We still pursued the Old Birnee road: we saw several of the large red and white antelopes, called by the Arabs mohur. We encamped on the margin of one of the lakes, formed by the overflowing of the Yow; the river was only about a quarter of a mile distant from us, to the north. It had now fallen fully six feet, and its current might be about three miles an hour.
Dec. 18.—We travelled along the banks of a chain of small lakes formed by the Yow, once, perhaps, its original channel. I observed, by the roadside, the tracks of various wild animals,—among others of the hippopotamus and lion. We passed one of the country fairs, held on a small hill, near the ruins of a large town which had been destroyed by the Felatahs. We halted at Damasak, near an encampment of the sheikh’s cowherds; who, on hearing that we were in the kafila, brought us an abundant supply of milk.
Dec. 19.—As the low grounds from Damasak to Mugabee, about ten miles distant, were inundated, we were obliged to make a long circuit by an upper road, frequently wading across hollows filled with water. At noon we had to halt on the banks of one of those temporary rivers which are formed during the wet season: it still contained a considerable body of water, which was running at the rate of about two miles an hour. We met here several kafilas of loaded bullocks, on their way from Gubsharee and Soudan. The people were busily floating their goods over the river on rafts, made of bundles of reeds; but there being too few in number to transport our baggage, it was necessary to make new rafts for ourselves. We therefore pitched our tents; and one man was sent by each of the Arab merchants to cut long reeds, which are readily made into rafts, by lashing bundles of them across two long poles.
I proceeded two or three miles up the banks of the river, which last summer did not contain a drop of water. The lower road certainly exhibited the appearance of being overflowed during the rains; but nobody, from merely seeing it in that state, could suppose that for nearly one half of the year it is a broad sheet of water, or that the upper road itself is traversed, for the same period, by several large streams falling into the Yow. The ferry-dues, paid to the people who swim over with the rafts, are a rotal for every camel load of goods: the rotal is now merely nominal, and represents a pound of copper, eight or ten of which are equivalent to a Spanish dollar. The bullocks, horses, and camels, are made to swim over, together with the negro slaves.
Dec. 20.—Hitherto the atmosphere had been clear and serene, but to-day it became hazy, and was particularly cold about day-break. Hadje Ali, the invalid alluded to, having a very large raft, we ferried over our baggage upon it without the smallest accident, by means of a rope fastened to each end. It was far otherwise with the Arabs a little lower down the river; there was nothing but hubbub and bustle among them: many, through ignorance or obstinacy, had their goods much damaged. The greatest difficulty was with the camels and female slaves; the women screamed and squalled with great vehemence; several of the men seemed almost in as great a panic as the ladies, especially those of Fezzan, none of whom could swim; and some of them jumped off the raft into the water three or four times, before they could muster courage to cross. The camels occasioned a great deal of trouble, one man having to swim before with the halter in his teeth, while another kept beating the animal behind with a stick, which every now and then attempted to turn back, or bobbed its head under water. Before all had crossed, it was too late to continue our journey that day; we therefore encamped on the west bank for the night.
Dec. 21.—We still travelled along the upper grounds, on account of the extent of the inundation. Yet the earth itself was so dry, that we were put in some slight danger by a kafila, near Old Birnee, carelessly setting the grass on fire in the course of the night: the fire advanced rapidly, like a sea of flame, and must have put us all to flight had we not had the good fortune to obtain shelter within the ruined walls of the city, which checked a little the progress of the conflagration. We did not halt, however, but continued our route to a town called Bera, on the banks of a beautiful lake, likewise formed by the overflowing of the Yow. Immediately there was quite a fair in our camp, the townswomen coming with gussule or Guinea corn, bean straw, cashew nuts, and milk; which they offered in exchange for glass beads and gubga, or native cloth. The beads in greatest request are pretty large, of a chocolate colour, with a small spiral white ring round the middle, and are called by the natives conteembalee, or Muckni; the latter appellation is derived from a sultan of Fezzan of that name, who was originally a merchant, and first brought these beads into fashion. A single bead exchanged for a quart of Guinea corn. The gubga is narrow cotton cloth, of native manufacture, about a palm in width; forty fathoms of which are usually valued at a dollar. The value of commodities in barter seems to be maintained with a certain stability, somewhat like the money rate of exchange in Europe, by fixing a local standard price for those articles in greatest demand, in lieu of the fictitious par of exchange, which, with us, powerfully influences and indirectly regulates all money transactions.
