind; but it may easily have served both purposes.

[Illustration: Drawn by J. M. Bernatz, from a Sketch by Dr. Barth.

M. & N. Hanhart, lith. et impt.

BÁRËA.

Jany. 9th. 1852.]

Thus by very short marches we again approached Bórnu, keeping mostly at a short distance eastward from our former route, and encamped the following day in the midst of another straggling village, the fields of which were especially shaded by fine bíto-trees (_Balanites Ægyptiaca_), the soil being as hard as iron. I had scarcely pitched my tent when Hámed, the son of Ibrahím Wadáy, one of the courtiers with whom I was on friendly terms, sent to me, begging I would pay him a visit; and upon complying with his wish, he introduced into my presence a female slave who had been taken the day before, telling me that I might make a drawing of her: for he knew that I was making strict inquiries after the origin and customs of these tribes, and that I was making occasional sketches. This female slave was certainly worthy of a sketch, as she was one of the most stately women I saw here. But I entertained some suspicion that she was not of Músgu origin, but belonged to the Marghí; for in the whole of the Músgu country I had not observed a single individual of red colour, but all were of the same dirty black, approaching to what the French call _café au lait_, while this woman was of a red complexion. She certainly wore in her under lip the large bone, the national emblem of the Músgu females; but this custom she might have adopted. As for herself, she would neither give me any information with respect to her origin, nor sit still in order to allow me to finish my sketch. She was tall and well-grown, with the exception of the legs, which were rather crooked; and being still a young woman, her breasts had not yet attained that bag-like shape which is so disgusting in the elder females of this country. Her features were only a little disfigured by the bone in the under lip. Her neck was richly ornamented with strings of beads; but these were as little peculiar to her as the cotton cloth round her loins, having been given her by the new master into whose hands she had fallen. The national dress of the Músgu females consists of nothing but a narrow bandage, formed of bast, twisted like a rope, which is fastened between the legs and round the waist like a T bandage.

A circumstance happened here which caused a great sensation,

## particularly among the courtiers. The last messengers who had been sent

from Kúkawa with despatches for the commander-in-chief, as I have observed, had been destroyed by the pagans; and it was on this day, and in this place, that, while all the cottages were being pillaged and ransacked, three of the letters of which those messengers had been the bearers, were found in the pocket of a shirt which had been hid in a clay jar. This was evidently the shirt of the messenger himself; and the blood with which it had been stained had been washed out without taking the letters out of the pocket. Devoid as the expedition was of feats of valour and interest, the greatest importance was attached to this little incident.

[Sidenote: Sunday, January 11th.]

When we left this place our friends just barely escaped punishment for their barbarous proceeding of burning the villages in which we had encamped as soon as we left them; for the conflagration spread before we had gained the open country, and a most horrible crushing took place among the burning huts. Had there been any wind, great part of the army might have been severely scorched.

The country which we passed to-day was intersected by numerous watercourses; and we had to cross and recross them several times. Here we passed a place where the poor natives, in the consciousness of their weakness, seemed to have been aroused to new and unwonted energy for building a large fortification, but had been obliged to leave it half finished. Our march was extremely short, and scarcely extended to three miles, when we encamped in a village which seemed to have been ransacked at a former period. It lay straggling over a wide extent of ground, in separate groups of cottages, which were surrounded by stubble-fields shaded by karáge-trees of a richness and exuberance which I had not seen before, and surpassing even those fine trees of the same species which I have described near the village Kadé.

Of course, every one was desirous of having his tent pitched in the shade of one of these beautiful trees, when suddenly the intruders were attacked by swarms of large bees, which, settling behind their ears, tormented them to the utmost, as if they wanted to take revenge for the mischief that had been done to their masters, and to defend their favourite resting-places against these cruel intruders. It is well known that swarms of bees had almost caused the destruction of Mungo Park’s, as well as Major Gray’s expedition; but here a whole army was running away from these little creatures. Even those who had encamped at a greater distance were only able to protect themselves by the large volumes of smoke which issued from the fires they had lighted. Before this, we had not observed the rearing of bees in this country; but here the larger trees were full of beehives, made of large-sized blocks. Even flocks of turtle-doves were not wanting in this fertile region, so rich in water and vegetation.

