But here I must add, that there are two places called Berí, distant from each other a few miles, the one where we were encamped being called Berí-kurá, the Great Berí, the other with the surname “futé” (the western), from its more westerly situation; but it is at present greatly reduced, and we had left it unobserved on one side. The greater part of the inhabitants of Berí are Kánembú, and belong to the clan of the Sugúrti, a large division of that tribe, which, however, in the last struggle of the old dynasty, suffered greatly. Besides these, a good many Búdduma are settled here.
I was very glad when, after another severe quarrel, the young horse was at length given up by the robbers, as likewise the beast of burden. One of the oxen sent yesterday as a present was slaughtered to-day, and divided amongst the whole band. As for myself, I made merry on a little fresh milk; for though the people are, and appear to have been from their birth (for “berí” means cattle-herd), in possession of numerous herds of cattle, nevertheless, in the village, as is often the case, there is very little milk—only just as much as is required for the use of the owners themselves—the cattle being at a great distance. Very little can be obtained here, and corn is scarcely cultivated, owing to the insecure and desperate state of the country. The inhabitants are in continual intercourse with the Yédiná, that section of the Kótoko who inhabit the islands in the lake, and who are generally called Búdduma. But of course the distance of their village from the lagoon varies considerably; and the nearest branch or inlet at present was that which we had crossed in the morning, and from which the inhabitants supplied themselves with water. The want of firewood is greatly felt; scarcely a single tree is to be met with in the neighbourhood.
Saturday, Sept. 27.—We now left the shores of the lake, ascending a little, but had a difficult march this morning in order to avoid the many small boggy inlets and natron-lagoons which are formed by the lake, and wind along through the sand-hills. With regard to these natron-lakes, which, after the report of Major Denham, have led to many erroneous conjectures respecting Lake Tsád, I have to observe that the natron or soda is not originally contained in the water, but in the ground, and that all the water of Lake Tsád is fresh; but when a small quantity of water, after the lake has retired from the highest point of its inundation, remains in a basin the soil of which is filled with soda, the water of course becomes impregnated with this quality. The consequence is, that there are many basins round Lake Tsád which, according to the season, are either fresh or brackish; for the soda contained in the ground has very little effect so long as the basin is deep, and does not begin to make itself felt till the water becomes shallow. Of this same character seems to be Lake Bóro in Kánem, which I shall mention hereafter. I here remind the reader of what I have stated above with regard to the importance of the natron-trade between Bórnu and Núpe or Nýffi.
Having no guide—for who would willingly trust himself in the hands of such lawless robbers as our companions?—we found it rather difficult work to get out of this labyrinth of lagoons; and after a few miles we came to a narrow but very boggy inlet, which it was thought necessary to cross.
Riding a lively horse, an excellent “sayár,” I was rather in advance, and had only three horsemen in front of me; on coming to the bog, the nature of which it was easy to perceive, we rode one after the other,—Khálef-Allah being in front of me. The first horseman went in, made a few steps, and then came down; but he got his horse upon his legs again, went on, and again sunk into the bog, but being near the firm ground, got over tolerably well. As soon as those who were before me saw this they stopped their horses short, and wanted to return, pressing my horse upon his side, who, being annoyed by the morass, made a vacillating movement forward, and fell upon his knees; upon being raised he made some wild exertions to get through, but after two or three ineffectual attempts, he again fell on his side, and I under him. The morass here was about four feet deep; and I received several smart blows from the forelegs of my horse, upon the head and shoulders, before I was fortunate enough to extricate myself from this interesting situation. Being clad in a white bernús over a Nýffi tobe, with a pair of pistols in my belt, my appearance may be easily conceived when, after a great deal of labour, I succeeded in reaching firm ground. I had still the difficult task of extricating my horse, which, after wild and desperate exertions, lay motionless in the bog. I had on this occasion a good specimen of the assistance we were likely to receive from our companions in cases of difficulty; for they were looking silently on without affording me any aid. Mr. Overweg was some distance behind, and, when he came up, was enabled to supply me with dry clothing.
