Narrative of a Mission to Central Africa Performed in the Years 1850-51 Volume Ii Part 22

_17th._--I took Epsom, and feel better.

The architectural ornaments of the palace of Gurai resemble those of the houses of Ghat. The walls are covered with little recesses, of various shapes; the moulding consists of a series of lozenges; the pillars by which the ceiling is supported are of immense thickness. In these large halls, on a level with the ground, there are always raised seats of earth, on which are spread carpets, and lion and leopard skins.

By the way, this country seems clear of animals. They are all either hunted down, or driven into thicker shades and forests.

All these provinces have their histories preserved traditionally. The father of the present Sultan of Gurai, named Ibrahim, was a most determined fellow. He slew no less than seven sultans appointed to take his place. The Sheikh, in the first instance, sent a large army to dispossess him. Before superior forces he retired to a mountain, where he was unattackable. The new Sultan was installed, and the troops of Bornou returned to Kuka. As soon as they were gone, Ibrahim descended the mountains with his slaves, and fell upon the new prince, butchering him and his people. Then he wrote to Kuka: "I am under G.o.d and you." The Sheikh, enraged at this conduct, sent another force against him, as before. Ibrahim once more retired to his stronghold, and after the Bornou forces had returned to Kuka, again descended from his mountain, and butchered the new prince as before. And this he repeated seven times, so that at last the Sheikh, seeing the impossibility of continuing the war with such a va.s.sal, allowed him to have quiet possession of the province of Minyo. His son Goso, now sultan, is also a very spirited fellow; but he is on good terms with the Sheikh, and observed to me, "What Kuka (the Sheikh) does, I do; as what Stamboul does, so does Tripoli." Goso, or Gausau, is certainly a very polite prince, and a very accomplished man. To him the Sultan of Zinder is a mere slave.

There is some news about the Sultan of Zinder. It appears that Sarkee Ibrahim feels himself weak, and unable to conduct the government of the province prosperously, i.e. "to go on razzia;" so he wrote for his brother to come and undertake the command of the slave-hunts. The brother spoke to the Sheikh, who said "Go." But the brother said, "No, I will not go, unless you will give me the province to govern." The Sheikh replied, "Your brother will give you some town." "No," was the answer; "I will not go unless you will give me the whole province." This is now the great news in Zinder and Gurai, and was carried to the former place by two hors.e.m.e.n, who galloped from Kuka to Zinder in six days.

I now write the names of the sultans of the province in Arabic, before them, with a black-lead pencil. This greatly astonishes them: first, that I am able to write their names and that of the countries which they govern; and secondly, with a black-lead pencil, which they call wood.

_Names of several sorts of Fish (Buni) in Bornou._

Yogari, a large flat fish, four or five feet long, and as many broad.

Kagwi, a fish like a cod or ling.

Haik, one foot and a half long, three or four inches broad.

Kamudee, one foot and a half long, thick as the lower arm, and quite black.

Karwa and Kagia, species of small plaice.

Labun, of the size of a locust.

Kadikadi, large thick eel.

The Sultan is very anxious about my personal history, and hearing that I had my wife in Tripoli, inquired if I intended to take another in this country.

I have had numberless visits all day long. The people display an intense curiosity to see the Christian, and would stop here for ever, gazing before my tent. Four sisters of the Sultan gave me a call. I taught them the use of pins, and pinned three of them together, which produced great merriment amongst the people. A Fellatah horse-dealer gave me two routes to-day; one from this (Gurai) to Sakkatou, and another from Sakkatou towards the west.[22]

[22] See Appendix.

A quarrel has sprung up between the Kashalla and Sad, Haj Bes.h.i.+r's slave, about the road we should take from this to Kuka. The north-eastern, or direct east, is the shortest, but there are three days without habitations: this is Sad's road. The south-eastern is the longer route, and is the Kashalla's, but there are people every day. The latter is probably the better route for me. It is decided that we leave the day after to-morrow.

This evening the Sultan sent me a camel, as a present. Not having experienced the difficulty of riding a horse, I had sold all my camels.

The gift camel is a very good one.

