Part 24

A market is held every Sunday, near the western hamlet; but it is very miserable indeed, and it was all the worse for me, as the people refused to accept in payment any of those small articles of which I was still possessed, all my property at the time consisting of 3000 shells—that is to say, little more than a Spanish dollar,—a small assortment of beads, and a few looking-glasses, but principally needles, while here also the people required what I had not, namely, the cotton strips which I have mentioned above. The only luxury offered for sale in the market was a miserable lean sheep; and, as a representative of foreign civilization, there was half a sheet of common paper.

This was the sole attraction of the place, with the exception of my amiable, intelligent, and kind host Bú-Bakr Sadík. The poor old man was extremely indignant at the negligent manner in which I was treated; but he was feeble and timorous, and had no authority in higher spheres. The information which from time to time I collected from him during my monotonous stay in this place shall be given in the appendix, in the several places to which the subjects refer. It was very amusing for me to observe that the good old man, all the time that he was conversing with me, was not a moment idle; but he would either sew, not only for himself, but even articles of dress for another wife of his, whom he had in the capital, and soon intended to visit, or he would scrape some root to use as medicine, or else select some indigo, for dyeing his tobe, or, if he had nothing better to do, he would gather the single grains of corn which had fallen to the ground,—for in his pious frame of mind he thought it a sin that so valuable a proof of the bounty of the Almighty should be wasted.

The other inhabitants of the place were rather uninteresting; and I had a great deal of trouble with the same man who on our arrival had refused us hospitality, for, as he was sick and wanted a cooling medicine, I found the common remedies with which I was provided too weak for his herculean frame, till at length, with a dose of half a dozen ounces of Epsom salts, mixed up with three or four drachms of worm-powder, I succeeded in making him acknowledge the efficacy of my medicines.

In general the Bagírmi people are much better made than the Bórnu, the men excelling them in size, as well as in muscular strength, as they do also in courage and energy of mind, while the women are far superior. The Bagírmi females in general are very well made, taller and less square than the ugly Bórnu women, but with beautifully-proportioned limbs, while their features have a great deal of regularity and a pleasing expression; some of them might even be called handsome, with their large dark beautiful eyes. The broad nostrils of the Bórnu females, which are still more disfigured by the ugly coral on the left side of the nose, are entirely foreign to them. While the Bórnu females in general endeavour only to excel by the quantity of fat or butter which they put upon their hair, the Bagírmi women bestow considerable care upon its arrangement; and the way in which they wear it, imitating exactly the shape of the crest of a helmet, is very becoming, as it harmonizes exceedingly well with their tall and well-proportioned figures. It is therefore not without reason that the Bagírmi females are celebrated over a great part of Negroland. Their dress is very simple, similar to that of the Bórnu, namely, the black “túrkedí,” which is fastened across the breast, while the wealthier among them usually throw a second one over the shoulder.

The women in general seemed to be very healthy; but the men suffer much from a peculiar sickness which they themselves call “mukárdam,” while the Arabs call it by the same name as the “Guinea-worm,” namely, “ferentít,” or “ʿarúk,” although it seems to be a very different thing; it is a sort of worm which dwells in the little toe, and eats it gradually away, beginning at the joint, so that the limb has the appearance of being tied up with a thread. I think this insect is identical with the _Malis Americana_ or _Sauvagesii_, or, as it is more generally called, _pulex penetrans_, a very small black insect well known in America. This disease is so general hereabouts, that amongst ten people you will find at least one who has only four toes.

At times the village was enlivened by some little intercourse,—now a caravan of pilgrims, then a troop of native merchants, tugúrchi or fatáki. The pilgrims were some of them on their home-journey, with the impressions which they had received of things scarcely intelligible to themselves, others going eastward with the narrow prejudices which they had brought from their distant homes. There were people from every region of Negroland; but unfortunately I had scarcely anything to offer them besides needles, with which article I gladly assisted them on their arduous journey, for nothing is of so much importance to the traveller as to gain the goodwill of these people, who are the bearers of public opinion in these regions. Thus my liberality of making presents of needles, and nothing but needles, procured me the title among these witty people, of the Needle-Prince, “maláríbra;” and although it was useful, in order to convince them of my friendly disposition, it was scarcely sufficient to open an intimate intercourse with them. But there was one amongst these distant wanderers, a native of Kébbi, a very intelligent man, from whom I derived my first information about the populousness of that fine and beautiful country which I was soon to visit myself.