In this pleasant spot we remained encamped the following day, while part of the army was sent out in a southerly direction towards our former encampment, Kákala, which was only at a few miles distance, in order to try their fortune thereabouts; but the pagans being upon their guard, they returned empty-handed in the evening. Our food to-day was varied, to our great satisfaction, by an excellent fish of considerable size, which we obtained from the neighbouring pond.

Fish seems to be plentiful in this quarter; but whether the number of small ridges and channels which we observed on our march the following day were intended for catching fish, which might enter them at the highest level of the inundation, or for preparing the fields for cultivation, I am not quite sure; but the former seemed to be the case, there being no signs whatever of the fields being brought under labour. Dense forest and open pasture-ground alternated, the forest, consisting of middle-sized acacias, interrupted now and then by the kálgo-tree, with its ash-coloured leaves and its dark red pods, or by the kókia.

The country, however, became exceedingly interesting and pleasant when we reached one of the numerous watercourses of these African Netherlands, an open and clear river about seventy yards broad, which being fringed on each bank with a border of slender deléb-palms, or kamelútu, in the clear magnificent morning sky, afforded a most picturesque view. We here crossed this water, and passed a village on our left, and, keeping along the fresh turf of the western bank a mile further on, reached a spot where another branch, running eastward apparently, though no current is visible, and fringed likewise by palms of the same description, joins the main channel. The country being without any perceptible inclination, it is extremely difficult, nay almost impossible, to decide about the direction of these watercourses, except during the period of their highest inundation. But the fertile and picturesque landscape beyond this narrow sheet of water, which stretched along in a regular line like an artificial canal, did not seem at all to be deserted, natives being seen in every direction. The commander of the expedition therefore ordered a short halt, the army presenting their front to the enemy, and preventing the stragglers from crossing the river, which, owing to their greediness for spoil, they seemed to have not a little inclination to do.

But the great men of Bórnu at the present day do not like any unusual exertion; and it was decided to await the arrival of the camels, to encamp at ease, and to take luncheon. We then turned off a little to the westward, entered a village, and encamped in the stubble-fields.

Suddenly, just about noon, without my having any previous knowledge of it, the vizier and his officers mounted on horseback, in order to attack the pagans on the other side of the water; but these poor people, to whom had been given full opportunity of estimating the strength of the army, had thought it prudent to make use of the leisure thus afforded them, not by the mercy, but by the cowardly disposition of their enemies, to convey their families and property into a place of safety; for the river of Logón passed at a distance of only four miles from this place, and in its present state was capable of affording perfect security to the persecuted natives, their pursuers having no boats. But although the army did not go to a great distance, and returned after an absence of three hours, I was rather sorry for having neglected this opportunity of obtaining a sight of the river of Logón again at another place, and likewise of visiting once more that picturesque district, so rich in deléb-palms, which was evidently one of the finest in the whole country. Mr. Overweg, who had received previous information of the intention of the vizier, was this time more fortunate than myself, and afterwards informed me that they had been obliged to keep first along the smaller river, in order to reach the ford where we had crossed it in the morning. The great river, which they reached about three miles beyond, exhibited a single bed, and was not fordable.

While remaining behind in the empty encampment, I lamented the misery of accompanying such an expedition; for nothing can be more disheartening to the feelings of a traveller who is desirous of knowledge, than to visit these beautiful countries under such circumstances, when the original inhabitants are either exterminated, or obliged to seek their safety in flight, when all traces of their cheerful life are destroyed, and the abodes of human happiness converted into desolation, when no one is left to acquaint him with all the significant names which the various characteristic features of the country must necessarily bear, especially those numberless creeks, swamps, and rivers which intersect this country in all directions. The stranger who intrudes upon the natives in this hostile manner is scarcely able to make out a few dry names of the principal dwelling-places, and, being placed under such disadvantageous circumstances, is at least justified in speaking more emphatically of the endless misery into which the finest and most populous regions of this continent are plunged by these slave-hunting expeditions of their merciless Mohammedan neighbours. This fertile district, which is inclosed by the river of Logón on the east, and by the narrow channel- like watercourse on the west side, seems to be that very dominion of “Fúss,” the power of which, as I have related before, was greatly dreaded by our friends.