When the moon rises, about an hour after dark, the beating of the drums is heard, calling the people to a.s.semble for the dancing--young men and maidens. In ten minutes, some hundred people are collected. The dancing then commences in full and grand style. This evening I went out to see the performance, and found it the most animating I had yet seen in Africa. The young men and maidens separated into parties, the maidens near the drummers, and the young men at a distance of some twenty paces around them. A circle is then formed. The ladies here choose their own partners, instead of waiting to be chosen. A maiden skips up awkwardly to the drummer, then glides off to the side of the young men, and touches the gentleman with whom she wishes to dance, and returns. The young man does not immediately accept, for two or three minutes elapse after he has been touched ere he starts off to join the lady who has honoured him in the presence of a hundred admiring or jealous spectators. They join, turning first face to face, then back to back, then face to the drummers, in the most lively style. The young men are dressed in their tobes, and throw them up and round so as to produce a moving circle, as women might do with their petticoats; but not moving their bodies so much as their circling tobes: this is the grand grace of the dance. Then there are parties of men and women dancing together; but the men with men, and women with women. The women trip up awkwardly, but modestly, to where the men are placed, and then fall back; upon which the men pursue them violently, overtaking them before they get to their places, and throwing their tobes around them: but there is nothing indelicate in all this. On the contrary, the whole dance is quite a pattern of modesty to the Europeans, the Arabs, and the Moors,--to these latter especially, whose dance, as introduced here, is of the most lascivious and beastly description. This entertainment takes place every night; it is the great solace and delight of the people: they have no other amus.e.m.e.nt. They are all pa.s.sionately fond of the drum, which certainly makes a great noise, and stirs them up to exhibit their dancing powers.

The whole population have suddenly become sick, and all want Epsom salts: a camel-load would not suffice. One old fellow wants a medicine to enable him to get children. I tell him he is now old, and must be satisfied with the strength G.o.d has given him in his past life.

The Sultan has made presents to our people,--to the Kashalla, Yusuf, and others.

_18th._--I was so beset with people that I could not use my thermometer this morning. The weather is fresh, with the wind from the north-east. I am obliged to give tea as medicine: everybody now pretends to be sick, from the Sultan to the meanest slave.

In all these villages the people burn up the stubble in the evening, just outside the village, on the dung-heaps. They like to see the flame which whirls up from the dirty hay or straw; but, of course, they make their fire at some distance, to prevent its catching their huts. The mortar and pestle have disappeared: the people use here, for grinding their grain, two stones, as in some places on the north coast.

The insects are beginning their depredations upon me, biting me all over, and raising on my flesh small ulcers.

I have obtained from Nammadina, the Fellatah horse-dealer, a detailed account of the route to Yola, the capital of Adamaua, pa.s.sing through Bous.h.i.+.

The Moors represent the latter place to be like Mourzuk and Tripoli; but they say the greater part of the inhabitants of Adamaua are infidels or pagans. The rulers are, however, Fellatahs, and therefore Muslims.

Adamaua is a rocky country: a small quant.i.ty of grain is found here, with abundance of sheep, oxen, horses, goats, fish, samen, honey, and onions. The rivers of Adamaua have always some water in them.

In the territory of Bous.h.i.+ will be found the celebrated name of Yamyam, where the Moorish and Arab merchants place the residence of the Ben-Adam eaters, or cannibals. I was greatly amused to hear my Fellatah informant most strenuously deny this calumny on the African race; he a.s.serted that he had been in the country, and never had seen anything of this sort.

The Moors as boldly affirmed that such cannibals exist, although they were obliged to confess they never saw the people of Adamaua or Yakoba (name of the sultan) eat human flesh. The whole story of the Yamyam is of the remotest antiquity, and has come down to us with many embellishments; but, if once true of the people hereabouts, it can no longer be authenticated by present facts, for as I have said, the Moors themselves represent Bous.h.i.+ to be like Tripoli.

