At half-past nine, when the forest was tolerably clear, we obtained a view of a saddle-mount at some distance on our right, on the other side of which, as I was informed, the village Womde is situated: further westward lies Úgu, and, at a still greater distance, Gáya. Meanwhile we pushed on with such haste—the old Mʿallem and Bú-Sʿad, on horseback, driving my two weak camels before them as fast as they could—that the line of our troop became entirely broken; the fatáki, or tugúrchi, with their pack-oxen, and several of the dangarúnfu—namely the little tradesmen who carry their small parcels of merchandise on the head—remaining a great distance behind; but although I wished several times to halt, I could not persuade my companions to do so; and all that I was able to do for the safety of the poor people who had trusted themselves to my protection, was to send Bíllama to the rear with orders to bring up the stragglers. I shall never forget the euphonious words of the old Mʿallem with which he, though usually so humane, parried my entreaties to give the people time to come up; mixing Háusa with Kanúri, he kept exclaiming, “Awennan karága babu dádi” (“This is by no means a pleasant forest”), while he continued beating my poor camels with his large shield of antelope’s hide. At length, having entered a very dense thicket, where there was a pond of water, we halted for a quarter of an hour, when Bíllama came up with the rear, bringing me, at the same time, a splendid little gónda-fruit, which he knew I was particularly fond of.
Continuing then our march with our wonted expedition, we reached a little before one o’clock cultivated fields, where the slaves—“field hands,” as an American would say—of the people of Úba were just resting from their labour in the shade of the trees. As the slaves of Mohammedans, they all wore the leathern apron. Here we began to ascend, having a small rocky eminence on our right, and a more considerable one on our left, while in the distance, to the west, various mountain groups became visible. This line of elevation might seem to form the water partition between the basin of the Tsád and that of the Great River of Western Africa, but I am not sure of it, as I did not become distinctly aware of the relation of the rivulet of Múbi to that of Báza.
Be this as it may, this point of the route probably attains an elevation of about two thousand feet, supposing that we had ascended about eight hundred feet from Ujé, the elevation of which is twelve hundred feet above the level of the sea. Having then crossed, with some difficulty, on the part of the camels, a rugged defile, enclosed by large granite blocks, we began to descend considerably, while Mohámmedu drew my attention to the tree called “bijáge” in Fulfúlde, which grows between the granite blocks, and from which the people of Fúmbiná prepare the poison for their arrows. However I was not near enough to give even the most general account of it; it seemed to be a bush of from ten to twelve feet in height, with tolerably large leaves of an olive colour.
Emerging from this rocky passage, we began gradually to overlook the large valley stretching out to the foot of the opposite mountain chain, which seemed from this place to be uninterrupted. Its general elevation appeared to be about eight hundred feet above the bottom of the valley. We then again entered upon cultivated ground, and turning round the spur of the rocky chain on our right, on the top of which we observed the huts of the pagans, we reached the wall of Úba at two o’clock in the afternoon.
The eastern quarter of this town, the northernmost Púllo settlement in Ádamáwa on this side, consisting of a few huts scattered over a wide space, has quite the character of a new and cheerless colony in Algeria; the earthen wall is low, and strengthened with a light double fence of thorn bushes. The western quarter, however, is more thickly and comfortably inhabited; and each cluster of huts, which all consist of bongo, or rather búkka bongo, “jwarubokáru,” is surrounded with a little corn-field. It was pleasant to observe how the fences of mats, surrounding the yards, had been strengthened and enlivened by young living trees of a graceful slender appearance, instead of dull stalks, giving to the whole a much more cheerful character than is generally the case with the villages in other parts of Negroland, particularly in Bórnu proper, and promising in a short time to afford some cool shade, which is rather wanting in the place.
Passing the mosque, the “judírde,” a spacious quadrangular building, consisting entirely of halls built of mats and stalks, which must be delightfully cool in the dry season, but extremely damp during the rains, and including a large open space, we reached the lamórde (the house of the governor, or lámido); it lies on one side of a small square, or “belbel.” Bíllama and Bú-Sʿad having here fired a couple of rounds, we were soon shown into our quarters. These were of rather an indifferent description, but lying at the northern border of the inhabited quarter, and not far from the foot of the rocky ridge, they had the advantage of allowing us freedom of movement.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
ÁDAMÁWA.—MOHAMMEDAN SETTLEMENTS IN THE HEART OF CENTRAL AFRICA.
We had now reached the border of Ádamáwa, the country after which I had been panting so long, and of which I had heard so many interesting accounts, a Mohammedan kingdom engrafted upon a mixed stock of pagan tribes,—the conquest of the valorous and fanatic Púllo chieftain, Ádama, over the great pagan kingdom of Fúmbiná.
I was musing over the fate of the native races of this country, when the governor, with a numerous suite, came to pay me a visit. Neither he nor any of his companions were dressed with any degree of elegance, or even cleanliness. I had endeavoured in vain to obtain information from my companions as to the period when the Fúlbe had begun to emigrate into this country; but they were unable to give me any other answer, than that they had been settled in the country from very ancient times, and that not only the fathers but even the grandfathers of the present generation had inhabited the same region as cattle-breeders, “berroróji.” Neither the governor nor any of his people were able to give me more precise information, so that I was obliged to set my hopes upon the capital, where I was more likely to find a man versed in the history of his tribe. I then communicated to my visitor my wish to ascend the ridge, which overlooks the place, and on the top of which, according to Mohámmedu, a spring bubbled up between the rocks. The governor advised me to defer the excursion till the morrow, but as the weather was fine at the time, and as at this season it was very doubtful whether it would be so the next morning, I expressed a wish to obtain at once a view at least over the opposite mountain-chain. He then told me that I might do as I liked, and followed me with his whole suite. The ridge, on this side at least, consisted entirely of enormous blocks of granite heaped one upon the other in wild confusion, and making the ascent extremely difficult, nay, impossible, without ropes, so that, with the utmost trouble, we reached the height of a little more than a hundred feet, which gave me, however, an advantageous position for obtaining a view over the broad valley and the mountain range beyond, of which, on my return journey, I made a sketch, which is represented in [the woodcut on page 429].