Part 18

On the right of this shed was the cooking-place or kitchen, inclosed by two very low clay walls, and formed by four projections of clay in the shape of large round stones, which in a very simple manner formed two fire-places, each of which, if detached, would have required three stones. Between the kitchen, the shed, and one end of the clay bank, and divided from the former by a separate wall, appeared a broad entrance to the adjoining building, which we have recognized as a granary; but at present it was walled up, and formed a recess for some purpose or other. Between the kitchen and the gateway was another place inclosed between two thin clay walls, which was most probably destined to contain the water-jar.

The four well-built and well-secluded rooms, which had been intended originally as granaries, seemed very desirable to the vizier in the cold weather, as he was able to lodge there, very comfortably, himself and his female slaves; for the cold in this open spot, which was not protected either by vegetation or by any rising of the ground, was so severe that not only the whole black world, but the two whites also, that is to say Mr. Overweg and myself, natives of the north of Europe, suffered severely from its intensity. Indeed it was most distressing during the night to hear the shrieks of the poor naked Músgu slaves, who had been torn from their warm huts; and it was not till about noon that they seemed to revive a little. Nevertheless the thermometer, at six o’clock in the morning of the 15th, indicated as much as 51°, which was the greatest amount of cold we had during this expedition, and at noon it even rose to 87°.

We were obliged to remain in this uncomfortable place several days, owing to the circumstance that the whole of the spoil was to be divided here before we left the hostile territory; for an undisciplined host like this, of course, cannot be controlled except by fear, and if the people were allowed to regain their own territory with what they had taken in slaves and cattle, they would go to their own homes without contributing anything to the common share of the army. This is also the custom in Wádáy as well as in Dár Fúr, the spoil being divided before the expedition re-enters the friendly territory. Although on the present occasion the expedition had not been eminently successful in the different places, nevertheless the whole booty, besides about 10,000 head of cattle, amounted to a considerable number of slaves. The leaders boasted that they had taken not less than 10,000 slaves; and, although I was glad to find that this number was exaggerated, I convinced myself that they numbered not less than 3000.

By far the largest proportion of this number consisted of aged women, who had not been able to join in the hasty flight, and of children under eight years of age. There were some women so decrepit that they were scarcely able to walk—mere skeletons, who, in their almost total nakedness, presented a horrible sight. All the full-grown men who had been taken prisoners, with the exception of a few cowards who had not made any resistance, had been slaughtered; but their number scarcely exceeded 300, almost the whole full-grown male population of the country having had time to escape. Of these 3000 slaves, the commander-in-chief received a third part; but he also claimed for himself the whole amount of the slave-hunt which was made into the territory of Ádishén, and which constituted a sort of tribute.

In the afternoon of the 17th, two officers had left the encampment, under the pretext of gathering fodder from the neighbouring villages, but in the evening returned with about eight hundred slaves, and a considerable number of cattle; and we were given to understand that this foray was executed with the consent of the chief himself,—to such degrading means did this despicable chief resort in order to preserve his authority, however precarious it was. Of course he selects as a sacrifice such of his subjects as are not his zealous followers; but it is almost incredible how such a government can exist, as his dominion scarcely extends over a tract of country more than fifteen miles in every direction. At any rate his subjects seem to be fully justified in taking care of themselves; and they had succeeded, in the darkness, in getting back part of the spoil which had been taken from them.

The vizier himself pretended to behave in a very gracious manner towards the submissive vassal, returning to him about 200 of the oldest and most decrepit women, who, he most probably thought, would succumb to the fatigues of the march, observing, in a tone of friendly irony, that they were to cultivate the country, and that when he should return he would eat of the produce of their labour. On other occasions the vizier had expressed himself to me to the effect that he wished Ádishén strong and powerful in order that, as a faithful vassal, he might oppose the progress of the Felláta in these regions; for in his heart he was the most inveterate enemy of that enterprising nation, and certainly he had ample reason to be so. It was on this occasion I heard that this renegade Músgu chief had never been rebellious to his Bórnu sovereign (which, from information I had received previously, I concluded to have been the case), but that occasionally he was obliged to make reprisals against the Shúwa, who were making plundering expeditions into his territory.

We have already noticed the peculiar situation of this Músgu chief, separated from the interests of his countrymen, and opposed to them in a hostile manner. He has to defend his position against all the people around him, while his rear is very badly protected by his very friends the Bórnu people, even the Shúwa Arabs, who are subjected to the former, infesting his territory. Only with his kinsmen, the people of Logón, he seemed to be at the time on friendly terms.