The people from Fezzan and Tripoli, the traders and all, complain of the liver complaint; most of them have been ten or fifteen years in this country, travelling through Bornou and Soudan. I gave them small doses of calomel. All people at this season, blacks and strangers from the north, are full of rheumatism, which they describe by saying they have pains in all their joints and all their limbs. The presence of a Christian having medicines heightens and multiplies these diseases; there is, however, in reality, a good deal of rheumatism, arising from the cold winds of the north-east.

This evening we had again our drummers and the dancers, as on every preceding night. The girls have a laughable game amongst themselves, the boys, however, sometimes joining--that of throwing one another up and forwards by the arm-pits; the girl thus thrown forwards is expected, if she play her part well, to light firmly on her feet. If not, she rolls about and over, and the accidents that then occur are probably considered a great part of the amus.e.m.e.nt.

_19th._--We were hurried off this morning early by the Kashalla, and I had no time to go and take leave of the Sultan. The weather is fresh. I mounted my gift camel; the second grand gift from the princes of Africa.

We made a long day, from morning till after dark, about ten hours, through an undulating country. Some of the hollows were very deep, and enclosed stagnant reedy pools, of generally bad water, remaining from the past rains. For the first three or four hours of this march we had a scattered forest of dwarfish trees, mostly dwarf tholukhs. These are succeeded by small forests of the doom-palms, lining the pools and swamps in the valleys, and looking very fresh and pretty. I was astonished to see so few animals; indeed, we only observed now and then a small bird. What was the more strange, no water-fowl was seen in the pools.

But the country to-day was all desert--no grain cultivating, which perhaps may account for the absence of birds and fowls. Sad prevailed over the Kashalla, and we have taken the desert route, being five days nearer. There are, besides, but few trees, comparatively, which makes it easier to transport the boat.

The Kashalla vexed me very much by taking my camel to transport a portion of baggage, his own camel knocking up. At first I refused to go on, but on the promise that he would get a bullock at the nearest place I mounted upon the luggage. Fortunately, my gift camel is a good one, not like the horse, and can carry a large weight. I cannot grumble much, as the Sheikh's camels are transporting many of my private things.

Nevertheless you must show a stern resistance to all these liberties, otherwise you will never be able to get through Africa.

No tent was pitched, but I made myself comfortable by drinking the remainder of a bottle of port wine, which I began yesterday. I felt a little queer, and fancied I had injured myself by drinking so much milk; so I took to a bottle of port wine, and finished it in three times. I have felt much better since. I could very well drink a bottle a-day, and believe I should be much stronger for it. However, such wine should be kept for convalescence after fever. I have still a bottle, and some Cyprus wine--very good wine.

_20th._--We started as soon as the day broke and the sun showed himself, and made five hours south-east over country the same as yesterday. But the forests of doom-palms were larger and thicker, and valleys also were more extensive. What is strange, no wild animals show themselves, not even in these sedgy, reedy swamps. I could only see scattered on the ground the feathers of the guinea-fowl. One or two black-and-white crows were noticed. Our people say that all the crows are of this colour in Bornou. In Ashen there are both species, the black, and the black-and-white. Our people also tell us, that on the other route, which the Kashalla wished to travel, there are numbers of elephants, and much water. Here is water enough in the rainy season for all such animals. We had still the tholukh, as well as the doom, and a tree like a large sea-sh.o.r.e plant cropped by the camels.

We saw no ghaseb cultivation, or any sort of grain, till we arrived at Gusumana, where we found wheat, cotton, and pepper in the gardens. The village of Gusumana is situated on a hill, overlooking a steep broad valley, full of the doom-palm. This village has therefore its houses constructed partly with the branches and trunks of this tree, which serve very well. I am housed in a most comfortable little hut made of this material, and nicely thatched; the door is composed of some thin strips of the leaves of the palm, which, as you enter, give way, and then return to their place, just as would a curtain. In this way the air always plays freely into the hut, murmuring sometimes between these fragments of leaves.

I have felt much less fatigue since I mounted the camel, although I have made the longest day upon it that has been made since we left Zinder. I recommend to all travellers the camel in the desert, or in Soudan. I believe the ill-health of the former expedition was much increased by always riding horses. Thank G.o.d, my strength still keeps up.

