‘But the best way of travelling is to ride on a horse through country where there are no railways, and no roads, and where, accordingly, the people are rooted and untroubled in mind, and do as little work as they can. Such travelling, it is not to be questioned, makes the best books.’
In the hope that he is right—for, as I have said, he is a wise man—I send my little book forth, to take its chance. The last few chapters, I am aware, should belong to a separate volume, and they were never intended for publication in this form. But they are the outcome of actual experience, and not generalizing from hearsay. Most of them, indeed, were written originally in 1902, but they have been revised, corrected, and corrected again, as time showed me my mistakes and failures. In manuscript form they had been read by many of my friends who pronounced them ‘good,’ and it is by their request that these chapters are included here. It is to these friends that I offer my grateful thanks for the majority and the best of my illustrations. I also have to acknowledge the kindness of the Editors of Chambers Journal and the Pall Mall Gazette in permitting the reproduction of articles published by them at different times.
CONSTANCE LARYMORE.
Contents
| CHAP. | PAGE | |
| PART I | ||
| I. | Sierra Leone to Lokoja | [1] |
| II. | On Tour | [11] |
| III. | Bida and Egga | [25] |
| IV. | Keffi | [47] |
| V. | Trekking North | [61] |
| VI. | Kano | [73] |
| VII. | Katāgum and Hadeija, and back | [85] |
| VIII. | Kabba, Semolika and Patti Abaja | [111] |
| IX. | Borgu | [147] |
| X. | Bida | [185] |
| PART II | ||
| I. | The Home | [195] |
| II. | The Household | [205] |
| III. | Dogs, Poultry and Cows | [221] |
| IV. | The Garden | [239] |
| V. | The Stable | [257] |
| VI. | Camp Life | [271] |
| VII. | What to Wear | [291] |
List of Illustrations
| FACING PAGE | |
| Portrait of the Author | [Frontispiece] |
| The Preperanda | [8] |
| Polo at Lokoja | [8] |
| Kuka (Baobab) Trees | [14] |
| A Hausa Beauty | [14] |
| The Emir escorting us into Bida | [28] |
| Details of Gown Embroidery | [28] |
| A Typical Hausa Gown | [32] |
| Trouser Embroidery | [32] |
| A Camp on the River Bank | [40] |
| Roofing at Keffi | [40] |
| Native Drummers at Keffi | [54] |
| A Detachment of the N. N. Regt. | [54] |
| A Kano Street Scene | [76] |
| A Kano Mounted Messenger | [76] |
| A Kano Caravan Donkey Driver | [80] |
| Bringing in Fire-wood | [104] |
| A Kano Doorway | [104] |
| Mureji—A Caravan about to cross the Niger | [112] |
| A Steam Canoe on the Niger | [112] |
| The Emir’s Band, Bida | [124] |
| My ‘Palm’ Cat (Nandinia binotata) | [124] |
| ‘Fritz’ | [152] |
| Our Start from Bussa for Illo | [152] |
| Repairing the Bussa Residency | [170] |
| Balu (Serval cat) | [170] |
| The Steel Canoe in which we descended the Bussa rapids | [184] |
| The Tennis Court, Bida | [184] |
| The Great Salla | [ 190] |
| The Prostration | [ 190] |
| My Writing Table | [198] |
| The Residency, Bida | [198] |
| ‘Amelia,’ a young Giraffe brought home by the late Captain Phillips, D.S.O. | [210] |
| ‘Chuku,’ a Native dog, rescued during the Aro-Chuku Expedition | [210] |
| Our energetic D.S.C. training bullocks (Captain Burnside) | [236] |
| Giant Sunflowers at Bussa | [236] |
| Our Gardener at Play | [250] |
| ‘Jewel’ and ‘Brown Mouse’ | [250] |
| Mr. Lafone’s ‘White Mouse’ | [262] |
| Riding Astride—a locally made Skirt! | [262] |
| One of our Camps | [274] |
| The Mail-Cart, Bida | [274] |