[Sidenote: Monday, January 19th.]

We at length set out on our return to Kúkawa. We first returned to the ford of shallow water, and then continued through a fine grassy plain, passing one or two hamlets and a few fields of native corn. We then encamped, after a march of about ten miles. Already this day, in the distance towards the west, we had observed some small elevations; but, proceeding at a slow rate, and making very short days’ marches, we did not reach the district of Wáza, which is distinguished by its rocky mounts, till the 22nd, when after a march of about fifteen miles we encamped between those two rocky eminences which form the most characteristic feature of this locality.

It gave us extraordinary pleasure, after having traversed the flat alluvial plains of Bórnu and Músgu, to find ourselves once more opposite to some elevation of even a moderate altitude. These eminences assumed a very picturesque appearance. The valley between the two rocky mountains where we were encamped was rather bare of trees; but there were some beautiful wild fig-trees at the north-eastern foot of the western eminence, where a pond was formed in a deep hollow. To this spot I turned my steps immediately after our arrival, before the camels had joined us, and spent here a delightful hour, all the horses belonging to the army being brought here to be watered, and forming a varied and highly interesting scene, with the rich verdure of the trees around and the steep rocky cliffs above them, while fresh parties were continually arriving from the camp.

Having made a sketch of this locality, which is represented in the accompanying plate, I went to join my companion, and we decided upon ascending the more elevated of the two eminences; but having attained to the height of some hundred feet, I felt quite exhausted, especially as I had a severe cold, and gave it up; but Mr. Overweg ascended to the top, which rises to about 700 feet above the plain.[21] These rocky mounts abound with a species of black monkey, while even beasts of prey generally have their haunts here. The crevices formed by the granite blocks are adorned with small trees and shrubs. The view from here, over the immense plain towards the south, girt as it was by a continuous band of middle-sized timber, was very characteristic, the uniform line being relieved in the foreground by the other rocky mount.

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

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

ENCAMPMENT AT WÁZA.

Jany. 22nd. 1852.]

This place belongs already to the territory of Logón, and consists of several small hamlets inhabited by Shúwa, but governed by a chief, or “lawán,” who belongs to the tribe of the Fúlbe.

It was here that we received the news that a courier had arrived from Fezzán, but that he had been plundered, by the Tawárek, of the letters and articles which he was carrying for us. This, of course, was sad news, although we did not expect to receive money, or anything of great value, at the time.

[Sidenote: January 22nd.]

After a long delay, caused by the straying of the vizier’s favourite horse, which he rode every day, and which had most mysteriously disappeared during the night, from the midst of the encampment, we left this interesting spot, and after a good ride over a very rich though insufficiently cultivated tract of country, encamped at a short distance from a broad shallow water adorned with the finest trees; it is called Zéngiri. From here we reached Díggera, and took up our quarters in our old camp, pitching our tents on the very spot where they had stood two months previously; and from this point onwards, we stopped each day at the same place where we had encamped on our outward journey.

[Sidenote: February 1st.]

On our re-entering the capital there was a good deal of ceremony and etiquette observed, when the whole army[22], at least that part which had not yet been disbanded, was formed into one compact line of battle, in order to receive in a suitable manner the military salutes which were paid to the commander-in-chief on his successful return. Distinguished above all those who came to meet us and pay their compliments to the commander, was Ghét, the chief of the Welád Slimán, who, a few days previously, had arrived from Kánem, where we left him, and from whence he had made a successful expedition against the Kúnkuna in Kárká. Galloping up with the utmost speed, at the head of his little band of from twenty to thirty horsemen clad in their picturesque attire, this petty Arab chief exhibited an interesting and animated specimen of horsemanship, which presented a remarkable contrast to the unwieldy movements of the clumsy and sluggish figures of the negroes. Returning to our old quarters in the town, we were treated with a peculiar dainty of the Kanúri, consisting of the fresh seeds of the grain called masr (_Zea maïs_), which are roasted in a peculiar way.

Thus ended this expedition, which opened to us a slight glimpse into the richly-watered zone of the equatorial regions, which had been supposed to form an insurmountable barrier of a high mountain-chain, and brought us into contact with tribes, whose character had been represented as almost approaching to that of wild beasts. We had certainly not entered those regions under such circumstances as were most desirable to us; but on the contrary, we had been obliged to associate ourselves with an army whose only purpose was to spread devastation and misery over them. Nevertheless, situated as we were, while we could not prevent this mischief, we were glad that we had been enabled to see so much. We were without any means, no further supplies having arrived; but I did not despair, and in order still to be able to try my fortune once more in another direction before I returned home, besides other articles, I even sold my large tent, and employed part of the proceeds to line my small tent, which was fast wearing out and neither excluded rain nor sun.