A numerous troop of pilgrims from Wándalá or Mándará also created a considerable interest; and I entered with them into lively polemics concerning the relation of their prince, or “tuksé-malé,” with the ruler of Bórnu, for they denied positively that their chief had tendered his subjection in order to avert from his own country that numerous host which we had accompanied a few months previously to the Músgu country. The poorer members of the caravan went round about the hamlets beating their drums, in order to collect alms to supply their wants during their meritorious journey, while the wealthier among them came to my host in order to buy from him their supply of native corn.

The commercial intercourse also which took place in the little village where I was obliged to make so long a stay, exhibited some more interesting features, notwithstanding the dulness of the market; for among the merchants there appeared occasionally a small troop of Háusa people—dangarúnfa, slender active fellows, accustomed to fatigue, and content with little profit, who were carrying on their heads, all the way from Kanó to Bagírmi, small parcels of indigo-dyed shirts, and other commodities, in order to barter them for the fine asses of Dár-Fúr, which are brought hither by the travellers from the east.

Not less interesting was the arrival of a portion of a numerous caravan of Jellába, from Nimró in Wádáy, who had come to Más-eñá; it consisted of about a dozen people, with about twenty pack-oxen and asses. As for the principal part of the caravan, the chief commodity imported by them was copper, which they were bringing from the great copper-mine, or el hofra, situated to the south of Dár-Fúr, carrying it as far as Kanó towards the west, where this fine eastern copper rivals the old copper which is brought by the Arab caravans from Tripoli. But these people who had arrived in Bákadá were the poorer members of the troop; and their wealth and exclusive article of commerce was a very excellent quality of rock salt, which the Tebu-Gurʿaán bring from the Burrum or Bahr el Ghazál to Wára, where it is bought in great quantities by the Jellába, who sell it in small parcels, carrying it as far as Logón and Kúsuri. I bought a little for a sheet of paper, and found it excellent, with the exception of its having decidedly a fishy taste.

It was but very rarely that I mounted my horse, as I purposely avoided everything which was likely to attract attention, or create envious and jealous feelings; but on the 10th of the month, I was obliged by circumstances to take a long ride, as my she-camel, which at the time was my only beast of burden, was missing, and not a trace of her could be found. On the south-east side of the village there is much forest of a very uniform character, interspersed with tall reed-grass; but on the other sides a great deal of cultivation was to be seen, shaded by hájilíj (or “jánga,” as it is called here), nebek or “kírna,”[40] and talha-trees, here called “keláya.” I found it very remarkable that almost all the fields, even those where millet and sorghum were grown, were laid out in deep furrows, called derába,—a system of tillage which, in the case of any sort of grain, I had not before observed in Negroland. Besides grain, a good deal of sesamum (“kárru”), cotton (“nyére”), and indigo (“alíni”) was cultivated, the plants being from two and a half to three feet in height, and bare of leaves at the present season. On the north-east side, also, there was a great deal of forest; but it was adorned by some groups of fine trees. It was enlivened by numbers of Guinea fowl and gazelles; and a great number of “kálgo” trees, with their wide-spreading branches, were observed here. The soil had been already tolerably saturated with moisture, fine tufts of succulent grass were springing up here and there, and I was enabled to water my horse at a small pool; but this abundance of the watery element, of course, was only temporary, in consequence of the heavy rain which had fallen the previous night, and the poor inhabitants were still to suffer most severely from drought, their deep well being almost dry. This was the only point in regard to which I had continual disputes with the inhabitants, who would scarcely allow my horse to get his sufficient _quantum_, although I had to pay a considerable sum for it.

Meanwhile I waxed impatient. At length, on the evening of the 6th of April, my escort Gréma (whom on the last day of March I had sent to the capital to bring me a decisive answer without delay) returned with a messenger of the lieutenant-governor,—not, however, to grant either of my requests, but rather to induce me to wait patiently till an answer should arrive from the sultan himself. In order that I might not starve in the meanwhile, they brought me a sheep and a shirt, with which I might buy provision in some neighbouring village; but as there was nothing to be got besides millet and sorghum, I declared it to be absolutely necessary for me either to be admitted into the capital, or to retrace my steps. I requested Gréma to stay with me; but he pretended he was obliged to return to the town, where his servant lay sick. Not suspecting that he wanted to leave me alone, and to join the Sultan on the expedition, I allowed him to go, and resolved to wait a few days in patience. But, restless and impatient as I was, the delay pressed heavily upon me; and when on the 13th my kind and amiable host Bú-Bakr Sadík himself went to the capital, I had nothing to calm my disquietude. Through my host, I had once more addressed myself to the lieutenant- governor, requesting to be admitted into the capital without further delay; and Bú-Bakr had promised me, in the most distinct terms, that before Thursday night, which was the 15th, I should have a decisive answer. Having only one weak camel to carry my luggage, I had taken scarcely any books with me on this excursion to Bagírmi, and the little information which I had been able to gather was not sufficient to give my restless spirit its proper nourishment; and I felt, therefore, mentally depressed. The consequence was, that when Thursday night passed away, and neither Bú-Bakr himself arrived, nor any message from him, I determined to put my threat into execution, and to retrace my steps the following morning.

