8. “The people of Nefé came originally from Kashná, and their prince, Thoodyar, from Atághér. He first conquered the territory of Beni, from the river called Bakoo to that which is named Kaduná; then the territories of Booduor Boodi, and of Bassa or Boosa. He thence embarked on the river Kowárá, and subdued the people on its bank, called Abágha; after which he conquered the country of Abbi (in which we now are[15]), and that of Kanbari, in conjunction with the Prince of Yaouri. The river of these countries is called Kantagoora. From Yaouri he proceeded to the great mountain, or mountains, where Nefé, Beni, and Fatti-attu are: he then went to the river Katha, or Kasha, and conquered the countries thereabouts; which are, Ghoor-noofu, Koográ, Jemma, Doonfee, Taboo, and Aza, or Azai. This prince was succeeded by Ithshab, whose successor was Ithkootoo; and the whole number of princes who ruled over this kingdom were thirteen. The rest of the eastern parts, as far as Katáná, are in possession of a prince named Bakoo.
“About the right of Atághér the country called Nafry lies, by the side of a river larger than that of Kowárá.
“The people of Beni are now extremely poor. They are submissive to their princes, till and cultivate the lands of others, and pay capitation tax. Sheep, goats, oxen, horses, and fowls, are scarce in their country; and as to asses, there are none, except what are imported from other countries. They have, however, plenty of elephants.
“The river in the territory of Kowárá lies west, on the right hand side; and that of Kaduná is in the centre; while the river Bakoo, or Gakoo, is in the east.”
9. “The tribes who inhabit Noofee, it is said, were originally from Beni; others say from Takra; and some assert that they came from the middle of the river, perhaps an island. Their first town was Jemma; but afterwards they inhabited Kafath or Kifath, Ayaki, Karkena, and the eastern Kowárá, by a river called Matny. They had also Kasoo or Kashoo, Zeer, the west of Malee or Moulee, Abyou, and Wádá.
“The river of Kowárá runs through mountains, and a great many woods and forests; and has mountains on the north and the east. This great river issues from the Mountain of the Moon; and what we know of it is, that it comes from Sookan to Kiya, to Kabi, to Yaouri, to Boossa, to Wá-wá, and to Noofee; but in that place there is another river which springs from Zirmá, to Ghoober, to Zeffra, to Kory or Koora, and then enters Noofee; its name is Kaduna. On the north of it Kanbari lies; on the east is Kory; on the south are Cankan and Kafath; and on the west is Bassoa, or Bashwa. About the centre of it is the kingdom of Noofee, with that of Abyou.
“Noofee was once subject to the Felans; but when Edrees, a prince of the Felans, ruled over it, and committed so many excesses as even to violate its virgins, the people rose up against him, sword in hand, and freed themselves; and thus they are now at war with the Felans. Amongst them there are Mahomedans; but the greater part are infidels, without either religion or law: they are drunkards and oppressors; they neither pray, nor worship any god. They walk with you during an hour as friends, while in the next they do not hesitate to kill you. When one of them dies, they fasten the arms across the chest, place the body in a sitting position in the grave, and one of them lies by it, while another sits at the entrance. They have a large and extensive cavern, in which they place their dead; but those who guard this cavern, though they are something like priests, are the most depraved persons. They sometimes send messengers to call the relatives of the dead, enjoining them to bring with them the best of every thing they have; and when these innocent people arrive at the cavern, they are immediately plundered of what they take there; and if they be females, their chastity is violated.
“This is the life and habits of these infidel Pagans; and consequently the roads about Noofee are very dangerous and perilous.
“When their king dies, they enter his house, and live in it.”
N. B.—It is proper here to observe, that the above two papers, Nos. 8 and 9, are written, or rather scrawled out, unorthographically and ungrammatically, and their composition is no more than a sort of incoherent jargon. The translation, therefore, I have given of them is mostly made out by conjecture. There is no doubt, however, that Clapperton, who made some residence among these people, has given some further account of them.