June 23.—We proceeded on our return, and again pitched our tents on the banks of the Muggaby. In all the woods are flocks of wild animals, called by the Bornouese korookoo, and by the Arabs el buger-achmer, the red bullock: some of these were disturbed to-day, and one got into the midst of our horsemen; it has immense horns, and is something between the ox and the antelope. Spears were struck at him without number, but he effected his escape, carrying off several sticking in his flesh. The horses were exceedingly alarmed, and many of their riders measured their lengths on the sand. The two kafilas from Soudan passed us to-day, on their way to Kouka; they consisted of one hundred and fifty slaves, with about twenty merchants and their servants, and thirty camels. Most of the people ran to the outskirts of the camp to see them pass, it being the custom, on these occasions, to dress out these poor victims of the most cruel avarice that certainly ever entered into the breast of man, in rags of different colours, only to be taken from them again on the procession being over. The merchants, who gratify their vanity the most in this way, lose, it is said, fewer slaves; but I observed several of these before me, whose unbidden tears flowed down their cheeks as they drew their mantle close round them, seeming to wish by that means to stifle their misery with the appearance of it.
It was intended this evening to have killed an hippopotamus, an animal which exists in great numbers in the lake on the borders of which we were encamped, but a violent thunder-storm, to our great disappointment, prevented our witnessing so novel a species of sport. The flesh is considered a great delicacy. On the morrow we had a full opportunity of convincing ourselves that these uncouth and stupendous animals are very sensibly attracted by musical sounds, even though they should not be of the softest kind: as we passed along the borders of the lake Muggaby at sunrise, they followed the drums of the different chiefs the whole length of the water, sometimes approaching so close to the shore, that the water they spouted from their mouths reached the persons who were passing along the banks. I counted fifteen at one time sporting on the surface; and my servant Columbus shot one of them in the head, when he gave so loud a roar, as he buried himself in the lake, that all the others disappeared in an instant.
| From a Sketch by Major Denham. | Engraved by E. Finden. |
| ABDEL GASSAM. | A BORNOUESE. |
| A FELLATAH FROM TIMBOCTOO. | ON A JOURNEY. |
Published Feb. 1826, by John Murray, London.
We made a long march to Dummasak, when we halted until the afternoon of the next day. The army here dispersed, and the Shouaas and Kanemboo went off to their respective homes.
By daylight we began to move. The sheikh sent for us to ride near him, and, accompanied by nearly all the people who had remained behind, and who came out thus far to welcome the successful return of their prince, we arrived once more at the capital, amidst the shouts of the men, and the shrieks of the women, to take possession of our old habitations.
The kafila which came from Soudan during this expedition brought a young fighi from Timboctoo, the son of a Felatah chief of D’jennie, named Abdel Gassam ben Maleky. He was on his way to Hage, and had left Timboctoo, as is the custom, without any thing beyond the shirt on his back, the rags of which he exchanged on the road for a sheep’s skin, subsisting entirely on charity. He was a very fine and intelligent lad, of about sixteen, of a deep copper colour, but with features extremely handsome and expressive. He was five months from D’jennie, and greatly exhausted by fatigue and the want of nourishing food: his whole wardrobe was his sheep’s skin; and although the sheikh gave him a tobe, he said he almost thought it a sin to indulge in the luxury of putting it on. We were on the expedition to Munga when he arrived, and about the time of our evening meal, Abdel Gassam generally made his appearance at our tents: bad as the fare was, he found it preferable to the cold mess of flour and water he got elsewhere. He knew little or nothing of the road by which he had come to Kano, not even the names of the places he had halted at. Abdel Gassam said he could scarcely believe such good people as we were could be any thing but Moslem: but he had heard of Christians before; and when I asked how, and where, he gave the following account:—
“Many years ago, before I was born, white men, Christians, came from Sego to D’jennie, in a large boat, as big as two of our boats. The natives went out to them in their canoes; they would not have done them any harm, but the Christians were afraid, and fired at them with guns, and killed several in the canoes that went near their boat: they proceeded to Timboctoo, and there the sultan sent to them one of his chiefs, and they held a parley. The Christians complained that the people wanted to rob them. The sultan was kind to them, and gave them supplies. Notwithstanding this, they went off suddenly in the night, which vexed the sultan, as he would have sent people with them, if they had not been afraid of them a little: and he now sent boats after them, to warn them of their danger, as there were many rocks in the belly of the river, all pointed. However the Christians went on, and would not suffer the sultan’s people to come near them, and they all perished.” My informant never heard that any thing belonging to them was saved, but remembers himself seeing a man often with his father, who was in one of the canoes that followed them, and who had seen them strike against the rocks—indeed he brought the news to Timboctoo. Their appearance excited a great sensation amongst the people;—had frequently heard people talk about the Christians, and the large boat, for a whole day, at his father’s;—to this day they talk about them. They had guns fixed to the sides of the boat, a thing never seen before at Timboctoo, and they alarmed the people greatly.