Taking Gusumana as a centre, we have around it several towns and villages. Thisi, one hour west; Gajemmi, one long day north-west; Parum, one hour east-south-east; Kadellebua, two hours south-west; Garua, one hour east; Gogora, two hours east; and, finally, in our road, Kanggarua, two days south-east. The town of Gajemmi is inhabited by the tribe of Duggera; but the Kad of this village pretends they are not Tuaricks. He means, probably, not the same as the Tuaricks of Ashen. It is quite clear that these Daggera inhabit all the northern line of Bornou, from Zinder to Kuka; skirting, in fact, all the left of our route. They join the Damerghou territory, and thus extend from that province west to Kanem, and the route of Bornou east. The Tuaricks are ever located on the confines of the desert. Here they roam free, and rob and plunder where they have opportunity, or when the princes of Bornou and Soudan cannot check them.

Our people gnaw the doom fruit, but it is just like gnawing the bark of a tree, slightly flavoured with some aroma. They begin to eat them from childhood, and so keep on, as the gour-nuts are chewed by children; and so the taste is sucked in with their mother's milk. The gour-nut, however, is something, whilst the doom fruit is mere wood. The tree, nevertheless, is green, and in waving forests delightfully relieves this hot, burning, African landscape.

The portion of the caravan consisting of bullocks is always much later than the rest; to-day they were four hours after us. I consider that the hours we now go are at least two and a-half or three English miles in length, as we advance at a speed quite equal to a horse walking at a good pace; nay, I might say, some hours we make three and a-half English miles.

The following are the names of the brothers of the Sultan of Sakkatou, obtained from my Fellatah informant of Gurai. A difference of p.r.o.nunciation will be observed in the Arab names, as they are transmitted through the Fellatah language. Aliu (for Ali), name of the Sultan himself and one of his brothers; Mallaidi; Amadu (Ahmed), Omeru (Omer, two of this name), Mahammedu (Mahammed), Mogari; Amadu Bedai; Alhattu; Moho; Isa (two of this name); Amadu el-Fai; Musa; Abd-el-Kaderi, and Abd-el-Walli. These are the names of all the brothers which he has heard. The first minister is called Galladima. The Kadi is El-Hali el-Haj; Inna is the generalissimo; Mohammed Wuddeggen, Muddebri Ali, Bu Beker, Manuri, and Gudundi, are names of other grandees and generals. The horse-dealer speaks of them with great familiarity, for he sells to them all. His own country is called Kabi, situated to the south-west of Sakkatou. He gave me the particulars of the route.[23]

[23] See Appendix.

_21st._--This morning the weather was cool, the thermometer standing at 56, with a fresh wind. We had a visit early from the Kadi. I asked him why he did not plant date-trees in the fine valley under the village. He replied, "From whence shall I procure them?" I answered, "From Tungari (a place west, three days distant)." At this he looked very stupid.

These Minyo negroes have no idea of improving their condition. His reply may serve for all the country hereabouts.

Minyo and its large province is called by its aboriginal names Manga. It extends south-east to a river, on the other side of which begins Bornou Proper. But the people of Manga speak the same language as the Bornouese. Zinder belongs to the circle of Soudan, and its province is called Damagram.

Mohammed, my interpreter, pretends he saw elephants to-day at a considerable distance, looking like black trees. Probably to-morrow we may fall in with some animals worth seeing. I observed two or three swallows, the first this year. We stop here to-day to rest. The animals are knocked up, and the Kashalla has lost a horse.

It is from this Manga province that many of the villages of Damerghou are populated. Formerly the Tuaricks of that province made razzias on these out-lying provinces, with the produce of which they increased the number of their subjects.

An European must needs show off in this country. Yesterday I was obliged to exhibit to all the village,--about a hundred people,--and to-day to as many more. It is very fortunate if you are not detestably ugly, and can pa.s.s muster; for if you are, you will have all sorts of faces made at you; and, besides, you will be considered to represent a whole people as an ugly race. I walked round the village. There may be two hundred huts, and about six hundred inhabitants. The sun burns at four P.M. most fiercely. I begin to be afraid of it; but the days are uncertain, and sometimes the weather is quite chilly.