At length this swampy ground seemed to have an end; but nothing but poor stubble-fields, where the crop had failed, took its place, with here and there a few detached poor-looking huts, the few trees which were visible exhibiting the same scanty growth that we had observed in the district through which we had just passed. At last the eye, fatigued by the length of this gloomy tract, was refreshed by the sight of a field with a fresh crop of másakuwá, or Holcus cernuus, though it was far from being a rich one. Already here, besides the huts common in this country, others, of a remarkable and peculiar style, became visible, such as I shall describe further on, and as only the most excellent clay soil can enable the natives to build.
Entering for a while a grassy plain, we reached an open water, such as the Kanúri people call komádugu, about thirty yards broad, but apparently of considerable depth, being enclosed by banks ten feet high, and winding through the plain in a fine meandering course. The water, at present, had no current; and we found a spot where it was totally broken, and were enabled to cross it with dry feet.
A few hundred yards on the other side of this watercourse were the ruins of Bága, the residence of the chief Kábishmé (or, as the Kanúri call him, Kabshimé), which had been ransacked last year by Kashélla ʿAlí Fúgomámi. Among these ruins the vizier, by the advice of Ádishén, who wanted to keep the undisciplined host from his own fertile territory, had chosen the encampment. Thither I directed my steps, while the main body of the cavalry were scattered about the cornfields, in order to gather the half-ripe ears of grain for themselves and their half-starved horses; and he was lucky who arrived first, those who came afterwards either finding nothing at all, or only green, unwholesome corn.
The whole district where the encampment was chosen was bare and desolate in the extreme, especially on the eastern side, where it was only bordered by stunted mimosas a considerable distance off. But the village itself, and particularly the dwelling of the chief Kábishmé, was calculated to create a great deal of interest, as well on account of the finished and careful execution of the buildings as owing to a certain degree of comfort and homeliness which was evident in the whole arrangement; and in this respect it was very fortunate that, immediately after our arrival, before the train came up, I directed my attention towards these buildings, for afterwards the deserted palace of the Músgu chief became a harím, or prohibited spot, the vizier finding its architectural arrangements very useful and convenient for his own domestic purposes.
The palace must have afforded a very different spectacle in former times, when it was inhabited, it being at present in such a state of ruin that several features in its arrangement could not be distinctly made out, almost everything that was liable to take fire having been destroyed, and especially the sheds and inner courtyards, which are so characteristic of the domestic life of these people. At present it was an empty courtyard of a tolerably round shape, and of large circumference, surrounded by huts more or less destroyed, and adorned at the four corners, if we may speak of corners in a building of almost round shape, by buildings of a very peculiar and remarkable character, which at once attracted my attention, as they bore testimony to a degree of order, and even of art, which I had not expected to find among these tribes.
They were small round rumbú, about eight feet in diameter, and at least twelve feet high to the apex of the cupola, the clay walls of which were very neatly polished; the entrance formed a projecting portal about six feet high, four feet deep, and not more than fourteen inches wide. The exterior, to the very top of the cupola, was ornamented in a very peculiar manner by regular lines of projecting ribs running round the building in the way represented in the woodcut. These very remarkable rooms, although at present empty, from their analogy with several buildings described above, and according to the statements of the people, were nothing but well protected granaries, although they might have served occasionally in the cold season as bedrooms or sleeping-rooms. They were exactly the same at each of the four corners; but the north-east corner of the yard claimed particular attention, owing to another very remarkable apartment being there joined to the granary, which, as it is best adapted to give a clear idea of the homely comfort of these people, however low the scale of their civilization may be, has been made use of to represent, in the plate opposite, a scene of the domestic life of these people, besides that its ground-plan is given in the accompanying woodcut.
It was a round uncovered apartment of about twenty-four feet in diameter, inclosed by a clay wall of about seven feet high, and a foot in thickness, and carefully polished at the corners. The doorway was about four feet high by about two feet wide; entering through this you had on your left a bank of clay running parallel with the wall, and enclosing a space of about two and a half feet in breadth. It was a foot and a quarter high, and one foot broad, and ran round more than half the circumference of the room, but, in order to afford easy access to the narrow space between it and the wall, had an opening in the centre, both ends of the banks thus formed having a regularly shaped projection. The space included between the bank and the wall formed a sort of stable, as was evident from three stakes placed in the ground at equal distances from each other. Probably it was the place for three head of cattle or goats. The clay bank, therefore, served two purposes, partly as a separation of the stable from the inner apartment, and partly as a seat. The centre of the apartment was formed by a shed about eight feet by six, and consisting of a roof of reeds and grass, supported by four stakes, and furnishing an evident proof that the apartment had never been covered in, but formed an open little courtyard sub dio.
On the right of this shed was the cooking-place or kitchen, enclosed by two very low clay walls, and formed by four projections of clay in the shape of large round stones, which in a very simple manner formed two fireplaces, each of which, if detached, would have required three stones. Between the kitchen, the shed, and one end of the clay bank, and divided from the former by a separate wall, appeared a broad entrance to the adjoining building, which we have recognized as a granary; but at present it was walled up, and formed a recess for some purpose or other. Between the kitchen and the gateway was another place enclosed between two thin clay walls, which was most probably destined to contain the water-jar.