This was the coolest day we had as yet experienced on our expedition, the thermometer, in the cool shade of a tree, at half-past one o’clock in the afternoon indicating only 84°. This was probably attributable to the fresh northerly breeze which sprung up about noon; for during the night it was not so cold as we felt it afterwards, the thermometer during this time indicating, at sunrise, between 56° and 59°, and at sunset between 74° and 77°.

[Sidenote: Wednesday, January 14th.]

We made a longer march than usual, while the character of the country changed entirely, and not, as it seemed, to its advantage; for instead of a fertile landscape, clothed with rich verdure, we entered upon bleak alluvial plains, scantily overgrown with stunted mimosas, and to all appearance almost unfit for producing grain. It was one of those remarkable days in January which, in the whole of Central Africa, form a distinct season by themselves. A thick fog enveloped the whole country, and excluded any distant view, and, while subsequently it helped to increase the dismal character of the country, in the beginning of our march it prevented us from enjoying once more the rich scenery of the preceding day; for we had first to return to the bank of that beautiful clear sheet of water along which our march had led the day before. Its banks here also were quite flat, but the sheet of water was wider than at the place where we had seen it before. Proceeding a little in advance of the army, I obtained a sight of a riverhorse just at the moment when it raised its immense head above the surface of the watery element.

But as soon as we left this fine clear sheet of water the character of the country changed entirely, assuming an exceedingly sombre aspect, and we passed a hamlet more cheerless and miserable than any I had seen in the whole of this country. Not a single trace of cultivation was seen on the bleak, black, argillaceous soil; and it was evident that the inhabitants of this hamlet subsisted solely on the fish which they were able to catch; and these may be abundant, as the whole configuration of the ground evidently shows that this entire tract is reached by the inundation during the rainy season.

The country preserved the same aspect as we proceeded onwards; and the hamlets which we passed were not of a more inviting appearance than the first. Only now and then an isolated deléb-palm, or kamelútu, raised its magnificent tuft into the air, and served, by the contrast it afforded, to make this spot appear more gloomy. A large piece of ground was entirely covered with aghúl (_Hedysarus alhajji_) which seemed to me not a little remarkable, as I did not remember to have seen this plant, which is so much liked by the camel, since I had left Taganáma.

The country assumed more and more the appearance of a swamp at present dry; and we were even obliged to change our direction frequently, in order to avoid spots where the bog had not dried up, while everywhere we observed the same kind of small ridges which I have mentioned before. Further on, the ground became a little drier, but presented only a monotonous waste, with detached bunches of rank grass, overshadowed now and then by scanty and stunted karáge trees scarcely fifteen feet high, while we had been accustomed, in the Músgu country, to see this kind of tree assume the size of the most magnificent specimens of the vegetable kingdom, with an elevation of from seventy to eighty feet, and a crown of not less diameter. As far as the eye could reach, the character of the country presented the same poor appearance; but, as I have mentioned before, the sky was not very clear, and the view was therefore rather limited. The bush of the fan-palm seemed to be quite solitary, without there being a full-grown specimen to be seen.

At length this swampy ground seemed to have an end; but nothing but poor stubble-fields, where the crop had failed, took its place, with here and there a few detached poor-looking huts, the few trees which were visible exhibiting the same scanty growth that we had observed in the district through which we had just passed. At last the eye, fatigued by the length of this gloomy tract, was refreshed by the sight of a field with a fresh crop of másakuwá, or _Holcus cernuus_, though it was far from being a rich one. Already here, besides the huts common in this country, others, of a remarkable and peculiar style, became visible, such as I shall describe further on, and as only the most excellent clay soil can enable the natives to build.

Entering for a while a grassy plain, we reached an open water, such as the Kanúri people call komádugu, about thirty yards broad, but apparently of considerable depth, being inclosed by banks ten feet high, and winding through the plain in a fine meandering course. The water, at present, had no current; and we found a spot where it was totally broken, and were enabled to cross it with dry feet.

