May 28.—Dr. Oudney and myself mounted our horses this morning, and followed the course of the river to the eastward, nearly three miles: there being no pathway, we were obliged to break through the high grass, trees, and thickly scattered bamboo, which made it a fatiguing excursion, and after all, we could only now and then get a sight of the water by following the track of the elephants and other animals, whose ponderous bodies beat down every thing before them. Our negro, Omar Gana, was alarmed, and would willingly have turned back more than once; we, however, urged him on, and at length came to an open, dry shoal of sand, the bed of the river extending more than two hundred yards; here was the fresh impression of the foot of a very large lion, and we found that the stream was here again called the Yeou. To Omar Gana’s great satisfaction, we now returned by a more direct path through the wood to our tents: these wilds, from their not leading to any high road or inhabited spot, are perhaps never visited, the whole country having been abandoned ever since the Felatahs commenced their inroads. Wild animals of all descriptions here abound therefore in greater numbers than in any other part of the kingdom of Bornou: several parcels of wood tied up with oziers, and large trees stripped of their bark and afterwards deserted, showed how the wood-cutter had been disturbed at his work by the ferocious inhabitants; and some whitened bones, and the remains of a hatchet in one place, made us shudder and conclude, that some one still less fortunate had here met a miserable death. Straggling bands of Tuaricks also sometimes scour the country about the banks of the river, and carry off whatever suits their purpose.
On our return to the tents, we found that our situation was by no means so comfortable as we could have wished. Kabshary, to which place we intended proceeding, and there awaiting the arrival of the sheikh, had been attacked and partly burnt by the Munga people since our leaving Kouka, and deserted by the inhabitants; and while we were debating on what steps we should take in consequence of this intelligence, two Kanemboo spearmen came to us in great consternation, with news that the Munga horse had been reconnoitring all around us, had even visited the part of the river we had been exploring in the morning, and after murdering several Kanemboos, who were proceeding to join the sheikh, had carried off the bullocks and whatever they had with them. The sheikh’s delay in coming up had made them bold, and their approach had caused all the Shouaas we had left at Muggaby to beat a retreat; we were therefore left quite alone, and, as it seemed, might expect every minute to be surrounded, taken prisoners, and with an iron round our necks, with which slaves are coupled like greyhounds in slips, marched off to Munga. Omar Gana was greatly alarmed, and dressing himself in his steel jacket, with red giboon (waistcoat) over it, and black turban, calmed our fears but little, by leaving us for a full hour to see if the Shouaas had really left Muggaby; notwithstanding he at the same time assured us, that the sight of his red jacket would frighten a hundred Mungowy. On his return, which we looked for with much anxiety, we found the alarming reports in part confirmed; no Shouaas were near the lake, and he was quite sure the enemy had been there. He proposed going to Kabshary, along the banks of the river to the west; but acknowledged that the sheikh was not there, and that the people had moved off towards Angornou: we considered this bad advice, and determined on returning at least to the Kouka road; that was, however, no easy task; and after some consideration it was determined that we were to keep close to the bank of the river, and creep through the woods as well as we could, avoiding all beaten paths. We moved at three in the afternoon, and crossed about two miles distant to the north bank of the river, our road being extremely intricate, and overgrown with trees and underwood.
Just before sunset we came upon a herd of elephants, fourteen or fifteen in number; these the negroes made to dance and frisk like so many goats, by beating violently a brass basin with a stick; and as night now began to cast over us its gloomy veil, we determined on fixing ourselves until morning in a small open space, where a large tree, destroyed by the attacks of the white ant, had fallen, and afforded us fire-wood to prepare our supper: to seek it at any distance would have been dangerous at that time in the evening, on account of the lions, and the little grass which was gathered for our horses was furnished by the space within sight of our tents. Our animals were brought as close to us as possible, and we kept up fires the greater part of the night; a few roaring salutations, and those principally from the elephant and jackal, were the only disturbance that we met with.
We proceeded on our course on the following day, winding with the river; in several places we had the bank clear of trees and covered with verdure for some hundreds of yards, and the stream nearly as broad as the Thames at Richmond. Towards noon the wood became much thicker, no pathway was to be discovered, and our guide declared, that where we were he had not the least idea. A little further on, we came to a complete stoppage; brambles were wound round the before thickly-clustered branches of tulloh and prickly acacias; and on removing, with great difficulty, some of those, we found the treacherous grass underneath merely covering blaquas, large, deep, and well staked, capable of receiving and destroying a Tuarick with his maherhy. In endeavouring to find a passage at a short distance, Dr. Oudney was very nearly precipitated, horse and all, into one of these graves for the quick. We were absolutely afraid to move; and Omar Gana, who declared these fortifications indicated our being near to some town, which was thus prepared against the Mungowy, desired me to fire a gun, in order to bring some of the inhabitants to serve as our guide: accordingly two sturdy negroes came to our assistance, who, after eying us through the trees and ascertaining who we were, conducted us to the village, which, although at no great distance, would have foiled all our efforts to discover: the avenues were completely barricadoed on every side, the paths cut up, and these blaquas so scattered in all directions, that even with a guide, and going one by one, it was with the greatest difficulty we avoided them.
