Suddenly the spirit of our little troop was roused; some naked pagans were discovered in the bushes near the stream, and so long as it was uncertain whether or not they were accompanied by a greater number, my companions were in a state of fright; but as soon as it was ascertained that the black strangers were but few, they wanted to rush upon and capture them as slaves; but Íbrahíma, with a dignified air, cried out, “Imána, imána,” intimating that the tribe was paying tribute to his master the governor of Yóla; and whether it was true or not, certainly he did well to keep these vagabonds from preying upon other people while their own safety was in danger.
At a quarter past eleven o’clock we reached the outskirts of Kófa, a village, which had been ransacked and destroyed entirely by Kashélla ʿAli,—the very act which had given rise to the complaints on the side of the governor of Ádamáwa, who claimed the supremacy over this place. Several huts had been already built up again very neatly of bongo; for this had now become the general mode of architecture, giving proof of our advancing into the heart of the tropical climes. And as the dwellings were again rising, so the inhabitants were likewise returning to their hearths.
A most interesting and cheerful incident in these unfortunate and distracted lands, where the traveller has every day to observe domestic happiness trodden under foot, children torn from the breasts of their mothers, and wives from the embraces of their husbands, was here exhibited before us. Among the people recovered from slavery by Íbrahíma’s exertions was a young girl, a native of this village, who, as soon as she recognized the place from which she had been torn, began to run as if bewildered, making the circuit of all the huts. But the people were not all so fortunate as to see again those whom they had lost; there were many sorrowful countenances among those who inquired in vain for their sons or daughters. However, I was pleased to find that Bíllama was saluted in a friendly way by the few inhabitants of the place, proving, as I thought, that, when governor of this southernmost district of Bórnu, he had not behaved so cruelly.
The country hereabouts showed a far more advanced state of vegetation than that from whence we had come, the young succulent grass reaching to the height of a foot and a half, while the corn (dáwa, or holcus) in one field measured already thirty inches in height. The fresh meadow grounds were interspersed with flowers; and a beautiful specimen of the “kangel,” measuring eight inches in diameter, was brought to me by Bíllama, being the only specimen which I have ever observed of this peculiar flower. Mr. Vogel, however, told me afterwards that he had occasionally observed it in Mándará (Wándalá).
Having dismounted under a tamarind-tree for the hot hours of the day, Bíllama, with the assistance of my old Mʿallem, gave me a list of some of the larger places in the Marghí country. West-south-west from the Marghí live the Bábur or Bábir, scattered in small hamlets over a mountainous basaltic district, with the exception of their principal seat Biyú, which is called after the name, or probably rather the title, of their chief. This place is said to be as far from Kófa as Kúkawa is from the same place, and is reported to be of large size. The Bábur have in certain respects preserved their independence, while in others, like the Marghí, they have begun to yield to the overwhelming influence of their Mohammedan neighbours. But the Marghí claim superiority over their kinsmen in point of personal courage; for of their relationship there can be no doubt.
When the sun began to decline, we pursued our march, in order to reach Laháula, where we were to pass the night. The unsafe state of the country through which we were passing was well indicated by the circumstance that even the circumspect Íbrahíma mounted the poor mare given to him by Sheikh ʿOmár, which he had spared till now. He moreover exchanged his bow for a spear. A thick tempest was gathering on the Wándalá mountains, while our motley troop wound along the narrow path,—at times through forest or underwood, at others through fine cornfields; but the country afforded a wilder and more varied aspect after we had crossed a little watercourse,—rocks projecting on all sides, sandstone and granite being intermixed, while in front of us a little rocky ridge, thickly overgrown with trees and bushes, stretched out, and seemed to hem in our passage. Suddenly, however, a deep recess was seen opening in the ridge, and a village appeared, lying most picturesquely in the natural amphitheatre, thus formed by the rocks and trees protruding everywhere from among the granite blocks, and giving a pleasant variety to the whole picture.