The spot would have been quite interesting but for this accident, as there was here, favoured by the rich soil and this very morass, a beautiful plantation of red ngáberi or sorghum, of that peculiar kind called mósogá, or rather, másakwá, in the highest state of exuberance, and just beginning to ripen; it was the finest specimen I saw on my whole journey. Fortunately the sun was moderately warm, as I began to feel very chilly after my involuntary bath. We continued our march at first along another hollow containing fresh water, and then, ascending a little, came upon a sandy level well clothed with herbage and trees of the mimosa kind. Here we seemed to be entirely out of reach of the lake; and great was our astonishment when, a little after nine o’clock, we came close upon another fine sheet of fresh, blue water. It was a great satisfaction to me, in the state I was in, that we encamped at so early an hour on its northern border, where some serrákh afforded a tolerable shade. I was busy drying my clothes, arms, saddle-cloths, and journals, when there appeared certain indications of an approaching storm; and in order to avoid being wetted twice in the same day, I got my tent pitched. After a curious gale the rain poured down, and about a dozen of my companions took refuge in my small, frail dwelling; but all were not so fortunate as to escape a wetting, for the rain, being very heavy, came in at the door. The storm lasted more than an hour; and everything, including horses and camels, being thoroughly soaked, it was decided to remain here for the night.
Sunday, Sept. 28.—For some reason or another, but chiefly in order to slaughter the other ox, divide it, and cut it up into “gedíd,” we remained here the whole morning; and the sun had long passed into zawál (past noon) when we started through the sandy and slightly undulating country full of herbage, principally of the plant called “nesí,” besides bú rékkebah or Avena Forskalii, the bur-feathered prickle (Pennisetum distichum), and various kinds of mimosa, chiefly consisting of the talha, and úm-el-barka (Mimosa Nilotica.) Our companions found several ostrich-eggs, and met a large troop of gazelles. The country then became more thickly wooded, and, where we encamped for the night, presented a very interesting character; but the danger from wild beasts was considerable, and the roar of a lion was heard throughout the greater part of the night.
Monday, Sept. 29.—Started early: the character of the country continued the same as yesterday, and presented beautiful specimens of the mimosa, here breaking down from age, at another place interwoven with creepers, one species of which produces the red juicy fruit called “fito” by the Kanúri, and has been mentioned by me before. It was nearly eight o’clock when, proceeding in groups, two of our horsemen, on passing near a very large and thick gherret, suddenly halted, and with loud cries hastened back to us. We approached the spot, and saw a very large snake hanging in a threatening attitude from the branches of the tree; on seeing us it tried to hide itself; but after firing several balls, it fell down, and we cut off its head. It measured 18 ft. 7 in. in length, and at the thickest part 5 in. in diameter, and was of a beautifully variegated colour. Two natives, who had attached themselves to our troop the day before, cut it open and took out the fat, which they said was excellent.
The ride was truly interesting; but by degrees it became too much for me, and after seven hours’ march I was so utterly exhausted as to be obliged to halt, and lie down. Most of the Arabs remained with us; others, with ʿAli ben ʿAisa, went on to the well. When we pursued our march in the afternoon, the country for the first three hours was more level, but then became very hilly; and at five o’clock we ascended a considerable elevation to our left, the highest point in the whole country, but perhaps not more than six or seven hundred feet above the level of the Tsád. From here we crossed two very pretty valleys, or dells, especially the second one, where there were very curious hilly projections of a calcareous stone. But these valleys were very poor indeed, in comparison with the valley or hénderi Fóyo, situated at some distance from the well where we encamped for the night; for its bottom presented one uninterrupted mass of vegetation, impenetrable in many spots. Here the botanist might be sure to find some new species, although the principal trees were the kúrna (Cornus), serrákh, úm-el-barka or Mimosa Nilotica, hajilíj or Balanites, and the talha (M. ferruginea), but all interwoven with creepers, and offering the most delightful shade. These valleys, which afford the only watering-places, must of course be very dangerous during the night, on account of the wild beasts, principally lions, of which there are great numbers hereabouts. Here our companions received a messenger from Ghét, the young chief of the Welád Slimán.
Tuesday, Sept. 30.—We remained in the forenoon and during the heat of the day in our encampment. While stretched out in the shade of a fine mimosa, I obtained some valuable information regarding the various tribes dwelling in Kánem, and the districts of their settlements. But it will be better, instead of inserting it here, to collect all the information I received at different times into one general account, which shall be given in the Appendix.