Arrived at the village, which was called Wallad, of so miserable a description that it could not even furnish a jar of milk, notwithstanding we produced both needles and beads,—a new difficulty arose; for although the camels were sought after and brought in safe by the people, yet my servant Columbus, who was behind on a mule, did not make his appearance: we were in considerable anxiety, both on account of the wild beasts and these pits, which were almost equally frightful. Our alarm was a good deal increased when, after having sent people in every direction, giving them pistols, and desiring them to fire signals, and not return without him, the people of the village came running to the jujube tree under which we were resting, to tell us that Columbus and the mule had fallen into one of these blaquas, and that they believed the mule was dead. We hastened to the spot, and found the poor mule indeed very near it: she was sticking on four stakes, one in her flank, and two in her hind quarter, with her knees dreadfully torn by struggling. Had she been a larger and heavier animal, nothing could have saved her: the man had, by a violent exertion, thrown himself out, how he knew not, almost as soon as he fell in, and had escaped with his leg only bruised. He said he had lost his way hours before, and had climbed to the top of several tamarind-trees, in order to discover traces of our route, without success: once he thought he heard a gun, but having only two charges of powder with him, he kept them as a defence against the wild animals at night, and was afraid to answer the signal.
After all our difficulties, it was some comfort at length to find that the sheikh was within only a few hours’ march of us, on the south side of the river; and in the evening we determined on joining him. Again, therefore, crossing the Yeou at a dry spot, we came to the outskirts of the Bornou camp, on the banks of a large water called Dummasak, about five miles distant from the ford: at the river we again saw the footmarks of a very large lion, and also those of a hippopotamus. It was after sunset when we arrived, and passing through numerous groups of the Kanemboo spearmen, who were lying about without any tents or covering, we came to the open space where the sheikh’s tent and the huts of his principal people were fixed. On learning that we had arrived, he desired our tents might be placed near Mady Gana, the manager of his household, who brought us his congratulations, and at the same time a very good supper of Guinea fowl, and a kind of paste, made of wheat flour, called ftat, which is considered a great delicacy. Our joy can with difficulty be imagined at learning here the arrival of a package from England, by a kafila of merchants from Fezzan. The pleasure of hearing of our country and friends, the greatest enjoyment our situation allowed us, we had been for a length of time deprived of; and this, added to our being entirely destitute of provisions of every kind, determined us to return to Kouka on the following morning. This our decision we desired might be made known to the sheikh, but, from some cause or other, the information was not communicated to him; and, to our great surprise, by daylight he moved off, and we found ourselves again alone without a guide, and without even knowing what the sheikh’s wishes were with respect to our proceedings. This was a fresh dilemma; and upon the whole we were worse off than the day before, for the sheikh’s negro was always a protection, and we were now at the tail of an undisciplined army, at least demi-savage, without any knowledge of the road. After three hours’ deliberation, and no intelligence arriving from the sheikh, we decided on making our way to Kouka alone; and having picked up a straggler, who assured us he knew the country, and left our wounded mule in the care of some people in the neighbouring village of huts, we loaded our fire-arms afresh, and commenced our route. We had proceeded, however, but a few hundred yards on our road, when Omar Gana, mounted on a miserable horse and in great distress, came up to us, entreating that we would follow the sheikh as quickly as possible; that on inquiring of him where we were, and finding that he had quitted us, he, the sheikh, had been in a violent passion; had struck him from his horse, which he desired might be taken from him; had directed him to return and bring us up to the army without delay.
We had now nothing to do but to obey; and, therefore, turning round our camels, after a four hours’ march in the heat of the day, we arrived a second time at the lake Muggaby, which we had left only three days before. Some spots on the road were extremely picturesque, by nature; and this beauty of the scene was increased by the groups of naked warriors, with their shields, resting in different places on the borders of the lake; while hundreds of others were in the water, spearing the fish, which they struck, and brought to shore with very surprising dexterity: some of the fish were as large as good-sized salmon, but shaped like a bream. Fires were lighted by their companions on the shore, and rows of from fifty to one hundred were staked, or strung on a line made of grass, extended from two sticks, and most excellently and expeditiously roasted.
Muggaby, with its still dark-blue surface, had, at the time we came on it, an appearance highly interesting: the margin, and the shallow waters, were crowded with horses feeding, and men bathing. In the centre, the hippopotami were constantly throwing up their black muzzles, spouting with water; and the wood, which at the south-west end had caught fire, and blazed to the very clouds, gave a glare to all around which made the scene almost terrific.
We now commenced our march with the Bornou army, in which but little order is preserved previous to coming near the enemy: every one appears to know, that at a certain point the assembly is to take place; and the general instructions seem to be to every one to make the best of his own way. The sheikh takes the lead, and close after him comes the sultan of Bornou, who always attends him on these occasions, although he never fights. The former is preceded by five flags, two green, two striped, and one red, with extracts from the Koran written on them in letters of gold, and attended by about a hundred of his chiefs and favourite slaves. A negro, high in confidence, rides close behind him, bearing his shield jacket of mail, and wearing his skull-cap of steel; he also bears his arms. Another, mounted on a swift maherhy, and fantastically dressed with a straw hat and ostrich feathers, carries his timbrel or drum, which it is the greatest misfortune and disgrace to lose in action. On the expedition which cost the sultan Denhamah, the late sultan of Bornou, his life, the timbrel and the sheikh were supposed to have fallen in a sudden rush of Begharmis; almost every one near him suffered. The people, however, firmly believe that he was saved by a miracle; they say, “he became invisible; that the Begharmi chiefs scoured the field, calling out for the sheikh; that his drum sounded at intervals, but could not be seen, any more than their leader.” Close in the rear of the maherhies follow the eunuchs and the harem; the sheikh takes but three wives, who are mounted, astride, on small trained horses, each led by a boy-slave, or eunuch,—their heads and figures completely enveloped in brown silk bornouses, and a eunuch riding by the side of each.