[Footnote 37: Sheríf el Edrísi, trad. Jaubert, vol. i. p. 72. كركدان]

[Footnote 38: I think it is this animal which is mentioned by Burckhardt (Travels in Nubia, Appendix I., p. 433.) as the ام قرغي. This name must be given to it by the Shúwa, but I did not hear it.]

[Footnote 39: Before coming to the main river I had to traverse a small stream of very cold and limpid water, running in the opposite direction to the river; but I do not know whence it may proceed.]

[Footnote 40: The name of this tree, which is so common all over this part of the world—in the forms kórna, kúrna, kúrnahí, kúrru, kírna—is one of the most widely-spread of all those names indicating objects possessing properties useful to man; and this would seem to indicate that it is not indigenous in the various regions where it is at present found, but introduced from one and the same quarter. However, on nearer inspection, this argument does not seem to be conclusive. It has certainly not been introduced into Negroland from a more northern climate, as little as the _Balanites_ and the _Cucifera_, which is erroneously called _Thebaica_, instead of _Nigritia_.]

CHAP. XLIX.

ENDEAVOUR TO LEAVE THE COUNTRY. — ARRESTED. — FINAL ENTRANCE INTO MÁS-EÑÁ. — ITS CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES.

[Sidenote: Friday, April 16th.]

As soon as day dawned, I arose to prepare for my departure. The sky was overcast, and a little rain fell, which caused some delay; but as soon as it ceased I got my camel ready and my horse saddled. Several of the relations and friends of Bú-Bakr endeavoured to persuade me to remain; but my determination was too fixed, and, pointing at the disgraceful manner in which I had been treated in this country, I mounted my horse and rode off. My three servants, themselves dissatisfied with the treatment they had received, followed sullenly.

We retraced the path by which we had come; but the rains had made it almost undiscernible, and we had some difficulty to make out the right track. The sun was very powerful after the rain which had fallen during the night, as is very often the case in tropical climates; and it not being my design to abscond secretly, I decided upon halting, during the hot hours, in Mókorí, and quietly pitched my tent—for I firmly expected that, if my presence was required, it was here they would seek for me. After the bad fare which I had received in Bákadá for so long a time, I was delighted to be able to procure here a fowl, some butter, and a little milk; and it was a sort of holiday for me to indulge in these simple luxuries. The manner in which I obtained these supplies was rather circuitous, a long bartering taking place with beads, needles, and a little natron which I was provided with from Kúkawa. The price of the fowl was three darning-needles; and I may here state the obligation under which I am to Mr. Charles Beke, the Abyssinian traveller, upon whose advice I had provided myself in London with a small assortment of these articles. In Middle Sudán their value was not appreciated; but here, in Bagírmi, I found them extremely useful, and it was to them that I partly owed my subsistence in this country.

I quietly conversed with the people on my situation; and they behaved very friendly towards me, and advised me, if no news should arrive from the capital in the course of the day, to take the road by Kólle-Kólle, Márga, and Jógodé, a place which they represented as of considerable size, and thus to reach the river near the village of Klésem, from whence I might cross over to Kúsuri. I even obtained here some valuable information with regard to the river-system of Wádáy, from a Felláta[41], or Púllo, of the name of ʿAbd el Káder. I should have passed the day very comfortably, if a strong gale had not arisen about noon, and filled my tent with dust and sand. The sky was overcast; but there was no rain.

A little after sunset, when the busy scene at the well had subsided, I measured the temperature of the water, and found it to be 86°·4 Fahr., which, if we consider it as nearly the mean temperature of the country, would give a very high standard for Bagírmi. The well was fifteen fathoms deep, the present temperature of the air being then 86°; at one o’clock P.M. it had been 99°·7.

[Sidenote: April 17th.]

Having passed rather an unpleasant night, the ground swarming with black ants (_termes mordax_), so that my camel, as well as my horse, moved restlessly about and disturbed our own slumber frequently, I set out early in the morning with confidence on my journey westward. Forest and cultivated ground alternately succeeded each other, the cultivation consisting, besides millet, of cotton and sesamum. Women were collecting the leaves of the hájilíj, from which, in the absence of the more esteemed leaves of the monkey-bread tree, to prepare the tasteless sauce used for their daily pudding. The hájilíj was the most predominant tree; besides it there was the tree called homaín by the Shúwa, which was at present leafless, but was covered with fruit about the size of an apricot, which, when ripe, is eaten by the natives. The tsáda also, with its cherry-like fruit, called by the Shúwa people ábú-déje, was frequent.

