[42] See a letter of mine from Kúkawa, Nov. 20th, 1852, addressed to Chevalier Bunsen, and published in Petermann’s Mittheilungen 1855, p. 7.
[43] Indeed, in the copy which I sent to Europe, the copyist has corrected this error; but unfortunately, instead of inserting this reign in the right place, he has added the twenty years to the thirty-three years of the reign of the elder Edrís ben ʿAlí.
[44] The forty days’ journey stated by Ebn Batúta to intervene between Tekádda and Bórnu are to be counted, as it seems, to Njímiye, the old capital of Kánem; Bírni, or rather Ghasréggomo, at least, not being founded at that time.
[45] Leo, when he says that the language of Gaogo is identical with the Bórnu language, does not speak of the language of the whole nation, but only of that of the ruling tribe, the Bulála.
[46] This custom, I think, confirms the opinion that the Koyám migrated from Kánem into Bórnu. They are expressly called “áhel el bil.”
[47] This certainly did not belong to the largest craft of the islanders; for one of the boats which accompanied Mr. Overweg afterwards on his voyage on the lake was almost fifty feet long, and six and a half wide.
[48] Kánembú is the plural of Kánémma.
[49] The Yédiná named to me the following islands as the largest and most important:—Gúriyá, Yíwaa Dóji, Belárge, Húshiyá Billán, Purrám, Maibuluwá, Fidda, Kóllea Dallabórme, Turbó Dakkabeláya, Fujiá Chílim, and Bréjaré, the latter having many horses. Almost all these names have been since confirmed by Mr. Overweg, although he spells some of them in a different way, and perhaps less accurately, as he obtained all his information from his Kanúri companions; indeed, notwithstanding his long sojourn among the islanders, he did not even learn their real name, viz.—Yédiná. The Yédiná belong evidently to the Kótoko, and are most nearly related to the people of Nghála; they are probably already indicated by Makrizí under the name اتعنا and their language was originally entirely distinct from the Kanúri, although in process of time they have adopted many of their terms.
[50] The distance of the western shore of this island cannot be more than at the utmost thirty miles from the shore of the lagoon, at least at certain seasons. Mr. Overweg’s indications in respect to this island, which he would seem to have navigated all round, are very vague. At all events, I think it must be considerably nearer the shore than it has been laid down by Mr. Petermann, but it is difficult, nay impossible, to fix with precision the form or size of these islands, which, according to season, vary continually.
[51] I will here give verbatim a few extracts of my despatch to Government, dated Kúkawa, May 24, 1851, from which it will be seen how sure I was already at that time of the immense importance of the river which I was about to discover.