I was at length, however, roused by his question of “Does the rais go with the ghrazzie?” “How can I,” said I, “when the sheikh objects to it?” “But will you go, or not?” said he. “Whether I do or do not accompany it, at present is uncertain,” replied I: “you will proceed with me as far as Angornou, and leave me at Abde Nibbee’s hut. I should have thought much better of the sheikh’s conduct if he had desired you to be my companion, and sent me on to join Boo-Khaloom.” “If the rais will tell me whether he is determined, at all events, to proceed with the ghrazzie or not, I will then tell him what the sheikh’s orders are to me,” added Maraymy. “No, no!” rejoined I, “you know me well enough to be satisfied that no service done, or information given, ever goes unrewarded.—Tell me, if you choose, your directions; I cannot make you acquainted with my determination.”
Maraymy held out no longer; and it was to me most gratifying to learn, that the sheikh desired him not on any account to leave me; that if he found I was obstinate in persisting to join the expedition, he was to conduct me to their camp as quick as possible, and give me in charge to Barca Gana, the sheikh’s black Mameluke, who commanded the whole, with every possible charge to take care of me. I was not long now in making Maraymy acquainted with my intentions. I was lavish in my praises of the sheikh, whom my companion thought nearer a god than any other mortal; and we entered Angornou while twilight still spread its grey tint around, planning our departure from thence, as soon as daylight should return.
April 16.—The whole of this day Angornou was filling fast with strangers, in consequence of the great fsug the day following—and it had the appearance of a bustling town of business. Abde Nibbe, at whose hut I passed the day, was a merchant we had known at Mourzuk, and here made good his professions of service, which had never before been put to the test. On a clean mat, placed in a shady corner of his hut, I slept away the heat of the day; and besides a supper of giddeed (meat dried in the sun) and rice, he regaled me with a very pleasant drink, composed of milk, red pepper, and honey. The evening was so sultry, that I determined on waiting until after midnight; and about an hour before sunrise we mounted our horses.
April 17.—Our course was south, near a number of gardens; but the only vegetable produced in them appeared to be onions. For many miles our road was over one continued plain, covered with wheat and gussub stubble; and a little before noon we arrived at Yeddie, twenty-one miles from Angornou, a considerable town, walled, and governed by a kaid. A hut was pointed out to us, after some altercation, where we were to pass the heat of the day. I, however, took my place in the skiffa or entrance, the coolest place I could find.
The kaid soon after paid me a visit, who it seemed was asleep when I arrived. He was extremely desirous that I should come to his habitation, and was greatly distressed at not having better provided for my convenience; moving was, however, quite out of the question. The heat was excessive; and I merely begged a little sweet milk, and that the crowd round the door, which I was obliged to keep open, might, if practicable, be in part dispersed; and I added, “They are all men—pray are there no women in your town?” The kaid, who evidently wished to make up for his former inattention, immediately answered, “Yes, yes! plenty; and they also would like to come and look at you, if you will give them leave.” This I was not disposed to refuse; and the kaid, sitting by me, and Maraymy keeping the door, so that not more than three or four came in at a time, I received upwards of one hundred of the softer sex. Some of them were beautiful unaffected children of nature. I had nothing to show them but a looking-glass, and probably nothing could have pleased them more. One insisted upon bringing her mother, another her sister, in order to see the face she loved best reflected by the side of her own, which appeared to give them exquisite pleasure; as on seeing the reflection they repeatedly kissed the object of their affection. One very young and intelligent girl asked if she might bring her child, and on gaining permission quickly returned with an infant in her arms: she absolutely screamed with joy; and the tears ran down her cheeks when she saw the child’s face in the glass, who shook its hand in token of pleasure on perceiving its own reflected image.
