Having indulged in the aspect of this rich scene, which formed such a contrast to the monotonous neighbourhood of Kúkawa, we retraced our steps, in order to encamp at some distance from the water, which of course gives life to millions of mosquitoes, and encamped amongst the smouldering ruins of the huts. The whole village, which only a few moments before had been the abode of comfort and happiness, was destroyed by fire and made desolate. Slaughtered men, with their limbs severed from their bodies, were lying about in all directions, and made the passer-by shudder with horror. Such is the course of human affairs in these regions! Small troops of light cavalry tried to pursue the enemy; and there was some fighting in the course of the afternoon, when a few men of the Bórnu army were killed.
Wednesday, Dec. 31.—We remained here this and the following day, it being the intention of the Bórnu people, according to their own statement, to reduce this country to subjection; and I deeply regretted that the circumstances under which we visited this region did not allow me to collect all the information I wished. But roving about the encampment, I endeavoured to pick up what I could. All the huts had clay walls, which were from four to six inches thick, and had resisted the conflagration, the roofs, consisting of beams and reed, having fallen in. The diameter of the huts varied from eight to twelve feet. Each hut contained a large jar for holding water, and some had a peculiar fireplace, enclosed by separate walls, and not unlike an oven; but, although in general the arrangements of the huts was comfortable, I found the dwellings in other villages of this country far superior, nor did I observe here such large courtyards as I had seen elsewhere. In the centre of the village there were some extensive tanks, or pools of water, which seemed to be made by the hand of man. The whole encampment, or “ngáufate,” was surrounded with a strong fence of thorny bushes, rather for the purpose of preventing the slaves from escaping, than to defend the encampment against an enemy. Having wandered about amidst this scene of destruction, I went in the afternoon to the border of the “ngáljam,” which was enlivened by horses and cattle grazing, and people quietly reclining here and there, or bathing in the water. I then wandered along the bank to some distance, where the sheet of open water on this side was entirely interrupted, while on the other shore a considerable strip of water stretched out before the view.
Here, in Démmo, the year 1852 opened to me, in the course of which I at that time entertained a hope of returning homewards, not fancying that I was to remain three years more in these barbarous countries, amidst constantly varying impressions of discovery, of disappointment, of friendly and hostile treatment, and under all sorts of affliction, distress, and sickness. Our stay here was varied by a few interesting incidents, one of which I will relate. The intriguing Shúwa chief Mʿallem Jýmma, whose ambitious designs did not allow him any rest, had not only persuaded the head man of Démmo, who had made his escape, but even the chief of the nearest village on the other side of the ngáljam, to make his subjection publicly, and to seek the protection of Bórnu. They were therefore introduced this day into the nógona or council, and threw dust upon their heads. But when they had to confirm their subjection by an oath, the pagan prince of Démmo indeed took an oath, raising a handful of earth, and allowing it to glide through his fingers, but the chief from the other side of the ngáljam refused to take the oath, under the pretext that this earth was not fit for his vow, not being his own soil; he said he must first bring a handful of earth from his own country. An oath taken upon earth that belonged to their native soil was also common among the ancients.
Both chiefs had made their appearance in their native attire, that is to say, quite naked with the exception of a narrow leather strip round their loins; and it caused great merriment to the courtiers, that when, in consequence of their subjection, they were officially dressed in black tobes as a sort of investiture, the chief of Démmo drew his shirt over his head, reckless whether the lower parts were covered or not. In order to amuse the assemblage, they also blew their little horn, an instrument which every Músgu grandee carries with him, and which bears a great resemblance to a bugle; but in this accomplishment a priest who accompanied them was more clever than themselves, producing melodious and sonorous sounds from this simple and uncouth instrument.