[Footnote 21: Mr. Vogel, who likewise visited this spot in 1854, found the plain elevated 920 feet above the level of the sea, while the two mounts attained the respective heights of 1300 and 1600 feet.]

[Footnote 22: For a list of the several detachments which constituted the army, at least the cavalry, on this expedition, see Appendix III.]

[Illustration: DR. BARTH’S TRAVELS IN NORTH AND CENTRAL AFRICA Sheet No. 11.

MAP OF THE ROUTE from KÚKAWA TO MÁSEÑÁ 5 March-21 August 1850.

Constructed and drawn by A. Petermann.

Engraved by E. Weller, _Duke Strt. Bloomsbury._

_London, Longman & Co._]

CHAP. XLVI.

SETTING OUT FOR BAGÍRMI. — THE COUNTRY OF KÓTOKÓ.

I had returned to the town on the 1st of February, 1852; on the 4th of March I again set out on a journey to Bagírmi. However, I did not feel very confident as to the success of my enterprise. The sultan of Bagírmi was reported as being absent from his capital on an expedition to the south-east of his dominions; but I was given to understand that there would be no great difficulty in addressing myself to the lieutenant- governor, whom he had left to represent him in his absence, in order to be allowed to join him, and to be thus enabled to explore those more southern regions which by myself I had no prospect of visiting. I introduced myself, accordingly, to the agent of that prince, who resides in Kúkawa. This man is a eunuch, who was made prisoner by the Kanúri in the second battle of Ngála, and had risen to the dignity of mestréma, or first eunuch, of the sultan of Bórnu. But although I made him a small present, he received me rather coolly, and did not inspire me with much confidence as to my ultimate success.

I had exhausted my means entirely, having been obliged to purchase at high prices, for credit, even the very small supply of presents which I was able to take with me. I had only two very indifferent servants, Mohammed ben Habíb and Mohammed ben Áhmed, both young lads from Fezzán, as limited in their intelligence as they were conceited in their pretensions as Moslemín, and not possessing the least knowledge of the country which we were about to visit.

The only animals I had for my conveyance were a horse and a she-camel. Hence I did not set out with that spirit of confidence which ensures success; but, having determined to return to Europe if new supplies did not very soon arrive, I resolved to make a last desperate attempt to accomplish something before I finally left the country.

Mr. Overweg accompanied me as far as Ngórnu, where we took up our quarters with my friend the kashélla Kótokó. Here, in my present destitute condition, I was greatly delighted at receiving, by private message from the vizier, a small parcel of coffee, and from the mʿallem Mohammed, a loaf of sugar. Such tokens of disinterested friendship are very gratifying to the traveller in a foreign land.

[Sidenote: Friday, March 5th.]

At the beginning of the cotton-plantation I took leave of my European companion. He was to make an excursion, accompanied by Kótokó, along the shores of the lake towards Máduwári—the very place where, in the course of a few months, he was destined to succumb.

I had received from the mestréma a trooper as escort; but he was not the kind of man I should have liked. If phrenologists had taken his features as the general type of the Negro race, they would have felt themselves authorized in assigning to them a more intimate affinity with monkeys than with men; and his cheerless but self-conceited disposition was in perfect harmony with his exterior.

The waters of the lagoon had already considerably decreased, laying bare fine fresh pasture-grounds, on which numerous herds of cattle were grazing, while small pools of stagnant water, left behind by the retiring inundation, afforded some relief to the monotony of the plain. A great deal of cotton is cultivated on these fertile grounds, and an immense deal more might be cultivated. The people were busy in all directions in the labours of the field, while, on those grounds which were not cultivated, the luxuriant weed of the _Asclepias_ was re- assuming its ordinary domain. Scarcely a single tree was to be seen; and only as we proceeded onwards a few specimens gradually appeared.