By four in the afternoon we were again on the road, and Maraymy had raised my spirits by saying, “that if they had not moved on, we should reach the camp of the Arabs, and the sheikh’s troops, soon after sunset.” Fortunately they had not moved; and after fourteen miles we made Merty, and to the west of the town we saw the tents of the Arabs. Maraymy now told me, “that the sheikh wished I should put myself under the protection of Barca Gana; that Boo-Khaloom’s responsibility ceased on arriving at Bornou; that he was now bound to provide for my safety, and that with his people he wished me to remain.” I should have been better pleased to have pitched my tent close to that of my tried friend, and amongst my old companions the Arabs; but as Maraymy assured me the sheikh would be highly displeased, I instantly gave up the idea.
Barca Gana received me with a great deal of civility in his tent, although he kept me several minutes waiting outside, until he had summoned his fighi, or charm-writer—an indispensable person—and one or two of his chiefs, to attend him. “If it was the will of God,” he said, “I should come to no harm, and that he would do all in his power for my convenience.” A spot was appointed for my tent near his own; and I took my leave in order to visit the Arabs. The cheers they all gave me, and the hearty shake of the hand of Boo-Khaloom, made me regret that I was not to be amongst them, in spite of all their bad qualities. Boo-Khaloom repeatedly exclaimed, “I knew you would come; I said you would by some means or other join us.” One of Barca Gana’s people now brought word that we should move on by daybreak. I retired to my tent after making Boo-Khaloom acquainted with the sheikh’s arrangements, first to write to Doctor Oudney of my proceedings, and then to sleep off my fatigue. Sleep, however, was my only refreshment: I was as it were between two stools; one of my friends did not think it necessary, and the other never intended, to send me any supper.
April 18.—Before sunrise the tents were struck, and we were all in motion. Barca Gana, who commanded the sheikh’s people, about two thousand strong, was a native of a town called Sankara, in Soudan, and had fallen into the sheikh’s hands about seventeen years before, when only nine years of age. The sheikh had always been extremely attached to him, and had raised him with his fortunes, to the rank he now held, as kaid, or governor, of Angala, part of Loggun, and all the towns on the Shary, besides making him kashella, or commander-in-chief of his troops: he was a powerful negro, of uncommon bravery, possessing a charm which he imagined rendered him invulnerable to either balls or arrows. He was keen, possessed great quickness of observation, and from being so long in the sheikh’s confidence, had acquired his manner, which was gentle, and particularly pleasing: added to this, he was a bigoted Musselman.
As I have before said, the morning of the 18th saw me riding by the side of Barca Gana, in full march for Mandara. Two hours before noon we made Alla, a town fourteen miles from Merty: here our tents were pitched until the afternoon, when we again moved, and after five hours’ march arrived at Deegoa, twenty miles from Alla. Deegoa is a large walled town, governed by a sultan subject to the sheikh, and may boast a population of thirty thousand. With the exception of the immediate neighbourhood of the town, the country has been less cleared of wood than the neighbourhood of Angornou, and consequently is less productive. There is a very large wadey, or water-course, full a quarter of a mile in breadth: to the south of Deegoa we found it perfectly dry; but a large canoe, which was laid up by the side, to be used by travellers proceeding to Mandara in the wet season.
We had here a violent thunder-storm, accompanied by heavy rain during the night, which made its way plentifully into my Egyptian tent. Before daylight on the 19th, we broke up our encampment, and passing the wadey, continued our course through a very close country; the road consisted of several narrow paths, passable only for one horse at a time, and these greatly obstructed by the branches of tulloh, and other prickly trees, which hang over them. We made Affagay, another very large and populous town, early in the day: this is also subject to the sheikh, and governed by a kaid. Affagay, with the towns around it, Sogama, Kindacha, Masseram, and Kingoa, may be said to possess upwards of twenty thousand inhabitants. To the westward of Kingoa are the ruins of a very large town called Dagwamba: the country for many miles round formerly bore that name, and was governed by a sultan. The people were then all Kerdies, and, being conquered by the former sultans of Bornou, became Musselmans. Previous to arriving at Deegoa, we came upon a nest of Shouaas of the tribe of Waled Salamat: this race extends to the east quite as far as the Tchad.