The soil of Bornou is fertile, and though only turned up by the hoe, yields pretty good crops of the small grain called gussub. Vast herds of cattle abound. The only manufacture in which the people can be said to excel, is that of cotton cloth died blue with indigo; pieces of which constitute the current coin. The natives have the negro features in their full deformity; they are simple, good-natured, ignorant, and fond of wrestling and gaming. The military force is almost entirely composed of cavalry, many of whom are well mounted, and defended by coats of mail.
Boo Khaloom had brought with him an extensive assortment of goods, which he found he could not sell at Bornou. He therefore wished to dispose of them at Soudan; but his followers were most anxious that he should make a warlike excursion to the south, for the purpose of driving in a large body of slaves. He reluctantly, and against his better judgment, consented to proceed to the mountains of Mandara, and Major Denham, against the advice of the sheikh, resolved to accompany the party, whose numbers and strength were augmented by a large body of Bornou cavalry, under the command of Barca Gana, the chief general.
They set out along an ascending road, which wound through a fertile country, and passed several populous towns. The way was rough, and overhung by the branches of the prickly tulloh, so that pioneers had to go before with long poles to clear away obstructions. The troops sang the praises of Barca Gana, crying, "Who is in battle like the rolling of thunder? Barca Gana. In battle, who spreads terror around him like the buffalo in his rage? Barca Gana." They soon reached the kingdom and mountains of Mandara. In the valley are situated eight large and a number of smaller towns, which are overhung by the mountains, the recesses of which are inhabited by a numerous and barbarous tribe, called Kerdies or Pagans, whom the Arabs and Bornouese consider as only fit to be enslaved. The dwellings of this unfortunate people were visible in clusters upon the sides and tops of the hills which tower above the Mandingo capital. "The fires which were visible in the different nests of these unfortunates, threw a glare upon the bold peaks and bluff promontories of granite rock by which they were surrounded, and produced a picturesque and somewhat awful appearance." The inhabitants of these wild regions were clothed in the spoils of the chace, and subsisted chiefly on wild fruits, honey, and fish. They knew the object of this expedition, and so soon as they saw the advance of the hostile army, parties came down with peace-offerings of leopard skins, honey, and slaves. The sultan of Mandara used all his influence to persuade Boo Khaloom to attack some strong Fellatah posts, and the latter unfortunately consented; his followers were eager for the attack, the prospect of booty being held out to them.
After passing through a verdant plain, they entered the heart of the mountains, and every point as they advanced, disclosed to them heights of rugged magnificence. The valleys were clothed with bright and luxuriant verdure, and flowering parasitical plants wound along the trunks of spreading trees. This beautiful spot, however, abounded in scorpions and panthers. Next day they approached the Fellatah town of Dirkulla. Boo Khaloom and his Arabs, with Barca Gana, and one hundred of his bravest warriors, began the attack, while the rest hung behind, awaiting the issue of the conflict. The Arabs gallantly carried two posts, and killed many of the enemy. But the undaunted Fellatahs recovering from their surprise, entrenched themselves within a strongly fortified place farther up the hills, called Musfeia, in front of which were swamps and palisades. The greater part of the soldiers remained without the range of the arrows of the Fellatahs; who, being joined by fresh troops, and seeing that their assailants were few in number, advanced to the attack, discharging showers of poisoned arrows. Most of the Arabs were hurt; their horses staggered under them; Boo Khaloom and his charger received wounds which afterwards proved to be mortal. The Fellatah horse, taking advantage of their confusion, dashed in amongst them; "and the chivalry of Bornou and Mandara spurred their steeds to the most rapid flight." Major Denham found himself in a desperate predicament. As the account of his escape is one of the most interesting narratives of personal adventure which we have ever read, we shall extract it in his own words:—
"I now for the first time, as I saw Barca Gana on a fresh horse, lamented my own folly in so exposing myself, badly prepared as I was for accidents. If my horse's wounds were from poisoned arrows, I felt that nothing could save me: however there was not much time for reflection. We instantly became a flying mass, and plunged, in great disorder, into the wood we had but a few hours before moved through with order, and very different feelings. I had got a little to the westward of Barca Gana, in the confusion which took place on our passing the ravine which had been left just on our rear, and where upwards of 100 of the Bornouese were speared by the Fellatahs, and was following at a round gallop the steps of one of the Mandara eunuchs, who I observed kept a good look out, his head being constantly turned over his left shoulder, with, a face expressive of the greatest dismay—when the cries behind of the Fellatah horse pursuing, made us both quicken our paces. The spur however had the effect of incapacitating my beast altogether, as the arrow I found afterwards had reached the shoulder bone, and in passing over some rough ground he stumbled and fell. Almost before I was on my legs, the Fellatahs were upon me; I had however, kept hold of the bridle, and seizing a pistol from the holsters, I presented it at two of the ferocious savages, who were pressing me with their spears: they instantly went off; but another who came on me more boldly, just as I was endeavouring to mount, received the contents somewhere in his left shoulder, and again I was enabled to place my foot in the stirrup. Remounted, I again pushed my retreat; I had not, however, proceeded many hundred yards, when my horse again came down with such violence as to throw me against a tree at a considerable distance; and alarmed at the horses behind him, he quickly got up and escaped, leaving me on foot and unarmed.
