Some of the governor’s people, however, were very agile in climbing these blocks, and they need to be so if they wish to subject the native inhabitants, who, when pursued, retire to these natural strongholds, which are scattered over nearly the whole of this country.
We had scarcely returned to our quarters, when a storm broke out, but it was not accompanied with a great quantity of rain. Our cheer was indifferent; and we passed our evening in rather a dull manner.
Wednesday, June 11.—Seeing that the weather was gloomy, and being afraid of the fatigue connected with the ascent of the ridge even along a more easy path, as I was well aware how much my constitution had been weakened, I preferred going on, and gave orders for starting. On leaving the western gate of the town, which is formed of very large trunks of trees, we entered on a tract of cornfields in a very promising condition, while at the same time a number of young jet-black slave girls, well fed, and all neatly dressed in long aprons of white clean gábagá, and having their necks adorned with strings of glass beads, were marched out to their daily labour in the field.
The town formerly extended much further in this direction, till it was ransacked and plundered by Ramadan, a slave and officer of the sheikh Mohammed el Kánemi. Before the Fúlbe occupied these regions, the slave-hunting expeditions of the people of Bórnu often extended into the very heart of Ádamáwa. The Fúlbe certainly are always making steps towards subjugating the country, but they have still a great deal to do before they can regard themselves as the undisturbed possessors of the soil. Even here, at no great distance beyond the little range which we had on our right, an independent tribe called Gílle still maintains itself, and on my return journey I shall have to relate an unsuccessful expedition of the governor of Úba against the Kilba-Gáya.
Our camels, “gelóba,” began now to be objects of the greatest curiosity and wonder to the natives; for it happens but rarely that this animal is brought into the country, as it will not bear the climate for any length of time. This is certainly a circumstance not to be lost sight of by those who contemplate trade and intercourse with the equatorial regions; but of course the European, with his energy and enterprise, might easily succeed in acclimatizing the camel by preparing himself for great losses in the beginning.
When the range on our right terminated, our view extended over a great expanse of country, from which several mountain groups started up, entirely detached one from the other and without any connecting chain, and I sketched three of them, which are represented above. Of the names of the first two, my companions were not quite sure; but they all agreed in calling the last Kilba-Gáya. In front of us a considerable mountain mass called Fingting developed itself, and behind it another with the summits Bá and Yaurogúdde. Keeping along the plain, sometimes over fine pasture-grounds, at other times over cultivated fields, and crossing several little streams, we at length came to a brook or rivulet of a somewhat larger size, which is said to issue from Mount Gúri towards the south-east, and receiving another brook coming from Mount Dáwa, runs westward.