Thus we passed the village of Kúkiya, where we had taken up our first night’s quarters on the expedition to Músgu. Here the deep sandy soil was at times enlivened by isolated clusters of the dúm-bush; and people were digging, here and there, for the rush-nut (“hab el ʿazíz” or “nefú,” _Cyperus esculentus_) which I have mentioned on former occasions. A tract of indifferent cultivation was relieved by a fine field of wheat, belonging to several of the great men or kokanáwa of Kúkawa. Having here watered our horses, we wanted to make a halt during the heat of the day, at a hamlet belonging to Háj Ibrahím; but we were rather inhospitably received, and stretched ourselves therefore under the shade of a caoutchouc-tree at some distance from the village. The tree was remarkable on account of a peculiar “sáfi” or charm, which testified to the many remains of pagan rites still lingering in these countries. It consisted of two earthern pots placed one upon the other, and filled with a peculiar substance, and was supposed to guarantee prolificness to the mares of the village. The ground being an ordinary resting-place for travellers, swarmed with insects, principally that large kind of “karí” common to the cattle in this country.

When we started again in the afternoon, we met a caravan, consisting of camels and pack-oxen laden with Guinea corn, which one of our friend Lamíno’s people was taking to town from his master’s plantation. At an early hour we reached Yédi, which we had also touched at on our expedition to Músgu. I intended to have taken up my quarters inside the town; but the streets were so narrow that I preferred encamping outside. A young Shúwa lad here offered his services to me. At the well where we had watered our horses he had rendered us gratuitous assistance; and I had given him a few needles in return. Being in want of a servant, I accepted his offer, and had strong reason in the course of my travels to be glad of having done so; for although in the beginning he caused me some trouble, and behaved at times rather awkwardly, he proved on the whole a very useful servant.

I was hospitably treated in the evening by a young man of the name of Degéji, who had accompanied Mr. Overweg on his voyage on the lake. He was a barber and a musician, and rather a gay sort of person.

[Sidenote: Saturday, March 6th.]

We followed the direct route for Ngála. The country, open at the commencement, became gradually covered by the dúm-bush, and further on by middle-sized trees of various kinds. Besides the wife of my escort trooper, who was to pay a visit to her father in Bagírmi, and who was at least a degree better than her husband, a very cheerful man of the name of Kágo had attached himself to our little troop. He had been acquainted with the members of the former expedition, and was anxious to give me all possible information with regard to the qualities of the various trees and bushes which adorned the wilderness, especially the kári, karáwa, and látram; and on this occasion I learnt that a kind of disease, which would seem to be the stigma of a closely-packed civilization, is not at all rare in these countries: it is here called “dun.” Everything testifies to the richness of this country, which is now left to utter neglect. The population of the small villages which dot the landscape is mixed, consisting one half of Kanúri, and the other of Shúwa; and I was not a little surprised to find in one of them, which belongs to a man named Mʿallem Tálbay Sámi, Felláta or Fúlbe mixed with the Kanúri. Most of the Shúwa had already deserted their villages for temporary residences in other quarters.

At an early hour we halted in the village Kostári, the inhabitants of which had seen me on a former occasion. They seem to be very poor, which may however be attributed to their laziness. According to their own account, they were living almost entirely upon the waterfowl which frequent the shores of the lagoon in countless numbers; and indeed the whole village was full of wild geese and ducks. However, I succeeded in getting a little milk, some honey, and kréb, or kashá,—a kind of seed, probably identical with the _Poa Abyssinica_, but of which there are different species: here in Bórnu there are principally two species, called “kashá ngórgo” and “kashá magáya,” while in Wádáy there are three or four, called “denáng,” “líliyák,” “shorók,” and tanfáfanáng, besides a collateral species called “felé.”

It is very remarkable that, while the waters of the lake are fresh, most of the water which is obtained hereabouts, at a very short distance from its shore, is full of natron. The water of this place was so impregnated with that mineral, that it was scarcely drinkable, which was felt the more as the air was oppressive in the extreme; and I felt so exhausted at the commencement of my journey, and after a long stay in the town, that I was obliged to recruit my strength with a small remnant of _mastico_ which I had with me. The heat was so intense that I felt very grateful when, later in the afternoon, a slight breeze sprung up. My poor animals, however, fared still worse than myself, being tormented by a large blood-sucking fly.

Major Denham travelled, on this route, along the south side of the lake: but the road which he took is now entirely given up, on account of the insecurity of the country, and the place or rather district Keskári mentioned by him, lying from three to four hours’ march north-east from this place, is entirely deserted; we therefore followed a more southerly road.

The first object which attracted our attention here was a herd of wild hogs, an animal which I had very rarely seen in these regions, but which I afterwards found frequenting in great numbers the country bordering on the river Shári; it even seems to form a substantial part of the food of the natives, not excepting the Mohammedans.