A few hundred yards on the other side of this watercourse were the ruins of Bága, the residence of the chief Kábishmé (or, as the Kanúri call him, Kabshimé), which had been ransacked last year by Kashélla ʿAlí Fúgomámi. Among these ruins the vizier, by the advice of Ádishén, who wanted to keep the undisciplined host from his own fertile territory, had chosen the encampment. Thither I directed my steps, while the main body of the cavalry were scattered about the corn-fields, in order to gather the half-ripe ears of grain for themselves and their half-starved horses; and he was lucky who arrived first, those who came afterwards either finding nothing at all, or only green, unwholesome corn.

The whole district where the encampment was chosen was bare and desolate in the extreme, especially on the eastern side, where it was only bordered by stunted mimosas a considerable distance off. But the village itself, and particularly the dwelling of the chief Kábishmé, was calculated to create a great deal of interest, as well on account of the finished and careful execution of the buildings as owing to a certain degree of comfort and homeliness which was evident in the whole arrangement; and in this respect it was very fortunate that, immediately after our arrival, before the train came up, I directed my attention towards these buildings, for afterwards the deserted palace of the Músgu chief became a harím, or prohibited spot, the vizier finding its architectural arrangements very useful and convenient for his own domestic purposes.

The palace must have afforded a very different spectacle in former times, when it was inhabited, it being at present in such a state of ruin that several features in its arrangement could not be distinctly made out, almost everything that was liable to take fire having been destroyed, and especially the sheds and inner courtyards, which are so characteristic of the domestic life of these people. At present it was an empty courtyard of a tolerably round shape, and of large circumference, surrounded by huts more or less destroyed, and adorned at the four corners, if we may speak of corners in a building of almost round shape, by buildings of a very peculiar and remarkable character, which at once attracted my attention, as they bore testimony to a degree of order, and even of art, which I had not expected to find among these tribes.

[Illustration]

They were small round rumbú, about eight feet in diameter, and at least twelve feet high to the apex of the cupola, the clay walls of which were very neatly polished; the entrance formed a projecting portal about six feet high, four feet deep, and not more than fourteen inches wide. The exterior, to the very top of the cupola, was ornamented in a very peculiar manner by regular lines of projecting ribs running round the building in the way represented in the woodcut. These very remarkable rooms, although at present empty, from their analogy with several buildings described above, and according to the statements of the people, were nothing but well protected granaries, although they might have served occasionally in the cold season as bed-rooms or sleeping- rooms. They were exactly the same at each of the four corners; but the north-east corner of the yard claimed particular attention, owing to another very remarkable apartment being there joined to the granary, which, as it is best adapted to give a clear idea of the homely comfort of these people, however low the scale of their civilization may be, has been made use of to represent, in the plate opposite, a scene of the domestic life of these people, besides that its ground-plan is given in the accompanying woodcut.

[Illustration]

It was a round uncovered apartment of about twenty-four feet in diameter, inclosed by a clay wall of about seven feet high, and a foot in thickness, and carefully polished at the corners. The doorway was about four feet high by about two feet wide; entering through this you had on your left a bank of clay running parallel with the wall, and inclosing a space of about two and a half feet in breadth. It was a foot and a quarter high, and one foot broad, and ran round more than half the circumference of the room, but, in order to afford easy access to the narrow space between it and the wall, had an opening in the centre, both ends of the banks thus formed having a regularly-shaped projection. The space included between the bank and the wall formed a sort of stable, as was evident from three stakes placed in the ground at equal distances from each other. Probably it was the place for three head of cattle or goats. The clay bank, therefore, served two purposes, partly as a separation of the stable from the inner apartment, and partly as a seat. The centre of the apartment was formed by a shed about eight feet by six, and consisting of a roof of reeds and grass, supported by four stakes, and furnishing an evident proof that the apartment had never been covered in, but formed an open little courtyard _sub dio_.

[Illustration: Drawn by J. M. Bernatz, from a Sketch by Dr. Barth.

M. & N. Hanhart, lith. et impt.

INTERIOR OF A MÚSGU DWELLING.]