My young Shúwa companion here called my attention to the honey-bird (_cuculus indicator_), called by his countrymen “shnéter,” and said to be a metamorphosed old woman searching after her young son, and calling him by name, “Shnéter, Shnéter!” All over Africa this little bird has given rise to a variety of the most curious tales, from the Hottentot country to the Somaul, and from the Somaul to the Jolóf.

Having gone about five miles, we wanted to obtain a supply of water from a small hamlet of the name of Bagáwu, which we saw on one side of our track; but as soon as we approached the well, a decrepit old man rushed furiously out of his hut, as if we were about to steal his most valuable property, and ordered us away with the most threatening attitude. Such is the value of water in this dry region! We therefore continued our march, and could only account for the existence of this miserable village, by the extensive tract of cultivated ground which was spread about.

We then entered a thick forest or jungle, with tall reeds, and showing numerous footprints of the giraffe, an animal not at all frequent in the populous districts of Negroland. Further on, the path exhibited various signs of being a common thoroughfare for elephants. This animal further westward had not made itself remarkable, while its inveterate enemy the rhinoceros had already, close to the river, given sufficient proof of its presence.

At half-past eight o’clock in the morning we approached another village, of the name of Kólle-Kólle, which from a distance exhibited a most noble appearance, adorned as it was by two stately deléb-palms, here called káwe, and a group of most beautiful tamarind-trees; but as for water, this village was not much better provided than that from which we had just been driven, being dependent for this necessary element upon a sister village at little less than a mile distance. Nevertheless, the dry tract which lay before me obliged me to make a halt here, in order to procure a supply of water.

While we were quietly reclining in the shade of the tamarind-trees, a party of people arrived from a village which we had passed on our road, in order to obtain some medicines; and the way in which they acknowledged my trouble was so delicate and becoming, that I could not decline it, though in general I did not accept any remuneration for my cures. On taking leave they tied a fat sheep, which they had brought with them, to the branches of the tree under which we were reclining, merely informing my servants that it was a present for me.

Notwithstanding the great heat during the mid-day hours, I thought it prudent to pursue my journey without long delay; for all my informants agreed in representing the tract before us as an extensive wilderness, entirely destitute of water. There were, however, evident traces that during the rainy season this dry forest is occasionally changed into an extensive swamp, and frequented by herds of giraffes and other wild beasts. At first the forest was clear; but as we proceeded it became enlivened and interwoven by a profusion of creeping plants called “sellʿa” by the Arab inhabitants of this country, but “gheláf” in the dialect of the western Arabs. In many spots a peculiar kind of reed was seen, called “hál” by the Shúwa, who make from it writing-pens; and here and there fresh tufts of grass, called forth by the productive power of the rains, were springing up. It is this young succulent herbage which especially attracts the rhinoceros. Desolate as this wilderness was at present, there were evident signs that at times it becomes the scene of a considerable degree of human industry; and besides sesamum, even fields of indigo were seen.

After a march of about thirteen miles, we reached a hamlet which was evidently identical with the village Márga, with regard to which our informants had not been sure whether we should find inhabitants there or not. We entered it; but not a single human being was to be seen, it was lifeless, deserted, and half in ruins. Nevertheless there were some houses which evidently contained property, though, the doors not being sufficiently secured, its safety was left to the honesty of the passers- by.

Here the path divided, and it was apparent that, in order to prosecute my journey by way of Jógodé, we must pursue the northern one; but unluckily, while no recent traces were to be seen along this path, the southerly track seemed to be well-trodden, and my poor servants, who before had silently though sullenly followed me, broke out into the most mournful lamentations when they saw that I wanted to take the path which showed no signs of intercourse, saying that I was going to destroy their lives as well as my own in this desolate wilderness. At length, after having in vain remonstrated with them, telling them that they were frustrating my projects, I allowed myself to be overruled by their piteous supplications, although with a sad foreboding, and pursued the southerly track.

The sun was just setting when we reached another hamlet, consisting of large decent-looking huts, and filling us with almost confident hope that we might there find comfortable quarters; but we soon convinced ourselves that here also not a human being was left behind. Only a group of five antelopes (_oryx_), called here “tétel,” with their erect horns, were fearlessly standing at a little distance, and staring at us. It was the first time I had seen this handsome animal in a wild state, though I afterwards found it to be very frequent in this country, and even fell in with it along the komádugu of Bórnu.