Travels and discoveries in North and Central Africa

by Heinrich Barth

The banks of the river on this side were at present about twenty-five feet high. The opposite shore was not so steep, and from its rich vegetation had a very inviting appearance; but I was glad, for the sake of the poor natives, that we were unable to reach it, and I think even our friend the Háj Beshír looked at this interesting landscape rather with a degree of scientific interest than with anger and disappointment. Unfortunately, on this occasion I had not taken my telescope with me, but I was so fortunate as still to get a sight of this river a little lower down. Having stood here for a few minutes on the steep bank, looking down into the stream, which rolled unceasingly along, cutting off our further progress, we turned our horses’ heads in the direction from which we had come, while our friends endeavoured to soothe their disappointment by saying, that if the pagans had escaped from their hands, they would certainly not fail to fall into the power of their enemies, viz. the pagans who lived on the other side of the river under the protection of Bagírmi.

We thus turned our backs upon the river, my European companion and I greatly satisfied with our day’s work, which had afforded us a sight of this fine stream, but our companions, in sullen silence and disappointed, on account of the expected spoil having escaped from their hands. Indeed, where they had expected to find that “El Dorado,” that walled town full of male and female slaves, I never succeeded in ascertaining. The whole day’s spoil was limited to a handful of slaves—unfortunate creatures whom sickness or ill-advised courage prevented from leaving their native villages,—besides a couple of cattle, a few goats, fowls, and a little corn, but principally ground-nuts, of which large quantities were carried off by the hungry Kánembú spearmen.

INTERIOR OF MÚSGU DWELLING.

The whole army was in such a mood as to be glad to find any object on which to vent its anger; and such a one soon presented itself, for when we again reached that channel-like watercourse which I have mentioned above, and were watering our horses, four natives were seen, who, evidently confiding in their courage and their skill in swimming, had here taken refuge in the deepest part of the water, in order to give information to their countrymen of the retreat of the enemy. As soon as our friends caught sight of this little troop of heroes, they determined to sacrifice them to their vengeance. With this view, the whole of the cavalry arranged themselves in close lines on each side of the water. But the task was not so easy as it appeared at first; and all the firing of the bad marksmen was in vain, the Músgu diving with remarkable agility. When the vizier saw that in this way these heroes could not be overpowered, he ordered some Kánembú to enter the water; and a very singular kind of combat arose, the like of which I had never seen before, and which required an immense deal of energy, for, while these people had to sustain themselves above the water with the help of their feet, they had at the same time to jump up, throw the spear, and parry the thrusts of their adversaries. The poor Músgu people, on their side, were not only fighting for their lives, but even, as it were, for their national honour. They were of large and muscular frame, single-handed far superior to the Kánembú; but at length, after a protracted struggle, the superior numbers of the Kánembú got the upper hand, and the corpses of three of the Músgu were seen swimming on the surface of the water. But the fourth and last appeared to be invincible, and the Kánembú, who had lost two of their companions, gave him up in despair. After this inglorious victory we pursued our march homewards, keeping a little more to the north than when we came. This part of the country exhibited the same fertile and pleasant character as that we had seen before. It was densely inhabited and well cultivated, even tobacco being grown to a great extent. As for the villages themselves, they afforded the same appearance of comfort and cheerfulness which we had observed in the others. But all these abodes of human happiness were destroyed by fire.

After having accomplished these great deeds, we returned to our encampment. Here we remained during the two following days, while the most important business was transacted. This was the partition of the slaves who had been taken during the expedition; and the proceeding was accompanied by the most heartrending scenes, caused by the number of young children, and even infants, who were to be distributed, many of these poor creatures being mercilessly torn away from their mothers, never to see them again. There were scarcely any full-grown men.

More interesting to me than this horrible affair was the sending of a messenger to Kúkawa; and it was doubly so on account of the roundabout way which this man had to pursue, the track by which we had come being at present greatly infested by the desperate pagans, who very recently had massacred a whole troop of horse and foot who had come from Kúkawa, with the exception of one, who had succeeded in making his escape. The messengers, therefore, who were now sent, were obliged to take the road leading past the villages of the Fúlbe, going from Démmo to Káfta, which I have previously mentioned, and from thence to Bógo, whence they were to follow the general track, which I have described on a former occasion. An escort of fifteen Kanúri and two Fúlbe accompanied the two messengers, as their first day’s march was very dangerous.

For the last few days there had been a great talk of an expedition, on a large scale, against the Túburi, whither it was said we were to transfer the whole encampment; and I and my companion already anticipated a great deal of delight, as the isolated rocky mount which we had seen on the day of our arrival seemed to be well worthy of notice. But, as I have already stated, the Bórnu people were greatly afraid of this place, the real reason probably being, that they apprehended the pagans might retire upon the top of the mountain, and, having abundance of water in the neighbourhood, offer a successful resistance, although we were told that, on a former occasion, a single kashélla, ʿAlí Fugomámi, had extended his expedition as far as that place.

The Fúlbe, by whom this free pagan community was regarded with great hatred, urged the expedition with the greatest energy; but the cunning vizier pretended afterwards, in a conversation which he had with Overweg and me, that it was purposely, from motives of policy, that he did not accede to this scheme, as he did not want to exterminate this tribe, being unwilling to pull down with his own hands this last barrier to the restless spirit of conquest which the Fúlbe or Fellatá displayed. The usurper ʿAbd eʾ Rahmán, evidently from a motive of ambition, in order to be enabled to say that he had penetrated further than his late rival the vizier, whom he had successfully crushed, in the beginning of the rainy season of 1854 pushed on into the very country of the Túburi, and thus enabled Dr. Vogel to lay down that most interesting point by astronomical observation, although the great lake which my friend thought to find there was apparently nothing but a widening of that stagnant watercourse which forms the north-eastern branch of the Bénuwé, namely the Máyo Kébbi, and was laid down by me in the map of Central Africa, which I sent home from Kúkawa.