Dec. 22.—We crossed over a neck of land formed by a bend of the river to a town called Dugamoo, where we halted. The banks of the river are every where studded with towns and villages.
Dec. 23.—The morning was cold. Dr. Oudney had been very unwell during the night, and felt himself extremely weak. At eight o’clock we left Dugamoo, and, following a winding path, nearly due west, we reached Deltago, having passed a number of towns and villages, one of which, called Kukabonee, was of considerable size, and contained perhaps 5000 or 6000 inhabitants. The country to the west of Old Birnee rises in gentle undulations of hill and dale. There are very few trees, except on the banks of the Yow. The soil is chiefly a red clay. The inhabitants raise great quantities of Guinea corn, and beans something like calavances. We had a very plentiful market. The people here preferred coral, and the beads called conteembalee, in exchange for grain, &c. to native cloth. Gunpowder was much sought after as a medicine. To-day we gave a sheep as a boozafer or gift, by way of footing, which all pay who travel this way for the first time; a practice akin to our usage on doubling capes, or crossing the tropics and line. Cotton seed bruised is very much used for feeding sheep, bullocks, asses, and camels. These animals soon become extremely fond of it: it is an excellent food for fattening them. In the evening gussule was sent for our horses and camels, as had been done in the other towns: we passed as soon as the people learned we were the friends of the sheikh.
Dec. 24.—Dr. Oudney felt himself much better. We halted to-day, on account of one of the merchants’ camels falling lame; the owner was obliged to send to Dugamor to buy another. The kafila kept a grand boozafer day, and all merchant new-comers paid a dollar apiece, or gave its value in goods.—Time is to these people of no importance: whatever accidental occurrence takes place to detain them, they bear the delay with perfect indifference.
Dec. 25.—The weather clear and cool. We left Deltago, and, winding along the banks of the river, or occasionally cutting off a bend by a cross path, we reached Bedeekarfee. There is more wood here than we had yet seen, and the soil is still a strong red clay. Villages and towns are numerous; the inhabitants principally belong to the Alluanee tribe of Shouah Arabs. The town of Bedeekarfee is large and populous. The governor, commonly called in this and other African towns Sultan, although holding a subordinate command, had seen us when we were on the expedition to Munga with the sheikh of Bornou. On our arrival he came out to meet us, and gave us a very cordial reception. He was an elderly man, much afflicted with a urinary disorder, for which he consulted Dr. Oudney. His dwelling, large, extremely clean, and constructed after the manner of the country, consisted of a spacious quadrangular enclosure, surrounded with mats fixed to high poles, within which were several small round huts, also of matting, with thatched conical roofs, each surmounted by an ostrich egg. In outward appearance, these huts somewhat resemble our bee-hives. Their walls are frequently made of clay. The ostrich egg is a distinctive mark of the occupant being a man of rank. The floor inside is covered with sand; and the only furniture is a bench to supply the place of a bedstead, and a few mats for squatting upon, besides some carved or coloured gourds and wide-mouthed earthen jars, piled above one another, and intended to combine ornament with utility. There is but one opening or door-way, which is round at the top, and closed by a wicket. The door always faces to the west, on account of the prevailing rains coming from the opposite quarter. The grand entrance of the enclosure is often a hut erected at the western side of the square, with an open thoroughfare, where a black slave officiates as porter. Each separate hut is called a coozee.