This was the first and only time that I became aware that these pagan tribes had separate priests; and I felt greatly disappointed that I did not come into closer contact with them, nor was able to learn from other people what were their peculiar duties. But, in general, I think I am not mistaken in supposing that the sacerdotal functions with these tribes of the interior are less developed than those on the coast, for as yet I had seen very little of real fetishism. In general, the office of priest seems to be connected with that of chief. This man also received a shirt as a present; but it was only a white one of inferior quality, and I do not think he kept it very long after he had left the assemblage of these civilized people. As the price of the benevolent reception which the prince of Démmo had experienced, he, as is generally the case in these distracted communities, betrayed the interests of his countrymen, promising that he would lead the army to a large walled town (so, at least, he was understood to say), where they were to find plenty of booty and spoil. Accordingly, an expedition on a large scale, which was to be led by the vizier in person, was fixed for the next day.
Friday, Jan. 2.—Having remained quiet for some hours in the morning, probably to make the neighbouring chieftains believe that we had no intention of moving, we suddenly set out, with almost the whole of the cavalry and a portion of the Kánembú spearmen, led on by our new ally the chief of Démmo, who, mounted on a little pony, clad in his new black garment, presented a very awkward and ridiculous appearance.
The first village which we reached, after about an hour’s march through a clear forest, was quite deserted; and it was but natural that all the people around should be upon their guard. The landscape was exceedingly beautiful, richly irrigated and finely wooded, while, to our great astonishment, the ground was so carefully cultivated that even manure had been put upon the fields in a regular manner, being spread over the ground to a great extent—the first example of such careful tillage that I had as yet observed in Central Africa, both among Mohammedans and pagans. The inhabitants had had so much leisure to make their escape, that they had left very little behind to satisfy the greediness of the enemy; and we therefore continued our march without delay, in a north-easterly direction. This whole fertile district bears the name of Wúliya; but I did not learn the peculiar name of this village.
After a march of about four miles, we crossed another watercourse, at present only from ten to fifteen inches deep, and surrounded by beautiful pasture-grounds, which during part of the year are inundated, and must then present the appearance of an extensive lake. This fresh green basin was adorned all around by luxuriant fig and “karáge”-trees, and slender detached dúm-palms towered picturesquely above the green foliage, but no deléb-palms were to be seen. Then followed another village, likewise deserted by its unfortunate inhabitants, and then again open meadow-lands, intersected by a narrow channel-like watercourse, in a direction from south-west to north-east.
The watercourse was from sixty to seventy yards broad, and enclosed so regularly between its banks, which were about ten feet high, that it had quite the appearance of an artificial canal,—a peculiarity which in the course of time I frequently observed, not only here, but also in the similar watercourses along the Niger. At the point where we crossed it, the sheet of water was entirely broken by a small sandbank, so that we went over without wetting our feet. However, I conjectured that this was an artificial dyke thrown up by the persecuted natives, in order to keep open an easy connection with the river, on which alone their safety depended. Without any delay the expedition pushed on, in the hope of overtaking the fugitives before they had crossed the river; for here we were quite close to the western shore of the river of Logón, which is generally, but erroneously, called Shári, while this name, which belongs to the language of the Kótoko, and means “river” in general, applies more properly to the larger eastern branch below Klésem, which is inhabited by Kótoko, and to the united stream lower down below the junction of the two branches. In this place the river, or “éré,” is called Serbéwuel, I think, in the Músgu language; higher up, where we shall make its acquaintance in the course of our further researches, it is called Bá-Gun and Bá-Bay, “bá” being the general name for river in the language of Bagírmi and the native tribes of the Sóm-ray, as well as in the language of the Manding or Mandingoes.
After a short time we stood on the banks of the stream. It was a considerable river even at the present moment, although it was greatly below its highest level, and probably represented the mean depth of the whole year. At present it was about four hundred yards wide, and so deep that six Shúwa horsemen, who, in their eager desire for spoil, had ventured to enter it, were carried away by the stream, and fell an easy prey to about a dozen courageous pagans, who, in a couple of canoes, were gliding up and down the river to see what they could lay their hands upon. They felt that we were unable to follow them without canoes, although for any active body of men it would have been an easy affair to construct a few rafts for crossing over, there being a plentiful supply of timber.