"The eunuch and his four followers were here butchered, after a very slight resistance, and stripped within a few yards of me: their cries were dreadful; and even now, the feelings of that moment are fresh in my memory. My hopes of life were too faint to deserve the name. I was almost instantly surrounded, and incapable of making the least resistance, as I was unarmed, was as speedily stript; and whilst attempting first to save my shirt and then my trowsers, I was thrown on the ground. My pursuers made several thrusts at me with their spears, that badly wounded my hands in two places, and slightly my body, just under my ribs, on the right side. Indeed, I saw nothing before me but the same cruel death I had seen unmercifully inflicted on the few who had fallen into the power of those who now had possession of me; and they were only prevented from murdering me, in the first instance, I am persuaded, by the fear of injuring the value of my clothes, which appeared to them a rich booty,—but it was otherwise ordained.
"My shirt was now absolutely torn off my back, and I was left perfectly naked. When my plunderers began to quarrel for the spoil, the idea of escape came like lightning across my mind, and without a moment's hesitation or reflection, I crept under the belly of the horse nearest me, and started as fast as my legs could carry me for the thickest part of the wood. Two of the Fellatahs followed, and I ran on to the eastward, knowing that our stragglers would be in that direction, but still almost as much afraid of friends as foes. My pursuers gained on me, for the prickly underwood not only obstructed my passage, but tore my flesh miserably; and the delight with which I saw a mountain stream gliding along at the bottom of a deep ravine cannot be imagined. My strength had almost left me, and I seized the young branches issuing from the stump of a large tree which overhung the ravine, for the purpose of letting myself down into the water, as the sides were precipitous; when under my hand, as the branch yielded to the weight of my body, a large liffa, the worst kind of serpent this country produces, rose from its coil as if in the very act of striking. I was horror-struck, and deprived for a moment of all recollection—the branch slipped from my hand, and I tumbled headlong into the water beneath; this shock, however, revived me, and with three strokes of my arms I reached the opposite bank, which with difficulty I crawled up, and then, for the first time, felt myself safe from my pursuers.
"I now saw horsemen through the trees still farther to the east, and determined on reaching them if possible, whether friends or enemies; and the feelings of gratitude and joy with which I recognized Barca Gana and Boo Khaloom, with about six Arabs, although they also were pressed closely by a party of the Fellatahs, was beyond description. The guns and pistols of the Arab shiekhs kept the Fellatahs in check, and assisted in some measure the retreat of the footmen, I hailed them with all my might, but the noise and confusion which prevailed from the cries of those who were falling under the Fellatah spears, the cheers of the Arabs rallying, and their enemies pursuing, would have drowned all attempts to make myself heard, had not Maramy, the shiekh's negro, seen and known me at a distance. To this man I was indebted for my second escape; riding up to me, he assisted me to mount behind him, while the arrows whistled over our heads; and we then galloped off to the rear as fast as his wounded horse could carry us. After we had gone a mile or two, and the pursuit had something cooled, in consequence of all the baggage having been abandoned to the enemy. Boo Khaloom rode up to me, and desired one of the Arabs to cover me with a bornouse. This was a most welcome relief, for the burning sun had already begun to blister my neck and back, and gave me the greatest pain. Shortly after, the effects of the poisoned wound in his foot caused our excellent friend to breathe his last. Maramy exclaimed, 'Look, look! Boo Khaloom is dead!' I turned my head, almost as great an exertion as I was capable of, and saw him drop from the horse into the arms of his favourite Arab; he never spoke after. They said he had only swooned; there was no water, however, to revive him, and about an hour after, when we came to Makkeray, he was past the reach of restoratives.
"About the time Boo Khaloom dropped, Barca Gana ordered a slave to bring me a horse, from which he had just dismounted, being the third that had been wounded under him in the course of the day. His wound was in the chest. Maramy cried, "Sidi rais! do not mount him, he will die." In a moment, for only a moment was given me, I decided on remaining with Maramy. Two Arabs, panting with fatigue, then seized the bridle, mounted, and pressed their retreat. In less than half an hour he fell to rise no more, and both the Arabs were butchered before they could recover themselves. Had we not now arrived at the water, as we did, I do not think it possible that I could have supported the thirst by which I was consuming. I tried several times to speak in reply to Maramy's directions to hold tight, when we came to breaks or inequalities in the ground; but it was impossible, and a painful straining at the stomach and throat was the only effect produced by the effort.
"On coming to the stream, the horses, with blood gushing from their nostrils, rushed into the shallow water, and, letting myself down from behind Maramy, I knelt down amongst them, and seemed to imbibe new life by copious draughts of the muddy beverage which I swallowed. Of what followed I have no re-collection, Maramy told me afterwards that I staggered across the stream, which was not above my hips, and fell down at the foot of a tree on the other side. About a quarter of an hour's halt took place here for the benefit of stragglers, and to tie poor Boo Khaloom's body on a horse's back, at the end of which Maramy awoke me from a deep sleep, and I found my strength wonderfully increased: not so, however, our horse, for he had become stiff, and could scarcely move. As I learned afterwards, a conversation had taken place about me while I slept, which rendered my obligations to Maramy still greater. He had reported to Barca Gana the state of his horse, and the impossibility of carrying me on, when the chief, irritated by his losses and defeat, as well as at my having refused his horse, by which means, he said, it had come by its death, replied, 'Then leave him behind. By the head of the Prophet! Believers enough have breathed their last today. What is there extraordinary in a Christian's death?' My old antagonist Malem Chadily replied, 'No. God has preserved him, let us not forsake him!' Maramy returned to the tree, and said, 'His heart told him what to do.' He awoke me, assisted me to mount, and we moved on as before."