This was Laháula; but we had some difficulty in getting into it, the entrance to the amphitheatre being closed by a strong stockade, which left only a very narrow passage along the cliffs on the eastern side, not nearly large enough for camels; and while our troop, pushing forward in vain, fell into great confusion, the storm came on, and the rain poured down upon us in torrents. Fortunately, the shower, although heavy, did not last long, and we succeeded at length in getting in, and soon reached the first huts of the village; but our reception was not propitious. The first person who came to meet us was a mother, roused by the hope of seeing her son return as a free man from Kúkawa, where he had been carried into slavery, and filling the whole village with her lamentations and curses of the Kanúri, when she heard that her beloved had not come back, and that she should never see him again. This of course made a bad impression upon the inhabitants, and while ʿAshi, their chief, a man who, after an unsuccessful struggle with my companion Bíllama, when governor of these districts, had submitted to the sheikh, received us with kindness and benevolence, his son, in whose recently and neatly built hut the old man wished to lodge me, raised a frightful alarm, and at length, snatching up his weapon, ran off with the wildest threats. I therefore thought it best not to make use of the hut unless forced by another storm, and notwithstanding the humidity, I took up my quarters under a shed before the hut, spreading my carpet and jirbíye—woollen blanket from Jirbi—over a coarse mat of reed, as unfortunately at that time I had no sort of couch with me. There was an object of very great interest in our courtyard. It was a large pole about nine feet high above the ground, with a small cross pole which sustained an earthen pot of middling size. This was a “sáfi,” a sort of fetish, a symbolic representation, as it seems, of their god “féte,” the sun. It was a pity that we were not placed in a more comfortable position, so as to be enabled to make further inquiries with regard to this subject.
ʿAshi was kind enough to send me a large bowl of honey-water, but I was the only one of the caravan who received the least proof of hospitality; and I made myself quite comfortable, though we thought it best to look well after our firearms. During the night we were alarmed by a great noise, proceeding from the frightful shrieks of a man; and, on inquiry, we found that he had been disturbed in his sleep by a hyæna catching hold of one of his legs. Íbrahíma informed us the next morning, that a very large party among the inhabitants had entertained the design of falling during the night upon our troop and plundering us; and that nothing but the earnest representations of ʿAshi had restrained them from carrying out their intention,—the old man showing them how imprudent it would be, by one and the same act to draw upon themselves the vengeance of their two overwhelming neighbours, the sheikh of Bórnu in the north, and the governor of Fúmbiná in the south. Altogether the night was not very tranquil; and a storm breaking out at some distance, I crept into the hut, but there was no rain, only thunder and lightning. All the huts here are provided with a serír, or diggel, made of branches, upon which a coarse mat of reeds is spread.
The village seems not to be very large, containing certainly not more than about five hundred single huts, but the situation is very advantageous, enabling the inhabitants in an instant to retire upon the natural fortress of blocks overhead. They possess scarcely a single cow, but seem to prepare a great deal of vegetable butter. At least large heaps of the chestnut-like kernels of the Bassia Parkii were lying about in the courtyards. They have also a great deal of excellent honey.
Tuesday, June 10.—Leaving our quarters early, and emerging from the rocky recess by the same opening through which we had entered it the preceding evening, we halted a short time in order that the whole caravan might form closely together, for we had now the most dangerous day’s march before us, where stragglers are generally slain or carried into slavery by lurking enemies. Our whole troop was not very numerous, consisting of five horsemen and about twenty-five armed men on foot, with three camels, six sumpter-oxen, and three asses, our strength consisting entirely in my four muskets and four pairs of pistols. It was a very fine morning, and after the last night’s storm the whole country teemed with freshness and life. Moreover, it was of a varied nature, the ground consisting, at times, of bare granite, with large blocks of quartz, at others covered with black vegetable soil, with ironstone here and there, and torn by numerous small periodical watercourses descending from the rocky chain on our right, and carrying the moisture of the whole region towards the river, which still flowed on the left of our track; while granite-blocks and small ridges projected everywhere, the whole clothed with forest more or less dense, and with a great variety of foliage. Having kept on through this kind of country for about two miles and a half, we reached the deserted “ngáufate,” or encampment of Bú-Bakr, a brother of Mohammed Láwl, the governor of Ádamáwa, who had last year made an expedition into these districts, and stationing his army on this spot, had overrun the country in all directions. The encampment consisted of small round huts made of branches and grass, such as the guro-caravan generally erects daily on its “zango” or halting-place. Here we began to quicken our pace, as we were now at the shortest distance from the seats of the Báza, a powerful and independent pagan tribe, with a language, or probably dialect, of their own, and peculiar customs, who live at the foot of the eastern mountain-chain, while we left on our right Kibák and some other Marghí villages. In order to lessen a little the fatigue of the march, my attentive companion Bíllama brought me a handful of “gaude,” a yellow fruit of the size of an apricot, with a very thick peel, and, instead of a rich pulp, five large kernels filling almost the whole interior, but covered with a thin pulp of a very agreeable taste, something like the gónda.